The Latin American smartphone market recorded 34.8 million smartphone shipments in Q1 2026, representing 3% year-on-year growth, defying broader global declines driven by rising memory component costs.

According to analyst house Omdia, the growth was largely supported by retailers building up inventory ahead of expected price increases tied to more expensive DRAM and NAND memory chips. Smartphone vendors also leaned toward lower-storage models, such as 128GB variants, to keep devices affordable and soften the impact of rising costs on consumers.

While demand for premium smartphones remained resilient, buyers in the entry-level segment faced increasing affordability pressures.

Samsung remained the region’s largest smartphone vendor by shipments, recording 12.9 million units in Q1 2026. The company posted 9% year-on-year growth, increasing its market share to 37% – its highest quarterly level since Q1 2023.

Xiaomi ranked second with 6 million shipments, growing 3% year-on-year and marking its sixth consecutive quarter of growth in Latin America. The vendor captured a 17% market share.

Motorola secured third place despite a 5% decline in shipments to 4.9 million units, giving it a 14% market share. Omdia attributed the drop primarily to a 37% fall in shipments of devices priced between US$100 and US$200.

Honor consolidated its position in fourth place after posting 30% year-on-year growth to 3.4 million units and securing a 10% market share. Growth was driven largely by the success of its entry-level Play 10 device, which sold around half a million units during the quarter.

Apple rounded out the top five vendors with 31% year-on-year shipment growth, supported by strong demand in Mexico for its iPhone 17 range.

Looking ahead, Omdia expects the Latin American smartphone market to face increasing pressure as retailers gradually pass rising component costs onto consumers, particularly in the sub-US$300 segment.

It is being widely reported in the African technology press that pan-African operator MTN plans to turn its African towers into an AI inference grid.

To convert its African tower estate into a distributed AI compute fabric, MTN Group will install open GPU infrastructure at base station sites. This, it seems, means the same hardware can run both the cellular network and edge AI inference workloads.

This plan does, however, still appear to be at an early stage. According to the South African news service TechCentral, the plan was set out by MTN Group chief technology and information officer Charles Molapisi at an event hosted by law firm Bowmans in Johannesburg on Wednesday. 

Every cellular tower has a baseband unit at its base to drive the radio access network. Molapisi apparently suggested that MTN will replace these with open GPU configurations capable of running the radio plus AI inference, or what the company has described as a “distributed AI grid”.

The ambition is for MTN to become the biggest distributor of edge and inference in the African continent, where it has a presence in 17 sub-Saharan African countries.

Latency would, apparently, improve. At the moment AI workloads have to go via a central data centre. With the new system they could be processed at or near the tower. With edge compute installed, the workload could be served locally rather than backhauled to a distant data centre and returned, freeing capacity and cutting round-trip time.

Press Release

In the coming years, the competitiveness of EU economies will directly depend on their ability to access massive computing power that is available, affordable and sovereign. The challenge is industrial, financial and strategic: enabling European companies to train, deploy and operate their AI models under controlled conditions in terms of performance, cost and sovereignty.

This is precisely the aim of the project put forward by the AION consortium.

Mobilizing French excellence to build world-leading AI infrastructure

In response to the rapid adoption of AI and the explosion in demand for computing power, AION brings together all of the critical skills required for creating new-generation European infrastructure.

The consortium leverages the complementary strengths of a wide spectrum of benchmark players covering the entire value chain: supercomputers, microprocessors, quantum computing solutions and critical infrastructure, expertise in energy, cloud platforms, sovereign AI and the development and operation of datacenter infrastructure, as well as AI deployment capabilities, investment capacity and industrial know-how.

AION will also be able to draw on a broad ecosystem made up of technological, academic and industrial partners, as well as user companies such as Le Crédit Agricole, Equans, Future4Care, GENCI, Hugging Face, INRIA, Kyutai, LightOn, Multiverse Computing, Nokia, Opcore, Quandela, PariSanté Campus, Schneider Electric, SiPearl, Sopra Steria, Verne, VSORA and ZML.

France – a strategic choice for hosting a European AI Gigafactory

France has unique strengths for hosting infrastructure of this magnitude. It has abundant, affordable, sovereign and low-carbon electricity thanks to its energy mix that is mainly made up of nuclear and hydraulic power, as well as robust digital infrastructure and recognized expertise across the whole value chain, particularly in data centers, cloud services and high-performance computing.

France has also established itself as one of the most dynamic AI ecosystems in Europe thanks to the quality of its research, the emergence of world-class tech players, and a dense pool of scientific and industrial talent. From research labs to start-ups, through to major end-user companies, it brings together the full range of skills needed to build a competitive AI industry on a European scale.

Hosting an AI Gigafactory would enable France to offer all the conditions for strengthening European tech sovereignty, accelerating AI adoption by private companies and public-sector players, and driving competitiveness and innovation.

An ambition built on four pillars

The AION consortium is based on four fundamental pillars:

• Performance: deploying world-class AI infrastructure to serve the European economy.
• Trust: reinforcing Europe’s strategic autonomy via complete control over the AI value chain – from hardware to open source software – thanks to the support of sovereign players.
• Openness: promoting the use of open source technologies, as well as partnerships to strengthen the European ecosystem.
• Responsibility: developing AI for the benefit of European research, businesses and citizens with a particular focus on containing its environmental footprint.

An open consortium to bring together the European ecosystem

The alliance announced today marks the starting point of a project aimed at bringing together all French and European players who are ready and willing to contribute to this shared industrial ambition.

“As an independent European player in data and AI, Artefact is uniquely positioned to observe the rapid growth in demand for computing power, as well as the lack of sufficient sovereign solutions. We’re technology-agnostic and our priority is to provide our customers with truly resilient solutions based on three dimensions of sovereignty: technology, operations and data. There’s no time for companies to wait – the infrastructure of the future needs to be built today. By joining the AION consortium, Artefact will be able to deploy the most ambitious AI use cases for its customers, within a fully sovereign framework, ensuring freedom, security and resilience.” Vincent Luciani, Executive President of Artefact

“It’s time to build a European AI ecosystem together, based on world-class European infrastructure and underpinned by France’s outstanding low-carbon energy capabilities. United by this ambition, we’re delighted to be teaming up with our friends at the iliad Group and the Orange group to join and steer the AION consortium, which will also be supported by other major industrial and tech players. Alongside our partners, we’re proud to be putting our industrial and financial expertise to the service of developing sustainable and resilient AI computing capacity on a large scale.” Benoît Gaillochet, Head of Infrastructure Europe at Ardian

“This initiative is particularly important for Bull in its capacity as the only player capable of guaranteeing a mostly European supply chain for AI, cloud and supercomputer infrastructure. We see AION as a natural extension of our strategic pathway, bringing additional computing capabilities dedicated to simulation and AI, developing new AI-optimized hardware technologies, and deploying our software platform and data science services to enable the production of industrial AI use cases. Through AION, we’re reaffirming our commitment to strengthening Europe’s ability to develop and operate next-generation AI and cloud infrastructure, while laying the foundations for a more resilient, competitive and independent technology ecosystem.” Emmanuel Le Roux, CEO of Bull

“Europe has everything it takes to write one of the most inspiring chapters of the AI revolution: excellence in research, industrial champions, low-carbon energy and values based on the trust and sovereignty of the European system. What was missing was the ability to bring together these strengths based on a shared project that can rise to the challenges at stake. With AION, this goal is achievable. It’s a French venture, led collectively, for the benefit of the whole of Europe. By joining this consortium, Capgemini is committing to put all of its experience and its global network to the service of a cause that is bigger than us all individually: building sovereign and sustainable AI infrastructure that is open to the entire European ecosystem. As a global leader in data and AI-powered business transformation, Capgemini has a specific responsibility in this project. Creating European AI gigafactories means offering our clients the possibility of using sovereign solutions by integrating the latest technological advances with no trade-off between performance and control. Technological sovereignty cannot be decreed – it has to be constructed, brick by brick, with the right partners. We are proud to be a part of this adventure.” Etienne Grass, Chief AI Officer at Capgemini Invent

“France has major strengths to lead the way in the development of AI infrastructure, including competitively-priced, sovereign and low-carbon electricity. With this consortium, we’re embracing a shared ambition to build a world-class European AI gigafactory based in France, and EDF intends to fully contribute to this strategic momentum for Europe.” Beatrice Bigois, Group Senior Executive Vice-President, Customers & Energy Services, at EDF

“In a world where computing capacity is becoming a lever of power, Europe cannot allow itself to depend on infrastructure designed, financed and operated elsewhere. With AION, our aim is to unite a range of leading players to build world-class European AI infrastructure based in France. AION has unprecedented technological clout, bringing together the very best of French and European digital, industrial and energy expertise, and the iliad Group intends to contribute fully to the project.” Thomas Reynaud, Chief Executive Officer of the iliad Group

“France has unique assets to shape the next chapter of European AI – front-ranking digital infrastructure, low-carbon energy, and one of the most dynamic research and innovation ecosystems in Europe. For Orange, joining the AION consortium reflects our strong conviction that Europe needs collective action to create a powerful, open and inclusive European AI to drive the continent’s competitiveness. With its sovereign cloud and trusted AI capabilities, Orange brings to this project what lies at the core of its identity: a trusted player that connects, secures and delivers sovereign digital services for companies, small businesses and individuals.” Christel Heydemann, CEO of the Orange Group

“I’m delighted that the AION initiative launched last year is continuing to gain traction and attract broad support. Within this richly diverse industrial alliance, Scaleway will focus on its core expertise of providing an open and interoperable sovereign cloud and AI platform serving businesses, researchers and public-sector players. I’m convinced that this project, which includes leaders across the entire value chain, will help consolidate the foundations of a European AI sector built on openness, control and trust.” Damien Lucas, CEO of Scaleway

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Jennifer Curry Hendrickson, Senior Vice President of Managed Services, DataBank

Enterprise IT leaders have spent the better part of a decade being told that cloud is the answer. For many use cases, it is. Yet, a pattern has emerged across the industry that deserves more direct examination than it usually gets: Organizations are moving workloads back out of public cloud at a rate that suggests the original decisions weren’t as sound as they appeared. … [visit site to read more]

Press Release

Bharti Airtel has announced the launch of Priority Postpaid, a new service that leverages 5G slicing technology to deliver superior and more consistent experience to customers on postpaid. This service is specially built for busy customers who depend on uninterrupted connectivity for work, entertainment, or online collaboration.

For this service, Airtel has upgraded its 5G network with advanced capabilities of slicing technology. This makes the network more efficient, creates more capacity, and provides the capability to use this capacity in a targeted manner for delivery of a superior experience for Priority customers. By intelligently and dynamically segmenting network capacity, Airtel is offering a stable and dependable experience for postpaid customers, even when traffic demand is high.

Over the past year, slicing based 5G services have been launched in many countries like USA, Singapore, United Kingdom and Malaysia. Airtel’s launch is the first such launch in India, reflecting Airtel’s continued investment in building a smarter, more resilient, and future-ready digital network and reinforces its commitment to combining advanced technology with customer-centric innovation.

Commenting on the launch, Shashwat Sharma, MD & CEO – Airtel India, said, “Our focus at Airtel is on delivering meaningful innovations that enhance our customers’ experience. Priority Postpaid is our latest innovation powered by the 5G slicing technology. It provides a superior, more reliable, and dependable experience to our customers — whether they are attending a client call in traffic, or streaming at a packed concert, or booking a cab in a crowded market.”

Airtel Priority service is available for customers on all our postpaid plans. Existing customers will start enjoying the benefit automatically. Prepaid customers or customers wanting to switch to Airtel Priority postpaid can do so easily through the Airtel App or by visiting any Airtel Store.

Priority Postpaid Plans

Customers can enjoy our Priority service on any 5G SA‑enabled smartphone, with their latest software upgrades. Customers for whom an upgrade is pending, will see a pending action showing in the ‘Settings’ section of their phones. Customers can also check their phone readiness for Airtel Priority services by logging on to the Airtel App.

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Four bits of fiber news from around the US: … [visit site to read more]

Omnia, a Brazilian data centre platform, has signed a 20-year energy supply deal with renewable energy firm Casa dos Ventos to use wind to power a planned data centre, potentially the largest in Brazil.

The data centre is sited at the Pecem port complex ​in the northeastern state of Ceara. The deal, according to Reuters, is worth US$2 billion.

We reported in June last year that Casa dos Ventos had been given the go-ahead from the country’s power grid regulator for what was then described as a 300-megawatt data centre project. It is set to host TikTok owner ByteDance. Patria joined the scheme the following month; the firm is expected to act as the main developer on the project, on behalf of Casa dos Ventos.

The data centre is said to represent a total investment of more than US$39 billion. It is still some way from start-up, however. Building work began in January this year. Initial operations are expected to commence in Q3 in 2027. Expansion will take place in phases until 2029.

The power will be supplied from the 630MW Ibiapaba wind complex and the Dom Inocencio wind farm in Piauí state in northeast Brazil, both of which are owned and operated by Casa dos Ventos. The deal is structured as a self-production model, providing Omnia a stake in Casa’s assets.

Reuters says that environmental groups ​have raised concerns about water use and potential ​impacts ⁠on nearby indigenous communities. Omnia’s response is that the project meets environmental requirements, is fully licensed and will ⁠need ‘minimal ​water use’, which it describes as equivalent to that ​of up to 50 households

The Data Centre Dynamics website says Casa dos Ventos is one of Brazil’s largest renewable energy developers. It has an operating and under-development portfolio of approximately 33.4GW of wind and solar projects, including 12GW in a joint venture with French energy giant TotalEnergies.

Brazilian investment firm Patria Investimentos announced the launch of Omnia, a hyperscale data centre platform with a strong focus on the growing demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, in May last year.

News

The agreement spans various aspects of 6G research, including trips to both parties’ research centres

Telstra and Ericsson have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on 6G research.

The agreement will see the companies collaborate on the research, standards development, and real-world testing of 6G technology,

It also includes mutual site visitations, with Telstra engineers visiting Ericsson’s testbed in Sweden, and Ericsson staff travelling to Telstra’s Innovation Centre on the Gold Coast.

Further details on the partnership were sparse, but both partners emphasised the role AI had to play in making 6G networks more intelligent and more customisable for customers. This feature is, in fact, a key element of Telstra’s Connected Future 30 strategy, which aims to allow customers to purchase configurable connectivity services at individual prices.

“Mobile connectivity has been one of the most powerful economic engines of modern Australia. As the first G which is AI-native, 6G will be the most intelligent network yet – capable of advanced network connectivity, and new Network as a Product innovations such as the ability to sense the environment around the network. The latter opens the potential for new use cases for public safety, agriculture, weather detection and more,” said Shailin Sehgal, Telstra Group Executive of Global Networks & Technology.

“We are on a clear and exciting trajectory – from 5G Standalone today, to AI-powered 5G and autonomous networks, towards AI-native 6G that is meeting the evolving and future business needs,” added Erik Ekudden, Ericsson Chief Technology Officer. “6G will redefine what a network fundamentally is – not just an AI-native technology platform, but a platform that senses, adapts and orchestrates resources to deliver outcomes for enterprises and society at scale; simply an intelligent fabric.”

This type of partnership is largely to be expected, with Ericsson having been Telstra’s primary RAN partner for many years. The companies made similar agreements during the early days of the 5G era, though these were often based around delivering greater speeds.

Today, Ericsson and Telstra’s focus has increasingly shifted away from pure speeds and towards the benefits of AI integration and network optimisation. It seems likely that their initial joint research on 6G will follow that same path.

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