Operators

Filipino operator Smart Communications has launched commercial 5G services in the business districts of the Manila metropolitan area.

Angola’s state-owned fixed provider Angola Telecom is scrapping its mobile partnership with Angorascom Telecomunicacoes.

Russian operator MTS has become the country’s first recipient of a 5G licence, enabling it to deliver services in the 24.25–24.65 GHz mmWave band under the 5G/IMT-2020 standard.

Zimbabwe’s government has asked the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank to act as transaction advisors as it seeks to privatise the state-owned telcos NetOne and TelOne.

Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata is allowing its subscribers with 5G-capable devices to register on its trial 5G network as a way of understanding the benefits of the technology.

Angola’s new licensee Africell has set a goal of launching commercial services by mid-2021.

Tata Communications has procured a local licence to provide telecoms services in Saudi Arabia.

Brazilian operators TIM Brasil and Vivo (Telefonica Brasil) have revealed the locations in which they will debut their 5G offerings.

To comply with the terms of its freshly renewed operating licence, MTN Uganda must list a 20% stake on the country’s stock exchange within the next two years.

Pretty much as expected, official figures indicate that March was a bad month for customer retention as far as Indian operators Bharti Airtel and Vodacom Idea are concerned. Reliance Jio Infocomm, however, is still number one.

Operators in Southeast Asia are laying out their deployment plans for the rest of the year, with the Malaysia’s Celcom claiming that it will be ready to launch commercial 5G services as soon as it holds suitable spectrum.

Kyivstar and Vodafone Ukraine have formed an active and passive infrastructure sharing agreement to boost 4G coverage in rural Ukraine.

We’ve mentioned Vodafone Idea subscriber losses a few times in the past twelve months. Now the Indian press suggests that a continuing decline in customer numbers is worrying the joint venture's partners, the Aditya Birla Group and Vodafone Group.

Novator Partners has acquired a majority holding in Colombian operator Avantel for an undisclosed sum.

Cuba’s sole telecoms provider, the state-owned ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba) has claimed via social media that it now has over one million 4G users.

Saudi Arabia’s stc has completed its due diligence for a possible acquisition of Vodafone Group’s majority holding in Vodafone Egypt.

Mexico’s Telcel is reportedly acquiring a 50MHz block of 3.5GHz spectrum from local fixed provider Axtel.

Telekom Srbija has submitted a €155 million bid to acquire Kosovar ISP and mobile operator IPKO.

Claro Colombia has received a block of 3.5GHz spectrum to conduct 5G trials.

According to Reuters and local press reports, South Africa's third-biggest operator, Cell C, has announced plans to lay off more than 38 per cent of its workforce.

The upturn in Bharti Airtel’s financial fortunes continues, with a major sale netting it close to $46 million.

It’s been a newsworthy week for Digicel, a communications and entertainment provider in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. Following a major step in the process of reducing its debt, which it announced last week, it has won an important court case.

The company selling the assets of bankrupt Indian operator Aircel expects them to raise between INR9.5 billion and INR15.1 billion (USD124.8 million and USD198.4 million).

Orange Botswana has announced the launch of LTE-A services, increasing data transfer rates on its 4G network. The upgrades are being branded 4G+ and have already rolled out in Greater Gaborone (which houses about 10 per cent of the country’s population) and Francistown, the country’s second-largest city.

stc Bahrain has formed a new partnership with China Telecom Global aimed at digitalising economies in the Middle East and North Africa.