The Indian government is working on developing an Indian mobile phone brand, a minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, whose portfolio includes communications, said this week.

Movistar Colombia has begun the deployment of 5G, making it the first operator to roll out the technology in the country.

Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, one of the world's leading integrated energy and chemicals companies, and TWTG, a pioneer in Industrial Internet of Things (I-IoT) solutions, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

ABS-CBN Corporation and PLDT mutually agreed to terminate the sale of the former’s broadband and TV unit Sky Cable to the operator. 

Open RAN vendor Parallel Wireless says it has expanded its collaboration on Open RAN initiatives with Türk Telekom to include its energy-saving xApps solution and AMD-based 5G massive MIMO solution in the operator’s trial cluster.

Global digital operator Veon announced on Wednesday that it has a launched a “Geolocation Gateway” that offers location-based APIs for enterprise developers , with its subsidiary Beeline Uzbekistan the first of its stable of operators to implement it.

Teraco, Africa’s largest interconnection hub and vendor-neutral data centre provider, is planning the construction of a 120MW utility-scale solar PV energy facility in the Free State province of South Africa.

Global communications provider Omnispace has announced that Brazil’s National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel) has approved its subsidiary Omnispace Comunicações Brasil Ltda’s request to operate its non-geostationary satellite (NGSO) system nationwide.

Could the long delayed partial sell-off of Ethio Telecom finally be taking place? Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has indicated this week that his government is discussing selling 10% of the state-owned telecoms company.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed a cooperation agreement with Vodacom to bolster its M-Pesa mobile money platform in Mozambique, a move to boost financial inclusion in the country. 

Telekom Malaysia’s enterprise unit TM One launched two new labs on Tuesday that aim to accelerate development of 5G-powered digital services and solutions for large enterprises and the government sector.

Thai telco True Corp revealed on Tuesday its new Business and Network Intelligence Center (BNIC), which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to boost network reliability for True’s mobile and fixed broadband network services.

EDGNEX, a global digital infrastructure provider owned by Damac Properties, a leading luxury real estate developer in the UAE, has announced the establishment of a joint venture company with Vodafone to build a data centre in Izmir, a city in western Turkey on the coast of the Aegean Sea, with an estimated investment of US$100 million.

While 5G in much of India seems to be rolling out in record time, the same cannot be said of 5G services in and around airports. Could that soon change, however?

There’s been a strong statement from GSMA Latin America, a regional division of industry association the GSMA, on the GSMA website, under the heading A Call to Action to Ensure the Development of the Internet and the Digital Future of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa competition commission opened an investigation into American Tower Corporation and Airtel Africa, for alleged anti-competitive conduct, after the two companies signed a partnership agreement in 2022. 

Nokia unveiled what it claimed to be the telecoms industry’s first Multi-Access Edge Slicing service which it will showcase with UAE operator e& at MWC this month, and how operators can generate new revenues with it.  

Vodafone Group announced it will install new Open RAN sites in 20 cities across Romania, to enhance industrial efficiency and boost innovation in the country.

Globe Teleservices announced on Monday it has entered into an exclusive strategic alliance with Tigo Tanzania to deploy its intelligent firewall solution for A2P SMS.

Philippine mobile payments platform GCash has reportedly signed an MoU with the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s cybercrime unit to set up a mechanism to tackle online scams and fraud cases more quickly.

Following the recent announcement of its data centre plans for Africa, beginning with a 36MW data centre in Lagos, Bharti Airtel’s African unit has confirmed that it will develop a data centre in Nairobi.

The workers union of state-owned Indian operator BSNL said the operator is “sinking” into “crisis”, after claiming equipment from Tata Consultancy Services needed for its long-delayed 4G launch will take a year to be ready for commercial use.

UAE-based satellite operator Yahsat has announced the launch of what it calls an ambitious direct-to-device (D2D) strategy to elevate global connectivity by directly enabling smartphone users and IoT devices across the world to leverage the power of space tech, regardless of location.

The Santiago-headquartered Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC – or CEPAL in Spanish), one of the five regional commissions of the United Nations, and founded with the purpose of contributing to the economic development of Latin America, has unveiled what it calls its Digital Development Observatory (DDO).

Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang has reportedly approved the country’s national data strategy up to 2030, which includes a plan to establish a national data services market.

India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) has made its official debut in Sri Lanka and Mauritius, with Nepal reportedly next on the list as India’s real-time payments system continues its international expansion.

There’s a new name in e-commerce in Africa – and, having set up last month in Kenya and Nigeria, pan-African business-to-business marketplace Zandaux.com this week announced its launch in South Africa at an event held in Johannesburg.

Ericsson announced new and upgraded software and hardware products that will be showcased at Mobile World Congress Barcelona later this month.