GSMA

Verizon’s digital sub-brand Visible is extending from app-only to omnichannel, adding BestBuy.com today and a nationwide in-store rollout on September 28. Visible offers unlimited data, talk, and text on Verizon’s 5G-capable network, plus unlimited mobile hotspot and no annual contracts. Customers keep the app-led experience - account setup, activation, billing, and support, while gaining retail conveniences like immediate SIM pickup, device compatibility checks, and help from trained associates. The Best Buy partnership signals a broader shift toward hybrid digital-retail engagement in U.S. wireless. Retail staff can guide eSIM setup and BYOD compatibility using GSMA eSIM standards and device tools, shortening time-to-service.
Telefónica reports €77 billion invested over ten years to expand sustainable, resilient connectivity, with SDG 9 (industry, innovation and infrastructure) as the strategic anchor. The operator now serves nearly 350 million accesses, has passed 81.4 million premises with FTTH, and runs one of the largest ultra-broadband footprints globally, second in scale only to China. Spain is Telefónica’s showcase for fiber-led modernization. Dense FTTH has enabled a managed copper switch-off, which simplifies operations, cuts energy use, and improves service quality. The operator targets net zero by 2040 - ten years ahead of many international timelines—and reports a 52% reduction in CO2 emissions across the value chain from 2015 to 2024.
As the U.N. General Assembly convened, U.S. authorities quietly removed a dense cluster of SIM servers and cards that investigators say could have overloaded mobile networks and disrupted emergency communications across the New York metro area. Investigators seized more than 300 SIM servers and roughly 100,000 SIM cards distributed across multiple sites within 35 miles of the United Nations complex. Mass device farms can generate signaling storms that overwhelm cell sites and the mobile core, similar in effect to a distributed denial-of-service attack.
Indonesia’s three leading mobile players - Telkomsel, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), and XLSMART -have formed a joint Telco API Alliance to standardize network-exposed APIs and harden the country’s digital ecosystem against fraud. The alliance commits all three operators to a common telco API protocol aligned with CAMARA, the open-source, Linux Foundation–hosted API project supported by the GSMA Open Gateway initiative. The initial roll-out centers on customer protection and fraud prevention—areas where network signals offer high value. SIM Swap detection flags recent SIM changes, a leading indicator of account takeover risk.
Korea’s three national carriers have enabled Rich Communication Services (RCS) on iPhones via Apple’s recent iOS update, bringing Android–iOS parity for default messaging to a market long dominated by OTT apps. SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus now support RCS for iPhone users across Korea, extending capabilities that previously existed only on Android. RCS on iPhone is available on iPhone 11 series and newer models running the latest iOS update, with activation dependent on carrier support and user settings. Users gain modern chat features including group messaging with up to 100 Android participants, read receipts, typing indicators, replies, and support for richer media.
Gartner’s latest outlook points to global AI spend hitting roughly $1.5 trillion in 2025 and exceeding $2 trillion in 2026, signaling a multi-year investment cycle that will reshape infrastructure, devices, and networks. This is not a short-lived hype curve; it is a capital plan. Hyperscalers are pouring money into data centers built around AI-optimized servers and accelerators, while device makers push on-device AI into smartphones and PCs at scale. For telecom and enterprise IT leaders, the message is clear: capacity, latency, and data gravity will dictate where value lands. Spending is broad-based. AI services and software are growing fast, but the heavy lift is in hardware and cloud infrastructure.
SK Telecom has been named OpenAI’s exclusive B2C partner among Korean carriers as OpenAI opens its Korea office, signaling an aggressive push to scale consumer AI access and localize go-to-market in a strategically important market. The two companies unveiled a promotion for ChatGPT Plus, giving new or returning subscribers who purchase one month two additional months at no cost. While the immediate focus is consumer-facing, SK Telecom indicates the partnership will extend toward business services and potential collaborations across the broader SK Group.
O2 Telefónica Germany has deployed a Large Telco Model powered by Tech Mahindra and NVIDIA to transform its operations into a service-centric, AI-native system. By integrating telemetry, tickets, and service topology into a unified AI fabric, the model enables automated root-cause analysis, dispatch optimization, and intent-based workflows. This marks a tangible shift toward autonomous network operations, with measurable gains in operational efficiency, SLA compliance, and customer experience.
Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS 12.1 Orion steps into this gap with a quantum-ready roadmap, a unified multicloud security fabric, expanded AI-driven protections and a new generation of next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) designed for data centers, branches and industrial edge. The release also pushes management into a single operational plane via Strata Cloud Manager, targeting lower operating cost and faster incident response. PAN-OS 12.1 automatically discovers workloads, applications, AI assets and data flows across public cloud and hybrid environments to eliminate blind spots. It continuously assesses posture, flags misconfigurations and exposures in real time and deploys protections in one click across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud.
Network APIs are redefining the telecom sector, enabling real-time services, secure mobile payments, IoT support, and cross-industry innovation. With projected market growth to $30B by 2030, telecom leaders are focusing on standardization, ecosystem collaboration, and developer engagement to unlock the full value of APIs in the 5G era.
In The Gateway to a New Future, top global telecom leaders—Marc Murtra (Telefónica), Vicki Brady (Telstra), Sunil Bharti Mittal (Airtel), Biao He (China Mobile), and Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer (Telenor)—share bold visions for reshaping the industry. From digital sovereignty and regulatory reform in Europe, to AI-powered smart cities in China and fintech platforms in Africa, these executives reveal how telecom is evolving into a driving force of global innovation, inclusion, and collaboration. The telco of tomorrow is not just a network—it’s a platform for economic and societal transformation.
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