Operator Beeline Kazakhstan has launched a software company, QazCode, to boost the development of new digital products and services. This was announced by parent company, global digital operator Veon.

QazCode will be among the largest software development companies in Kazakhstan, with some 700 staff that will include 350 developers with expertise across software development, big data analytics, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. QazCode will build digital products and services for both local Kazakh and international clients, including other Veon digital operators.

Veon explains that the formation of QazCode is part of its ‘Digital Operator’ strategy, which is aimed at combining connectivity with a complete digital products and services portfolio that meets local needs in such areas as mobile financial services, entertainment, health, and education, leading to greater engagement and value generation for customers. It will, says Veon, help strengthen the burgeoning IT services ecosystem in Kazakhstan.

QazCode has been created out of Beeline Kazakhstan’s IT development group that previously created the entire ecosystem of the digital operator, with over 60 apps used by millions of people in Kazakhstan.

The expertise of QazCode across all aspects of digital application development will now become available to operating companies within the Veon Group and to independent companies looking to develop large-scale digital services.

QazCode is located in Astana Hub, the largest international technology and IT park of start-ups in Central Asia, situated in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Astana Hub comprises a community of more than 1,000 companies, local start-ups and R&D offices.

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MOX Networks (“MOX”) is one of the few companies out there actively building new fiber infrastructure. Privately owned and a part of the Nantworks company portfolio, MOX has a unique position within the market with its plans for the buildout of hyperscale infrastructure and the forthcoming healthcare data wave. Over the past year, they have been actively putting fiber in the ground in the Pacific Northwest and developing unique routes in the eastern US as well. With us today is Allen Meeks, President and COO of MOX Networks, whom we talked to last April. … [visit site to read more]

Malaysian operator CelcomDigi has announced that it has begun its full-scale programme to build what it calls Malaysia’s future digital network – integrating and modernising the largest 4G network in Malaysia with the latest LTE and 5G-ready technologies.

This, the company points out, marks one of the largest network deployment projects in the country involving a total of 18,000 sites, following the successful merger of operators Celcom and Digi earlier in December 2022.  

Noting the company’s excitement at building “the largest, most modern digital network using the latest in mobile telecommunications technology”, Chief Executive Officer Datuk Idham Nawawi says, “We have successfully deployed pilots in five clusters recently, namely in Sitiawan, Rawang, Bercham, Port Dickson, and Kuantan, and we are pleased to report that the upgrades were managed without any disruption to customer experience.”

The new digital network will integrate the two existing strong networks that have a combined footprint of 96.4% for 4G LTE and 90.3% for 4G LTE-A. 

CelcomDigi says it will integrate and modernise the network by clusters, with activities focused on coverage and capacity expansion efforts and upgrading sites with the latest 4G and 5G-ready technologies such as massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) and multiband remote raCOVERdio units (RRU), as well as streamlining overlapping sites to eliminate duplication.

The company says it will maximise its spectrum portfolio to create a multilayer, multiband network, which includes nationwide deployment of the 900MHz spectrum at all sites to improve coverage and indoor service quality.

Telekom Malaysia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ZTE to collaborate on a range of research and development initiatives.

The partnership will aims to drive innovation and digital transformation for customers and industries, focusing on R&D opportunities and commercialisation, product and technology improvement, and the enhancement of TM’s digital talent ecosystem. It is also aimed at strengthening Malaysia’s digital and telco infrastructure.

Building on TM and ZTE’s ongoing investments and commitment to R&D and innovation, the partnership aims to deliver new products and services, with TM serving as ZTE’s preferred business partner to deploy innovative solutions, go-to-market strategies, commercialisation, and networking across various markets and customer segments in Malaysia and regionally. 

The two companies will also work on network and technology planning and overall digital transformation by bringing together Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Anything as a Service (XaaS) providers to develop customised end-to-end solutions for various industry sectors.

Aside from technological developments and aligning with TM’s transformation as a human-centred TechCo, the collaboration will focus on enhancing TM’s digital talent ecosystem, covering areas such as talent competency best practices, professional competency framework, technical training and certifications for digital transformation, as well as cross-border knowledge sharing on new technologies.

Dato’ Imri Mokhtar, TM’s Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “Spearheading these efforts will be TM’s R&D arm who will provide hardware testing and design enhancement, consultation on digital platform technologies, as well as integration solutions to ensure our offerings are market-ready…Introducing the first ever 50Gbps bandwidth in Malaysia has prepared us to drive other innovative services such as 5G, Cloud VR, and intelligent manufacturing which will benefit communities, businesses and the government.”

Airtel Business, the enterprise arm of India’s Airtel, has a massive data centre concern, called Nxtra, in India. So far this isn’t the case in Africa, where the Airtel Group does have a massive presence, but mainly in the mobile market; it is one of the largest service providers in Africa. Apparently, that may soon change.

The company can already boast 40 edge data centres in Africa, for its own use, and investments in the 2Africa and Equiano submarine cables.

However, as both cables hit land the company says it is working on taking its data centre arm Nxtra to Africa and setting up five hyperscale data centres there, according to a report by the Light Reading news service.

This will presumably happen via Airtel Global Business, the international arm of Airtel Business, which caters to its global customers, including service providers, over-the-top (OTT) players and multinationals, among others. It’s not yet clear which countries are being targeted.

Right now, Nxtra, a joint venture between Airtel and Global investment firm Carlyle Group, is present only in India, where it has 12 large data centres and 120 edge data centres. Carlyle completed the acquisition of a 24% stake in Nxtra for US$325 million last year.

As Light Reading points out, increasing broadband usage and growing numbers of subscribers in Africa are leading to a boom in Africa’s data centre industry. Several major players, including Google, Amazon, Oracle and Microsoft have invested in building data centres in Africa.

Limiting latency and data localisation trends may also be drivers for Airtel’s suggested move, plus the fact that Africa is a data centre opportunity that is still (relatively) underexploited so far.