Operators

Indian telecom operator Bharti Airtel on Friday said it has paid INR 15,519 crore (GBP 1.5bn) to the government towards prepayment of its entire deferred liability of spectrum acquired in the 2014 auction.

Brazilian telecommunications operator Algar Telecom has launched a commercial Non-Standalone (NSA) 5G service using its newly acquired 2.3GHz spectrum.

Indonesian digital telco PT Indosat Tbk (Indosat Ooredoo) announced the launch of 5G commercial services in Balikpapan.

Indian multinational telecommunications services company Bharti Airtel (Airtel) has announced the roll-out of Avanseus’ predictive maintenance (PdM) solution across its operations.

Ooredoo’s flurry of recent agreements continues. As well as an FWA agreement with Nokia and a payment technology agreement with i2c, the international communications company operating across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia recently announced a massive group-wide deal with Huawei.

Samsung Electronics and the Vietnamese multinational telecommunications company Viettel announced that the companies have started 5G commercial trials in Da Nang, the largest city in the Central Vietnam region.

Employees of Lebanon’s two state-owned mobile operators Alfa and Touch commenced a strike yesterday (13^th December).

Indian telecom operator Vi (formerly Vodafone Idea) announced its partnership with Hungama Music to launch premium music streaming offering through the dedicated Vi app.

Telenor Pakistan has signed the GSM licence renewal template created by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) “under protest and without prejudice” to maintain continuity of its services.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has awarded a grant to Smart Communications, the mobile unit of PLDT, to help the operator extend its 5G offering to 96% of the Philippines’ population.

Operator AT&T Mexico has announced the start of deployment of its 5G network in the country. It also says it has plans to connect the first 50 mobile devices to the network, in order, it suggests, to test the browsing experience.

Indonesia’s Telkomsel is reportedly planning to sell further tower assets to Mitratel, the tower unit of its parent firm Telkom Indonesia.

Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) has announced that it partnered with Nokia to demonstrate network slicing over the 5G standalone (SA) network.

South African mobile communications company Vodacom has reduced out-of-bundle roaming data speeds on partner networks around the world by up to 88%.

Infrastructure firm Equinix has acquired West African data centre and connectivity solutions provider MainOne as it seeks to expand into the region.

South African multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN announced the launch of two new MyMTN Home Uncapped speed-based plans on 5G, promising fast data speeds, low latency, increased reliability, and good coverage.

MTN Uganda is today proceeding with the listing of its 22.4 billion ordinary shares on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE), with trading commencing immediately.

MTN Cote d'Ivoire (MTNCI), a subsidiary of South Africa-based MTN Group, is currently conducting a pilot phase of 5G in the West African country with beach resorts and rainforests.

Vodafone Qatar has announced its latest milestone in the development of its GigaNet 5G network, with the completion of Qatar’s first successful trial on the millimetre wave (mmWave) spectrum.

Polsat Plus Group in Poland has officially announced the completion of the merger of its two mobile network subsidiaries, Polkomtel, trading under the Plus brand, and Aero2.

Veon has closed the sale of its Russian mobile towers to local firm Service-Telecom, a partner of VimpelCom’s Beeline, for RUB70.65 billion (US$957 million).

The state-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced the rollout of its 4G services across the country by September of next year and will generate around INR 9 billion in revenue, said local media reports.

Vodacom Business, a Pan-African Information, Systems, Technology and Communications service provider to enterprises across the continent, has expanded its Cloud Connect offering to support businesses across Africa.

DirecTV Argentina, now owned by local holding company Grupo Werthein, has signed an agreement with the Argentinian telecommunications service provider Metrotel to expand its fibre to the home network in the Buenos Aires province.

Telecommunications companies in Asia’s emerging markets may face higher spectrum liabilities, but it would have limited immediate impact on their liquidity and cash flow, said a report.

Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) announced that its IP Transit service is now available on Manama-IX (MN-IX), the Bahrain-based internet exchange that interconnects global carriers, local and international operators.

Qatari multinational telecommunications firm Ooredoo Group and Nokia signed two agreements as part of a strategic partnership intended to drive Ooredoo’s digital transformation and enhance experiences for its customers.

A consortium of Israeli businesses has made an offer of US$300 million for S.B. Israel Telecom’s 27% stake in local operator Partner Communications.

Indian multinational telecommunications services company Bharti Airtel has conducted India's first 5G trial in the 700 MHz band with mobile and telecom equipment manufacturing company Nokia.

Indonesia-based mobile telecommunications services operator PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) continues to increase network capacity by applying the latest Smart Massive MIMO technology in collaboration with Huawei.

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has cleared MTN Group to sell shares in its local unit via a series of offers.