Microsoft expands digital skills project to SABC Plus
SOUTH AFRICA 11:01

Microsoft expands digital skills project to SABC Plus

Microsoft South Africa and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) announced plans to bring digital skills learning directly to millions of South Africans through the national broadcaster's digital platform. The collaboration is driven by Microsoft Elevate, the company's initiative aimed at equipping individuals and organisations with the skills and tools needed to thrive in an AI-driven economy.

MaxLinear hails adoption of latest products as FY sales soar 30%
GLOBAL 09:46

MaxLinear hails adoption of latest products as FY sales soar 30%

MaxLinear has reported FY 2025 turnover of USD 467.4 million, up 30 percent from 2024 amid customer appetite for its state-of-the-art signal components for data centres and optical networks. Net losses were slashed by nearly 50 percent to USD 136.68 million, and GAAP gross margins climbed to 56.8 percent from 54 percent in FY24.

Apple buys start-up Q.AI to develop facial recognition
GLOBAL 07:22

Apple buys start-up Q.AI to develop facial recognition

Apple has acquired the company Q.AI, an Israel-based startup working on AI to detect human intent through small changes in facial expression. The takeover was announced by one of Q.ai's investors, the venture capital firm GV, which said this was Apple's second-largest acquisition ever. Sources familiar with the deal told the Financial Times that Apple valued the company at close to USD 2 billion for the takeover.

NTT Data takes equity stake in internal spin-out IncidentTech
JAPAN 05:47

NTT Data takes equity stake in internal spin-out IncidentTech

NTT Data has entered into a capital partnership with IncidentTech, a business created through its internal venture programme, and has made an equity investment. IncidentTech was established by NTT Data employees and develops an AI-based agent for supporting system incident response. As part of the partnership, NTT Data will support the company's growth and will deploy IncidentTech's AI agent within selected internal projects, using operational feedback to improve the service.

NTT Data and AWS formalise multi-year deal to scale enterprise cloud and AI
GLOBAL 05:27

NTT Data and AWS formalise multi-year deal to scale enterprise cloud and AI

NTT Data has signed a multi-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Amazon Web Services aimed at accelerating enterprise cloud modernisation and the adoption of agentic AI, with a focus on regulated and large-scale environments. The agreement brings together NTT Data's cloud transformation and managed services capabilities with AWS infrastructure and platforms to support the migration and modernisation of legacy systems and the deployment of AI-driven workloads.

Motorola Solutions launches role-based AI suites for public safety operations
UNITED STATES 05:14

Motorola Solutions launches role-based AI suites for public safety operations

Motorola Solutions has launched a portfolio of role-based AI systems aimed at supporting public safety agencies by integrating data from multiple operational sources into a single workflow. The new Assist Suites combine information such as 911 call audio, radio traffic, and body-worn and in-car camera footage to support dispatchers and frontline responders. The initial rollout is focused on the United States' 911 emergency system, with plans to extend availability internationally.

Most Canadians, Americans want robust AI regulation - Telus
CANADA 29 JAN

Most Canadians, Americans want robust AI regulation - Telus

A new cross-border study from Canadian operator Telus shows that Canadian and US consumers want companies to earn their trust in AI. Over 75 percent of respondents want them to review AI technology for harms before launching new tools, and to provide easy-to-understand explanations. The third annual AI Report from Telus shows that 85 percent of Canadians and 89 percent of Americas are using AI, leading to growing calls for customer inclusion and engagement. Around 70 percent of respondents want businesses t

MTS Exolve introduces new chatbots for businesses
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 29 JAN

MTS Exolve introduces new chatbots for businesses

Russian PBX services provider MTS Exolve, a subsidiary of the telecom operator MTS, announced that it has launched a new product,  bots for automated communication with customers. The new service was developed on the basis of AI to serve in various business communication tasks, and the AI agents offer accelerated learning capabilities, MTS said. The product can be integrated with CRM systems, databases, billing systems and internal data sources.

Nfon creates partner platform as focus shifts to AI-based communication
EUROPE 29 JAN

Nfon creates partner platform as focus shifts to AI-based communication

European cloud communications provider Nfon has announced a key measure to shift from traditional cloud to AI-based communication, as it pursues its 2027 strategy programme. Through Nexus Connect 2026, Nfon is establishing a network of over 250 partners and is reshuffling and expanding its product portfolio through AI-based offerings, as it seeks to make inroads into new market segments. The company is also introducing a new modular licence model that, combined with the partnership platform, will help creat

Du Youth Council and Cisco Networking Academy launch AI and data science certification scheme
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 29 JAN

Du Youth Council and Cisco Networking Academy launch AI and data science certification scheme

Du has announced a collaboration with Cisco Networking Academy to launch a 42-hour programme specialising in AI and Data Science certification training. It targets university students and young professionals who are interested in technology and innovation. The Du Youth Council will apply Cisco's global technology expertise to provide a curriculum that integrates hands-on learning with modern generative AI tools including ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, alongside real-world analytics projects using Excel, SQL an

Infovista marks release of agentic AI telecoms framework
GLOBAL 29 JAN

Infovista marks release of agentic AI telecoms framework

Infovista has launched a new agentic AI network optimisation layer for telco operators. The French vendor's VistAI tool will be on show at Mobile World Congress Barcelona, alongside additional capabilities joining its intelligent networks line-up. VistAI is available immediately for Infovista's Automated Assurance and Network Testing customers. Cloud hosted deployments are available for both customer groups, while on-premises integrations solely target Automated Assurance clients for the moment.

Dutch embrace genAI, half using it for work - Deloitte
NETHERLANDS 29 JAN

Dutch embrace genAI, half using it for work - Deloitte

GenAI has its mainstream breakthrough in the Netherlands in 2025, according to research from Deloitte. Over three-quarters of people (76%) said at year-end that they were familiar with generate AI and 61 percent had used the technology. Usage is mainly private (83%), although around half say they have used AI apps at work (52%). Young people are the most avid adopters, according to the survey of around 2,000 people. 

INDONESIA 29 JAN

ITSEC to bring AI cybersecurity to Infinix Note Edge 5G+ smartphones in Indonesia

Indonesian cybersecurity and cyber-AI company ITSEC Asia has signed a partnership deal with Infinix. Through this collaboration, IntelliBroń Aman, an AI-powered cybersecurity service developed by ITSEC Asia, will be available on Infinix Note Edge 5G+ smartphones in Indonesia. This is the first global deployment of IntelliBroń Aman on the Infinix Note series. The service is also planned to be introduced on the upcoming Infinix Note 60 device.

ROMANIA 29 JAN

Orange Romania, .lumen launch AI-powered mobility package for the visually impaired

Orange has teamed up with Romanian start-up .lumen to launch a joint offering that combines assistive technology with 5G connectivity to support the independence of visually impaired consumers. This collaboration introduces a mobility package designed specifically for the blind, featuring the .lumen headset, a smartphone, and access to Orange's 5G voice and mobile internet services.

UNITED KINGDOM 29 JAN

UK govt announces new Scottish AI Growth Zone in Lanarkshire

The UK government has announced a new AI Growth Zone in Scotland, delivered by UK data centre company DataVita around their site in Airdrie, in partnership with AI cloud company CoreWeave. The new Lanarkshire AI Growth Zone will create more than 3,400 high-value jobs over the coming years, including 50 apprenticeships, and will have strong links with businesses and universities. Around 800 jobs of the created jobs will be high-paying AI jobs, with the rest made up of construction jobs.

GLOBAL 29 JAN

Meta forecasts higher costs and higher operating profit in 2026

Meta reported better-than-expected results for the fourth quarter, with revenues up 24 percent year-on-year to USD 59.9 billion and net profit growing 9 percent to USD 22.8 billion. The company also reported a strong increase in capital expenditure and personnel costs to support expansion in AI services and confirmed spending will increase even more in 2026. Nevertheless, the group still expects a higher operating profit in 2026, after 20 percent growth in FY25 to USD 83.3 billion. 

GLOBAL 29 JAN

Microsoft quarterly net profit up 60% on OpenAI gains, cloud services demand

Microsoft reported better-than-expected results for its fiscal second quarter to December, with revenues up 17 percent year-on-year to USD 81.3 billion. Operating profit rose 21 percent to USD 38.3 billion, and net profit jumped 60 percent to USD 38.5 billion. The results benefited from the company's renewed investment agreement with OpenAI, as well as ongoing strong demand for its cloud services. Microsoft Cloud revenue crossed USD 50 billion for the first time during the quarter, it said.

JAPAN 29 JAN

SoftBank deploys AI-based Massive MIMO control system at major event venues

SoftBank has begun deploying an AI-powered external control system to optimise Massive MIMO coverage at large-scale event venues in Japan, following a commercial network demonstration at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. The system, developed with Ericsson, is designed to automatically adjust base station coverage patterns in response to rapid changes in user distribution, which are common at events held in arenas, domes and theme park-style venues.

AUSTRALIA 29 JAN

WinDC partners Megaport to connect renewable-powered AI compute globally

Australian start-up WinDC said it has formed a strategic partnership with Megaport to connect its renewable-powered AI infrastructure to Megaport's network-as-a-service platform, enabling organisations to access AI compute deployed at renewable energy generation sites across Australia. Under the agreement, WinDC's modular AI facilities, located at solar, wind and hydro generation sites, will be linked to Megaport's private, high-capacity network, allowing customers to run AI workloads using locally generate

AUSTRALIA 29 JAN

SCX.ai deploys sovereign AI node at Equinix Sydney data centre

Southern Cross AI (SCX.ai) said it has launched what it claims is Australia's first sovereign AI inferencing node, hosted at Equinix's SY5 data centre in Sydney, providing locally based AI processing designed to meet domestic data residency requirements. The company said the deployment uses an ASIC-accelerated architecture rather than traditional GPU-based systems, delivering significantly higher energy efficiency for AI inferencing workloads and removing the need for water-based cooling.

JAPAN 29 JAN

NTT Data partners Dell to support enterprise private AI adoption

NTT Data and Dell Technologies said they have signed an MoU to form a broad partnership aimed at supporting enterprise use of private artificial intelligence in dedicated, closed environments. Under the agreement, the two companies plan to jointly build and offer an AI platform service that combines Dell Technologies' AI infrastructure with NTT Data's AI application and systems integration expertise. The service is scheduled to launch in mid-2026 and is intended to enable organisations to deploy AI securely

GLOBAL 29 JAN

SK Hynix posts record 2025 profit, launches US AI subsidiary

SK Hynix said it recorded an annual operating profit of KRW 47.2 trillion (USD 33.1 billion) in 2025, more than doubling its result from a year earlier and surpassing Samsung Electronics' total operating profit for the first time. The South Korean chipmaker attributed the performance primarily to strong demand for high bandwidth memory (HBM) products used in AI workloads. Net profit rose 116.9 percent year on year to KRW 42.9 trillion, while sales increased 46.8 percent to KRW 97.1 trillion, marking record

GLOBAL 29 JAN

Samsung's profit triples on AI-driven memory demand

Samsung Electronics said it delivered a record operating profit in the fourth quarter of 2025, as strong demand for memory chips used in AI servers and tighter supply conditions lifted prices and earnings. The company reported operating profit of KRW 20.07 trillion (USD 13.9 billion) for the October–December period, more than tripling from KRW 6.49 trillion won a year earlier and exceeding its previous quarterly record of KRW 17.6 trillion set in 2018.

UNITED KINGDOM 28 JAN

UK govt launches free AI training courses for all

The UK government has expanded its AI training programme to offer free courses to every adult, with a stated aim of equipping 10 million workers with foundational skills by 2030. The initiative, available through the AI Skills Hub, targets practical abilities for using AI tools in tasks such as drafting text, creating content and completing administrative tasks. Courses, benchmarked by Skills England, take as little as 20 minutes and award completers a virtual AI foundations badge.

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The week in telecoms: Netflix and Ericsson all about cash, EU sketches out rip-and-replace and copper transition plans

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Netflix can spend more on content and still improve its margin

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