Today’s telecom news includes announcements on Ericsson sales, Kyivstar, Reliance Jio, TRAI, Saudi Telecom, spectrum auction in Thailand, among others.
Ericsson Sales Drop as Jio and Airtel Slow 5G network spending
Ericsson’s sales in India dropped for five straight quarters. This is because Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel have slowed down 5G spending after building their networks. Both companies are now trying to make money from 5G by offering services like fixed wireless internet. They are waiting to see more demand for 5G before spending more. Vodafone Idea may help Ericsson and Nokia with new 5G deals once it raises more funds.
Kyivstar Buys Uklon to Grow Beyond Telecom
Ukraine’s biggest mobile company, Kyivstar, bought 97 percent of Uklon, an online taxi app, for $155.2 million. Kyivstar wants to earn more from non-telecom services like TV, health, cloud, and data. It plans to make 10 percent of its income from these by 2025, and 50 percent later. Uklon runs in 27 cities and gets over 10 million ride orders each month. It has also started working in Uzbekistan.
Reliance Jio Leads, 5G and M2M Grow
In January 2025, Reliance Jio had 465.82 million users and a 40.46 percent market share. Bharti Airtel added 1.65 million users, reaching 386.96 million. Vodafone Idea lost 1.33 million users, dropping to 205.92 million. Vodafone Idea launched 5G in Mumbai and plans further expansion. Jio and Airtel lead in 5G and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services. Airtel leads in Machine-to-Machine (M2M) connections with 3.3 crore users.
TRAI Launches Complaint Portal, Warns About Scams
TRAI introduced a central portal to help users file telecom service complaints, including broadband issues. TRAI also warned about scam calls asking for KYC updates or SIM deactivation. These calls are fake. Only telecom operators can deactivate SIMs.
Saudi Telecom Owned by Public Investment Fund
Saudi Telecom is 62 percent owned by the Public Investment Fund, with institutional investors like Vanguard and BlackRock holding smaller shares. Institutional ownership reflects confidence in Saudi Telecom.
Thailand to Hold Mobile Frequency Auction
Thailand’s NBTC will hold a mobile frequency auction on June 29, 2025. Six frequency bands will be auctioned with a total value of 121 billion baht. Applications open on April 29 and close on May 28. A mock auction will take place on June 23. NBTC has set a budget of 70 million baht for the process. AIS and TRUE have shown interest in the auction. The auction will help support mobile and 5G services.
Telcos Oppose Mumbai Metro Network Plan
COAI says telecom companies are against Mumbai Metro’s network setup. They say the Metro gave the job to a non-licensed company. Only licensed companies are allowed to build active networks. Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone had offered to build the system. Their offer was rejected by the Metro. Telcos are asking for fair rules in public network projects.
TelecomLead.com News Desk
