Operators

January 2021 saw Vodafone Idea (Vi) register its first monthly increase in subscribers for over a year, amid a broader nationwide trend towards subscriber growth.

The woes of state-owned Indian operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have apparently deepened after a request to use 4G core technology from established names for a future rollout was turned down.

A Zimbabwean union of communications workers is calling for the beleaguered state-backed mobile firm Telecel to enter receivership or a corporate rescue process.

The situation regarding the merger of India’s state-run telecommunications operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has become a touch more complex.

United Group is reportedly weighing up whether to remove equipment manufactured by Huawei from its networks.

The Philippines’ newest operator DITO Telecommunity has been awarded a 25-year operating franchise after the Senate committee on public services approved the move.

Slovenian operator T-2 has filed a new damages claim against Telekom Slovenije, accusing the market leader of abusing its dominance.

Vodafone Fiji, the dominant mobile operator in the country, has announced two firsts: one involving digital SIMs, the other concerning the arrival of Wi-Fi in a remote area of Fiji.

Senegalese operator Expresso has been granted a 4G licence by the country’s regulator ARTP (L’Autorite de Regulation des Telecommunications et des Postes).

Cellnex is acquiring 99.99% of Polish tower company Polkomtel Infrastruktura from its parent company Cyfrowy Polsat for €1.6 billion.

Serbian internet service provider SBB has called on regulator RATEL and the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications to auction 5G spectrum.

Slovakian cellcos 4ka and Orange Slovakia have both revealed that they expect to launch commercial 5G services by April.

DITO Telecommunity has set 8th March as its commercial launch date after passing a technical audit conducted by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

Chile’s final tiebreaker auction for 5G spectrum has seen Entel, Movistar and WOM emerge victorious.

The Vilnius Regional Administrative Court will evaluate an initially dismissed complaint from Telia Lietuva against the regulatory clearance granted to rival Bite’s acquisition of state-owned broadband provider MEZON’s spectrum.

United Group is set to acquire 100% of the share capital of the Bulgarian operators Net1 and ComNet Sofia.

Further reminders of the growing relevance of mobile operators to major industries come from the mining business in Brazil and the offshore oil business in Azerbaijan.

Russia’s MegaFon has formed a new joint venture with the government of Uzbekistan that will assume control over Ucell, formerly a unit of Telia.

Israel’s Cellcom has filed a lawsuit in the Tel Aviv District Court accusing its rival Xfone of illegally terminating their network sharing agreement.

Senegalese regulator ARTP (L’Autorite de Regulation des Telecommunications et des Postes) has formally warned Expresso Telecom that it must improve its services or face being stripped of its operating licence.

There’s been a lot of interest from the African press recently in the news that online payments services company JamboPay has obtained a license to operate as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in Kenya.

It’s official. African mobile technology company Africell has confirmed that it has finalised a deal that will give it a mobile telecommunications operator’s licence in Angola.

Russian leading operator MTS secured a seven-year $300 million loan from the New Development Bank (NDB) to fund network and cloud infrastructure development projects.

Jamaica could potentially see new operator Rock Mobile enter its telecoms market with a former banking executive at the helm after enquiries were made with the country’s regulator on new entrant market conditions.