Zong, ZTE to launch 5G smartphones, financing options in Pakistan
PAKISTAN 09:56

Zong, ZTE to launch 5G smartphones, financing options in Pakistan

Pakistani operator Zong has signed a partnership agreement with ZTE and its authorized distributor Siccotel, to expand access to 5G services across Pakistan. Under the terms of the deal, ZTE will launch a diverse lineup of 5G smartphones ranging from entry-level to high-end gaming devices specifically targeted at the youth and performance-driven market segments.

UK broadband users will not tolerate GBP 4 monthly price increase - Uswitch
UNITED KINGDOM 09:42

UK broadband users will not tolerate GBP 4 monthly price increase - Uswitch

New research from Uswitch.com shows that a GBP 4 monthly price increase would be unmanageable for one quarter (24%) of UK broadband customers. Customers said they could cope with an average increase of GBP 2.70 per month before considering moving to a different supplier; with 17 percent saying they would accept no increases to their broadband bill. Furthermore, one third (32%) of Brits spend more time worrying about utility bills now than two years ago; with 19 percent saying they put up with increases but

Australia's under-16 social media ban sees 4.7 mln accounts blocked
AUSTRALIA 05:57

Australia's under-16 social media ban sees 4.7 mln accounts blocked

Major social media companies removed access to about 4.7 million accounts identified as belonging to children under 16 in the first half of December to comply with Australia's social media minimum age, according to initial figures gathered by the eSafety Commissioner. The government agency said the result was an early indication that major platforms are taking "meaningful actions" to prevent under-16s from holding accounts. 

New Zealand banks join operators to block phishing sites
NEW ZEALAND 05:53

New Zealand banks join operators to block phishing sites

Banks, operators and digital platforms have teamed up with a New Zealand start-up to boost efforts to disrupt and block phishing websites before they can harm customers. The initiative began as a pilot led by ANZ NZ bank and operator 2degrees, and now includes Kiwibank, TSB, One NZ, Spark and Trade Me. The aim is to detect, validate, block and disrupt malicious domains within the first hour of a webpage going live.

Rostelecom expands fibre-optic network in Kirov region
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 15 JAN

Rostelecom expands fibre-optic network in Kirov region

Russian national operator Rostelecom has expanded the coverage of its fibre-optic network in the Kirov region. The operator covered 2,150 households in the town of Murashi, after building 36 km of fibre lines replacing obsolete copper connections with GPON technology. Broadband at up to 700 Mbps is available to customers there.

T-Mobile Czechia adds Music Box channels
CZECH REPUBLIC 15 JAN

T-Mobile Czechia adds Music Box channels

T-Mobile Czech Republic has added four additional channels to its pay-TV lineup. The list includes Music Box Hits, Music Box Dance and Music Box Classic from the broadcaster Music Box. The channel Magenta Music from the operator has also become available for subscribers.

T2 adds anti-phishing service to SafeWall platform
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 15 JAN

T2 adds anti-phishing service to SafeWall platform

Russian mobile operator T2, a subsidiary of the national operator Rostelecom, has completed implementation of the service Anti-Phishing, reports Kp.ru. The service will form an additional element of the cyber-security platform SafeWall, which is available free for all subscribers of the operator. The database of the service counts more than 45,000 case files to help identify risks. The new service is available at the base level of the multi-level platform SafeWall.

Digi Slovakia expands pay-TV lineup with Music Box channels
SLOVAKIA 15 JAN

Digi Slovakia expands pay-TV lineup with Music Box channels

Digi Slovakia has expanded its pay-TV lineup with the channels Music Box Hits, Music Box Classic and Music Box Dance. The channels are available using the online TV service TV Digi, as well as the service Digi Go. Music Box Hits is added to the package L and upper bundles, and the channels Music Box Classic and Music Box Dance are included in M and upper packages.

Evergent Technologies secures investment from NBA
GLOBAL 15 JAN

Evergent Technologies secures investment from NBA

Evergent Technologies, telco customer management and monetisation provider, has secured a strategic investment from the National Basketball Association (NBA). This investment comes at the same time as the NBA and Evergent extend their multi-year partnership. This partnership, launched in 2022, has delivered strong subscriber growth and worldwide roll-out of the NBA League Pass to more than 185 countries.

Gigs appoints former Ayden exec as Head of Connectivity
GLOBAL 15 JAN

Gigs appoints former Ayden exec as Head of Connectivity

Global mobile connectivity platform Gigs has appointed Edgar Verschuur as Head of Connectivity. He joins the company from Ayden, where he was Global Head of Payments, and will lead an expansion into local consumer plans, enterprise connectivity and global roaming. Gigs powers embedded connectivity products for global brands including OnePay, Revolut, Netgear and Nubank. His appointment comes as Gigs looks to expand its presence in the US, UK and Europe, expand into Latin America, and strengthen partnerships

Illegal UK sports streams reached 1.6 billion in 1st-half 2025 - study
UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Illegal UK sports streams reached 1.6 billion in 1st-half 2025 - study

The number of illegal streams of sports events (lasting over 90 seconds) in the UK reached 3.1 billion in 2024 across the Top 10 GB sports, rising to 1.6 billion illegal streams in the first-half of 2025, according to data from the Campaign for Fairer Gambling (CFG). The 'GB National 2025 and 2025 First Half Illegal Streaming of Sports Events and Illegal Gambling' report, shows that spyware, malware, keystroke loggers and other ID/data theft mechanics were behind 89 percent of illegal GB sports views in 202

Ofcom opens investigation into AI companion chatbot service
UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Ofcom opens investigation into AI companion chatbot service

UK regulator Ofcom has opened an investigation into AI companion chatbot service provider Novi to determine if it has complied with age verification requirements under the Online Safety Act. The Act requires sites allowing pornographic content to deploy highly effective age assurance technology to stop this content from being accessed by children. If Ofcom concludes that Novi has failed to comply with its obligations, a provisional decision will be issued. Novi will then be able to respond to the findings,

UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Freely reaches over one million weekly users during festive period

Everyone TV said the Freely PSB streaming platform reached over one million weekly users during the Christmas week, making Freely the UK's fastest growing TV platform in 2025. During the festive period, over half (55%) of Freely's one million weekly users accessed the service every day to stream content. Two thirds of Freely users stream all of their TV content. The free streaming platform is backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and 5. 

UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Community Fibre offers three months free with flash sale

London-based ISP Community Fibre has launched a flash sale offering free full-fibre broadband for three months. New customers switching to Community Fibre could save up to GBP 762 on their broadband bill compared to national providers. The offer is available until 23.59 hours on 02 February 2026. Customers can get 100 Mbps broadband for GBP 25 per month; 300 Mbps broadband for GBP 28 per month; or 1 Gbps broadband for GBP 32 per month after three months free, with 12-month contracts.

IRELAND 15 JAN

Virgin Media Ireland signs up Irish rugby star with Six Nations coverage

Virgin Media Ireland has announced that former Ireland international rugby player Conor Murray will join Virgin Media Television's Rugby Panel, working as an analyst for the 2026 Guinness Six Nations Championship. The tournament starts on 05 February. Brian Gleeson, Head of Sport for Virgin Media Television, said he would provide "invaluable insight" into the modern rugby game and the set-up of the Ireland team. 

GLOBAL 15 JAN

X blocks Grok from creating sexual images as UK, California launch investigations

X has taken action to stop the Grok AI tool from being able to edit photos of real people in revealing clothing. In a statement on X, the company said it was committed to making the platform save for everybody and had a zero-tolerance approach to child sexual exploitation, unwanted sexual content and non-consensual nudity. The comes after the UK government threatened to block X from operating in the UK over the feature, with regulator Ofcom opening an investigation into the company.

UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Barb data shows more Brits now watch YouTube than BBC

The latest data from TV ratings agency Barb shows that YouTube has overtaken the BBC for the first time in the UK, reports The Telegraph newspaper. The data shows that 51.93 million Brits watched YouTube in December, compared to 50.85 million people watching the BBC. YouTube also out-performed the BBC in October and November 2025, with the online video platform now attracting a higher number of viewers than all BBC channels together (BBC 1, BBC 2, BBC 3 and BBC 4).

UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Virgin Media O2 reduces customer service call transfers by 1.3 million

Virgin Media O2 saw a 1.3 million reduction in customer service call transfers in 2025 after deploying AI technology and upskilling customer service teams to improve how customer calls are handled. It has improved the automated phone system using AI, simplified team structures, and cross-skilled 5,000 support agents. The 1.3 million reduction in call transfers saved customers 1.45 billion seconds of their time in 2025 - equal to over 24 million minutes or more than 400,000 hours. Meanwhile, Ofcom data shows

FRANCE 15 JAN

Amazon Prime Video adds M6+ to French content catalogue

Amazon Prime Video has expanded its content library in France through a new distribution agreement with local broadcaster M6. Under this latest deal, Prime Video customers will gain direct access to more than 30,000 hours of content on M6+, the broadcaster's streaming platform, along with four linear channels (M6, W9, 6ter and Gulli). Through this partnership, M6 also aims to bolster the activities of its in-house advertising agency, M6 Unlimited.

MALAYSIA 15 JAN

Tourism Malaysia, Weixin Pay to offer cashless transactions for Chinese visitors

Tourism Malaysia has signed a partnership deal with Weixin Pay, to support the digital transformation of Malaysia's tourism industry while enhancing the travel experience for Chinese visitors. Tourism Malaysia and Weixin Pay have agreed to launch joint digital marketing initiatives, as well as support technology adoption, and offer integrated promotions to enhance Malaysia's visibility and engagement in the China market. The deal will also enable Malaysian merchants to use Weixin Pay's suite of digital tool

ITALY 15 JAN

Fastweb ups cost of more mobile plans by up to EUR 3/mth next month

Fastweb (Fastweb+Vodafone) has announced on its website that several more mobile plans in its portfolio will be subject to a price increase of up to EUR 1 a month starting in February. The unilateral price hikes range from EUR 1 to EUR 3 a month and are again being justified by the need to continue guaranteeing the best network quality and offering services to meet customer needs.

NETHERLANDS 15 JAN

Dutch consumers union starts lawsuit against ING over Google Pay data privacy

The Dutch consumers union has launched a lawsuit against ING calling for more disclosure on the bank's agreements for handling personal data over Google Pay. In 2024 ING withdrew its own mobile payments app, saying customers with Android phones could instead rely on the Google service. However, the consumer rights group said more transparency is needed on what happens to ING customer data. 

UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Ofcom consults on actions for boosting PSB content on connected TV platforms

UK regulator Ofcom is consulting on a draft code of practice for the prominence of public service broadcaster (PSB) content on connected TV platforms. Under the Media Act 2024, providers of the most popular connected TV platforms are required to ensure that BBC iPlayer and other PSB TV players are available and prominent on their services. The consultation outlines Ofcom's proposals for a code of practice with recommended actions for connected TV platform. The proposed code of practice also includes recomme

SINGAPORE 15 JAN

StarHub opens compact retail concept store at Suntec City

StarHub has opened its first compact, high-velocity concept store at Suntec City in Singapore, aimed at providing faster in-person support for customers with limited time. The store is located on Basement 1 of Suntec City, close to office towers and high-traffic dining areas, and is designed to serve customers making short visits during the working day or at weekends. Despite its smaller footprint, the outlet offers services including plan consultations, account and service set-up, support for multi-line an

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Background

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Belgian mobile market under pressure from Digi, broadband impact still to come

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Fairphone still a small player but market share growing in Netherlands

12 JAN 00:04

The week in telecoms: CES brings Wi-Fi 8 and more smart glasses, while Warner sticks with Netflix

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The week in telecom: Finnish security check, M&A completions and telco job cuts