Hikvision filed a compliance plan with FCC rules and asked for confidential treatment. The China-based company also asked the FCC to approve the plan, in a filing posted Monday in docket 21-232. The compliance plan was redacted in its entirety. The FCC should “withhold indefinitely from any future public inspection and accord confidential treatment to the company-specific, confidential, sensitive business information contained” in the plan, Hikvision said.

Emirates Telecommunication Group is buying a majority stake in PPF Group’s assets in Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Slovakia. The United Arab Emirates-based company, also known as e&, agreed to pay the Czech conglomerate $2.35 billion upfront, plus additional earn-out payments of up to $383 million “within three years after the closing if PPF Telecom exceeds certain financial targets,” said a Tuesday news release. PPF Telecom CEO Balesh Sharma will retain that position. PPF's telco assets in the Czech Republic are excluded from the deal. “By combining PPF Telecom's expertise with our own innovative capabilities, we are poised to establish a major telecommunications presence in Central and Eastern Europe,” said Hatem Dowidar, e& group CEO.

Virgin Media O2 is offering what it says is the U.K.’s first commercially available plug-and-play stand-alone private 5G network. “Once plugged in, the new portable network enables companies to immediately access 5G connectivity at the flick of a switch, without the time and expense of building an entire network,” the company said Wednesday: “Only slightly larger than a carry-on airline bag, the new product is small but mighty.” The product was first tested by Telefonica’s Wayra, which has been using the network since last summer, Virgin Media said. “Further trials” with companies offering products from virtual reality apps to IoT services “have already shown benefits including high reliability, enhanced data security and ultra-low latency,” the company said.

BT Group announced Allison Kirkby will become chief executive, replacing Philip Jansen “around the end of January 2024 at the latest.” Kirkby became CEO of Swedish provider Telia in 2020. She was previously CEO of Denmark’s TDC and CEO of Tele2 AB, the largest challenger telecom company in Sweden and the Baltics. She's also a veteran of Procter & Gamble and has been a non-executive director at BT Group since 2019. Kirkby is “a proven leader, with deep sector experience and a history of having transformed businesses,” said BT Group Chairman Adam Crozier Monday.

Huawei Technologies plans to restart making advanced mobile chips as early as this year, as the Chinese company faces continuing restrictions from the U.S. and its allies per Nikkei Asia. Huawei is working with top Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International to produce in-house designed 5G chipsets in coming months, the paper said, based on reports from unnamed sources.

Vodafone Group said Monday its service revenue increased 3.7% Q1, to $10.1 billion, but its business in Germany continues to struggle. Service revenue there was down 1.3%. “As we progress our plans to transform Vodafone, we have achieved a better service revenue performance across almost all of our markets,” CEO Margherita Della Valle said : “We have delivered particularly strong trading in our Business segment and returned to service revenue growth in Europe.” Africa was a high point, with revenue growth of 9%. Service revenue in the U.K. was up 5.7%. Vodafone also announced a new chief financial officer, Luka Mucic, effective Sept. 1. Mucic joins the company from SAP SE, a German multinational software company.

Japan’s NTT Group said Thursday it's sending network engineers and repair equipment, including 12 bucket trucks, to Guam due to Typhoon Mawar. NTT said it answered a call from Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero (D). “Damage to the island’s infrastructure by the May typhoon has caused widespread, ongoing loss of power for residents and businesses as well as considerable damage to IT and communications infrastructure,” NTT said.

China is probably “at least” two or three years behind the U.S. in generative AI, said Samm Sacks, cyber policy fellow at New America and senior fellow at Yale Law School, during a Brookings webinar Wednesday. China appears to be relying on “iterations off of cutting edge research” published in other countries, she said. Chinese officials are struggling with how to balance information control with their desire to lead the world on AI, she said. “AI generates and disseminates information that’s of real concern to the Communist Party leadership,” she said. Cyberspace Administration of China (CCA) has “really been in the driver’s seat” on AI regulation, but the Ministry of Science and Technology is “likely going to have the pen for China’s AI law, which is in the works,” Sacks said. The CCA would likely take a more conservative stance on AI rules than the ministry, she said. Chinese censorship “has a limiting effect on the availability and quality of data,” she said. Another issue for China is U.S. restrictions on access to the most advanced semiconductors, and the Chinese semiconductor industry is “generally several generations behind,” she said. China has been relying on a loophole to use cloud service providers to “rent access” to advanced chips, she said: “We need to watch is this an area where the U.S. government is going to come in and try to close the loophole. How successful will China’s AI ambitions be given these constraints from the U.S.?” Marietje Schaake, Stanford University Cyber Policy Center international policy director, urged flexibility in EU regulations as negotiations continue between the European Council and the European Parliament. “We may not know what will come next, but we do know that something else will come next and generative AI is certainly not the last disruptive iteration” of AI, she said.

The U.N. Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Huawei announced the launch of the Global Alliance on Artificial Intelligence for Industry and Manufacturing” (AIM Global) aimed at “shaping” the AI landscape. “It is our shared responsibility to ensure that advancements in the field of AI are made in a manner that is safe, ethical, sustainable and inclusive,” said UNIDO Director General Gerd Muller Monday. “AIM Global recognizes the importance of bridging the digital divide between nations and industries, and ensuring that no one is left behind in the AI revolution,” Gerd said.

European telecom operators agreed to extend for 12 months their agreement allowing displaced Ukrainians to stay connected, the European Commission announced. The pact, signed in April 2022, allows telcos to mutually lower the rates they charge to connect calls across borders. Data from the Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications, which monitors the impact of the agreement, shows the regime efficiently allowed operators to provide affordable calls. Twenty-two European and seven Ukrainian telcos have signed on, and the EC urged all operators to do so. Simultaneously, it said it's preparing to integrate Ukraine into the EU roaming area, which would provide a more stable, long-term solution.