Telecompaper Headlines

(Telecompaper) RingCentral has announced a new partnership with Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise to expand its cloud communications footprint. ALE will launch unified communications as a service under the name 'Rainbow Office powered by RingCentral', starting in Q1 2021. 

(Telecompaper) The Ethiopian government has suspended the entry of foreign telecom infrastructure companies to the country, The EastAfrican reported. The decision may not affect foreign telecom service providers and operators that have submitted expressions of interest in buying a stake in Ethio Telecom, it added. The decision came after the government reviewed the list of companies intent on buying a 40 percent stake in the monopoly provider.

(Telecompaper) The US government has agreed to free up another 100 MHz of key mid-band spectrum for 5G services. The White House announced that the Department of Defense will vacate the 3.45-3.55 GHz range so the frequencies can be used for mobile services.  

(Telecompaper) Gogo said its revenues fell 55 percent year-on-year to USD 97 million in the second quarter, after the sharp slowdown in air travel during the coronavirus pandemic dampened its sales of in-flight connectivity. While the business aviation market shows some signs of recovery, the company has started to look at selling its commercial aviation business. 

(Telecompaper) Avaya reported a strong improvement in results for the fiscal third quarter to June, well ahead of its own guidance. Revenues returned to annual growth, at USD 721 million versus USD 717 million a year ago, and the net result moved to a profit of USD 9 million from a loss of USD 633 million a year earlier. 

(Telecompaper) National telecommunications regulator of the Czech Republic CTU has announced the start of an electronic auction procedure to distribute spectrum in the 700 MHz and 3,400-3,600 MHz bands for 5G services.

(Telecompaper) Huawei will stop making its Kirin chipsets from next month, as US sanctions limit its ability to source materials, the company confirmed. That means Huawei's new high-end Mate 40 handsets debuting this fall will be the last smartphones featuring the company's most advanced processor, Yu Chengdong, CEO of Huawei's consumer business, said at an event in Shenzhen reported by Caixin Global. 

(Telecompaper) The 5G auction in Austria will start "shortly" and run until the end of September at the latest, according to Klaus M Steinmaurer, managing director of regulator RTR. Steinmauer added that the auction aims to support the expansion of "ultra-fast" mobile broadband. The frequencies on auction range from 700 MHz (6 blocks), 2100 MHz (12 blocks) and 1500 MHz (9 blocks). The allocation process should be completed in Q3.

(Telecompaper) Brazilian operator Oi has granted the consortium formed by Telefonica Brasil (Vivo), TIM and Claro exclusivity in negotiations to sell its mobile business. They would also qualify as a 'stalking horse' bidder, with the right to top other bids received for the assets. 

(Telecompaper) Twitter has had preliminary talks about a potential combination with TikTok, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. This could lead to a takeover of TikTok's US operations, the report said. 

(Telecompaper) Telecom Italia has announced the appointment of Elisabetta Romano as chief executive of Sparkle, the company's international services group. Romano replaces Mario Di Mauro, who resigned the previous day without giving a reason for his departure.

(Telecompaper) The US President Donald Trump has issued two executive orders essentially banning the apps TikTok and WeChat in the US. When they take effect in 45 days, US businesses and citizens will be prohibited from interacting with ByteDance and Tencent, the respective. parent companies of the two apps. Trump said the apps pose a threat to national security, foreign policy and the economy in the US. 

(Telecompaper) T-Mobile US said revenues got a boost in the second quarter from its merger with Sprint, while the net profit got hit by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and one-off costs related to the merger. The number of customers added came well within the company's wide guidance, with total customers reaching 98.3 million at the end of the quarter, pushing the company to second place on the US market after Verizon, overtaking AT&T. This is T-Mobile US' first quarter since closing its merger with Sprint. 

(Telecompaper) Vodafone said it has become the first UK mobile operator to switch on a live Open radio Access Network (OpenRAN) 4G site, enabling the introduction of more suppliers for mobile networks. The first site is now connecting the Royal Welsh Showground in Powys, Wales, with the help of Mavenir. Vodafone will now focus on seeing where it can introduce more of these type of sites, for more economical voice and high-speed connectivity.

(Telecompaper) After moving its European privacy base in June to Dublin, TikTok said it will establish a new data centre in Ireland, its first in Europe, with an investment value of EUR 420 million. TikTok has come under fire in the US where it is facing a possible ban on security grounds, and a potential class action suit from people who believe the company is collecting their personal data without proper consent. This latest move shows the company wants to reassure European users that its service is safe. The company has denied claims it is controlled by the Chinese government.

(Telecompaper) Telecom Italia said Mario Di Mauro, chief executive of Sparkle, the company's international services group, has resigned. TIM did not not reveal why Di Mauro has resigned.

(Telecompaper) 3 Group reported a drop in first-half results, hurt by the effects of the coronavirus crisis and the loss of customers in the UK and Italy. Revenues fell 7 percent to HKD 40.52 billion, and EBITDA was down 11 percent to HKD 14.45 billion. Excluding currency effects, revenues fell 3 percent and EBITDA was down 7 percent. 

(Telecompaper) MTN Group reported service revenue growth of 9.4 percent to ZAR 80 billion in the first six months to 30 June, and EBITDA up 10.9 percent year-on-year to ZAR 42 billion, as efficiency initiatives drove improvement in margins. The South Africa-based mobile operator also said it plans to exit the Middle East over the medium term to focus on Africa and is in advanced talks to sell its majority stake in MTN Syria. 

(Telecompaper) Veon reported second-quarter revenues down 16.3 percent year-on-year to USD 1.89 billion, hurt by store closures and reduced roaming due to Covid-19 restrictions. EBITDA was down 18.7 percent to USD 809 million. The operator said it expects a gradual recovery in sales and EBITDA in the second half of the year, assuming lockdown restrictions are slowly lifted. 

(Telecompaper) Samsung has unveiled a range of new premium mobile devices at an event live streamed from Korea. The new Galaxy Note20 smartphone, Galaxy Buds Live wireless earphones and Galaxy Watch3 go on sale this month, while the Galaxy Fold2 smartphone and Galaxy Tab 7 tablets will launch later this autumn.