What’s up with… Capex trends, SpaceX, 2G in France

• Global telecom capex is shrinking 
• SpaceX reportedly files for long-anticipated IPO
• France begins sunset of 2G networks

In today’s industry news roundup: Research firm Dell’Oro notes that global telco capex levelled out in 2025 but is set to decline in 2026; if reports are correct, SpaceX’s IPO will be the most valuable ever, giving Elon Musk’s company a $1.75tn valuation; France switches off 2G in three municipalities; and much more!

Following an 8% decline in 2024, the global aggregate value of telecom capital expenditure (capex) was flat in 2025 but is set to decline by 2% in 2026, according to research firm Dell’Oro Group, though it didn’t share any exact numbers. The research firm, which tracks the capex budgets of 50 telcos that represent about 80% of all telecom capex, then expects total global telco capex to grow at a 1% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from 2027 to 2030. “We’re seeing an interesting dynamic between long-term optimism and near-term visibility,” stated Dell’Oro vice president Stefan Pongratz. “Operators remain optimistic about the long-term network vision, particularly as AI drives new demand, but in the short term they are taking a more cautious stance, with many planning to moderate capex,” he added.

In a much anticipated move, Elon Musk’s SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp), which designs, makes and launches rockets and satellites and which also includes xAI as part of its portfolio following the acquisition of Musk’s AI and social media company in February, has confidentially filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an IPO, according to Bloomberg. The news agency, citing sources, reports that SpaceX will seek a valuation of $1.75tn as a result of its public listing and raise $75bn from the process, which would make it by far the most highly valued IPO in history. Most of the value of the company is believed to be associated with Starlink, the SpaceX division that manages a constellation of more than 10,000 low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites that provides broadband services and, with its dedicated network of 650 cellular technology payload Starlink Mobile satellites, provides direct-to-device (D2D) services to regular smartphone devices through partnerships with mobile operators.      

This week, France began the shutdown of 2G networks and services, with the gradual switch off due to continue throughout the rest of 2026. According to a report from regulator Arcep, more than 2.4 million SIMs were active in 2G devices at the end of 2025, accounting for around 1.8% of all active SIMs being used for voice, text and data services in France, and around 3.9% of the machine-to-machine devices currently in use. On Wednesday, Orange completed its planned shutdown of 2G services in the first three municipalities of mainland France, disconnecting some 2,300 SIMs that were still active on 2G, according to Agence France-Presse. One of the reasons for the shutdown is to free up spectrum that can be reallocated to support 4G and 5G services.

Fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) accounted for almost 43% of all broadband connections in the UK at the end of 2025, according to research firm Point Topic, which reported that the UK had 28.96 active broadband lines at the end of last year of which 12.39 million were “full fibre FTTP”. Independent FTTP aItnet operators added 250,000 connections between them during the final quarter of 2025, taking their collective total to 3.55 million. However, the Point Topic team notes that “with FTTP now mainstream and competition intensifying, altnet pricing and operational models face increasing pressure, raising questions about how many can remain sustainable as take-up normalises and overlap with larger networks grows.”

AT&T has reached a deal with the Trump administration to invest $1bn to boost coverage on the US First Responder Network (FirstNet), while also finding an additional $1bn in reduced costs. The agreement struck with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), part of the US Department of Commerce, will also see AT&T accelerate the deployment of FirstNet’s Dedicated Public Safety 5G Core, it was announced by commerce secretary Howard Lutnick. AT&T won the 25-year contract to build FirstNet back in 2017, but the deal came under scrutiny after President Trump signed an executive order enabling federal agencies to review contracts to maximise the return in value for Americans.

Helios Towers, which operates shared infrastructure in multiple markets across Africa and the Middle East, is set to invest about $110m in the deployment of new tower sites in urban and rural areas, as well as supporting infrastructure (power supply), in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2026. According to Helios, which already manages 2,712 towers in the African country, the investment comes “at a time of rapidly growing demand for connectivity in the DRC” and is being enabled by an “investment agreement” with Agence Nationale pour la Promotion des Investissements (ANAPI), the DRC government body “responsible for promoting investment and improving the DRC’s business climate”. This agreement “creates a favourable framework for investment and network expansion that will boost competitiveness and enable quicker construction”, according to the towers company, but its representatives were unable to explain exactly what a “favourable framework” entails, confirm whether Helios is benefitting from any incentives to make its investments, or provide any guidance as to how many additional towers it will have in DRC once the investment has been made. ANAPI describes itself as a body that “acts as a mediator between investors and government institutions to identify and remove barriers to investment” and notes that it “works to implement reforms aimed at improving transparency, simplifying procedures and making the business environment more attractive.”  

– The staff, TelecomTV