Optical & Fixed Networks

Due to a drop in average revenue per user (ARPU) levels, the total fixed communications services revenue in China is expected to decline at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.9% from US$250bn in 2021 to US$239bn in 2026.

Matrix NAP Info, a telecommunication company based in Jakarta whose interests include cable, data centres, the cloud and the Matrix Cable Internet Exchange, has announced an agreement with PT Communication Cable Systems Indonesia (CCSI) on the establishment of a subsea cable joint venture.

Safaricom is negotiating an infrastructure sharing agreement with state-owned incumbent Ethio Telecom, as the newcomer is unable to lay down enough networks for its commercial launch in Ethiopia this year.

India’s state-owned company Bharat Broadband Nigam Ltd has cancelled a massive tender worth somewhere in the region of US$2.52billion which aimed to connect villages across 16 states with an optical fibre-based high-speed broadband network.

South African fibre broadband provider has acquired a 45% non-controlling stake in fibre/fixed wireless access provider Herotel.

Indonesian telecommunications tower company Mitratel (Dayamitra Telekomunikasi) pledged to put US$69.5 million into constructing new towers in remote locations across Indonesia.

Tonga has seen its connectivity restored as its international subsea cable was repaired after a volcanic eruption last month caused a communications blackout.

Vietnam announced it will begin researching and developing 6G technology this year with ambitions to become a global leader in the digital world, earmarking cloud computing and digital platforms as beneficiaries to the future standard.

Rival Indian service providers Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have made major announcements relating to their undersea cable interests.

Iran has announced an ambitious project to connect over 20 million homes and businesses to the high-speed fixed fibre network in the country.

Telecom Egypt, Egypt’s first integrated telecom operator and one of the largest subsea cable operators in its region, and Grid Telecom, subsidiary of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) in Greece, have signed a strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) to connect Greece and Egypt using submarine cable infrastructure.

Submarine fibre optic cable systems operator Seabras 1 Brasil (Seaborn) announced its network has been approved to provide connectivity to the Brazilain Stock Exchange (B3, enhancing the financial services market in Brazil. 

Part of a multi-million-euro investment fund has been spent to bridge the digital divide for 1.3 million Urktelecom customers in Ukraine, as the operator hailed its strategy in sourcing international investment.

Chilean fibre to the home provider Mundo has been sold to private equity group Digital Bridge, by owners Linzor Capital Partners and minority shareholder Teras after picking up the company in 2019.

Namibian power utility NamPower has deployed Ribbon’s IP Optical portfolio for its “The GridOnline” project.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison penned a non-binding memorandum of understanding with subsea cable provider Inligo Networks to build a high-capacity underwater fibre optic telecommunications cable system in Indonesia.

From Peru and the Dominican Republic come reminders that much of Latin America still lacks digital connectivity. However, in both countries, efforts are under way to provide it.

According to local news reports, the Jamaica Public Service Company Limited (JPS) is supporting the country’s National Broadband Initiative by offering the use of its utility poles for the running of aerial fibre.

Russian infrastructure group New Towers has registered an interest to acquire network towers and masts from Russian operator Mobile TeleSystems (MTS).

Israel’s Partner Communications has been awarded a contract for a new fibre link connecting two continents.

Sterlite Technologies (STL), an integrator of digital networks, announced a partnership with India's largest power distribution company, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL).

ZTE Corporation helped China Unicom complete China's first automatic provisioning of multi-protocol cross-vendor services in the existing Optical Network (ON).

In what we are told is only a temporary measure, Peru’s National Telecommunications Programme (Pronatel), part of the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC), has taken over the operation and maintenance of the National Fibre Optic Backbone (RDNFO).

An ambitious Brazilian project that aims to bring broadband connectivity to around a million people in two northern states has now been officially launched.

Gulf Bridge International (GBI), a global cloud, connectivity and content enabler whose multilayer terrestrial and subsea cable meshed network bridges the East to the West through the Middle East, is deploying Ciena’s GeoMesh Extreme, powered by WaveLogic 5 Extreme, to increase its smart network capacity and performance.

HMN Tech, a provider of turnkey submarine network solutions, has announced that it has completed the marine deployment of the Senegal Horn of Africa Regional Express (SHARE) submarine cable system, with landfalls in both Senegal and Cape Verde.

Swiatlowod Inwesticje (trading under the FiberCo brand), the provider of telecommunication services based in Warsaw, Poland, has started a cooperation with Polsat Plus Group.

Chinese fibre provider Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable (YOFC) is entering the broadband market in four Peruvian regions. It will use digital enablement expert Alepo’s BSS/OSS solution.

A proposed subsea internet cable that would be designed to connect Chile and Australia came closer this week with the appointment by the Chilean government of a partner in the project. 

National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), a government-run body with the mission to make the internet accessible to everyone, will add 65 new internet exchanges across India by March 2022, taking the total number of exchanges to 75.

Responding to what is described as a surge in demand for high-quality fibre broadband services, service provider Digicel, which serves consumer and business customers in 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Pacific, has modernized its FTTx network across the Caribbean Islands.

Telekom Malaysia has signed an agreement with state-owned wholesale operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) that will see the latter lease fibre as it seeks to accelerate its nationwide 5G deployment.