Three bits of international news and one interplanetary: … [visit site to read more]

Two months after Ghana saw the launch of its first 5G wholesale network, telecoms operators have yet to lease capacity from it to offer commercial 5G services, according to Minister of Communications and Digitalization Ursula Owusu.

Owusu first announced plans to introduce 5G to Ghana via a shared wholesale network model in May 2024 to help telcos save on rollout costs. To that end, Radisys, Nokia and Tech Mahindra united with Ascend Digital Solutions, telecom solutions provider K-NET, mobile network operators AT Ghana and Telecel Ghana, and the Ghanian government to launch a JV called Next-Gen InfraCo (NGIC) to build out the shared infrastructure.

NGIC was granted a ten-year exclusive licence to deploy neutral 4G and 5G infrastructure to be leased to operators, and launched its 5G wholesale network at the start of November 2024. NGIC said it would start rollouts in Accra, Kumasi, and Takoradi, with the goal of achieving national coverage by 2026.

The NGIC launch was heralded by the government and stakeholders as a pivotal move to accelerate digital inclusivity and growth in Ghana. The ministry also said rolling out a wholesale 5G network in phases would ensures rural inclusion, with subsidies to support underserved areas, as opposed to commercial 5G rollouts that are typically concentrated in urban centres.

However, since the November launch, none of Ghana’s main mobile operators – which includes NGIC stakeholders Telecel Ghana, AT Ghana, as well as MTN Ghana – have leveraged the NGIC network to launch their own 5G services, according to the Ecofin news agency.

During an interview on local television channel TV3, Owusu that the ministry has done its part to get the 5G ball rolling in Ghana, but it’s now up to operators to actively sell it.

“People didn’t listen to us at launch. This is a wholesale infrastructure. We built it, and now it’s up to telecommunications companies to buy capacity and provide it to their subscribers, » she told TV3.

The Ecofin report notes that it’s unknown if Telecel, AT Ghana and MTN have started discussions with NGIC or what the conditions of leasing 5G capacity will be. The ministry has also stopped short of providing a timeline of when it expects operators to start offering 5G services.

One sticking point may be the question of how much demand for 5G actually exists in Ghana, given that the penetration rate of 4G in the country – which has been available for the last nine years – was just 15% as of June 2024, according to government figures. The Ministry of Communications and Digitalization plans to boost that figure up to 80% by 2027.

Over the break three different M&A processes in the infrastructure space around the world steamed forward: … [visit site to read more]

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We started the week with the question of consolidation targets in the US, and now it’s time for the other side of the coin.  What network operators are most likely to be consolidators in 2025?  We’ll take it as a given that ‘infrastructure funds’ would top the more general list of likely buyers, of course, but let’s focus on the existing network operators looking to expand inorganically in the US.  Last year the perennial favorite Zayo topped the list with Lightpath and T-Mobile tied for second. … [visit site to read more]

Two very different announcements regarding SIM registration have made headlines in two African countries in recent days: Togo is pursuing the policy, while Mauritius seems to be rejecting it.

The Togo First news resource says that the country is implementing new rules for SIM card registration through a recent government decree that mandates that all users of electronic communication services must be identified before accessing these services.

Not only is the sale of pre-activated or pre-identified SIM cards now banned but users can hold no more than three SIM cards per operator. In addition operators must also maintain a complete database of their subscribers and submit quarterly reports to authorities. Some of these rules were announced as long ago as 2021.

These measures, according to the authorities, aim to enhance subscriber traceability and combat fraud and cybercrime. Though recent figures do not seem to be available, Togo First says that of March 2024, Togo had about 7.3 million mobile subscribers. The present-day population is about 9.6 million.

The Republic of Mauritius is a much smaller market; it has a population of around 1,270,000 in 2025 and (in 2023) there were about 2.1 million SIM cards, arguably easier to register. However, it is now reversing its 2021 decision to put in place a framework for the registration of SIM cards, which began in 2023.

Subscribers, in other words, are no longer required to identify themselves with operators. Not only that but mobile phone operators are now required to delete the database of photographs of all those who have already registered their SIM cards.

According to the Agence Ecofin news service, the registration process was initiated on the recommendation of a Commission of Inquiry on Drugs in 2018 based on indications that some SIM cards used by tourists and foreign workers wound up in the hands of drug traffickers and their accomplices.

While it’s not clear why the authorities in Mauritius have changed tack, registration of SIM cards is still policy in a number of African countries, with security usually cited among the reasons.

Pan-African operator MTN Group has announced the conclusion of the sale of its MTN Guinea-Conakry operation to the State of Guinea. This took place on 30 December 2024.

This transaction, says MTN, aligns with its focus on portfolio optimisation and simplification, as part of Ambition 2025, a strategy anchored in building the largest and most valuable platform business with a clear focus on Africa.

MTN Group President and CEO, Ralph Mupita, has been widely quoted as saying: “This milestone marks a new phase for MTN Guinea-Conakry under local ownership, and MTN thanks the staff, customers, regulators and broader stakeholders in Guinea for their support during the time MTN has been operational in the country.”

He added: “Concluding this transaction is in line with the strategy to simplify the portfolio and allocating capital to markets where we can make a difference as MTN and deliver long-term growth and returns.”

The closing of the sale isn’t a big surprise. As long ago as November 2023 we reported ongoing discussions in progress regarding the potential ‘orderly exit’ of MTN from its operations in Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry and Liberia. At that time MTN had completed the sale of MTN Afghanistan, which marked group’s exit from the Middle East.

In fact in April 2024, according to ITWeb Africa, Mupita informed shareholders and markets in April that MTN’s objective was to « streamline and restructure » its portfolio.

MTN Group completed the sale of its Guinea-Bissau business unit to Telecel in August last year. It still has a presence in Liberia.

Turkcell, globally a leading comprehensive telecom and digital services provider, has announced the successful completion of the world’s first 2.4Tbps field trial on a live transmission network in collaboration with Huawei.

This significant achievement marks a crucial milestone in optical transmission technology, addressing the ever-growing demand for data and connectivity in the future.

Turkcell, the largest telecom carrier in Türkiye, provides high-quality fixed and mobile communication services to over 43 million subscribers. With the emergence of 5G, 4K/8K video, AI, and digital services, network traffic will continue to increase significantly year on year. As a key infrastructure component, the transmission network carries the full range of companies’ services, and therefore requires reconstruction with innovative technology to meet tomorrow’s traffic and service challenges.

Turkcell successfully transmitted 2.4Tbps over a 160km distance on a live transmission network established between two data centers located in Tekirdağ and Edirne to carry high volumes of transit service traffic. The 2.4Tbps dual carrier coherent board, verified in this live trial, is empowered by a built-in high-baud rate bandwidth modulator, state-of-art non-linear compensation algorithm, and intelligent neuron function module to sense the complex link environment in an actual network in real time, and quickly optimize the network transmission performance. 

Prof. Dr. Vehbi Çağrı Güngör, Turkcell Chief Network Technologies Officer said, “Turkcell consistently remains at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies and industry trends. The introduction of the latest ultra-speed DWDM technology in collaboration with Huawei confirms our dedication to delivering next-generation innovations and providing a superior customer experience.”

Victor Zhou, President of Huawei’s Transport Network Domain, said, « We are pleased to cooperate with Turkcell to verify the reaching of this significant milestone in the ultra-high-speed optical industry. Huawei will continue to provide global operators with superior solutions that feature high quality, reliability, and sustainable evolution. »

Happy New Year to all!  While network operators were mostly focused on the organic path last year, there were a few significant deals.    Verizon is buying Frontier, Lightpath bought UFD, and of course Uniti and Windstream are merging.  And that last one was not a big surprise, as Windstream topped last years poll with Uniti in 4th. What is on tap for 2025 among US network operators?  Who you think are the likeliest candidates to be sold (in part or in whole)?  (Not including already pending transactions). … [visit site to read more]

Operator MTN Uganda says it has secured UGX370 billion (about US$100 million) in committed debt financing from five local banks.

This debt financing is described as one of the largest local currency debt transactions in Uganda. The syndicated debt facility from five local banks was 1.6x oversubscribed.

MTN Uganda says this deal reflects robust confidence from lenders in the operator’s long-term potential and focus on expanding its digital and financial services offerings. The financing will be used by MTN Uganda for general corporate purposes including the expansion and improvement of the network.

The arrangement was led by Stanbic Bank Uganda, partnering with Absa Bank Uganda, Citibank Uganda, Standard Chartered Bank Uganda and Centenary Rural Development Bank.

MTN Uganda’s Chief Financial Officer, Andrew Bugembe, says: “MTN Uganda’s achievement in securing this substantial funding underscores our competitive strength and reflects the growing appetite for premium corporate debt instruments within Uganda’s financial sector.” MTN Uganda continues to operate with a strong balance sheet, he points out.

MTN Uganda serves approximately 21.6 million mobile subscribers as of September 2024. Its main competitor in the market is Airtel Uganda with 15.6 million customers by 30 June 2024. The company is 76% owned by the MTN Group, Africa’s leading telecommunications company with more than 280 million customers in 17 markets.

Reuters notes that in June MTN Uganda sold shares left over from its 2021 Initial Public Offering (IPO) on the Ugandan stock exchange, leaving its parent owner controlling 76% of its shareholding.