Enterprise Ecosystems

Philippines’ third major player in the telecommunications industry DITO Telecommunity Corporation is approaching the one-millionth subscriber mark a few months after its official launch in March.

IoT specialist Kerlink has partnered with wireless, real-time water-management systems provider WEGoT to expand and accelerate adoption of WEGoT’s solutions to help address serious water shortages in India.

Southeastern Europe (SEE) region pay-TV, internet, and telecoms provider United Group’s spate of acquisitions boost its annualised revenues almost treble in the year to March to close to EUR 2 billion.

Telecom Egypt (TE) and Vodafone Group have inked a modified shareholders’ agreement which includes changes to Vodafone Egypt’s dividend policy.

Ukrainian telecommunications operator Datagroup announced that it has completed the acquisition of the operator Volia, the country's Pay-TV and broadband service provider.

IoT solutions for machines and fleet management are coming to India and Qatar, according to recent partnership announcements in both countries.

Fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc is acquiring the stake of PLDT unit Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) in two firms involved in cable landing stations in the Philippines.

Fiji's principal telecommunications holding company Amalgamated Telecom Holdings (ATH) has announced the signing of a conditional share sale agreement to purchase a 30.34% interest in Bluesky Pacific Holdings from Unit Trust of Samoa (UTOS).

As India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has allocated the spectrum and agreed on trials and testing of 5G, more companies are showing interest in the 5th generation mobile network and technologies, said a study.

Qatar-based multinational telecom company Ooredoo is launching the Enterprise EDGE service, which, according to the company, can be added to any standard networking service to speed cloud adoption, boost operational agility, and meet network connectivity’s need for cost-effective bandwidth.

Brazilian Internet Service Provider (ISP) Desktop Sigmanet is planning to stage an initial public offering (IPO).

Polish OSS provider Suntech has won a new contract with Singapore-based StarHub to upgrade its service fulfilment platforms as part of an ongoing digital transformation process.

Arc Solutions, a joint venture launched by Du and Batelco, has signed an agreement with global telecoms operator BSO to interconnect network footprints in the Middle East and around the world.

Airtel Africa's customer base grew by 6.9% to 118.2 million, with increased penetration across mobile data (customer base up 14.5%) and mobile money services (customer base up 18.5%).

Telkomsel, a unit of Indonesia’s state-owned and largest telecom operator Telkom, has invested an additional US $300 million in ride-hailing and payments firm Gojek, just months after the network provider wrote a $150 million check to the Southeast Asian firm.

BT Group’s Egyptian unit has been granted a licence to provide connectivity services and information transfer to institutions and companies through its international networks.

African multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN Group said that its Nigerian unit MTN Nigeria (MTNN) Communications has completed the issuance of an N110 billion (USD 263 million) fixed-rate bond due in 2028 under an N200 billion bond programme.

Hong Kong-based multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison has agreed with the Qatari multinational telecommunications company Ooredoo to extend the period of negotiations on a potential transaction to combine their respective subsidiaries Hutchison 3 Indonesia and Indosat, on an exclusive basis, until 30 June.

UAE-based operator du has selected Netcracker’s Digital BSS for its digital transformation program.

Nokia and Mobily have completed a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network deployment in the L-800 band in Saudi Arabia.

If India is to successfully pursue its self-reliance aims it will need skilled workers. However, a new report commissioned by Amazon Web Services (AWS) from strategy and economics consulting firm AlphaBeta indicates a massive shortfall in one key area: digital technology.

Orange Business Services is collaborating with Orange Egypt to design and build a new data centre to provide cloud services for Egypt’s ‘New Administrative Capital'.

IoT hardware manufacturer Cavli Wireless announced plans to start manufacturing modules in India based on GCT Semiconductor chipsets, a move to broaden its business in India’s growing IoT market.

In a rather unusual development, certain areas of IoT provision may be rendered illegal after a proposal by Russia’s ministry of digital development, communications and mass media at the end of last year.

The advance of Sigfox in the IoT space continues: the global 0G network and cloud provider for industrial data has announced the addition of Ukraine to its coverage area.

In what is claimed to be a first for India, the government-owned telecommunications provider BSNL and Skylo, which offers satellite-based IoT solutions, have announced an exclusive IoT partnership.

Nokia and Vodafone India Foundation, the CSR arm of Vi (formerly Vodafone Idea), have deployed a smart agriculture solution that aims to improve the productivity of farmers in India.

In an unusual use of LTE, but one that may become more common as industries adopt 4G and 5G for private networking, Nokia has announced plans to digitize crane monitoring systems in Indonesia.

The Saudi Authority for Data and Artificial Intelligence (SDAIA) has been quick to add detail to its plans for artificial intelligence (AI) partnerships, with the signing of a number of MoUs during the kingdom’s recent Global AI Summit.

Saudi Arabia has launched a national artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. This initiative, widely reported in both the regional and international press, aims to attract $20 billion in foreign and local investments by 2030 and to make the country a global leader in the AI field.

Filipino mobile provider Smart has selected Nokia to launch IoT services across the archipelago.

Further proof of the relevance of the Internet of Things (IoT) to sustainability in the developing world comes with the announcement that Telenor Connexion is to partner with Ericsson on a water project in East Africa.

Recent news from India and Africa underlines the continuing growth of IoT-based solutions for a diverse range of applications.