Operators

Global digital operator Veon announced on Tuesday that it has struck a deal to sell off its minority stake in Kazakh wholesale telecoms infrastructure services provider TNS+ to focus on its mobile operation, Beeline Kazakhstan.

Boston Consulting Group (BCG), an American global management consulting firm, has been asked to prepare a three-year roadmap to improve the competitiveness of state-owned Indian operator BSNL.

Telkom South Africa’s planned US$355 million selloff of its Swiftnet tower business to infrastructure-focused private equity firm Actis cleared another hurdle on Friday after its shareholders unanimously voted in favor of the deal.

Orange and Vodafone announced extension of their open RAN network pilot project in rural Romania to boost coverage and integrate 2G virtualised RAN (vRAN) technology, a vital step towards cloud migration. 

Orange signed a partnership agreement with Digital Africa in a move to accelerate support and investment for startups in its incubator centres across Africa and the Middle East.

Malaysian wholesale 5G operator Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) has reportedly given the five telcos taking stakes in the company 20 days to finalise the process as the government looks to get on with launching a second 5G operator and encourage private 5G adoption.

Ukrainian operator Kyivstar allocated US$90 million to defend against suspected Russian cyberattacks against its network, a move that affected growth said Kyivstar CEO Oleksandr Komarov.

Malaysian telco Time dotCom and Huawei announced on Monday that they have successfully deployed Segment Routing IPv6 (SRv6) technology in Time’s network, which the operator hopes will give it an edge in the enterprise services market.

Bangladesh telcos Robi Axiata and Banglalink have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to evaluate ways that they can share and rationalize their network resources to expand and improve 4G access across the country.

Veon Group announced revenue was up by 6.6% US$942 million, and maintained its full-year guidance for revenue of between 16% and 18%.

The long-rumoured merger of Indonesian telcos XL Axiata and Smartfren moved another step closer to reality on Wednesday as parent companies Axiata Group and Sinar Mas announced they have officially signed an MoU to explore the proposed merger.

Malaysian telco CelcomDigi says it’s close to the halfway mark in integrating and modernising its mobile network across the country, which puts it ahead of schedule in its post-merger transformation plan.

­Bharti Airtel signed a long-term agreement with Google Cloud to deliver cloud and gen AI solutions in the Indian B2B market.

Vodacom reported a dip in profits due to higher energy costs and forex rates which have also affected other operators on the African continent.

Airtel Africa reported a loss of US$89 million as it also suffered from the devaluation of the Nigerian naira, despite growth in customer base.

Veon-owned Bangladesh operator Banglalink said on Thursday that it has become the first mobile operator in the country to phase out 3G services as it shifts focus to boosting performance of its 4G network.

Safaricom announced flat profit growth in its full 2023 financial year as income was dampened by investment into its new Ethiopian unit and inflation. 

The parent companies of Indonesian telcos XL Axiata and Smartfren have reportedly asked permission from telecoms regulator KemKominfo to carry out a long-planned merger of the two companies – and seem likely to get it.

Repair work to three damaged subsea cables off the coast of Yemen was delayed due to access disputes in the Red Sea, stemming from the ongoing civil war in the country. 

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) announced it is in discussion to loan Airtel Africa US$200 million, to fill the operator's coffers to fund network expansion in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Kenya. 

UAE-based operator e& denied a Bloomberg report claiming the company was in discussions to buy United Group.

Hormuud Telecom employees were killed in a roadside bomb attack on the outskirts of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. 

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom sold off more towers in a deal sealed back in 2022, raising PHP13.5 billion (US$234 million) to support future capex plans and pay down debts.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) reported profits surging in its Q1 results supported by revenue growth across its units, and cutting down costs.

Operator Claro Costa Rica has started providing 5G services on what is described as a trial basis. Speeds of up to 1.7Gbps and the lower latency that 5G promises are part of the package.

Mauritius Telecom is in talks with operators including Reliance Jio and Orange to build a new subsea cable connecting Africa, Indian Ocean islands and Asia, a move to avoid network downtime experienced last month.

The UAE’s e& is reportedly considering an acquisition of Europe-focused United Group for as much as US$8.6 billion (€8 billion).

Philippine telco PLDT and its wireless arm Smart Communications said on Monday that the move by National Electrification Administration (NEA) to fast-track energization of rural telco facilities will help them roll out mobile services in those areas faster.