Author: Eternity Lab

One of the great things about Amazon is its fast delivery options, especially if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber. That speed is made possible by a massive logistics operation. Amazon stocks products in huge warehouses around the world, and those fulfillment centers can quickly ship goods to nearby customers once an order is placed.

Amazon has also come up with new ideas to improve delivery times, like using drones in certain regions or shipping goods directly to your home or car.

It’s no surprise that the next big idea to enhance Amazon deliveries (and reduce costs) involves artificial intelligence. Amazon is reportedly considering using humanoid robots powered by generative AI programs to deliver packages to your door.

That kind of test makes sense, given the AI boom we’re living through. Most of us interact with AI through apps on our phones or desktops, but we’ve also seen impressive advances in genAI for robotics in recent years. Soon enough, humanoid robots will use AI software to understand their surroundings and carry out instructions.

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Those instructions might involve telling a Unitree G1 robot (above) to hop out of a Rivian car when it reaches your neighborhood, grab the correct package from the back, and deliver it to your door. This is no longer science fiction, and Amazon is reportedly testing just such scenarios.

According to The Information (via The Verge), Amazon is conducting tests at one of its San Francisco facilities.

Amazon has reportedly built an indoor humanoid park about the size of a coffee shop. The obstacle course includes a Rivian van so the robots can practice the full package delivery process.

The company is testing various humanoid robots for this task, including the $16,000 Unitree G1 robot we covered a few months ago. I said then that I’d eventually want one of these for help around the house. If Amazon’s tests go well, G1-style robots could be delivering orders before that day comes.

The Digit robot in an Amazon warehouse. Image source: Amazon

A few years ago, Amazon confirmed it was testing a humanoid robot called Digit from Agility Robotics. Those tests focused on warehouse work.

The current delivery tests haven’t been officially confirmed, but The Information has a strong track record when it comes to inside scoops on tech companies.

Amazon also made a few AI-related announcements this week about its shipping logistics that seem to back up The Information’s report.

According to Reuters, Amazon has created a new group at its Lab126 device unit focused on developing more capable warehouse robots. These machines will be able to handle more tasks than Amazon’s current robots.

“We’re creating systems that can hear, understand, and act on natural language commands, turning warehouse robots into flexible, multi-talented assistants,” Amazon said in a statement.

The new robots will feature agentic AI that enables them to unload trailers and retrieve parts for repairs. That, in turn, should speed up delivery times for customers, according to Lab126 leader Yesh Dattatreya.

Separately, Amazon plans to use generative AI for improved mapping tools that will help drivers deliver packages more efficiently. The AI will provide more accurate building details than standard mapping apps, including shapes, obstacles, and tricky layouts.

Reuters suggests the tech might be paired with AR glasses Amazon is developing for drivers.

I’d add that this kind of AI software would also benefit humanoid robots making doorstep deliveries.

We don’t yet know when AI-powered robots will start delivering packages or where they’ll be deployed first. But given the pace of development in AI robotics, it probably won’t be long, whether Amazon leads the way or someone else does.

There’s one obvious issue that hasn’t been addressed. Humanoid AI robots will eventually replace human workers, marking another way AI could take over human jobs. It’ll be interesting to see how Amazon handles that messaging, especially considering its less-than-stellar history with employee relations.

You can check out the following video to see what a Unitree G1 robot is capable of right now. For more on AI robotics, here’s what Figure and Google are working on.

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The National Grid has confirmed that it is in the process of building its largest new electrical substation in response to the growing demand for datacentres in West London.

The facility will be sited just outside of Greater London in Buckinghamshire and will, according to the National Grid, enable a dozen new datacentres to be connected to its electricity transmission network.

“The new site forms part of National Grid’s upgrade to its transmission network to meet growing demand for electricity, ensuring it can continue to support the growth of new sectors, such as datacentres, and the economic and employment benefits they can bring,” the National Grid said in a statement. 

Dubbed Uxbridge Moor, the substation is being built next door to another 400kV substation in Iver, Buckinghamshire, that is at full capacity and cannot be expanded further. It will be comprised of two substations, including one 400kV facility and another with 132kV of capacity.

“The requests from datacentres to connect at Uxbridge Moor will require around 1.8GW of new capacity, equivalent to adding a mid-sized city to the grid on the outskirts of London,” said the National Grid. “When built, it will be the largest new substation on National Grid’s network by gigawatt capacity.”

The work is part of a planned five-year investment push, valued at £35bn, by the National Grid that is geared towards increasing the UK’s electricity generation capacity and making it easier for datacentres and gigafactories to connect to the grid.

The part of the country where the substation will be built has seen a influx of datacentres over the course of the past decade, prompting concerns about whether there is sufficient supply and grid capacity to service them all.

This matter came to a head in 2022 when a briefing note from the Greater London Authority’s Development Service began to circulate that claimed an influx of datacentres meant the electricity and transmission networks in West London were struggling to cope with the demand being placed on them.

Energy minister Michael Shanks said that projects such as this are essential to the government’s ability to deliver on initiatives, such as its push to lower the barriers to datacentre developments in the UK.

“Upgrades to the electricity network like this are at the heart of building the industries of our future and support our Plan for Change to deliver economic growth and skilled jobs across the UK,” said Shanks.

“It comes as we progress our reforms to the grid connections queue that will speed up the time it takes to get high-growth firms, like datacentres and AI hubs, plugged into the grid – while also fast-tracking projects that will scale up clean, homegrown power by 2030.”

Laura Mulcahy, project director at National Grid Electricity Transmission, said the substation’s creation will generate a wide range of economic benefits. 

“Our new Uxbridge Moor substation will provide vital access to power for datacentres that are at the heart of Britain’s innovation and economic growth,” she said. “It will enable new jobs and investment in Buckinghamshire, and will support the UK’s digital future.”

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After almost exactly two years of regulatory wrangling, Vodafone Group and CK Hutchison Group Telecom (CKHGT) Holdings have at last announced the successful merger of their respective UK mobile firms, Vodafone and Three UK.

The combined business will operate under the VodafoneThree brand, and is 51% owned by Vodafone and 49% by CKHGT. Vodafone will fully consolidate VodafoneThree in its financial results, and the company’s CEO will be Max Taylor, who currently leads Vodafone UK. Three UK’s Darren Purkis has been appointed chief financial officer.

VodafoneThree says it will invest £11bn over the next 10 years, creating one of Europe’s most advanced 5G networks, giving businesses up and down the country a vastly superior mobile experience. In its first year, VodafoneThree plans to invest £1.3bn in capex to enable the company to accelerate its network deployment. It added that significant investment in a 5G Standalone network will propel the UK’s mobile infrastructure to the forefront of European connectivity.

Vodafone and Three first announced plans to merge in June 2023, creating a joint entity with 27 million mobile subscribers in the UK and providing a response to BT’s 2016 purchase of EE, as well as the 2021 merger of Virgin Media and O2 to form VMO2. Vodafone and Three justified the combination by saying it would boost the roll-out of 5G infrastructure and allow greater scale to compete with the larger, converged telecoms and mobile players in BT/EE and VMO2.

Yet after it launched an investigation into the merger in October 2023, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that “tens of millions” of mobile customers could see the cost of their mobile packages go up or services such as data allowances reduced. While it acknowledged that the merger could improve the quality of mobile networks and bring forward the deployment of next-generation 5G networks and services, the CMA added that it considers these claims to be “overstated”, and that the merged entity would “not necessarily have the incentive to follow through on its proposed investment programme”.

The CMA also found that the wholesale market where virtual operators – such as Sky Mobile, Tesco Mobile, Lebara, Lyca Mobile and iD Mobile – resell airtime from the four network operators could see worse deals on offer through the reduction in competition from four to three suppliers.

After the CMA outlined ways in which Vodafone and Three could address its concerns, the deal was given a regulatory green light in December 2024 subject to a number of caveats – namely, Vodafone and Three delivering a joint network plan that sets out the network upgrade, integration and improvements they will make to their combined network across the UK over the next eight years; caps in selected mobile tariffs and data plans for three years to protect large numbers of customers from short-term price rises in the early years of the network plan; and offering pre-set prices and contract terms for wholesale services for three years.

Commenting on the completion of the deal, Vodafone Group chief executive Margherita Della Valle said: “The merger will create a new force in UK mobile, transform the country’s digital infrastructure and propel the UK to the forefront of European connectivity. We are now eager to kick off our network build and rapidly bring customers greater coverage and superior network quality. The transaction completes the reshaping of Vodafone in Europe, and following this period of transition, we are now well-positioned for growth ahead.”

Assessing the deal’s wider significance, technology, media and telecoms analyst Paolo Pescatore described the announcement as a big day for the UK telecoms industry as a whole, regarding the new multi-brand approach as catering for specific market segments, providing plentiful opportunities for customer growth and selling more services.

“With a larger base, I would argue that the [combined] entity should focus on retaining its existing base in the short-term and seek to cross or upsell additional services to this larger group,” he said. “An attack on the fixed line market represents a significant opportunity for customer acquisition. This will consist of both fixed wireless access and fibre broadband.

“Three has demonstrated customer success with its home broadband FWA service,” said Pescatore. “We should expect to see this more broadly marketed and most likely at a slightly higher premium than the current offering … there should be a greater focus on the enterprise market given the promise of network leadership combined with its overall spectrum position. It will not be easy to integrate networks and ensure any stripping out does not impact disruption for customers. Make no mistake, the arduous work starts now.”

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5G satellite communications products and technology provider AccelerComm has announced it has closed a funding round totalling $15m and appointed David Helfgott as its CEO.

Experts in specialised radio access network (RAN) applications, AccelerComm says its core mission is to transform the next generation of wireless communications with “innovative, world-leading” IP that delivers ultra-high performance and error-resilient 5G to meet the unique demands of satellite-based 5G networks. The company’s portfolio ranges from physical layer services to customisable signal processing components, implemented on next-generation silicon, artificial intelligence (AI) engines, field-programmable gate array and application-specific integrated circuit-ready intellectual property cores including space-hardened platforms.

The £15m round was led by IP Group – including its Parkwalk and Hostplus managed funds – with support from IQ Capital, Swisscom Ventures’ digital transformation fund and Bloc Ventures.

“Having supported AccelerComm since inception, we’re delighted to see the company attract an experienced CEO and close a new funding round, supported by additional blue-chip investors,” said Lee Thornton, deeptech partner at IP Group. “AccelerComm has one of the world’s leading technologies for fast and efficient communications in the nascent low-earth orbit satellite market. The company is well-positioned for growth, with a market that is projected to be worth $100bn within a decade, and we look forward to future progress.”

AccelerComm says the new capital will be used to further develop and accelerate deployments of its 5G satellite communications products and technology that enable direct-to-device communications between phone handsets and space-based satellite networks. It will also support ongoing implementations with operator and satellite network customers, and partners such as Lockheed Martin, which is using AccelerComm’s services in its advanced regenerative 5G NR NTN base station, set to be the first regenerative 5G NTN payload in orbit.

Assessing what AccelerComm’s cash injection means for both the company and the space comms industry, Henny Sands, head of telecommunications at the UK Space Agency, said the non-terrestrial network convergence of satellite and mobile technology was reshaping the future of connectivity, and that companies like AccelerComm were helping to drive that transformation.

“This investment marks a significant step towards achieving universal mobile coverage through space-based 5G,” he said. “The UK Space Agency is proud to support pioneering businesses developing world-class and unique capabilities, and we welcome AccelerComm’s continued innovation in this critical sector.”

David Helfgott will be at the forefront of driving such innovation, and will also be responsible for accelerating customer and partner traction in the US and globally for AccelerComm’s technology.

Boasting more than 20 years of leadership experience across the wireless and satellite communications markets, he also most recently held the position of CEO at inflight comms firm SmartSky Networks, which majored in air-to-ground (ATG) 4G LTE/5G networks for aviation.

“There is growing momentum in the mobile communications industry towards using 5G enabled satellites to augment existing coverage and capacity delivered by terrestrial networks,” he said.

“AccelerComm’s unique technology and acumen position us at the centre of this shift, delivering a critical building block required to provide best-in-class 5G services from space. The recent announcement of our 5G NTN solution has led to great interest from mobile operators and satellite networks from around the world.”

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The Mail app has long been one of Apple’s most popular and important first-party iPhone apps, but at the moment, it appears to be broken. As spotted by MacRumors on Thursday, there have been multiple reports from around the internet about iPhone owners encountering a completely blank screen when they try to open the Mail app.

What’s up with the Mail app?

“My [Mail] app no longer works after the [iOS 18.5] update,” said one frustrated iPhone owner in a thread on Apple’s Support Community forums. “I uninstalled and re-installed and it attempts to open (blank white screen) and crashes every time.”

Hundreds of comments on a Reddit thread show that this is not an isolated or uncommon issue, either. A wide range of iPhone models are affected, stretching back to at least the iPhone 12, so it’s probably safe to assume it’s a software issue.

In fact, I experienced this issue myself on an iPhone 14 Pro when I woke up this morning. I tapped on the Mail app, and after hanging for a few seconds, the last email I’d opened appeared on the screen. Then, the buttons on the top of the app vanished, the app froze, and I had to swipe up to return to the Home screen. After force-closing the app, I attempted to reopen it, but I either saw a blank screen or had the same freezing issue as before.

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Is there a fix?

I wasn’t sure what else to do, so I tried turning my iPhone off and back on again. For whatever reason, that worked, and I’m able to use the Mail app normally now. That solution also seemed to work for some of the other users who encountered the bug.

Another user claims that they were able to fix the app by going to Settings > General > Keyboard and disabling features like Auto-Correction and Smart Punctuation. Unfortunately, none of these appear to fix the problem permanently.

As MacRumors notes, Apple has yet to acknowledge the issue. There is no indication on Apple’s System Status page that the app is experiencing any problems on Apple’s end. We’ll be keeping an eye out for any updates on the matter.

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Satellite connectivity solutions provider Intellian Technologies and geographic and low Earth orbit (GEO, LEO) communications provider Eutelsat Group are hailing the decision by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) in South Korea to approve a cross-border supply agreement for satellite internet services and in particular granting a regulatory licence for the deployment of Eutelsat OneWeb’s LEO satellite across the country’s maritime, military and government and enterprise markets.

Eutelsat OneWeb claims that its LEO satellite network is designed to provide secure, low-latency, high-speed broadband with global coverage. It is already operational across multiple regions, designed to deliver connectivity in areas where terrestrial infrastructure is limited or unavailable. The service looks to address connectivity demands across applications including maritime, aviation, enterprise and government networks.

For its part, Intellian, headquartered in Pyeongtaek with global operations across 11 countries and four research and development centres, boasts over 20 years of operation in satellite communications.

The company, which says it has evolved from a global antenna manufacturer to a strategic enabler of next-generation connectivity, is the largest supplier of OneWeb user terminals globally, offering a range of flat-panel and parabolic solutions tailored for land mobility, maritime and fixed installations. Its portfolio includes the OW10Hx, a compact flat-panel terminal based on phased array technology, and the OW11Fx, an enterprise-grade terminal capable of delivering download speeds of up to 196Mbps. These are both co-developed and deployed in partnership with Eutelsat OneWeb.

The two parties describe MSIT’s decision as a first of its kind, potentially providing a spur to the rapidly growing space-based communications market, marking a “ground-breaking regulatory precedent” in the country and opening the door to a new era of next-generation satellite broadband access.

In addition, Eutelsat and Intellian see strong growth potential in Korea’s LEO satellite market and say they are committed to deepening their collaboration for domestic and international deployments. With OneWeb’s global network fully in place and Intellian’s manufacturing and engineering capability, the partners say they are positioned to support digital transformation across industries and geographies.

Commenting on the announcement, Neha Idnani, regional vice-president for APAC at Eutelsat OneWeb, said: “Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO service will connect Korean businesses and government with reliable, high-speed connectivity. From secure defence networks and maritime operations to blue light services and cellular backhaul, our SLAs and committed information rates are tailored for the most mission-critical use cases. We’re proud to partner with Intellian Technologies – one of our closest technology partners – to deliver Korean-made user terminals for the Korean market, reinforcing our global commitment to local enablement.”

Intellian Technologies CEO Eric Sung said Korea’s regulatory approval for LEO services was a major inflection point for the region, reflecting the government’s forward-looking commitment to next-gen connectivity and positioning Korea to lead in LEO-based innovation.

“Intellian is proud to play a key role in enabling this vision through close collaboration with OneWeb,” added Sung. “The performance of our terminals – already deployed globally – proves that LEO is no longer experimental. It’s fully operational, scalable and commercially impactful. With this launch, Korean customers now have access to high-speed satellite broadband that was previously unavailable or unviable, especially in sectors where fibre or terrestrial networks fall short.”

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The nature of my job made me look at battery life and charging speeds for years, but I would have done it as a consumer anyway. I’m a longtime iPhone user, and battery life is very important to me. I suffer from the same battery anxiety as most smartphone buyers, though I’m trying to manage it.

Apple significantly improved battery life with the iPhone 16 series, and I’ve enjoyed using the iPhone 16 Plus and 16 Pro Max for several months at a time. Battery life and charging speeds haven’t been a concern.

Then again, battery life was already great on older, larger iPhone models, so I expected the iPhone 16 Plus and 16 Pro Max to deliver. The battery upgrades Apple brought to the smaller iPhone 16 variants, including the iPhone 16e, gave me hope that the iPhone 17 Air won’t trigger my battery anxiety.

I’m already excited about the ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air, even though I know there will be trade-offs. Battery life is one of them. A thin handset means a thinner battery, so I might have to charge the iPhone 17 Air more often.

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But what if Apple gave the iPhone 17 a huge upgrade in wireless charging speeds? What if those speeds went up to 50W?

According to 91 mobiles, Apple filed documentation with Taiwan’s NCC regulator that shows it plans to include the new Qi 2.2 standard in future MagSafe chargers. The blog obtained two model numbers, A3503 and A3502, which could correspond to upcoming puck-shaped MagSafe chargers Apple will release soon.

The chargers in Apple’s images look just like regular MagSafe chargers. The key upgrade here is support for Qi 2.2. This new wireless charging standard could let Apple increase speeds up to 50W.

The images 91mobiles found show the wireless chargers Apple submitted to the NCC support up to 45W speeds when used with a compatible power adapter.

Besides faster speeds, Qi 2.2 also offers better efficiency and improved magnetic alignment.

These chargers would work with any iPhone that has MagSafe connectors on the back, but top charging speeds might only be available on some models. I’d guess the iPhone 17 series will support those speeds from launch.

If that happens, the iPhone 17 Air could charge wirelessly almost as fast as Android rivals.

iPhone 16 Pro Max vs. iPhone 16 Pro vs. iPhone 16e: Battery life comparison. Image source: Apple Inc.

As a longtime iPhone user, I’ve learned not to envy too much of what Android vendors have done in recent years. We’ve seen plenty of Chinese companies launch premium phones with much faster charging speeds than the iPhone. Apple never matched those speeds, but it didn’t need to as long as some iPhones offered solid battery life.

Apple has increased battery charging speeds recently, and the iPhone 16 series stands out with much faster wireless charging. All iPhone 16 models support 25W MagSafe charging, except the iPhone 16e, which lacks magnets on the back.

That’s faster than the 20W wired charging speeds Apple lists for its iPhones. In practice, those speeds can exceed 25W with the right charger.

Apple says 25W MagSafe charging can recharge 50% of an iPhone 16 battery in 30 minutes. USB-C charging offers the same 50% charge in that time frame.

I don’t expect Apple to raise wireless charging speeds all the way to 50W. But anything beyond 25W would make the iPhone 17 Air charge impressively fast, and that’s good enough for me. I’ll gladly accept faster charging on a super-thin phone, even if it means using an external MagSafe battery pack or charging more than once a day.

Along those lines, if the iPhone 17 models support wireless charging up to 45W, I’d expect USB-C charging to get a similar boost.

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As generative AI (GenAI) tools become embedded in the fabric of enterprise operations, they bring transformative promise, but also considerable risk.

For CISOs, the challenge lies in facilitating innovation while securing data, maintaining compliance across borders, and preparing for the unpredictable nature of large language models and AI agents.

The stakes are high; a compromised or poorly governed AI tool could expose sensitive data, violate global data laws, or make critical decisions based on false or manipulated inputs.

To mitigate these risks, CISOs must rethink their cyber security strategies and policies across three core areas: data use, data sovereignty, and AI safety.

Data use: Understanding the terms before sharing vital information

The most pressing risk in AI adoption is not malicious actors but ignorance. Too many organisations integrate third-party AI tools without fully understanding how their data will be used, stored, or shared. Most AI platforms are trained on vast swathes of public data scraped from the internet, often with little regard for the source.

While the larger players in the industry, like Microsoft and Google, have started embedding more ethical safeguards and transparency into their terms of service, much of the fine print remains opaque and subject to change.

For CISOs, this means rewriting data-sharing policies and procurement checklists. AI tools should be treated as third-party vendors with high-risk access. Before deployment, security teams must audit AI platform terms of use, assess where and how enterprise data might be retained or reused, and ensure opt-outs are in place where possible.

Investing in external consultants or AI governance specialists who understand these nuanced contracts can also protect organisations from inadvertently sharing proprietary information. In essence, data used with AI must be treated like a valuable export which is carefully considered, tracked, and regulated.

Data sovereignty: Guardrails for a borderless technology

One of the hidden dangers in AI integration is the blurring of geographical boundaries when it comes to data. What complies with data laws in one country may not in another.

For multinationals, this creates a minefield of potential regulatory breaches, particularly under acts such as DORA and the forthcoming UK Cyber Security and Resilience Bill as well as frameworks like the EU’s GDPR or the UK Data Protection Act.

CISOs must adapt their security strategies to ensure AI platforms align with regional data sovereignty requirements, which means reviewing where AI systems are hosted, how data flows between jurisdictions, and whether appropriate data transfer mechanisms such as standard contractual clauses or binding corporate rules are in place.

Where AI tools do not offer adequate localisation or compliance capabilities, security teams must consider applying geofencing, data masking, or even local AI deployments.

Policy updates should mandate that data localisation preferences be enforced for sensitive or regulated datasets, and AI procurement processes should include clear questions about cross-border data handling. Ultimately, ensuring data remains within the bounds of compliance is a legal issue as well as a security imperative.

Safety: Designing resilience into AI deployments

The final pillar of AI security lies in safeguarding systems from the growing threat of manipulation, be it through prompt injection attacks, model hallucinations, or insider misuse.

While still an emerging threat category, prompt injection has become one of the most discussed vectors in GenAI security. By cleverly crafting input strings, attackers can override expected behaviours or extract confidential information from a model. In more extreme examples, AI models have even hallucinated bizarre or harmful outputs, with one system reportedly refusing to be shut down by developers.

For CISOs, the response must be twofold. First, internal controls and red-teaming exercises, like traditional penetration testing, should be adapted to stress-test AI systems. Techniques like chaos engineering can help simulate edge cases and uncover flaws before they’re exploited.

Second, there needs to be a cultural shift in how vendors are selected. Security policies should favour AI providers who demonstrate rigorous testing, robust safety mechanisms, and clear ethical frameworks. While such vendors may come at a premium, the potential cost of trusting an untested AI tool is far greater.

To reinforce accountability, CISOs should also advocate for contracts that place responsibility on AI vendors for operational failures or unsafe outputs. A well-written agreement should address liability, incident response procedures, and escalation routes in the event of a malfunction or breach.

From gatekeeper to enabler

As AI becomes a core part of business infrastructure, CISOs must evolve from being gatekeepers of security to enablers of safe innovation. Updating policies around data use, strengthening controls over data sovereignty, and building a layered safety net for AI deployments will be essential to unlocking the full potential of GenAI without compromising trust, compliance, or integrity.

The best defence to the rapid changes caused by AI is proactive, strategic adaptation rooted in knowledge, collaboration, and an unrelenting focus on responsibility.

Elliott Wilkes is CTO at Advanced Cyber Defence Systems. A seasoned digital transformation leader and product manager, Wilkes has over a decade of experience working with both the American and British governments, most recently as a cyber security consultant to the Civil Service.

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Ports, factories and large-scale industrial sites have to date been the areas in which private 5G networks have been deployed to offer firms dedicated connectivity to boost operations, but now real estate looks to be getting in on the act, as exemplified by a partnership between Nokia and Andorix, designed to accelerate the adoption of private 5G networks and neutral host networks in the real estate market across the US and Canada.

Explaining the reasons of the partnership, the global comms tech giant and provider of digital infrastructure and smart building services for real estate properties believe that property owners are looking for a 5G private cellular platform to connect their operational technology (OT) use cases, including energy management and efficiency, building operations and optimisation, as well as physical and cyber security on a resilient infrastructure.

Additionally, they say real estate companies want a converged and future-proof smart 5G platform that can expand indoor cellular coverage to improve their tenant’s experience with connectivity and value-added edge applications.

In practical terms, the companies say the collaboration will see them work together to bring fast, reliable 5G for commercial, retail, residential and industrial property, making it easier to enable new technologies like virtual reality (VR) and indoor navigation, facilitate internet of things (IoT) deployments and solve common issues such as unreliable connectivity and stronger security needs.

Nokia noted that it has deployed private wireless networks for 890 customers globally, with 24% of those customers in North America.

Andorix has experience managing converged network infrastructure deployments in Class A commercial, residential and mixed-use developments where reliable indoor connectivity is critical for efficient building operations and tenant satisfaction.

From a technological perspective, the collaboration will bring together Nokia’s global leadership in private 5G wireless services with Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) and MX Industrial Edge (MXIE), as well as Andorix’s expertise in designing and deploying scalable in-building converged networks in real estate environments.

Commenting on the partnership, Willie Kopp, head of enterprise campus edge sales for North America at Nokia, said: “Private 5G networks are transforming how enterprises operate, and in-building connectivity is a critical piece of that puzzle. By partnering with Andorix, we are combining best-in-class 5G technology with proven in-building converged network deployment expertise to support the growing demand for private 5G connectivity within the built environment in North America.”

Wayne Kim, founding partner and CEO of Andorix, added: “[We are] excited to partner with Nokia to deliver cutting-edge 5G solutions that meet the evolving needs of enterprise clients.

“With our track record of modernising in-building network infrastructure across major commercial real estate properties, this partnership will solve some of the challenges faced by the real estate sector in terms of inconsistent connectivity, support for massive IoT deployments within complex or high-value built environments, growing security demands and enabling immersive technologies like VR and indoor navigation.”

As its private 5G partnership was being unveiled, Nokia also announced it was working with Colt Technology Services and Honeywell to explore quantum-safe networking using satellite communications.

As part of the initiative, the companies are planning to test new ways of protecting encrypted optical network traffic from risks presented when quantum computing potentially breaks through traditional encryption methods, leaving data vulnerable to cyber threats.

Colt, Honeywell and Nokia plan to explore quantum-safe cryptography, trialling space-based and subsea techniques which they say are resistant to quantum computing attacks.

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Undersea cables now account for more than 99% of international data traffic, but a robust terrestrial network is also vital for ensuring, high-capacity data flows across continents. To ensure the success of the highest-capacity Trans-Pacific cable linking Japan and the US, Lumen Technologies will provide the terrestrial backhaul connectivity for the JUNO Trans-Pacific cable system.

Operated by Seren Juno Network Co, the JUNO cable is 10,000 kilometres long and is engineered to deliver up to 350 Tbps across 20 fibre pairs, using next-generation Space Division Multiplexing (SDM) technology.

The line was constructed due to the massive upward growth trajectory of data driven by the deployment of 5G, internet of things (IoT), edge compute technologies and artificial intelligence (AI). With existing Japan-US cables nearing capacity at the beginning of the decade, Seren said JUNO was needed to meet the increasing demand for global internet bandwidth.

The JUNO submarine cable system officially achieved point of presence (PoP) to PoP ready for service (RFS) status on 30 May 2025, including the completion of terrestrial backhaul connectivity on both the Japanese and the US sides.

Seren said that it built the line to provide fast and reliable network services to global major global technology companies, OTTs and telecommunication carriers by enabling them to strengthen the telecommunications environment in the US and Asia through reliable and secure sales, operations and management support.

Seran added that businesses in both Japan and the US stand to benefit significantly from the increased bandwidth and reliable connections. It was confident that JUNO’s cable system and Lumen’s terrestrial network will create a powerful bridge between Asia and North America – supporting next-gen applications, enabling global scale for AI and helping enterprises navigate the digital economy with “agility and speed”. Seren stressed that connecting directly into cloud regions, edge compute sites and major datacentres is only possible with strong terrestrial backhaul.

Lumen’s dark fibre backhaul will now gives JUNO custom, private network configurations. Lumen’s fibre network will carry traffic from the cable’s US landing point in Grover Beach in California to two major PoPs in San Jose and Los Angeles, helping to “revolutionise business operations and technological advancements” in both the US and Japan. Connecting JUNO at the cable landing station to two critical PoPs will help data reach major cloud hubs, datacentres and enterprise networks across the US.

“Our partnership with Lumen is a critical milestone in delivering on JUNO’s promise to revolutionise trans-Pacific data transport,” said Yoshio Sato, CEO of Seren Juno Network Co. “Lumen’s reach into major US cloud hubs and its proven expertise in high-capacity fibre infrastructure make it an ideal partner as we bring the world closer through digital innovation.”

“Lumen designed and developed a dark fibre solution the JUNO system could quickly deploy to meet their launch date. Our critical fibre backbone enables the seamless high-capacity transport from Asia into the heart of the US digital economy,” said Lumen executive vice-president and chief revenue officer Ashley Haynes-Gaspar. “This level of control, scale and performance is exactly what global enterprises and cloud providers need to support the next generation of AI and data-driven innovation.”

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