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.

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

SoftBank provides 5G connectivity for AI-based footfall trial in Okinawa town
JAPAN 15 JAN

SoftBank provides 5G connectivity for AI-based footfall trial in Okinawa town

SoftBank provided the 5G connectivity for a pilot project using AI cameras to analyse pedestrian flows in Kadena Town, Okinawa, as part of a local initiative to assess visitor numbers at public facilities and events. The trial was organised by Japan Integration and formed part of efforts to promote the practical use of 5G. The proof-of-concept involved the installation of AI cameras at the roadside station Michi-no-Eki Kadena and at the 45th Noguni Sokan Festival. 

Kobe City trials NTT's gen AI voice bot for tax enquiry calls
JAPAN 15 JAN

Kobe City trials NTT's gen AI voice bot for tax enquiry calls

Kobe City has carried out a pilot deployment of a generative AI-based voice bot to handle telephone enquiries related to municipal tax, as part of an outsourced contact centre project delivered by NTT Marketing Act ProCX. The trial focused on routine and standardised enquiries about resident tax, including questions on tax notices, filing procedures and how to obtain certificates. The voice bot used generative AI to interpret callers' questions and provide automated responses by referencing prepared FAQs. C

Viasat to deploy air traffic management facility in Singapore
SINGAPORE 15 JAN

Viasat to deploy air traffic management facility in Singapore

Viasat has announced plans to deploy an additional Iris Test Facility (ITF) in Singapore to support the region in Trajectory Based Operations (TBO) implementations across the Asia Pacific region. The ITF is a key enabler providing a platform for end-to-end testing of live air and ground operations, including new standards such as ATN/OSI and ATN/IPS, multilink datalink configurations, and advanced TBO Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications (CPDLC) and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Contract (ADS-C) exc

Nos receives European patent for sustainable cork battery
PORTUGAL 14 JAN

Nos receives European patent for sustainable cork battery

Portuguese telecom operator Nos announced it has secured a European patent for a cork-based battery that utilizes energy typically wasted by TV set-top boxes. This solution was developed by Nos Inovacao in partnership with Cenimat, a research centre at Nova University of Lisbon's Faculty of Sciences and Technology. The battery efficiently captures previously dissipated energy using an electrolyte gel made from cellulose.

SKT introduces in-vehicle AI agent 'A.Dot Auto' with Renault
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 14 JAN

SKT introduces in-vehicle AI agent 'A.Dot Auto' with Renault

SK Telecom (SKT) has unveiled a next-generation in-vehicle AI agent, branded 'A.Dot Auto', and has applied it for the first time to Renault Korea's new Filante vehicle. A.Dot Auto is integrated into the vehicle's in-vehicle infotainment system and is designed to support hands-free use while driving. SKT said the system goes beyond basic voice commands by analysing driving patterns and real-time driving conditions to provide contextual responses and suggestions. The agent is built on the operator's Korean-la

ISL Networks to unveil 3GPP-compliant 5G-TSN system
JAPAN 14 JAN

ISL Networks to unveil 3GPP-compliant 5G-TSN system

Tokyo-based ISL Networks will formally announce and demonstrate an industrial 5G Time-Sensitive Networking (5G-TSN) system compliant with 3GPP specifications at the 10th Smart Factory Expo, to be held at Tokyo Big Sight from 21 to 23 January 2026. The system has been jointly developed with Finnish 5G core technology company Cumucore and is positioned as an industrial private 5G solution supporting time-sensitive communications.

Samsung Wallet adds digital car key support for some Toyota models
NORTH AMERICA 14 JAN

Samsung Wallet adds digital car key support for some Toyota models

Samsung Electronics has announced that Samsung Wallet will support digital car key functionality for selected Toyota vehicles from January 2026, starting with the 2026 Toyota RAV4. The capability allows users of compatible Samsung Galaxy smartphones to lock, unlock and start their vehicles without a physical key. The digital key feature uses a combination of ultra-wideband and near field communication technologies to enable vehicle access.

Samsung completes live vRAN call using Intel on US network
UNITED STATES 14 JAN

Samsung completes live vRAN call using Intel on US network

Samsung Electronics has completed what it describes as the first commercial voice call using its virtualised radio access network running on Intel's Xeon 6700P-B processor series on a Tier One US operator's live network. The test builds on a 2024 laboratory demonstration and was conducted on a commercial network widely understood to belong to Verizon, which has an established virtualised and Open RAN partnership with Samsung.

GLOBAL 13 JAN

CAMARA details route to network-aware AI apps powered by MCP and APIs

The Linux Foundation's open telco APIs collaboration CAMARA has published a white paper detailing methods for building network-aware AI applications, drawing on datasets from its standardised APIs, while the open source Model Context Protocol (MCP) is used to feed external data into intelligent software. In the paper, the authors share practices for connecting AI software and intelligent agents into telecoms infrastructure, through the exposure of CAMARA-defined API capabilities via the MCP platform. This a

JAPAN 13 JAN

Shiga Prefecture partners NTT on first autonomous EV bus trial in Hikone

Shiga Prefecture has begun its first demonstration project for an autonomous electric bus in Hikone City, as part of the Shiga Smart Access Autonomous Driving Challenge programme. The trial will run for 17 days from 31 January to 16 February 2026 on the Hikone Castle route. The project is being delivered by a consortium led by NTT West Japan, with NTT Business Solutions as a consortium member, alongside Macnica, which supplies and supports the autonomous driving system and remote operation management platfo

JAPAN 13 JAN

NTT and Net One complete optical trial for distributed data centre automation

Net One Systems and NTT West have reported the results of a joint trial using NTT's IOWN All-Photonics Network (APN) to support next-generation automation across distributed data centres, including AI model training and remote inference for collaborative robotics. The experiment connected three sites in Osaka and Fukuoka using the IOWN APN and evaluated whether low-latency, high-capacity optical networking could support real-time AI processing without requiring high-performance computing resources to be dep

AUSTRALIA 13 JAN

Telstra trials advanced RAN coordination technology with Ericsson

Telstra has completed a trial of Ericsson's Advanced RAN Coordination (ARC) feature in its North Sydney network, aiming to improve 5G performance through more efficient coordination of radio resources between sites. Telstra wireless engineering executive Ashley Hunter revealed the trial in a LinkedIn post. The trial deployed ARC on Ericsson's fourth-generation RAN Compute platform, increasing the number of carrier combinations available to the 5G scheduler at each site from 12 to 36. Telstra said this allow

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 12 JAN

South Korea steps up AI cooperation with Nvidia and OpenAI

South Korea's ministry of science and ICT has moved to deepen international cooperation on AI following senior-level meetings with Nvidia and OpenAI in California, alongside engagement with Korean-founded startups and investors in the US. The ministry said second vice minister Ryu Je-myoung visited the headquarters of Nvidia and OpenAI on 9 January, as part of efforts to strengthen public-private collaboration on AI infrastructure, talent development and safety. The visit builds on discussions held last yea

UNITED STATES 12 JAN

SoftBank and OpenAI to invest USD 1 billion in SB Energy

OpenAI and SoftBank Group have agreed to invest USD 1 billion into SB Energy, which is backed by SoftBank and Ares Management, to support the buildout of AI data centres as part of the Stargate initiative. OpenAI and SoftBank are each investing USD 500 million into SB Energy. OpenAI has also selected SBE to build and operate its previously-announced 1.2 GW data centre site in Milam County. The equity funding supports SB Energy's growth as a development and execution partner for data centre campuses and asso

UNITED STATES 12 JAN

Meta sets out US nuclear power agreements to support data centre growth

Meta has announced a series of agreements to support existing and new nuclear power projects in the United States, with the aim of securing long-term electricity supply for its data centre and AI infrastructure. The company said the projects could support up to 6.6 GW of new and existing nuclear capacity by 2035, supplying grids that serve Meta's operations, including its Prometheus data centre cluster in New Albany, Ohio.

JAPAN 12 JAN

CAICA Digital completes Web3 IoT trial using 5G RedCap and MQTT

Japan's CAICA Digital has completed the second phase of a proof-of-concept trial for its Web3-based IoT integration initiative, advancing work on a real-time machine-to-machine and edge computing platform using 5G RedCap and MQTT. The trial is being carried out jointly with its subsidiary, NCXX, and is structured in three stages: initial implementation of an M2M and MEC platform, enhancement of communication protocols, and the planned introduction of decentralised identity authentication.

JAPAN 9 JAN

NTT tests IOWN APN-based remote production for school rugby broadcast

NTT West has completed a technical trial of a remote broadcast production environment using its IOWN All-Photonics Network (APN) during coverage of the 105th National High School Rugby Football Tournament. The trial was conducted in collaboration with broadcaster Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS). The demonstration involved centralising advanced production functions, including AI-generated super slow-motion video and on-screen caption production, within a data centre rather than deploying them in an outsid

GLOBAL 9 JAN

Nvidia changes delay high bandwidth memory mass production - TrendForce

Specification changes and strong Blackwell demand at Nvidia will delay high bandwidth memory 4 means production until  the end of 1Q26, according to analysts TrendForce. Nvidia has revised the HBM4 specifications for its new Rubin platform in 3Q25, raising the required per-pin speed to above 11 Gbps. This change has necessitated that the three major HBM suppliers modify their designs.

GLOBAL 8 JAN

Anritsu and Finland's VTT hail successful trial targeting 110-170 GHz D band frequencies

Anritsu and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland have claimed a major advance in the 110-170 GHz D band performed by a novel beam-steering, transmit-array antenna system in realistic over-the-air (OTA) conditions. The achievement is said to confirm the feasibility of stable, high-capacity wireless links in this sub-THz candidate for next-generation telecoms including 6G networks as well as backhaul and industrial and defence-grade systems. The test leveraged a "lightweight", scalable transmit-array ante

JORDAN 8 JAN

Orange and Jordan Payments and Clearing Company provide opportunities for Coding Academy graduates

Orange Jordan has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Jordan Payments and Clearing Company (JoPACC) aimed at providing graduates of the Coding Academy at the Orange Digital Centre with practical experience and applied opportunities that meet the requirements of the labour market. CEO of Orange Jordan Philippe Mansour said the MoU reinforces its commitment to supporting Coding Academy students, while underscoring JoPACC's support via the Join Fincubator for eligible graduates and BIG by Orang

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