Telecom

Bharti Airtel concludes spectrum trading agreement with Jio

Indian telecoms provider Bharti Airtel announced on Friday the closure of its spectrum trading agreement with its local rival Reliance Jio to transfer the “Right to Use” of Airtel’s 800 MHz spectrum in three circles to Jio.  Airtel had announced earlier in April the trading agreement without disclosing its financial details.   However, Indian media reports revealed on Friday that Airtel received $135.5 million net of tax from Jio for the proposed transfer. Additionally, Jio […]

China Mobile net profit soars by 6% driven by new 5G users

China Mobile announced on Thursday a 6 percent year-on-year (YoY) increase in net profit for the first half of 2021, driven by new 5G users.  In its recent report, the state-owned telecom revealed that its net profit for H1 of 2021 hiked to $9.12 billion from $8.61 billion for the same period last year.  The telco highlighted that its new 5G users enhanced average revenue per user.  As for operating revenues, China Mobile amounted $68.5 billion for the first six months of […]

What is bandwidth throttling and how to stop it

If you are someone who enjoys “unlimited” data plans for your home internet, then you may be familiar with the phenomena of bandwidth throttling. Yes, it has a name, and that’s because it is deliberate and perfectly legal. You may not have known that, but what you also might not have known is that it […]

Vodafone Idea bankruptcy to hit 2G users hard

Indian telecom operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) 2G subscribers would be the most affected if the company’s financial state remains unsolved, a source close to the matter told ET Telecom.   In this case, Vi’s local rivals Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel will have to facilitate alternative options for Vi’s 2G customers.  Experts highlighted that these solutions include providing low-end 4G smartphones or 4G feature phones to Vodafone Idea’s low-end 2G customers.  […]

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 […]