Wholesale fibre optic connectivity services and infrastructure carrier InterNexa has announced a five-year US$100 million investment to strengthen connectivity in Colombia.

The global smartphone market grew by 7% to 1.22 billion units in 2024, marking a rebound after two consecutive years of decline, with emerging markets highlighted as the industry’s key growth driver.

The fallout from the recent announcement, reported on these pages, that José Maria Álvares-Pallete had resigned from his position as Chairman & CEO of Telefónica has continued with news that he will not stay in the position of Chair of the GSMA Board of Directors.

Colombian mobile network operator Tigo cut off connectivity access to MVNO Flash Mobile users after the latter failed to pay its last two bills.

The latest African roaming agreement comes from the west of the continent, where the governments of Liberia, The Gambia and Sierra Leone have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at reducing telecommunications costs through improved roaming services.

As well as the revenue projections we covered earlier today, India’s Union Budget 2025 offers mixed but largely positive news for the telecoms sector, notably in areas such as rural coverage, tax on imported electronics, the space sector and artificial intelligence (AI).

Ooredoo Qatar announced on Sunday it has contracted Ericsson to supply and deploy its latest RAN and microwave backhaul solutions to expand the operator’s 5G coverage, including to remote areas.

Philippine telco Globe Telecom says it recently held a successful pilot test of 50GPON, which it hopes will not only boost the user experience for its fibre broadband service, but also unlock other potential use cases for enterprises.

The Indian government is reportedly projecting a 33% drop in telecoms revenue in its fiscal year 2026, although that’s partly due to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) raking in more telecoms revenue than expected for FY2025.

The government of Andhra Pradesh, a state on the east coast of southern India, has announced plans to develop a 500-acre Data City in Madhurawada, a major business and residential area of Visakhapatnam, a port city and industrial centre.

It looks like SIM card registration in Ghana, supposedly over and done by May 2023, isn’t quite finished yet, at least according to Ghana’s Minister-Designate for Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation, Sam Nartey George.

As the air transport industry faces more competitive and financial pressures, ICT is stepping in with technology that can enhance efficiency and, it is hoped, cut costs, as recent deals in the Middle East involving Wipro and SITA indicate.

The European Commission has announced the Africa-EU Space Partnership Programme, an initiative, backed by a €100 million (about US$103.8 million) investment, that, the EU says, forms a critical part of its Global Gateway strategy to deepen space cooperation between the EU and Africa.

The DeepSeek AI story continues to make headlines, this time through AceCloud, which claims to be the first Indian sovereign cloud provider to offer DeepSeek Gen AI models at scale on its cloud platform.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$160 million loan to Axian Telecom to support the operator’s plans to upgrade its nine subsidiaries in Africa and explore expansion into new markets.

The GSMA and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have launched a fund to equip enterprises in developing markets with the means to harness emerging technologies, including AI.

Aspiring Nigerian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Vitel Wireless said on Thursday it has been issued  a mobile number series by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), making it the first of the country’s dozens of MVNO licencees to receive one.

Qatar-based Ooredoo Group announced on Thursday it has signed an agreement with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to build a new subsea cable connecting seven countries in the Gulf region.

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) – Nigeria's largest labour union – has reportedly called for a nationwide protest next week to oppose a government-approved plan by telcos to raise tariffs by 50%, as the GSMA has waded in to support the increase.

Vodafone Group has unveiled a new satellite connectivity service designed to eliminate coverage blackspots across its footprint.

Safaricom has reportedly sought permission from the Communications Authority of Kenya to build its own subsea cable, aiming to reduce reliance on third-party providers and enhance network resilience following last year’s major cable cuts.

CoreX has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the businesses of Volteo Digital.

Technology giant Ericsson and Bahrain operator Batelco, part of the technology company Beyon Group, have announced the expansion of Batelco’s mobile broadband network to enhance its 4G and 5G capabilities by strengthening its network coverage and capacity across Bahrain.

EDOTCO Bangladesh, which describes itself as the country’s leading integrated telecommunications infrastructure provider, has launched its newly modernised 5G-ready tower operation centre (TOC) in Dhaka.

Telefonica is reportedly mulling the sale of its Argentinean unit.

Orange said on Tuesday it has launched a project to replace the existing satellite infrastructure of the Wallis and Futuna Islands in the South Pacific with connectivity from satellite operator SES’s O3b mPOWER system.

Sri Lankan telco SLT-Mobitel announced on Tuesday it has successfully conducted what it claims is the first trial of 5G-Advanced in the country, even as the mobile sector awaits news of a possible 5G spectrum auction in the near future.

Telecom Namibia says it has restored the satellite feed for its Satlink VSAT platform after it lost connectivity in October following the failure of Intelsat’s IS-33e satellite.

Oracle has equipped its Enterprise Communications Platform (ECP) with connectivity from Space X's Starlink low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites , enabling clients to access its cloud applications in remote locations.

A China-based rival to ChatGPT, called DeepSeek, sent shockwaves across the technology industry by reportedly becoming the most downloaded free app on Apple devices and operating with fewer resources than its US counterpart.

Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison said on Monday it has signed a MoU with Indian AI firm AIonOS – a joint venture between InterGlobe and Assago Group – to develop AI for smart agriculture, AI talent development and tourism in Indonesia.

Start-up satellite manufacturer and operator Astranis announced on Monday it has signed a contract with SpaceX to launch five more of its MicroGEO broadband satellites later this year.