At the United Nations Summit of the Future 2024 in New York  on 21 September, ZTE Vice President Summer Chen delivered a keynote speech “A Digital Future for All” during ITU’s SDG DIGITAL on how ZTE’s solutions are able to provide connectivity in some of the world’s least developed countries as well as some of its most remote regions.

A contactless boarding pass system is set to reduce waiting times and create a better travel experience for passengers at India’s airports, according to air transport technology giant SITA.

Digicel Papua New Guinea hailed efforts in expanding its mobile network to all 21 provinces of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, noting 4G coverage now stands at 80% in the location where in the past, it was rumoured to be exiting.

Nokia signed a deal to deploy locally manufactured 5G equipment across Vietnam for state-owned operator Viettel Group.

Tata Group, a global enterprise headquartered in India, and Analog Devices (ADI), a major player in the semiconductor business, have announced a strategic alliance to explore potential cooperative manufacturing opportunities.

The Indian Supreme Court has this week rejected a plea for a recalculation of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues from a number of telecom companies – but the main focus of the news headlines after this decision has been on Vodafone Idea.

Data centre provider Princeton Digital Group (PDG), a major player in the Asian market, says it has acquired powered land for 500MW capacity expansion in key markets across Asia.

The financial difficulties faced by tech giant Intel seem likely to hit its operations in a number of regions, including Poland and Malaysia, with delays likely for chip-related operations in both countries.

The GSMA launched in conjunction with 19 operators its Responsible AI (RAI) Maturity Roadmap to provide operators with guidelines to effectively and safely tap into the emerging technology.

Indonesian digital telecommunications company Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, through its subsidiary, data communication, internet, and IT services group Lintasarta, has partnered with professional services company Accenture in a strategic collaboration to accelerate its sovereign AI cloud platform, aimed at propelling AI-driven digital transformation in Indonesia.

Miescor Infrastructure Development Corporation (MIDC) merged with Phil-Tower Consortium (Phil-Tower) in a move to stay competitive against Frontier Tower Associates in the Philippines.

Chinese LEO satellite contender GalaxySpace has signed a deal with Hong Kong carrier PCCW Global to expand its market reach overseas by integrating its LEOsat connectivity with PCCW’s worldwide network.

India’s state-owned operator BSNL has reportedly started 5G trials in the country ahead of its imminent launch of 4G. However, mobile market leader Reliance Jio is looking much further ahead – to business cases that could monetise its (already launched) 5G network.

Italian company Sparkle, an international telecoms service provider, has signed an agreement with Airtel Business, the B2B arm of Indian service provider Bharti Airtel, for additional capacity on a diversified low-latency route between Asia and Europe.

Just under three weeks after India’s Union Bank froze the accounts of state-run telecom firm MTNL over non-payment of dues, news reports are suggesting that at least half a dozen lenders classified loans to MTNL as non-performing assets (NPA) in August. So what happens now?

Semiconductor growth in India continues apace, with a number of deals announced in the past few days.

The GSMA revealed former Vodafone executive Vivek Badrinath (pictured) will take the hot seat as director-general of the GSMA from Mats Granryd who will depart at the end of March 2025 after MWC Barcelona.

Chinese LEO satellite operator Geespace said on Friday it has launched a third batch of satellites for its planned LEOsat constellation that it says now covers 90% of the planet.

Telekom Malaysia (TM) deployed an AI-powered music platform that modulates voices, a move designed to develop the operator’s expertise in the rising technology.

Globe Telecom expanded coverage with 20 new sites across four provinces in the administrative region of Central Luzon, a move to boost digital infrastructure and support the agricultural and tourism sectors on the Philippines’ largest island.

The World Health Organization found there is no link between brain and head cancer from use of mobile phones or being situated close to mobile towers.

Malaysian communications service provider Maxis has announced the latest addition to its managed services portfolio by becoming a managed service provider (MSP) for multinational information technology company Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in Malaysia.

Highlighting an increase in natural disasters in the Pacific Region, Digicel Pacific and SES have announced an agreement to bolster Digicel Pacific’s network with SES's service to enable critical communications to be restored quickly in the event of natural disasters. This agreement is an extension of the companies' long-standing partnership.

Indonesian operator Telkomsel announced an expansion of its ‘Hyper 5G’ network in Bali, as part of broader plans to deliver comprehensive 5G across the nation.

Malaysian operator U Mobile joined rival Maxis in signing a 5G cooperation agreement with China Mobile International (CMI) to explore how to advance 5G connectivity.

BDx Indonesia has announced the launch of the first phase of its interconnected internet exchange (IX) ecosystem in Indonesia.

The Vietnam Internet Network Information Center (VNNIC) announced Vietnam’s national average mobile data speed increased 40% from 38.69Mbps in March to 54.34Mbps in July.

There have been further developments in the controversy in Pakistan reported yesterday relating to slow internet speeds.  A new contribution from regulator the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has moved the blame away from VPNs.