Govt. eases 5G path by reducing notice period to 6 months for rolling out new tech by telcos

The government has announced plan to auction 2,251.25 Megahertz (MHz) of spectrum worth Rs 3.92 lakh crore in seven frequency bands.

The government on Thursday eased the path for 5G rollout in the country by reducing to six months the notice period for offering any new technology using the spectrum being put up for auction in March.

Earlier, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has asked telecom operators to give one year notice before starting any technology using spectrum across the seven frequency bands that will be offered in auction on March 1.

Bharti Airtel says its network is now 5G ready

“In case of switching over to different technology while rolling out the networks for compliance of roll out obligations, information regarding the new technology should be given at least six months before any new technology base station is offered for testing,” the amendment in the spectrum auction clause released by the DoT said.

Allso read: How will a 5G network power the future?

The government has announced plan to auction 2,251.25 Megahertz (MHz) of spectrum worth Rs 3.92 lakh crore in seven frequency bands — 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz, 2300 Mhz and 2500 Mhz.

Bharti Airtel has demonstrated 5G services in the 1800 Mhz band. Reliance Jio has claimed it is ready for rollout of the next generation technology provided it gets spectrum for the same.

EVRAZ Plc 2020 Crude Steel Production Down 1.3% – Quick Facts

EVRAZ plc (EVR.IL) said, in 2020, the company’s consolidated crude steel production declined 1.3% year-on-year. Sales volumes of semi-finished products increased 6.1%. Sales of finished products declined by 10.1%. Production of raw coking coal fell 21.0%. External iron ore product sales rose 52.7%. Sales of final vanadium products declined by 2.2%.

Fourth quarter consolidated crude steel output rose by 7.4% from the third quarter of 2020. Total sales of steel products increased by 12.0%. Sales of vanadium products rose 51.4%.

Polymetal Q4 Revenue Up 31% – Quick Facts

Polymetal International plc (POLY.L) reported that its fourth quarter revenue was up 31% year-over-year to $0.8 billion due to higher gold sales and higher metal prices.

Revenue in 2020 increased by 28% to $2.9 billion. Gold equivalent output was at 1,559 Koz, a 4% increase and 4% above the original production guidance of 1.5 Moz. CAPEX for the full year is anticipated to amount to approximately 10% higher than guidance at $590 million.

The company reiterated its current production guidance of 1.5 Moz of GE for fiscal 2021 and 1.6 Moz of GE for fiscal 2022.

Weyerhaeuser Co Q4 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Below are the earnings highlights for Weyerhaeuser Co (WY):

-Earnings: $292 million in Q4 vs. -$14 million in the same period last year.
-EPS: $0.39 in Q4 vs. -$0.02 in the same period last year.
-Excluding items, Weyerhaeuser Co reported adjusted earnings of $361 million or $0.48 per share for the period.
-Analysts projected $0.46 per share
-Revenue: $2.06 billion in Q4 vs. $1.55 billion in the same period last year.

Airtel Africa Q3 Profit Rises – Quick Facts

Airtel Africa plc (AAF.L), a provider of telecommunications and mobile money services in Africa, reported Friday that its third-quarter profit before tax increased 7.9 percent to $200 million from last year $186 million.

Profit attributable to parent company shareholders was $95 million, up 5.2 percent from $90 million last year. Basic earnings per share were 2.5 cents, higher than 2.4 cents a year ago.

Adjusted earnings per share were 2 cents, compared to 1.7 cents last year.

Underlying EBITDA climbed 21.7 percent to $485 million from $399 million last year.

Underlying revenue was $1.03 billion, up 17.2 percent from $883 million a year ago. Revenues grew 22.8 percent at constant currencies.

LG Electronics Turns To Profit In Q4

LG Electronics Inc. (LGEPF.OB,LGEJY.OB,LGEIY.OB,LGEAF.OB) reported that its fourth-quarter net income was 262.3 billion Korean won compared to a loss of 849.8 billion won in the same quarter last year.

Operating income for the fourth-quarter climbed to 650.2 billion won from 101.8 billion won last year.

Sales for the quarter grew to 18.78 trillion won from 16.06 trillion won in the previous year.

The company expects increase in sales year-over-year and maintained stable profitability in the first-quarter of 2021.

The company noted that it continues along the path of profitable growth in 2021.

Fire at Romania’s Largest Covid-19 Hospital Kills Four Patients

Four people were killed and more than a 100 evacuated in a fire early Friday in Romania’s largest Covid-19 hospital, the second fatal blaze at a medical facility in the past three months.

The cause of the fire in a recently renovated wing of the Bucharest hospital is unknown, according to authorities. Another at an intensive-care unit in the northeastern town of Piatra Neamt killed 12 people in November, pressuring the government to improve the state of one of the European Union’s poorest health-care systems.

“We’re waiting to see the results of the investigation to determine the cause of the fire,” Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu said in televised remarks.

GameStop Surges in Premarket as Some Trading Restrictions Lifted

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Shares in GameStop Corp. soared in U.S. pre-market trading along with other day-trader favorites after brokerage Robinhood Markets Inc. said it would lift trading restrictions on some of the stocks.

The stock climbed 103% at $393.01 at 4:05 a.m. in New York, while other darlings among picks of the WallStreeetBets forum behind the wild rides also rallied, with AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. up 62% and Express Inc. up 43%.