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Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
Subscribe to our FREE weekly email newsletters for the latest telecom info in developing and emerging markets globally.

A lot of headlines have been generated in the Indian press by the news that billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla has returned to the board of Vodafone Idea less than two years after leaving the mobile service provider – but how significant is this appointment?

To begin with, Birla rejoins in a different role. He is an additional director (non-executive and non-independent). Birla was formerly a chairman at the giant operator. He joined the board on 20 April, according to an exchange disclosure.

Secondly, Vodafone Idea’s net debt remains astronomical. It stood at 2.23 trillion rupees (about US$27.18 billion) before the Indian government in February converted the nearly US$2 billion of dues that it was owed into equity, becoming the company’s biggest shareholder.

However, Vodafone Idea is still trying to manage a vast debt and the company needs to find funding for network upgrades and 5G rollout. That issue is unlikely to change with Birla’s appintment, though, interestingly, Birla was in the news recently after he suggested on Indian TV that Vodafone Idea would begin its 5G rollout soon.

Nevertheless, Birla is a big name, not least because he also serves as the chairman of Aditya Birla Group, which reportedly holds an 8.36% stake in Vodafone Idea. A global conglomerate, the Aditya Birla Group businesses operate in a wide range of sectors – metals, pulp and fibre, chemicals, textiles, carbon black, cement, financial services, fashion retail, renewable energy and, of course, telecoms.

Will Birla’s appointment make a difference? It looks like we’ll have to wait and see. In any event, the market seems to like the news. According to the Economic Times news service, shares of Vodafone Idea rallied nearly 10% in Friday’s trade after the appointment was announced.

This Industry Viewoint was authored by Ken Kennedy, COO and President of Revenue Management & Digital Monetization at CSG

In today’s digital world, the ability to survive as an enterprise has become an arms race. If an enterprise becomes complacent or fails to keep an eye on the future, it’ll quickly be outpaced by a more sophisticated competitor. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but to be the leader of the pack in a tight … [visit site to read more]

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
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This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Hannes Gredler, Founder and CTO at RtBrick

Earth Day 2023 is right around the corner on April 22, and it’s a great opportunity to reflect on the telecoms industry’s environmental footprint. E-waste not only affects the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) being put into the atmosphere, but studies have shown that there are even negative health effects for adults and children. The telecoms sector itself is a large contributor … [visit site to read more]

Keep up-to-date with all the latest news, articles, event and product updates posted on Developing Telecoms.
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The latest landing of the 2Africa cable has been announced: it’s at Port Said, at the northern end of the Suez Canal, on Egypt’s Mediterranean coast.

The 2Africa cable had already landed at Telecom Egypt’s cable landing station in Ras Ghareb on the eastern coast of Egypt, in November 2022.

As the Data Centre Dynamics website points out, the Suez Canal is  a major thoroughfare for subsea cables crossing between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Despite this, this is only the second cable landing at Port Said following Telecom Egypt’s Red2Med cable that launched last year.

However, Data Centre Dynamics adds, the Africa-1, FEA, Medusa, India-Europe-Xpress (IEX), and SeaMeWe6 cables are all due to land at Port Said over the next two years.

Announced in 2020 by a consortium that includes Meta, Telecom Egypt, China Mobile International, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, STC, Vodafone, and WIOCC, the 2Africa cable, which will circle the African continent is, at 45,000km, among the world’s largest subsea cable projects. It will connect 33 countries with 46 landing points across Africa, Europe, and Asia when it is complete.

Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) is responsible for manufacturing and deploying the 16-fibre pair, 180Tbps cable, which is due for completion in 2024. 2Africa has already landed at a number of points in Europe and Africa as well as Saudi Arabia through the Pearls extension, which will also take the cable to Mumbai in India.