• Drivers would pay for NTN-enabled in-car connectivity – report
• AT&T will light up its 600MHz spectrum with Ericsson radios
• Hispasat lands major Iris2 deal

In today’s industry news roundup: A survey conducted by Viasat and the 5GAA has found wides[read willingness among drivers to pay extra for satellite-delivered in-car connectivity; AT&T has turned to Ericsson for the radios that will help it deliver services over its newly-acquired 600MHz spectrum; Spain’s Hispasat has landed a major contract from Europe’s Iris2 satellite programme; and much more!

A survey conducted by satellite communications company Viasat and the 5G Automotive Association (5GAA) has found that 76% of drivers experience signal loss while on the road every week, while a similar number (75%) would be willing to pay for in-car connectivity. The survey results, published in a new report, NTN in Automotive, found that some drivers said they spend more than four hours a week on the road without signal. Geography has a significant impact however. For example, 66% of Indonesian drivers said they spend at least an hour per week without signal, which is double the figure recorded in France. Drivers in India and Brazil also experienced similar challenges and this correlates with willingness to pay for satellite-based connectivity, with those three countries leading the way, according to Viasat’s study. The study covered 10 markets  – Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US – and included 1,606 respondents, who were all current car owners or held a lease to a vehicle. The ability to make emergency calls was the connectivity capability most important to the surveyed drivers, followed by local hazard and traffic information, with infotainment ranking third. For more on the report, see this press release. 

AT&T has turned to Ericsson to deploy uplink-boosting radios to capitalise on the 600MHz spectrum it recently acquired from EchoStar. The US telco closed its $23bn acquisition of EchoStar assets last month, and with it gained nationwide access to around 30MHz of 3.45Ghz midband spectrum, which it has already switched on. It also acquired 20MHz of 600MHz lowband frequencies, but this needs new radios because AT&T has not previously deployed services in this frequency. In an announcement, AT&T said it has selected Ericsson as the prime supplier for the new dual-band radios, which will allow the operator to deploy uplink-enhancing 8RX technology across low bands for the first time. “We’re more than halfway through our wireless network modernization, and we're executing to plan,” said Yigal Elbaz, SVP and Network CTO, AT&T. “By combining our newly acquired 600 MHz spectrum with Ericsson’s advanced radios, we’re improving coverage and performance for customers while building a more modern, flexible network for the future.”

Spanish satellite operator Hispasat has been named as one of the prime contractors for the European Union’s €16bn secure satellite constellation Iris2, which is set to come into service in 2030. As part of a €1.6bn contract, Hispasat – which is majority-owned by Spanish defence company Indra – will take primary responsibility for antennas, control systems and ground links on Iris2. It will also lead on a low-earth orbit (LEO) layer supporting direct-to-device (D2D) and internet of things (IoT) connectivity, with up to €600m committed for this service. Overall investment in Iris2 is expected to reach around €15.6bn, including €4bn from the SpaceRISE consortium. The European Space Agency had been locked in negotiations with SpaceRISE’s members – Eutelsat, SES and Hispasat – over Iris2, which will offer both commercial and military connectivity services via 342 satellites which will start going into orbit in 2029.

As part of its reorganisation following the expansion of its operations in Italy with the formation of Fastweb + Vodafone in early 2025, Swisscom has reorganised its senior management structure, including the appointment of a dedicated CEO and CFO for its Swiss unit, to enable Christoph Aeschlimann to become CEO of Swisscom Group. Dirk Wierzbitzki will become CEO of Swisscom’s domestic business. He joined the company in 2010 and has headed its residential customer arm since 2016: He will be succeeded by current retail chief Michel Siegenthaler. Rolf Stettler, who is currently Head of Finance for Switzerland, has been named as CFO for the domestic arm, while Group CFO Eugen Stermetz will hold overall financial responsibility for Swisscom Group, which includes both Switzerland and Italy. Thomas Wettstein has been named interim leader of Swisscom’s B2B division, with a permanent head set to be appointed at a later date. The restructure will see Urs Lehner, who has led the Business Customers division for almost a decade, leaving Swisscom. The new roles will come into effect on 1 January 2027. Aeschlimann stated: "I am delighted that Dirk Wierzbitzki will take on the role of CEO of Swisscom Switzerland. With his extensive leadership experience and deep understanding of our customers, the market and our company, I am convinced that he is the right person to lead the Swiss business. At the same time, I would like to thank Urs Lehner for his outstanding contribution to Swisscom.” News of the appointments came as Swisscom reported its financials for the first half of the year. 

Telefónica has carried out upgrades across more than 2,700 sites across Spain in preparation for an upcoming solar eclipse. The eclipse, which is predicted to be visible in Spain on 12 August, will bring “extraordinary demand for connectivity from national and international observers” at 400 observation points that have been identified across Spain, and the Spanish telco said it has configured its network in 31 provinces in preparation for the event. It has undertaken several measures across 2,756 sites, including reconfiguring the technical parameters of its base stations to adapt them to traffic demand, which means that the network will redistribute equipment capacity to give users uninterrupted access. It is part of a wider upgrade that makes up Telefónica’s ‘Summer Plan’. This includes more than 500 measures to upgrade existing infrastructure and new deployments in 34 key locations along the Spanish coast, as well as covering and optimising 440 of Spain’s most heavily attended events.
 

– The staff, TelecomTV