This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Nick Muir, General Manager for EMEA at Spectralink.

When companies calculate the ROI of modern unified communications (UC) deployments such as Microsoft Teams, they typically focus on white-collar workers who spend a lot of time at a keyboard or in meetings. Yet, around 80% of the global workforce is made up of frontline workers[1] — key employees such as nurses, factory workers, retail associates, and facilities staff, who rarely sit at desks. Too often, where the formal office environment ends, so does … [visit site to read more]

Satcoms company ST Engineering iDirect, has announced a strategic partnership with Q-KON, a premier African satellite engineering and service provider, to launch an initiative called Intuition Unbound across Africa.

This collaboration, say the partners, will significantly lower barriers to entry for Q-KON and its customers, enabling businesses and organisations of all sizes to access premium satellite ground technology while accelerating time to market.

Q-KON will provide satellite capacity and teleport facilities in South Africa, while ST Engineering iDirect will deliver Intuition Unbound’s flexible, scalable and secure satellite ground connectivity.

This model, it is claimed, will foster a more competitive market landscape and establish a strong foundation for new service providers and enterprises to join the ecosystem and build differentiated value-added services.

Intuition Unbound leverages scalable infrastructure, advanced virtual network operator (VNO) capabilities, and global bandwidth management technologies to redefine how connectivity is accessed and delivered. Built on an as-a-service model, Intuition Unbound delivers flexible, scalable, and secure satellite ground connectivity without the heavy upfront capex commitments traditionally required.

Through the partnership with Q-KON, ST Engineering iDirect says it will provide predictable and transparent pricing and deliver SLA-backed performance with enterprise-grade compliance and security.

Dr Dawie de Wet, Group CEO of Q-KON calls the partnership “a game-changer for our customers” that “maps a way forward to deliver sustainable, competitive GEO satellite services”.

Brian Jakins, SVP Global Sales at ST Engineering iDirect, adds: “By making advanced satellite technology accessible to smaller providers and emerging-market customers, we are unlocking innovation and growth where connectivity is essential. Our partnership with Q-KON represents a major step toward making premium satellite ground networks accessible to all.”

Together with Q-KON, ST Engineering iDirect is expected to commence deployment of Intuition Unbound across Africa by mid-2026. ST Engineering iDirect plans to expand Intuition Unbound into additional regions globally, extending the benefits of flexible, scalable, and secured satellite ground connectivity worldwide.

Four interesting items from around the industry: … [visit site to read more]

Two bits of international news, some federal dollars, and another FTTx expansion project: … [visit site to read more]

Pakistan on Tuesday raised US$507 million in the country’s 5G spectrum auction, selling 480MHz of spectrum against a target of 597MHz.

Three operators – Jazz, Zong and Ufone – won frequencies to roll out next-generation mobile services and faster digital connectivity in the country.

The auction took place over three rounds on the same day. The results were announced by Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) Chairman Hafeez Ur Rehman. IT Minister Shaza Fatima Khawaja and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar were also present at the announcement.

The sale included two lots (blocks of radio frequency spectrum) in the 700MHz band, all five lots in the 2300MHz band, all 19 lots in the 2600MHz band, and 22 out of 28 lots in the 3500MHz band.

One of three lots of 700MHz spectrum went unsold, as did six of the available 28 lots of 3500MHz spectrum. The entire 1800MHz and 2100MHz spectrum on offer remained unsold.

Jazz emerged as the largest buyer, securing 190MHz of spectrum, including 50MHz in the 3500MHz band, 70MHz in the 2600MHz, 50MHz in the 2300MHz and 20MHz in the 700MHz.

Ufone acquired 180MHz, including 120MHz in the 3500MHz band and 60MHz in the 2600MHz band. Zong bought 110MHz in the auction, including 50MHz in the 3500MHz band and 60MHz in the 2600MHz band.

The PTA Chairman noted that spectrum scarcity had long been the biggest challenge for Pakistan’s telecom sector and suggested that the country was entering a new technological era with the launch of the auction.

The PTA chief also highlighted an interesting change of policy: Pakistan is to be the first country in Asia to abolish right-of-way (RoW) charges, reducing them from PKR36,000 (US$128.85) per kilometre to nil to facilitate telecom infrastructure expansion and fibre deployment.

The new auction will not only introduce 5G services but should also significantly improve 4G quality. Improvements in 4G services are expected within 4-5 months; 5G services are expected to be launched in major cities within six months.

A reason for recent delays in the auction seems to have been the wait for the PTA to announce its decision on the proposed merger between Ufone 4G and Telenor Pakistan. This is now expected later today.

Four interesting news bytes from around the industry to catch up with: … [visit site to read more]

Thai operator True Corp revealed a three-year strategic roadmap on Monday to transform itself from telco to ‘techco’, with a focus on strengthening the customer experience and driving ‘AI-first’ growth.

True broke its techco strategy down into “four big moves”, the centrepiece of which is making AI a core engine across its operations, from strategic decision-making and operational efficiency to delivering superior customer experiences.

“We are moving beyond the traditional telco-centric, focused primarily on subscriber growth and entering a new phase of transformation as an AI-first organization while remaining firmly focused on customer-centricity,” said True Corp group CEO Sigve Brekke. “With AI, True will embed intelligence across networks, services and digital platforms. This represents a complete reset of operations, moving toward touch-free, predictive and increasingly autonomous operations that enhance both performance and customer experience.”

True said its ‘AI-First’ strategy includes not only developing new AI-driven products and improving efficiency and automation across business functions, but also expanding AI access and skills for employees, customers and society in general, which is another of the “four big moves” in its techco strategy.

True said it plans to upskill 100% of its workforce with AI foundation skills by 2026 and has launched 10 AI scholarships for advanced studies in the United States and China, including programs developed in collaboration with MIT and Chulalongkorn University.

“True is not only adopting AI internally. We are working to upskill 12 million Thai citizens through a comprehensive AI literacy program, build an AI-enabled platform for enterprises, and strengthen AI infrastructure together with partners across the ecosystem,” said Brekke.

True’s other two “big moves” in its techco push include elevating end-to-end customer experience across the entire lifecycle by strengthening network capabilities for its 5G and fixed broadband services and integrating both into a seamless digital ecosystem across all customer touchpoints, and driving growth in its B2C and B2B customer segments.

On the consumer front, True will expand its ‘Beyond Connectivity’ portfolio, including content platforms, home AI solutions, cybersecurity services and gaming and digital lifestyle services. True plans to leverage data-driven insights and an AI-powered personalization engine to deliver tailored offers for families.

True said it will also continue its evolution from product-centric telecom provider to trusted digital solutions partner for enterprises and SMEs, combining big data analytics, AI, security, integrated platforms, cloud computing and 5G/fibre connectivity. True also said it will boost its partnerships with global hyperscalers to co-develop solutions that help businesses modernize operations.

True said its techco roadmap aims to capitalise on three major trends in Thailand: (1) consumers increasingly becoming both creators and consumers of data across work, entertainment, healthcare and learning, (2) acceleration of AI adoption, and (3) digital infrastructure unlocking new regional growth engines.

“These trends represent a major opportunity to create new value in the digital economy,” Brekke said.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Chris Brill, Field CTO at Myriad360

The traditional data center playbook is dead. Companies are inventing entirely new categories of infrastructure solutions in real time, because the old ways can’t scale fast enough to meet demand. … [visit site to read more]

Ethio Telecom revealed on Sunday it lined up several vendor deals to modernise its telecoms network at last week’s Mobile World Congress, with one agreement with Ericsson already signed and others with Huawei and ZTE in the pipeline.

Ethio Telecom is currently in the midst of a large-scale network expansion and modernization programme, which includes expanding infrastructure coverage, enhancing 4G capacity, advancing 5G expansion, extending rural mobile network connectivity, and expanding and modernizing both radio access and core network functions – all in service of its “Next Horizon: Digital & Beyond” strategy.

To that end, Ethio Telecom CEO Frehiwot Tamru met with senior executives from Huawei, ZTE, Ericsson, and Nokia at MWC26 to explore advanced technology solutions to optimise its network infrastructure and prepare it to support emerging technologies, including AI-enabled network capabilities.

Ethio Telecom said it successfully concluded key negotiations with all of them. One agreement with Ericsson was finalized and signed on Thursday, while negotiations with ZTE were concluded, and discussions with Huawei (which holds a significant share of Ethio Telecom’s network infrastructure) “progressed substantially and are nearing finalization.”

The deal with Ericsson involves expansion, upgrade, 4G layering, and deployment of new capabilities across 1,500 mobile sites within the Ericsson network-managed circle, which Ethio Telecom said will boost 4G coverage and capacity while expanding its 5G footprint.

The deal also specifically targets 75 rural solution sites with tailored mobile solutions aimed at bridging both the coverage and usage gaps in rural areas that have no access to commercial power. Ericsson will also upgrade of 502 existing 3G sites to be 4G-ready.

Ethio Telecom said the project will add expand LTE services to 157 additional towns within Ericsson’s circle, increasing the total number of connected towns to 276, while boosting population coverage by 45%, reaching an overall 85% population coverage in the region.

Meanwhile, Ethio Telecom said it met with Nokia to review the successful completion of a proof of concept (PoC) for innovative technology solutions, and discuss preparations for a joint launch of an Innovation Excellence Centre to strengthen innovation, learning and digital capacity development in Ethiopia.

Ethio Telecom said it also held discussions with various global operators, solution providers, and technology innovators at MWC26 to explore new collaboration opportunities and drive digital transformation.