Spark to buy 70MHz of 2.3GHz spectrum
New Zealand’s second largest operator Spark plans to purchase 70MHz of 2.3GHz spectrum from Craig Wireless and its Woosh Wireless unit for NWD9 million ($5.97 million).

Spark Connect COO David Havercroft said the unused spectrum is complementary to its other spectrum holdings.

The spectrum acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals, including consent from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

China Unicom expands in Xinjiang with Huawei gear
China Unicom selected Huawei’s active antenna unit (AAU) platform for its mobile broadband network in Xinjiang province.

While Unicom is focused on rolling out 4G coverage in urban areas in the province as quickly as possible, it said 3G coverage remains inadequate in some areas. Huawei’s 256MHz wideband AAU platform supports both 4G and 3G networks, which enables Unicom to address both issues at the same time.

Integrating the radio unit and antenna functions, Huawei said, reduces the need for hardware components by 66 per cent, which cuts the cost of site rental, capex and opex. The equipment also allows operators to quickly launch LTE carrier aggregation on 1.8GHz and 2.1GHz.

Telstra to co-invest in next-gen computing
Telstra will invest AUD10 million ($7.22 million) over the next five years to develop silicon quantum computing technology in Australia with the Centre for Quantum Computation and Communications Technology, at the University of New South Wales.

Together with the federal government’s AUD26 million investment, the funding will help develop a silicon quantum integrated circuit – the first step in developing the world’s first silicon-based quantum computer.

As well as a financial commitment, Telstra CEO Andrew Penn said it will also contribute resources from its data scientist team, including the skills and knowledge of Telstra’s chief scientist, Hugh Bradlow.

BSNL expands global roaming reach
India’s state-owned operator BSNL signed a multi-year agreement with Syniverse to expand its global data roaming capability through a single-connection platform.

“The surge in data demand driven by smart devices has transformed the mobile world and made connectivity more crucial than ever before for users who leave home,” said BSNL director Shri R.K. Mittal. “Syniverse’s GRX network enables us to provide our customers with comprehensive data roaming coverage around the world while significantly streamlining our technical implementation and infrastructure cost.”

The agreement expands on a more than 10-year relationship between BSNL and Syniverse that includes Syniverse’s data clearing house, financial clearing and near real-time roaming data exchange services.

Nokia powers Indosat’s LTE-Advanced network
Indonesia’s second largest operator Indosat Ooredoo selected Nokia Networks to deploy its LTE-Advanced network in Java, Sumatra and Kalimantan.

The network aggregates two carriers in the 900MHz and 1.8GHz bands to give users a peak downlink speed of 150Mb/s.

The contract covers network planning and optimisation, design and implementation services, as well as its single RAN base stations.