Officials from China, Myanmar and Thailand have reportedly reached a consensus on eradicating telecommunication fraud centres in Myanmar, a country with a long-standing fraud problem, exacerbated by the ongoing war in that country.

Indonesia’s antitrust watchdog has ordered technology giant Google to pay IDR202.5 billion (US$12.4 million) for monopolistic practices related to payment services on its app store.

STT GDC India, a division of one of the world’s fastest-growing data centre providers, ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, has announced plans to build a data centre campus in Meerkhanpet, near Hyderabad in India.

This could be the year in which Pakistan starts to roll out 5G, according to documents cited this week in the local press relating to a 5G service launch schedule.

A strategic partnership to create one of India’s largest digital platforms for financial services. That’s the promise of the recently announced alliance between operator Bharti Airtel, one of India’s largest service providers, and Bajaj Finance, the country’s largest private-sector non-banking financial company.

UnionPay International (UPI), which delivers cross-border payment solutions to the world’s largest cardholders, has announced a strategic partnership with Malaysian financial institution Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) to launch the UnionPay QR payment in Malaysia in the first half of 2025.

Malaysia’s mobile data service company U Mobile has entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation Berhad (SDEC), the implementing agency driving Sarawak digital economy initiatives for the East Malaysian state that is home to an estimated 2.5 million people.

Globe Telecom hailed the arrest of two Chinese nationals for attempting to sell pre-registered SIM cards.

Indian operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) is clearly getting 2025 off to a busy start in terms of network upgrades and rollouts. This week has seen the news that it has partnered with HCLSoftware, the software business unit of Indian global technology company HCLTech, to make its 4G and 5G networks smarter and more efficient.

BDx, the largest data centre operator in Indonesia, has announced what it calls a landmark data centre cooperation agreement with the Association of Indonesia Internet Service Providers (APJII), saying that it will bolster the nation’s digital ecosystem.

Revenues from fixed wireless access (FWA) equipment are set to exceed US$48 billion over the next five years, driven by growing adoption across enterprise and residential markets in North America and India, according to a report from Dell’Oro Group.

Indian space data company Pixxel says it is about to launch three of its six hyperspectral imaging satellites in a first for the private satellite market.

The dispute between the Indonesian authorities and Apple is rumbling on as the smartphone giant apparently remains barred from selling the iPhone 16 in Indonesia despite a recent investment deal.

Malaysia, already a semiconductor powerhouse, is looking to locally produce GPU chips in the next five to ten years, according to Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli.

Indian operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) says it is preparing to launch its commercial 5G mobile services in what is described as a phased manner from March 2025.

Digital Edge, a developer and operator of interconnection and hyperscale edge data centres across Asia and portfolio company of Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm, has announced it has raised over US$1.6 billion in new capital to fuel its next phase of growth.

Philippines central bank, The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) says it has lifted its moratorium on new electronic money issuers from non-bank financial institutions (EMI-NBFI). The move is said to be aimed at enhancing digital payments in the country.

Global digital operator Veon Group says it has reaffirmed its confidence in the growth potential of Pakistan’s microfinance sector and Mobilink Bank, part of the Veon Group, by investing US$15 million in fresh capital to drive the bank’s strategic ambitions.

The military government in Myanmar, which seized power in a coup in February 2021, has enacted a new cybersecurity law which imposes wide-ranging controls on the flow of information. The measures were announced last Friday in state-run newspapers, though reports suggest they came into effect two days’ earlier.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has enabled prepaid payment instruments (PPIs) to make unified payments interface (UPI) transactions via third-party mobile applications, a concept that may sound arcane on first glance, but one that could speed up the money transfer process in India.

An internet law that gives the government power to regulate online content took effect in Vietnam last week. Decree 147, as the law is known, expands government control over access to information on the internet for reasons of ‘national security’ and ‘social order’.

Indian startup Amantya Technologies has won funding under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of the Digital Bharat Nidhi (DBN) to develop a Made in India 5G standalone (SA) core for public and enterprise deployments.

Telecom Egypt, the country's main telecom services operator, has signed a commercial agreement with China Mobile International (CMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile, to expand digital services.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a consortium of six international financial institutions have committed over US$900 million in financing to global data centre operator Yondr Group’s hyperscale data centre campus in Johor Bahru, a city on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.

Telin, a provider of premium international carrier voice, data services, and business solutions, and subsidiary of Telkom Indonesia, and Citra Connect, an Indonesian provider of connectivity services and digital solutions, have officially held a ceremony for a new cable landing station (CLS) at Nongsa Digital Park, Batam, the largest city in the Indonesian province of Riau Islands.

The latest example of the growing trend for bring renewable energy to data centres comes from B.Grimm Power (BGRIM), the power business arm of B.Grimm Group, Thailand's oldest multinational conglomerate.

NEC announced on Thursday it has finished building the Asia Direct Cable (ADC), an intra-Asia subsea cable connecting China, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Indian global information technology and system integration company Echelon Edge has partnered with a number of IT businesses to support the ongoing 4G network rollout by state-owned operator BSNL, a project reportedly covering over 100,000 sites nationwide.

EdgePoint Towers, part of EdgePoint Infrastructure, the ASEAN-based independent telecommunications infrastructure company, has announced the completed deployment of its Outdoor Common Antenna System (CAS) at The Exchange TRX, a 70-acre development by Ministry of Finance Malaysia in the heart of Kuala Lumpur for international finance and business.

Service provider Telekom Malaysia has announced an allocation of at least MYR4 million (about US$895,861), including cash assistance, to support immediate flood relief efforts for affected customers, communities, and employees nationwide. This is in support of an initiative aimed at ensuring timely support for those in need.

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres India (STT GDC India) a leading data centre solutions provider, says it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Indian state Uttar Pradesh to help the state government carry out its plan to develop an artificial intelligence (AI) city.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in collaboration with other UN departments established a new body aimed at strengthening the resilience of submarine cables in response to rising outages.

Tower deals are again in the news in major Asian territories, this time in Pakistan and the Philippines.