Friday Network News: August 8

O2 and Vodafone are set to accelerate the roll-out of 4G networks in the UK after striking an agreement with infrastructure group Arqiva. The agreement, spanning 10 years, will give Vodafone and Telefónica UK access to the group's 16,700 mast sites across the UK. [read more]

Cellcom Israel has launched an LTE network in the country after receiving approval from the Israeli Ministry of Communication (MoC). Regulators have approved operators in the country to use the 1800MHz frequency band for LTE services, which was already in Cellcom's possession, and the company launched the network on Sunday. [read more]

Viatel has completed the second phase of its 100G network upgrade in Europe. Building on the deployment of 100G from London to Paris last year, the pan-European network provider is now also operating 100G services between Paris and Amsterdam, and London to Amsterdam via Brussels. [read more]

Vodafone’s Icelandic subsidiary has expanded its LTE footprint in the country to include Vestmannaeyjar, an archipelago off the South coast of Iceland. A LTE-enabled transmission tower has been installed in Haimay, the largest island in the archipelago, to coincide with a national festival. [read more]

UAE-based operator du has completed a successful LTE-A field trial in partnership with China’s Huawei. The trial was conducted between the 800MHz and 1800MHz frequency bands, and was designed to deliver greater speed, indoor coverage and reliability to mobile subscribers in the UAE. [read more]

Qatari operator Ooredoo has launched telecoms services in Myanmar. Ooredoo received official confirmation of its licence for the roll-out in January 2014, alongside rival Nordic operator Telenor, and the network is the first of its kind in the country. [read more]

Japanese operator SoftBank Mobile has partnered with Syniverse for access to its IPX Network Solution to enable LTE roaming. The agreement is designed to provide SoftBank Mobile with interoperable LTE and 4G services, and represents Syniverse's first IPX customer in Japan. [read more]

Vodafone Egypt and vendor Ericsson have announced a three-year managed services agreement. Ericsson will deliver network field maintenance services and improve the operator's quality of network in the greater Cairo area. [read more]

Iranian operator MTN Irancell has claimed it will begin testing its 3G network in public universities and government institutions across the country’s capital, Tehran. The company has reportedly received approval from industry regulators to begin operation from 23 August, and will use 3G and next-generation technologies for the trial. [read more]