Operators

MTN Nigeria's often impressive profit margin is facing threats on two fronts as earnings are hit by a weak naira and a tax demand threatens to remove tens of millions of dollars from its balance sheet.

Telekom Malayia’s wholesale domestic and international business arm TM Global says it has deployed two additional international internet gateways (IGWs) in Sabah and Sarawak to boost connectivity in East Malaysia.

Sri Lanka’s four mobile operators have launched new network APIs from the GSMA Open Gateway initiative to help developers and businesses ramp up growth of digital services and apps.

Telecom Argentina is set to receive agreed loans totalling US$120 million for upgrades to its fibre optic network, and expand mobile coverage and capacity. 

Philippines-based operator Smart Communications announced a partnership with Google Cloud in a move to gain subscriber data insights to improve accessibility to digital services. 

Reliance Jio Infocomm has partnered with SaaS provider Plume to provide smart home and small business services to subscribers across India using its adaptive Wi-Fi technology.

Telkomsel has beefed up its 4G and 5G networks in stadiums and high-traffic areas across four cities in preparation for the 20th FIFA U-17 World Cup tournament in Indonesia next month.

Malaysia’s Bank Rakyat has tied up with CelcomDigi to boost its digital banking services, starting with providing 5G connectivity to its fleet of portable banking vehicles.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison announced that its project with Ericsson to consolidate its two nationwide circuit switch (CS) core networks has been completed ahead of schedule.

Thai telcoms player Jasmine Group and Korean telco KT Corp have revealed plan to co-develop an AI language model that supports the Thai language.

The Middle East and North Africa continued to be a bright spot in Orange Group’s financials posting a 12% increase in revenue as 10 markets recorded double-digit growth for the operator. 

Telekom Malaysia’s Unifi TV has started producing its own original content, including TV series and movies, to diversity its content portfolio and compete against other streaming services.

Chinese equipment vendor ZTE announced it it will supply equipment to Claro Ecuador to extend its fibre network. 

Airtel announced the milestones of connecting 900,000 customers to its 5G network in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and 1.7 million in Kerala.

Malaysian operator CelcomDigi has unveiled a new unified corporate logo almost a year after the merger of Celcom and Digi, and says that almost a third of its network will be fully integrated by the end of this year.

Philippine operator Globe Telecom says it is now bundling popular digital content brands into its prepaid fiber broadband service, including video streaming, e-commerce, gaming and online dating.

UAE operator etisalat by e& has been busy of late. Two more partnerships with Ericsson have been announced to add to this week’s 5G downlink speed record achieved alongside the tech giant.

China Mobile and Huawei say they have established a ‘New Calling Innovation Center’ to develop new use cases for 5G calls beyond standard voice by leveraging VoNR and IMS.

The Africa-focused GSMA event MWC Kigali 2023 is well under way and is proving a useful platform for some major service providers to comment on government policy across the continent – notably on taxation.

Malaysian operator Maxis has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Digital Penang to develop a digital tech ecosystem space for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Penang’s digital start-up district.

Malaysian wholesale 5G operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), incumbent telco Telekom Malaysia (TM) and ZTE said on Tuesday they have banded together to conduct a trial of millimetre-wave 5G that promises downlink speeds of up to 28 Gbps.

Airtel Uganda has pushed back the closing date for its initial public offer (IPO).

The Government of Rwanda and SoftBank Corp have confirmed the successful testing of SoftBank's proprietary 5G communications payload in the stratosphere installed on a solar-powered High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) prototype.

Thai operator Advanced Info Service (AIS) and STC Kuwait have added to the hoopla over 5G Standalone (SA) roaming by completing the first ever such connection between an Asian and Middle Eastern operator.

Malaysian telco CelcomDigi is set to boost its home fibre broadband business via an infrastructure-sharing deal with communications service provider Time dotcom.

Nigeria’s Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) is having a  busy week already, with the industry association expressing concerns about unpaid bank debts and the cost of spectrum licenses.

UAE operator etisalat by e& has announced a 5G standalone (SA) deployment and a 5G downlink speed record.

Yettel Hungary announced it will switch off its 3G network next month, finally joining its rivals in ultimately sunsetting the legacy technology in Hungary.