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Boosting 5G Coverage with Transparent Antennas and Shared Infrastructure

We have looked at transparent antennas for a while now with my first post on the topic back in 2019. Since then this technology has matured immensely as I detailed in a blog post last year. Transparent antennas are no longer just experimental concepts but have reached the stage of commercial deployment, often combined with infrastructure sharing models to maximise efficiency and coverage. In Japan, infrastructure sharing has taken on special significance. The high cost of network deployment, limited availability of installation sites and the density of urban environments make it challenging for operators to expand coverage on their own. Shared infrastructure helps reduce duplication, control costs and speed up the roll-out of services. For readers unfamiliar with JTOWER , it is a Japanese company specialising in shared telecommunications infrastructure. JTOWER develops and manages towers and in-building solutions across Japan, with the goal of improving connectivity while reducing the...
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Amazon’s Project Kuiper Advances Towards Global Satellite Broadband Deployment

Amazon’s Project Kuiper is moving rapidly from concept to large-scale implementation, aiming to deliver high-speed, low-latency broadband services to communities and organisations that are unserved or underserved by existing terrestrial infrastructure. The programme involves deploying a constellation of more than 3,200 satellites in low Earth orbit, supported by an extensive ground network and customer terminal technology. The initiative began research and development in 2018, with formal approval from the US Federal Communications Commission in 2020. After launching two prototype satellites in 2023, Amazon commenced production satellite deployment in April 2025. The pace of activity has since accelerated, with four missions completed in under four months and more than 100 satellites now in orbit . This early progress is part of a planned series of over 80 launches that will populate the initial constellation by the end of the decade. The system architecture is based on three core com...
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Pushing the Boundaries of Wireless Sensing Technologies

In May 2024, TheNetworkingChannel hosted a thought-provoking expert panel titled New Frontiers in Wireless Sensing. This session brought together leading researchers from institutions such as MIT, CMU, Microsoft Research Asia, EPFL, IMDEA, UMass and HKUST. Each speaker offered a unique perspective on how wireless sensing is evolving into a foundational capability across domains ranging from healthcare and robotics to ocean and space exploration. The session began by addressing joint communication and sensing with unsynchronised transceivers. Joerg Widmer (IMDEA Networks) demonstrated how millimetre wave systems, despite relying on single RF chains and operating with unsynchronised clocks, can still achieve accurate multipath decomposition by employing cross-correlation techniques. These enable compensation for timing and frequency offsets, which are otherwise significant challenges in multistatic and passive localisation scenarios. Jie Xiong (Microsoft Research Asia and UMass) presente...
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Understanding Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) for Seamless Indoor Connectivity

Distributed Antenna Systems, commonly known as DAS, play a crucial role in extending mobile connectivity into environments where outdoor signals struggle to reach. From convention centres to hospitals, and from tunnels to stadiums, DAS ensures that users stay connected in areas where mobile coverage would otherwise be poor or non-existent. The main challenge arises from the fact that large buildings often block or degrade cellular signals due to their construction materials. DAS addresses this by redistributing the signal inside the structure through a network of antennas connected to a common source. This significantly improves coverage, capacity and user experience. To explore how DAS works in practice and the differences between types of solutions, we are sharing two insightful videos that break down the fundamentals and practicalities of deploying DAS. The first video, by WilsonPro, offers a straightforward explanation of passive and active DAS. Passive DAS, also referred to as sig...
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Building the Low Altitude Economy (LAE) with 5G Advanced and 6G

As mobile networks expand into new vertical domains, the low altitude economy (LAE) is emerging as one of the most promising frontiers for connectivity. In China and Hong Kong, this area is rapidly evolving with strong government support, early infrastructure deployments and growing commercial interest. It includes services and applications that operate in airspace typically below one thousand metres, covering everything from drone deliveries and infrastructure inspections to emergency response and environmental monitoring. The LAE is not just a collection of novel use cases. It represents a structural shift in how connectivity infrastructure is being designed and deployed. A layered approach is taking shape, combining reuse of existing terrestrial networks, new network deployments tailored for low altitude operation, and integration with non terrestrial networks such as satellites. Together, these networks are already delivering coverage up to 600 metres with end to end latency under...
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Seamless 5G Connectivity Across Germany on Deutsche Bahn

Rail passengers today take uninterrupted mobile and data connections for granted as much as a smooth journey. Meeting these expectations demands close collaboration between train operators and mobile network providers to deliver consistent coverage along thousands of kilometres of track. Deutsche Bahn’s comprehensive approach to connectivity weaves together network expansion, onboard innovations and the latest digital standards to ensure passengers stay connected from station to station. Since 2021 Deutsche Bahn has been working with Deutsche Telekom to blanket its main lines with high-performance mobile coverage. By supplying speeds of more than 200 Mbit/s on nearly all key routes the partnership reached its original targets two years ahead of schedule. Today passengers enjoy at least 200 Mbit/s on 99 per cent of the 7 800 kilometres of main lines and even 300 Mbit/s or more on 95 per cent. Secondary lines also saw a transformation. Coverage of 100 Mbit/s rose from under 83 per cent ...
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The Internet Story: A Deep Dive into How the Internet Works

Most of us use the Internet every day without giving much thought to how it actually functions behind the scenes. However, with growing debates about network costs, OTT content delivery, and the future of connectivity, understanding the structure of the Internet has never been more important. In our new video, The Internet Story, we explain the core components that make the Internet work, including: How Internet Service Providers (ISPs) connect users and businesses to the global network The importance of Transit Networks and how smaller ISPs rely on larger ones The concept of Peering—both public and private—and why it is usually settlement-free How Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) improve performance and efficiency The rise of Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) and how it is reshaping real-time data processing We also explore real-world case studies such as: The 2016 Netflix and Swisscom peering dispute, often referred to as "NetflixGate" The more recent regulatory case involv...
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Testing, Refining, and Improving Stratospheric Connectivity: NTT Docomo’s HAPS Trials

At MWC 2025, NTT Docomo highlighted its latest initiatives under the NTT Group's "NTT C89" space-business strategy, such as mobile-connectivity services using unmanned vehicles, or high-altitude platform stations (HAPS), that fly in the stratosphere for days or months, using relays to provide mobile connectivity in mountainous and remote areas, including at sea and in the sky. A presentation on NTT C89 Aerospace Business Strategy is available here while a presentation on NTT DOCOMO's Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) for Extreme Coverage Extension is available here . Stratospheric connectivity, enabled by High Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS), is emerging as a key solution for extending mobile coverage to remote and underserved areas. However, ensuring that these airborne platforms can provide stable, high-quality connectivity requires extensive testing and refinement. At MWC 2025, NTT Docomo showcased its progress in this domain, highlighting multiple real-world trials...
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How Do Apple AirTags Work?

Apple AirTags have steadily gained popularity in the smart tag market. A recent report highlighted that 69% of smart tag buyers in late 2024 chose an Apple AirTag. This marks a significant rise from 45% in early 2022. In contrast, Tile, the category pioneer now owned by Life360, has seen its market share fall to 11% from 17% during the same period. Samsung's Galaxy SmartTags now hold second place. Interestingly, the technology behind AirTags resembles concepts like Opportunity Driven Multiple Access (ODMA) or Multihop Cellular Networks (MCNs), which I have previously explored . A similar approach has also been discussed regarding Bluetooth-based Ad-Hoc networks . How Do They Work? AirTags primarily use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to communicate with nearby Apple devices that are part of the Find My network. This vast network consists of millions of Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs, which can detect AirTags and securely relay their location back to the owner. Addit...
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5G A2A: Building a Cross-Border 5G Corridor for Connected Mobility

The development of autonomous and connected mobility solutions requires robust and uninterrupted connectivity, especially across borders. The "5G Autobahn to Autoroute" ( 5G A2A ) project aims to establish one of Europe’s first cross-border 5G highway corridors, linking Metz in France to Saarbrücken in Germany. This 60-kilometre route will support advanced vehicular applications and ensure seamless connectivity across national boundaries. Infrastructure Deployment and Coverage The project, scheduled to commence construction in early 2025 and reach completion by the end of 2027, will see the deployment of state-of-the-art 5G infrastructure along the corridor. The coverage will include: France : A 55 km section along the A4 and A320 motorways, where TOTEM and Orange will install nine new masts and upgrade up to eight existing sites to provide dedicated 5G coverage on the 3.5 GHz frequency. Germany : A 5 km section along the A6 motorway, where Vantage Towers and O2 Telefónica w...
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