CommsUpdate
TeleGeography's free daily email summary of the world’s top telecom news stories.
13 Mar 2013
WIRELESS
Wataniya signs network upgrade deal with Ericsson
Kuwaiti cellco Wataniya Telecom has inked a deal with Ericsson for upgrades to its radio access network. Under the terms of the deal, the Swedish vendor will upgrade Wataniya’s 2G... more
Telefonica contracts Ceragon for Mexican network upgrade
Ceragon Networks has announced that it has received a follow-on order from Spanish telecoms giant Telefonica. Under the terms of the deal Ceragon will upgrade the network of Telefonica’s Mexican... more
Atlantique Telecom selects Ericsson to manage African mobile networks
Etisalat-owned Atlantique Telecom, which has operations in Benin, the Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Niger and Togo, has signed a five-year multi-country managed services agreement with Ericsson. Under the... more
Personal fined over 3G network outage
Argentine mobile operator has been ordered to pay ARS13.5 million (USD2.7 million) in fines and compensation by the Comision Nacional de Comunicaciones (CNC), after customers experienced service failure on the... more
Really saying something: Bainimarama outlines mobile, broadband expansion plan
Fiji’s interim government has reiterated its commitment to providing every Fijian access to affordable mobile and broadband telecoms services through its Universal Access Programme. The Fiji Times Online reports that... more
LAP Green reaffirms commitment to Ambitel launch, despite shareholder dispute
LAP Green Network, the Libyan telecoms group established by the late Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, has insisted that it is committed to launching mobile services through its Ambitel unit in Sierra... more
Unsold CDMA spectrum to go back on sale; MNP banned for closing cellcos
Indian watchdog the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is expected to include the remaining CDMA spectrum left unsold after Monday’s auction, in which Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL) was the only participant,... more
Reliance looks to launch 4G by year-end, sell 25% stake to AT&T
Reliance Jio Infocomm is preparing to launch 4G services by the end of the year with rollout expected to start in Delhi and Mumbai before extending to 69 cities in... more
Orange draws first blood with 3G launch in Bangui
Orange Centrafrique has announced that it has become the first operator in the Central African Republic to launch a 3G network. The mobile broadband network, which it says offers maximum... more
Telus expands LTE to Saint John
Telus has expanded its commercial 4G LTE mobile broadband network to Saint John, following other recent LTE launches in the Atlantic Canada region, including St. John's, Moncton, Charlottetown and Halifax.... more
BROADBAND
BT ups coverage target for Cornwall fibre rollout
BT is expanding the scope of the programme under which it is rolling out fibre-based broadband services in Cornwall, with the fixed line incumbent confirming it now expects 95% of... more
Kabel Deutschland launches 100Mbps broadband in new areas
German cable network operator Kabel Deutschland has expanded availability of its high speed broadband service to Stade and Ingelheim and the surrounding areas. The company said that around 32,000 households... more
Syria, Iran and Iraq ink fibre-optic agreement
The Middle Eastern nations of Syria, Iran and Iraq have signed a joint agreement aimed at establishing fibre-optic connectivity between their countries, news agency Vestnikkavkaza reports. At the tripartite signing... more
Vestitel’s second Greek-Bulgarian route ready in five months
Bulgaria-based Vestitel has begun construction work on a new fibre-optic link between Greece and Bulgaria, to form a fully protected diverse route, augmenting its existing fibre route between the two... more
SaskTel lines up 50 more rural communities for broadband
Saskatchewan telco SaskTel has revealed that it is expanding broadband internet to 50 additional rural Saskatchewan communities in 2013. At the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) Conference in Saskatoon... more
WIRELINE
Identify yourself, Arcep tells Skype
French telecoms regulator Arcep says it has informed the Paris public prosecutor of Skype’s possible failure to comply with its obligation to declare itself as an electronic communications operator in... more
CORPORATE/FINANCIAL
FCC approves T-Mobile, MetroPCS merger
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved T-Mobile USA's proposed merger with MetroPCS, nudging the deal one step closer to completion. The transaction has received approval from the Department of... more
Bharti boosts stake in Airtel Nigeria to 79%
Indian telecoms group Bharti Airtel has said that its wholly-owned Nigerian subsidiary has acquired an additional 13.36% stake in mobile operator Airtel Nigeria, raising its total shareholding in the cellco... more
VelaTel closes China Motion acquisition
VelaTel Global Communications has completed the acquisition of a 100% equity interest in China Motion Telecom (HK), a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) with more than 100,000 customers in Hong... more
ArmenTel (Beeline) reports slump in fixed, mobile revenue
ArmenTel, which offers fixed and mobile services in Armenia under the banner Beeline, has reported a drop in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2012. The company, a wholly owned... more
Middle East tycoons stump up for Virgin action
The Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC), a financial institution wholly owned by the six countries that comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) – namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and... more
Telecel Globe FY revenues drop slightly to USD90.7m
According to Bloomberg Business Week, Telecel Globe which encompasses Vimpelcom’s mobile units in sub-Saharan Africa, generated revenues of USD90.73 million during the twelve months ended 31 December 2012, down from... more
Regulator appoints trio of independents to Turkcell board
Turkey's financial industry regulator, the Capital Markets Board, has appointed three independent directors to Turkcell's board, removing three existing directors in the process. The development was revealed in an emailed... more
Ooredoo brand launched in Qatar as company gears up for 4G launch
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) officially rebranded its domestic operations under the ‘Ooredoo’ banner at a launch event on 11 March. At the event, the operator emphasised the preparations for its imminent... more
MISCELLANEOUS
Operators sue government over double taxation
GhanaWeb reports that the country’s telecoms operators are suing the government over what they claim is double taxation of the Communications Service Tax (CST). According to the network operators, the... more