US telecommunications incumbent AT&T has announced that it will expand its 5G trials to three additional US cities by the end of the year. The operator has already adopted an aggressive approach to developing the next-generation technology - but its latest statement is indicative of its desire to ramp up operations in its attempts to be in a position to deploy 5G technology by the end of 2018.

The Brazilian government is continuing to aggressively pursue its ambitions to digitize the country after announcing a new initiative aimed at discovering and subsequently integrating new Internet of Things solutions into its cities.

A Californian startup has unveiled its autonomous last-mile delivery vehicle which has been tipped to transform and completely revolutionize the delivery services industry.

A Chinese technology firm has confirmed that it has carried out the first manned trials of a new ‘drone taxi' service in the country.

Global coffee colossus COSTA has selected Dubai for its innovative testing of its revolutionary new 'drone delivery' service. COSTA embarked on the trial due to customer demand - 82% of its UAE customers said they would use a drone to deliver food and beverages directly to them, and COSTA subsequently decided to undertake a unique trial in Dubai with its 'Drone Drop' service.

Dutch multinational technology firm Yandex has announced that it has successfully conducted a test of a self-driving car in the Russian capital of Moscow. The company is Russia's largest technology firm and is commonly known as Russia's Google as it's also the country's main search engine with around 65% of market share.

Portugal is set to introduce 'free zones' in an attempt to accelerate the development and deployment of self-driving cars and drones in the country. The 'free zones' will also have special regulations which will subsequently allow firms developing driverless technology to test the vehicles in a much more stringent way.

Nokia has been selected by French power utility EDF's R&D unit to test the performance of LPWA wireless networking technologies - key emerging standards for Internet of Things (IoT) device connectivity - to support critical operations for industries. The two companies will engage in a comprehensive testing regime, among the first of its kind in the industry, exploring the capabilities of LPWA technologies to support real-world industrial applications. Nokia is EDF R&D's exclusive partner for this effort.

Finland is set to introduce a scheduled driverless bus service to its capital city Helsinki following the conclusion of a series of trials which were conducted by local transportation authorities. A statement released by city transportation officials confirmed that autonomous transit will begin operations in autumn.

Chinese vendor Huawei has partnered with Canadian telecommunications operator TELUS on an urban trial of 5G wireless-to-the-home service using customer premise equipment (CPE). It has been claimed that the innovative trial is the first of its kind in North America and among the first globally.

Testing of futuristic technology aimed at revolutionizing the transportation sector is currently underway in Nevada, USA. Hyperloop One, a Los-Angeles-based company responsible for developing the technology is working on a technical vision which was provided by Tesla founder and entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Jaguar Land Rover has announced that it is currently demonstrating self-driving technology that will enable its fleet of vehicles to locate vacant parking spaces independently and then proceed to park them without any input from the driver.

A Japanese manufacturer has announced that it is currently conducting tests on 'driverless tractors' it has developed in an effort to combat the issue of ageing within the farming population in Japan. Kubota is currently selling the 'driverless tractors' on a trial basis, but has declared its intention to launch the machines for full-scale in 2018 if the trials are deemed a success.

A Japanese community has introduced driverless technology as part of an initiative specifically designed to keep its elderly citizens active and 'on the move'. The rural town of Nishikata, which is located around 115KM from the capital city of Tokyo, has decided to experiment with the autonomous technology in an effort to enable its elderly population to continue participating and being active in community life.

Japanese car manufacturing giant Nissan and its software gaming partner DeNA has announced that it plans to commence the public pilot of its self-driving ride-sharing service in Japan early next year. The disclosure represents the latest collaboration between a global car manufacturer and a technology firm that is leveraging automated driving technology into new mobility solutions.

Finnish telecommunications colossus Nokia has announced that it has sealed a major deal to supply 5G base stations to Japan's largest mobile operator NTT Docomo. The agreement represents the vendor's first large-scale 5G contract since the first formal 5G New Radio (NR) standard was established and subsequently approved in last month.

Dubai's Road and Transport Authority (RTA), has announced that it will accelerate its efforts to deploy autonomous services in 2018 in a bid to make Dubai the 'smartest city' in the world.

Glasgow has extended its Internet of Things gateway as it accelerates its efforts to become a 'smart city'. The addition of another gateway, which now brings the total to nine, will significantly enhance connectivity and coverage across the Scottish city.

SEAT President Luca de Meo and Telefonica's Spanish President Luis Miguel Gilperez have signed an agreement that aims to promote a joint effort to develop innovative initiatives in the automotive industry. The agreement reached, which makes Telefónica a strategic IT supplier to SEAT, is set within the framework of SEAT's strategy to position itself as a benchmark company in connected, digitized mobility solutions.

Singapore and Denmark have agreed to enter into a joint-partnership to test 'smart city innovations' in a bid to combat climate change by building inclusive 'smart cities'. Both countries will seek to benefit from each other's respective experience and skills in order to formulate a coherent plan to battle climate change.