West African island nation Cape Verde has begun construction of a technical station and terminal to house the EllaLink submarine cable at Praia by the end of 2020. Cape Verde had announced in 2018 plans to connect to the new fibre optic cable in order to strengthen internet connectivity in the country.
Wholesale and Capacity
UK regulator confirms availability of lower 6GHz band for Wi-Fi use
Ofcom, the UK’s telecom watchdog, has announced that it will make the lower 6GHz band available for Wi-Fi use as well as other radio LAN tech.
FCC completes 5G spectrum auction raising $4.6 billion
The US Federal Communications Commission raised nearly USD 4.6 billion in the auction of mobile spectrum in the 3550-3650 MHz band.
Infinera upgrades spectrum capacity on MainOne submarine cable for Orange
Infinera announced that Orange deployed spectrum capacity with Infinera’s submarine solution on its MainOne submarine cable, a new network built to provide large-scale international capacity to support the development of a digital ecosystem in West Africa. Built upon Infinera’s fourth-generation Infinite Capacity Engine (ICE4) on the XTS-3600 platform, Orange was able to significantly increase its regional capacity as well as improve the resilience of its submarine cables to provide its customers with enhanced connectivity and access to affordable new services.
German telco boosts fixed broadband speeds for an additional 280,000 homes
German operator and domestic operating unit of Deutsche Telekom (DT), Telekom Deutschland (TD), has revealed its plans to upgrade fixed broadband speeds to cater to an additional 280,000 households.
Data center capex to reach $200 billion by 2024
Despite the disruption in demand for data center equipment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic this year, data center capital expenditure (capex) will grow at a 6% CAGR to reach just over $200 billion over the next five years.
Benya Cables, Africa Data Centres enter into strategic agreement
Benya Cables, subsidiary of Benya Holding, has partnered with Africa Data Centres to secure vital resources for fiber optic infrastructure and technology. The agreement will serve seven of the largest countries across Africa.
Dutch Telco to launch commercial 5G network services
Dutch Telco KPN has announced that it plans to launch commercial 5G mobile network services on 28 July, ensuring more than 90% 5G coverage in the Netherlands’ top five cities.
Saudi CITC holds public consultation for spectrum outlook
The Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) launched a public consultation to set its five-year outlook for commercial and innovative use of radio spectrum.
Slovenian operator launches country’s first commercial 5G network
Slovenian operator, Telekom Slovenije, has launched the country’s first 5G network commercially.