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.

Apple has reportedly registered an entity in the Shanghai pilot free-trade zone, which could allow it to offer Apple Pay services.

NEC subsidiary NEC Neva is deploying its microwave radio system for MegaFon in Siberia.

Helios Investment Partners and Orange are reportedly close to reaching a deal for the sale of the latter’s stake in Telkom Kenya.

Middle Eastern service provider Gulf Bridge International (GBI) is deploying Ciena’s Converged Packet-Optical Networking solutions.

Intelsat has been selected by the Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicações de Moçambique to deliver satellite solutions for broadband connectivity.

Chilean operator WOM (formerly Nextel Chile) has installed a remote SIM cards management system from Callup.

The state-owned Indian operator BSNL has stated that it aims to begin its 4G offering by March next year.

Two major operators in Bangladesh are considering merging their units in the region to take on the market leader, Grameenphone.

Syniverse is providing Sri Lankan operator Dialog Axiata with single-connection access to the Syniverse IPX Network Solution, which serves as the critical backbone that makes LTE possible.

T-Mobile and SimpleCell Networks (formerly Blue Cell Networks) have decided to jointly cover the Czech Republic with a SIGFOX network for the Internet of Things.

Myanmar-based broadband provider Burst Networks has ordered a multi-million dollar data centre from Flexenclosure.

Orange is launching Africa's first mobile crowdfunding platform in Côte d'Ivoire, called Orange Collecte.

Filipino operator Sun Cellular has commissioned net mobile AG to implement direct carrier billing for Google Play.

Two Polish operators have struck out against the country’s government for attempting to amend the rules of its ongoing 4G spectrum auctions.

Telkom South Africa has partnered with Bango to launch carrier billing for Google Play in South Africa for the first time.

Liberian national operator Libtelco has commissioned Cataleya to deliver a turnkey solution for interconnection, billing, and session and application management.

A new Vodafone initiative is delivering digital books to schools in Romania via wallpaper that can be scanned with smartphones.

American Tower Corp is acquiring a stake in Indian tower firm Viom Networks.

Collaborative communications provider FreeConferenceCall.com has launched free conference calling in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.

The conferencing services market across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) is seeing a significant shift to packaged services apparent in demand and vendor offerings.

Zimbabwean internet service provider Dandemutande Investments has announced the relaunch of its iWayAfrica Ka-band VSAT service.