BT Delays Starlink Launch Over 'Ukraine Thing', Ericsson Shifts mmWave Output

BT's satellite broadband partnership with Starlink is "ready to launch" but remains switched off, with CEO Allison Kirkby telling the Financial Times the operator is "cautious on how Starlink might be viewed at the moment considering what happened in Ukraine a couple of weeks ago." The delay is political, not technical — and the phrase she reportedly used, "the Ukraine thing," points to a dispute in which nobody has accepted responsibility.

What is BT actually waiting for?

The "Ukraine thing" refers to restrictions placed last month on Ukraine's military use of Elon Musk's Starlink-powered Starshield system, which Kyiv wanted for defence against Russian attacks. Neither Musk nor the US government has admitted imposing the restrictions. Kirkby's reticence is a reminder that a commercial fill-in for BT's fibre network now carries geopolitical baggage it did not have a year ago.

The joint service would plug gaps in BT's fibre broadband footprint. BT is not alone in courting Musk's constellation: Virgin Media O2 demonstrated a Starlink-powered direct-to-device mobile fill-in service last month in a remote part of Wales. Two UK operators, two satellite bets — and, at BT, one conspicuous pause.

Ericsson consolidates mmWave production in Estonia

Ericsson has stopped manufacturing millimetre-wave radios at its 5G smart factory in Lewisville, Texas, and consolidated that production at its site in Estonia. The shift moves a high-spec 5G radio line out of the US at a moment when stateside manufacturing is politically fashionable; Ericsson has not, in this report, spelled out the cost or headcount consequences of the move.

What is holding back MENA digital investment?

The GSMA claims unfavourable telecom policy and onerous regulation are holding back digital investment for some companies in the Middle East and North Africa. Its MENA Enterprise Digital Transformation Report 2026 finds:

• Large companies across the region plan to invest an average of 9.3% of revenues in "digital transformation" through to 2032.
• One in nine reports postponing some planned investment due to barriers to delivery.
• 28% of MENA enterprises say current regulatory frameworks hinder transformation.
• Of that group, half cite licensing and authorisation regimes; 43% point to data protection, privacy and digital identity compliance; 42% flag sector-specific rules.

The figure to watch is the postponed tranche: roughly 11% of large enterprises deferring spend is a concrete drag, whatever the transformation rhetoric.

Can CityFibre's network handle GTA 6?

CityFibre, the largest of the UK's altnets, is promoting the capacity of its XGS-PON network ahead of the download-heavy release of the latest Grand Theft Auto on November 19. Neil McRae, chief technology and innovation officer, said: "Major network events that create huge simultaneous user demand, like the release of GTA 6, were baked into the design of our network, a strategy which is paying off as we see growing demand for simultaneous downloads, uploads and cloud-based application use."

A game launch as a network stress test is a vendor-friendly framing; actual peak-throughput figures for the day were not offered.

Viavi, Sunrise and Bouygues round out the week

Blackpool, the UK seaside resort, has enlisted Arizona-based Viavi to bring digital-twin technology to a private 5G project called Orbit, intended to better integrate the town's public transport. Viavi will model tram and bus routes so control routines can be tested against realistic traffic scenarios before field trials.

Switzerland's Sunrise is offering "Five," a "self-configured" mobile plan built with sovereign AI: customers design their own subscription after a chat with an AI assistant, ready to use in five minutes. No detail was given on what happens when the assistant and the customer disagree.

Bouygues, meanwhile, is targeting people living alone with its "One" broadband-and-mobile bundle — 2Gbit/s fixed broadband, a 250GB-per-month mobile package and a Prime Video subscription — which the French operator claims saves more than €300 (US$336) a year versus buying the services separately. That works out at roughly €25 a month back in the customer's pocket, on Bouygues' own arithmetic.

BT, for its part, has given no date for the Starlink launch. The service is ready; the politics are not.