Operators

Fast Telecommunication (Fasttelco), an internet service provider (ISP) in Kuwait, has announced the launch of new fibre-optic internet speeds of 200 Mbps within its fibre residential areas in the country.

PT XL Axiata, an Indonesia-based mobile telecommunications services operator, said that the total number of base transceiver stations (BTS) on air reached more than 162,282, with 4G BTS increasing to 77,204, as LTE coverage increased to 458 cities/municipalities in the country.

It appears that Syria has finally awarded the third mobile telecommunications licence it has been promising to deliver for over ten years.

Makedonski Telekom claimed to beat rivals to the punch by launching the first commercial 5G network in North Macedonia.

Turkcell announced revenues grew  23.4% to TRY35.92 billion (USD2.64 billion) in full-year 2021 results which were supported by ‘upsell efforts, price adjustments, and subscriber growth as well as the contribution of the fintech business, international operations, and equipment sales’.

The respective boards of True Corp and dtac have approved a proposed merger of the companies’ Thai mobile operators, leaving the market with just two major players.

Airtel Kenya has reportedly resolved a seven-year dispute with the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) over its operating licence in an out of court settlement.

South African mobile communications company Vodacom Group announced that it has invested over ZAR 450 million (USD 30 million) into the network and power backup upgrades across the Mpumalanga, a province in eastern South Africa, during the current financial year (1 March 2021 to end February 2022). 

Telia Lithuania will begin switching off 3G networks from next month as the operator aims to shut down the network entirely by Christmas this year to satisfy rising customer data demands.

South African mobile operator MTN says it is on the lookout for 150 digital experts to ensure it keeps pace with growing digital demand.

Saudi ICT infrastructure firm Tawal is making a full acquisition of Pakistani tower company AWAL Telecom from its shareholders.

Philippines operator Smart Communications has announced that it has expanded the 5G roaming, serving customers in forty-five countries worldwide.

Pan-African telecommunications service provider Seacom is acquiring selected infrastructure assets from Africell in Uganda.

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom recorded a “massive” boost in monthly data traffic on its 5G network last year, showing the fruit from its major investment into its network last year.

Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) has become the first telecommunications company in the Middle East region to launch the AMS-IX (Amsterdam Internet Exchange) service, Manama-IX Reseller Service.

Customers of Ugandan operator Smile Communications have reportedly been unable to access its services for several days.

Fledgling Philippines-based operator Dito Telecommunity announced more than PHP50 billion ($971 million) has been attained and will be pumped into expanding its network this year.

Brazilian regional telecom operator Copel Telecom has acquired Curitiba-based ISP and data centre provider Nova Fibra from ABL group in a deal valued at BRL500 million (US$ 94.7 million).

Zimbabwe operator Telecel announced its network is back to full working operation and rebuffed rumours it was shuttering due to debt, as customers experienced service outages due to expired licenses.

Bharti Airtel subsidiary Airtel Africa reported profit after tax almost doubled to $514m as revenue grew by 21.7% to $3.4 billion.

Sri Lankan mobile network operator company Bharti Airtel Lanka has tested 5G infrastructure over a commercial network and recorded the highest ever Internet speed in the country.

Ooredoo Maldives has announced the appointment of Khalid Al-Hamadi as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Saudi Arabian operator Zain announced the rollout of the Kingdom’s first 5G standalone (SA) network in a bid to attract partners with ambitions to develop projects in vertical technologies such as IoT, AI and robotics.  

Telecom Italia Brazil has appointed its fourth permanent CEO naming Alberto Griselli as its head, a role which was vacated when Pietro Labriola was unanimously appointed as group CEO.

Israeli solutions provider of 5G wireless transport Ceragon Networks announced that it has signed a deal with the Nigerian multinational telecommunications company Globacom to further expand its network and enable it to maintain its cutting-edge technology.

Indian state-run provider BSNL looks set to begin offering commercial 4G this year following years of delays.

Brazilian regulator Anatel unanimously approved the sale of Oi’s mobile unit Oi Movel to a consortium of its former rivals in a vote held on 31^st January.

Indian multinational telecommunications services company Bharti Airtel Limited has announced an agreement to acquire an approximate 25% equity stake in Bengaluru (Bangalore) based technology start-up, Lavelle Networks.

Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) has seen a 17.7 percent decrease in net profit in 2021 as COVID-19 driven repercussions weighed on revenues.

Almost three years after acquiring Telenor’s operations in Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia, PPF Group has confirmed that it will stop using the Norwegian group’s branding from 1^st March 2022.

Earlier this week, Latvia’s Public Utilities Commission SPRK closed its tender of 1.5GHz spectrum without confirming the results. Bite Latvia has now stated that it will acquire spectrum in the 1432MHz-1452MHz range for EUR200,000.