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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.

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.

This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Taylor Allis, Chief Product Officer at Avetta

The telecommunications (telecom) sector is entering a new era, blurring the lines between the traditional definition of a telecom company and a tech company, as both industries boom with innovation. From promising 6G implementations to the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program that will fund new developments, the opportunities are endless. As the landscape rapidly evolves, a mature and secure supply chain is crucial. It is the linchpin … [visit site to read more]

Two Cameroon utilities, Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) and Cameroon Water Utility Corporation (Camwater), have signed an agreement to share infrastructure.

The companies say they are joining forces not just to share resources, but to amplify their collective impact, combining expertise to pave the way for faster, more cost-effective deployments of telecom and water services across the nation.

Quoted in local news resource News Upfront, Blaise Moussa, CEO of Camwater, points out that cities are expanding geographically and horizontally, and networks are submitted to high constraints, “and,” he adds, “we don’t have enough means to develop them”.

Judith Yah Sunday, CEO of Camtel, points out that infrastructure sharing is becoming a fairly common practice around the world. She explains: “Wherever Camwater is already present, we can surf on that infrastructure and vice versa and make sure that we deliver optimal services to customers and the public at large.”

Cited benefits of the agreement include cost efficiencies through reduced duplication of efforts and maximised use of existing resources. The deal should also promote environmental sustainability since less construction means less environmental disruption.

Timetables and technical details don’t yet seem to have been published. However, Judith Yah Sunday’s point about infrastructure sharing is certainly correct. In fact earlier this month a number of news outlets said that Kenya intends to use its more than 70,000 power transformers as internet hotspots across the country.

This will involve collaboration between the government and the Kenya Power and Lighting Company to use available power lines rather than laying fibre.

Chile’s Movistar Empresas, the business-focused division of operator Movistar, has announced the deployment of an LTE-M network in the country, which, it says, will allow organisations of various sizes to connect their Internet of Things (IoT) devices with greater energy efficiency.

LTE-M is a type of low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) radio communication technology standard developed by standards group 3GPP for machine-to-machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) applications.

As its name suggests, it is deployed over the 4G network. Movistar Empresas  says that, compared to other technologies in the LPWAN family such as NB-IoT, LTE-M allows similar functionalities of extended coverage and optimisation of battery life, but is superior in terms of maximum data transfer speed, minimum terminal reaction times and allowing data transfer to be maintained on moving devices.

Rodrigo Rivera, Marketing Manager of B2B Digital Services, explains: “The deployment of the Movistar LTE-M network is the next step in the evolution of cellular communications between M2M devices, on the path towards massive IoT.”

He continues: “The LTE-M network covers the needs of companies in different sectors, as it allows the transfer of small data packets with low latency, coverage in hard-to-reach areas, savings in device costs and longer battery life, contributing to the operational efficiency and sustainability of our clients. »

Potential use cases in Chile are likely to include fleet management, smart lighting, precision agriculture, connected meters, and various smart city applications, among others.

This LTE-M network is available to traditional M2M connectivity customers, allowing different devices and systems to communicate and share data with each other without direct human intervention. This new network will be complemented by the Telefonica Tech KITE managed connectivity platform, with which companies can control and monitor their connected devices in real time, remotely and from anywhere in the world.

Movistar Empresas has more than 6 million IoT connections in Latin America, 1.5 million of them in Chile.

A subsea project, some AI network work, and some 5G xHaul interoperability: … [visit site to read more]

Four projects of metro connectivity interest of note from this week: … [visit site to read more]

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.