A1 Belarus launches 10GB data roaming pack for eastern Europe
BELARUS 25 MRT

A1 Belarus launches 10GB data roaming pack for eastern Europe

A1 Belarus has introduced new data roaming bundles, available for both B2C and B2B customers. The line includes a 10 GB monthly data bundle, as well as a 10 GB recurring monhly bundle, valid in 14 countries. The list includes Russia, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Georgia, Turkey, the UAE, Austria, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia. 

Rostelecom covers 1.8 mln residents with mobile network under federal programme
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 25 MRT

Rostelecom covers 1.8 mln residents with mobile network under federal programme

Russian national operator Rostelecom announced it has covered 1.8 million residents in 7,881 villages in Russia in the past five years under the second stage of the federal programme on elimination of the digital divide. GSM and LTE services are available there following the publicly funded network expansion. Rostelecom carries out the programme in cooperation with its subsidiary, the mobile operator T2. The first base station was deployed in March 2021.

Ericsson works with Juelich Research Center on AI models to support network evolution
EUROPE 25 MRT

Ericsson works with Juelich Research Center on AI models to support network evolution

Ericsson has teamed up with the Juelich Research Center in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia to work on AI models and research supporting core networks, network management and the next generation of Radio Access Networks (RAN). Areas of research include the use of AI models to assess execution speed, scalability to large datasets, information retention, and storage efficiency across Ericsson's portfolio of products. The partners may also use the Jupiter supercomputer for large-scale model training,

Smizer platform expands with Freez.it takeover
NETHERLANDS 25 MRT

Smizer platform expands with Freez.it takeover

Riverdam announced another takeover for its Smizer alliance of ICT service providers in the Netherlands. Office IT has acquired Freez.it, based in Bolsward, strengthening its position in Friesland and the wider SME market in the north of the country. Customers will have access to a wider range of services after the takeover, including desktop management, connectivity and cybersecurity, with the same local support presence. 

Orange opens new flagship shop in Ghent
BELGIUM 25 MRT

Orange opens new flagship shop in Ghent

Orange Belgium announced the opening of a new flagship store in Ghent. The company said it wants to set a new standard for customer experience in telecom retail in Belgium, positioning the store as a place for telecom services, digital support and innovation. 

Qvantel powers new HBCU-focused MVNO for PBS Cellular
UNITED STATES 25 MRT

Qvantel powers new HBCU-focused MVNO for PBS Cellular

PBS Cellular has selected Qvantel, global provider of digital BSS and monetisation solutions, to power the launch of its new MVNO offering for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the US. The agreement will see PBS Cellular use Qvantel's BSS and MVNE managed services to power its new mobile service. Qvantel will manage all core cellular services, and provide access to nationwide coverage through a major carrier.

Vantage Data Centers appoints new Global CFO
UNITED STATES 25 MRT

Vantage Data Centers appoints new Global CFO

Vantage Data Centers has announced the appointment of Scott Beasley as Global Chief Financial Officer (CFO). He will be based in Denver and lead the group's global finance, capital markets, accounting, procurement and corporate development functions. He will report to Sureel Choksi, President and CEO. Beasley was most recently CFO at Frontier Communications. The leadership transition sees former Global CFO Sharif Metwalli become CFO for North America.

Kyivstar offers NVMe technology on cloud data storage site
UKRAINE 25 MRT

Kyivstar offers NVMe technology on cloud data storage site

Ukrainian operator Kyivstar, a subsidiary of the Veon Group, has introduced a new cloud data storage option based on the NVMe technology to its B2B customers. The new service enables to reach up to 15,000 IOPS speed per 500 GB.

Rogers announces giveaways to mark 50th season of Blue Jays
CANADA 25 MRT

Rogers announces giveaways to mark 50th season of Blue Jays

Rogers Communications has announced new fan experiences and prize giveaways to mark the 50th season of the Toronto Blue Jays baseball team. Fans can now apply to win one of six exclusive Game Day Owner experiences for one day every month of the season. This will include behind-the-scenes access to the Rogers Centre, including the club house; a meet & greet with a Blue Jays player; pre-game and dugout access during batting practice; and premium seats in the new Rogers Terrace. Rogers is also giving away 5,00

Telphin integrates Astart with Whatcrm widget
RUSSIAN FEDERATION 25 MRT

Telphin integrates Astart with Whatcrm widget

Russian VoIP operator and cloud services provider Telphin integrated the CRM system Astart with its widget Whatcrm. Users can now communicate with their customers on Telegram and WhatApp directly from their CRM system. Client interactions can now be managed within a single CRM interface, avoiding the need to switch between different platforms, saving time and reducing employee workload.

GoNetSpeed expands fibre network to NJ community of South River
UNITED STATES 25 MRT

GoNetSpeed expands fibre network to NJ community of South River

GoNetSpeed, US fibre broadband provider, has announced a USD 13.6 million investment to connect the New Jersey community of South River to its fibre network. This will deliver multi-gigabit broadband speeds of up to 6 Gbps to over 10,500 premises across the borough. 

Kore join forces with France's Move & Connect to serve European customers
EUROPE 25 MRT

Kore join forces with France's Move & Connect to serve European customers

IoT company Kore has announced a strategic partnership with French connectivity service provider Move & Connect, with a view to strengthening its presence in Europe. This collaboration gives Move & Connect's European clients access to Kore's global network, which includes over 190 countries. In particular, Move & Connect will combine its local knowledge with Kore's connectivity management platform to provide differentiated offers built on the platform's extensive eSIM capabilities.

GLOBAL 25 MRT

ITU adopts draft IMT-2030 baseline criteria for 6G radio candidates

Draft minimum performance requirements for candidate 6G radio interfaces considered under the IMT-2030 framework  have been agreed by the relevant International Telecommunication Union working subgroup. The criteria aim to create a consistent baseline for evaluating candidate radio interfaces to guide global 6G research and standardisation efforts, and are not meant to specify implementation or guarantee real-world performance outcomes.

UNITED KINGDOM 25 MRT

UK govt tests social media bans, restrictions with 300 teens

The UK government has announced the launch of 6-week trials with hundreds of families on social media curfews, bans and app time limits. The pilots with 300 teenagers will assets the impact of social media restrictions on children, such as on schoolwork, family life and sleep. The government will allocate participants from all four UK nations to one of four interventions being considered under the recently-published consultation (which closes on 26 May 2026 and has received around 30,000 responses to date).

SPAIN 25 MRT

Vodafone Spain to add three BBC channels to TV service next month

Vodafone Spain is set to follow Telefonica and Orange by adding three international BBC channels to its TV offer starting next month. They include BBC Earth, with the broadcaster's most outstanding nature and investigative documentaries, BBC Lifestyle with the best BBC entertainment shows and BBC History with productions such as Civilizations, The Windsors, Mummies Uncovered and Treasures Uncovered.

NETHERLANDS 25 MRT

KPN picks Talpa to sell ads for Eredivisie football highlights

KPN has agreed a deal with Talpa Media to sell advertising around its highlights from the Dutch football league Eredivisie. Talpa Media will have the exclusive commercial rights for the video offering available on the KPN TV+ platform and KPN app. The ads will start with the final phase of the current Eredivisie season.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 25 MRT

MTS expands MTS Oplata carrier billing for gaming services

Russian operator MTS has added new mobile and PC gaming carrier billing options to its MTS Oplata payment service. The foreign games 'Call of Duty Mobile', 'Standoff 2', 'Critical Ops', 'Top Eleven Be Football Manager' and 'AFK Journey' have been added to the list, and customers are being offered more top-up options for 'Apex Legends' and 'Mobile Legends', too.

CANADA 25 MRT

Bell expands AI infrastructure partnership with Buzz HPC

Bell Canada is expanding a partnership with Buzz High Performance Computing (HPC), subsidiary of Hive Digital Technologies, to deliver advanced, sovereign AI infrastructure in Merritt, British Columbia. The agreement gives Buzz HPC 6.5 MW of gross capacity at the Bell AI Fabric facility in Merritt, with an option for extra power to become available in the future. Buzz HPC will use the capacity to continue expanding its GPU clusters for commercial use, with the Merritt facility expected to come online in the

NETHERLANDS 25 MRT

NMO study finds fibre overtakes cable for first time in Dutch TV distribution

Media behaviour in the Netherlands is digitising further, with mobile, streaming and AI taking a greater role, according to an annual report on media trends by ratings agency NMO. It found that AI applications are used daily by nearly one in five people (18%), while more people watch TV over a fibre connection than cable for the first time.

UNITED KINGDOM 25 MRT

BBC officially appoints former Google exec as new CEO

The BBC confirmed the appointment of Matt Brittin as the new British broadcaster's new Director-General. Former President EMEA at Google, he will take up the role on 18 May. Rhodri Talfan Davies will act as Interim Director-General (with full executive responsibility) from 02 April until 18 May, following the departure of Tim Davie.

ITALY 25 MRT

Vodafone Italia launches Wi-Fi calling on iPhones

Vodafone Italia (Fastweb+Vodafone) has activated Wi-Fi calling (VoWi-Fi) for all residential and business clients with iPhones just over a month after launching the service for owners of Samsung and Google smartphones. VoWi-Fi significantly improves call quality and stability as well as allowing communications in areas with no cell coverage, including emergency calls, voicemail, call transfer and call waiting.

GLOBAL 25 MRT

Nominet awards first grants through new DNS Fund

Nominet has confirmed the first projects to be awarded grants from the new Nominet DNS Fund, which was set up to support the continued operation of open source domain name system (DNS) technologies. Up to GBP 370,000 was available during this first funding round. 

UKRAINE 25 MRT

Kyivstar subsidiary Uklon launches long-distance coach ticket booking

The Veon Group has announced that the Ukrainian company Uklon, a subsidiary of the operator Kyivstar, has expanded its mobility ecosystem with the launch of the new 'Travel' service, enabling users to book domestic and international bus tickets directly within the Uklon app. The Travel service builds on Uklon's existing platform, which already serves both consumers and businesses through ride-hailing, delivery and adtech services. By integrating intercity and cross-border bus travel, Uklon is evolving into

UNITED KINGDOM 25 MRT

Virgin Media O2 deploys 4G small cell at University of Glasgow research farm

Virgin Media O2 has installed a 4G small cell at Cochno Farm, a teaching and research farm owned by the University of Glasgow. Part-funded by the Scottish government, the project also involves the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) and VoltServer, as well as delivery partners KTL and ATS. 

Just In

25 MRT 15:40

A1 Belarus launches 10GB data roaming pack for eastern Europe

25 MRT 15:39

Rostelecom covers 1.8 mln residents with mobile network under federal programme

25 MRT 15:38

Ericsson works with Juelich Research Center on AI models to support network evolution

25 MRT 15:30

Smizer platform expands with Freez.it takeover

Commentary

11 FEB 12:29

Odido shareholders face tricky exit after abandoned IPO

2 FEB 13:49

KPN results show little bother from the competition

2 JAN 13:21

Open Dutch Fiber's new management team takes up turnaround challenge

15 DEC 2025 13:56

Video market set for slower growth ahead

Background

23 MRT 00:38

The week in telecoms: OFC and Nvidia events drive data centre networking talk, Orange debuts full French office stack

16 MRT 00:25

The week in telecoms: Pakistan ready for 5G, Google exits FTTH market and Canal Plus works on pay-TV turnaround

6 MRT 16:00

The week in telecom: MWC brings 5G advances, AI and satellite integration, plus first robot phone

1 MRT 13:21

The week in telecoms: Paramount tops bidding for WBD, Samsung S26 kicks off MWC showcase