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.

Indian operator Reliance Communications (RCom) is reportedly restructuring its operation. Most significantly, it is believed to be splitting its GSM and CDMA units, with the latter believed to be in line for a sell-off that would help to reduce RCom’s debt.

A new agreement between Intelligent Energy and Ascend Telecom is set to provide efficient power for telecom towers across India.

Chinese budget smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi plans on doubling its 2013 sales over the next year, according to chairman and co-founder Lei Jun.

The Brazilian securities regulator CVM has created a setback for the merger of Brazil’s number four Oi and Portugal Telecom by ruling in favour of Oi’s minority shareholders. Despite this, the country’s regulator Cade has approved the deal without restrictions.

Myriad Group has announced significant uptake of its MSNGR chat service across Latin America during Q4 2013.