Over the last two years that I have been reading the forum, there has been a lot of information, often between the lines, where Francesco (no longer a Fairphone employee) has confirmed exactly this.
Exactly the same has been reported by several users who have asked their providers why the update is being held back and all providers have said the same thing: we cannot influence the firmware release process at all.
Only one example: Software update: FP5.UT2P.B.122.20250422 - #18 by UPPERCASE
And another one: 5g Network not working with Telekom Germany after A.127 update - #9 by anon1128606
There are dozens of examples over the two years. If you’re really interested, ask Fairphone for details and let us know. I can’t wait to see when you get an answer from the excellent support team…
If this information is incorrect, it would be easy for Fairphone to clarify once and for all. I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time…