Operators

Following today’s report on the need to reduce the mobile internet gender gap there is some, potentially, positive news from Nigeria, where operator MTN Nigeria has announced that it is aiming for gender equality by reserving up to 70% of recruitment and promotion slots for women.

The Togolese Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority (ARCEP) warned operators Moov Africa Togo (Maroc Telecom) and Togo Cellulaire (Axian), will face penalties if quality of service is not improved.

Russia’s MegaFon has issued a legal challenge against sanctions placed upon it by the European Union.

Beleaguered Indian operator Vodafone Idea has logged its first annual revenue increase since it was created in 2018 through the merger of Vodafone India and Idea Cellular.

Azerbaijani operator Azercell expanded its 4G network to reach the city of Nakhchivan as part of its nationwide network modernisation project to blanket the Nakhchivan municipality with 4G by the end of the year.

CamTel, MTN, Orange and Viettel were fined a total of XAF6 billion (US$9.8 million) for poor quality of service in Cameroon, where subscribers staged protests in their demand for improved services. 

Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications (VNPT) will launch 10Gbps fibre with vendor partner Nokia, a move the vendor said is the first deployment of the broadband speeds.

MTN Ghana CEO Selorm Adadevoh said the unit is expected to exceed the US$1 billion infrastructure investment target it set out in 2021 by 2026.

The slightly confusing saga of Brazilian operator Oi continues. It is now seeking a huge sum of money in emergency funding.

Indian state-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) ordered INR150 billion (US$1.83 billion) worth of infrastructure equipment and software from IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). 

MTN Nigeria expanded its 5G network to 13 cities since its commercial launch in September last year and revealed there are no plans to shut down 2G and 3G networks. 

Philippines-based operator PLDT revealed it closed the sale and leaseback of 135 towers with Unity Digital Infrastructure. 

Four of Vietnam’s major network operators have applied to compete for three spectrum licences at the country’s next auction, reported VietnamNet. 

Vietnamese state-owned operator Viettel implemented analytics software from Ericsson in a move to upgrade 4G quality of service.

Cambodian operator CamGSM has confirmed that it will proceed with listing on the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX) after receiving approval in principle in April.

Zimbabwean state-owned mobile provider Telecel has been placed under bankruptcy protection measures to avoid its liquidation.

The Egyptian government has sold a 9.5% holding in fixed-line provider Telecom Egypt for EGP3.747 billion (US$121 million).

MTN and Airtel Africa have confirmed that their respective Nigerian units will renew their 2100MHz spectrum licences for a further 15 years.

Telekom Malaysia pulled out of its deal to acquire shares in state-owned 5G wholesale company Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) after the government revealed plans to deploy a second 5G network.

Malaysia’s Axiata Group has confirmed a restructuring plan that will alter the roles of its Indonesian units to improve efficiency via more effective asset utilisation.

Telecom Egypt announced the landing of the 2Africa subsea cable in Port Said, a move that will enhance connectivity in Egypt and provide capacity for the operator to grow. 

MTN celebrated its super app Ayoba for gaining 25 million monthly users in four years after launching, with ambitions laid out to reach 100 million by 2025.

As promised earlier this year, South African operator Rain is no longer a data-only service provider. It is now part of the country’s highly competitive mobile network space, joining Vodacom, MTN and Telkom with a network offering national voice, SMS and data coverage.

Bahraini broadband provider BNET signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei to identify strategic objectives, outline governance rules, and set the terms for long-term collaboration, reported CommsUpdate.