Category: Communications

  • DeepSeek unveils upgraded AI model

    DeepSeek unveils upgraded AI model

    Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek on Thursday released DeepSeek-V3.1, an upgraded model with hybrid inference structure, faster thinking speed and stronger agent capability, the company said in a statement published on WeChat.

    The company will also adjust the costs for using the model’s API, a platform that allows developers of other apps and web products to integrate its AI models, starting September 6, the statement showed. Reuters

  • Russia mandates pre-install of state messenger app

    Russia mandates pre-install of state messenger app

    A Russian state-backed messenger application called MAX, a rival to WhatsApp that critics say could be used to track users, must be pre-installed on all mobile phones and tablets from next month, the Russian government said.

    The decision to promote MAX comes as Moscow is seeking greater control over the internet space as it is locked in a standoff with the West over Ukraine, which it casts as part of an attempt to shape a new world order.

    The Russian government said in a statement that MAX, which will be integrated with government services, would be on a list of mandatory pre-installed apps on all “gadgets,” including mobile phones and tablets, sold in Russia from September 1.

    State media says accusations from Kremlin critics that MAX is a spying app are false and that it has fewer permissions to access user data than rivals WhatsApp and Telegram.

    It will also be mandatory that from September 1, Russia’s domestic app store, RuStore, which is pre-installed on all Android devices, will be pre-installed on Apple devices.

    A Russian-language TV app called LIME HD TV, which allows people to watch state TV channels for free, will be pre-installed on all smart TVs sold in Russia from January 1, the government added.

    The push to promote homegrown apps comes after Russia said this month it had started restricting some calls on WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, and on Telegram, accusing the foreign-owned platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement in fraud and terrorism cases.

    WhatsApp, which in July had a reach of 97.3 million in Russia, responded by accusing Moscow of trying to block Russians from accessing secure communications, while Telegram, which had a reach of 90.8 million users, said it actively combats the harmful use of its platform.

    The third most popular messenger app in July, according to Mediascope data, was VK Messenger at 17.9 million people, an offering from the same state-controlled tech company VK which developed MAX.

    MAX said this week that 18 million users had downloaded its app, parts of which are still in a testing phase.

    Russia’s interior ministry said that MAX was safer than foreign rivals, but that it had arrested a suspect in the first fraud case using the new messenger. Reuters

  • Non-smartphone electronics exports from India cross $14B

    Non-smartphone electronics exports from India cross $14B

    India’s non-smartphone electronics exports have surpassed $14 billion in FY2024-25, contributing to a 32.47% jump in overall electronics exports to $38.57 billion. Solar panels, telecom equipment, medical electronics, batteries, and digital processing units have driven the growth, with photovoltaic cells earning $1.12 billion. Electronics now make up 9% of India’s total merchandise exports, up from 6.73% last year. The sector’s growth is attributed to production-linked incentives, duty rationalization, skilling programs, and targeted support for small and medium enterprises.

    India’s non-smartphone electronics exports have surpassed $14 billion in FY2024-25, contributing to a 32.47% jump in overall electronics exports to $38.57 billion. This growth is primarily driven by solar panels, telecom equipment, medical electronics, batteries, and digital processing units, with photovoltaic cells earning $1.12 billion. Electronics now make up 9% of India’s total merchandise exports, up from 6.73% last year. The sector’s growth is attributed to production-linked incentives, duty rationalization, skilling programs, and targeted support for small and medium enterprises.

    The surge in non-smartphone electronics exports underscores the success of India’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, which has seen electronics production grow exponentially over the past decade. According to the Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, electronics exports have surged over 47% year-on-year in Quarter 1 of 2025-26.

    Moreover, the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme (ECMS) launched by the government aims to increase domestic value addition in semiconductor components from the current 3-5% to 15-20% in the next 3-5 years. This scheme, along with other policy interventions, has fostered a robust ecosystem for electronics manufacturing in India.

    The growth in electronics exports is also a result of strategic diversification efforts. With the U.S. imposing a 50% tariff on Indian goods, India has been actively pursuing free trade agreements and regional trade agreements to mitigate the impact. For instance, the India-UK FTA, finalized in July 2025, is expected to offset U.S. losses by 2026.

    In conclusion, India’s electronics sector is poised for continued growth, driven by government initiatives, strategic diversification, and a robust manufacturing ecosystem. The sector’s resilience and potential for further expansion present attractive opportunities for investors. AInvest

  • Xiaomi revenue jumps 30.5% in Q2

    Xiaomi revenue jumps 30.5% in Q2

    A rise in shipments of smartphones, especially in Southeast Asia, helped to boost Xiaomi’s second-quarter revenue by 30.5%, the smartphone and EV company said on Tuesday, against the backdrop of a sluggish global market.

    Xiaomi President Lu Weibing, however, slightly lowered the company’s target on smartphone shipments to 175 million from a goal of 180 million set in the first quarter.

    “We expect the overall smartphone market to see little to no growth this year,” Lu told a conference call with reporters. “If there is any increase, it might be around 0.1% to 0.2%. That’s somewhat different from the growth we had anticipated at the beginning of the year,” he said.

    Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 was 116 billion yuan ($16.16 billion), beating the 114.7 billion yuan average of 15 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG.

    Adjusted net profit rose 75.4% year-on-year to 10.8 billion yuan, exceeding the average estimate of 10.1 billion yuan, according to LSEG data.

    The world’s third-largest smartphone maker became the bestselling smartphone brand in Southeast Asia in the second quarter and took second place by shipments in Europe, it said.

    Globally, it was ranked third, with a market share of 14.7%, the company said, citing data from researcher Canalys.

    Xiaomi’s second-quarter global smartphone shipments rose 0.6% from a year earlier to 42.4 million handsets. However, its smartphone revenue decreased 2.1% to 45.5 billion yuan due to a lower average selling price.

    Its loss-making EV business generated 20.6 billion yuan in revenue during the second quarter, up from 18.1 billion during the first quarter. It delivered 81,302 EVs in the June quarter, compared with deliveries of 75,869 SU7 cars in January-March.

    Its second EV model YU7 was launched in late June, with the deliveries only beginning last month, meaning it has yet to be reflected in results.

    Together with AI and other new initiatives, EVs delivered a total net loss of 0.3 billion yuan in the June quarter, narrowing from a loss of 0.5 billion in the first quarter.

    Lu said that Xiaomi is confident it will achieve monthly or quarterly profit in its EV business in the second half, but cumulative losses remain significant after a more than 30 billion yuan investment in research and development.

    Xiaomi has sold a total of 300,000 EVs as of July since launching its EV business in March 2024.

    Lu also said Xiaomi is developing the next iteration of its self-developed mobile chip XRINGO1.

    Hong Kong-listed shares in Xiaomi, which also makes home appliances, closed down 1.2% at 52.4 Hong Kong dollars. The stock has risen 52% so far this year. Reuters

  • Biden plan: US eyes Intel stake for cash aid

    Biden plan: US eyes Intel stake for cash aid

    US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is looking into the government taking equity stakes in Intel as well as other chip companies in exchange for grants under the chips Act that was meant to spur factory-building around the country, two sources said.

    As part of a plan to revive US manufacturing – a key Trump agenda – Lutnick said earlier on Tuesday the US government wants an equity stake in Intel in exchange for cash grants approved by the administration of former President Joe Biden.

    Now Lutnick wants to expand that plan to other companies, according to a White House official and a person familiar with the situation.

    The Trump administration has recently made unusual deals with US companies, including allowing AI chip giant Nvidia to sell its H20 chips to China in exchange for the US government receiving 15% of those sales. The Pentagon is slated to become the largest shareholder in a small mining company to boost output of rare earth magnets.

    The government’s intervention in corporate matters has worried critics who say President Donald Trump’s actions create new categories of corporate risk and that a bad bet could mean a hit to taxpayer funds.

    Much of the funding under the chip Act has not yet been dispersed for companies such as Micron, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, Samsung and Intel.

    TSMC and Intel declined comment. Micron, Samsung and the White House did not respond to requests for comment on whether Lutnick is considering more stakes.

    Taking lawmaker questions in Taipei on Wednesday and asked whether the US government could take a stake in TSMC, Taiwan Economy Minister Kuo Jyh-huei said his ministry would consult with the company, which he pointed out was private and not a state-owned enterprise.

    “We will also discuss with the National Development Council, as it is a shareholder of TSMC. We will thoroughly understand the underlying meaning of the US Commerce Secretary’s remarks, but this will require some time for discussion and assessment,” Kuo said.

    The two sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is also involved in the chipsAct discussions, but that Lutnick is driving the process. The Commerce Department oversees the $52.7 billion chipsAct money.

    Lutnick has been pushing the equity idea, the sources said, adding that Trump likes the idea.

    White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed earlier that Lutnick was working on a deal with Intel to take a 10% government stake.

    “The president wants to put America’s needs first, both from a national security and economic perspective, and it’s a creative idea that has never been done before,” she told reporters.

    Speaking on CNBC, Lutnick said the US wants a return on its “investment”.

    “We’ll get equity in return for that … instead of just giving grants away,” he said.

    President Donald Trump has previously said he wanted to kill the chips Act program.

    Lutnick’s comments suggested any stake would be non-voting, meaning it would not enable the US government to tell the company how to run its business.

    His comments came a day after SoftBank Group agreed to invest $2 billion in Intel, which has struggled to compete after years of management blunders.

    “The Biden administration literally was giving Intel money for free and giving TSMC money for free, and all these companies just giving the money for free, and Donald Trump turned it into saying, ‘Hey, we want equity for the money. If we’re going to give you the money, we want a piece of the action for the American taxpayer’,” Lutnick said. Reuters

  • Branded calling frameworks target 90B calls by 2030

    Branded calling frameworks target 90B calls by 2030

    The branded calling frameworks will verify over 90 billion calls globally by 2030, according to Juniper Research.

    This represents a rise from less than 10 billion in 2025.

    Branded calling enables verified enterprises to display various information, such as company name, logo, and reason for the call, when calling their customers.

    An extract from the new report, Robocall Mitigation & Branded Calling 2025-2030, is now available as a free download.

    “This substantial growth of 870% over the next five years will be driven by rising enterprise adoption of branded calling solutions, even as global voice traffic declines. To maximise value, vendors have a strategic opportunity to integrate verification frameworks into other telecom channels, such as RCS (Rich Communication Services)” says Sam Barker, VP, Telecoms at Juniper Research.

    Evolution of Services in Branded Calling Inevitable

    As enterprises increasingly adopt omnichannel customer interaction solutions, unified verification across channels, including for technologies such as RCS, becomes a valuable strength. It will increase call pick-up rates by giving subscribers a visual cue of a call’s authenticity, and reduce resources spent following up on these missed calls.

    Juniper Research believes that vendors must build channel-native verification solutions that unify brand identity across communication channels, including voice. Whilst this integrated approach will reduce the investment needed from enterprises and increase adoption, it also positions network operators to best protect their subscribers.

    Branded calling enables subscribers to verify the identity of the caller before the call is answered. As telecoms communication channels face rising threats from activities such as number spoofing and account takeover fraud, network operators must implement verification technologies to protect their subscribers. Juniper Research

  • China’s DeepSeek unveils V3.1 AI boost

    China’s DeepSeek unveils V3.1 AI boost

    DeepSeek announced what appeared to be an update to its older V3 artificial intelligence model on Tuesday, declaring an enhanced version ready for testing.

    The V3.1 has a longer context window, according to a DeepSeek post to its official WeChat group, meaning it can consider a larger amount of information for any given query. That could allow it to maintain longer conversations with better recall, for example. The Hangzhou-based startup didn’t offer much more detail on the update and hasn’t posted documentation to major platforms including Hugging Face.

    The speed and popularity of DeepSeek’s models have challenged US incumbents such as OpenAI, and demonstrated how Chinese companies can make strides in artificial intelligence for seemingly a fraction of the cost. Its R1 model, which outperformed several Western rivals on standardized metrics, stunned the world when it was unveiled earlier this year.

    DeepSeek fans are still awaiting the release of R2, the successor to R1, with local media blaming CEO Liang Wenfeng’s perfectionism and glitches for the delay. Bloomberg

  • Google breakup? Antitrust ruling could decide

    Google breakup? Antitrust ruling could decide

    Alphabet Inc.’s Google lost the biggest antitrust challenge it has confronted when a US judge in 2024 found that it illegally monopolized the search market. Now it’s facing the possibility that the result will be a forced breakup of the company.

    The US government has said it wants Google to sell its Chrome web browser and license search data to competitors in what would mark the biggest forced breakup of a US company since AT&T was dismantled in 1984. US District Judge Amit Mehta is expected to issue a ruling soon with remedies to unwind Google’s monopoly. In anticipation of his decision, artificial intelligence companies OpenAI and Perplexity expressed interest in acquiring Chrome, which together with the open-source Chromium software is the main way people access the web on PCs.

    What was the case against Google?
    The Justice Department and attorney generals alleged that Google, whose search engine controls nearly 90% of online queries, has paid billions of dollars to maintain a monopoly over the search market via agreements with tech rivals, smartphone manufacturers and wireless providers. In exchange for a cut of advertising revenue, those companies, including Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co., agreed to set Google as the default on browsers and mobile devices. The deals locked up key access points, the plaintiffs alleged, preventing rival search engines such as DuckDuckGo or Microsoft Corp.’s Bing from gaining the volume of data they need to improve their products and challenge Google.

    Mehta, of the US District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled that the $26 billion in payments that Google made to other companies to set its search engine as the default option effectively blocked any other competitor from succeeding in the market. Mehta’s ruling came after a 10-week trial in 2023 — the first on monopolization charges to pit the federal government against a US technology company in more than two decades.

    Mehta found that Google illegally monopolized the market for general search services and search text advertising — the ads that appear at the top of the search results page. “Google’s distribution agreements foreclose a substantial portion of the general search services market and impair rivals’ opportunities to compete,” the judge said. As a result of its monopoly, Google had been able to increase prices for text advertising without constraints, he found.

    What remedies have antitrust enforcers sought?
    The Justice Department and a group of states proposed a forced sale of Google’s Chrome. Their proposal would prohibit Google from entering into the kind of exclusive deals at the center of the case. For its existing agreements, the company would be required to offer smartphone makers and wireless carriers the option to display a choice screen to users.

    The Justice Department and states said that Google should be required to license both its underlying “click and query” data as well as its search results to potential rivals to help them improve their products. As part of that license, they proposed, Google would have to include all content from its own properties, such as YouTube, that it includes in its own search offering.

    Mehta held a three-week trial in which he considered the proposal in April and May 2025.

    What has Google said?
    The company has said it intends to appeal the judge’s ruling that it has illegally monopolized the search market, which could delay a remedy for months or years. It also says it plans to challenge any ruling that calls for Chrome to be divested and has proposed a narrower set of remedies that would modify its default search agreements with Apple and Mozilla to open up the search market to competition. It also would make it easier for phonemakers such as Samsung to use its Android operating system without having to make Google search the default on devices.

    Google has said that the Justice Department’s proposal would harm Americans’ privacy and security, stymie Google’s investments in artificial intelligence, and hurt companies such as Mozilla, which depends on revenue Google pays to make its search engine the default option in the Firefox browser.

    What are antitrust laws?
    They are meant to protect competition in commerce. In the US, it’s not illegal to be big and powerful; gaining a monopoly position from superior products or better management is considered a reward for success in the marketplace. However, it’s illegal for a monopoly to take predatory steps to stop rivals that might threaten its dominance. Any attempt to illegally maintain a monopoly is fair game for antitrust enforcers and could result in penalties or a forced breakup. Bloomberg

  • Analysts foresee an hike in telecom tariffs by early 2026

    Analysts foresee an hike in telecom tariffs by early 2026

    Indian mobile users may have to brace for higher bills again, with industry watchers expecting telecom operators to announce a fresh round of tariff hikes within the next six months.

    According to Ankit Jain of ICRA, the increase could come between October 2025 and January 2026. However, the quantum is likely to be less than 15-20%—smaller than the hikes seen in 2024, he said.

    “A tariff hike is imminent. We expect jump to be less than last year, less than 15–20%… Going forward, the trend of price hikes will be more frequent than a bi-yearly exercise,” an ICRA analyst said, adding that average revenue per user could climb from Rs 200 in fiscal 2025 to Rs 220 in fiscal 2026.

    Experts say the last major round of hikes in 2024 saw Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea raise tariffs by around 19–21%, prompting some users to switch to state-run BSNL. This time, operators are expected to stick to headline price increases, without altering plan validity periods.

    Bharti Airtel has already hinted at headroom for raising data tariffs. “Mobile tariff design is skewed in India; the rich are paying less and the poor are not required to pay anymore,” said Gopal Vittal, vice-chairman and MD, Bharti Airtel, during the company’s first quarter earnings call. He added that the company is focussed on improving its customer mix and driving upgrades to postpaid and smartphones.

    Reliance Jio has not yet announced a timeline for its next revision, but in past earnings calls, the company has maintained that tariff corrections are necessary to support ongoing 5G investments.

    Why another hike is on the cards?
    Industry experts point out that India’s mobile ARPU—at $2.1—is among the lowest in the world, giving operators room to make moderated increases. Another telecom expert who is of a slightly different opinion that ICRA, told NDTV Profit that while the telecom sector grew 10.6% year-on-year in FY25, sustaining double-digit growth will require more than subscriber additions.

    “Moderated tariff increase would be required… Beyond headline hikes, adopting innovative pricing models would be key for sustained monetisation,” the expert added, suggesting tiered 5G plans for heavy users, content bundling, and quality of service-based packages similar to those seen in China and Finland.

    While between the eight-year period of financial years 2017-2025, the sector’s gross revenue grew at a CAGR of 3.8%, growth accelerated the most between fiscal 2020-25 to 8% CAGR as operators pushed for data monetisation and network upgrades.

    In 2024, the tariff hikes implemented by Airtel, Jio, and Vodafone Idea showed both entry-level and higher-end prepaid plan price revisions.

    In the 2024 round of tariff revisions, telecom operators applied different levels of price hikes across plan tiers. Entry-level or base prepaid packs — often used by low-data or first-time users — saw relatively modest increases of around 11–22%.

    Mid-tier daily-data plans, which form the bulk of active subscriptions, registered sharper hikes in the 17–25% range, reflecting operators’ focus on boosting average revenue per user from high-usage segments.

    Long-validity or annual packs faced some of the steepest adjustments, with prices rising by roughly 20%, a move aimed at locking in higher-paying customers for longer periods while realigning tariffs with rising network and spectrum costs.

    With 5G rollouts in full swing and the push for higher-value customers, both analysts and operators agree that Indian mobile tariffs are set to move upward again—though in smaller, more frequent steps rather than big, infrequent jumps. NDTV Profit

  • By 2030, the edge AI hardware sector will rise to $58.90 B

    By 2030, the edge AI hardware sector will rise to $58.90 B

    The edge AI hardware market is projected to reach USD 58.90 billion by 2030, up from USD 26.14 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 17.6%, according to Research and Markets.

    The report will help the market leaders/new entrants with information on the closest approximations of the revenue for the overall edge AI hardware market and the subsegments. The report will help stakeholders understand the competitive landscape and gain more insight to position their business better and plan suitable go-to-market strategies. The report also helps stakeholders understand the market’s pulse and provides information on key drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges.

    The edge AI hardware market is growing due to the demand for real-time data processing, reduced latency, enhanced privacy, and better bandwidth efficiency. Advancements in semiconductor technology, IoT, autonomous vehicles, and smart devices also drive this growth.

    However, the adoption has limitations, including the lack of processing power, memory, and energy available on edge devices to run complex AI models. This requires intense optimization that may negatively impact accuracy. Other limitations to adopting edge AI hardware in the vicinity included security vulnerabilities, deployment costs, scaling, and maintenance in distributed edge systems.

    The report provides an-depth assessment of market shares, growth strategies, and offerings of leading players in the edge AI hardware market, such as Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. (US), Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (China), SAMSUNG (South Korea), Apple Inc. (US), and MediaTek Inc. (Taiwan), among others.

    Training function to record higher CAGR during forecast period
    The training functionality in edge AI will register a higher CAGR than the inference function as federated learning continues to take hold, wherein AI models can be trained on distributed edge devices directly. At the same time, data privacy and regulations can be complied with.

    With industries producing massive datasets of various types at the edge, there is a growing need for always-on, device-based model updates to accommodate real-time learning and adaptation to local conditions. Furthermore, the potential of computing advances makes deploying necessary, decentralized training strategies ever easier, with disaster response, healthcare, finance, and autonomous systems prime examples.

    Smartphone devices to capture largest market share during forecast period
    Smartphones dominate the market for edge AI hardware due to their vast global user base and the widespread availability of AI-enabled features. These devices have become handy and ubiquitous, offering capabilities such as real-time language translation, facial recognition, and advanced photography – all of which require on-device processing to minimize latency and enhance user privacy.

    Mobile 5G technology has further accelerated smartphone adoption, enabling devices to run more sophisticated and powerful AI applications while providing a seamless user experience without relying on cloud connectivity. Consequently, device manufacturers prioritize the development of advanced processing units in smartphones, solidifying their status as the most popular edge AI devices in the world.

    China to account for largest market share in Asia Pacific during forecast period
    Asia Pacific is expected to account for the largest market share throughout the forecast period. The market’s growth will be fueled by support from the Chinese government and various development plans, such as the New Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan and Made in China 2025. Credible companies such as Huawei and Baidu also invest in research and innovation. The vast user base in China, along with significant advancements in the consumption and innovation of consumer electronics, also contributes to this growth.

    Moreover, the large volumes of data generated by the Chinese population create an excellent environment for training and deploying edge AI models. China’s strategic approach to integrating AI into various industries – including smart manufacturing, smart cities, and autonomous vehicles – will further support and accelerate the expansion of the edge AI market in the region. Research and Markets