Telecom operators in Austria are warning that a planned legislative amendment for fiber optic expansion is misguided, arguing that investment costs are exceptionally high in the country and criticizing the proposed changes.
China is accelerating the construction of a national computing network, aiming to establish AI infrastructure as a public utility amidst surging demand for AI tokens and new growth engines for telecom operators.
Nigeria's minister has warned telecom operators that they must ensure measurable improvements in their services or face appropriate regulatory action from the government.
Spanish telecom operators MasOrange and Vodafone have collectively lost more than 250,000 customer lines over three months, struggling against competitors Movistar and Digi. MasOrange recorded its worst month in March, while Movistar nearly doubled its line acquisition compared to the previous year.
Major Nigerian telecom operators, including Airtel and MTN, have suspended airtime and data borrowing services, citing new digital lending regulations. The FCCPC, however, denies issuing an outright ban, attributing service disruptions to misinformation or operators.
LG Uplus announced it signed the Tokyo Accord with Japanese telecom operators to expand cooperation in 6G and artificial intelligence. The agreement was made at the GSMA APAC CEO and 6G Alliance Summit in Tokyo on April 14.
Supermarket chain Lidl is reportedly challenging traditional telecom operators by becoming a mobile operator in as many as 30 countries. This move reflects a growing trend of consumer brands offering phone subscriptions.
Roskomnadzor told the St. Petersburg-based news outlet Fontanka that a fault on Rostelecom’s backbone network caused the widespread disruption to bank websites and apps, telecom operators, and other services in Russia on the evening of April 6.
The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) has proposed selling Russian citizens' personal data to banks, telecom operators, and other organizations, according to a draft published on the ministry's portal.
The three major telecom operators in Bulgaria surpassed 1 billion euros in revenue during the first half of the year, fueled by more expensive plans and digital services, signaling the end of smaller providers.
A legal question has arisen in Poland regarding whether telecommunications companies are obligated to provide subscriber data to municipal police forces who are investigating minor offenses.
French telecom operators, including Bouygues Telecom, Iliad (Free), and Orange, have extended negotiations for the potential takeover of SFR mobile. The talks are now set to continue until June 5.
The Nigerian military has reported successful operations against bandits and terrorists in various regions, including the killing of 70 bandits in Niger airstrikes. Authorities also refuted claims of civilian casualties during these operations, while a kidnapped doctor was confirmed released.
Lidl, one of the world's largest retail chains, intends to significantly expand its mobile telephony services, aiming to become a major competitor to traditional telecom operators.
European institutions are set to migrate to their own digital cloud infrastructure to bolster information security. The service will be provided for six years by Post Telecom in partnership with several cloud and telecom operators.
Data sovereignty is becoming a central strategic priority for telecom operators, while increasingly shaping global regulatory discussions around artificial intelligence, cloud computing and data…
Croatian lawmakers supported amendments to the Electronic Communications Act, facilitating gigabit infrastructure development but also allowing telecom operators to record financial data, prompting opposition warnings about data protection.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has directed Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to compensate subscribers for service disruptions, leading to arguments between the NCC and telcos over the methodology for determining this compensation.
Indian politician Raghav Chadha has reiterated his demand for telecom operators to provide a rollover option for unused mobile data, allowing it to be carried over to the next day's limit and transferred among users.
The Nigerian Communications Commission proposes a new rule requiring telecom operators to provide a 14-day SIM deactivation notice before churning lines.
Read More: https://punchng.com/ncc-proposes-14-day-notice-before-sim-deactivation/
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) said on Wednesday that 5G spectrum auction would be held on March 10 and no changes were likely to be made in the schedule, saying that the sale was likely to fetch between $300-$700 million.
The authority is offering 597 megahertz (MHz) in several bands in the upcoming auction and three existing telecom operators have been mandated to obtain a minimum of 100 MHz in the auction process.
“With the prescribed rate, even if 300 MHz is obtained by the telecommunication operators without any competitive bidding, the government will get $300 million,” PTA Director General Licensing retired brigadier Aamir Shahzad told a media briefing.
“And if all the 597 MHz is sold at auction at a slightly competitive rate, $700 million will be available for the government, but this scenario is less likely to happen,” he added.
Shahzad said that the auction would be conducted using a multi-round electronic clock auction format, with the main allocation stage starting on March 10. He said the 2600 MHz and 3500 MHz bands would be offered during the first round.
He added that after the auction process, the rollout of 5G services would take between three and six months as certain infrastructure was needed for the fresh spectrum.
Meanwhile, Chairman PTA Hafeezur Rehman said that the auction would lead to improved quality of service and data speed.
“Around 50 million new users have been added in the system during the last five years, but only 10MHz was increased in the 2021 spectrum auction,” PTA Chairman said.
“Improved data service and enhanced coverage will also increase average revenue per user (ARPU) for telecommunication operators,” he said.
The ARPU is a key performance indicator that measures the average revenue generated by a company from each consumer within a specific timeframe, monthly or annually.
“We started with $0.7 and now the ARPU has reached $1.3. Therefore, it is likely to increase as more data is consumed by the subscribers,” Rehman said.
“The authority expects mobile broadband speeds to improve by around 25 per cent following the auction,” he said.
He said that the government had offered many incentives to telecom companies in the new spectrum auction, but obligations to improve the quality of service as well as coverage area had been increased.
“This will help the country to embrace further upgradations like 6G and not like 5G, where we have been delayed,” the PTA Chairman said.
He added the government had also eliminated the right-of-way fee that used to be around Rs36,000 per kilometre annually; this, he said, would encourage fiberisation projects.
The chairman also said that telecom operators had already placed orders for 5G equipment, while local manufacturing of 5G-enabled smartphones had commenced, with 500,000 to 600,000 units produced so far.
He said the other measures being taken to facilitate the faster rollout of services after the auction were options for spectrum sharing, relaxation of certain regulatory terms and incentives for network expansion.
“Operators have been given one year to make the necessary capital investments without upfront spectrum payments, allowing them to focus on improving service quality,” Rehman added.
However, the operators will have to expand 5G coverage to additional cities apart from Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta, while fiber-to-the-site ratios will increase from 20 per cent to 35pc by 2035.
Besides, the minimum download speeds for 4G service have been increased from four megabytes per second (Mbps) to 20Mbps in 2026–27 and to 50Mbps by 2030–35.
For 5G, minimum download speeds will rise from 50Mbps initially to 100Mbps by 2030–35, with latency targets reduced to 35 milliseconds. Upload speeds are benchmarked at 20pc of download speeds across both technologies.
The company Čikom is organizing 'Cyber Security Days,' a two-day regional conference dedicated to cybersecurity, bringing together representatives from institutions, companies, the financial sector, telecom operators, international technology partners, and the academic community.
Senior policymakers, regulators, telecom operators, and digital infrastructure providers will convene in Accra on May 6, 2026, for a closed-door session focused on artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Meo, Nos, and Vodafone, major telecommunications operators in Portugal, are under investigation by the AdC (Competition Authority) for strong indications of 'secret concerted practices' to fix internet prices for schools. Searches were conducted, and an administrator's phone contents were copied as part of the probe.
Rival French telecom firms have made a new, higher offer to Altice to acquire SFR, France's second-largest mobile operator, a move that could reshape the country's telecoms landscape.
Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke has categorically denied all corruption charges in her UK trial, stating in court that she never asked for, took, or received any bribes and did not abuse her office.
Leading South Korean telecom operators LG U+, KT, and SK Telecom are withdrawing from stand-alone streaming services due to rising operational costs and intense market competition.
Authorities and telecom operators in Thailand are assessing potential risks to undersea cable systems due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, aiming to safeguard international connections.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued 5G licenses to three operators, with Zong and Jazz beginning phased rollouts and Ufone to follow.
Portuguese telecom operators Nos, Meo, and Vodafone will refund customers for days without communication services due to bad weather, addressing concerns from clients who received bills without the promised credit.