US criticises Korean and Australia over network and streaming rules
AUSTRALIA 06:05

US criticises Korean and Australia over network and streaming rules

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has identified South Korea's network usage fees for internet traffic as a significant trade barrier for US digital services, alongside regulatory measures affecting streaming platforms in Australia. In a social media post highlighting findings from its 2026 National Trade Estimate Report, the USTR described South Korea's "sender-pays" model as an outlier, stating that the country is unique in charging network usage fees to internet service provider

Naver Cloud appointed co-chair of national AI partnership in South Korea
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 06:02

Naver Cloud appointed co-chair of national AI partnership in South Korea

Naver Cloud has been named co-chair of a new public-private AI initiative in South Korea, aimed at strengthening collaboration across industry, academia and research institutions. The company will share leadership of the K-AI Partnership with the Korea Artificial Intelligence and Software Industry Association (KOSA), under a programme led by the ministry of science and ICT. The partnership is intended to bring together stakeholders across the AI ecosystem to support industrial development and international

au leads on consistency while Rakuten tops upload speeds - Opensignal
JAPAN 06:01

au leads on consistency while Rakuten tops upload speeds - Opensignal

KDDI's au ranked first for "consistent quality", a metric reflecting the reliability of user experience, and also took sole top position in both voice app experience and 5G gaming experience in Opensignal's latest Japan Mobile Network Experience report for April 2026. Rakuten Mobile led in upload performance, maintaining a significant lead in both overall upload speed experience and 5G upload speed metrics. Meanwhile, NTT Docomo ranked first for 5G download speed, achieving the highest scores for download p

LG Uplus expands long-term customer programme with experiential events
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 06:00

LG Uplus expands long-term customer programme with experiential events

LG Uplus has completed a customer engagement event aimed at long-term subscribers, as part of a broader strategy to expand its membership and loyalty offerings. The operator said it hosted around 3,000 selected customers at Hwadam Forest in Gwangju, South Korea, after receiving approximately 200,000 visits to the event application page. Participants were chosen through a lottery open to VIP members and users with more than five years of service via the operator's U+one application.

Equinix adds SouthernCross AI to Fabric platform in Australia
AUSTRALIA 05:58

Equinix adds SouthernCross AI to Fabric platform in Australia

Equinix has added SouthernCross AI to its Fabric AI ecosystem, expanding access to localised AI infrastructure for enterprises and government agencies. The integration enables SouthernCross AI to deliver ASIC-based AI inferencing capacity via Equinix Fabric, allowing customers to connect to sovereign compute resources over private, low-latency links. The deployment builds on SouthernCross AI's existing presence at Equinix's SY5 facility in Sydney and is expected to extend to additional sites across Australi

U Mobile to deploy in-building 5G connectivity across Pavilion properties in Kuala Lumpur
MALAYSIA 02:50

U Mobile to deploy in-building 5G connectivity across Pavilion properties in Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian operator U Mobile has partnered with Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to enable 5G in-building coverage across commercial and lifestyle destinations in Kuala Lumpur. The partnership aims to enhance the overall indoor connectivity to support smarter building operations and complements the broader 5G infrastructure within the properties.

APG, Patrizia acquire SiFi Networks in US
UNITED STATES 28 APR

APG, Patrizia acquire SiFi Networks in US

Dutch pensions investor APG and the German property investor Patrizia have acquired SiFi Networks in the US from the FTTH network's founders, Mike Harris and Roland Pickstock. No financial details were disclosed. APG already bought a 16.7 percent stake in the company in 2021, when the operator targeted 1.1 million homes passed, and SiFi raised more debt for expansion in 2023.

Cyberport, Thailand Science Park to power I&T collaboration between Hong Kong and Thailand
HONG KONG 28 APR

Cyberport, Thailand Science Park to power I&T collaboration between Hong Kong and Thailand

Cyberport and National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), acting through Thailand Science Park (TSP), have agreed to jointly accelerate innovation and technology (I&T) collaboration between Hong Kong and Thailand. The partnership aims to build a collaborative framework between Cyberport and NSTDA acting through TSP, create a reciprocal market-access gateway to support start-ups' entry into both the Thai and Hong Kong markets through ecosystem support, soft landing initiatives, and cross mark

Dutch govt looks at relaxing rules for mobile antenna sites
NETHERLANDS 28 APR

Dutch govt looks at relaxing rules for mobile antenna sites

The Dutch government is looking at ways to make it easier for mobile operators to mount antennas in new locations. Digital economy state secretary Willemijn Aerdts announced the plans in a brief to parliament, drawing on a report from the industry group Monet last year that found it was increasingly difficult to find new antenna locations, especially in large cities.

Mainland China cloud infrastructure spending to grow 26% in Q4
CHINA 28 APR

Mainland China cloud infrastructure spending to grow 26% in Q4

Mainland China's cloud infrastructure services spending reached USD 14.7 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, which represents an increase of 26 percent year-on-year, according to report from Omdia. This marked a continued acceleration from the previous quarter and the third consecutive quarter of growth above 20 percent. China's cloud infrastructure services spending is forecast to grow by 26 percent in 2026.

HPE powers Red Sea Global's resorts expansion
SAUDI ARABIA 28 APR

HPE powers Red Sea Global's resorts expansion

HPE announced that Red Sea Global (RSG), the developer of tourism hubs The Red Sea and Amaala, has selected a self-driving network from HPE as its core architecture for expansion of its resorts. This network integrates secure, AI-native switching and Wi-Fi to support RSG's massive resort expansion.

Telemach study finds digital piracy widespread in Croatia
CROATIA (HRVATSKA) 28 APR

Telemach study finds digital piracy widespread in Croatia

Telemach Croatia has released findings from a study conducted with Ipsos that reveals digital piracy is a widespread issue in Croatia, particularly among younger demographics. Over a third of individuals aged 16-34 know someone using illegal IPTV or streaming services, indicating the prevalence of such content. While some users acknowledge potential dangers, only 30 percent believe these services frequently pose security risks. The main concerns identified by respondents are security threats like viruses an

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA 28 APR

BH Telecom boosts data on Tourist offers

BH Telecom is enhancing its Tourist and Unlimited start packages, providing more mobile internet options. Tourist 1 costs BAM 20 and offers 40 GB of mobile internet for use in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Western Balkans. Additionally, it has BAM 3 in credit for domestic and international calls and SMS and is valid for 10 days.

MIDDLE EAST 28 APR

Zain Group launches Regulatory Academy with GSMA Advance

Zain Group has entered a 'People Excellence Partnership' with GSMA Advance, the GSMA's learning and skills arm. This collaboration sees the launch of the Zain Regulatory Academy, an initiative to deliver accredited training to build world-class expertise among its group policy and regulatory professionals. 

PORTUGAL 28 APR

CGI opens AI Center of Excellence in Portugal

Global IT and business consulting firm CGI has established a new AI Centre of Excellence in Portugal. This centre, opening in early May, will concentrate on agentic AI and generative AI to help clients with digital transformation and achieve concrete business results.Integrated into CGI's existing Portuguese operations, which employ over 2,000 people, the centre will boost the company's capacity to develop and implement AI at scale.

MIDDLE EAST 28 APR

STC Group revenue rises 4% in Q1

STC Group said its revenue increased 3.8 percent year-on-year to SAR 19.94 billion in the first quarter ended March. EBITDA rose by 7.1 percent to SAR 6.56 billion, and net profit increased 12 percent to SAR 3.69 billion after excluding non-recurring items. STC Group CEO Olayan Alwetaid said the results demonstrate a robust business model and an effective balance between investment opportunities, operational efficiency, and digital infrastructure development, supporting sustainable and competitive long-term

LATVIA 28 APR

Tet launches own TV channel

Latvian operator Tet said that it has launched the new TV channel Tet+ Classic, focused on popular films and series, both new and old. The channel is run in cooperation with the company Hello Media and will be available on the Tet+ pay-TV platform.

UGANDA 28 APR

MTN Uganda commissions solar power system at head office

MTN Uganda has commissioned a solar power system at its headquarters in Kampala, stepping up efforts to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency and lower dependence on conventional power sources. The installation, valued at more than USD 370,000, comprises 1,188 solar panels with an installed capacity of 490 kilowatts (kW). During peak sun hours, the system is expected to generate about 25 percent of the office's electricity needs.

AZERBAIJAN 28 APR

Azercell deploys 268 new base stations in year to date

Azerbaijan operator Azercell has deployed 268 new base stations this year, reports Trend.az. That includes 50 new base stations in Baku, Absheron, and Sumgayit, and 218 base stations launched in other regions. The operator has also upgraded more than 220 base stations. 

HUNGARY 28 APR

Magyar Telekom prepares fibre roll-out to under-served areas

Hungary's Magyar Telekom announced it is embarking on a significant project to expand its FTTP network across 41 districts in 16 counties, fuelled by HUF 20.319 billion in grants from the European Union-backed Gigabit Hungary Program. The public funding will enable Magyar Telekom to extend fibre-optic coverage to an additional 118,000 demand points in over 500 settlements by the end of 2028. Planning and licensing are already underway, with construction slated to begin in 2026, the company said.

UGANDA 28 APR

Airtel Money delivers cashless payments for Virunga Gorilla Marathon

Airtel Money Uganda was announced as the exclusive payment partner for the Virunga Gorilla Marathon, a move to drive a fully cashless experience for the event, which is scheduled for 30 May in Kisoro. Through Airtel Money Merchant Pay, participants purchase kits  at no extra cost over the mobile USSD menu or MyAirtel app. Kenneth Kamukama Rashid, team lead for the Virunga Marathon, said the digital payment integration would help organizers better track transactions and improve kit access.

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 28 APR

MTS enters modular data centre market

Russian operator MTS announced its entry on the modular data centres market. The company will provide customers with the whole-cycle infrastructure, starting from engineering and supplies of engineering modules for modular data centres to integration of the data centres with AI solutions, cloud services and other products. The company claims that the key advantage of the approach is accelerated launch and scaling of data centres. 

UNITED STATES 28 APR

T-Mobile US buys more FTTH coverage for USD 2.7 bln, adds Starlink business backup

T-Mobile US is expanding in the fixed broadband market with two new FTTH joint ventures as well as a Starlink backup option for business customers. The operator agreed 50-50 joint ventures with the investors Oak Hill Capital and Wren House to expand its FTTH footprint in more residential markets. The deals will cost USD 2.7 billion in total to reach around 1.8 million homes passed, mainly in the northeast of the US. 

KAZAKHSTAN 28 APR

Kcell refreshes music service, changes rate

Kazakhstan mobile operator Kcell said that it has refreshed its service Mobi Music. Going forward customers will have unlimited access to the catalogue of digital music, and the monthly subscription will amount to KZT 1,290 from 28 May.

Just In

06:05

US criticises Korean and Australia over network and streaming rules

06:02

Naver Cloud appointed co-chair of national AI partnership in South Korea

06:01

au leads on consistency while Rakuten tops upload speeds - Opensignal

06:00

LG Uplus expands long-term customer programme with experiential events

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2 FEB 13:49

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Background

27 APR 14:33

Virgin Media O2: from coax to fibre and 80% coverage in 2028

26 APR 23:04

The week in telecoms: sovereign hopes take hold in Europe and Apple confirms new CEO

19 APR 23:04

The week in telecoms: SFR takover moves ahead, Amazon bags Globalstar and Netgear in favour in US

12 APR 23:28

The week in telecoms: Samsung profits soar, Netflix targets kids and telcos build defence vertical