Alex Van Halen is exploring AI to complete unreleased Van Halen music left unfinished by his late brother Eddie. The drummer revealed that while the band has a vault of material, many tracks are incomplete and lack vocals. He hopes AI can analyse Eddie’s guitar style to generate new solos.
Alex has reached out to OpenAI, seeking their help in recreating his brother’s signature playing patterns. He envisions using AI-generated guitar parts alongside vocals from Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, despite not having spoken to the singer in decades. Completing the project could take years.
Eddie Van Halen, who passed away in 2020, left a significant legacy in rock music. His son Wolfgang, who toured with Van Halen, has said there is no chance of a reunion, preferring not to play the band’s music without his father.
AI is already playing a role in the music industry. Randy Travis, who lost his singing ability after a stroke, recently released a song with AI-generated vocals, recreating his voice through advanced technology. The success of that project offers hope for similar ventures, including Alex’s plans for Van Halen’s unfinished work.
Vietnam is committed to ensuring universal access to fibre-optic internet by 2030, aiming to connect every city, province, industrial facility, and household nationwide. The initiative includes launching at least two new international submarine cable routes and achieving 99% coverage of the 5G broadband network by the end of 2025, with a goal for all internet users to benefit from fibre-optic connections offering speeds of at least 1 Gbps.
Additionally, each citizen will have access to one Internet of Things (IoT) connection and a digital identity, with over 70% of adults expected to possess a digital or electronic signature by 2030. To support this digital transformation, Vietnam plans to establish hyper-scale, AI-supportive, and edge data centres that meet international standards while focusing on attracting domestic and international investments in digital infrastructure.
Enhancing digital infrastructure is vital for Vietnam’s socioeconomic growth and competitiveness in the global market. The government seeks to create a robust economic foundation that supports innovation and drives sustainable development by investing in and improving its digital capabilities. As Vietnam positions itself in the digital age, these strategic initiatives will empower citizens with greater access to technology and bolster the nation’s economic resilience and global standing.
South Korea plans to accelerate the growth of its private cloud industry to enhance competitiveness in AI. The Ministry of Science and ICT outlined a strategy to double the local cloud market to 10 trillion won (£6 billion) by 2027 through partnerships with global companies.
The government acknowledged that South Korea trails over a year behind global cloud leaders, with underdeveloped AI infrastructure. Key initiatives include encouraging the use of private cloud systems across public sectors, such as education and defence, and easing regulations to facilitate the transition. Incentives such as expanded tax benefits are also planned for AI and cloud enterprises.
A national AI computing centre with supercomputer capabilities will be established to further bolster infrastructure. In addition, an AI innovation fund will launch with an initial government investment of 45 billion won (£27 million) in 2025, encouraging private-sector contributions to the cloud ecosystem’s growth.
Plans are also underway for an AI safety research institute under the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute. This initiative follows Seoul’s AI safety summit earlier this year, where global leaders agreed on collaborative efforts to promote safe and inclusive AI development.
The Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) has introduced a comprehensive Communications Consumer Protection Policy and Regulation to enhance consumer rights and ensure fair practices within Qatar’s telecommunications sector. The policy establishes clear rules that service providers must follow and covers crucial areas such as advertising standards, billing transparency, contract fairness, data privacy, and protection from unsolicited marketing and spam.
Additionally, it guarantees uninterrupted access to emergency services while setting clear procedures for handling consumer complaints and disputes. Moreover, by modernising the regulatory framework, the new policy replaces outdated regulations, including the 2014 Telecommunications Consumer Protection Policy, thus ensuring a more robust protection system. It is also aligned with Qatar’s Vision 2030 and Digital Agenda 2030, ensuring that consumer protection is improved and supports broader national goals.
Furthermore, the CRA’s initiative reflects its proactive approach to safeguarding consumer rights and maintaining a competitive telecommunications environment in Qatar. The CRA significantly strengthens its leadership in consumer protection and innovation by holding service providers to higher standards and ensuring that consumers have access to clear information and reliable services. As a result, this policy not only addresses consumers’ immediate needs but also ensures that Qatar’s telecommunications sector remains at the forefront of technological advancement and regulatory best practices.
Ericsson has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian government to collaborate on developing, deploying, and innovating 5G technology. The partnership aims to explore how 5G can support Nigeria’s digital transformation objectives, including driving economic growth and improving public services.
Specifically, key objectives outlined in the agreement include facilitating knowledge exchange within the technology sector, building capacity among local stakeholders, establishing innovation hubs and tech incubators, and enhancing digital literacy and skills development. Notably, the MoU was signed during a visit by a Nigerian government delegation to Ericsson’s global headquarters in Stockholm, led by the Vice President of Nigeria.
Thus, this collaboration reflects a shared vision for the future of technology in Nigeria and emphasises the importance of leveraging 5G to unlock innovation potential for businesses and citizens, enhancing the country’s national digital competitiveness.
In a related development, MTN Nigeria has opened a 5G Digital Experience Center in Abuja to showcase various 5G applications and services to consumers. This launch complements the recent MoU and demonstrates a concerted effort within the telecommunications sector to promote the benefits of 5G technology and drive its adoption in Nigeria.
A1 Austria, Eurofiber, and Quantcom have joined forces to develop a high-speed dark-fibre network connecting Frankfurt and Vienna, marking a significant advancement in European telecommunications. Scheduled for completion in December 2025, this ambitious project aims to deliver an ultra-low-latency infrastructure essential for meeting modern telecommunications’s growing demands.
By collaborating, these three providers are not only bolstering their technical capabilities but are also ensuring that the network will support a wide array of critical applications, including cloud services, media broadcasting, AI, and machine learning (ML). Furthermore, the network’s low latency will significantly enhance connectivity for key industries across Europe, making it a vital asset for telecommunications companies, fixed network operators, and global enterprises.
Ultimately, this new fibre network is poised to serve as a critical backbone for the region’s digital ecosystem, facilitating seamless communication and data exchange. As a result, it is expected to have a substantial economic impact by connecting various industries and enabling high-performance connectivity, thereby acting as a catalyst for growth across multiple sectors.
Moreover, this initiative addresses the current demand for faster and more reliable data transfer and lays the groundwork for a more robust digital infrastructure in Europe, thereby fostering innovation and economic development in the years to come.
IHS Towers, ALTON, and the NCC have proposed a series of strategic initiatives to safeguard Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure, which is increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats, theft, and vandalism. Central to this proposal is developing a robust Critical National Information Infrastructure Protection Plan (CNIIPP) that emphasises collaboration among all relevant stakeholders, including telecom operators, regulatory bodies, and the government.
Key initiatives include establishing a secure, centralised database of all telecom infrastructure managed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA). Additionally, mandatory routine surveillance of major telecom installations by security agencies such as the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the police is crucial for deterring threats.
The proposal also advocates for standardised procedures for responding to incidents and public awareness campaigns to educate citizens on the importance of protecting critical national information infrastructure. Regulatory support from the NCC, including establishing a dedicated committee to assist telecom operators, will further reinforce these efforts.
Maintaining secure and resilient telecommunications infrastructure is essential for national security and economic growth. The interconnectedness of modern society relies heavily on a robust telecom sector, which supports critical services, including healthcare, education, and financial systems.
By prioritising infrastructure resilience and emphasising a commitment to security, Nigeria can ensure the continuity of these vital services even in the face of potential threats. This holistic approach protects the telecommunications sector and promotes sustainable economic development across the nation.
Liberty Networks, Gold Data, and Sparkle have partnered to develop the MANTA subsea cable system, significantly enhancing connectivity across Latin America, the Caribbean, and the USA. The 5,600 km system will not only be the first international submarine cable in the Gulf of Mexico but will also provide high-capacity, low-latency routes, effectively connecting key data hubs in Mexico City, Bogotá, Panama City, and the USA.
Designed to support a minimum of 20 terabits per fibre pair, MANTA aims to address the region’s growing data demands and improve traffic flow. Furthermore, the cable is expected to be operational by 2027, with the companies planning to announce their technology provider soon.
Consequently, the MANTA project is set to revolutionise digital communication across the region by enhancing the resilience of Latin America’s digital infrastructure. By creating faster and more reliable data pathways, the subsea system will foster innovation and meet the evolving needs of businesses and consumers. The collaboration between Liberty Networks, Gold Data, and Sparkle, therefore, marks a significant step forward in the ongoing digital transformation of the Americas.
Apple has resolved an issue that temporarily prevented users from downloading apps on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices. The outage, which began at around 11AM ET on Wednesday, caused widespread problems for users attempting to install new apps.
Reports of the issue quickly surfaced on social media, with users in both the United States and Europe affected. When attempting to download apps, the ‘Get’ button would briefly indicate loading before resetting, leaving users unable to complete the installation.
By around 12:30PM ET, the App Store appeared to be functioning normally again, and users could download apps as usual. However, the problem did not affect updates to apps that had already been installed on devices.
Apple has not yet responded to requests for more information regarding the cause of the outage.
Mistral, a French AI startup, has launched its first generative AI models, ‘Les Ministraux,’ designed to run on edge devices like laptops and mobile phones. The models, Ministral 3B and Ministral 8B, offer versatile applications such as on-device translation and autonomous robotics, catering to privacy-focused, low-latency scenarios.
Both models can process 128,000 tokens, roughly the length of a 50-page book. While Ministral 8B is available for research purposes, commercial licences for self-deployment are being offered directly by Mistral. Developers can also access the models through Mistral’s cloud platform, La Platforme.
Smaller AI models are increasingly in demand due to their cost-effectiveness and efficiency. Mistral claims that its Ministral models outperform competitors like Llama and Gemma across several benchmarks, offering strong instruction-following and problem-solving capabilities.
Paris-based Mistral, which has raised $640 million in venture capital, continues to expand its AI portfolio. The company has introduced services such as developer testing and model fine-tuning, positioning itself as a competitor to major players like OpenAI and Anthropic.
