Development

Musk’s Starlink gets green light to operate in Zimbabwe

President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced that Zimbabwe has granted Elon Musk’s Starlink the license to operate in the country, marking a significant step towards enhancing internet access. The approval is anticipated to bring high-speed, low-cost satellite internet to Zimbabwe, mainly benefiting rural areas with low-Earth-orbit (LEO) technology.

Starlink will partner exclusively with IMC Communications to provide its services in Zimbabwe. Only 34.8% of the population currently has internet access, as noted in a 2021 World Bank report, with three major mobile operators dominating the market. The introduction of Starlink aims to bridge this gap, offering a more extensive and affordable internet infrastructure.

The development follows issues with unregistered users smuggling Starlink kits from neighbouring countries, such as Zambia. Starlink’s official presence in Africa is expanding, with services already available in Nigeria, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, and Malawi. However, regulatory challenges remain in Cameroon, where authorities recently seized Starlink equipment due to licensing issues.

Morocco launches program to expand high-speed internet to rural areas

On Monday, Morocco announced a new program to connect 1,800 rural areas to the internet in the coming months. This initiative is part of the National Plan for the Development of High and Very High-Speed Broadband and builds on the first phase, which targeted 10,740 previously unconnected rural areas.

The program is expected to significantly improve the lives of rural residents by providing access to online public services via 600 government digital platforms, including healthcare appointments and administrative procedures.

Minister of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform Ghita Mezzour, who announced the initiative, noted that it aligns with Morocco’s National Digital Development Strategy 2030, which includes the rollout of 5G technology to support the country’s modernisation efforts. Morocco aims to boost economic growth, enhance public services, and promote digital inclusion through these digital advancements.

Why does it matter?

By 2024, Morocco’s internet penetration rate had climbed to 90.7 percent, up from 88 percent in 2021. With enhanced internet connectivity, the country aims to benefit education, healthcare, and entrepreneurship, offering students access to online learning, enabling remote medical consultations, and allowing local businesses to grow through e-commerce.

Musk launches satellite internet service in Indonesia for healthcare sector

Elon Musk, alongside Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, introduced SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service to Indonesia’s health sector during a launch event on Sunday. Musk, adorned in a traditional green batik shirt, emphasised the potential of Starlink to enhance internet accessibility for millions residing in remote areas across Indonesia’s vast archipelago. The initiative aims to bridge the digital divide in a country with over 270 million people spread across three time zones.

The launch ceremony, held at a community health centre in Denpasar, Bali, marked the deployment of Starlink at three Indonesian health centres, including sites in Bali and the remote island of Aru in Maluku. A video demonstration showcased how high-speed internet facilitated real-time data input, aiding in addressing health challenges like stunting and malnutrition. Musk expressed his enthusiasm for expanding connectivity, highlighting the transformative impact of internet access on learning and development.

While speculation arose about Musk’s potential involvement in Indonesia’s electric vehicle industry, he reiterated his focus on Starlink during the event. Despite Indonesia’s efforts to attract Tesla for EV-related manufacturing, Musk stressed the importance of internet connectivity as a primary agenda. The Indonesian government, represented by Communications Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, underscored Starlink’s commercial availability, prioritising its deployment in remote and underdeveloped regions to address connectivity gaps.

Why does it matter?

Starlink’s entry into Indonesia marks another milestone for SpaceX’s satellite internet venture, which holds a dominant position in the global satellite internet market. With permits secured for retail consumer services and network provision, Starlink’s expansion underscores its commitment to bridging digital disparities worldwide. Musk’s upcoming meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and participation in the World Water Forum signify broader engagements to leverage technology for societal advancement and connectivity enhancement.

Google invests $1.1 billion in Finnish data centre expansion for AI growth

Google has revealed plans to inject an additional $1.1 billion into its data centre campus expansion in Finland, emphasising its commitment to bolstering its AI business growth in Europe. The investment aligns with a broader trend of locating data centres in the Nordic region due to factors like the favourable climate, tax incentives, and abundant renewable energy sources.

While some Nordic countries have become more apprehensive about hosting data centres, Finland’s wind power capacity surge has left ample room for expansion. With a staggering 75% increase in wind power capacity in 2022 alone, Finland boasts a surplus of renewable energy, even witnessing negative pricing on windy days. Google secures its renewable energy needs through long-term contracts in Finland, ensuring sustainable operations for its data centres.

Why does it matter?

The exponential rise in AI usage is anticipated to drive a global power consumption surge for data centres. Google’s investment decision in Finland underscores its recognition of this trend, alongside its commitment to sustainability. Notably, Google’s Hamina data centre in Finland already operates with 97% carbon-free energy, with excess heat being redirected to the district heating network, benefiting local communities.

The investment is part of Google’s broader strategy to expand its data centre footprint in Europe, with recent announcements about new data centre constructions in the Netherlands and Belgium. Google’s ambitious sustainability goals aim for net-zero emissions across its operations and value chain by 2030, reflecting its proactive approach towards environmental responsibility and technological advancement.

AI boom fuels data centre deals in Asia Pacific

Private equity investors and asset managers are gearing up for a surge in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and investments within Asia Pacific’s data centre sector, driven by the rising demand for digital infrastructure due to the AI boom. The newborn trend is particularly pronounced in Asia Pacific, which has seen a record high in data centre deals, with M&A activity totalling $840.47 million last year alone.

The rapid expansion of AI capabilities by technology giants such as Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet Inc, and Meta Platforms is a significant driver behind the increasing demand for data centre capacity in the region. Microsoft, for instance, recently announced a $2.2 billion investment in Malaysia to bolster its cloud and AI services across Asia, with plans to establish its first Asian data centre in Thailand.

Several major deals are in the pipeline, including the potential sale of a stake in Telkom Indonesia’s data centre business worth $1 billion and Japan’s NEC contemplating a $500 million data centre sale. Additionally, Bain Capital is seeking financing for Chindata’s international assets and its China business, while Goldman Sachs Asset Management has invested over $1 billion in data centre development in Asia over the past three years.

Why does it matter?

The surge in data centre investments underscores the unprecedented demand for high-quality data centre capacity fueled by the AI revolution. As AI applications drive massive data consumption, the need for increased capacity becomes paramount, signalling a robust outlook for the data centre market in Asia Pacific in the coming years. With consistent investments and strategic partnerships on the horizon, industry experts anticipate intensified deal flow within the data centre space throughout 2024 and beyond.

California advances bill to combat digital discrimination in broadband access

A bill in California, AB 2239, was recently passed through a committee. It aims to tackle digital discrimination in broadband access, defining ‘digital discrimination’ as unfair practices hindering internet access based on income or ethnicity.

Despite opposition from industry representatives fearing legal implications and costs, supporters argued for the necessity of ensuring equitable broadband access. However, worries persisted about potential misapplication of the bill, including fears of impeding industry growth and innovation and enabling unjustified claims of discrimination. Some proposed including a safe harbour provision to shield companies from legal consequences.

Meanwhile, supporters highlighted findings from nearly half a million speed tests across Oakland, revealing significant disparities in internet speeds, particularly affecting communities of colour. They also cited examples of higher internet costs in neighbourhoods with higher poverty rates. Their testimony was supported by 28 representatives from various digital equity and community organisations statewide, including the California Emerging Technology Fund and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

The Assembly Appropriations Committee will now review the bill, and it is scheduled for a hearing in May 2024.

Why does it matter?

These developments relate to the ongoing court review of the FCC’s digital discrimination rules, which were approved last November. Some argue these rules may surpass the scope of the Infrastructure Act, which inspired California’s AB 2239, aimed at addressing disparities in broadband access. Opponents argue that the rules utilise a ‘disparate impact’ standard, which could hold providers responsible for unintentional disparities in internet access among various demographic groups, a claim disputed by the agency.

Microsoft announces new AI hub in London

Microsoft has unveiled plans for a new AI hub in London, signalling a significant investment in advancing AI research and development. The initiative, part of the newly formed Microsoft AI organization, aims to pioneer language models and infrastructure advancements while fostering collaboration with AI teams and partners like OpenAI.

Jordan Hoffmann, an esteemed AI scientist and engineer with a track record of innovation at companies like Inflection and DeepMind, will lead Microsoft AI London. Hoffmann will be joined by a team based in Microsoft’s London Paddington office, tapping into the rich pool of AI talent in the UK.

The announcement comes with a commitment to long-term investment in the region, with Microsoft AI actively seeking top AI scientists and engineers to join the hub. Job openings will be posted in the coming weeks, focusing on individuals passionate about tackling complex AI challenges and driving impact at scale.

Internet shutdowns spike in Q1 2024

In the first quarter of 2024, Pulse has documented 22 deliberate internet shutdowns across 12 countries, with some ongoing since 2023. This figure matches the peak seen in 2021 during Myanmar‘s military coup, highlighting a concerning trend. India has been the most affected, with nine shutdowns, followed by Ethiopia and Senegal, each experiencing two incidents. Over half of these shutdowns have been localised, impacting specific regions within countries including Chad, Comoros, Cuba, Iran, Pakistan, Palestinian Territory and Russia.

Among the recorded events, nine led to nationwide disruptions lasting from hours to months, affecting approximately 297 million internet users and resulting in over 910 days of downtime. These shutdowns have inflicted significant economic losses, amounting to USD 565.4 million in GDP, as reported by Pulse. Such disruptions hinder societal progress, hamper economies, and undermine the stability of the global internet infrastructure.

Why does it matter?

Championing an open and easily accessible internet, advocates stress the significance of prioritising policies that ensure uninterrupted connectivity. Governments and policymakers globally are encouraged to endorse efforts to protect the internet, acknowledging its pivotal role in nurturing economic development and providing opportunities for individuals to exercise fundamental human rights in the digital era.

Simon Institute for Longterm Governance

The Simon Institute for Longterm Governance (SI) is a think tank based in Geneva, Switzerland, working to foster international cooperation on governing transformative technologies.

SI’s current work is focused on frontier AI diplomacy. They conduct research on international AI governance, facilitate exchange between technical and policy communities, and educate diplomats and civil servants about frontier AI’s opportunities, risks, and governance solutions.

SI was originally founded in 2021 to strengthen the multilateral system’s capacity to mitigate global catastrophic risks. In its early years, SI contributed to key intergovernmental processes for reducing global risks, delivered the first UN report on existential risk and rapid technological change, and co-authored a report with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) on Hazards with Escalation Potential. In 2023, SI narrowed its focus to AI governance, recognising AI as one of the most consequential technologies of our time. SI has since supported actors working on the UN’s Global Digital Compact, the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, and the Global Dialogue on AI Governance while hosting capacity-building workshops on AI-related subjects across New York and Geneva.

Digital activities

SI believes in the potential of human ingenuity and technology to create a future where life can thrive. They are optimistic about the ability of emerging technologies like AI to accelerate progress towards the SDGs, address the climate crisis, and boost global development. At the same time, SI is concerned about the risks posed by these technologies, with AI, for instance, already posing challenges like misinformation and bias, and already raising future concerns, including rogue AI systems and a potential loss of human control.

SI aims to help policymakers keep up with the rapid pace of technological change by translating and summarising the latest science on emerging technological risks and opportunities into concrete policy advice. In tandem, SI works with policymakers to influence the creation and evolution of governance structures, improve risk management, and foster input from essential stakeholders, to enhance global technology governance to be more responsive, agile, and inclusive.

Digital policy issues

Artificial intelligence

Through their work, SI aims to draw attention to the various opportunities and risks associated with AI, particularly frontier AI systems. SI translates complex technical AI issues into legible language, conducts capacity-building sessions with diplomats, fosters exchange between multilateral actors, the private sector, and civil society, and actively participates in multilateral policy processes concerning AI governance. 

Capacity building

SI has conducted numerous capacity-building sessions on AI, including a three-part AI Governance Briefing Series for Permanent Missions to the UN in Geneva, training courses on AI governance for UN Missions in New York in both English and French, live demonstrations of AI capabilities, briefings on specific topics like compute governance and benefit-sharing, institutional negotiation support workshops for the International Scientific Panel and the Global Dialogue on AI, and much more. The organisation also provides tailored talks, training courses, and briefings to interested diplomats and multilateral governance actors on an ad hoc basis.

Policy recommendation

SI actively engages in multilateral policy processes relevant to AI governance. For instance, during the 2022-2023 review period of the Sendai Framework, SI raised awareness about the risks presented by advanced AI systems, speaking at events like the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction and the high-level meeting during the Midterm Review of the Sendai Framework, as well as delivering a thematic study on risks posed by emerging technologies, including AI. Throughout 2024, SI closely followed the GDC negotiations—responding to various iterations of the text—and throughout 2025 so far, has been providing recommendations for the design of the Independent International Scientific Panel and the Global Dialogue on AI. Privately, SI also provides individual support to policy actors, tailored to the specific context and subject area in which they operate. 

Research

With strong ties across academia, private labs, and technical research communities, the SI team has a firm grasp of the latest developments in frontier AI. SI’s focus lies in effectively translating these developments into language and advice suitable for policy actors. To date, SI has delivered the first UN report on Existential Risk and Rapid Technological Change, explaining key risks associated with AI systems and potential governance mechanisms, and developed a report on Hazards with Escalation Potential, outlining how AI may soon become a primary driving force behind various hazards. More recently, SI has been conducting in-depth research on institutional design for AI, including a report outlining structural considerations for the Independent International Scientific Panel and the Global Dialogue on AI. 

Emerging technologies 

In today’s interconnected world, the majority of emerging technologies have significant digital elements (e.g. AI, biotechnology, quantum computing). They are also characterised by uncertain development trajectories and unrealised real-world applications. Much of SI’s work is based on the premise that governing such technologies requires long-term thinking, adaptability, and foresight. SI advocates for the effective governance of emerging technologies by translating the latest technical developments into concrete policy advice, providing recommendations on policy design, and offering frameworks to support the adaptable governance of emerging technologies (e.g. SI’s Future-Proofing Framework). 

Additionally, SI hosts workshops at the intersection of foresight, technology governance, and multilateralism. In September 2023, SI collaborated with the UN Futures Lab Network to organise a Foresight Workshop on Frontier Technologies, encouraging actors to reflect on the potential development trajectories of various technologies. In January 2023, SI convened a workshop titled Future-proofing the Multilateral System, inviting actors from academia, civil society, and the multilateral system to discuss ways to integrate forecasting techniques into the SDG process, manage risks associated with technologies like biotechnology and AI, and find ways to use technical standardisation to harmonise global technology governance efforts.

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Data Governance

Ecma International is a global standards development organisation dedicated to the standardisation of information and communication systems. Established in 1961, Ecma has been a pioneer in providing a framework for the collaboration of standardisation and open source. The work is driven by Ecma members to address market requirements, providing a healthy competitive environment where competition is based on the differentiation of products and services and where vendors and users can rely on the interoperability of technical solutions.

Areas of work include the development and publication of standards and technical reports for information and communications technology (ICT) and consumer electronics (CE), with a broad scope of standardisation topics including hardware, software, communications, consumer electronics, the internet of things (IoT), programming languages, media storage, and environmental subjects. Ecma’s pragmatic, flexible, member-driven model is effective in enabling technical committees to form and iterate rapidly on internationally recognised open standards.

Digital activities

For over 60 years, Ecma has actively contributed to worldwide standardisation in information technology and telecommunications. More than 420 Ecma standards and 110 technical reports have been published, covering areas such as data presentation and communication, data interchange and archiving, access systems and interconnection and multimedia, programming languages, and software engineering and interfaces, two-thirds of which have also been adopted as international standards and/or technical reports.

One of the first programming languages developed by Ecma, FORTRAN, was approved in 1965. ECMAScript® (JavaScript), with several billion implementations, is one of the most used standards worldwide.

Digital policy issues

Digital standards

A large part of Ecma’s activity is dedicated to defining standards and technical reports for ICTs (hardware, software, communications, media storage, etc.). This work is carried out through technical committees and task groups focusing on issues such as information storage, multimedia coding and communications, programming languages, open XML formats, and product-related environmental attributes. Our members are committed to Ecma’s success and progress and follow best practices and efficient processes for the development and approval of standards, making Ecma a respected and trusted industry association. Ecma has close working relations – such as liaisons, cooperation agreements, and memberships – with European and international standardisation bodies as well as with some forums and consortia. Our long-established relationships with other standardisation organisations are well maintained and enable us to publish our specifications as international standards. A list of Ecma standards is noted below.

Telecommunications infrastructure

Network security

Sustainable development/Digital and environment

Programming languages such as ECMAScript (JavaScript) and C#

Software engineering and interfaces

Data-related standards

Technical committees (TCs) and task groups (TGs), covering issues such as access systems and information exchange between systems (TC51), information storage (TC31),

product-related environmental attributes (TC38), ECMAScript® language (TC39), office open XML formats (TC45), and ECMAScript® modules for embedded systems (TC53). Additional technical committees include acoustics (TC26), software and system transparency (TC54), web-interoperable server runtimes (TC55), and communication with artificial intelligence (AI) agents (TC56).

In addition, ECMA-425 was published in December 2024, specifying a statistical background correction for information technology and telecommunications equipment noise measurements.

Future of standards

The participation in Ecma of many leading global companies ensures not only the acceptance of Ecma standards in European and international standardisation but also their worldwide implementation.

Ecma’s goal in the next decade is to continue to play a key role in the extraordinary development of IT, telecommunications, and consumer electronics by disseminating new technologies and delivering first-class standards to our members, partners, and the standard-user community. Ecma aims to continue to bring in major contributions, move technology from members to mature standards, and collaborate with the world’s major standards development organisations (SDOs).

In December 2024, Ecma established Technical Committee TC55, tasked with defining, refining, and standardising a ‘minimum common API’ surface, along with a verifiable definition of compliance with that API. This is intended to improve interoperability across multiple ECMAScript environments, expanding beyond web browsers, specifically web servers. In addition, Ecma established TC56, a natural language interaction protocol for communication with AI agents. The scope is to specify a common protocol, framework and interfaces for interactions between AI agents using natural language while supporting multiple modalities.

Digital tools

Conferencing technologies

Ecma maintains a pragmatic approach to meeting participation. Our General Assembly typically takes place as a physical meeting to allow in-person discussions and interaction among members. For members who cannot participate in person, remote attendance is possible with videoconferencing and other digital tools.

Ecma’s technical committees hold either physical, hybrid, or virtual meetings depending on their specific needs.

Ecma meetings are typically held outside of Ecma’s HQ. As a general principle, members are encouraged to host meetings.  Invitations are by a technical committee member who host the meeting at a facility of their choice.

For meetings, consensus building, and voting, Ecma focuses on being efficient and effective. The meeting place and mode are decided upon by the committee.

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