Four interesting network items from around the US: … [visit site to read more]

The government of Trinidad and Tobago says it has signed MoUs with US companies Ernst & Young and Hummingbird AI Holdings to develop AI-ready data centres and infrastructure in the country with at least 450MW of load capacity.

According to a Facebook post from United National Congress (the political party of prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar) on Sunday, the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs signed an MoU with Ernst & Young to create a framework for collaborating on developing large-scale data centres and supporting infrastructure.

Under the framework, EY will leverage its Energy to Intelligence (E2I) platform to develop a 300 MW data centre. EY will also partner with third parties for the project.

Meanwhile, the ministry’s MoU with Hummingbird AI also establishes a framework to develop a proposed 150 MW AI infrastructure and data-centre facility, with potential longer-term expansion to 500 MW.

Initial commercial operation for the latter facility is tentatively targeted for the first quarter of 2028. That said, both projects will undergo due diligence before the government decides to proceed with either.

Trinidad and Tobago currently has five data centres – four in Port of Spain, and one in Prince Town. According to Data Center Map, the data centres in Port of Spain are all Tier III compliant.

The UNC post said that the MoUs – combined with a third MoU with Pinnacle Steel and Vanadium to refurbish and recommission its recently acquired iron and steel plant at Point Lisas into a vanadium plant – could represent a combined potential investment exceeding US$5 billion over the coming years that will generate in excess of 5,000 new jobs, provided any of them make it past the due-diligence stage.

According to a report in the Trinidad and Tobago Guardian, Public Utilities Minister Barry Padarath addressed concerns raised in several media reports, including one from the Associated Press, that the data centre projects would impact Trinidad and Tobago’s water supply, which is already plagued by chronic shortages.

Padarath said the proposed data centres won’t have a negative impact on the country’s water security, as the government intends to build the data centres in a special economic zone – possibly Debe – where special ponds will be constructed to supply water to the data centres, along with desalinisation plants as a longer-term backup resource for the country in general.

« We will have a hybrid system in terms of utilising the ponds in the first instance that are created, the man-made ponds, and then if additional water supply is needed by then the desalination plants would come on stream, » Padarath was quoted as saying in the report.

Little is known about Hummingbird AI, except that managing member Marc-Kwesi Farrel – who is named in the government press release as a signatory – is the founder and CEO of Ten To One Rum. He is also a non-executive director of Caribbean-focused investment holding and management company Massy Holdings, whose main portfolios are focused on retail, gas products, motors and machines, and financial services.

Press Release

Sowmyanarayan Sampath appointed CEO to drive the company’s next phase of AI-related and enterprise growth; Steve Smith to remain on Board following retirement

Zayo (“the Company”), the leading digital infrastructure network provider, today announced a planned CEO transition, appointing former Verizon executive Sowmyanarayan Sampath as Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective September 1, 2026. Sampath will succeed Steve Smith, who will retire as CEO following a transformative tenure that established Zayo as the foundational backbone of the AI economy. Smith will continue to serve as a member of Zayo’s Board of Directors.

Under Steve’s leadership, Zayo has evolved from an acquisition-built network operator into the largest independent digital infrastructure network provider and a powerhouse of connectivity serving AI companies and enterprises across the U.S. Sampath’s appointment provides long-term leadership and bolsters Zayo’s market-leading position.

Sampath brings more than two decades of large-scale digital infrastructure experience, most recently serving as CEO of Verizon Consumer, after previously leading Verizon Business and BCG’s global telecom practice for carriers across the world. His extensive background in leading multi-billion-dollar enterprise and wholesale businesses through transformation and rapid technology shifts positions him to accelerate Zayo’s commercial execution, scale for the demands of AI-driven growth, and meet rising demand for high-capacity connectivity.

“On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Steve for his leadership and the important role he has played in strengthening Zayo’s market position,” said Kevin Turner, Chairman of Zayo’s Board of Directors. “Steve has sharpened Zayo’s strategy and positioned the Company for its next phase of growth. This planned transition reflects the strength of our business, the depth of our leadership team, and the Board’s confidence in the path ahead. Sampath’s track record of scaling complex networks and driving enterprise revenue makes him the right leader to maximize the potential from Zayo’s market-leading assets.”

A few interesting items from around the US to catch up with: … [visit site to read more]

Jio Platforms has reportedly appointed long-time executive Pankaj Pawar as its new CEO, replacing Kiran Thomas ahead of the company’s expected initial public offering.

According to The Economic Times, citing draft IPO documents filed with market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India, Thomas stepped down on 23 March, with Pawar assuming the role the following day.

Pawar currently serves as managing director of Reliance Jio Infocomm, the telecom subsidiary that operates the Jio mobile network. The IPO filing credits him with more than 30 years of experience building and scaling consumer and digital businesses.

Jio Platforms is the digital holding company that owns Reliance Jio Infocomm, as well as Reliance Industries’ digital businesses spanning telecoms, digital services and technology investments.

The Economic Times reported that Thomas no longer features among Jio Platforms’ key executives in the IPO filing, despite having been a prominent figure at Reliance Industries’ annual general meetings since the launch of Jio Platforms.

Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani is expected to serve as chairman and non-executive director of Jio Platforms following the listing.

According to the report, Jio Platforms is targeting an IPO that could raise around US$4 billion, making it one of India’s largest public offerings in recent years.

Two bits of M&A and a minority stake: … [visit site to read more]

Malaysian broadband operator Time dotCom announced on Friday it has formalised a strategic Memorandum of Collaboration (MoC) with local cybersecurity services company LGMS to strengthen Malaysia’s cybersecurity ecosystem.

Under the MoC, Time and LGMS aim to establish an integrated cybersecurity collaboration framework tailored to Malaysia’s regulatory, operational and threat environment, as well as joint innovation in AI-powered cybersecurity technologies, threat intelligence, security analytics and advanced security operations.

The framework is intended to help enterprises, public sector organisations and regulated industries strengthen cyber resilience, improve operational readiness and support secure digital transformation, said LGMS founder and MD Fong Choong Fook.

“Cybersecurity today requires more than individual technologies. Organisations need an integrated engagement framework that brings together advisory, governance, continuous monitoring, incident response and operational intelligence,” he said in a statement. “By partnering with Time, we are combining complementary strengths to deliver cybersecurity capabilities designed specifically for Malaysia’s regulatory and operational environment.”

Time and LGMS said the collaboration will also focus on developing joint cybersecurity go-to-market initiatives to accelerate cybersecurity adoption across Malaysian enterprises and public sector organisations, and strengthening Malaysia’s digital sovereignty through locally hosted infrastructure, sovereign AI capabilities and local cybersecurity expertise.

Time and LGMS also aim to develop capabilities through knowledge exchange, skills development and operational readiness initiatives.

The project will combine Time’s digital infrastructure, secure connectivity, managed security operations centre (SOC) capabilities and network intelligence with LGMS’ cybersecurity advisory, governance, risk and compliance, security assessment, threat intelligence and incident response expertise, said Azhar Adnan, CEO of Time’s Enterprise & Public Sector unit.

“Cybersecurity is no longer just about protecting systems. It is about enabling organisations to innovate with confidence,” he said in a statement. “As businesses embrace AI, cloud and digital transformation, trusted digital infrastructure becomes the foundation that underpins resilience, governance and business continuity.”

The UAE-headquartered operator group e& is selling its 16.21% stake in Vodafone Group to Vega, an acquisition vehicle wholly owned by the family of French billionaire Xavier Niel, for £4.4 billion (US$5.95 billion).

The deal values the stake at £1.10 a share, and confers upon Vega 17.13% of the total voting rights in Vodafone Group. Through the acquisition, Niel is now the largest shareholder in the UK-headquartered operator.

In a filing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, e& stated: “following a comprehensive strategic review of its international investment portfolio, e& Group terminated the relationship agreement with Vodafone and its board representative has stepped down from his position as a non-executive director of Vodafone.”

The board representative in question is e& Director Hatem Dowidar, who has held the seat on Vodafone’s board since the two operators signed a strategic partnership in May 2023. E& first acquired a 9.8% stake in Vodafone in 2022 and has increased this holding in the years since.

Manish Pravinkumar of Canalys told us that the move should not be read as e& losing faith in Vodafone, but instead stepping back from its ambition to be a global telecom and tech player, and refocusing capital on its core, home-market businesses.

Noting that e& described the sale as a “natural evolution of its strategic priorities, enabling it to sharpen strategic focus on core businesses while unlocking the value created through this investment”, Pravinkumar argued that this indicated that the decision was based on capital discipline rather than a negative view of the asset.

« e& has decided a large, non-controlling minority stake in a European turnaround doesn’t fit with where it wants to deploy capital right now”, said Pravinkumar. “The roughly $1.3 billion in net cash this frees up is likely headed toward markets where e& has direct operational control and clearer near-term growth visibility — its home base in the UAE, along with key growth markets like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and its wider Africa footprint, where it can shape strategy directly rather than sit as a passive minority shareholder overseas.”

While the deal awaits regulatory approval, e&’s shares are to be sold off simultaneously and held by three financial institutions. The deal is expected to provide e& with a net cash return of around AED 4.7 billion (US$1.3 billion).

India has approved a joint venture between Chinese smartphone vendor Vivo and electronic manufacturer Dixon Technologies, as the government continues to strengthen domestic electronics manufacturing under its Make in India strategy.

The approval was granted on 8 July, allowing Vivo’s Indian unit and Dixon to move ahead with plans first announced in December 2024 to establish an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) focused on producing electronic devices in India.

In a statement, Dixon said the joint venture will manufacture electronic products, “including smartphones”, subject to customer requirements and the completion of the proposed transaction.

Once the company is formally established, Vivo Mobile India and Dixon will finalise the operating structure and governance of the partnership.

The venture comes as India continues to position itself as a global smartphone manufacturing hub, attracting major investments from companies including Apple suppliers such as Foxconn, Tata Electronics and Dixon itself. The country has become an increasingly important alternative manufacturing base as global technology firms diversify production beyond China.

The partnership also aligns with the Indian government’s Make in India initiative, launched in 2014 to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on imports. A key pillar of that strategy has been the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, under which the government committed around INR1.97 trillion (US$23 billion) across multiple manufacturing sectors, including INR410 billion (US$5 billion) specifically for large-scale electronics manufacturing.

The programme has helped drive billions of dollars in smartphone production and exports, with Apple and Android device makers increasingly using India as both a manufacturing and export base.

This Industry Viewpoint was written by Todd Humphreys, WEI GTM Cybersecurity GTM Leader

AI is now embedded across modern security tools and systems that help telecom operators detect vulnerabilities and threats faster and at a greater scale. Security processes that once took weeks of manual analysis can now be completed in just minutes, dramatically increasing visibility across distributed Radio Access Network (RAN) infrastructure, core networks and virtualized environments. … [visit site to read more]