5g

The three largest US carriers announced an agreement in principle on May 14 to form a joint venture that will pool spectrum resources and build shared satellite direct-to-device infrastructure to close coverage gaps in rural and underserved areas.

FCC bureaus approved the transfer of 65 MHz to SpaceX for $17 billion and 50 MHz to AT&T for $23 billion on May 12, conditioning the deals on a $2.4 billion escrow account for tower-company claims.

The 3GPP standards body must decide by June 2026 how long Release 21 work will take, a decision that will set the pace for the first commercial 6G networks expected around 2030.

Intel combines gallium nitride power transistors with silicon digital logic on an ultra-thin 19-micrometer chiplet harvested from 300mm wafers, targeting AI data center power delivery and 5G/6G infrastructure.

The three largest Open RAN operators are scaling deployments in 2026, with AT&T past 50% of its Nokia-to-Ericsson radio swap and targeting 70% open-capable traffic by year-end.

A fleet of 100 autonomous electric trucks at China's Yimin coal mine has exceeded productivity benchmarks by 20 percent after nearly a year, replacing 300 diesel trucks and 1,200 drivers.

The Linux Foundation launches the OCUDU Ecosystem Foundation with 47 members including AMD, Nokia, NVIDIA, and Verizon to build an open-source radio access network stack for 5G and 6G, backed by the Pentagon's FutureG office.

SpaceX used MWC 2026 to rebrand its satellite phone service, announce next-generation V2 satellites with 100x data density, and sign Deutsche Telekom to bring coverage to 10 European countries by 2028.

AT&T commits $250 billion through 2030 to expand fiber, 5G, and satellite networks, but analysts question how much is new spending versus relabeled costs.