Today’s telecom news includes announcements on Iliad, Airtel Africa, TRAI, TEC, IIIT, among others.
Iliad Powers Past 2025 Cash Goals with Innovation-Driven Growth
French telecom operator Iliad expects to surpass its 2025 target of €2 billion in annual free cash flow, driven by strong growth in its Italian operations, where cash generation has more than doubled. The company is deepening its innovation and infrastructure investments through OpCore’s expanding data-centre portfolio, while monetising part of that business to reduce net-debt leverage from 2.7× to 2.3× EBITDA. Iliad continues to prioritise customer value through improved network performance and competitive service offerings, reinforcing its focus on sustainable, innovation-led growth.
Airtel Africa’s Market Surge Sets Stage for a Powerful Mobile Money Debut
Airtel Africa’s FTSE 100 share price has surged 164%, boosted by a stabilising Nigerian naira and strong momentum in its data and mobile-money businesses. The company reported a nearly five-fold rise in after-tax profit to about $376 million after Nigeria approved a 50% tariff increase. Its expanding Airtel Money division processed an annualised $193 billion in transactions in Q2 2025, further strengthening investor confidence as Airtel prepares for a potential early-2026 listing.
TRAI’s 1600-Series Move: Securing Financial Calls and Boosting Customer Trust
TRAI has mandated that banks, financial services, and insurance firms adopt a dedicated 1600-series for service and transactional calls by mid-2026. This initiative is an investment in trust and security, allowing customers to reliably identify genuine calls from financial institutions, reducing spam and impersonation fraud. Clear deadlines have been assigned to different entities — including banks, NBFCs, mutual funds, stockbrokers, and pension fund managers.
TEC and IIIT-Delhi Forge Path for Next-Gen Telecom Innovation
TEC and IIIT‑Delhi have joined forces to advance R&D and standardisation in telecom technologies, including 5G/6G, optical communications, and non‑terrestrial networks. The collaboration emphasizes AI-driven solutions for network optimization, anomaly detection, predictive maintenance, and smart traffic management. It also focuses on Software Defined Networking (SDN), Network Function Virtualisation (NFV), and innovative communication methods like Free Space Optical Communication and Li-Fi, targeting rural and defense applications. This partnership strengthens indigenous R&D, supporting India’s “Atmanirbhar Bharat” vision, while enhancing the country’s influence in global standards bodies like ITU and 3GPP.
Shafana Fazal
