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.

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

A few stories to keep up with from: … [visit site to read more]

Smart Communications, Ericsson and Meta announced on Tuesday they have jointly optimised Smart’s network to support better-quality OTT voice and video calls for Meta’s Messenger app in the Philippines.

Ericsson and Smart said they fine-tuned key technical parameters in Smart’s live network in the Luzon area of the Philippines in collaboration with Meta’s local team to enhance network performance.

The result: 24.6% lower round-trip time for Messenger calls, 55% lower packet loss for fewer interruptions, and clearer video at nearly 20% higher video bitrate, all of which enable more stable and reliable real-time conversations.

“These improvements mean [customers’] video calls over Messenger are sharper, and they can enjoy continuous calls with their loved ones,” said Debbie M. Hu, head of network at Smart Communications.

Hu added that the network enhancements also benefit other OTT voice and video call apps, not just Messenger.

Daniel Ode, head of Singapore, Philippines and Brunei at Ericsson, added that the initiative “demonstrates how focused global technical expertise, decades of trusted telco leadership, and platform-level coordination can come together to produce tangible, customer-facing improvements — clearer audio, fewer interruptions, and a more dependable calling experience that Filipinos can rely on every day.”

A few items from over the Easter break worth to catch up on: … [visit site to read more]