Page 133 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2025

REGULATORY & POLICY UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

EU Indicates Strong Interest in AI Gigafactory Push

The European Commission (EC) revealed it received 76 expressions role in strengthening the EU’s digital infrastructure. Although the
of interest to develop AI gigafactories across 16 European Union consultation did not involve funding or formal commitments,
(EU) member states, a response which significantly surpassed its it is set to shape the official call for proposals expected by the
own expectations. While the regulator did not name interested end of this year. In addition, the initiative forms part of the EU’s
companies due to confidentiality, it confirmed responses from a AI Continent Action Plan and will serve as a pilot project for the
range of stakeholders including European and international tech regulator’s competitiveness coordination tool, which aims to align
companies, data center operators, telecoms providers, energy policies and implementation across member states.
suppliers and financial investors. The respondents also outlined
plans to acquire a total of at least 3 million latest-generation GPUs
as part of the push. According to Reuters, EU tech chief Henna
Virkkunen told a press conference that the level of interest received
“exceeds far beyond our expectations”, adding that it “showcases
Europe’s growing momentum and enthusiasm for innovating
in AI in Europe”. The response comes after the EC issued a call
for expressions of interest, which closed on 20 June, to identify
potential consortia and gather early input for the next phase of
the continent’s AI push. The call, which outlined plans to build
across 60 proposed sites, came after the regulator earmarked €20
billion to support the construction of four AI gigafactories earlier
this year. These high-capacity compute and storage facilities
will support advanced AI model training and are set to play a key

Telenor: No plan B for Pakistan, Exit Now

Telenor’s planned exit from Pakistan is currently being held up group announced its intention to sell its Pakistani unit to Pakistan
by the country’s competition authority – a delay the Nordic group Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), which operates
argues is stagnating digital development in the South Asian the Ufone brand. “We were quite early in understanding that this
nation. Speaking to Developing Telecoms, Telenor Asia head Jon growth was going to flatten, and we needed to think differently to
Omund Revhaug said the operator no longer has the capital, nor manage this portfolio of assets,” said Revhaug. “We established a
can it foresee the scale required to fund the large capex needed phase of modernisation to drive efficiency across our operations.”
to push Pakistan into the 5G era and beyond. The group is instead He explained that the group anticipated slowing growth as far back
focusing on Asian markets where it can hold leading positions. as 2017, when market trends began shifting from voice to data
Headquartered in Singapore, Revhaug oversees Telenor’s interests – a change that required “significant investments in infrastructure
in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Thailand and, for now, Pakistan. At its over time” to stay competitive. Telenor, he said, will only remain in
peak, the group’s Asian footprint extended to India and Myanmar markets where it sees a clear path to becoming a top-two operator.
– the former exited due to similar structural challenges to those Pakistan, after extensive evaluation, was deemed too challenging.
in Pakistan, and the latter abandoned following a military coup While a merger – as had been pursued in Malaysia and Thailand –
which made operations untenable, with demands from the junta was considered, Revhaug conceded: “We did not find a solution that
to install spyware on the network. Now, Telenor is focused on would lead us to a number one position [in Pakistan].” According to
further withdrawing from South Asia. Taking charge of this latest the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Jazz led the market in
divestment is Revhaug, a 25-year Telenor veteran who has worked May with around 74 million monthly mobile subscribers, followed
across its global footprint, particularly in Asia. He played a key role by China Mobile-owned Zong with 52 million. Telenor ranked
in major recent mergers, including the creation of CelcomDigi in third with 44 million, while PTCL’s Ufone had 27 million. A merger
Malaysia and True Corporation in Thailand. Telenor also maintains between Telenor and Ufone would create a stronger rival to Jazz
its original foray into Asia with Grameenphone in Bangladesh. and introduce much-needed competition, with the scale and capital
West of Bangladesh, Revhaug is leading the execution of to invest in future infrastructure, argued Revhaug.
Telenor’s modernisation and efficiency strategy. In 2023, the

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