Retail
Jul 13, 2025

5G Progress Report: Brazil

Brazil’s multi-band 5G spectrum auction concluded in November 2021, resulting in total commitments of $8.5 billion (BRL 47.2 billion) and bids from major players: Telefónica Brasil (Vivo), Claro Brasil, and TIM Brasil. It also garnered attention from established regional companies, such as Algar Telecom and Sercomtel, as well as several lesser-known participants.

How are Brazil's 5G licensees making progress three and a half years later? Here's what the data says.
Jun 13, 2025

A Fistful of Dollars: The Cable Cowboy Ropes Cox Communications

In May, U.S. cable giants Charter Communications and Cox Communications entered into a definitive agreement to combine their businesses in a “transformative transaction” that will create an industry leader in the U.S. cable sector. 
Jun 11, 2025

2G and 3G: Closing Time for Legacy Networks

It’s been a couple of years since we reviewed the state of the 2G and 3G mobile markets to see how network closures were coming along.

There has been plenty of activity since then, and 2025 is shaping up to be a busy year for shutdowns.
Apr 10, 2025

Mobile Market Overview: Still Buoyant Into 2025

At the end of 2024, the global mobile subscription total stood at 8.8 billion, according to figures from our GlobalComms Database. This is up from 8.7 billion a year earlier and 8.5 billion at end-2022.

Ten years ago, the total was closer to 7.0 billion; at the end of 2004, it was just 1.7 billion.
Mar 26, 2025

Exit Strategy: Telefonica’s Latin American Divestments, Explained

Back in early 2019, after months of speculation linking Telefonica to a sale of its Central American operations, the Spanish telecom giant agreed to offload all five of its units in the region.

By the end of 2019, the Madrid-based group had unveiled a five-point turnaround strategy to overhaul its business.
Mar 6, 2025

The Rise of Fiber

Fiber broadband is now by far the most common means of fixed broadband connectivity worldwide, although the picture varies from region to region.
Jan 15, 2025

5G Comes to Vietnam

Vietnamese military-run telecom operator Viettel reports impressive uptake figures since launching its 5G mobile network in mid-October 2024. Within two weeks, the firm attracted 3 million 5G users, reaching 4 million in late December.

While 5G has been available in many Asian markets for some time, users in Vietnam were forced to wait for their first taste of the new technology.
Nov 12, 2024

Reach for the Stars: How Starlink Conquered Latin America

Starlink, the satellite broadband provider operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX unit, is making rapid inroads in Latin America.

As of November 2024, Starlink’s services are live in 28 countries/overseas territories in Latin America, with more launches planned for 2025.
Nov 5, 2024

Mobile Monsters: The World’s Biggest Operators

Earlier this year, China Mobile hit one billion mobile subscriptions.

In a country of more than 1.4 billion people, this may not seem like a remarkable milestone. However, the next largest national cellco, Reliance Jio in India, has less than half of this number—around 476 million subscriptions as of mid-2024.

Let’s take a closer look at China Mobile and the other giant operators.
Oct 24, 2024

What to Know About Direct-to-Device Satellite Communications

For our next episode of TeleGeography Explains the Internet, we look to the sky.

Our guest is Sal Salamone, Managing Editor of Network Computing magazine. Sal joined me to discuss the emerging market for direct-to-device satellite communications.

 

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