Telecom news

• MTN walks away from Ethiopia despite mobile money permit clause

  05-08-2021 20:38
  
  Ethiopia has formally announced that it will launch the process to award a second new mobile licence later this month, including a permit to offer financial services. But despite the removal of what has been widely seen as a key stumbling block in the liberalisation of the country’s telecoms market, African telco giant MTN is reportedly no longer interested.
  MTN is unlikely to bid for the licence, an outcome that could only been seen as a setback for the liberalisation process, Bloomberg r
  
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• Open House London tickets released next week

  05-08-2021 19:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A heads-up that booking for tickets to the annual chance to wander around grand and impressive buildings will be released next week.
  Unlike past years where it’s been a manic event packed into one weekend, this year it’s being spread out over a whole week, and two weekends – the 4th to 12th September. The details are not released yet, but they are planning a range of events, with a lot of online content, but also some buildings will be open to visitors.
  The tickets for the buil
  
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• An exhibition of medical curiosities

  05-08-2021 16:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The Royal Society of Medicine currently has an exhibition in its library of books from its collection detailing often very odd ideas about how medicine works. It’s mainly a collection of books and display cards, and it’s the stories that those display cards tell that is the real pleasure of the exhibition.
  Some letters from Sigmund Freud after he was granted an Honourary Fellowship, and his “boyish” reply asking if he could put any letters after his name, such as HFRSM. T
  
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• KPN links €1 billion credit facility to sustainability goals

  05-08-2021 15:48
  
  KPN has secured a €1 billion credit facility that is linked to its own sustainability goals, a further sign that telcos are taking this stuff seriously.
  The Netherlands-based operator said it has refinanced an existing credit line. The interest rate on the new facility is tied to KPN’s performance in three specific areas that form part of its sustainability drive: the rollout of fibre, which should help accelerate digitalisation in its home market; ongoing energy consumption reduction
  
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• Rakuten to build mobile network for 1&1

  05-08-2021 15:13
  
  Rakuten announced partnership with 1&1 to build “Europe’s first fully virtualised mobile network” for the German greenfield operator. The company also set up a separate unit to drive global expansion.
  Rakuten’s PR and comms team had a busy day. In addition to announcing the acquisition of its long-term OpenRAN partner Altiostar, the company also shared the story of its partnership with Germany’s greenfield operator 1&1. In essence, the partnership will have
  
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• Rakuten/1&1: German wireless deal is a lifeline

  05-08-2021 14:21
  Move into virtual networks represents push to sign different segment of customers
  
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• Infovista to showcase network lifecycle automation use cases at Big 5G Event 2021

  05-08-2021 13:50
  
  Massy, France –– August 5, 2021. Infovista, the global leader in network lifecycle automation, today announced details of its virtual and onsite participation at Big 5G Event 2021, August 30 – September 3, at the Colorado Convention Center, Denver. At the event, Infovista will showcase use cases for its network lifecycle automation (NLA) capability offering, having become the world’s first independent software vendor providing both Communications Service Providers (CSPs)
  
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• Eurobites: BT boosts security offering for homeworker army

  05-08-2021 13:50
  
  Also in today’s EMEA regional round-up: Swisscom on a roll in H1; Brits watching even more telly in lockdown; UK operators get to grips with 5G.The pandemic-prompted switch to large-scale remote working has persuaded BT to launch a new managed security service aimed at larger companies and the public sector. The idea is that it will help businesses to better manage complex security architectures – that now involve millions of former office habitués working from home, possibly
  
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• Three UK hails ongoing momentum in H1

  05-08-2021 13:30
  
  Revenue at the UK-based operator increased 5% in the first six months of the year, but prepaid customer growth and roaming remain areas of concern.
  Three UK reported a “solid” set of financial figures for the first six months of 2021 and appeared relieved it has been able to carry through the stronger momentum it experienced in the fourth quarter of last year.
  Darren Purkis, chief financial officer (CFO) of the UK’s fourth-largest operator, highlighted positive factors such as
  
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• Sistine Chapel exhibition coming to London

  05-08-2021 13:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Details are as foggy as a Catholic church after the incense burner has passed through, but there’s going to be a Sistine Chapel in London later this year. And for an exhibition about which little is known, the tickets are already on sale.
  An “immersive exhibition” from See Global Entertainment, it’s not a replica of the Vatican’s own chapel, which is actually quite small, but more of a room full of the artworks so you can get up close and look at them.
  Unlike the im
  
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• Rumours of Vodafone Idea giveaway persist as Birla steps down

  05-08-2021 13:00
  
  Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla has stepped down as non-executive chairman of Vodafone Idea sending the troubled telco’s shares into freefall as rumours that its main shareholders are prepared to give away their stakes for free continue to swirl.
  There is doubtless plenty of mileage left in this Indian telco saga, but the latest instalment further indicates how precarious the company’s position actually is.
  On Wednesday the company confirmed to the Indian stock exchange that
  
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• AccelerComm Joins DARPA Toolbox Initiative for Advanced Communications Research Projects

  05-08-2021 10:43
  
  Company licenses 5G Physical Layer IP to U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Southampton, UK - 5th August 2021: AccelerComm, the company supercharging 5G with physical layer IP which increases spectral efficiency and reduces latency, today announced an agreement with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Under the terms of the agreement, AccelerComm will provide access to its physical layer product portfolio that reduces error rates and maximises spectral efficie
  
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• London’s Pocket Parks: St George’s Gardens, WC1

  05-08-2021 08:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  This is a large secluded park that has several small entrances off residential roads, so unless you’re exploring Bloomsbury’s side streets it’s very easy to not know it’s here.With a name like St George’s, you won’t be surprised to learn that this pocket park is a former graveyard. What might surprise you though is that it was a graveyard shared by two churches, the Nicholas Hawksmoor church, St George’s Bloomsbury, and the church of St George the Martyr
  
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• Companies dole out stocks and ETFs as perks to loyal customers

  05-08-2021 06:00
  AT&T’s Cricket Wireless ties up with micro-investing app Acorns to reduce churn among pre-paid phone users
  
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• Ookla: Average Starlink speeds faster than existing UK broadband

  05-08-2021 02:00
  Just how viable is Starlink’s satellite communications offering for UK customers? The answer to this question is a complicated one, but a recent report from Ookla suggests that the initial results of SpaceX’s low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation are promising.Using Speedtest data from Q2 2021, the Ookla report showed that the average download speed via Starlink satellite was 108.30Mbps, more than double the UK fixed broadband average of 50…read more on TotalTele.com
  
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• MTN may give up Ethiopian ambitions

  05-08-2021 02:00
  Back in 2020, at the behest of prime minister Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian regulator announced that it would be making two new operating licences available, breaking Ethio Telecoms monopoly and opening up the country to foreign telcos for the first time. After much delay and speculation, the bidding process finally began earlier this year, attracting attention from some of the industry’s largest multinational players…read more on TotalTele.com »
  
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• Filipino newcomer Dito racks up two million subs in five months

  05-08-2021 02:00
  The journey of new Filipino operator Dito has so far been a rocky one.  Officially launched as Mislatel back in 2019, the company soon rebranded as Dito Telecommunity and announced that it would invest $6 billion in its new network, attempting capture 30% of the Filipino mobile market.  However, such ambitions were made to wait, with Dito tangled in a web of bureaucracy and legislation for around two years…read more on TotalTele.com »
  
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• 1&1 partners with Rakuten to build Germany’s fourth mobile network

  05-08-2021 02:00
  Back in 2019, Germany’s only virtual mobile network operator, 1&1 Drillisch, was notably allocated spectrum in the country’s 5G spectrum auction, signalling its intention to deploy its own mobile network infrastructure for the first time. Now, the operator has partnered with Japan’s Rakuten to build out a new Open RAN network, becoming the first operator in Europe to rely entirely on the new technology for its mobile network…read more on TotalTele.com »
  
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