One M&A move plus three other bits of infrastructure ecosystem teamwork of note from the end of last week: … [visit site to read more]

UPDATE: Bangladesh’s Army Chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has confirmed that he has assumed power following the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has now fled the country. At the time of writing, data from NetBlocks indicates that internet connectivity has been restored and remains available in Bangladesh.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Bangladesh government ordered mobile operators to shut down 4G services again on Sunday – just days after services were switched back on – amid a fresh wave of deadly violence as protesters demand the resignation of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

According to various media reports, mobile operators said they received orders from the government to shut off their 4G services. Netblocks confirmed in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that it detected a drop in internet connectivity in Bangladesh on Sunday that was mainly impacting mobile networks. By mid-day Monday, fixed broadband services were down as well. 

Of the over 131 million internet users in Bangladesh at the end of 2023, the vast majority – 118.49 million – are mobile internet users.

Meanwhile, access to social media sites has also been blocked for all internet users by order of the government, after being briefly restored last Wednesday.

It’s the second time in less than a month that mobile internet services in Bangladesh have been shut down by the government. Bangladesh’s mobile internet went dark on July 17, followed by a complete internet blackout on July 18. Fixed broadband connectivity was fully restored on July 24, while mobile internet services came back online on July 28.

State Minister for Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Zunaid Ahmed Palak has maintained that last month’s internet blackout was not ordered by the government, but the result of “planned sabotage” by protesters. However, the government has provided little evidence for this, and telecoms experts have questioned whether the damage described by Palak could result in a complete blackout.

The initial internet shutdown occurred after violence broke out amid student protests against a new government jobs quota system that allegedly favored the ruling Awami League party led by Hasina. At least 150 people were reportedly killed in clashes between students, pro-Awami League groups and police.

The latest shutdown comes amid more protests over the weekend in which tens of thousands of protesters demanded Hasina’s resignation, which led to more violent clashes between the same groups. According to media reports, at least 100 people were killed on Sunday.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Robert Bianco, Chief Commercial Officer of HYLAN

The data center construction landscape is shifting at an unprecedented pace, driven by the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and its profound implications. AI integration is fundamentally reshaping the industry; necessitating expanded infrastructure and advanced design specifications to meet growing computational needs. … [visit site to read more]

Indian authorities have hit leading IT outsourcer Infosys with a US$3.9 billion tax demand – and some news reports suggest the pursuit of alleged unpaid taxes will soon target other big names.

According to the UK’s Financial Times the demand came as the Indian IT industry was showing early signs of recovery following a worldwide tech spending slowdown. Indeed, Infosys and other relevant players, like Tata Consultancy Services, posted buoyant quarterly earnings earlier in July. 

Infosys has apparently been issued notices for payment of goods and services tax (GST) by agencies in its home state of Karnataka and from the national Directorate General of GST Intelligence for the period of July 2017 to March 2022.

The tax demand relates to “expenses incurred by overseas branch offices”, says Infosys, whose headquarters, like those of a number of IT companies, are in the Karnataka capital Bengaluru. It does not agree that GST applies on these expenses.

Reuters, however, suggests Indian authorities may soon issue notices to more major IT services firms in an investigation of alleged tax evasion related to work done by their overseas offices. Reuters says these overseas offices carry out projects for Indian IT firms and provide services to international clients, among other functions.

This isn’t just about IT, however. In the last year, India’s GST department has sent more than 1,000 notices to companies, including Life Insurance Corporation of India, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Ultratech Cement.

Tax authorities have also issued notices to online gaming companies demanding a total of about 1 trillion rupees (about US$12 billion) in taxes that they have allegedly evaded. Many companies have challenged these demands in tribunals and courts.

This isn’t the first backdated tax claim from Indian officials, as Vodafone, a company that has successfully fought retrospective taxes, might point out.

As we reported at the end of the 14-year dispute, the Indian government decided to nullify its own tax demands against Vodafone, apparently to improve perceptions of its stance on taxation in order to encourage foreign investment into the market. But could the recent drive to pursue alleged unpaid taxes undermine this effort?

Three global expansion projects and one domestic FTTx buildout: … [visit site to read more]

ArtificiaI intelligence (AI)-ready data centres are in the news this week, with Malaysia and Indonesia playing host to new or planned facilities.

Asia Pacific and Japan hyperscale data centre specialist AirTrunk says it has commenced operations in Malaysia, following the official opening of its flagship Malaysian 150 megawatt (MW) hyperscale data centre in Johor Bahru.

Named AirTrunk JHB1, the initial phases of the new data centre will provide over 50MW of capacity for its large technology customers.

Spanning over 10.3 hectares, JHB1 is strategically located in Johor Bahru at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. Servicing a major cloud availability zone, the data centre offers strong domestic and international connection to regional technology hubs including neighbouring Singapore, with an end-to-end cross-border connection strategy.

Along with a power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.15, making it one of the most efficient data centres in the country, the new facility features an AI-ready design with AirTrunk’s first deployment of direct-to-chip liquid cooling technology alongside traditional indirect evaporative cooling (IEC) and high-density racks. This pioneering approach, says AirTrunk, reduces energy consumption by up to 23%. 

JHB1 is also equipped with a solar-ready roof, able to provide over 1MW of power for this phase, making it one of the largest onsite solar deployments for a data centre in Southeast Asia.

Also name-checking AI is BDx Indonesia, a joint venture of BDx Data Centers, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, and Lintasarta, which has announced the Phase-1 completion of its AI campus CGK4 in Jatiluhur, Indonesia. The CGK4 campus is Indonesia’s first renewable-powered AI data centre park scalable up to 500MW.

The facility offers high power density of up to 120 kW per rack, innovative liquid cooling technologies and high-speed connectivity that, it is claimed, enable it to meet the demands of Generative AI workloads. The dedicated AI data centre is supported by an integrated 24/7 on-site team within the campus and offers eight layers of security, reinforced by industry-leading certifications.

Mayank Srivastava, CEO of BDx Data Centers, explains: “BDx Indonesia is committed to enable Indonesia to become an AI-first nation. We are the only data centre provider in the country offering up to 700MW of development potential spread across Indonesia. This sustainable and interconnected mesh of digital infrastructure is engineered to support training workloads at central sites, and inference workloads across multiple locations nationwide.”

It’s  no surprise perhaps that both initiatives are stressing energy efficiency. The vast amount of energy required by data centres as AI adoption grows is a controversial subject already, one discussed in more detail in a major Developing Telecoms feature published today.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Brian Lavallée, Senior Director, Solutions Marketing at Ciena

Although there’s a significant amount of hype related to Artificial Intelligence (AI), there’s no debate that AI is real and is already significantly reshaping a wide range of industries, driving innovation and efficiencies to previously unimaginable levels. However, similar to any disruptive technology introduction, like steam engines, electricity, and the internet, AI will come with unique challenges and opportunities. … [visit site to read more]