The ongoing saga of Malaysian 5G wholesale operator Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) took a new twist on Friday when four telco investors agreed to take slightly larger-than-planned stakes in the company – at least until August.

Telefonica’s Venezuelan unit Movistar announced plans to upgrade around 500 4G base stations.

Romanian operator group Digi Communications secured a three-year loan amounting €150 million to repay a €450 million bond due in 2025.

At Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2024, James Chen, President, Carrier Business at Huawei, gave a keynote speech entitled "Secondary 5G Innovation: Charting a New Course for Business Success".

Speaking at a keynote on the opening day of MWC Shanghai, David Wang (pictured), Executive Director of the Board, Chairman of the ICT Infrastructure Managing Board, Huawei, gave a speech entitled "Accelerating 5G-A Development and Opening the Mobile AI Era".

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison President Director and CEO Vikram Sinha opened up on his strategy to transition the operator into a native AI technology company for lofty growth targets, and contribute to Indonesia’s ambition to become a developed nation over the next two decades.

Congolese Fiber Optic Company (SOCOF SA) has reportedly signed a partnership with the Agency for the Coordination and Monitoring of Collaboration Agreements (APCSC) to deploy optical fibre networks along new roads to be built in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Sri Lankan telco Dialog Axiata said on Thursday it has officially take 100% control of rival telco Bharti Airtel Lanka via a share swap, sealing a deal that has been in the works for over a year.

In what is described as a significant move to accelerate the country’s digital transformation, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board of the Philippines has approved a flagship infrastructure project designed to boost broadband connectivity nationwide, particularly in remote areas, and strengthen cybersecurity.

Nigerian banks have reportedly started paying a debt they owed operators, following the payment plan that was agreed upon in the last quarter of 2023. As of November 2023, Nigerian banks owed telecom firms ₦200 billion (about US$132 million) for using their unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) services.

Indian data centre provider Nxtra by Airtel has joined the RE100 initiative and said it has committed to sourcing 100% renewable energy.

Two years after India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sought views on the need for overhauling laws governing the telecommunications sector (and nearly 75 years after the last relevant legislation of the sector) India has a new, updated Telecom Act. It came into effect on 26 June.

Africa-focused cross-border money transfer operator Mama Money partnered with payment processor firm Paymentology and Access Bank to launch a new bank card service that integrates WhatsApp banking.

Recently, China Telecom Guangdong and Huawei have jointly built the first 400G all-optical premium transmission network in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area.

Indian telco Vodafone Idea revealed on Wednesday that it has been working with Samsung to trial new technologies, including virtualised RAN (vRAN) solutions, in Chennai for its 4G and 5G network.

Telecom Namibia has announced what it calls a three-year transformative partnership via a joint venture between mobile technology company ZTE Corporation and its partner company Huafull International Limited.

Globe Telecom partnered with satellite phone company Lynk Global to launch a pilot programme to examine the use of satellite-direct-to-phone communication services to plug coverage gaps in the Philippines.

Digital infrastructure company Equinix has announced its expansion into Chennai with what it describes as its first International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre, called CN1.

Colombian operator Claro deployed the first stage of its 5G network offering fixed wireless access (FWA) broadband with vendor partner Nokia, in only four months since securing its 5G licence.

Thai telecoms operator True Corp says that its 5G revenue is now growing at 15% per year, which it credits mainly to its strategy of targeting domestic and international tourists with 5G packages.

Globe Telecom announced on Wednesday that it has become the second Philippine telco to join the GSMA’s Open Gateway Initiative for standardised open network APIs, just after rival PLDT did the same.

Timor Leste is set to get its first-ever subsea cable connection later this year as work begins to install the Timor Leste South Submarine Cable System (TLSSC) at its landing station in Dili, according to country’s Ministry of Transport and Communication.

Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), which owns and operates the Nigerian communications satellite systems. has announced a strategic partnership with infrastructure and technology company Infratel Africa, to provide connectivity for a major rural infrastructure project in Nigeria.

In yet another example of the continuing importance to fintechs of emerging markets, Pyypl, a fintech company in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), has announced a principal licence membership and strategic framework agreement with payment giant Visa.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) have announced a joint declaration aimed at strengthening collaboration on ICT infrastructure mapping across West Africa.

Recently, China Broadnet started the large-scale 400G deployment on its national backbone network.

Brazil’s National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) has approved financing worth R$41 million (US$7.5 million) for Um Telecom, a B2B operator focused on Brazil's Northeast region, to deploy the first Tier III data centre in the State of Pernambuco.

Revenues from fixed communication services in Malaysia is expected to hit a compound annual growth rate of 0.7% from US$1.87 billion in 2023 to US$1.94 billion in 2028.

Globe Telecom announced more mobile site transfers to PhilTower for a capital injection to pay down debts.

Indonesian telco Telkomsel says that it has signed a MoU with Tencent Cloud and local digital infrastructure company M Cash Integrasi to explore the adoption of palm scanning technology as a biometric tool to improve customer service.

The Pacific island of Tonga is set to get a second subsea cable connection after the governments of Australia and New Zealand agreed to construct a new cable connecting it to the Hawaiki Cable.

A Vietnam News report, published late last week, has suggested that the country’s international fibre optic cable system could see the addition of at least ten new undersea cables by 2030, bringing the number of Vietnam's undersea routes to at least 15.