Operators

Africell has launched commercial mobile services in Angola after months of delays, with ambitions to shake up the telecoms sector with more significant investments.  

India’s telecom minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw said in Lok Sabha (House of the People) that Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is planning to install 112,000 mobile towers across India to roll out 4G services.

Telecommunications giant MTN South Africa is investing ZAR 820 million (US$ 56 million) to modernise its network and deploy new infrastructure across Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces.

Lithuania’s regulator has unveiled plans for its 5G spectrum auction in the 3.5GHz band, revealing the starting price for airwaves. 

After months of delay, Africell has finally set a date for its Angola debut next month to become the fourth operator in the country.

The Government of India approved a revival plan for the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL).

Israel’s Ministry of Communications has approved Amphissa Holdings’ acquisition of a 27% stake in Partner Communications for US$300 million.

Vodacom South Africa MD Balesh Sharma is leaving the mobile operator after less than two years in the role. He has decided to pursue a new opportunity in Europe after two decades with Vodafone Group, the parent company.

UAE’s telecom major e& (formerly known as Etisalat) has announced a strategic partnership with Meta, the entity that houses Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram.

Trilogy International Partners has agreed to sell a majority stake in Bolivian operator Nuevatel to Balesia Group for an undisclosed fee.

Brazilian regional operator Copel Telecom has changed its name and is now called Ligga.

South African multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN said it will spend over ZAR 620 million (USD 42.25 million) in the largest province in the country Northern Cape and the country's judicial capital Free State on network expansion and 5G drive.

Singapore Telecom has monetised its 1.6% stake in Airtel Africa through a market placement, as part of a capital recycling strategy to focus on new growth areas.

Helios Towers has closed its acquisition of Airtel Africa’s towers in Malawi for a total of US$54.7 million.

Indian telecom service provider, Bharti Airtel announced the prepayment of INR 88.15 billion (USD 11.58 billion) to the Department of Telecom (DoT), Government of India, of deferred liabilities related to spectrum acquired in the auction of the year 2015.

Debuting Angolan operator Africell has ended network sharing negotiations with market leader Unitel, enabling it to finally launch full commercial services after months of delay.

MTN Group has announced plans to shake up its c-suite team in three African units to support a growth strategy through developing its fintech and fibre businesses.

Zain has chosen Huawei to accelerate its upgrade from 4G to 5G and advance into so-called 5.5G across its markets with plans to develop new use cases, as the two signed a memorandum of understanding.

Converge ICT, the telecommunication service provider in the Philippines, and ZTE plan to launch commercial 10-Gigabit-capable symmetric passive optical network (XGS-PON) infrastructure in South Luzon and the Visayas regions in the archipelagic country by May.

Thai operators True Corp and dtac have pushed ahead with their proposed merger and highlighted next month they will seek to overcome their next major hurdle in gaining shareholder approval. 

Philippine telecommunications company PLDT Home said that its revenue jumped 82% to PHP 33 billion (USD 630 million) driven by 1.13 million new fibre subscribers in 2021, despite COVID-19 lockdowns and natural disasters.

Fixed broadband providers in Ukraine are continuing to connect bomb shelters with fixed internet and Wi-Fi capabilities to keep citizens connected during the ongoing war in the nation.

Bite Lithuania (Bitė Lietuva), a telecommunications and media group in the Baltic region, has announced the commercial launch of Voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology, providing customers with improved voice quality and faster call connectivity.

United Arab Emirates-based operator group Etisalat (e&) has made an offer to increase its stake in Saudi Arabia’s Etihad (Mobily) in a deal that could be valued at up to US$2.12 billion.  

South African mobile communications company Vodacom Group said that it invested over ZAR 1 billion (USD 70 million) in the last financial year to enable connectivity for rural and urban communities in the Western Cape.

Orange Group is asking for a discount of €24 million from its acquisition of Telekom Romania Communications (TKR) shares from Greek operator OTE, months after completing the €265 million deal