Asia News

China Mobile’s Zong is the first national operator to launch 4G LTE network in the country. 4G services are now available in seven cities including Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. Zong plans to invest US$ 1bn over the next three years and add as many as 4,000 sites by the end of 2014.

Telenor is extending its 3G services to thirteen new cities bringing the total number of locations covered by the operator to thirty-two.

Reliance Jio has signed a deal to utilise all of the 113,490 telecom towers of Indus Towers in fifteen indian circles. Under its license, Reliance Jio must launch services by May 2015 and is currently planning to rollout 4G LTE on schedule. The telco has previously signed infrastructure deals with Reliance Communications, Bharti Infratel, Viom Networks, American Tower Corporation, Tower Vision, Ascent Telecom, BSNL and GTL Infrastructure.

The private equity firm sold a 2.4% stake in India Cellular for an estimated US$ 234.7 million, corresponding to 85 million shares.

Indus Towers, the largest towerco in India, plans to roll out 2,000 new towers across the country with 20% of them located in the Maharashtra and Goa circle.

Indian towerco Bharti Infratel is considering buying telecom towers from Airtel in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and from Vodafone and Idea in India.

Mobile operator Ollo has contracted Chinese ZTE to roll out its 4G LTE network. BTRC has recently approved Ollo’s request to import equipment and start rolling out the network.

PT XL Axiata is planning to sell 3,500 telecom towers to STP for US$ 459 million. The cash deal should be completed by the end of this year.

Telkom aims at becoming the largest towerco in Indonesia by acquiring a majority stake in a local towerco during Q1 2015. The company is reportedly assessing the capital needed for the deal which could be in the range of US$ 427-854 million. Last year, the company evaluated the potential sale of a stake in Mitratel and then considered merging Mitratel with a publicly listed towerco.

State-owned Telkom Indonesia is disclosing its international plans to expand into the Middle East and, in particular, into Saudi Arabia. The telco is seizing the opportunity to capitalise on the one million Indonesian living in Saudi Arabia.

DTAC is planning to spend US$ 308 million to build new towers in Bangkok and other major cities by March 2015. The expected project will create 3,800 new 3G towers and 2,700 4G LTE stations.

Thai telecom group True Corp has signed a strategic partnership agreement with China Mobile to sell an 18% stake to China Mobile for US$ 881 million. According to TelecomAsia, the partnership between the two companies will include 4G technology transfer, joint procurement of handsets and networks as well as shared strategies against over-the-top service providers.

DBS Bank, ING Bank, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation organised the first ever non-recourse, cross border financing in Myanmar for Pan Asia Majestic Eagle Limited, a towerco involved in the rollout of telecom infrastructure. The agreement will assign US$ 85 million of financing to the towerco.

Telenor Group has announced that it will begin connecting customers in Myanmar on September 27, as stated in a company’s press release. The roll out will start in the city of Mandalay to then continue in Nay Pyi Taw, Yangon and into more towns, villages and rural areas.

"It is rewarding for Telenor Group to be able to contribute to the rapid development of a nation by providing essential infrastructure that will drive connectivity and new opportunities for Myanmar. Telenor is excited to introduce products and services that will include everyone in the country’s digital future, and fuel innovation and entrepreneurship," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.

Ooredoo reportedly reached 1 million subscribers in Myanmar in three weeks. The telco soft-launched services on 4 August with free services to then start its commercial offering on 15 August.

"The response to our launch has been inspiring," said Ross Cormack, CEO of Ooredoo Myanmar. ”Pent-up demand for mobile communication services has surpassed even our expectations," he said. "This growth will enable more people to experience our life-enriching services and see the life-changing opportunities technology can bring.”

True Corp and YTP have put commercial talks on hold. The companies were in discussions to co-launch mobile services but haven’t reached an agreement. True is planning to launch services in Myanmar and has recently created a subsidiary.

The Vietnamese operator MobiFone is attracting potential investors such as Telenor Group and Comvik International. Negotiations are ongoing while the operator is being privatised.

The joint towerco, also referred to as National Tower Company, owned by China’s three telcos is set to start operating by the end of the year with a development plan including initial construction works on 120,000 new towers by the end of 2014, with roll out by 2017.