Orange Romania, the largest provider of broadband Internet and mobile services in Romania, has entered into an agreement to acquire a controlling stake in the fixed operator Telekom Romania Communications (TKR) in order to strengthen its position in the country and increase its market share in the sector. The reason given for Orange paying over $268 million for TKR, is that it is aiming to become the popular choice among customers for combined services in the Romanian market. Orange will gain a controlling 54% stake from the Greek company OTE, most of which is owned by Deutsche Telekom. According to Orange, the deal gives TKR a value exceeding $590.5 million. The transaction is subject to normal regulatory scrutiny and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2021. TKR, being the second largest fixed line provider in the country, achieved revenues of over $739 million in…
TIM, also operating under the name Telecom Italia, is the largest Italian telecommunications services provider, offering telephony and mobile services as well as DSL data connectivity. The company has made every effort to maximize coverage in its fibre-optic rollout, bringing ultrabroadband to underserved areas and covering more than 2,000 districts in about 5 months. This increase in infrastructure is a key advancement in Italy’s growing need for connectivity in rural and sparsely populated areas across the country. As a result of this deployment, approximately 65% of households in these areas now have access to a high-speed connection, and in a short period, this initiative has taken an important step in bridging the digital divide in the country that TIM aims to fill by 2021. The fibre network currently covers 86% of the Italian population and it TIM aims to increase this figure to 90% by December, 2020. Although…
ITU platform to protect networks during Covid-19 The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has introduced the Global Network Resiliency Platform to help global networks remain “safer, stronger and more connected” in the face of increasing strain and growing demand during the coronavirus crisis. ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said, “The new platform will assist governments and the private sector in ensuring that networks are kept resilient and telecommunication services are available to all.” Also, this platform will collect relevant information and expertise on actions that telecommunication policymakers and others in the regulatory community can use to ensure that their telecom networks serve the needs of their country. Read more at https://tinyurl.com/vam4enm Remote working triggers demand for chips, laptops, and network goods As more and more employees switch to remote work during the outbreak of coronavirus disease, the demand for laptops, networking goods and supply chain components has increased substantially. Therefore, electronics retailers and…
The latest report by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) indicates that the 50th commercial 5G network has now been launched, following the activation of 5G services in China. All the three state-backed telecom operators, China Unicom, China Mobile and China Telecom have launched next-gen networks and have already registered more than 9 million 5G subscribers. The GSA 5G Market Snapshot marks this deployment as the 50th commercial roll out of a 5G network. Joe Barrett, the President of the GSA, said, “I think that we have all been surprised by how quickly 5G has taken off, with deployments and commitments from across the globe gathering pace. This latest milestone, combined with commercial launches in the world’s largest mobile market, is set to lead to an explosion in 5G users and also have a knock-on impact on driving both use cases and innovation.” By the end of October 2019, the…
Microsoft surprises with new foldable Surface Duo phone running Android Microsoft has unveiled a new dual-screen Android smartphone, the Surface Duo. The folding phone features two 5.6-inch displays that can rotate 360 degrees, which allows it to be fully unfolded as a miniature 8.3-inch tablet. The Surface Duo can run two different apps at the same time, and one of the displays can be used as a game controller or keyboard. Microsoft has incorporated elements of Windows 10X, a new operating system meant for hybrid devices. The company said that the Surface Duo will launch in late 2020, in time for the holiday season. Read more at: https://tinyurl.com/y66mjttm Telefonica Deutschland deploys Infinera DRX for 5G network modernisation Telefonica Deutschland has chosen the Infinera DRX Series to upgrade its national mobile transport network. The Infinera DRX Series is a portfolio of disaggregated routers that combines a carrier-class white box portfolio with Infinera…
Huawei, the Shenzhen based technology company, has announced the launch of a smartphone that will use the famous cryptocurrency. It will use BTC.com’s platform as a Bitcoin wallet on its smartphones. New devices coming out of Huawei factories will integrate Huawei AppGallery that will give access to the Bitcoin wallet. “Cryptocurrencies have recently expanded the human understanding of digital economy at a large scale … We expect to see massive growth in global cryptocurrency adoption habits in the near future,” said the vice president of Huawei Mobile Services, Dr. Jaime Gonzalo. Through the app, users will be able to buy products and services with Bitcoins. They will also have the possibility to follow cryptocurrency mining and get blockchain informations. It will also be an opportunity for Chinese customers to have a taste of cryptocurrency. So far, Google Play on Android and Apple’s App Store were not allowed by Chinese authorities…
Avaya first filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2017, revealing US$6 billion in debt. But after a long and painful eight-month process through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company now has a plan to move forward. The plan includes the appointment of Jim Chirico to the position of chief executive officer, effective October 1. Current CEO Kevin Kennedy will retire from both the position and the board of directors but has agreed to remain a part of the company in an advisory role. Under Kennedy, the company transitioned nearly 80% of its revenues to software and services but also went bankrupt amid the IT industry’s shift to cloud and mobile services. Prior to Avaya, the future CEO Jim Chirico held key posts at IBM and Seagate and joined the American tech giant in 2008, where he is currently COO and global sales leader, responsible for Operations, Global Sales, Sales…
Vodafone’s latest report warns that Internet shutdowns are rising worldwide, threatening VoIP connectivity, emergency communications, business continuity, and digital access. As operators advance satellite IoT, AI network automation, drone sensing, and resilient interconnection, the telecom industry faces a critical challenge: keeping voice, data, and essential services online during crises globally.
Telinta, Inc., a global leader in cloud-based VoIP switching and billing solutions, and proleneä, an industry leader in Local Number Portability (LNP) solutions, today announced special promotions for VoIP service providers, helping them to query proleneä’s LNP data directly from Telinta’s hosted softswitch platform. LNP queries enable VoIP service providers to route calls more accurately based on the Location Routing Number (LRN), helping to reduce VoIP termination costs. When a phone number is ported from one carrier to another, a ten digit LRN is assigned to it. Telinta’s hosted softswitch queries proleneä’s LNP data, finds the LRN associated with a ported number, and routes the call to the carrier now serving that number. “proleneä enables Telinta customers to manage their VoIP termination costs on US calls by routing on the destination’s LRN rather than the dialed number,” said Gable Baldridge, Vice President of Product and Software Development, proleneä. “When termination prices vary…

