At the end of last week, one of the biggest metro and regional fiber deals in recent years finally closed. Zayo has finished off its purchase of Crown Castle’s fiber business, adding some 90K route miles of dense metro fiber to its own reach and connectivity into 40K enterprise locations. The deal brings to something of a conclusion the metro rollup I’ve spent the last decade and a half keeping an eye on. … [visit site to read more]

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Sunday it will back two new initiatives priced at US$70 billion total to connect power grids, expand cross-border electricity trade and improve broadband access across Asia and the Pacific.

The Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative aims to connect national and subregional power systems so that renewable energy can flow across borders, while the Asia-Pacific Digital Highway promises to help close the digital infrastructure gap and enable the region to benefit from AI-driven growth.

The lion’s share of that investment will go towards the Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative, although digital infrastructure projects – particularly data centres – also stand to benefit from better access to interconnected renewable energy.

For the Power Grid Initiative, the ADB said it will work with governments, utilities, the private sector and development partners to mobilise US$50 billion by 2035 for cross-border power infrastructure that can unlock renewable energy at scale.

The initiative will focus on transmission and grid integration, including cross-border lines, substations, storage, and grid digitalization. It will also support power generation linked to electricity trade, including renewable energy export projects, regional renewable hubs, and hybrid generation-storage facilities.

The ADB aims to integrate about 20GW of renewable energy across borders, connect 22,000 circuit-km of transmission lines, improve energy access for 200 million people, create 840,000 jobs, and cut regional power sector emissions by 15% – all by 2035.

The ADB said it plans to finance about half of the US$50 billion from its own resources and raise the rest through cofinancing, including from the private sector. Up to US$10 million in technical assistance will support efforts to align regulations, adopt common technical standards, prepare feasibility studies and advance other work needed for major projects.

The ADB said the Power Grid Initiative builds on existing subregional cooperation initiatives, including the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation program, the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation grid interconnection planning, the ASEAN Power Grid, and the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Energy Strategy 2030.

US$20b for digital infrastructure

Meanwhile, the ADB’s Asia-Pacific Digital Highway Initiative will mobilise US$20 billion by 2035 to finance digital corridors, data infrastructure, and AI-ready economies.

Investments will focus on connected infrastructure, including terrestrial and subsea fibre networks, satellite links and regional data centres. The ADB said it will also provide policy and regulatory support, including on cybersecurity risk management, and invest in skills programs to strengthen digital and AI readiness.

By 2035, the initiative aims to provide first-time broadband access to 200 million people and faster, more reliable digital connectivity for another 450 million people across the region. It is projected to cut connectivity costs in remote and landlocked areas by about 40% and help create 4 million jobs.

The ADB expects to finance US$15 billion of the initiative from its own resources and raise US$5 billion through cofinancing, including from the private sector.

The initiative also calls for the establishment of a Centre for AI Innovation and Development in Seoul, which will be backed by a US$20 million contribution from the South Korean government. The ADB said the centre will promote responsible and inclusive AI adoption and help train about 3 million people in digital and AI-related skills by 2035.

“Energy and digital access will define the region’s future,” said ADB president Masato Kanda in a statement. “These two initiatives build the systems Asia and the Pacific need to grow, compete, and connect. By linking power grids and digital networks across borders, we can lower costs, expand opportunity, and bring reliable power and digital access to hundreds of millions of people.”

Both initiatives were revealed at the ADB’s annual meeting in Samarkand, Uzbekistan on Sunday.

Sierra Leone is ramping up efforts to strengthen digital infrastructure through satellite-enabled solutions, as part of a wider strategy to expand nationwide connectivity.

Speaking at a parliamentary stakeholder meeting in Freetown, Minister of Communication, Technology and Innovation Salima Monorma Bah said that despite around $400 million in investment and backbone expansion to 14 of 16 districts, a 60% usage gap remains.

She highlighted satellite technology as key to reaching underserved areas and improving reliability when combined with existing broadband networks. Bah also urged greater infrastructure sharing among operators to cut costs and boost affordability.

The government is also advancing plans for a second subsea cable, backed by $15 million, to increase international bandwidth and improve network resilience.

Stakeholders, including the National Communications Authority and mobile operators, backed a multi-layered approach combining fibre, subsea and satellite infrastructure to support digital growth.

MTN Nigeria has secured shareholder approval to sell its stakes in fintech subsidiaries MoMo Payment Service Bank and Yellow Digital Financial Services to parent company MTN Group.

Local media reported that shareholders met on April 30 and passed a resolution authorising the transfer of shares to the parent company. The move is aimed at easing the burden of capital investment while allowing MTN Nigeria to focus on its core telecoms operations.

Under the deal, MTN Group will invest around NGN152 billion ($110 million) to acquire a 60% controlling stake, with MTN Nigeria retaining the remaining 40%. The operator said the fintech businesses have strong potential, but the level of capital required to scale them was considered steep.

The transaction is expected to close by December 31, subject to regulatory approvals.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Prakash Mana, CEO of Cloudbrink

Enterprise leadership teams today operate with increasingly sophisticated models for understanding financial risk. Revenue variability, supply chain dependencies, regulatory exposure, and cybersecurity threats are all quantified, tracked, and regularly discussed at the board level. Over the past decade,
… [visit site to read more]

Hyperscale data centre platform AirTrunk has announced plans to invest about US$3 billion to develop two new data centres in Malaysia, to be called JHB3 and JHB4.

Located in Iskandar Puteri in Johor, JHB3 and JHB4 will have a combined capacity of more than 280 megawatts (MW) of IT load and will be located close to the company’s existing JHB1 campus, opened in 2024 and planned JHB2 campus.

Between the four campuses in Malaysia, AirTrunk will have more than 700MW of IT load, bringing AirTrunk’s total committed investment in Malaysia to approximately US$6.8 billion.

These campuses will be purpose-built to support high-density cloud and AI workloads, featuring a flexible, scalable and resilient design. The designs prioritise energy efficiency, operating at significantly lower power usage levels than conventional data centres. The campuses will also include advanced cooling systems that utilise 100% recycled water, minimising any impact on local resources.

AirTrunk’s current expansion follows its announcement of JHB2 campus in early 2025, which has already garnered strong commitments from its existing global cloud and AI customers. The existing JHB1 and JHB2 campuses (totalling more than 420MW of IT load) are almost 100% contracted and tracking well ahead of investment plans. AirTrunk is planning further expansion in Malaysia post JHB3 and JHB4.

This expansion follows AirTrunk’s recent announcement of its entry into India, supported by its planned investment of more than US$5 billion into the Indian market in the near term.

The development of JHB3 and JHB4 is expected to generate significant economic benefits for Johor and Malaysia, including creating more than 3,000 jobs during construction, ongoing employment to local talent once operational, and partnerships with local suppliers and contractors to support regional industry.

A bit of M&A, a colo expansion, and two bits of FTTx expansion news: … [visit site to read more]

Malaysian telco U Mobile has partnered with Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to enable seamless 5G-Advanced indoor coverage in high-traffic commercial and lifestyle locations in Kuala Lumpur.

Under the partnership deal announced on Tuesday, U Mobile will deploy and manage its 5G-A in-building coverage (IBC) system in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur, Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Pavilion Tower, Pavilion Elite, Banyan Tree Kuala Lumpur, Intermark Mall and Pavilion Bukit Jalil, which rank as some of KL’s busiest retail, commercial and hospitality spaces.

U Mobile said the IBC solution – which will complements the broader 5G infrastructure within the properties – will improve network performance and provide reliable indoor connectivity for those properties. For end users, that could translate into smoother digital experiences for things like navigation, payments and real-time services throughout the buildings.

U Mobile added that the IBC infrastructure in Pavilion REIT properties is designed to support multiple mobile operators.

As part of the project, U Mobile will also collaborate with Pavilion REIT to explore 5G-A use cases to support digitalisation of their building operations, such as security monitoring, smart sensors and parking solutions.

“By enabling more reliable indoor coverage, we are better positioned to support the evolving needs of our tenants, business partners and visitors, while advancing smarter and more responsive building operations,” said Pavilion REIT CEO Phillip Ho in a statement.

U Mobile – which won the rights to become Malaysia’s second 5G operator in November 2024 – has made indoor coverage a cornerstone of its 5G strategy since launching its Ultra5G service in August 2025.

To that end, U Mobile has signed on Edotco, EdgePoint Infrastructure and OCK Telco Infra (a subsidiary of Malaysian telecoms network solutions provider and regional towerco OCK Group) as preferred 5G IBC partners.

“[We] believe in prioritising deep in-building coverage to ensure that customers experience seamless, high-performance connectivity wherever they are whether indoors or outdoors,” said U Mobile CTO Woon Ooi Yuen. “This allows us to support not just everyday usage, but also more advanced, business-critical applications that require consistency, reliability and scale.”

Digicel PNG has reportedly signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea’s National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA) to deploy 4G services to rural communities around the country.

According to a report in Papua New Guinea newspaper The National on Tuesday, Digicel PNG will roll out 4G infrastructure in underserved and rural areas including parts of Oro, Gulf, Morobe, Bougainville and Southern Highlands.

The NICTA agreement was awarded via the National Procurement Commission Board as part of the government’s commitment to bridge Papua New Guinea’s digital divide and enable access to digital services, including education, healthcare and financial services, the report said.

“When people and communities are connected, they gain access to digital services needed for education, healthcare, financial services, and economic participation,” Digicel PNG acting CEO Abdallah Nassar was quoted as saying.

Nassar also said the agreement highlighted the benefits of public-private sector collaboration to advance the country’s digital transformation, the report added.