Despite recent proposals from Indian regulator TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) allowing for spectrum trading between operators, leasing spectrum will not be permitted.

The sale of Telefonica’s Czech and Slovak units to Czech investment group PPF has been closed.

Virgin Mobile’s Latin American MVNO is preparing to launch in two of the region’s largest mobile markets.

Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency Badan SAR Nasional has selected solutions from Thuraya to improve its search and rescue efforts in the country.

Latin American mobile messaging aggregator Tedexis has selected a MMX Messaging Gateway from Anam Technologies.

Russian telecoms provider TTK has signed a network partnership agreement with cloud infrastructure firm Akamai.

India’s Department of Telecom (DoT) has approved all 8 applications to participate in the upcoming spectrum auctions, but has disallowed certain operators from bidding for pan-Indian spectrum.

Bharti Airtel is reportedly looking to sell off its tower assets in Bangladesh. The operator believes Airtel Bangladesh’s assets, which include 4000 towers, to be worth at least $200 million.

Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM) and Level 3 Communications have signed an agreement for Internet localisation services, enabling TM to cache high-demand content locally on its network, enhancing Internet connectivity, network efficiency, reliability and security.

Chinese vendor ZTE is currently discussing a 4G deal for the Mumbai and Delhi circles with Indian market leader Bharti Airtel.

Libya’s Deputy Minister for Communications and Informatics Mr Mohamad Benrasali has asked the ITU for support in preparing a master plan to modernise ICT infrastructure in Libya.

Telefonica Czech Republic will scrap 10% of its jobs over the coming year. While the operator is currently struggling, the redundancies actually date back to a 2011 restructuring initiative and are not related to investment group PPF’s recent bid for a majority stake.

Ocean Networks has commissioned Xtera Communications for the turnkey supply and installation of its SAPL (South America Pacific Link) submarine cable system.

Reliance Industries’ surprise participation in India’s mobile spectrum auctions has increased the likelihood of frenzied competitive bidding.

Latin American mobile provider NII Holdings, which operates as Nextel, has signed wholesale agreements with Telefonica that will grant its Mexican and Brazilian customers access to nationwide 3G voice and data services.

Japanese firms KDDI and Sumitomo are reportedly close to forming an alliance with the state-controlled mobile operator in Myanmar.

txtNation has launched its mobile billing solution in Kenya using Premium SMS. The solution will allow businesses to accept mobile payments throughout the country.

India’s leading operators have confirmed that they will participate in the country’s upcoming spectrum auctions, which look set to net the government a hefty return.