Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Digital Transition and Technological Innovation (MTNIT) says it has signed a strategic partnership agreement with French AI solutions company Mistral to help develop an AI ecosystem adapted to the country’s specific requirements.

Under the agreement – which was signed last month but publicly announced on Tuesday – MTNIT and Mistral are conducting a strategic study and audit to map out the players and available resources for an AI ecosystem, as well as evaluating existing data and infrastructures, and identifying areas where AI could provide concrete use cases serving the needs of the government, companies and populations.

Ideally, the audit will form the basis for an operational roadmap that will define the conditions for deploying AI solutions and allow the emergence of “high-impact” pilot projects.

The ministry said the study focuses on several priority sectors, including public administration, health, education, agriculture and services to the population.

As part of the project, Mistral is working with Artefact Côte d’Ivoire, a local entity of the Artefact group specialising in data and AI consulting, who will provide technological and local expertise.

MTNIT said in a post on social media site X that the Mistral partnership will contribute to the AI pillar of the government’s Digital Roadmap 2026-2028, which includes 40 structuring projects.

The audit is expected to be completed in time for MTNIT’s « IMPACT IA » conference next week in Abidjan.

Teltronic, a Spanish company with more than 50 years of experience in the critical communications sector, says it will be supplying a 4G broadband communications network for national rail company EFE Trenes de Chile.

The broadband communications system will provide data transmission services for two new lines that will connect the capital city, Santiago de Chile, with the nearby towns of Melipilla and Batuco, as part of a project awarded by the Chilean railway operator to Siemens Mobility.

The project includes the implementation of the country’s first ETCS (European Train Control System) Level 2 system, an in-cab digital signalling system that uses continuous radio communication to guide trains safely without relying on traditional physical lineside signals.

Siemens Mobility has entrusted Teltronic with the deployment of a private 4G network that will provide coverage along the 87 kilometres of new railway lines. However, as Teltronic explains, the system is 5G ready, meaning that it can evolve to 5G technology through a simple software upgrade. In addition, the infrastructure includes two control nodes, one primary and one redundant, to ensure system robustness.

Teltronic says it will also equip the 32 new trains that will operate on the lines with its RTP-800, a state-of-the-art radio that will enable continuous train-to-ground data transmission. The onboard solution is completed by the DCD7 touch-screen console, which has been designed to meet the stringent requirements of railway environments and allows train drivers to operate the radio controls.

The system, which is also prepared to support voice communications, will be integrated with a passenger information system, a public address system and the CCTV network, whose images will be transmitted in real time. It will also support Level 2 ETCS which, says Teltronic, means it will play a key role in the safe and efficient operation of the trains.

Two M&A completions, an expansion, and some quantum: … [visit site to read more]

BOSTON: September 2, 2026 – Vodia Networks, Inc., a provider of unified cloud communications solutions to enterprises, contact centers, and service providers, is pleased to announce the expansion of its integration with the Apple ecosystem. This includes the company’s new iOS app, which now enables iPhone users to access a focused Vodia Phone experience in Apple CarPlay.

The Vodia iOS app

On July 28, 2026, Vodia announced its new iOS app, which gives users a native way to use a Vodia PBX extension from an iPhone or iPad. The redesigned app is built around a cleaner, card-based interface, making it easier to manage calls, call history, active call controls, chat, extensions, voicemail, call parking, and transfers, all from one mobile experience. 

The app interface follows the latest iOS design patterns, with layered cards, soft glass-style surfaces, and familiar system controls. Instead of forcing users through a legacy softphone experience, the app is built around how people already expect to use their iPhone. It also supports iPad, giving users a larger workspace for calls, status, messaging, and daily communication workflows.

Apple CarPlay

Apple CarPlay gives iPhone users a smart, safe way to use an iPhone while driving – it provides directions, makes calls, sends and receives messages, and plays music, all on the car’s built-in display. 

The Vodia CarPlay interface is built with Apple’s native CarPlay templates and includes four main areas: call history, extension directory, messages, and voicemail. It gives users access to essential Vodia PBX communication features from the vehicle display, without turning the dashboard into a full desktop PBX interface.

With CarPlay support, Vodia users can access important PBX features from the vehicle display:

• Business call handling
• Calls in CarPlay
• Call history
• Car audio support
• CarPlay alerts
• Confirmation before dialing
• Extension directory
• Native in-car call screen
• Presence visibility
• Siri-assisted chat
• Siri calling
• Voicemail playback

“Since iOS 13, Apple has consistently provided a robust framework for multiple voice apps to function on the same device, across a large range of hardware and software combinations,” said Christian Stredicke, PhD, founder and CEO, Vodia. “Vodia has gladly used and added app features as they became available, and the latest addition, CarPlay, will help users use their time commuting to work more efficiently and safely.”

The Vodia iOS app requires V68 or higher of the Vodia cloud phone system. It is available for download from the App Store. Documentation is available on the Vodia documentation website. 

For more information about the expansion of the Vodia PBX with the Apple ecosystem and the company’s overall mobile strategy, sales@vodia.com, +1 (617) 861-3490.

About Vodia

Vodia Networks, Inc. provides B2B cloud communications solutions for enterprises, contact centers, and service providers. Its PBX software offers a broad range of business telephony features for on-premise and cloud deployments on Windows, Linux, and Mac. Fully SIP-compliant, Vodia integrates with numerous SIP devices and trunking providers for flexible telephony. Its multi-tenant platforms support desk phones, softphones, APIs, and third-party CRM integrations. Vodia empowers partners and users with world-class cloud PBX and personalized support to ensure success. The company operates globally, with offices in Boston, USA, and Berlin, Germany. Visit Vodia on LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.

• Sparklight Carrier Services implements TransUnion Universal Order Connect for wholesale order management.
• Streamlined ordering supports carriers, wireless providers and ISPs expanding into new markets.
• Automated wholesale ordering can reduce manual processing and standardize connectivity workflows.
• Electronic transactions improve visibility throughout the entire order lifecycle.

PHOENIX (September 2, 2026) — Sparklight® Carrier Services, a provider of wholesale connectivity solutions to national and regional carriers, wireless providers and internet service providers, has enhanced its wholesale ordering experience with technology designed to simplify how customers order, manage and deploy connectivity services.

“Wholesale customers need more than network capacity. They need a partner that is responsive and easy to do business with,” said Katherine Creech, Vice President of Business Services at Sparklight. “By simplifying how customers order, manage, and track services, we’re creating a faster, more seamless experience that helps them serve their own customers with greater confidence.”

KEY FACTS

• Sparklight Carrier Services has implemented TransUnion® Universal Order Connect (UOC) to automate wholesale order management.
• UOC enables standardized electronic transactions for wholesale connectivity ordering.
• The enhanced workflow extends from order validation, acceptance and enrichment through order status tracking.
• The implementation is designed to improve order accuracy and visibility throughout the order lifecycle while helping accelerate service delivery.
• Standardized workflows are intended to reduce manual processing in wholesale connectivity ordering.
• Sparklight Carrier Services provides connectivity across a fiber-powered network spanning 24 states.
• Its wholesale portfolio includes Wholesale Internet, Carrier Ethernet, Cellular Backhaul, Dark Fiber, and Middle- and Last-Mile Connectivity Solutions.

Automated wholesale ordering can reduce manual processing and standardize connectivity workflows

Wholesale connectivity ordering can involve multiple stages, from determining service availability and qualifying locations to placing orders and monitoring progress toward delivery. Sparklight Carrier Services’ updated process is designed to automate and streamline the ordering and tracking stages through a more standardized electronic workflow.

For wholesale providers managing network expansion across multiple markets, the operational objective is straightforward: make it easier to move an order toward deployment without introducing unnecessary manual steps.

Electronic transactions improve visibility throughout ordering and service delivery

Order automation is only one component of the update. The new capabilities improve visibility throughout the order lifecycle, covering the process from initial order placement through order tracking.

That visibility matters when carriers, wireless providers and ISPs are coordinating network extensions or entering new markets. A standardized workflow can give wholesale customers a more consistent way to understand where connectivity orders stand as they progress toward service delivery.

Streamlined ordering supports connectivity expansion into new markets

Sparklight Carrier Services provides wholesale connectivity solutions across a fiber-powered network spanning 24 states. Its portfolio includes Wholesale Internet, Carrier Ethernet, Cellular Backhaul, Dark Fiber, and Middle- and Last-Mile Connectivity Solutions.

“Whether customers are extending their network footprint or delivering services into new markets, our focus is on providing a responsive, reliable wholesale experience from order placement through service delivery,” Creech said.

For more information about Sparklight Carrier Services, visit business.sparklight.com/carrier.

###

FOLSOM, Calif., Sept. 2, 2026 — The AI² Insights Platform today announced it will launch publicly at IBC 2026. The platform gives media & entertainment (M&E) leaders a current, evidence-based answer to what AI is actually delivering in their business, and where it is heading next.

Every M&E executive is being asked to commit budget to AI. Few have a reliable way to tell a proven capability from a promising demo, or to know which opportunities are opening and which are closing. Guessing costs real money. It shows up as misallocated capital and missed windows.

AI² Insights closes that gap. Executives can see which AI capabilities are delivering results today and which are still just a good demo. They can find where the genuine innovation opportunities sit, where the market gaps are, and where the traps lie. They can also see how fast each part of the landscape is moving. The picture updates continuously, so what leaders see reflects the market as it stands now.

“AI is the fastest-moving technology this industry has ever had to absorb, and the decisions cannot wait for the next research cycle,” said Fernando Amendola, Founder of AI² Insights. “We built AI² Insights to close that gap. Ask it about opportunities. Ask it about traps. Ask it about trends. Always get a current answer you can trust.”

The scope is substantial. More than 200 AI use cases in M&E, each researched from a technology angle and a business angle. More than 70 distinct AI techniques are being analyzed with continuous monitoring across more than 1,000 technology vendors and 1,000 media operators worldwide. All of it is organized around the PADE-POC™ taxonomy, which maps AI across the entire value chain: Produce, Augment, Distribute, Experience, Protect, Orchestrate, Comply.

Trust is engineered in. Every answer runs through the Truth Engine™, built on RAHIC™: Recursive, Adversarial, Human, Iterative, Convergent. Conclusions are tested against contradicting evidence and reviewed by industry experts before an executive sees them. Every conclusion carries a confidence rating. Where the evidence is thin, the platform says so rather than filling the gap.

Executives reach that intelligence three ways:

• AI² Enquire

  An LLM-based dialogue engine. Ask a question in plain language and the engine intelligently selects and assembles the answer from the research corpus, in real time.

• AI² Research

  A library of published research. Executives pull full reports across more than 200 AI use cases in M&E, each analyzed from both a technology and a business angle.

• AI² Industry Tracker

  A dynamic dashboard. Watch the market move in real time: where the technology is heading, which players are gaining ground, and where the opportunities and obstacles are forming.

Access is sold as an Insights-as-a-Service model. Executives pay as they learn, for the intelligence they use, when they need it, rather than for a shelf of reports commissioned months earlier.

“Only AI can keep pace with AI. That is what makes this platform possible,” said Thierry Fautier, Co-Founder of The Media League. “The distance between what gets announced and what actually works is where budgets go to die. AI² Insights is the first thing I have seen built specifically to close that distance for M&E.”

How to get access

1. Today — register and take a look

   Executives can request beta access now at www.ai2insights.ai and see a sneak peek of what the platform can do.

2. Sunday, Sept 13 — see it live

   The full AI² Insights Platform will be introduced at the 2nd Annual SundAI Breakfast, hosted by The Media League, on Sunday, September 13 at the Van der Valk Hotel Amsterdam Zuidas. The morning includes a live demonstration and an executive roundtable on making AI pay in Media & Entertainment.

3. Early October — beta access opens

   Selected registrants receive login details and onboarding instructions.

Wider availability follows through Q4 2026, with general availability scheduled for January 2027.

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]

Press Release

Sceye, a U.S. aerospace and material science company specializing in High-Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) for telecommunications and real-time environmental monitoring, today announced the successful trans-Pacific flight of its Service Test 1 (ST1) mission from New Mexico to Japan. Traveling more than 15,000 km through the stratosphere in 13 days, upon arrival over Japan, ST1 demonstrated mobile broadband connectivity to unmodified devices through SoftBank Corp.’s core network and HAPS-based edge computing and communication with drones to support the development of a 3D communications network.

Conducted in partnership with SoftBank Corp., a leading operator of telecommunications and IT businesses in Japan and globally, ST1 marks Sceye’s first flight to Asia and a groundbreaking milestone towards the commercial deployment of HAPS as stratospheric infrastructure.

“This flight marks a defining moment for Sceye and for the commercial potential of HAPS,” said Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, Founder and CEO of Sceye. “Flying from the US to Japan demonstrates the performance required to make the stratosphere a viable layer of infrastructure and realize the future of AI, edge computing, and 6G. Together with SoftBank, we are moving beyond proving the technology to demonstrating how Sceye can complement and extend existing networks and deliver persistent connectivity at scale.”

The stratosphere offers the optimal vantage point: It is close enough to Earth for high-capacity connectivity and observation, yet the altitude is high enough for wide-area reach. Importantly, the stratosphere offers space-like conditions without the cost of being in space and the disadvantages of being in orbit. Sceye’s HAPS maintain altitude and their area of operation in the stratosphere through consecutive day and night cycles, operating like geostationary satellites, only 1,800 times closer to Earth and at a fraction of the cost.

In 2025, SoftBank Corp. invested in Sceye’s HAPS-based stratospheric infrastructure as a scalable solution to complement terrestrial towers and satellite constellations. The strategic partnership advances a shared vision for HAPS and Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) as transformative infrastructure that can expand connectivity, support communications during disasters, and enable future applications across AI, IoT, aerial communications, edge computing, and 6G.

ST1 carried SceyeCELL, a first-of-its-kind “cell tower in the sky” designed to deliver wide-area mobile broadband directly to standard devices from the stratosphere. When deployed at full scale, one Sceye HAPS is designed to cover the equivalent area of approximately 500 terrestrial towers. During the ST1 mission, Sceye and SoftBank demonstrated mobile broadband from the stratosphere, including text messaging, voice calls, internet access, and video streaming. Testing also included emergency calls, using an emergency alert messaging system designed for large-scale disasters, and communications with drones.

Sceye’s ST1 mission launched on August 9, 2026 at 7:00 AM MDT from New Mexico. Additional notable mission attributes include:

• Traveled more than 15,000 km across the Pacific to Japan in 13 days

• Operated within Japanese managed air space for over 7 days

• Remained continuously within its area of operation for an extended period, achieving a station-seeking radius as low as 5 km

• Operated at approximately 16.5 km in altitude while completing telecommunications, drone, and emergency communications

• Confirmed communications performance equivalent to that of terrestrial networks while reducing radio interference with ground-based base stations

• Through a server installed on the HAPS, Sceye and SoftBank conducted data processing directly on the platform, demonstrating average round-trip processing response time of 68 milliseconds, reducing communications latency by over 40% compared with internet-based cloud processing. This marks the world’s first successful test in which a mobile core network and a web server for processing were installed on a HAPS, enabling response processing to be performed entirely onboard the HAPS and the results to be relayed back to smartphones.

ST1 remains in flight, returning towards the United States over the Pacific Ocean at the time of this announcement.

“SoftBank aims to build next-generation communications infrastructure that seamlessly connects the ground, the sky, and space. The fact that Sceye’s HAPS reached Japan from the United States and successfully provided Japan’s first trial services from the stratosphere in Japan’s airspace marks an important step toward the commercialization of HAPS, which is at the core of this vision,” said Junichi Miyakawa, President & CEO of SoftBank Corp. “By combining the HAPS flight and operational technologies that Sceye has developed with SoftBank’s communications technologies, we have gained confidence to realize a three-dimensional communications network utilizing HAPS. Going forward, in collaboration with Sceye, we will continue to integrate a wide range of technologies, including communications and AI, to develop HAPS into a new form of social infrastructure.”

This flight builds on Sceye’s Endurance Program, completed earlier this year, when its SE2 HAPS traveled more than 10,000 km in the stratosphere from New Mexico to the coast of Brazil where it stayed over its area of operation for several days to test long-duration performance in preparation for the Service Test Program, the first of which flew to Japan.

Also in the news
Shared Rural Network rollout extends to UK national parks with over 150 4G masts live
Vodafone touts latest attempt to bridge the UK’s digital divide
Virgin Media O2 cuts 5,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions

Contributed Article

by Ayswarya Ashok, Founder and CEO of Halleyx

The UK fibre story has been told in terms of homes reached.

Full fibre now reaches 24.9 million premises (82% of UK homes), with 47% taking a full-fibre service. By 2028, Ofcom expects 73% of UK homes to have access to at least two gigabit-capable networks.

The industry has spent years answering:

“Can we connect the home?”

But in an MDU, that question is only the beginning.

An apartment building may be one premise on a coverage map, but it can represent hundreds of customers, propositions and decisions.

That distinction is becoming increasingly important.

A building is not a customer

Consider a 300-unit apartment building.

The building has one location, but 300 realities.

One unit has a customer. Another is vacant. Another has a network. Another may be covered by a building agreement. One customer wants an upgrade while another moves out.

The network infrastructure may remain the same.

The commercial context doesn’t.

Customer. Product. Price. Eligibility. Service. Billing.

All can change from one unit to the next.

Take Flat 217, for example. The resident wants to move from 500Mbps to 1Gbps.

The question isn’t whether fibre reaches Flat 217.

The operator needs to establish whether the service is eligible under the building agreement, whether 1Gbps is included or an additional purchase, what price applies, which network should fulfil it, whether the change requires a new order or modification, and what billing should charge.

And this is where I think the MDU conversation needs to change.

The problem isn’t that operators don’t have the data. It’s that the commercial context isn’t travelling with the unit.

The unit is the missing context

Most telecom journeys follow:

Customer → Product → Order → Service → Bill

MDUs add something that doesn’t fit into that model:

Building → Unit → Customer

The customer is temporary.

The unit is persistent.

When one resident leaves Flat 217, the next resident shouldn’t inherit a blank record. The operator should already know the unit’s network availability, applicable building agreement, eligible propositions and commercial rules.

The same applies when something changes at building level.

A new agreement, network, product or pricing rule shouldn’t require teams to manually work through hundreds of units to understand the impact.

The building should establish the context. The unit should carry that context into every transaction.

That’s the missing link.

What should “MDU Ready” actually mean?

For me, MDU readiness shouldn’t stop at serviceable.

It should mean that an operator can take a unit and answer, without manual reconciliation:

Can I sell this product to this unit? At what price? Under which commercial terms? Through which network? What order should be created? What should ultimately be billed?

And the answer should remain consistent from:

Qualification → Proposition → Order → Activation → Billing

Operators should look beyond coverage and take-up and start measuring how many MDU transactions require human intervention.

How many need commercial overrides? How many orders are corrected? How long does qualification take to reach activation? How many billing issues can be traced back to an earlier commercial decision?

These questions tell us how efficiently a network converts availability into revenue.

The next MDU advantage

Fibre availability is becoming less of a differentiator. What happens after availability will matter more.

When every unit can have a different customer, product, price, network and commercial agreement, the ability to manage that complexity without manual intervention becomes a competitive advantage.

The building is connected.

Now make every unit count.

Are you maximising the value of your networks? Join HalleyX and the UK fibre industry at Connected Britain 2026, the UK’s largest digital economy event