EMEA

Zain was impacted by social unrest and tax increases in Iraq Kuwait-based telecom operator Zain recorded 277 million dinars ($919 million) in consolidated revenues during the first quarter of 2016, nearly flat compared to the same quarter last year. The group’s …

The French telco acquired a controlling stake in Groupama Banque French telecom group Orange announced an agreement to acquire a 65% stake in compatriot financial institution Groupama Banque and launch a mobile-only banking service.  Under the terms of the agreement, …

Goal is to commercially launch LTE-Advanced Pro in 2017 Swiss mobile telephony operator Swisscom has successfully tested LTE-Advanced Pro, reaching a peak connection speed of 1 Gbps. The trial was carried out on its live mobile broadband network in partnership with Swedish …

Telia Company’s Swedish operations accounted for over 43% of overall revenues Swedish telecom operator Telia Company (formerly TeliaSonera) posted a net profit of 3.76 billion kronor ($467.4 million) in the first quarter of 2016, up 1.4% compared to a net …

Equipment provisioning, network maintenance, CVM and more covered by managed services agreement Swedish vendor Ericsson and Oman mobile operator Omantel have signed a four-year managed services contract in which Ericsson will operate and maintain Omantel’s network as the sole managed …

The telco aims to cover 98% of indoor population by end-2017 U.K. operator O2 said that its 4G LTE services now cover 6,000 towns across the country, providing 87% coverage to the outdoor population. The telco said that its 4G …

Finnish vendor Nokia and Turkish mobile telephony operator Türk Telekom have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to accelerate the development of 5G radio access network technology. Under the terms of the MoU, both firms will work together on testing …

Network rollout to be completed in the first half of the year Finnish vendor Nokia and Swedish mobile telephony operator 3 Sweden announced plans to deploy TD-LTE-Advanced mobile broadband technology to improve the operator’s quality of service in the European …

Municipal services, business climate targeted by smart city projects in Jeddah Saudi mobile telephony operator Zain KSA and Finish vendor Nokia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on a smart city initiative in Jeddah. Under the terms …

Looking to rebrand its marketing message and drive new subscriber business for T-Mobile Netherlands, parent company Deutsche Telekom could emulate the success of subsidiary T-Mobile US’ “Un-carrier” branding, according to Bloomberg. Industry watchers attribute the success of T-Mobile US to …

QIVICON smart home platform reaches more than 40 partners German company Gigaset Elements has jointed Deutsche Telekom’s QIVICON smart home platform, which will add new protocols in the coming months. The QIVICON platform has an open architecture and is designed …

Huawei to develop safe city solutions with government Huawei signed a strategic alliance with Malta to establish an innovation center in that country focused on safe city solutions including nationwide surveillance. In July 2015, Huawei and the Malta government signed a …

The telco secured five megahertz of 700 MHz spectrum French telecom operator Bouygues Telecom installed its first 700 MHz antenna in Paris, according to a company statement. Mobile operators Orange, Bouygues, Numericable-SFR and Free Mobile secured 700 MHz spectrum in …

Up to 15,000 Nokia employees could lose their jobs by 2018 A year after announcing plans to acquire Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia Networks is looking to save $1 billion in costs in part by cutting up to 14% of its approximately 104,000-strong global …

Telenor aims to expand investments in Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines Norwegian telecom operator Telenor is currently in talks with potential bidders to sell its stake in international mobile operator VimpelCom. “We are in contact with potential buyers,” Bloomberg quoted Telenor CEO Sigve Brekke …

Etisalat targeting additional verticals with LPWA and NB IoT Huawei and Middle East telecom operator Etisalat conducted a trial of smart parking technology in the United Arab Emirates. The live trial of narrow-band “Internet of Things” technology used the end-to-end …

How will proposed merger affect competition, prices? The European Commission opened an investigation to assess whether the proposed joint venture between the Italian telecommunications businesses of Hutchison and VimpelCom is in line with the European Union regulations. The commission said …

Swedish firm looks to deploy VEPC in the cloud by Q3 2016, as it prepares for 5G Swedish telecom operator Tele2 announced the launch of its network functions virtualization strategy, through which the telco is looking to have the first …

UK regulator Ofcom rolled out a pair of proposals designed to ease mobile number portability for wireless customers U.K. telecom regulator Ofcom proposed a pair of new rules designed to simplify the process for mobile customers looking to switch wireless …

Vodafone upgrades sites in Qatar to improve 3G, LTE coverage Vodafone Qatar launched high-definition voice technology across its 3G network, designed to improve voice call quality for subscribers. The telco, a Vodafone Group subsidiary, said the technology offers clearer conversations, filters …

UK regulator carried out a consultation process last year U.K. telecom regulator Ofcom confirmed spectrum within the 55-68 MHz, 70.5-71.5 MHz and 80-81.5 MHz bands can be used for “Internet of Things” services and machine-to-machine applications. This decision follows a …

Offers for cell tower company Inwit from Cellnex/F2i and EI Towers Telecom Italia is evaluating two binding offers for the company’s 45% stake in cell tower holding unit Inwit. The European operator said the offers were made by a consortium comprising …

Network resources set to be shared by several government agencies The Dubai government’s security network provider, Nedaa Professional Communication, selected Nokia Networks to deploy a smart city solution based on next-generation network technology. The solution is being designed to support …

In a partnership with Arris, the French-based Altice Group is rolling out gigabit Internet services to SFR customers in France, with Suddenlink in the U.S. and Orange-Tricom subscribers in the Dominican Republic. The two companies are deploying the Arris E6000 …