• Orange Business invests in ‘greenfield IT ecosystem’
• The BRICS bloc has subsea network ambitions
• The long-awaited IPO of India’s Jio Platforms has been postponed

In today’s industry news roundup: Orange Business is continuing its evolution to a digital service provider with the deployment of new IT capabilities from the likes of ServiceNow and Blue Planet; the BRICS bloc is looking into the feasibility of a subsea network for the southern hemisphere; investors wanting to snap up shares in Jio Platforms, the parent of India’s leading mobile operator Reliance Jio, are going to have to be patient; and much more!

Orange Business, the enterprise services division of Orange Group, is investing in what it calls a “greenfield IT ecosystem” to enable it to “deliver simpler, more flexible, and AI-native experiences, centered [on] trust,” the company has announced. The service provider, which is seeking to reverse its fortunes by focusing on next-generation digital services as demand for legacy B2B services wanes, says it is “redesigning its product portfolio, customer journeys and internal platforms” with the support of “a greenfield IT ecosystem delivering fully digital-native and AI-powered experiences. The objective is to offer seamless, flexible and trusted solutions that can be consumed on demand, while accelerating innovation and drastically reducing time to market.” The main companies supporting the Orange Business strategy are ServiceNow (AI-enabled project and service management), Splunk (part of Cisco, for advanced observability and data-driven monitoring), Blue Planet (part of Ciena, for service order management, orchestration, and AI-powered service assurance processes) and CSG (for product configuration and order fulfillment). John Marcus, senior principal analyst at GlobalData, noted: “Orange Business’s ongoing transformation highlights a strategic shift toward a platform-driven, innovative approach that aligns well with enterprise customer expectations. The significant investments in digital integration, automation and AI-enabled solutions demonstrate a clear focus on delivering an excellent customer experience with streamlined offerings and enhanced agility. In addition, their focus on digital trust and data sovereignty adds a strategic advantage and positions them as a trusted partner for Orange global customers.” 

The BRICS bloc, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia, has just completed its 17th summit with a pledge to “conduct a technical and economic feasibility study for the construction of a high-speed communications network using submarine cables,” reports Agencia Brasil. And like so many other initiatives these days, the protection and security of data is at the heart of the plans. “Conducting a feasibility study for the establishment of submarine cables directly connecting BRICS members will increase the speed, security and sovereignty in the exchange of data,” stated Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (aka Lula) during a summit speech. Brazil’s minister of science, technology and innovation, Luciana Santos, noted that the study will be funded by the New Development Bank (NDB), also known as the BRICS Bank. “The fibre optic cables that currently carry data are highly concentrated in the Global North. We will conduct this feasibility study,” he added. If such a network was to be built it would take a long time, cost a lot of money and, depending on where it lands, might also fall foul of various trade sanctions. 

In November 2024, the financial media reported that the long-awaited IPO of Jio Platforms, the Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) division that includes India’s largest mobile operator Reliance Jio, was being lined up for some time in 2025, with Jio Platforms being tipped for a $100bn valuation. Now, reports Reuters, it’s not happening – not this year at least. Jio wants to achieve higher revenues, an even bigger telecom subscriber base and the further expansion of its other digital offerings (including apps, devices and enterprise services) so it can attract an even higher valuation, according to the news agency’s sources. Reliance Jio ended April with 472.4 million cellular connections, giving it a mobile market share of 40.76% in a country with more than 1.2 billion communications services connections. 

Following reports this week of a new wave of headcount reductions, Australian telco Telstra has confirmed it is to cut 550 jobs, but noted that the reduction is not related to AI-enabled automation efforts, reports Reuters. Instead, the cuts are mainly related to the ongoing overhaul of the company’s enterprise services division, which was earmarked for cost-cutting last year.

The 20th anniversary of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is being marked by the WSIS+20 Forum High-Level Event in Geneva, Switzerland, which runs from 7 to 11 July. The event is being co-hosted by the United Nations (UN) agency the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), and the Swiss Confederation. It will analyse, review and celebrate the progress made since the original WSIS summit was held, and explore the possible futures of digital transformation for sustainable development. Over 150 countries are represented at the anniversary event, which is sited at the Geneva Palexpo centre, once the venue of the ITU’s quadrennial Telecoms World events. Since the WSIS was first convened, global internet connectivity has increased from about 1 billion users to more than 5.5 billion today and rising. The secretary general of the ITU, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, noted: “For 20 years, WSIS has united the global community around a vision of a digital world that works for everyone. As we approach the UN General Assembly’s review, the WSIS+20 High-Level Event is a crucial opportunity to identify priorities for the next phase of global digital cooperation.” And 15 years ago, the ITU and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) got together to help promote, long term, the growth of universal broadband connectivity and digital inclusion: That meeting resulted in the formation, in May 2010, of what is now the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, which is focused on “advancing universal broadband access and digital inclusion.“ That UN group met on 6 July to commemorate the 15-year anniversary and, in this press release, the ITU notes that, despite the many and far-reaching initiatives and developments of the past 20 years, some 2.6 billion people still don’t have access to digital comms technology. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, who co-chaired the event, observed that the Broadband Commission “began with the simple conviction that broadband must reach everyone, everywhere, because it is an essential driver of sustainable development. Today, broadband powers economies, expands access to knowledge in rural as well as urban areas, and brings communities closer, across continents.” The other co-chair, Carlos M. Jarque, representing Carlos Slim, the Mexican comms technology billionaire, added: “The Broadband Commission’s work over 15 years has helped change global connectivity and digital development. Since 2010, the number of internet users has grown by the billions… [but] to expand on this progress, we need to encourage forward-looking regulatory frameworks, strong investment, digital transformation in businesses and public institutions and digital skills of the population.” 

Those 2.6 billion unconnected people will be the hardest to hook up, though, and it’ll cost a lot too. In a blog authored by Tomas Lamanauskas, the ITU’s deputy secretary general, he notes the UN body estimates that the required investment to give  everyone meaningful connectivity by 2030 is $1.6tn. “Connecting the world calls for coordinated investment on an unprecedented scale. Public funding alone cannot do it,” stated Lamanauskas.

– The staff, TelecomTV