Latest news with #celltowers
Phone Arena
20 hours ago
- Phone Arena
This Android 16 feature may finally expose a spying tactic used for years
Android 16 brings a new security feature designed to help users spot potential surveillance attempts. According to a new report, the latest version of the OS can now notify users when their phone connects to an insecure or suspicious mobile network, such as one created by a fake cell tower. These fake towers, often called stingrays or cell-site simulators, mimic real cell towers and trick nearby phones into connecting. Once connected, the attacker can collect data like your IMEI number or force the phone to switch to older, less secure networks like 2G. This makes it easier to intercept unencrypted calls and texts. Although stingrays are often used by law enforcement, they can also be misused by hackers or other bad actors. The report outlines that Google has been working on ways to block these threats for a while. In Android 12, users gained the option to turn off 2G support. Android 14 added protections against unencrypted network connections. Then in Android 15, Google added a way for the system to detect when a network tries to access a phone's unique identifiers or change encryption settings. However, these features depend on support from a phone's modem. Specifically, they require version 3.0 of Android's IRadio HAL (hardware abstraction layer). Because many current phones don't have this, some features are still unavailable — even on Pixel devices running the latest Android versions. However, with Android 16 , Google is bringing back a dedicated "Mobile network security" settings page inside the Safety Center. It includes two main features: Network notifications: Alerts you when the phone connects to an unencrypted network or when a network requests your device's identifiers. 2G network protection: Lets you turn off 2G network support completely. Both options are off by default and only appear if the device's hardware supports them. This is why current Pixel phones won't show the new settings page, but newer models launching with Android 16, like the expected Pixel 10, likely will. If enabled, Android will post alerts in the notification panel and Safety Center. These alerts tell you when your phone switches from encrypted to unencrypted networks and log when a network asks for your phone's identifiers. This is pretty unique considering that Apple does not currently offer a direct equivalent to this where users are warned about fake cell towers or insecure network conditions in real time. However, Apple can enforce certain network-related protections in collaboration with carriers, but these are often buried in carrier settings and not adjustable by the user. Therefore, for Android users, his update will be a small but meaningful step in improving user privacy. While it unfortunately won't help with existing phones, it shows Google is continuing to strengthen Android's defense against silent tracking methods. In my opinion, the real impact will depend on how widely phone makers adopt the necessary hardware going forward. Secure your connection now at a bargain price! We may earn a commission if you make a purchase Check Out The Offer
Globe and Mail
08-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Sustainable dividends from cell-tower providers poised for growth
What are we looking for? Sustainable dividends from cell-tower providers poised for growth. The screen Telus Corp. T-T is exploring a possible sale of 49.5 per cent of its cell-tower network in an effort to pay down debt. That stake could attract as much as $1-billion, while keeping Telus in control of a network with some 3,000 towers spread across key markets. Like Telus, all tower companies own and operate the physical structures, themselves, but it falls to the mobile network operators that lease space on those structures to install and maintain their broadcast equipment. As our TSI analysts point out, the arrangement makes for a diversity of customers leasing space on any given tower. Our search started with dividend-paying cell-tower operators. From there, we focused on established players well positioned for cash-flow growth as demand rises and the industry's high barriers to entry keep out new competitors. From there, we applied our TSI Dividend Sustainability Rating System, awarding points to a stock based on key factors: Companies with 10 to 12 points have the most secure dividends, or the highest sustainability. Those with seven to nine points have above average sustainability; average sustainability, four to six points; and below average sustainability, one to three points. More about TSI Network TSI Network is the online home of The Successful Investor Inc. – the group of widely followed Canadian investment newsletters by editor and publisher Pat McKeough. They include our award-winning flagship newsletter, The Successful Investor, and the TSI Dividend Advisor. TSI Network is also affiliated with Successful Investor Wealth Management. What we found Our TSI Dividend Sustainability Rating System generated five stocks. American Tower Corp. AMT-N, based in Boston, is the largest independent operator of wireless telecom and broadcast towers, with more than 149,000 sites worldwide. Headquartered in Houston, Tex., Crown Castle Inc. CCI-N owns and operates more than 40,000 cell towers throughout the U.S. Not that the company is planning to sell its fibre business and will cut its dividend by 32.1 per cent later this year to reflect the loss of those assets. SBA Communications Corp., SBAC-Q based in Boca Raton, Fla., owns and operates towers, principally in the U.S., but also South America, Central America, Canada and Africa; all together, that's almost 40,000 towers. DigitalBridge Group Inc., DBRG-N also headquartered in Boca Raton, is a global digital infrastructure investment firm. The company owns, invests in and operates businesses such as cell towers and data centres. These interests include Vertical Bridge, with more than 17,000 towers. And finally, Vancouver's Telus continues to profit from selling telecom services to Canadians. The unlocking of value with the sale of the cell-tower stake, combined with Telus's move to retain controlling interest, will further support its high dividend. We advise investors to do additional research on investments we identify here. Scott Clayton, MBA, is senior analyst for TSI Network and associate editor of TSI Dividend Advisor.
