Eutelsat Group says it has signed a multi-year, multimillion-dollar deal with African ICT integrator NEC XON to supply connectivity capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa via Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO satellite constellation.

Nokia announced on Sunday it has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with Bahrain operator Batelco, part of the technology-focused Beyon Group, to deliver mission-critical private 5G networks across Bahrain.

NEC Indonesia says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Telkom Indonesia to collaborate in developing smart cities in the upcoming new capital city of Ibu Kota Nusantara (IKN), as well as other Indonesian cities.

UPDATED: Telkom South Africa confirmed the sale of its tower unit Swiftnet for ZAR 6.75 billion (US$355 million) to infrastructure-focused private equity firm Actis, a move to pay down debts and balance its books. 

Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) is an attractive play for many operators, and Nokia believes its potential can be further enhanced with the arrival of 5G FWA solutions using higher millimeter wave (mmWave) spectrum.

Telecom Egypt says it has added European fibre backbone and transatlantic subsea cable infrastructure provider EXA Infrastructure to its WeConnect ecosystem in its latest move to establish Egypt as a major regional interconnection hub.

PLDT’s enterprise subsidiary ePLDT announced that the planned 50MW hyperscale data centre being built by its data centre unit Vitro is on track to go live as early as this July.

A roadmap for a 5G launch and the system for granting licenses and marketing the service were announced by Tunisa’s Minister of Communication Technologies Nizar Ben Neji earlier this week.

Given the recent damage to many of the subsea cables that provide connectivity to Africa, major connectivity providers have been swift to respond.

Less than two years after it announced the launch of commercial 5G services across several regions of the country, operator WOM Chile is having to refinance US$348 million in debt due this year – and hasn’t yet made it clear how this will happen.

Is Ghana accelerating the pace of satellite internet licensing in response to the disruption caused by the widely reported subsea cable damage off the coast of West Africa?

Vodacom South Africa confirmed up to 80 members of staff might be let go in a move to lower costs and continue its strategy to transition from a telecoms to technology company. 

The mobile money market matured as transaction value grew by 14% to US$1.4 trillion and total global registered accounts reached 1.75 billion in 2023, an increase of 12% year-on-year.

Hormuud Telecom launched 5G in key locations across Somalia with 4G customers receiving free upgrades to the next generation technology starting from today (March 21). 

Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) is the second telco to score 5G spectrum this month after reportedly winning the auction for the 3700-3800 MHz band.

Nokia has published the findings of its latest annual Indian market-focused Mobile Broadband Index (MBiT).

Safaricom Ethiopia’s M-Pesa mobile money service has signed an international money transfer agreement with Onafriq, Africa’s largest digital payments network, which currently operates in 40 African countries.

Thuraya Telecommunications Company, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE’s satellite solutions provider Yahsat, is partnering with data compression specialist Niflink to provide customisable telemedicine and e-learning solutions across its network using Niflink’s video compression technology.

Frequency division duplex (FDD) technology operating in the sub-3 GHz frequency bands has a key role to play as services evolve into the era of 5.5G (5G Advanced), says Huawei.

Cloud-based OTT video platform vendor Perception Group announced on Tuesday that mobile operator Africell Angola has launched AfriTV, an OTT mobile TV service using Perception’s TVCDN platform.

Ooredoo Group and e& Carrier & Wholesale announced that they have partnered to deploy the Gulf Gateway Cable (GGC1) subsea system to improve capacity, reliability and latency between data centres in Abu Dhabi and Doha.

The Nigerian neobank Kuda is reportedly expanding its reach with new payment licences in Tanzania and Canada.

Telecoms and agriculture are in the news yet again. Service provider MTN Nigeria has announced plans to partner the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), in disseminating weather and climate information to farmers and other users across Nigeria.

The subsea cable damage we reported recently that apparently happened along the coasts of Cote d’Ivoire and Senegal on 14 March has continued to make headlines in recent days.

Mastercard has signed a deal with China’s Alipay to facilitate international remittances into the market.

Jordanian operator Umniah will deploy Ericsson’s Cognitive Software AI solutions to optimise its network and address critical aspects of its network in key locations. 

Telekom Malaysia’s enterprise unit, Unifi Business, says it has launched an “e-Pharmacy” mobile application that it says enables e-prescriptions via teleconsultation for pharmacists and their walk-in patients.

Bangladesh operators Grameenphone, Banglalink, Robi Axiata and Teletalk have each received a unified licence from Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) to streamline their operations and 5G evolution paths.

Start-up satellite manufacturer and operator Astranis said on Monday it has struck a new partnership with Latin American ISP Orbith to provide a dedicated MicroGEO communications satellite for Argentina.

Alfanet, a prominent internet service provider (ISP) in Ecuador that serves residential and commercial customers across the country, has chosen AXESS 5 ACS (Auto Configuration Server) software from device management solutions company Axiros.

Major tech player ZTE Corporation has announced that it has secured a bid for the Mexican izzi Telecom MVNO project.