Turkey launched its first domestically produced communications satellite, Turksat 6A, into orbit early this week, widening the country's satellite coverage and meeting its television broadcasting needs.

Satellite networking technology, solutions and services company Gilat Satellite Networks says it has received a follow-on six-year order worth over US$10 million from Internet Para Todos (IPT) to deliver cellular backhaul services across rural areas in Peru.

DIDWW, a provider of two-way SIP trunking services to operators and businesses all over the world, says it has expanded the coverage of its virtual phone numbers to another five territories.

Targeting an important market of which all Indian operators would no doubt like a slice, Vodafone Idea’s enterprise arm, Vi Business, and digital financial services provider PayU have entered into a strategic partnership to offer bespoke digital payment solutions to Indian micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The Sri Lankan government will vote this week to change a law that will pave the way for SpaceX’s Starlink satellite connectivity service to deploy on the island, reported ET Telecom.

Türkiye’s sovereign wealth fund was reportedly mulling the sale of its 26.2% shares in state-owned operator Turkcell.

Ericsson announced on Monday it has extended its R&D partnership with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) for another two years to continue research related to 5G and 6G technologies.

Telecom infrastructure provider ATC Ghana reportedly restored electricity to Telecel Ghana's telecoms towers over the weekend by order of the regulator after intentionally cutting off the power over a financial dispute.

Digicel Samoa announced on Monday that it has officially kicked off its rollout of 5G services with five 5G sites going live in the Apia CBD.

Vietnamese ICT company CMC Corporation has launched a data centre subsidiary. The new company – CMC AI Digital Infrastructure, or CMC ADI –will be constructing and operating hyperscale data centres.

Another funding win has been announced by for mobile and broadband wireless infrastructure supplier NuRAN Wireless, this time involving Cameroon.

India's new Telecommunications Act contains one little-noticed (until now) provision could benefit the country's regulatory environment. It seems that the eligibility criteria for appointing the chairman and members of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) have been relaxed.

Ericsson announced it will book a non-cash impairment of SEK11.4 billion (US$1.1 billion) in its Q2 results, blaming cloud unit Vonage which had previously hit the Swedish vendor in the wallet.

Hungary-based 4iG Group announced the acquisition of regional operator PR-Telecom for an undisclosed fee to expand its optical network coverage.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has called on the telecoms sector to submit proposals for an R&D programme to accelerate development of technologies for quantum communications networks.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has announced the launch of the Africa Broadband Maps project, which aims to establish broadband mapping systems in 11 sub-Saharan African countries to help narrow the digital divide.

Malaysian telco U Mobile and Axiata-owned telecoms infrastructure company Edotco say they have formed a partnership to accelerate the rollout of 5G under the government’s planned dual network model.

Foxconn’s Singaporean unit reportedly gained a licence from Vietnamese authorities to invest US$551 million into two projects to produce smart entertainment products and smart system equipment.

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) says it has embarked on a project with UAE operator group Etisalat by e& to build what it claims is the energy sector’s largest ever private 5G network, spanning 11,000 square kilometres.

The Philippine government’s new project to expand the reach of fibre broadband across the country will result in more lines deployed, but it won’t get more people connected if services are too expensive, says analyst firm BMI Country Risk & Industry Research.

If you needed a reminder of how tricky the situation regarding AI and privacy is going to be for both lawmakers and businesses from now on, one has recently come from Brazil where the country’s National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) has clearly got issues with technology giant Meta's AI privacy policy.

The Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) and aerospace manufacturer EnduroSat have announced that they are together building the country’s first satellite, BOTSAT-1. The satellite will launch on the SpaceX Transporter-13 mission during or after February 2025.

­Swedish vendor Ericsson announced the appointment of Patrick Johansson as Head of Market Area Middle East and Africa, replacing Fadi Pharaon who announced his departure in May.

TelCables South Africa, which offers a range of secure connectivity solutions to the Southern African market, says it has upgraded its backbone network infrastructure to accommodate the rapidly growing data traffic across its network and to provide faster, more secure connectivity.

Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison announced on Thursday that it has launched a new suite of AI-powered, cloud-based solutions specifically geared to help Indonesia’s upstream oil and gas industry become more sustainable.

Philippine broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions announced on Wednesday that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with US-based IT solutions provider Supermicro to help it build three 'green' AI data centres in the Philippines.

European fibre backbone and subsea infrastructure provider EXA Infrastructure says it has signed a deal with Turkey’s SOCAR Fiber to develop a terrestrial fibre optic route across Turkey that it says will add diversity to the cluster of subsea cables in the Red Sea corridor.

Latin American telecoms service provider Millicom has announced, through its Tigo Business division, what it calls a new phase in its collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to jointly continue developing the adoption of cloud services.

Some very positive connectivity news comes from the Brazil-Colombia border where it is being reported that a fibre optics cable crossing Brazil's Amazonas state is finally ready to connect the Colombian city of Leticia two years after the project to link the two countries via fibre in the shared Amazon border area kicked off.

Nokia and telecom infrastructure organization Solis Tower Telecom do Brasil have partnered to provide connectivity to agribusinesses in rural parts of Brazil.

UAE-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) says it has contracted SpaceX as the launch provider for its upcoming new geostationary satellites, Al Yah 4 (AY4) and Al Yah 5 (AY5).

Guinea’s Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy (MPTEN) says it has signed an agreement with Mali to interconnect the two countries’ fibre optic networks, partly in response to recent subsea cable outages affecting the continent.