PLDT Group’s data centre arm Vitro said on Thursday it has partnered with BBIX Philippines to establish a direct peering connection between BBIX and its Vitro Internet Exchange (VIX) in a play they say will strengthen the country’s digital ecosystem.

To that end, Vitro has deployed an initial 100G network-to-network interconnection at its Makati 2 data centre to start. Vitro expects to expand that capacity over time in line with traffic growth and evolving demand.

Vitro said the partnership with BBIX aims to enable more efficient traffic exchange through direct peering, allowing enterprises connected to both BBIX and VIX to benefit from improved routing, reduced latency, and enhanced access to content and digital services.

VIX’s local ecosystem includes access to over 98 million internet users in the Philippines, alongside a growing base of enterprises, carriers, and hyperscalers hosted within Vitro’s carrier-neutral data centres.

BBIX said it brings its global peering expertise to the table, as well as a rich and massive ecosystem of content from cloud service providers, content platforms, content delivery networks and other technology solution providers.

Direct peering between BBIX and VIX will reduce connectivity gaps and optimise traffic routes, enabling efficient traffic flow, reduced latency, and improved access to both regional and international content, said Vitro’s chief commercial officer Gary F. Ignacio.

“By strengthening how traffic is exchanged between networks, we are improving access to content, enhancing performance, and enabling businesses and communities to better participate in the digital economy,” he said in a statement.

“Through our direct peering with VIX, we are able to deliver more efficient and reliable connectivity that supports the growing demand for digital services in the country,” added Toya Oba, GM of BBIX.

Global digital operator Veon announced on Wednesday that Ukrainian ride-hailing platform Uklon – which is owned by Veon’s Kyivstar – has started testing autonomous vehicle technology for a planned robotaxi service in Ukraine.

The pilot project – which is being conducted in partnership with Boryspil International Airport – leverages core autonomous vehicle technologies and operational components, including onboard sensors, LiDAR, real-time connectivity, vehicle telemetry and remote operations infrastructure. Remote human operators will serve as a control layer during the pilot.

Veon said the test is part of Uklon’s strategy to position itself as the operating partner for Ukraine’s future autonomous mobility and robotaxi ecosystem as it works with regulators and Boryspil Airport.

Veon Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu said the autonomous vehicle pilot illustrates how Veon’s US$1.3 billion investment in Ukraine’s digital infrastructure between 2023 and 2026 is now generating homegrown next-gen services.

“Today’s launch puts Uklon at the center of Ukraine’s future robotaxi ecosystem and shows that VEON’s US$1.3 billion investment in rebuilding the country’s connectivity and digital infrastructure is generating exactly the kind of next-generation services we said it would,” Terzioglu said in a statement.

The pilot comes a little over a year after Kyivstar bought Uklon in a deal valued at US$155.2 million to expand its digital consumer services portfolio.

“As part of the Veon group digital operator strategy, we are developing a digital ecosystem where communication technologies become the basis for new services.” said Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov. “This project confirms that the synergy of the telecom and IT sectors within the Kyivstar group of companies, which includes Uklon, creates unique solutions and opens new opportunities for the country.”

The Uklon pilot also marks Veon’s first autonomous mobility initiative across its operating footprint.

Veon criticised the high rate of taxation on the telecoms sector in Bangladesh and Pakistan, warning it risks slowing digital and economic growth in both countries.

The Dubai-based operator group, which owns Banglalink in Bangladesh and Jazz in Pakistan, pointed to new research from Frontier Economics arguing that lower mobile-specific taxes would ultimately generate greater long-term government revenues.

The report, titled Unlocking Digital Growth by Reducing Sector Taxation in Bangladesh and Pakistan, found the two countries impose some of the world’s highest telecoms-specific taxes. Mobile sector taxes account for 47% of service revenues in Bangladesh and 37% in Pakistan, far above regional and global averages.

According to the analysis, reducing combined sales and turnover taxes on mobile services to 23% in Bangladesh and 17% in Pakistan would increase mobile penetration, boost digital adoption and accelerate GDP growth.

Frontier Economics estimated Bangladesh’s annual GDP per capita growth rate could rise from 6.6% to 7.2%, while Pakistan’s could increase from 4.2% to 4.5% in the medium term.

The report also argued that although governments would initially see lower tax receipts from the telecoms sector, broader economic growth would offset the losses, with total tax revenues surpassing baseline levels by 2030 in Bangladesh and by 2031 in Pakistan.

Veon said the findings reinforce the importance of mobile connectivity in both markets, where smartphones and mobile networks remain the primary route for millions of people to access banking, digital services and the formal economy.

Group CEO Kaan Terzioglu said reducing barriers to mobile adoption would help expand digital financial services, support small businesses and strengthen long-term economic participation.

PLDT’s wireless arm Smart Communications announced on Tuesday it will bundle AI-powered glasses with native access to Google Gemini with two postpaid plans starting this Friday.

The offer is the result of an exclusive partnership between Smart and Chinese tech firm Rokid, which Smart said marks its expansion into next-generation devices, particularly AI wearables.

Rokid’s AI glasses are powered by native Google Gemini integration, enabling users to access Google’s AI assistant directly. Gemini supports natural voice conversations, real-time language translation, intelligent search, content generation, task management, and contextual assistance, all accessible through the Rokid glasses.

Smart noted that the international version of Rokid’s AI glasses was recently updated to support other large language models, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and Alibaba’s Qwen. Smart said this will give users more flexibility in accessing a range of AI-powered assistance and services through a single device.

Smart will offer the Rokid glasses via its Smart Postpaid and Infinity plans. Smart Postpaid customers will have to pay an extra PHP28,800 (US$467.30) for the glasses (which is somewhat cheaper compared to retail prices in local electronics stores), but will also get 40GB open-access data, unlimited 5G data for 12 months, and unlimited SMS and voice calls (mobile and landline). Smart Infinity members on Plan 8000 can get the glasses free of charge.

“By making Rokid AI Glasses available on Smart Postpaid and Infinity Plans, we are enabling more Filipinos to experience the future of connectivity today,” said Marjorie Garrovillo, first VP and Co-OIC at Smart.

Global cable manufacturer Prysmian announced on Thursday it  has partnered with Ufinet Brasil to deploy a 30 km underground network to boost interconnectivity for hyperscale data centres in Sao Paulo Province’s Alphaville.

According to Prysmian, the goal of the project was to increase network capacity and expand data transmission in São Paulo using existing pipeline infrastructure to reduce the social impact of infrastructure works.

To that end, Ufinet and Duraline deployed Prysmian’s SiroccoHD solution, which sports a cable density of 8.6 F/mm², enabling the installation of 432 optical fibres in a single 12x10mm microduct.

Prysmian said this allows the reuse of legacy 40mm duct networks with up to 3 microducts, which can expand the capacity of existing infrastructure up to 1,296 optical fibres.

Ufinet and Duraline deployed the 432-fibre version of the SiroccoHD solution, which Prysmian said is a 3x improvement over conventional microcables in Brazil, which typically accommodate up to 144 fibres in microducts.

“SiroccoHD addresses a real problem for our customers in large urban centres: how to increase fibre capacity using the infrastructure I already have installed?” said Lucas Nogueira, manager of R&D, innovation and sustainability at Prysmian in a statement. “This is the kind of solution that enables strategic hyperscale data centre projects, positioning Brazil at a new level in the race for digital transformation and demonstrating the strength of our industry.”

The Latin American smartphone market recorded 34.8 million smartphone shipments in Q1 2026, representing 3% year-on-year growth, defying broader global declines driven by rising memory component costs.

According to analyst house Omdia, the growth was largely supported by retailers building up inventory ahead of expected price increases tied to more expensive DRAM and NAND memory chips. Smartphone vendors also leaned toward lower-storage models, such as 128GB variants, to keep devices affordable and soften the impact of rising costs on consumers.

While demand for premium smartphones remained resilient, buyers in the entry-level segment faced increasing affordability pressures.

Samsung remained the region’s largest smartphone vendor by shipments, recording 12.9 million units in Q1 2026. The company posted 9% year-on-year growth, increasing its market share to 37% – its highest quarterly level since Q1 2023.

Xiaomi ranked second with 6 million shipments, growing 3% year-on-year and marking its sixth consecutive quarter of growth in Latin America. The vendor captured a 17% market share.

Motorola secured third place despite a 5% decline in shipments to 4.9 million units, giving it a 14% market share. Omdia attributed the drop primarily to a 37% fall in shipments of devices priced between US$100 and US$200.

Honor consolidated its position in fourth place after posting 30% year-on-year growth to 3.4 million units and securing a 10% market share. Growth was driven largely by the success of its entry-level Play 10 device, which sold around half a million units during the quarter.

Apple rounded out the top five vendors with 31% year-on-year shipment growth, supported by strong demand in Mexico for its iPhone 17 range.

Looking ahead, Omdia expects the Latin American smartphone market to face increasing pressure as retailers gradually pass rising component costs onto consumers, particularly in the sub-US$300 segment.

It is being widely reported in the African technology press that pan-African operator MTN plans to turn its African towers into an AI inference grid.

To convert its African tower estate into a distributed AI compute fabric, MTN Group will install open GPU infrastructure at base station sites. This, it seems, means the same hardware can run both the cellular network and edge AI inference workloads.

This plan does, however, still appear to be at an early stage. According to the South African news service TechCentral, the plan was set out by MTN Group chief technology and information officer Charles Molapisi at an event hosted by law firm Bowmans in Johannesburg on Wednesday. 

Every cellular tower has a baseband unit at its base to drive the radio access network. Molapisi apparently suggested that MTN will replace these with open GPU configurations capable of running the radio plus AI inference, or what the company has described as a “distributed AI grid”.

The ambition is for MTN to become the biggest distributor of edge and inference in the African continent, where it has a presence in 17 sub-Saharan African countries.

Latency would, apparently, improve. At the moment AI workloads have to go via a central data centre. With the new system they could be processed at or near the tower. With edge compute installed, the workload could be served locally rather than backhauled to a distant data centre and returned, freeing capacity and cutting round-trip time.