As the air transport industry faces more competitive and financial pressures, ICT is stepping in with technology that can enhance efficiency and, it is hoped, cut costs, as recent deals in the Middle East involving Wipro and SITA indicate.
The GSMA and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have launched a fund to equip enterprises in developing markets with the means to harness emerging technologies, including AI.
This week’s revelation that DeepSeek’s R1 model can offer performance in line with ChatGPT at a fraction of the development cost has had a cataclysmic impact on the AI space, particularly in the US.
Chinese AI company DeepSeek coming out of nowhere and shaking the cores of Silicon Valley and Wall Street was something no one anticipated. Commentators had previously placed China’s AI scene 2–3 years behind that of the US - words they are now eating.
Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison said on Monday it has signed a MoU with Indian AI firm AIonOS – a joint venture between InterGlobe and Assago Group – to develop AI for smart agriculture, AI talent development and tourism in Indonesia.
Axiata and Sinar Mas announced on Tuesday they have signed two Letters of Intent (LOIs) – one to jointly explore digital transformation opportunities in Southeast Asia, and the other confirming the planned merger of Indonesian telcos XL Axiata and Smartfren.
Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison says it has formed a partnership with Vietnam-based electric taxi service Xanh SM to create smart mobility solutions leveraging ICT, IoT and analytics for Xanh SM’s new taxi fleet in the country.
While the growth of 5G private networks in Africa may not so far have been as spectacular as some operators had hoped, such networks are certainly gaining traction in South Africa, as a recent agreement signed by operators MTN and China Telecom and tech giant Huawei seems to indicate.
Nokia and Zain KSA announced on Wednesday they are partnering to deploy a 4G/5G femtocell solution for enterprise customers in Saudi Arabia to fill indoor mobile coverage gaps and optimise connectivity.
State-owned Indian telco BSNL and local IT systems integrator Echelon Edge have reportedly landed a deal with Coal India Limited (CIL) to deploy a private 5G network at the Amlohri Open Cast Coal Mines facility in Madhya Pradesh.
Indian telcos Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea have reportedly sold their stakes in Wi-Fi joint venture Firefly Networks to infrastructure provider iBus for INR90 million (US$1.04 million), after almost two years of looking for a buyer.
Telekom Malaysia’s enterprise and government sector digital solutions arm TM One announced on Monday it has formed a partnership with local property developer PR1MA Corporation Malaysia to leverage broadband, digital and IoT solutions to help build sustainable smart-housing projects.
Payment giant Mastercard is back in the news in the Middle East this week thanks to a major artificial intelligence-related deal in Saudi Arabia and an SME-focused agreement in the UAE.
Qvantel, a major name in digital business support systems (BSS), has announced that it has implemented the customer relationship management (CRM) system from Qvantel Flex BSS for Mexican mobile operator Altan Redes.
Telekom Malaysia (TM) announced on Friday it has launched what it says is the country’s first sovereign GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS), which it also says will boost Malaysia's AI infrastructure.
CelcomDigi revealed on Thursday that it has signed separate partnership deals with private healthcare provider KPJ Healthcare and Universiti Malaya to turn Malaysia into a regional healthcare tourism hub by leveraging technologies like 5G, AI and extended reality (XR).
The integration of AI presents as many challenges to operators as it does opportunities. We recently explored how telcos are ensuring an ethical approach to AI in terms of corporate governance, and how they are able to demonstrate this through assurance models and tools.
Ooredoo Qatar announced on Sunday it has launched a new location analytics and intelligence solution that leverages the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT)'s TASMU Platform for smart city solutions.
Nvidia said on Thursday it is collaborating with the Vietnamese government to open its first R&D centre in the country to develop and accelerate adoption of AI.
Kenyan telco Safaricom has reportedly revamped its “5G for Businesses” offering with new packages aimed specifically at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that promise to support their digital transformation plans with faster and more reliable connectivity.
With around 75% of operators now launching Generative AI commercially, integrated AI strategies are increasingly essential for facilitating the interactions between AI and networks. Societal concerns around AI adoption put pressure on businesses to demonstrate an ethical approach in implementing this technology.
MTN South Africa has reportedly signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China Telecom Global and Huawei to develop digital infrastructure across MTN’s African footprint.
Orange announced on Tuesday it is partnering with OpenAI and Meta to fine-tune AI large language models (LLMs) to incorporate regional languages in Africa that are currently not understood by any GenAI model.
ZTE says it is collaborating with True Corp’s enterprise arm TrueBusiness and Thai company Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) to develop a private 5G network solution designed to enable smart manufacturing in Thailand.
Malaysian telco U Mobile announced on Tuesday it has launch an Open API portal based on the GSMA Open Gateway Initiative, which also makes it the first operator in Malaysia to do so.
