According to Cloudflare analysts, European football fans watching the UEFA European Championship are causing noticeable changes in internet traffic within their countries. The most significant impact on internet usage was observed during the semi-finals, as fans tuned in to watch key matches. Cloudflare’s analysis, which began on 14 June and will continue until the final on 14 July between Spain and England, highlights how major sporting events broadcast on national TV can influence internet traffic patterns across Europe.
Cloudflare noted that traffic drops were particularly pronounced during critical moments of the matches, such as last-minute goals and penalty shootouts, with Spain and England experiencing significant reductions during the knockout stages. For instance, internet traffic in Spain decreased by 19% at the end of games, while England saw an 11% drop. Other countries, including the Netherlands and France, experienced the largest drops in the first half of the finals, with overall average declines of around 6% across participating nations.
Interestingly, while most nations saw reduced internet usage, some, like Ukraine, Poland, Romania, and Albania, experienced increases, likely due to unstable broadcast signals pushing fans online to watch the games. Despite the popularity of online services for live scores, sports news, and betting, national team football still needs to catch up on regular internet activities. Cloudflare, headquartered in San Francisco, emphasises that understanding these trends can help protect against cyber threats and maintain website availability globally.
Sri Lanka’s parliament amended an old law to permit Elon Musk’s Starlink, the satellite branch of SpaceX, to commence operations in the country. The original law did not permit satellite internet service providers to operate in the country, and according to a parliamentary statement, it is the first amendment made to the telecommunications law in 28 years.
Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Technology, Kanaka Herath, explained how the new telecommunications bill will create a license category allowing Starlink to apply as a service provider in Sri Lanka. The amendments will effectively introduce three new types of licences, one of which will enable Starlink to enter Sri Lanka’s telecoms market as a licensed service provider, pending approval from the telecoms regulator. Herath stated that Starlink had proposed setting up operations in Sri Lanka way back in March, and the country granted preliminary approval in June after expediting the process.
The minister also emphasised, ‘This opportunity is not just for Starlink but any other company that wants to invest in Sri Lanka’. Explaining their rationale, Herath explained that ‘We plan to grow the IT sector to a $15 billion industry by 2030. So we must attract international companies to provide internet, especially to rural areas.’
Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai visited Huawei’s headquarters in Shenzhen to explore surveillance technology aimed at enhancing policing and reducing criminal activity, his office announced on Tuesday. The visit is part of Salwai’s trip to China before attending a Pacific Island leaders meeting in Japan next week.
China is Vanuatu’s largest external creditor and a major provider of infrastructure. Australia, Vanuatu’s biggest aid donor and policing partner, has expressed concerns about China’s expanding security influence in the Pacific Islands, especially after a policing equipment deal with Vanuatu and a security pact with the Solomon Islands.
Huawei has supplied digital systems to cities like Port Vila, Vanuatu’s capital, to help lower crime rates. However, Vanuatu’s police currently use something other than Huawei’s surveillance system despite the need for a data centre to support such technology. Australia has banned Huawei from its 5G network on national security grounds and has funded subsea telecommunications cables in the Pacific Islands to counter Huawei’s influence, a move Beijing has criticised as discriminatory.
Realme has unveiled plans to integrate Sony’s cutting-edge LYT-701 camera sensor into its upcoming 5G smartphone, marking a significant leap into AI-enhanced imaging technology. The announcement, made at a pre-launch event in Bangkok, underscores Realme’s strategic partnership with Sony to elevate mobile photography capabilities.
Francis Wong, Head of Product Marketing at Realme, highlighted the shift from traditional hardware-centric advancements to AI-driven innovations in mobile photography. He emphasised that while past improvements focused on megapixels and sensor sizes, future progress hinges on AI to redefine the mobile imaging experience.
The Realme 13 Pro Series 5G will feature the HYPERIMAGE+ technology, integrating multiple lenses and a 50MP periscope telephoto camera powered by Sony’s LYT-600 sensor. This setup promises to deliver superior image quality and unprecedented flexibility for users capturing diverse scenes.
The collaboration aims not only to advance technological capabilities but also to democratise advanced imaging tools, enabling users worldwide to capture and share their experiences in unprecedented detail. Realme plans to announce the official launch dates for the device in India and other markets soon.
Why does it matter?
The IATSE’s tentative agreement represents a significant step forward in securing fair wages and job protections for Hollywood’s behind-the-scenes workers, ensuring that the rapid advancements in technology do not come at the expense of human employment.
Ericsson has unveiled an ambitious plan to drive digital transformation in Thailand, leveraging its state-of-the-art 5G network solutions and extensive global expertise. At the heart of this initiative is the newly established 5G Innovation and Experience Studio at Thailand Digital Valley, developed in collaboration with the Royal Thai Government and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA). The studio is a hub for co-creating and testing innovative 5G solutions. It showcases several innovative 5G applications, including Automated Mobile Robots (AMR), an Automated Production Machine developed in collaboration with Mitsubishi, and 360-degree wearable CCTV cameras.
Ericsson Thailand is committed to fostering collaboration with key stakeholders in the ecosystem, including partners, end-users, academia, and others. By working together, the company aims to develop new 5G use cases to drive digital transformation and benefit the Thai people, economy, and country. Anders Rian, President of Ericsson Thailand, emphasises, ‘5G is a platform for innovation. It enables new services for consumers, enterprises, and industry. We remain committed to fostering partnerships and innovations to ensure Thailand reaps the full benefits of a robust and sustainable 5G network.’
The initiative aligns with Ericsson’s global leadership in 5G networks, powering 162 networks in 69 countries. According to the Ericsson Mobility Report, 5G subscriptions in Southeast Asia and Oceania are forecasted to reach 560 million by 2029, driven by increased affordability of devices and expanded service offerings.
Telecom Egypt has partnered with Hungarian telecom firm 4iG Group to form a joint venture to build, operate, and commercialise fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and fibre-to-the-site (FTTS) access infrastructure wholesale across Egypt. The two companies have agreed on the ambitious project’s business model, ownership structure, governance processes, and technological specifications. This ambitious project will see a combined investment of $600 million over the next ten years to provide high-speed internet to at least six million households.
This initiative aligns with Egypt’s Digital Egypt and Vision 2030 strategies. As a result, the agreement was signed in the presence of Egyptian Prime Minister Dr Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Communications and Information Technology Dr Amr Talaat.
Moreover, the FTTS component of the network will enhance the capacity of Egypt’s mobile network, facilitating a faster rollout of 5G technology. This infrastructure will also support other next-generation services, such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and enterprise networks. Mohamed Nasr, managing director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, highlighted the project’s potential to deliver unparalleled performance and future-proof connectivity, reinforcing Telecom Egypt’s leadership in the ICT sector.
Vodafone has called for the establishment of a ‘Connectivity Union’ to accelerate Europe’s digital ambitions and bolster its global competitiveness. Emphasising the crucial role of next-generation connectivity, particularly 5G standalone technology, Vodafone argues that this is essential for European businesses to fully harness the industrial value of the internet and emerging technologies such as AI. They warn that Europe risks falling behind in the global digital race without addressing the current connectivity issues.
The European Commission has identified several challenges in the connectivity sector, including fragmentation, excessive costs, and inconsistent regulations that vary across companies despite offering similar services. These issues threaten the achievement of Europe’s digital decade targets and put the region at a significant competitive disadvantage.
Vodafone stresses that Europe needs critical action from policymakers to close the 5G investment gap and turn its digital future around. Joakim Reiter, Chief External & Corporate Affairs Officer at Vodafone, highlighted the urgency of resetting Europe’s telecoms policy regime. He proposed a new Connectivity Union that would bring together the European Commission, national governments, and industry stakeholders to tackle the shortcomings in Europe’s connectivity sector more aggressively.
In response to the European Commission’s consultation paper, Vodafone outlined five key policy pillars for a new Digital Communications Framework for Europe. These include enhancing investment competition in mobile and fixed markets, advocating for pro-investment spectrum policies, ensuring fair regulation based on services offered, implementing a harmonised security framework, and creating a stable policy environment that incorporates sustainability requirements. These pillars aim to end the piecemeal policy approach to telecoms and lay the foundation for a robust Connectivity Union.
Finnish telecommunications giant Nokia recently announced that it has agreed to sell its submarine networks business, Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), to the French state for 350 million euros (approximately £300 million). The sale, which is expected to reduce sales in Nokia’s Network Infrastructure Business Group by 1 billion euros (£870 million), will not impact the company’s overall financial outlook, demonstrating Nokia’s robustness of its remaining business segments.
The transaction, anticipated to close by the end of 2024 or early 2025, gives Nokia ample time to adjust and refocus its resources in other sectors. The deal highlights Nokia’s ongoing effort to streamline and recalibrate its business interests towards more profitable or strategic avenues, facilitating better resource allocation and enhancing focus on areas integral to its core objectives and future growth plans.
The Biden administration is scrutinising China Mobile, China Telecom, and China Unicom over concerns that these firms could misuse their access to American data through their US cloud and internet businesses. The Commerce Department is leading the investigation, subpoenaing the state-backed companies and conducting risk analyses on China Mobile and China Telecom. These companies maintain a small US presence, providing services like cloud computing and routing internet traffic, giving them potential access to sensitive data.
The investigation aims to prevent these Chinese firms from exploiting their US presence to aid Beijing, aligning with Washington’s broader strategy to counteract potential threats to national security from Chinese technology companies. The US has previously barred these companies from providing telephone and broadband services. Authorities could block transactions that allow these firms to operate in data centres and manage internet traffic, potentially crippling their remaining US operations.
China’s embassy in Washington has criticised these actions, urging the US to cease suppressing Chinese companies. No evidence has been found that these firms intentionally provided US data to the Chinese government. However, concerns persist about their capabilities to access and potentially misuse data, primarily through Points of Presence (PoPs) and data centres in the US, which could pose significant security risks.
Nvidia has signed a new partnership with Qatari telecom group Oreedoo to bring its AI technology to data centres in five Middle Eastern countries. Signed at the TM Forum in Copenhagen last week, the deal makes Ooredoo a Nvidia cloud partner (NCP) that will contribute significantly to enhancing AI capabilities in the region.
Central to this partnership is Ooredoo’s plan to deploy thousands of Nvidia’s Tensor Core GPUs in its AI data centres. In a news release, the company said these GPUs are essential in providing advanced AI and machine learning services, including generative AI. This deployment is part of Ooredoo’s broader strategy to innovate and expand its technological infrastructure. The company has not disclosed the specific types of Nvidia technology that will be installed, although it says this will depend on availability and customer demand.
Why is this important?
The question of whether these centres will receive the most or less advanced versions of Nvidia’s AI chips remains open in light of US export controls. Last year, US policies expanded restrictions on the export of sophisticated AI chips from Nvidia and AMD beyond China to include certain Middle Eastern countries. In response, Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have announced plans to develop less powerful AI chips that can be exported to restricted regions like China. In the absence of details given by the partners, it is unsure which AI-capable chips will be deployed in Ooredoo’s data centres.
This partnership is part of Ooredoo’s larger strategic vision to transform into the region’s leading telecom and infrastructure holding company. The company’s CEO Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo said that a $1 billion investment will expand its data centre capacity from 40 to 60-65 megawatts, with the goal of tripling it by the end of the decade. In a region that is still determining its AI strategy, Ooredoo’s expansion is set to shape those same policies. As for Nvidia, this partnership means another region in which the company asserts its market dominance.
