Retail

How MTN Hung Up on the Middle East

Last month, it was revealed that South Africa’s MTN Group received a $31 million offer from an unnamed buyer for 100% of the shares in its Afghanistan subsidiary. The deal means that MTN is another step closer to exiting the Middle East.

Today, we take a look at how MTN set about dismantling its Middle Eastern portfolio and examine its exit strategy.

China’s New Arrival: Say Hello to Broadnet

China has a new player in the 5G mobile market.

We’re talking about China Broadnet—but it’s been around for some time, under different guises.

A Spanish Sub-Brand Squeeze Out

The last year has seen a number of well-known sub-brands withdraw from the Spanish mobile market, as telecom giants like Telefonica and Orange have sought to streamline their respective product portfolios.

Today we take a closer look at the history of these brands—and their untimely demises.

Meet the Cellcos Serving Rural America: Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our analysis of the regional cellular scene in the United States!

In this installment, we scrutinize some of the most interesting cellcos operating in far-flung corners of rural America.

If you missed Part 1 of our deep dive, you can catch up here.

Africell off to a Strong Start in Angola

The pan-African telecom group Africell has broken Angola’s long-standing mobile market duopoly with its launch on April 7.

If initial reports are correct, Africell has hit the ground running, attracting around two million subscriptions in its first month of operation.

Meet the Cellcos Serving Rural America: Part 1

The U.S. mobile market is notoriously ultra-competitive, and household names like Sprint aren't the only ones to have been squeezed out in recent years.

Since 2020, Verizon Wireless has snapped up regional players such as Chat Mobility, Bluegrass Cellular, Triangle Mobile, and Chariton Valley Communications.

Tellingly, all four operators were participants in the telecom giant’s “LTE in Rural America” program, which leased 700MHz of spectrum to regional players in areas where Verizon had no intention of deploying infrastructure. After going live in 2010, the project was completed in October 2015, when all 21 participants were confirmed to be operational.

At the program’s peak, operators collectively covered more than 2.7 million people across 169 rural counties in 15 states.

Despite Verizon’s low-key takeover spree, dozens of smaller players continue to thrive in the U.S. This week we take a deep dive into the regional cellular scene and uncover the cellcos serving rural America.

Ukrainian Telcos: Communicating Through the Conflict

We recently took a look at Ukrainian operators and their relative positions in the country’s telecom market.

As the Russian invasion continues, we turn our attention to the efforts of Ukrainian telcos, who are attempting to keep communications online under the most difficult circumstances.

Mobile Merger Season: Examining M&A Activity Across Asia

Recent months have seen an unprecedented level of M&A activity across Asia’s mobile markets, with eye-catching deals in Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Indonesia.

Today we examine the players reshaping the Asian telecom landscape.

Ukraine’s Telecom Market, Explained

Due to the ongoing conflict, Ukrainian operators are suffering cyberattacks and physical network damage.

Below, we take a look at who those operators are and their relative positions in the country’s telecom market.

Sanctions Start to Hit Russia’s Tech Sector

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has spurred a raft of sanctions from Western governments.

These measures are aimed at limiting Russia’s international economic activity and foreign trade.

 

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