Mobile telephone and internet services have been launched inside the Channel Tunnel, which links the UK and France. Operators Bouygues Telecom, France Telecom-Orange and SFR brought into service a GSM-P optical fibre system for 2G, and 3G telephone and internet services. The project was piloted by equipment vendor Alcatel-Lucent.
MTN Nigeria has selected Ericsson for the deployment of a wireless IP core network to meet increasing demand for data services. The Ericsson SSR 8020 platform will support MTN Nigeria’s 2G, 3G and Wifi networks and future upgrades to LTE, enabling cost savings as less nodes are required to handle network bandwidth growth. The vendor will provide installation, integration and commissioning of the SSR 8020 platform as well as support services.
Canadian carrier TELUS plans to invest $8.4 million in advanced wireless technology in Atlantic Canada over the next three years. Of this sum $5 million will be invested in Nova Scotia, including $3.8 million in the Halifax Regional Municipality. The investment will enhance and expand the carrier’s wireless services across the region and create 65 jobs.
Vodafone has selected Ericsson to upgrade its mobile sites in Egypt. The vendor’s RBS 6000 technology will be utilised for the deployment, which will allow Vodafone to meet growing subscriber demand and maintain coverage quality. RBS 6000 supports GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA and LTE services, enabling a transition to 4G in the future.
Spanish cable operator Euskaltel has reportedly agreed to acquire the Basque Country government’s telecoms infrastructure. Cinco Dias reports that the transaction is worth €68 million and includes the government’s 455km backbone network in the three largest cities of the Basque Country and 653km of network in the region, including 500km of fibre. The transaction is subject to approval from the Basque parliament.
Set’Mobile, an MVNO owned by footballer Samuel Eto’o, has reportedly launched commercial services in Cameroon. TIC Mag reports that the operator has gained around 50,000 subscribers since first being unveiled in December 2011. Set’Mobile will utilise the network of Orange Cameroun to provide services to its customers. The MVNO aims to attract customers by providing cheap voice and data services and has reportedly already forced MTN Cameroon and Orange to lower their prices.
Hong Kong’s SmarTone Telecommunications is planning to launch commercial LTE services on August 28, according to Engadget China. The service will use spectrum in the lower frequency band than SmarTone’s competitors as the operator failed to win any 2600MHz spectrum in Hong Kong’s January 2009 BWA auction.
ICT solutions provider Dimension Data has launched a global cloud partnership initiative which is aimed at allowing cloud services to launch more rapidly in the market. The initiative allows service providers, educational institutions, government agencies and trading communities to create an ecosystem of cloud service providers that can exchange cloud traffic. The company says the platform serves as a response from service provider demand to offer cloud-based services.
Canadian vendor Eion Wireless has announced that KITS Telecom Company has completed the first phase of the deployment of Eion’s WiMAX base stations, gateway services and fixed and mobile end user CPE device for Iraq’s TarinNet. KITS plans to complete the remaining three phases of the deployment by the end of 2012.
Philippine telecoms provider PLDT is claiming to be engaged in the deployment of the first 100G fibre-optic backbone network in the country. The capacity upgrade, which is being carried out in partnership with Ciena, will utilise the vendor’s 100Gbps and optical transport network switching solutions. Through the upgrade, PLDT will be able to offer 40Gbps and 100Gbps based services and meet future demand for high-speed service delivery, driven by increasing data demand in both fixed and mobile broadband.
