China’s CVC Testing Technology told the FCC that it welcomes the chance to speak with agency staff and answer questions as the commission examines revoking CVC's status as a certified testing lab (see 2509080058). “We note the positive momentum in U.S.-China relations, which has created an environment conducive to pragmatic dialogue and problem-solving,” said a filing posted Monday in docket 25-273.

Almost 9,500 attendees from 110 countries and territories attended the first Mobile World Congress for the Middle East and North Africa region last week in Doha, Qatar, GSMA said. The conference featured nearly 300 speakers and had more than 250 exhibitors and sponsors. The inaugural Ministerial Programme included 60 delegations from 49 countries and more than 10 intergovernmental organizations, GSMA said.

The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) objected to an FCC proceeding withdrawing its recognition as an accredited lab (see 2510170024). The academy also objected to instructions that it respond to an FCC complaint to the email address BadLabs25-267@fcc.gov. “In our view, the Commission’s move to revoke the accreditations of Chinese state-owned laboratories is primarily driven by political considerations rather than ‘security’ concerns” and is “unsupported by any evidence relating to quality or technical competence,” CAICT said in a filing posted Friday in docket 25-267.

WiFi NOW CEO & Chairman Claus Hetting slammed a recent opinion by the European Commission’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group that recommends using the upper 6 GHz band spectrum for licensed wide area coverage by carriers (see 2511170020). “Has the process of spectrum regulation in Europe finally lost its last semblance of legitimacy?” Hetting asked this week. “We can only speculate that the mobile industry knows very well that the upper 6 GHz band is largely useless for mobile -- and that the real tactic here is to keep the spectrum away from its rightful place, which is Wi-Fi.”

U.S-based DigitalBridge Group signed an agreement with KT, a Korean telecom carrier, to collaborate on next-generation AI data centers in Korea, the companies said Wednesday. The companies will explore developing “large-scale AI and cloud infrastructure in Korea, including AI factory–type data centers that could scale up to gigawatt facilities, requiring up to multi-billion-dollar investments.”

Businesses in eight countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region see the digital transformation as bringing “multiple benefits,” with improved security being “the top objective in five of the eight countries surveyed,” GSMA said in a report released Tuesday. Revenue-related goals “are deemed slightly more important” than cutting costs. The survey came as GSMA holds its first Mobile World Congress for the region in Doha, Qatar.

China will “further consolidate its 5G-Advanced leadership position” and has a “head start” on developing 6G technologies, but “progress may slow” due to “existing process limitations” in the country’s semiconductor production, said a TechInsights connectivity report released last week. “Huawei continues to diversify its portfolio of home-grown mobile RF technologies.”

Orange announced Tuesday the launch of Message Satellite, a service offered in partnership with Skylo that allows customers based in mainland France to send and receive SMS messages, as well as their geolocation, via satellite when mobile or Wi-Fi coverage is unavailable. The service is the first direct-to-device offering in Europe, the companies said. The offer is “available for Orange's 5G and 5G+ customers and will be initially proposed, on an exclusive basis, to those owning a Google Pixel 9 or 10 smartphone.” It will be available Dec. 11.

The Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency slapped an unnamed telecom operator with a 4.5 million euro ($5.2 million) fine for GDPR violations, it announced Nov. 14. The breaches related to "the transfer of personal data without a valid transfer instrument or transparent information to data subjects, the processing of copies of employees' identity cards and other documents without a legal basis, and the failure to perform appropriate prior checks on a [data] processor," the watchdog said.

GSMA on Monday welcomed an opinion by the European Commission’s Radio Spectrum Policy Group that recommends using the upper 6 GHz band spectrum for licensed wide area coverage by carriers. The opinion “marks a positive step toward building a robust spectrum roadmap for the launch of 6G in Europe,” GSMA said. “Europe needs to strengthen its position in quality, speed and resilience of mobile networks and to remain competitive against other major markets -- in particular East Asia, the Gulf and the USA.” In the U.S., the 6 GHz band is dedicated to unlicensed use.