Today’s telecom news includes announcements on Wecom Fiber, Arizona broadband project, RailTel, Iridium, Altair, among others.
Wecom Fiber Completes $45 Million Arizona Broadband Project Connecting 15,000 Locations
Wecom Fiber has completed a $45 million fiber broadband infrastructure project across Mohave and La Paz counties in Arizona, United States. The final construction segment was completed in Parker, marking the conclusion of a multi-year deployment that began in November 2023. The network connects approximately 15,000 homes and businesses and serves 124 community anchor institutions, including schools, libraries and public-safety facilities. The project received $10 million in state broadband development funding, supplemented by $35 million invested by Wecom Fiber. The operator is also preparing additional broadband deployments across eight Arizona counties after securing $195 million in federal funding to connect more than 66,000 underserved locations.
RailTel Wins ₹197 Crore SBI Telecom Network Contract Covering Branches and Data Centers
RailTel Corporation of India has secured a ₹197.18 crore telecommunications services contract from the State Bank of India. Announced on October 14, the five-year agreement covers the provision and maintenance of MPLS connectivity and point-to-point telecommunications links connecting SBI branches, data centers and disaster recovery facilities across India. The contract runs from April 1, 2026, to March 31, 2031, with revised service rates. The disclosed value excludes applicable taxes. RailTel operates approximately 62,000 kilometers of optical fiber infrastructure and provides public Wi-Fi connectivity at more than 6,000 railway stations. The agreement continues an existing connectivity arrangement rather than representing an entirely new customer deployment.
Iridium and Altair Integrate Satellite Connectivity into Two Cellular IoT Chipsets
Iridium Communications has announced the integration of its Iridium NTN Direct satellite connectivity technology into Altair Semiconductor’s ALT1350 and ALT1550 cellular IoT chipsets. The integration combines terrestrial mobile connectivity and satellite communications on a single chipset, eliminating the requirement for a separate satellite modem. The ALT1350 supports low-power LTE-M and NB-IoT applications, while the ALT1550 targets 5G enhanced Reduced Capability devices. Both platforms are being developed to support standards-based connectivity through Iridium’s operational low-Earth-orbit constellation using globally coordinated L-band spectrum. Applications include asset tracking, utilities, logistics, agriculture and industrial monitoring. Commercial device volumes, chipset pricing and deployment dates have not been announced.
