Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has reportedly changed its strategy for allocating two unsold satellite orbital slots after last week’s auction failed to attract any bids.

Millicom International Cellular says it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MoU) to acquire a 67.50% stake in Colombia Telecomunicaciones (aka Coltel or Telefonica Colombia) from owner Telefonica Hispanoamerica, for approximately US$400 million.

Operator du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), in collaboration with Nokia and MediaTek, the world’s fifth largest global fabless semiconductor company, have announced what they describe as a major milestone in the integration and enhancement of 5G technologies in the Middle East and Africa (MEA).

ArtificiaI intelligence (AI)-ready data centres are in the news this week, with Malaysia and Indonesia playing host to new or planned facilities.

Struggling Nigerian operator 9Mobile reportedly secured a UK-based buyer after years of rumours surrounding a buyout.

PLDT’s digital unit DigiCo acquired a 10% stake in Bayad Center and the entirety of Multipay Corp, as the operator aims to position itself for the Philippines’ shift to digital payments.

Residents of Tonga’s outlying islands will have to wait until at least mid-August for internet connectivity to return to normal, as the ship sent to repair the nation’s only domestic subsea cable is itself being repaired after breaking down.

Malaysian telcos CelcomDigi and U Mobile said on Tuesday they are collaborating with Chinese vendor ZTE to run a live TV broadcast during the upcoming 2024 Sukma Games using 5G-Advanced technology.

Malaysian 5G operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) says it has signed a collaboration deal with national cybersecurity specialist centre Cybersecurity Malaysia (CSM) to boost cybersecurity for 5G networks.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison IOH reported growth across its business in the first half of the year pointing to optimisation of operations, while revealing more AI use cases will come in the latter half of this year.

Telecentro, a leading telecommunications operator in Argentina, has selected the cOS broadband platform from Harmonic – a company that delivers virtualised broadband and video delivery solutions – to modernise its broadband network.

Small cells are back in the news again with an announcement that local vendor SAR Televenture is to deploy 4G small cell sites for Indian operator Vodafone Idea (aka Vi).

Vietnam set a target to shutdown 3G networks by September 2028 to pave the way for 4G and 5G services, and meet subscriber demand.

Indian telco Bharti Airtel announced on Monday that it has started refarming its existing 4G mid-band spectrum to support migration of 4G customers to 5G services, as well as its planned launch of standalone (SA) 5G.

Malaysian telco U Mobile said it has established a strategic backhaul partnership with Time dotCom as it continues its preparations to help build the country’s planned second 5G network.

Australia has launched a new ‘Cable Connectivity and Resilience Centre’ for Indo-Pacific subsea cable projects on Monday that also serves as the latest initiative by the Quad alliance of Australia, India Japan and the US to limit China’s influence in the Pacific Islands region.

Cloud computing services company Google Cloud and professional services firm PwC India have announced an enhanced strategic alliance that, they say, will leverage the power of generative AI (GenAI) to augment enterprise solutions.

Google’s application for its Teros data centre project in the Parque de las Ciencias free trade zone in the Canelones department in the south of Uruguay has now been approved by the country’s Environment Ministry.

Costa Rican company Radiografica Costarricense SA (RACSA, a Grupo ICE company) has claimed a 5G first in the country with the launch of 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) services on the market, supported, it says, by the country's first and only network designed for this technology.

Globe Telecom announced it gained PHP13.5 billion (US$230 million) from the transfer of more towers as it seeks more cash to pay down debts and fund future capex intensive projects.

The Chinese smartphone market experienced 10% growth in the second quarter with units reaching 70.5 million units, and local vendors occupying the top five spots for the first time.

Digital infrastructure giant Equinix has announced yet another deal in Asia. This one is an estimated US$5 million investment to acquire land from former landowner and now tech hub developer Cyberview in ICT-focused city Cyberjaya in Selangor state.

Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison continued its push into the AI space via a strategic partnership with AIonOS, revealed on Friday, that aims to transform businesses into AI-native enterprises and accelerate AI sovereignty in Indonesia.

Popular social media and OTT messaging services in Malaysia will have to apply for a class licence under a new framework to be introduced by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) this week.

Mobile internet services in Bangladesh were restored on Sunday after being down for 12 days. However, access to social media and messaging apps reportedly remains blocked pending a meeting with social media reps and government officials later this week.

The mobile economy of the Asia Pacific was predicted to grow by US$130 billion by 2030 and hit US$1 trillion, due to faster adoption of 5G technologies in the region.

The Vietnam Internet Network Information Centre (VNNIC) said on Thursday the latest upgrade of its network speed test app 'i-Speed' turns phones into an automated crowdsourcing tool for telcos to measure and optimise network performance.

Thai telco AIS and Malaysian telco Maxis signed MoUs with Singtel on Thursday to use its open API-based solutions suite that authenticates digital identities for consumer services – a day after the Bridge Alliance launched a new regional telco API exchange to facilitate such deals.

East African carrier-neutral data centre operator Wingu Africa, and Gebeya, a pan-African company that specializes in SaaS-enabled custom talent cloud innovation, have announced the launch of what they call a groundbreaking ‘talent cloud solution’ aimed at developing human capital for the data centre industry in East Africa. 

Brazilian telecoms regulator Anatel has expressed its disappointment  at a recent decision by another government agency, the electricity-focused Aneel to, essentially, abandon plans discussed by the two regulators on the vexed topic of infrastructure sharing or, more accurately, pole sharing.

Orange credited “remarkable” results from its Africa and Middle East unit for a solid performance in the second quarter.

Airtel Africa reported profit gains subscriber growth as the group continues to battle against currency devaluation on the continent.

Fixed broadband in Bangladesh was reportedly set to be completely restored on Wednesday night, but the government said that mobile internet access will remain offline until at least Sunday or Monday, which means most people will remain unconnected.