The race for sovereignty and AI dominance continue apace, but November saw long anticipated progress in the key areas of network slicing and 5G standalone or advanced deployment, writes contributing editor Annie Turner. 

Vodacom signed a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud to overhaul its data infrastructure and expand the use of AI across its African footprint. Vodacom has 200 million customers spread across seven countries in Africa: its footprint covers 500 million people. It also offers enterprise business-managed services in 47 African countries.

Under the agreement, the operator will migrate and unify core data platforms on Google Cloud while incorporating Google’s GenAI models, including Gemini, Veo and Imagen, into its business operations. Vodacom said the partnership is intended to support its wider digital transformation programme, with a focus on improving internal processes and enabling new services for consumers and enterprises.

It plans to use the partnership to accelerate product development in fintech, enterprise solutions and consumer services. Detailed timelines for product launches were not disclosed.

The collaboration will provide the foundation for real-time analytics, stronger data governance and a single environment for large-scale AI deployments. It forms part of a broader strategy that aligns with Vodafone’s relationship with Google Cloud, which focuses on scaling digital tools and providing enterprise-grade security across the group’s markets. Vodafone holds a 65.1% stake in Vodacom Group.

Network slicing speeds up

Some 33 communications service providers operators are offering some kind of differentiated connectivity, according to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report. The research identified 118 examples of network slicing with 65 offering commercial slicing services, either as specific subscription services or as add-on for consumers or enterprise customers.

The latest study covers more than 300 service providers across 134 markets and indicates a substantially higher number of launches than in previous studies. Growth has been spurred by  the accelerating deployment of 5G standalone (5G SA) networks. Europe accounts for 45% of all global network slicing, including trials, proofs of concept and commercial offerings – proportionately there are more tests and trials in Europe than other regions.

Source: page 18, https://www.ericsson.com/4aca6f/assets/local/reports-papers/mobility-report/documents/2025/ericsson-mobility-report-november-2025.pdf

The report also cites “greater confidence among service providers, with an increasing willingness to explore new monetization models beyond traditional data and speed tiers. The extent of engagement is notable, with many service providers now active in several categories simultaneously.”

“Marketing innovations” are credited too: for example, in-the-moment offers are trumping traditional channels. Services’ parameters can include latency guarantees, priority services, additional security, immersive experiences, connectivity around specific situations and locations, or app categories.

DT unveils first industrial AI cloud…

Deutsche Telekom and NVIDIA announced they have jointly built the world’s first Industrial AI Cloud in a €1 billion partnership which will go live in the first quarter of 2026. They said the idea progressed to launch within six months, and will provide “Around 50 percent more computing power for artificial intelligence (AI) in Germany.” SAP is to provide a technology platform which will ease integration within the “sovereign German stack”.The partners say a wider ecosystem is forming with about 10 companies are already part of this new sovereign AI ecosystem, including Siemens, Agile Robots, Wandelbots, Quantum Systems, PhysicsX, and Perplexity.

…and its first (German) customer

And the first customer announced a few days later is also German. Leibniz University Hannover signed a contract worth tens of millions of euros for the AI factory to provide the technical infrastructure for the Sovereign Open Source Foundation Models (SOOFI) research project. The Industrial AI Cloud is provided by DT’s subsidiary, T-Systems.
SOOFI’s purpose is to develop a new, sovereign large language model (LLM) with around 100 billion parameters, operated and trained in Europe to replace Teuken7B, which has 7 billion parameters. Scientists from six leading German research institutions and two start-ups are collaborating on the project to provide sovereign European alternatives to AI technologies from the US and China.

SOOFI “is one of the most important European AI initiatives”, according to the press statement and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. It is also supported by the Fraunhofer Society, the German AI Association and the Center for Sovereign AI (CESAI).

Scientists from six leading German research institutions and two start-ups are collaborating on the project to provide sovereign European alternatives to AI technologies from the US and China.

SOOFI “is one of the most important European AI initiatives”, according to the press statement and funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. It is also supported by the Fraunhofer Society, the German AI Association and the Center for Sovereign AI (CESAI).

Asia leads the world in mobile

According to the GSMA’s Mobile Economy Asia Pacific 2025 report, the region has some of the world’s most advanced mobile markets and is leading the global shift toward 5G SA. As of June 2025, there were 39 commercial 5G mobile networks across nine countries in the region, including 17 commercial networks based on the 5G SA architecture in nine countries.

5G adoption has reached, or is close to mass-market levels in countries including Australia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. In these countries, the technology is forecast to support more than half of the total mobile connections by the end of this year.

The TelecomReview website commented, “While rollout timelines vary, Asia’s trajectory is unmistakable. The region is rapidly moving toward cloud-native, modular, software-defined, and AI-enhanced networks that can power the next wave of digital industries.

“From Singapore’s early innovation to China’s industrial scale and India’s digital ambition, Asia is setting the global benchmark for 5G evolution. The shift to standalone marks a turning point, transforming 5G from a connectivity upgrade into a platform for capability, innovation, and growth.”

The economic impact of mobile communications in Asia Pacific are expected to be 6.6% of the region’s GDP or $1,390 billion.

Source: https://www.gsma.com/solutions-and-impact/connectivity-for-good/mobile-economy/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/The-Mobile-Economy-Asia-Pacific-2025.pdf