Operators

Hungarian operator group 4iG has officially entered the telecoms market in North Macedonia by establishing a subsidiary, ONE Macedonia Telecommunications, as part of its growth strategy.

Telecom Namibia said on Monday it has launched a dedicated whistleblowing hotline that enables anyone – including its own employees – to report any fraudulent and corrupt activities being committed within Telecom Namibia’s organisation.

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom reduced its carbon emissions by 4.2% through Qualcomm’s AI-powered RAN automation platform, as part of its broader goal to achieve net zero by 2050.

Veon announced plans to shift its headquarters from Amsterdam to Dubai, as part of a strategic alignment to bring the operator closer to key markets.

Vietnamese operator VNPT has signed an agreement to use Ericsson equipment for its 5G rollout across major cities.

Dito Telecommunity celebrated reaching 13 million subscribers as of this month (October), and CEO Eric Alberto claimed the challenger operator will achieve profitability within a few years.

Mobile operator Orange Burkina Faso is reportedly unable to access almost 15% of its telecom sites due to the security situation in those areas as fighting between the military government and Islamist armed groups continues.

CelcomDigi has enhanced its fibre broadband services to strengthen its position against competitors as demand for high-speed internet continues to grow in Malaysia.

In July, we reported that Thai billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi was planning to merge two companies that he controls - Intouch Holdings, which holds a majority 40.4% stake in AIS, and power firm Gulf Energy Development. Now, shareholders in the firms have reportedly approved the proposal.

Dialog Axiata unveiled what it described as Sri Lanka’s first AI-powered health scanning feature in its telemedicine app Doc990, which claims to be able to monitor multiple key indicators of health directly from smartphones.

Veon announced it completed the sale of its 49% stake in Kazakh wholesale infrastructure company TNS+ for US$137.5 million following regulatory approval.

Indian operator Bharti Airtel paid INR84.65 billion (US$1 billion) towards its debt for spectrum acquired in the 2016 auction, weeks after the supreme court threw out operator pleas to readjust their dues.

A London High Court has rejected an appeal by former Unitel director Isabel dos Santos to unfreeze assets worth around US$778 million.

The Connectivity Plan Task Force (CPTF) spearheaded by Philippine telco Globe Telecom has reportedly asked the government to subsidise up to 50GB of data per month to families in rural areas to boost usage of base stations in those areas.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has approved a $400 million loan for Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL), marking a significant step toward its acquisition of Telenor Group’s operations in Pakistan.

Kenyan service provider Safaricom has been in the news this week for an initiative involving healthcare – and also for a sustainability-linked loan.

Ethiopia’s state-owned service provider Ethio Telecom has announced that it is rolling out what it calls its Copper Switch-Off Strategic Initiative; its aim is to migrate 100,000 of the company’s copper-based customers to high-speed fibre optic connections during the current Ethiopian fiscal year.

Operator Vodacom South Africa has built an enablement platform for mobile virtual network operators and signed up its first MVNO client, declaring the platform open for business.

Digicel Papua New Guinea hailed efforts in expanding its mobile network to all 21 provinces of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, noting 4G coverage now stands at 80% in the location where in the past, it was rumoured to be exiting.

Nokia signed a deal to deploy locally manufactured 5G equipment across Vietnam for state-owned operator Viettel Group.

Vietnamese telco Viettel reportedly plans to give away 4G feature phones to 700,000 of its 2G-only subscribers to migrate them to 4G as the government’s delayed shutdown of 2G draws near.

Nepalese telco Ncell has denied market rumors that it has struck a deal to take over fixed-broadband ISP Classic Tech, although it confirmed that is seeking some sort of deal with an ISP.

Axian Telecom was reportedly looking to acquire Kenya-based mobile, internet and TV provider Wananchi Group.

Vodacom South Africa unveiled the Mobicel S4 4G Cloud Phone in a bid to equip more subscribers with smartphones and migrate them to modern 4G networks.

The GSMA launched in conjunction with 19 operators its Responsible AI (RAI) Maturity Roadmap to provide operators with guidelines to effectively and safely tap into the emerging technology.

Brazilian provider Oi deployed Nokia software to enhance broadband subscriber experiences, open new revenue channels and protect its assets from theft.

India’s state-owned operator BSNL has reportedly started 5G trials in the country ahead of its imminent launch of 4G. However, mobile market leader Reliance Jio is looking much further ahead – to business cases that could monetise its (already launched) 5G network.

Just under three weeks after India’s Union Bank froze the accounts of state-run telecom firm MTNL over non-payment of dues, news reports are suggesting that at least half a dozen lenders classified loans to MTNL as non-performing assets (NPA) in August. So what happens now?