Airbus Defence and Space won prime contractor status for the development of the next SpainSat NG bird, a secure communications satellite for mission-critical government and defence uses.

Thales Alenia Space separately detailed its selection as a co-contractor for the SpainSat NG-III project, explaining 10 Spanish companies are also on board to provide various technologies.

The contracts were awarded by Spanish satellite operator Hisdesat and the latest bird rounds out the SpainSat NG geosynchronous Earth orbit constellation, which already provides coverage of two-thirds of the planet.

Each company explained current SpainSat NG satellites play a key role in European security and defence, with the European Union, NATO and numerous allied governments employing them.

Airbus Defence and Space’s prime position means it is responsible for design, integration and testing of the satellite. It suggested the work would be an evolution of previous SpainSat NG birds, a fact Thales Alenia Space elaborated on by explaining the latest item would add “several improvements” to the existing model.

The project is to be handled at Airbus Defence and Space facilities in Spain. It explained the satellite would use X-band receivers and transmitters which “provide the capability of 16 traditional antennas” and can rejig coverage “up to 1,000-times per second while detecting and mitigating electronic interference”.

Thales Alenia Space is to provide UHF and military Ka-band payloads.

Airbus Defence and Space stated the SpainSat NG-III would be resilient to “high-altitude nuclear events and electromagnetic pulses”.

Development is expected to take 48-months and the satellite is scheduled to launch in Q3 2030 before coming online early in 2031.

Thales Alenia Space asserted the development keeps Hisdesat at the forefront of domestic and allied defence capabilities, along with delivering a boost for the Spanish space industry.

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Infrastructure company Azio AI Holdings signed a master services agreement (MSA) with AT&T worth roughly $2.4 million to provide enterprise fibre connectivity for its first AI data centre campus.

The deal covers a 500-megawatt site and establishes a standardised connectivity framework across the campus, delivering the high-capacity, low-latency network infrastructure needed to support AI training, inference, GPU cloud computing, enterprise colocation, and other high-performance computing workloads.

Azio said the connectivity buildout is intended to streamline network deployment as it brings on additional customers under its hyperscale AI strategy. The company pointed to a recent power purchase and hosting agreement with a GPU customer, which it said will require a rapid, modular buildout at the Texas site.

“This agreement establishes the networking framework supporting our initial 500-megawatt Texas AI platform while creating a scalable operating model that can support future expansion as additional projects move forward under our hyperscale AI strategy,” Azio COO Elgin Tracy stated.

The company’s broader strategy centres on scalable, liquefied natural gas-backed energy capacity intended to meet rising demand for GPU cloud and AI workloads.

It stated the Texas site was picked in part due to the location being able accommodate large-scale industrial infrastructure without the land-use and community constraints which can complicate data centre projects in urban areas.

The agreement adds AT&T to the growing list of telecoms operators positioning themselves as connectivity partners for the AI infrastructure buildout, as data centre operators race to secure the fibre capacity needed to link GPU clusters to enterprise and hyperscale customers.

Azio did not disclose a timeline for construction completion or when the Texas campus is expected to become operational.

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Ericsson signalled its selection as the digital radio system (DRS) supplier for a multi-billion-dollar rail and public transport project in Australia, a win which puts its 5G systems on track to play a key role in a future Olympic Games.

The work involves rail engineering company UGL Transport and mission-critical communications provider Frequentis and covers the first of three stages of The Wave, a massive infrastructure upgrade to public transport services on the Sunshine Coast in preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic games scheduled to take place in Brisbane in 2032.

Stage one involves improvements to the track and infrastructure between the towns of Beerwah and Caloundra in which the national and regional governments are investing a total of AUD5 billion ($3.5 billion).

Ericsson stated the DRS would enable the updated rail network to employ the standardised European Train Control System signalling and control set-up.

Ludvig Landgren, head of Ericsson Australia and New Zealand, said the company’s 5G systems would “underpin” the region’s transport upgrade plans, delivering “safer operations” and “digital train control”.

Ericsson expects its infrastructure to enable the launch of Future Railway Mobile Communications System capabilities in the future, replacing current rail-oriented iterations of GSM connectivity.

The regional Queensland government expects work on the first stage of The Wave to commence early in 2027.

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Boldyn Networks equipped a pair of Italian hospitals with the connectivity needed to unlock a host of digital health services, overcoming 5G penetration issues by installing equipment inside the facilities.

The neutral host network player stated DAS installations leave the Policlinico Tor Vergata in Rome and San Carlo Borromeo Hospital in Milan set to handle services including telemedicine, remote consultations and patient monitoring.

Boldyn Networks’ 5G DAS deployment is also set to be used for hospital management, bringing IoT, augmented and virtual reality into the mix to improve back-office operations and clinical training.

CEO Antonino Ruggiero said the 5G installations are “another tangible example” of Boldyn Networks’ potential contribution to digital transformation in Italy. He explained the deployments “demonstrate the strategic importance” of the nation to the company’s “global growth strategy”.

Ruggiero argued healthcare is a sector ripe for some of the greatest benefits of innovative connectivity, citing potential advantages for patients and professionals alike.

Boldyn Networks emphasised the 5G DAS set-ups open doors for telecom service providers to offer innovative indoor services.

It made mention of working on projects in other Italian cities and industries, part of a mission to grow 5G connectivity in the nation.

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BMW Group handed Qualcomm Technologies a long-term deal to be the lead supplier of chips for its digital cockpit and next generation automated and assisted driving systems.

The chip company revealed it had been appointed the automotive giant’s lead compute silicon provider for the business areas over the next decade, with products being used from its Snapdragon Digital Chassis portfolio.

It noted the latest deal follows years of technical collaboration between the pair, pointing to a commercial launch of an automated driving system in the BMW iX3 vehicle in November 2025.

Qualcomm EVP and group GM, Automotive, Industrial and Embedded IoT and Robotics Nakul Duggal said “as agentic and physical AI drive a new generation of intelligent vehicles, this collaboration enables both companies to define the future of mobility”.

The company added the deal “establishes the hardware basis for BMW Group to deliver the next generation AI-powered experience”.

Qualcomm has been actively pursuing the automotive sector in recent years as part of a diversification strategy to spread its revenue away from being handset-heavy.

Accelerating ambitions
Last month, the company upped financial targets for revenue from automotive and general non-smartphone earnings.

At its investor day in June, it set out an ambition to make $10 billion in revenue from the automotive segment in its fiscal 2029 (ending late September 2029), forming part of a wider target of $40 billion in non-handset revenue that year.

It expects revenues from handsets to make up a third of its top line figure in fiscal 2029.

The previous target for fiscal 2029 was $8 billion from automotive out of a non-handset figure of $22 billion.

In its fiscal 2025, automotive revenue generated almost $4 billion of its total $38.4 billion. Handsets contributed $27.8 billion of its top line.

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