Wireless Networks

MTN Rwanda commercially launched its 5G service on Tuesday, starting with 51 sites in Kigali, with plans to scale up the network to target enterprise sectors including industrial, healthcare, and education.

Ericsson says it has signed a strategic partnership deal with Orange Maroc to modernize and expand its core network infrastructure to support a planned rollout of standalone 5G in Morocco later this year.

MobiFone Corporation, a leading mobile network operator in Vietnam, and open RAN pioneer Rakuten Symphony have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on a pilot project to jointly deploy a 4G and 5G open RAN mobile network in Vietnam.

After procuring a US$80m loan to cover the cost of its 5G licence, Orange Egypt has now officially launched 5G services in the market.

Nokia announced on Monday it has signed a deal with Vodafone Qatar to lead a nationwide network modernisation project to drive expanded 5G coverage, reliability and services for consumers and businesses.

IHS Towers subsidiary IHS Brazil announced on Thursday it has completed its upgrade of the distributed antenna system (DAS) at the Nilton Santos Stadium (Engenhão) in Rio de Janeiro to support 5G connectivity.

Japanese Open RAN solutions provider Rakuten Symphony said on Monday it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Zain Kuwait to collaborate on a pilot project to deploy cloud-native 5G Open RAN sites in Kuwait.

Telekom Malaysia (TM) announced on Monday that it has been appointed by the country’s second 5G operator U Mobile as a fibre backhaul partner in a deal valued at MYR2.4billion (almost US$570 million) over the next ten years.

Indian IT services group Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and networking company Tejas Networks have been the beneficiaries of a new contract from state-controlled operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).

e& UAE announced on Tuesday it has launched what it claims is the first commercial 5G network slicing product in the MENA region for business customers on its standalone 5G network.

Operators MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda and digital infrastructure company ATC Uganda, alongside regulator the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), have launched a nationwide anti-vandalism campaign aimed at safeguarding the country’s telecom infrastructure.

Indian telco Vodafone Idea (Vi) launched its 5G service across the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) on Thursday in partnership with Ericsson, and said it was on track to roll out 5G in all 17 priority circles where it holds 5G spectrum by August this year.

Claro Colombia, a leading mobile telecommunications operator with more than 40 million users, has announced that it is implementing the modernisation of its more than 10,000 antennas nationwide.

Indonesian telco Telkomsel says it has expanded its 5G network coverage in Makassar, on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, with the installation of 73 new 5G base stations in the city.

Indian operator Reliance Jio has reportedly started using its own network products for planned small cell-led densification of its pan-India 5G network.

Some years after Google’s failed attempt  to commercialise high altitude platform stations (HAPS), AALTO HAPS, a subsidiary of aerospace corporation Airbus based in the UK, says it is still on track for commercial HAPS services to begin in 2026 and that it has set a world record for global aviation with its solar-powered Zephyr HAPS.

Indian telco Reliance Jio reportedly acknowledged it has been using unlicenced spectrum as well as 5G spectrum to connect some customers for its 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services, which it says is helping lower deployment costs.

Last week’s news that Pedra Agroindustrial Group, one of the leading conglomerates in the Brazilian sugarcane and energy sector, will expand the digitisation of processes in three of its plants and a unit dedicated to livestock and soybean production through a new partnership with operator TIM is a reminder of the growth of wireless connectivity in the agribusiness sector.

State-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and telecom and digital infrastructure solutions provider ACES India have signed an agreement to deliver seamless voice and data connectivity across the Kanpur Metro's deep underground stations and tunnels.

At the Mobile World Congress 2025 in Barcelona, we caught up with two special guests to chat about global efforts to bring high-quality Internet connectivity to everyone.

Smartcom, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in Singapore, says it is expanding its reach beyond its home country into Indonesia bringing its mission-critical push-to-talk (PTT) solutions to a significantly larger market.

Nokia and Saudi Arabian neutral tower provider Tawal announced on Tuesday they have completed a live demo of a shareable multi-tenant, Open RAN edge cloud platform that could enable operators to share 5G infrastructure more cheaply.

Sam George, Ghana's Minister Of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, is widely reported to have set what is described as a firm deadline of June 2025 for the Next Generation Infrastructure Company (NGIC) to launch 5G services in the West African country. But will it be met?

Private 5G networks may not be storming the market yet, but there is undoubtedly steady growth. In fact this week has seen the news that Bahrain operator Batelco by Beyon and tech giant Nokia have joined forces to deploy Bahrain’s first 5G private network.

Mobile data consumption and the adoption of 5G services will be key drivers of mobile service revenue growth in Malaysia, according to analyst firm GlobalData.

Operator e& UAE has announced the launch of its autonomous drone-based cell tower inspection, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), calling it a major leap in telecom infrastructure management and operational safety.

Sri Lankan telco Dialog Axiata announced on Friday it has brought Voice over New Radio (VoNR) out of the lab and into the real world after conducting what it claims is the country’s first successful VoNR trial on a live standalone 5G network.

Axian Telecom is set to receive a financing package of US$100 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB Global) to help expand its mobile broadband infrastructure across Madagascar and Tanzania.

Following what it describes as the successful launch of its 5G services in Mumbai, Indian operator Vodafone Idea says it has now expanded its 5G service to 11 cricket stadiums in India.

Canada-based network vendor NuRAN Wireless missed its target for new mobile sites deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo this month citing transit issues.

e& UAE said on Monday it has kicked off tests to utilise the 6-GHz and 600-MHz spectrum bands for 5G services, with both bands promising to significantly boost data speeds and extend 5G’s coverage range.