Telecom

MTN officially bows out of Ethiopia & Syria

South Africa’s MTN announced on Thursday that it will not re-bid for an operating license in Ethiopia, and is arranging to exist the Syrian market, CEO Ralph Mupita was quoted as saying during a media briefing on the financial half year results.   This official statement follows Ethiopia’s announcement earlier this month to re-open bidding for its second telecoms operator license in August, including the right to operate mobile financial services.  However, […]

Russian ER Telecom acquires Avantel for undisclosed sum

Russian provider ER Telecom, acquired on Tuesday 100 percent of the united group of companies, Avantel, a telecom operator in the Russian B2B market.  ER Telecom failed to reveal the financial details of the agreement, but announced in a statement that the deal will enhance its positions in the segment of services for business and government customers.   Additionally, ER will be able to benefit from Avantel’s various markets in Moscow, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Barnaul, Nizhnevartovsk, Nefteyugansk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Samara and St. Petersburg.  […]

Huawei’s Q2 revenues dip to 29%, as KT profit soars by 38%

Chinese telecom giant Huawei experienced fatal losses in Q2 2021 revenues, while South Korea-based telecom provider, KT Corporation, acquired on Tuesday a remarkable increase in profits during the same period. The two-year old U.S. sanctions imposed on the Chinese firm pounded both its network infrastructure and smartphone sales. The consumer electronics business was the company’s […]

Safaricom will offer mobile money services in Ethiopia

Ethiopia will allow the Safaricom-led consortium to offer mobile money services throughout the country, signaling the end of Ethio Telecom’s monopoly over the service, local media reported late last week.   This step follows the government’s announcement earlier last week of re-opening bidding on second operator license including the right to operate mobile financial services.  Previously, any new entrant was barred from offering any mobile money based […]

U.S. advises against Brazil’s usage of Huawei 5G equipment

The U.S. has expressed its support toward Brazil’s proposal of becoming a NATO partner but stressed its concerns regarding the Latin American country’s business with Chinese telecoms titan Huawei within its 5G telecoms network, White House officials told reporters on Monday.  During a trip to Brazil last week, U.S. National Security Advisor notified President Jair Bolsonaro of the state’s concerns in partnering with Huawei citing cybersecurity […]

South Korea to release Samsung scion on parole

South Korea will release billionaire Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong on parole this week after he spent 18 months in prison for his role in a massive corruption scandal that triggered nationwide protests and led to the ouster of the country’s previous president. The announcement Monday by the Justice Ministry, which came with a year left […]

Vodafone Idea refuse to file for voluntary bankruptcy

Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi), a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Group (ABG), is not looking to file for voluntary bankruptcy despite its financial struggles, ABG senior executives told ET Telecom.  Vi’s financial criticality was revealed on June 7 when Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the telco, wrote to the government offering to hand over the group’s stake in Vi to any public sector or local financial entity who could save the company.  In his letter, Birla asserted that without immediate government support, […]

MTN backs out of Ethiopia, as it renews operating license in Rwanda

South Africa’s MTN have expressed their unlikeliness to resubmit a bid to enter Ethiopia’s telecoms market, Bloomberg reported citing sources familiar with the matter.   The company’s possible move, came after Ethiopia announced earlier this week plans to re-open bidding on second operator license including the right to operate mobile financial services.  This comes as a surprise to many, as […]

Canadian justice lawyer: US didn't mislead in Huawei arrest

There is no evidence to support defense allegations the U.S. acted in bad faith or omitted evidence in an attempt to mislead an extradition hearing for a top executive at Chinese communications giant Huawei Technologies, a Canadian government lawyer said Thursday. The argument came in a hearing for Meng Wanzhou, who is Huawei’s chief financial […]

Serbian Telecom introduces mobile services in Macedonia

Serbia-based telecom company, Telekom Srbija, announced on Thursday the launching of its new subsidiary in North Macedonia called Mtel, to provide mobile services in the area by the end of 2021.  The future subsidiary will offer satellite TV services that will be launched within a month; along with mobile telephony and optical internet services that will be provided by the end of 2021, according to Serbian media reports.  The state-owned company revealed that it aims to expand […]