Telecommunications Infrastructure

Southfield – October 29, 2026 -- 123NET, a Michigan-based fiber, colocation and voice provider, has been awarded approximately $86 million through the federal Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program to build fiber across underserved Michigan communities.

BEAD money covers 17,000 addresses within a 49,300-address buildout

The funding will deliver fiber connectivity to 17,000 BEAD-funded addresses. These form part of a total network expansion reaching 49,300 addresses. 123NET worked with municipalities and community partners to apply and is coordinating with the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI). The National Telecommunications and Information Administration and MIHI administer the program.

Hot Springs – October 29, 2026 -- Verizon Frontline displayed six categories of deployable connectivity assets at the 2026 Central States Communications Exercise in Hot Springs, Arkansas, many of them powered by ST Engineering iDirect technology.

Exercise gives agencies hands-on time with communications gear

The exercise brings local, state, tribal and federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations together with technology providers. Participants test capabilities in realistic scenarios rather than watching demonstrations. They also learn from emergency communications professionals who have supported real-world incidents and look for interoperability gaps across networks, equipment and operating procedures.

Verizon Frontline fields assets from private 5G to off-road vehicles

The showcased assets were built to restore and extend connectivity during emergencies:

Frankfurt – October 29, 2026 -- Oculeus has deployed its Oculeus Anti-Fraud System (AFS) at Palau National Communications Corporation (PNCC), adding a dedicated AI-driven protection layer to the voice network of the Republic of Palau's national telecoms provider.

Oculeus AFS screens voice traffic for fraud in near-real-time

The system uses artificial intelligence, machine learning and anomaly detection to analyze large volumes of telecommunications activity. It identifies and blocks fraudulent or abusive traffic before subscribers and operations are affected. PNCC runs the platform to maximize its automation features.

NEW DELHI – October 29, 2026 -- Tata Communications will invest close to USD 450 million to build an AI super highway in India, a network of around 10,000 kilometers of new long-haul fiber linking the country's key AI data-centre corridors.

The network will integrate with the company's global backbone. It is designed to give customers end-to-end connectivity for AI workloads that require low latency, resilience and scale.

Phase one targets the Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad-Chennai corridor

The first phase covers the Mumbai-Pune-Hyderabad-Chennai route, which Tata Communications describes as one of India's most important AI and hyperscale growth corridors.

Later phases will extend to emerging East Coast and Western India data centre ecosystems, including Vizag, Bhubaneswar, Jamnagar and GIFT City. The routes will connect data centre clusters to international cable landing stations, linking India with major global AI hubs.

MEXICO CITY – October 29, 2026 -- Total Play Telecomunicaciones reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of Ps.11,496 million, up 2% from Ps.11,301 million a year earlier. EBITDA fell to Ps.4,944 million from Ps.5,099 million, and the net loss doubled to Ps.1,331 million from Ps.665 million.

Foreign exchange swing drives the wider net loss

The company booked a foreign exchange loss of Ps.453 million, against a gain of Ps.828 million in the prior-year quarter. The peso depreciated against the currencies in which Total Play's monetary liabilities are denominated, while it had appreciated a year earlier. Operating profit rose to Ps.691 million from Ps.390 million. Depreciation and amortization fell by Ps.456 million as a group of assets reached the end of its useful life, and accrued interest expense fell by Ps.264 million.

Plano, Texas – October 29, 2026 -- Ribbon Communications (Nasdaq: RBBN) reported third-quarter 2026 revenue of $219 million, up 14% sequentially, and guided to $233 million to $247 million for the fourth quarter. Net income improved by $18 million.

Adjusted EBITDA more than doubled to $27 million from $12 million in the second quarter. Non-GAAP operating expenses held flat at $88 million.

Ribbon's year-over-year profitability and margins diverge

Revenue was $219 million against $215 million in the third quarter of 2025. GAAP operating income rose to $6 million from $3 million.

Non-GAAP Adjusted EBITDA slipped to $27 million from $29 million a year earlier. GAAP gross margin fell to 48.2% from 50.1%, and non-GAAP gross margin fell to 50.3% from 52.6%.

STAMFORD – October 29, 2026 -- Charter Communications' Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of $0.43750001 per share on its Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, which trades on NASDAQ under the ticker CHTRP.

Charter sets January 15, 2027 payment date for preferred holders

The dividend is payable in cash on January 15, 2027. Holders of record at the close of business on December 31, 2026 qualify for the payment.

Charter's common stock and preferred stock are both listed on NASDAQ, under the tickers CHTR and CHTRP respectively. The announcement covers only the preferred shares.

Charter serves more than 70 million homes and businesses in 45 states

Charter provides Spectrum-branded internet, mobile, TV and voice services across 45 states. The company describes itself as the fastest growing mobile provider in its footprint.

MONTREAL – October 29, 2026 -- BCE Inc. said its subsidiary Bell Canada will sell a 49.9% stake in a newly formed wireless tower company to investment group La Caisse for CAD 2.45 billion, subject to customary adjustments. The price values the business at about CAD 4.91 billion.

TowerCo takes over 5,000-plus Bell sites

The new entity, TowerCo, will own and operate Bell's portfolio of passive wireless infrastructure. BCE describes it as Canada's largest dedicated tower company, with more than 5,000 sites nationwide. It will be headquartered in Montreal and led by CEO J. Bruce Furlong.

TowerCo plans to grow through new site builds, site densification and third-party colocation, which lets other service providers use its towers.

Guam – October 29, 2026 -- Windward data shows vessels linked to China and Russia loitering over subsea cable and pipeline corridors in five theaters. Activity ranges from the Guam cable hub to the Luzon Strait, Bab el-Mandeb and the gas pipelines feeding St Fergus, which supplies 25 to 50% of Britain's gas.

Chinese survey grids cover the Guam and Japan cable corridors

A Chinese-flagged fishery patrol vessel run by a state fishery research institute has worked research-pattern grids on both sides of Guam for seven weeks. Guam is the landing point for 11 subsea cables. The vessel ran a grid east of Guam between the Bulikula and SEA-US cables from August 31 to around September 20. A second grid west of Guam in the Philippine Sea was still running on September 29.

Honolulu – October 29, 2026 -- Windward recorded 27 slow-speed service and research vessel events near cable routes around Hawaii and 5 around Guam and the Northern Marianas in Q1 2026, as concentrated landing sites and a thin repair fleet leave Indo-Pacific cable security dependent on early warning.

Hawaii and Guam concentrate trans-Pacific cable exposure

Both islands anchor the trans-Pacific links connecting the continental U.S. to forces, allies and partners in the theater. A September 2026 report for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) found that the continental U.S. connections to Hawaii and Guam are particularly vulnerable to gray-zone sabotage, with few redundancy options.