AT&T CEO John Stankey said the most critical issue facing the telecommunications industry is the effective implementation of Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment Program. To close the digital divide, Stankey said, additional policies should be created to ensure that all BEAD Program funds (“every dollar of taxpayer money”) are used to expand access to broadband as quickly as possible.
On the occasion of the FTTH Conference 2024, the Market Intelligence Committee of the FTTH Council Europe launched the 2024 edition of the FTTH/B Market Panorama, presenting the latest insights in terms of FTTH/B coverage and adoption in Europe as of September 2023.
The 5G industry continues to see strong growth according to new data from 5G Americas and Omdia that shows 185 million 5G connections were added in Q1 2024, pushing the global total to nearly two billion. 5G Americas and Omdia project that 5G connections will hit 7.7 billion by 2028. The new data shows that North America leads the charge in 5G adoption, with 5G connections in the region comprising 32 percent of all wireless cellular connections. Notably, the region experienced healthy growth in the first quarter, adding 22 million new connections to operator networks.
The prosecco corks were no doubt popping at Telecom Italia’s (TIM) headquarters in Rome after the operator’s relieved CEO was able to announce the completion of a long-gestated plan to sell off its fixed-line grid to the Optics BidCo consortium controlled by investment firm KKR. The sale of NetCo for up to €22 billion (U.S. $23.6 billion) also allows TIM to reduce its net financial debt by about $13.8 billion, from an adjusted net financial debt of €26.6 billion at March 31, 2024.
© 1994-2026 Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. All Rights Reserved.
