MTN Ghana has broken ground prior to the construction of the Ghana ICT Hub, itself part of the broader Ghana Innovation Hub project to which MTN has committed US$25 million.

The Ghana ICT Hub, which will be the first of its kind in the West African sub-region, will train over 200,000 people with ICT skills and, it is hoped, generate over 100,000 jobs over the first three years.

Additionally, it will provide office spaces and meeting venues for over 100 tech start-ups and tech companies, all in a bid to serve as a catalyst for Ghana’s digitalisation agenda.

The Ghana ICT Hub will, according to government, contribute to boosting Ghana’s ICT and digital ecosystem by providing infrastructural development and resources to enhance ICT skills training and development across the country. The Innovation Hub includes two other projects as well as the Ghana ICT Hub: the Accra Innovation City and the Ghana Education Platform.

Speaking at the ground-breaking event, which was attended by government officials, board members of the Ghana Digital Centres Limited and MTN staff, Selorm Adadevoh, CEO of MTN Ghana, said the establishment of the Ghana ICT Hub would power Ghana to be West Africa’s ICT leader through innovation and digital skills.

The Ghanaian Times report quotes him as saying: « MTN’s decision to partner and support the establishment of the Ghana ICT Hub falls right in line with our Ambition 2025 roadmap of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress.”

The Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, added that the decision by MTN to build an ICT hub in Ghana as part of its 25th anniversary was very critical towards realising Ghana’s digital agenda.

Four bits of metro fiber and FTTH expansion news from around the country: … [visit site to read more]

Total fixed communication services revenue in India is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.4% from US$10.2 billion in 2022 to US$13.9 billion in 2027, mainly driven by the strong growth in the fixed broadband segment. That’s the view of data and analytics company GlobalData in its India Fixed Communications Forecast (Q1 2023).

The report points out that fixed voice services revenue will, in fact, decline at a CAGR of 1% over 2022-2027, owing to the drop in circuit switched subscriptions and a decline in fixed voice average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) levels as users increasingly adopt OTT-based communication services, and operators include free voice minutes with their fixed bundled plans.

However, according to Srikanth Vaidya, Telecom Analyst at GlobalData, fixed broadband services revenue will increase at a CAGR of 7.3% during 2022-2027, “driven,” he says, “by the solid growth in broadband subscriptions, especially fibre broadband, and increasing broadband ARPU levels”.

GlobalData says it is optimistic about India’s fixed broadband services outlook and estimates fibre optic lines to hold over 85% of total broadband lines in 2027, supported by government investments in fibre network infrastructure and operators’ FTTH service expansions. As a result, fibre optic service revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.2% between 2022 and 2027.

Not too surprisingly perhaps, Reliance Jio is set to lead the country’s fixed broadband services market in terms of subscription share over the forecast period, supported by its strong position in the growing fibre broadband service segment and efforts to upgrade its FTTH network. The operator’s promotional offers on its broadband plans are expected to help the company maintain its leadership in the market over the forecast period.

Vaidya concludes: “Rising demand for high-speed internet services and competitively priced fibre broadband plans from operators, with benefits like unlimited internet and access to major SVoD platforms, are expected to drive fibre broadband service adoption in India during the forecast period.” 

Low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications company OneWeb has confirmed the successful deployment and contact of 36 satellites launched by NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) in Sriharikota, India, on Sunday 26 March.

This is OneWeb’s 18th launch, its third this year, bringing its constellation to 618 satellites. The OneWeb constellation design calls for 588 satellites for global coverage; additional satellites are planned for resiliency and redundancy.

Thus, the plan is that by the end of this year OneWeb will be ready to roll out global coverage, enhancing its existing connectivity solutions that are already live in regions north of 50 degrees latitude as it brings new areas online by partnering with leading providers.

This mission marks OneWeb’s second satellite deployment from India, which, says the company, highlights its commitment to provide connectivity across the length and breadth of the country. Once activated, OneWeb says its coverage solutions will bring secured connectivity to Indian enterprises, towns, villages, municipalities and schools, including the most remote areas across the country.

As India’s Economic Times news service points out, the company, co-owned by Bharti Group and the UK government, was awarded a GMPCS (global mobile personal communications by satellite services) permit from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) about a year ago. Reliance Jio has also received a GMPCS licence to roll out satellite broadband services.

Other satellite service providers like Starlink, Nelco and Amazon’s Project Kuiper could also choose to compete in the Indian satellite broadband market. All, however, appear to be waiting for clarity on a space communications policy. This will define the role of the Indian National Space Promotion & Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) — a central regulatory body — and authorise it to issue landing rights and market access clearances. 

Windstream Wholesale has added a new, unique route to its portfolio with the help of regional Canadian provider Bluewater Regional Networks. The arrangement creates diverse infrastructure between the two key markets of Chicago and Toronto. … [visit site to read more]

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In the metro fiber space, few companies have gone as deep into one market as Lightpath did, with tens of thousands of on-net buildings in the New York metro area.  The company was relatively quiet while under the umbrella of Altice, but in late 2020 it entered a new, independent phase when Morgan Stanley entered the picture.  Now the company has entered Boston and Miami and seems hungry for more.  More what, you ask?  With us today to talk about the company’s plans and intentions is Lightpath CEO Chris Morley, an industry veteran who spent 8 years at Zayo during the height of the consolidation wave. … [visit site to read more]

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Whale Cloud has signed a three-year BSS contract with Malaysia’s Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC), a government-owned company entrusted to lead the implementation of Sarawak’s Digital Economy initiatives.

The deal is aimed at accelerating the digital transformation of Sarawak, diversifying the telecommunication services available to the public. Sarawak’s Government aims to turn the state – the largest in Malaysia – into a modern and leading digital economy and society by 2030 under the Digital Economy Strategy.

As a company wholly-owned by the Sarawak Government, SEDC is acting to extend internet coverage for full network penetration; in the meantime, implementing an agile, reliable BSS solution is of great importance to enable the digital lifestyle of people in Sarawak.

Whale Cloud will deploy a full BSS suite, including charging, billing, and customer relationship management (CRM). The uniformity and automation of the system will streamline operations, introduce diversified, secure and trusted service faster, and deliver a consistent customer experience across all touchpoints.

“Providing high-speed connectivity and digital services is the foundation to create a better environment for growth in Sarawak. We are delighted to collaborate with Whale Cloud, in terms of leveraging the capabilities and functionality of its BSS suite to offer and optimise services to assist businesses and the public to adopt new technologies and to enhance efficiency through services and solutions offered by Whale Cloud,” said Ir Ts En Sudarnoto Osman, Chief Executive Officer of SDEC.

“We are proud to support SDEC and Sarawak Government on its way to a digital economy….The deployment of Whale Cloud BSS Suite will ensure SDEC serves its Telco customers better, and enable more essential services to citizens in Sarawak in the utility sector,” said Ben Zhou, CEO International of Whale Cloud.