Ericsson has signed its first Managed Rural Coverage deal with MTN, bringing mobile coverage as a service to parts of central and northern Benin where there was none previously.

ZTE Corporation has signed a new 100G optical transportation network (OTN) contract with Reliance Communications in India.

Intracom Telecom has signed an agreement with Slovanet, a leading fixed line operator in Slovakia, to supply its latest Point-to-Multipoint wireless system.

A merger between Indian number four Reliance Communications (RCom) and fellow operator Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) could be completed within a month.

China Mobile’s Pakistani unit, which operates as Zong, has complained to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority that its quality of service is being severely affected by interference on its 1.8GHz spectrum.

Ooredoo Group and Nokia have signed a major framework agreement to support Ooredoo’s long-term development strategy across its footprint in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia.

Astellia has entered a global framework agreement for RAN optimisation with Telefónica, one of the world’s largest integrated telecommunication operators.

Indian operator Reliance Jio Infocomm is planning to use Wi-Fi hotspots to facilitate 4G data usage once it rolls out its 4G network in December.

Millicom is taking a 24% stake in Helios Towers Africa on a fully diluted basis following a shareholding reorganisation.

Satellite operator SES S.A has partnered with Softwire Digital Solutions to implement countrywide e-learning solutions in Nigeria.

Telefonica Empresas Chile is implementing FalconStor’s data service software platform to offer migration, replication and high availability to customers looking to move data safely and securely.

Vietnamese operator Mobifone has selected Synchronoss Technologies to deploy a wide range of its services and solutions over the next three years.

State-owned Thai operator TOT pulled out of negotiations with market leader AIS over the possibility of forming a joint venture for tower infrastructure.

The three major Chinese operators are allowing prepaid subscribers to carry their unused data allowances over into the next month.

Axiata’s tower subsidiary edotco is acquiring a 75% controlling stake in Digicel’s Myanmar Tower Company.

Global energy tech firm Intelligent Energy is purchasing contracts from GTL Limited to supply energy-management services across more than 27,400 telecom towers in India.

Mobile payment firms 1Pay and Fortumo have announced a partnership to expand direct carrier billing in South-East Asia.

Syniverse is providing Indonesian operator Telin with 4G roaming and signalling connectivity through its IPX Network Solution.

Paraguay’s National Telecommunications Commission Conatel is implementing benchmarking solutions from Anite for its national wireless quality measurement campaigns.

Vietnamese operator Hanoi Telecom Corporation has selected Infinera’s TM-Series for its metro network.

XL Axiata has commissioned Ericsson to design and implement its 4G/LTE network and upgrade its existing 2G and 3G networks in Jakarta and Central Java.

Alcatel-Lucent and Cambodia’s Chuan Wei Ltd have signed a frame agreement to expand mobile ultra-broadband connectivity across the country.

Pakistan’s recent tax hike has seen a sharp fall in imports of both network equipment and handsets.

Microsoft has partnered with Baidu to make the Chinese firm’s search engine the default option for Windows 10.

Poland has approved the imposition of a deadline on its ongoing 4G auctions by the country’s regulators.

Indian operator Reliance Communications (RCom) is in the final stages of selling off its tower business, with the bidding down to 4 companies.

MTN and Ericsson have signed an agreement which will see the Swedish vendor deploy and manage its Order to Cash suite.

Chinese device manufacturer Xiaomi has launched an MVNO to compete with the country’s three major incumbents.