ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin has announced over US$9 billion in investment commitments from mobile operator groups to extend global connectivity. The announcement was made yesterday at MWC 2024.

China’s ZTE Corporation a provider of information and communication technology solutions, is unveiling a number of 5G-Advanced  (5G-A)-rated innovations during the MWC 2024, many involving power-saving and energy-efficient offerings.

What is called an industry-first AI/ML-based neural receiver operating in a live 5G network has been highlighted at MWC 2024.

At MWC 2024, Indian design and technology services provider, Tata Elxsi, through its NEURON product suite, has announced a strategic partnership with AccuKnox, the developer of NIMBUS, a state-of-the-art cloud-native security solution.

China’s Shenzhen Giant Microelectronics Company Limited (GiantSemi), a global supplier of wireless SoC (system-on-chip) with R&D operations in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, has announced at MWC 2024 what it calls an industry-leading GT1500 UWB (ultra-wideband) SoC for ranging, positioning and wireless connectivity applications.

The Indian government is working on developing an Indian mobile phone brand, a minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, whose portfolio includes communications, said this week.

ABS-CBN Corporation and PLDT mutually agreed to terminate the sale of the former’s broadband and TV unit Sky Cable to the operator. 

While 5G in much of India seems to be rolling out in record time, the same cannot be said of 5G services in and around airports. Could that soon change, however?

An intervention by the employees union of Indian state-owned operator BSNL, suggesting that BSNL should engage in a limited network sharing deal with private operator Vodafone Idea, has highlighted concerns about the speed – or otherwise – of BSNL’s 4G rollout.

Indian data centre company Nxtra by Airtel has announced an agreement with renewable energy specialist Ampln and leading distributed energy company Amplus Energy to procure an additional 140,208 MWh of renewable energy.

Hard on the heels of similar recent agreements in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Synspective, a Japanese synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite data and analytics solution provider, has announced  a deal to aid disaster prevention in Vietnam.

Phil-Tower Consortium Inc (PhilTower) and Miescor Infrastructure Development Corporation (MIDC) revealed plans to form a joint-venture company to fuel the growing demand for 4G and 5G infrastructure in the Philippines. 

STT Global Data Centres, one of the leading data centre operators in India, has announced plans to invest US$229 million in expanding its operational capacity in Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state in the country.

A Singaporean technology group is expanded into the broader managed services sector beyond Singapore via a contract with a leading Malaysian operator.

Two stories from two different continents have, coincidentally, highlighted the issue of making emergency calling easier, albeit in two very distinct ways.

China Mobile has reportedly launched two experimental satellites in low earth orbit that will be used to test 5G and 6G architectures, particuarly in terms of integrating satellite and terrestial networks to support both technologies.

Telkom Indonesia is mulling the sale of shares in its data centre unit with a potential deal possibly being done in H2, reported Reuters.

Geespace, a subsidiary of Chinese carmaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, says it has added another 11 LEO satellites to its planned global constellation designed primarily to serve connected and self-driving cars.

Subsea cable activity in the Asia-Pacific region isn’t slowing down any time soon, judging by two recent announcements.

Vietnam has confirmed plans – approved by the government and announced by the Ministry of Information and Communications – to invest in two to four more international telecommunications cables with a data capacity of 60 Tbps by 2025.

The Indian government has extended the customs duty exemption given to vessels engaged in laying submarine cables to 30 September. The exemption was originally due to end on 31 March.

Service provider Telekom Malaysia is said to be exploring plans to build a new hyperscale data centre, expanding its capacity from the existing Klang Valley Data Centre (KVDC) and Iskandar Puteri Data Centre (IPDC).

Musang Valley Plantation (MVP), a leading integrated plantation company in Malaysia, is using advanced Earth observation (EO) data and analytics solutions provided by SC Solutions to drive and implement sustainable practices and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), the largest integrated information communication technology (ICT) company in Pakistan, and DE-CIX, a leading internet exchange (IX) operator, have announced the inauguration of what is called the ‘Pakistan Internet Exchange (PIE) powered by DE-CIX’, which is described as the first carrier- neutral IX in the country.

As widely predicted, the impending Indian spectrum auction, probably taking place in March, is not going to generate a lot of revenue for the country’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT), something the DoT itself has now admitted.

Orange Business and Tēnaka, a social business that works to restore and protect marine ecosystems worldwide, have partnered to scale the coral reef restoration in a Marine Protected Area of the Coral Triangle in Malaysia.

While Indian operator Reliance Jio claims to have completed its national 5G rollout, and rival Bharti Airtel hopes to complete it by March, Vodafone Idea and new market entrant Adani Data Networks may be facing fines for not meeting the minimum 5G rollout obligations that have been set.

It has been widely reported in the Indian press that Tata Communications Transformation Services (TCTS), a subsidiary of Indian digital ecosystem enabler Tata Communications, has issued a service contract  termination notice to operator Vodafone Idea (aka Vi) after the company did not pay TCTS on time.

Nokia appears to have found a new buyer for its stake in TD Tech, a Beijing-headquartered joint venture with Huawei.

Telkom Indonesia has partnered with Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) to establish an interconnected Internet Exchange (IX) ecosystem.

Direct-to-phone satellite operator Lynk Global announced on Friday that Papua New Guinea state telco Telikom Limited has started offering Lynk’s Sat2Phone service to subscribers.