• VodafoneThree launches 5G FWA service
• SoftBank Corp gets into the battery business
• KDDI teams with Ericsson on automated uplink gains

In today’s industry news roundup: UK operator VodafoneThree has launched a 5G fixed wireless access service; Japan’s SoftBank is to produce batteries as part of its green transformation plans; KDDI has teamed with Ericsson to trial automated operations in its radio access network uplink; and much more!

UK operator VodafoneThree has launched a new 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband service which it claims can deliver “full fibre speeds” to customers who can’t access fixed fibre broadband. Leveraging Vodafone and Three’s combined UK radio access network, the operator said the services allows it to offer full-fibre-like speeds to an additional 3.7 million homes, meaning its broadband service offer is available in some form to more than 26 million homes across the UK. The ‘plug-and-play’ service offers speeds of up to 150 Mbit/s and unlimited data on every plan, which come in both 30-day rolling and 24-month variations. The service, which is being promoted using the Vodafone (rather than VodafoneThree) brand, and provisioned using an indoor router, though the telco said it also has future plans to launch an outdoor hub which will require self installation and will lock on to the strongest 5G connection available.

As part of its efforts to develop the power infrastructure, as well as the data processing infrastructure, that can support the expected growth in AI services, Japanese operator SoftBank Corp has announced it is entering the industrial battery market. It has revealed plans to start making battery cells and energy storage systems by converting part of the former Sharp LCD factory in Sakai, Osaka, where it is building one of its major AI datacentres, into a large-scale battery manufacturing facility, with production set to start in the fiscal year that runs from April 2027 to March 2028. As a result of the move, the Sakai site will be split into an “AX Factory” – where AX, or AI transformation, comprises AI datacentre operations and, potentially, AI infrastructure manufacturing – and a “GX Factory” – where the GX, or green transformation, operations focus on the production of next-generation batteries and solar panels. SoftBank Corp. has partnered with Cosmos Lab to jointly develop innovative battery cells, and DeltaX to develop energy storage systems, with the aim of generating annual revenues of over 100bn yen ($626 million) by fiscal year 2030 (which ends in March 2031). Batteries and solutions produced under the scheme will be used in SoftBank Corp’s AI datacentre facilities, but will also act as an external revenue stream, with longer term plans to expand globally. SoftBank Corp is believed to be in talks to develop and build its own AI servers, and while this hasn’t been officially announced as yet, the operator’s floor plans for the AX Factory part of the Sakai facility suggest that it expects AI servers, AI-RAN infrastructure and satellite/high-altitude platform station (HAPS) products to be produced on site. The news came as SoftBank Corp unveiled its new mid-term AI-centric strategy. 

As part of its efforts to achieve level 4 autonomous network (AN) operations (as measured by the TM Forum’s autonomous networks AN framework), Japanese operator KDDI has “successfully completed a large scale field trial of Ericsson’s AI driven Uplink Interference Optimizer (UIO) rApp, running on the Ericsson Intelligent Automation platform (EIAP), demonstrating predictable uplink performance gains across both 4G and 5G live networks while confirming readiness for higher levels of network autonomy,” the partners have announced. According to the vendor, the trial, which was conducted during the first quarter of this year, “covered a multi-technology, multi-band cluster of approximately 1,500 5G and 1,300 4G cells, validating that AI-based uplink interference management can deliver scalable improvements under real world traffic conditions,” adding that the “UIO rApp selectively optimized the cells carrying the majority of network traffic, delivering tangible uplink improvements without compromising network stability.” At level 4, “automated networks reason, act, and adapt independently to their objectives, with minimal human involvement,” according to the TM Forum.

Akamai has landed a massive seven-year, $1.8bn deal for its emerging cloud infrastructure services (CIS) division from a “US-based frontier model provider”, the global cybersecurity and content distribution infrastructure company noted in its first-quarter earnings report that was published late last week. Various reports since then have identified Anthropic as the customer. Akamai reported first-quarter revenues of almost $1.1bn, up by 4% year on year on a like-for-like basis, but its cloud infrastructure services unit reported a 39% increase in sales to $95m, and clearly that’s going to ramp up even further in the next few quarters. CEO Tom Leighton noted: “Akamai delivered a strong start to 2026… we are very pleased to announce that a leading frontier model provider has committed to $1.8bn over seven years for CIS, further validating our position as a key infrastructure provider in the AI economy. Our security portfolio is also uniquely positioned to benefit from the rapid evolution of AI, with our enterprise customers needing our security products and expertise more than ever before.”

Telkom Indonesia has launched a new subsea cable linking Indonesia to Papua New Guinea through its international division Telin. The Puk Puk-1 submarine cable system links Telin’s cable landing station in Jayapura to a landing station in Vanimo that is operated by PNG DataCo, the wholesale arm of state-owned Telikom. It is the second subsea cable system to connect into Jayapura – the largest city in the Indonesia province of Papua on the island of New Guinea (which is divided between Indonesia in the west of the island and PNG in the east). Jayapura is also a landing point for the Kumul cable that was launched in 2019. Telin did not share the length or capacity of the Puk Puk-1 cable but noted it will connect to routes in the US through the SEA-US cable system, which links Manado in Indonesia with California.

– The staff, TelecomTV