Operator Telecom Namibia and regulator the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) have officially entered into a strategic partnership.

Described as a  milestone event, the partnership marks the commencement of Phase 2 of the Universal Service Fund (USF) project, a critical initiative designed to bridge the digital divide in Namibia’s underserved rural areas.

The agreement followed a successful bidding process in which Telecom Namibia was awarded a subsidy of N$9,796,650 (just under US$600,000). These funds are dedicated to the deployment of vital telecommunications infrastructure across key sites, ensuring that remote communities gain access to reliable and high-quality communication services.

Under the terms of the signed agreement, Telecom Namibia will facilitate the construction of new radio access network (RAN) sites, engineered to significantly improve mobile broadband and voice services.

A central component of this partnership is a commitment to provide free connectivity to all educational and health facilities within the coverage of these RAN sites for a period of seven years, directly supporting socioeconomic development. The infrastructure deployment will target underserved areas in at least eight regions. 

Mrs Emilia Nghikembua, CEO of CRAN, says: “The Universal Service Fund is a cornerstone of our strategy to ensure inclusive communication services. Through a transparent and rigorous selection process, we have partnered with Telecom Namibia to accelerate our 2024–2027 digital infrastructure goals. We are confident that this phase will have a lasting, positive impact on the lives of those in the most remote regions of our country.”

Social media platform TikTok and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 170 countries, have announced the launch of the Digital Commerce Labs programme.

This is described as a global programme designed to unlock digital commerce opportunities for small businesses in select markets across Latin America, Africa and Southeast Asia.

As TikTok points out, businesses of all sizes use the platform to reach new customers and build their brands. The initiative will leverage TikTok’s suite of digital commerce tools and reach with ICC’s expertise on international trade, powerful network of national committees and chambers of commerce to expand access to training, mentorship and digital resources.

Through this partnership, TikTok and ICC say they will equip small businesses with digital skills and tools to increase revenue opportunities, expand market access and build long-term resilience.

They add that by connecting global expertise with local business communities, the Digital Commerce Labs will create a scalable education model that can be replicated across markets to help entrepreneurs translate digital knowledge into real-world growth opportunities.

The programme is designed to build long-term digital commerce ecosystems by working in close collaboration with national chambers and local organisations. The programme will deliver learning and economic impact through three integrated components: community building – bringing small businesses together through virtual and in-person sessions with relevant local ecosystem partners; self-led online training modules hosted on a dedicated learning platform; and virtual classrooms providing instructor-led learning opportunities where entrepreneurs can engage directly with industry experts.

The Digital Commerce Labs programme is expected to launch across ten countries, supporting entrepreneurs through community programming, digital learning resources and virtual training sessions.

The programme will launch in select markets across Latin America and Africa this spring, followed by a broader expansion across Africa and to Thailand later this year.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Tony Thakur, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Great Plains Communications (GPC)

Across the Midwest, in emerging growth corridors and across the nation, we’ve seen a recurring pattern: organizations believe they are protected because they have redundant connectivity until an outage proves otherwise. The issue is rarely bandwidth. It is about overall network resiliency and a strategy to mitigate during an outage. … [visit site to read more]

State-owned Bangladesh Submarine Cables (BSCPLC) has warned that internet services will experience slowdowns or disruptions from now until Monday due to repairs being carried out on the SEA-ME-WE-5 subsea cable.

In a statement released on Wednesday, BSCPLC said that the SEA-ME-WE-5 consortium would conduct fault repair maintenance on the cable’s S1.5.1 shunt from Thursday evening (April 9) local time to the morning of April 13.

During that time, the repair work will impact circuits routed between Singapore and SEA-ME-WE 5’s landing station in Kuakata, which may result in slower internet speeds or partial service interruptions, BSCPLC said.

BSCPLC added that service on Bangladesh’s other international subsea cable route, SEA-ME-WE-4, will continue as normal.

However, SEA-ME-WE-4 provides only a third of Bangladesh’s international subsea cable capacity at around 800 Gbps, compared to roughly 1.7 Tbps on SEA-ME-WE 5. A break on the same route in 2024 heavily impacted internet services in the country, highlighting the need for Bangladesh to install more international capacity.

BSCPLC – which is a stakeholder in both subsea cables – is also a member of the SEA-ME-WE 6 cable consortium, but that system’s ready-for-service date has been pushed back to 2027.

The Bangladesh Private Cable System (BPCS) consortium announced plans in September 2024 to construct a privately-owned 1,300-km subsea cable connecting Cox’s Bazar to the Campana-owned UMO subsea cable that runs from Myanmar to Singapore, giving the country another 45 Tbps of capacity.

In December last year, BPCS contracted Nokia to supply submarine line terminal equipment for the project, which is tentatively slated to be ready for service in the second half of this year.

News

The submarines are thought to be mapping the UK’s undersea communications networks.

The UK’s defence secretary John Healey has today revealed to reporters that a trio of Russian submarines have been monitored in UK waters, likely monitoring the country’s subsea cables and pipelines.

British armed forces, including a naval ship and a Royal Air Force plane, were quickly deployed to track and deter the submarines, which subsequently left the area.

There are no reports of submarine infrastructure having been damaged.

“To Putin, I say this: we see you, we see your activity over our underwater infrastructure. You should know that any attempt to damage it will not be tolerated and would have serious consequences,” said Healy.

The incident involved three submarines, a Russian Akula-class attack submarine and two spy submarines belonging to Russia’s Main Directorate for Deep-Sea Research (GUGI). These GUGI submarines are designed to monitor and map submarine cable infrastructure and could be used to sabotage these underwater systems.

“These aren’t standard submarines, they’re specialist vessels designed for deep sea operations,” Charlotte Wilson, Head of Enterprise at Check Point Cybersecurity, told the BBC. “So, this isn’t random movement, it suggests a deliberate effort to understand where critical infrastructure sits and how it behaves. Not only mapping locations but also assessing how resilient those systems are.”

GUGI has often been linked to covert submarine cable surveillance in UK waters, most recently in 2025 when its ‘spy ship’, Yantar, was accused of entering British waters to map subsea infrastructure.

A notable incident occurred in January 2025, when a UK submarine surfaced beside the Yantar in a show of strength, with Healy subsequently saying, “we know what you’re doing and we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country”.

Over a year later, however, and Russia is seemingly undeterred. Healy notes “increased Russian activity” in the Atlantic north of the UK, with a 30% increase in Russian vessels threatening UK waters.

How is the submarine cable security landscape changing? Join our inaugural Subsea Security Summit in May 2026

Also in the news
Connected Britain Award winners 2025 announced!
Netomnia announces ‘powerful and ambitious’ rebrand ahead of Connected Britain
VodafoneThree drops Samsung, relies on Nokia and Ericsson for £2bn network upgrade

Two bits of inorganic activity, and some fiber in the deep south: … [visit site to read more]

News

The Federal Communications Commission has adopted new procedures to streamline transitions from aging copper cables in the US.

By Brad Randall, Broadband Communities

A set of new policies and procedures adopted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will streamline the process for retirement of legacy copper networks, according to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.

Last month, Carr said the FCC has now cleared some of the “regulatory underbrush” that has slowed down the phasing out of copper networks.

Some of the changes adopted include a clarification enabling providers to use streamlined procedures more often, a waiver allowing retirement of copper networks where bundled services are offered (while keeping pro-consumer protections in place), and a new waiver for notification requirements that the Wireline Competition Bureau considered excessive.

“This initial set of actions gets things moving in the right direction and creates the right incentives for providers to invest and build new networks in communities across the country,” Carr said. “As we take these actions, we are also ensuring that consumers remain protected during the transition.”

Another change announced is a new waiver for requirements regarding services determined to be grandfathered by providers, the FCC announced.

Meanwhile, Carr said the FCC will continue on its current path.

“Outdated FCC rules have left Americans sitting in the slow lane for far too long,” he said. “Those FCC rules have forced providers to pour resources into maintaining aging and expensive copper line networks instead of investing in the modern, high-speed infrastructure that Americans want and deserve.”

He said the FCC’s goal with the aforementioned actions is to free up billions of dollars for new networks that could have otherwise been diverted into copper lines.

Additionally, he said the FCC is not finished with the topic of copper networks.

“There is much more work ahead for the FCC,” he said.

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