5G Outages, 6G Leaps & Telecom Shake-Ups: Inside the Global GSM Upheaval (Sept 6–7, 2025)

• 5G on the horizon: Pakistan and Turkey finally set firm timelines for 5G rollouts after long delays – Pakistan’s first 5G spectrum auction is slated for December 2025, and Turkey will hold a 5G tender on Oct 16 for service launch by April 2026 ts2.tech.
• Big telecom tie-ups: India’s Reliance Jio and Meta unveiled a ₹855 crore (~$100 million) joint venture to deploy AI services on Jio’s mobile network ts2.tech. In Africa, Ghana moved to merge state-run AirtelTigo (AT Ghana) with Telecel, aiming to create a stronger #2 carrier to challenge market-leader MTN ts2.tech.
• Satellite internet race: SpaceX launched 24 new Starlink satellites to expand broadband coverage in high latitudes like Alaska and Scandinavia ts2.tech. Amazon’s rival Project Kuiper is close behind – another launch is planned for Sept 25 with beta satellite internet service expected by late 2025 ts2.tech. JetBlue even became the first airline to partner with Kuiper for in-flight internet, challenging SpaceX’s Starlink dominance ts2.tech.
• Regulators crack down: Russia imposed sweeping new internet laws (effective Sept 1) that fine citizens for searching banned “extremist” content (even via VPN) and ban VPN advertisements ts2.tech. All new smartphones in Russia must now pre-install a state-run messenger app, and officials have threatened to block WhatsApp as an “extremist” platform ts2.tech. “The main task…is to create fear…to increase self-censorship,” warned one digital rights advocate of the Russian crackdown ts2.tech. In the U.S., the FCC voted to ban Chinese components in new undersea telecom cables and streamline permits for trusted operators amid security warnings ts2.tech. “We have seen submarine cable infrastructure threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, like China,” noted FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in urging safeguards for the 400+ subsea cables carrying 99% of global data ts2.tech.
• Major outages & shutdowns: A major Verizon network failure on Aug 30 underscored telecom fragility – millions of U.S. mobile users lost service nationwide for ~9 hours, with phones stuck on “SOS only” mode ts2.tech. Days later on Sept 4, Google suffered a brief but widespread outage, taking down Search, YouTube, Gmail and more across Turkey and parts of Europe ts2.tech. Turkey’s cybersecurity agency demanded an explanation from Google after the hour-long disruption ts2.tech. Meanwhile, government-ordered blackouts hit elsewhere: Pakistan’s entire Balochistan province remained under a weeks-long mobile internet blackout amid military operations, and Iraq instituted daily nationwide internet shutdowns during morning school exams ts2.tech. (Russia, for its part, has drawn up a list of domestic apps that will remain operational during any state-imposed mobile internet shutdowns – ensuring services like its Mir payments and “MAX” messenger keep running, while foreign apps like WhatsApp or YouTube would be cut off ts2.tech.)
• New 5G security threat: Researchers revealed a novel attack framework called SNI5GECT that can intercept 5G signals and silently downgrade connections to 4G by sniffing and injecting malicious messages thehackernews.com thehackernews.com. This over-the-air attack – which doesn’t even require a rogue cell tower – can crash phone modems or force devices onto less secure 4G networks, exposing them to location tracking and other exploits. The GSMA has acknowledged the severity of the multi-stage 5G downgrade attack and assigned it an official vulnerability identifier thehackernews.com.
• Tech innovations at IFA: At Europe’s IFA 2025 tech expo in Berlin (Sept 5–9), companies showcased creative mobile and IoT devices. GlocalMe debuted its “PetPhone,” billed as the world’s first smartphone for pets, along with an eSIM Trio (a universal SIM solution for iOS and Android) and the Numen Air – a SIM-free 5G mobile hotspot prnewswire.com. One of its new hotspots, the G50 Pro, even integrates satellite connectivity for seamless air-to-ground coverage prnewswire.com. GlocalMe’s CEO Jeff Chen said the goal is to combine high-performance 5G with inclusive 4G and satellite links “so no one is left offline,” using AI-powered network selection to keep users connected cost-effectively across cellular, Wi-Fi, and satellite networks prnewswire.com.
• Affordable access drives: Facing a 2027 deadline to shut down 2G and 3G networks, MTN South Africa announced it will sell ultra-budget 4G smartphones for just R99 (~$5) to 1.2 million low-income customers still using 2G/3G ts2.tech. The Android devices (worth ~$40 retail) will roll out in phases through 2026 to ensure no user is left behind. “At MTN, we are committed to going the extra mile to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital era. As the country transitions to 4G and 5G, it is vital that we take proactive steps to connect as many South Africans as possible,” emphasized MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi reuters.com. In the Philippines, Smart Communications launched new 5G Home WiFi kits (as of Sept 4) – plug-and-play wireless broadband routers bundled with unlimited prepaid data – to reach students and workers in areas without fiber service ts2.tech. And in New York City, officials rolled out a “Liberty Link” pilot to provide free high-speed Wi-Fi in 35 public housing developments (Bronx and Harlem), connecting ~2,200 low-income households by the end of 2025 and offering digital literacy training on-site ts2.tech.
• Closing the digital divide: Around the world, efforts to expand connectivity to underserved communities gained momentum. The Internet Society Foundation just funded nine community networks across Africa, Asia, and Latin America – from indigenous women building solar-powered mesh Wi-Fi in the Amazon, to rural villages in Senegal getting internet via off-grid hubs ts2.tech. New undersea fiber links are coming, too: Kenya’s Safaricom, with Meta, introduced the “Daraja” submarine cable connecting East Africa to the Middle East (Kenya to Oman) to boost regional bandwidth ts2.tech, and Djibouti Telecom announced a 3,300 km extension of its DARE1 undersea cable down the African coast to Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar and South Africa (targeting a 2028 launch) ts2.tech. Despite these initiatives, the latest U.N. ITU report (released Sept 1) highlights the steep road ahead – roughly 2.6 billion people (32% of humanity) still lack internet access ts2.tech. Achieving universal connectivity by 2030 could require an estimated $2.6–2.8 trillion investment, vastly more than current commitments. So far, governments, tech companies and NGOs have pledged only about $51 billion toward the cause (barely half of the ITU’s interim target of $100 billion by 2026). ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin urged treating internet access as a top development priority, arguing that “digital connectivity means creating opportunities for education, jobs, and access to essential services” and should be seen as “an investment in human potential, not just a cost” ts2.tech. In other words, closing the global internet gap is not just about charity or infrastructure – it’s about unlocking economic and social inclusion worldwide.

Sources

1. TS2 Space – Telecom & Internet News Roundup (Sept 5–6, 2025): Comprehensive report covering outages, censorship laws, 5G spectrum plans, and digital divide initiatives ts2.tech ts2.tech.
2. Reuters – Turkey 5G Tender Announcement: Turkey’s government confirms a 5G auction on Oct 16, 2025, with 11 frequency blocks (700 MHz and 3.5 GHz) and service rollout by April 2026 reuters.com reuters.com.
3. Business Recorder (Pakistan) – 5G Auction by Dec 2025: Pakistan’s PM approved completing the first 5G spectrum auction by end of 2025, freeing up 606 MHz of mid-band spectrum despite litigation delays brecorder.com brecorder.com.
4. MyJoyOnline (Ghana) – AT Ghana & Telecel Merger: Ghana’s government announced a merger of state-owned AT (AirtelTigo) with Telecel to stem losses and create a combined 26% market share carrier (still far behind MTN’s ~74%) myjoyonline.com myjoyonline.com.
5. Meta Newsroom – Reliance Jio & Meta JV: Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg on partnering with Jio to build Llama AI-based services on Jio’s network: “Through this joint venture, we’re putting Meta’s Llama models into real-world use.” about.fb.com
6. Reuters – Russia Internet Censorship Law: New law imposes fines (~₽5,000) for searching banned content and targets VPN use; lawmakers warn WhatsApp might be blocked as an “extremist” app amid Russia’s drive for digital control reuters.com reuters.com.
7. Reuters – FCC Targets Chinese Tech in Cables: U.S. FCC moves to bar undersea cables containing Chinese equipment, citing espionage risks; “guard our submarine cables against foreign adversaries,” said Commissioner Carr reuters.com reuters.com.
8. Cybernews – Google Outage in Turkey: Google services (Search, Gmail, YouTube) went down for about an hour on Sept 4, hitting users in Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and beyond; Turkey’s cyber agency demanded Google report the cause ts2.tech ts2.tech.
9. Reuters – Verizon Outage: Verizon’s nationwide wireless outage (Aug 30) left users across the U.S. without mobile data or calling for most of a day, prompting calls for better network resiliency ts2.tech ts2.tech.
10. The Hacker News – SNI5GECT 5G Attack: Researchers at SUTD demonstrated SNI5GECT, an attack toolkit that sniffs unencrypted 5G signaling and injects malicious messages to crash or downgrade phones to 4G thehackernews.com thehackernews.com.
11. PR Newswire – GlocalMe at IFA 2025: uCloudlink’s GlocalMe introduced its 3-3-5 Digital Inclusion Framework at IFA, showcasing a PetPhone for pets, a universal eSIM, and a satellite-enabled 5G hotspot to bridge connectivity gaps prnewswire.com prnewswire.com.
12. Reuters – MTN’s $5 Phone Initiative: MTN South Africa will offer 1.2 million low-income users 4G smartphones at 99 rand as it prepares to shut 2G/3G by 2027, ensuring those users aren’t left offline reuters.com reuters.com.
13. ITU – Global Connectivity Report 2025: The ITU’s latest data (Sept 2025) finds 2.6 billion people offline and calls for $2.6 trillion investment to achieve “meaningful connectivity” worldwide by 2030 ts2.tech ts2.tech.