After many years of war and civil strife, an encouraging aspect of Afghanistan’s efforts to rebuild has been the considerable success evident in the creating of a functional telecommunications sector virtually from nothing.

Brazilian telecommunications company Tely has deployed Infinera’s Groove G30 Network Disaggregation Platform. 

CK Hutchison has closed its purchase of Etisalat’s Sri Lankan unit, which will see the UAE-based group exit the market, in line with its goal of streamlining its portfolio.

Mobile carrier payment solutions provider RGK Mobile has partnered with two major Latin American operator groups to expand its presence in the region.

SAS has signed a strategic distribution agreement with Globalsat Group LLC, for the provision of its connectivity services including machine to machine (M2M) and internet of things (IoT) to Latin America from the Pearl Constellation of nano-satellites.

Zain Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) has signed a SAR2.43 billion ($648 million) agreement with investment firm IHS Holding to sell and lease back its 8,100 towers.

Czech telecommunications company České Radiokomunikace (CRA) has deployed a nationwide LoRaWAN-based network.

Konnect Africa, an initiative of the satellite operator Eutelsat dedicated to satellite broadband on the African continent, has launched Internet access offers throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Fixed broadband operator AIS Fibre is teaming up with Nokia to provide residential customers with a new premium service that ensures a seamless Wi-Fi broadband experience reaching every corner of the home.

Nokia and mobile operator Smart Communications are collaborating with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) to bring innovative technology like LTE-connected drones and a portable network into areas struck by disaster.

Telecom Egypt has adopted Nokia's Photonic Service Engine (PSE) technology to double backbone capacity on its Delta Region DWDM backbone network.

Angola Cables has announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Broadband Infraco, a provider of regional long-distance network coverage and SADC connectivity.

Three parties have reportedly lodged bids for the Serbian and Montenegrin units of Telenor that were recently acquired by investment group PPF.

Following Mislatel’s confirmation as the newest operator in the Philippines’ mobile market, the country’s authorities have suggested that more spectrum could be released to allow additional players to launch operations.

Thailand’s two largest operators AIS and True Move have been granted approval by the NBTC to trial 5G on the 26GHz band.

Avanti Communications has signed a Master Service Agreement on Avanti’s HYLAS 4 satellite with Logical Wireless, a South African Satellite integrator.

Lebanese operator Alfa is deploying 4.5G Pro technology using the Nokia AirScale 5G-ready radio platform following a recent successful test of the technology.

Ooredoo Myanmar and Cisco have entered an alliance to address the digital needs of companies in Myanmar.

Vietnam is looking towards 5G, with four operators expected to receive licences for testing 5G services in January next year.

Nokia has deployed its 5G site for the South African operator rain in time for the operator to launch 5G services ahead of AfricaCom 2018.

MTN has partnered with KaiOS to launch the world’s first 3G smart feature phones in Africa.