The operator noted the debentures, issued by subsidiary Vodafone Idea Telecom Infrastructure, were oversubscribed by a diverse group of investors, including non-banking financial companies, overseas portfolio investors and alternative investment funds.

CEO Abhijit Kishore stated the capital strengthens its momentum as it continues “to scale our network and enhance services”, adding the fundraising “reinforces investor confidence in our strategy and long-term vision”.

He noted it is holding discussions with banks about raising long-term debt to support capex.

The government is considering offering a moratorium on interest on its INR830 billion adjusted gross revenue (AGR) levies and reassessing its outstanding liabilities.

Vodafone Idea is the third-largest mobile player in India with 197 million subscribers at end-September, down from about 261 million in Q3 2020.

The post Vodafone Idea raises $367M to fund growth appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Vittal is currently MD and vice chair, the latter responsibility he assumed in October 2024 when the company announced what it described as a structured succession process.

He was previously MD and CEO, leading the company’s operations in India for more than a decade.

In its statement confirming final details of the upcoming change, the company explained Vittal would now oversee Bharti Airtel and its subsidiaries, while also being “responsible for driving group synergies in the areas of digital and technology, network strategy, procurement and talent”.

The executive is also charged with group strategy and “futureproofing the organisation for the next evolution of its development”.

Sharma is to become CEO and MD of Bharti Airtel India after spending more than a year as CEO designate, working alongside Vittal to prepare for the handover.    

Another upcoming change at the company involves the CFO of its India operation, Soumen Ray, moving to lead the financial office at group level.

Ray’s old job will be taken by financial controller Akhil Garg.

The post Airtel board rubber stamps leadership changes appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The Mobile Software Competition Act came into force today (18 December), targeting the provision of choices in browser, smartphone app distribution and related areas.

In Apple’s statement, it explained new options had been created for developers to distribute apps on alternative marketplaces and process payments outside of its own in-app purchasing system.

The smartphone vendor’s argument against apps being downloaded from outside of its own store frequently centres on safety and security fears.

In this case, it claimed the new requirements in Japan for “alternative app marketplaces and app payments open new avenues for malware, fraud and scams, and privacy and security risks”.

However, it noted its work with regulators to introduce protections including an authorisation process for app marketplaces to ensure iOS is the “most secure mobile platform available in Japan”.

For in-app payments, Apple stated it is sharing tools to open the way for developers to offer alternatives.

The company also updated its business terms related to iOS apps in the country.

Google moves
In an update on its rules in Japan, Google noted it is extending a policy already in place for alternative billing systems in non-gaming apps to cover any which offer digital content purchases.

It is also providing the means for developers to add an option for users to make purchases with either Google Play Billing or the developer’s website.

Along with noting changes making it easier to switch search engine or browser, Google stated it already complied with many other parts of Japan’s newly-enforced regulations, including the ability to install third-party app stores on Android devices.

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According to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg, Yao will report directly to Tencent president Martin Lau and head the company’s newly formed AI Infrastructure Department.

The AI Infrastructure Department, Tencent’s new research and development unit, sits within the company’s Technology Engineering Group (TEG), which has established two fresh units to focus on large-model training, inference platforms and full-stack data and machine learning services as competition intensifies across the sector.

Yao was also appointed head of TEG’s large language model development, reporting to the group’s president Lu Shan. He reportedly joined Tencent earlier this year after a nearly two-year stint at OpenAI. Yao’s previous roles include positions at Google, Microsoft and Princeton University while his research background spans AI agents and large-scale systems.

South China Morning Post reported that as part of its AI overhaul, Tencent also dissolved its Machine Learning Platform department and redistributed staff across the newly created teams. In addition, the company renamed its existing data platform team and reassigned staff to better align data services with model training and deployment.

At a recent earnings call, Lau reportedly said Tencent was recruiting more top-level AI researchers to strengthen its Hunyuan model family.

Yao’s appointment comes as global competition for AI talent intensifies. Earlier this month, Meta Platforms made headlines for recruiting a senior Apple design expert while OpenAI nabbed a Google executive to lead as its VP of corporate development.

The post Tencent nabs OpenAI researcher as AI shake-up advances appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Chair Kim Yong-hun stated Park “is the right person to establish a foundation for sustainable growth under a new management vision”, and drive change and innovation.

Park joined the operator in 1991 and left in 2020 as an EVP.

His appointment requires approval at a regular shareholders’ meeting.

Current CEO Kim told the board in November he would not seek reappointment when his term ends.

He held the role for just more than two years.

KT established a committee to find a replacement.

The post KT names former EVP as CEO appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Jung explained in a world where market conditions and the business environment are constantly changing, “inertia or sticking to old methods cannot bring about change”.

He said “management will take responsibility for failures”, referring to recent data breaches, allowing employees to “take on new challenges without fear”.

Jung was appointed CEO at end-October and noted the company is changing its core management indicator from EBITDA to return on investment capital, a measure of capital efficiency and value creation which he noted is useful for clarifying mid- to long-term competitiveness and investment priorities.

“This is a will to change the management paradigm to focus on real productivity, which goes beyond quantitative growth and determines how effectively capital has been used.”

He emphasised “we must select and focus on areas where we excel and compete at the pace of global big tech”.

Regarding a leak of SIM data earlier this year, Jung vowed to “rapidly restore customer trust” and focus on fundamental principles including quality, security and safety.

Jung unveiled a major restructure last month, dividing operations into the MNO and AI groups, with up to 30 per cent of top executives reportedly cut.

In September, the company consolidated all AI units into a single entity.

The post SKT CEO calls for bold steps to spur change appeared first on Mobile World Live.

CEO Mark Callander explained in a statement it has reached out to all impacted customers about the need to upgrade older devices, adding the impact on users still relying on 3G in Rural Connectivity Group network areas is likely to be minimal as 3G usage on its sites is limited.

“By retiring this legacy technology, we can focus on strengthening and expanding our 4G and 5G networks which carry the vast majority of today’s mobile traffic,” he stated.

In early 2023, 2degrees and Spark New Zealand revealed plans to turn off their 3G networks by end-2025.

But in June Spark pushed the shutdown back to end-March 2026.

More than a year ago, One New Zealand delayed the switch off of its 3G network, first scheduled for mid-2024, to coincide with the termination of 2G services at end-2025.

Data from GSMA Intelligence showed the country had just 56,400 3G connections at end-September, less than 1 per cent the total 4.5 million mobile connections.

The post 2degrees starts 3G shutdown appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The government is looking to offer a four- or five-year moratorium on the debt-laden operator’s interest on its INR830 billion ($9.2 billion) adjusted gross revenue (AGR) levies.

A committee reviewing the matter will seek input from the Department of Telecommunications and Vodafone Idea before finalising the amount due, the newspaper wrote, noting the reduction could be as much as 50 per cent.

In September, the country’s Supreme Court gave the government a green light to again review the operator’s AGR liabilities.

The government boosted its stake in the operator from 26.4 per cent to 49 per cent in April, converting INR369.5 billion of its outstanding spectrum auction liabilities to equity.

Vodafone Idea is the third-largest mobile player in India with 197 million subscribers at end-September, down from about 261 million in Q3 2020.

The post Vodafone Idea edges closer to AGR liability relief appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The operator stated Visa Pay adds swift, secure disbursement options to VNPT Money. It is initially offering a set-up using QR codes, but plans to add tap-to-pay and e-commerce in 2026.

Visa country manager for Vietnam and Laos Dung Dang said the payment service “is a catalyst” for the nation’s “digital and financial inclusion journey”.

The options provided will help “uplift the economy, empower small businesses and create new opportunities for innovation”, she said.

VNPT explained its money customers benefit from greater security and a reduction in the steps needed to complete transactions. It emphasised no additional apps are required to use Visa Pay.

The service works when users are abroad, employing what VNPT stated are “competitive exchange rates and costs”.

It added the launch of Visa Pay demonstrates both companies’ commitment to “expanding access to digital financial services”, international tourism and more.

VNPT FinTech Centre director Nguyen Dang Thang said launching Visa Pay “is an important milestone” for the operator’s mobile money service, one which delivers solid progress in its trajectory “toward becoming a comprehensive digital payment platform”.

The post VNPT adds Visa Pay to mobile money service appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The case to the country’s High Court also disputes Reddit, a social news aggregation and discussion site, being classified as an age-restricted social media platform. It argues it should be exempt as it doesn’t meet the definition of social media, the news agency wrote.

Reddit claims its platform is a forum primarily for adults without traditional social media features.

Australia’s health minister Mark Butler reportedly declared the action by Reddit was “to protect the profits that they make at the expense of the mental health of young people”.

He compared the action to Big Tobacco’s fight against tobacco controls, adding the country would defend the legal challenges “every step of the way”.

Last month, two teenagers filed a legal challenge against the social media curbs backed by the Digital Freedom Project.

Starting 10 December, Twitch, Facebook, Instagram, Kick, Reddit, Snapchat, Threads, TikTok, X and YouTube are required to take reasonable steps to prevent children under the age of 16 from having accounts.

The post Reddit challenges Australia social media ban appeared first on Mobile World Live.

MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Mizuho Bank are working out details on providing loans, The Japan Times reported.

In a previous move, MUFG Bank invested JPY300 million ($1.9 million) in the chipmaker, which is backed by JPY1.7 trillion in funding from the Japanese government.

Rapidus aims to revive domestic production of advanced chips, and compete with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and Samsung.

Nikkei Asia wrote existing investors Sony, Toyota and Honda are also among 20 companies making new investments in Rapidus. The news outlet added the company submitted a plan to Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry detailing its goal of reaching operating profitability around fiscal 2030.

The chipmaker plans to begin mass-production of advanced 2nm chips in fiscal 2027.

It began prototyping a 2nm gate-all-around transistor at a new fabrication facility in July.

The post Rapidus lining up $13B in loans, new investors appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The licence allows it to offer regulated money transfer and various other services, a move the operator group emphasised would expand inclusion in a country where many do not access traditional financial services.

Banglalink is set to initially launch person-to-person transfers; other remittance; bill payment; merchant and e-commerce transactions; and salary and disbursement services.

These are set to be integrated “seamlessly into customers’ mobile experience”, a factor it believes lowers current barriers to access.

Eventually, the operator plans to expand into other areas, including insurance premium payments and micro-savings.   

Banglalink is currently working with Bangladesh Bank and partner institutions on operational and technical preparations for commercial launch.

Citing official statistics from Bangladesh for 2023, Veon noted 72 per cent of the country’s population did not use formal financial services, with its upcoming offering providing “a significant opportunity to accelerate financial inclusion at national scale”.

Digital drive
Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu stated digital financial services are a pillar of the company’s strategy to empower “customers with relevant digital services for every minute of the day”.

“The green light for Banglalink to launch payment services will enable us to bring financial services directly to customers’ fingertips while helping accelerate Bangladesh’s growth as a digital economy.”

Veon noted the launch builds on its experience of providing similar products in its other markets. As of end-September, it had 42.1 million monthly active users of digital financial services across its footprint.

“The launch in Bangladesh extends this expertise into one of South Asia’s largest and fastest-growing digital economies,” it added.  

The post Veon unit bags Bangladesh payments licence appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The broad initiative includes setting up a 12-inch, 40nm foundry to help fabless chipmakers develop and test chips with a KRW4.5 trillion budget as well as increasing the number of chip factories to 37 from the current 21.

The investment will be focused commercialising neural processing units and advanced packaging technology. The government also will expand state funding to ensure the facilities have a sufficient supply of power and water.

President Lee Jae-Myung held meetings with executives from the country’s chipmakers.

SK Hynix led the global DRAM market in Q3 with a 33.2 per cent share, marginally ahead of rival Samsung with a 32.6 per cent share, data from TrendForce showed.

In September, Lee revealed the five-year Nation Growth Fund was increased to KRW150 trillion from KRW100 trillion. The investment will be used across the country’s AI, semiconductors, biotechnology, defence, robotics and green mobility sectors.

The post South Korea earmarks billions to maintain memory lead appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The AI-powered technology verified in the tests automatically applies optimal configurations for each user rather than for the network as a whole based on real-time wireless conditions, the companies stated.

By proactively preventing disruptions, the technology helps users avoid connectivity issues experienced in the past.

Head of KT’s Future Network Laboratory Lee Jong-Sik noted the achievement indicates AI can transform network operations around the user.

Jeong Jin-Guk, head of Samsung’s Advanced Communications Research Centre, said the demonstration is a major milestone which shows how AI can improve user experience on real-world commercial networks.

The AI-RAN technology was applied to users experiencing service disruptions in a field trial with about 18,000 participants, allowing the teams to identify recurring issue patterns and develop user-specific network configurations. The companies then compared the number of disconnections before and after applying the configurations on the commercial network, finding a significant drop in connection failures among users who had faced frequent disruptions.

Samsung is a founding member of the AI-RAN Alliance. KT is also a member.

The post KT, Samsung advance AI-RAN optimisation appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In an emailed statement sent to Mobile World Live, Nvidia responded to a report from The Information, based on unnamed sources, which was cited by Bloomberg claiming Blackwell chips were smuggled into China through countries that permit their sale.

The AI startup apparently used chips that were installed in data centres in the undisclosed countries, then proceeded to dismantle and ship to China after clearing inspection by companies developing server equipment.

An Nvidia spokesperson said it hadn’t seen “any substantiated or received tips of ‘phantom data centres constructed to deceive us or our OEM partners, then deconstructed, smuggled, and reconstructed somewhere elsewhere.”

The statement continued: “While smuggling seems farfetched, we pursue any tip we receive.”

The news comes the same week US President Donald Trump gave Nvidia permission to ship H200 AI accelerators to China.

However, a ban on the more powerful Blackwell chipsets is still in force.

The US has enforced a block on advanced AI semiconductors being shipped to China, resulting in AI developers accessing hardware through data centres located outside of the country, Bloomberg reported.

Domestic push
DeepSeek rocked the global AI market at the start of 2025 when it showed off its R1 AI model, which experts stated had been built at the fraction of the cost of rival options such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

The company was founded by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, which amassed 10,000 Nvidia GPUs in 2021, before US export rules came into force, Bloomberg’s report added.

Despite Trump easing chip rules this week, Chinese authorities are still pushing companies to use domestic technologies in their AI pushes. DeepSeek last released a new model in September and stated it was working with domestic companies on the offering.

The post Nvidia rejects claims DeepSeek is using banned chips appeared first on Mobile World Live.

According to Bloomberg, Apple’s app store rankings showed TikTok-backed Lemon8 as the most downloaded free app in Australia, followed by private photo-sharing service Yope and Coverstar, which positions itself as “the safest alternative to TikTok” for children aged 9 to 16.

Market intelligence company SensorTower reportedly found Coverstar’s usage in Australia jumped 488 per cent compared with the same period last year, while Chinese-owned app Rednote recorded a 37 per cent increase in weekly active users.

At the same time, demand for VPNs, a potential method for bypassing restrictions, rose 103 per cent in the country compared with the daily average of the previous 28 days, Top10VPN statistics showed.

Profound reform
Australia’s controversial new law obliges social media platforms including TikTok and Meta Platforms’ Instagram to prevent under-16s from holding accounts or face fines of up to AUD49.5 million ($33 million). Australia is the first democracy to impose such restrictions as a response to growing concerns around online harm, cyberbullying and exposure to inappropriate content.

While major platforms including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have begun enforcing the rules by blocking attempts to create underage accounts, several have warned the law risks pushing minors into dangerous online spaces. Elon Musk’s X also confirmed compliance, stating: “It’s not our choice – it’s what the Australian law requires.”

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese argued the ban is “pushing back against big tech, saying that social media companies have a social responsibility”. 

He noted the new law marks “a profound reform which will continue to reverberate around the world in coming months,” adding it “will change lives for Australian kids” and allow them “just have their childhood”.

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In a stock market filing, the chipmaker stated it is “considering various measures to enhance corporate value, but nothing has been finalised at this time”.

Analysts suggest the potential listing of its treasury shares on a US stock exchange would be via American Depositary Receipts, which are issued by US depositary banks, allowing foreign shares to trade in the US like domestic stocks.

The filing added it will make a further announcement when specific details are finalised, or within one month.

In its Q3 earning call at end-October, the company said due to surging demand for AI memory it had secured orders for its entire DRAM and NAND production in 2026.

At that time, the company noted it will increase capex in 2026 to boost capacity, as it registered record profit and revenue in Q3, driven by rising prices of memory products. It plans to increase the capacity at its next-generation fabrication plant in Cheongju, dedicated to producing advanced DRAM and high bandwidth memory (HBM).

The company hasn’t issued a capex guidance for 2025, but industry sources suggest it could increase 30 per cent year-on-year. Last year’s outlay was KRW16 trillion ($10.9 billion), up 90 per cent from 2023.

SK Hynix led the global DRAM market in Q3 with a 33.2 per cent share, marginally ahead of rival Samsung with a 32.6 per cent share, data from TrendForce showed.

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At the Amazon Smbhav Summit in New Delhi, the e-commerce giant stated with the planned investment by 2030 it aims to accelerate digital transformation, strengthen infrastructure and support innovation across the country.

Amazon SVP for emerging markets Amit Agarwal noted it is “excited to continue being a catalyst for India’s growth, as we democratise access to AI for millions of Indians”.

The company said it has pumped a total of $40 billion in India. Agarwal added the company has invested in “growing the physical and digital infrastructure for small businesses in India, creating millions of jobs”.

The commitment comes a day after Microsoft announced plans to invest $17.5 billion in the country between 2026 and 2029, with a focus on hyperscale capacity.

The post Amazon commits $35B to India appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a LinkedIn post, Viettel noted all sites support standalone (SA)and non-standalone 5G, with both the core and access layers entirely 5G, delivering speeds of up to 10Gb/s.

The 5G network, deployed with Ericsson, includes Viettel-developed technologies, such as 5G gNodeB base stations and the vOCS 4.0 charging system, the operator stated. Its R&D unit Viettel High Tech also developed a 5G chipset.

In a separate post, Ericsson Vietnam VP Trung Phan added Viettel is the first operator in the country to commercially deploy end-to-end SA 5G, supported by its radio system for the nationwide RAN rollout and full SA core network.

Viettel is the largest mobile player in Vietnam with nearly 79.1 million mobile connections at end-September, data from GSMA Intelligence showed. It is estimated to have 8.4 million 5G users.

It started testing 5G in parts of the country’s two largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, using trial licences in 2019 and officially introduced the service in late 2024 along with rival VNPT.

The post Viettel 5G coverage tops 90% appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Fitch Solution’s BMI unit pegged the operator’s spending on 5G infrastructure between 2022 and 2024 at PHP224.5 billion ($3.8 billion), with nationwide rollout 95 per cent completed by end-2024.

Its capital spending as a percentage of service revenue dropped to 26 per cent in the January to September period, which compares to 33 per cent a year earlier.

Meanwhile, rival PLDT also slashed capex this year to PHP60 billion from PHP78.2 billion in 2024. Its spending in 2023 fell to PHP85.1 billion from PHP96.8 billion the previous year.

Despite the reduction in network spend, Globe’s net profit for the first nine months of 2025 fell 14 per cent year-on-year to PHP17.7 billion. Return on equity slipped to 12.5 per cent at end-September compared with 15.6 per cent in the same period of 2024.

Its mobile revenue declined 2 per cent to PHP86.7 billion, with prepaid ARPU dropping 8 per cent to PHP138, down from a peak of PHP160 in late 2023.

BMI attributed the ARPU decline to subscriber base normalisation following the 2022 SIM registration requirement that removed inactive accounts.

Aggressive forecast
It believes Globe is positioned to capture growth from the Philippines’ expanding 5G subscriber base, which it predicts will jump from 31 million in 2024 to 97.2 million by 2034, while ARPU will increase 82.6 per cent over that period.

Globe ended September with 12.5 million 5G subs, behind PLDT’s mobile unit Smart Communications with 14.5 million. Dito Telecommunity had 4.3 million. Collectively, that represents just 23 per cent of the country’s mobile subscribers, with plenty of room for growth as customers replace their handsets.

Matthew Iji, director of data modelling and forecasting at GSMA Intelligence, said the SIM registration push resulted in nearly 30 million SIMs being cut from the books and increased ARPU sharply. Since then, ARPU has been slowly falling.

Iji suggested BMI’s 83 per cent ARPU growth target “seems optimistic”, while data revenue is increasing and allowing for inflation. “It’s hard to believe people will be willing and able to spend that much more on mobile services,” he added.  

Since the forecast is based on mobile, he noted Philippines operators’ focus on 5G FWA should help offset flat mobile revenue growth.

BMI stated translating user growth into revenue gains will depend on competitive pricing discipline with rivals. It argued to sustain ARPU growth, Globe will need to offer more sophisticated financial services to differentiate from new competitors in that sector.

Balancing act
Jensen Ooi, principal analyst for APAC service provider markets at Omdia, told Mobile World Live the Philippines remains a highly price-sensitive market and service providers face a balancing act as they need to stabilise ARPU without sparking a price war, which could erode profitability. 

While 5G has been available for a few years, Ooi said it still lacks compelling use cases operators can rely on to significantly boost service revenue. “As such, they will need to focus on other avenues such as converged bundles, roaming and device sales to drive growth.”

He said it is crucial to avoid entering a race to the bottom on pricing, especially when all three major players, Globe, Smart and Dito, have had to rely on external financing to support infrastructure upgrades. 

Mobile service revenue in the Philippines is still rising, with Omdia projecting it to grow at a CAGR of 2.5 per cent from 2025 to 2030.

With such modest growth, BMI’s aggressive ARPU projection will certainly be a challenge. GSMA Intelligence predicts ARPU will rise just 33.5 per cent to $3.91 from 2025 to 2031.

Looking to other markets in Asia, such as China, profit and revenue growth have rarely seen significant increases following a drop in capex after a new technology is deployed.

The post Feature: Will lower capex drive Globe Telecom growth? appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The company predicted adoption will be underpinned by three core technologies: 5G RedCap, designed to simplify and streamline connectivity, 5G Massive IoT and 4G LTE Cat-1bis, which supports low-cost, low-power IoT devices.

Omdia highlighted 5G RedCap as key to enabling cost-efficient connectivity as operators prepare to phase-out 4G networks after 2030. Aimed at mid-tier devices that do not require ultra-low latency or high bandwidth, RedCap began gaining traction this year following its integration into the latest Apple Watch models.

“The implementation of 5G RedCap in the latest range of Apple Watches has signalled the starting gun for RedCap adoption,” said Alexander Thompson, senior analyst for IoT at Omdia. He added that enterprises will see “a wider and wider selection of connectivity technologies” emerge, supporting a broader range of applications.

Further growth is forecasted in 2026, when enhanced RedCap (eRedCap) modules are expected to launch, expanding mid-tier connectivity options and helping to drive cellular IoT adoption through the next decade.

Automotive is set to become one of the largest cellular IoT segments over the forecast period. Omdia expects connected vehicle subscriptions to rise from around 500 million today to approximately 1.2 billion by 2035, increasing the sector’s share of total connections from 13 per cent to 21 per cent. A large portion of this growth will come from Asia and Oceania, fuelled by rising demand for intelligent, 5G-connected vehicles.

The rise of software-defined vehicles is “made possible by cellular connected vehicles, which is why we expect to see vehicles represent 1 in 5 cellular connections by 2025,” added Andrew Brown, IoT practice lead at Omdia.

The findings are drawn from Omdia’s Cellular IoT Market Tracker, which analyses shipments, revenues and installed connections by region, technology and application through to 2035.

The post 5G tipped to fuel cellular IoT growth appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The local office of professional services company Grant Thornton is handling the proceedings, which involve seeking expressions of interest from potential buyers by noon on 11 December.

Thinxtra provides low-power, wide-area connectivity, IoT devices and data services. It was appointed the Australian operator of the Sigfox network in 2016 and today provides asset and fleet tracking, smart facilities management and utility monitoring.

Business News Australia noted Thinxtra netted an investment of AUD5 million ($3.3 million) in a pre-IPO move in 2023.

Grant Thornton stated the administration move covers Thinxtra, Thinxtra Solutions and Thinxtra Network. This means subsidiaries in New Zealand and Hong Kong are not involved in the action, though the professional services company noted they could be included in any deal.

It pitched Thinxtra on an exclusive contract to provide Australia’s “only national, public, low-power 0G network and Soracom” mobile connectivity.

The IoT company works with companies spanning transport, utilities, retail, manufacturing, healthcare and smart infrastructure, and it generated revenue of AUD4.7 million in the year to end-June.

The post IoT player Thinxtra enters administration appeared first on Mobile World Live.

South Korea’s Industry Ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with the chip company covering talent development, technology exchange, university partnerships and expanded R&D collaboration.

The plan includes the launch of a dedicated “Arm School”, which aims to produce around 1,400 high-level chip-design specialists between 2026 and 2030, targeting master’s and doctoral level students as well as industry workers.

Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, said the school would become “a valuable asset in strengthening Korea’s relatively weak fabless and system-chip sectors”, local news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily reported.

The government is reportedly weighing the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology as the leading candidate to host the new school. A joint working group between Arm and the Industry Ministry will also be established.

Industry minister Kim Jung-kwan said the agreement creates a foundation to train the “key human resources who will be responsible for the future of our AI semiconductor industry”, adding the government plans to deepen collaboration with global technology companies “in preparation for the AI era”.

According to Reuters, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said during a meeting in Seoul on Friday that chip demand will skyrocket as AI advances, adding that superintelligent AI would eventually be “10,000 times smarter than people”.

The post Arm to build South Korea chip-training facility appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a statement, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant noted more young people are unintentionally encountering age-inappropriate content at a young age, adding the new codes are about “protecting our kids from accidental exposure”.

The codes, for example, require search engines to blur image results of online pornography and extreme violence to protect children from incidental exposure.

The 98-page regulatory guidance covers new codes applying to age-restricted material and existing unlawful material codes and standards. They complement the under-16 social media ban which goes into effect 10 December, the statement noted.

The new rules apply to online service providers such as app stores, social media services, equipment providers, online pornography services and generative AI services.

The post Australia issues guidelines on new online safety rules appeared first on Mobile World Live.

The vendor explained in a statement Airtel’s network APIs will be made available on a subscription basis to developers, system integrators and enterprises using Nokia’s Network as Code platform.

The platform gives developers standardised access to network functions without having to navigate underlying network technologies, with more than 60 partners joining its global ecosystem, Nokia added.

Airtel Business CEO Sharat Sinha noted it is partnering with Nokia on network APIs to enable “the ecosystem to leverage our network capabilities” to automate and build secure digital services.

Arvind Khurana, Nokia’s head of Cloud and Network Services for India, stated the partnership “represents a significant step in expanding the Network as Code ecosystem”, which helps operators make money from network investments, while “fostering innovation in the developer community”.

The post Airtel signs up with Nokia for API push appeared first on Mobile World Live.

Rachel Lord, public policy senior manager at Google and YouTube Australia, expressed disappointment “this rushed regulation misunderstands our platform and the way young Australians use it”.

She declared the law would “not fulfil its promise to make kids safer online and will, in fact, make Australian kids less safe on YouTube”.

The Social Media Minimum Age Act is due to come into effect on 10 December.

Lord argued it “removes the very parental controls and safety filters built to protect them, it will not make kids safer on our platform”, because it will result in children using YouTube without an account.

She added parents would also lose the ability to supervise their child’s account because they only work when they are signed in.

At a press event today (4 December), Minister for Communications Anika Wells stated it is “outright weird” YouTube highlighted the lack of safety when users are not logged in.

She said if the platform is “reminding us all that it is not safe”, it is a “problem that YouTube needs to fix”.

The politician highlighted the origin of the law was a campaign by thousands of parents.

The post YouTube argues Australia risking safety appeared first on Mobile World Live.

In a statement, India’s Ministry of Communications announced given increasing uptake of the Sanchar Saathi app, the decision had been made to not make installation by manufacturers mandatory.

“The number of users has been increasing rapidly and the mandate to install the app was meant to accelerate this process and make the app available to less aware citizens easily,” it explained.

Earlier in the week Apple said it did not plan to comply with the government directive to preinstall the app on all new handsets, Reuters reported.

Criticism
Reversal of the policy comes a day after communications minister Jyotiraditya Scindia issued a statement on X clarifying use of the app was voluntary and users would be allowed to delete the app. This went against the original policy whereby the app was unremovable.

Scindia said it could be activated “at their convenience to access its benefits, and they may deactivate or delete it from their devices at any time”.

He insisted the app “is not surveillance, it is a citizen safety tool”, adding it is both an app and a portal that enables citizens to secure themselves through transparent, easy-to-use tools.

Canalys senior analyst Sanyam Chaurasia told Mobile World Live allowing users to delete the app significantly softened the original mandate and reduced the impact on device experience and OEM strategies.

More importantly, he suggested “the real inflection point” will depend on how convincingly data privacy, user consent and transparency are addressed.

“Until strong safeguards and legal clarity are in place, this is likely to remain a developing policy experiment rather than a hard, industry-wide operating requirement.”

Story updated on 3 December at 12.30 GMT to include the latest statement. Additional reporting by Chris Donkin.

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The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) stated after it took legal action, Google admitted it engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.

Google conceded its actions “had the likely effect of substantially lessening competition”, the ACCC stated.

ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said the penalty “should send a strong message to all businesses that there are serious and costly consequences” for anti-competitive conduct.

“Today’s outcome, combined with the undertakings from Google and the telcos, creates the potential for millions of Australians to have greater search choice in the future,” he added.

Google earlier committed to removing certain pre-installation and default search engine restrictions from its contracts with Android device makers and mobile operators.

The operator deals ran between December 2019 and March 2021 and required them to pre-install Google Search on Android handsets.

Telstra and Optus received a share of the revenue Google generated from adverts displayed to consumers when they used Google Search on their Android phones.

In 2024, Telstra, Optus and TPG Telecom agreed not to enter into new agreements with Google which would enable its search service being exclusively pre-installed and set as default on devices sold to customers.

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Sources told the news agency Apple does not plan to comply with the order as it doesn’t follow “such mandates anywhere in the world” as they raise privacy and security issues for its iOS ecosystem.

The DoT sent letters to major smartphone makers requiring them to add the app to new devices in 90 days, Reuters stated.

The app, called Sanchar Saathi, or Communication Partner, cannot be removed by users. It is designed to track stolen phones, block the devices and prevent them from being used for fraud.

The government has defended the order, insisting it is necessary to help citizens verify the authenticity of a handset and report suspected misuse.

In August, Russia ordered all phones and tablets to come preinstalled with the state-backed MAX messenger app, developed by the largest social media company in the country VK.

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The Network Concierge agent runs on Amazon Web Services’ platform for building generative-AI applications, Amazon Bedrock.

In a statement, the operator explained customer service and network staff previously had to move between several tools to diagnose a coverage issue flagged by customers.

GM of its mobile access network Thaigan Govender noted the agent “pulls everything into one place and gives our engineers clear answers in minutes”, reducing wait times for customers.

The operator stated it reduced analysis time by 80 per cent.

When a customer service representative makes a query the AI agent pulls together performance data, alarms and past incidents, then creates a summary of what’s happening and what to do next.

Thaigan added the new system “let our teams work smarter and much faster”.

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