Operators Airtel Africa records profit gain Airtel Africa booked higher revenues and profits on the back of rising subscriber numbers and service uptake.
Investment India’s BSNL gets budget boost for infrastructure The Indian government is reported to have allocated 529.3billion rupees (about US$6.4 billion) in its recent budget for infrastructure installation and upgrades for both state-owned operators – BSNL and MTNL – this year.
Operators Vimpelcom sale cleared following amendments A Russian government commission has reportedly cleared Veon’s sale of its Russian unit Vimpelcom to the operator’s senior managers.
Operators Etisalat Egypt signs $132m financing deal for expansion plan Etisalat Egypt signed a financing agreement worth EGP4 billion (US$132 million) with the Commercial International Bank (CIB), a move to expand digital services and upgrade infrastructure.
Optical & Fixed Networks Liquid and Nokia delivering African fibre superhighway Liquid Intelligent Technologies is deploying Nokia’s transport network technology in a new terrestrial fibre route connecting Mombasa, Kenya to Johannesburg, South Africa.
Regulation NCC tells MTN Nigeria it can cut off indebted VAS providers Operator MTN Nigeria has been given permission by regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to disconnect a number of value added service (VAS) providers that have not paid their interconnect debts.
Operators Guinea-Bissau looking to sell stakes in Guine Telecom and Guinetel The government of Guinea-Bissau is reportedly reviving plans to divest stakes in state-owned Guine Telecom and Guinetel.
Operators PTCL reportedly preparing offer for Telenor Pakistan The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is preparing a non-binding offer for Telenor Pakistan pitching up to US$1.2 billion for the unit, reported local newspaper The News.
Regulation Tunisia launches second phase of white spots coverage project Tunisia’s Ministry of Communication Technologies has announced plans to launch the second phase of its white spots (areas that are currently uncovered) coverage project.
Optical & Fixed Networks ONATi taps Intelia and Ciena to boost connectivity in French Polynesia French Polynesian operator ONATi - a subsidiary of the OPT French Polynesia Group - has selected Intelia and Ciena to increase the capacity of the Honotua international submarine cable to 300Gb/s.
Investment SPL receives HAPS investment from Indonesia’s Protelindo PT Profesional Telekomunikasi Indonesia (Protelindo), the largest telecommunication infrastructure company in Indonesia, has invested in UK-headquartered Stratospheric Platforms Limited (SPL), which seeks to provide high-bandwidth telecoms network coverage from the stratosphere using...
Operators 4iG completes buy of Vodafone Hungary Hungarian operator 4iG and the government sealed the acquisition of Vodafone Hungary, a major move in a series of acquisitions to mount a challenge against market leader and Deutsche Telekom–owned, Maygar Telekom.
Wireless Networks Vodafone Oman and Ericsson demo successful 5G SA test call Operator Vodafone Oman and vendor Ericsson say they have carried out a successful test call that will pave the way for the commercial introduction of 5G standalone (SA) voice and data services for Vodafone subscribers in the Sultanate.
Vendors US blocks licensing tech to Huawei as full sales ban is mooted The US is reportedly considering a total ban on sales by domestic firms to China’s Huawei.
Enterprise Ecosystems Skyvera acquires STL’s BSS unit India’s STL (Sterlite Technologies Limited) is divesting its support, monetisation, networking, and analytics solutions business to Skyvera.
Regulation Roaming charge reform between Chile and Brazil is on hold The long-awaited end of charges for roaming between Brazil and Chile is not happening after all – or at least not yet.
Wireless Networks Ratings agency asks whether India’s towers can manage 5G Could the rollout of 5G services across India by operators be slowed without heavy investment in tower connectivity? That appears to be the question asked by ratings agency ICRA, which suggests that some three trillion rupees (about US$36.7 billion) will need to be spent over the next four to...
Operators Vodacom hails Vodafone Egypt for immediate revenue lift Vodacom Group reported a revenue increase of 14.8% to ZAR30.7 billion (US$1.76bn) driven by the recent acquisition of Vodafone Egypt.
Operators Grameenphone revenue up despite SIM ban and falling profits Bangladesh’s Grameenphone has recorded increased year-on-year revenue for its seventh consecutive quarter, shrugging off a months-long government-imposed...
Operators Bite Lithuania hails record 5G speeds ahead of launch Bite Lithuania hailed 5G data speeds up to 2.679Gbps, which it claimed bested rival records, as the operator edges closer to launching its commercial network for smartphones next month.
Operators Telecom Egypt acquires spectrum for $125m Telecom Egypt acquired 5MHz of spectrum in the 1,800MHz band for US$125 million as the operator looks to support rising traffic on its network.
Enterprise Ecosystems BSNL moves into the private 5G network space State-owned Indian operator BSNL has apparently partnered Echelon Edge, a global information technology and system integration company. The aim? To set up private 5G networks.
Satellite Networks MEASAT and Parcel365 collaborate on Malaysian rural initiative Malaysian rural broadband service provider MEASAT has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Parcel365, an app-based platform that allows consumers and sellers to send and receive parcels 24/7.
Satellite Networks YahClick and Canar to bring improved satcom services to Sudan YahClick, the data solutions subsidiary of UAE-headquartered satellite operator Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), has signed a US$15 million six-year strategic partnership agreement with Canar Telecommunication Co of Sudan, further expanding YahClick’s satellite broadband...
Optical & Fixed Networks Turks and Caicos Islands to build national fibre ring The government of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) has embarked on a national fibre ring project that will connect to the Arcos-1 system.
Regulation India’s DoT queries operator applications for cable landings India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has cautioned several operators for applying for authorisation to land submarine cable systems in which they hold no stakes.
Regulation Zimbabwe blames energy crisis for poor network quality Zimbabwe’s telecoms regulator stated prolonged power blackouts are causing multiple network issues in the country.
Operators IOH nears full nationwide network integration Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) said it is nearing complete nationwide network integration, a move that will boost coverage and customer experience.
Regulation Niger scraps tax on incoming international calls - again Niger’s government will abolish the tax on incoming international traffic (Taxe sur la Terminaison du Trafic International Entrant, TATTIE), according to reports in Agence Nigerienne de Presse.
Devices & Platforms Smartphone shipments in China plunge to a record low Smartphone shipments declined below the 300 million mark for the first time in a decade, due to a weakening economy and dipping consumer demand.
Regulation Argentina to roll out biometrics rule for SIM transfers Argentina’s telecoms regulator will roll out a new rule demanding operators register customer biometrics when switching to new SIM cards, a move to boost security for subscribers and curb SIM hijacking.
Devices & Platforms Urguay’s Antel works with VMware on cloud-supported use case-driven trial Antel, the leading mobile operator in Uruguay, is working with VMware, a provider of multi-cloud services for all apps, for a use case-driven trial using the VMware Telco Cloud Platform to support a proof of concept (PoC).
Devices & Platforms India announces home-grown mobile OS India seems to have taken the self-sufficiency theme to another level with a home-grown mobile operating system developed at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. It’s called BharOS (Bhar is short for Bharat, or India).
Operators Russia reportedly objects to Veon exit The Russian government has reportedly objected to operator Veon planning to join a raft of companies in selling off assets in the country and exiting the market.
Data Centres & Networks Uzbektelecom signs up NEC, NTT, IIJ for data infrastructure push Uzbekistan's state-owned operator Uzbektelecom has signed a new infrastructure agreement with four Japanese firms - Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ), NEC, NTT and Toyota Tsusho.
Operators Mafab finally launches 5G services in Nigeria Nigerian operator Mafab Communications met its deadline extension and finally launched 5G services after months of delay.
Mobile Finance Zain Cash Iraq adds Western Union to its mobile money offering Electronic financial service ZainCash Iraq has announced the launch of Western Union international money transfer services through the ZainCash mobile application, enabling customers in Iraq to connect to more than 200 countries and territories.
Operators Vodafone Idea bolsters rural retail strategy Vodafone Idea (Vi) showcased how it opened nearly 1,100 retail shops across 18 Indian states in the last three months, a move to serve growing demand in rural locations.
Regulation Tanzania grants mobile users two more weeks to verify SIM cards The Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has pushed back its original SIM verification deadline from 31st January to 13th February 2023.
Investment Latin American giant Millicom is a takeover target It’s being widely reported that Millicom International Cellular, the Latin American telecommunications company, is a takeover target.
Vendors Nokia spotlights India as highlight in Q4 results Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark hailed India as a “highlight” in its recent financial results with the company forecasting more growth and market share gains in 2023.
Operators Globe Telecom blocks 2.7bn fraud messages, calls Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom blocked 2.72 billion fraudulent calls and messages in 2022, more than double the 1.15 billion figure from 2021.
Mobile Finance MTN and Ecobank launching loan offering with Optasia in Guinea Fintech provider Optasia is launching a microloan service in Guinea with pan-African Ecobank and MTN, via the latter’s MoMo (Mobile Money) service.
Mobile Finance South African fintech and Zimbabwean bank target remittance market Mama Money, a South African fintech that offers cross-border money transfer and banking services, has partnered with AFC Commercial Bank, a market leader in Zimbabwe with a reliable and robust payout network.
Satellite Networks Argentina’s ARSAT takes delivery of satellite-based IoT solution Satellite communications company ST Engineering iDirect has delivered its flagship Internet of Things (IoT) solution to ARSAT, the national telecommunications company of Argentina.
Operators Poland fines broadband provider for illegal price hike Polish broadband provider Vectra was slapped with a PLN22 million (US$5m) fine for illegally raising subscription fees by Poland's consumer watchdog, which stated the company had taken advantage of consumers.
Wireless Networks NOW taps Nokia for 5G design in the Philippines Filipino operator NOW Telecom has selected Nokia’s Bell Labs Consulting to design a nationwide 5G Standalone (SA) network, and to design and plan a national broadband network.
Data Centres & Networks Namibian Roads Authority migrates data to new Paratus data centre Paratus, described as a full-service network spanning the African continent and connecting customers internationally, has welcomed the Roads Authority (RA) of Namibia as the latest client of its recently opened Paratus Namibia Armada Data Centre in Windhoek.
Revenue & Billing Ooredoo Kuwait works with Ericsson to upgrade billing system Operator Ooredoo Kuwait has partnered with Ericsson to implement Ericsson Billing across its network. The billing system upgrade has, Ericsson says, enabled 5G evolution across Ooredoo Kuwait’s network and supported it in developing competitive marketing strategies for a variety of 5G...
Energy & Sustainability American Tower Corporation expands solar energy support for fibre American Tower Corporation a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multitenant communications real estate, says it plans to expand its solar energy park in order to support the sustainable expansion of its neutral fibre optic network in Brazil.
