'Spectrum use has never been more critical for both federal and commercial users,' argued Alan Davidson, President Biden's new pick to head the NTIA.

Comcast put forth an Xfinity Mobile promotion, 'but the fine print reveals that it is far less aggressive than meets the eye,' says MoffettNathanson analyst Craig Moffett.

China appears to be years behind in satellite technology as the US continues to launch new constellations.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Deutsche Telekom tests hybrid 5G; Telefónica chosen by SMCP for SD-WAN and more; A1 Telekom Austria and the BBC snuggle up.

Finnish vendor highlights 5G rollout as part of multi-country partnership; Qatari operator emphasizes enhanced customer experiences.

More Chinese companies have been added to the US trade blacklist as China pushes 'indigenous innovation.'

On this episode, we talk with Light Reading's Mike Dano about all things spectrum auctions, including the 'Andromeda' auction, which just wrapped up with $22 billion in bids. We also get into broadband mapping and how spectrum could be used to tackle the digital divide.

Switzerland-based operator reports strong Q3 revenue growth, but fiber ambitions face a setback after Swisscom ruling.

Vonage's relevance to 5G is questionable and shareholders will be asking if the cash would have been better spent elsewhere.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Proximus helps out with electric vehicle charging; Tele2 connects the electric road; BT moves into new global HQ.

Analyst firm expects 2022 RAN spend to grow only 3% year-on-year, after two years of double-digit increases.

China's 5G rollout remains a story of government-mandated deployment and rock-bottom fees.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: ETSI secures smartphones; CityFibre shows some 800Gbit/s backbone; Atos and OVHcloud extend partnership in France.

The UK operator is pioneering an innovative solution to the problem of running power to mobile sites in the countryside.

'We will ... adopt these precautionary measures to allow for additional time for continued analysis,' the two companies wrote of their plans to reduce the power of their 5G networks.

Japan's SoftBank hopes to raise money for 'capital expenditures, research and development, business operations and other areas' in its High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) business.

The Finnish equipment vendor rejects the charge its software works only with its own hardware and finds an ally in BT.

'There are many more EBB-enrolled households that claimed they have a dependent child at certain CEP schools than students who are actually enrolled in those schools,' warned the FCC's inspector general.

As the commercial 5G industry and the US military begin working to share spectrum in the lower 3GHz band, the head of the National Spectrum Coalition task force on the issue remains hopeful.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telenor divests Open Universe, FTTH assets; Vivendi has no plans to exit TIM; ADVA recommends Adtran bid to shareholders.

Swisscom in pole position on speed and availability, according to the latest report.

Dish Network said it will use Rakuten Symphony's observability framework to collect telemetry data from its network functions in order to support the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

The Chinese smartphone maker faces a components crunch, domestic competition and souring technology investments.

A new industry report from Accenture, commissioned by CTIA, the wireless industry association, makes the case for serving the rural US with fixed wireless, noting that with billions available for broadband, it's 'key to acknowledge that 5G FWA is a future-proof technology.'

If all goes to plan, Spanish group will then roll out Indian tech firm's CI/CD/CT solution to Spain and the UK.

Soaring rare earth prices are disrupting the global supply chain and another source of geopolitical tension between China and the US.

Only about half of the phones T-Mobile sells support mmWave 5G, according to Counterpoint Technology Market Research. As a result, T-Mobile counts 3.5 million non-mmWave 5G customers.

Performance data from Comlinkdata/Tutela indicate that T-Mobile Home Broadband and Starlink are as good as VDSL, stomp on DSL, but generally fall short of terrestrial HFC and fiber services.

AST SpaceMobile had hoped to launch another satellite on a SpaceX rocket sometime early next year. But the company warned it might need 'additional time for ... testing and final launch preparation.'

Reuters reported that the FCC's four commissioners will approve Verizon's purchase of América Móvil's TracFone shortly. The prepaid provider counts a total of around 20 million customers.

In a widely anticipated move, India's second-largest service provider, Bharti Airtel, has announced it is raising prepaid tariffs for all plans by 20-25%.

Shareholder Vivendi is said to oppose the offer, rating it too low.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Intracom tests PtMP with 5G service providers; Telia's 5G drives timber project; WhatsApp tweaks privacy policy.

Michael Murphy in August moved over to Nokia's fierce rival, Ericsson, and is now that vendor's North American CTO. Murphy is being replaced by David Eckard, VP of strategy and technology for North America at Nokia.

Although there are a few new elements in play, including possible smartphone shortages and a competitive discount from Dish, Black Friday looks relatively calm this year on the wireless front.

Höttges and Read both talk this week about deconsolidation of tower assets and industrial partnerships.

On the heels of a similar deal in Malaysia, Telenor eyes knocking together Thailand's second and third place operators to make a new behemoth.

If the predictions are accurate, AT&T's bill for 5G spectrum this year might total $36.7 billion. That's just under half of the $85 billion AT&T spent to acquire Time Warner in 2018.

The Spanish giant took on the law, and it seems to have won – so far.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Nokia and Orange get super coherent; Sky leaves its routers exposed; Liberty Global boss sounds off about UK broadband.

Charter is still growing, albeit more slowly, as company comes to grips with 'anomalies' that have slowed down market activity, Tom Rutledge tells CNBC's David Faber.

'Ericsson's own estimates have indicated that open RAN is more expensive than integrated RAN given the need for more equipment to accomplish what purpose-built solutions can deliver,' the vendor told the FCC.

Prior to the pandemic, EdgeMicro, Vapor IO, MobiledgeX, Alef and others had grand plans to support edge computing across the country and world. But COVID-19 Internet traffic spikes changed those plans.

Norwegian operator steps up pace of 5G rollout and introduces new business plan and commercial strategy with the NiceMobil sub-brand.

Nvidia adeptly navigates a chip shortage Jensen Huang thinks will last to 2023, but the FTC is the latest regulator to cast doubt on its Arm buy.

Component shortages and supply chain constraints, along with lowered Q2 guidance, cast shadow over US tech giant.

The Indian government approved the use of the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) to provide 4G connectivity in 7,287 villages at the cost of around INR64.66 billion ($872 million).

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Orange CFO sees mergers ahead; MTN bails out of Yemen; Telefónica hits the smart road.

Policymakers appear to have ignored the earlier call for open RAN support and they would be wise to reject the latest.

In her FCC confirmation hearing, Jessica Rosenworcel discussed a number of hot-button issues like net neutrality, USF reform and 5G in the 12GHz band. But she didn't offer much in the way of specifics.

The FAA is having 'very productive discussions' with AT&T and Verizon over possible 5G interference with aircraft altimeters. But aren't those discussions a little late?

French operator says it is on track to meet targets set out under Ambition 2026 strategy.

China is in the grip of metaverse fever, with hundreds of new businesses being formed and regulators stepping in to combat soaring stock prices.

A feature of open RAN is the ability to manage networks through real-time automation, but its value is questionable.

Staffieri's appointment as as interim president and CEO – with a possible path to permanence – arrives amid a family feud at the Canadian operator and soon after Edward Rogers was reinstated as board chairman.

The auction, dubbed the 'Andromeda auction' by Light Reading because it sounds cool, clocked in at around $0.70 per MHz-POP. That's less than the $0.945 per MHz-POP for the C-band auction.

The cable industry will award more than $300,000 for ideas supporting apps and services that need speeds of at least 1-Gig. Holographs and light field displays aside, will something related to the so-called metaverse be among them?

Qualcomm, one of the primary companies driving the development of 5G technologies, believes the metaverse 'has the potential to be the next computing platform.'

Nick Read laments what he sees as over competitive European markets; indicates (again) that time is right for consolidation.

The now delisted France-based group claims it has an organic growth profile 'unlike any other telco in Europe.'

As DC cracks down further, Huawei looks at licensing smartphone designs to Xnova and TD Tech, which may have better luck getting access to silicon.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Ericsson's intelligent automation; ADVA researches SDM in optical networks; BT's asbestos problem.

T-Mobile soon expects to provide up to 200 million Americans with average 5G speeds of 400 Mbit/s. AT&T and Verizon, meanwhile, are stuck waiting for the White House to mediate interagency squabbling.

American Tower said it will spend $10.1 billion to buy CoreSite Realty, one of the nation's biggest operators of data centers. The company said it hopes to eventually leverage the purchase for edge computing.

Report suggests any stake-building plan is likely to involve Deutsche Telekom as well as Drahi's Altice.

It's not getting any easier for China's chip champion SMIC following the loss of its second top executive in two months.

Airspan warned that it will delay up to $40 million worth of equipment shipments due to supply chain constraints – and it's not the only 5G equipment vendor to sound such a warning.

Omdia analyst Nicole McCormick joins the podcast this week to discuss her latest research on 5G pricing and what seems to be catching on with consumers.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Arm/Nvidia deal faces closer scrutiny; Vodacom's H1; Virgin Media O2 carries on converging.

Canadian operator still needs to clear some hurdles at the CRTC and with incumbent mobile players before it can push ahead with a mobile service that will utilize a hybrid MVNO model… sometime in 2022.

The Secure Equipment Act of 2021, signed into law by President Biden, prevents China's Huawei and ZTE from receiving federal approvals to sell their equipment in the US market.

New working group aims to conceive an 'evolved architectural blueprint' for hybrid MVNO models in which cable operators will strive to combine access to a partner's mobile network and their own Wi-Fi and 4G/5G networks.

Germany-based group hails 'better than expected' performance in the first nine months of the year.

Luxembourg-based operator acquires remaining 45% stake in Guatemalan JV.

Intelsat and Kymeta get satellite-enabled 5G on to a moving vehicle, a helpful trick maybe for Intelsat after its Q3 loss of $145.7 million.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Vodafone and VMware still going steady; Openreach tests exchange closures; MWC Barcelona 2022 is go!

Malaysia's 5G saga rolls on: The single national network is attractive but brings a whole new set of problems; just ask anyone involved in Australia's NBN.

The hyped technology will not save operators money or prompt BT to use more suppliers, says the UK phone incumbent's chief architect.

Dish Network's blockchain-based loyalty program could be used by its Boost Mobile customers and its satellite and streaming TV customers. And it could rely on a Dish-backed cryptocurrency.

Dish Network raised $5.25 billion, and suggested the money would 'finance the potential purchase of wireless spectrum.' Some analysts believe Dish might have gotten a deal in the Andromeda auction.

Increased fiber deployment will create a competitive dynamic fueled by smaller, established providers and new entrants made up of rural telcos, municipalities and co-operatives.

Finnish vendor says it now has 4,000 patent families essential to 5G standards.

The Japanese firm's losses are mounting, its customer numbers are disappointing and its forecasts look dubious.

Integration challenges, a shortage of European specialists and the lack of support for older technologies are just a few of the problems that confront open RAN enthusiasts.

Rollout of 5G standalone core initially deployed in Finland. Work underway to roll out core network technology in various other Telia markets, including on its home turf in Sweden.

SK Telecom reports a 400 billion won (US$340 million) 3Q operating profit thanks to strong performances in its mobile and media businesses.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a White House press briefing that closing the digital divide will be a 'massive undertaking' and shared details on oversight plans and requirements for state funding.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Orange opens open RAN lab; EU court upholds Google fine; Vodafone reorganizes in Africa.

Vivendi and CPD are said to be at odds over the role of TIM's CEO amid ongoing discussions about a single fiber network.

Indian Citizens Assistance for Mobile Privacy and Security (I-CAMPS) set up to prevent cybercrimes related to weaknesses in the app and device ecosystems.

Norway's Telenor still hasn't found its way out of Myanmar, with its $105M sale to Lebanon's M1 on the rocks while the junta wants a local buyer.

Specialist in network lifecycle automation promises operators more efficient 5G network planning using crowdsourced data.

Korea's KT Corp has reported a 46.9% bump in Q3 earnings on the back of higher 5G take-up and its fast-expanding digital and media businesses.

The UK mobile operator has made investments in a new cloud platform it says will slash startup costs and time to market for MVNO customers.

India's second-largest service provider, Bharti Airtel, has introduced a 5G-for-business initiative to trial 5G-based enterprise use cases.

Eyeing ways to cut the cost of Openreach's fiber rollout, Philip Jansen's company sets up a 5,000 square foot robot lab and says robolabor is not far behind.

Finnish vendor still needs to find more staff with the right mix of skills.

Brouillette was CEO of Canada's Vidéotron before joining Verizon in June. She will succeed Ronan Dunne, who will shift to the role of strategic advisor.

Rogers Communications won't appeal a court ruling that reinstates Edward Rogers as board chairman and validates his decision to reconstitute the board of the Canadian company without a traditional shareholder vote.

Boingo CEO Mike Finley discusses how his company, now part of DigitalBridge, is setting its sights on the private wireless network arena.