Four bits of teamwork from around the world putting next generation infrastructure to work: … [visit site to read more]

iBASIS, a provider of communications solutions for operators and digital players worldwide, and TelEm Group, one of the leading mobile networks in the Caribbean island of Saint Maarten, have announced a five-year exclusive partnership to manage TelEm’s international voice services in key markets.

TelEm group will reportedly partner with iBASIS as exclusive provider for international voice termination across the Netherlands, Saint Maarten, Antilles, Saba and Sint Eustatius.

Explaining the partnership, Randell Hato, TelEm Group CFO says: “Cost efficiency is critical to our customers. iBASIS provides the perfect balance of affordability and reliability. In the initial phase, we expect a 20% reduction in opex costs. The iBASIS model will also enable us to rapidly roll out new services to stay competitive and foster growth. »

iBASIS cites Data Bridge Market Research, which indicates that the global voice termination market, valued at US$41.50 billion in 2024, is projected to grow to US$26.94 billion USD by 2031, with a compound 15% annual growth rate (CAGR).

An important consideration in this partrhsip is that regional operators like TelEm face increasing challenges including security threats, pricing pressures, and operational complexities. iBASIS says that its managed voice services offer a comprehensive solution covering infrastructure, capacity, security, regulatory compliance, and operational consulting.

Edwin van Ierland, iBASIS COO say that, looking ahead, “TelEm can also leverage iBASIS’s mobile, messaging and bandwidth services to enhance its offerings across the Caribbean islands. »

News

Ninety-nine percent of German railway passengers on ‘main routes’ can now access speeds of at least 200 Mbps

Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s state-owned railway company, have made significant improvements to mobile reception on trains in Germany over the past three years, according to a press release published by the companies last week.

Back in 2021, the two companies first began cooperating on this deal, with the goal of significantly improving mobile reception along Germany’s railway network, and specifically, to provide the entire line’s network with high-performance mobile coverage by the end 2026. The partnership aimed to tackle the challenges of providing high quality mobile connectivity under the difficult environmental conditions along the railway routes, such as within tunnels and nature reserves.

Since the collaboration started, the companies have jointly invested ‘a three-digit million amount’ to build and modernise the network’s infrastructure. This included installing over 470 new mobile towers and upgrading approximately 1,900 sites along rail routes.

A key focus was ensuring that 99% of the country’s 7,800km of main routes now offer at least 200 Mbps data speeds, with 95% sections reaching 300 Mbps or more. The companies also made progress on 13,800km of secondary routes (>2,000 passengers per day), increasing availability of 200 Mbps from 73% in 2021 to 94% in 2024.

Further improvements are being planned by 2026.

“The cooperation between Deutsche Telekom and Deutsche Bahn shows that Germany is making progress in digitisation!” said Dr. Richard Lutz, CEO of Deutsche Bahn in a translated press release.

“Together we have managed to ensure that rail passengers can surf and make calls almost anywhere without interruption in the Telekom network. Telekom has strengthened its network for this purpose, and we at DB have equipped our vehicles. Now more and more trains are being added to our fleet with mobile phone-transparent windows. Uninterrupted mobile phone reception is a basic need for our customers,” he continued.

“We built a new mast every two and a half days. We significantly increased data rates. And we saw that network expansion only works when we work together,” said Timotheus Höttges, CEO of DT.

“We need usable space for our locations and faster approval processes. Providing coverage on challenging routes through national parks, mountains, wooded valleys or tunnels requires a lot of patience. We will not let up here either. We have achieved a lot and people are noticing that. But we have not yet reached our goal and must take further steps together.”

In an additional investment, DB is spending €50 million to install over 70,000 train windows that are more easily penetrated by mobile signals. This technology uses a laser to etch a fine pattern into the ultra-thin metal layer that shields the train windows from sunlight, thereby allowing better signal penetration.

These mobile signal-permeable windows are gradually replacing the older repeater systems currently installed on the trains, which used external antennas to transmit signals inside the carriages.

Join us at next month’s Connected Germany 5-6 November in Munich. Get discounted tickets here!

Also in the news:
“We’re the best kept secret in data centre and cloud,” says Nokia at Connected Britain Submarine cable damage in the Red Sea ‘severely underestimated’
Vodafone and Google deepen relationship with 10-year AI partnership 

Some items of regional interest worth keeping up with: … [visit site to read more]

Interview

At Connected Britain 2024, we caught up with Sitetracker’s Global Product Lead Michael Roach to discuss how the company is using the latest technologies to make planning and deploying fibre networks simpler, faster, and more cost effective.

From leveraging Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data to equipping engineers with computer vision capabilities, Roach explains why building a unified platform is key to harnessing the wealth of deployment data now available to telcos.

You can watch our full interview from the link below.

Also in the news:
Hurricane Helene knocks out a fifth of mobile sites in US Southeast
Vodafone Germany leans into fibre infrastructure sharing to reach 11m
EE activates 25 Freshwave small cells in London

Four bits of last mile news, three from the northeast and one from the southeast: … [visit site to read more]

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With over 200 entries across 23 categories, this year’s World Communication Awards is more competitive than ever.

After months of deliberation by the Award’s expert panel of over 100 judges, Total Telecom is delighted to announce the shortlisted entries below.

Congratulations to all of the entrants that have made it this far. We look forward to seeing you at the Awards Ceremony on 10 December at The Marriott, Grosvenor Square, London!

Book your ticket today!

AI Excellence Award

SK Telecom

Jio Platforms Limited

Netcracker Technology

Telkomsel

Tata Communications Transformation Services

Rakuten Symphony

Amdocs amAIz

Best Digital Transformation Programme

Verizon Business Group

Lebara

Türk Telekom with Red Hat

Netcracker Technology

TECH MAHINDRA GmbH

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison

Best Network Transformation Initiative

ODINE

Ericsson and Telstra

Vodafone & Celfocus

Orange Wholesale

Telecom Egypt

Best Operator in a Growth Market

BTS (Business Telecommunication Services)

Jazz

PLDT and Smart

TurkNet

Best Wholesale Operator

Arelion

BTS (Business Telecommunication Services)

EXA Infrastructure

Deutsche Telekom Global Carrier

Telecom Egypt

Bayobab Group

Connected Communities Award

imowi

Ericsson and Telstra joint submission

HFCL Ltd.

Bahrain Network (BNET)

DZS with Connect2First, Irby Utilities & City of Cabot

Crisis Response Award

KT

Telkomsel

VEON and Kyivstar

Orange Wholesale

WIOCC Group

Enterprise Service of the Year Award

Telstra

Bridge Alliance

Singapore Telecommunications Limited

ZTE Corporation

6D Technologies

Babel PR

People & Culture Award

Bayobab Group

Viettel Group

Telkomsel

FreeMove Alliance

TELEKOMUNIKASI INDONESIA INTERNATIONAL (TL).S.A.

The 5G Award

e&UAE

SK Telecom

Singtel

Jio Platforms Limited

KT

China Mobile International

The Access Innovation Award

ZTE Corporation

Ericsson and Telstra joint submission

Cohere Technologies & Vodafone

China Mobile International

HFCL Ltd.

The Beyond Connectivity Award

Huawei Technologies Co.,Ltd.

Singtel

Netcracker Technology

PLDT and Smart

Telkomsel

Lao Telecommunication Public Company

The Cloud Award

ODINE

Jio Platforms Limited

Rakuten Symphony

Wind River

China Mobile International

Console Connect

The Cyber Security Award

Liberty Global

RETN

Enea

Cradlepoint, part of Ericsson

BT Group

SK Telecom

The Future Award

e& UAE

LG Uplus

Viettel Group

SK Telecom, NTT, NTT DOCOMO, NOKIA

Telecom Egypt

Console Connect

The Platform Award

Vox Solutions

Netgem

Telkomsel

Telna

Singtel

The Satellite Telecoms Award

Singtel

TELEFÓNICA GLOBAL SOLUTIONS

Mavenir

Netcracker Technology

The Social Contribution Award

Telia Norway

SK Telecom

Hormuud Telecom

Telecom Egypt (WE)

Moldcell S.A. / Moldcell Foundation

GSM Systems

PLDT and Smart

Digicel

The Sustainability Award

Orange Wholesale

SK Telecom, Intel and Nokia

Ericsson

KT

MTN

Telin

Total Experience Award

Arelion

Ericsson

TELEFÓNICA GLOBAL SOLUTIONS

Globe Telecoms, Inc.

e& UAE

Subtonomy

Woman in Telecoms Award

Dr Sharlene, Thiagarajah, TM Research & Development

Carolina Bugaian, Moldcell

Elif Yenihan Kaya, TURKCELL

Magda Abdelkader, Telecom Egypt

Josephine Sarouk, Bayobab Group

Katia Gonzalez, BICS

CEO of the Year Award

Frédéric Schepens, Bayobab Group

Vikram Sinha, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison

Joost Farweck, Royal KPN (The Netherlands)

Ahmed Jaber Aldoseri, Bahrain Network (BNET)

Tim Höttges, Deutsche Telekom AG

Alexis Bartelds, Sam Media B.V

Startup of the Year Award

Shortlisted startups are invited to pitch their business case to a panel of WCA judges. Pitching competition dates to be announced shortly!

FlexiFone
Geonetworks

Cyber One

DC Smarter

JAPA

A5G Networks

OCX Cognition

Tripcel

Streetwave

SAHA

Book your ticket today!

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.