In Blog

As 2018 continues to unfold, so do many of the biggest storylines in global ICT. With March now in the books, we’ll take a look back at some of the stories that created the most buzz on the Internet throughout the month and provide links in case you missed them the first time.

Smart Cities in Asia Taking Off

Smart cities continue to be a popular topic of conversation. According to IDC, spending on smart city technologies is expected to reach $28.3 billion this year in APAC (excluding Japan). Ahead of an event focused on smart cities, Light Reading’s Mari Silbey said that smart cities will require smarter pipes in order to accommodate densifying populations. In Indonesia, the government is pushing to become a smart city pioneer, but the country’s massive population means that its cloud and data center needs will go well beyond what most experience. According to Gartner, all the tech in the world won’t make smart cities a reality without widespread engagement from citizens.

The Submarine Cable Boom Continues

In APAC and beyond, the explosion in adoption of cloud, content creation, and interconnection demand means we are seeing major growth in subsea cables. The SJC2 APAC submarine cable will stretch from Japan to Singapore and is set to be completed in 2020. PCCW Global and Huawei Marine Networks will lay a cable that connects the small Indian Ocean Islands of Rodrigues and Mauritius. Telegeography’s Alan Mauldin discussed “the real reasons we’re seeing a surge in submarine cables.” Telegeography also released its 2018 Submarine Cable Map, which details 366 cable systems around the globe.

AI and Machine Learning

AI and machine learning are two technologies that create a lot of conversation but are also surrounded by some degree of confusion. As detailed by an article from CIO, the two technologies are not one and the same and business leaders need to understand what machine learning is and is not. AI looks like it will have a significant impact on a wide variety of industries, not least among them are data centers. According to a recent study, AI and cloud ‘will help telecoms M&As to hit $648bn’ this year. However exciting AI and its prospects might be, it’s important to remember that utilizing it successfully will be about the journey, not the destination.

The Latest PTC Broadband Report is Out

The latest installment of the PTC Broadband Report is out. It focuses on the opportunities for the Philippine telecom industry to meet the country’s pent-up need for broadband infrastructure and address demand from its large unserved population. With the second largest population in ASEAN and a strikingly low level of broadband Internet access, the government has now taken steps to begin improving access around the country. Click here to learn more in PTC’s latest report, “Mobilizing the Philippine Archipelago.”

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