Finnish vendor Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) has been selected by mobile operator Tele2 Russia to supply equipment to test its Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, RBC Daily reports. Tele2 has set aside a 5MHz block of spectrum in the 1800MHz band for the tests, which will also feature modems from ZTE and Huawei
Satellite providers Global Telesat and RascomStar have entered into a joint venture to offer satellite-based internet access throughout Africa, beginning with Angola. The venture, using capacity on the Rascom-QAF1R satellite in the C- and Ku-band frequencies, is aimed at extending connectivity to a range of customers including SMEs, large corporations, telecoms operators and ISPs, and extending high speed internet coverage in rural areas at 'competitive prices'.
Spain’s leading cellco by subscribers, Telefonica Moviles Espana (TME), is thought to be close to awarding French-US vendor Alcatel-Lucent a contract to construct a nationwide high-speed wireless network, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. It is thought that, with Telefonica seeking to win back data-hungry subscribers lost to rival operators, the operator is looking to the launch of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network rollout as a means to do just that. Citing ‘two people with knowledge of the matter’, the report claims that Alca-Lu is the front-runner for selection to provide the equipment needed for the 4G network deployment, while the news agency also claimed that Telefonica will officially unveil details regarding its network strategy at the Mobile World Congress, which is being held in Barcelona later this month
Belgian cableco Numericable looks set to enter the country’s mobile sector having reportedly struck a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) agreement with the market’s smallest operator by subscribers, Mobistar. According to Broadband TV News, initially the mobile voice service is expected to only be made available as part of a quad-play bundle for Numericable’s 140,000 subscribers
US WiMAX-turned-Long Term Evolution (LTE) provider Clearwire has confirmed that it intends to have 5,000 TD-LTE cell sites up and running by June 2013, as part of its first phase of rollout, Fierce Wireless reports, citing comments made by company CEO Erik Prusch during Clearwire’s 4Q11 earnings conference call. Prusch said that Clearwire has been working with Sprint Nextel – its majority owner and largest wholesale customer – to identify sites for Clearwire's planned TD-LTE network, which will overlay the company's existing WiMAX infrastructure
GCCIX, a recently-launched operator-neutral, terrestrial fibre-optic cable system in the Middle East, connecting Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE, has connected to Epsilon's 'Global Network Exchange’ system in London. Epsilon provides a managed presence globally for carriers and service providers (currently serving over 400 such clients), connecting with over 60 carrier-neutral data centres across Europe, Asia and America.
Vodafone Italy is expected to launch a series of trials of its under-deployment Long Term Evolution (LTE) network at the nation’s football stadia, starting with Torino’s Stadio Olimpico. Maximum downlink transmission speeds of 100Mbps have been promised to users of the free trial service
