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India to pump $20B into chip, phone manufacturing

15 July 2026 at 15:22

India committed to spend an additional INR1.9 trillion ($19.7 billion) on boosting chip and smartphone production in the country, accelerating an initiative first laid out five years ago.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has allocated around INR1.3 trillion to provide state aid for semiconductors and a INR625 billion outlay on smartphones.

The latest investment builds on the Semicon 1.0 initiative outlined in 2021 to invest around INR1 trillion on starting and establishing the country’s semiconductor sector.

In a statement, Ashwini Vaishnaw, minister for Electronics and Information Technology, explained under the refreshed Semicon 2.0, the nation would focus on ensuring chips are being designed in India that can meet all its needs, and by the end of the programme, “we will be 100% self-reliant”.

He added every major industry leader wants to establish a presence in the country “given the growing interest in India’s semiconductor programme”, pointing to partnerships already established with the US, Japan, the European Union (EU), Netherlands, Singapore and Germany.

The minister added the investment and incentives will be aimed at projects around chip design, fabrication of machinery, R&D and talent creation.

Under the Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme, Vaishnaw said it would create around 60,000 direct jobs, while it will look to incentivise domestic companies with Chinese suppliers currently dominating the market.

India’s semiconductor advancement adds to similar moves in the US, which has a funding programme in place worth $52 billion. The EU recently unveiled a revamp to its own Chips Act.

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Nokia asserts AI-RAN leadership

15 July 2026 at 12:01

Nokia promised significant hikes in spectral efficiency over the next two years as it launched an AI-native RAN platform which relies heavily on Nvidia systems.

The AI-RAN platform is already capable of boosting spectral efficiency by 20% and Nokia stated gains of 50% and 100% would be delivered in 2027 and 2028, respectively.

It hailed the platform as “one of the most significant shifts in radio network architecture in decades”. It hopes to deliver pilot deployments by the end of the year and commercial availability in 2027.

The platform uses Nokia’s anyRAN software so operators running other network vendor’s equipment today can use it, but the bulk of the services available through Nvidia’s systems are reserved for those already using the Finnish provider’s AirScale range.

A GPU-based AirScale capacity plug-in is pitched “as the most efficient path forward”, for example. It brings Nvidia compute capabilities into current networks, “preserving existing” investments and offering the option to employ chips from Marvell Technology.

Nokia also launched a standalone AI-RAN node employing GPUs which can run on 4G and 5G networks, with forward compatibility to likely 6G infrastructure.

Various configurations are available comprising a one-node deployment, clusters and as part of a single logical base station.

GPUs also form the heart of a commercial off-the-shelf server available from Nokia’s partners which it stated would tackle any supply chain worries.

The vendor followed in rival Ericsson’s footsteps by unveiling a subscription-based model enabling operators to access software-based upgrades to equipment without swapping hardware.

Nokia president and CEO Justin Hotard said AI-RAN “makes the network intelligent” and would help operators maximise the capabilities of their current infrastructure.

Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, hailed the step as the dawn of a new era for the telecoms sector as the companies turn “RAN into a planet-scale AI computer”.

The post Nokia asserts AI-RAN leadership appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Zayo names former Verizon exec Sampath as next CEO

14 July 2026 at 15:25

Infrastructure provider Zayo revealed a planned CEO transition with former Verizon executive Sowmyanarayan Sampath (pictured) appointed as chief following the eventual retirement of Steve Smith.

Smith remains CEO until 31 August when he will retire. Sampath will take the reins on 1 September while Smith will remain on Zayo’s board following the handover.

During the transition period, Smith and Sampath will work closely with Zayo’s board and leadership team to ensure continuity for customers and stakeholders.

The company positions the leadership transition as a key element for its next phase of AI-driven growth.

Sampath brings more than two decades of large-scale digital infrastructure experience to his new role, most recently as CEO of Verizon Consumer Group.

After joining the company in 2014, he was viewed as former Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg’s likely successor after holding several key executive positions. Last year the mobile operator’s board of directors picked former PayPal chief Schulman to replace Vestberg to boost the company’s finances and subscribers.

Prior to his last position, he served as the CEO of Verizon Business starting in 2022.

He was also Chief Product Officer for the Consumer and Enterprise businesses and CFO at Verizon Media Group.

Sampath was president of Global Enterprise, where he spearheaded the commercial launch of Verizon’s 5G networks and multi-access edge computing (MEC) solutions.

He stated Zayo’s physical network footprint arrives at a moment when the global economy demands significant bandwidth capacity.

“As AI workloads, distributed applications, dense GPU clusters, and hyperscale environments change where capacity is needed, and as large enterprises manage increasingly complex connectivity needs, the network is the ultimate constraint, and Zayo is built to solve this,” he said, noting the company already connects more data centres in the US than any other provider.

During Smith’s tenure, Zayo more than tripled its planned fibre expansion, with projects now spanning more than 15,000 route miles, while advancing automation, internal AI adoption and network service improvements.

He also oversaw the acquisition of Crown Castle’s fibre and small cell assets, adding approximately 90,000 route miles and 40,000 on-net enterprise locations to Zayo’s network.

“Leading Zayo has been a privilege, and I’m deeply proud of what our team has built as we prepare the Company for the next generation of digital infrastructure,” Smith stated, adding he is confident Sampath is the right leader for Zayo’s next chapter and looks forward to supporting him from the board.

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VMO2 sets timeline to pull plug on 2G

23 June 2026 at 14:10

UK operator Virgin Media O2 announced plans to begin its 2G network switch-off in Summer 2029, joining rivals BT and VodafoneThree in setting a date to wind down the legacy technology.

Its timeline is similar to that of the country’s other operators, with BT expecting to begin deactivating 2G in May 2029 and VodafoneThree set to turn off its last sites in Spring 2030.

All three operators have signed a voluntary government charter for retirement of the technology. Commitments in that document include undertaking a gradual process starting in trial areas, thorough testing, and work to aid migration of IoT devices supporting “life critical services” which are currently tied to 2G.  

VMO2 noted decommissioning 2G would mean it could switch resources to 4G and 5G, having turned off 3G in 2025.

Advantages cited include redeployment of spectrum resources, cutting energy consumption and generally upping service levels for customers.

The operator reports its 2G network currently carries less than 0.5% of all data used by its customers.

VMO2 CTO Jeanie York said “having recently switched off our 3G network and signed up to the government 2G switch-off charter, we know exactly how to do this responsibly and without disrupting customers. While most customers won’t need to take any action at all, some businesses might need to start planning for this now”.

“We will communicate with customers directly and ensure we support everyone as this essential upgrade takes place.”

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Ericsson bolsters range to aid automation

23 June 2026 at 09:40

Ericsson unveiled product upgrades and introduced defined business strategies intended to aid operators in their efforts to up network autonomy.

The announcements from the vendor’s Cloud Software and Services division were made at DTW Ignite 2026 in Copenhagen, Denmark today (23 June).

Its main product upgrade is for the Ericsson Intelligent Automation Platform, which is being expanded from being RAN-centric to support core networks. This, it noted, creates a “unified RAN and core network automation” system for operators.

Ericsson promoted the move as accelerating operator autonomous network transformation and aiding efforts to streamline operations, cut costs and “deliver a more resilient and higher performing core network”.

The vendor asserted the “major expansion” makes it the first to introduce the ability to run core-specific automation applications (cApps).

Ericsson is in the process of developing use cases which will become cApps. The initial batch will cover network use cases for resiliency and performance, and service-oriented iterations to provide premium customer experiences.

In another product-specific upgrade, Ericsson announced a data streaming capability in its Network Manager product for online, low-latency, closed-loop automation.

Operator aid.
The company’s second major announcement was the release of “OSS/BSS business value pathways,” strategies it believes provide guidance to help operators achieve automation aims.  

It stated the pathways are part of wider support for network transformation and commercialisation of AI capabilities.

They are said to provide “actionable routes to assured outcomes” and have been created from the vendor’s engagements with global operators, and its own expertise and product range.

Ericsson head of Solution Area BSS and OSS Mats Karlsson said “autonomous network transformation needs to happen now, at speed and at scale, but barriers and complexity present a challenge”.

“The new telco-specific pathways will help CSPs re-draw how they approach their network and IT evolution, helping them to focus on achieving specified outcomes as they accelerate the creation and monetisation of new services, improve overall efficiency and provide customers of all types with ever-improving differentiated experiences”.

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Nvidia rallies telcos around AI agents at DTW Ignite

23 June 2026 at 07:00

Nvidia and telecom partners including SoftBank Corp and NTT Data plan to demonstrate a stack of data, models, simulation tools and secure runtimes at DTW Ignite 2026, aimed at helping operators move from task-based automation to fully autonomous network operations.

The company argues while generative AI has delivered strong returns in network management, customer care and back-office automation, most of the impact has been limited to speeding up predetermined steps while humans still correlate insights and direct next actions.

Nvidia’s claims automation is now “the launchpad to autonomy” rather than the end goal, with AI agents expected to proactively monitor for problems and coordinate changes across network, IT and business systems while keeping humans in control of policy.

Nvidia cites figures showing 54% of telecom operators view data-related issues as their biggest obstacle to building telecom-specific AI models, largely because the most valuable network and customer data is too sensitive to use directly for training.

SoftBank Corp is tackling the problem by using Nvidia’s NeMo Safe Synthesizer and NeMo Anonymizer tools to generate privacy-preserving synthetic datasets which mirror the structure of real network performance and configuration datasets.

Those datasets are being used to fine-tune its Large Telecom Model (LTM) and build specialised network agents.

On the runtime side, Nvidia stated its NemoClaw blueprints and OpenShell secure runtime are designed to give long-running agents policy-based guardrails and sandboxed access to telecom systems, allowing operators to expand agent responsibilities while keeping behaviour auditable and governed.

NTT Data is applying Nvidia’s open Nemotron models alongside NemoClaw to build agents which track long-term network performance trends and escalate anomalies to specialised research agents for deeper telemetry analysis.

Other partners building on the same framework include: AdaptKey, which is piloting self-healing 5G agents with operators; ServiceNow, which is bringing its Project Arc incident-response tooling to telecom network operations centres; and Tata Consultancy Services, which is developing a multi-fidelity AI sensor architecture for faster anomaly detection.

Simulation is the third pillar of the effort, intended to let agents test recommendations in near-real-time digital environments before acting on live systems.

Software company Forsk stated its GPU-accelerated radio propagation model now achieves ray-tracing-level accuracy up to 200 times faster than CPU-only systems, while Viavi Solutions reports order-of-magnitude gains in RAN simulation throughput after shifting workloads to Nvidia’s RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell GPUs.

KDDI and KDDI Research, working with Nvidia, Keysight and Samsung Research America, are building a high-fidelity RAN digital twin aimed at the 6G era, allowing multiple autonomous agents to simulate scenarios for future radio conditions and traffic shifts.

The TM Forum’s DTW Ignite conference runs 23–25 June 2026 in Copenhagen.

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Eutelsat propels AST maritime service

22 June 2026 at 17:30

Eutelsat continued to make waves in maritime connectivity, renewing an agreement with specialist provider AST Networks involving its low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite fleet.

AST Networks already accesses Eutelsat’s LEO birds for its maritime services, so the latest multi-year deal looks to expand on the arrangement by literally growing the amount of satellite capacity used.

It continues a recent run of maritime contracts Eutelsat secured for its OneWeb unit.

The LEO option forms part of a broader connectivity service AST Networks provides to shipping industry customers which Eutelsat stated are increasingly seeking set-ups with high-level performance, resilience and global coverage.

Shipping companies employ such connectivity for staff wellbeing along with operation of their vessels and the running of digital services.

Eutelsat stated the renewed deal is in the multi-million-dollar range. VP of Aero and Maritime Connectivity Thierry Polycarpe said the agreement highlights “the growing demand for LEO-enabled connectivity across the maritime sector”, along with the company’s ability to integrate with hybrid set-ups.

AST Networks CTO Lukasz Latosinski said LEO brings the required level of reliability and low-latency.

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Mavenir debuts agentic automation framework

22 June 2026 at 16:31

Mavenir unveiled an Agentic Service Assurance Framework designed to automate complex network operations across multiple domains while allowing operators to retain existing infrastructure.

The vendor stated the TM Forum-compliant, multi-agent system combines an intent orchestrator with a layered agentic ecosystem to help detect, diagnose, recommend and resolve network faults faster.

Mavenir positioned the framework as a step toward higher operator productivity and autonomous network operations.

The vendor said network operations across 5G, cloud-native and IP domains are becoming increasingly fragmented and expensive to manage at scale. Traditional assurance systems can identify alarms but often struggle to determine root causes, while the retirement of experienced engineers risks taking years of institutional knowledge out of operations teams.

Multi-vendor environments add another layer of complexity by creating data silos which individual tools cannot easily correlate, according to Mavenir.

At the heart of the framework is Mavenir’s Intent Ops engine, which observes how network operations centre teams work, learns patterns behind successful issue resolution and converts those workflows into repeatable automation templates with explainability and guardrails.

The company explained the workflows are validated against a human baseline before running autonomously, with vetted automations published to an expanding orchestration catalogue.

The framework supports cross-domain monitoring, correlation and root-cause analysis, with closed-loop remediation built on Mavenir products.

It also connects with existing OSS AI agents through the agent-to-agent protocol defined in TM Forum’s IG1453, which Mavenir stated enables operators to preserve prior technology investments while extending automation across the network stack.

Mavenir CEO Pardeep Kohli told Mobile World Live the foundation AI agents are designed to automate 60% to 75% of routine network operations work, to help operators lower costs, improve service quality and reduce the need to train staff on repetitive tasks.

“In a way, you have a kind of personal assistant always watching you, but this personal assistant is for the network,” he said.

Mavenir did not say when it will be available but a representative stated the initial release is being trialled in customer deployments and future feature releases will be delivered through software upgrades.

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Rakuten Symphony CMO mulls operator identity crisis

19 June 2026 at 10:41

Rakuten Symphony CMO Geoff Hollingworth (pictured) told Mobile World Live (MWL) operators need to conduct a frank assessment about the type of business they want to pursue during an interview in which he predicted a greater number of non-traditional players would soon rattle the market.

Speaking as the company launched a report outlining its vision for how to push growth in the telecoms industry, the executive argued there is a “business model problem” rather than a technology one, with a need to “address how we make money”.

Estimating 95% of enquiries to the software and platform company had the end goal of cutting costs, Hollingworth noted this is due to operators not knowing “what else to do” and not believing the promise “future technologies” such as 6G would bring the cash in.

However, telecoms players “do understand we need to get operating costs down”, with companies set to “keep laying-off people to make sure we maintain a better margin and free cash flow”.

“You cannot reduce yourself out of a hole,” Hollingworth added. “That’s the problem the industry has, but there hasn’t been enough discussion on how” to drive growth.

Change.
In its report, the company offers three main strategies operators can pursue: being a “good utility business” with a cost structure more akin to other players in the field; building a wider offering including links to products and services offered by partners or affiliates; or becoming a platform provider, moving beyond basic wholesale to provide rounded capabilities to third parties focusing on specific market segments.

“All operators should decide what they want to be, then be really good at that,” the executive told MWL, noting there is a good business to be had in any of the three options if operators commit to one. However, he emphasised the status quo is not working.

“The industry hasn’t changed very much in the years its existed, it still measures itself on ARPU and churn. They are the two metrics everyone reports. Those two are great when you’re in a growth market, not a saturated one because suddenly every customer you take is from” someone else.

“Then what happens is you have a price driven landscape with no differentiation and no loyalty at all. You end up buying subs by offering a lower price to get the numbers up, while competitors are doing the same to you”.  

Inability to generate the desired returns from the traditional telecoms market is a factor regularly cited by industry commentators and often acknowledged by operators in arguments calling for regulatory changes and more business-friendly policies.

Quote Icon

I don’t think Elon Musk has put 10,000 satellites in the sky to be a support act to existing MNOs and business models

Geoff Hollingworth, CMO Rakuten Symphony

However, the Rakuten executive pointed to an increased urgency to address the situation due to the threat of emerging players.

Highlighting the MVNO launched in the UK by financial technology company Revolut as an example, he predicted more companies which “really focus on customer segments” would move into the market alongside potential future competitors using eSIM platforms or satellite connectivity.

“The reality is going to be the competitive landscape is going to become a lot more crowded for traditional operators,” Hollingworth said, speculating within this “I don’t think Elon Musk has put 10,000 satellites in the sky to be a support act to existing MNOs and business models”.

“I would advise anyone in the industry to at least consider he has some self-serving interest there and he’s not going to play by the traditional rules”.

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Ex-Telefonica CTIO Blanco nabs Rakuten role

17 June 2026 at 11:58

Rakuten Symphony appointed former Telefonica CTIO Enrique Blanco (pictured) as a strategic adviser, charging the experienced executive with helping guide the company’s technology and support its ongoing expansion across global markets.

Blanco was global CTIO at Telefonica from 2017 until 2025, having previously been CTO at the group. Towards the end of his stint at the operator he was a vocal supporter of the move to open and virtualised network infrastructure.

Rakuten highlighted the expert brought decades of experience in the telecoms industry, which would help it in a drive to accelerate operator network modernisation.  

Part of the remit of the newly created role is to support adoption of AI-driven operations in the sector, with the ultimate aim of improving end user experience and achieving long term growth.

The vendor noted Blanco joins at a time when operators are upping investments in infrastructure and intelligence while being under pressure to improve returns and deliver better customer experiences.

These trends, it believes, are driving interest in software-based networks, automation and open ecosystems.

Rakuten Symphony president Sharad Sriwastawa said Blanco’s “insights and expertise will accelerate our work with like-minded service providers that want to build better networks for the future of connectivity. His experience will enable us to provide even greater support to operators as they move beyond network modernisation and embrace AI-driven business transformation”.

Blanco added: “The industry has made significant progress over the past decade as we’ve advanced to 5G and beyond, but operators still face many of the same challenges around complexity, cost and speed of innovation.”

Noting Rakuten’s willingness to “rethink” how networks are built and operated, he noted “open architectures, automation and cloud-native technologies give operators more flexibility to adapt their businesses and respond to changing customer expectations. I’m looking forward to helping shape that next stage of the industry’s evolution”.

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SpaceX seals $60B Cursor deal to boost AI coding

16 June 2026 at 16:27

SpaceX has agreed to acquire startup Cursor in a $60 billion deal, the latest move in Elon Musk’s push to close the gap with rivals on AI-powered coding tools.

A regulatory filing today (16 June) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) confirmed Cursor investors will receive SpaceX stock based on the implied $60 billion equity value of the startup.

The transaction, which converts an earlier option into a binding merger agreement, is expected to close in Q3. After gaining regulatory approvals, Cursor will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SpaceX. The filing was signed by SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen.

The deal came a week after SpaceX completed the largest initial public offering in history.

Bloomberg reported the Cursor acquisition is central to SpaceX’s ambitions for its AI business.

The news outlet noted Musk has publicly acknowledged xAI, which is now part of SpaceX’s operations, trails rivals including Anthropic and OpenAI on coding capabilities.

Bloomberg also reported SpaceX’s AI unit has been hit by internal turmoil, with dozens of departures across engineering and data training and ongoing difficulty recruiting top talent, prompting Elon Musk to bring in leadership from Starlink to steady the business.

It also noted US-based Cursor, whose AI coding assistant launched in 2023, has become one of the fastest-growing coding startups by helping developers write and debug software through chatbot prompts.

Before SpaceX moved to acquire the company, Cursor was reportedly in talks for a funding round that would have valued it at more than $50 billion, according to Bloomberg.

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TM Forum tackles satellite integration

16 June 2026 at 11:58

The TM Forum added satellite to an existing framework for digital networks in recognition of forecasts space-based connectivity is poised to become a significant earner over the next 10 years.

Companies including Rakuten Group, Huawei and Netcracker Technology are joined by operators Telekom Deutschland and Vodacom Group among the initial members of the Open Digital Architecture (ODA) for Satellite initiative.

The standards organisation stated the full potential of satellite for services including IoT and direct-to-device connectivity is being held back by various incompatibilities between terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks, highlighting billing systems and requirements for specialised devices as examples.

Dr Ryan van den Bergh, managing executive for group technology strategy, architecture, spectrum and assurance at Vodacom, said “greater interoperability and simpler integration” are needed to capitalise on the “significant opportunities” to use satellite connectivity as a complement to ground-based networks.

The TM Forum’s existing ODA covers digitalisation measures spanning automation and intelligence. It stated the satellite element adds standard frameworks, operating models and governance for companies working in the terrestrial and non-terrestrial sectors.

It expects the architecture to lay the groundwork for “seamless multi-orbit service delivery” along with speeding integration and boosting the overall value of space and land-based infrastructure.

Willie Stegmann, the body’s EVP for composable IT and ecosystems, said ODA for Satellite is “a call to action” for the telecoms industry.

The group is “overcoming challenges and unlocking avenues for growth…before operating models, customer ownership and value chains are defined elsewhere”.

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Gilat snaps up Comtech satellite, space business

15 June 2026 at 16:18

US communications company Comtech Telecommunications entered into a definitive agreement to sell the bulk of its satellite and space operations to Israeli company Gilat Satellite Networks in a $157.5 million deal.

Under the agreement, Gilat will pay $10 million of the sum up front, taking control of Comtech’s ground infrastructure systems, large antennas, modems, communications equipment, and network control and management systems for different types of satellites including low Earth orbit (LEO) offerings.

The deal is a significant about-turn for Gilat, which agreed to be bought by Comtech for around $580 million in 2020 in a deal which ultimately collapsed.

Gilat specialises in creating equipment for satellite communications including stations, modems, amplifiers and antennas.

The acquisition is expected to beef up Gilat’s presence in the defence market since Comtech is a big supplier for the US military.

Gilat CEO Adi Sfadia said it was impressed with the successful progress of Comtech and the segment is an “excellent strategic fit”.

Comtech will retain some cybersecurity assets and rights to certain accounts in line with a shift towards public safety operations being driven by its Allerium business unit.

“The sale of most of the satellite and space segment, together with the agreements we have reached with our lenders and preferred stockholders, represent a significant milestone in Comtech’s transformation and reflect the successful execution of our strategy,” CEO Ken Traub said.

The deal requires regulatory approval and is expected to close by the end of the year.

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UK operators back SA 5G at Ericsson showcase

15 June 2026 at 11:16

Senior figures from UK operators Virgin Media O2 and VodafoneThree voiced confidence premium network offerings based on standalone (SA) 5G could become a solid revenue source, during sessions at a circus-themed Ericsson event.

The vendor’s tech showcase was held in central London in a building which also houses the UK’s National Centre for Circus Arts, with performers appearing in the breaks of the main programme.

It brought together operators, enterprises, partners and representatives from UK authorities to discuss the benefits of cutting-edge 5G technology and progress of network rollouts. It acted as a follow-up to a music-themed event in 2025.

Juggling networks
VodafoneThree CNO and network director Andrea Dona (pictured, below) highlighted early progress integrating assets previously held by the Vodafone and 3 UK brands following a merger just over a year ago.

Man in a suit with his hands open

Describing the deal as “a really important one for the country,” the network guru reiterated an argument frequently voiced while the deal was going through the approvals process: it would boost network investment by the combined entity and rivals.

Highlighting a “really fast start” in the process of merging the two networks and employing respective spectrum assets, he added recent benchmark statistics showed peers “have not stood still, they’ve also invested. Everyone feels the pressure to do more and give the UK a better network”.

“There’s still a lot of work to do but I think in some areas we are ahead [of target],” Dona added. “The scene is set for an amazing journey”.

VodafoneThree describes its ambition with SA 5G as to build the “UK’s first nationwide AI-ready network”.

Dona explained the connection to AI was due to SA 5G’s bandwidth and latency being able to support compatible applications, as well as the benefits the technology can bring to the network architecture itself including use in and on the RAN.

“The network we’re building is going to be an exceptional network,” he asserted, pointing to the benefits of slicing in stadia as an example.

“If you want a privileged lane to do your upload and you’re willing to pay,” then you can, he said, adding operators can monetise the network through “quality on demand” offers.

“We need to ensure in a situation with congestion, when a resource is not readily available, we can make it available if you pay for additional quality, additional performance and additional services”.

Selling premium versions of services “happens in every industry”, he said.

Singing in harmony
During a separate session, Virgin Media O2 director of strategy, transformation and planning Anita Tadayon (pictured, below) said she also believes there is an appetite for services based on network slicing on SA 5G, but called for an industry-wide effort to get the message across on what the technology can do.

Woman in a suit sat on a stage

“Articulating the benefits of slicing for a customer is really important and collectively, as an industry, we have to do that together. We’ve got to sing from the same hymn sheet,” she noted, adding if there’s value “then the customer will pay”.

Speaking broadly on SA 5G, she highlighted a strong push on rolling out the technology at VMO2.

Its network now covers 700 towns and cities, and Tadayon explained the technology benefits all customers whether they have a compatible handset or not.

“I know we talk about monetisation, but look at what it also does for our customers.”

“Absolutely, there’s new innovation and use cases, but it also delivers all of our customers a benefit on coverage, capacity, speed, everything”.

Away from the latest iteration of 5G, she highlighted the operator’s work in providing direct-to-device satellite connectivity to users in remote areas through a deal with Starlink and a push to introduce greater autonomy in its network.

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SpaceX shifts Colossus 1 capacity to Anthropic after Grok setback

15 June 2026 at 09:21

SpaceX reportedly leased the full capacity of its Colossus 1 data centre to Anthropic after running into technical problems using the site for its own Grok AI workloads.

Bloomberg reported last week (12 June) the company planned to use Colossus 1, located in the US state of Tennessee, as part of a three-campus cluster to train its more advanced AI models, but latency issues emerged when the facility was linked with two other sites more than 10 miles away

Sources told the news site the problems were said to be worsened by older network infrastructure.

Bloomberg noted high-performance AI training depends on fast, low-latency links between compute sites, but bottlenecks can slow the wider cluster.

Rather than continue trying to resolve those constraints, SpaceX decided leasing the site to third parties would generate greater value and create an additional revenue stream.

The move comes as SpaceX pushes its data centre expansion as a key plank of its investor story following its acquisition of xAI earlier this year.

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Taiwan bolsters Paraguay ties with $200M data centre deal

12 June 2026 at 16:23

The government of Taiwan reportedly plans to deepen its diplomatic relationship with Paraguay through a planned $200 million data centre investment, in a rare technology investment designed to strengthen the pair’s diplomatic relationship.

Bloomberg reported the date centre partnership, which is backed by the Trump administration, is targeting 10-megawatts of computing capacity. It is expected to be operational by the end of 2027.

The data centre will be built on government land near the capital of Asuncion.

The news site noted Taiwan will supply Nvidia chips and supporting equipment, while Paraguay brings cheap hydropower and basic infrastructure to the partnership.

Both sides are in discussions with the US International Development Finance Corporation over financing arrangements.

Sources told Bloomberg Taiwan’s International Cooperation and Development Fund has separately approached Google, Microsoft and Amazon about potentially investing in the project or taking up capacity.

Paraguay is one of only a handful of countries worldwide which still maintains formal ties with Taiwan rather than China, but pressure is growing domestically for a reassessment of the position as neighbouring countries have attracted substantial Chinese investment.

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SpaceX raises $75B in record-breaking IPO

12 June 2026 at 11:44

SpaceX raised $75 billion in an historic initial public offering (IPO), pricing 555.6 million shares at $135 each with trading set to begin later today (12 June) on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

The listing is the biggest of all time, more than doubling the value of Saudi company Aramco’s stock market debut in 2019 which raised around $29 billion.

In a filing, SpaceX stated it has granted underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional 83 million shares, which could increase the total fundraising to $86 billion at a $1.78 trillion valuation.

Financial Times reported Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and AI company drew orders more than three times the amount on offer, with demand coming from huge asset managers, gulf sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds and retail investors.

According to the outlet, individual investors placed orders for more than $100 billion and will be allocated around 20% to 25% of the total shares sold.

Musk is apparently keen to place smaller shareholders at the centre of SpaceX’s ownership, leaving fewer shares available for big companies and accounts that tend to be prioritised in IPOs.

Through the funds raised, SpaceX is to pump cash into a plan to establish AI data centres in space, a Musk vision that centres on overcoming energy limitations on earth. The company is also plotting new satellite constellations to fuel Starlink, while it will also pay down debt after taking a $20 billion bridging loan in March.

FT added the $1.78 trillion market value makes SpaceX the priciest of the world’s top 10 valuable companies, with its shares trading at 92 times its $19 billion revenue in 2025.

Following SpaceX’s market debut, OpenAI and Anthropic have also announced intentions to also hold a listing.

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Dell’Oro issues $500B 6G RAN forecast

12 June 2026 at 09:43

Dell’Oro Group predicted cumulative 6G RAN capex would exceed $500 billion and revenue $100 billion in the first six years of deployment, spanning the period 2029 to 2034.

The company expects 6G RAN to account for approximately half of total capex during the period and tipped the technology to follow an evolutionary path, building on existing network architecture rather than reshaping the market entirely.

Dell’Oro does not expect 6G to expand the overall RAN market, forecasting an overall CAGR of 1% between 2030 and 2034.

It envisions 6G developing from Massive MIMO, existing sites and wider channel bandwidths, so changing RAN economics in stages. Capex is expected to accelerate toward the end of the 20230s.

Stefan Pongratz, VP of RAN and telecom capex research, said the most likely scenario is 6G would follow the established generational pattern, despite growing momentum for a so-called “G decoupling movement”.

He asserted “operators are in a much stronger position today from a network capacity perspective than they were during the transition from 4G to 5G”, meaning total 6G RAN revenue “during the first six years of the cycle is projected to be 10% to 20% lower than during the comparable period of the 5G cycle.”

The company expects sub-7GHz and cm wave bands to be key in 6G deployments, though noted growing momentum above 7GHz.

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NTT Global Data Centres hunts $1B to fund US expansion

12 June 2026 at 09:30

NTT Global Data Centres (GDC) is reportedly seeking at least $1 billion in fresh capital to fund new development projects in the US, working with Citigroup to raise funds.

Bloomberg reported the company, which is a subsidiary of NTT Group, is selling stakes with the investment bank2sedxzsz`Ω in a development vehicle for new US data centre projects.

The size of the equity offering could increase depending on investor demand, and the company may also raise a credit facility alongside it.

The news site stated NTT GDC, which is the world’s third-largest data centre provider outside of China, has started sending marketing materials to prospective long-term investors including pension and infrastructure funds, with a formal sale process expected to launch in the coming weeks.

Bloomberg explained the establishment of a development company which owns and manages pre-revenue early-stage assets, gives data centre builders the flexibility to target a broader pool of long-term investors, who in turn can demand higher returns for taking on early-stage project risk.

The news site stated the talks are at an early stage, with details including timing and the final size of the fundraising subject to change.

In May 2025, NTT Data announced it bought land across North America, Europe and Asia to support nearly a gigawatt of planned data centre capacity, including new sites in the US states of Oregon and Arizona.

NTT GDC CEO Doug Adams told Bloomberg in March 2026 the company is working on 34 projects which will double its capacity within two years, with total capacity set to reach over five gigawatts within five years.

Also in March, NTT Data announced a multi-year plan to invest more than $10 billion by 2027 to deliver infrastructure capable of supporting dense AI workloads.

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Nokia unveils agentic AI support for network platform

11 June 2026 at 11:31

Nokia positioned the forthcoming addition of an agentic AI framework into its network services platform (NSP) as giving operators the ability to adopt agents using trusted data within secure boundaries.

The vendor stated the move would provide the means for customers to introduce AI operations for IP networks, with agents able to take guided, explainable actions based on real network data.

Commercial availability of the functionality is expected by the end of the year.

Nokia’s NSP is its management and automation platform for multi-vendor IP networks. It asserted the addition of the AI framework supports communication with external agents and would aid operators on their routes towards employing fully automated networks.

The company explained “while AI has the potential to transform network operations, many operators have remained cautious due to concerns around explainability, trust and risk in production environments”.

Its approach to ease these concerns is by “embedding agentic AI capabilities directly into the platform that already serves as the authoritative controller for IP networks”.

The vendor announced the first agent able to use the framework is a troubleshooting bot designed to help operators identify the root causes of problems faster and resolve complex issues.

Nokia VP and general manager for IP network automation software Sasa Nijemcevic said the move would “have a major impact on the way operators manage their networks, and will enable them to enhance their operations significantly and accelerate their journey toward autonomous networks with focus on solving real operational problems”.

“This is an incremental, pragmatic step toward AI‑native networks,” he added.

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