Telecom

Ethiopia extends telco license bidding deadline till April 2021

The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) announced on Tuesday that is has delayed the issuing of two new nationwide operating licenses. ECA made the announcement via Twitter confirming that the decision was taken to delay the process following requests received from would-be bidders during the question-and-answer period of the request for proposals (RFP) process for the […]

O2, NEC complete OpenRAN trial

British O2 telecoms and Japanese NEC announced on Monday a successful OpenRAN trial conducted on O2’s network with NEC and its ecosystem of partners. According to a joint statement, NEC helped to define a customized OpenRAN architecture, optimized, and adapted to the requirements of the O2 mobile network. NEC coordinated the overall design of the […]

Orange, Free Mobile network sharing deal falters

French telecoms giant Orange announced late last week that it would be ending discussions with Free Mobile with regards to setting up a mobile network sharing agreement, citing a divergence in deployment strategy. “Given a divergence in deployment strategy, Orange has decided to end these discussions. For Orange, the quality of its networks is a […]

“Try me:” Rouhani warns judiciary prosecuting telecoms minister

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasted the country’s judicial body this week over its prosecution of Iran’s telecoms minister following his alleged refusal of blocking Instagram and other social media sites. Rouhani – who’s considered a moderate within the Islamic Republic – questioned the judiciary’s move during a cabinet meeting held on Jan 27, arguing that […]

Sercomtel to layoff 50% of its staff

Regional Brazilian telecoms operator Sercomtel announced on Thursday that it will laying off 50 percent of its workforce in an attempt to ensure its continuity in the market, which is heavily burdened by debt. The mass layoff – which will see its current 456 staff members cut by half – is part of the telco’s […]

Chunghwa Telecom unveils $1.5 billion plan to boost 5G deployment

Taiwan’s largest telecoms operator, Chunghwa Telecom, announced on Tuesday plans to drastically increase capital expenditures by a record high 82.8 percent to $1.5 billion for 2021, the company said. The plan – expected to raise revenues by one percent – will include accelerated deployment of its 5G networks, submarine cables, and data centers across the […]

UK telecoms spent £940m in COVID-19 support during 2020

While the novel COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm early last year, UK telecoms operators were quick to respond to people who desperately needed to be connected online with initiatives amounting to £940m ($1.29 billion), a recent report stated. According to UK-based research firm Assembly Research, many telcos offered additional allowances of texts, calls […]

Ofcom delays spectrum auction till March 2021

British telecoms regulator Ofcom have, yet again, delayed the auction of the 700MHz and 3.6-3.8GHz spectrum bands until March 2021, citing the country’s current battle with COVID-19 as the prime reason. The auction, which was originally planned to take place this month, would increase the total spectrum for UK operators by almost a fifth – […]

Honor distances itself from Huawei in new brand strategy

Budget Chinese phone maker, Honor, outlined late last week its new brand strategy as it kicks off the year as a fully independent company, aiming to broaden its scope onto various other technologies. During a livestreamed event, George Zhao, CEO of Honor Device Co., Ltd unveiled a slate of new products for 2021, including the […]