All Tech News

Netplus Broadband, North India’s leading wireline internet service provider, has chosen OcNOS from IP Infusion, a provider of open network software and solutions for wireline and mobile network operators, to strengthen and scale its network as the company expands broadband services to all its customers across the region.

Malaysian satellite solutions provider MEASAT has secured a contract with Intra Oil Services, a wholly owned subsidiary of Perdana Petroleum, a company that provides offshore marine support services for the upstream oil and gas industry.

A press release attributed to the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda underlines the continuing issue of communications charges across Africa – this time relating to the internet.

Thuraya, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider Yahsat, has concluded Heads of Terms for an investment agreement with Astrocast, a leading low Earth orbit (LEO) and Internet of Things (IoT) network operator.

Published last week but now attracting attention from many African news resources is a Vodacom Group paper arguing that mobile money taxation could hamper financial inclusion gains in Africa.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies signed a memorandum of understanding with the Zambian government, committing to deploy more infrastructure to provide affordable connectivity to Zambians.

Brazilian broadband provider Unifique struck a deal to acquire regional provider Brick Servicos Digitais for BRL10 million (US$2 million), reported BNamericas.

Operator Ooredoo Qatar and Reailize, a company that says it injects automation intelligence into every aspect of telco operations, have announced that Ooredoo Qatar has implemented Reailize's Continuous Assurance (CA) solution to digitize its network operations centre (NOC) and provide what is described as a single pane of glass into the health of its network, service and customer experience.

Vehicle tracking and telematics company Netstar and Vodacom Business (the enterprise-focused ICT subsidiary of the Vodacom Group) have partnered to offer Wi-Fi to commuters on thousands of minibus taxis around South Africa.

Chinese company Highlander, which specialises in maritime and marine technology, has built what is described as the first commercial underwater data centre facility off Hainan island in China – and now wants to sell submerged data centre facilities to global customers.

It may come as little surprise to learn that mobile operator MTN South Africa is investing heavily to combat site vandalism and battery theft, but both are partly due to the problem of load shedding and power cuts, which MTN has also been forced to address.

Bharti Airtel, one of India’s biggest telecommunications service providers, has partnered with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a division of India Post, to launch WhatsApp banking services for IPPB customers, enabling them to access banking services on their mobile phone.

African digital payments network MFS Africa has announced another deal targeting the remittance market. This time it is partnering Nigeria’s Access Bank to enable outward remittances from Kenya and Nigeria.

Montenegro’s Crnogorski Telekom (CT) has launched a commercial 5G network in the capital of Podgorica, and is lining up the launch of a new VoLTE service.

While 5G has been around for three years, its development speed has exceeded industry expectations. Around 240 commercial networks have launched during these three years, with the 5G customer base reaching 1 billion, accessing services through one of around 800 5G-compatible devices launched by a range of vendors.

Bangladeshi mobile money firm bKash has extended its existing partnership with Huawei.

SpaceX’s Starlink will launch operations in Ecuador on 1^st April, with its first services going live in the Galapagos Islands.

Telekom Malaysia completed its new fibre optic hub across the northern regions of Sabah and Sarawak to connect remote locations situated there.

Orange Liberia has commissioned Vanu to deploy at least 200 telecom towers as it seeks to improve rural coverage in the country.

KIO, a data centre and digital infrastructure platform with more than 20 years of experience in colocation and IT services, has announced the signing of an agreement for the acquisition of a new data centre campus in Colombia.

Total fixed communication services revenue in India is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% from US$10.2 billion in 2022 to US$13.9 billion in 2027, mainly driven by the strong growth in the fixed broadband segment. That’s the view of data and analytics company GlobalData in its India Fixed Communications Forecast (Q1 2023).

A company working in satellite communications and two companies working in e-health have announced a partnership aiming to offer accessible healthcare in Africa through e-health solutions.

Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, has agreed to acquire 11 data centres across six countries in Latin America and the US from Nabiax, a European data centre operator owned by independent investment management firm Asterion Industrial Partners and service provider Telefonica.

Telecoms infrastructure provider Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) secured a US$20 million loan with plans to spend the cash on mobile towers to connect deep rural locations in six new African countries.

NLT Telecom, a Brazilian operator specializing in IoT, and floLIVE, a provider of global connectivity and network services for IoT, have announced their collaboration to provide dual-connectivity access to both Brazilian and international enterprise customers, including OEMs and mobile operators.

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb has confirmed the successful deployment and contact of 36 satellites launched by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) in Sriharikota, India, on Sunday 26 March.

Dialog Enterprise, the corporate ICT solution arm of Sri Lankan service provider Dialog Axiata, in collaboration with the Rubber Research Institute of Sri Lanka & Dialog University of Moratuwa Research Laboratory, has devised an IoT-led implementation to assist local rubber plantations with the drying of crepe rubber.

China is in the news again – for positive reasons, this time, with the GSMA, the organisation representing mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, suggesting it will be the first country to reach one billion 5G connections.

Recent announcements in Africa have yet again underlined the growth of payment technology across the continent, with major names in the digital payments space announcing significant agreements in Egypt and Tanzania.