• Inwit hits back at contract cancellation
• Analyst defends ISAC
• Android prepares for Q-Day

In today’s industry news roundup: It’s all kicking off in Italy’s towers sector; analyst puts the case for integrated sensing and communications; Android gets ready for the post-quantum era; and much more!

Italian tower company Infrastrutture Wireless Italiane (Inwit) has criticised Fastweb+Vodafone after the Swisscom-owned Italian operator announced its intention to ditch its tower agreement with Inwit only days after announcing the formation of a new towers joint venture with Telecom Italia (TIM): Fastweb+ Vodafone stated it is ending the current deal because Inwit’s tower costs are “above market level” and because Inwit has refused to “engage in formal negotiations to align with standard market conditions”. Fastweb+Vodafone, meanwhile, is aiming to create a new company with Telecom Italia that would develop and manage up to 6,000 new tower sites across Italy: That move has led to speculation that Telecom Italia will also cancel its towers deal with Inwit, which would be disastrous for the company. Inwit has responded by stating that Fastweb+Vodafone’s decision to terminate its master service agreement (MSA) by March 2028 is “unlawful” and “lacks industrial rationale” and it warned that any cancellation of the MSA, which was struck by Vodafone Italy in 2020 and runs to 2038, would see it “immediately file for injunctive relief” in Milan’s court.

Peter Jarich, head of research firm GSMA Intelligence, which is part of the broader industry body the GSMA, has published a response to “all the people who are already judging ISAC [integrated sensing and communications] as dead on arrival”. For a while already, ISAC has been put forward as one of the most important and desirable capabilities enabled by 6G networks, as we noted last year. But doubts have been cast on whether such capabilities can realistically be enabled, notes Jarich, who used this short blog to highlight why there is such great demand for ISAC, and not just in a 6G context. 

Here’s a sign of the times… In publishing the details of its latest beta release for Android 17, the giant mobile OS developer notes that it has included “support for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) through the new v3.2 APK Signature Scheme… to  prepare for future advancements in quantum computing” – by which it means, to counter attempts by cybercriminals to hack Android-based devices using quantum computers. When will hackers get their hands on quantum computers? It seems the timeline to the so-called Q-Day, when quantum computers will be able to break standard encryption, is getting shorter and could be only three or four years away. 

Giant Indonesian operator Telkomsel, which has about 160 million mobile users, has teamed up with ZTE to look into the potential of next-generation network technologies and associated services. They plan to “explore AI-powered network technologies and enterprise innovations” including: AI-RAN, using ZTE’s AIREngine module on its BBU V9200 baseband unit for a proof of concept; and distributed core network functionality, using the vendor’s edge user plane (UPF) platform. The partners will also engage in trials with enterprise customers to “identify AI use cases that are relevant, measurable and applicable to diverse industry needs”. Wong Soon Nam, chief strategy and planning officer at Telkomsel, stated in this announcement: “Through this collaboration, we aim to integrate AI-powered intelligent network capabilities to enhance service reliability, broaden inclusive broadband access, and unlock new opportunities for customers and industries across Indonesia.”

Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) is touting its latest digital inclusivity milestone after connecting one million digitally excluded people across the UK as part of its Better Connections sustainability plan. It marks the completion of its 2022-25 commitment to offer a mix of free data, devices and expanded network access to tackle digital exclusion across the UK. The operator worked alongside charities and other organisations, such as the National Databank, to support vulnerable groups, and provide more than 8.5 million people with digital skills training and online safety advice, surpassing its initial target of 6 million. It plans to donate a further 12,000 refurbished phones this year, matching its 2025 commitment.

Cosmote Telekom, the leading mobile operator in Greece and part of national telco Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE), has launched a GPU-as-a-service (GPUaaS) offering from its datacentre in Athens that “meets the highest security and regulatory compliance standards of the European Union,” the operator noted in this announcement (in Greek). “Enterprises, research institutions and public bodies can now develop and train AI models, process large volumes of data and create new digital services, without the need to invest in their own high-performance computing infrastructure,” noted Cosmote, which added that the service is enabled by Nvidia technology running on HPE servers. Lykourgos Antonopoulos, chief commercial officer for OTE’s Business Segment, stated that Cosmote “brings new infrastructures for the AI ​​needs of businesses, giving direct access to the computing power they need to develop innovative artificial intelligence applications. With advanced GPU-as-a-service capabilities through the business cloud, we ensure that their data and applications are hosted in a secure European environment, strengthening national digital sovereignty and innovation.”

– The staff, TelecomTV