Today: 7 February 2026
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Connectivity News 16 June 2025 - 22 June 2025

The Real Wi-Fight: Romania’s Race to Connect Every Corner of the Country

The Real Wi-Fight: Romania’s Race to Connect Every Corner of the Country

Romania’s first Internet connection was established in 1993 via ici.ro. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, urban residents built “rețele de cartier” by stringing Ethernet cables between buildings, helping the country leapfrog DSL. By 2020 Romania ranked third in the world for fastest fixed internet speeds, behind Singapore and Hong Kong. As of 2024, 88.6% of Romanian households had internet at home, with 92.5% of urban and 83.2% of rural households online. Fiber dominates the fixed network, with about 93% of localities passed by FTTH/B and about 93% of localities able to access gigabit speeds. Digi (RCS&RDS) had about
22 June 2025
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No Signal? No Problem: Why Satellite Phones Are Booming in 2025

No Signal? No Problem: Why Satellite Phones Are Booming in 2025

In June 2025, T-Mobile began a nationwide beta of its “T-Satellite” service built on SpaceX Starlink technology, with a July 2025 rollout and plans to include it at no extra cost on high‑end plans and about $10/month for others. On June 19, 2025, Vodafone Idea and AST SpaceMobile announced a partnership to deliver 4G/5G access from space in India using AST’s BlueWalker 3 satellites to reach remote areas. The FCC Space Bureau accepted Globalstar’s petition in early June 2025 to launch a second‑generation LEO constellation called “C‑3” for direct‑to‑device services, with Apple owning about 20% of Globalstar and a 50‑satellite
21 June 2025
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Internet Access in Jamaica: From Fiber to the Final Frontier

Internet Access in Jamaica: From Fiber to the Final Frontier

Jamaica’s internet penetration is about 83–85%, with 2.37 million internet users in January 2025, representing 83.4% of the population online. Rural areas show roughly 77% internet usage compared with about 87% in urban centers, highlighting an urban–rural digital divide. Median mobile data speed is about 29–30 Mbps, while median fixed broadband speed is around 60–80 Mbps, with fixed speeds rising from ~61 Mbps in January 2024 to ~82 Mbps in January 2025 and mobile speeds down about 3.5% in 2023. By 2023, 99% of Jamaicans had access to at least a 4G mobile signal, while 5G networks were essentially non-existent
21 June 2025
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Connecting the Peaks: Internet Access in Kyrgyzstan’s Digital Landscape

Connecting the Peaks: Internet Access in Kyrgyzstan’s Digital Landscape

The World Bank–funded Digital CASA project is deploying over 2,500 km of fiber, establishing 30 backbone nodes and 200 local access points, and will connect about 4,000 public facilities nationwide to high-speed broadband. As of late 2023, 4G/LTE mobile networks cover 98.8% of Kyrgyzstan’s inhabited localities. Internet penetration reached about 79.8% of the population by early 2024, amounting to roughly 5.41 million internet users in a country of 6.8 million people. Urban areas account for about 38% of the population with dense coverage, while rural areas, home to about 62%, have slower connectivity. Kyrgyzstan’s mobile market is dominated by MegaCom
20 June 2025
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Beyond Cell Coverage: The Ultimate 2025 Guide to Satellite Texting Services

Beyond Cell Coverage: The Ultimate 2025 Guide to Satellite Texting Services

In late 2022, Apple launched Emergency SOS via satellite on the iPhone 14 series, enabling two-way emergency texting via Globalstar satellites. As of iOS 17 and later, iPhone 14/15 users in supported regions can share their location and send basic non-emergency texts via satellite, with two years of free service after activation before a paid plan. Garmin’s inReach Mini 2 provides global two-way texting via the Iridium network, with plans from about $15/month to $65/month and devices typically priced around $350–$450. ZOLEO uses the Iridium network for global messaging, costs about $200 for the device, offers plans from roughly $20
20 June 2025
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State of Internet Access in Guatemala: From City Wi-Fi to Satellite Lifelines

State of Internet Access in Guatemala: From City Wi-Fi to Satellite Lifelines

4G LTE coverage is extensive, reaching about 91% of the population in 2024, while 3G coverage reaches about 95%. In 2023, SIT held spectrum auctions that raised about $176 million in total: 126 MHz in the 2.5 GHz band brought in about $49 million (with Tigo $32 million and Claro $17 million) and a later 700 MHz tender raised about $127 million. Starlink officially launched in Guatemala in June 2024 with the Starlink Mini kit priced around Q1,600 ($200) and monthly plans of Q510–560 ($65–72), delivering speeds of 100–200 Mbps with latency of 20–50 ms. As of early 2024, about
18 June 2025
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State of Internet Access in Vietnam: From Fiber to Satellite Skies

State of Internet Access in Vietnam: From Fiber to Satellite Skies

As of mid-2024, 82.2% of fixed broadband households in Vietnam were connected via fiber-optic FTTH, with universal fiber access targeted by 2025 under the Digital Infrastructure Strategy. 4G LTE coverage reaches 99.8% of the territory, with about 168.5 million mobile subscriptions (roughly 170% of the population) and 91.9 mobile broadband subscriptions per 100 people by mid-2024. Commercial 5G service launched in October 2024, with 5G base stations in all 63 provinces by late 2024 and targets of over 50% of the population by 2025 and 99% by 2030. International connectivity has been fragile due to undersea cables, with 4 of
18 June 2025
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Insane Internet Speeds: The Fastest Connections on Earth and What’s Coming Next

Insane Internet Speeds: The Fastest Connections on Earth and What’s Coming Next

In June 2024, a team led by Japan’s NICT and Aston University achieved 402 Tbps over a single standard optical fiber using six wavelength bands (O, E, S, C, L, and U). In March 2024, the same international team reached 301 Tbps by extending into E-band and S-band with a custom amplifier for those bands. In July 2021, NICT researchers transmitted 319 Tbps over 3,001 km using a 4-core optical fiber with 552 channels across a 120 nm spectrum. In August 2020, University College London set a then-record of 178 Tbps using geometric shaping constellations. In April 2025, NICT with
17 June 2025
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Internet Access in Macedonia: From Fiber to the Final Frontier

Internet Access in Macedonia: From Fiber to the Final Frontier

MakTel’s FTTH network passes over 270,000 households and offers up to 1 Gbps on fiber, with DSL available nationwide at about 50–60 Mbps where fiber is not yet present. A1 Macedonia (formerly One.Vip) operates a hybrid cable and fiber network and had 56% of the population with 5G-ready fiber or cable by 2022, with up to 200 Mbps symmetric fiber in bundles. Telekabel runs its own network in 17 cities and has 100% fiber coverage in at least four cities, offering fiber plans around 40 Mbps for MKD 600 per month. By 2022, about 75.6% of Macedonian households had access
17 June 2025
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2025 Satellite Internet Showdown: Starlink vs Viasat vs HughesNet vs OneWeb & More

2025 Satellite Internet Showdown: Starlink vs Viasat vs HughesNet vs OneWeb & More

Starlink (SpaceX) is a LEO constellation (~4,500 satellites) delivering residential speeds ~100–250 Mbps down / 10–20 Mbps up, business up to ~350–400 Mbps, with a median latency ~45 ms in Q1 2025 and no hard data caps, employing a Fair Use Policy that deprioritizes after 1 TB. HughesNet Jupiter-3 (GEO) upgrade in 2024–25 offers 50–100 Mbps down (about 3 Mbps up), with latency ~600–700 ms, Fusion hybrid areas lowering latency, and a 24-month contract with equipment lease around $14.99/month or $299–$449 purchase, dish ~0.74 m, Wi‑Fi 6 modem, and 100–200 GB Priority Data per month plus 2 AM–8 AM unmetered
16 June 2025
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Inside Poland’s Internet Boom: From Urban Speeds to Satellite Signals

Inside Poland’s Internet Boom: From Urban Speeds to Satellite Signals

By mid-2023, fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) passed 75.4% of Polish homes, making FTTP the most prevalent fixed broadband technology. By mid-2023 rural FTTP coverage reached 56.3% of rural homes, overtaking DSL as the largest rural broadband technology. National fixed broadband coverage stood at 86.9% of households, with rural coverage at 74.0% by mid-2023. In October 2023, Poland concluded its 3.6 GHz 5G spectrum auction, granting 100 MHz licenses to all four operators and obligating 5G to deliver at least 95 Mbps to 90% of the territory and 99% of households. By mid-2023, 58.5% of rural households had 5G coverage, aided by rapid
16 June 2025
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Internet Access in Uruguay: The Quiet Digital Revolution Reaching the Sky

Internet Access in Uruguay: The Quiet Digital Revolution Reaching the Sky

Uruguay’s internet penetration is about 89.9–90% of the population as of 2024, one of the highest in the Americas. In 2023 fixed broadband subscriptions totaled about 1.10 million (32 per 100 people), with 81% of those connections delivered via fiber to the home (FTTH). As of early 2024, Uruguay had 6.59 million mobile connections (192.6% of the population), with around 4 million active mobile broadband subscriptions (roughly 110% of the population). 4G LTE networks reach about 94% of the population, and 5G spectrum was auctioned in 2023 after a pilot in 2019, with ANTEL committing about $43 million in 2023
16 June 2025
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Stock Market Today

Northern Star Resources share price dips into weekend as $50m Central Tanami deal closes

Northern Star Resources share price dips into weekend as $50m Central Tanami deal closes

7 February 2026
Northern Star Resources fell 1.7% to A$26.77 Friday, extending losses as gold miners and the broader market declined. MGX Resources completed its A$50 million purchase of a 50% stake in the Central Tanami Gold Project from Northern Star. The All Ordinaries Gold index dropped 3.24%. CME Group raised COMEX gold futures margin requirements to 9% amid volatility.
PLS Group share price slips into weekend as Morgan Stanley and MUFG filings land

PLS Group share price slips into weekend as Morgan Stanley and MUFG filings land

7 February 2026
PLS Group shares closed at A$4.12 Friday, down 1.2% after a 3.7% drop Thursday. Morgan Stanley and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group disclosed increased voting power in the lithium miner, both citing changes dated Feb. 2. The moves came as lithium prices fell and Australian equities posted their sharpest drop in months. PLS reports interim results Feb. 19.
Commonwealth Bank share price near A$159 as CBA earnings, dividend week looms after ASX rout

Commonwealth Bank share price near A$159 as CBA earnings, dividend week looms after ASX rout

7 February 2026
Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares closed at A$158.91, down 0.23% Friday, as the S&P/ASX 200 fell 2.03% and nearly A$70 billion was wiped from the market. The bank reports half-year results and an interim dividend on Feb. 11, with shares going ex-dividend Feb. 18. CBA flagged a A$68 million provision linked to ASIC’s Better Banking review. The RBA raised rates to 3.85% on Feb. 3, with CBA passing on the increase from Feb. 13.
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