• NGMN guides MNOs on agentic AI evolution 
• DT welcomes new sovereign user to its AI factory
• Excitement grows over SpaceX and Jio IPO prospects

In today’s industry news roundup: NGMN aims to help mobile operators make the right choices as they adopt agentic AI; Deutsche Telekom’s latest AI factory user shows how important sovereign digital assets are becoming; investors are seemingly wetting themselves over the prospect of buying shares in SpaceX and Jio Platforms; and much more!

The Next Generation Mobile Networks Alliance (NGMN) has published Cloud Native Next Chapter – Agentic AI-based Operating Models, a new report that outlines how “mobile network operators (MNOs) can evolve their cloud-native network operations towards agentic AI-based and increasingly autonomous operating models”. The publication provides “a framework for MNOs to support the adoption of agentic AI in telecom network operating models, helping operators navigate the transformation across technology, processes, skills, and organisational culture,” the industry body added. Laurent Leboucher, chairman of the NGMN Alliance Board and Orange Group CTO and EVP of networks, stated: “Agentic AI has the potential to fundamentally change how telecom networks are operated, but only if telecom operators build on the right foundations. AI adoption doesn’t happen in isolation; it depends on cloud-native maturity and a clear path to integrate autonomy without sacrificing reliability or control. That’s exactly what NGMN’s framework delivers: Practical guidance to help operators embrace AI-driven operations with confidence.” You can access the report here. 

Berlin-based Noxtua, which develops AI tools for the legal sector, is “the latest client to move into Deutsche Telekom’s AI factory in Munich,” the German operator has announced. “Since legal professionals work with sensitive data, the legal sector is subject to strict criminal, professional and data protection requirements, making a secure infrastructure essential. In light of the US Cloud Act, processing in sovereign datacentres operated by European cloud providers is particularly crucial. To this end, Noxtua will collaborate in the future with, among others, Deutsche Telekom’s sovereign Industrial AI Cloud,” DT added.  Dr. Leif-Nissen Lundbæk, CEO and co-founder of Noxtua, noted: “For Noxtua, the Industrial AI Cloud is a key component in scaling our European legal AI: It provides essential computing power, meets stringent security and compliance requirements, and is under European control, making it a crucial building block for our sovereignty strategy. After all, an independent legal system is the guarantor of an independent rule of law and is therefore essential for our democracies here in Europe. At the same time, it allows us to demonstrate that powerful AI can successfully scale while upholding European values.” For further details, see this press release. 

Excitement is mounting over two potentially giant network services sector initial public offerings (IPOs). In India, there’s an expectation that the long-awaited IPO papers for Jio Platforms, the digital division of giant Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), could be filed this week, according to this Reuters report. The expectation is that the process could value Jio Platforms – which counts India’s largest mobile operator, Reliance Jio, as the jewel in its crown and main revenue-generator – at about $180bn.  In the US, it’s possible that Elon Musk’s SpaceX operation, which includes low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite giant Starlink in its portfolio, could file its IPO prospectus in the next few days, with some reports putting the potential value of the company at up to $1.75tn. Let’s see what kind of appetite investors have for these assets.  

Spanish antenna technology and licensing firm Fractus has reached a settlement agreement with Verizon over alleged unauthorised use of its patented antenna innovations in fleet management, asset tracking and aftermarket telematics. Fractus had filed patent infringement lawsuits in the Eastern District of Texas against the US operator and Geotab back in December 2024, claiming both companies had unlawfully utilised patented antenna innovations developed by Fractus to enable advanced connectivity solutions. The Barcelona-based company, which holds a patent portfolio of more than 40 inventions, said in this press release it has now reached a settlement with Verizon that brings its case to a close, though no financial figures were shared.

Cloud and AI network infrastructure firm Lightstorm has quadrupled capacity on its terrestrial and subsea cable system that links Japan, Guam and Australia after employing Ciena’s WaveLogic solution. The 9,500km JGA cable system, which connects Tokyo to Sydney via Guam, now offers 400 Gbit/s of client capacity (up from 100 Gbit/s) by increasing fibre-pair efficiency while lowering cost-per-bit, according to Ciena. It has also deployed Ciena’s Navigator Network Control Suite for end-to-end management of its network. The vendor said the solution could see the cable system further upgraded to support up to 800Gbit/s of capacity in the future. The JGA cable is split into two parts at Guam: JGA North and JGA South, and offers up to 30Tbit/s of capacity overall. Lightstorm, which is owned by I Squared Capital, acquired both parts of the JGA in 2024.

It’s been a big week for Telecom Italia (TIM). The Italian national telco’s board acknowledged the €10.8bn takeover offer from Poste Italiane and stated it had “initiated the evaluation process… in the interest of the company and its shareholders.” Then, separately, it boasted that, according to Opensignal (the independent analytics company that focuses on “quantifying the mobile-network experience”), it “ranks first in Italy for fixed and mobile network quality”. According to Opensignal, Telecom Italia is “the best operator for ‘consistent quality’, in Italy, an indicator that measures the network’s ability to ensure stable performance in everyday digital activities, from browsing and streaming to the most advanced services, with a score of 80% for fixed line and 79.2% for mobile” – maybe that will bump up its valuation! For further details on the Opensignal findings as selected by Telecom Italia, see this press release.

For the bigger picture of how Opensignal views mobile performance in Italy, see this December 2025 report, which confirms Telecom Italia’s leadership in consistent quality, as well as in video and games experience, but also shows that Vodafone Italy (now part of Fastweb+Vodafone) was awarded a greater number of winner awards.  

Sticking with TIM… Sparkle, the international operator that is in the process of being sold by Telecom Italia for €700m, has signed a reseller agreement with Anthropic to offer the generative AI (GenAI) developer’s Claude models to institutions and enterprises across Europe through Amazon Web Services (AWS) Bedrock, which enables managed access to multiple large language models (LLMs). “By partnering with Sparkle, organisations can easily integrate one of the most advanced and ethical AI platforms available today into their existing environments to build intelligent assistants, automate document analysis, enhance customer interactions, support software development, and streamline operational workflows,” noted Sparkle in an announcement shared with the media. Annalisa Bonatti, VP of enterprise at Sparkle, stated: “Artificial intelligence is becoming a strategic enabler for organisations across every industry. By integrating Anthropic’s Claude models into our portfolio through Amazon Bedrock, Sparkle further expands its ability to support customers with end-to-end digital infrastructures – from global connectivity to cloud and advanced AI services – helping them deploy secure and scalable generative AI solutions and accelerate innovation.”

As governments get to grips with AI and sovereign strategies loom ever larger, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announced it is hosting its seventh AI for Good Global Summit from 7 to 10 July 2026 at Geneva’s Palexpo convention centre. Leaders from government, industry, academia, civil society and the tech sector will gather to examine and help guide the future of AI, aided by live demonstrations of agentic AI, edge AI, brain-computer interfaces, space computing and robotics. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, secretary-general of the United Nations body, stated: “As artificial intelligence moves from strategy to real-world deployment, countries need the skills, solutions and international standards for AI to work for everyone. Through AI for Good, ITU helps turn AI breakthroughs into practical ways to improve lives. We are also pleased to work with our partners on the inaugural UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance where member states and stakeholders will exchange perspectives on the policies shaping AI’s future.”

– The staff, TelecomTV