All Tech News

When we reported early last week on the latest issue facing the Asia America Gateway (AAG) undersea cable – and internet users in Vietnam – it wasn’t clear how long repairs would take. We now know it could be another week before normal service is resumed.

Local news reports indicate that Liberian mobile operator Lonestar Cell-MTN is succeeding in its efforts to boost coverage to remote towns and villages across the country.

Telenor Pakistan and Ericsson have signed an agreement through which Ericsson will transform the Telenor Pakistan mobile backhaul network into an IP-based infrastructure.

CSS and Forsway are partnering in Mauritania to deliver affordable broadband in West Africa.

Free, Senegal’s second-largest mobile network operator, has deployed mobiquity Money from Indian mobility solutions provider Comviva to enhance its mobile money service Free Money.

The West Africa Cable System (WACS) has been fully repaired after an outage was registered on 27th March.

Senegalese operator Expresso has delayed its launch of commercial 4G services due to the outbreak of Covid-19 (coronavirus).

It appears the Asia America Gateway (AAG) undersea cable has recently experienced another issue, meaning that Vietnamese internet users have yet again had to deal with slow internet connections.

CSC e-Governance Services India, a licence holder for the provision of internet services, has claimed a nearly 100 per cent jump in data consumption for rural India in March.

Some encouraging news in this difficult time comes from the World Bank, highlighting how distance learning is being rolled out in a number of African countries during the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns.

Some good news from East Africa, where the promised opening of a new data centre facility could offer some economic opportunities for Ugandans.

Global communications company Viasat Inc and Brazil-based satellite products distribution company Visiontec have announced the expansion of their partnership to focus on bringing fast, reliable internet service to residential homes across Brazil.

eWallet – a new service from telecoms giant Etisalat and Dubai-based full-service bank Noor Bank – has been launched in the UAE, promising international remittance services from the UAE to 200 countries.

Last year’s Indian gains in global smartphone production due to the US-China trade war could be lost thanks to the coronavirus lockdown.

The West African Cable System (WACS) is in the news again, with continuing outages affecting South Africa for at least another few days.

Axess Networks has formed a joint venture with Saudi operator METelecom aimed at providing end-to-end managed satellite communications solutions.

Venezuela’s sole telecoms satellite has ceased functioning three years before it was due to.

If there was ever a time when remote education was more than just an interesting concept, this is it. For example, the government of Bahrain has said that 140,000 students are now benefiting from remote learning in the kingdom.

According to local news reports in the Gulf region, the leading UAE operator Etisalat has expanded its CloudTalk Meeting platform. It will now enable up to 50 simultaneous participants at any one time.

MTS is continuing its cooperation with Ericsson as it looks to modernise its network infrastructure in preparation for the advent of 5G.

Further evidence of the growing reliance on telecommunications during the Coronavirus pandemic comes from Bangladesh, where local news reports suggest that internet usage has shot up 15 per cent.

MTN Benin is expanding its existing agreement with Ericsson to include network services based around analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and automation.

The Kenya-based Regional Centre for Mapping of Development Resources (RCMRD), which focuses on mapping, remote sensing and related fields in Africa, has launched a web application dedicated to monitoring the spread of Coronavirus across the centre’s 20 member states in Africa.

Madagascan operator Telecom Malagasy (Telma) has completed an upgrade to its LTE network allowing it to deliver 4G+ (LTE-A) across the country.

Ukrtelecom will deploy a rural GPON fibre optic network via a new agreement with Iskratel and SID Bank of Slovenia.

Konnect Africa, a subsidiary of satellite operator Eutelsat Communications, along with educational platform Schoolap and financial messaging network Flash Services, is planning to bring high-speed internet connectivity to Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) schools.

Loon, a subsidiary of Alphabet that offers a novel approach to internet connectivity, has announced that its internet balloons have been approved to fly in Kenya.

Emirates-headquartered operator Etisalat has announced the launch of Business Edge, a comprehensive platform offering a wide range of services and solutions that cater to small and medium-sized enterprises.

A welcome piece of positive news for Africa comes from the Sri Lanka-headquartered International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and a new satellite data initiative.

Viettel, a Vietnamese multinational telecommunications company based in Hanoi, has deployed the Oscilloquartz timing solution from ADVA, a company focused on advancing next-generation communications networks, throughout Laos and Myanmar.