As of early 2024, Mexico had over 107 million internet users, about 83% of the population. Fixed broadband is increasingly fiber-based, with around 70% of fixed connections using fiber (FTTH) and Telmex migrating about 85% of its broadband customers from DSL to fiber. Red Compartida, launched in 2018 by Altán Redes, reached 95.3% of the…
Read more
The iPhone 14 introduced Emergency SOS via satellite in September 2022 using the Globalstar network, with a US/Canada launch in November 2022 and expansion to 17 countries by mid-2024. The Huawei Mate 60 Pro, released in August 2023, became the world’s first smartphone to support direct satellite voice calls via China’s Tiantong-1 GEO constellation. Iridium…
Read more
OneWeb’s first-generation constellation comprises 648 LEO satellites at about 1,200 km altitude, each ~150 kg, using Ku-band for user links and Ka-band for gateways, with 16 spot beams and no inter-satellite laser links, delivering up to 7.2 Gbps per satellite. By late 2021, OneWeb achieved partial service in high-latitude regions, focusing on the Arctic, Northern…
Read more
Starlink is a SpaceX satellite internet constellation that began launching in 2019 to deliver broadband virtually anywhere on Earth. As of late 2024, SpaceX had launched over 7,000 Starlink satellites, with FCC authorization for about 12,000 and potential expansion beyond 30,000 in the future. Starlink satellites orbit at approximately 550 km altitude in multiple orbital…
Read more
The nationwide fiber backbone, the Next Gen NBN, uses NetLink Trust for passive infrastructure and a structural separation that lets Singtel, StarHub, and M1 jointly serve over 98% of fixed-line subscribers. Singapore’s average fixed broadband speed was about 336 Mbps in January 2025, making it the fastest globally. The government plans a 10 Gbps symmetric…
Read more
Dhiraagu (Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun) was established in 1988 as the Maldives’ first telecom operator and former state monopoly. By 2000, basic telephone service had reached all inhabited islands and dial-up internet was available nationwide. In 2003 Focus Infocom received a second ISP license, and in 2005 Wataniya (Ooredoo Maldives) entered mobile service, ending Dhiraagu’s 17‑year…
Read more
Thailand connected to the international Internet in the late 1980s and moved to full TCP/IP by 1992. In 2004, unmetered flat-rate broadband plans were introduced, spurring rapid broadband growth from 2005 onward. The Net Pracharat Village Broadband Internet project extends high-speed internet to over 75,000 villages. Thailand’s fixed broadband ranking rose from 34th in 2018…
Read more
A China Mobile 5G base station was installed at Mount Everest base camp at 6,500 meters in 2020, making it the world’s highest 5G site. By 2019, more than 98% of Tibet’s villages had fiber‑optic broadband and 4G mobile coverage due to government investment. By 2018, government universal service projects connected over 5,000 villages with…
Read more
Nepal’s mobile market is led by Nepal Telecom with about 57% share, Ncell around 36%, and Smart Telecom about 6%. WorldLink Communications is the largest fixed broadband ISP with 972,781 subscribers as of 2024, roughly 30% of Nepal’s fixed broadband connections. FTTH subscribers surpassed 2.5 million in January 2023 and reached about 2.89 million by…
Read more
Mobile subscriptions grew from zero in 2001 to nearly 100% penetration by 2021. A nationwide fiber-optic backbone was being rolled out, including a 400 km cross-border fiber link to China via the Wakhan Corridor that was near completion in 2021. The Taliban’s return to power in August 2021 stalled or halted many fiber and broader…
Read more
