British authorities are infatuated with a technology they barely understand from either a technology or market perspective.
Towers companies may struggle to justify their lofty valuations as competition grows and the telecom sector remains under pressure.
The UK spending watchdog slams the government's gigabit record, but does anything really need to be fixed?
It is little wonder the Swedish equipment vendor has leapt to Huawei's defense in Sweden, whatever it really thinks about its Chinese rival.
Predictions stories are rampant around this time of year. Here's what not to expect in 2021.
Public cloud systems promise cost savings and convenience, but the wider risks cannot be ignored.
On an acquisition spree in recent months, the maker of routers and switches has just bagged a company whose big selling point was vendor neutrality. Er...
As opinion swings against China, Huawei's regional difficulties could mount when Joe Biden enters the White House.
The hyped technology is unlikely to make a huge difference in what telcos invest and even threatens to run up a bigger opex bill.
In 2016, operators and governments waved through a merger between Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia. Now they complain there are too few suppliers.
What should customers and the telecom industry expect as the industry starts preparing for its next generation?
An attempt to resurrect the issue would be fantastic for lawyers and rule makers but an expensive distraction for everyone else.
Some jaw-dropping forecasts have been made about open RAN's sales trajectory. Is the industry getting carried away?
The Swedish vendor says its 5G R&D investments have made it a more cost-competitive player than its rivals.
Open source has yet to have a noticeable impact on telecom, and it is increasingly mixed up with anything that claims to be open.
The iPhone maker dangles another overpriced trinket in front of the worshipful, and this one may genuinely disappoint.
It's no surprise that the Finnish vendor of network equipment thinks 5G will be a very big deal.
Stephane Richard nips into his home office to warn the industry about growing technical debt and urge closer collaboration.
The radio access network is nothing like lasagne or spaghetti but exactly like the sandwich business. Obviously.
The Centre for Policy Studies has weighed into the 5G debate with some highly questionable findings.
A report suggests Intel has secured a license to continue serving the controversial Chinese equipment maker.
After the sale of Brightstar, announced today, the Japanese firm has control of no telecom assets.
The political hijacking of open RAN looks partly to blame for some of the misconceptions about the immature technology.
Beer costs the same in the Netherlands as it does in Austria. So why is Dutch spectrum about four times as expensive?
As other countries look to national technology providers, the UK's lack of homegrown alternatives to Huawei is a concern.
The latest 5G offering from the UK operator is a connected grand piano played by someone normally seen behind the wheel of a car.
5G was supposed to bring a paradigm shift, but it has made telecom operators even more fixated on the usual metrics.
A year after its commercial launch in parts of Asia, the mobile technology still looks like an improvement over 4G rather than an economic game-changer.
Germany's Deutsche Telekom pledge not to cut US jobs is looking shaky, and the carnage continues outside the US.
The small Irish software company disappeared last month when it was acquired by Israel's Amdocs for just $180 million.
The Italian phone operator eyed a leading role in the market on its creation but since then it has lost millions of customers and seen revenues plummet.
The sale of the UK's only major technology player in the open RAN ecosystem would hardly support efforts to rekindle the domestic telecom supply chain.
Ofcom says no to operators calling for an administrative award of spectrum instead of a competitive auction. Its logic makes little sense.
The social media giant can be hard to like, but its stance on free speech is right, as the latest set of numbers shows.
Despite its threats, China is in no position to hurt the Nordic equipment vendors in the way that US and European authorities can damage Huawei.
Between swigs, Light Reading has been carrying out an in-depth investigation into the general public's reaction.
A ban on buying Huawei's 5G products starting in 2021 may have come too soon for open RAN or other non-Nordic alternatives.
Swedish vendor says it currently swaps about 100,000 mobile sites a year, more than twice the UK's installed base.
Service providers in the UK have this week raised lots of unanswered questions about the cost of a Huawei ban.
Threatening language by China's UK ambassador is inappropriate and overlooks the perilous nature of Huawei's current predicament.
The Chinese equipment maker faces a UK ban, according to press reports, because new US sanctions make it an even bigger risk.
If the Chinese vendor were not so technically gifted, it would probably have been sent packing already.
The Internet platform's audience has been growing just as major advertisers decide to practice social distancing.
US officials are promoting open RAN as an answer to China, but the technology specifications are based partly on Chinese IP.
Greater support from government authorities will be needed if the UK is to realize the full benefits of 5G, says a new report from the UK operator.
The campaign against the new mobile technology flared up in Ireland this week, and it's not just about the coronavirus.
Last year, there were hardly any NB-IoT connections outside China. Just what happened to the technology that was hailed as such a revolutionary thing?
Pekka Lundmark will join Nokia as CEO in August, returning to a company he previously worked for 20 years ago. The task ahead of him looks immense.
T-Mobile should have fessed up this week and said how many jobs were at risk after its merger with Sprint.
One industry faction thinks radio is the main problem for the open RAN protest movement. Another says it's all about the baseband.
Deutsche Telekom's €3 billion Armageddon remake stars Huawei on a collision course with German authorities.
Far from easing tension with the Chinese equipment giant, a government decision to let US firms participate in standards bodies will add to Huawei's problems.
The cost of a swap-out is a far smaller concern than the impact of a ban on 5G rollout and competition in the equipment sector.
The Chinese company's importance to the 5G standard has probably been overstated, says Richard Windsor of Radio Free Mobile.
When it comes to awarding spectrum for telecom services, countries should try to be more like Finland and less like Italy.
Huawei's role in the UK's 4G and fixed broadband history does not justify its involvement in the country's rollout of 5G networks.
'Experts' who depict 5G as the ultimate evil could provide the vindication that others seek for their criminal behavior.
The Swedish equipment vendor is in pole position as the US-led campaign against Huawei gathers momentum.
Times are good for the top brass at the UK operator, but less rosy for the service provider's European workforce.
The UK's 5G service does not look like it is off to the flying start that 4G had several years ago.
He's misunderstood like Jesus was, and he needs all the help from heavenly forces he can get.
The latest US attack follows efforts by several European operators to cut their dependence on Huawei and poses the biggest threat so far to the Chinese vendor.
Two years after announcing plans for 13,000 job cuts, the UK telecom operator looks as flabby and legacy-burdened as ever.
Open RAN was supposed to be about cost savings and innovation, but it is increasingly – and misguidedly – about shutting out the Chinese.
Too much Chinese equipment in the UK's biggest full-fiber network will force Openreach to make changes at a difficult time.
The Finnish vendor's efforts to restore the all-important 5G business have put a squeeze on other investment activity.
Telecom vandalism spurred by coronavirus fears just hasn't taken off in other parts of the world.
Where does China's recent award of major 5G contracts leave the Nordic equipment makers?
Stay away from 5G masts, inject yourself with Dettol and douse your cornflakes in pure alcohol. The COVID-19 madness spreads.
Employees at one of the world's biggest operators are in for an especially hard time during COVID-19, but at least the bosses will be fine.
The Swedish equipment maker is coping with the pandemic better than some had feared.
As a few major technology firms continue to recruit thousands of employees, more will be considering layoffs.
The UK telecom regulator fails at a well-intentioned effort to engage with lunatics. It should not have bothered.
Together, the videoconferencing company and the telecom operator look as incongruous as Mark Zuckerberg and a suit.
Sport is something you do, but no longer something you watch. That has nasty implications for service providers.
A dim-witted British TV presenter has hindered recent efforts to quash the barmy notion that 5G is responsible for the current pandemic.
Suspicion about Chinese motives during the pandemic will drive European governments and companies to reconsider their affairs with the Asian superpower.
The pandemic has come two or three years too early for the hyped mobile technology, and companies depending on 5G for growth may suffer badly.
Moves to cut Huawei off from one of its largest suppliers could result in 'catastrophic destruction' on a global scale.
In giving up his pay, the boss of the UK's biggest operator has set an example that other CEOs should follow.
The pitchfork-wielding lynch mobs of the Middle Ages have their equivalent in the technophobic arsonists burning 5G equipment.
The pandemic will spur layoffs within the telecom sector, driving companies to automate activities where employees pose a risk.
Ren Zhengfei pops up to inform the Western world that his company has recovered swiftly from the virus and is ready for European business.
The pandemic will have a permanent impact on the way we live and work, forcing every part of society to evolve fast.
The UK government will pump £5 billion into gigabit connectivity. What could possibly go wrong?
The Indian telecom market is heading toward a monopoly controlled by the country's richest man unless there is an abrupt change in the regulatory environment.
Suggestions the Chinese equipment vendor's 5G challengers are years behind do not hold up to scrutiny.
A merger isn't a viable option for the Finnish vendor, and asset sales would be hard to justify. What about an open RAN push?
The world's mobile network equipment makers continue to make a fuss about information that is a red herring.
Concerns about health, climate change and business value raise stark questions about the future of the giant trade show.
The outbreak of the deadly disease has led to calls for the cancellation of this year's MWC as major exhibitors continue to withdraw.
With the telecom industry facing balkanization, the development of a global 6G standard might never happen.
The Nordic equipment makers look poised to win additional business in the UK after the government imposed tough new restrictions on Chinese vendors.
US policymakers see open RAN as a way of defeating China in 5G. There's just one problem…
A decision about Huawei's involvement in the UK's market could be the most difficult its prime minister has ever had to make.
Meng Wanzhou's defense rests mainly on the fact that Canada is on relatively good terms with Iran.
Some of the world's biggest tech companies are jumping on the green bandwagon, but their efforts are unlikely to be enough.
Boris Johnson raises an important question about the structure of the telecom industry as the UK comes under Chinese and US pressure over its imminent decision on whether to ban Huawei from Britain's 5G market.
Interest in buying media and TV companies soured in 2019, according to a Light Reading survey, but it still looks better than banking.
2019 will be remembered in telecom as the year when 5G arrived and industry hype went into overdrive.
