Wireless Networks

The telecommunications company that operates in Albania, One Telecommunications (Telekom Albania), has completed the second and final phase of network modernisation, relying entirely on Ericsson technology.

South African operator MTN has announced plans to invest some $11.8 million in network expansion in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.

Indonesian telecommunications provider PT Indosat (Indosat Ooredoo) has reaffirmed plans to phase out its 3G network as it shifts resources to develop 4G and 5G services in a rapidly evolving market.

Serbian state-owned telecommunications operator Telekom Srbija will establish a subsidiary in North Macedonia called Mtel and start offering mobile services there by the end of 2021.

MyT Mobile, Mauritius Telecom (MT)'s mobile network, has launched the 5G services in the country one month after it obtained a 5G license for mobile telephony.

5G to drive mobile services market in China through 2026, said a study. The total mobile service revenues in China are poised to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1% from US$131.3bn in 2021 to US$152.7bn in 2026.

Globe Telecom, a provider of telecommunications services in the Philippines, announced that it had upgraded its third-generation (3G) network in 12 provinces to 4G Long-Term Evolution (LTE) with the completion and modernisation of several sites.

Ukrainian telecommunications company Kyivstar said that it covered an area with around 1.2 million residents with its LTE network in January-June 2021.

Neptune Communications has partnered with Parallel Wireless to deliver the Caribbean’s first O-RAN compliant 4G LTE solution in Barbados.

Armenian operator Ucom announced that it has launched Wi-Fi as a Service (WiFiaaS) for its business customers, enabling them to benefit from more stable Wi-Fi coverage and secure, high-quality connections.

MTN South Africa is working to expand its 5G coverage and has deployed 5G towers in Polokwane in Limpopo and Emalahleni (Witbank) in Mpumalanga. Despite uncertainty about the allocation of new spectrum, it has deployed 5G towers, reports Tech Central.

Estonian fixed and mobile operator Telia Eesti says its 5G network is now available in 77 locations in 14 main cities across the country.

Indian multinational telecommunications services company Bharti Airtel will collaborate with the semiconductor giant Intel for 5G network development by leveraging vRAN / O-RAN (virtualised/ open radio access network) technologies.

Vodafone Fiji has tapped Aryaka Networks to provide it with SD-WAN solutions so that it can provide fast and secure connectivity to enterprise customers in the Pacific region.

Canadian supplier of mobile and broadband wireless solutions NuRAN Wireless has signed a memorandum of understanding with MTN South Sudan for the deployment of rural sites under the network-as-a-service (NAAS) model.

Pakistani operator Jazz has announced a successful roll-out of massive MIMO technology, which, it says, enhances the 4G experience.

Ncell Axiata’s plan to increase its 4G coverage in Nepal is taking a new stride as the company is now gradually shifting its 4G LTE operation to the 900MHz frequency band.

Operator Moov Africa – Gabon Telecom has announced plans for an investment programme of more than 10 billion CFA francs (about $17.9 million) to bring coverage to Gabon's main roads – and many of its villages – using 3G and 4G technology.

Philippines three major telecommunications companies have completed initial tests of their technical capabilities and interoperability in preparation for the implementation of the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Act.

Despite numerous initiatives, it seems that hundreds of millions of people across the African continent still have no access to mobile broadband. However, satellite capacity provider Avanti Communications and clean power provider Clear Blue Technologies are hoping to change that.

The Sunil Mittal-led telco Bharti Airtel and its Finnish telecom gear maker Nokia have switched on their 5G field trial network in Mumbai’s Phoenix Mall in Lower Parel.

Operator Africell, which already has a presence in Sierra Leone, The Gambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, has announced plans to deploy a brand-new 5G-ready network in Angola with the help of vendor Nokia.

Mobile operator Orange Mali announced the launch of a 5G pilot in Mali's capital Bamako, inviting customers to be the first to test the new network.

Network upgrades and expansions in developing regions are very much in the news again – this time through a Millicom announcement involving some of its key Latin American markets and through plans from Hormuud Telecom in Somalia to bring 4G coverage to rural areas.

Within the first half of 2021, Cambodia’s Smart Axiata has deployed over 300 new base stations to extend its 4G coverage across nine provinces.

The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) is forecasted to have 62 million 5G mobile subscriptions by the end of 2026, representing about 73% of all mobile connections, the second-highest in the world after North America where the adoption rate will be 84%, said a study.

Zain Bahrain, the Mobile Broadband network operator in the kingdom, has selected Ericsson to expand its 4G and 5G coverage as well as introduce 5G low-band (sub-6GHz FDD) and mid-band (sub-6GHz TDD) carrier aggregation.

Vanuatu’s Telecommunications Radiocommunications and Broadcasting Regulator (TRBR) has confirmed that Digicel Vanuatu, Vodafone Vanuatu and WanTok Network will participate in the second stage rollout of its Universal Access Policy (UAP).

As 5G customers are on the rise on the back of continuing efforts to make the technology more available and accessible in the Philippines, Globe Telecom said it expects a faster rollout of fifth-generation technology in the country.