Australia passes universal outdoor mobile coverage legislation
AUSTRALIA 06:20

Australia passes universal outdoor mobile coverage legislation

Australia has passed legislation requiring its three national mobile network operators to provide reasonable and equitable access to baseline outdoor mobile voice and SMS coverage across the country, including areas beyond the reach of terrestrial networks. The Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) will apply to Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom, with a default commencement date of 1 December 2027. The framework is intended to extend connectivity into regional and remote areas through low Earth orbit sate

Huge Networks connects to Europe via EllaLink
BRAZIL 06:04

Huge Networks connects to Europe via EllaLink

Brazilian infrastructure firm Huge Networks has acquired capacity on the EllaLink submarine cable, establishing a direct connection from Fortaleza to Frankfurt via Portugal without routing through the US. This new path delivers sub-60ms latency to Sines in Portugal and creates a redundant ring alongside its existing US route, ensuring failover and improved performance for Brazilian and European businesses, ISPs, and cloud services. Supported by recent capacity expansions in Sao Paulo and Miami, the direct

NTT Docomo Business joins autonomous bus trial in Ebina city
JAPAN 05:00

NTT Docomo Business joins autonomous bus trial in Ebina city

NTT Docomo Business, Sotetsu Bus and the city of Ebina in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, have signed an agreement to develop autonomous bus services, including trials aimed at achieving Level 4 autonomous driving. The agreement covers testing, deployment and operational infrastructure, as well as public engagement and the development of a sustainable business model for automated public transport.

NTT East-led consortium to apply fibre sensing to road maintenance
JAPAN 04:58

NTT East-led consortium to apply fibre sensing to road maintenance

NTT East has formed a five-company consortium to develop ways of using optical fibre sensing to monitor road conditions and traffic, with the aim of improving road maintenance and enabling preventative maintenance planning. The consortium also includes Kajima Corporation, OYO Corporation, Oriental Consultants and Mitsubishi Research Institute. The partners will investigate how vibration, strain and temperature data collected through optical fibres installed beneath or alongside roads can be used to identify

Hyperscaler capex to exceed USD1.5 tln in 2027 - TrendForce
GLOBAL 04:56

Hyperscaler capex to exceed USD1.5 tln in 2027 - TrendForce

Capital expenditure by nine leading cloud service providers (CSPs) is forecast to exceed USD 1.5 trillion in 2027, a 60 percent year-on-year increase, as investment in AI infrastructure drives demand for servers and components, according to analysts TrendForce. Combined capex among Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, ByteDance, Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu to rise 106 percent to USD 957 billion in 2026. Its 2027 growth forecast has increased from an earlier estimate of 50 percent, reflecting higher serve

Australia introduces Digital Duty of Care bill for online platforms
AUSTRALIA 04:54

Australia introduces Digital Duty of Care bill for online platforms

The Australian government has introduced legislation requiring digital platforms and other online services to take proactive steps to prevent serious harm, with proposed penalties of up to AUD 109.2 million for non-compliance. The Online Safety Amendment (Digital Duty of Care) Bill 2026 would establish minimum safety standards for services including social media, games, apps and AI chatbots. Providers would be required to address harmful material, conduct and product features, with additional protections fo

ACCC consults on mobile coverage and potential wholesale access regulation
AUSTRALIA 04:52

ACCC consults on mobile coverage and potential wholesale access regulation

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched public consultation on mobile coverage, service quality and consumer choice as it considers whether to require mobile network operators to provide wholesale access to their networks in certain areas. The regulator is examining whether to declare a domestic roaming service, a radio access network service, both or neither. The inquiry will assess whether regulatory intervention could improve competition and connectivity while maintaining i

KT showcases AI transformation results at 2026 AID-X Day
KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 04:49

KT showcases AI transformation results at 2026 AID-X Day

Korea Telecom (KT) showcased applications of AI across its business, technology and internal operations at its 2026 AID-X Day event, according to Newsis, attending the event. Held over two days from 14 October at KT's Pangyo headquarters, the event combined its AID-X Demo Day and AX Tech Connect programmes to share AI transformation cases and research and development results from KT and its group companies.

TPG Telecom trials 5G network slicing for payments at Adelaide Show
AUSTRALIA 04:48

TPG Telecom trials 5G network slicing for payments at Adelaide Show

Australian operator TPG Telecom has completed a live trial of 5G network slicing at the Royal Adelaide Show, using dedicated network capacity to prioritise electronic payment traffic during periods of high mobile network demand. The operator said the trial was the first production deployment of network slicing on its live 5G Standalone network. Participating vendors used a dedicated network slice for EFTPOS payment services, separating payment traffic from general mobile network demand.

TIA releases first draft of data centre quality standard
UNITED STATES 04:46

TIA releases first draft of data centre quality standard

The US Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has released the first draft of DCE 9000, a proposed quality management standard for data centre infrastructure, with the final version targeted for publication in the first quarter of 2027. The standard aims to establish a common, certifiable framework for quality management across data centre operators, suppliers and contractors, replacing fragmented, vendor-specific checklists. Its development comes amid growing investment in AI infrastructure and incr

Optus adds 200 generators ahead of severe weather season
AUSTRALIA 04:43

Optus adds 200 generators ahead of severe weather season

Australian operator Optus has invested in 200 additional generators over the past 12 months and upgraded battery backup at priority mobile sites as it prepares for the country's high-risk weather season. The operator said battery backup capacity at selected sites has been increased by up to three times its previous level to help maintain connectivity during power outages. Sites were prioritised according to their exposure to recurring natural disasters and seasonal increases in population during summer holi

Anthropic opens Singapore office and agrees AI cooperation with govt
SINGAPORE 04:41

Anthropic opens Singapore office and agrees AI cooperation with govt

Anthropic has opened an office in Singapore and signed an MoU with the ministry of digital development and information covering AI safety, security, model evaluation and responsible adoption. The agreement establishes areas of cooperation including technical exchanges with Singapore's AI safety, security and assurance institutions on model testing standards and incident response. The parties also plan to collaborate on research into AI adoption and its effects, strengthen local AI skills, support small and

VIETNAM 04:39

CMC and Lotte Innovate explore hyperscale data centre projects in Vietnam

Vietnamese technology group CMC Corporation has signed an MoU with South Korean ICT services provider Lotte Innovate to explore joint data centre and digital infrastructure projects in Vietnam. The agreement covers five areas of potential cooperation: hyperscale data centres, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, cybersecurity, offshore IT services and cloud computing.

AUSTRALIA 04:37

Iren proposes 900 MW data centre campus in regional Australia

Australian-based AI cloud provider IREN has proposed a 900 MW data centre campus near Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, with a reported investment of more than AUD 10 billion and initial energisation targeted for 2029. The proposed Redbank project remains in an early assessment phase and is not included in Iren's announced 5 GW secured-power portfolio. The company is working towards a grid connection and is reportedly planning to lodge a scoping report with the NSW government at the end of October. The report

JAPAN 04:35

NTT Docomo launches 100 mln d-point anniversary campaign

NTT Docomo will distribute 100 million d-points through a campaign marking the 11th anniversary of its d-point loyalty programme on 1 December 2026. The campaign runs in two phases, covering November and December, with 50 million points allocated to each. Customers must register through the campaign website and earn at least one d-point per purchase at participating merchants to gain an entry. Customers who spend at least 500 points or make five or more qualifying purchases during either phase will double t

AUSTRALIA 04:34

DigiCo secures 71 MW Sydney data centre contract

Australian-based DigiCo Infrastructure REIT has signed a 15-year contract for 71 MW of data centre capacity at its SYD1 facility in Sydney, bringing the site's planned 88 MW capacity fully under contract as the company prioritises Australian expansion and sells US assets. The agreement is with an unnamed global technology company and includes investment-grade credit support. The 71 MW includes 20 MW of existing capacity reallocated to the new customer, while the remaining 17 MW is leased to colocation custo

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 04:33

Hyundai and Kia invest in Vast Data's AI infrastructure

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia have made a strategic investment in Vast Data, building on an existing relationship involving AI infrastructure for autonomous driving and robotics. The South Korean automotive groups have been using Vast's AI Operating System through 42dot, their autonomous mobility division and global software centre, for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) research and autonomous driving workloads.

MALAYSIA 04:31

DayOne increases Malaysia financing to USD 7.2 bln

Singapore-based DayOne Data Centers has increased its senior secured syndicated term financing in Malaysia to approximately USD 7.2 billion to support the development of its data centre platform in Johor, as its income-generating contracted capacity surpasses 1 GW. The company said its billings reached 1 GW of IT power capacity under long-term customer contracts, up from 121 MW at the end of 2024. Customer bookings reached approximately 2.3 GW as of 20 September 2026, compared with 1.25 GW at the end of 202

SINGAPORE 04:27

NTT expands startup collaboration programme in Singapore

NTT held its Partnership Day startup collaboration event in Singapore for the second consecutive year, expanding the programme in 2026 to include business and service organisations from NTT Data. The event brought together nine NTT Group companies and 20 partner organisations to identify startups capable of addressing business challenges. The partners submitted 325 startup recommendations, leading to 79 business meetings following selection and preliminary coordination.

NEW ZEALAND 04:24

Sky extends Australian Open broadcast rights in New Zealand to 2032

Sky New Zealand has extended its broadcast partnership with Tennis Australia by six years, retaining New Zealand rights to the Australian Open through to 2032. Coverage will continue across Sky Sport and its streaming service Sky Sport Now. From 2027, selected matches and highlights will also be available free-to-air on Three and its streaming platform ThreeNow.

FRANCE 14 OKT

Megaport pick Ielo's infrastructure to expand backbone in France

Australia-based NaaS (Network-as-a-Service) provider Megaport said it has expanded its backbone in France using the fibre network of local infrastructure operator Ielo. This collaboration covers the provision of optical transport capacity between Megaport's key points of presence in the country. The two partners also intend to explore further opportunities for joint work, focused in particular on international connectivity.

NETHERLANDS 14 OKT

Facebook Netherlands net sales flat in 2025

Facebook Netherlands generated gross revenue of EUR 912.5 million in 2025, an increase of 3.7 percent from the previous year according to its recently filed annual report. Net sales were flat at EUR 102.7 million as higher ad revenues were offset by lower internal revenues. The company's operating profit rose 17.3 percent to EUR 30.5 million, helped in part by fewer employees. Net profit declined 2.4 percent to EUR 20.8 million amid higher interest expense and taxes. 

ESTONIA 14 OKT

Elisa Estonia to shut down 2G network in 2028

Estonian operator Elisa said that it will shut down its 2G network in 2028 and gradually migrate communication services to 4G and 5G networks. Elisa recommends checking older phones and other devices operating on 2G networks in Estonia to see if they support 4G and VoLTE services, especially when roaming. The company ended its 3G services already in 2024.

GERMANY 14 OKT

Revolut starts mobile service in Germany using Telefonica network

Revolut is starting to offer its Revolut Mobile tariff in Germany over the Telefonica network. The neobank is partnering with 1Global and Telefonica to offer a tariff including unlimited calls and SMS, 120 GB data at download speeds of up to 100 Mbps and additional unlimited data at up to 2 Mbps. The plan costs EUR 14.99 per month and can be activated on the Revolut app. The offer also includes 40 GB of EU roaming, support for number portability, an integrated eSIM solution, and additional digital services.

Just In

06:20

Australia passes universal outdoor mobile coverage legislation

06:04

Huge Networks connects to Europe via EllaLink

05:00

NTT Docomo Business joins autonomous bus trial in Ebina city

04:58

NTT East-led consortium to apply fibre sensing to road maintenance

Commentary

24 SEP 13:37

What is KPN's response to the brand expansion at Odido and VodafoneZiggo?

8 SEP 10:16

Odido matches KPN and VodafoneZiggo on cash flow margin, but growth remains limited

11 AUG 10:49

Can Ziggo Group creation improve visibility for the Dutch market?

2 JUL 11:26

Canal Plus misses chance to strengthen Dutch business, time for exit?

Background

11 OKT 23:39

The week in telecom: DT puts a figure on telco AI potential, SpaceX threatens mobile launch and Paramount seals WBD deal

4 OKT 23:20

The week in telecom: FTTH sparks UK competition, AI coming to telco bundles and Samsung raises prices

3 OKT 18:20

Belgian Weekly - Week 40

3 OKT 18:04

German Weekly - 40