• IOH’s AI infrastructure JV Zankore secures $3.1bn funding
• GSMA issues renewables warning for APAC operators
• Bell Canada launches NaaS platform
   

In today’s industry news roundup: Zankore, the joint-venture between Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, Nvidia, Nokia and Ooredoo, raises $3.1bn in debt funding; operators in APAC are being held back from hitting green goals due to a lack of renewable energy, warns the GSMA; Bell Canada unveils a new on-demand network-as-a-service offering; and much more!

Zankore, the recently unveiled AI infrastructure and services joint venture formed by Indonesia’s Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), Nvidia, Nokia and Ooredoo Group, has secured $3.1bn in debt funding from “a consortium of leading regional and international financial institutions” – Citi, ING, Natixis CIB, Qatar National Bank (QNB) Group, and United Overseas Bank (UOB) – “to support the development and deployment of its next-generation AI and GPU cloud infrastructure,” the company announced. “The transaction represents one of Asia’s largest AI infrastructure financings and marks a significant milestone for Zankore as it advances its ambition to build a scalable AI computing platform for the region and beyond,” it added, noting that it is in the process of deploying the initial 100 megawatts (MWs) of Nvidia AI Infrastructure: Its aim is to have 200 MW of capacity up and running in early 2027. Vikram Sinha, director and chairman of Zankore and CEO at IOH, stated: “AI is creating a defining opportunity for Indonesia and South-east Asia. The question is no longer simply whether the region will use AI but whether we build the infrastructure that enables us to participate meaningfully in creating its future. With Nvidia’s support, Zankore is building the advanced AI computing foundation needed to help turn that opportunity into reality.” 

The GSMA has warned policymakers in Asia Pacific that while operators in the region are making progress in hitting their climate commitments, they need greater access to renewable energy to further reduce emissions. As part of a new report, Mobile Net Zero: Asia Pacific, the industry body revealed that mobile traffic in the region is up 350% since 2019 and with that there has been an increase in operator emissions in emerging markets of around 20%. According to the GSMA, one key factor in this is a lack of access to renewable energy, with renewables accounting for just 4% of mobile electricity use in South-east Asia, compared with 70% in Europe. Climate action is a priority for operators in the region, the GSMA claims,with 21 operators in the region publishing validated near-term science-based targets, and 13 publishing validated targets to reach net zero. Despite this, the region remains below the global average of 24% of energy consumption coming from renewable sources, dragged down by operators in emerging markets such as Malaysia, where this figure is just 5%. “Mobile operators across Asia Pacific are strengthening their climate commitments and investing in more efficient networks to meet growing demand. But progress on reducing emissions will be difficult without greater access to renewable electricity,” said Steven Moore, head of climate action at the GSMA. “Policymakers play a critical role in creating the conditions for investment in renewable energy and modern grids. Expanding access to clean, reliable power will help the mobile industry reduce emissions, manage energy costs and build more resilient networks.” You can check out the full report here.

Bell Canada has launched what it says is the country’s first network-as-a-service (NaaS) platform that is aligned with the seven fundamental NaaS customer experience attributes identified by industry body Mplify, which is “shaping the interoperable ecosystem for NaaS for AI and AI-ready digital infrastructure”. The Bell On-Demand Network, underpinned by the operator’s fibre network and “powered” by Cisco 8000 Series Secure Router technology, is a new digital platform that “gives business customers unprecedented control, visibility and flexibility over their network services. Through a single self-serve platform, customers can now autonomously order, activate, manage and scale connectivity, helping them respond more quickly to changing business needs,” noted the telco. The platform’s initial offering, On-Demand Internet, is available in Ontario and Québec wherever fibre has been deployed, with additional networking, security, cloud connectivity and automation capabilities planned over time. Mark McDonald, Bell Canada’s CTO, said: “Our fibre network, with its award-winning reliability, is the bedrock of business connectivity. With the new Bell On-Demand Network, we’re pairing that strength with a powerful digital experience. Customers can now provision, scale and adjust their network in real time, getting the exact bandwidth and services they need, the moment they need them, all backed by the performance they trust.”

BT International has reached an agreement to extend its contract with EuroControl, which delivers the New Pan-European Network Service (NewPENS) ground–to-ground IP network that links air traffic management stakeholders across 42 countries. BT has provided the network for eight years, having initially signed a deal with EuroControl and its 41 aviation partners in 2018, but the operator will now continue to deliver the network until 2033, according to a LinkedIn post from BT International managing director Joris van Oers. He said: “We’re proud of the trust EuroControl and the European air traffic management community continues to place in BT International and grateful to the teams across both organisations whose expertise and commitment continue to make this partnership a success.” The network is designed to deliver availability levels of up to 99.99% providing the secure connectivity used to exchange critical data for flight planning, airspace optimisation and coordination between national air traffic authorities.

In an effort to address the legacy infrastructure challenges faced by network operators looking to advance their AI-native telco strategies, Tech Mahindra has launched its Zero Gravity Telco Architecture initiative, which it describes as a “strategic framework designed to help communication service providers (CSPs) systematically overcome the structural barrier stalling their AI ambitions, and help accelerate the transition to AI-native, autonomous operations.” Amol Phadke, chief transformation officer at Tech Mahindra, stated: “The telecom industry is in its transformative era where AI is fundamentally changing how networks are operated, services are delivered and customer experiences are created. But AI alone cannot be industrialised on top of unorganised legacy. The barrier is the gravitational pull of the existing estate. Our Zero Gravity Telco Architecture provides operators the guidance to externalise the context trapped inside their systems, build trusted foundations, and only then scale autonomous agents. As telecom evolves from modernisation towards intelligence-led enterprises, the ability to organise meaning, context and decision-making at scale will become the defining competitive advantage.”

Ethio Telecom, Djibouti Telecom and Sudatel are advancing plans for the pre-commercialisation phase of the Horizon Cross-Border Terrestrial Fibre initiative that aims to create a fibre corridor linking three African countries. The aim of Horizon is to provide global carriers and hyperscalers with an alternative low-latency route for subsea cable traffic across the Red Sea by linking cable landing stations in Djibouti and Port Sudan, through Ethiopia. The likes of Nokia, Ciena and BringCom contributed their expertise during a high-level stakeholders workshop held in Addis Abada this week. Participants at the summit included Google, Meta (through HIPConsult), Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Airtel Africa, Bayobab, WIOCC, Saudi Vision and China Mobile, according to a press release from Ethio Telecom. The Horizon Fiber Initiative follows a strategic partnership formalised through a memorandum of understanding signed in Addis Ababa on 3 December 2024, followed by a binding agreement on 4 February 2026.

Cloud communications platform specialist Alianza has launched Crux, which it describes as “an expansion of its orchestration and intelligence control plane that coordinates network infrastructure, artificial intelligence, applications, identity, consent and policy around a common communications session,” enabling telco voice networks “to become the indispensable backbone of cognitive communications and developers [to] gain valuable routes to market and a single, secure API to access trillions of conversations around the world.” Alianza’s CEO, Brian Beutler, noted: “Cognitive communications will not be defined by a single killer AI application. It will be defined by tens of thousands of vertical, custom, AI applications where voice services and conversational data are tightly integrated into business operating environments. Alianza Crux gives service providers, developers and end users a practical path from isolated demonstrations to production-scale communications experiences.”

– The staff, TelecomTV