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October 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 18
Vodafone Albania to test 5G technology
Albanian telecom regulator AKEP has decided to allow the country's leading mobile operator Vodafone Albania to use 3600-3800 MHz band for research, measurement and testing of 5G technology, AKEP said on October 14.
Vodafone Albania submitted an application for testing 5G technology on September 30.
The deadline for the use of these frequencies by Vodafone Albania is December 12, 2019. The testing period will last 60 days, AKEP said in the statement.
Vodafone Albania, part of Vodafone Group, was the first in the country to launch 3G services in 2011 and was also the first to launch 4G/4G+ network four years later.
It had 1.79mn subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2019.
Growth of broadband users in Montenegro slows to 11.2% y/y in August
The number of broadband connections including ADSL, VDSL, WiMAX and WiFi in Montenegro
rose 11.2% y/y to 169,765 as of the end of August, slowing from the 13.1% y/y growth in July, according to data from the country's telecoms agency, the Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services of Montenegro (EKIP).
The number of broadband connections is constantly rising in the Adriatic country, which has a population of just over 600,000 people.
ADSL and VDSL connections had a combined 34.2% market share with the number of connections totalling 58,112. WiMax connections fell 18.1% y/y to 2,295, and their market share fell to 1.35% from 1.84%.
The market share of WiFi decreased y/y to 1.72% from 3.57%.
At the end of 2018, the number of broadband connections stood at 157,776.
Main shareholder of Russian e-payment system Qiwi could sell minor stake
Main shareholder of Russian electronic payment system Qiwi Sergey Solonin told Interfax on October 11 that a sale of the minor stake in the company was possible.
Previous unconfirmed reports suggested that Sergey Solonin (19% economic, 65% voting stake) and Boris Kim (2% economic, 7% voting stake) have been looking for a buyer for their stakes. If unsuccessful, they may consider selling select assets belonging to the company.
"We have some scenarios, under which, a small stake could go to the market," Solonin is quoted as saying by Interfax.
Other reports claimed that Rocketbank or Sovest loyalty programme could be sold. "The potential sale of Sovest (as well as Rocketbank) would be rather positive, while the sale of stakes by key holders (without a minority buyout) would imply uncertainty," BCS Global Markets commented on September 24, seeing the news as mixed and lacking clarity at this point.
On the fast-growing Russian electronic payment market in 2Q19 and 1Q19 Qiwi reported solid sets of financials, upgraded its outlook, and had its investment case re-rated by BCS Global Markets.
Russia's Yandex starts testing new smart speaker
Russia's internet major Yandex and most valuable digital company unveiled a new smart speaker that can make voice-assisted transactions, Kommersant and Vedomosti dailies reported on October 9.
As reported by bne IntelliNews, 2019 is particularly rich in events for Russia’s voice assistant market,