Press Release

LONDON, UK – The subsea cable industry’s most influential regional gathering, Submarine Networks EMEA, returns to the Business Design Centre in London from 27–28 May 2026. With over 1,250 senior leaders and 150 speakers, the 2026 edition comes at a pivotal moment as the industry navigates the increasing demands of AI and a complex global security landscape. 

AI and the subsea backbone  

Headlining this year’s event is the keynote panel exploring “How is AI shaping the subsea industry’s future?” This session will explore how the global surge in AI is fundamental altering subsea cable route planning and investment strategies. Featured on the panel is Thomas Hardy, Deputy Director of the US Trade and Development Agency, who will provide a crucial public sector perspective on how the drive to remain competitive in the AI era is shaping national digital infrastructure strategies. Deputy Director Hardy will be joined by speakers from Zayo Europe, Assured Communications, EXA Infrastructure, Equinix and Pioneer Consulting. 

Deep Dive: Subsea Security Summit & Expo  

New for 2026, the Subsea Security Summit, co-located with the main event, offers a dedicated theme of content focused on strategies for protecting the world’s most critical infrastructure. Key sessions for 2026 include: 

• Choosing the right technology to secure, protect and monitor subsea infrastructure: An evaluation of the latest in fibre sensing, AIS tracking, and satellite monitoring to prevent cable strikes and sabotage. 

• Assessing the risks to subsea cables and understanding the consequences: A strategic panel focused on identifying cable vulnerabilities, differentiating between the risks, and understanding the impact of faults and damage. 

The latest news on global subsea activity 

Back by popular demand are the News in Brief sessions, a series of quick-fire updates offering attendees a comprehensive snapshot of global cable projects, new connectivity hubs, and regional market shifts in a condensed, “need-to-know” format. 

Shaping the industry’s future 

This year, we are introducing Subsea Foundations content, with sessions specifically designed to support those who are new to the industry. These sessions will provide a high-level overview of any key aspects of the subsea sector, including legal and commercial, engineering, maintenance and regulation.  

Additionally, we are partnering with the SubOptic Association and the ESCA NextGen Subgroup to bridge the talent gap and will be featuring a dedicated networking event for early careers professionals, uniquely designed to match those starting out in their subsea careers with senior executives for mentorship and career guidance. 

Finally, we’re delighted to announce the SubOptic Foundation as our 2026 Charity Partner and will be supporting them with raising funds to continue their work to advance education, inclusion, and collaboration across the industry.  

“From the impact of AI to the evolving geopolitical landscape and its impact on cable protection and resilience, the 2026 programme reflects the shifting priorities of the submarine cable industry,” said Kerry Merritt, Head of Content at Total Telecom. “We’re really looking forward to the event next week which will bring the global subsea industry together in London for these essential conversations.” 

Registration is now open at https://www.terrapinn.com/conference/submarine-networks-world-europe/index.stm. 

About Submarine Networks EMEA Produced by Total Telecom, Submarine Networks EMEA is the region’s leading subsea connectivity event. It provides a platform for operators, investors, and technology partners to collaborate on the infrastructure that powers the global internet. 

Media Contacts: 

Kerry Merritt. Email: Kerry.Merritt@totaltele.com 

Halle Dockerill. Email: Halle.Dockerill@totaltele.com 

News

The approval will provide EchoStar with a much needed windfall

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and Space Bureau have granted approval to EchoStar to sell its spectrum to SpaceX and AT&T.

EchoStar agreed to sell 50MHz of spectrum in the 3.45GHz and 600MHz bands to AT&T for around $23 billion in August last year. This was followed in a month later by a $17 billion sale of 65MHz of AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licences to SpaceX.

AT&T, which is already using the spectrum in question to improve its network performance for mobile and fixed wireless access (FWA) customers under a licencing deal with EchoStar, will be required to accelerate its 600MHz network deployment.

SpaceX, on the other hand, has received FCC waivers that would allow it to use the spectrum for terrestrial, space-based, or hybrid services.

EchoStar’s spectrum saga, perhaps confusingly, has its origins in the 2020 merger of T-Mobile and Sprint.

As part of the deal’s regulatory conditions, EchoStar’s sister company Dish Mobile agreed to buy Sprint’s mobile virtual network operator Boost Mobile, pledging to become the fourth national mobile operator (MVNO). It soon became clear, however, that this was merely a pipe dream, with Dish failing to build the required network infrastructure and struggling under substantial debt.

Ultimately, this led to EchoStar merging with Dish in 2023, with the move largely seen as an attempt to balance the books for both companies. EchoStar was thus left with a large tranche of spectrum that it would struggle to use.

The spectrum sale, therefore, represents a significant financial lifeline for EchoStar. In September, EchoStar said it expects to hold around $24.1 billion in total cash after the deal, which it will use to repay debt.

Following the deal, EchoStar will still offer mobile services to customers via a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement with AT&T.

Keep up to date with all the latest news with the Total Telecom newsletter

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Edotco Malaysia said on Friday it has deployed a new fixed wireless access (FWA) solution in Uma Lesong, Sarawak that it’s also pitching as a viable and scalable model for other underserved communities in geographically challenging areas.

The solution – which was first piloted in August 2025 – uses a combination of fibre and LEO satellite backhaul for extra flexibility. It also supports mobile-to-Wi-Fi connectivity, which enables user devices to automatically switch from 4G and 5G to Wi-Fi when they move out of cellular coverage range.

Following the successful pilot, residents are now provided with free Wi-Fi internet access of up to 5GB per user monthly, with additional usage options available through affordable top-ups.

Uma Lesong is a longhouse community of around 1,200 residents across 10 blocks within a valley surrounded by dense forest and hills. While the village is located only 1.45 km from the nearest telecoms tower, the terrain creates severe connectivity challenges, said Uma Lesong’s chief, Huvat Laing.

“Most of the villagers here are elderly, while many of our children work and live in other parts of Sarawak. Before this, many of us had to walk or travel more than one kilometre away from the village just to get a mobile signal or internet connection to contact our families. During emergencies, communication was extremely difficult,” he said. “Our grandchildren also struggled with online learning because connectivity was unreliable. This initiative has brought a huge change for our community, and we are very grateful that Uma Lesong is finally connected.”

The FWA solution was developed by Edotco and its Sarawak-based partner Kejuruteraan Rasshin, and supported by technology partners VSD Communications and Aminia.

Edotco group CEO Adlan Tajudin said the project in Uma Lesong reflects a “fundamental shift » in how rural connectivity challenges are addressed, and presents a scalable, cost-efficient blueprint for nationwide deployment to accelerate rural connectivity across Malaysia.

“For too long, rural connectivity has been constrained by geography. What we are demonstrating in Uma Lesong is a shift – from building more infrastructure to designing smarter solutions that work even where infrastructure cannot,” he said.

Five network and infrastructure items from around the globe to catch up with: … [visit site to read more]

NEC and its subsidiary Netcracker Technology have completed the acquisition of US software company CSG Systems International, strengthening their telecoms software and digital services portfolio.

The deal combines Netcracker’s OSS, BSS and AI-driven automation capabilities with CSG’s customer engagement, payments and business support software business.

Following the acquisition, Netcracker will oversee the integration and operations of CSG, while NEC will provide strategic and governance support. Netcracker chair and CEO Andrew Feinberg has been appointed chairman and CEO of the combined business.

The companies said the merged platform will focus on AI-driven automation, cloud-native software and digital service management aimed at telecoms, broadband and digital service providers.

NEC CEO Takayuki Morita said the acquisition strengthens the company’s global digital services business and enhances its ability to provide end-to-end solutions for operators undergoing digital transformation.

Netcracker CEO Andrew Feinberg added that the combined business would create a more integrated platform spanning customer engagement, monetisation and operations, while helping operators adopt more AI-driven business models.

The Kenyan government has given social media platform X, formerly Twitter, three months to establish a physical presence in the country.

Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Digital Economy William Kabogo has explained that X is currently operating under temporary authorisation while compliance talks continue.

According to ITWeb Africa, Kabogo told senators on Wednesday that the requirement forms part of broader efforts to enforce child protection and content moderation standards on platforms with large audiences in Kenya.

The argument appears to be that if a company has offices in Kenya and is accused of issues arising from its platforms, it can then be held accountable in that country.

In addition, it seems that an expanded framework has been granted to the regulator the Communications Authority of Kenya, which can now suspend the operations of digital platforms that breach local rules or fail to comply with directives issued through the country’s communications governance structure.

Other social media platforms are apparently facing heightened scrutiny, including TikTok and Meta.

There is a wider context to this; the growing influence and reach of social media in Kenya. In fact in early May the Media Council of Kenya, an independent national institution established for the purposes of setting, and ensuring compliance with, media standards, published its State of Media 2025 Survey (available at the MCK website) which revealed that social media has overtaken television as Kenyans’ primary news source. Indeed, 39% of respondents cite it as their main platform.

Television followed at 31%, radio at 19% and other sources made up the remainder. Overall, 74% of Kenyans now use social or digital media platforms for news.

Access to social media is dominated by mobile phones; the figure here is 91%. WhatsApp (19.8%) and Facebook (18.2%) are still the most popular platforms, followed by TikTok (14.9%) and YouTube (12.3%).

More than half of Kenyans do not regularly visit news websites, underscoring the fact, as the survey puts it, that social platforms have become the primary gateway to news.

Ericsson, China Mobile and Chinese handset maker Oppo revealed on Wednesday they have successfully tested network slicing at the consumer device and app level on a live 5G Standalone (SA) network.

The test – which was carried out on China Mobile’s commercial 5G SA network in the city of Dezhou in Shandong province – leveraged existing network capabilities, and covered application scenarios including uplink for livestreaming, short video download and upload, multiple functionalities with AI-powered glasses, and providing a robust connection for mobile gaming.

For example, the application-level slicing test detected when short videos or uplink livestreams were buffering on Oppo devices, which then automatically notified the user and offered to switch the traffic to a dedicated slice for better connectivity if the user agreed to do so. Combined with radio resource partition, network resources were prioritized and allocated to short-video or uplink livestreaming apps.

China Mobile said slicing option enables uplink livestreaming and short-video to achieve a more than a twofold improvement in network performance, while latency for gaming scenarios was reduced by at least 30%.

For Oppo’s AI glasses – which use cloud-based AI agents and sport an object recognition feature – China Mobile and Ericsson leveraged user-level slicing and latency-priority scheduling technologies for the uplink and downlink to reduce round-trip time latency for object recognition by at least 30%.

Ericsson said the test successfully achieved fine-grained resource allocation and isolation at both the user and application levels, delivering validated results for typical services in terms of guaranteed throughput and latency optimization on the existing 5G network.

That said, Ericsson added that the commercial deployment of these slicing capabilities “still requires further ecosystem maturity and broader support from commercial terminals.” Ericsson, China Mobile and Oppo said they will collaborate to jointly advance that ecosystem.

Rome, 14^th of May 2026

Sparkle, the first international service provider in Italy and among the top global operators, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NaiTel, the telecom arm of Aqaba Digital Hub, and iLevant Ltd, to extend the GreenMed submarine cable system through the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, supporting the development of a new digital connectivity corridor linking Europe and Asia.

Under the agreement, the parties will work to integrate the GreenMed subsea with terrestrial fiber networks and regional interconnection platforms in Jordan, strengthening connectivity resilience across the Mediterranean and supporting the development of diversified digital infrastructure connecting Europe and Asia.

Jordan, through Aqaba Digital Hub, already serves as a landing point for the BlueMed and the Blue & Raman submarine cable systems, further reinforcing its role as a strategic terrestrial gateway on the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC).

Eyad Abu Khorma, Founder and CEO of Aqaba Digital Hub, said: “Jordan is uniquely positioned at the intersection of major global connectivity routes linking Europe and Asia. The extension of GreenMed toward Jordan represents a natural next step in strengthening diversified and resilient digital infrastructure across the region. We are pleased to continue our collaboration with Sparkle, a leading global operator, on advancing a new digital corridor that integrates subsea and terrestrial networks, further reinforcing Jordan’s role as a strategic gateway connecting Europe, the Middle East and Asia.”

Enrico Bagnasco, CEO of Sparkle, commented: “This agreement marks a further milestone in the development of GreenMed and confirms the strength of our long-standing collaboration with NaiTel and iLevant. Expanding the system across Jordan enables the connection of strategic digital ecosystems and fosters new development opportunities across the Mediterranean region and beyond.”

GreenMed has received funding from the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) programme.

About Sparkle

Sparkle is TIM Group’s global operator, first international service provider in Italy and among the top worldwide, offering a full range of infrastructure and global connectivity services – capacity, IP, SD-WAN, colocation, IoT connectivity, roaming and voice – to national and international Carriers, OTTs, ISPs, Media/Content Providers, and multinational enterprises. As a leading player in the submarine cable industry, Sparkle owns and manages a network of more than 600,000 km of fiber stretching across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and Asia. Sparkle’s sales team has a global presence, with representatives in 32 countries.

Find out more about Sparkle following its X and LinkedIn profiles or visiting the website tisparkle.com

About NaiTel

NaiTel is the telecom arm of Aqaba Digital Hub and a licensed telecom operator in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. NaiTel focuses on the development of telecommunications infrastructure and connectivity platforms, including fiber networks, peering services through AqabaIX, and international connectivity solutions, supporting regional digital ecosystems. Through its infrastructure and strategic initiatives, NaiTel enables carriers, digital platforms, and enterprises to access resilient connectivity across Jordan and the wider region.

Find out more about NaiTel by following its LinkedIn profile or visiting the website naitel.jo

About Aqaba Digital Hub
Aqaba Digital Hub is MENA’s leading digital infrastructure provider and the home of Jordan’s largest carrier-neutral, AI-ready data center. Its services include fiber internet, Jordan’s fastest-growing Internet exchange point (IXP), cloud platforms, VSAT, and subsea cable landing facilities, among others. ADH enables enterprises and technology providers to scale operations, accelerate digital services, and expand their regional impact.

Through its platform, ADH connects businesses to key partners and opportunities, ensuring competitive advantages in a dynamic digital landscape. Its commitment to innovation and sustainability drives forward-looking solutions, reinforcing Aqaba’s role as a premier connectivity hub. Find out more about ADH by following its LinkedIn profile, emailing us at info@adh.jo, or visiting our website at http://www.adh.jo.

About iLevant Limited

iLevant Limited is an international consultancy and advisory firm specializing in digital infrastructure, connectivity strategy, and technology-driven solutions. The company supports telecommunications operators, infrastructure providers, and investors in the planning, development, and implementation of large-scale connectivity and digital infrastructure projects across global markets.

Sparkle Media Contacts:

sparkle.communication@tisparkle.com

X: @TISparkle

Naitel Media Contacts:

info@adh.jo

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