South Korea steps up AI cooperation with Nvidia and OpenAI
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

SoftBank and OpenAI to invest USD 1 billion in SB Energy
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

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

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

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

Nvidia changes delay high bandwidth memory mass production - TrendForce
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.

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

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

SMAP deploys world's deepest fibre branching unit
AUSTRALIA 8 JAN

SMAP deploys world's deepest fibre branching unit

The SMAP submarine cable system in Australia has deployed what it claims is the world's deepest next-generation branching unit, with installation completed at the Adelaide branch site at depths exceeding 5,000 metres. The X-BU, is designed to combine electrical and optical switching functions within a single wet body, supporting high fibre-count systems such as SMAP's 16 fibre pairs. By integrating both switching capabilities in one structure, the design is intended to simplify deployment, operation and mai

Hyundai Mobis and Qualcomm to co-develop SDV and ADAS architecture
GLOBAL 8 JAN

Hyundai Mobis and Qualcomm to co-develop SDV and ADAS architecture

Hyundai Mobis and Qualcomm Technologies have signed a comprehensive agreement to collaborate on software-defined vehicle (SDV) architecture and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), formalised at CES 2026 in Las Vegas. Under the agreement, the companies will co-develop integrated automotive solutions with an initial focus on emerging markets, alongside plans to pursue broader global supply opportunities. The collaboration combines Hyundai Mobis's capabilities in system integration, sensor fusion and pe

Wi-Fi industry prepares for greater SP 6 GHz adoption, Wi-Fi 8 launch in 2026
GLOBAL 7 JAN

Wi-Fi industry prepares for greater SP 6 GHz adoption, Wi-Fi 8 launch in 2026

The Wireless Broadband Association has shared its expected trends for the Wi-Fi industry in 2026 and beyond in its annual industry report. Among things to watch out for is accelerated Wi-Fi 7 adoption, tapping strong consumer and enterprise demand for 6 GHz-capable networks and building on existing market momentum from 2025. Citing ABI Research, the association says 2025 shipments of Wi-Fi 7-capable access points are estimated at 66.5 million units, more then doubling 2024's volume of 26.3 million units. Th

Marvell to acquire XConn to strengthen data centre switching portfolio
GLOBAL 7 JAN

Marvell to acquire XConn to strengthen data centre switching portfolio

Marvell Technology has agreed to acquire XConn Technologies in a transaction valued at approximately USD 540 million, expanding its presence in PCIe and Compute Express Link (CXL) switching silicon used in AI data centre infrastructure. The deal is expected to close in early 2026, subject to regulatory approvals and customary conditions. XConn develops PCIe and CXL switch silicon and brings an established product portfolio and engineering team to Marvell. Its PCIe 5 and CXL 2.0 switches are already in produ

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 7 JAN

SK Telecom publishes technical report on large-scale AI model A.X K1

SK Telecom (SKT) has published a technical report outlining the design and performance of its large-scale AI model, A.X K1, on the open-source platform Hugging Face. The disclosure provides an overview of the model's architecture and benchmark results, positioning it as the operator's first AI model to exceed the 500 billion parameter threshold.

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 5 JAN

Naver Cloud and Busan expand gen AI across city administration

Naver Cloud and the Busan metropolitan government have begun the full-scale rollout of generative AI services across all city departments in 2026, following a pilot programme conducted last year. The initiative is intended to apply AI across the full administrative workflow, from policy drafting to internal queries, and is positioned by the partners as a reference model for public-sector AI adoption.

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 5 JAN

LG Uplus completes indoor validation of distributed RIS technology for 6G

LG Uplus has completed indoor validation of a distributed, power-free reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) technology designed to improve indoor coverage in future 6G networks, following joint research with Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH). The operator said the trial focused on the 6G candidate upper mid-band spectrum, where wider bandwidth and coverage are possible but signal penetration losses and small indoor shadow areas remain a challenge due to walls, glass and dense urban st

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 5 JAN

Kakao discloses performance of Korean-language multimodal AI model

South Korean internet giant Kakao has released performance details of a new hybrid multimodal language model designed to handle both general conversation and complex reasoning within a single system, as part of its ongoing in-house AI development. The model, named Kanana-v-4b-hybrid, builds on Kakao's earlier open-source Kanana-1.5-v-3b model and is designed to integrate information synthesis, calculation and self-verification processes.

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 29 DEC 2025

Samsung primed for CES showcase of C-Lab incubator startups

Samsung is once again taking a selection of startup companies from its South Korea-focused innovation incubator C-Lab to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. This year, Samsung will host a dedicated area for C-Lab project teams within the CES Startup Zone, featuring 15 young businesses from its C-Lab initiatives, including eight from the C-Lab Outside incubator and two businesses from the internal venture programme C-Lab Inside. Space will also be allocated to four emerging startups from the financia

GERMANY 24 DEC 2025

Harman to acquire German ZF Group's auto business for EUR 1.5 bln

Samsung Electronics' automotive technology Harman International has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) business of ZF Group, comprising leading automotive compute solutions, smart cameras, radars and ADAS software functions. The transaction is valued at EUR 1.5 billion. With this acquisition, Harman said it has secured "strategic inroads" in the ADAS and central compute platforms markets, reinforcing a foundation that anchors and advances its role in

JAPAN 24 DEC 2025

SoftBank co-develops lightweight ground panels for base station works

SoftBank and materials company Nextway have jointly developed a lightweight ground protection panel designed for use at mobile base station construction sites and disaster recovery locations, as part of efforts to improve operational efficiency and reduce environmental impact. The new panels are made using "Polymaterial", a proprietary composite material developed by Nextway that combines low weight with high strength, durability and weather resistance. According to the companies, this is the first time the

JAPAN 24 DEC 2025

Tokyo Polytechnic University develops transparent antenna for 5G and 6G use

Tokyo Polytechnic University has developed a glass-based, optically transparent antenna with high radiation efficiency that can operate across a wide range of frequencies, including those used for 5G and future 6G systems. The antenna, developed by professor Fukuro Koshiji of the university's Faculty of Engineering and colleagues, achieves a radiation efficiency of 81.6 percent alongside optical transparency of 76.7 percent. The research addresses concerns that the growing number of base stations and antenn

UNITED STATES 23 DEC 2025

US FCC blacklists foreign drones and critical parts

The US has banned the sale and import of foreign-made drones and critical uncrewed aerial system (UAS) components that have not already been licensed. The decision to add the two product categories to the FCC's Covered List follows an order from the White House, and reflects feedback by an executive interagency committee convened by President Trump, which determined they represented "unacceptable" risks to national security and the safety of US persons. It means new foreign-made drones are barred from recei

JAPAN 23 DEC 2025

NTT to launch 25 Gbps FTTH service in Tokyo from March 2026

NTT East has announced plans to launch a new fibre-to-the-home service offering maximum upstream and downstream speeds of around 25 Gbps, expanding its existing Flet's Hikari Cross broadband portfolio. The service, branded Flet's Hikari 25G, is scheduled to become available on 31 March 2026. According to NTT East, the service will be offered as a best-effort FTTH access product, using shared subscriber fibre to connect customers to their chosen internet service providers at speeds of up to approximately 25

JAPAN 23 DEC 2025

NTT supports AI-based remote sports coaching pilot

NTT group company NTTSportict has supported the launch of an online handball coaching programme using AI cameras in Ishigaki City, Okinawa, aimed at addressing a shortage of qualified sports instructors on remote islands. The initiative, delivered in partnership with Ishigaki City, the Ishigaki Island Sports Commission and Nippon Sport Science University, held its first remote coaching session on 16 December. The programme connected junior high school handball teams on Ishigaki Island with university player

GLOBAL 23 DEC 2025

Reusable rockets to cut launch costs - TrendForce

Rising demand for satellite constellation deployment, driven by Starlink expansion and the US Space Force's regular defense satellite launches, has prompted SpaceX to shift its focus from partially reusable rockets to fully reusable systems, according to Taiwanese analysts TrendForce. Improvements in rocket recovery technology and new propellants are gradually reducing global commercial launch costs. 

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