Nearly three months after rejecting self-assessment of AGR dues by telecommunications companies, India’s Supreme Court was back in session this week to consider the government’s plea to allow carriers like Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices to stagger their dues payments over a maximum of 20 years. 

Liberian operator Lonestar Cell MTN has announced two initiatives to make mobile payment and social media access easier for its customers.

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has deployed Nokia automation, analytics and machine learning software to enhance the customer experience and improve customer service accuracy and efficiency.

Cape Verde’s incumbent Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT) is mulling legal action against the country’s regulator ARME (Multisectoral Regulatory Agency for the Economy).

In a further boost to data centre development in Inner Mongolia, the company that owns popular Chinese video-sharing app Kuaishou has announced plans to spend a cool $1.4 billion to build a data centre in Northern China.

Indian operators aren’t just selling stakes it seems; they’re also buying them. A number of Indian news media outlets  have reported that Bharti Airtel has now upped its stake in Bangladesh operator Robi Axiata.

UPDATE: A court ruling will see SyriaTel placed under judicial custody after the firm continued to dispute its outstanding tax bill.

Mobifone, Vietnamobile, Viettel and Vinaphone have each received a VND90 million ($3876) fine for registering new customers using false information.

It’s not just India’s mobile communications industry that is complaining about its treatment by regulators. Now India’s satellite builders and communications service providers are asking for a much speedier authorisation system for would-be overseas investors.

Colombian services provider SkyNet and satellite operator SES Networks have announced that they have extended their partnership and increased network capacity in the country to support coronavirus mitigation efforts.

The likely purchase of Israeli operator Golan Telecom by Cellcom has come a step closer with news that the country’s Ministry of Finance sees no reason to oppose Cellcom’s acquisition of its rival.

Lebanon is aiming to allow international firms to bid for management over either of its state-owned mobile networks by September, according to the country’s telecoms minister.

It’s less than a month since we asked whether an agreed change to the deal meant that the long-delayed Bharti Infratel-Indus Towers merger could be nearing completion. Now that Bharti Infratel’s board is planning a meeting on 11 June to discuss the merger it may be that the end really is near.

Only days after Mubadala, Abu Dhabi’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund, announced plans to buy a 1.9 per cent stake in Jio Platforms, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), the largest investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi, has become the seventh investor in Jio Platforms in the past two months.

Local press reports in Fiji indicate that plans are under way for a major network upgrade for mobile operator Digicel Fiji. Its estimated cost is about $13.7 million. The network upgrade aims to boost LTE coverage across the country’s islands.

Orange Polska plans to introduce 5G mobile services on 1st July.

Gilat Telecom has extended the reach of its VSAT services to every African country.

Brazilian antitrust regulator CADE (Administrative Council for Economic Defence) has dismissed an appeal by Claro Brasil against a network sharing deal signed by its rivals TIM Brasil and Vivo.

Mexico’s rural areas will receive a coverage boost after a recent deal involving satellite backhaul. 

In a bizarre and slightly unsettling recent turn of events, an Indian app that reportedly helps people delete or disable apps of Chinese origin has enjoyed massive, if brief, success on the Google Play store before being removed by Google.

Estonia is planning to revive its cancelled 5G spectrum auctions by making a fourth licence available.

Mobicast has become Vietnam’s second active MVNO following a service launch covering Hanoi.

Data centre services company Ascenty has reached an agreement to build two new data facilities in the state of Queretaro, North-Central Mexico.

Continuing evidence of the importance of wireless telecommunications during the health crisis comes from the UAE, where satellite services are playing a part in the UAE’s efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic – in this case through Dubai’s ambulance services.

Nokia and Vodafone Idea have successfully completed the first phase of a Dynamic Spectrum Refarming (DSR) implementation in India.

India is planning to ramp up incentives for the local manufacture of mobile phones through the introduction of a number of electronics manufacturing schemes.

The Iliad Group has partnered with Digicel to launch a joint venture covering the Antilles-Guyane region in the Caribbean.

Telecom Egypt and Etisalat Misr, the Egyptian subsidiary of the Etisalat Group, have announced the signing of transmission and mobile-to-fixed interconnection deals, described as two first-of-their-kind agreements.

Mobile banking has been one of the great success stories in emerging markets - particularly within Africa - and in the wake of Covid-19, many in the financial sector are calling for further digitalisation to ensure resilience and growth.