A Selection of Recent Books (all available on Amazon)

Beyond Communications (2026)

We currently have separate communication systems and sensing, or radar-like, systems. The concept of bringing these two systems together using 6G’s integrated sensing and communications (ISAC) feature is alluring. Not only would there be cost savings from less infrastructure and lower energy consumption, but the dense grid of cellular base stations might enable sensing in areas not previously possible. The additional revenue from new use cases might help fund the deployment costs for 6G and revitalize the finances of the mobile operators.

From a technical and standardization perspective the signs are positive. The frequencies and bandwidths proposed for 6G, at 6GHz and above, provide sufficient resolution for many sensing applications, research has demonstrated viable sensing, for example of drones, and there is a strong standardization roadmap already underway in 3GPP. With the ITU designating ISAC as one of the pillars of 6G, the concept has much legitimacy.

However, success is far from assured. The economics of ISAC appear weak. ISAC might require most base stations to be modified, a denser grid of new base stations deployed, and might increase energy and computing costs. The revenue streams currently appear relatively small compared to communications revenues and without government support, perhaps using ISAC as part of a drone and missile defense system, the business case does not appear to work. There are also serious privacy concerns about a system that can monitor individuals, potentially even down to some of their vital signs, that may need fundamental legal decisions and if handled badly could result in vigilante action against networks.

This book clearly sets out the case for and against ISAC and draws clear conclusions as to what will be needed if it is to be successful.

References for the book can be found here.

Beyond The Tower (2026)

In 2022 Apple announced a breakthrough. For the first time a cellphone, without external antenna, would be able to communicate directly with a Globalstar satellite. Its capabilities were very limited but lifesaving in numerous circumstances. Since then, others have announced “direct to device” (D2D) services including Starlink, Amazon LEO, Lynk, and AST SpaceMobile. Some promise cellular levels of connectivity even including video calls in future releases.

There is now much debate as to where this will lead. Will the service remain a low-bandwidth fallback in areas where there is no cellular connectivity or might it grow to a solution that supplants cellular, at least outdoors? Will users access the satellite service through their cellular subscription, or the cellular service through their satellite subscription? Might Starlink bundle fixed and mobile satellite into a complete package?

Underlying these questions are more fundamental uncertainties such as the ultimate capacity of D2D networks and whether the business case can work for multiple operators. Geopolitics, long standing regulatory issues, and the desire for national sovereignty also confuse the picture.

This book seeks to explore and, in many cases, resolve these questions. It sets out the issues that determine capacity, coverage and the business case and develops initial predictions and estimates. It talks through geopolitics, spectrum, current positioning and much more before building a range of scenarios. It shows what can currently be determined and where there remain genuine uncertainties.

Satellite D2D offers much – a path to ubiquitous connectivity in short timescales. But the history of large-constellation satellite networks is littered with business failures. This book provides the knowledge and insight to understand whether this time things will be different.

The End of Telcoms History 2nd Edition (2025)

An update of the first edition (see below) adding in substantially more information on AI, fixed wireless access, a range of new technologies and updating the data to 2025.

The 6G Manifesto (2024)

The telecoms industry is rushing towards a 6th generation that it expects to deploy by 2030. But the vision manufacturers and researchers expound is one of “5G-on-steroids”, despite the fact that 5G has disappointed, not delivering any new services and only having limited availability.

This book shows the deep flaws with such an approach and sets out an alternative, more in line with the views of the operators, that delivers always-connected quality coverage at lower cost. It shows how this can be achieved through leveraging other networks such as Wi-Fi and satellite, and through placing intelligence above individual networks. It discusses the tactics needed to bring it about.

The book ends with a clear manifesto from “the people” for a 6G we can all benefit from.

The End of Telecoms History (2024)

Telecoms networks have improved dramatically over the last 150 years. Initially developments were focused on delivering voice calls and then from the 1990s to enabling Internet connectivity. Data capabilities have improved from early 1.2kbit/s modems to networks that can deliver 100Mbits/s or more. And data usage per person has gone from a few Mbytes/s per month to hundreds of Gbytes – nearly a 1 million-fold increase. It is natural to think this progression will continue forever.

But this is not so. Beyond around 10Mbits/s on mobile phones and around 50Mbits/s on fixed broadband, faster data rates make no difference to most. At those speeds there are other constraints such as the Internet servers that limit responsiveness. And our main use – video – only requires 3Mbits/s for high definition. Our use of data is now levelling off, with growth rates already below 20% a year and likely to fall to 0% - a flat level of usage – before the end of the decade.

Those who are well connected, with good home broadband and good mobile coverage have all the connectivity that they need. The journey that started with Morse and Marconi has come to an end. It is the end of history for telecoms. We should rejoice that we have all we need and ensure now that everyone in the world is well-connected. As one journey ends another begins.

Emperor Ofcom's New Clothes (2024)

The market approach to licensed mobile spectrum regulation has hardly changed in a mobile world that has turned itself upside down over the past twenty years. The barriers between the regulator and regulated has left no single person with a full understanding of what its full impact has been. The two authors pull back the curtains and reveal:

The links OFCOM believe exists between the highest auction bid price and the most economically efficient use of mobile spectrum for the country may never have existed in the UK market.
The claimed spectrum efficiency benefits of mobile spectrum annual licence fees are as invisible as the emperor’s new clothes.

As a result, what has been delivered in 2023 is a sub-standard mobile quality of coverage, a sub-optimal economic spectrum efficiency and at a cost of billions of pounds to the industry. The authors call for an end to what today is a failed pseudo-market approach and replacing it with an infrastructure quality driven revolution that can transform the current patchy basic mobile coverage to an eventual UK wide outcome where there are not only basic mobile connections available everywhere, but also sufficient data capacity to support all concurrent active users, ensuring each user experience is seamless and uninterrupted.