As mobile operators expand their geographical horizons, they are increasingly finding themselves setting up shop in emerging markets; markets that are dynamic and undergoing major economic and social transition. However, as many have recently found out, such markets are not without their challenges and can often play home to political unrest. Providing the lines of communication to the general public during times of intense political turmoil can be a gruelling task for operators.

The Chinese government is to make fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connectivity mandatory in the construction of new residences. The country’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will introduce the legislation from April 1, 2013 according to local reports.

With traditional network architectures struggling to cope with more dynamic applications and services, software-defined networking (SDN) provides the answer to operators’ woes, according to research firm Ovum. The company believes SDN will be key in enabling future networks to become more flexible, scalable and intelligent.

A report from UK analyst firm Ovum has found that preliminary results for the FTTx, DSL and CMTS markets in the second quarter of this year show a mix of growth and declines as multiple transitions in fixed access technologies and products continued.

Two of Europe’s biggest operators, Telefónica and France Telecom have announced their quarterly results, both seeing declines in net profit as they battle with market conditions and increased data usage. Spanish operator group Telefónica saw its net profit fall by 34.4 per cent year-on-year for the half-year, to reach 2.08bn, down from the 3.2bn the firm recorded in the same period a year ago. This is despite the operator’s consolidated first-half revenues totalling €30.98bn; a 0.3 per cent increase year-on-year.

Telefónica has announced that it has sold a 4.56 per cent stake in China Unicom for HK$10,963.3 ($1.413bn). The deal leaves the Spanish operator group with a 5.01 stake in the Chinese firm.

UK operator Everything Everywhere is campaigning for permission to launch 4G services before its domestic competitors. To support its plea to regulator Ofcom, the operator has commissioned research that outlines the “significant economic and social benefits” that will come about by bringing 4G to the UK.

Operators can expect to see the next billion mobile connections to come from rural areas in emerging markets, according to analyst Ovum. The research house said although users in such areas typically do not have access to basic infrastructure or utilities, they are aware of the transformative potential of mobile phones and are eager to invest in a convenient device.

Global telecoms service providers need to strengthen their efforts in the Asia-Pacific region to make the most of the opportunities available, according to research firm Ovum. David Molony, principal analyst at Ovum, said that the total value of deals announced by global telecoms providers in the second half of 2010 was $16.86 billion, but only three per cent of this figure was business won in Asia-Pacific.