India's Tech Infra as Public Good Can Be Emulated for AI Across Global South, Says ITU Official
India’s digital public infrastructure—most notably Aadhaar and UPI—has been highlighted by ITU strategic‑engagement chief Fred Werner as a replicable model for AI diffusion across the Global South. Werner argues that the country’s ability to scale technology for over a billion people demonstrates the preconditions needed for safe, widespread AI adoption without owning massive language models. By blending startup agility, government reach, and academic rigor in a secure sandbox, India tests AI applications on UN open datasets, informing policy and standards. The ITU is now fast‑tracking standards to embed security, privacy and sustainability while balancing innovation timing.
Airtel New Rs 1099 Plan Comes with Unlimited 4G and 5G
Bharti Airtel launched a Rs 1099 prepaid plan that includes unlimited voice calls, 100 SMS per day and a combined 300 GB of 4G/5G data every 28 days. The offering is valid for 84 days, extending beyond the typical monthly cycle. While...
Telecom News: Airtel Africa, Starlink, Telus
Airtel Africa is preparing to roll out SpaceX’s Starlink satellite service across its 14 African markets, pending regulator sign‑off, to extend mobile broadband into underserved rural zones. Telus secured new 3.8 GHz mid‑band spectrum in British Columbia and Alberta, boosting its...
Telecom News: Tune Talk, Mavenir, Sistema Shyam Teleservices
The Andhra Pradesh government signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Indian Union to accelerate the Amended BharatNet programme, allocating ₹2,432 crore to extend fiber broadband to over 500,000 rural homes and thousands of Gram Panchayats. In Malaysia, Tune Talk completed a...
Telecom News: 1623 Farnam, Bridged Broadband, KYOCERA AVX, Airgain
1623 Farnam and Bridged Broadband announced a partnership to deploy an 800‑gigabit fiber backbone linking Omaha, Kansas City and underserved Missouri towns. The network leverages a dense carrier ecosystem at the Omaha interconnection hub, delivering low‑latency, high‑capacity routes for enterprises...
AST SpaceMobile Wins $30 Million Contract for Military Broadband Demo
The Space Development Agency awarded AST SpaceMobile a $30 million firm‑fixed‑price contract to demonstrate its BlueBird satellite constellation can deliver resilient, low‑latency broadband directly to military radios. The "Europa" phase of the HALO program requires AST to complete a series of...
Skynopy and Safran Space Win the SkyConnect Kenya Project to Digitize and Accelerate the Commercialization of an Antenna in Kenya
Skynopy, backed by French Ministry funding, secured the SkyConnect Kenya project to digitize the Kenya Space Agency's 4.5‑meter S/X‑Band antenna. Partnering with Safran Space, the duo will install Skynopy’s Ground Station Stack and Safran’s virtualized Nuron equipment, linking the antenna...
Mobile Networks Face New Cellular UAV Exploitation Risks
Operation Spiderweb in June 2025 demonstrated how Ukrainian forces hijacked Russian mobile networks to control and stream data from drones, disabling about 20 aircraft. The incident exposed a growing vulnerability as 4G/5G standards now embed native drone support, allowing off‑the‑shelf...
Taara Unveils Taara Photonics and Taara Beam
Taara, a spin‑out from Google’s X lab, unveiled Taara Photonics—the world’s first wireless communication platform built on an optical phased‑array integrated circuit—and its inaugural product, Taara Beam. The beam‑sized device delivers up to 25 Gbps at low latency across distances of...
How to Switch From Cable to Fibre Internet
Cable internet’s coaxial architecture limits speed, upload rates, and reliability, prompting many households to consider fibre upgrades. Fibre‑to‑the‑home (FTTH) delivers symmetric gigabit speeds, lower latency, and a dedicated connection that isn’t throttled by neighborhood traffic. Providers such as i3 Broadband,...
Compound Semiconductors Enter a New Growth Phrase Powered by AI & Electrification
Yole Group released its 2026 status report on compound semiconductors, projecting the combined substrate and open‑epiwafer market to surpass $5 billion by 2031 with a ~14 % CAGR. The analysis highlights strong demand from electrification, AI infrastructure, and next‑generation connectivity, with SiC...
Socionext and Innatera Introduce Integrated 60 GHz FMCW Radar and Neuromorphic Edge AI for Human Presence Detection
Socionext and Innatera unveiled a joint human‑presence detection solution that merges Socionext’s compact 60 GHz FMCW radar with Innatera’s ultra‑low‑power spiking neural processor. The system delivers over 99 % detection accuracy, even for stationary individuals, while consuming sub‑milliwatt power, extending battery life...
Rohde & Schwarz and Broadcom Showcase First Wi-Fi 8 RF Signaling Tests, Paving Way for Next-Gen Connectivity
Rohde & Schwarz and Broadcom are unveiling the first public Wi‑Fi 8 RF signaling tests at MWC Barcelona 2026 using the CMX500 multi‑technology tester. The demo validates a Broadcom prototype and showcases Wi‑Fi 8’s new PHY/MAC features such as distributed resource units, unequal modulation and...
GSMA Launches Innovation Fund to Accelerate Green Transition Through Mobile Technology
The GSMA has launched a global Innovation Fund offering £100,000‑£200,000 grants to small and growing enterprises that use mobile and digital technologies to accelerate the green transition in low‑ and middle‑income countries. The fund targets solutions that expand clean‑energy access,...
Marvell Aims to Localise Global Semiconductor Solutions for India: Navin Bishnoi
Marvell Technology is localising its global semiconductor portfolio for the Indian market, establishing R&D centres in Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad. The company is collaborating with Indian academia—IITs, NITs and IIITs—to build a talent pipeline and shape semiconductor curricula. Marvell’s data‑centre...
Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra Leaked Ahead of Launch
Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S26 Ultra 5G design was leaked ahead of the company’s Unpacked event scheduled for February 25, 2026. The leak, posted by YouTuber Sahi Karoul, shows a high‑end device priced at AED 12,000 (approximately Rs 296,000) before official release. The...
Du and Federal Youth Authority Power Next-Gen Talent for Digital Economy Success
du concluded its Youth Council Retreat 2026, bringing together the telecom’s youth representatives, senior executives and the Federal Youth Authority. A fireside chat between CEO Fahad Al Hassawi and Chief People & Impact Officer Fatema Al Afeefi gave emerging talent...
Centre Approves ₹2,432 Crore to Implement Amended BharatNet Programme in Andhra Pradesh
The Indian government has approved ₹2,432 crore to fund the Amended BharatNet programme in Andhra Pradesh. The scheme, managed by the newly formed Andhra Pradesh BharatNet Infrastructure Limited (APBIL), will upgrade 13,426 gram panchayats to a ring‑topology optical fiber network and...
Telecom Review Gears Up for a Strategic Presence at MWC 2026
Telecom Review announced a strategic presence at Mobile World Congress 2026, exhibiting in Hall 3, Stand 3O52MR, and delivering daily digital coverage of the event’s technology rollouts. The editorial team will produce on‑site reporting, executive interviews, and exclusive insights from keynotes and...
Tata Communications, RailTel Join Hands to Develop AI-Ready Digital Infrastructure
Tata Communications has teamed up with state‑run RailTel to build AI‑ready digital infrastructure for India and global markets. The partnership will modernise RailTel’s 63,000 km optical‑fiber network, add AI‑enabled platforms, and strengthen cyber protection and sovereign cloud capabilities for sensitive workloads....
DoT Asks Noida International Airport to Allow Telcos to Set up Infrastructure
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has formally instructed the upcoming Noida International Airport to treat telecom operators as entitled to in‑building network installations under the Telecommunications Act, mirroring a similar dispute at Navi Mumbai airport. The clarification follows a request from...
Orange Marine Orders Two Cable Laying Vessels
Norwegian shipbuilder VARD has received an order from France’s Orange Marine for two additional cable‑laying and repair vessels based on the VARD 9‑03 design. The ships will be constructed at Colombo Dockyard in Sri Lanka and follow the same specifications as...
Lightpath’s Revenue Rises 35 Percent on Strong Hyperscaler, Enterprise Customer Wins
Lightpath, the wholesale arm of Optimum, posted $468 million in 2025 revenue, a 13% year‑over‑year increase driven by strong hyperscaler and enterprise demand. AI‑driven contract value jumped 40% to $362 million, while hyperscaler total contract value surged 240% to $252 million. The company’s...
Canalink Plans El Hierro Submarine Cable
Canalink, the public telecom operator of Tenerife, has applied for permits to land a submarine fibre‑optic cable on El Hierro, extending its Base 6 network that will link Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro and La Palma over roughly 328 km. The cable is designed to deliver...
NMSurf Launches 1 Gbps Symmetrical Fixed Wireless in Budaghers
NMSurf has introduced a 1 Gbps symmetrical fixed‑wireless broadband service in Budaghers, New Mexico, targeting up to 50 locations. The gigabit download and upload speeds aim to support remote work, online education, telehealth, and high‑definition streaming without laying fiber. By using...
Sparkle Launches GreenMed Subsea Cable System
Sparkle announced GreenMed, a next‑generation subsea cable linking Europe and the Middle East via the Adriatic Sea. Designed by Alcatel Submarine Networks and installed by Elettra Tlc, the system will integrate with Sparkle’s backbone to provide low‑latency, resilient routes. The...
Ooredoo Launches OFN to Scale AI, Cloud & Subsea Networks
Ooredoo Group has created Ooredoo Fibre Networks (OFN), an independent entity to own and scale its submarine cable and high‑capacity fibre assets. Khalid Hassan Al‑Hamadi was appointed CEO, effective 15 February 2026, with the carve‑out slated for completion by 2027. OFN...
WorldLink: $700M UAE-Iraq-Turkey Data Cable Plan
The Iraqi‑UAE consortium announced WorldLink, a $700 million subsea‑and‑terrestrial data cable that will run from the United Arab Emirates to Turkey via Iraq’s Faw peninsula. The privately funded project will be deployed in phases over a five‑year period, offering an alternative...
AVX Networks Awarded $37.5M Catalina Broadband Grant
California’s Public Utilities Commission awarded AVX Networks a $37.5 million grant to deploy submarine fiber‑optic cable linking Catalina Island to Huntington Beach. The funding will enable high‑speed broadband for more than 3,500 island residents, bolstering telehealth, remote education, and local businesses....
Why AI Is Altering Planning for 6G Mobile Networks
Operators are rethinking 6G network design as AI applications demand flexible traffic handling. The NGMN Alliance study warns that multimodal AI, such as AR glasses and autonomous vehicles, will reverse the traditional downlink‑heavy pattern, requiring more uplink capacity and adaptable...
2025 Excellence Rewarded at Working Groups
The 3GPP 2025 Excellence Awards were presented during February Working Group meetings in Gothenburg, Goa, and La Ciotat. Samsung’s Eko Onggosanusi was honored for a decade of leadership on NR MIMO physical‑layer work, while Nokia’s Sung Won received recognition for steering...
Google Unveils America-India Connect Network
Google announced the America‑India Connect, a multi‑continent infrastructure program built around a five‑year $15 billion AI investment in India. The plan creates a new subsea gateway in Visakhapatnam and adds three submarine cables linking India with Singapore, South Africa and Australia,...
Google Plans $15B Subsea Cable to Boost AI Infrastructure
Google announced a $15 billion America‑India Connect subsea cable project spanning five years and four continents. The initiative adds new landing points in Visakhapatnam and creates redundant fibre‑optic routes linking India to Singapore, South Africa, Australia and the United States. By...
Oman’s TRA Calls for Investment in Digital Services for Future Growth
Oman’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority urged private operators to broaden revenue beyond voice and data by investing in digital services such as IoT, cloud, and automation. The briefing highlighted a 358% jump in IoT subscriptions to 1.63 million and a rise in...
Singapore Warns That Vulnerabilities Span the Entire Space Value Chain
Singapore has launched its National Space Agency and warned that cyber‑vulnerabilities permeate every stage of the space value chain, from satellites to ground networks. The February 2022 KA‑SAT attack, which knocked out communications and energy services across Europe, underscored the systemic...
Scientists Develop the World’s Tiniest Wireless Brain Implant
Scientists at Cornell University have created a wireless brain implant so small it can sit on a grain of salt, yet still record and transmit neural activity. The device uses light‑based optics for power and data, eliminating bulky wires and...
Fidium Announces New Speed Tiers, Wi-Fi 7 Offerings
Fidium announced it will expand its fiber‑to‑the‑premise network with new symmetric speed tiers up to 8 Gbps, bundled with next‑generation Wi‑Fi 7 routers. The rollout begins in April 2026 across select neighborhoods in Maine, New Hampshire, Texas and California. The company says the...
Texas Broadband Power Players Will Headline at Connected America
Connected America, the premier broadband and digital infrastructure summit, will take place April 14‑15 at the Irving Convention Center, featuring a slate of Texas leaders from state agencies, municipalities, and private fiber providers. Bryan Clayton, director of the Texas Broadband...
All West Fiber Makes Progress with Fiber Upgrade in Evanston, Utah
All West Fiber announced the completion of Phase 1 of its fiber‑to‑the‑home upgrade in Evanston, Utah, delivering up to 8 Gbps service to residents and businesses. The rollout is part of a three‑phase project, with Phases 2 and 3 already under construction to extend...
Our Community Network Map Now Shows Tribal Networks Across the United States
The Institute for Local Self‑Reliance unveiled an upgraded Community Network Map that now includes Tribal broadband providers. The interactive tool identifies 82 active Tribal Internet Service Providers across the United States, displaying population size, business model, network links, and whether...
Connecting Africa Podcast: S4 Ep. 3 – What You Need to Know to Build an MVNO
The Connecting Africa Podcast’s fourth‑season episode features Calvin Collett, founder and CEO of Melon Mobile, who details the gritty reality of launching a digital‑first mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in South Africa. He explains how building customer‑centricity into the company...
Ericsson’s AI Network Optimisation Platform Live
Ericsson has launched Agentic rApp as a Service, an AI‑powered network optimisation platform available through AWS Marketplace. The solution leverages agentic AI and a natural‑language interface to reason about network conditions and execute closed‑loop optimisations via the O‑RAN R1 interface,...
Using AI to Slash 5G Emissions and Hit ESG Goals
A new study by the University of Surrey and Tsinghua University shows AI‑driven sleep modes, intelligent hardware, and reconfigurable intelligent surfaces can dramatically reduce 5G network emissions. The research demonstrates that granular sleep states and “cluster zooming” in cell‑free massive...
Du & Datawave SING Subsea Cable Enhances UAE Hub
du and Datawave Networks have partnered to land the Singapore‑India‑Gulf (SING) subsea fibre‑optic cable at du’s Kalba landing station in the UAE. The system will connect six points across the Gulf, India, Malaysia and Singapore, delivering high‑capacity, low‑latency East‑West bandwidth....
Private 5G Networks: Solving the Space and Power Problem
Samsung introduced a ‘Network in a Server’ (NIS) solution that consolidates private 5G core, RAN, transport and AI functions onto a single COTS server. By virtualising these network elements on an AMD EPYC 8000 platform with GPU support, the architecture...
New GSMA Report Shows Low-Band Spectrum Is Required to Tackle the Rural Connectivity Gap and Help Unlock Rural Economic Growth
The GSMA’s new report finds that allocating additional sub‑1 GHz spectrum is essential for closing the rural digital divide. Adding just 50 MHz of low‑band spectrum can lift rural 4G coverage by 7 percentage points and 5G coverage by 11 percentage points, while also...