All Tech News

Yesterday’s big story that Ooredoo and CK Hutchison have agreed to merge their Indonesian units is not the only hot telecoms news from Indonesia in recent days. A 5G network launch and a potentially major data centre initiative have also made headlines.

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (Thailand), a data centre service provider, announced the official opening of STT Bangkok 1, the first carrier-neutral hyperscale data centre in Bangkok built to global standards.

Brazilian carrier Vivo has announced the start of 5G tests in the millimeter-wave (mmWave) of 26 GHz band in partnership with Finnish vendor Nokia.

Schneider Electric and the University of Birmingham Dubai build green, energy-efficient data centre on-site at the new campus, and implemented by system integrator CDW.

In an interesting reminder of the growing relevance of smart grids and the Internet of Things (IoT) to developing markets, it has been reported that Kenyan operator Safaricom is offering to supply a $288 million smart metre system to the country’s main power utility.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies is delivering affordable high-speed connectivity to communities in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using Wireless Optical Communication technology (WOC) from Project Taara.

Hungary's 4iG will become the owner of Invitech ICT Services after the company concluded a sales contract with ICT Services' owner, Cyprus-based Rotamona, according to a report by state news wire MTI.

Celltick, a provider of cell broadcast-based products and public warning systems, has announced that the telecom operator Vi (Vodafone-Idea) is the first operator in the Indian State of Andhra Pradesh to support its Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) that is being deployed for the Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA).

Nokia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) to drive digital transformation and the knowledge economy for socio-economic development across the continent.

Jordan-based telecom and contact centre services provider Globitel has been awarded a contract to supply its USSD Gateway product to Telecommunications Company Suriname (Telesur).

Chinese provider of submarine-network solutions HMN Tech said the first 16-fibre pair repeatered submarine cable system, the Hainan to Hong Kong Express (H2HE), has completed the system commissioning and testing, and is now ready for service.

Brazilian telecom operator Mhnet Telecom has finalized negotiations for the acquisition of Creral Telecom, located in the Alto Uruguay region, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and Nokia Group signed an agreement on cooperation in research to upgrade and develop VNPT's digital infrastructure.

In yet another example of how the response to Covid-19 has influenced the telecommunications sector in a number of countries, MTN Ghana has announced the launch of a home internet service.

The newly-formed Vodafone Oman has selected Netcracker’s Digital BSS solutions as it prepares to launch its network in the Sultanate of Oman.

Continuing the rural broadband theme that has been in the news lately, NetOne – Zimbabwe’s second-biggest operator and a state-owned entity – has announced the next phase of its mobile broadband expansion project.

Mobile telecommunication company China Mobile and the national cable TV operator China Broadcasting Network (CBN) have worked out the terms of a 700 MHz 5G implementation plan, with the operator to control base station prices and first of all own 100% of the shared network.

Huawei chairman Xu Zhijun announced that the Chinese telecom giant Huawei Technologies will launch its 6G networks in 2030, which is 50 times faster than 5G.

With an eye to the continuing drive to boost services to citizens and businesses, Botswana has floated a tender for the design, supply, installation, commissioning, operation and support of internet and backhaul connectivity in 61 of the country’s villages.

Pan-African operator Vodacom has installed three new solar-powered sites in South Africa as part of what it describes as its energy and carbon management strategy and commitment to reducing its impact on the environment.

Satellite networking technology, solutions and services company Gilat Satellite Networks has announced that it has received a $12 million service award for recurring revenues from broadband services in Cusco, Peru.

The giant telecoms corporation America Movil, having decided on a reorganization earlier this year, is now to propose a spinoff of its towers business to shareholders.

Africa’s largest telecom company MTN Group is reportedly in talks with potential international buyers for its wireless business in Afghanistan, a bid to accelerate plans to exit the country, as per a Bloomberg report.

Dr. Amr Talaat, Egypt’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology, has announced plans to provide more than 60 million people in rural areas with high-speed internet under an ambitious drive to unlock new pathways for economic growth.

UAE-headquartered satellite solutions provider Al Yah Satellite (Yahsat) has selected Cobham SATCOM, a provider of satellite communications solutions to the land, aeronautical and maritime industries, to deliver a comprehensive mobile broadband system, including ground infrastructure and products, to operate as part of its next-generation Thuraya 4-NGS system.

Investors continue to display a strong appetite for data centre investment in the Asia Pacific region. The data centre market across the region is expected to see another record year in terms of investment, with an estimated US$1.8 billion in direct investments already transacted in the first half of 2021.

Satellite and multi-transport technologies and networks specialist Hughes Network Systems and Bharti group-backed low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb have signed an MoU for a strategic agreement to distribute satellite services in India to large enterprises, small and medium businesses, government, telcos, and ISPs in the rural and remote parts of the country.

International rating agency S&P maintained Bharti Airtel’s credit rating of “BBB-“, and upgraded outlook to stable from negative, indicating the company’s improved financial status and ability to pay back debt.

The principal telecommunications company in Bahrain Batelco has announced the expansion of its mobile network, to cover major housing developments currently being built by the Ministry of Housing and the private sector across Bahrain.

In an interesting example of cooperation to avoid duplication, Tanzania is planning to use electricity infrastructure to deploy broadband services.

ZTE Corporation has exclusively won the bid for 5G nomadic base stations from China Mobile Research Institute.