All Tech News

A boost for Latin American digital connectivity may be on the cards with the entry of  global telecoms operator BSO into the Latin American market.

There’s no denying that, even in post-lockdown India, demand for smartphones is still strong – but why can supply not keep up?

Following yesterday’s announcement that Zain is offering 5G coverage in all of Saudi Arabia’s regions, we also have 5G coverage news from Brazil and South Africa, although, confusingly, neither country has formally auctioned long-term 5G spectrum yet.

Kenya’s Safaricom has selected Aviat Networks’ WTM 4800 multi-band radio platform for 5G backhaul.

Middle Eastern press outlets have reported an alliance between Ooredoo Kuwait, a telecommunications company owned by the Qatar-based Ooredoo group, and Batelco, the principal telecommunications company in Bahrain, to establish what is known as Global Zone Kuwait.

Zain KSA now offers 5G coverage in all of Saudi Arabia’s regions after expanding its network to Al-Jouf and the Northern Borders.

A new era of stratospheric communications has begun, according to Loon, a company that offers a network of what it calls floating cell towers, and that is now providing service to subscribers of Telkom Kenya.

The government of Chad has launched a new initiative aimed at modernising the country’s networks.

Indian managed data centre service provider Yotta Infrastructure has announced the inauguration of what is described as India’s largest data centre building.

A premium residential internet service has been launched in Brazil, courtesy of global communications company Viasat.

The Chennai-Andaman & Nicobar Islands (CANI) submarine cable system project has received clearance from India’s National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).

Telia Estonia is planning to build a solar plant to cut costs at one of its data centres.

Local press reports indicate that the installation of a new submarine fibre optic cable system from Montserrat to a branching unit between Guadeloupe and Antigua has been successfully completed.

According to TeleGeography's CommsUpdate and local news reports, two of Saudi Arabia’s leading mobile operators are hoping to establish a joint tower company.

Indian press reports suggest that the country’s government is planning to provide nearly 500,000 fibre-to-home connections by September this year.

According to reports in the regional press and Reuters, a Vietnam-made 5G smartphone is on the way.

Data centre activity continues to ramp up across Asia, as underlined by a recent report from Malaysia, where a major new facility is planned in Selangor.

Bharti Airtel has selected Nokia’s CloudBand-based software products for its VoLTE (Voice over LTE) network in India.

PT. Telekomunikasi Indonesia has chosen Vonage to enhance its customer communications and experience.

Claro Brasil has launched its 5G network using a combination of 700MHz, 1800MHz and 2.5GHz spectrum.

There’s been an interesting addition to the recent flurry of investment in Indian telecommunications, with news involving Bharti Airtel, India’s largest integrated telecommunications operator, and Comfort Investments II.

Liquid Telecom is providing its managed VSAT connectivity services to mbora, a pioneering social enterprise in Malawi.

Vodafone Hungary has set out its 5G coverage goals up to the end of 2020.

While there may be question marks over India’s ability to cope without some Chinese goods and technologies if India decides to block them, the recent banning of 59 Chinese apps may offer real opportunities for Indian companies.

Iran’s market leader, state-run MCI (Mobile Communication Company of Iran), has been given a deadline of early September to begin providing 5G coverage in Tehran.

Madagascan operator Telma and infrastructure and software vendor Ericsson have announced the launch of commercial 5G services in Madagascar.

Zain Bahrain has launched commercial 5G using equipment from Ericsson.

Nokia and Algerian mobile operator Djezzy have completed a trial using microwave carrier aggregation technology to support increased demand for capacity.

Asian satellite operator Thaicom and CAT Telecom, which runs Thailand’s international telecommunications infrastructure, have announced a joint satellite business venture.

Given the likely importance of 5G to Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things (IoT), perhaps it should come as little surprise that industry body the Cellular Operators' Association of India (COAI) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Germany’s 5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation (5G-ACAI).