Telecom
Ericsson Launches Three-sector Radio for Efficient Site Upgrades, Capacity Boost
Ericsson continues to expand its range of radio products and solutions to simplify site upgrades and capacity expansions as communications service providers execute their network evolution strategies.
Ericsson is launching Radio 6626, a unique three-sector dual-band radio to help service providers increase their Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) 5G frequency capacity, even as their site towers already have 2G, 3G and 4G radios.
The latest addition to Ericsson’s radio portfolio will provide multi-standard and multi-band coverage while bringing down costs and reducing footprint – up to 50 percent lower energy consumption.
The three-sector dual-band Radio 6626 combines two frequencies and six ports in one unit, enabling one radio to power all three sectors on the tower. This 6T6R radio supports 2G to 5G mobile standards.
Available in a 900 MHZ and 800 MHZ dual-band version, as well as 1800 MHZ and 2100 MHZ dual band, Radio 6626 arms CSPs with added support to boost capacity while addressing cost-related challenges.
Powered by Ericsson Silicon, Ericsson Radio 6626 can provide 720W of output power and weighs under 45kg.
The new product’s efficiency is driven by tight hardware and software co-design.
Ericsson is also launching the Voltage Booster 6640, which minimizes the need for new cabling, as it expands the power capacity to the radios by up to 50 percent using existing cables. By adding the Voltage Booster rather than swapping cables, the service provider can save up to 70 percent of hardware and installation costs.
The end-to-end offering also includes:
- Baseband 6631: the latest multi-standard RAN Compute pathway for towers that run multiple technologies from 2G to 5G
- Microwave-based MINI-LINK 6352: adds up to 10Gbps with E-band, aggregating with existing microwave radios. The multi-band booster design increases backhaul capacity with zero footprint and reduced OPEX
The new products complement the recently launched ultra-light Massive MIMO and RAN Compute portfolios – aimed at making it easier for CSPs to roll out commercial 5G services.
David Hammarwall, Head of Product Line Radio, Ericsson, says: ”Our new triple-sector, dual-band radio offers an opportunity for communications service providers to significantly reduce radio footprint and installation time needed on site, while at the same time lowering total power consumption by up to 50 percent. This will help our customers to increase capacity and further accelerate 5G coverage with the ubiquitous FDD bands.”
Patrick Pisal-Hamida, Group Chief Executive Officer, Telma Madagascar, says: “The new multi-band, multi-sector, high-power radios from Ericsson will meet Telma’s need for more efficient tower upgrades. They will bring tangible Opex benefits in minimizing power consumption, weight on tower, and faster rollout. We are excited to deploy Ericsson’s multi-standard technology solutions with the smallest footprint in the industry.”
Clydestone Ghana Plc has filed a writ of summons and statement of claim against MTN Ghana, MTN Group Limited and Mobile Money Fintech Limited, alleging unauthorized use of its intellectual property.
The company announced the court action at the Ghana Stock Exchange, confirming proceedings in the Commercial Division of the High Court of Ghana.
The case relates to work commissioned in 2007 that Clydestone alleges was later used without authorisation or compensation.
Clydestone said the claim involves proprietary intellectual property, confidential commercial information and operational methodology developed during the engagement. The company is seeking declarations, damages and equitable remedies.
In a statement, Clydestone said MTN Ghana engaged it in 2007 to develop a commercial and operational framework for a mobile money business.
“The work was developed and delivered by the company’s founder and Group CEO, Paul Jacquaye, and included a full mobile money ecosystem covering the commercial model, operational architecture, implementation methodology and business case.”
Clydestone said the work was commissioned on the understanding that a non-disclosure agreement and memorandum of understanding would be signed.
It alleges these agreements were not finalised despite repeated requests.
The company further alleges MTN Ghana later used its proprietary work and methodology without authorisation or compensation, including in MTN Mobile Money Ghana and other markets.
Clydestone said the alleged use has continued since the launch of MTN Mobile Money Ghana in 2009.
“The wrongful use of that work has been ongoing since 2009. What has changed is the availability of independently verifiable information that documents its scale and commercial significance,” the company said.
It cited the GSMA State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2026 and MTN Ghana’s 2025 annual report as evidence of the platform’s scale.
According to Clydestone, the reports show approximately 19.3 million active users and annual revenue of about GHS 6.0 billion ($516m).
The company said it reviewed its records following these publications and concluded there were sufficient grounds to initiate legal proceedings.
It added that it has received no payment or acknowledgement for the work since December 2007, and that pre-action correspondence in 2026 received no substantive response.
“The Board of Directors has unanimously authorised the commencement of these proceedings,” the company said.
Jacquaye said: “This case is about accountability for commissioned intellectual property.
“When independent publications in 2025 and 2026 revealed the scale of the mobile money business, we reviewed all documentation relating to the original engagement and concluded these proceedings were necessary.”
MTN Group Limited, named as a defendant, had not commented at the time of publication.
In a development that underscores the fragile state of Nigeria’s telecommunications grid, an incident of infrastructure vandalism in Delta State has severely disrupted network connectivity, leaving thousands of subscribers stranded.
The breach, where a robber attacked the sites, occurred at an IHS-managed telecom node in the ASB region on July 8, 2026, immediately knocking 33 base stations offline across 2G, 3G, and 4G spectrums.
The situation in the region escalated drastically by morning when a separate fibre-optic cable cut severed primary transmission lines. Because the compromised node serves as a critical fibre convergence point, the secondary fibre cut triggered a cascading failure.
This secondary disruption ballooned the number of dark sites from 33 to 103, temporarily paralysing digital communications, banking, and commerce in the affected communities.
Industry sources reveal that the financial and logistical toll of such incidents is becoming unsustainable for Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).
Currently, network providers are utilising 20 per cent more spare parts than initially budgeted for the fiscal year.
This unpredictable depletion of technical reserves has stripped operators of their supply buffers, making inventory management and financial forecasting increasingly difficult for telecom executives.
Consequently, engineering teams have been forced to cannibalise materials originally designated for network expansion and new site rollouts just to perform emergency restorations on the damaged sites.
This diversion of resources significantly delays the rollout of new infrastructure, stifling the nation’s broader broadband penetration targets and stalling anticipated revenue generation for the telecom companies.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) recently noted an average of 1,744 weekly attacks on telecom infrastructure nationwide, including over 1,100 fibre cuts.
As operators endure protracted back-and-forth negotiations with insurance firms to cover these sudden hardware losses, stakeholders are intensifying calls for the strict enforcement of the Federal Government’s recent designation of telecom assets as Critical National Information Infrastructure (CNII) to safeguard Quality of Service (QoS).
Viral rumors about a “Tesla Pi Phone” a new phone, being developed by Elon Musk, CEO and largest shareholder of Tesla and SpaceX, are entirely fake.
AI Generated Tesla Pi Phone and Elon Musk
Instead, the tech giant said on Monday it has filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission for permission to deploy the constellation by 2028.
It said the system would provide voice, messaging, data and emergency services.
A quick fact-check revealed that Tesla Inc. has never manufactured, developed, or released a smartphone.
Videos and articles claiming a release (often priced between $150 and $800 with solar charging or satellite-only connections) rely on AI-generated concept art and recycled internet hoaxes dating back to 2021.
Musk has only mentioned a phone in hypothetical remarks, stating Tesla would build one only if major app stores completely blocked or censored essential apps like X (formerly Twitter).
On Monday however, his company said that “Amazon looks forward to delivering on the promise of D2D [direct-to-device] connectivity, including to the millions of people living, travelling and working in places beyond the reach of existing networks today,”
The filing is the first step from Amazon into satellite mobile connections, which has until now been dominated by SpaceX’s Starlink service.
Musk’s group has signed partnerships with existing operators such as T-Mobile US and the UK’s Virgin Media O2 to provide phone services for customers where their conventional networks do not reach.
Starlink operates across more than 150 countries, offering high-speed internet connections through its constellation of satellites.
Nwokolo, Nollywood Actor Claims Internet Fraud is “Keeping Economy Afloat’
SEC Begins Full e-Registration for Capital Market Operators
Elon Musk Launches Invite-only X Money with Visa Debit Card
CBN Fines Banks N430m for Ignoring Customers’ Complaints
Kaspersky Uncovers New Mirage Kitten Malware Used in Cyber-espionage Campaign Across Africa, Others
NRC, Ponzi Scheme Collapses Resulting Loss of Billions of Naira
EFCC Busts NIS Visa Overstay Racket, Uncovers N700m in an Account
From Scarcity to Scale: What Africa Can Learn from India’s Agricultural Transformation
Tokenization, Blockchain Technology will Transform Financial Institutions – IMF
BON Establishes Six Ad Hoc Committees to Modernize Broadcasting
News2 days agoHistory as Lagos Becomes First Nigerian State to Launch Greenhouse Gas Registry
Telecom1 day agoFact-Check: Elon Musk’s “Tesla Pi Phone” is Internet Rumor
E-Business2 days agoUNN to Partner Firm on AI, Smart Mobility Innovation Centre
Telecom2 days agoAI Investment Gap Threatens Africa’s Future Growth
Telecom2 days agoAMCON Puts ntel Up for Sale, Seeks Investors
E-Financial2 days agoRemita Raises Alarm Over Nigeria’s Digital Divide, Calls for More Investment
Telecom2 days agoCourt Affirms NDPC’s Powers to Register Major Data Controllers, Processors
E-Financial1 day agoMalpass, Ex World Bank Chief Raises Alarm over Nigeria’s Secretive Debt Structures