Optical & Fixed Networks

HFCL, a leading Indian manufacturer of optical fibre cables, optical transport, power electronics and broadband equipment for the telecommunication industry, has won orders worth Rs447.81 crores (about US$56.2 million) from India’s state-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and the telecom infrastructure provider RailTel Corporation.

Philippines-based integrated telecommunications giant PLDT has announced plans for the construction of a cable landing station and a subsea cable system.

Investor 3i Infrastructure has completed a $512 million investment to acquire a 100% stake in Global Cloud Xchange (GCX), a leading global data communications service provider and owner of the world’s largest private subsea fibre optic networks.

As data demand increases across the world, there’s more pressure to ensure that telecoms infrastructure is able to deal with it  – as shown by recent announcements involving fibre and submarine cables in Bangladesh.

Philippines-based Converge ICT Solutions is reportedly mulling the sale of its shares in its infrastructure platform, a move to potentially raise US$1 billion in capital for investment across its business.

Equatorial Guinea could see its internet services disconnected in as little as two weeks if it fails to make outstanding payments to its bandwidth providers.

Telecommunications services provider Saudi Telecommunication Company (STC) says it has launched its first high-speed cable in the Red Sea, through a landing station in Jeddah.

Telecom Egypt and Orange Jordan have announced what is described as a strategic collaboration agreement to create a reliable terrestrial system connecting Iraq to Europe through Jordanian and Egyptian territories.

Nokia has entered a strategic alliance with network cabling firm Furukawa Electric that will see the partners accelerate optical LAN deployments in Latin America.

American Tower Corporation and IHS Holding are reportedly in the running for Brazilian operator Oi’s tower assets, competing against rival Highline which has already submitted a binding proposal.

Citing sources with knowledge of the matter, a number of news outlets have been reporting that a cable project may soon be formally announced that will connect Morocco with Mauritania through Western Sahara.

Argentinian regulator Enacom has granted authorisation to Google to carry out the installation of its Firmina fibre optic cable in Argentine territorial waters.

The Equiano subsea internet cable reached South Africa on Monday. It landed at Melkbosstrand, north of Cape Town, said to be the last stop on its route south for the 12-fibre-pair system.

Globe Telecom has partnered with two other telecom players to construct a US$150 million fibre cable network to boost mobile and broadband services.

NK 108 Empreendimentos e Participacoes (NK 108) has made a binding offer to acquire 8,000 fixed telecoms infrastructure sites from Brazil’s Oi.

Two of the partners in what is described as the first subsea cable connecting Latin America with APAC and Oceania have issued a request for proposals (RFP) to begin construction of the estimated 15,000-kilometre Humboldt Cable.

Indian utility group PGCIL (Power Grid Corporation of India Limited) has selected Tejas Networks to provide and install its optical networking equipment as part of an upgrade of PGCIL’s pan-India telecom backbone and access networks.

Nokia is deploying its XGS Passive Optical Network (XGS-PON) solution for Cambodian internet service provider SINET as demand for high speed enterprise connectivity escalates in the market.

Botswana’s BoFiNet has selected Ribbon Communications to upgrade and enhance its national backbone network.

A major debt finance deal promises to enable open access fibre provider MetroFibre Networx to bring more fibre connectivity to underserved markets in South Africa.

International service provider Sparkle has added another submarine cable to its assets in the Atlantic with the activation of spectrum capacity on the Monet submarine cable system connecting Brazil to the United States.

State-owned fixed and mobile operator Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) has announced plans to deploy fixed broadband infrastructure and services to new housing projects in the country.

Given the growing requirement for fibre across Africa and the problem some African countries have with copper theft, it may perhaps be a surprise to learn that a fibre optic cable manufacturing factory recently inaugurated in Ogun State, in Nigeria’s South-West region, is West Africa’s first and only the fifth in the entire continent.

Indonesia-based Bersama Digital Infrastructure and investment firm Opti-Teknology Philippines have jointly acquired a majority share in Alliance Towers Corporation for an undisclosed fee.

A project that could massively expand the available infrastructure for 5G in Brazil has been mooted by two major players in their fields in that country.