Networking

Ultra-fast fibre connects winegrowers in Austria

Wine-growing regions of Lower Austria have been connected with reliable and super-fast fibre internet thanks to a partnership between Slovenia’s Kontron and Speed Connect Austria. The residents of rural areas traditionally dependent on agriculture – and known for vineyards and wine-growing – can now benefit from the new opportunities of a digital society. The major milestone has been reached less than a year into the project, with more than 800km of fibre being laid in Lower Austria as part of Speed Connect Austria’s open access network. Slovenia Kontron’s Iskratel broadband products, including OLTs (Optical Line Terminals) and ONTs (Optical Network Terminals), have been used as part of the project, enabling 10-gigabit connectivity for residents in the rural region. “We are delighted to see Speed Connect Austria bring ultra-fast fibre broadband to underserved rural areas in Austria,” says Svjetlana Kalaba, Executive Director Business Unit Broadband at Kontron Slovenia. “This efficient deployment will benefit all those that have been left behind, and we are privileged to play a key role in this success.” One of the locations benefitting from fibre connectivity is the Zellerndorf district located in the 'Retzer Land', a part of the Weinviertel wine-growing region in the north-east of Lower Austria. The Zellerndorf area has seen almost a 10% population decrease over the last two decades. An improved online experience and internet access were identified as crucial to ensure residents have a better place to live and work. "The investment in modern infrastructure makes our community ready for the digital future and enormously strengthens our attractiveness as a location,” says Markus Baier, the Mayor of Zellerndorf. “Fibre connectivity is as important in creating new opportunities for residents and businesses as electricity was 150 years ago. Fast internet sustainably improves the quality of life, economy and infrastructure in our community. “I am delighted with the success of the collaboration between Speed Connect Austria and Slovenia’s Kontron that has seen a quick and efficient fibre rollout, thanks to the advanced technology and great project planning.” According to FTTH Council Europe’s recent FTTH Market Panorama report, Austria has a 42.2% coverage rate with more than 1.7 million homes passed with fibre as of September 2023. “We are celebrating a key milestone for our project and will continue to help drive up the coverage and take-up rates of fibre across Austria to keep pace with other EU countries,” notes Antonio de Vall, CFO at Speed Connect Austria. For more from Slovenia's Kontron, click here.

DataVita launches alternative to public cloud services

DataVita, Scotland’s largest data centre and cloud services provider, has launched National Cloud, a platform that addresses the challenges many organisations face when using the public cloud that supports the wider use of artificial intelligence (AI). National Cloud is designed for workloads that don’t fit well into the traditional public cloud and it offers full transparency and predictability over costs – with no hidden fees or egress charges – removing the risk of the potentially infinite costs that come with existing pay-as-you-go public cloud models. The service is delivered from some of the most sustainable data centres in the UK, offering the lowest digital emissions of any cloud provider in the country, DataVita claims. This also ensures data residency within the UK – whereas many public could operators use overseas facilities – addressing compliance and security concerns for public services and regulated industries. Built on open architecture and interoperable systems, National Cloud allows integration and movement between different products which reduces vendor lock-in risks and enables hybrid cloud capabilities. It is purpose-built to handle complex workloads, supporting the requirements of medium and large enterprises, tech start-ups, and public sector organisations. DataVita has forged a strategic partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) to deliver the new platform, combining the agility of a specialised cloud provider with the robust technology, industry experience, and simplicity of an established market leader. Danny Quinn, MD of DataVita (pictured above), says, "National Cloud is our answer to the recurring issues organisations face with public cloud services. We're actively seeking out workloads that public clouds can't efficiently support, particularly those driven by AI's growing demands and organisations requiring intricate hybrid cloud architectures. Our platform offers the performance, security, and scalability needed for these intensive applications, all while providing cost predictability and sustainability. "Available across the UK, we're already seeing significant interest from organisations looking to escape the limitations of public cloud services and gain more control over their critical workloads and data. Our focus on transparency, sustainability, and expertly tailored solutions sets us apart in the market." Xavier Poisson, Global Vice President for Service Providers & Colocation Providers at HPE, adds, “The National Cloud combines HPE GreenLake cloud’s leading capabilities to manage, observe, automate and secure complex cloud environments, with DataVita’s experience as a leading provider of cloud and connectivity services. With this new platform, customers across the UK will have access to a trusted infrastructure that allows them to stay in full control of their data and derive value from it.” For more from DataVita, click here.

R&M expands ready-to-install cabling systems

R&M, a developer and provider of high-end infrastructure solutions for data and communications networks, is expanding its range of terminated fibre optic cables. The VARIOline family now includes three plug-and-play solutions. The ready-to-assemble loose tube cabling system simplifies installation in buildings, data centres and outdoor areas as installers only have to feed the cables into shafts, ducts and racks and connect them in patch panel modules. The overall solution, consisting of ready-to-use cables and fitted fan-out legs, saves field-mounting, splicing and measuring on the construction site. Installation work can be carried out in a time and cost-saving manner with just a few specialists. The VARIOline overall solutions are used for backbone, trunk and campus cabling with either single or multimode fibres. VARIOline Easy is designed for protected environments, making it ideal for high-density packing in data centres and enterprise networks within commercial buildings and factories. This solution enables efficient space utilisation and easy management of fibre optic connections, providing a seamless and reliable network infrastructure for critical applications. VARIOline Classic provides a mechanically stable solution suitable for medium-density packing in both indoor and certain outdoor installations. It serves as a robust alternative to splicing, offering enhanced durability and ease of installation. This product line is ideal for backbone, trunk, and campus cabling, available with either single-mode or multi-mode fibres, making it versatile for various network setups. For the most demanding environments, VARIOline OP is available for outdoor environments. It withstands extreme mechanical and thermal stresses, making it suitable for industrial applications, Fibre to the Antenna (FTTA), events, tunnels, and smart cities. VARIOline OP can endure a tensile strength of up to 999 N, is waterproof with IP67 protection, and remains temperature stable from -25°C to +70°C. This product line ensures reliable performance even in the harshest conditions, providing robust and long-lasting connectivity. The VARIOline products are compatible with all R&M fibre optic platforms. R&M offers terminations to suit customer requirements with two to 144 fibres, commercially available connector types and custom lengths. The maximum total length is 600 metres. Depending on the use and number of fibres, the integrated fibre distributors with tube fittings have plastic or aluminium housings. R&M supplies the factory-tested VARIOline cables ready for assembly on recyclable cardboard drums. VARIOline cables are manufactured at all R&M sites and are therefore available worldwide at short notice. For more from R&M, click here.

Full-fibre network enhances operations around the UK’s coastline

A £175 million communications network connecting 163 remote radio sites across 11,000 miles of UK coastline is now operational, ensuring His Majesty’s (HM) Coastguard’s effective frontline emergency response continues for thousands of distress calls from the UK’s waters. Stretching from the Shetland Islands to the Isles of Scilly, it is one of the UK’s largest private broadband networks, with technology partner Telent helping to install 758 miles of new infrastructure. The first installations of the new network, combining full-fibre and microwave technology, began in December 2020, as Telent secured a new 10-year contract earlier in the same year with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to design, build and operate the upgraded network for HM Coastguard. This is part of the MCA’s investment in the Radio Network Infrastructure Replacement Programme (RNIR). “The reliable digital connection and the improved resilience provided by the new network will aid HM Coastguard’s life-saving search and rescue operations for years to come, with Telent on hand to provide its critical expertise,” says Telent CEO, Jo Gretton. “Having first begun working together in 2010, maintaining radio equipment at the remote radio sites and delivering additional support services, Telent and MCA’s relationship has moved from strength to strength.” “The new network provides a firm foundation for the MCA’s potential future and new technology services and projects that only the high performance of a full-fibre network can support,” Jo continues. Lee-on-the-Solent, Crystal Palace, Humber, Bridlington and Brighton Marina were among the first sites switched to the new search and rescue radio network. The remote radio sites cover the whole of the UK coastline, spanning Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and England. “The national radio network is integral in supporting our mission of preventing the loss of life on the coast and at sea, enhancing our ability to respond to emergencies across the UK,” says HM Coastguard Assistant Chief Coastguard, Matthew Leat. The upgraded full-fibre connectivity is set to deliver improvements, such as greater bandwidth and security, along with enhanced performance and improved reliability. Now that all 163 remote radio sites have been connected, Telent is providing a fully managed service. As part of this, Telent is monitoring and managing the end-to-end performance, undertaking maintenance activities and implementing technical updates.

Singtel to offer GPU as a Service in Southeast Asia

Singtel, a communications technology group in Asia, and Bridge Alliance, a mobile alliance of 35 member operators worldwide, today announced a strategic partnership that will bring Singtel’s GPU as a Service (GPUaaS) offerings to enterprises across the region. Southeast Asia’s leading telcos - AIS, Maxis and Telkomsel - are among the alliance’s early adopters to cater to the growing demand for AI computing in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia respectively, having signalled their interest in the service. This tie-up follows Singtel’s announcement in February on the launch of its GPUaaS later this year, which will provide enterprises with access to NVIDIA’s AI computing power so they can deploy AI at scale quickly and cost-effectively to accelerate growth and innovation. AI adoption could contribute nearly $1 trillion to the Southeast Asian economy by 2030 if the transformative power of the technology can be unlocked to deliver value. Recognising the importance of AI, regional governments have launched national AI roadmaps to harness the technology responsibly and to its fullest potential. As part of the agreement, Bridge Alliance member operators (BMOs) will get access to the GPUaaS offerings from Singtel. As GPU needs expand in these countries, more GPU clusters will be launched into the respective countries to accelerate and scale the businesses. Bridge Alliance will assist BMOs in fast-tracking their go-to-market strategies and effectively drive the success of the GPUaaS offerings with the enterprises. Bill Chang, CEO of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo unit, says, “We are very heartened to see such strong interest from AIS, Maxis and Telkomsel to partner us in our GPUaaS offerings. Our collaboration with Bridge Alliance and telcos in the region will help democratise and accelerate the use of AI by enterprises across all industries, giving them the tools to achieve greater productivity and business value with our next-generation digital infrastructure and solutions. This reinforces our goal of being a catalyst for innovation and supporting the digital transformation of Southeast Asia’s digital economies.” Through Singtel’s patented Paragon platform, Singtel was the first telco to bring AI to the 5G edge in the 5G@Sentosa trials for Singapore government agencies. Paragon orchestrated a multi-edge compute and NVIDIA GPU environment while enabling customers to deploy 5G use cases at speed and at scale. Bill adds, “With more telcos deploying 5G network services, we see this real-time AI offering powered by GPUaaS at 5G edge at low latencies as a key growth driver for their enterprise businesses.” Ong Geok Chwee, CEO of Bridge Alliance, adds, “As a leading mobile alliance which pools the collective capabilities of our BMOs together to deliver regional initiatives, we’re delighted to bring the benefits of GPUaaS and AI computing to enterprise customers in the markets where our BMOs operate. Through our extensive coverage and ability to integrate services across multiple markets, this initiative once again validates the value of the Bridge Alliance ecosystem as a preferred solution partner in driving optimisation and innovation, especially for companies with multinational operations.” Phupa Akavipat, Acting Chief Enterprise Business Officer of AIS, notes, “AI technology has been rapidly and widely adopted by various industries to enhance and accelerate their business transformation. Providing AI with Cloud ‘GPU as-a-Service’ model will enable them to embrace the technology efficiently and scalably. AIS strongly believes that the GPUaaS by Singtel and Bridge Alliance with AIS capability will co-create sustainable digital economy value to be captured by businesses in Thailand.” Goh Seow Eng, CEO of Maxis, comments, “We look forward to being the first telco to bring GPUaaS to businesses here in Malaysia. This offering will provide a cost-efficient way for businesses to access high-performance computing and data processing capabilities. They will also have the flexibility to scale their resources on-demand for more complex workloads such as AI, machine learning, 3D modelling and large-scale analytics. As Malaysia’s leading integrated telco, we will continue to make it simpler for customers to leverage the best of connectivity and digital solutions, so they can focus on growing their business.” Wong Soon Nam, Director Planning and Transformation at Telkomsel, states, “This collaboration enables Indonesian enterprises to accelerate their AI adoption with ease, leveraging cutting-edge infrastructure that ensures both scalability and cost-efficiency. By providing a one-stop platform across multiple markets, we offer businesses the flexibility to harness AI optimised by our latest 5G broadband connectivity for a wide range of use cases – whether it's optimising operations with route planning, enhancing customer experience through product recommendations, strengthening security with fraud detection, or improving decision-making through advanced video analytics – all without the need for upfront investments. This reinforces our commitment to drive Indonesia's digital transformation and empowering its digital economy.” At launch, Singtel’s GPUaaS will be powered by NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPU-powered clusters. Singtel will also be among the world’s first to launch NVIDIA’s next-generation GB200 AI servers. The service will be expanded to run in new sustainable, hyper-connected, AI-ready data centres by Nxera, Singtel’s regional data centre business, across Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia when they begin operations from mid-2025 onwards. For more from Singtel, click here.

Leep strengthens data centre foothold with new EHV team

Following several high-profile data centre contract wins, Leep Utilities – one of the UK's leading owners and operators of last-mile utility networks – has launched a specialist extra high voltage (EHV) team. Leep states that it is now better equipped than ever to provide global data centre operators, and other higher consumption industrial and commercial users, with utility grid connections, 132kV networks and smart battery energy storage solutions for local heat networks. The firm owns, operates, and manages every electrical element – from the point of connection to the metering position and beyond – for the entire length of contract. Leep is also enabling data centre owners to increase their revenue, and sustainability credentials, by repurposing their waste heat to power local heat networks – reducing grid requirements and, crucially, improving their energy efficiency. Matt Ling, Director of Business Development at Leep Utilities, says, “Our success with EHV customers is founded on the team’s expertise and the many added value services we provide. Through early engagement, a holistic consultative approach and seeking out value in the supply chain – thanks to the transparency that our adoption-only model affords – we’re able to help high consumption users to operate most cost-efficiently and cost-effectively, all with the support of our in-house legal team. “An often-cited frustration amongst EHV operators is the inflexibility of specification of network components, which can create blockages and inefficiencies. As an Independent Distribution Network Operator (IDNO), Leep offers much greater flexibility, on the likes of electric plant and design, to provide bespoke solutions that best meet their needs, and at the best prices and timings. By separating Asset Adoption Value payments from design and build costs, we further maximise the supply chain, often at a critical cashflow juncture. “The UK data centre industry continues to rapidly evolve and the surge in its demand is unprecedented. We’re already a proven electricity supplier of choice to a number of the biggest global brands and we’re now very much looking forward to further increasing our footprint and credentials with a dedicated expert team in place, and many added value benefits that our customers are loving.”

Malaysia’s first 5G orchestration platform announced

Maxis has partnered with Singtel to introduce Malaysia's first all-in-one platform for 5G network, edge computing, cloud and services orchestration, built on Singtel’s Paragon for telco networks. The platform will make 5G-Advanced (5G-A) and 5G technology, edge and multi-cloud computing more accessible to Malaysian businesses and accelerate digital transformation across various verticals such as manufacturing, logistics, healthcare and public services. The partnership was formalised during the Malaysia Commercialisation Year (MCY) Summit 2024, an event organised by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) to drive the national commercialisation ecosystem. The Summit was officiated by Guest of Honour YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) exchange took place at the Maxis booth between Goh Seow Eng, CEO of Maxis, and Manoj Prasanna Kumar, Chief Technology Officer of Singtel Digital InfraCo. Made available in Malaysia through Maxis’ enterprise arm, Maxis Business, the platform will enable ‘on-demand’ edge computing services, providing customers with access to low-latency computing, GPU as a Service (GPUaaS) and storage. With its multi-access edge computing (MEC) capabilities, data from end-users and devices can be processed at the edge. This, combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI), provides real-time processing and intelligent decision-making. Paragon offers a powerful marketplace available to both Maxis customers and partners, making it easy for enterprises to create network slices on-demand and deploy mission-critical 5G applications on MEC – all with the click of a button. Goh Seow Eng, CEO of Maxis, says, "Our collaboration addresses customer needs by providing a unified 5G platform that simplifies orchestration across network and cloud environments. The platform enables greater access, speed and flexibility for businesses to deploy and manage 5G and cloud computing solutions seamlessly. "This will help them to focus on their core business, further strengthening their competitiveness globally. As the country’s leading integrated telco, we look forward to accelerating 5G-A and 5G adoption and the digitalisation of Malaysian businesses as the preferred digital business partner.” Bill Chang, CEO of Singtel Digital InfraCo, adds, "We’ve seen a strong shift in demand from enterprises for 5G and edge computing capabilities to accelerate their digital transformation. Singtel has been leading the charge, forging various strategic partnerships with telcos globally with Paragon, being instrumental in this adoption. "Paragon enables faster monetisation of 5G infrastructure by reducing complexities for telcos to deliver and scale 5G use cases. We are pleased to partner with Maxis to mutually expand and deepen the service opportunities of 5G and edge monetisation in Malaysia.” The platform’s capabilities can benefit businesses through a wide range of enterprise applications across different verticals that require high-speed data processing, such as real-time analytics, mixed reality and autonomous systems. The platform will be locally hosted and deployed in Malaysia, to cater to the cybersecurity and data sovereignty requirements for Malaysian businesses. Platforms built and powered by Paragon have now successfully been deployed in four ASEAN markets. With Maxis bringing the capability exclusively to Malaysia, multinational companies will be able to operate with ease, with a common experience and unified architecture across the region. The deployment is timely given Malaysia’s upcoming ASEAN chairmanship in 2025, where the nation will play a more active role leading the regional bloc’s economic and digital aspirations. Maxis says that the partnership demonstrates its commitment to bringing innovation to the market and enabling Industry 4.0 transformation through real-world use cases. In addition to 5G and cloud-native solutions, this commitment includes leading the development of next generation solutions in Malaysia around AI and Generative AI, IoT, and 5G-advanced technology. Singtel Paragon is a comprehensive solution that enables enterprises to connect with the 5G network and securely deploy their edge computing applications and services rapidly on the telco’s infrastructure, thus reducing time-to-market and shortening the innovation curve. Paragon will also lower the barriers for adopting MEC services, unlocking efficiency and business innovation for enterprises. For more from Singtel, click here.

RSM increases network resilience with Macquarie

Macquarie Telecom, part of Macquarie Technology Group, has signed an agreement with RSM Australia across both SD-WAN network and voice services. The partnership first began in late 2019 amid a period of significant growth for RSM. From the implementation of cutting-edge SD-WAN technology across its 32 locations, with a significant presence in regional Australia, RSM has seen a remarkable transformation in network performance and user experience. This success drove RSM to extend the partnership to include SIP trunking in 2021 – the use of VoIP – to maintain telephone service across the large and far-flung organisation. RSM, a global provider of accounting and professional services that was established over 100 years ago, realised its existing MPLS network was not the best solution to support its rapidly expanding business – particularly in terms of resiliency, capacity, and cost. The previous network, providing private connectivity between RSM’s locations and cloud, did not deliver the expected resiliency. This inadequacy, coupled with the high cost and challenging relationship with the previous provider, prompted RSM to seek a more reliable, cost-effective, and customer focused solution. The company recognised the potential of SD-WAN technology to greatly improve network bandwidth and resiliency, and went to market for a partner to deliver this solution. Macquarie Telecom emerged as the top contender following a rigorous due diligence process, and the roll-out began in late 2019, just prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, Macquarie Telecom’s proactive and responsive approach ensured the deployment continued smoothly,” says Andre Bracetti, IT Manager at RSM.  Deployment was completed by mid-2020, significantly enhancing RSM’s network performance and reliability as a result. This success was further highlighted by RSM’s recent decision to extend the partnership. RSM’s commitment to reaching regional areas has been a key component in its decision to initially engage, and now extend the partnership, with Macquarie Telecom. According to Andre, a crucial part of the firm’s history and strategy is to be closer to its clients, particularly those in regional areas: “SD-WAN has completely transformed the service we can provide our clients, from Bunbury to Ballarat and everywhere in between. Previously, we faced limited bandwidth and frequent outages, especially in our regional offices. With the new technology, we’ve increased capacity and resiliency, reducing IT outages, and significantly improving network reliability.” Previously, some of RSM’s regional offices had access to very limited bandwidth, which often led to poor user experiences. With SD-WAN, a secondary link was added to every location which not only improved capacity but also reliability, drastically improving user experience. Client experience is a top priority for RSM, and Andre notes that Macquarie Telecom’s shared passion for customer experience made the partnership a perfect fit. He comments, “We have what we refer to as a ‘priority one’ event. This means any type of disruption that impacts multiple people in multiple locations. We chart the trends of priority one events over time and there is an obvious downturn in network outage events since Macquarie Telecom implemented SD-WAN. Even when we’re alerted to an issue, with the resiliency that Macquarie Telecom SD-WAN provides, there’s no impact on user experience.” The partnership has allowed RSM to focus on strategic initiatives rather than managing network stability issues. This shift has enabled the team to concentrate on improving system performance, enhancing security, improving digital literacy, and supporting business acquisitions and office moves.  Andre continues, “The role of an ideal partner in innovation is important. We chose Macquarie Telecom because of its competitive edge and the reliability of service. This partnership has minimised distractions and allowed us to focus on strategic growth and client satisfaction.” Aaron Tighe, Western Australia State Manager, Macquarie Telecom, adds, “RSM is deeply committed to maintaining world-class customer service. At Macquarie, we seek to make a difference in markets that are overcharged and underserved, with customer experience magic at the centre. It is a privilege to support RSM as the company excels in a challenging market.” Looking ahead, RSM continues to prioritise innovation and expanding its regional reach, with a recent practice established in Gosford and others on the horizon. The partnership with Macquarie Telecom will play a crucial role in this journey, providing the technological foundation necessary to explore new opportunities and enhance service offerings.  For more from Macquarie, click here.

Huawei and Indosat unveil new operations centre

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison is celebrating a major milestone in its journey towards digital transformation with the inauguration of its state-of-the-art Digital Intelligence Operations Centre (DIOC). This advanced facility represents a significant leap forward in Indosat’s commitment to leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver exceptional service to more than 100 million customers across Indonesia. The DIOC was inaugurated by Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat and board of management and commissioner, and Simon Lin, President of Huawei Asia-Pacific Region and board, underscoring the strategic collaboration between the two companies. The DIOC will serve as the nerve centre of Indosat’s network operations, providing real-time insights and proactive service management to ensure optimal network performance and reliability. This innovative centre merges the traditional Network Operations Centre (NOC) and Service Operations Centre (SOC), marking a new era of intelligent network and service management, propelling Indonesia's digital future. Vikram Sinha of Indosat says, “Today marks a new chapter in Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison’s story as we inaugurate our Digital Intelligence Operations Centre. This facility embodies our ambition of becoming an Intelligence Native Telco, where cutting-edge technology and innovative solutions are at the core of our operations. “With the DIOC, we are not just improving network performance; we are redefining the way we serve our customers. By integrating advanced technologies and fostering talent, we are setting new benchmarks in network performance and customer satisfaction. This collaboration is pivotal in realising our mission to connect and empower every Indonesian through digital connectivity.” Furthermore, the DIOC has new advanced functionalities such as real-time network insights, enabling Indosat to shift from reactive problem-solving to proactive service management, leveraging real-time data to optimise network performance and reliability. The DIOC also provides comprehensive end-to-end service management of all services, including performance, application experience, and quality, which empowers Indosat to swiftly resolve customer issues and enhance satisfaction. In the end, the ability of DIOC to integrate data analysis and cutting-edge technologies can fuel continuous data-driven innovation, which enables Indosat to develop new customer-centric products and services, leading the way in digital service advancements. The inauguration also highlights the deepening partnership between Indosat and Huawei. Together, both companies aim to enhance network infrastructure, accelerate digital transformation, and cultivate top-tier talent to drive Indonesia’s digital future. Huawei’s advanced ICT solutions and technology leadership will help Indosat build a future-oriented, automated, and intelligent network, ensuring flexibility to adapt to customers' dynamic digital needs. Reflecting on this collaboration, Simon Lin, President of Huawei Asia-Pacific Region, comments, “The unveiling of IOH’s Digital Intelligence Operations Centre represents a ground-breaking achievement, marking a new era of co-building the innovation hub and embracing intelligent network. “This collaboration is built upon our long-term strategic partnership with Indosat and serves as a testament to our shared commitment to continuously providing exceptional network experience. As a technology innovator, industry pioneer, and local contributor rooted in this region, Huawei is committed to leveraging our innovative solutions to help our customers maintain sustainable business success and competitiveness. Together, we are shaping a more digital, connected, and intelligent future for Indonesia.” Indosat has made significant strides in its digital transformation journey and achieved significant results. In collaboration with Huawei through the managed services and operations centre, Indosat completed experience-centric network consolidation and significantly improved network quality and user experience. Independent third-party testing has shown Indosat’s substantial improvements across rural, urban, and suburban areas, where the download speed has improved significantly year-on-year (YoY), increasing 44.1% YoY in rural areas, 43.5% YoY in urban areas, and 43.9% YoY in suburban areas, contributing to higher customer satisfaction and network performance. Indosat's population coverage also increased, by 12.7 million people. The implementation of network transformation strategies and the adoption of cutting-edge technologies, coupled by strong collaboration with global partners, are critical to provide a positive experience to customers. Indosat and Huawei have embarked on collaboration journey to deepen cooperation, focusing on network infrastructure, network operations, and talent cultivation. Indosat also establishes an open and collaborative environment by working closely with international organisations such as TM Forum to nurture innovation and explore new use cases with other global industry leaders. Vikram concludes, “As Indosat continues to deploy innovative technologies like digital twin networks, AI/ML, and automation, we remain committed to catalysing Indonesia’s digital future. By leveraging our extensive network reach and next-generation technology adoption, Indosat aims to connect individuals, businesses, and everything in between, unlocking Indonesia’s full digital potential.” For more from Huawei, click here.

Vultr and Run:ai deliver advanced NVIDIA GPU orchestration

Vultr, the privately held cloud computing platform, today announced that Run:ai, a leader in AI optimisation and orchestration, is the latest ecosystem partner to join its Cloud Alliance. Run:ai’s advanced AI workload orchestration platform, coupled with Vultr’s robust, scalable cloud infrastructure - including Vultr Cloud GPUs, accelerated by NVIDIA computing technologies and Vultr Kubernetes Engine - provides the enhanced computational power needed to accelerate AI initiatives across Vultr’s global network of 32 cloud data centre locations. As businesses across industries look to deploy their AI initiatives, they often grapple with scaling AI training jobs, fragmented AI development tools, and long queue times for AI experimentation. The partnership between Vultr and Run:ai addresses these challenges, offering a cutting-edge solution that enhances resource utilisation, supports rapid AI deployment, and provides customisable scalability through their integrated infrastructure and advanced AI workload orchestration. “Enterprises around the world are vying to deploy transformative, AI-driven solutions,” says Sandeep Brahmarouthu, Head of Global Business Development at Run:ai. “Our partnership with Vultr will give these organisations a comprehensive solution suite designed to address the technical challenges of AI project development. Now, businesses are empowered with unparalleled adaptability, performance, and control, setting a new standard for AI in today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape.” Vultr’s scalable infrastructure guarantees unified AI stack management, thanks to seamless integrations with existing Cloud Alliance partners, Qdrant and Console Connect. Qdrant, a high-performance vector database with retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) capabilities, manages and queries large volumes of vector data, enhancing tasks like similarity search and recommendation systems. Console Connect facilitates private, high-speed networking to ensure secure, low-latency data transfer between these components, optimising the overall AI/ML pipeline. Now, Run:ai has become the newest member of the Cloud Alliance, with its advanced AI workload orchestration platform. This integrated stack, centred around Vultr, provides a robust, scalable, and efficient solution for handling the most demanding AI/ML workloads. As a result, customers can benefit from: • Enhanced GPU utilisation – Maximise GPU efficiency with Run:ai’s dynamic scheduling and fractional GPU capabilities, reducing idle times and optimising resource use on Vultr’s scalable infrastructure.• Accelerated AI development – Speed up AI development cycles with Vultr’s high-performance cloud infrastructure and Run:ai’s comprehensive orchestration platform, reducing time to market for AI models.• Simplified lifecycle management – Streamline the entire AI lifecycle from development to deployment with integrated tools for dynamic resource allocation, efficient training, and comprehensive monitoring.• Cost-effective operations – Minimise operational costs with Vultr’s affordable cloud solutions and Run:ai’s efficient resource management, ensuring economical AI project execution.• Robust security and compliance – Bolster the security and compliance of AI workloads with advanced features like role-based access control and detailed audit logs, backed by Vultr’s secure infrastructure. Kevin Cochrane, CMO of Vultr, comments, “We are committed to giving our customers the best-of-breed technologies needed to help achieve their business goals. By partnering with Run:ai, we’ve provided a unique solution tailored specifically for AI workloads. Our integrated platform will not only ensure high performance and cost efficiency for customers worldwide, but also give them the agility needed to navigate the evolving demands of modern AI environments.” Vultr is a member of the NVIDIA Partner Network. For more from Vultr, click here.