News

The five Bluebird satellites are set to be launched into low Earth orbit (LEO) in September

Direct-to-device (D2D) satellite communications operator AST SpaceMobile has announced this week that it’s five new commercial satellites, dubbed Bluebirds, are built and ready for launch.

The Bluebirds will be shipped to Cape Canaveral, Florida, at the start of August, where they are targeted for launch in September. The exact launch date will depend on weather conditions at the launch site and will therefore be announced nearer the time.

The five satellites, once placed into LEO orbit, will allow AST SpaceMobile to deliver non-continuous commercial services for the first time. These services will include D2D satellite communications compatible with unmodified smartphones, allowing mobile coverage to reach some of the most remote locations on the planet.

AST SpaceMobile has said it will need between 40 and 60 commercial satellites to deliver continuous coverage in the US.

“This is a momentous occasion for AST SpaceMobile. These first five satellites are built on the success of our in-orbit BlueWalker 3 satellite and will provide US nationwide non-continuous service with over 5,600 cells in premium low-band spectrum, with a planned 10-fold increase in processing bandwidth,” AST SpaceMobile Chairman and CEO Abel Avellan said in a statement. “We are eager to see these pioneering satellites take flight and being laying the foundation of our global cellular broadband network.”

AST SpaceMobile already has strategic partnerships with AT&T, Verizon, Vodafone, Google, Rakuten, American Tower, and Bell Canada, as well as ‘agreements’ with 45 mobile network operators around the world.

Of course, AST SpaceMobile is not the only satellite player targeting D2D connectivity for consumers. Since last year, rival satellite giant SpaceX has reportedly been working on direct-to-device capabilities, working alongside its major US partner T-Mobile. The company’s Starlink satellite constellation is planning to launch initial D2D services in autumn this year, following the successful launch of around 100 of their newest generation of satellites.

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
Australian Government and AWS Collaborate to Strengthen country’s Cybersecurity
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Press Release

Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) have announced a partnership that will use the Microsoft Cloud to further drive Lumen’s digital transformation. In addition, Microsoft has chosen Lumen to expand its network capacity and capability to meet the growing demand on its datacenters due to AI.

A network for the AI era

Datacenters have become critical infrastructure that power the compute capabilities for the millions of people and organizations who rely on and trust the Microsoft Cloud. Microsoft is playing a leading role in ushering in the era of AI, offering tools and platforms like Azure OpenAI Service, Microsoft Copilot and others, to help people be more creative, more productive and to help solve some of humanity’s biggest challenges. As Microsoft continues to evolve and scale its ecosystem, it is turning to Lumen as a strategic supplier for its network infrastructure needs and is investing with Lumen to support its next generation of applications for Microsoft platform customers worldwide.

Lumen’s Private Connectivity Fabric℠ is a custom network that includes dedicated access to existing fiber in the Lumen network, the installation of new fiber on existing and new routes, and the use of Lumen’s new digital services. This AI-ready infrastructure will strengthen the connectivity capabilities between Microsoft’s datacenters by providing the network capacity, performance, stability and speed that customers need as data demands increase.

“AI is reshaping our daily lives and fundamentally changing how businesses operate,” said Erin Chapple, corporate vice president of Azure Core Product and Design, Microsoft. “We are focused both on the impact and opportunity for customers relative to AI today, and a generation ahead when it comes to our network infrastructure. Lumen has the network infrastructure and the digital capabilities needed to help support Azure’s mission in creating reliable and scalable platform that supports the breadth of customer workloads—from general purpose and mission-critical, to cloud-native, high-performance computing, and AI, plus what’s on the horizon. Our work with Lumen is emblematic of our investments in our own cloud infrastructure, which delivers for today and for the long term to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.”

“We are preparing for a future where AI is the driving force of innovation and growth, and where a powerful network infrastructure is essential for companies to thrive,” said Kate Johnson, president and CEO, Lumen Technologies. “Microsoft has an ambitious vision for AI and this level of innovation requires a network that can make it reality. Lumen’s expansive network meets this challenge, with unique routes, unmatched coverage, and a digital platform built to give companies the flexibility, access and security they need to create an AI-enabled world.”

Accelerating growth through innovation and partnership

Lumen has launched an enterprise-wide transformation to simplify and optimize its operations. By embracing Microsoft’s cloud and AI technology, Lumen can reduce its overall technology costs, remove legacy systems and silos, improve its offerings, and create new solutions for its global customer base. Lumen will migrate and modernize its workloads to Microsoft Azure, use Microsoft Entra solutions to safeguard access and prevent identity attacks and partner with Microsoft to create and deliver new telecom industry-specific solutions. This element alone is expected to improve Lumen’s cash flow by more than $20 million over the next 12 months while also improving the company’s customer experience.

“Azure’s advanced global infrastructure helps customers and partners quickly adapt to changing economic conditions, accelerate technology innovation, and transform their business with AI,” said Chapple. “We are committed to partnering with Lumen to help deliver on their transformation goals, reimagine cloud connectivity and AI synergies, drive business growth, and help customers achieve more.”

This collaboration expands upon the longstanding relationship between Lumen Technologies and Microsoft. The companies have worked together for several years, with Lumen leveraging Copilot to automate routine tasks and reduce employee workloads and enhance Microsoft Teams.

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The mobile economy of the Asia Pacific was predicted to grow by US$130 billion by 2030 and hit US$1 trillion, due to faster adoption of 5G technologies in the region.

The GSMA said in a report, mobile technologies and services generated 5.3% of GDP across the region in 2023, this amounted to US$880 billion of economic value.

Manufacturing and fintech were highlighted have to been particularly enhanced by mobile technologies. The former is expected to see even greater advancements enabled by 5G applications such as smart factories, smart-grids and IoT-enabled devices. While, financial services and public administration are expected to benefit as they turn to 5G to digitally transform services and operations.

The GSMA forecast that the contribution of the mobile industry to the APAC economy will outpace the global average of 12%, with a rate of 15%. The number of mobile internet users will grow from 1.5 billion (51% penetration) to 1.8 billion (61%) in 2030. Data traffic will quadruple between 2023 and 2030.

Commercial standalone 5G networks are live in seven APAC nations: Australia, India, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Thailand. This will help in fuelling the predicted growth alongside 5G Advanced, RedCap and AI, creating opportunities to launch new 5G applications and kick start a fresh round in 5G investments for enterprises and consumers.  

Developing markets 

The bulk of growth from the mobile economy will stem from APAC’s developed markets such as Singapore, South Korea, Australia and Japan. Large portions of the region remain unconnected notably Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. Key adoption barriers include lack of affordability, particularly for devices, and a lack of digital skills, particularly among older citizens. 

Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific at the GSMA, said: “Hundreds of millions of people are still missing out. Addressing this usage gap and building online trust are crucial to closing this digital divide and ensuring everyone can benefit from the life-enhancing applications mobile can provide in area such as finance, education, and health.”

Press Release

nexfibre, the next generation fibre network operator, has today published the latest quarterly update of its nationwide rollout plan

The report reveals planned build locations for 2025 and early 2026, with significantly expanded footprint in previously underserved areas of North Wales and Scotland.

The update demonstrates nexfibre’s commitment to bringing sustainable, national-scale competition to the fibre access market, with network expansion set to benefit towns across the UK, including coverage in Eastbourne, Weymouth, Nantwich and Shropshire, with North Wales being well-served.

The plan details the rapid progress nexfibre continues to make towards its mission of reaching 5 million premises across the UK by 2026, with just under 1.3 million premises passed and ready for service (RFS) – up from 986,000 premises in the last quarterly update.

At the current rate, the business is set to deliver its network to more premises than any other fibre provider in 2024, except for the incumbent, making it the UK’s second largest network provider in only its second year of operations.

Rajiv Datta, CEO of nexfibre, said:

“It is thanks to the hard work of our team, our partners – including our build partner Virgin Media O2 – and our investors that we have been able to build at this pace and achieve this reach in such a short period of time.

“We have exciting plans for 2025 and into 2026, which is part of our commitment to provide a nationwide alternative network and the competition in the fibre access market that the UK needs and deserves. Our work matters because, at its heart, better broadband improves the lives of people and communities across the country, boosts economic growth and will help the UK lead the digital future.”

nexfibre is a critical enabler of the government’s ambitions to close the digital divide and deliver a nationwide ultrafast broadband rollout by 2030. As a wholesale-only provider, it is committed to building and maintaining a quality full-fibre infrastructure platform. This enables it to deliver more choice, more competition and provide people, communities and organisations with quality connectivity.

Join nexfibre and the wider connectivity indutry at Connected Britain, 11-12 September in London. Get your ticket here!

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This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Matthias Gromman, Director of Business Line IT & Data Center Solutions at FNT Software

Telco companies and mobile network operators are at the forefront of a global movement towards sustainability. Recognizing their significant environmental impact, these organizations have set ambitious targets to reduce their carbon footprint. With goals to slash emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions between 2040–2050, telcos are undertaking monumental … [visit site to read more]

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Thai telco AIS and Malaysian telco Maxis signed MoUs with Singtel on Thursday to use its open API-based solutions suite that authenticates digital identities for consumer services – a day after the Bridge Alliance launched a new regional telco API exchange to facilitate such deals.

Under separate MoUs with Singtel, AIS and Maxis will use SingVerify to enable network-based authentication for mobile subscribers.

According to Singtel, SingVerify – which uses open APIs based on the GSMA Open Gateway framework – helps mitigate illegal account takeovers and unauthorised transactions that result from phishing and malware app scams. It also enables a smoother multi-factor authentication process as consumer’s digital identities are verified instantly and directly between the telco and service providers.

Singtel CEO Ng Tian Chong cited a recent report from LexisNexis Risk Solution, which found the overall attack rate for mobile apps in Asia Pacific is higher than the global average, with the majority being carried out by automated bots that target e-commerce payment transactions.

“The rise of ecommerce in the region has opened more avenues for digital fraud, significantly impacting consumers and businesses,” Ng said in a joint statement. “Together with AIS and Maxis, we can combat this rising digital fraud and protect our customers more effectively.”

The first two APIs to federated by AIS and Maxis include Device Location and Number Verify, the latter of which validates customers’ identities by matching their phone numbers with their registered account details on the service provider’s platform.

“The joint Number Verification API will provide businesses and platforms with a robust tool to domestically and regionally authenticate user identities through real-time phone number verification,” said Asnee Wipatawate, head of AIS’ Enterprise Telecom Technology Product Department. “By leveraging the combined strengths of those telcos, the API will offer a comprehensive and secure solution to protect against a wide range of fraudulent activities, including account takeovers, and phishing attacks.”

Wipatawate added that the Number Verification API will be made available to businesses across multiple industries, including financial services, e-commerce, and online gaming.

Singtel signed a similar MoU with rival telco M1 in March to combat digital fraud in Singapore, but this is the first time it has signed a federated telco API deal with overseas operators. Singtel also said the MoUs with AIS and Maxis mark “the first-ever international federation of Telco API in the world”.

Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific at the GSMA, said this is what the GSMA Open Gateway initiative was designed to facilitate, and is especially necessary when it comes to combating digital fraud and cyber attacks.

“Cybercriminals operate beyond national borders, so it’s vital that mobile operators and developers of digital services unify behind a common approach to fraud prevention wherever they are in the world,” he said.

Bridge Alliance launches BAEx API exchange

The API tie-up with Singtel, AIS and Maxis comes on the heels of the Bridge Alliance – of which all three are members – launching a regional telco API exchange for its 34 members on Wednesday.

The Bridge Alliance API Exchange (BAEx) leverages Singtel’s Paragon orchestration platform to aggregate its member operators’ APIs for network authentication, user verification and network quality. The Alliance says this allows enterprises and developers to streamline deployment of new services on member operator networks by accessing a common API framework that provides secure, consistent and on-demand access to telco network capabilities across multiple regions.

The BAEx also enables regional aggregation and standardisation of telco APIs utilising CAMARA APIs under the GSMA Open Gateway, said Bridge Alliance CEO Ong Geok Chwee.

“Bridge Alliance has been working closely with our member operators and industry partners to advance regional telco API federation, building on the momentum of the GSMA’s Open Gateway framework and CAMARA API standards,” Ong said. “With the newly-launched Bridge Alliance API exchange BAEx, our alliance has a timely opportunity now to lead the charge in serving the needs of enterprises in areas leveraging telco assets, such as network-based authentication.”

Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel has expressed its disappointment  at a recent decision by another government agency, the electricity-focused Aneel to, essentially, abandon plans discussed by the two regulators on the vexed topic of infrastructure sharing or, more accurately, pole sharing.

Aneel feels there should be a restart to the process of agreeing new regulations for the sharing of poles between the energy and telecommunications sectors, blaming discrepancies in the terms of the joint resolution that was presented to the regulators.

It’s hard to get a precise idea about what drove Aneel’s decision, but it appears to have been a response to a government decree – No. 12,068, of 2024 – which provided for the mandatory assignment of spaces on poles by energy distributors to third-party companies. Aneel was apparently against this measure.

Anatel has published a statement in which it points out that it approved, in October 2023, a proposed joint resolution on the subject, noting that this had been widely discussed with society through public consultation. Aneel’s response seems to have taken until this week to arrive.

Anatel calls the Aneel decision a setback that will have significant impacts on the expansion of the connectivity of Brazilians. It also refers to the poles as “essential infrastructure in the installation of cables used in various telecommunications services, especially internet access”.

Present infrastructure-sharing regulations between telecommunications and energy companies in Brazil have apparently not stopped ad hoc use of energy distribution poles by telecommunications operators – with all that this implies in terms of regulation and safety. 

That, it seems, is why Aneel and Anatel have been attempting to put together a workable system for the use of electricity poles, one that lays out conditions for infrastructure sharing between electricity and telecommunications companies and the price for the use of space on poles.

However, we now appear to be back to square one, as one news source puts it, with doubts about when the talks will actually resume.

Press Release

Telstra has joined a select group of global organisations to champion and advance the ethical development and application of AI

Telstra is the first Australian organisation, and the sixth globally, to join the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s Business Council to promote the implementation of its Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.

The UNESCO Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence advocates for AI technologies to be governed by values that promote human rights, dignity, and environmental sustainability, emphasising transparency, accountability, and adherence to the rule of law.

Telstra will work with UNESCO and other member organisations, like Microsoft and Salesforce, to support policy development in critical areas such as data governance and diversity. The Business Council will also work to develop an ethical impact assessment tool, as well as joint initiatives to ensure AI serves the public good.

Kim Krogh Andersen, group executive of Product & Technology at Telstra, says this is about translating the Recommendation into practical action and tangible outcomes.

“AI is a transformative technology that has the potential to benefit societies globally – but it requires very careful and deliberate stewardship,” Mr Krogh Anderson said.

“We’re proud to be the first Australian company to join the UNESCO Business Council and champion the increasingly critical cause of ethical and responsible AI.

“In such a fast-moving space, collaboration is a non-negotiable. We all need to lean on and learn from each other, to ensure AI is developed and deployed in a way that respects human rights, diversity and dignity.

“UNESCO and Telstra share a vision for a future where AI is driven by ethical principles that prioritise human welfare. This collaboration marks a significant step towards realising that future.”

“We are pleased that Telstra has joined UNESCO in the implementation of the Recommendation. UNESCO is leading the international efforts to build ethical, responsible and inclusive AI frameworks worldwide, working with governments from 50 countries, G7, G20 and other international initiatives, and particularly with leading global companies. Having Telstra in our Business Council will foster our speed, depth and reach,” said Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO.

This new partnership builds on Telstra’s strong history of leadership in responsible AI both locally and internationally, working with the Australian government to pilot and test Australia’s AI Ethics Principles, and co-authoring the Responsible AI Playbook with the GSMA.

Across its business, Telstra operates and continually refines a Responsible AI Policy which combines policy, education, advisory and specific risk management controls, allowing it to embrace AI responsibly for the benefit of customers and employees.

Keep up to date with the latest international telecoms news by subscribing to the Total Telecom daily newsletter 

Also in the news:
Australian Government and AWS Collaborate to Strengthen country’s Cybersecurity
Solving congestion challenges in FTTP deployment
Vodafone Invests £120m in AI Chatbot ‘SuperTOBi’

In an announcement yesterday, T-Mobile and KKR announced a joint venture to acquire Metronet. The deal follows May’s announcement of a JV with EQT to buy Lumos, offering us a second data point on what seems to be the start of a residential fiber rollup by the ‘Uncarrier’. … [visit site to read more]