Spectrum policy set the tone this week. AT&T closed its 23 billion dollar purchase of EchoStar airwaves in the United States, regulators from Italy to South Africa moved to reshape how mobile spectrum is licensed, and governments on both sides of the Atlantic pushed the groundwork for 6G a little further along. Alongside the policy news, standalone 5G kept building momentum, Japan edged closer to near-universal coverage, and the direct-to-device satellite race gathered pace.
The headline transaction finally completed. AT&T wrapped up its 23 billion dollar acquisition of spectrum from EchoStar, picking up roughly 30 MHz of nationwide 3.45 GHz mid-band and about 20 MHz of 600 MHz low-band. The operator was quick to talk up the extra 5G capacity, framing it around future artificial intelligence demand as much as everyday traffic. The deal does leave loose ends: EchoStar’s Hughes satellite unit remains under financial strain, and the wider restructuring is far from settled.
One of those loose ends drew a firm line from the regulator. The Federal Communications Commission confirmed that the 2.4 billion dollar trust fund tied to EchoStar’s spectrum sales exists to repay the contractors, tower companies and infrastructure partners that built out Dish Wireless’ 5G network. It is not there to service EchoStar’s own loans or pay its affiliates. The clarification matters for the many outside firms still owed money from that build.
In Europe, Italy’s regulator Agcom opened a third and final consultation on renewing mobile spectrum rights due to expire at the end of 2029. The proposal offers operators a free extension to 31 December 2037 in exchange for binding investment and wholesale access commitments, covering the 800, 900, 1500, 1800, 2100, 2600 and 3400 to 3600 MHz bands plus 28 GHz fixed-wireless spectrum. It is a notable attempt to tie licence certainty directly to standalone 5G investment. Spain, meanwhile, launched a 17.9 million euro funding call to bring standalone 5G to very rural areas that currently lack both 4G and 5G, targeting places where commercial rollout is unlikely within three years.
Emerging markets were busy on the licensing front. South Africa’s regulator Icasa published its draft IMT Roadmap 2026 for public comment, setting out a five to ten year plan that could expand the supply of high-demand spectrum by around 215 percent. Ghana’s National Communications Authority held a pre-application briefing for prospective bidders in the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz bands as part of its request for applications. In Indonesia, XLSmart was named among the winners of the 2026 selection process for the 700 MHz and 2.6 GHz bands, spectrum it plans to put towards 4G and 5G capacity. And Airtel Nigeria secured a ten-year spectrum licence renewal from the Nigerian Communications Commission, giving it a longer runway for network investment.
There was movement on the satellite side of the ledger too. SES and Eutelsat are set to share around 6.1 billion dollars in incentive payments for clearing upper C-band spectrum in the United States, with roughly 5.6 billion earmarked for SES and about 504 million for Eutelsat. The payout follows the FCC’s plan to reallocate 160 MHz of that band for mobile use, though some cable operators have voiced concern about the knock-on effects.
The policy conversation is already looking past 5G. In the United States, the NTIA said the administration had cleared plans to study the 4.4 GHz band for potential 6G use, an early signal of where future capacity might come from. More significantly, the NTIA joined 24 friendly governments in a 6G Leadership and Security Call to Action, an effort to steer next-generation development towards open, secure and AI-capable technology. The signatories span much of Europe, including the UK, Germany, France, Italy and the Nordics, alongside Japan, Canada, Australia and others. The timeline is deliberately tight, with the group aiming for tangible progress inside twelve months.
Vendor politics are shaping the 6G debate as well. The GSMA argued that ripping out Huawei equipment across the European Union has simply become too expensive to justify wholesale, suggesting operators and policymakers may have to live with existing kit rather than fund costly replacements. It is an uncomfortable position given the security framing of recent years, and one that will feed into how Europe approaches the next network cycle.
Japan remained fertile ground for Ericsson. NTT Docomo selected the Swedish vendor’s RAN Compute platform, built on its latest silicon and tuned for 4G, 5G and 5G-Advanced as well as AI and machine learning workloads. Docomo has also completed commercial deployment of Ericsson’s RAN Processor 6672 and plans to expand use of the 6655, part of a broader push to prepare its network for AI-driven traffic. Ericsson picked up a second notable win down under, landing the digital radio system contract for the first stage of Queensland’s next-generation rail communications network as part of a consortium with UGL Transport and Frequentis.
Public safety got its own dedicated core. AT&T switched on a standalone 5G core for FirstNet, describing it as the first nationwide 5G SA core built specifically for first responders. Kept physically separate from AT&T’s commercial core, it promises better uplink performance for demanding tasks such as uploading body-worn camera footage, along with tighter security and operational control.
Enterprise and in-building deployments continued to spread. Boldyn Networks completed indoor 5G installations at two major Italian hospitals, Policlinico Tor Vergata in Rome and San Carlo Borromeo in Milan, using distributed antenna systems to push low-latency coverage deep inside the buildings and support a range of digital health services.
The numbers point to a maturing standalone market. Dell’Oro Group found that operators have spent 208 percent more on 5G standalone core functions than they had on 4G core at the equivalent point in the technology cycle, a striking measure of how quickly SA investment has ramped. The same firm expects 5G to sustain demand for microwave backhaul equipment through 2028, forecasting around 12 percent annual growth before the market cools ahead of the 6G era.
Coverage milestones kept coming. Japan’s 5G population coverage reached 98.6 percent at the end of fiscal 2025, inching towards the government’s 99 percent target for 2030. Beyond the mass market, RCR Wireless reported that Japan’s private 5G sector is finally moving from demonstration projects into real operational deployments, with spending forecast to grow at a 55 percent compound annual rate through 2030 as ports, manufacturers and utilities put networks to work.
The race to connect phones directly from space intensified. Amazon filed plans for its Leo constellation to deploy up to 5,105 satellites for a direct-to-device service, drawing on Globalstar’s spectrum. The scale of the filing underlines how seriously the big technology players are treating satellite-to-handset connectivity. SpaceX, for its part, looks less likely to buy a carrier outright: FCC filings suggest Elon Musk is instead pricing up spectrum to build a terrestrial wireless network of his own, hunting for airwaves that could serve cities and dense areas through auction or acquisition.
Rwanda set out a clear path to retire legacy networks, confirming it will switch off 3G nationwide by 30 June 2027 to free up spectrum for 4G expansion and lay the groundwork for wider 5G adoption, with 2G to follow later. And GSMA Intelligence published a case study ranking Saudi Arabia among the world’s leading large economies for 5G performance, citing average download speeds of 314 Mbps in 2025 and continued infrastructure investment aligned with the kingdom’s Vision 2030 goals.
AT&T completes its 23 billion dollar EchoStar spectrum purchase
The deal that reshapes United States mid-band and low-band holdings, with implications for 5G capacity and EchoStar’s uncertain future.
https://www.lightreading.com/5g/echostar-closes-at-t-spectrum-deal-but-wrinkles-remain
Italy proposes free spectrum renewal to 2037 for standalone 5G investment
A regulatory model worth watching, tying long-term licence certainty directly to binding investment and wholesale commitments.
https://www.telecompaper.com/news/italy-proposes-free-spectrum-renewal-to-2037-for-5g-sa-investment–1578569
US NTIA joins global allies in a 6G call to action
Twenty-four governments align on open, secure and AI-capable 6G, a clear sign the policy groundwork is starting now.
https://www.telecompaper.com/news/us-ntia-joins-global-allies-in-6g-call-to-action–1578326
Dell’Oro finds standalone 5G spending outpaces 4G core by 208 percent
A useful benchmark for how far and how fast operators have committed to the standalone architecture.
https://www.telecomreview.com/articles/reports-and-coverage/29788-carriers-double-down-on-5g-sa-as-investment-outpaces-4g-core-by-208/
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