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Freedom Telecom International (FTI), a subsidiary of Freedom Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: FRHC), has signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Nokia. As a first step, Freedom Telecom International and Freedom Lifestyle Group will inaugurate an Innovation Lab at Nokia’s Sunnyvale, California campus in the coming months.

The initial focus is on designing next-generation AI data center blueprints, conducting feasibility studies in Kazakhstan and neighboring markets, and leveraging Nokia’s global ecosystem to scale cloud and AI-driven services. FRHC, a diversified international financial services group who intends to lead the region’s digital infrastructure buildout, views this cooperation key to realize this ambition and pave the way to further joint projects globally.

The move comes as Kazakhstan intensifies efforts to establish itself as a regional hub for artificial intelligence, digital talent, and sovereign cloud capabilities – domains that are rapidly becoming global benchmarks for economic competitiveness. Central Asia, historically underpenetrated in hyperscale infrastructure, is now drawing growing attention from global technology providers and international investors seeking new growth corridors.

Timur Turlov, Founder & CEO of Freedom Holding Corp., commented: “Kazakhstan is investing heavily in the future of cloud and AI, and global partnerships play an important role in this journey. Over the past year, we began collaborations with companies like NVIDIA and OpenAI to help accelerate high performance computing, digital skills, and modern AI infrastructure. Exploring opportunities with Nokia reinforces this direction and helps us evaluate technologies and expertise that are necessary for technological progress across our global footprint.”

Johannes Hummer, CEO of Freedom Telecom International, added: “This agreement is an important milestone for Nokia and FTI as our mission includes crafting international partnerships’ for Freedom Holding Corp. with Telcos and TechCo’s. The Innovation Lab in Sunnyvale will allow both teams to test ideas and learn together. It marks the beginning of a journey focused on innovation, collaboration, and long-term impact.”

The newly established Innovation Lab will serve as the venue to test and evaluate AI architectures, cloud technologies and advanced networking solutions. Freedom Lifestyle Group will use the Innovation Lab to test AI-powered consumer services across its e-commerce and health tech businesses including chat and voice assistants, agentic AI systems, and next-generation Superapp capabilities – and organize trials to see how Nokia’s infrastructure performs and could scale in a real-world environment.

Alexey Lee, CEO at Freedom Lifestyle Group, commented: “The Innovation Lab provides an important platform to advance our already established digital services into their next generation – leveraging AI to deliver more intelligent, personalized, and seamlessly integrated experiences across the Freedom ecosystem.”

By combining Nokia’s technology with Freedom’s ecosystem play, global market access and capital markets expertise, the companies are assessing how to unlock scalable digital infrastructure opportunities and support the next phase of digital development worldwide.

Mikko Lavanti, Senior Vice President for Middle East and Africa at Nokia, said: “We look forward to working closely with the Freedom teams as they explore different approaches for cloud, AI initiatives, Lifestyle services and beyond. I am impressed by their clarity of purpose and the commitment their team brings to this work. The geographies they consider for future infrastructure expansion are highly promising. We appreciate the strong engagement and hope to reveal opportunities where Nokia truly makes a difference in advanced connectivity and brings undisputed value.”

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About the Signing Parties

Nokia is a global leader in connectivity for the AI era. With expertise across fixed, mobile, and transport networks, we’re advancing connectivity to secure a brighter world. To learn more about Nokia, visit nokia.com 

Freedom Telecom International supports global partners in deploying and integrating Freedom Holding Corp’s portfolio of digital financial and lifestyle services. FTI also evaluates and executes investment opportunities in the telecom and fintech sectors, promoting financial and digital inclusion in emerging and frontier markets.

Freedom Holding Corp. is a leading international provider of investment and brokerage services across the markets of Central Asia, Americas, Europe and Middle East with more than 16 years of experience in global financial markets. The Holding’s shares are publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the ticker FRHC with current market capitalization at USD 7.3 billion, and total assets amounting to USD 10.3 billion. The total number of clients in its digital ecosystem exceeds 11 million.

Freedom Holding Corp. employs over 11,000 professionals who are based in 231 offices in 22 countries, including Kazakhstan, the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, Spain, France, Germany, Greece, Uzbekistan, and Armenia. The company’s principal executive office is located in New York City.

To learn more about Freedom Telecom International, visit: freedomtelecominternational.com To learn more about Freedom Holding Corp., visit: freedomholdingcorp.com
Media Contacts: Freedom Telecom International: contact@freedomtelecominternational.com

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News

According to a filing, attackers may have accessed data from 15,000 customers and employees

This week, Ericsson has revealed that a service provider that was storing the personal data of its US subsidiary, Ericsson Inc., has experienced a cyberattack.

The breach occurred between April 17 and 22, 2025 and was discovered six days later, on April 28.

Following discovery, the vendor notified the FBI and hired external cybersecurity experts to investigate.

This investigation was completed on February 23, 2026.

Data belonging to 15,661 individuals was compromised in the incident, with exposed data includes names, addresses, Social Security Numbers, Driver’s License numbers, government-issued ID numbers (e.g., passport, state ID cards), financial Information (e.g., account numbers, credit or debit card numbers), medical Information, and dates of birth.

No bad actor has yet taken responsibility for the attack and Ericsson says there is no evidence of misuse so far.

“Based on the investigation, our service provider determined that a limited subset of files may have been accessed or acquired without authorization between April 17, 2025 and April 22, 2025,” Ericsson said in statement to customers.

“As part of its investigation, it retained external data specialists to conduct a comprehensive review of the potential affected files to identify any personal information. That review was completed on February 23, 2026 at which time we determined that that some of your personal information was contained within the affected files.”

Ericsson is offering affected customers free IDX identity protection services, including credit monitoring, dark web monitoring, identity theft recovery, and a $1 million identity fraud loss reimbursement policy to those who enrol by June 9, 2026

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News

All eyes are shifting to the Strait of Hormuz as analysts warn of dire economic consequences resulting from war in the Persian Gulf.

By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

The ongoing war involving Iran, the U.S., and Israel in the Middle East has sent economic shockwaves around the globe.

Now, as the conflict drags closer to entering its third week and continues to involve more nations, analysts are warning of massive supply chain impacts if the Strait of Hormuz is further engulfed by war.

It could have larger implications for the ongoing buildout of data centers in the United States.

Earlier today, the Associated Press quoted Hakan Kaya, senior portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, as saying closure of the Strait of Hormuz could cause “the largest supply disruption in modern history.”

The report, filed by reporter Stan Choe, further warned that data centers could become more costly if wholesale prices jump with inflationary pressure.

It comes as Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has stated that oil will not be permitted through the critical maritime passage, according to the AP.

America is in the midst of a data center boom

Meanwhile, as concerns mount, the construction of data centers has been continuing at a breakneck speed in the United States, with Texas and Virginia both becoming hotspots for the facilities.

Like the supply chain, technology infrastructure in the immediate region also remains vulnerable as the conflict continues.

A report from Rest of World last week detailed how Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have spent years building data centers across the Persian Gulf region.

Three AWS data centers, two in the UAE and one in Bahrain, were damaged in strikes this month, Rest of World reports.

In addition to threats from the skies, the Rest of World reported noted that many data centers in the Middle East are also reliant on subsea fiber-optic cables that run through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. Both bodies of water now come with serious security concerns, the report detailed.

The White House said today that tankers have not yet been escorted by the US Navy through the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil passes, according to the AP.

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Press Release

[Barcelona, Spain – March 2, 2026] During Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2026, Huawei supported by content from GSMA Intelligence, hosted the third “Green & Resilience Elite Club.” The event, themed ” CHB Collaborative Development with Better OPEX & Resilience,” convened key participants including UNFCCC, GSMA Intelligence, ITU-T, and over 20 leading global operators such as Telkom SA, Telkomsel, Azerconnect Group, HKT and Turkcell, to engaged in deep discussions regarding the challenges and global best practices of the ICT industry’s dual-track transformation toward “Green + Resilience.”

Standard Advancement: Launch of “Green Network Index(GNI) Round 2”

In his opening speech, Mr. Peter Jarich, Head of GSMA Intelligence, noted that the GNI has become pivotal metrics for measuring the industry’s green transformation. During the event, representatives of the GNI project members jointly launched the “GNI Round 2,” focusing on two major leaps:

• Full-Scenario Coverage: Expanding from a focus on mobile network to deep synergy between mobile and fixed networks.
• Enhanced Participation: The number of operators participating in the GNI index has surged from 6 in 2024 to 24 today.

The upgraded assessment standard will further guide the construction of green and resilient networks, supporting the collaborative development of ToC, ToH, and ToB (CHB) services and bolstering the sustainable growth of the ICT industry.

Global Practice: Win-win in “Cost Reduction” and “Business Success”

Massamba Thioye, Principal Consultant, Founder and Former Head of the UGIH, UNFCCC, emphasized that the ICT industry acts as a “catalyst” for dual green and digital transformation. He argued that “connectivity” should drive social evolution from simple efficiency optimization toward deep-seated circular development.

Ms. Mpho McNamee, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Telkom SA, shared the triple transformation—Green Central Offices (CO) and Green Sites, Network architecture optimization, and Green energy transition. These initiatives have significantly enhanced operational efficiency and network resilience while reducing carbon emissions, achieving a win-win for business growth and network resilience.

Mr. Lloyd Chan, VP of Strategic Transformation at HKT, stated that HKT has moved beyond Green CO and Green Sites to complete network restructuring that supports AI and computing power. These initiatives not only reduce OPEX and convert idle resources into high-value assets but also lay the foundation for future AI and edge computing. HKT’s high-reliability, low-latency interconnection network in the Northern Metropolis, bridging to the Greater Bay Area, signals its successful evolution from a traditional carrier to a “technology leader.”

AI empowerment: Solving the triangular challenge of “Development, Green, and Resilience”

Singleton Zhou, President of Huawei GTS Network Consulting and System Integration Service Domain, noted that modern networks face the challenge of “entropy increase” caused by the coexistence of multiple generations and service convergence. On one hand, cross-domain data across infrastructure, site, access, bearer, and service layers is massive and often inaccurate. On the other hand, there is a complex trade-off between service development, green, and network security/resilience; a single comprehensive full service area can generate hundreds of potential modernization scenarios.

By leveraging AI agents to bridge the gap between physical and logical networks, Huawei continues to solve the long-standing “ICT Triangle” conflict: balancing service development, green, and network security/resilience. This helps customers efficiently build green and resilient networks while fostering CHB collaborative development.

Summit Dialogue: A New Blueprint for AI-Ready Green & Resilient Networks

During the panel discussion, experts from industry standards organizations, operators, and service providers reached three key consensuses on ” Challenges on ToC/H/B Collaborative Development with Green and Resilience”:

• Strategic Balance: Collectively seeking the optimal solution for service development, green & resilience, and return on investment (ROI).
• Standard Guidance: Utilizing the GNI as a benchmark to guide CHB synergy and drive continuous improvements in energy efficiency.
• Technical Innovation: Applying network simulation and AI technology to simultaneously enhance energy efficiency, resilience, and commercial returns.

AI without robust connectivity remains an information silo. Leveraging cross-domain collaborative planning and simulation for service-network- synergy, we are continuously accelerating the modernization of sites and COs. This initiative empowers customers to build green, resilient, and high-quality network connectivity, ensuring that every connection is “Ready for AI.”

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Partner Content

The Agentverse is no longer a distant concept, but the trajectory of our society. We are moving toward a future where intelligent agents are as pervasive as electricity or water. Embedded across individuals, organisations and homes – and, act as the core engine of a new productivity. The explosion in mobile AI usage is accelerating the arrival of Agentverse. This very synergy—where intelligence meets network—took centre stage at the GTI Summit during Mobile World Congress Barcelona, held recently under the theme “Hello Mobile AI.” The event, which brought together operators, vendors, and ecosystem partners from across the globe, also marked the launch of the joint GSMA-GTI 2.0 cooperation and the Mobile AI White Paper.

Agents Are Already Reshaping Demand 

The scale of what is coming is already evident. AI-related mobile traffic is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 73% between 2025 and 2033, with the crossover point,  where AI traffic surpasses conventional traffic, arriving as early as 2031. Edge-bound AI traffic is growing even faster, at a projected CAGR of 130% over the same period, as lightweight models and agent-driven applications push intelligence out of the cloud and closer to users. 

On the consumer side, the shift is already visible. Approximately 75% of consumers globally now use generative AI applications in daily life, with smartphones emerging as the primary access point, with nearly half using mobile GenAI apps for search, while 14% are already conversing directly with mobile AI agents. The device ecosystem is expanding rapidly beyond smartphones, with AI phones, wearables, AI glasses, and humanoid robots all entering the picture. Shipments of general-purpose embodied intelligent robots are forecast to hit 2.6 million units by 2035, representing a CAGR of 85%. 

On the enterprise side, the AI agent applications market is on an extraordinary growth trajectory, scaling from $159 million in 2024 to a projected $41.77 billion by 2030. More than 90% of enterprises across 32 countries surveyed by GSMA consider generative AI critically important to their digital transformation. The question is no longer whether AI agents will become ubiquitous — it is whether mobile networks will be ready when they do. 

The Network’s New Role: From Pipe to Platform 

For decades, mobile networks operated on a best-effort model, primarily for human-centric traffic—browsing, streaming, and messaging. However, Agentverse demands something fundamentally different: continuous, machine-to-machine interactions that are real-time, multimodal, and extremely latency-sensitive.

Agent services impose a new set of demands on mobile network, including large uplink bandwidth, ultra-low latency, high reliability and high-concurrency connections. The uplink requirement is particularly significant. Unlike traditional broadband, where traffic flows primarily downward to users, AI-driven services generate substantial upstream data, such as video streams, sensor inputs and model inference requests, that must reach the network without delay. 

To address these requirements, the industry is accelerating the deployment of 5G-Advanced (5G-A) technologies. 5G-A represents the next stage in the evolution of 5G networks and is a crucial step to 6G. It comes with capabilities to enable extremely low latency and high uplink capacity, critical to support both AI-driven applications and intelligent network operations.  

Technologies such as Uplink Carrier Aggregation (CA) and Supplemental Uplink (SUL) address the uplink bottleneck directly, bundling spectrum resources to deliver ultra-large bandwidth and low latency for intelligent devices operating in real time. Flexible slot allocation and multi-band coordination further enhance uplink capacity in high-demand scenarios. 5G-A commercialisation is accelerating globally, and the white paper is unambiguous: it is the foundational layer on which Mobile AI will be built. 

Network for AI, AI for Network 

The white paper introduces a framework that captures the bidirectional nature of this transformation: Network for AI and AI for Network. While Network for AI addresses the connectivity requirements of intelligent services, AI for Network focuses on embedding intelligence into network operations. 

Agent services require networks that can identify and differentiate multimodal traffic types, be it audio, video or sensor data, and apply the right quality-of-service treatment to each. For instance, a remote surgery application and a background data sync have fundamentally different requirements and the network must understand the difference and respond accordingly. This demands modal-level service awareness, cross-layer collaboration between devices, edge, network, and cloud, and a shift from the traditional one-size-fits-all connectivity model to what the white paper calls “scenario-customised connectivity.” 

On the other hand, AI for Network applies AI deeply into the network itself to drive network planning, operations, optimisation, and ultimately autonomy. The goal is a network capable of closed-loop “Perception–Cognition–Decision–Execution” across its entire chain, which can predict failures before they occur, dynamically allocate resources in real time, and self-optimise without human intervention.  

Two technologies are particularly relevant here. The Wireless Network Agent enables autonomous closed-loop operations within the radio access domain, using real-time analysis and inference to support network self-management. The A2A-T protocol — Agent-to-Agent for Telecommunications — is being standardised to build a unified, cross-domain, cross-vendor framework that enables networks to parse natural language business intents into network-wide collaborative tasks, moving toward genuinely intent-driven network management. 

Spectrum: The U6GHz Imperative

From a spectrum perspective, as service providers prepare the networks for the booming AI traffic, the U6GHz (6425-7125 MHz) band has emerged as a critical resource for 5G-A. It offers a combination of wide, contiguous channels and the capacity to support high uplink and downlink bandwidth that Mobile AI services demand. Following WRC‑23, U6GHz has been formally recognized as a key mobile communications band. Around the world, momentum is building: China, the UAE, Brazil, and several European countries are actively promoting spectrum identification, allocation, and testing.  Today, 5G-A already offers full support for U6GHz, with mainstream terminal chipsets and the broader industry chain now mature—paving the way for large-scale commercial deployment. Along with U6GHz band, millimetre wave (mmWave) bands can serve high-density hotspot environments where ultra-large capacity and ultra-low latency are required for immersive and real-time applications. AI-driven dynamic spectrum management, enabling intelligent aggregation and flexible scheduling across bands, will be essential to maximise efficiency as AI terminal density increases. 

AI-MOS: Measuring What Actually Matters 

As Mobile AI matures, the industry faces a challenge that goes beyond building the right infrastructure: how do you measure whether it is actually working? Traditional network KPIs [Key Performance Indicators], including throughput, latency and coverage, are not adequate for assessing the quality of a multimodal AI interaction. 

To address this, the industry is developing AI Mean Opinion Score (AI-MOS), built on the foundation of ITU-T Recommendation Q.4072. It is an evaluation framework designed to establish quantifiable, objective standards for multimodal interactive experience across the full value chain.  

The Road to the Agentverse 

While Mobile AI imposes new requirements on the network, it also offers incredible revenue opportunities, from enterprise AI services to new digital ecosystems built around intelligent agents. The operators who move earliest to upgrade network infrastructure and build AI-centric networks, establish ecosystem partnerships and develop new service models will be best positioned to capture that value. Those who treat Mobile AI as a future concern risk finding themselves relegated to the role of dumb pipe in a world where the network is supposed to be the intelligence layer.  

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Press Release

A groundbreaking technology trial – which uses Openreach’s fibre broadband network to detect leaks in surrounding water pipes – has managed to prevent the loss of 2 megalitres of water – equivalent to the daily use of around 10,000 people, in just three months.  

Working with Affinity Water and UK technology company Lightsonic, the pilot uses Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) – which converts Openreach’s fibre optic cables into thousands of sensors that can ‘hear’ and pin-point leaks from surrounding water pipes. 

The project aims to help companies like Affinity Water tackle one of its biggest challenges – leakage – with England and Wales losing around three billion litres of treated water daily through leaks1 – equivalent to the daily water use of more than 20 million people. That’s around a fifth2 of the country’s water supply, highlighting the urgent need for action. Affinity Water, along with the rest of the UK’s water industry has committed to halving leakage levels by 2050.

Developed by Lightsonic – the fibre-optic leak detection platform is currently being piloted in five locations – using Openreach’s near ubiquitous full fibre broadband footprint to monitor 650 kilometres of Affinity Water’s network. In its first locations, and in just three months, the fibre sensing technology was able to locate more than 100 leaks – saving 2 million litres of water a day – equivalent to more than 700 million litres every year, enough to supply around 10,000 people.

Trevor Linney, Director of Network Technology for Openreach, said: “The results of our pilot show that our new full fibre infrastructure can deliver value far beyond broadband – and could prove to be a real game changer in solving real-world challenges like water conservation.”

“Around 20 per cent of the UK’s drinking water is lost to leaks with water conservation a significant and growing issue for the nation. And, what’s great about this technology, is that it can be used to detect a whole range of things – from gas leaks to monitoring the health of big structures like bridges and tunnels. It has huge potential.”

Tommy Langnes, CEO of Lightsonic, said: “Transforming the telecom fibre-optic network into a continuous sensing layer unlocks entirely new ways to monitor utilities. Detecting 2 megalitres per day shows what’s possible when fibre sensing solutions and existing infrastructure are combined at scale.

“This collaboration demonstrates how fibre sensing can deliver measurable environmental impact today, while creating solutions for wider utility monitoring in the future.”

James Curtis, Head of Leakage at Affinity Water, added: “Strengthening how we identify and address leaks is central to our leakage strategy. By working with Lightsonic and Openreach, we’re enhancing our existing detection programme with continuous network monitoring, helping our teams target areas of interest more quickly and reduce the time leaks may run before repair.

“This technology complements the expertise of our field technicians, supporting earlier intervention, better planning and reduced disruption for customers — all by using fibre that’s already in the ground.”

How does it work? 

DAS technology works by detecting changes in the light signal used in fibre optic cables caused by vibrations from a leak or disturbance in surrounding networks. It uses machine learning to locate the exact point of the vibration, and it trains the system to separate background noise – like the rumble of traffic or roadworks, so that leaks stand out clearly — even in busy streets. The technology has big advantages over conventional detection methods, namely:

• Continuous monitoring: Existing leakage detection relies on targeted surveys and skilled field teams working systematically across the network. Fibre sensing complements this approach by providing 24/7 monitoring, so leaks can be spotted sooner and reduce the time between surveys.

• No need to dig: It uses the fibre that’s already in the ground — turning it into thousands of tiny “virtual sensors” – making it cheaper, quicker, and more environmentally friendly.

• Targeted identification: The system recognises the unique acoustic “signature” of a potential leak and highlights an area to investigate – often to within a few metres, so repair teams are directed to the right spot.

• Reduced disruption: By identifying leaks earlier, water companies can address them before they cause significant disruption, cutting emergency callouts and minimising impact on customers and road users.
• Easy to scale: Using the national reach of Openreach’s fibre network means the system can be scaled up across throughout the UK.

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Podcasts

All the gadgets in the world won’t make a community live up to smart-community expectations if the foundational connectivity is neglected.

By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

Maz Khan, the president of ⁠Vitalis Smart Communities⁠, says the term smart community is thrown around too loosely nowadays.

“Somebody puts up a Nest thermostat and some sort of smart lock and all of a sudden it’s a smart community,” he said, while appearing on ⁠Beyond the Cable⁠ as a recent guest. “Well, that’s not it.”

Khan said he believes connectivity is the foundation of any smart community.

“You can put all the gadgets you want,” he said, “but if you don’t have a network that can support it, all you’ve done is just frustrate the residents and the tenants who are living in that building or community.”

Khan said a truly smart community is one where systems and solutions work together in full integration to make the lives of residents easier.

Seeing connectivity as the foundation

Similarly, he said AI offers lots of potential to enhance the smart community model. He argued, however, that without the foundation of solid connectivity communities will miss out on the benefits of AI.

“I want to look at connectivity as a basis and then build the layers on top,” he said.

Khan, who is also one of the company’s founders, said their parent company, Vitalis, owns and operates a commercial real estate portfolio worth approximately a quarter billion dollars.

Vitalis Smart Communities is mainly geared towards consulting for HOAs, condos, multifamily ownership groups, and developers on their telecom and technology strategies, Khan said.

“We’re right now one of the nation’s leading and fastest growing advisory firms,” he said. “And honestly, I think it’s due to all the hard work our team puts out and the references our clients are giving to the rest of the world.”

Listen to the full interview on Apple Podcasts to hear more of Khan’s nuanced approach towards smart-community connectivity.

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News

AI will be incorporated across customer engagement, network management, and digital payments

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and Safaricom have formed a partnership combining Indosat’s AI ambitions with Safaricom’s mobile finance expertise, aiming to improve both parties’ customer experience.

According to the announcement, the arrangement will cover AI-enabled customer engagement, fraud detection, network planning and workforce development.

The companies said they would deploy AI to enhance customer interactions, from predictive maintenance that spots and remedies network problems before they affect users to personalised product plan generation and conversational virtual agents.

On financial services, Indosat will draw on Safaricom’s operational lessons from M-PESA to strengthen resilience, security, and customisation in digital payment journeys. Planned measures include AI-based fraud and risk controls, measures to keep payments flowing during peak demand and broader merchant and ecosystem capabilities intended to deepen customer value.

Commercial terms, governance arrangements, and delivery timetables were not included in the announcement.

“By combining Indosat’s AI-Native ambitions with Safaricom’s proven fintech and ecosystem expertise, we are focused on delivering innovations that customers can genuinely feel from smarter networks and safer digital transactions to more personal and intuitive experiences,” expained Indosat’s CEO Vikram Sinha.

“From smarter networks and safer transactions to more intuitive digital experiences, this collaboration goes beyond innovation; it is about shaping inclusive digital economies where individuals, businesses, and communities can thrive,” added Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa.

In addition to collaborating on specific projects, the deal will also see the partners share AI learnings regarding intelligent network planning and capex investment, aiming to deploy networks more efficiently.

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News

Work on the Middle Eastern portion of the 2Africa Pearls subsea cable has been suspended after Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) invoked force majeure, saying continuing operations in the Persian Gulf is unsafe amid the widening US–Israel–Iran conflict.

According to Bloomberg , ASN informed customers the cable‑laying vessel is currently stranded in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and deployment through the Strait of Hormuz has been paused.

The paused segment was intended to link Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq by routing through the Persian Gulf, a corridor that has become increasingly exposed as Iranian forces and other actors have targeted shipping in the area.

Industry analysts have told Bloomberg that several other projects planned to transit the Gulf, including the SEA‑ME‑WE 6 consortium effort and Ooredoo’s Fibre In Gulf initiative, have similarly been put on hold.

While much of the 2Africa Pearls infrastructure had already been laid, several landing stations remained unconnected when operations stopped, delaying an expectation that the extension would enter service this year. The broader 2Africa programme , the continent‑spanning system intended to bolster capacity between Africa, Europe and Asia , completed its core loop earlier this year but continues to see staggered rollouts for regional branches.

Beyond the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea corridor has also proved fragile. Work on the 2Africa route through the Red Sea was previously paused in late 2025 amid a mix of permit hurdles and attacks on vessels by Iran‑aligned Houthi forces. The disruption also impacted the Google‑backed Blue‑Raman cable. Those incidents have underscored how geopolitical violence along key chokepoints can ripple through the subsea industry.

Consortium membership and landing partnerships underline the scale and commercial importance of the Pearls extension. Backers include China Mobile International, Meta, Bayobab, Orange, center3, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone, and WIOCC. Regional landing partners announced earlier, such as Bharti Airtel in India and local operators in the UAE and Oman, were positioned to take significant capacity on the system: Bharti Airtel’s role is expected to bring more than 100Tbps of international capacity to India.

Ultimately, the halt continues to illustrate the vulnerability of undersea infrastructure to geopolitical shocks and creates immediate operational and commercial questions for consortium members and customers awaiting connectivity. The interruption may push consortia members to reassess routing strategies, insurance arrangements, and contingency plans for alternative landings to preserve traffic resilience across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.

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Partner Article

At Mobile World Congress 2026, Fang Xiang, Huawei VP and President of Wireless Solution, outlined the company’s vision for what it calls the “Agentic MBB”. 

Speaking at the Huawei’s product and solutions launch, Fang argued that the rapid emergence of AI agents is fundamentally reshaping the way we think about network topology.  

Huawei predicts that by 2035, the global landscape will include 900 billion agents, with 90% of these running on mobile devices, creating a paradigm shift for network requirements. 

Huawei’s response is to combine new AI-driven network intelligence with upgraded radio and baseband hardware, aimed at delivering higher uplink capacity, lower latency and more adaptive resource management. 

“Agentic MBB (mobile broadband) is the key step towards an intelligent era,” Fang said.  “It will fully unleash the potential of diverse services.” 

Uplink and low latency to become essential 

According to Fang, the shift towards AI-driven applications will lead to far more diverse and demanding MBB workloads. While traditional mobile networks have been largely optimised for downlink traffic, the rise of AI agents will increase the importance of uplink, low latency, and ubiquitous coverage. 

“As more 5G applications emerge, experience requirements for mobile broadband begin to diversify,” he said. “Different users have distinct network needs.” 

A key driver is the growth of multimodal AI interaction, where agents process multiple types of data simultaneously.  

“For multi-modal interactions, it requires gigabit uplink capability,” Fang said. “Agents must process text, videos, and images at the same time, so they will need five-times the uplink capability we have today.” 

Latency will also become more critical as AI services evolve from asynchronous cloud queries to real-time systems involving robotics, automation, and immersive experiences. 

“For AI robots to be human-like, an end-to-end latency of 400ms is essential,” Fang said.  

A latency of 400ms or less – often termed the ‘Doherty Threshold’ – has long been a metric for keeping user engaged when interacting with a computer. 

Finally, broad coverage remains a limitation. If agent-enabled devices are to expand beyond today’s smartphones to include vehicles, robots, and a wide range of connected objects, high quality coverage cannot be limited to urban areas. 

“Agent-powered devices will extend beyond current boundaries,” Fang said. “We must extend high-quality coverage across villages, roadways, and uncovered areas.” 

Reconstructing the network of the future 

To meet these requirements, telcos will soon be forced to completely rethink their approach to mobile network build. 

The first step, according to Fang, is to shift from a downlink-focussed approach to a more holistic model prioritising uplink, latency, and coverage, as mentioned above. 

Secondly, improved resource management will be paramount. With the networks themselves growing more complex and with billions of AI agents running over the top, manual network orchestration will soon be impossible. Automation must be infused throughout O&M, evolving into what Fang calls an ‘Intelligent Dynamic Management’ model. 

Finally, diversified services and customer experiences will require a closer understanding of the customer’s unique needs, allowing the network to respond proactively to ensure high quality service.  

“By evolving from API-based interaction to service-based intent interaction, the network can truly understand service needs,” Fang said. 

Huawei’s tools for an Agentic MBB 

To support this shift, Huawei has introduced a set of new products and technologies designed to embed AI into both network management and the underlying radio infrastructure. 

Among these innovations is a new RAN Agent. Built on Huawei’s telecom foundation model, the RAN Agent is designed to enable intent-driven network automation. The RAN Agent works as part of a closed-loop automation system covering forecasting, analysis, decision-making and execution. It connects northbound to operator systems via an A2A-T interface to interpret service intent, and southbound to Huawei’s Adaptive Air base stations to implement network changes. 

This RAN Agent is supported by Huawei’s RAN Digital Twin System (RDTS), which models the physical network assets, devices, and the surrounding environment. The RDTS then provides the digital foundation of real-time data on which the Agent can operate.  

Combined, this means that the RAN can autonomously adjust based on the users’ requirements, optimising the network in terms of user experience, O&M efficiency, and energy usage. 

“RAN Agent creates a complete closed loop—forecast, analyze, decide, and execute. This makes true single-domain autonomy a reality, delivering all-scenario experiences, intelligent network management, and ultimate energy efficiency,” said Fang.  

Alongside the RAN Agent and enhanced RDTS capabilities, Huawei also showcased its GigaGreen Plus series, which incorporates new antenna architectures and materials designed to improve performance and efficiency. 

“Powered by innovations in new materials, advanced antenna architectures and engineering, it expands coverage by 15%, sets new benchmarks for energy efficiency, and cuts size and weight by 30%,” explained Fang. 

The series includes the tri-band ultra-wideband MetaAAU and a 256-transmit antenna unit operating in the 6 GHz band. These are designed to support 5G-Advanced deployments capable of delivering up to 10 Gbps downlink and 1 Gbps uplink speeds. 

Huawei also unveiled its next-generation UBBPi baseband platform, which uses a chiplet-based architecture and near-memory computing to increase performance. The system doubles both capacity and energy efficiency compared with the previous generation, while enabling what Huawei describes as “all-scenario cell-free” networking. This involves using distributed access points to eliminate cell boundaries, promoting seamless performance. 

“All-scenarios cell-free is vital to a service-centric experience,” Fang said, adding that that advanced coordination algorithms will allow the baseband to optimise resources across time, frequency, and spatial domains. This doubles cell-edge experience and improves average experience by 40%. 

Preparing for an Agentic world 

Ultimately, Huawei’s is that a network’s ability to understand and respond to the needs of AI-driven services in real time will be vital to operators’ success. By combining intent-driven automation through its RAN Agent and Digital Twin systems with new Adaptive Air radio and baseband platforms, the company is positioning its portfolio as the infrastructure foundation for a future of AI-driven experience and commerce. 

“Together, we will build powerful, green, reliable and intelligent mobile networks,” he said. “Let’s catch the opportunities and create greater value in a fully connected intelligent world.”

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