The mobile industry's drive to build out networks continued apace in 2023. While the main focus remained on 5G rollout, some telcos are still expanding their 4G LTE and even 3G services. Interest in open radio access networks (Open RAN), particularly around standalone (SA) networks, increased, as did 6G-related activities.… Read more...

Ooredoo is an international communications company with operations across 10 countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. It offers a range of content and services via mobile and fixed networks. It had around 57.6 million mobile customers at the end of 2023 according to its Q4 2023… Read more...

MTN has 295 million customers in 19 markets across Africa and the Middle East, according to its results for the year ended 31 December 2023. It provides voice, data, financial technology, digital, enterprise, wholesale and API services. It continues to focus on its "Ambition 2025" strategic priorities, which include building… Read more...

Etisalat Group is a leading telecoms group in emerging markets. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, it was established over 40 years ago as the country’s first telecoms firm. It had over 170 million subscribers in countries across the Middle East, Asia and Africa as of its 2023 annual report. Read more...

PolicyTracker’s unlicensed 6 GHz benchmark now includes 83 nations and territories where unlicensed policies are either planned or in place. Seventy-seven per cent of nations in the benchmark have authorised or are planning to authorise unlicensed use of the lower 6 GHz range (5295/5245—6425 MHz). The remaining 23 per cent… Read more...

Nations across Africa continue to implement unlicensed 6 GHz policies that are largely focused on the lower portion of the band (5925—6425 MHz) in line with the African Telecommunication Union’s (ATU) recommended use of this range. In line with CEPT and European Commission harmonisation decisions, most European nations have opened… Read more...

While nations have taken different decisions on opening the entire 6 GHz or the lower 6 GHz range for unlicensed use, there are also variations in policy approaches in terms of technical specifications for unlicensed operations and permitted modes of use and in relation to mechanisms used to implement unlicensed… Read more...

PolicyTracker’s updated 3.3—4.2 GHz benchmark tracks the status of spectrum policies related to this mid-band range across 87 countries that continue to progress assignments for IMT/5G use, along with a growing number of nations that are earmarking spectrum for use on a localised basis. While the assignment of spectrum resources… Read more...

Thirty nations have assigned 26 GHz or 28 GHz spectrum or both, with ten of these nations planning further assignments. The majority of these assignments are in Asia (40%) and Europe (35%), although nations in all regions of the world are now looking to award spectrum in these high-bands. Read more...

MTN remains Africa's largest mobile operator, with 285 million customers in 19 markets across Africa and the Middle East, according to its 30 September 2022 trading update. It remains focused on bridging the financial and digital divide and ensuring the resilience of its networks. Its priority is to expand the… Read more...