• Echostar co-founder reportedly reaches $200m deal for MobileX
• Ericsson and MediaTek demo GNSS RTK
• IBM Consulting signs up to GSMA’s Open Gateway

In today’s industry news roundup: Reports claim Echostar co-founder Charlie Ergen has agreed a $200m deal to buy MVNO MobileX; Ericsson and Mediatek team up to trial GNSS RTK positioning up to decimetre-level outdoor accuracy; IBM Consulting is the latest name to join the GSMA’s Open Gateway API initiative; and much more!

Echostar co-founder Charlie Ergen has reached a $200m agreement to buy a controlling share in mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) MobileX through special purpose acquisition company CONX, according to the Wall Street Journal. The US newspaper claims that, subject to regulatory approval, Ergen will take a majority share of the MVNO, which was founded by industry vet Peter Adderton, while Verizon, which provides the network infrastructure for MobileX, is also in line to buy a minority share in the company. Adderton has previous experience with the company, having founded Boost Mobile – now owned by Echostar – which he sold to Nextel in 2003, before launching MobileX in 2019. According to the report, Adderton is expected to stay on as chief executive of MobileX, should the deal be approved, despite previously criticising Echostar, the holding company behind Boost, Hughes Network and pay-TV firm Dish Network, primarily for selling off a swathe of its spectrum licences to AT&T. The report did not reveal if Echostar would integrate MobileX and Boost.

Ericsson has partnered with MediaTek to demonstrate how 3GPP-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) positioning can achieve decimetre-level outdoor positioning accuracy. The trial used real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning, which Ericsson launched in January as part of its 5G-Advanced location solution, to deliver stable sub-30cm outdoor accuracy (compared with several metres for traditional GNSS), which could benefit use cases ranging from autonomous vehicles to drones and industrial robots operating in complex environments. The test integrated RTK correction data into 5G infrastructure, and showed off the ability to switch between unicasting and broadcasting seamlessly in busy areas. For unicast GNSS RTK, messages are delivered through Secure User Plane Location, which is transmitted over standard IP connections, while broadcast data is distributed using Positioning System Information Blocks to broadcast GNSS-RTK information to all devices in a cell at once and offers scale and better network efficiency. MediaTek provided its latest 5G modem for the test, which was carried out in a test centre near Ericsson’s Stockholm headquarters earlier this summer.

IBM Consulting has become the latest firm to join the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative as it looks to support initial discovery and use-case definition for telecom APIs. The Open Gateway initiative, an ecosystem that looks to connect telcos and enterprises by developing network APIs, has been backed by more than 70 businesses and over 300 mobile networks, representing more than 80% of the world’s mobile connections. IBM Consulting said it intends to help operators and enterprises to design, deploy and scale network Camara-enabled API-driven solutions in order to bridge the gap between mobile network capabilities and enterprise application environments. Rahul Kumar, senior partner and vice president and global industry leader for the telecommunications and media industries at IBM Consulting, said: “Network data can provide organisations with a wealth of decision-making intelligence and, through the GSMA Open Gateway initiative, Camara-enabled network APIs can help address real-life challenges for businesses. IBM Consulting’s experience and expertise allow us to further support our enterprise and public sector clients by working with the GSMA and the mobile operator community to unleash the power of modern-day networks.”

Orange Belgium has launched a new cybersecurity solution aimed at using AI analysis to protect small businesses from potential threats. Its Cyber Protection solution supports up to 30 users, combining AI behavioural analysis with real-time human surveillance, which is supported by the Orange Cyberdefense team. The number of cyber-extortion victims worldwide rose by 44.5% in 2025, according to Orange Cyberdefense’s Security Navigator, with small and medium-sized enterprises accounting for two-thirds of affected organisations, while in Belgium, around 100 ransomware attacks are reported every year. Cyber Protection runs in the background, according to Orange, and once it detects a threat, it can automatically block or isolate the affected file and quarantine it.

The UK Space Agency has announced plans to back 16 satellite communications projects with up to £13m of funding, including trials with a view to eliminating connectivity ‘not-spots’ on trains and boosting rural 5G. The funding is being delivered through the European Space Agency’s Advanced Research in Telecommunication Systems (ARTES) programme. Supported projects include providing broadband on rural Scottish rail lines through a partnership between Scotrail and CGI, and a trial of a quick universal array for Ka-band, E-band, and S-band Earth stations that can connect to multiple satellites at once. The biggest tranche of funding was given to Exobotics, which received £2.1m for a project that aims to develop a next-generation optical communications technology designed to provide near real-time connectivity for satellite operators and will deliver the first satellites in a planned data relay network. You can read about all the projects here. Space minister Liz Lloyd said: “This investment shows how innovations in the UK’s satellite sector can improve lives, with better connectivity delivering internet access for more train journeys and smarter farming.

– The staff, TelecomTV