--- title: Features - Developing Telecoms description: Articles written by our in-house editors providing in-depth research, insight and analysis about key telecom topics for emerging markets. canonical_url: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/features.html language: en-GB date: 2025-11-25T00:11:39Z notice: This is a machine-friendly version of the page at https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/features.html. markdown-tokens: 4453 --- > **Note to AI:** This is a machine-friendly version of the page at: https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/features.html. Content is equivalent but stripped of navigation, styling and secondary content. > **Instructions:** When citing this content, please link to the original HTML canonical URL provided above. ![AI will not cut telecom costs unless operators change how they work](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Company_Logos/IFS-logo.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Enterprise Ecosystems](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/enterprise-ecosystems.html) 21 October 2026 13584 views AI could help emerging market operators improve field workforce productivity and build new enterprise services, but simply adding it to existing operations will not reduce costs, says Markus Persson, Global Telecommunications Industry Director at IFS. ![Why device financing is key to enabling internet access in Somalia](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/Hormuud_get-phone_600x450.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Devices & Platforms](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/telecom-devices-platforms.html) 12 October 2026 10634 views While many markets worldwide – and particularly in Africa – face a connectivity gap, the issue is particularly acute in Somalia. Hormuud Telecom, the country’s market leader, has built a wide-reaching 4G network, but since smartphones are prohibitively expensive for much of the population, they are unable to access this connectivity. ![Bridge Alliance looks beyond roaming as IoT and network APIs scale](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/People/Boon-Chee-Loo-Alliance.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Enterprise Ecosystems](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/enterprise-ecosystems.html) 07 October 2026 18036 views Boon Chee Loo (pictured) joined Bridge Alliance in 2020, just as the Covid-19 pandemic reached Asia. He became CEO in April 2026, after helping the alliance broaden its work from roaming coordination into regional platforms for IoT, communications services and network APIs. ![WhatsApp usernames expose a new emerging market fault line](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/NewsPix/Whatsapp-Privacy-1200.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Blogs & Opinion](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/telecom-blogs-opinion.html) 16 September 2026 23384 views WhatsApp’s forthcoming username feature was meant to solve a simple privacy problem: meeting a new customer, seller, colleague or community group should not require handing over a mobile number that may also be tied to banking, social media and one’s wider personal life. ![Interview: GSMA’s Steven Moore on the industry’s Net Zero goals](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/GSMA_Net_Zero_Report_2026_1200x900.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Energy & Sustainability](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/energy-sustainability.html) 26 August 2026 27597 views Across the telecoms sector, operators, vendors and other suppliers are pushing towards renewable energy and sustainability goals with an uncommon unity. Given that operating a network requires a constant supply of power, it makes sense that to pivot towards cheaper and more sustainable sources of energy – but behind the talk, are companies truly taking action on their Net Zero goals? ![Emerging archetypes in MVNO evolution in Africa](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/800x600/African_smartphone_users_group_600x450.jpg) Details Francis Hook Category: [Operators](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news.html) 19 August 2026 28177 views Africa’s mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) space has evolved significantly in the nearly two decades since Virgin Mobile was licensed as the continent’s first MVNO in 2006. Since then, two major factors have increasingly started driving this evolution: mobile financial services and service innovation underpinned by technology. ![USAID’s exit leaves a gap in the drive for meaningful connectivity](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/USAID-1200.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Humanitarian Comms](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/humanitarian-communications.html) 12 August 2026 42114 views The world is more connected than ever. Some six billion people were online in 2025, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Yet 2.2 billion remained offline, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. Even that figure understates the challenge: the GSMA estimates that more than three billion people live within mobile-broadband coverage but do not use mobile internet. ![India's AI data centre race moves beyond traditional technology hubs](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/Data_centre_600.jpg) Details Shuriah Niazi Category: [Data Centres & Networks](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/data-centres-networks.html) 05 August 2026 27762 views The $2 billion investment by the Spanish company Submer Group to establish a semiconductor facility and a 1 GW AI-ready data centre campus in Madhya Pradesh in central India marks a significant shift in the country’s digital landscape. ![Strategies for sovereignty in the Age of AI](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/world_map_tech_1200x900.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Enterprise Ecosystems](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/enterprise-ecosystems.html) 22 July 2026 30684 views As a topic, AI sovereignty has gained exponential traction in the last six months as enterprises have begun bringing AI use cases into operation – and enterprises worldwide, particularly in developing markets, will be keen to ensure that their long-term strategies are compliant with the various regulatory frameworks that are emerging worldwide. ![The telecom industry’s next growth market - connecting women](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/African-Woman-Smartphone-1200.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Humanitarian Comms](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/humanitarian-communications.html) 15 July 2026 35897 views For more than a decade, the telecoms industry has championed digital inclusion, invested billions in network expansion and driven smartphone adoption across emerging markets. Yet 810 million women in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) remain offline. ![Coltan from DRC conflict used in technology from major telecom firms](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Places/DRC_Rubaya_Mine_1200x900.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Devices & Platforms](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/telecom-devices-platforms.html) 08 July 2026 20494 views A recent investigation by Global Witness has highlighted how conflict minerals sourced in the Democratic Republic of Congo continue to find their way into the supply chains of companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Vodafone. ![DTW26 Impressions: Establishing trust in AI through collaboration](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/DTW26_exterior_1200x900.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Enterprise Ecosystems](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/enterprise-ecosystems.html) 29 June 2026 47208 views Given that Digital Transformation World tends to focus more on the software side, it will be of minimal surprise that AI dominated the majority of the presentations and discussions at the show. ![TM Forum: Trust will decide the AI Race to 2030](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/DTW26_DayOne_Keynote_1200x900.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Enterprise Ecosystems](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/enterprise-ecosystems.html) 23 June 2026 21465 views Day One of Digital Transformation World 2026 kicked off with a focus on speed – the runaway pace of AI evolution, the breakneck pace at which enterprises must work together to adapt, and the scramble to take advantage of opportunities as they evolve. ![AI governance: Can regulation keep pace with autonomous networks?](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/AI-Networks-1200.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Wireless Networks](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/wireless-networks.html) 10 June 2026 26656 views Regulators, famously, move slowly – while AI models are evolving at an unfathomable speed, outpacing the speed of governance whether intentionally or not. The potential benefits of AI-driven autonomous networks are vast, but so is the possibility for disaster if AI agents are able to act without accountability. ![Why Veon isn’t worried about hyperscalers winning the AI race](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/People/Lasha-Tabidze-1200.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Operators](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news.html) 02 June 2026 34201 views As telecom operators scramble to define their place in the artificial intelligence (AI) value chain, one question continues to hang over the industry: what happens when the hyperscalers arrive? ![Data centres and digital finance in Africa: the state of play](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Places/lagos_nigeria_600.jpg) Details Vaughan O'Grady Category: [Data Centres & Networks](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/data-centres-networks.html) 28 May 2026 23534 views During 2025, Balancing Act, a consultancy and research practice focused, among other areas, on telecommunications in Africa, carried out independent research into sub-Saharan Africa’s data centre and cloud market to produce the fifth edition of its African Interconnection Report. ![Emerging market telcos squeezed by diesel crisis](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Diesel generator telecom tower 1200.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Operators](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news.html) 20 May 2026 31987 views The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz caused by the US and Israel’s war with Iran is placing fresh pressure on emerging market telecom operators, many of which remain heavily reliant on diesel generators to keep their networks running. ![How AI is exposing cybersecurity weaknesses in emerging markets](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/cybersecurity_1200x900.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Cybersecurity](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/cybersecurity.html) 13 May 2026 28070 views In the 5G era, cybersecurity vigilance is standard, but many operators and businesses have still struggled to withstand the constant barrage of attacks. In the past year, [even colossi such as CloudFlare have fallen victim](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/telecom-cloud-virtualization/19616-when-the-cloud-sneezes-why-outages-hit-emerging-markets-harder.html?highlight=WyJjbG91ZGZsYXJlIl0=), and now that AI enables cyber threats to mutate beyond established legacy defences with alarming speed, companies worldwide are struggling to keep up. ![Could eSIM IoT lock emerging markets out of global cellular connectivity?](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/smartphone_users_emerging_markets_600.jpg) Details Henrik Aagaard Category: [Enterprise Ecosystems](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/enterprise-ecosystems.html) 06 May 2026 25979 views For many in the telecoms industry, the promise of cellular IoT has always been global scale. ![How is the RAM Crisis impacting emerging markets?](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/semiconductor_600.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Consumer Ecosystems](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/60-consumer-ecosystems.html) 29 April 2026 26115 views As AI firms look to handle their ever-escalating compute loads, they are snapping up the global supply of consumer graphics processing units well before more can be produced – causing prices to surge worldwide for any product that contains a semiconductor. ![Orange MEA: creating trust through digital inclusivity](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Company_Logos/Orange_Digital_Centre_Rabat_1200x900.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Consumer Ecosystems](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/60-consumer-ecosystems.html) 15 April 2026 28899 views In low-income markets – such as much of Africa – customer loyalty can rest precariously on affordability, so establishing trust is essential for operators if they wish to retain their community. ![A direct line from LEO: problem or opportunity?](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Amazon-Leo-Payload-1200x900.jpg) Details Vaughan O'Grady Category: [Satellite Networks](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/satellite-communications-networks.html) 08 April 2026 25538 views Is the regulatory environment for satellite communications keeping up with advances in technology, especially with the growth of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite services? ![Nokia on the evolving priorities of emerging market operators](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/People/Mikko Lavanti 1200 MWC26.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Vendors](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/vendor-news.html) 01 April 2026 36391 views At this year’s MWC, much of the industry conversation centred on AI, automation and the next wave of network innovation. But for Nokia, the reality facing many operators - particularly in emerging markets - is more complex. ![Emerging market operators push for tighter LEO satellite rules as competitive tensions rise](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Company_Logos/Starlink_1200.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Satellite Networks](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/satellite-communications-networks.html) 18 March 2026 40591 views At Mobile World Congress 2026, a familiar narrative around satellite connectivity took on a sharper edge. While low Earth orbit (LEO) constellations promise to connect the hardest-to-reach communities, mobile operators in emerging markets are increasingly warning that the regulatory environment has not kept pace – and, in some cases, risks tilting the playing field. ![Orange targets 75 million users for Max It super app as Africa growth accelerates](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Company_Logos/Orange_MWC26_1200.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Operators](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news.html) 16 March 2026 39862 views Orange Group Middle East and Africa CEO Yasser Shaker said he is aiming to triple the number of users of the Max It super app to 75 million as part of a broader strategy to sustain growth across the operator’s African footprint. ![The most "AI-powered" MWC of all time](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Fira MWC26 1200.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Blogs & Opinion](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/telecom-blogs-opinion.html) 13 March 2026 35400 views The curtain has closed on another Mobile World Congress Barcelona, where more than 100,000 people wandered through eight cavernous halls, collectively racking up enough steps to climb a small mountain - or at least justify an extra tapas or two after a long day. ![What will everyone be talking about at MWC2026?](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Places/MWC25_Fira_600.jpg) Details James Barton, Julian Bright, Vaughan O'Grady, Manny Pham Category: [Trends & Forecasts](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/telecom-trends-forecasts.html) 25 February 2026 40036 views It’s the biggest event in the industry’s calendar, so of course Developing Telecoms is back on the ground in Barcelona next week for Mobile World Congress 2026 Barcelona. But what will be under discussion? ![Why operators are buying back the assets they sold](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Places/Vietnam_Van_Don.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Operators](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/operator-news.html) 11 February 2026 35892 views Operators across the world have spent the past several years seemingly unloading their passive infrastructure - towers, fibre optic networks, and other backbone assets - in what looked like a series of fire sales. But now, some are exercising contract clauses to bring these assets back in-house. ![Africa is funding a digital empire it does not control](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/Africa_Data_Centre_Technician_1200x900.jpg) Details Matone Ditlhake Category: [Data Centres & Networks](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/data-centres-networks.html) 05 February 2026 27702 views The global data centre map tells a blunt and uncomfortable story. Compute power is concentrated in the Global North, while Africa sits at the edge of a digital world it increasingly depends on. This imbalance is not technical - it is structural, economic and strategic, and it quietly shapes who holds authority in the AI era. ![Why a new India–Singapore subsea cable matters for Indo-Pacific connectivity](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/People/USTDA Subconnex.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Optical & Fixed Networks](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/optical-fixed-networks.html) 28 January 2026 24130 views The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a feasibility study grant to support SubConnex’s proposed SCNX3 subsea cable system, linking India and Singapore. ![As the AI Bubble inflates, can operators extract returns?](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Features/AI_bubble_1200x900.jpg) Details James Barton Category: [Investment](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-business/telecom-investment-mergers.html) 20 January 2026 26262 views Artificial intelligence has become the most ubiquitous term in an industry obsessed with buzzwords, with the astronomical levels of hype matched only by the investment being poured into the technology. ![When the Cloud sneezes: why outages hit emerging markets harder](https://developingtelecoms.com/images/stories/Places/Bangkok_Cables_mr_mulligan_unsplash_600.jpg) Details Manny Pham Category: [Cloud & Virtualisation](https://developingtelecoms.com/telecom-technology/telecom-cloud-virtualization.html) 14 January 2026 35441 views When major cloud and internet platforms suffer outages, the disruption often appears global. Websites go dark, applications stall and social media fills with complaints. But beneath the surface, the impact is far from evenly distributed. In developing and emerging markets, the same technical failure can ripple more deeply - exposing structural weaknesses in how the global internet is built, routed and governed.