Page 71 - SAMENA Trends - November-December 2022

WHOLESALE UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS
Italian Wholesaler Confident on 5G FWA Push
Cosimo Buccella, CTO of Italian wholesale after his presentation, Buccella explained
provide OpNet lauded the potential of 5G
fixed wireless access (FWA) in Italy due
to patchy progress in fiber rollouts, as he
detailed plans to target operators with its
infrastructure. Speaking to Mobile World Live
NCA, Operators Sign Landmark Interconnection Agreement
The National Communications Authority
(NCA) and Somali mobile operators have
signed an interconnection agreement
to allow end users to call each other
seamlessly across different telecoms
networks. The agreement was a result of
a series of discussions and consultations
between the relevant parties that worked
out all the fundamental issues necessary
for the signing of the deal, including
mobile termination rates (MTRs). The
interconnection agreement will come
into force on 10 January 2023, and
the interconnection process will be
completed by February 2023. ‘In addition
to the interconnection agreement being a
requirement and a right for the customer,
it is also an important benchmark for the will put an end to discussions that have
growth of the telecommunications market lasted since the inception of telecom
scenario,” he said, explaining this meant
OpNet aimed to provide FWA infrastructure operators “need to cover some specific
to domestic mobile operators, alongside areas also with FWA”. He indicated with
other connectivity services targeted at the operators preoccupied with using their
industrial and the business sectors. “There spectrum assets to serve increasing mobile
is a big push on fiber but Italy is a complex consumption, the hope was OpNet could
aid them with an FWA offering using 5G. In
its previous guise of Linkem, the company
provided fixed over WiMax as part of a
broader portfolio. Although often cited as
a technology suited to connecting rural
areas without fiber access, the executive
extolled virtues of fixed over its standalone
5G infrastructure in urban areas too, with
strong performances recorded in Rome
and other cities. He noted the technology
was a strong compliment to fiber, adding
it could “provide connectivity in five days”
something “not possible with a fixed line”.
Italian operators with access to C-Band
spectrum are looking at FWA as a new use
case, he added. OpNet’s active targeting of
FWA in Italy comes as protracted attempts
to create a single fiber network in the
nation continue, which supporters believe
will speed the provision of fast broadband
across the nation.
and the investment in technology and companies in the country,’ said the NCA’s
innovation, and I hope that this agreement General Manager, Mustafa Yasin Sheikh.
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