Arcep spells out risks to open internet from generative AI
FRANCE 09:17

Arcep spells out risks to open internet from generative AI

France's telecom authority Arcep has published a new report marking the tenth anniversary of net neutrality in Europe. The report draws on interviews with around 50 experts and on technical tests conducted with Peren, a governmental agency focused on digital platform regulation and algorithm audits. This analysis was commissioned to assess the risks to open internet principles arising from the development of generative AI. Arcep president Laure de La Raudiere highlighted the need for regulation to address t

Macra urges cross-sector collaboration to build Malawian digital system
MALAWI 08:59

Macra urges cross-sector collaboration to build Malawian digital system

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) has called for cooperation among different sectors and stakeholders to build a resilient digital ecosystem. Acting director general Mayamiko Nkoloma held discussions with the Public Private Partnership Commission (PPPC), Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Azam Media and Judiciary. He said that despite work towards the digital agenda, progress is slow because sectors tend to work as individuals, which leads to duplication of efforts.

Keppel secures 720 MW data centre powerbank site in Australia
AUSTRALIA 06:54

Keppel secures 720 MW data centre powerbank site in Australia

Singapore-based global asset manager Keppel has secured rights to lease a 123-hectare site near Melbourne in Victoria with up to 720 MW of gross power capacity, expanding its Asia-Pacific data centre powerbank to more than 1 GW. The agreement with Lightwood Group allows Keppel early access to the site for planning, power and water contracting, ahead of long-term leases by its private data centre funds. The scale of the site could support cumulative investment of around AUD 10 billion over time, including cu

Ready Server enters Japan with AT Tokyo data centre deployment
JAPAN 06:24

Ready Server enters Japan with AT Tokyo data centre deployment

Singapore-based hosting provider Ready Server has launched operations in Japan, deploying infrastructure at AT Tokyo's CC1 data centre in Tokyo. The move makes Tokyo the company's third live region, alongside Singapore and Hong Kong. The Tokyo deployment is hosted at AT TOKYO CC1, a carrier-centric facility that houses multiple telecommunications carriers, internet exchange points and network service providers. Ready Server said it will use the site to establish direct cross-connects with networks including

NTT business consortium launches private 5G autonomous bus trial
JAPAN 06:22

NTT business consortium launches private 5G autonomous bus trial

A consortium led by NTT Docomo Business has launched a large-scale autonomous bus demonstration in Yokohama, using private 5G and roadside infrastructure to support stable urban autonomous driving and remote vehicle monitoring. The trial, running from 17 to 22 January, covers a 10.6-km route between Tsurugamine Station on the Sotetsu Line and the north gate of Yokohama Zoo Zoorasia. Eight consortium members, including NTT Docomo Business, technology and automotive partners, a bus operator, and Yokohama City

SKT advances to next phase of Korea's national AI Project
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 06:18

SKT advances to next phase of Korea's national AI Project

SK Telecom (SKT) has confirmed that its specialist team has progressed to the second phase of South Korea's national "Independent AI Foundation Model" project, following the successful evaluation of its large-scale language model, A.X K1. A.X K1 is a 519-billion-parameter model, making it the first domestically developed AI model in South Korea to exceed the 500-billion-parameter threshold. 

IFS and NEC to launch sovereign cloud and industrial AI services
JAPAN 06:15

IFS and NEC to launch sovereign cloud and industrial AI services

Sweden's IFS and NEC have announced a joint initiative to develop cloud and industrial AI services for the Japanese market, aimed at modernising core systems used by capital-intensive industries while addressing economic security and data governance requirements. The companies plan to begin service delivery during Japan's 2026 financial year. Under the collaboration, IFS will deploy its IFS Cloud platform on infrastructure hosted in domestic Japanese data centres, with NEC supporting the build and operation

Korea chooses three teams for next phase of AI foundation model project
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 06:13

Korea chooses three teams for next phase of AI foundation model project

South Korea's ministry of science and ICT has announced the results of the first-stage evaluation of its national "Independent AI Foundation Model" project, confirming that teams led by LG AI Research, SK Telecom (SKT) and Upstage will advance to the second phase. A fourth team is set to be selected through an additional call to maintain a four-team competition structure in 2026.

Kaytus launches integrated liquid-cooled data centre offering
SINGAPORE 05:48

Kaytus launches integrated liquid-cooled data centre offering

Singapore-based Kaytus has introduced a one-stop, end-to-end liquid-cooled data centre solution aimed at operators and enterprises building infrastructure for AI workloads. The company said the offering is designed to address the complexity of deploying high-density, liquid-cooled facilities while improving energy efficiency. According to Kaytus, the solution supports power densities of up to 15 kW per node and 130 kW per cabinet, with a stated power usage effectiveness below 1.1.

Rostelecom acquires 45% stake in Ertek
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 15 JAN

Rostelecom acquires 45% stake in Ertek

Russian national operator Rostelecom agreed the acquisition of a 45 percent stake in the company Ertek, a developer of a property management system. Rostelecom and Ertek already work together on the development of the system Digital Hotel. Rostelecom provides its infrastructure and digital services, and Ertek contributes its PMS.

Ascenty signs renewable energy contract with Casa dos Ventos
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN 15 JAN

Ascenty signs renewable energy contract with Casa dos Ventos

Data centre services provider Ascenty and renewable energy generator Casa dos Ventos have signed a USD 500 million agreement for renewable energy supply. This deal, the largest of its kind for data centres in Latin America, will provide 110 MW to Ascenty's operations and give Ascenty an equity stake in two Casa dos Ventos projects slated for 2027, with a combined installed capacity exceeding 1.5 GW. The partnership is a significant step in Ascenty's decarbonisation strategy, projected to prevent approximate

ETSI approves first cybersecurity standard for AI models
EUROPE 15 JAN

ETSI approves first cybersecurity standard for AI models

Europe has its first official standard for AI cybersecurity. The European Telecommunication Standards Institute has published the new standard, ETSI EN 304 223, providing baseline cybersecurity requirements for AI models and systems. Thanks to its collaborative work with national standards organisations, the standard has broad support from the start. 

EUROPE 15 JAN

EU launches EUR 307 mln artificial intelligence calls

The European Commission has announced the launch of two new calls worth a total of EUR 307.3 million under the Horizon Europe programme's "Digital, Industry and Space" cluster to boost Europe's digital innovation and competitiveness. The initiative aims to advance the development of trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI), data services and technologies that underpin the EU's strategic autonomy in the digital field, said the EC.

KUWAIT 15 JAN

Zain selects six Kuwaiti graduates for 'Gen Z' training scheme

Zain Group has selected six talented Kuwaiti nationals to participate in the eleventh Generation Z (Gen Z) internal graduate training programme. The intensive year-long undertaking will offer participants exposure to AI tools, Big Data and analytics platforms. They will be encouraged to develop creative and systems thinking capabilities, enabling broader, more strategic approaches to problem solving as well as leadership and social influence skills.

GHANA 15 JAN

MTN Ghana deploys AI to detect and block fraudulent mobile money messages

MTN Ghana has deployed artificial intelligence to curb mobile money fraud, blocking fake transaction messages before they reach customers. Senior manager for fintech Abdul-Majeed Rufai said the system uses advanced algorithms to detect and stop messages that attempt to mimic official MoMo alerts. He explained that even altered message headers, formats or deliberate spelling errors often used by fraudsters to bypass security are flagged by MTN's AI and machine learning tools.

NORWAY 15 JAN

TEK Norway opens office to promote use of AI

Norwegian ICT organisation TEK Norway said it has opened a dedicated office for promoting the use of artificial intelligence. It aims to develop targeted programmes with a low entry threshold, high implementation capacity and measurable impact. Its first scheme is 'AI to the Thousand', two-week programme to guide companies from sounding out opportunities to drawing up an action plan.

GLOBAL 15 JAN

Broadcom sells USD 4.5 bln in debt for refinancing

Broadcom has sold USD 4.5 billion in new debt to refinance existing maturities and lengthen its debt horizon. The offerings included USD 750 million in 4.3 percent senior notes due 2031, USD 1.25 billion of 4.6 percent notes due 2033, USD 1.25 billion in 4.95 percent notes due 2036 and USD 1.25 billion of 5.7 percent notes due 2056. The proceeds will be used to repay other notes due at Broadcom or its subsidiary VMware in 2027 and 2028, which carry interest at 3.9-5.0 percent. 

SWITZERLAND 15 JAN

Swiss competition authority starts preliminary investigation into Microsoft licence fees

The Swiss Competition Commission started a preliminary investigation to look into Microsoft's increasing prices for license fees in the country, a move that might lead to an unlawful restriction of competition. The price increase relates mainly to the licence to use Microsoft 365 by private businesses, government agencies, public companies and other government-related bodies.

NIGERIA 15 JAN

Nigerian Parliament could pass AI law by end of March

Nigeria is seeking to become one of the first African countries to formally regulate artificial intelligence (AI), Bloomberg reported. Lawmakers there are working to pass the National Digital Economy and E Governance Bill before the end of March.

EUROPE 15 JAN

AWS starts sovereign cloud service in Europe

Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the general availability of the AWS European Sovereign Cloud, its new offering designed to meet demand from the public sector and critical industries for local storage and increased data protection. Located physically and logically separate from other AWS Regions, the new service launches first in Germany and will come soon to AWS Local Zones in Belgium, the Netherlands and Portugal. 

UNITED KINGDOM 15 JAN

Wavenet offers Smarsh AI-enabled call recording solutions

Wavenet, UK managed services and security provider, has partnered with global communications intelligence specialist Smarsh to help organisations upgrade call recording using AI and other features. Wavenet is adding Smarsh customisable call recording solutions to its unified communications and contact centre offering. These provide businesses with AI-enabled conversation analytics, call quality management tools, business intelligence reporting and end-to-end compliance.

IRELAND 15 JAN

Integrity360 targets human cyber risk with new managed service in Ireland

Integrity360, Ireland-based global cybersecurity group, has launched a new Managed Security Awareness service in Ireland to tackle human cyber risk for businesses. This follows an increase in social engineering, phishing and AI-generated scams. The tailored service provides businesses with multi-language content and realistic phishing simulations, aiming to boost employees' cybersecurity awareness with ongoing, scenario-based education and training.

CHINA 15 JAN

Alibaba upgrades Qwen app beyond chat to AI-powered autonomous task completion

Alibaba has upgraded its AI application the 'Qwen App'. Qwen now features deep integration of core services from Alibaba's ecosystem, including Taobao, Taobao Instant Commerce, Alipay, Fliggy, and Amap. Alibaba says Qwen is designed to intelligently coordinate services across multiple platforms through a unified AI interface, allowing users to move from intent to completion. These new features are now available for public testing in China.

JAPAN 15 JAN

Sakura adds dedicated eight-GPU Nvidia H100 to cloud service

Japanese operator Sakura Internet has launched a new beta plan for its container-based GPU cloud service, Koukaryoku DOK, offering customers dedicated access to eight Nvidia H100 GPUs within a single task. The new plan allows multiple H100 GPUs to be used concurrently for large-scale workloads such as model training and inference, reflecting growing demand for high-density compute driven by large language models and other AI applications. Under the plan, GPU resources and NVMe storage are provisioned automa

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