Thai telco AIS and Malaysian telco Maxis signed MoUs with Singtel on Thursday to use its open API-based solutions suite that authenticates digital identities for consumer services – a day after the Bridge Alliance launched a new regional telco API exchange to facilitate such deals.

Under separate MoUs with Singtel, AIS and Maxis will use SingVerify to enable network-based authentication for mobile subscribers.

According to Singtel, SingVerify – which uses open APIs based on the GSMA Open Gateway framework – helps mitigate illegal account takeovers and unauthorised transactions that result from phishing and malware app scams. It also enables a smoother multi-factor authentication process as consumer’s digital identities are verified instantly and directly between the telco and service providers.

Singtel CEO Ng Tian Chong cited a recent report from LexisNexis Risk Solution, which found the overall attack rate for mobile apps in Asia Pacific is higher than the global average, with the majority being carried out by automated bots that target e-commerce payment transactions.

“The rise of ecommerce in the region has opened more avenues for digital fraud, significantly impacting consumers and businesses,” Ng said in a joint statement. “Together with AIS and Maxis, we can combat this rising digital fraud and protect our customers more effectively.”

The first two APIs to federated by AIS and Maxis include Device Location and Number Verify, the latter of which validates customers’ identities by matching their phone numbers with their registered account details on the service provider’s platform.

“The joint Number Verification API will provide businesses and platforms with a robust tool to domestically and regionally authenticate user identities through real-time phone number verification,” said Asnee Wipatawate, head of AIS’ Enterprise Telecom Technology Product Department. “By leveraging the combined strengths of those telcos, the API will offer a comprehensive and secure solution to protect against a wide range of fraudulent activities, including account takeovers, and phishing attacks.”

Wipatawate added that the Number Verification API will be made available to businesses across multiple industries, including financial services, e-commerce, and online gaming.

Singtel signed a similar MoU with rival telco M1 in March to combat digital fraud in Singapore, but this is the first time it has signed a federated telco API deal with overseas operators. Singtel also said the MoUs with AIS and Maxis mark “the first-ever international federation of Telco API in the world”.

Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific at the GSMA, said this is what the GSMA Open Gateway initiative was designed to facilitate, and is especially necessary when it comes to combating digital fraud and cyber attacks.

“Cybercriminals operate beyond national borders, so it’s vital that mobile operators and developers of digital services unify behind a common approach to fraud prevention wherever they are in the world,” he said.

Bridge Alliance launches BAEx API exchange

The API tie-up with Singtel, AIS and Maxis comes on the heels of the Bridge Alliance – of which all three are members – launching a regional telco API exchange for its 34 members on Wednesday.

The Bridge Alliance API Exchange (BAEx) leverages Singtel’s Paragon orchestration platform to aggregate its member operators’ APIs for network authentication, user verification and network quality. The Alliance says this allows enterprises and developers to streamline deployment of new services on member operator networks by accessing a common API framework that provides secure, consistent and on-demand access to telco network capabilities across multiple regions.

The BAEx also enables regional aggregation and standardisation of telco APIs utilising CAMARA APIs under the GSMA Open Gateway, said Bridge Alliance CEO Ong Geok Chwee.

“Bridge Alliance has been working closely with our member operators and industry partners to advance regional telco API federation, building on the momentum of the GSMA’s Open Gateway framework and CAMARA API standards,” Ong said. “With the newly-launched Bridge Alliance API exchange BAEx, our alliance has a timely opportunity now to lead the charge in serving the needs of enterprises in areas leveraging telco assets, such as network-based authentication.”

Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel has expressed its disappointment  at a recent decision by another government agency, the electricity-focused Aneel to, essentially, abandon plans discussed by the two regulators on the vexed topic of infrastructure sharing or, more accurately, pole sharing.

Aneel feels there should be a restart to the process of agreeing new regulations for the sharing of poles between the energy and telecommunications sectors, blaming discrepancies in the terms of the joint resolution that was presented to the regulators.

It’s hard to get a precise idea about what drove Aneel’s decision, but it appears to have been a response to a government decree – No. 12,068, of 2024 – which provided for the mandatory assignment of spaces on poles by energy distributors to third-party companies. Aneel was apparently against this measure.

Anatel has published a statement in which it points out that it approved, in October 2023, a proposed joint resolution on the subject, noting that this had been widely discussed with society through public consultation. Aneel’s response seems to have taken until this week to arrive.

Anatel calls the Aneel decision a setback that will have significant impacts on the expansion of the connectivity of Brazilians. It also refers to the poles as “essential infrastructure in the installation of cables used in various telecommunications services, especially internet access”.

Present infrastructure-sharing regulations between telecommunications and energy companies in Brazil have apparently not stopped ad hoc use of energy distribution poles by telecommunications operators – with all that this implies in terms of regulation and safety. 

That, it seems, is why Aneel and Anatel have been attempting to put together a workable system for the use of electricity poles, one that lays out conditions for infrastructure sharing between electricity and telecommunications companies and the price for the use of space on poles.

However, we now appear to be back to square one, as one news source puts it, with doubts about when the talks will actually resume.

In an announcement yesterday, T-Mobile and KKR announced a joint venture to acquire Metronet. The deal follows May’s announcement of a JV with EQT to buy Lumos, offering us a second data point on what seems to be the start of a residential fiber rollup by the ‘Uncarrier’. … [visit site to read more]

Digital infrastructure company Equinix has announced its planned entry into the Philippines with the acquisition of three data centres from Total Information Management (TIM), a technology solutions provider.

Equinix says the acquisition of the three high-performance data centres will provide capacity for it to address the digital needs of local and overseas businesses in the country. It says enterprises, cloud and IT service providers and network service providers around the world can leverage Platform Equinix  to interconnect and exchange data privately and securely within an ecosystem of business partners and customers.

Existing customers of TIM, including network and financial services companies, will also gain access to Equinix’s global ecosystems of more than 10,000 companies, including more than 2,000 networks and 3,000 cloud and IT service providers. The three carrier-neutral and interconnection-rich data centres include more than 1,000 cabinets of capacity and land for further expansion. 

As part of Equinix’s ambitious investment plans in the Asia-Pacific region, the company has plans to expand in new markets including Jakarta, Indonesia (with the JK1 data centre) and Chennai, India (CN1) later this year. With the capacity allocation by the government, Equinix will also expand its footprint in Singapore. 

Following recently announced expansions in Malaysia and Indonesia, Equinix says this strategic move into the Philippines aims to help businesses expand and capitalise on the digital opportunity of the fast-growing Southeast Asia region.

Reuters points out that most Southeast Asian countries present a favourable environment for data centre establishments, thanks to their strong growth potential, young, tech-savvy population, inexpensive land and labour expense, and favourable policies.

It adds that tech giants such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have already invested billions of dollars in the region to cater to the burgeoning demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing services.

Two international bits of infrastructure news, and two FTTH builds of domestic interest: … [visit site to read more]

Rijeka Gateway has announced a 5G standalone (SA) connectivity partnership with Croatian telecommunications company Hrvatski Telekom (HT), involving the adoption of what is described as a next-level private 5G campus network.

Rijeka Gateway is a port operating company which operates port facilities at the largest Croatian Port of Rijeka. A joint venture between APM Terminals and ENNA Group, it is a completely new, ground-up development, with no legacy LTE network. This, the company claims, will allow the terminal to become HT’s first installation to use SA architecture.

Rijeka Gateway, due to begin operations in 2025, will use the HT public mobile network for its predominantly remotely operated electric equipment. It says that electric container handling equipment will reduce environmental impact to the minimum and mitigate noise and pollution for the local community. 

Peter Corfitsen, CEO of Rijeka Gateway, explains: « The terminal in Rijeka will be the only terminal in this part of Europe with remotely operated cranes. Almost all equipment will be electric, and we are installing very advanced energy optimisation and overall terminal management systems. Quality and reliable communication infrastructure is a prerequisite for such operations, » he adds.

With a 50-year concession, Rijeka Gateway will serve as the main entry point for container traffic to the hinterland countries and markets of Europe and will play a crucial role in the development of the local economy.

In addition, Adriatic ports, like Rijeka, which is situated on the Kvarner Gulf, have become more prominent given they provide the shortest maritime link between Europe and the Middle and Far East. 

One new NOC and a bunch of vender wins from around the world. … [visit site to read more]

Malaysian mobile data service company U Mobile is back in the news only days after a Maxis buyout was reported. This time it is apparently planning a domestic initial public offering (IPO).

The IPO is expected to raise more than US$500 million as early as the first half of 2025, according to Reuters, quoting its own sources who suggest that U Mobile will file the IPO application to the regulator later this month, or in August.

The deal, if it proceeds, could be the largest IPO in Malaysia in nearly eight years, a deal that would value the firm at more than US$2 billion, according to Reuters’ sources. It’s been a long time coming: U Mobile has reportedly been planning to hold an IPO on the local stock exchange since 2014.

Proceeds raised will in all likelihood be used for mobile data network expansion, among other plans, though this has not been confirmed by the company, which says it will make announcements if there are any concrete developments.

The company also plans to be part of the tender to build Malaysia’s second 5G network.

Founded in 2006, U Mobile is Malaysia’s newest service provider. Figures are hard to come by but U Mobile is said to have crossed the 9 million subscriber mark last year. Maxis is just ahead at about 9.5 million subscribers, while the market leader, CelcomDigi, has about 20.4 million subscribers.

We reported last week that, according to Bloomberg, rival operator Maxis is in early-stage talks with U Mobile for a possible buyout deal to expand its network reach. However, the deal is apparently facing several major hurdles.

One network upgrade and three data center expansion projects: … [visit site to read more]

In the New York/New Jersey metro area there are a few iconic facilities that everyone in the industry knows.  One of those is Newark’s 165 Halsey, which has long been a key node in the region’s internet infrastructure, and which celebrated its 25th birthday in the telecom and infrastructure world this past spring.  With us today to talk about 165 Halsey and where it fits in the ecosystem is James Fitzgerald, EVP of Tishman Real Estate Services, which is the real estate investment and development firm that manages the facility. … [visit site to read more]