Wireless Networks

5G continues to make news as five Thai operators submit bids for spectrum and a Polish operator claims it is ready to commercialise 5G.

According to media reports from East Africa, Airtel Tanzania plans to more than double the number of its 4G network sites following the recent issuing of a permit.

Speedcast International Ltd, a provider of remote communications and IT services, has announced that is has been awarded a 12-month contract with a mobile operator in Mexico.

In an extraordinary series of announcements, the giant Chinese equipment maker ZTE has highlighted the potential role of telecommunications in disease management – and specifically management of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak in China.

The government of Croatia is pushing for a 5G launch in the country’s fourth-largest city, Osijek, by the end of the year.

Recent reports from the Liberian press indicate that local operator Lonestar Cell MTN has extended its mobile coverage in Liberia.

To meet the needs of new access technologies and growing transport requirements, as well as growing data demand in its region, Ooredoo Algeria is modernizing its infrastructure by boosting capacity throughout the network, with the help of SIAE Microelettronica.

ZTE and MTN Uganda have jointly launched the first 5G SA network in East Africa.

Pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom is to launch the first 5G wholesale roaming service in South Africa.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has released draft guidelines aimed at boosting the use of television white spaces (TVWS) to improve rural connectivity in the country.

Tajikistan’s ZET-Mobile has completed a large-scale expansion of its LTE network.

UAE operator Etisalat has announced two firsts in recent days: the launch of a business unified communication service and the deployment of Open vRAN technology.

Telefonica, one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers in the world, with a strong presence in Europe and the Americas, is to sell a number of its towers and tower sites in Ecuador and Colombia.

American Tower Corporation, an owner and operator of wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure in several countries worldwide, has announced two deals – involving Eaton Towers and MTN – that, it says, will boost its presence in Africa.

SETAR, a communications provider in the Caribbean island country Aruba, has expanded its current partnership with Nokia with an agreement to provide what is described as a full end-to-end 5G network transformation.

According to local press reports, Philippines operator NOW Telecom has signed a memorandum of understanding with Aboitiz InfraCapital and Frontier Tower Associates to support the government’s common tower initiatives.

Alphabet Inc, owner of Google, plans to bring the internet to remote areas by balloon – and Kenya is on the list.

5G trials are continuing in multiple territories, but 4G is still rolling out in many developing countries.

According to local press reports, Ooredoo Maldives, part of international communications company, Ooredoo, whose operations span the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, has launched a voice-over-Wi-Fi (VoWiFi) service called Wi-Fi Calling.

Orange Poland has selected Juniper Networks to enhance the resilience and automation capabilities of its IP network core.

More 5G activity has been reported in two very different markets in West Africa: Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, and Gabon, whose population, at an estimated 2.1 million, is a little over one hundredth the size of Nigeria’s.

You wouldn’t necessarily describe it as unobtrusive, but Mynmar’s first telecom tower constructed from bamboo, which has been installed in Thanlyin, a major port city, is certainly sustainable.

Wiicom has tapped Intracom Telecom for a network delivering mobile and ultra-broadband services to residential consumers and businesses across Cameroon that cannot be reached by fibre.

According to reports in the Chinese press, the country’s leading operator is targeting the signing of some 70 million 5G users by the end of 2020.

The city of Jerusalem is deploying Siklu’s millimeter wave (mmWave) core and access network equipment for an ongoing project which will become one of the largest municipal networks in the world.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has granted Bharti Airtel Lanka a 5MHz block of 900MHz spectrum.

MTN South Africa has selected Ericsson as a 5G network modernization vendor. Ericsson will supply 5G products and solutions from its radio access network (RAN), transport and core portfolios, with commercial rollout expected to start in 2020.

Zain, an operator with a commercial footprint in eight Middle Eastern and African countries, has selected Ericsson to build its 5G network in Bahrain.