Wireless Networks

Bharti Airtel, a major Indian communications and solutions provider, and Capgemini, which describes itself as a global leader in consulting, technology services and digital transformation, have announced that they will collaborate on bringing 5G-based enterprise-grade solutions to the Indian market.

As the debate over whether a single wholesale 5G network will be rolled out in Malaysia rumbles on, it seems that some of the country’s operators are now arguing for a second 5G provider.

Bangladesh state-run operator Teletalk has partnered with leading global ICT solution provider Huawei to roll out 5G in the South Asian country.

A $6 billion high-speed rail line connecting China with its Southeast Asian neighbour Laos opened on Friday, a milestone in Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road infrastructure plans.

There have been a few interesting 5G developments in Malaysia lately relating to the planned Single Wholesale Network (SWN) that is to bring 5G to the country’s end users.

Could a new partnership be a boost for the Internet of Things – or at least the LoRaWAN version of IoT – in the Middle East and North Africa?

Tajikistan’s Babilon-Mobile, which operates as Babilon-M, has selected Baicells as its provider for hundreds of new 4G and 5G base stations to be deployed imminently.

Altice Dominicana has begun deploying its 3.5GHz 5G network in the Dominican Republic.

Finnish multinational telecommunications major Nokia announced the successful completion of the first 25GPON trial in Turkey with Turk Telekom.

A new digital mobile network has launched in East Africa – an MVNO enabled by x-Mobility, a company that styles itself as an MVNE – a mobile virtual network enabler.

Airtel Lanka is set to extend its 4G services throughout Sri Lanka via a new network expansion initiative.

Nepal’s National Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has at long last cleared state-owned operator Nepal Telecom to trial 5G services in the market.

Malaysian operator Digi is back in the news, where its plans both for a merger with Celcom and for the ongoing shutdown of its 3G service are making headlines.

Libyan provider Lnet has deployed Cambium Networks’ ePMP fixed wireless broadband technology to connect more than 60,000 residential, business and enterprise customers in Libya.

Filipino politicians are reportedly advising the country’s Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to ensure that it focuses on delivering connectivity to underserved rural areas rather than boosting access in areas that are already connected.

China is planning to triple the number of its 5G base stations in the next five years. The country aims to get 56 percent of the country on 5G networks by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), up from 15% in 2020.

Nepal’s leading broadband provider WorldLink Communications is using Nokia solutions to offer a seamless home Wi-Fi experience for its customers.

In-flight entertainment and communication systems company Panasonic Avionics Corporation has announced agreements with both Iraqi Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia). The Saudi national carrier also plans to offer a broadband solution from satcoms giant Inmarsat.

Iraqi internet service provider Earthlink Telecommunication is using Nokia’s solutions to build a high-capacity IP metro transport network in 15 provinces in the country as part of the Iraqi National Backbone project.

Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), Russia's largest mobile operator, announced the successful test of Russia's first OpenRAN-based 5G telecom solution leveraging locally-sourced software that was developed by the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech).

Malaysia’s state-owned Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB), which provides the only wholesale 5G services in the country, has integrated five domestic operators into its 5G network.

Malaysian operator Celcom has claimed a significant milestone: it says it has conducted Malaysia’s first Voice-over 5G New Radio (VoNR) trial call.

Tele2 Latvia, a mobile network operator (MNO) in Latvia, has revealed its plans to expand its 5G network significantly.

PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), an Indonesian wireless network provider, working in partnership with Chinese equipment manufacturer ZTE, has deployed the first operational 5G system in the country's easternmost province Papua.

Telkom Kenya has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ericsson and NEC XON to boost the operator’s network with an additional 2000 wireless sites by 2023.

Iraqi operator Asiacell has announced that it is extending its strategic partnership with Ericsson to enhance and improve its LTE services in the country.

Indian operator Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) has announced plans to test 5G-based solutions involving aerial traffic management and motion capture systems as part of its ongoing 5G trials on government-allocated 5G spectrum.

Telecom Namibia (TN), the telecommunications service provider operating in Namibia, announced the launch of the 4G LTE Network in Groot Aub.

Two tower-related stories from Malaysia indicate the continuing need for reliable infrastructure to meet the requirements of underserved rural areas.