A new collaboration aims to explore a dedicated on-site power generation solution of up to 1.5 gigawatts (GW) for a new data centre development in Selangor, within the Greater Kuala Lumpur region in Malaysia.

DayOne Data Centres, a global digital infrastructure platform headquartered in Singapore, has announced a collaboration with Malaysia’s TNB Power Generation, the wholly owned power generation subsidiary of Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB).

This announcement builds on a longstanding partnership between the two companies, which includes collaborating on DayOne’s campuses in Johor and national green energy programmes, including the Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS) and the Green Electricity Tariff (GET).

By combining DayOne’s digital infrastructure expertise with TNB GenCo’s power generation capabilities, the partners say they will look into solutions that support national grid security and reliability, while serving the needs of large-scale data centre operations and future AI infrastructure growth.

As for more precise details, the partners say the final capacity, configuration and implementation model remain subject to feasibility assessments, definitive agreements and applicable regulatory approvals.

By integrating dedicated on-site power generation and a battery energy storage system (BESS) directly with its data centre infrastructure, and working closely with TNB and other industry partners, DayOne says it aims to contribute to greater energy resilience, more efficient use of power infrastructure, and the accelerated adoption of renewable and lower-carbon energy solutions.

DayOne adds that Malaysia has been one of its most important growth markets since the company launched its first Malaysian campus, Nusajaya Tech Park (NTP), in 2023, followed by Kempas Tech Park (KTP) in 2025, both in Johor.

DayOne’s new Selangor development marks its continued expansion in the Greater Kuala Lumpur region. The company says it expects its cumulative investment in Malaysia to reach over RM28 billion (about US$69.2 billion) by the end of 2026.

Some news from around the industry: … [visit site to read more]

ICT giant ZTE, and BBTEC, a telecommunications and engineering service provider in Thailand, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic framework to explore business opportunities in AI digital infrastructure, data centre infrastructure and energy solutions in Thailand.

The partners say the MoU framework marks an important step for both companies to assess how ZTE’s global technology expertise can be aligned with BBTEC’s local engineering resources, network infrastructure capabilities and market presence.

Under the terms of the MoU, ZTE and BBTEC intend to explore potential collaboration in such areas as high-performance AI server hardware integrated with liquid cooling thermal designs. They will also assess green energy solutions and energy management solutions and look at data centre network infrastructure, optical transport, IP networking systems, and related software solutions.

In addition the MoU includes exploration of joint market engagement and technical feasibility assessments for potential projects in both the public and private sectors.

As AI adoption and data-intensive applications grow in Thailand, both companies say they recognise the rising demand for efficient computing, data centre capacity, and resilient energy systems. Through this strategic framework, ZTE and BBTEC aim to identify potential joint solutions that can address these market requirements.

Zhang Yanmeng, CEO of ZTE Thailand, explains: « Thailand is entering a vital phase of digital infrastructure growth. Through this MoU with BBTEC, we look forward to exploring how our global technology portfolio can combine with BBTEC’s strong local engineering capabilities to contribute to a more connected and sustainable infrastructure landscape. »

Four interesting items, two from across the pond and two from out west: … [visit site to read more]

This Industry Spotlight was authored by Dario Betti, CEO, Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF)

On 12 September 2026, the second presidency of Donald Trump reaches its 600th day. While the political debate around the administration often focuses on tariffs, immigration, and geopolitics, telecom has quietly become one of the sectors most affected by the policy shifts of the last 18 months. … [visit site to read more]

Malaysian telco Maxis announced that it has officially been appointed by Melaka ICT Holdings (MICTH) as its strategic infrastructure partner to accelerate deployment of fibre backhaul to telecom towers in the state of Melaka.

Under the agreement signed on Thursday, Maxis will upgrade MICTH-owned towers, transitioning them from microwave backhaul to advanced high-capacity optical fibre.

The agreement is part of Melaka’s plan to strengthen its digital infrastructure by expanding fibre-optic connectivity to 80% of telecoms towers, as opposed to 40% now. The Maxis-MICTH project aims to upgrade 151 towers with an investment of around MYR30 million (US$7.4 million).

Maxis said the deployment will create a robust digital backbone capable of supporting faster, more reliable, and secure 4G and 5G services while enhancing overall network performance throughout Melaka.

Maxis and MICTH also intend for the fibre network to transform the towers into key access points for future expansion of broadband services into surrounding residential and commercial areas.

As part of the deal, Maxis will also use the fibre network to offer wholesale mobile backhaul services to other mobile operators to foster competition.

« By fiberising these sites, we are laying the foundation for a future-proof ecosystem,” said Maxis CEO Goh Seow Eng in a statement. “This network offers the scalability needed to meet the exponential rise in data demand, providing the high-speed, low-latency backbone that mobile connectivity and AI traffic demands.”

MICTH CEO Dr. Nazdiana binti Ab Wahab said the agreement underscores the importance of public-private collaboration in strengthening Melaka’s digital infrastructure.

“Strategic collaboration with Maxis will accelerate the migration of MICTH-owned telecommunications sites from microwave-based connectivity to high-capacity fibre networks, enhancing network performance and supporting growing digital demands across the state,” she said.

This agreement builds on an MoU signed by MICTH and Maxis in October 2024 to enhance broadband connectivity across Melaka.

Melika’s Chief Minister Ab Rauf bin Yusoh said the initiative supports the state’s Smart Melaka Blueprint 2035, which calls for development of a “digital highway” as a key foundation for IoT, AI, smart cities and the digital economy.

Underlining the strategic importance of international cable connections to the country, India is reportedly looking at ways to reduce delays in approvals for submarine cable repairs.

One of these is a single-window portal platform proposed by the Department of Telecommunication (DoT). The platform would bring agencies involved in the clearance process onto one system, including shipping authorities, the Coast Guard and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

As the Moneycontrol news service points out, although telecom operators are the main players affected by cable faults, many repair permissions sit with diverse government bodies.

The initiative was announced earlier this week. However, there will be a number of stages to be completed before it becomes a reality. The DoT expects to finish a proposal for the portal in about two months. Then will come approvals, procurement and tendering, with March 2027 identified as a tentative implementation target. An information technology agency under the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) is expected to participate in the process.

A number of reports also suggest that  India is working to build a domestic submarine cable repair sector. According to Indian news service Communications Today, there are currently no Indian-flagged or Indian-owned cable repair vessels; the country depends entirely on foreign fleets based in Singapore and Dubai. Repair turnaround typically takes four to five months.

The DoT has apparently opened discussions with industry players on developing repair capabilities within India, though it reportedly wants the substantial investment in specialised vessels and supporting infrastructure to come from industry rather than from government.

One potential option involves retrofitting exist vessels rather than building from scratch, cutting the time taken to commission new vessels, which can be as much as three to four years.

In the short term, however, developing a single window portal meant to bring multiple agencies onto a common platform and streamline the repair approval process seems to be the priority.

This activity comes at a time when he country’s subsea network has grown to around 19 international cables and roughly 193 Tbps of lit capacity. Demand for high-capacity, low-latency international connectivity is expected to continue growing.

Claro Colombia is investing US$25.5 million in 2026 to expand and upgrade its Triara data centre in Bogota and Megacenter facility in Medellin, as demand for cloud, AI and data processing capacity increases.

According to BN Americas, the investment forms part of US$123 million that Claro Colombia has committed to its data centre infrastructure over the past five years.
Around US$14 million of this year’s investment will be used to expand capacity and upgrade infrastructure, while a further US$11.5 million will be directed towards cybersecurity platforms and services.

The investment will add technical space, replace critical equipment and increase power capacity at the facilities, with Claro targeting growing demand for cloud services, advanced analytics, artificial intelligence and intensive data processing.

Claro Colombia president Rodrigo de Gusmao said the company is increasingly positioning itself as a technology provider rather than solely a connectivity operator.
The company claims its data centre infrastructure accounts for around 50% of installed capacity in Colombia, with its facilities used by around 80% of financial institutions, 50% of companies and 30% of government entities.

The data centres currently host more than 1,500 racks and 14,000 virtual machines, while handling more than 500,000 cybersecurity events each month.
Triara also hosts Oracle’s Colombian cloud region, following a 2022 agreement that included a US$25 million investment from the US technology company.

Pakistani operator Jazz has reached 1,000 5G sites across the country, claiming the largest 5G network footprint in Pakistan as it targets more than doubling its coverage by the end of 2026.

The Veon-owned operator said its 5G network currently covers 10 cities, with plans to increase the number of sites to 2,500 by the end of the year.

Jazz GSM president Kazim Mujtaba said reaching the 1,000-site milestone demonstrates the operator’s commitment to delivering faster connectivity and improved digital services to customers.

Jazz CTO Khalid Shehzad said the scale of the rollout required a network capable of supporting different connectivity requirements across the country, with the operator combining multi-band spectrum, advanced radio technology and modernised infrastructure to increase coverage and capacity.

Jazz acquired 190MHz of spectrum across four bands – 700MHz, 2300MHz, 2600MHz and 3500MHz – in Pakistan’s 5G spectrum auction earlier this year, taking its total spectrum holdings to 284.4MHz.

The rollout follows Jazz’s pledge to invest US$1 billion in 5G following the auction. The operator said it has invested around US$12 billion in its Pakistani business to date.

Pakistan’s telecoms market has also undergone significant consolidation, with Norwegian operator Telenor selling its Pakistani operation to Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL). PTCL subsequently absorbed the Telenor business under its Ufone brand.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Juho Sarvikas, CEO of Inseego

Each generation of wireless has had a breakthrough moment, a single application that justified the upgrade and captured public imagination. 2G gave us Short-Message Service (SMS). 3G brought mobile internet to the masses. 4G built the smartphone ecosystem, putting everything from ridesharing and mobile banking to streaming in the palm of our hands. Each of these “killer apps” gave operators a clear story to tell: Build the network, and this is what you’ll get. … [visit site to read more]