Russia’s government has blocked access to WhatsApp.

As reported by BBC News, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed that the decision was taken « due to [WhatsApp owner Meta’s] unwillingness to comply with the norms and the letter of Russian law ». Peskov added that the ban could be lifted if Meta complied with the law and engaged with Russia’s government.

Meta criticised the ban as a government bid to “isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication” by pushing them towards the state-owned messaging app Max, which it described as a “surveillance app” since it lacks end-to-end encryption. Meta argued that adopting Max would be a step backwards for users in terms of security.

Russian regulator Roskomnadzor this week also stated that it will further restrict access to the encrypted messaging app Telegram due to security concerns. The app is used widely in Russia, particularly by the country’s military forces, and the restrictions have been met with criticism by proponents of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, arguing that it has restricted communications on the ground.

Russia’s government has attempted to justify its actions on legal grounds, arguing that WhatsApp and Telegram have failed to comply with Russian law by refusing to store domestic user data locally. It has also denied suggestions that Max could be used for surveillance, with Peskov describing it as simply an “available alternative” for WhatsApp’s 100 million Russian users.

The Max platform is part of Russia’s efforts to create a domestic alternative internet, which were already underway prior to the country’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The state-backed platform is being heavily pushed within Russia through media, advertising, and government endorsements. Last year, Russian authorities ordered that all devices sold in the country should have Max pre-installed, and the BBC reports that public sector workers including teachers are increasingly obliged to use the app for their work.

Earlier this year, Russia’s state-run news agency Tass reported that WhatsApp faced a permanent ban in the market before the end of 2026. In 2022, parent firm Meta was designated an “extremist” organisation by Russian authorities, and its services Facebook and Instagram have since been removed from the country’s list of functional domain names, meaning they cannot be accessed in the market without a VPN (virtual private network).

Could the olive-growing industry be of benefit to data centre development? That’s a question that a new biomass-powered data centre planned in Croatia may be able to answer.

Croatian engineering solutions firm Inovapro says it is planning to develop a green AI data centre in Čaporice near Trilj, some 48 kilometres) northeast of Split, the coastal city that is the second largest in Croatia after the capital Zagreb.

The US$23.8 million project will total around 3MW. Construction work will begin soon and is due to be completed in the first half of 2027.

However, that alone isn’t what makes this facility newsworthy. After all the country has some 16 facilities from 13 operators, according to the Data Center Map website.

This facility, however, will be located at an energy park that will generate biomass power from waste from the olive industry, as well as waste from the tourist and hospitality industries.

As the Data Centre Dynamics news service explains, the agro-energy park in Čaporice would use waste material from olive growing. This is pomace, the pulpy residue remaining after fruit has been crushed in order to extract its juice. Most of the olive fruit is wasted after oil production and can be difficult to deal with due to acidity and toxicity.

There’s even a circular element to this, as heat from the data centre would be re-used by the energy park to dry out much of the olive pomace. Designed for a capacity of 12,900 tons of bio-waste per year, the plant is being built on a five-hectare site.

The news service Bioenergy Insight says that Inovapro, which specialises in rooftop solar systems, HVAC installations and other energy-related projects, is seeking co-financing from European Union funds to support the development.

It adds that the project reflects a broader trend of repurposing agricultural waste to meet the substantial energy demands of data centres, which require significant cooling and power infrastructure.

Cassava Technologies has cleared another regulatory milestone in South Africa for the sale of shares in its Africa Data Centres (ADC) unit to STANLIB Asset Management, a private equity firm backed by Standard Bank and Liberty Global.

South Africa’s Competition Tribunal said it has “unconditionally approved” STANLIB’s acquisition of a stake in Cassava Africa Data Centres South Africa. Following the transaction, STANLIB will hold joint control of the business, with the option to acquire sole control at a later stage.

The decision follows approval granted by the Competition Commission in January, which concluded the transaction was unlikely to substantially lessen or prevent competition in any market and raised no significant public interest concerns.

ADC, a subsidiary of Cassava Technologies, operates nine data centres across six African countries, serving around 400 enterprise and hyperscale customers.

STANLIB made an undisclosed investment in ADC in October, aimed at accelerating the expansion of the operator’s South African footprint to meet growing demand for digital infrastructure in the country.

Elon Musk has played down reports that Starlink is developing its own smartphone, pushing back on claims the satellite operator is seeking new revenue streams through a proprietary handset.

Reuters had reported that Starlink was exploring the idea of selling a phone with unique connectivity features designed to tap directly into its low-Earth orbit satellite network. Sources said details such as the device’s design and specifications were unclear, though the company had internally discussed the concept for several years.

Musk had previously fuelled speculation. Responding to questions on X about a potential “Starlink phone” in earlier comments, he said such a device was “not out of the question at some point,” adding it could be differentiated from existing smartphones by being “optimised purely for running max performance/watt neural nets,” a nod to AI-focused hardware efficiency.

However, Musk moved quickly to dismiss the latest report, posting on X that “we are not developing a phone,” casting doubt on whether the concept has progressed beyond early-stage discussions.

Rather than entering the crowded handset market, Starlink has focused on partnerships with mobile operators to deliver direct-to-device connectivity, allowing standard smartphones to connect to satellites without specialised hardware.

Beyond connectivity, Starlink’s parent company SpaceX continues to explore adjacent opportunities, including expanded direct-to-device services and a space-tracking offering, as it looks to monetise its growing satellite infrastructure without venturing into consumer device manufacturing.

Malaysian telco Maxis revealed on Thursday it has migrated its mission-critical workloads – including those for all of its digital services – from the Amazon Web Services’ (AWS) Singapore Region to the AWS Malaysia Region.

Maxis said that hosting workloads locally reduces latency for its digital services, including its Maxis and Hotlink apps, which means faster response times and a smoother experience for customers. 

The telco also said the move – which was carried out by its internal cloud engineering team – also drives operational efficiency and a more cost-effective operating model by eliminating cross-region data traffic, enabling Maxis to focus on value creation.

“By bringing our mission-critical workloads home, we are securing our data within Malaysia’s borders while improving efficiency to better serve our customers,” said Maxis CIO Ng May Ching in a statement. “This ensures our infrastructure is resilient and future-ready to support the nation’s digital agenda.”

Maxis’ chief enterprise business officer Prateek Pashine noted that bringing its cloud operations local reinforces the telco’s ability to help Malaysian businesses do the same. 

“We are well-positioned to help customers address data sovereignty requirements while delivering the fast, reliable, and secure connectivity they need for responsive performance,” he said.

« By building on the AWS Malaysia Region, Maxis’ successful migration demonstrates what’s achievable, and positions them to guide other Malaysian enterprises through their own cloud transformations,” added AWS Malaysia country manager Hussein Mohd Ali.

Maxis is an AWS Advanced Tier Services Partner and AWS Direct Connect Partner in Malaysia. AWS launched its Malaysia Region in August 2024.

The People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) Zimbabwe’s only 100% home grown savings bank, has announced a strategic collaboration with Mastercard to launch POSB Remit Outbound.

The service aims to provide a fast, secure and cost-effective way for customers in Zimbabwe to send money directly to bank accounts, mobile wallets and cash abroad.

Powered by Mastercard Move, a portfolio of global money movement capabilities, the service delivers a simple, transparent and fast way to send funds to 21 international destinations, including South Africa, the UK, the US, Canada, India, Australia and countries within Europe’s Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) region.

Mastercard says the launch of this service responds to a growing need for reliable outbound money transfer solutions, which play a vital role in supporting cross-border mobility, trade and investment. It says outbound payments are increasingly important for individuals and businesses to manage education expenses, medical payments, family support and commercial transactions abroad.

POSB Remit Outbound addresses this market gap by enabling outward remittances through a trusted, accessible channel. The service is available at all POSB branches nationwide, with transfers starting from as little as US$5.00. Funds are credited directly into recipients’ bank accounts, mobile wallets or cashout agents.

Gabriel Swanepoel, Country Manager, Mastercard Southern Africa, explains: “By combining Mastercard Move’s innovative money movement solutions and extensive reach with POSB’s trusted local presence, we are enabling Zimbabweans to move money securely and transparently, with the choice and speed they need to thrive in today’s connected economy.”

Mastercard Move spans 200 countries and territories, supporting transactions in over 150 currencies.

Outbound payments do appear to be a growing market in Africa lately. A few days ago we reported that MTN Mobile Money Zambia had launched a new service that enables customers to send money directly from their Mobile Money (MoMo) wallets to international bank accounts across countries in the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Papua New Guinea’s National Executive Council (NEC) – essentially its cabinet – has approved the Pukpuk Connectivity Initiative, which it has described as one of the most important digital infrastructure approvals in the nation’s recent history.

The approval relates to the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP) proposal for a USD$120 million package of three new international submarine cable connections for Papua New Guinea.

Called the Pukpuk (a word meaning crocodile) Connectivity Initiative, the project is structured around a multi-route undersea cable solution, designed to bring three additional international cable connections to serve different parts of Papua New Guinea – specifically to improve redundancy and reduce single points of failure.This proposal will apparently come at no direct cost to the Papua New Guinean state.

The advantages the government cites include better reliability – there will be fewer disruptions when faults occur on any single route – along with improved service quality and stronger, more stable connectivity.

Improved affordability over time is another claim for the initiative as well as better access to essential services; the stronger backbone connectivity should be able to support education, health, banking and digital government.

This initiative is also about positioning Papua New Guinea as a credible digital investment destination with stronger redundancy and predictable wholesale capacity, notably by boosting a data centre economy, all of which would also create new employment opportunities.

The country’s Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will work closely with AIFFP and national stakeholders to undertake the preparatory phase, including preliminary technical and economic assessments, identification of suitable cable landing sites, and coordination with central agencies, regulators, and prospective private sector participants. There will also be a focus on strengthened planning for security, resilience and operational continuity, consistent with national obligations and treaty-aligned commitments.

Related to this will be comprehensive consultation with the telecommunications industry and private sector on how best these new assets should be structured and managed – consistent with competition principles that support open and fair wholesale access; strong reliability and resiliency standards; long-term affordability for consumers and businesses; and investment certainty for future expansion.

A press conference has been promised for the last week of February to outline the implementation roadmap.

Although this is not directly referenced by the government announcement, the origin of the initiative appears to lie in a mutual defence agreement between Papua New Guinea and Australia, something we reported in December last year.

Telekom Srbija Group and its subsidiary Mtel are upgrading fibre connectivity between Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina using Ciena’s coherent optical technology, as the operator looks to boost cross-border capacity and prepare its network for rising data demand.

The upgrade will see Ciena’s 6500 packet-optical platform deployed on a new 150km fibre route between the two countries, enabling transmission speeds of up to 800Gb/s. Telekom Srbija said the higher-capacity, lower-latency link will support growing traffic from 5G services and hyperscale customers, while strengthening regional connectivity in Southeast Europe.

The project is being delivered in partnership with local systems integrator IGMAKO Smart Solutions.

Katarina Subotić, Chief Sales Officer at Telekom Srbija, said this is a “significant upgrade” to the operator’s network and enables it to launch “cutting edge technologies”.

Global smartphone revenues climbed to a record US$135 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, rising 7% year-on-year as higher prices and strong demand for premium devices offset ongoing pressure on shipments.

Counterpoint Research said the quarter marked the first time the average selling price (ASP) of smartphones crossed the US$400 mark, driven by consumers increasingly opting for higher-end models and rising component costs for manufacturers.

The analyst house said premiumisation remained the main growth engine for the market, with vendors benefiting from consumers upgrading to more expensive devices despite shortages of memory chips pushing up production costs. Demand for silicon from AI servers and accelerators has tightened supply, feeding through into higher handset prices.

Counterpoint senior analyst Shilpi Jain said the combination of higher ASPs and resilient consumer demand delivered a “positive quarter” for the industry. “Consumers continued to upgrade to higher-priced devices in both developed and emerging markets, where year-end promotions, financing options and trade-in offers helped drive value growth,” she said.

Apple was the clear standout, delivering its strongest fourth quarter since 2021 and generating US$76 billion in revenue, up 11% year-on-year. Research director Jeff Fieldhack said growth was largely driven by the iPhone 17 series, with the Pro Max variant posting the strongest year-on-year performance. Demand remained strong across North America, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.

Apple accounted for 57% of total smartphone revenue in the quarter, up from 54% a year earlier. Samsung followed in second place with an 11% share, unchanged year-on-year, while Oppo and Vivo each captured 5%. Xiaomi accounted for 4% of total revenues.

Looking ahead, Counterpoint warned that rising component costs could weigh on volumes in 2026. Research director Tarun Pathak said ASPs are expected to continue climbing as premiumisation deepens and demand grows for AI-enabled features, but elevated memory prices and broader cost pressures will likely squeeze shipments. “Vendors will increasingly need to focus on value growth

and portfolio optimisation rather than chasing volume,” he said.

Indian telco Bharti Airtel announced on Thursday it is giving all of its 360 million customers free access to Adobe Express Premium for a year.

Adobe Express (formerly Adobe Spark) is Adobe’s content creation tool with AI-powered features like instant background removal, custom image generation, and one-tap video editing, premium Adobe Stock assets, over 30,000 professional fonts, 100GB cloud storage, and advanced features like auto captions and instant resize, with seamless sync across devices.

Airtel said its partnership with Adobe enables its customers to produce professional-quality content, regardless of their design experience. The offer targets everyone from creators, influencers and students to SMEs, entrepreneurs and marketers, as well as ordinary consumers. Adobe Express supports English, Hindi, Tamil and Bengali.

The Adobe Express Premium subscription – which Airtel says normally costs INR4,000 (US$43.50) a year – will be available to all Airtel customers, including mobile, Wi-Fi and DTH customers. Customers can access the subscription by logging on to the Airtel Thanks App, with no credit card requirement.

« This partnership is about more than technology. It is about empowering millions of Indians with cutting-edge AI tools to create and innovate,” said Siddharth Sharma, CEO of connected homes and director of marketing at Bharti Airtel, in a statement. “From a student crafting their first resume to a small business owner designing a poster or a creator editing videos for followers, we want to empower every Airtel customer with the tools for self-expression.”