The global telecom industry continues to accelerate its transformation with major developments in 5G, AI, and sustainability. From Ooredoo Kuwait's 5G Advanced readiness to Turkcell's land-to-sea 5G breakthrough, operators across regions are embracing innovation. Here's a look at the latest milestones driving this evolution.
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1. Ooredoo Kuwait Confirms 5G Advanced Network Readiness and Applies AI to Boost Performance
Ooredoo Kuwait announced on May 3, 2025, a new phase of network development based on three pillars: advanced 5G, artificial intelligence, and sustainability. Chief technology officer Issa Haider confirmed the company's readiness to launch its 5G Advanced network, in parallel with the reallocation of spectrum in the 2300 and 2600 MHz (TDD) bands.
He added that Ooredoo has upgraded its radio access network with massive MIMO antennas and prepared the infrastructure to support network slicing and edge computing, serving critical sectors such as ports, oil, smart education, and healthcare.
According to Ooredoo Kuwait, the targeted use cases include private networks for oil and gas, smart ports, supply chains, immersive education, and medical IoT.
He also noted the technical partnerships with Huawei and Nokia to test AI-powered network capabilities and improve performance efficiency and user experience, including RedCap trials.
He explained that AI is no longer just an auxiliary technology but has become the cornerstone of Ooredoo Kuwait's operations. It is utilised across all levels of the network, from self-organising networks (SON) and predictive maintenance to AI-driven digital customer service, customer satisfaction analytics, and experience quality prediction.
He emphasised that the strategic partnership with Nvidia is a key enabler of this transformation, accelerating the development of an intelligent AI infrastructure and leveraging high-performance computing to deliver personalised customer experiences, real-time data traffic analytics, and fault prediction.
Ooredoo is currently working to establish an AI Center of Excellence and adopt a self-decision-making network architecture, capable of delivering real-time, customised offerings.
Furthermore, he said Ooredoo has already begun phasing out its 3G network to reduce energy consumption and introduced hybrid sites powered by solar energy — a move aimed at reducing energy consumption per gigabyte.
He pointed out that Ooredoo uses advanced dashboards to monitor energy usage, measure carbon footprint, manage electronic waste, and generate reports aligned with GSMA and CITRA standards.
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2. Turkcell Completes Land-to-Sea 5G Trial at TeknoFest TRNC
Turkcell reported that it has successfully conducted a 5G test at TeknoFest TRNC, held in Lefkosa from 1 and 4 May. A new autonomous marine vehicle on the coast of Alsancak, Girne was remotely controlled using a 5G connection from the festival area.
This achievement marks the first-ever 5G connection from land to sea in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), using a vehicle developed with domestic technologies, according to the company's statement on May 5, 2025.
3. E& and Digicel Group Announce Partnership to Enhance Voice Services Across Americas
e& and Digicel Group have announced a partnership to enhance Digicel's international voice services across the Americas. Under this collaboration, e& will serve as Digicel's partner in 24 markets for inbound and outbound international traffic, optimising operations and elevating service quality.
The partnership will support both companies with real-time monitoring capabilities, proactive threat mitigation, and enhanced security protocols—protecting customers, operators, and the broader telecom ecosystem.
This partnership will enable Digicel to optimise costs, streamline infrastructure investments, and strengthen its market position, Digicel said on May 5, 2025.
"Leveraging our extensive expertise in international voice solutions, our partnership with Digicel Group is fully aligned with e& Carrier & Wholesale's strategy to expand our global footprint and deliver next-generation voice services across key international markets," said Nabil Baccouche, Group Chief Carrier & Wholesale Officer at e&.
"As we establish our Wholesale’s strategic hub in Miami as one of our key locations for the region, this collaboration reinforces our commitment to delivering high-quality, secure, and innovative telecom services across the Caribbean, Americas and beyond."
4. Claro Colombia Launches Nationwide Antenna Modernisation Project
Claro Colombia (America Movil) has announced the launch of a modernisation programme to upgrade its more than 10,000 antennas nationwide. The initiative aims to enhance infrastructure efficiency and reduce environmental impact.
Claro said it plans to modernise over 1,000 antennas by 2025, upgrading key components such as basebands and power amplifiers with more efficient hardware. "By the end of 2028 he expects to have modernised all his antennas," the company said on May 8, 2025.
According to the latest CRC report, around 70 percent of Colombians who accessed 5G in 2024 did so via the Claro network, the operator noted. The modernisation also enables the integration of multiple technologies—from 2G to 5G—within the same infrastructure, offering increased capacity and efficiency with a reduced equipment footprint.
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5. Omantel Trials 5G Passive IoT Technology
Omantel announced it has successfully completed a laboratory trial of self-operating Passive Internet of Things (IoT) technology. This builds on its 2024 trial of RedCap, a feature of advanced 5G aimed at enabling effective connectivity for low-capability devices, thus improving internet efficiency and expanding IoT applications.
Unlike conventional IoT devices that rely on batteries, Passive IoT devices operate using ambient energy sources. On May 11, 2025, Omantel said passive IoT is considered a promising future application of 5G networks, offering numerous opportunities for sectors such as logistics, healthcare, and smart agriculture. Unlike traditional IoT devices, Passive IoT tags do not require battery power, making them easier to install, minimising maintenance and replacements, and ensuring longer operational lifespans.
The trial demonstrated the effectiveness of Passive IoT over Omantel's 5G network, proving its ability to connect over distances of up to 200 meters. The technology is expected to bring a qualitative shift in business models across various sectors by creating new revenue streams and accelerating their digital transformation agendas.
Omantel's future 5G-powered Passive IoT network will be capable of supporting millions of passive sensors across sectors such as retail, logistics, manufacturing, and others, the company said.
6. Du Launches GPU-as-a-Service in UAE for AI
UAE operator Du announced the launch of GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) for government entities and large enterprises in the UAE. The new offering will provide public and private entities with the required digital infrastructure for their advanced computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) needs, the operator said on May 12, 2025.
Du said its new GPU-as-a-Service offering is set to transform business operations across the UAE by leveraging the power of AI. This service provides enterprises and government entities access to high-powered GPU computing. Through the utilisation of GPUs, businesses can expect to see significant improvements in processing speeds, cost efficiency, scalability, and accuracy among other benefits.
Jasim Al Awadi, Chief ICT Officer at du, said: "Our GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) is designed to meet the expanding needs of AI, offering businesses tailored solutions for high-intensity computing environments. This service provides the flexibility to deploy AI technologies without the hefty investment or management of an expensive digital infrastructure. With access to our advanced computing power, these entities can accelerate the development of generative AI, large language models, and other AI-driven workloads."
"Our state-of-the-art digital infrastructure, which includes AI data centers, comprehensive fixed networks, and an expansive 5G network enhanced with GPUaaS, is poised to support the UAE's aspirations to become a leading digital and AI hub."
According to Du, the benefits of leveraging GPU technology include accelerated processing speeds, which enable faster training of AI models and lead to the rapid deployment of AI solutions. GPU technology also offers enhanced accuracy in decision-making, real-time insights for time-sensitive applications, optimised deep learning capabilities, energy efficiency, cloud flexibility, seamless compatibility with leading AI frameworks, and accelerated innovation in fields as diverse as healthcare diagnostics, predictive maintenance, and financial analytics, Du explained.
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7. Virgin Media O2 and Daisy Group to Merge B2B Operations
UK operators Virgin Media O2 and Daisy Group have announced plans to merge their direct B2B operations to create a new business communications and IT group with a projected annual revenue of around GBP 1.4 billion. The new entity will be consolidated under Virgin Media O2, with Daisy controlling a 30 percent stake. It will be led and chaired by Daisy Group founder Matthew Riley as chairman, and Jo Bertram, Managing Director of Virgin Media O2 Business, as CEO.
The dedicated new company will serve the communications and IT needs of hundreds of thousands of UK businesses – small offices, SMEs, large enterprises and public sector organisations, as well as indirect partners, the companies said in a joint announcement on May 12, 2025.
The new group will benefit from significant economies of scale and offer a wide range of services including cloud-based communications, 5G private networks, IoT connectivity, security solutions, and AI-powered tools such as O2 Motion.
The company will be supported by fixed and mobile connectivity wholesale agreements with Virgin Media O2, and supplier arrangements with Telefonica and Liberty Global to leverage products and services from across the portfolio of those wider shareholder groups.
Virgin Media O2's fixed and mobile wholesale operations, which include smart metering and connectivity to MVNO customers, will remain fully owned by Virgin Media O2.
Founded in 2001, Daisy Group is one of the UK's largest independent communications providers, delivering cloud, IT, and telecom solutions nationwide. The transaction is expected to close in early H2 2025, subject to customary regulatory approvals.
8. MasOrange Launches First 5G Advanced Network in Spain
MasOrange, the newly formed operator from the merger of Orange Spain and Masmovil, has announced Spain’s first deployment of a 5G Advanced (5.5G) network. The launch was unveiled at the 5G Forum event in Seville, the company announced on May 12, 2025.
The company has partnered with Huawei and the University of Seville to deploy a series of network nodes at La Cartuja Technology Park, using spectrum in the 26 GHz band and 140 MHz in the 3.5 GHz band. These deployments also leverage mid- and low-band spectrum, making MasOrange the Spanish operator with the most extensive spectrum portfolio.
Speaking at the Forum, MasOrange CEO Meinrad Spenger said, "The innovative 5G Advanced network that we are deploying at La Cartuja will allow, within the framework of the Seville eCity project, the development of use cases and pilots by companies and the University of Seville, with which we have already begun to collaborate."
MasOrange CEO highlighted the collaboration with the University of Seville and local companies in developing pilot programs. He added: "We are very proud to be the first operator in Spain to use this innovative technology, which allows us to deliver faster speeds, lower latency, and support new services like sensing and 5G New Calling, improving the experience for our customers and helping us remain the most highly rated operator in Spain."
According to MasOrange, the new 5G Advanced network—built on its 5G SA core—serves as an intermediate step between traditional 5G and the future 6G. "This new technology will not only improve connectivity but also introduce new capabilities such as sensing, improve the experience of the 5G new calling voice service and boost the expansion of IoT," the company said.
According to the Spanish operator, the 5G Advanced Network will offer more speed, less latency, greater capacity to connect more devices, lower energy consumption and improved coverage in urban environments.
9. Telefonica Germany Expands 5G Network Using Streetlights
Telefonica Germany has begun deploying 5G equipment on streetlights nationwide in partnership with infrastructure provider 5G Synergiewerk to improve mobile network coverage. In the first expansion phase in 2025, Telefonica and 5G Synergiewerk will focus on installing mini-masts on streetlights in the 25 largest cities in Germany, the telco announced on May 13, 2025.
The first streetlights are already providing 5G coverage in Frankfurt am Main, Cologne and Wuerzburg. The positive experiences from the pilot projects have prompted the two companies to roll out the mini masts nationwide in the largest cities, the telco said.
By the end of 2025, 50 more streetlight-based sites are expected to be in service. The companies also plan to expand this infrastructure to tourist areas along the North Sea and Baltic Sea coasts, as well as Lake Constance.
To install a 5G-enabled streetlight, 5G Synergiewerk replaces the existing lamppost with a "smart pole," which accommodates both modern LED lighting and O2 Telefonica's network equipment. Small antennas embedded in the pole transmit the 5G signal, and the technology is connected via fiber optic cables.
Telefonica Germany described the use of existing infrastructure as "an excellent example of sustainability and circular economy concepts in telecommunications."
10. Iliad Signs Two New PPAs in France
Iliad Group has announced new progress toward its climate targets with the signing of four new power purchase agreements (PPAs) across Europe. Two of these are in France, with local electricity producers Arkolia and H2air—the latter becoming the first to supply Iliad's French operations with wind-generated electricity. The other PPAs include one with R.Power in Poland and another with Metlen in Italy.
"By entering into these PPAs we are able to secure low-carbon energy supplies at attractive and stable prices for a period of 10 to 15 years," Iliad said on May 13, 2025.
With our first PPA signed in January 2023, followed by three more announced in February 2024, we now have a total of eight PPAs (long-term renewable energy contracts) in place throughout Europe, Iliad said.
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