The Zambia Tourism Agency (ZTA) and operator Airtel Zambia have signed what the two groups describe as a landmark memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance tourism planning and development using anonymised telecommunications data.

The aim of this strategic collaboration is to provide critical insights into visitor movement trends, enabling data-driven decision-making to promote and develop Zambia’s tourism sector.

In order to make this happen, Airtel Zambia will supply aggregated and anonymised data on traffic movement in designated tourism areas. The company emphasises that it will also ensure full compliance with data privacy regulations and maintain strict confidentiality for subscribers.

By analysing these insights, ZTA says it will gain a clearer understanding of visitor trends, peak travel periods, and mobility patterns, ultimately leading to more effective tourism strategies and policies.

ZTA Chief Executive Officer, Mr Matongo Matamwandi, explains: “In the tourism sector, performance is typically measured through international tourist arrivals, domestic tourist visits, tourism receipts, hotel occupancy rates, length of stay and tourist spending. While the Ministry of Tourism is currently working on a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) to provide a more structured measurement of the sector’s contribution to GDP, ZTA has sought alternative methods to measure domestic tourism performance. This partnership with Airtel will enable us to access domestic tourism data through mobile phone analytics, supplementing existing data sources from heritage sites, museums, and national parks, which do not provide a comprehensive picture of domestic tourism activities.”

Among major attractions in Zambia are the Zambezi River, safari experiences, and, of course, Victoria Falls.

Zayo has won the competition to acquire Crown Castle’s fiber business, fulfilling the rumors that have been spilling out since January. On Friday, the infrastructure provider announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Crown’s fiber assets, customers, etc for $4.25B. Meanwhile, in a parallel but separate deal, EQT will acquire Crown Castle’s small cell business. … [visit site to read more]

With the rise of AI has come vast investments in new data centers around the world.  But still getting less attention is how all that AI infrastructure will be connected to itself and to everything else.  But network operators are definitely gearing up to take on the challenge.  With us today to talk about GTT’s approach is Gary Sidhu, SVP for Product Engineering. … [visit site to read more]

At MWC Barcelona 2025, ZTE won the « GSMA Foundry Innovation Award » at the GLOMO Awards 2025 for its Minimalist Private 5G-A solution.

The award demonstrates ZTE’s technological leadership and outstanding contribution to the digital transformation of the cultural and entertainment industry, and further indicates its unlimited potential in future live broadcast transformation.

The annual GLOMO Awards represents the industry’s most prestigious accolade. With a judge panel comprising over 260 global analysts, media professionals, and industry experts this year, the GLOMO Awards 2025 celebrates individuals and companies that drive innovation and showcase excellence in the rapidly growing mobile industry. The minimalist private 5G-A solution integrates 5G-A micro base station, namely MiCell, with NodeEngine – a base station computing engine, enabling efficient and reliable deployment of private networks, injecting new momentum into entertainment services, and successfully earning this prestigious recognition. For instance, in large-scale VR experience scenarios, users no longer need to carry heavy equipment to enjoy stable, real-time VR rendering. In the media broadcasting industry, photographers can completely free themselves from cable constraints, flexibly capturing live footage.

MWC Barcelona 2025: Creating a 5G-A Wireless Broadcasting Milestone

During MWC 2025, ZTE collaborated with GSMA’s official media platform Mobile World Live (MWL) to achieve the first 5G-A-powered expo live broadcast. In this partnership, ZTE deployed the minimalist 5G-A private network architecture, providing high-performance signal coverage through indoor MiCell micro stations, and ensuring footage continuity during camera movement using their exclusive 5G-A SuperMIMO technology.

On-site test revealed an average wireless air interface latency of just 4ms, with end-to-end service latency (including encoding and decoding) under 100ms, delivering picture quality indistinguishable from wired solutions. The MWL directing team exclaimed: « Photographers can freely move around to capture footage, making viewers feel as if they’re actually there – this is a revolution in broadcasting technology! » Additionally, the NodeEngine enabled « one-hop » from the shooting site to the broadcast center, eliminating the necessity of public network transmission and effectively enhancing both transmission efficiency and security. This broadcast not only validated 5G-A’s high reliability but also showcased the unlimited possibilities of wireless broadcasting to the world.

5G-A Minimalist Private Network: Technical Architecture and Wireless Evolution Path

The core of ZTE’s 5G-A solution lies in using « simplification » to solve complexity. Traditional private network deployments require independent core networks and complex wiring, while ZTE’s solution reuses existing 5G base station infrastructure, deeply integrating millimeter wave, edge computing, and cloud computing technologies to achieve lightweight deployment with « 0 additional core network. »

This architecture reduces deployment costs by 40% while supporting uplink speeds of up to 2Gbps per camera and maintaining stable end-to-end latency at the 100ms level, perfectly accommodating 4K/8K ultra-high-definition broadcasting requirements. For example, during the 2025 CCTV Spring Festival Gala broadcast, the 5G-A distributed MiCell and NodeEngine deployed throughout the studio worked collaboratively, enabling « one-hop » data transmission to the broadcast center with an average air interface latency of just 4ms. This completely eliminated the challenges of switching between wired and wireless systems, successfully achieving the first-ever 4K wireless broadcast on television screens in the Gala’s 43-year history.

Certainly, the success of this technology is inseparable from ZTE’s continuous investment in R&D. In 2024, its R&D expenses reached 24.03 billion yuan, accounting for 20% of revenue. This high-intensity innovation investment has provided solid support for the commercial implementation of 5G-A technology.

Furthermore, the core of ZTE’s 5G-A Minimalist Private Network solution lies in « simplification » and « efficiency. » Its characteristics can be summarized in three points:

1. Minimalist architecture: Multi-scenario 5G-A devices can be selected as needed to quickly achieve high-quality network coverage; NodeEngine offers plug-and-play functionality, significantly reducing private network deployment costs and time frames.
2. Outstanding performance: Supports uplink speeds of up to 2Gbps per camera with end-to-end latency at the hundred-millisecond level, fully meeting 4K/8K ultra-high-definition broadcasting and switching requirements.
3. Security and reliability: Data is locally offloaded without public network transmission, and the dedicated network mode has gained high recognition in the broadcasting industry.

Throughout the evolution from traditional wired to wireless broadcasting, ZTE has consistently been a leader. From the first vertical screen wireless broadcast experiment at the 2024 CCTV Spring Festival Gala, to achieving television 4K wireless broadcasting in 2025, to the commercial implementation of multi-camera at the Malaysia National Games, each step marks the broadcasting industry’s journey from « fixed » to « free. »

5G-A Broadcasting Technology in Depth: The Synergistic Evolution of Light Compression Codec and Computing Engine

The innovative highlight of ZTE’s 5G-A broadcasting technology lies in the synergy between « shallow compression codec » and « base station-level computing engine. » If the minimalist architecture is the skeleton of 5G-A, then the « shallow compression codec » and « computing engine » are its nerves and blood vessels. Shallow compression technology preserves original image quality with a 1:10 compression ratio, increasing single-camera bit-rate to 880Mbps at 4K resolution, while the computing engine enables real-time data processing through edge computing. The combination significantly reduces transmission pressure, lowering bandwidth requirements by 80% compared to traditional wireless solutions without compromising image details.

In this process, the base station-level computing engine plays an indispensable role. The NodeEngine achieves data offloading through edge computing, compressing encoding/decoding and transmission latency to the hundred-millisecond level. During the Hangzhou Asian Games, this technology combined with 1.6GHz ultra-wide bandwidth equipment allowed one single base station to support dozens of 8K live broadcasts with a downlink peak rate of 25Gbps, providing foundational support for XR immersive viewing and multi-angle switching. The « integrated computing-network nomadic base station » jointly launched by ZTE and China Telecom can be rapidly deployed in temporary venues to meet the sudden demands of large events. Technical officials from the Asian Games Organizing Committee described it as « redefining the flexibility of smart venues. »

From the Spring Festival Gala to the International Arena: the Global Practice of 5G-A Wireless Live Broadcast

The success of the technology has effectively promoted the expansion of the market, and domestic successful cases have laid the foundation for the technology to go overseas. In 2024, the vertical screen live broadcast of the Spring Festival Gala jointly organized by ZTE and CCTV won the double first prize of the « Blooming Cup » Competition hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and the judges evaluated it as « the perfect balance of picture quality and efficiency ».

In 2025, CCTV Spring Festival Gala used 5G-A wireless camera for the first time for large-screen 4K TV live broadcast, marking the biggest technological breakthrough in 43 years. The 5G-A minimalist private network deployed by ZTE covers the entire venue through MiCells, 5G-A Super MIMO technology ensures zero switching of camera movement, and AI beam tracking achieves accurate signal guarantee.

In terms of technical details, 4K shallow compression codec enables a single camera bit rate of 880Mbps and an air interface delay of only 4ms. The technical director of the station revealed: « The wireless camera and the wired camera work together seamlessly, and the audience can’t even tell which images are from wireless shooting. » In addition, the three 4K wireless cameras deployed in the corridor outside the studio provide multi-angle interviews and live broadcasts for many media.

On the international stage, the 2024 Malaysia National Games (SUKMA) is a key event. ZTE, in conjunction with CelcomDigi and U Mobile, has achieved the first wireless live broadcast of national-level events, with seamless multi-camera images. RTM (Radio Televisyen Malaysia) commented: « This is a milestone in the history of sports broadcasting. »

At the opening ceremony, the photographer walked around the stadium with a 5G-A backpack, and the 6-hour live broadcast was always smooth. Ahmad, technical director of the RTM, said: « The wireless camera allows us to capture perspectives that were previously impossible, such as close-ups of athletes’ sprinting feet and enthusiastic reactions from the audience. » During the event, ZTE’s solution also supported low-altitude drone aerial photography and multi-camera follow-up shooting of water events, presenting an « immersive viewing feast » for the audience.

During the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, ZTE and China Telecom cooperated to build the world’s largest 1.6GHz bandwidth 5G-A network. A single base station supports dozens of 8K live broadcasts, with a downlink peak rate of 25Gbps. In the venue, the dynamic collaborative Reconfigurable Intelligent Surface (RIS) optimizes signal coverage, and XR services support immersive viewing for thousands of people.

It is worth mentioning that the « integrated computing-network nomadic base station » launched by ZTE can be quickly deployed in temporary venues to meet the sudden needs of large-scale events such as the opening ceremony. The technical official of the Asian Games Organizing Committee commented: « 5G-A not only improves the quality of live broadcasts, but also promotes the comprehensive upgrade of smart venues. « 

Unlimited Possibilities: from Stages to the Future of Thousands of Industries

The mature commercial use of ZTE’s 5G-A live broadcast technology has brought far-reaching impacts to industries such as entertainment, sports, education, and tourism. At the same time, we have noticed that the value of 5G-A technology is far more than the stage and the stadium.

The technology also extends to low-altitude economy, Internet of Vehicles, telemedicine and other fields. In the field of low-altitude economy, the tele-sensing integrated base station jointly developed by ZTE and Nanjing Telecom has realized the real-time return and precise positioning of drone aerial images; in the Internet of Vehicles scenario, the « 5G-A vehicle-ground system » of Shanghai Metro Line 4 has a carriage return rate of 15Gbps, laying the foundation for smart transportation. Even education, tourism, medical care and other fields have ushered in innovation due to the ubiquitous connection and ultra-low latency of 5G-A – museum visitors can immerse themselves in exhibitions through AR glasses, and doctors performing remote operations can get nearly real-time operation feedback.

From the podium in Barcelona to the stadium in Kuala Lumpur, from the studio in Beijing to the smart venue in Hangzhou, ZTE’s 5G-A minimalist private network and live broadcast technology continue to break boundaries and reshape the global live broadcast ecosystem with the « Innovative wireless solution ».

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Rajiv Papneja, CTO of Prodapt

Expect many enterprises to realize ROI from their AI investments

This year will be about taking the AI impact from Proof to Value. Businesses will lay a sharp focus on measuring the impact of AI adoption. A new range of customer success KPIs will emerge. For example, … [visit site to read more]

Ericsson revealed on Thursday it has signed a strategic partnership with TIM Brasil to consolidate and modernize its billing systems using Ericsson’s cloud-native billing solution.

The partnership will see TIM Brasil and Ericsson consolidate multiple platforms and unifying systems across the telco’s consumer, corporate, and fixed customers segments. The Ericsson billing solution will be deployed on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, with a public cloud deployment model.

By consolidating its billing systems into a single, converged platform, TIM says it aims to enhance system performance, streamline operations, and simplify its architecture.

Ericsson said the cloud-native solution offers improved infrastructure optimization, bolstered security, and continuous product lifecycle management, integrating accounting, debt collection, and roaming functionalities into one cohesive platform.

Ericsson added that the solution also employs AI to enhance billing accuracy for hybrid services, such as fixed and mobile, which will reduce integration complexity.

“Our goal with Ericsson is to explore new innovative business models that require high computational performance combined with accuracy – and, most importantly, to create value and make life easier for our clients » said TIM Brasil CIO Auana Mattar in a statement.

Nokia announced on Thursday that it has signed a three-year deal with Indian telco Vodafone Idea to enhance and expand its IP backhaul network with IP/MPLS solutions across multiple telecom circles in India to boost 4G and 5G network performance.

Vodafone Idea aims to densify its network with more IP routers and replace its legacy networks, with the goal of lowering operational costs and enabling faster deployment and seamless scalability for future technologies, thus ensuring a more efficient and cost-effective network infrastructure.

Under the agreement, Nokia will supply its latest portfolio of IP/MPLS products, including the 7750 SR and 7250 IXR series, to modernize the core, aggregation and access layers of Vodafone Idea’s transport network.

Nokia said this will give Vodafone Idea a robust, scalable and future ready network that can handle increasing data traffic from emerging data-hungry services like AI and immersive gaming, as well as the continued need for business video conferencing and access to digital services.

The deployment also integrates advanced planning, design, installation, and migration services, supported by automation-based documentation, Nokia said. No financial details were disclosed.

Vodafone Idea CTO Jagbir Singh said the upgraded network will address growing demand for high-capacity and resilient connectivity while ensuring sustainability through reduced opex and energy-efficient solutions.

“The state-of-the-art solutions from Nokia and their proven deployment capabilities will enable us to build a future ready transport network,” he said in a statement.

The news comes five months after Nokia landed a network contract (reportedly worth US$1.6 billion) in October 2024 to modernise and expand Vodafone Idea’s 4G network – to include 5G upgrades – over the next three years.

An expansion, an upgrade, a venue, and a new speed trial: … [visit site to read more]

China Unicom and Huawei co-hosted an innovation summit during Mobile World Congress 2025, themed 5G-A Empowering, AI Transforming, Digital Living.

At the summit China Unicom unveiled its AI Unites All plan, which envisages utilizing AI agents to comprehensively upgrade its home cloud and achieve full convergence of AI across a range of personal and home scenarios. Senior representatives from the operator and its partners gathered on stage for a signing ceremony to launch AI Unites All during the summit.

AI Unites All was introduced by Jian Qin, General Manager of China Unicom who outlined the operators’ latest 1+1+N innovations and best practices which comprises converged architecture, plus converged agent, plus converged services.

According to Jian « China Unicom remains committed to technological innovation as our guiding principle, actively embracing the Al revolution, and contributing ‘Unicom Intelligence’ and ‘Unicom Solutions’ to global smart transformation. With forward-looking planning and sustained investment in Al, we prioritize integrated innovation across five pillars: computing infrastructure, network connectivity, data resources, model development, and application scenarios. Our goal is to lead and drive the convergence of Al technologies and industrial applications. »

Welcoming the initiative, Louise Easterbrook, CFO of the GSMA highlighted the alignment of China Unicom’s vision to the goals of the GSMA Open Gateway Initiative. As AI becomes mainstream the potential for it to enhance operations is rapidly increasing, as evidenced by the 37 industry-specific AI models China Unicom has built in the past year with its own large language model (LLM).

Easterbrook noted the rapid development and use of AI LLMs highlights the need for a Responsible AI Roadmap and an agreed set of Open Telecom LLM Benchmarks which the GSMA is currently promoting. Summarising the relationship between 5G and AI she said: “We are halfway through the 5G story and at the beginning of the AI story… it feels like a moment in time.”

Yang Chaobin, Huawei Board Member and CEO of the ICT Business Group said that that Huawei looks forward to working with China Unicom to support their AI Unites All strategy. « We will do this by facilitating a wide range of intelligent user applications with the latest AI technologies. This will allow China Unicom to create new AI service portals with a global impact and make intelligence more inclusive for all, » he said.

As a strategic partner of China Unicom, Huawei and China Unicom maintain close cooperation and work together on converged AI innovation to seize new business opportunities in the AI era. Both parties have built a cloud-based AI service platform for individual and home users, combining cloud, computing, networks, and devices for a unified AI service portal.

For example, during the Asian Winter Games, China Unicom launched personalized and cloud-based AI phones with the AI assistant named Tone. The product uses mainstream foundation models and 5G-A networks to provide users with a consistent experience in all scenarios and secure and reliable AI services. Huawei and China Unicom have also been using AI to empower sectors like government, healthcare, and manufacturing, as well as cultural and creative industries, making network experience more secure, reliable, flexible, scalable, efficient, and collaborative.

China Unicom has also been actively engaged in advancing synergy between AI and networks. For smart home services, China Unicom has been a leading player in whole-house fibre broadband. The carrier launched the industry’s first HI-CON (Home Intelligent Collaborative Optical Network) communications system that features optical and Wi-Fi collaboration. This system is powered by an intelligent scheduling algorithm that greatly improves overall network experience for home users.

Wang Limin, SVP Marketing, China Unicom, discussed how the AI Unites All initiative will drive unified communication by applying AI powered digital intelligence to provide innovation in networks, technology and services simultaneously. This will, Wang said, enable operators to transition from being communications service providers to become technology service providers and to provide more convenient and efficient services to customers. Operators should integrate network technology and services by using AI tools such as Deep Seek for converged innovation.

Hao Liqian, DGM & SVP Government & Enterprise, China Unicom outlined the scale of growth for AI, which he said is estimated to account for 3.5% of global GDP by 2030. In addition, Hao shared China Unicom’s new vision for AI, which comprises implementing an integrated innovation strategy to provide accessible computing which is available everywhere and to everyone like water, to provide intelligence everywhere like chips, and to bridge the gap between data and knowledge with computing.

Meng Shusen, CEO, China Unicom Global, focused on how China Unicom believes that open collaboration with a range of global organisations will help accelerate global technology innovation. China Unicom Global’s Hong Kong based Innovation Research Institute leads international collaboration efforts with universities, research organisations and global enterprises, through activities taking place worldwide, including in Sao Paolo, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Dubai and Singapore, as well as at multiple locations throughout the Chinese mainland.

According to Meng, international collaboration on 5G-A and AI will strengthen global interconnection and build a strong network infrastructure base, promote the secure flow of data and strengthen global data governance and trust, develop the Open Gateway open ecosystem, share green and low-carbon technologies to promote sustainable development and promote AI for Good.

Representatives from other ecosystem partners including Edward Tiedemann Jr., SVP, Qualcomm Technology, Roger Suess, CEO, Green, and David Joosten, Director, Vodafone Business International rounded off the summit, with presentations on topics including energy use and sustainability, where collaboration between AI and 5G-A delivered by the AI Unites All initiative will drive innovation.

At Mobile World Congress 2025, China Unicom and Huawei co-hosted an innovation summit focused on the impact that 5G-A and AI will have in transforming our digital lives.

A key reveal at the summit was China Unicom’s AI Unites All Plan, which showcases the operator’s innovative practices in the AI field as it seeks to begin a new era of development in an intelligent world. As part of this, China Unicom outlined its plans to utilize AI agents to comprehensively upgrade its home cloud and achieve full convergence of AI across individual and home scenarios.

Jian Qin, General Manager of China Unicom Group, explained that the operator has meticulously established a fully-converged AI system and successfully developed three digital and intelligent products: data-AI convergence products, AI-powered intelligent customer service model, and AI-enabled cloud-network connectivity for intelligent computing.

“China Unicom remains committed to technological innovation as our guiding principle, actively embracing the Al revolution, and contributing ‘Unicom Intelligence’ and ‘Unicom Solutions’ to global smart transformation”, said Qin.

Yang Chaobin, Director and CEO of the ICT Business Group, Huawei, added: « We look forward to working with China Unicom to support their ‘AI Unites All’ strategy. We will do this by facilitating a wide range of intelligent user applications with the latest AI technologies. This will allow China Unicom to create new AI service portals with a global impact and make intelligence more inclusive for all. »

Chaobin revealed that Huawei will collaborate closely with China Unicom to develop an AI cloud service platform for individuals and homes. By synergizing cloud, computing, network, and terminal resources, both parties aim to establish a unified AI entry for individuals and homes. During the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, both parties officially released the AI cloud phone and launched the AI Agent Tone for individuals. In the future, they will cooperate to create diverse ecosystems, enriching cloud applications and content.

China Unicom has developed an AI service platform, C&H Converged Agent, based on its Unicom Cloud. This platform focuses on unifying the network architecture, experience, AI, and data. The unified architecture helps aggregate and distribute capabilities to efficiently provide AI services across the entire network, while unified experience supports converged AI services across devices and applications. By combining AI services with carrier networks, service experience is enhanced, while data unification helps integrate the data of home scenarios. Furthermore, intelligent data algorithms will be employed to customize high-quality services for individuals and homes alike.

Based on the AI service platform, China Unicom has developed an AI Agent called Tone, which serves as a digital twin for users. It can accurately understand user intent and integrate multiple applications to seamlessly cater to user needs. China Unicom also provides an open platform for partners, which supports efficient aggregation with third-party models and applications like DeepSeek, building flexible business models.

Furthermore, China Unicom’s cloud phone, as a new AItoX entry, is an important measure for inclusive AI computing power. The cloud phone not only retains all functions of traditional smart phones, but also employs the AI Agent Tone to provide users with a cloud-based digital life, including when it comes to privacy, security, entertainment, and office tools.