The latest telecom news includes announcements on Vodafone Idea, Ericsson, LEO Satellites in Namibia, Ericsson, among others.
Vodafone Idea Hit Hard as Govt Rules Out New AGR Relief
Vodafone Idea shares dropped about 9 percent on August 26, 2025, after the government confirmed there will be no fresh discussion on adjusted gross revenue (AGR) relief. Minister of State for Communications Pemmasani Chandra Sekhar said earlier steps, including equity conversion of dues, were the final measure, and any further relief would require approval from the Union Cabinet and Finance Ministry. Vodafone Idea had requested that its AGR principal of ₹17,213 crore up to FY19 be treated as final, along with a waiver of interest and penalties. The company posted a net loss of ₹6,608 crore in Q1 FY26 compared to ₹6,432 crore a year earlier, while revenue from operations increased to ₹11,023 crore from ₹10,508 crore, IANS reports.
5G Drives Next Wave of Transport Innovation: Ericsson’s Cellular-First Push
Ericsson presented its cellular-first connectivity model at the ITS World Congress 2025 in Atlanta, focusing on applications in in-vehicle systems, IoT deployments, and fixed-site connections, with 5G identified as essential to meet growing data needs in intelligent transport systems. The company is collaborating with Bosch and T-Mobile in the Peachtree Corners V2X project, where cellular networks support intelligent intersections, smart parking, and autonomous shuttle services.
CRAN Explores LEO Satellites to Improve Connectivity in Namibia
The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) is exploring Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, including Starlink, OneWeb, IRIS2, and Amazon’s Kuiper, to improve internet connectivity in Namibia. LEO satellites orbit between 500 and 2,000 km above Earth, providing lower latency and real-time services in areas with limited infrastructure. On August 22, 2025, CRAN held a public hearing to collect stakeholder input on mobile satellite spectrum applications and regulatory requirements. Previously, CRAN ordered Starlink to stop operations in Namibia due to the absence of a telecommunications license.
Sweden’s Ericsson Joins Industry Leaders to Launch Sferical AI for Next-Gen Infrastructure
Sweden’s Wallenberg Investments, Ericsson, AstraZeneca, Saab, and SEB have launched Sferical AI, a joint company based in Linköping, Sweden. The company will provide sovereign AI compute infrastructure through two NVIDIA DGX SuperPODs with 1,152 GPUs, designed for training and operating large AI models. The initiative was first announced in May 2025 by Marcus Wallenberg and NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, with plans to build AI infrastructure and establish an NVIDIA AI Technology Center in Sweden. Leadership includes Jenny Nordlöw as CEO and Anders Ynnerman as Executive Chairman. The project will support AI development across healthcare, defense, finance, and telecommunications.
Shafana Fazal