Enterprise Ecosystems

Cash-strapped Indian telco Vodafone Idea, rebranded as Vi, is planning to ease its financial woes by selling its fixed-line broadband subsidiary, optic fibre unit, and data centres business.

An interesting, and apparently continent-wide, communications deal has been announced involving the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) and Spanish technology services company Lleida.net.

Indian mobile provider Vodafone Idea (Vi) posted a loss of INR 6,985.1 crore (USD939.5 million) for the three months to end-March 2021 and raised concerns over its ability to service debt and pay adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and spectrum dues.

Russia’s largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS) has acquired compatriot service provider Multiregional TransitTelecom (MTT) for RUB 5.0 billion (US$69 million) on an enterprise value basis.

Angola Telecom (AT), a telecommunications and Internet service provider of Angola, will again become a shareholder of the compatriot mobile phone company Movicel after leaving the company at the end of 2019, due to the huge debt that the company has with the national telecom operator.

Announced last May, the purchase of Vogel Telecom by compatriot telecommunications provider Algar Telecom received an unrestricted approval report by Brazilian regulator Cade's General Superintendence (SG).

Tecnotree has landed a digital transformation contract with MTN Group covering several African markets.

PPF Telecom Group, a strategic PPF Group vehicle used to consolidate investments in telecommunications, has increased its stake in the telecommunications provider O2 Czech Republic (Czechia) and now wants to take the firm private.

Bahrain Telecommunications (Batelco) confirmed it conducted a preliminary assessment of the merits of dual listing, but clarified that as of now there is no filing with any stock exchange.

Oman’s telecommunications services provider Omantel, and Huawei, the global provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices, have collaborated to establish a regional ICT training center to support talent development in the Sultanate.

Viasat World has signed a renewal agreement with the telecommunication company Digi Group for the distribution of its channels on Digi TV’s digital cable, satellite, and Digi Online platforms in Hungary and Romania, and on IPTV in Hungary.

APAC region contributed nearly 60% of mobile gaming revenue in 2020, said a study. China accounted for the lion’s share of the global mobile gaming market.

Philippines’ third major player in the telecommunications industry DITO Telecommunity Corporation is approaching the one-millionth subscriber mark a few months after its official launch in March.

IoT specialist Kerlink has partnered with wireless, real-time water-management systems provider WEGoT to expand and accelerate adoption of WEGoT’s solutions to help address serious water shortages in India.

Southeastern Europe (SEE) region pay-TV, internet, and telecoms provider United Group’s spate of acquisitions boost its annualised revenues almost treble in the year to March to close to EUR 2 billion.

Telecom Egypt (TE) and Vodafone Group have inked a modified shareholders’ agreement which includes changes to Vodafone Egypt’s dividend policy.

Ukrainian telecommunications operator Datagroup announced that it has completed the acquisition of the operator Volia, the country's Pay-TV and broadband service provider.

IoT solutions for machines and fleet management are coming to India and Qatar, according to recent partnership announcements in both countries.

Fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc is acquiring the stake of PLDT unit Digital Telecommunications Philippines (Digitel) in two firms involved in cable landing stations in the Philippines.

Fiji's principal telecommunications holding company Amalgamated Telecom Holdings (ATH) has announced the signing of a conditional share sale agreement to purchase a 30.34% interest in Bluesky Pacific Holdings from Unit Trust of Samoa (UTOS).

As India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has allocated the spectrum and agreed on trials and testing of 5G, more companies are showing interest in the 5th generation mobile network and technologies, said a study.

Qatar-based multinational telecom company Ooredoo is launching the Enterprise EDGE service, which, according to the company, can be added to any standard networking service to speed cloud adoption, boost operational agility, and meet network connectivity’s need for cost-effective bandwidth.

Brazilian Internet Service Provider (ISP) Desktop Sigmanet is planning to stage an initial public offering (IPO).

Polish OSS provider Suntech has won a new contract with Singapore-based StarHub to upgrade its service fulfilment platforms as part of an ongoing digital transformation process.

Arc Solutions, a joint venture launched by Du and Batelco, has signed an agreement with global telecoms operator BSO to interconnect network footprints in the Middle East and around the world.

Airtel Africa's customer base grew by 6.9% to 118.2 million, with increased penetration across mobile data (customer base up 14.5%) and mobile money services (customer base up 18.5%).

Telkomsel, a unit of Indonesia’s state-owned and largest telecom operator Telkom, has invested an additional US $300 million in ride-hailing and payments firm Gojek, just months after the network provider wrote a $150 million check to the Southeast Asian firm.

BT Group’s Egyptian unit has been granted a licence to provide connectivity services and information transfer to institutions and companies through its international networks.

African multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN Group said that its Nigerian unit MTN Nigeria (MTNN) Communications has completed the issuance of an N110 billion (USD 263 million) fixed-rate bond due in 2028 under an N200 billion bond programme.

Hong Kong-based multinational conglomerate CK Hutchison has agreed with the Qatari multinational telecommunications company Ooredoo to extend the period of negotiations on a potential transaction to combine their respective subsidiaries Hutchison 3 Indonesia and Indosat, on an exclusive basis, until 30 June.

UAE-based operator du has selected Netcracker’s Digital BSS for its digital transformation program.

Nokia and Mobily have completed a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network deployment in the L-800 band in Saudi Arabia.

If India is to successfully pursue its self-reliance aims it will need skilled workers. However, a new report commissioned by Amazon Web Services (AWS) from strategy and economics consulting firm AlphaBeta indicates a massive shortfall in one key area: digital technology.