Operators

Regional Brazilian operator Sercomtel announced a voluntary layoff plan with the aim to reduce its 456 staff by 50%, as part of urgent plans to reduce massive debt and ensure the survival of the company.

State-run Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is aiming to launch a “pre-commercial” 5G service using 3.5GHz spectrum by mid-2021.

Thailand’s Central Administrative Court has ruled that state-owned operator TOT must pay market leader AIS a total of THB1.35 billion ($45 million) relating to a revenue sharing concession.

It’s been a little more than 15 months since we reported that two major Indian service providers were to merge. Now it looks like the merger – between fixed and mobile service providers Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) – has been shelved.

Fitch Ratings has reiterated its prediction that Airtel Lanka will seek a merger with – or to be acquired by – a rival, given the overwhelming amount of CAPEX investment required to remain competitive in an aggressive market.

Nokia and China Mobile announced the successful trialing of AI-powered RANs to predict bandwidth traffic and detect network anomalies, showcasing technology to automate networks that could drastically reduce reliance on human resources.

India’s government is looking to sell its entire 26.12% stake in Tata Communications before the end of the current fiscal year.

Cuba’s state-run operator ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba) has affirmed its goal of delivering fixed, wireless or mobile broadband to all districts in the Havana province before the end of 2021.

Philippines operators PLDT revealed a surge in mobile download speeds since 2017, with more plans to invest and bolster its networks in the pipeline.

Tower One Wireless has stated that it has 75 new cell sites under construction across Latin America.

Vodafone and Russian operator MTS announced an extension of an existing strategic partnership through to 2023, as part of plans to further streamline operations.

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom reportedly announced plans to upgrade 3G infrastructure to 5G-ready 4G systems in several locations on the islands of Visayas and Mindanao, continuing its mass connectivity upgrade programme.

Swedish equipment vendor Ericsson was chosen by Taiwanese operator Asia-Pacific Telecom (APT), to modernise its national 4G network with non-standalone 5G-ready equipment and services.

As part of its commitment to ensuring access to affordable broadband connectivity in Africa’s underserved populations, Tizeti, which describes itself as West Africa’s pioneer solar-based internet service provider, is rolling out its LTE network in Nigeria’s Edo State.

Investment company Scale Capital was reportedly considering a mobile services launch, following up to its recent acquisition of DirecTV's broadcast business.

Debt-troubled South African operator Cell C has started the process of migrating customers to its roaming partners’ tower infrastructure as it prepares to switch off its own radio access network.

The government of Pakistan has renewed the licence of state operator PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited) for a further 25 years.

The new chief executive of Telecom Namibia, Stanley Shanapinda, announced the operator will look to leverage its current footprint and strike network sharing agreements with rivals to tap into new locations in its pursuit of growth in the country.

Vodafone’s Indian unit Vi completed re-farming its 3G spectrum to enhance 4G connectivity in eleven cities in the region of Gujarat, and deployed an additional 5MHz of 2,100MHz band spectrum.

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom awarded Gilat Satellite Networks a multi-million-dollar contract to expand the operator’s cellular backhaul through satellites, a move designed to upgrade Globe’s nationwide coverage.

Philippines-based operator DITO Telecommunity expressed confidence in passing a first government technical audit of its network which begins next week (January 7), to stay on course for its March launch.

Mexico’s Movistar has completed the first phase of it network migration initiative, under which it has connected subscribers across several states to infrastructure operated by AT&T Mexico.

In the latest step towards a full merger between India’s state-owned operators, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has assumed control over the Delhi and Mumbai mobile networks of its sister firm MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited).

Vodafone’s Albanian unit pledged to invest €100 million into upgrading its fixed infrastructure, after being given the final go-ahead to merge with internet service provider ABCom by the Albanian Competition Authority.

Etisalat Misr, Telecom Egypt and Vodafone Egypt will receive half of the acquired spectrum in the 2,600MHz band within the next three months, as all three operators push on with plans to upgrade connectivity services.

Nokia and Saudi operator Zain expanded their 5G partnership by deploying  60,000 units of the vendor’s FastMile 5G Gateway wireless broadband hub with eSIMs, across Saudi Arabia over the next 12 months. 

Vodafone is now formerly recognised as the third mobile operator in Oman. A recent royal decree has mean that the company has obtained a first-class license to establish and operate public telecommunications services in the Sultanate.

Mexico’s Grupo Alfa has abandoned its plans to sell its telecoms arm Axtel despite a high number of interested bidders.

Telefonica is reportedly in advanced talks to sell its Chilean unit with Liberty Latin America and Claro among bidders, as the company continues its divestment plan to focus on core regions.

Safaricom paused its 5G network launch plans to instead focus on converting 2G and 3G customers, to its 4G network which it previously pledged to boost coverage to 100% in Kenya.