Aug 12, 2021
3G’s Sun is Setting in Europe
More and more wireless operators in Europe are announcing plans to switch off their 3G networks to free up spectrum for newer, faster 4G and 5G services.
More and more wireless operators in Europe are announcing plans to switch off their 3G networks to free up spectrum for newer, faster 4G and 5G services.
Earlier this month, Norway-based Telenor Group agreed to sell 100% of its mobile business in Myanmar to Lebanese investment firm M1 Group. The deal is valued at $105 million.
As recently as 2013, Myanmar was hailed as the last untapped market in Asia, with global telecom giants jockeying to gain a foothold in the market. But since the country suffered a military coup in February 2021, international operators have watched nervously as conditions have deteriorated.
Scandinavian telco groups Telenor, Telia, and Tele2 have followed a similar international strategy over the past decade: exit most or all of their Eastern European and Asian operations to concentrate on business closer to home.
The disposals have been attributed to a number of factors depending on the market, including financial pressures, political unrest, and allegations of corruption.
Readers of CommsUpdate—our free daily email summary of the world’s top telecom news stories—have already seen some big headlines this year.
We rounded up five specific stories you've been devouring in 2021. From 5G network deals to new players in Ethiopia's telecom market, here's what you've clicked and shared more than anything else as of late.
Telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi was born in Casablanca, Morocco in 1963, before moving to France as a teenager.
His cosmopolitan reputation precedes him. He currently holds Israeli, French, and Portuguese citizenship. A renowned art lover, his 2019 takeover of British auction house Sotheby’s thrust him into the UK media spotlight.
Understandably, his recent £2.2 billion ($3.1 billion) acquisition of a 12.1% stake in British communications giant BT has only intensified scrutiny on the notoriously private Drahi.
Swedish equipment vendor Ericsson could face a backlash in China following Sweden’s 2020 decision to ban cellcos from using Huawei gear in 5G networks.
Last month Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular sealed a pair of deals that will see it exit the African telecom sector once and for all.
Its stake in Ghanaian joint venture AirtelTigo was sold to the country’s government. Tigo Tanzania and Zanzibar Telecommunication (Zantel) were offloaded to a consortium led by Axian—the company that previously acquired Millicom’s Senegal-based business in 2018.
While 5G is still in its early stages of deployment, there are already preparations being made for the introduction of its successor. The initial technical standards for 6G aren’t expected until the second half of this decade, but this hasn’t prevented some players from getting an early start.
In September 2020, U.S. telecom giant Verizon announced the surprise takeover of prepaid MVNO TracFone Wireless. The deal is worth a whopping $6.25 billion.
Verizon hopes that the transaction will help it compete in the prepaid space, where T-Mobile U.S. and AT&T rule the roost with their Metro by T-Mobile and Cricket Wireless brands.
Russia’s four main telecom groups had varying levels of financial success in 2020. All operators suffered to some degree from the knock-on effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but some fared better than others.
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