Catherine Sbeglia Nin
Tech Mahindra is betting big on private 5G. The company told RCR that industrial digitalization can’t happen without it — whether in global enterprise deployments or at home in India, where spectrum hurdles remain a sticking point. That belief is echoed in Texas, where NTT Data has teamed with Celona to equip Celanese chemical plants with private 5G networks to bolster worker safety and automation, with more sites to come.
Meanwhile, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon used the Snapdragon Summit to project that pre-commercial 6G devices could arrive by 2028, underscoring faith in 6G’s role connecting edge, cloud, and intelligent networking.
Closer to market reality, Wi-Fi 7 trials across residential and enterprise environments are showing multi-gigabit speeds, ultra-low latency, and more reliable coverage, validating the technology’s readiness to scale. And in the UAE, operator du announced a 5G upgrade, promising double today’s speeds and lower latency to power AI apps, real-time translation, and ultra-HD streaming.
Taken together, these stories illustrate a landscape where private 5G grows, Wi-Fi 7 stabilizes, and 6G comes into view.
Catherine Sbeglia Nin
Managing Editor
RCR Wireless News
RCR Top 5
India’s “immense potential”: Private 5G is essential to Industry 4.0, says Tech Mahindra; here, it discusses its expanding private 5G portfolio globally, as well as big opportunities in its home market — despite spectrum hurdles in India.
Qualcomm CEO calls his shot: At the Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon said pre-commercial 6G devices could arrive by 2028, highlighting confidence in 6G’s role linking edge, cloud, and intelligent networking.
Key Wi-Fi 7 trials: RCR rounds up three Wi-Fi 7 trials — across residential and enterprise settings — revealing multi-gigabit speeds, ultra-low latency, enhanced coverage, and real-world validation of next-gen performance.
NTT taps Celona for Celanese: NTT Data has deployed private 5G from Celona at two manufacturing plants in Texas for chemical company Celanese, providing large-scale connectivity for worker safety and automation.
UAE’s du unveils 5G+: UAE operator du has launched a network upgrade it calls 5+, promising double the speed of current 5G and lower latency to support AI-driven apps, real-time translation, gaming, and ultra-HD streaming.
AI-Powered Telecom Infrastructure
Supermicro, in collaboration with NVIDIA, delivers AI-powered infrastructure tailored for telcos, enhancing operational efficiency, network management, and customer experiences. Explore now
Beyond the Headlines
IoT’s golden niche: Some kind of “niche-within-a-niche” reality emerged at The Things Conference in Amsterdam this week — about an IoT opportunity that is fragmented but also promising, and within reach.
Wi-Fi goes full power: Federated Wireless CEO Iyad Tarazi explains how Wi-Fi is finally going full power — with 6E breaking old limits through AFC, scaling like 5G, and setting the stage for Wi-Fi 7.
Innovation isn’t free: With 6G standardization advancing, Qualcomm VP Juan Montojo-Bennassar reflects on the human side of standards — decades of work at 3GPP, ETSI, and beyond, driven by people’s commitment to global connectivity.
Cloud-native = greener networks: Cloud-native networks promise greener, leaner telcos — scaling with demand, cutting hardware waste, and lowering energy footprints through dynamic operations.
What’s SK’s AI play?: SK Telecom is building a sovereign AI infrastructure: hyperscale AI data centers, GPU-as-a-Service, and edge AI under its ‘AI Infrastructure Superhighway’ strategy.
What We're Reading
Boldyn Networks @ AO Arena: Boldyn Networks is deploying a neutral host 5G DAS at Manchester’s AO Arena, enabling all U.K. operators to provide high-speed coverage. O2 customers are the first to access the service.
Openreach hits 20 million homes: Openreach says its full-fiber broadband rollout now reaches 20 million homes and businesses across the U.K., though only around 38% of those eligible have made the switch to the new network.
Zayo, Equinix launch AI blueprint: Zayo and Equinix have introduced an AI Infrastructure Blueprint, outlining how high-capacity networks, interconnection hubs, and AI data centers connect to support training and inference workloads.
Singtel apologizes over outage: Singtel, owner of Australia’s Optus, has apologized after a major outage blocked hundreds of Triple Zero emergency calls. The disruption, blamed for several deaths, has sparked scrutiny.
TIM overhauls governance: Telecom Italia has appointed former Bank of Italy deputy Alessandra Perrazzelli as non-executive director, updating governance with her committee roles while finalizing a share withdrawal.
Upcoming Events
Join MWC Las Vegas, in partnership with CTIA, North America’s leading event for industrial-grade connectivity—where enterprises evolve through CIO-led insights on transformation using 5G-enabled and AI-powered technologies.
Industry Resources
Webinar, September 18th
The journey to a fully autonomous network – The evolution of network automation and how Amdocs is leading the way
