Bharti Airtel reported a 16.7% year-on-year increase in consolidated revenue to INR608.78 billion (US$6.8 billion) for the second quarter of its 2026-27 financial year, driven by growth in India and Africa.

Brazil’s telecoms regulator Anatel said on Wednesday its board of directors has endorsed two internal proposals to allocate BRL1.7 billion (almost US$309 million) of leftover funds from its 5G auction in 2021 to two new projects: a sovereign AI data centre and TV 3.0 converter subsidies.

Pan-African telco Paratus Group officially launched its Lesotho unit on Thursday, offering Starlink enterprise connectivity services alongside Paratus network solutions to businesses and organisations in the country.

Cambodian telco Smart Axiata launched a new carrier-neutral fibre infrastructure subsidiary called Smart Infrastructure Co., Ltd (SmartInfra) on Tuesday to support Cambodia’s growing demand for reliable, high-capacity digital connectivity.

ZTE Corporation, a provider of integrated information and communication technology solutions, has partnered with operator Ethio Telecom to deploy what is said to be Ethiopia's first pre-commercial AIR RAN solution.

Backbase, builder of the AI-native Banking OS, has announced that it has been selected by Wahda Bank, one of Libya's largest banks to build a new digital banking platform for its business and retail customers.

Google has announced plans to invest US$15 billion in Malaysia across the next two years.

Vietnam's mobile services revenue is forecast to grow by an average of 3.4% a year between 2026 and 2031, as rising data consumption and 5G adoption offset declining income from voice services, according to GlobalData.

Recent announcements from Oman underline the country’s commitment to expanding both satellite and submarine cable connectivity in the coming years.

Veon, a global digital operator, has announced the commercial launch of Mukto Pay, a digital payments platform powered by its Bangladesh operating company, Banglalink.

In a busy week for the company, BSS/OSS specialist Amdocs has announced a number of deals including collaborations with leading service providers in the Philippines and Peru.

Crisil Ratings, an Indian a full-service rating agency, says India’s data centre industry is entering what it calls an investment ‘supercycle’. Installed capacity, it notes, is expected to increase five-fold to about 7.5 gigawatts (GW) by March 2030.

An estimated 6.3 billion people, or 76% of the world's population, are using the internet in 2026, but around two billion remain unconnected, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Scams, hacks and cybercrime in general are making headlines around the world – and Africa is no exception. But as the continent becomes more connected is cybersecurity keeping up? Three recent announcements may encourage modest optimism.

Viettel Group and Vietnam's Government Cipher Committee revealed on Wednesday they have jointly developed a semiconductor security platform featuring VGC v1.0, a homegrown chipset that integrates a domestic cryptographic algorithm directly into silicon.

DE-CIX and Ooredoo Oman announced on Tuesday they have signed an agreement to launch Gulf Gateway-IX, a new internet exchange (IX) that will interconnect the country’s dual subsea corridors in Muscat and Salalah.

NTT Data announced on Tuesday it has opened a new AI-ready data centre, Jakarta 2 Annex Data Centre (JKT2A), alongside the launch of its next-gen all-photonics network (APN) technology to interconnect its other data centres in Indonesia.

Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and payment technology giant Mastercard have launched AgroPass, a digital platform designed to expand access to finance, markets and agricultural services for smallholder farmers across Nigeria.

Along with its Solar Park business, two other companies that are part of Bahrain-headquartered technology business the Beyon Group are also in the news – this time thanks to recent deals evolving Bahraini aviation holding company the Gulf Air Group.

Telefonica Brasil, which operates under the Vivo brand, has confirmed preliminary talks with shareholders of Brazilian fibre broadband provider Vero, as it looks to expand its fixed-line footprint amid consolidation in the country's broadband market.

Bahrain-headquartered global technology group Beyon announced on Monday that Phase 5 of its Beyon Solar Park programme will enable it to add a third solar-powered data centre to its green data centre portfolio.

Orange Romania says it has tested 50G PON technology for the first time in its 5G Lab in Bucharest, achieving symmetrical data speeds of around 40 Gbps and latency below 1 millisecond on a single fibre.

Airtel Kenya has reportedly acquired 100 MHz of 5G spectrum in the 3500 MHz band for US$65 million after the Communications Authority of Kenya granted it a 25-year licence for the spectrum.

Recent news from tech giant Huawei underlines the growing interest in many regions in the use of communications to enhance transport systems – specifically railways.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Aramco, the state-owned integrated energy and chemicals company, have announced the closing of a transaction in which Aramco, through a wholly owned subsidiary, acquires a 49% stake in full-stack AI ecosystem Humain, with PIF retaining 51% ownership.

Given the ongoing worries in many countries about the demands of data centres on water supply, recent news from Google in Malaysia is undoubtedly timely.

TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) has set out draft guidelines for the implementation of AI (artificial intelligence) into telecom networks, infrastructure, and services.

The GSMA has re-elected Bharti Airtel executive vice chairman Gopal Vittal (pictured, below) as its chair for the 2027-28 term, while MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita and Vodafone Group CEO Margherita Della Valle have retained their positions as co-deputy chairs.

Satellite operator SES revealed on Thursday it has been selected by Kazakhstan’s flagship airline, Air Astana, to install next-gen in-flight connectivity services across its Airbus A321LR fleet.

Bahrainian telco Batelco by Beyon and Ericsson said on Sunday they have extended their partnership to develop and modernize Batelco’s mobile broadband network across Bahrain, to include testing one of Ericsson’s AI-powered RAN solutions.

Visa announced on Friday it has signed an MoU with Senegal’s Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Affairs to help support the government's digital payments ambitions.

The GSMA has urged the Gabonese government to reduce taxes on smartphones and mobile services to make internet access more affordable and bring more people online.