With extreme weather events increasingly common as a result of climate change, coordinating disaster response is an unfortunately ubiquitous challenge for relief organisations. Communications are of course essential for this, and organisations such as Télécoms Sans Frontières ensure that connectivity is made available as soon as possible in the aftermath of disasters.

The conversation around the impact of AI is all-encompassing, but one aspect that is coming under increasing scrutiny is the vast amount of energy required by data centres as AI adoption continues apace.

AI is being touted as the most transformative technology since personal computers and the internet. The technology also shows promise to transform lives on the African continent which has struggled with multiple challenges that developed markets have made a distant memory. 

Vodafone Group CTO Scott Petty (third, from right) laid out how AI has the potential to fundamentally change the economic landscape of the internet, but developing markets will be slow to see this change, due to challenges such as low smartphone uptake and lack of fundamental infrastructure to drive the resource intensive “hyped” technology.

In an industry as future-focused as telecoms, service providers need to ensure that their branding conveys the right messaging to prospective subscribers.

No prizes for guessing that AI stole everyone’s attention at Digital Transformation World in Copenhagen this year. In every keynote and session, the two letter acronym left the lips of every single person that took a stage.

The chief executives of Axiata Group, Jio Platforms and Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison expressed great confidence in AI and digitalisation for delivery of growth for emerging market operators and economies.   

TM Forum CEO Nik Willets was buoyed by a resurgence in the telecoms industry saying it is climbing out of its “code red moment” by leveraging key technologies such as AI, despite admitting returns from AI being disappointing across the board.

Last year at Digital Transformation World (DTW) Copenhagen, TM Forum President and CEO Nik Willetts (pictured) said the telecoms industry was at a “crisis point”.

The ability of 5G to enable wide-scale industrial applications has long been billed as a major differentiator for the standard compared to 4G.

Nokia Mobile Networks SVP of Middle East and Africa, Mikko Lavanti, sat down with Developing Telecoms to discuss a range of topics affecting markets under his remit. Here the executive explored markets he believed will be opportunities for growth, his ambitions and what operators need to keep an eye out for over the next 12 months.

Volatile foreign exchange rates across Africa are currently hamstringing operators, with notable names such as MTN and Airtel revealing how badly their coffers were hit in recent financial results.

SES’ recent purchase of Intelsat is the latest example of major consolidation within the geostationary orbit (GSO) satellite sector, following on from mergers between Eutelsat and OneWeb as well as Viasat and Inmarsat.

Transmitting about 99% of the world’s telecommunications, submarine cables have emerged as critical infrastructure necessary for systems to function. In recent months, there have been two “extraordinary” outages that have brought submarine cable damage and protection issues to the fore.

Huawei Analyst Summit (HAS) 2024 may have been a closed event for media this year but Developing Telecoms was still in Shenzhen to soak in new developments from Huawei and scope out the vendor’s almost mythical Ox Horn Campus, a fairy-tale project from Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei.

Within the space of a month, Africa experienced two extraordinary cable disruptions that led to internet outages in at least 11 countries across the continent.

Africa is reaching a tipping point as take up of connectivity services has surged year-on-year and it is not slowing down anytime soon. Its population is huge at 1.1 billion and young, a perfect combination for a surge in data usage and opportunities for operators. But now is the time for closer collaboration among rivals and governments - and the continent’s six largest operator groups are looking to lead by example.

Now Corporation sees its rivals selling off tower assets to independent tower companies as an opportunity for its enterprise broadband provider unit Now Telecom to expand its coverage through leasing deals, and eventually launch its consumer mobile business in two years.

Orange Middle East and Africa CEO Jerome Henique (pictured) has left the door open for an eventual entry into the Ethiopian market, despite recently dropping negotiations with the government to acquire a stake in state-incumbent Ethio Telecom last year.  

Vodacom Group CTO (pictured) Dejan Kastelic said the operator is exploring a range of strategies to tackle rising opex costs and reduce its carbon footprint through innovative new technologies, including harnessing the power of hydrogen to power base stations.

With MWC24 now over, it’s time to look at the key trends that emerged from the show – and check whether they aligned with our predictions.

Mobile World Congress 2024 takes place next week, and Developing Telecoms will be at the show in Barcelona to report on the major trends that will shape the sector in emerging markets across the next year.

The spread of connectivity has transformed the economies of multiple developing markets enabling citizens from Asia, Africa and Latin America to tap into a myriad of information and services.

The telecoms sector has an indisputable impact on the environment. Operating a reliable network requires vast amounts of power, the manufacture of network equipment and personal devices produces significant carbon emissions, and the swift obsolescence of these devices generates a constant stream of e-waste.