The role of telecommunications in managing traffic, supporting the cars of the future and, potentially, helping the environment has been underlined by a smart parking initiative on the way in Qatar and an electric vehicle (EV) services agreement in Malaysia.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Informatics, known locally as KemKominfo, has confirmed that talks are underway regarding a merger of operators XL Axiata and Smartfren.

Leading Indian operator Reliance Jio has now launched its long-promised 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) service. It’s called JioAirFiber and is coming to eight cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

Two recent agreements, in Bahrain and India, underline the growing importance of the space sector in areas like IoT and the cloud.

Malaysian wholesale 5G provider Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will be the first network in Southeast Asia to use Ericsson’s new radio access network (RAN) software solution 5G RedCap, according to the vendor.

PLDT and its mobile unit Smart Communications have tapped Amdocs to accelerate their cloud modernisation on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Thai state-owned operator National Telecom (NT) rented RAN gear from AIS to enable its commercial 5G strategy, with the latter tapping into the former's 700MHz spectrum.

Data centre solutions company EdgeConneX is in the news again, this time with the announcement of its entrance into the Malaysian market.

Thaicom, an Asian satellite and space tech company headquartered in Bangkok, has announced the selection of Airbus, one of the world’s leading space businesses, to build its new generation software-defined high-throughput satellite (HTS) at 119.5 degrees east.

Indonesian fixed broadband and TV provider Link Net partnered with Cisco and cloud firm Qwilt to upgrade its capacity in a move to enhance streaming services in over 3 million homes.

Malaysian operator Axiata Group sealed the acquisition and leaseback of 2,710 from PLDT for its Philippines tower company subsidiary.

Provider of water and process technology solutions Aquatech Systems, headquartered in India, and Saudi Arabia-based data centre developer and operator DataVolt have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for water cooling and recycling technology cooperation and services.

Now Corp entered an MoU with cybersecurity firm Fortinet to enhance 5G security in the Philippines and progress the country’s digital transformation.

Nagad Limited, a mobile financial service provider in Bangladesh, has joined forces with TerraPay, a global payments network. The aim, the partners say, is “to revolutionize the landscape of cross-border remittances”.

Philippines operator Globe Telecom partnered with insurance technology company Bolttech to launch a mobile phone trade-in programme to spur post-paid subscriber upgrades.

The parent companies of Indonesian operators XL Axiata and Smartfren Telecom have reopened discussions to merge telecom operations in Indonesia, reported Bloomberg.

IDEMIA, a major name in identity technologies and biometric solutions, has partnered with Airtel Payments Bank, which serves over 40 million customers through its digital platform and a retail-based distribution network, and HMD Global, the exclusive licensee of the Nokia brand for phones, tablets and accessories, to expand the reach of offline CBDC (Central Bank Digital Currency) payments in India.

Malaysian operator Maxis conducted a trial of 6GHz spectrum with Universiti Malaysia (UM), as the operator looks to improve network traffic and explore use cases such as cloud computing, VR and AR.

India's largest operator, Reliance Jio Infocomm, is said to be raising up to $2 billion in offshore loans with major international banking establishment BNP Paribas as lead arranger of an initiative that will help fund the purchase of 5G network gear from Ericsson.

A more than US$40 billion boost for China’s semiconductor sector could be on the way, as reports – officially unconfirmed but widely reported – suggest a new state-backed investment fund for the sector is to be launched by the country.

Smartphone shipments in Indonesia declined for the eighth quarter in a row but analyst company IDC forecast a better H2 for the market as shipments will stabilise.  

Green energy is a regular – indeed necessary – part of most data centre development announcements these days. In fact in two recent cases – in Kenya and India – it seems to be the main event.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China Mobile.

Vanuatu operator Wave has partnered with local ISP 3 Link to launch an affordable 5G broadband offering in 2024.

Telemor, the Timor-Leste subsidiary of Viettel, has renewed its eight-year agreement with SES to provide enhanced mobile connectivity for consumers and enterprises in the market.

ZTE has partnered with Thailand’s AIS (Advanced Info Service) on the world’s first dynamic RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface) trial in an mmWave network at the AZ centre in Bangkok.