Every major release tells a story about where a platform is headed. With v8, the story is about integration, openness and connectivity. 

More CRM systems working in parallel, more AI providers deployable without extra infrastructure, real-time call events feeding directly into the automation tools your customers already use, and a unified codebase bringing gloCOM Desktop and Web closer together than ever before.

v8 touches many layers of the platform: how CRM data flows across departments and devices, how contact center capabilities reach customers who never needed a full CC migration, how AI moves from a conversation topic into something partners can actually deploy and bill for.

Over twenty years, PBXware has grown from a voice PBX into a communication and collaboration platform. v8 is the release where that growth becomes most visible, not because of one breakthrough, but because of how many things now work better together.

In this post, we walk through the pillars of v8 and what they mean for partners building and growing their UC business.

AI That Works The Way You Do

The Voice Of The Future – The AI Voice Agent

One of the standout features of v8 is the AI Voice Agent. It allows for a customer-oriented, AI-driven experience, delivered in a consistent tone (configured by the administrator in the back) that can help guide callers through a conversation by answering questions it was designed to, transfer the call to a more qualified department depending on the nature of the issue, and even end calls when a conversation completes successfully.

In addition, the AI voice agent can be given access to an MCP server which connects the AI Agent to external services, expanding its utility even further.

In order to track the efficiency of the AI Agent, we’ve also ensured that their calls are logged just like any other agent’s would and have made them distinguishable from human agents on the CDR page.

AI Agents used in business environments provide numerous benefits: from automating the menial tasks in order to divert the company workforce and its resources toward more complex initiatives, to improving overall customer satisfaction and achieving the ultimate goal – supporting a wide range of use cases across various industries and verticals.

The Home For All AI features – The AI Hub

In previous editions, we’ve introduced our first suite of AI features: Call Recording Transcription and  AI Voice Greeting Generation but the issue was trying to find them amidst everything else that the Bicom Platform had to offer.

With v8, we are consolidating them all under a new tab, the AI Hub, alongside the new AI Agent feature, as well as the AI Providers setting to make it easier to find, configure, and interact with our newest AI tools.

Per Tenant AI Providers

Another significant advancement introduced with v8 to PBXware is the change from per feature to per tenant AI providers.

This setup enables you to have both billing and advanced usage statistics per tenant (on the AI side) by using a different API key per tenant, ensuring better operational insights and more accurate billing. 

Live Call Transcription

Provide more accessibility to calls with Live Transcription, enabling real-time speech-to-text for calls routed through an extension, ERG or Queue.

When enabled, PBXware captures live call audio and streams it to supported AI transcription services (AWS Transcribe, Deepgram, Google Speech, or OpenAI). Transcription results are generated continuously during the call and forwarded in real time to a configured WebSocket callback endpoint, ensuring instant availability of live text data.

This enables users to follow conversations as they happen, improving accessibility, monitoring, and integration across business workflows. 

Event Publisher

v8 introduces Event Publisher, a standout new feature of this release. It allows users to integrate their own backend server and handle call event data exactly as needed, giving them full control over how information is processed.

With real-time event delivery, any change in call flow creates an event instantly, eliminating the need for custom workarounds, polling, or delays, and enabling faster and cleaner integrations as well as a more responsive call architecture.

Works with tools you already use, connecting with popular low-code and no-code automation platforms.

Your PBX is no longer just recording activity.
It’s driving it.

CC Lite

Gain access to Contact Center’s enhanced monitoring and reporting capabilities across all editions, with main focus on PBXware MT and Business, through CC lite.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsI8GzFmLpoIt enables non-CC users to experience some of CC edition’s best features like: Wallboards and additional ERG dashboards (gloCOM web & Desktop), Scheduled Reports for ERG and Extension statistics, and the ERG callback feature.

This allows you to upsell key Contact Center capabilities on a per-tenant basis without migrating entire customer bases to the CC edition, helping you protect margins by avoiding additional licensing and infrastructure costs. Additionally, you can retain customers in a multi-tenant environment while effectively supporting small and growing contact centers that need greater visibility without added complexity. 

A New CRM Integration Module

v8 also introduces a new, completely redesigned CRM Module, available in gloCOM Web and the new gloCOM v8 Desktop app.

What this solves for you and your customers:

• No more choosing one CRM for all departments
• No more shared CRM credentials or permission conflicts
• No more missed conversation logs, or customer history
• No more custom workarounds for multi-CRM environments

It comes with a few key improvements like: supporting multiple CRM integrations per tenant and per system depending on edition, flexible authentication methods, permission groups, automatic conversation logging for both Voice and Messaging channels, a unified CRM widget and a configurable CRM data model.

It is intended to provide improved flexibility, stability and UX across the board and to exist alongside the legacy CRM integration module to ensure full backwards compatibility.

CRM Routing

Another improvement coming to CRMs is CRM Routing which introduces inbound call routing dependent on real CRM data instead of static IVR logic, and allows incoming calls to be automatically directed based on customer information stored in connected CRM systems.

Admins have full flexibility in rule configuration when defining what happens when a recognized customer calls within PBXware.

Additionally, the feature works consistently across all supported CRM integrations.

This eliminates the need to standardize on a single CRM across departments, removes reliance on shared credentials, and ensures complete, accurate conversation histories without missed logs. All of this while also doing away with custom workarounds previously required to support multi-CRM environments, ensuring faster CRM deployments and less support tickets to manage. 

Stereo Call Recordings

With v8, the Stereo Call Recordings Feature is out of Beta and is available to everyone, allowing them to record each side of the conversation on separate audio channels which helps greatly enhance AI transcription accuracy, general training and improves CRM integration.

Taking the next step forward with gloCOM NEXT

Version 8.0 has also focused on big changes with the Web & Desktop versions for the new gloCOM App, giving them a modern touch-up. Now, you can keep everything within reach with a unified codebase and CC features available on both platforms.

It also features the new ‘Unified Contacts’ functionality which replaces the legacy Central Phonebook and introduces a more structured visibility model for more robust contact management alongside the aforementioned CRM integration module.

gloCOM NEXT also allows you to fully brand your desktop app with your own colors with changes visible in real-time through the BRM, helping improve your white-label offerings and shortening go-to-market cycles.

Keeping Up To Speed With Regulations – Custom Middleware Enablement For Dispatchable Locations

Like with every release, the Bicom Platform has also been updated to comply with the latest regulatory requirements – Ray Baum’s act in particular.

By introducing support for custom middleware apps in the “Dispatchable locations” setup process, partners can now seamlessly integrate with providers that require location data to be registered and validated on their platforms.

This approach enables synchronization of dispatchable location information between PBXware and trunk providers, even with each of them using a different API, ensuring consistency and resulting in a more adaptable, user-friendly solution.

And More…

These are only some of the more standout changes that have been introduced with the release of 8.0. Here are a few more notable inclusions:

• The ability to automatically log out the plugin on gloCOM for Teams when the Teams desktop app is closed to stop the user from receiving calls(disabled by default).
• The Call Parking enhancement on gloCOM GO (iOS and Android), which allows users to park active calls directly from the call screen without having to dial an extension code.
• The addition of Concurrent Archiving which utilizes multiple workers (configurable at any given time on the admin side) in order to process call recordings as they’re offloaded.

As always, plenty of other bug fixes, quality of life changes and feature updates have also been implemented to ensure smoother workflows and less tedium during app interaction.

These changes should further enhance your experience with the Bicom product suite as a whole, as well as make your work easier going forward.

We look forward to seeing your feedback on these new additions and hope that the changes in v8 have increased your overall enjoyment of our products. If you have any extra questions, feel free to Contact Us.

Veon’s Ukrainian telco Kyivstar announced on Wednesday it has expanded its collaboration with LEO satellite player Starlink with a new agreement to resell Starlink’s broadband services and hardware for businesses and public sector institutions.

The deal enables Ukrainian businesses, as well as public schools, universities, hospitals, and community clinics, to purchase Starlink Kits and high-speed internet services from Starlink directly through Kyivstar using local currency.

Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov said that adding Starlink to its portfolio enables it to offer businesses a fully integrated, multi-layer connectivity stack, which promises to close coverage gaps in remote or infrastructure-constrained environments where reliable high-speed internet is both scarce and commercially valuable.

“This strengthens the resilience and efficiency of Ukrainian companies,” he said in a statement. “In addition, we plan to develop joint offerings that combine Starlink’s satellite services with Kyivstar’s core telecom services, providing businesses comprehensive solutions backed by high reliability and support.”

The deal builds on Kyivstar’s existing cooperation with Starlink Mobile to provide direct-to-cell (D2C) satellite connectivity for Kyivstar’s 4G customers. Kyivstar commercially launched that service at the end of November 2025.

“With combined Starlink and terrestrial network services available, Kyivstar is creating differentiated offerings that enhance business resilience and operational continuity, which are strategic priorities that drive long-term value for all stakeholders,” said Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu.

Veon also aims to launch Starlink Mobile in Bangladesh and Kazakhstan via its operators Banglalink and Beeline Kazakhstan.

MTN Nigeria’s margins reportedly face a potential US$87.5 million hit as diesel prices rise, a situation that may have been exacerbated by the war in Iran, although the removal of fuel subsidies in 2023 has also played a part.

Now, according to ITWeb Africa, the operator is intensifying its transition to gas-powered infrastructure to protect network operations from Nigeria’s deepening energy challenges.

Estimates suggest that MTN Nigeria consumes more than 40 million litres of diesel yearly to power thousands of base stations, data centres and switching facilities nationwide; in fact diesel accounted for a little over 58% of the company’s total energy consumption in 2025.

Power from gas (about 23.6%) and the grid (about 18%) made up most of the rest. Renewable energy contributed only 0.05%. In fact energy can take up nearly 40% of telecom operating costs in Nigeria but fuel price volatility and weak grid infrastructure are ongoing issues.

Beyond Nigeria, according to a report from the AP news service, diesel powers the majority of Africa’s estimated 500,000 telecommunications towers, but fuel prices and other challenges such as transport logistics, theft and maintenance are forcing a rethink, especially in off-grid areas where energy can account for up to 60% of operating costs for telecom towers.

Thus, says AP, across the continent, mobile network operators are increasingly adopting hybrid systems that combine solar panels, battery storage and limited diesel backup. Some, it suggests, are aiming for fully solar-powered sites over time, particularly in rural and off-grid areas; investments in alternative energy systems may even be accelerating as early results show significant savings. And of course solar-powered towers are less vulnerable to fuel shortages and generator failures.

This does beg the question of why the switch to renewables is not yet more advanced. However, if there is one upside to the Iran conflict, it may be to underline the fact that using renewable energy systems for towers means fuel price volatility is less of a problem.

Such systems could even enable faster and more cost-effective expansion into underserved areas, and, of course, if they are more reliable, renewable-powered towers could also improve service stability.

Satellite operator Speedcast’s Brazilian operation, SC CapRock, says it has developed and implemented a hybrid solution for mining company Mineração Taboca to provide more resilient connectivity for its operations in a remote area in the Amazon.

The multi-orbit solution combines geostationary satellite, LEO satellite and Speedcast’s proprietary Sigma platform that acts as an intelligent band aggregator, allowing the management and combination of multiple links in real time.

Speedcast said the solution was initially implemented as a pilot project with three terminals. It has since been expanded to four terminals, serving two distinct locations and numerous users simultaneously.

Taboca’s existing infrastructure in the mining area is based mainly on fibre optics with its own hydroelectric plant on site. The new architecture gives the company an extra connectivity option to enable its infrastructure to minimise interruptions and further support its operations, said Bruno Moreira, IT manager at Taboca.

« In an operation like ours, connectivity is directly linked to the continuity of activities,” Moreira said in a statement. “The solution brought even more stability and predictability to support our demands.”

SC CapRock director André Gustavo SantAnna said the project is the first project in the North region to use that specific configuration with Sigma Speedcast, enabling the link aggregation technique to optimize performance, expand capacity and ensure redundancy.

“This project is a clear example of how the combination of different technologies, combined with an intelligent layer of management, allows relevant gains in performance and resilience, especially in remote regions,” he said.

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.