• Trump aims to clear 7GHz band for 6G in US
• Telecom Italia confirms €1bn licence fee refund
• MásOrange deploys Future Connections rApp

In today’s industry news roundup: The US President is freeing up spectrum currently used by federal agencies for commercial 6G use; Telecom Italia has finally won a 20-plus years long licence fee legal battle; RAN applications developer Future Connections has its energy-saving rApp deployed by MásOrange; and much more!

US President Donald Trump has directed federal users of spectrum in the 7.125-7.4 GHz band to start planning the relocation of their services so the airwaves can be freed up for “full-power commercial 6G use” that will help to “ensure America’s leadership in 6G development.” A White House memo has told federal users they have 12 months to “submit relocation plans that protect national security missions while freeing this prime spectrum for American industry.” Not only that – Trump has also called for an “immediate study of two other critical spectrum bands – 2.69-2.9 GHz and 4.4-4.94 GHz – as part of an effort to free up even more spectrum for full-power commercial 6G use.” The President has also instructed the US Secretary of State “and other members of the Administration to advance American leadership in 6G through diplomatic engagements”. Other nations can expect to be on the receiving end of some 6G discussion calendar invites early in the new year… You can keep up to speed with 6G-related developments in TelecomTV’s dedicated channel. 

Christmas has come early for Telecom Italia (TIM), which has prevailed in a 20-plus years long legal wrangle and will now bank a licence fee refund of more than €1bn. The payment is linked to a long-running dispute from 1998, when Italy’s telecom sector was liberalised: In April last year the Court of Appeal of Rome ruled that the government should repay the full licence fee of just over €500m plus revaluation and accrued interest. Italy’s national operator announced that the country’s Supreme Court rejected the appeal filed by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers that challenged the Court of Appeal of Rome decision and that the Court of Cassation has confirmed the refund of the license fee paid in 1998. 

Earlier this month we reported that Spanish operator MásOrange has deployed the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform (EIAP), based on the Swedish vendor’s service management and orchestration (SMO) system, as part of its broader network automation and energy efficiency efforts. At the time we noted that MásOrange had deployed two specific RAN applications (rApps) to run on the EIAP platform, one of which is the NIx RAN Energy Saver, which helps operators to dynamically configure, monitor and optimise RAN energy-saving features while “avoiding any impact on service performance”. What we didn’t note at the time (inadvertently) is that this rApp has been developed by Dutch telecom application developer Future Connections. “The implementation of the NIx RAN Energy Saver rApp within Ericsson’s EIAP ecosystem provides MásOrange with a powerful tool for improved energy efficiency, network flexibility and cost control, while maintaining service quality and supporting sustainability goals,” noted Angel Cifuentes, operations director at Future Connections, in this announcement. “This is one of many applications that we have developed to help operators embrace intelligent, open network management and automation,” added Cifuentes. It’s always encouraging to see specialist vendors break through with new deployments at major operators, and MásOrange is Spain’s largest mobile operator by customer numbers, so it’s our duty and pleasure to highlight the success in Spain of the Future Connections team. 

Following a consultation, French regulator Arcep is inviting applications from enterprise users for private wireless network spectrum licences in the 3.8 GHz-4.2Ghz band. Laure de La Raudière, President of Arcep, stated in this announcement (in French): “Industrial players have specific connectivity needs; it is a lever for competitiveness and innovation for French companies. With the implementation of this permanent framework for frequency allocations enabling private 5G, Arcep aims to respond to the demands made by industry by adapting its offering once again to market developments.” 

Finnish operator Elisa is cutting 357 jobs, about 5% of its workforce, as part of a cost-cutting initiative that aims to reduce the company’s annual costs by €40m per year. 

– The staff, TelecomTV