Author

Sophie Vance

Sophie writes about telecommunications infrastructure with a measured, essayistic voice — the engineering, the economics, and the strange politics that shape the networks we move through every day. Eleven years of trade-press writing, an ongoing fascination with the quiet things that make the loud things work.

Page 64 of 64 760 articles total

On Network Operators, and Their Long Memories

On Network Operators, and Their Long Memories

Mobile carriers think in decades because their assets last for decades. The strategic choices they make this year reflect the spectrum they…

Sophie Vance May 3, 2026 4 min read

On Standards Bodies, and the People Who Quietly Decide

On Standards Bodies, and the People Who Quietly Decide

A few hundred engineers, in rooms in Sophia Antipolis and Tokyo and Sandbridge, decide what 6G will be. Their decisions will shape…

Sophie Vance May 3, 2026 4 min read

On Spectrum Auctions, and the Quiet Politics of the Air

On Spectrum Auctions, and the Quiet Politics of the Air

Every few years, the federal government auctions off slices of the electromagnetic spectrum for tens of billions of dollars. The rules of…

Sophie Vance May 3, 2026 4 min read

On Towers, and the Strange Permanence of Steel

On Towers, and the Strange Permanence of Steel

Cell towers are designed for forty years and meant to be invisible. Some of the ones being built this year will outlast…

Sophie Vance May 3, 2026 4 min read