Digital infrastructure operator BW Digital announced on Friday that it has successfully landed the Hawaiki Tonga subsea cable in Vava’u, giving Tonga extra international capacity as well as needed resilience.

Philippine broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions inaugurated a new 12MW data centre inaugurated in Angeles City, Pampanga on Friday as it also announced the completion of its national digital infrastructure buildout.

Vodacom Lesotho is investing more than US$40 million (LSL 700 million) to upgrade its network infrastructure and expand connectivity, as it looks to improve service quality and extend coverage to underserved areas.

Globe Telecom has expanded its LTE and 5G footprint in the Philippine province of Tarlac, as it moves to meet rising demand for faster and more reliable connectivity.

Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison says it will utilise Nvidia’s latest Nemotron open models as part of its ambition to spread AI accessibility to all corners of the country.

Nokia announced on Thursday it has successfully completed a project with Turkcell that leverages AI analytics to enable a data-driven and proactive management approach to its fixed network operations.

Jazz, Zong and Ufone officially received their 5G licences from the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Thursday, after which Jazz and Zong immediately launched 5G services in various capital cities and metro hubs.

Smart Communications is encouraging its postpaid subscribers to adopt auto debit arrangements (ADA), as it looks to simplify bill payments and accelerate the shift towards digital channels.

América Móvil plans to invest US$597 million in Ecuador over the next three years through its Claro unit, as it looks to strengthen coverage and services amid growing competition from Millicom’s recent entry into the market.

Millicom has pledged to invest US$1 billion in Honduras over the next five years through its Tigo Honduras unit, as it looks to deepen its push into digital services and extend connectivity to more remote areas.

Mobile payment-based offerings are growing rapidly across Africa, driven, as ever, by low banking penetration and rapid mobile adoption, a trend underlined by two more announcements – from Egypt and Tunisia – in recent days.

African technology startups – including mobile-focused initiatives – will receive a financing boost through a €40 million (about US$46million) commitment from EIB Global, the development arm of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Zain Omantel International (ZOI), an international carrier that delivers a unified, AI-ready network across the Middle East and beyond, and Zong, a leading mobile network operator in Pakistan, have partnered to expand voice interconnect and roaming services between the Middle East and Pakistan.

Globalsat Group, a provider of satellite connectivity and communications solutions, has announced a reseller agreement with Amazon Leo, Amazon's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite network.

It’s already looking like another busy month for digital payments news in Africa, and notably for payments giant Visa, which has been prominent in recent announcements from Tanzania and Ethiopia.

Veon has unveiled a series of senior leadership changes as it looks to sharpen execution across its markets and step up its digital and financial services ambitions.

The MANTA subsea cable consortium has selected MDC Data Centers as its neutral landing partner in Mexico, marking further progress in the rollout of the regional connectivity project.

Service provider Edotco Malaysia says it has entered a next generation network operations partnership with technology giant Huawei to enhance telecommunications infrastructure management through technology-enabled operations and automation and smarter infrastructure solutions.

The continuing relevance of USSD-based transactions is underlined by news from Sudan where the country’s telecommunications ministry is launching a service using USSD that allows citizens to access banking apps without recourse to the internet.

Kuwaiti conglomerate Alghanim Industries announced on Tuesday that its tech venture Sama X is officially reselling Starlink’s LEO satellite broadband services in Kuwait, a day after the country’s regulator granted Starlink an operating licence.

TelCables Brasil announced on Monday it has added three new Points of Presence (PoPs) in Belo Horizonte, the capital city of Minas Gerais state, bringing its total number of PoPs in Brazil to ten.

Vodacom Tanzania has claimed to launch Africa’s first mobile money-native contactless payment feature, following a collaboration with Visa and Paymentology to upgrade its M-Pesa app.

PLDT Global Corp, part of Philippines’ telco group PLDT, has expanded its Tindahan ni Bossing (TinBo) digital platform, described as the go-to app for all the needs of overseas Filipinos, with the launch of a new service called ePadala.

M-Pesa Ethiopia last week announced the signing of an agreement with the country’s postal service EthioPost, officially designating EthioPost as the primary agent within the M-Pesa ecosystem.

The TAM-1 submarine cable system has reached Colombia, marking a key milestone in its rollout across Latin America and the Caribbean.

Digital Edge announced on Monday it’s secured a US$665 million green loan to support development of the first phase of its planned 500MW AI-ready hyperscale data centre in Indonesia.

Cambodian telco Smart Axiata says it has signed an MoU with super app firm Grab to look at ways to collaborate on B2C and B2B initiatives that leverage Smart’s 5G network to create a more connected and customer-centric digital and mobility ecosystem.