MTN Nigeria’s margins reportedly face a potential US$87.5 million hit as diesel prices rise, a situation that may have been exacerbated by the war in Iran, although the removal of fuel subsidies in 2023 has also played a part.

Two companies headquartered in India – Pixxel, a company that builds and operates advanced imaging satellites, and artificial intelligence technology company Sarvam – have announced a strategic partnership to develop and build India’s first orbital data centre satellite.

The EllaLink submarine cable system and Mauritania have announced the successful landing of a new subsea cable in Nouadhibou, giving the country a second direct, diverse and secure connection to European and international digital hubs.

Space solutions company SES has announced that it will provide service on its high-capacity medium-Earth orbit (MEO) satellite network O3b mPOWER to Petrobras, the Brazilian state-owned oil company, to connect multiple new floating production, storage and offloading systems (FPSOs).

Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) and Japan’s KDDI have partnered to launch a new mobile service targeting young, digitally native users in Vietnam.

Satellite operator Speedcast's Brazilian operation, SC CapRock, says it has developed and implemented a hybrid solution for mining company Mineração Taboca to provide more resilient connectivity for its operations in a remote area in the Amazon.

Burundi’s state-owned telco Onatel has signed a US$5.9 million contract with PAFEN Burundi to deploy 4G in underserved rural communities.

Algerian telco Djezzy has signed a strategic partnership deal with startup accelerator Algeria Venture and tech startup Taubyte to launch a full-stack AI development workspace for startups, developers, young talent and project leaders.

India’s Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has cut operator Vodafone Idea's adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues by nearly 27%.

The continuing drive to use smart data analytics to improve network performance has again been in the news, this time thanks to telecommunications and ICT provider Ooredoo Qatar, which has announced the launch of a service called Smart Wi-Fi Analytics.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced on Sunday it will back two new initiatives priced at US$70 billion total to connect power grids, expand cross-border electricity trade and improve broadband access across Asia and the Pacific.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) said on Thursday that it will take several months to fully restore services for its Middle East (UAE) Region (ME-CENTRAL-1) after its data centres in the UAE and Bahrain sustained damage due to the war between the US, Israel and Iran.

Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda agreed on Thursday to move forward with a plan to launch a regional satellite to boost connectivity in East Africa’s northern corridor.

Sierra Leone is ramping up efforts to strengthen digital infrastructure through satellite-enabled solutions, as part of a wider strategy to expand nationwide connectivity.

MTN Nigeria has secured shareholder approval to sell its stakes in fintech subsidiaries MoMo Payment Service Bank and Yellow Digital Financial Services to parent company MTN Group.

Data centre operator Princeton Digital Group (PDG) has announced the acquisition of a new site in Indonesia for its latest hyperscale data centre campus, JC4.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering doubling its initial loan to tower company Eastcastle Telecom to $60 million, backing the firm’s expansion in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE),  the Costa Rican government-run electricity and telecommunications services provider, has awarded a contract relating to its 5G network to tech giant Ericsson.

Veon Group says it has fulfilled and exceeded its commitment to invest $1 billion in Ukraine, delivering $1.3 billion ahead of schedule.

Hyperscale data centre platform AirTrunk has announced plans to invest about US$3 billion to develop two new data centres in Malaysia, to be called JHB3 and JHB4.

GLN International, a cross-border payment infrastructure provider in Asia and a subsidiary of Korea’s Hana Bank under Hana Financial Group, says it has launched a nationwide QR payment service in Vietnam in partnership with local payment processor NAPAS.

Kenyan opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka has petitioned the High Court seeking to block the government’s proposed sale of its 15% stake in Safaricom to Vodacom, arguing that proper legal and constitutional procedures have not been followed.

Hungarian operator 4iG Group and Greece’s Grid Telecom have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore joint development of cross-border telecommunications and digital infrastructure across the Balkans and Mediterranean.

Malaysian telco U Mobile has partnered with Pavilion Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) to enable seamless 5G-Advanced indoor coverage in high-traffic commercial and lifestyle locations in Kuala Lumpur.

ZTE announced on Wednesday that Dominican Republic fixed-line telco Wind Telecom has commercially deployed its Smart Cloud Platform (SCP) and intelligent home solutions that it says will deliver a better smart-home experience for residential users.

Afghan Wireless Communication Company (AWCC) has reportedly launched Afghanistan’s first trial of 5G in Kabul, six weeks after the telco began testing the technology.

Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has approved a request to install a subsea cable landing for the TalayLink project, a regional digital infrastructure initiative backed by Google Cloud.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council has reportedly approved a temporary scheme for businesses to access the global internet with fewer restrictions. The authorities had imposed a blackout since the start of the war against the US and Israel.

Independent infrastructure investment manager I Squared Capital has announced that it has agreed to acquire Elea Data Centres, one of the largest carrier-neutral data centre platforms in Brazil.

Airtel Africa is lining up a potentially sizeable IPO of its mobile money business, with the deal expected to raise between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter.

Digicel has secured a reduction in the interest rate on a major portion of its debt, in a move that signals growing lender confidence in the operator’s turnaround.

Digicel PNG has reportedly signed an agreement with Papua New Guinea’s National Information and Communications Technology Authority (NICTA) to deploy 4G services to rural communities around the country.

AI company Pleias and the GSMA announced on Tuesday they have released CommonLingua, an open-source language identification (LID) model that they say will help close the African language gap in AI.