According to the Reuters news service, South African operator Telkom has launched a life insurance business that, it has said, will initially sell funeral insurance.

NetEngine 8000 series routers help carriers achieve business success in the 5G and cloud era by enabling them to build an intelligent IP network featuring super capacity, intelligent experience, and autonomous driving.

Kazakhstan’s largest operator Kcell has tapped Gilat Satellite Networks for a cellular backhaul project that will provide connectivity to hundreds of rural villages.

XL Axiata has selected Ericsson to deploy 5G-ready cloud core technology solutions for the operator in East Indonesia. This includes Ericsson Cloud Packet Core and its network functions virtualization infrastructure (NFVI) solution.

The government of Namibia is reportedly undertaking an assessment of the environmental impact of 5G before introducing the technology to the market.

Thailand’s True Move will deploy ZTE’s 5G RAN equipment in its nationwide tri-band network.

Filipino operator Smart Communications has launched commercial 5G services in the business districts of the Manila metropolitan area.

Leading Kenyan operator Safaricom has announced the launch of a scheme that will allow customers to access a brand new 4G-enabled smartphone by paying as little as KES20 (about $0.19) daily for the devices.

Angola’s state-owned fixed provider Angola Telecom is scrapping its mobile partnership with Angorascom Telecomunicacoes.

Claro Colombia has started deploying its 700MHz 4G network in Bogota and Ciudad Salitre.

Underlining the growing business interest in African online finance, two more digital commerce-related deals have recently been announced.

Chinese telecommunication equipment vendors could be banned from Indian 5G trials and auctions after a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recommendation, but could that mean lower spectrum prices?

The Estonian government has drafted a proposal that would ascribe security credentials to equipment vendors looking to supply 5G technologies.

Sovereign fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is rumoured to be in advanced talks with India’s Reliance Industries Ltd to invest between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in an infrastructure investment trust that holds the company’s fibre optic assets, according to Indian press reports.

Ooredoo Qatar has launched a Nokia-powered cloud-native core network for commercial 5G services.

Russian operator MTS has become the country’s first recipient of a 5G licence, enabling it to deliver services in the 24.25–24.65 GHz mmWave band under the 5G/IMT-2020 standard.

Broadband satellite networks and services giant Hughes is to join the UK government and Bharti Enterprises in the new OneWeb consortium.

In what is described as a “tech milestone”, operator Ooredoo Qatar and Ericsson have successfully trialled 200MHz mid-band spectrum and achieved a claimed record system throughput of 4.2 Gbps using the latest Ericsson Radio System products.

It’s hard to remember the time when it felt like the sale of the mobile division of cash-strapped Brazilian operator Oi might not happen. Now it’s turning into a real competition as two sets of buyers manoeuvre for position.

Zimbabwe’s government has asked the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank to act as transaction advisors as it seeks to privatise the state-owned telcos NetOne and TelOne.

dtac has partnered with Nokia to deploy 5G/4G equipment in selected areas of Thailand.

Telefonica Moviles Mexico (Movistar) is enabling customers in several new regions of the market to access 4G services for the first time.

It’s not long since leading Madagascan operator Telma announced the launch of its 5G network. Now the network is on hold.

Orange has deployed spectrum capacity with Infinera’s submarine solution on its MainOne submarine cable, a new network built to provide large-scale international capacity to support the development of a digital ecosystem in West Africa.

According to the New Zealand press a new internet cable connecting New Zealand, Chile and Australia may be on the way, but plans to include China seem to have been abandoned.

Iran’s Deputy Minister of Information and Communication Technology has claimed that the country has completed successful trials of 5G technology.

There’s further bad news for Chinese technology companies in India as more apps are banned, access to government contracts is limited and Chinese smartphone brands experience a decline.

According to Reuters, the Ugandan government has decided that the sale of a 20 percent equity stake in MTN Uganda will be restricted to East Africa.

Telekom Slovenije is now delivering Slovenia’s first commercial 5G services via its 2600MHz spectrum.