Today’s telecom news includes announcements on PPC FiberGrid, Midgard Infra, Vodafone Idea, SoftBank, among others.
PPC FiberGrid Reaches 2.3 Million Homes Passed as Greece FTTH Expansion Accelerates
PPC Group has expanded its fiber-to-the-home network to 2.3 million premises passed, with more than 1.5 million households and businesses ready for service across 70 areas in Greece. New commercial coverage includes Volos, Kalamata, Lamia, Artemida, Agios Dimitrios, Polichni and Sykies. Its subsidiary PPC FiberGrid has built Greece’s second-largest FTTH network in approximately three and a half years. The company targets 2 million ready-for-service premises by the end of 2026 and 3.8 million homes passed by 2028. Retail broadband speeds reach 2.5 Gbps, while the underlying network supports up to 10 Gbps. Wholesale bitstream and dark-fiber services are also available to other operators.
Midgard Infra Plans 200-km, 144-Fiber-Pair Subsea Cable Between Sweden and Finland
Midgard Infra, formerly Altibox Carrier, has announced plans to extend its Oslo–Stockholm fiber corridor into Finland through a new 200-km submarine cable carrying 144 fiber pairs. The unrepeatered cable will connect coastal locations northeast of Stockholm and southwest of Finland, creating a continuous telecommunications route across Norway, Sweden and Finland. Construction is scheduled to begin in early 2027, with commercial service targeted for 2029. The company says the cable will use landing points and infrastructure physically separated from existing Sweden–Finland routes. Midgard Infra already operates international connectivity infrastructure including the NO-UK and Skagenfiber West submarine systems. The new corridor will provide additional capacity and route diversity for carriers, hyperscalers and Nordic data centers.
Vodafone Idea and Hindalco Sign Multi-Year Private Network Contract for Odisha Bauxite Mine
Vodafone Idea’s enterprise division, Vi Business, has signed a multi-year managed-services agreement with Hindalco Industries to deploy a dedicated private wireless network at the Baphlimali Bauxite Mine in Rayagada district, Odisha. The contract covers spectrum, mobile-core infrastructure, radio access network equipment and ongoing network management. The deployment will support connected mining operations, worker-safety systems, fleet management, drone surveillance, CCTV and real-time operational monitoring. An Integrated Command and Control Centre will provide centralized visibility across mining activities. Hindalco describes the project as its first dedicated private-network implementation. The companies have not disclosed the contract value, spectrum allocation, radio-site count or expected commissioning date.
SoftBank Demonstrates Aerial Mobile Network Covering More Than 5 km for Disaster Recovery
SoftBank has completed a mobile-network trial using a Disaster Relief Unit Pod installed on a large remotely piloted aircraft. The aircraft transmitted cellular signals from an altitude of 3,000 meters, establishing a ground communications area with a diameter exceeding 5 km. The equipment was designed and manufactured in Japan and integrated with an aircraft operated by the Japan Coast Guard. The project included equipment conformity checks, aircraft integration, flight-safety verification and airworthiness approval. SoftBank is developing the system to restore temporary mobile coverage when terrestrial towers or transmission infrastructure are damaged by earthquakes and other disasters. The company has not announced a commercial deployment date for the aircraft-based system.