Telecom

Ooredoo, CK Hutchison merge Indonesia’s telco units for $6 billion

Qatar’s Ooredoo and Hong Kong’s CK Hutchison announced on Thursday a $6 billion merger deal that will look to combine Indosat Ooredoo and Hutchison 3 Indonesia (H3I) under a unified telecoms entity labelled “Ooredoo Hutchison Asia.” Both companies highlighted that the deal would set the stage to accelerate fierce competition in the telecoms and internet […]

Ethiopia’s RFP kicks off partial privatization of Ethio Telecom

Ethiopian authorities announced on Tuesday a bidding proposal for partial privatization of state-owned Ethio Telecom, inviting private investors to acquire a 40 percent stake in its lead telecom service provider. The country’s Ministry of Finance led the bidding process by delivering a request for proposal (RFP) for the partial privatization. The move is designed to […]

Indian Cabinet approves telecom relief package

India’s Union Cabinet approved on Wednesday a profusion of the eagerly anticipated relief package aiming to support the country’s distressed telecom sector by providing the option of converting interest on spectrum dues into government equity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Union Cabinet confirmed nine structural reforms and five process reforms leading to a transformation of India’s […]

Myanmar’s authorities pull support of M1 Group’s Telenor buyout

Myanmar’s military government is forcing Norwegian provider Telenor to pursue other buyers following blunt corruption allegations against Lebanese-owned investment firm M1 Group, with rumors of suspected relations to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. M1 Group is a Lebanese conglomerate that owns, manages, and oversees investments and subsidiaries in various sectors such as telecommunications, real estate, aviation, […]

Huawei expects to release 6G in 2030

Just days before the one-year anniversary of the U.S. blacklisting on China’s chip industry, Huawei’s chairman Eric Xu Zhiju announced that the Chinese vendor hopes to launch its 6G network and products in 2030, according to Global Times. It is not a recent declaration that Huawei is actively working on its sixth generation of wireless network, […]

Egypt’s internet boost for grandiose economic growth

Egypt invested $2 billion into its latest program to ambitiously unlock new economic growth by upgrading its metropolitan internet infrastructure to 43 Mbps to reach more than 60 million residents in rural areas. The Minister of Communications Dr. Amr Talaat announced plans to capitalize a $360 million budget on fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) spread across the country. […]

KT acquires Epsilon for $145 million for global data market shift

South Korea’s largest telco KT Corp announced on Friday its acquisition of Epsilon for $145 million from Malaysian conglomerate Kuok Group, framing the South Korean operator to be the dominant stakeholder in the Singapore-based communication firm. The acquisition’s terms gave KT’s partnership with Daishin Private Equity a 100 percent stake in Epsilon from Kuok Group. […]

India’s Vodafone Idea remains hopeful as stock plummets

As Vodafone Idea descends deeper into its doom, India’s leading telco stock plunged on Wednesday over 5 percent in afternoon trading hours on Bombay Stock Exchange after the operator’s proposals to revive the telecom sector had been snubbed during a recent Cabinet meeting. Last month, the telco’s shares witnessed an 18 percent rise, reaching 31 […]

DT closes Softbank deal as it eyes up U.S. telecoms market

In a labyrinthine deal of swapping, selling, and buying shares, Japanese conglomerate Softbank Group Corp. dropped the curtain on what could be a crowned deal, as it plans to own segments of Deutsche Telecom by selling units of its T-Mobile U.S. Inc. shares to the German telco. Deutsche Telekom (DT) has finally revealed plans to […]

KSA’s sovereign fund to acquire 60% of Zain towers

Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund proposed a non-binding offer to acquire a 60 percent stake in Kuwaiti-backed Zain’s KSA towers with various investors offering to buy another 20 percent, leaving the telco’s assets with an $807 million valuation, according to Zain KSA. The Public Investment Fund (PIF) offered a whopping $484 million for 60 percent […]