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Tag - telecoms

 
 

TELECOMS

People watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 match between Japan and Brazil through their mobile phones, on a street in Tokyo on June 30.
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Jul 8, 2026
Japan mobile carriers to delay rollout of 060 prefix
In Japan, phone numbers with the existing prefixes of 090, 080 and 070 are running short as the number of mobile phone users continues to increase.
KDDI says it has not confirmed any secondary damage stemming from the data breach last month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 7, 2026
12 million email addresses and 7 million passwords breached in KDDI cyberattack
Affected users are expected to complete password changes and take other necessary measures within the next several days.
Increasingly more people in Japan now own more than one cell phone, which is leading to an expected shortage of mobile phone numbers.
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Jul 1, 2026
Japan adds new mobile phone number prefix amid expected shortage
The addition of the 060 prefix ¡ª in addition to the existing 090, 080 and 070 ¡ª will increase total cell phone numbers from 270 million to 360 million.
A ship lays undersea fiber-optic cable off a beach near Bilbao, Spain, linking Europe and the U.S.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Jun 24, 2026
Japan lays the groundwork for submarine cable resilience
Fiber-optic cables carry nearly all the world¡¯s data between continents.
KDDI has confirmed a cyberattack occurred on June 17 on its email system for internet service providers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 24, 2026
Information for 14 million email accounts possibly leaked in cyberattack on KDDI
The company said it would work with affected internet service providers to urge users to change their passwords, while continuing to investigate the extent of the damage.
A Border Guard helicopter and a Coast Guard patrol ship Turva seize a vessel suspected of a subsea cable breach in the Gulf of Finland last December.
WORLD
Jun 8, 2026
Finland tests early-warning system detecting threats to subsea cables
Baltic Sea undersea telecommunications cables, power connections and gas pipelines have been damaged in several incidents since Russia¡¯s full-scale attack on Ukraine in 2022.
Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Monday. Only one repair vessel for cables, owned by United Arab Emirates-based e-Marine, is currently in the Persian Gulf.
WORLD / FOCUS
May 21, 2026
Iran¡¯s threat to Strait of Hormuz submarine cables
Iran¡¯s threat to impose ¡°permits¡± on submarine fiber-optic cables passing through the Strait of Hormuz ¡°calls international law into question,¡± said a former French naval officer.
SoftBank will partner with South Korea¡¯s Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production of large-scale battery cells from the fiscal year starting next April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 11, 2026
SoftBank plans to make large-scale batteries for AI data centers
SoftBank Corp. will partner with South Korea¡¯s Cosmos Lab and DeltaX to enable mass production from the fiscal year starting next April, the firm said.
Domestically produced Jindallae mobile phones are displayed at a stall during the opening of the 24th Pyongyang Spring International Trade Fair at the Central Youth Hall in Pyongyang on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC
May 6, 2026
Pyongyang calling: North Korea shows off its own brand of phones
Diplomatically isolated and under sanctions over its weapons programs, North Korea has an aging manufacturing base that analysts doubt can make high-quality consumer technology.
GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath speaks during a keynote session at the 2025 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, on March 3. Badrinath says a memory chip shortage resulting from chipmakers prioritizing the artificial intelligence sector is hindering efforts to bring more people online worldwide.
BUSINESS / Tech
Apr 15, 2026
AI-driven chip shortage slowing efforts to get world online: GSMA
Chipmakers are producing fewer less-flashy chips that are used in everyday consumer electronics as they prioritize the lucrative artificial intelligence industry.
KDDI President and CEO Hiromichi Matsuda (left) bows in apology during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 1, 2026
KDDI says ?246.1 billion overstated via fictitious transactions
Eight KDDI executives, including President and CEO Hiromichi Matsuda, will return portions of their executive remuneration.
Japan was the first country in the world to adopt 3G, but this month, it cuts off access to the obsolete wireless network for good.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 28, 2026
With the end of 3G, Japan¡¯s beloved flip phones go dark
More than 500,000 users and their retro phones will lose access to the network from March 31.
The new service starting April 1 that aims to keep communication  infrastructure operational following emergencies such as disasters will be free to use and not require prior registration.
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Mar 20, 2026
Major phone carriers to launch ¡®Japan Roaming¡¯ for use in disasters
The aim of the new service is to ensure the communication infrastructure essential for life and economic activities remains operational during emergencies such as disasters.
Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina at the European Union leaders' summit in Brussels on Dec. 18
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Jan 5, 2026
Latvia police board vessel after Baltic Sea telecom cable breach
The ?Baltic Sea region is on high alert after a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Huawei and ZTE are banned from U.S. telecom networks as an "unacceptable risk" to national security.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 29, 2025
Huawei and ZTE seal 5G deals in Vietnam as China ties warm after U.S. tariffs
Hanoi¡¯s strengthening bonds with Beijing is stirring concern among Western officials, seven people with direct knowledge of the situation said.
An engineer climbs a 5G telecommunication network mast in Duesseldorf, Germany, in 2020. The European Commission is looking for ways to compel EU countries to align with the commission¡¯s security guidance on telecommunications equipment.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 11, 2025
European Commission seeks firmer line on EU use of Huawei and ZTE equipment
If an earlier recommendation to stop using high-risk vendors becomes a legal requirement, countries that don¡¯t follow the rules could face penalties.
Officials in South Korea have not given a timetable for the full restoration of disrupted services caused by a fire that broke out during routine maintenance in a server room at the state-run National Information Resources Service in Daejeon on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Sep 29, 2025
South Korea scrambles to restore digital services after server fire
Authorities said 62 government services had been restored of about 647 systems affected after a fire broke out at the state-run National Information Resources Service on Friday.
A U.S. Secret Service agent near a security checkpoint outside the United Nations headquarters in New York on Monday.
WORLD
Sep 23, 2025
Secret Service breaks up ¡®imminent¡¯ telecom threat in New York
Agents discovered more than 300 SIM card servers and 100,000 SIM cards at several locations within a 35-mile radius of New York City.
A demo of Taiwan's ¡°Beyond 5G LEO Satellite,¡± the island's first communication experimental satellite program made by the Taiwan Space Agency, is displayed during an event in Taipei in July.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Sep 20, 2025
Taiwan running out of time for satellite communications, space chief says
Wu Jong-shinn says the ¡°clock is ticking¡± for Taiwan to launch its own satellites to secure communications during a potential conflict with China.
KDDI has launched a new service that allows direct linkups between smartphones and the Starlink satellite communication network.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 18, 2025
In shift from price-cutting trend, Japan¡¯s telecom firms hike rates as costs rise
Desperate to ensure price hikes are accepted by subscribers, telecom carriers have improved their networks and service quality, and offered extra services.

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon

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