RingCentral, a US-headquartered provider of AI-powered global enterprise cloud communications, video meetings, collaboration and contact centre solutions, has announced that it is the first global cloud provider to offer fully compliant cloud phone services in India.

Indian operator Bharti Airtel has teamed up with Google’s parent company, Alphabet, to pilot the delivery of high-speed internet services across India’s rural and remote regions via a laser technology that uses light beams.

Following last week’s news that satellite operators Intelsat and SES have ended talks about a possible merger, there’s been evidence from both companies that it’s still business as usual with Intelsat highlighting a significant Indonesian deal and SES announcing a collaboration related to space situational awareness services.

Indian operator Vodafone Idea (aka Vi) says it is in advanced talks with various network vendors for finalisation of its 5G rollout strategy and has concluded device testing of all major OEMs on its upcoming next-generation mobile broadband network.

State-owned Indian operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has entered into a strategic partnership with engineering services company L&T Technology Services (LTTS) to drive and enable global enterprises in their private 5G network deployments.

Mobile service revenue in Indonesia was predicted to stay flat over the next four years as the decline in revenues from voice services outweighs steady data returns.

The Philippines’ telecoms regulator revealed over 100 million SIM cards have been registered since the country-mandated SIM registration programme, in a bid to tackle cyber-crime as the Philippines connects more citizens to the internet. 

Lynk Global has partnered with Palau’s largest operator PNCC to provide satellite-direct-to-mobile phone services to the island nation using Lynk’s “cell-towers-in-space”.

Ericsson’s new Mobility Report highlights continuing global 5G growth, with India apparently leading the way.

STT GDC Indonesia, a leading data centre provider, has officially launched its first data centre facility, STT Jakarta 1, in Bekasi, Jawa Barat. The data centre campus will support up to 72 megawatts of critical IT capacity, with STT Jakarta 1 supporting up to 19.5 MW.

Chile’s Entel is now offering 3.5GHz 5G coverage in Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island.

Spacecraft manufacturer, launcher, and satellite communications company SpaceX has launched a new Indonesian communications satellite as part of an ambitious project called SATRIA.

Solomon Islands operator Our Telekom has launched its “highly anticipated” mobile money service, M-SELEN.

Vodafone Fiji has extended its partnership with Paymentology to enable the issue of Mastercard digital first cards to its customers via the M-PAiSA app.

Digital infrastructure company Equinix plans to open its first data centre in Kuala Lumpur in Q1 2024, following its announcement last year of plans to enter Malaysia with a data centre in Johor.

Ericsson and Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) announced ambitious plans to develop Thailand’s own version of Silicon Valley. 

The Princeton Digital Group, a leading developer and operator of internet infrastructure across Asia, has signed a renewable power consumption agreement (PCA) with a subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), one of India’s largest renewable energy companies.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications apparently announced its recent spectrum auction has been unsuccessful with no bids for airwaves, reported VietNamNet. 

While there are strong rumours that funding may soon be withdrawn from one state-owned Indian operator, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), the much bigger Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is clearly still deemed worthy of support after a major injection of funding got the go-ahead this week.

Indian press reports are suggesting that state-owned operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) may be shut down in the face of continuing losses and mounting debt.

Sri Lankan operator Dialog Axiata has extended its partnership with Netcracker for BSS functionality and professional services to further enhance its billing capabilities for mobile, TV and broadband customers.

Malaysian operator CelcomDigi has announced that it has begun its full-scale programme to build what it calls Malaysia’s future digital network – integrating and modernising the largest 4G network in Malaysia with the latest LTE and 5G-ready technologies.

Telekom Malaysia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ZTE to collaborate on a range of research and development initiatives.

Multinational networking and telecommunications company Ericsson and technology company Intel have said they will collaborate on the development of 5G use cases that can accelerate the digitalisation of enterprises to support the Thailand 4.0 vision.

Industry body the GSMA said in its new report over 800 million women from low and middle-income countries (LMIC) across Africa, Asia and Latin America, must adopt mobile internet to close the digital gender gap by 2030. 

Smartphone shipments in Thailand and the Philippines continue to slide as South East Asian economies continue to grapple with macroeconomic pressure.

Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications (VNPT) will launch 10Gbps fibre with vendor partner Nokia, a move the vendor said is the first deployment of the broadband speeds.

In the recently announced Knight Frank SEA-5 Data Centre Opportunity Index Malaysia was identified as a top destination for data centre investment. As if to support this argument, two major data centre announcements relating to the country have been made in the past week.

China has banned US chip manufacturer Micron from participating in key infrastructure projects, citing the firm poses a risk to national security.

Analytics firm GlobalData has forecast Indonesia's fixed communications services market revenue to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.6% from $1.2 billion in 2022 to $1.7 billion by 2027.