Press Release

Vodafone Business, the enterprise arm of VodafoneThree, has announced a partnership with Tech Mahindra, a leading global provider of technology consulting and digital solutions to enterprises across industries, reinforcing its commitment to helping organisations across the UK accelerate digital transformation and realise the benefits of emerging technologies.

Building on VodafoneThree’s £11bn investment to create the UK’s best network for business – and provide organisations with the secure, resilient and scalable digital foundations they need to modernise and grow – the agreement establishes a structured model for executive engagement, co-innovation and go-to-market collaboration. It will enable both organisations to identify and develop opportunities where their complementary capabilities can help customers simplify operations, modernise technology environments and deliver measurable business outcomes.

By combining Vodafone Business’ enterprise and digital infrastructure capabilities with Tech Mahindra’s expertise in AI-led technology transformation, systems integration, digital engineering and managed services, the two organisations will develop industry-led propositions for UK customers. The collaboration will leverage AI, automation, private 5G, IoT, cloud and data to modernise operations, strengthen resilience, accelerate digital adoption and unlock new business models.

Tech Mahindra has a strong UK presence, combining local market expertise with global capabilities in AI, digital engineering, cloud and data. Guided by its “AI Delivered Right” strategy, Tech Mahindra helps organisations move AI from experimentation to enterprise-scale adoption and measurable outcomes. Through this partnership with Vodafone Business, both organisations will combine their strengths to help UK businesses modernise operations, strengthen resilience and accelerate AI-led growth.

The agreement supports Vodafone Business’ broader strategy to build a strong ecosystem of specialist partners, giving customers access to the expertise and capabilities they need at each stage of their digital transformation. By bringing together enterprise services, digital infrastructure and technology expertise, Vodafone Business is helping organisations adapt to changing market demands, improve operational performance and drive sustainable growth.

Nick Gliddon, Business Director, VodafoneThree, commented: “This partnership with Tech Mahindra brings together the capabilities organisations need to move faster in a complex digital landscape. By combining Vodafone Business’ connectivity, technology and security expertise with Tech Mahindra’s specialist transformation capabilities, we’re strengthening our partner ecosystem and giving customers access to integrated solutions across cloud, AI, cyber security and digital transformation – helping them cut through complexity, build resilience and become more agile, competitive and future-ready.”

Harshul Asnani, President and Head of Europe Business, Tech Mahindra, said: “Tech Mahindra has a deep heritage in telecommunications and extensive experience helping enterprises modernise complex technology and operating environments. This framework with Vodafone Business brings together our complementary strengths to help UK organisations accelerate AI-led transformation. By combining AI, automation, digital engineering and industry expertise, we will help enterprises modernise networks and operations, build resilient digital ecosystems and unlock measurable business outcomes at scale.”

How is the UK telecoms market changing in the UK? Join the discussion at Connected Britain 2026, the UK’s largest digital economy event

Press Release

Today, Huawei and HP Inc. announced the signing of a multiyear global patent cross-licensing agreement, including license to HP Inc. for certain Huawei WiFi patents. This milestone agreement not only reflects the companies’ cooperation in the field of intellectual property licensing but also recognizes Huawei’s innovation capabilities and core technological strength as well as HP’s position as a global leader in computers and peripheral equipment.

Alan Fan, Huawei’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer, stated, “Huawei is pleased to reach this patent cross-licensing agreement with HP Inc. This agreement is a strong testament to Huawei’s persistent independent innovation in cutting-edge fields in Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Through patent licensing, Huawei shares its innovation with the industry, particularly in the area of standardized technologies, which brings leading technological experiences to consumers worldwide.”

Steven Geiszler, who represented Huawei in the negotiations, stated: “This is another successful licensing of Huawei patents, particularly in the area of standardized Wi-Fi technologies—while obtaining valuable reciprocal patent rights from HP Inc.  I appreciate the professionalism and courteousness shown by HP’s negotiation team during this project.”

“This is a standard-essential patent license covering Wi‑Fi technology – something used broadly across the industry and routine for companies whose products connect to Wi‑Fi. It is not new, does not represent a broader strategic or commercial relationship, partnership, or collaboration with Huawei,” said HP in an emailed statement.

Wi-Fi has become one of the most widely used wireless technologies in the world, connecting homes, schools, hospitals, offices and public spaces. Each generation of the standard is developed openly, drawing on technical contributions from companies across the industry, and is then made broadly available to implementers.

Although lacking the speed and throughput of newer generations, Wi-Fi 4 and 5 are still widely used, providing reliable networking for less demanding applications.

High speed, large capacity and lower energy consumption enable Wi-Fi 6 to deliver multiple high-definition video streaming, gaming and AR/VR services alongside legacy broadband and IoT devices such as laptops, refrigerators, cameras, doorbells, thermostats, and lightbulbs—all with a single wireless router.

Wi-Fi 7, building on Wi-Fi 6, delivers higher throughput, lower latency, and more reliable Wi-Fi connectivity. These enhancements enable an exceptionally smooth experience for 8K video, gaming, AR/VR, remote work, online video conferencing, and cloud computing.

Together, these advances and applications have made reliable wireless connectivity part of the basic infrastructure of everyday life — supporting remote healthcare, digital education, and more energy-efficient homes and workplaces. Huawei has played a significant role in contributing to the development of Wi-Fi technologies over successive generations and makes the resulting technologies available publicly, so that innovation created in one place can benefit users everywhere.

To learn more about patents and licensing, here is Huawei’s Chief Intellectual Property Officer Alan Fan answering common questions on the topic from the internet. 

EXA Infrastructure has added an interesting new longhaul route to its European network. They have built out a new terrestrial link between the Spanish markets of Barcelona and Bilbao. … [visit site to read more]

China has approved its first private-sector commercial trial for satellite Internet of Things (IoT) services, granting a permit to Zhejiang Geespace Technology as part of what are being described as broader efforts to open the country’s satellite communications market to private capital.

Indeed in its approval notice, the country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) highlighted satellite IoT as an important complement to broadband satellite services, noting that the trial would help pave the way for further private-sector participation in China’s commercial space development.

MIIT has granted Geespace, the commercial space subsidiary of electric vehicle giant Geely, a two-year trial period.

Geespace is a global satellite communications service provider dedicated to the construction and operation of a low Earth orbit (LEO) communication constellation. It independently designs, develops, deploys, and operates the global LEO satellite Internet of Things (IoT) constellation Geesatcom.

Geespace will provide low-power, wide-coverage connectivity across sectors including smart transport, marine fisheries, energy, and water infrastructure.

Geespace is now the first private Chinese company to secure approval for a satellite IoT commercial trial, though the South China Morning Post notes that in May, MIIT issued the country’s first satellite IoT trial permit to Beijing Guodian High-Tech Technology, an entity backed by state-owned China Mobile, the nation’s largest wireless carrier.

Founded in 2018, Geespace has launched around 64 satellites. Some reports suggest its long-term plans are to deploy a constellation exceeding 5,600 satellites.

Geespace is also pushing into international markets, saying that it has had trials with telecoms operators in more than 20 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and Latin America.

A bit of AI, a bit of last mile fiber, and a regulatory hurdle: … [visit site to read more]

The clock is ticking for South Africa’s major mobile network operators to fulfil their legal obligation of zero-rating information and services that carry social value. Companies like MTN, Vodacom and Cell C have been given until 15 January 2027 to make the digital content of public benefit organisations (PBOs) data-free for users.

The zero-rating requirement is not a corporate social responsibility initiative; it’s a condition attached to the multi-billion-rand spectrum auction held by Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) in 2022. The expected revenues foregone were factored into the bid prices by the network operators.  But ICASA has yet to indicate how it intends to hold operators accountable.

In a country with unequal access to the internet and high data costs, the zero-rating of digital content is a bridge across the digital divide that could connect people to information for education, social services, healthcare and job seeking.

“Almost every home in South Africa has a mobile phone, but many in poor communities can’t afford the cost of data. This means the tools for stimulating socio-economic change are out of reach for millions of people in a country where barriers to connectivity and access to information and resources are a systemic choke which reinforces inequality,” explains David Harrison, CEO of the DG Murray Trust (DGMT).

“When content that carries social value is zero-rated, new mothers can access trusted information about breastfeeding and nutrition, preschool teachers can tap into support networks and receive training, and young people can be linked to work opportunities,” Harrison adds.

Some mobile network operators, like RAIN have risen to the occasion by zero-rating at least two dozen organisations. However, across the major operators, only fifteen organisations have been zero-rated out of thousands that may be eligible.

“We are deeply concerned that with the deadline just months away, we’ve had no meaningful communication from most mobile network operators, or from ICASA, about how zero-rating will be implemented, regulated and enforced,” says Busisiwe Kabane-Bailey, Innovation Director at DGMT.

PBOs are vetted and waiting to be zero-rated

Zero-rating is not new to mobile network operators: they were required to zero-rate educational and Covid-related health content of websites under the Covid-19 national disaster regulations. In the years before the pandemic, and since, some operators have zero-rated sites of their own accord.

But where this has happened, implementation was uneven: a site that is data-free on one network may not be on another, or may carry different speed and data limitations. And the content itself was selected at each operator’s discretion, with no shared standard to ensure it delivered the greatest possible educational or health benefit.

DGMT began exploring ways to reduce data costs and expand access to public benefit content as early as 2013, long before zero-rating became a licence condition. To streamline implementation, DGMT operates the Social Innovation Register (SIR), which is designed to review PBO applications by verifying their tax-benefit status according to Schedule 9 of the Income Tax Act and confirming they meet the technical requirements for zero-rating.

The SIR acts as a single source of information for PBOs that have been assessed against the eligibility criteria for zero-rating and aims to reduce the need for mobile network providers to evaluate applications independently. While the SIR itself was only launched in 2023, it is the product of more than a decade of work in this area.

“Since going live, the SIR has processed more than 120 applications, demonstrating that much of the infrastructure needed to drive implementation at scale is already in place. What’s missing is engagement,” says Kabane-Bailey.

“The question is not whether operators can do this but why they haven’t. When zero-rating was required under the Covid-19 disaster regulations, networks implemented it,” she adds.

South Africans have long regarded networks as predatory and for years, consumers complained that data was unaffordable, but prices only came down after the Competition Commission confirmed it. Now, MTN and Vodacom are in court against ICASA over data expiry rules. These repeated push-backs and delays only serve to deepen public mistrust.

“Zero-rating offers operators a chance to restore trust and to accelerate socio-economic development, at modest cost, with the systems already built,” Kabane-Bailey explains.

“We are calling on operators to use the existing systems to fast-track zero-rating before the deadline expires, and to urgently publish their implementation plans,” she concludes.

To arrange interviews, please contact DGMT Communications Specialist Corné Kritzinger on 060 679 7964 or send an email to corne@dgmt.co.za.

About us: DGMT is a South African foundation built on endowments from Douglas and Eleanor Murray. As a public innovator through strategic investment, DGMT is committed to developing South Africa’s potential. To this end, DGMT has identified 10 opportunities to escape the inequality trap and build a thriving society. These opportunities span early childhood development, innovation amongst civil society organisations, youth development, preventing nutritional stunting and promoting literacy.

News

Over 9,000 additional premises were passed last month as a direct result of the Gigabit Infrastructure Subsidy (GIS) programme

In a timely update ahead of Connected Britain next month, Building Digital UK (BDUK) has today published an update on the progress of various contracts as part of the £5 billion Project Gigabit broadband rollout initiative.

The data, as of August 17, suggests that 296,770 contracted premises have now been delivered, up from 287,510 in July 2026. This represents around 35% of the 846,770 premises covered by existing contracts.

The government release notes that these figures are meant only as a rough indication of progress, noting that the ‘variable time lag between contract signature/delivery and data ingestion by BDUK’ means they may not be strictly accurate. The reported figures have also been rounded to the nearest 10.

The agency also highlighted that the figures should not be directly compared to those published in BDUK’s annual Delivery Performance report earlier this summer; those results, showing 1.42 million premises passed, refer to premises passed with the support of any public or BDUK-related subsidy, rather than solely the GIS programme.

Backed by £5 billion in public funding, Project Gigabit was first introduced in 2021with the aim of supporting the government’s gigabit-capable broadband targets. Those targets have evolved substantially over the past five years but are now set at 99% of premises passed with gigabit-capable broadband technology by 2032.

The UK currently has gigabit-capable broadband coverage of around 90%, with the 36 current Project Gigabit contracts aimed primarily at supporting rollout to the final 10%.

In short, the programme continues to make steady progress, but the lion’s share of the work remains to be done and will only become more difficult as the target locations become increasingly difficult to reach.

Is the UK doing enough to connect the hardest-to-reach communities? Join the discussion at Connected Britain

Also in the news
Shared Rural Network rollout extends to UK national parks with over 150 4G masts live
Vodafone touts latest attempt to bridge the UK’s digital divide
Virgin Media O2 cuts 5,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions

Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) has reportedly approved the acquisition and deployment of two new high-throughput communication satellites.

The FEC says the aim of the new satellites is to expand broadband coverage and strengthen critical communications services in Nigeria.

The satellites, which will be deployed by the state-owned enterprise Nigeria Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat), are be called NigComSat-2a and NigComSat-2B.

They are the third and fourth satellites to be launched by NigComSat. NigComSat-1, which launched in 2007, is no longer functioning. NigComSat-1R launched in 2011 and remains operational but is expected to run out of fuel in 2028.

According to the agency in a statement this weekend, the satellites will complement terrestrial broadband networks by providing wider coverage in areas where conventional infrastructure may be difficult or costly to deploy. In particular, the satellites are expected to extend connectivity to underserved, unserved and hard-to-reach communities.

The additional satellite capacity is also expected to support digital services in education, healthcare, agriculture, financial services, broadcasting, enterprise and government, while improving the resilience of communications infrastructure.

Nigeria’s Vanguard newspaper says that with FEC approval secured, the next stage includes engagement with technology partners, contract finalisation, technical planning and other preparations for the manufacture, launch and eventual deployment of the satellites.

The satellites are to be delivered by Thales Alenia Space of France and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). The launches are expected to take place in two phases: the first is expected by the end of 2028 and the second in 2029 or 2030.

Zayo has lined up much of the fiber that it will need for the next few years of expansion projects. They have signed a long term fiber supply agreement with none other than Corning that will keep those big spools filled through the year 2030. The deal comes as the role of fiber buildouts comes into clearer focus in supporting the AI data center boom. … [visit site to read more]

Qatar Airways says it has become the first airline to operate Starlink-equipped Boeing 787-9 aircraft globally. The carrier has also completed Starlink rollout across its Boeing 787-8 sub-fleet in seven months, bringing the total number of its Starlink-equipped widebody aircraft to 150.

Qatar Airways says it remains on track to complete the Starlink rollout across its Boeing 787 fleet by the end of 2026. The airline now operates the world’s first and largest Starlink-equipped Boeing 777, Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 fleets.

By building a Starlink-connected journey at a scale unmatched by any other widebody operator, Qatar Airways says it is bringing passengers closer to a future where travelling no longer means stepping away from the digital world, offering on-board Wi-Fi speeds of up to 500 Mbps.

Since launching Starlink connectivity onboard in October 2024,  the company claims that more than 23 million passengers have connected to what it calls the fastest Wi-Fi in the sky across over 86,000 of its flights.

What it describes as the fastest and most ambitious Starlink widebody installation programme in aviation history has now surpassed 83% completion. There are up to 323 Starlink-flights operating daily.

According to some estimates, about 40 airlines have committed to high-speed in-flight Wi-Fi powered by SpaceX’s low-Earth-orbit constellation. Reports suggest that 16 airlines have actually installed such systems so far. They include Dubai carrier Emirates, which In April completed the first installation of next-generation Starlink Wi-Fi on its flagship Airbus A380.