Mateusz Brzeziński

AT&T announced nationwide 5G Standalone coverage in the U.S., with Verizon close behind. India’s Reliance Jio unveiled a domestic 6G stack, aiming for tenfold capacity and ultra-low latency. China Mobile reported 6G test speeds of 280 Gbps. Spain’s Sateliot established the first direct 5G IoT satellite link to a standard mobile device.

Global 5G connections topped 2.6 billion by mid-2025 and are projected to reach 9 billion by 2030. India, Sri Lanka, and Turkey announced major 5G spectrum auctions. Europe and the US accelerated 3G and 2G network shutdowns, with Israel setting a 2025 deadline. Verizon named Dan Schulman as CEO, replacing Hans Vestberg, who will stay through the Frontier Communications acquisition.

Verizon launched a 6G Innovation Forum with Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Meta, and Qualcomm to design 6G for new use cases unmet by current networks. Nokia licensed HPE Juniper RIC tech for its AI network platform and added 45 Juniper engineers. T-Mobile expanded Starlink satellite phone service to popular apps in the US. Caribbean Cellular Telephone began the first 5G rollout in the British Virgin Islands.

The FCC moved to speed 5G rollout in the U.S., overriding local tower rules, while major 5G spectrum auctions proceed in India, Sri Lanka, and Turkey. BT aims for 99% UK 5G coverage by 2030, and Vodafone will acquire Telekom Romania Mobile’s contract customers. Europe accelerates 3G shutdowns; most EU countries plan to end 2G by 2030.

The FCC moved to speed up 5G and future 6G network rollouts in the US, limiting state and local barriers. India announced a major spectrum auction covering 10 bands, including the upper 6 GHz for the first time. Vodafone agreed to buy Telekom Romania Mobile’s post-paid business and spectrum. Major carriers continue shutting down 2G and 3G networks globally.

U.S. regulators accelerated 5G rollout by overriding local tower delays and opened paths for 6G. Major 5G spectrum auctions are underway globally; India plans a large sale, Sri Lanka launched its first, and Turkey will hold one in October. Telecoms are shutting down 3G and 2G networks to repurpose spectrum, with Europe largely finished with 3G and Israel ending 2G/3G by 2025. Vodafone is expanding in Eastern Europe with a €70 million deal.

U.S. authorities dismantled a SIM card network of over 100,000 cards in New York, allegedly tied to state actors and capable of disrupting mobile networks during the UN General Assembly. Global 5G connections surpassed 2.6 billion by mid-2025, with usage up 15% year-on-year. Ofcom fined Vonage £700,000 after a 2023 outage left UK business clients unable to reach emergency services for 11 days.

Over 350 million LoRaWAN devices and sensors were connected globally by mid-2024, with forecasts topping 3.5 billion by 2030. The network supports long-range, low-power communication, with gateways detecting signals up to 48 km in ideal conditions. Montevideo deployed 70,000 LoRaWAN streetlights, and LoRaWAN sensors are used in agriculture from Australia to Europe. At least three companies offered LoRaWAN satellite links by 2024.

Verizon launched the 6G Innovation Forum with Ericsson, Nokia, Samsung, Qualcomm, and Meta. Vodafone–Three UK signed a £2 billion network upgrade deal with Nokia and Ericsson, phasing out Huawei and Samsung 5G gear. T-Mobile US named Srini Gopalan as next CEO. Australia’s Optus faces probes and possible fines after a 13-hour outage disrupted emergency calls and was linked to several deaths.

Global 5G connections rose 37% to 2.6 billion, led by North America with 88% coverage. EchoStar agreed to sell spectrum to AT&T for $23 billion, while Verizon is also in talks. The Philippines will shut down 3G by September 2025, and Qatar plans to follow by year-end. T-Mobile US completed a $4.4 billion UScellular acquisition, boosting Q3 revenue by $400 million.

Kuwait’s three mobile operators launched a nationwide 5G-Advanced network with Huawei, offering speeds up to 10 times faster. Virgin Media O2 expanded 5G Standalone coverage to 500 UK locations, investing £700 million. Vodacom Tanzania announced a $100 million modernization program. Orange France will shut down 2G by end-2026 and 3G by 2028.