Hormuud Telecom and Germany's GIZ sign MoU with focus on cross-border payments, digital and AI training
SOMALIA 09:30

Hormuud Telecom and Germany's GIZ sign MoU with focus on cross-border payments, digital and AI training

Somali operator Hormuud Telecom and German development organisation GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to advance the digital economy. The partnership focuses on cross-border payment systems, enhancing digital skills and fostering Artificial Intelligence (AI) training to boost youth employment. The MoU also includes provisions for climate financing, environmental measures and exploring market entry points for Somali businesses in Eu

Canal+ Group appoints former Orange director Tingry as chief data and AI officer
GLOBAL 08:17

Canal+ Group appoints former Orange director Tingry as chief data and AI officer

Canal+ Group has announced the appointment of Anne-Laure Tingry as chief data and AI officer, leading the group's activities in these areas across all markets. Tingry joins the executive committee, reporting directly to Canal+ Group CEO Maxime Saada. Over more than two decades, her career was spent at Orange in several senior roles, most recently as executive director of the Smart Mobility Services business line at Orange Business. She became managing director of Orange Store in France at the start of 2016.

Google signs 2-year partnership with South Africa higher education department on skills training
SOUTH AFRICA 07:15

Google signs 2-year partnership with South Africa higher education department on skills training

Google South Africa and the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) have signed a two-year agreement which will roll out an initial 10,000 scholarships as part of a national AI and digital skills initiative. The MoU is DHET's fourth public-private partnership focused on student and youth skills development in the post-school education and training (PSET) system with artificial intelligence (AI) and digital skills. 

Microsoft to invest USD 1 billion in cloud, AI infrastructure in Thailand by 2028
THAILAND 06:46

Microsoft to invest USD 1 billion in cloud, AI infrastructure in Thailand by 2028

Microsoft has announced a major expansion of its partnership with Thailand following a meeting in Bangkok between vice-chair and president Brad Smith and Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. From 2026 to 2028, Microsoft plans to invest around USD 1 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure and ongoing operations across Thailand.

NTT Docomo completes full virtualisation of mobile core network
JAPAN 05:40

NTT Docomo completes full virtualisation of mobile core network

NTT Docomo said it has completed the full virtualisation of its mobile core network, following infrastructure migration and the shutdown of its 3G services at the end of March 2026. The move transitions the operator's core network from dedicated hardware-based systems to a software-based architecture running on general-purpose servers. The core network supports mobile voice and data services for more than 90 million users.

KDDI launches new AI integration company following iret merger
JAPAN 05:36

KDDI launches new AI integration company following iret merger

KDDI has combined its group entities iret and KDDI Digital Divergence Holdings to form a new company, KDDI iret, which began operations on 1 April. The new entity is positioned as a core AI integration company within the KDDI Group, bringing together cloud integration capabilities, data preparation, AI model selection and security expertise with KDDI's telecommunications infrastructure. The company said it aims to support enterprise AI deployment end-to-end, from planning through to development and operatio

Microsoft outlines USD 5.5 bln Singapore investment
SINGAPORE 05:29

Microsoft outlines USD 5.5 bln Singapore investment

Microsoft has announced plans to invest USD 5.5 billion in cloud and AI infrastructure and operations in Singapore between 2025 and 2029, alongside a series of programmes aimed at expanding AI skills across education and the non-profit sector. It said the investment will support the expansion of cloud and AI infrastructure in the country over a five-year period, with the company also signalling continued work on cybersecurity, resilience and governance capabilities as part of the initiative.

Memory price surge to impact smartphones, consumer devices in Q2
GLOBAL 05:27

Memory price surge to impact smartphones, consumer devices in Q2

Rising demand from AI and cloud infrastructure is expected to drive significant increases in memory prices in the second quarter of 2026, with implications across telecom-related end markets including smartphones, consumer devices and data centre services, according to analysis from TrendForce. Contract prices for DRAM will increase by 58-63 percent quarter-on-quarter, while NAND flash prices are expected to rise by 70-75 per cent, as suppliers prioritise higher-margin server and AI-related applications.

Zain KSA reports 28% rise in data traffic at holy mosques during Ramadan
SAUDI ARABIA 1 APR

Zain KSA reports 28% rise in data traffic at holy mosques during Ramadan

Zain KSA said it has delivered reliable digital service for pilgrims at the two holy mosque sites during Ramadan 1447H, particularly in the last ten days. The operator recorded a 42 percent growth in 5G users and a 28 percent increase in overall data traffic during Ramadan 1447H compared with last season. Average download speeds surged by 53 percent, while high-quality voice call users showed a 15 percent increase in volume. The 5G network offers 100 percent coverage across the holy mosque sites.

Zambia declares abuse of AI content as a security threat ahead of August elections
ZAMBIA 1 APR

Zambia declares abuse of AI content as a security threat ahead of August elections

The Zambian government has declared the abuse of Artificial Intelligence (AI) generated applications a threat to national security, ITWeb reported. The nation faces rising political tensions and an increase in AI-generated false information ahead of the general elections on 13 August. Critics have accused the administration of President Hakainde Hichilema of stifling private media, contributing to a surge in misinformation.

Polish govt approves draft law on AI regulation
POLAND 1 APR

Polish govt approves draft law on AI regulation

The Polish government has approved draft legislation on AI systems, in an effort to strengthen the security of citizens and establish effective oversight of AI. The government said the law should also support a stable and favourable environment for entrepreneurs to innovate with AI. The bill implements the provisions of the EU Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (AI Act) in Polish law and must be debated and vote in parliament before it becomes law.

Corning kicks off expansion at North Carolina fibre plant with Meta's support
UNITED STATES 1 APR

Corning kicks off expansion at North Carolina fibre plant with Meta's support

Corning and Meta have held a groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of a major expansion at Corning's fibre cable manufacturing plant in Hickory, North Carolina. This expansion is aimed at growing the supply of US-produced fibre cables for advanced AI data centre applications, including state-of-the-art products commissioned by Meta through a USD 6 billion multi-year agreement disclosed in January. 

GLOBAL 1 APR

OpenAI completes USD 122 billion funding round

OpenAI has completed its latest funding round with an increased amount of USD 122 billion. The latest money values the ChatGPT maker at USD 852 billion. The company said the new funding will support its rapid growth, with the weekly user base for its products expected to pass 1 billion soon. Revenues have grown to over USD 2 billion per month, it added. 

AUSTRALIA 1 APR

Australian govt partners Anthropic on AI safety, research and infrastructure

The Australian government has signed an MoU with Anthropic to support collaboration on AI development, safety and research, marking the first formal arrangement under the country's National AI Plan. The agreement sets out a framework for cooperation between government, industry and research institutions, with a focus on aligning AI development with national policy objectives, including safety, economic impact and infrastructure planning. 

UNITED STATES 1 APR

Digital Realty closes USD 3.25 bln hyperscale data centre fund

Digital Realty has announced the final close of its inaugural US hyperscale data centre fund, securing USD 3.25 billion in equity commitments from institutional investors. The fund will focus on the development and ownership of hyperscale facilities across major US metropolitan markets, including Northern Virginia, Santa Clara, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte and New York. Digital Realty will retain a 20 percent stake in the portfolio and act as fund manager, overseeing operations, development and leasing.

GLOBAL 1 APR

Nvidia and Marvell expand partnership to target AI and telecom infrastructure

Nvidia and Marvell Technology have announced an expanded strategic partnership focused on AI infrastructure, including applications in telecommunications networks. The agreement will integrate Marvell's technologies into Nvidia's NVLink Fusion platform, enabling customers to build semi-custom AI infrastructure compatible with Nvidia's broader ecosystem. Under the arrangement, Marvell will supply custom processing units and networking technologies, while Nvidia will provide components including CPUs, network

UNITED STATES 1 APR

Switch partners Stanford CIFE on data centre construction

US data centre company Switch has entered into a sponsored research agreement with Stanford University's Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) to support work on data centre construction methods, capital deployment and energy systems, as operators scale infrastructure to support AI workloads. The agreement will focus on research into large-scale digital infrastructure development, including industrialised construction techniques and new approaches to energy system design. 

ASIA 1 APR

Nokia advances AI infrastructure collaboration with Blaize in APAC

Nokia is progressing its collaboration with AI computing company Blaize through joint development and validation work focused on hybrid AI infrastructure across Asia-Pacific. The companies are working together at Nokia's Network Innovation Lab in Singapore, where they are developing and testing integrated solutions that combine Blaize's AI platform with Nokia's networking and infrastructure capabilities. The collaboration includes the development of a joint reference architecture designed to support deploym

FINLAND 31 MRT

Nebius plans second Finnish AI factory with up to 310 MW capacity

Cloud company Nebius announced the construction of a new AI factory in the Finnish city of Lappeenranta with capacity of up to 310 MW. Capacity is expected to become available to customers in 2027. This follows the recent expansion of Nebius' first Finnish data centre in Mantsala to 75 MW. The company plans to expand more in Finland in future.

SWITZERLAND 31 MRT

Yallo TV rolls out expanded Highlights feature to aid content discovery

Swiss operator Yallo's subscription TV service Yallo TV is adding auto-generated video previews to its Highlights content discovery feature. Automated technology allows Yallo TV to expand the availability of preview clips by 20 percent.

UNITED KINGDOM 31 MRT

EE TV launches Smart Search AI discovery feature

UK operator EE is bringing AI-powered content discovery tool Smart Search to its hybrid pay-TV service EE TV. Smart Search's natural language processing engine is able to retrieve content by searching for general themes, moods, plot elements, or even key lines from a show or film, EE said. Results from Smart Search span EE TV's integrated apps and channels list, producing a seamless experience across live and on-demand sources.

SPAIN 31 MRT

Telefonica lands Cerealto digital transformation deal

Telefonica has been awarded a contract to lead the migration of Cerealto's business management system to the SAP S/4HANA environment as part of the Spain-based food company's broader digital transformation strategy. The new platform aims to boost Cerealto's efficiency, data-based decision-making and competitiveness by integrating advanced tools for automation and analytics.

UNITED KINGDOM 31 MRT

Google starts 'AI Works for Britain' programme

Google is working on teaching people in the UK more about its AI tools. Under the name 'AI Works for Britain', the company is opening pop-up bars in several cities to show how AI works, starting AI training on university campuses, and providing funding for local job training programmes. 

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 31 MRT

AWS to invest KRW 7 tln in AI and cloud in South Korea by 2031

Amazon Web Services (AWS) plans to invest KRW 7 trillion (USD 4.6 billion) in South Korea by 2031 to expand its AI and cloud infrastructure footprint, according to Yonhap, citing industry sources. The planned investment is set out in a filing submitted to the Korea Internet & Security Agency, and comes in addition to approximately KRW 5.6 trillion already invested in the country. Combined, the total investment would amount to KRW 12.6 trillion, which is described in the disclosure as the largest commitment

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Background

29 MRT 22:46

The week in telecoms: Italy brings back PTT, US bans foreign routers and social media on trial

23 MRT 00:38

The week in telecoms: OFC and Nvidia events drive data centre networking talk, Orange debuts full French office stack

16 MRT 00:25

The week in telecoms: Pakistan ready for 5G, Google exits FTTH market and Canal Plus works on pay-TV turnaround

6 MRT 16:00

The week in telecom: MWC brings 5G advances, AI and satellite integration, plus first robot phone