As promised in November last year, Kenyan operator Safaricom, mobile payment giant M-Pesa Africa and global trading and business investment company Sumitomo Corporation have now announced calls for tech start-ups looking to join the Spark Accelerator programme.

Telecoms giant BT and Basrah Gas Company (BGC), Iraq’s largest gas flare reduction company, have announced a new agreement to securely connect BGC's operations in Iraq and help accelerate its digital transformation.

Pakistan’s Ministry of IT and Telecom revealed it is planning to launch a payment plan scheme called ‘Smartphone for All’, to equip more citizens with smartphones and drive up the number of connected citizens. 

Parallel Wireless has partnered with Nigerian network-as-a-service (NaaS) provider Hotspot Network Ltd to extend 2G and 4G coverage to previously unconnected rural sites throughout Nigeria using Open RAN solutions.

Digital Realty announced the launch of its first data centre in India on Friday, which is also the first to be launched under its recently announced three-way joint venture Digital Connexion to develop data centres in the country.

The long-awaited Humboldt Cable project to connect Chile directly with the Asia-Pacific took a new turn after Google officially joined the consortium on Friday, along with the Office of Posts and Telecommunications of French Polynesia (OPT).

Philippine telecoms companies Converge ICT Solutions and DITO Telecommunity have signed a master facilities provisioning agreement (MFPA) to share select terrestrial and submarine fibre-optic cable assets.

Togolese operator Togocom secured XOF36 billion (US$60.2 million) from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to fund the upgrade of its infrastructure including the expansion of its 4G network. 

NEC Corporation India (NEC India) has completed a flagship optical submarine cable system in Southern India connecting Kochi and the Lakshadweep Islands.

FPT Retail has reportedly become Vietnam’s fifth mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) after launching its service nationwide on Thursday, effectively giving FPT Telecom a mobile arm to leverage in its offerings.

Guam-based telco Docomo Pacific has deployed fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) solutions from Harmonic to deliver 10G broadband services to its customers.

Global IT infrastructure and services company NTT has announced the launch of a new data centre campus, Noida 2, and the opening of its first data centre on the campus.

Regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has published what it calls a pre-enforcement notice regarding unauthorised use of the 5.4GHz frequency band.

Bahrain operator Batelco, part of the technology-focused Beyon Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with tech giant Ericsson to expand its sustainability initiatives and circular economy practices.

Marlink, the smart network and digital solutions company, says it will leverage satellite connectivity from satellite operator SES to operate YanaSat, a new publicly owned satellite network service in French Guiana.

Malaysian satellite company MEASAT announced it struck a deal with Elon Musk’s SpaceXto become an official reseller of Starlink hardware and services. 

Global LEO satellite operator Iridium has unveiled ‘Project Stardust’, its new direct-to-device (D2D) strategy that will support 3GPP-compliant 5G IoT devices on its network starting in 2026.

Malaysia’s wholesale 5G network operator Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) now covers just over 80% of populated areas, clearing the final criteria for the creation of a second 5G operator.

Netcracker announced Thai operator AIS will continue its relationship with the vendor by consolidating its billing systems onto Netcracker's BSS platform.

Qatar-based communications satellite operator Es’hailSat has joined forces with managed services network infrastructure group Viasat Energy Services to provide high-speed VSAT services across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Algeria Telecom and Ooredoo Algeria signed a memorandum of understanding to exchange ideas on innovative services and share infrastructure, a move to enhance their service in the country. 

Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society Ministry has reportedly tasked state telco National Telecom (NT) to develop a managed platform that enables state agencies to access services from any cloud provider.

The government of Mali has reportedly awarded a contract worth US$117.3 million to China International Telecommunication Construction Corporation (CITCC) to extend its national fibre optic network.

Robi Axiata said on Tuesday that its ICT subsidiaries, Axentec and RedDot Digital, have signed a deal with Electricity Generation Company of Bangladesh (EGCB) to implement an AI-based early fault detection system for its power plants.

An industry agreement intended to address industry digitalisation and automation in private networks across Indonesia has been signed by wireless transport and access solutions company Aviat Networks, and mobile operator Smartfren Telecom.

Nigerian operator Globacom has denied reports that it still owes MTN Nigeria interconnection charges despite regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) suggesting otherwise.

Airtel Business, the B2B arm of Indian service provider Bharti Airtel, has announced that it will power over 20 million smart meters for Adani Energy Solutions Limited (AESL), the largest private sector power transmission company in India.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) announced it agreed a deal to sell its portfolio of data centres and edge sites to BDx Indonesia a joint venture between IOH, BDx Data Centers, and Lintasarta for IDR2.6 billion (US$170m) 

UAE-based operator du has selected Nokia to modernise its Circuit Switched Core network.

Smartphone sales in Vietnam reportedly took an unexpected dive in December 2023, according to tech retailers who are hoping the coming Lunar New Year season will bring sales numbers back up.

Indian state telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will reportedly spend 2024 focused on completing its 4G network and building its market share, which means its 5G ambitions will be further delayed to 2025.