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ZTE Corporation, a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for the Mobile Internet, together with China Mobile and Qualcomm, announced that they have demonstrated a Pre5G gigabit rate solution in time division-long term evolution (TD-LTE) commercial network in Quanzhou, Fujian.

Singapore's Singtel is launching in phases, near-gigabit speeds on its LTE-Advanced network at selected high-traffic outdoor locations across the island. At 800Mbps, it is Southeast Asia's fastest Gigabit-class LTE mobile data peak speed, delivering up to 60 percent faster download speeds than prevailing LTE services.

Hong Kong's director general of communications, Eliza Lee Man-Ching has responded to scathing criticism over the government's policy approach to 5G spectrum allocation from its largest operator HKT.

The Indian government has formally announced its strategy for the implementation of 5G technology, and has claimed that it could lead global subscriptions of the revolutionary technology along with North America by 2022.

Spark New Zealand announced that it has commenced the development of a nationwide low power wide area (LPWA) network to enable the Internet of Things (IoT). "At Spark our Ventures team has been working on the exciting possibilities of the internet of things and what it could mean for New Zealand," said Spark’s GM for IoT, Michael Stribling.

The CTO of Australian incumbent Telstra has admitted that the telecommunications firm is pushing its gigabit LTE to maximize the most of its existing 4G network as it prepares for the forthcoming 5G era. Hakan Eriksson, CTO, said the primary objective behind Telstra's strategy is to improve 4G as much as possible in order to be properly prepared for the introduction of 5G technology.

Chinese e-commerce colossus Alibaba has taken its first venture into developing artificial intelligence home devices by launching its voice assistant speaker, which has drawn comparisons to Amazon's 'Echo'.

UK wireless technology company Ranplan has claimed that its innovative technology will play a 'major role' in the ongoing global evolution of smart cities. The radio planning specialist is building a stellar reputation on a global basis - primarily because it has developed tools that plan both indoor and combined indoor and outdoor RF wireless networks. Telecom Review managed to secure an exclusive interview with Ranplan's charismatic CEO Alastair Williamson at CommunicAsia, Asia's premier ICT exhibition and conference held annually in Singapore to discuss the organization's future in the APAC region, its role within smart cities - and its objectives for the rest of 2017.

Nokia is working with Japan's NTT DOCOMO to test applications using a 5G base station and the Intel® 5G Mobile Trial Platform end-user device. This demonstrates the potential of Nokia 5G FIRST to deliver enhanced broadband at vastly greater scale. A showcase at the 5G Tokyo Bay Summit 2017 will signal the start of 5G trials in the Tokyo area.

One of Australia's leading telecommunication companies has announced that it will launch a new IoT lab which has been described as a 'game changer' for the country's IoT ecosystem. Telstra Corporation Limited - is one of Australia's largest and most successful telecommunications and media organizations.

Japanese telecoms and internet corporation SoftBank, a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp., announced that it is developing an Embedded Subscriber Identity Module ("eSIM") Platform as part of its efforts to promote Internet of Things ("IoT") solutions. The platform, which is scheduled to start operating in 2017, enables remote eSIM provisioning by connecting to carrier communication networks with the required profiles.

ZTE Corporation a major international provider of telecommunications, enterprise and consumer technology solutions for mobile internet, and Intel, officially signed a strategic cooperation agreement at an IoT forum in Barcelona, Spain. Both parties will jointly establish an innovative lab for research and development of future key IoT technologies, including experimental verification, evaluation, and research and development of related technologies, thereby providing integrated market-oriented IoT solutions.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, ZTE, and China Mobile today announced plans to conduct interoperability testing and over-the-air field trials based on the 5G New Radio (NR) specifications being developed by 3GPP.

South Korean multinational conglomerate Samsung Electronics have made an exciting announcement in relation to its journey towards 5G - following the commercial release of a Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) for the next generation technology.

A French start-up company has agreed a deal with a leading Iranian network provider as they announced plans to roll-out IoT services across the country. Some of the services that will be made available to residents in Iran; include the introduction of Intelligent Transportation and gas meters you can monitor from your smartphone.

In a recent study, the International Journal of Information and Communication Technology unveiled a new approach for managing urban traffic across multi-intersection networks that could significantly reduce traffic congestion and enhance road efficiency.

Singapore, one of the world’s greenest cities, is aiming for an ambitious project to bring every home within just 10 minutes of the nearest nature park by 2030.

Nokia will work with Alstom to deliver a private wireless network for the National Capital Regional Transport Corporation’s (NCRTC) Delhi to Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS). It will support European Train Control System (ETCS) Level 2 signaling to maintain safety for commuters on the high-speed rail route, currently under construction.

Toyota announced plans to convert the 175-acre site of a former car factory near Mount Fuji into Woven City, the world’s first programmable city located in Japan.

Dubai-based Brixton Group has announced that India’s first industrial smart city will be set up near Kalamassery in Kochi. The project with an investment of Rs 1,200 crore ($1.65m) will be set up in nearly 30 acres of land. Brixton International Group chairman and member of Dubai royal family Sheikh Juma bin Syed Al Maktoum announced the project in Kochi on Saturday.

At the 10^th Smart City Expo World Congress, hosted by SAMENA Telecommunications Council. Huawei won three World Smart City Awards and was nominated multiple times due to their relentless efforts in driving innovation through their smart city initiatives.

Shenzhen airport, China's fifth largest airport and a world-class international aviation hub, has chosen Huawei to work together on the key project of its Future Airport Phase II implementation: the upgrade of its Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) system. Such an upgrade provides a solid energy foundation to build a smart future airport from, as well as reconstruct the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure platform.

Colt Technology Services has today announced that Mitsubishi Research Institute DCS Co. Ltd (MRI DCS) is using its Dedicated Cloud Access (DCA) and Ethernet solutions for their new service “Dibertas”.

Singapore has managed to rank the top smart city in the world for the second consecutive year, followed by the Finnish capital (Helsinki) and Swiss city of Zurich.

Xi’an, an ancient city in China, has implemented an intelligent traffic management system to better the lives of its residents.

Chinese internet company Tencent has announced that it is building a 2 million square meter smart city in Shenzhen.

International engineering, design and advisory company Aurecon reaffirmed its commitment to building a multi-faceted engineering consultancy business in Greater China with the appointment of two industry veterans, Fredrick Leong and Kam Tim (KT) Lee as Executive Director, Environmental - Greater China and Technical Director – Electrical respectively in February 2020.

Planet Smart City, the global leader in smart affordable housing, has announced a partnership with BSE-listed Indian real estate developer Kolte Patil Developers Limited to build circa 1,000 affordable apartments over an area of 21,000 sqm in Life Republic township, in Pune, India, enhanced with Planet’s technological expertise and social innovation programmes.

Digital twins make cities a great deal more efficient, safe and smart. With the growing maturity and importance of emerging technologies, integrating digital twins into a smart city’s network could be highly rewarding. It has been widely speculated that digital twins will be the backbone of industries of the future.

Central and local governments in South Korea plan are working on a system to track cases of Coronavirus through the use of data and surveillance.

Huawei has recently unveiled several all-new products and initiatives ideally suited to help enterprises step into the fully digital era, covering areas like storage systems, Wi-Fi 6, artificial intelligence (AI) and data center performance.

For China, the beginning of 2020 has been nothing short of a nightmare. The sudden outbreak of the coronavirus has caused Chinese citizens to be overcome with fear and uncertainty. The outbreak, which first occurred in Wuhan, China, has spread like wildfire across the country and has cost the lives of many.

The government of India has voiced its plans to develop five new smart cities.

Human Horizons, the Chinese automotive tech firm, has proclaimed to have enabled the world’s first ‘vehicle-road city’ integrated ecosystem with a state-of-the-art 5G autonomous driving traffic management system in Shanghai.

Indonesian property developer Lippo Karawaci and Japanese conglomerate Softbank have joined forces to develop and deploy smart city technology in Lippo village, near Jakarta.

In New South Wales (NSW), Australia, where it is only legal to use mobile phones hands-free while driving, AI-powered cameras have been installed on the roads to ensure compliance by detecting drivers using a mobile phone behind the wheel.

Huawei launches Singapore’s first 5G-powered Artificial Intelligence (AI) lab equipped with AI, 5G and Cloud technology, at Changi Business Park. The lab boasts facilities that offer extensive 5G support, from Proof of Concepts (POCs) to free trials, with a 5G test-bed and Huawei’s Cloud platform. It also supports AI enablement through offline AI developer kits, as well as Huawei’s ModelArts AI Platform, to support AI R&D efforts.

China has launched a blockchain-based smart cities identification solution, which will assign a unique global ID to smart cities infrastructure. It is expected that the new solution will enable better information sharing and connectivity between smart cities.

At Huawei Connect 2019, Huawei unveiled its next-generation intelligent product strategy and new +AI products for the enterprise market.

China, home to one of the most advanced mobile payment infrastructure in the world, has adopted facial payment technology.

The Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Safe Cities Index 2019 has ranked Tokyo to be the safest out of 60 cities which was achieved through the analysis of the city’s infrastructure, personal security, health and digitalization. 

Singaporean startup, Limestone Network, has planned to build a smart city in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Smart water meters produce an enormous amount of data so meter data management (MDM) systems are essential when it comes to converting the data into insights that will prove useful and be actionable.

Metro Manila, one of the three metropolitan areas in the Philippines, has just completed an AI-powered video surveillance pilot and revealed that it has partnered with Iveda to work on a series of smart city projects.

Australia’s largest smart city project, which plans to establish Darwin as a ”smart, livable, productive and sustainable capital city”.

The Asia Pacific region is expected to experience the highest and fastest growth of smart street lighting which will be driven by increased technology adoption and awareness of governments.

Dell Technologies, Vehant Technologies, and Graymatics and Wordsensing have decided to collaborate to develop and deliver smart city solutions in the areas of ‘Intelligent Traffic Management’ and ‘Safe City’ in India.

South Korean operator SK Telecom, Samsung and Cisco have signed a MoU which aims to promote 5G-powered smart office services.

Panasonic Corporation and Toyota Motors Corporation have joined forces to combine their expertise in the home appliance and mobility sectors along with IoT to create smarter homes and lifestyles for their customers.

Samsung’s global IT solution and service provider plans to collaborate with the smart city data firm, Telensa, on a street lighting project and its Urban Data Project.

SK Telecom has signed a series of deals in an effort to provide support for startups focused on smart city innovation in the region.

Huawei held their Global FSI Summit 2019 with its partners I Shanghai, China on Thursday where industry key players discussed the latest developments in FinTech.

The FTTH Council Asia Pacific crowned Singapore as the city with the most advanced Fibre-to-the-Home coverage in the region.

SenSen has announced the launch of their new app, Gemineye, which has been deemed the “world’s first” smartphone app powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) for smart cities.

According to the announcement, the initiative has recruited ten startups ot join the project in its first phase.

South Korean President, Moon Jae-in has said that he plans to export their smart cities after the construction of their two test-bed cities.

Shanghai has received an upgrade in energy efficient lighting. The connected architectural system will illuminate over forty of Shanghai’s iconic buildings throughout the city’s financial and tourist districts and three of its bridges.

Beijing has crowned itself as leader in Artificial Intelligence development with its newly opened AI park co-built by local government in the Haidian district and tech giant Baidu. This step aims to transform the Chinese capital into a global hub for tech innovation and Artificial intelligence and make Beijing, and the Haidian region in particular, a smart city.

Nokia has been selected by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to support the transformation of India's cities through intelligent infrastructure. Nokia will supply, install, commission and maintain the Smart Telecom Poles across India in all of BSNL's telecom circles.

Japanese car manufacturing colossus Nissan has announced that it has embarked on an innovative project which will see it deploy its Nissan LEAF batteries in a Japanese town.

China has announced plans to construct the world's first ever 'forest city' in an effort to combat global warming and air pollution. The highly ambitious project would see all buildings covered in plants and trees in a revolutionary move to alleviate the threat posed by global warming.

New Zealand's capital city Auckland has lit-up its iconic Harbour Bridge in an attempt to showcase its progressive approach towards finding smarter ways to power the city.

The Transportation Department in Hong Kong has deployed a new 'smart device' on a trial basis in an effort to help elderly citizens and those with disabilities to cross its busy urbanized streets.

PLDT, NTT Communications, PCCW Global, SoftBank, Facebook and Amazon have selected TE SubCom to install a high-capacity transpacific cable system scheduled to launch in 2020. TE SubCom, a TE Connectivity Ltd. Company, is an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology.

CompuDyne, a leading telecommunications solutions provider in Malaysia, is partnering with SES Networks to bring high quality and cost-effective cellular backhaul service to both East and West Malaysia and its surrounding rural islands.

New Zealand's largest telecom provider, Spark, announced the addition of a third mobile node or Evolve Packet Core (EPC), adding additional capacity and resiliency to its nationwide mobile network.

State-owned Indian Railways has announced that it is set to expand its agreement with Indian solar energy company Azure Power to extend the 'electrification' of the country's railways. The government-controlled public transportation firm has agreed a deal with Azure Power to introduce an additional 20 MWs of solar rooftop projects.

Singapore-based telecom provider Singtel announced that it will accelerate fibre-based service adoption for its business and residential customers. Currently, fibre-based networks deliver speeds of up to 100Gbps and provide the connectivity needed for Smart Nation envisioned by Singapore.

TM Forum, the industry association driving digital business transformation of the communications industry, today unveiled its City as a Platform Manifesto to accelerate the development of smart cities globally. Launched at this year's Smart City InFocus event in Yinchuan, China, all Manifesto signatories share a common desire to develop a new city-scale data economy that drives sustainability and inclusivity, by using digital platforms.

Spark, New Zealand's largest telecom provider, announced that Cromwell, a town in the South Island, has become the latest site in the country capable of getting the fastest mobile data, as 4.5G switched on in the Otago region. The Cromwell launch follows nine other 4.5G sites in New Zealand, making a total of 10 sites, with more on the horizon.

A Swiss multinational technology and smart grid solutions company has landed a lucrative contract for a 'smart metering' infrastructure project in India. Landis+Gyr, is recognized as being a visionary in smart grid solutions and is a global industry leader in metering solutions for electricity, gas water and energy.

Bluesky Cook Islands, the sole provider of fixed phone, mobile and broadband services to the Cook Islands, has increased the amount of satellite capacity it is using from SES Networks, in order to launch 4G+ service to Rarotonga and Aitutaki, the two key cities of the island nation.

The oldest city in the world is set to embrace technology that will transform its services in an effort to become a 'smart city'. The city of Varanasi, which is recognized as the holiest site for those who follow Hinduism is located on the Ganges Rivers in Northern India.

The New Zealand Government is investing $270 million to roll out Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) to 190 more small towns, and extend rural broadband to another 74,000 households and businesses, Communications Minister Simon Bridges said.

US search engine giant Google has formally announced its plans to launch its innovative free public Wi-Fi initiative in Indonesia following the success of the program in India. Google's Wi-Fi project is entitled Google Station and it has been heralded as a brilliant success in India, since debuting in the region eighteen months ago.

Vodafone Australia unveiled plans to deliver "much needed simplicity" and service innovation for customers connecting to the nbn ("Australia's new broadband network" replacing parts of the existing phone and internet infrastructure) in a bid to lift the fixed broadband experience in the country.

Dutch technology conglomerate Philips has introduced innovative 'smart lighting' which has illuminated one of China's largest bridges. Phillips Lighting Color Kinetics technology is providing the stunning visual lighting effects which can change up to 16.7 million colors.

A South Korean 'smart glass' solutions company has expanded its operations with the formation of a European firm that will be headquartered in the UK. G-SMATT, announced that the new European arm of the company will be called G-SMATT Europe and will be spearheaded by Dr. Orhan Ertughrul. The HQ for the firm will be in Oxford.

China Telecom's branch in Ningbo City, Zhejiang province, announced that Huawei will build the Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) network for the Ningbo Zhenhai smart refinery. Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co., Ltd. is a large holding subsidiary and key enterprise directly under China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation. The smart factory project is a major step in the enterprise information development.

Japan launched its third geo-positioning satellite into space on August 19, bringing the country closer to its goal of implementing a global positioning system (GPS) like the United States, to provide information for auto-piloting and also national security purposes.

Singapore has been ranked number one in a test of broadband speeds across 189 countries. The data was collected across 12 months ending May 10, 2017, by Measurement Lab (M-Lab), a partnership between New America's Open Technology Institute, Google Open Source Research, Princeton University's PlanetLab, and others.

Australian telecom operator Optus has announced a $20 million investment in its mobile network across the Gold Coast ahead of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018). As part of the investment Optus will build new mobile towers to improve coverage at Carrara Stadium (two sites), the Commonwealth Games Village, Currumbin and Main Beach.

Australian telecom operator Optus announced a further $17.5 million commitment to improve 4G mobile coverage in the Australian island state of Tasmania. The investment will deliver improved call quality and faster download speeds for mobile customers in and around the capital Hobart, Launceston, Devonport and Tasmania's east coast.

China has completed the first-phase of a massive energy project specifically aimed at solving the persist problem it has with air pollution in the country. The construction of a 250-acre solar farm which has been uniquely designed in the shape of a giant panda - also hopes to eliminate the country's dependence on coal.

Nokia and WorldLink are upgrading 650-km-long backbone network with Nokia's 1830 PSS (Photonic Service Switch) DWDM (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) technology to support bandwidth-hungry entertainment and enterprise services across Nepal. The intercity network stretches from Kathmandu to Bhairahawa and Birgunj, and provides international connectivity between Nepal and other countries including India.

Ericsson will build a Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) system for Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan’s largest integrated telecommunications services company, enabling the island to take its first steps toward joining the Internet of Things (IoT). Chunghwa Telecom will use the system to trial a range of IoT devices and applications in its laboratory.

InfiNet Wireless, the global leader in fixed broadband wireless connectivity, has provided seamless data transfer solutions to improve connectivity and enhanced safety in four of Thailand's major airports.

Nokia and China Mobile are deploying millions of home gateways to provide residential customers across 29 different provinces in China with access to fiber-based ultra-broadband applications and intelligent home services.

The Philippines will get its first ever subway system as part of a massive investment to overhaul and modernize the country's infrastructure. Controversial President Rodrigo Duterte has announced the initial details of its $100bn three-year development which he has claimed will kick off a 'golden-age of infrastructure'. The subway system set to be erected will be the most expensive of all the planned infrastructure projects estimated at a cost of 227bn pesos.

'Smart cities' is an area where Sterlite Tech is positioned to implement end-to-end integration with the help of Elitecore. In emerging markets, governments are behind in developing digital infrastructure and are therefore looking to adopt smart city agendas to leap forward. Sterlite Tech, according to Mr. Mehta, offers a wide spectrum of solutions and services to address smart cities.

PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, and Zhuhai Da Hengqin Technology Development Company (DHQ Tech) which is headquartered in Hengqin, China, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly turn Hengqin, one of China's Pilot Free Trade Zones, into a "Smart City", offering superior quality of life for its residents as well as an exciting and innovative business environment.

Hong Kong is one of the world's most beautiful places in the world to live - and is also one of the most innovative cities on the planet. However, it is not immune to problems, and like many other major cities across the world it has a real problem with housing.

EHang Holdings, a leading urban air mobility (UAM) technology platform company, has completed the demo flight for its pilotless passenger-carrying aerial vehicle, EH216-S, in downtown Shanghai.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH), via Indosat Business, has announced a strategic partnership with Xanh SM, a pioneer in electric vehicles from Vietnam. This collaboration aims to accelerate digital transformation and support sustainability initiatives by integrating Information and Communications Technology (ICT), the Internet of Things (IoT), and analytics to create smart mobility solutions. The partnership not only enhances operational efficiency and customer experience but also strengthens the eco-friendly vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia.

India’s demand for advanced batteries in the e-mobility sector is projected to require 300 GWh by 2030, according to Vimal Anand, Joint Secretary at India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The global intelligent transportation system (ITS) market is projected to reach USD 98.2 billion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.5% from 2023 to 2032, according to Allied Market Research.

Transportation will always remain vital for city dwellers. To meet the daily commuting demands of cities, local governments all over the world have commissioned as well as decommissioned various forms of public transport systems over the years in a bid to streamline traffic congestion. At the center of the public transport system is mid-range transportation, also called mid-tier transit, which includes the metro, bus rapid transit (BRT), light rail transit and monorails.

Taking their smart transport innovation a notch up, Japan is embarking on a noble concept of integrating the existing demand-responsive transport (DRT) system and mobility-as-a-service (MaaS). The testbed for the project will be the city of Nogata in the Fukuoka prefecture. MaaS is gaining prominence as a practical and workable solution for supporting initiative such as the United Nations 17 SDGs goals, specifically SDG 11, which focuses on sustainable cities and communities where transport systems play an important, if not an indispensable role.

Cities can be a key to a net-zero emissions future as digitalisation opens up a range of new opportunities. As per IEA’s Empowering Cities for a Net-Zero future report, urban transport accounts for 4 billion tonnes of CO2-eq, more than 40% of the transport sector’s total emissions. Urban mobility operators and authorities are constantly trying to find ways to make the transition of the transport sector from fossil-fuel to low-carbon modes. They are incorporating technology to integrate transport services that encourage commuters to use their cars less.

Hyundai Motor Company launched a global campaign, ‘Expecting Generation One,’ with the online premiere of a short film, signalling its commitment to fight climate change and achieve carbon neutrality to secure a habitable world for future generations.

Huawei has come up with its latest augmented reality head-up display (AR-HUD) solution. This solution turns the front windshield into a first-person view (FPV) display that integrates advanced technologies to deliver both safety and infotainment functions, creating an all-new driving experience.

With an aim to release most of its new commercial vehicles as all-electric or hydrogen fuel-cell electric models, Hyundai Motor Group plans to apply the hydrogen fuel-cell system to all of its commercial vehicle models by 2028, the company said in a statement. The company aims to increase the ratio of electrified vehicles to 80 percent by 2040 in global sales.

Chinese tech giants Huawei and GAC Group will work together to develop a "smart SUV", aiming to hit the market in mass production by the end of 2023.

As part of its $1 billion investment on researching self-driving and electric-car technologies, Huawei Technologies launched five automated-driving solutions, including one that uses its HarmonyOS operating system.

Huawei reportedly aims to invest over $1 billion in autonomous driving and electric car technologies. These include partnerships with automakers, driving the intelligent vehicle sector forward.

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing said on Thursday it has raised $300 million for its autonomous driving unit, tapping investors to expand its technological know-how in the field for a second time since last year.

Over the past few years, there’s been much speculation about drones and whether they are an asset or a peril to society. However, when it comes to the recent pandemic which has taken the world by storm, drones are being used for the greater good of humanity.

Singapore tops Oliver Wyman Forum’s inaugural Urban Mobility Readiness Index: How Cities Rank on Mobility Ecosystem Development. The index ranks 30 cities on how prepared they are to incorporate the latest mobility technologies and what they are doing to reshape urban mobility. The top five cities are Singapore, Amsterdam, London, Shanghai, and New York. Dubai ranks 19th and Riyadh ranks 26th globally.

Singapore, a renowned test-bed for self-driving vehicles, plans to launch a public trial of driverless buses which can be booked through an app.

Nokia and FAW Group signed an MoU to pursue a research project on smart connected cars, industrial IoT, digital transformation and smart manufacturing.

Volvo and Nanyang Technological University launched an autonomous electric bus in Singapore on Tuesday.

A Silicon Valley startup working on self-driving delivery vehicles announced nearly a billion dollars in fresh funding from the SoftBank Vision Fund. The $940 million in financing from SoftBank brought the total amount of funding raised by Nuro to more than $1 billion, with investors including Greylock Partners and Gaorong Capital, according to the company.

South Korea's largest telecommunications company has introduced new and innovative 5G services ahead of fully launching its next-generation wireless network in March.

Japan is recognized as one of the world’s leading pioneers when it comes to championing groundbreaking technologies - and it has just announced that it will deploy driverless buses on a trial basis at Tokyo Airport in preparation for the Olympic Games there next year.

South Korean telecommunications incumbent SK Telecom has been awarded a lucrative contract to build 5G infrastructure in an effort to support planned intelligent transportation system in Seoul.

Chinese AI firm SenseTime have opened an autonomous driving test course in Japan as part of its efforts to facilitate and support the development of multiple smart-driving technologies by conducting a series of road tests.

Nissan has unveiled its new electric car at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week.

South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai is globally renowned for its pioneering vision and championing of new technologies, and at CES 2019, it reinforced that viewpoint with an incredible new vehicle.

The Japanese city of Fukuoka is set to deploy autonomous pods that will transport its passengers across the Hakozaki area, for free, towards the end of next year.

Finnish telecommunications company Nokia has announced that it is collaborating with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) in an effort to aid the country’s first responders in areas struck by natural disasters.

Cubic Transportation Systems’ (CTS) contactless payment system has expanded to Sydney’s train network. Heralded as a “game-changer for transport”, it will give commuters a wider choice to pay for ticketing including credit cards, smart watches, wearables and other electronic devices.

Transport for New South Wales’ plans to roll out the new contactless payment system follows its success on ferries and light rail. In 2017, the Manly Ferry was the first to receive the open payment system in a trial started by the project. As of March this year, more than 235,000 trips have been taken using the contactless payment technology.

“Expanding contactless in Sydney is a game-changer for transport and represents one of the biggest advancements in ticketing technology in years,” said Tom Walker, senior vice president and managing director of CTS, Asia-Pacific.

“We’re very proud that Sydney is helping to lead the way by embracing new technologies to provide the best services possible for passengers.”

The system is based on ticketing technology Cubic pioneered with Transport for London. Following its success in Australia, some of the contactless technology, software and equipment developed for Sydney will also be included in other cities such as New York, Boston and San Francisco in upcoming Cubic projects.

Singapore has unveiled plans to test drones to complete manual tasks, which could see human workers replaced with AI within the next four years. In a country of just 5.6 million and relying heavily on foreign migrant workers, drones could be a solution to the manpower shortage.

Hydroid, Inc., a subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime and a leading manufacturer of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), announced that it received an order for a New Generation REMUS 6000 AUV from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science Technology (JAMSTEC) as part of the Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP): Innovative Technology for Exploration of Deep-Sea Resources. This initiative is within the framework of the Cross-Ministerial Programs undertaken by the Cabinet Office of Japan.

Recently, China Mobile Hong Kong Company Limited (CMHK) announced that it will partner with Huawei to build a 5G-ready comprehensive transport network covering 5G transport, enterprise private lines, and home broadband. This project marks CMHK's transformation from providing pure mobile services to fixed-mobile convergence (FMC) services, and strengthens the strategic partnership between Huawei and CMHK over network construction.

The two Japanese giants Toyota Motor Corp and SoftBank Group Corp announced their cooperation in developing mobility services for self-driving cars.

Transport for New South Wales awarded Cubic a USD 35 million contract to deliver to Sydney an advanced transport management system that will put the city on the map as a global leader in multi-modal transport management operations, said Matt Cole, Cubic president. The Intelligent Congestion Management Program (ICMP) contract is for a term of five years and seven months, with options for two three-year extensions.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, and the Datang Telecom Group, also known as China Academy of Telecommunications Technology (CATT), announced the first successful multi-chipset vendor interoperability of 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 14 C-V2X direct communications (PC5) Mode 4, which is also referred to as LTE-V2X.

China’s GCL, a leading solar equipment manufacturer, is considering to move into the electric vehicle sector, more specifically public transport and delivery vehicles, given its knowledge in energy, a step that will make it rise above its competitors in this industry.

Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Cloud has announced a partnership agreement with Autonomic which will see the entities collaborate to introduce a transportation mobility cloud (TMC) software that can be used to connect vehicles in China.

Chinese search engine colossus Baidu and the BMW Group has formally announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), under which the BMW Group will join Apollo, the open autonomous driving platform by Baidu, as a board member.

Ride-hailing firm Grab insisted its takeover of Uber's businesses in Southeast Asia has not substantially eroded competition in Singapore after a threat from the city-state's anti-monopoly watchdog to reverse the deal.

Hyperloop Transportation Technologies said it will team up with a southwestern Chinese city to build a new 10-kilometre (six-mile) track for its high-speed hyperloop transportation system.

The BMW Group continues to drive the expansion of electro-mobility as part of its Strategy NUMBER ONE > NEXT. To achieve this, the company is adapting its production structures to growing demand for fully and partially electrified vehicles. Just seven months after opening its battery factory in China, the BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture today laid the foundation for a comprehensive expansion of the plant. At the “High-Voltage Battery Centre Phase II”, BBA will produce the new, more powerful batteries of the fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology for the fully-electric BMW iX3. Starting in 2020, the BMW iX3 will be built at the neighbouring BBA plant Dadong.

US electric car manufacturer Tesla has informed its shareholders that it has entered into negotiations with officials in China in an effort to build electric cars and battery packs in Shanghai. Tesla which was founded by South African entrepreneur Elon Musk has come under fire in the US in recent months following a series of collisions, some fatal involving Tesla models.

Australia's transport ministers have formally announced that they will introduce new legislation that will pave the way for the formulation of new national driving laws for autonomous vehicles. As part of a co-ordinated and joint approach from a number of states and territories in the country - a new national law is expected to be drafted into place by 2020.

BMW Group has announced that it has officially obtained the Shanghai Intelligent Connected Autonomous Driving Test License.

British entrepreneur and founder of Virgin Group, Richard Branson has announced plans to construct an ambitious high-speed Hyperloop system specifically designed to revolutionize the transportation industry in India.

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

The world's largest mobile transportation platform Didi Chuxing has partnered with Chinese traffic management authorities to introduce its new innovative integrated solution for smart city traffic management in the country. The platform has been named as the DiDi Smart Transportation Brain.

South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company and multinational conglomerate Cisco has announced plans for a next-generation hyper-connected car that it hopes to officially unveil in 2019. In 2016, the companies announced that they had entered a strategic agreement in relation to a new approach to communication inside vehicles.

Singapore is set to embark on what it describes as a 'groundbreaking project' following the announcement that it will introduce two autonomous electric buses to the transportation fleet on the island by 2019.

Japanese car manufacturer Nissan is showcasing revolutionary brain-to-vehicle technology (B2V) at CES 2018 in Las Vegas.

A UK-based financial services firm has claimed that China has stolen a march on other countries, and will lead the global autonomous vehicle market, which is expected to be worth around $1 trillion by 2040. IHS MARKIT has suggested that China will spearhead the self-driving revolution and said that the country had already embarked upon a number of initiatives aimed at establishing itself as the major player in the emerging industry.

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.

A Taiwanese venture-backed start-up has agreed to partner with a leading Japanese investment company in an attempt to deploy its electric 'smart-scooters' in the technologically-driven country. Gogoro, which was founded in 2011, formally announced its agreement with global trading and business investment colossus Sumitomo Corporation.

South Korean conglomerate Samsung Electronics has announced that it intends to become a major player in the global race to develop autonomous driving technology. It has been claimed that Samsung will formally outline its strategy for the automotive sector at the Frankfurt Motor Show later this week.

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.

A Chinese city described as the country's most important 'smart city' has opened a new Sky-Rail monorail transportation solution which has been designed specifically to curb urban traffic congestion problems in the city. The Chinese city of Yinchuan opened the new Sky-Rail facility which was developed by Chinese sustainable technology colossus BYD. It's the company's first proprietary monorail transit solution.

India's government is adopting an aggressive approach towards its efforts to ‘electrify' all cars in the country by 2030. Reports emerging from India - is claiming that a new policy has been drafted by government officials which forces car manufacturers to begin making plans for electrification.

SK Telecom announced that its mobile navigation app 'T Map' is now powered by its artificial intelligence (AI) platform NUGU, named 'T Map X NUGU'. The AI-based navigation service allows drivers to use their voice to enjoy the existing navigation features as well as other useful features offered by NUGU.

Japanese telecom operator KDDI and Samsung Electronics announced the completion of a comprehensive set of 5G tests which demonstrate the viability and performance of 5G millimeter wave mobility solutions at speeds over 190km per hour which is the fastest record in the world. The successful results highlight the potential and capability of 5G to support a wide variety of future service scenarios.

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.

Nissan Motor and Renault have announced details of a joint venture it has established with Chinese automotive firm Dongfeng Motor Group. The primary objective of the joint venture between the three businesses is to develop and manufacture 'electric cars' in the country.

China has relaunched its fleet of high-speed bullet trains after capping speeds in 2011 following two tragic crashes that left 40 people dead. The top speed of the Fuxing or "rejuvenation" trains was capped at 300km/h after the accidents, but will now be increased to top speeds of up to 350km/h.

US car manufacturing colossus Ford Motor has announced that it is currently weighing up the prospect of entering into a joint-venture with Chinese automotive firm Zotye. The collaboration between both parties would see them combine their expertise in order to develop and manufacture electric vehicles under a new brand - in a bid to exploit the boom for electric cars in the world's leading auto market.

US self-driving company NuTonomy, has announced plans to launch a paid, commercial service in Singapore. The US startup publicly announced its plans last week, and believes it will be in a position to deploy its services in Singapore by the second quarter of next year.

Australian telecommunications incumbent Telstra has joined forces with the New South Wales government and a number of technology partners to launch the first driverless vehicle in the state. The consortium has begun trials on the autonomous car, which covers vehicle-to-pedestrian technology. It is expected that the trial will run over a two-year period at Sydney Olympic Park.

South Korean car manufacturing colossus Hyundai has confirmed that it is currently working on developing a 'long distance' electric car in an effort to compete with Tesla and other rivals in the electric automotive sector.

Japanese automotive manufacturer DENSO Corporation, along with Ericsson, Intel Corporation, Japanese telecom company NTT DOCOMO and Toyota announced that they have initiated the formation of the Automotive Edge Computing Consortium.

Chinese bike-sharing provider ofo and SoftBank Commerce & Service Corp. (SoftBank C&S) announced that the two have reached a basic agreement to collaborate on the deployment of ofo's global bike-sharing business in Japan.

Japanese multinational car manufacturer, Toyota Motor Corp has confirmed that it will begin its production of electric vehicles on a mass scale in China by 2019. In addition to this, the automotive colossus which is headquartered in Aichi, declared that the electric model it plans to produce will be manufactured for the Chinese market solely.

A Chinese firm is currently under investigation following reports its CEO tested a driverless vehicle on public roads. Baidu, which is China's equivalent to Google, is its biggest search engine provider in the country and the organization announced earlier this week that it intends to invest in self-driving technology.

India's government is currently examining ways in which it can reduce the growing problem of urban congestion in major cities across the country. The government has formed a federal think-tank, which is chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Prime Minsiter Modi has previously called for reduced car ownership and believes the use of private vehicles as shared taxis could be the ideal solution to India's traffic woes.

A Consortium of Chinese companies which are being spearheaded by China's search engine Baidu are leading the country's self-driving charge in the United States. Baidu is set to announce its first vehicle manufacturing partners for its self-driving software in the next few weeks.

A Chinese bicycle-sharing start-up has formally announced that it plans to expand its business into Japan. Beijing Mobike Technology has enjoyed incredible success since its inception - and its disclosure that it has set-up a subsidiary in the Japanese city of Fukuoka has cemented its status as one of the fastest-growing start-up companies in the world.

Japanese car manufacturing colossus Honda has centered its long-term strategy on the development of autonomous vehicles and electric cars - with the carmaker announcing its intentions to deploy autonomous cars in major cities by 2025. Honda Motor Co made a series of disclosures during a press briefing in which it outlined in detail its mid-term 'Vision 2030' strategy.

Toyota has invested 42.5 million yen into a project to develop a 'flying car' which they hope will be subsequently used to light up the Olympic flame for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games. Engineers showcased a demonstration of its 'flying car' at an event last week -and expressed their confidence that it will be able to design a model that will light the Olympic torch.

China has unveiled what many are predicting to be the future of urban transport – following the launch of a track-less train which runs on virtual rails. The project has been specifically designed to alleviate the issue of urban congestion - and is being tipped to be the long-term solution required to speed up public transportation in major cities across the world.

Government officials in Japan have announced its intentions to commercially deploy self-driving trucks by 2022. It's the country latest attempt to breathe new life into its ailing corporate sector. In addition to this, it further disclosed its plans to finalize the strategy to enable package delivery by drones by 2020.

On May 15, 2017, Ericsson signed an MoU with China Mobile's Government and Enterprise Customers Branch and Mobike for a smart travel partnership under the "Belt and Road" framework. The partnership is a response to the government's call for green travel and the "Belt and Road" initiative which aims to improve the overall service level of smart travel and drive the global collaboration and development of the bicycle-sharing industry.

South Korean multinational conglomerate Samsung has been given the green light to begin testing its self-driving technology on public roads in the country. The South Korean government gave the smartphone colossus permission to test out the new self-driving technologies it has developed. Samsung is the latest amongst a number of other companies that were granted approval to begin testing self-driving tech on the country's road.

Uber have announced that it will resume its ride-hailing services in Taiwan following a series of successful talks with island authorities. The US firm suspended its services in the region after being hit with a series of fines and penalties after government figures claimed that Uber was misrepresenting itself by claiming to be a technology platform and not a transportation company. However, after a number of ‘constructive talks' Uber have ended its two-month suspension on services in Taiwan.

South Korean car manufacturers Hyundai Motor Co have outlined plans to start developing its first dedicated architecture for electric vehicles in a clear attempt to challenge businesses like Tesla in what is a growing market sector for automakers. With that trend likely to continue Hyundai is expected to introduce a number of new products to the electric vehicle industry.

Chinese ridesharing platform Didi Chuxing has issued a real statement of intent to rivals following the organization's decision to open a research hub in US tech capital Silicon Valley. The Didi Labs center will be located in Mountain View, which is also the home of Google. A statement released by the Chinese company confirmed that it will research facility will focus on 'intelligent driving technologies'.

Researchers at an American University have embarked on a unique project aimed at establishing what exactly it will take for society to accept autonomous vehicles. Driverless cars are becoming a reality, but how can the innovative vehicles deal with life-or-death dilemmas. Can engineers create a model that is able to adapt accordingly when faced with critical decisions?

Honda has announced that it's set to create a concept and embark on a new development that will enable them to produce an Al-powered electric car that can incredibly generate its own emotions. It has also been disclosed that the Japanese manufacturer will unveil the NeuV experimental vehicle at the CES event in Las Vegas early next year.

127 years of triumph for the American General Electric (GE) might be facing today a spectacular fall.

Brian Beamish, Ontario’s privacy commissioner calls for the city to modernize its privacy laws to address the risks that are posed by smart city tech.

The World Economic Forum launched six Industry 4.0 Councils on Wednesday to aid policymakers and enterprises in leveraging emerging technologies whilst anticipating the social risks that could result from them.

Facebook has hired a new lawyer, Jennifer Newstead, a high-ranking US State Department Lawyer, who will oversee Facebook’s global legal functions amid pressure from regulators regarding its privacy policies.

US President Donald Trump and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have announced a number of new initiatives and projects that it believes will help accelerate its 5G network growth ambitions in the United States.

Uber has announced its initial public offering (IPO) to be released on Thursday and will make its market debut in May.

A newly elected US Governor is proposing radical new legislation that will tackle how data is controlled in Silicon Valley.

US President Donald Trump has expressed the need to invest in Artificial Intelligence and dedicate more pertinent resources and research in the framework of the American AI initiative under which, the administration will call upon government agencies to prioritize AI investments in R&D, increase access to federal data and models and train employees on AI-related skills.

US telecommunications behemoth Verizon has pledged its commitment to helping the environment in an effort to address climate change by investing $1bn in green-friendly projects.

Albuquerque, Austin, Denver, Orlando and San Antonio have all been selected as the final five winners of Bloomberg’s America Cities Climate Challenge.

The US city of Seattle has been named as the inaugural winner of Bloomberg's American Cities Climate Challenge, an ambitious program which helps cities achieve their environmental and sustainability goals.

The sun-drenched US state of California has pledged its commitment to protecting the environment by passing new legislation that aims to make the state have a 100% clean electricity grid by 2045.

The government of the Dominican Republic has announced that it will introduce a total plan on single-use plastic and Styrofoam in an effort to preserve and protect the stunning natural landscape in the Caribbean nation.

A new report by the International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates that investments in smart city initiatives will amount to more than $81bn globally in 2018, with Singapore, Tokyo, New York City, London and Shanghai as main investors.

Mexico has taken its first steps towards addressing its need to embrace digital transformation by launching a new tech hub in the city of Monterrey.

A number of leading financial institutions have expressed fears that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin could play a potentially disruptive role in the world's financial sector.

Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.7 trillion in 2018, an increase of 6.2 percent from 2017, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.

The smartest cities in the US have been formally announced following weeks of public voting in a survey conducted by IDC Government Insights. Over 3,000 votes were cast in the inaugural IDC Smart Cities North America. (SCNAA)

A comprehensive report compiled by Navigant Research has projected that the global market for smart city communication networks is set to increase annually from $5.bn in 2018 to $13.4bn by 2027.

Dallas has announced that it will pilot six new innovative 'smart city' programs aimed to improve connectivity and mobility issues in the city. The program is being spearheaded by the Dallas Innovation Alliance, which is a non-profit organization that brings the public and private sector together to design and execute a 'smart city' strategy for Dallas.