TDRA’s spectrum strategy, industry collaboration and commercial deployment are positioning the UAE to expand next-generation connectivity and prepare for an AI-driven digital economy. 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is taking a lead in transitioning from 5G-Advanced (5G-A) towards 6G by focusing on the commercial deployment of Upper 6GHz (U6GHz) spectrum, which offers wide contiguous bandwidth to expand network capacity, support data-intensive applications and lay the groundwork for the next generation of connectivity. 

Earlier this year, etisalat UAE announced that it was awarded a contract to an infrastructure partner to roll out the world’s first commercial mobile network using U6GHz 256TRX RetinaMIMO technology. Early commercial deployment of U6GHz positions the UAE at the forefront of next-generation network development. Reflecting on this progress during the 20th Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit, Dr. Ayman EInashar, Vice President of Technology Strategy, Architecture & Innovation at etisalat UAE, noted that the operator began its U6GHz journey two to three years earlier with the first prototype in the UAE. 

Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) has played a key role in accelerating the transformation of the networks in the UAE by bringing together spectrum planning, research and industry collaboration. 

The economic potential of U6GHz was also highlighted by Jawad Abbassi, Head of MENA at GSMA, who cited research indicating that licensed use of the band for mobile broadband could deliver seven times the economic benefits of unlicensed use. 

The UAE has taken key steps to establish the regulatory and technical foundations for this transition. For instance, it updated its National Frequency Plan about two years back and identified the 600 MHz and 6 GHz bands for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT), providing a framework for the development of advanced mobile networks. 

“The decisions that we take today will influence the spectrum environment in which 6G develops,” said Dr. Bilel Jamoussi, Deputy Director of ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau and Chief, Study Groups & Policy Department (SPD), during the summit. 

During the 20th Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit, senior representatives from regulatory authorities, industry organisations, telecom operators and technology providers gathered to mark the world’s first U6GHz commercial launch, including Eng. Saif Bin Ghalita, Executive Director of Technology Development Affairs at TDRA; Dr. Bilel Jamoussi, Deputy Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau and Chief of the Study Groups and Policy Department; Dr. Mahmoud Sherif, Head of Innovation and Technico Business Development at du; Dr. Ayman EInashar, Vice President of Technology Strategy, Architecture and Innovation at etisalat UAE; Allen Tang, President of Huawei’s Wireless Network & Cloud Core Network Marketing and Solutions Sales; Omar Samman, Head of Networks – Gulf at Ericsson; Toni Eid, Founder of Telecom Review Group and CEO of Trace Media International; Issam Eid, Group CMO and Partner at Telecom Review Group; Steven Liu, Vice President of ICT Marketing and Solution Sales at Huawei Middle East and Central Asia; and Jawad Abbassi, Head of MENA at GSMA. 

Speaking at the summit, Dr. Mahmoud Sherif, Head of Innovation and Technico Business Development of du described the U6GHz milestone as “an achievement on behalf of the entire UAE,” highlighting that “5G Advanced is a bridge between 5G and 6G.”

Recognising Huawei’s contribution to the UAE’s U6GHz commercialisation, Eng. Saif Bin Ghalita, Executive Director, Technology Development Affairs, TDRA, mentioned during the panel discussion, “On the commercialisation of U6GHz, I would like to mention Huawei Technologies, with whom the UAE has been working for over 25 years. During this time, Huawei has consistently delivered on its commitments. What is planned in our meetings is quickly translated into action through research and development and the delivery of standards-based equipment. This kind of collaboration is crucial in turning our ambitions into tangible progress.” 

Building AI-Centric Network 

Network transformation is crucial as Artificial Intelligence (AI), cloud computing and increasingly data-intensive applications are reshaping the demand for connectivity.  

Huawei Carrier Business, CMO Judy Peng

In her keynote speech, Huawei Carrier Business CMO Judy Peng highlighted that the emergence of the Agentic Internet is fundamentally reshaping the requirements for communication networks. Traditional networks, designed for the mobile internet era, are no longer sufficient to support the demands of an AI-driven world. 

Current mobile networks were built primarily to connect people. In contrast, Agent Internet networks must simultaneously connect people, things, and billions of AI agents collaborating and interacting in real time. This shift is driving four fundamental transformations in communication networks: 

Connected entities are expanding from people and things to people, things, and AI agents; Network architecture is evolving from traffic-centric optimization to integrated computing-network orchestration; Traffic patterns are shifting from predominantly downlink, north-south flows to AI-driven, uplink-intensive east-west interactions; User expectations are advancing from best-effort connectivity to deterministic, end-to-end experience assurance. 

This evolution is particularly significant for the Middle East, where ultra-large-scale AI campuses and digital economy initiatives are accelerating the demand for resilient. To address the requirements of the Agent Internet era, the industry must build a new generation of AI-Centric Networks. Through continuous advancements in network technologies, capabilities, and architectures, mobile broadband (MBB), fixed broadband (FBB), and bearer networks will enable ubiquitous agent connectivity and seamless interconnection of computing resources, establishing the foundation for future communications infrastructure.

News

A tale of telecoms journalists chasing satellites in wet Snowdonia

In Disney’s 1940 film Pinocchio, top hat-wearing conscience-incarnate Jiminy Cricket famously sang: “When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are”. As we discovered on a recent Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) trip to Wales, however, when you wish upon a Starlink satellite, it seems it does matter where you are – at least a little.

VMO2 launched its commercial O2 Satellite offering February, offering customers the chance to access direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity for £3 per month via a partnership with SpaceX’s Starlink.

Roughly eight months later, VMO2’s Director of Mobile Access Engineering, Rob Joyce, led a group of journalists on a wet trek into the hills of Snowdonia to test the service for ourselves.

Rain stops play?

Our first mission – which proved trickier than anticipated – was finding a ‘not-spot’.

Unsurprisingly, given its geography, Snowdonia is littered with not-spots, ranging from small sections of remote road to large swaths of the mountains (check out O2’s coverage checker for a closer look).

However, for our outing to the beautiful Aber Falls (pictured), terrestrial coverage remained robust for longer than expected. Only after a few kilometres off the beaten track were we finally seemingly out of range of O2’s mobile network.

At this point the O2 handsets provided for us should have automatically switched to the satellite network, but no. As we stood in the rain under a heavily overcast sky, we wondered whether the weather was impacting the service.

Water absorbs microwave radiation at different levels at various frequencies; a microwave oven, for example, typically operates at a frequency of around 2.45 GHz, a frequency chosen specifically to dump most of its energy into the water molecules within food.

O2 Satellite uses spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band. In heavy rain, could this cause enough disruption to stop us connecting?

“Rain should cause very little attenuation at 1,800 MHz,” explained Joyce, noting that this band is already widely used for terrestrial 4G LTE services. If rain were to interfere with spectrum at this frequency, terrestrial services would have felt it even more intensely than satellite connections.

“After all, a signal coming from a mobile tower a kilometre away would pass through much more water than the satellite signal coming down from above,” added Joyce.

The most likely explanation for the connection failure, Joyce explained, was that the devices were still attempting to connect to the terrestrial network they had so recently had access to.

A short while later, at a well-known not-spot at Pen-y-Pass – the starting point for various climbs up Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) – our phones began to display the SAT symbol indicating satellite connection.

SAT connection (credit: Paul Lipscombe)

The service itself was intermittent but effective. Using the Satellite Tracker app from Star Walk, we watched Starlink satellites hurtle across the sky above us at 17,000 mph, our connection blinking in and out at regular intervals. This was more than enough to send texts, use various apps, and conduct Internet-based voice calls.

For now, Starlink’s service is limited to just basic data services, with each satellite capable of delivering around 50 spot beams, each covering a diameter of roughly 50km and delivering roughly 4Mbps across its user base.

Nonetheless, in an area where there would previously have been no connection at all, this is transformative for users. While O2 Satellite subscribers will not be downloading Netflix shows or cloud gaming over the service any time soon, they will certainly be able to message loved ones from some of the UK’s most remote locations.

“Obviously, it’s not meant yet for doing high-bandwidth applications. It’s there for reassurance of coverage beyond the current cellular footprint,” said Joyce, noting that satellite has increased O2’s overall network coverage from 89% of the UK to 95%. “That’s why we’re not selling it as a replacement cellular service. It’s sold as a service that reassures you that you have coverage when you need it for those moments that matter.”

Big plans for the future

Joyce’s ‘yet’ is important here.

Starlink’s D2D service is currently reliant on around 650 satellites, but this will not be the case for long. SpaceX is expected to begin launching its V2 satellites next year, with roughly 20x the throughput capability of their V1 predecessors. The Starlink website promises ‘full 5G cellular connectivity with a comparable experience to current terrestrial service’.

“In version two of the satellites […] we’re going to have a lot more bandwidth. I think the figure is 20-times or 100-times the capacity, depending on how much spectrum you deploy,” explained Joyce. “Service could then be comparable to terrestrial.”

SpaceX has also recently bought 14MHz of 800MHz spectrum in the US. If the new Starlink satellites can use this spectrum, then O2 will likely be able to make use of the 10MHz of spectrum it owns in the same band, too.

Taken together, this could mean that O2 soon has even more reliable coverage and a huge boost in capacity.

Despite this, Joyce remains highly sceptical that satellite could ever truly replace mobile services.

“You’re not going to have the coverage deep indoors […] and you’re not going to have the capacity to deliver a service to the amount of traffic that’s now offered to a cellular network,” said Joyce. “The laws of physics say that because of the spectrum and because of the propagation, the satellite can’t replace cellular […] I think it will always be a complementary technology.”

For now, O2’s fledgling satellite services remain limited in scope, if not in coverage. But perhaps it will not be long before they can serenade their customers with the promise that when you wish upon a Starlink your dreams will come true.

How is the UK’s satellite landscape evolving? Join the discussion at Satellite Live 2027, co-located with Connected Britain 2027

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Press Release

VodafoneThree, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and City of London Police have collaborated to identify and disrupt criminal SIM farm operations, leading to eight arrests, the seizure of cash and equipment, and the recovery of more than one million compromised card details ‘phished’ from the public by criminals.

A SIM farm is a collection of cellular SIM cards, sometimes scaling to hundreds or thousands, used by fraudsters to route massive volumes of automated calls and text messages to members of the public, aiming to deceive victims into giving up sensitive personal information – known commonly as ‘phishing’. This information can be used to commit fraudulent activities or be packaged into detailed ‘profiles’ of potential victims and sold to other criminals.

Around three million victims suffered financial loss through fraud, (the most commonly experienced crime in England and Wales) with more than four million incidents in the year ending March 2025. The economic and social cost of fraud in 2024 was estimated at £14.4 billion by the Home Office.

Using a new approach developed with law enforcement, having identified suspected SIM farm activity, VodafoneThree shared intelligence with the NCA and City of London Police’s Fraud Targeting Cell. The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a banking industry-funded unit, used the intel to investigate individuals suspected of using SIM farm systems to target the public. This led to the disruption of organised criminal activity and the recovery of what law enforcement has described as potentially the largest haul of compromised payment details ever recovered.

The announcement comes as legislation banning the operation of SIM farms takes effect in the UK, strengthening powers to tackle fraud and organised crime – enabling earlier disruption, more arrests, and fewer victims.

Rachel Andrews, Head of Corporate Security at VodafoneThree, said:

“Fraud cannot be tackled through protection measures alone. We need to go further, using our intelligence and capabilities to identify and disrupt the infrastructure that allows organised criminals to operate at scale. This collaboration with the NCA shows what can be achieved when industry and law enforcement combine their strengths, disrupting criminal activity closer to its source and preventing harm before it reaches customers and the wider public.”

Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of Fraud in the National Economic Crime Centre at the National Crime Agency, said:

“These arrests highlight the impact of close collaboration between law enforcement and industry. Intelligence shared by VodafoneThree enabled us to disrupt suspected criminal activity and recover more than one million compromised card details.

“SIM farms are a key enabler of large-scale fraud, allowing criminals to create huge numbers of fake online accounts and target victims in huge quantities with minimal effort.”

“The introduction of new offences covering the possession and supply of SIM farms strengthens our ability to protect the public from fraud. The NCA will continue to work with partners across policing and industry to disrupt the criminals behind this offending.”

Lord Hanson, Minister for Fraud, said:

“It only takes one fraudulent text to deprive people of their hard-earned money and SIM farms give fraudsters the tools to target their victims at scale.”

“The law we introduced to ban their use is now in force. Those using these devices to defraud the public will not only continue to face the full force of the law but will also be hit with hefty fines.”

“Criminals are increasingly working on an industrial scale, so we are meeting them with the same force by partnering with mobile networks and law enforcement to disrupt their operations and hit the scammers where it hurts.”

Tackling fraud at the source

Crucially, SIM farms can hide in plain sight. Recent UK investigations have uncovered the technology operating from ordinary homes and properties in local communities.

As criminals increasingly exploit digital infrastructure, organised fraud is becoming more sophisticated and harder to detect. The ability to operate at greater scale and speed makes disrupting the infrastructure behind fraud more important than ever.

• Fraud “accounts for more than 40% of all reported crime in England and Wales” (Major step for fraud prevention with landmark ban on SIM farms – GOV.UK)
• Lord Hanson (Fraud Minister): “Two-thirds of British adults say they’ve received a suspicious message on their phone – equivalent to more than 35 million people – which is why cracking down on SIM farms is so vital to protecting the public.”

Combatting organised crime through collaboration

Telecommunications operators have a critical role to play in disrupting the infrastructure that enables organised fraud.

In line with Pillar 1 ‘DISRUPT’ of the UK Government’s Fraud Strategy, VodafoneThree is committed to tackling fraud at its source. Alongside its own safeguards, it works with industry, government and law enforcement to disrupt fraud and protect customers and the wider public.

A landmark moment in the fight against digital fraud

The criminalisation of SIM farms represents a significant change in the UK’s approach to tackling fraud.

By making the operation of SIM farms a criminal offence, law enforcement agencies now have additional powers to target the infrastructure that underpins a wide range of fraud and cybercrime offences. The legislation reflects a growing focus on preventing criminal activity at source.

*according to the NCA

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Contributed Article

By Cesar Jimenez, CTO, Trans Americas Fiber

Latin America’s international bandwidth is growing faster than that of almost any other region, yet much of it still travels on cables designed for a very different internet. There is real value in making better use of the region’s existing subsea infrastructure. Upgrading established systems can unlock additional capacity and extend their useful life, and it will remain an important part of meeting future demand. At the same time, the region’s changing traffic patterns and growing connectivity needs raise a broader question: how can existing infrastructure and new investment work together to deliver the capacity, route diversity and commercial flexibility customers need?

Demand is not evenly distributed

The average utilisation across an existing portfolio can look comfortable, but demand does not spread itself evenly across a network. According to TeleGeography, used international bandwidth in Latin America grew by about 25% in 2025 to more than 400 Tbps, and some networks are already running hot. Brazil has grown at a 29% compound annual rate, Mexico at 32%, and Colombia at close to 40%. Spare capacity on one cable does not help a customer who needs it on another route, in another country, or with a different landing point. Nor does it help if it cannot be bought in the quantity or on the terms the customer needs. Available capacity is only useful where, when and how it can be used.

Investment is lagging demand

Latin America is attracting less cable investment than other regions. TeleGeography estimates USD 0.7 billion for cables entering service between 2023 and 2025 and USD 1.3 billion expected between 2026 and 2029, below Asia, Oceania and the transatlantic and transpacific routes. Content providers played no role in Latin American cables before 2017, but their presence has grown steadily, and carriers remain key to future projects. More than 90 Tbps of content-provider demand already travels the US to Latin America route, growing at about 50% a year. The cloud footprint tells the same story. Latin America has far fewer cloud availability zones than Asia, Europe or the United States, yet five more are planned. As that infrastructure arrives, so does the need for direct, high-capacity international connectivity.

The limits of upgrades

New terminal equipment can raise the capacity of existing fiber, and the industry should keep taking advantage of that. But an upgrade works within the limits of the cable already in the water: its fiber count, its reach and its age. Older systems were built with fewer fiber pairs, earlier generations of fiber with higher attenuation and smaller effective area, and repeaters and power-feed equipment designed for the transmission technology of their day. A system with no defined end of life is not a system with unlimited life, and an upgraded older cable is still an older cable.

TeleGeography’s list of ageing systems in the region runs to around twenty cables, with the oldest past 30 years in service. Meanwhile, the demands placed on the network have changed. Yesterday’s cables were designed for voice and internet traffic that was predictable, flow north to south, was led by carriers and was limited by capacity. Today’s traffic is shaped by cloud, AI, content delivery and regional data centres. It is dynamic, distributed and growing quickly.

Designed for today’s traffic

The TAM-1 cable, and other planned new subsea systems in the region, have been designed for that traffic. TAM-1 is one of fewer than five 24-fiber-pair subsea cable systems deployed globally, and the first in the Americas. With 24 fiber pairs on its South System and 12 on its North System and around 800 Tbps of design capacity with current-generation terminal equipment, it offers more than 200 times the capacity of any of the legacy Caribbean systems and its open cable design lets customers light capacity with the equipment of their choice as transmission technology evolves.

Resilience is about having more routes to choose from

Resilience is a priority for subsea networks across a region exposed to hurricanes, earthquakes and fishing activity. Strong operational track records and continued investment in existing systems both play an important role, but resilience also depends on the diversity of routes available when disruption occurs. Past hurricanes have demonstrated how connectivity can be affected when communities rely on a single route. TAM-1 addresses this through two diverse subsea routes, a North System and a South System, with switchable branching units that allow traffic to be re-routed between them. Stubbed branching units installed during construction also provide for future expansion, including the planned TAM-2 Pacific extension, without the need for disruptive marine work on the live system. Route diversity and future flexibility were priorities highlighted by customers from the outset, and both are built into the design.

TAM-1 North and South Systems. Source: Trans Americas Fiber

Access matters as much as capacity

For decades, the best subsea connectivity in the region has been available mainly to those who own infrastructure or depend on those who do. Smaller carriers and ISPs paid more for less and had little say over the capacity they relied on.

Modern systems are tending towards neutrality and open access. Any carrier, hyperscaler, ISP, government or enterprise can buy capacity directly, with no minimum commitment and no fixed structure. Shared spectrum, managed optical services and dark fiber let customers start at the scale they need and grow from there. Ten anchor tenants, including AT&T, Millicom, AXTEL and Grupo ICE, committed to TAM-1 before construction was complete. Grupo ICE’s partnership alone is expected to increase Costa Rica’s total international capacity more than twentyfold.

Both, and more

This is not a choice between upgrading what exists and building what is needed. The region needs both, and it needs competition between them. But it should not be asked to settle for yesterday’s design when demand is growing about 25 to 30% a year and the traffic mix is changing. Capacity on paper only matters if customers can reach it, trust it and afford it. We are acting to give the region scale, diversity and open access in one platform.

How is the submarine cable industry changing in 2026? Join the discussion at Submarine Networks EMEA

César Jiménez, Chief Technology Officer, Trans Americas Fiber

News

The company is accused of purchasing ads with the purpose of geolocating and surveilling users

A report from Reuters claims that Israeli ad tech firm Discover-Tech has been targeting Starlink users for surveillance, according to six anonymous sources familiar with the matter.

The sources claim that the company pursued a large scale ad purchasing campaign aimed at surreptitiously gaining access to targeted users’ location and tracking their internet activity.

The report builds upon a previous report published on 15 October by TrendAI, a subsidiary of Japanese security firm Trend Micro, which first revealed suspicious ad purchasing activity by a company referred to by a codename, “Shadow-Earth-79”.

Shadow-Earth-79, since revealed to be Discover-Tech, was shown to be the number one bidder for ad-space via Starlink in over 100 countries, including Syria, Libya, Yemen, and South Sudan – countries with “almost no demand” for Western advertisements.

In total, Discover Tech accounted for 12.9% of winning advertisements in Starlink traffic, almost five-times higher than the average of 2.6%.

Online advertisers typically compete for ad space on websites and apps through a complex auction process. During this process, data about the end receivers of those ads can be shared with bidders. This data, when recorded over time and combined with other available information, can allow for individual identification, geolocation, and targeting with surveillance software.

TrendAI’s report said that the company’s bidding patterns showed an “obvious skew” towards Starlink users, likely related to “targeting and tracking infrastructure rather than a commercial advertising operation.”

The same day that TrendAI’s report was released, Discover-Tech was also accused of wider surveillance efforts by cybersecurity watchdog Citizen Lab and ad tech specialist Confiant.  This included using Candiru spyware alongside its ads to compromise user devices, including 5 Windows devices at the Qatari broadcaster Al Jazeera between 2024 and 2025.

“Very likely hundreds of millions of people would have been touched by Discover-Tech,” explained Confiant cofounder Jerome Dangu.

Alphabet (Google), IAB Europe, and Comcast’s Beeswax have all cut the company off from their ad platforms in the past month.

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Press Release

BCE Inc., Canada’s largest communications company, announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary Bell Canada (“Bell”) has entered into a definitive agreement with global investment group La Caisse, which will acquire a 49.9% stake in a newly formed wireless tower infrastructure company for a purchase price of CAD $2.45 billion, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction values the tower company at approximately $4.91 billion and surfaces significant value in BCE’s infrastructure.

The partial monetization of Bell’s passive wireless infrastructure assets is consistent with BCE’s long-term capital allocation strategy set out at Investor Day 2025, including its commitment to a net debt leverage ratio of 3.5x² by the end of 2027 and its flexibility to fund key growth areas, including AI-powered solutions.

The new wireless tower infrastructure company, “TowerCo”, will own and operate Bell’s portfolio of wireless infrastructure assets, making it Canada’s largest dedicated tower company with more than 5,000 sites across the country. The Montréal-headquartered company will focus on growing the business through new site builds, site densification and third-party colocation.

Under the terms of the agreement, TowerCo will lease capacity on the transferred towers to Bell. Bell will retain a 50.1% controlling equity interest in TowerCo, with La Caisse holding the remaining 49.9%. TowerCo is expected to have no financial debt at closing and its financial results will be consolidated by Bell into its financial statements.

Bell will retain full ownership and control of its spectrum, all active network equipment and owned land. Bell will maintain access to existing sites through long-term agreements and TowerCo will develop new sites for Bell as needed, ensuring continued delivery of high-quality, reliable wireless services to Canadians.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, following receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

“This partnership unlocks the significant value embedded in our infrastructure assets while continuing to operate the award-winning wireless network our customers rely on every day. As we have consistently communicated since early 2025, our approach is to strengthen our balance sheet, invest in growth and deliver total returns to shareholders. This transaction is in keeping with that approach, and the proceeds will be used to execute against this very clear strategy,” said Mirko Bibic, President and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada.

“A telecom tower can carry more than one network. By making this infrastructure available to different service providers, we can strengthen coverage, improve overall system efficiency, hence helping more people access the connectivity they rely on every day. Bell’s extensive footprint and La Caisse’s global digital infrastructure expertise will give this new platform the focus and long-term perspective to grow,” said Emmanuel Jaclot, Executive Vice-President and Head of Infrastructure and Sustainability at La Caisse.

“At TowerCo, we’re building a dedicated team exclusively focused on the development, operation and long-term growth of premier wireless tower infrastructure across Canada. By partnering with La Caisse on a clear mandate, we are well positioned to grow this infrastructure portfolio and support future network deployment to provide the connectivity that matters most to Canadians,” said J. Bruce Furlong, CEO, TowerCo.

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Press Release

Purchase of Inventory Estate paves the way for a new high-density, AI-ready data centre

KDDI Corporation and Telehouse International Corporation of Europe Limited have completed the purchase of the Inventory Estate in East India Dock, London from LaSalle Investment Management and Trilogy Real Estate for more than £220 million (US$294 million).

The land acquisition will support a new high-density, AI-ready data centre as part of the expansion of Telehouse’s existing London Docklands campus, the most connected data centre campus in Europe.

The site’s proximity to the campus offers the opportunity to add capacity at scale, capitalise on the well-established connectivity ecosystem operating at the campus, and meet future customer demand amid increasing constraints on land and power.

The planned development will offer high-performance digital infrastructure including high-density colocation services, low-latency connectivity, and AI-led workloads. 65 MVA of power has been secured for the site, providing a foundation for phased, long-term expansion.

The purchase reinforces Telehouse’s long-term commitment to investing in the UK’s digital infrastructure and the continued growth of the country’s digital economy. It follows the announcement of Telehouse West Two, a nine-storey data centre building currently in development at the Telehouse London Docklands campus, which is due for completion in 2028.

As plans for this latest development progress, Telehouse will continue its longstanding, proactive engagement with local stakeholders and the wider Tower Hamlets community, with a focus on sustainable development, local investment, and employment opportunities.

Mark Pestridge, Managing Director, Telehouse Europe, says: “The purchase of the Inventory Estate represents an important step in the long-term development of our London Docklands campus, one of Europe’s leading connectivity hubs. It provides space for future expansion to support our customers’ digital growth ambitions, including the crucial innovation that is taking place across industries such as healthcare, education, and financial services. As demand for AI-ready infrastructure grows, we remain focused on sustainable operations, community engagement, and creating opportunities in the local area.”

Takayo Takamuro, Executive Officer, European Chief Executive, Board Director, Telehouse, says, “This acquisition supports the next phase of our growth and our commitment to supporting customers’ AI ambitions. The new data centre will be one of the largest facilities in the Telehouse London Docklands campus, reinforcing its role as the leading connectivity hub in Europe.”

Chris Lewis, Head of UK Transactions, LaSalle Investment Management, added: “The extensive refurbishment works undertaken in partnership with Trilogy Real Estate to regenerate East India Dock into a world-class mixed-use innovation campus have paved the way for this next exciting development on the Inventory Estate. We look forward to watching its progress as the Docklands are set to host an important AI-ready data centre, critical to powering London’s tech sector.”

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Podcasts

Mike Dano, a lead industry analyst at Ookla, has identified more than half a dozen ISPs that could be M&A targets. We talked to him about what’s behind the trend.

By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

Recent analysis from Ookla’s Mike Dano has identified a handful of ISPs that stand out from the pack as targets for potential acquisition.

Speaking to Beyond the Cable, Dano said a combination of factors is driving M&A in 2026, including political factors.

The list includes names you’d expect: Allo Fiber, Gateway Fiber, LiveOak Fiber, Wire 3, Ripple Fiber, Intrepid Fiber, and Ezee Fiber.

While the M&A trend in telecom is undeniable, with AI and BEAD also playing major roles, Dano says he’s most interested in how the convergence is going to play out.

He said fiber is one element of the tapestry of telecom.

“We’ve got satellite players that are making an increasing impact in the industry, we’ve have fixed wireless that is obviously gobbling up a lot of net broadband customers in recent years,” he said.

Dano said he wants to know if the combination of a mobile and fixed service plays a key role in coming years, and how that eventually impacts fiber providers.

“Once you roll up these fiber networks, then what?” he asked.

Watch the full interview with Dano on Spotify or listen to it on Apple Podcasts in full.

Dano’s full analysis on the subject is available in a September 28 post titled “Assessing the ‘Land Grab’ in the U.S. Fiber Market: Who’s Next?” on Ookla’s website.

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Broadband Communities Summit, co-located with Connected America, brings together the people responsible for planning, developing, building, managing, and future-proofing the nation’s digital infrastructure. It is the premier gathering for the connectivity and telecommunications sector, bringing the entire broadband supply chain together under one roof. Learn more about our 2027 event or book your tickets today.

News

The partnership includes supporting geospatial mapping and biodiversity monitoring

Earlier this year, wildfires devastated the Cairngorms National Park, destroying thousands of hectares of one of the UK’s most ancient forests. With the country “woefully underprepared” for the impacts of climate change, experts fear that wildfires will become more frequent in future.

To help meet this challenge, VodafoneThree and UK National Parks have struck a three-year partnership aiming to use technology to help better understand the extent of the damage and prevent future recurrences of wildfires.

The agreement, announced during the Government’s Wildfire Resilience Summit last week, aims to improve prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. This includes AI-powered habitat mapping and technologies such as geospatial mapping, IoT sensors, and smart wireless cameras to provide data on biodiversity, visitor impact, and habitat health. Combined, these technologies will provide a better understanding of burn severity and landscape features that help to slow the spread of the fire.

“As climate-related risks become more frequent and severe, collaboration will be essential to protecting some of the UK’s most important natural assets and the communities that depend on them,” said Nicki Lyons, Chief Corporate Affairs & Sustainability Officer for VodafoneThree. “Together with National Parks UK and the Cairngorms National Park, we’re launching a new programme that will support recovery from recent wildfire damage while helping strengthen resilience to future fires. Connectivity can play an important role in emergency preparedness and response, and this programme demonstrates how technology, local expertise and long-term commitment can come together to support communities facing changing climate.”

In addition to the technical collaboration, the new programme also includes provisions for strategic land management, including the creation of ponds across the region that can be used to supply firefighters with water.

The partnership highlights how telecoms infrastructure and data-driven technologies can play an increasingly important role in climate resilience, helping emergency services and land managers make more informed decisions to protect vulnerable landscapes and communities.

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Press Release

Young people in Llanelli have been putting their creativity and problem-solving abilities to the test as part of an interactive BT event helping pupils prepare for the changing world of work.

A total of 48 pupils from St. John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive School took part in BT’s Work Ready programme, getting hands-on with how technology is shaping careers and exploring the skills they may need in the years ahead.

The activities included a real-world innovation challenge, which tasked pupils with designing a product to help young people study effectively. Working in teams, pupils developed ideas before presenting their solutions back to the wider class.

BT staff joined pupils throughout the day, supporting them through the challenge and bringing the world of work to life by sharing their own career experiences – offering insights into their day-to-day roles, the skills they use most often and the different routes they took into their careers.

The Llanelli workshop is the latest Work Ready session to be hosted in Wales. Created by BT to help prepare young people for their future careers, Work Ready is a programme for 11 to 14-year-olds that builds the practical, digital and human-centric skills needed for the changing world of work.

Since June 2025, 178 young people have taken part in face-to-face sessions across Wales. A further 157 pupils have participated in online sessions, taking the total number reached in Wales to more than 330 students.

Michael Kent, Assistant Headteacher at St. John Lloyd Catholic Comprehensive School, said: “It was great to see pupils getting involved in the activities working together and having the confidence to share their ideas with the class. Opportunities like this can make a real difference and having support from organisations like BT gives our pupils the chance to meet people from the world of work, hear about their experiences and get a better sense of the different paths open to them.”

Susi Marston, Head of Public Sector Wales at BT Business, added: “Technology has the power to create opportunity across Wales, but only if people have the skills and confidence to make the most of it. That’s why programmes like Work Ready are so important. By giving pupils practical experience and encouraging them to think creatively, we’re helping them explore future career opportunities and build skills that will support them throughout their lives. It’s fantastic to see young people in Llanelli engaging with these opportunities and developing the confidence to succeed in an increasingly digital world.”

The Work Ready programme is part of BT’s purpose to Connect for Good and its wider ambition to reach 30 million people and businesses with the digital skills, tools and support they need by 2030. It sits alongside the rollout of new gigabit-capable broadband delivered by Openreach as part of Project Gigabit, the government’s programme to bring fast, reliable broadband to hard-to-reach areas.

Across Wales, BT Group is investing in the digital infrastructure that underpins opportunity across Wales. More than eight in 10 Welsh homes can now access full fibre broadband through Openreach’s network, while EE’s 4G and 5G networks reach 99% and 93% of the Welsh population respectively, including through work in rural communities such as Penmachno and Clocaenog. Backed by more than £40 billion of planned UK infrastructure investment between 2020 and 2030, BT Group is helping people, businesses and communities build the skills and connectivity they need to thrive in a digital world.

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