Wireless Networks

Technology group Liquid Intelligent Technologies, and South Africa’s Western Cape Government have announced at the Africa Tech Festival 2024 in Cape Town that they have renewed a partnership to continue expanding connectivity in the province.

Industries are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) as a cornerstone for operations and strategy, creating massive real-time data streams and setting high standards for mobile network performance.

State-controlled telco Telecom Egypt said on Monday it has signed several multi-year agreements worth up to EGP30 billion (US$609.5 million) to provide infrastructure services to Vodafone Egypt to support its preparation for rolling out 5G.

At the Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2024 (MBBF 2024) in Istanbul, an exclusive ELITE FWA Club Media Roundtable discussed the potential for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and 5.5G, which is also referred to as 5G-Advanced or 5G-A technologies across the GCC.

On Day 2 of the Global MBB Forum 2024, Yang Chaobin, Huawei's Board Member and President of ICT Products and Solutions, opened the keynote speech with the declaration that the mobile AI era is roaring in.

Ericsson announced on Tuesday it has completed the expansion and modernisation of MTN Rwanda’s network in Kigali to extend coverage and make the network ready for 5G rollouts in the future.

Sri Lankan operator Dialog Axiata has claimed a first: the deployment of the world’s first commercial virtual base station controller (vBSC) with Ericsson.

While Nigerian plans to open up the market to many new MVNOs are not necessarily guaranteed success, they have certainly been good for Wireless Technology Labs (WTL), which recently announced that it had been chosen by MobileCoreX Ltd (MCX), a Nigerian mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE), to spearhead the development of the country’s first mobile virtual network.

Malaysian operator U Mobile has won the rights to implement Malaysia’s second 5G network to compete with original 5G operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB), leaving rival contenders CelcomDigi and Maxis to rethink their 5G plans.

The Day One Keynote session at MBBF 2024 emphasised that we are entering a new era of AI facilitated by the expansion of 5.5G. With 5.5G expanding the boundaries of connections, AI allows them to connect intelligently.

Brazilian neutral network and digital infrastructure company V.tal, recently in the news thanks to its interest in troubled operator Oi Brasil’s fibre broadband base, is now making headlines through an indoor 5G deal for Brazilian shopping centres.

Millicom International Cellular, a provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications services in Latin America, has announced a tower sale agreement with SBA Communications Corporation (SBA), an independent owner and operator of wireless communications infrastructure.

Orex Sai – the Open RAN joint venture between NTT DoCoMo and NEC – says it has been selected by Cambodia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for a project to deploy a 4G Open RAN test network.

ZTE has unveiled the innovations of its RAN multi-agent collaboration solution with China Mobile during the China International Information and Communications Technology Exhibition (PTEXPO) in Beijing.

The Iraqi government is reportedly in talks with foreign companies to operate the country’s planned 5G network, a year after the 5G network plan was greenlighted by the Iraqi Communication Ministry.

The growing role of advanced wireless communications in transport hubs and transport networks has been underlined by two recent deals in Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra state, southwestern India, involving the city’s metro and a new airport.

Ericsson said on Friday its Nigerian unit has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian government to establish a framework of cooperation covering 5G technology development, deployment and innovation.

From one dynamic city to another, Mobile Broadband Forum 2024 is a must-attend event for anyone interested in technology.

Six months after having started the first pilots, Mas Movil last week officially announced the activation of the initial phase of its 5G network in Panama. But it is also looking forward to 2025 when new spectrum should be available.

Ericsson announced on Tuesday it has completed an automated upgrade of Vodafone Oman’s core network applications and cloud infrastructure, which will enable the telco to deploy standalone (SA) 5G services.

Vietnamese telco Viettel announced the nationwide launch of its standalone (SA) 5G service on Tuesday, making it the first operator in the country to do so.

Philippine telco Dito Telecommunity has launched a 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) service featuring a home Wi-Fi service powered by 5G RedCap technology.

The Indian wireless network megadeals keep on coming. The latest, involving tech giant Ericsson, is a multi-billion dollar contract for 5G equipment which it will supply to Indian operator Bharti Airtel.

Nokia has partnered with RACSA (Radiográfica Costarricense SA) to deploy the first 5G standalone (SA) network in Costa Rica.

All four of Egypt’s mobile operators are officially clear to offer 5G services after the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) awarded 5G licences to Vodafone Egypt, Orange Egypt, and e& Egypt on Monday.

The battle for India’s end users is not just about coverage on streets and in homes. Continuing the trend of bringing wireless communications to public rail transport, two of the country’s big three operators have just announced new metro coverage achievements in two major cities.

Ericsson and Malaysian wholesale 5G operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) said on Tuesday they successfully partnered with Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) to conduct what they say is the country’s first live TV broadcast over a commercial 5G network.

Nokia revealed on Saturday details of last week’s billion-dollar network contract win with Indian telco Vodafone Idea to modernise and expand its 4G network – to include 5G upgrades – over the next three years.

Tunisia’s three biggest mobile operators – Tunisie Telecom, Orange Tunisie and Ooredoo Tunisia – reportedly submitted their applications for 5G licences on Monday, with approval expected in the next three weeks.

Continuing a busy week for Nokia in terms of news headlines, operator Zain Iraq has announced a strategic partnership with the technology giant to upgrade its network in the south of Iraq.

Service provider Telia Lithuania and Ribbon Communications, a global provider of real-time communications technology and IP optical networking solutions, have come together to upgrade communications for Lithuania’s rail network.

Service provider MTN South Africa and technology giant ZTE Corporation have announced Africa's first 5G ultra-range maritime offshore coverage at Mossel Bay, Western Cape, South Africa.

One week after launching 5G across Uzbekistan, state-owned telco Uzbektelecom JSC, which operates as Uztelecom, made good on its promise to launch 5G-Advanced (a.k.a. 5.5G) this week, albeit only for testing.