The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has re-elected Doreen Bogdan-Martin (pictured) as secretary-general for a second four-year term, giving her 164 of the 173 votes cast by member states at its Plenipotentiary Conference in Doha, Qatar.

Telefónica reported a net profit of €1.33 billion from continuing operations in the first nine months of 2026, up 21.6% year on year, as stronger earnings and cash generation prompted the Spanish telecoms group to raise its full-year financial targets.

Vodafone Qatar and Iraq’s state-owned Informatics and Telecom Public Company (ITPC) have signed a joint cooperation agreement to establish a framework for collaborating on telecoms and digital infrastructure.

A potential solution to the problem of ensuring the wide affordability of satcoms services – or at least satellite-enabled Wi-Fi services – has been announced by UAE-based spacetech company Space42 in South Africa.

The adoption of private networks by industry has continued, this time in Bahrain, with the introduction of what is described as Bahrain’s first commercial private 5G network.

Proparco, a French development finance institution, is investing €600,000 (about US$$670,000) into Cashi, a fintech company developing digital payment solutions to expand access to financial services across overlooked markets in Africa. 

Regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) says it has embarked on a process to make additional high-demand spectrum available for assignment to the providers of mobile communication services.

Hytera Communications, a leading global provider of critical communications technologies and solutions, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Egypt’s Orascom Services.

Israeli telecoms group Bezeq has agreed to acquire mobile operator Wecom for up to NIS265 million (US$84 million), with the deal expected to generate cost savings of up to NIS100 million for the group over the longer term.

PLDT’s wireless unit Smart Communications said on Monday it has rolled out three new cell sites to connect geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) in Cebu, Bukidnon and Cotabato.

Japan’s SoftBank Group announced on Monday it has signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Singapore-based digital powerhouse Grab and Malaysian oil and gas firm Petroleum Sarawak (PETROS) to invest US$1 billion in developing AI data centre infrastructure in Sarawak.

The ongoing digitisation and automation of the energy industry continues to be a hot topic, not least at last week’s ADIPEC energy exhibition and conference in Abu Dhabi, where AIQ and Siemens Energy announced a strategic collaboration agreement.

Mannai Corporation QPSC, a diversified business group headquartered in Qatar, has announced that its Saudi subsidiary, Mannai Information Technology KSA (Mannai IT KSA), has been awarded a major systems delivery contract with a strong connectivity component.

Operator Vodafone Qatar has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with general-purpose AI robotics company Agibot to explore collaboration opportunities in the development and deployment of embodied AI-powered robotics solutions.

The International Telecommunication Union's Plenipotentiary Conference 2026 started this week in Doha, Qatar. Over the next three weeks, delegates from ITU's 194 Member States will address the world's most pressing digital opportunities and challenges.

Data centre research and development is a key theme of recent announcements from the Brazilian government and cloud and carrier-neutral data centre platform Digital Realty, although the focus of each initiative is slightly different.

Vodacom Group increased EBITDA by 40% to ZAR42.7 billion (US$2.6 bn) in the six months to 30 September 2026, with the consolidation of Safaricom helping to boost earnings as the operator reported stronger growth across its African markets.

Armada de Chile (the Chilean Navy) says it has signed an MoU with local telecoms operators Cirion, Gtd and Telxius to explore ways to cooperate in protecting subsea cables landing in Chile.

Rivada Space Networks said on Monday it has signed a deal with space services firm Telespazio Brasil to leverage Rivada’s planned “Outernet” LEO satellite network for secure, high-performance satellite connectivity across Latin America.

Ericsson announced on Monday that Vodafone Egypt has trialled Ericsson’s AI-native scheduler for link adaptation on its 5G network to explore how AI can enhance network performance and customer experience.

African fintech WayaWaya has partnered with Choice Bank, a microfinance bank licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, to launch WayaWaya Banking, a service that allows users to open bank accounts, hold funds in multiple currencies, make local and international transfers and pay utility bills.

MTN Group increased service revenue by 17.2% to ZAR176.2 billion (US$10.7 billion) in the first nine months of 2026, with growth accelerating through the third quarter and earnings rising faster than revenue.

Zambia’s National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) and operator Airtel Zambia say they are exploring opportunities for collaboration aimed at improving customer experience and expanding access to pension and savings services through digital platforms.

Worldwide spending on telecoms and pay-TV services is forecast to reach US$1.585 trillion in 2026, up 2.3% year on year, due to inflation and rise in energy costs, according to IDC.

PLDT’s wireless arm, Smart Communications, said on Friday it has launched a new service for premium postpaid customers that uses AI noise cancellation to filter out background noise during voice calls.

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is reportedly looking to establish legal measures that would require parents to report all SIM cards used by their children as an online safety move.

State-owned Thai telco National Telecom (NT) has reportedly submitted a proposal to the Finance Ministry to build four new international subsea cables connecting Thailand to Singapore, Japan and Europe at a cost of THB16.1 billion (US$480 million).

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.