Operators

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

Sri Lankan telecommunications service provider Dialog Axiata has laid claim to being the first company in South Asia to successfully trial standalone 5G (5G SA) networks.

The Turkey Wealth Fund has acquired 55% of shares in Turk Telecom from LYY Telekomunikasyon (LYY), a consortium of banks, for US$1.65 billion.

Nokia announced that it has successfully completed a trial on high-speed fibre optics (25 Gb/s) with Hrvatski Telekom (HT), which belongs to the Deutsche Telekom Group (DTAG).

Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTCL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with technology giant Huawei for the deployment of FTTH (fibre to the home), fixed wireless network (4G), and countryside deployment and expansion of mobile network and the fixed network.

Airtel Nigeria has announced the milestone of upgrading its entire footprint of cell sites to 4G.

STC Bahrain has launched a Chainlink node through which it will provide smart contracts – and it is claiming a first for major telcos in the MENA region.

South African operator Telkom has experienced mixed fortunes over the past 24 hours. It has been one of the two early winners (along with fixed wireless access operator Rain Networks) in South Africa's mobile spectrum auction but, within the same day, has been forced to delay a planned sale of its tower unit.

MTN Group reported a boost to revenue and profit as the operator pledges to invest to increase capacity in data and mobile money services.  

Vodafone Oman commemorated the official launch of its operations on Sunday (March 6) at the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM). 

MTN Ghana has continued to make progress in making good on a agreement with the government, to increase the ownership of its Scancom and MobileMoney operations.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has approved Airtel Kenya’s application to replace its temporary licence with a new 10-year permit for 2×10MHz of spectrum in the 2100MHz band.

Brazilian operator TIM Brasil and Huawei have signed a cooperation agreement to develop the fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) in Curitiba, the capital and largest city in the Brazilian state of Parana.

Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nokia to develop the experience of its 5G technology across the Kingdom.

Australia’s Telstra has been cleared to acquire Digicel Fiji by the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC).

Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) has signed an Open RAN (Radio Access Network) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at increasing momentum for the technology and its solutions in the region, alongside other leading Middle East Operators.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and industry group the GSMA, which represents mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, have signed an agreement to advance the mobile industry in India.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, the leading Indonesian service provider, has been looking back on a busy MWC 2022 in which, it says, it has succeeded in strengthening its collaborations with strategic partners, including Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia.

Vodacom, the South Africa-based connectivity, digital and financial services company, has announced the launch of Africa's first Amazon Web Services (AWS) Outposts Innovation Lab in collaboration with AWS and Intel.

O-RAN activity continues to ramp up. Now a group of Middle East operators has established the region’s first open RAN centralised test lab in collaboration with the industry group the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and technology company Intel.

Mexican quad-play (cable television, broadband internet, fixed telephony and mobile telephony) operator Megacable has come to an agreement with AT&T Mexico whereby it will to be able to use AT&T’s network.

Finnish multinational telecommunications major Nokia and Saudi Telecom Company (stc) have announced the successful completion of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region’s first trial of a 1-Terabit high-capacity channel.

The UAE’s biggest telecom services provider, Etisalat Group, has launched a new brand identity. It’s called e&.