Ericsson, China Mobile and Chinese handset maker Oppo revealed on Wednesday they have successfully tested network slicing at the consumer device and app level on a live 5G Standalone (SA) network.

The test – which was carried out on China Mobile’s commercial 5G SA network in the city of Dezhou in Shandong province – leveraged existing network capabilities, and covered application scenarios including uplink for livestreaming, short video download and upload, multiple functionalities with AI-powered glasses, and providing a robust connection for mobile gaming.

For example, the application-level slicing test detected when short videos or uplink livestreams were buffering on Oppo devices, which then automatically notified the user and offered to switch the traffic to a dedicated slice for better connectivity if the user agreed to do so. Combined with radio resource partition, network resources were prioritized and allocated to short-video or uplink livestreaming apps.

China Mobile said slicing option enables uplink livestreaming and short-video to achieve a more than a twofold improvement in network performance, while latency for gaming scenarios was reduced by at least 30%.

For Oppo’s AI glasses – which use cloud-based AI agents and sport an object recognition feature – China Mobile and Ericsson leveraged user-level slicing and latency-priority scheduling technologies for the uplink and downlink to reduce round-trip time latency for object recognition by at least 30%.

Ericsson said the test successfully achieved fine-grained resource allocation and isolation at both the user and application levels, delivering validated results for typical services in terms of guaranteed throughput and latency optimization on the existing 5G network.

That said, Ericsson added that the commercial deployment of these slicing capabilities “still requires further ecosystem maturity and broader support from commercial terminals.” Ericsson, China Mobile and Oppo said they will collaborate to jointly advance that ecosystem.

The continued expansion of Lightpath is now taking the company beyond its metro roots and into the longhaul fiber business. The New York-based fiber builder and operator has announced plans to build out a new diverse route between Columbus, Ohio and Chicago, Illinois. … [visit site to read more]

Heirs Insurance Group has announced the launch in Nigeria of its multi-language generative AI assistant, Prince AI, which, it says, marks a major milestone in its digital transformation journey and reinforces its commitment to making insurance simple, accessible and inclusive.

With Prince AI, Heirs Insurance, which describes itself as Nigeria’s fastest-growing insurance group, says it becomes the first insurer in Nigeria to deploy a multi-language generative AI assistant. The AI-powered assistant delivers instant, intelligent responses not only to customer requests about Heirs Insurance products, but also to broader insurance enquiries, helping users understand coverage options, assess their needs, and identify the right policies for their unique situations.

Language is a key part of this offering. Prince communicates fluently in multiple local and international languages, including English, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and many more.

Beyond handling enquiries, the AI assistant enables customers to purchase and renew policies, and initiate and track claims. The chatbot is available across WhatsApp, the SimpleLife Mobile App, and the Heirs Insurance website, delivering seamless, always-on service experience across multiple digital touchpoints.

Peace Okhianmhense-Philips, Chief Digital Officer, Heirs Insurance Group, explains: “By embedding generative AI into our customer experience, we are not only improving speed and efficiency but also humanising insurance. This innovation allows us to connect more meaningfully with our customers, anticipate their needs, and deliver support that is instant, intelligent and accessible.”

Built on adaptive intelligence, the AI Assistant continuously refines its capabilities through every interaction. Personalised counsel is also offered if required.

Heirs Insurance Group, the insurance arm of Heirs Holdings, a leading pan-African investment company, serves both corporate and individual customers across Nigeria.

If there’s one part of the continental US that it’s been particularly hard to build out new intercity fiber, it’s what they call the Northern Tier. The lack of population density always made the business case hard to justify.  But in the era of hyperscalers and AI, that route is finally getting attention, and Lumen Technologies is looking to expand across it. … [visit site to read more]

Pasifik Satelit Nusantara (PSN) announced Monday that its long-awaited Nusantara Lima (N5) broadband satellite is now live and ready to connect underserved and unconnected regions across Indonesia, as well as the Philippines and Malaysia.

The Nusantara Lima satellite – which has been in the pipeline since 2022 and was finally launched in September last year – was built on the Boeing 702MP platform and carries a payload of 101 Ka-band spot beams covering all of Indonesia.

According to PSN’s web site, it has established seven ground stations in Aceh, Bengkulu, Banjarmasin, Cikarang, Gresik, Kupang, and Tarakan to support Nusantara Lima’s operations.

While the satellite is designed to provide supplemental coverage for PSN’s SATRIA-1 satellite, which began operations in 2024, the satellite operator said it will also play a “crucial role” in providing connectivity to Indonesia’s « frontier, outermost, and underdeveloped » (a.k.a. 3T) regions.

According to the government’s Antara news agency, PSN president director Adi Rahman Adiwoso said the satellite is also set to support national connectivity in the Philippines, while PSN is currently exploring its potential use in Malaysia.

PSN has already allocated some of Nusantara Lima’s capacity for use in both countries, which each getting access to 20 Gbps, the report said.

“This proves that our neighbouring countries prioritize connectivity independence amid current dynamics of global politics,” Adiwoso said at an inauguration ceremony on Monday, during which he also described Nusantara Lima as “an important symbol for our nation in maintaining our own national independence.”

Several bits of last mile news, a data center project, and some IX growth: … [visit site to read more]

UAE-based satellite player Space42 revealed on Monday it is ready to launch direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services via its geostationary Thuraya-4 satellite via a partnership with non-terrestrial network (NTN) firm Skylo Technologies.

Space42 said that Skylo’s 3GPP-compliant NTN platform has already been integrated with Thuraya-4 and is ready for commercial deployment. The two companies have also tested the platform by completing a bi-directional, real-time voice call on the network with no modified SIM and no changes to existing operator core infrastructure.

Space42 said that commercial deployment of Thuraya’s D2D service will begin across Thuraya-4’s coverage footprint across 37 countries on a rolling basis as it secures the necessary regulatory approvals and operator agreements in each target market.

“This partnership advances Space42’s strategy to become a global NTN leader, extending Thuraya-4’s reach through an interoperable connectivity layer that enables satellite and terrestrial networks to function as one unified system,” said Ali Al Hashemi, Space42’s CEO of space services, in a statement.

“Space42’s decision to select Skylo’s standards-based architecture for Thuraya-4 validates what we have built: a carrier-grade connectivity layer where satellites function as a natural extension of mobile networks, not a parallel system,” added Skylo co-founder and CEO Parthsarathi Trivedi.

Thuraya-4 – which went live in November 2025 after being launched into orbit earlier in the year – is designed to integrate seamlessly with terrestrial networks to support Space42’s broader strategy to develop and launch 3GPP-compliant D2D satellite services.

In September last year, Space42 and Viasat launched their Equatys JV, which aims to leverage 100 MHz of harmonized MSS spectrum already allocated across more than 160 markets to offer D2D services globally.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Gerry Christensen

The telecommunications landscape has reached a decisive turning point. For years, regulatory frameworks governing voice traffic operated largely on a model of passive observation and post-incident investigation. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) intervened where necessary, but the underlying infrastructure remained reliant on legacy protocols and “best-effort” compliance.

That era is over. … [visit site to read more]

Chinese satellite operator Guodian Gaoke has reportedly received a two-year trial licence from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) to offer LEO satellite-based IoT services in China.

According to a report from Yicai Global on Friday, citing a statement from MIIT, Guodian Gaoke will spend the trial period accelerating deployment and activation of its Tianqi LEO satellite constellation.

The MIIT said the pilot – which will be the first such pilot in China – will help the Chinese satellite IoT sector achieve economies of scale and establish an industrial IoT ecosystem, as well as a regulatory regime to govern it.

Guodian Gaoke already has 41 LEO satellites in orbit for the first phase of its global network, the report said. According to filings with the International Telecommunication Union, it plans to launch another 640 LEO sats in the second phase, with the total constellation comprising 3,918 satellites.

Guodian Gaoke has already signed a couple of international deals for its Tianqi constellation. In December last year, the company signed a trilateral agreement with African satellite communications provider Q-KON and Chinese satellite communication terminals and antennas specialist StarWin to roll out satellite IoT services across South Africa.

Guodian Gaoke and StarWin signed a similar agreement with Malaysian satellite operator MEASAT in October 2025.

ZTE Corporation and MediaTek, a global semiconductor company, unveiled a joint strategy at the 2026 ZTE Broadband User Congress. The two parties will expand premium connectivity product portfolios tailored for high-demand residential users and small businesses in Brazil, addressing their needs for advanced technology, comprehensive coverage, ultra-high speed and low-latency network performance.

During the meeting, the companies presented the benefits of tri-band Wi-Fi 7, which operates simultaneously on 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, and 6 GHz. The adoption of the 6 GHz band, in addition to the already established bands, reinforces the gain in capacity and stability, improving the experience in both homes and small businesses, especially in scenarios with multiple connected devices and higher density of Wi-Fi networks.

« In Brazil, there is a clear niche of consumers and businesses that need an above-average connectivity experience, with higher performance, lower latency, and more consistent coverage. Today, this consumer cannot find a direct, structured, and easy-to-acquire offer, » says Samir Vani, MediaTek’s Business Development Director for Latin America. « By treating all subscribers uniformly, many operators fail to capture value from an audience with a greater willingness to invest and end up missing the opportunity to increase the average ticket price and profitability of broadband services, » adds the executive.

Brazil’s broadband landscape features more than 20,000 fiber internet providers, leading to intense price competition and homogenized service offerings. Against this backdrop, ZTE and MediaTek regard premium connectivity as a key strategic enabler, helping local operators and ISPs build differentiated, sustainable value propositions.

« ZTE can strongly contribute to offering premium equipment geared towards this new level of experience, » says Phoenix Li, CPE Marketing Director of ZTE LATAM Division. « One example is the triple bands 4*4 XGSPON model, which can reach up to 4.6 Gbps in Wi-Fi SpeedTest and also features MLO (Multi-Link Operation) technology, a feature that helps deliver a more homogeneous experience throughout the home or professional environment, through the simultaneous use of multiple frequencies. »

The ZTE Broadband User Congress gathers senior industry leaders and professionals to discuss cutting-edge connectivity trends, broadband monetization strategies and the evolving role of Wi-Fi in shaping next-generation user experience.