Hungary’s upcoming auction of 32GHz spectrum has attracted three bidders - Magyar Telekom, CETIN Hungary, and Vodafone Hungary.

A press release attributed to the Parliament of the Republic of Uganda underlines the continuing issue of communications charges across Africa – this time relating to the internet.

Following Monday’s news that Uruguay’s president had ordered the country’s regulator to hold a 5G spectrum auction within 30 days, URSEC has now confirmed the date as 28^th April and invited bidding applications from interested parties.

The Lithuanian communications regulator Rysiu Reguliavimo Tarnyba (RRT) won a spectrum dispute against Russia, as Lithuanian airwaves along its borders gained international protection against its neighbour. 

CamGSM, which operates as Cellcard, has had its application to list on the Cambodian stock exchange approved in principle by the Cambodia Securities Exchange (CSX).

Mexico’s Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT) has granted an additional 30 years of validity to concessions held by fixed line providers Telmex and Telnor.

Thuraya, the mobile satellite services subsidiary of the UAE’s flagship satellite solutions provider Yahsat, has concluded Heads of Terms for an investment agreement with Astrocast, a leading low Earth orbit (LEO) and Internet of Things (IoT) network operator.

Published last week but now attracting attention from many African news resources is a Vodacom Group paper arguing that mobile money taxation could hamper financial inclusion gains in Africa.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies signed a memorandum of understanding with the Zambian government, committing to deploy more infrastructure to provide affordable connectivity to Zambians.

Brazilian broadband provider Unifique struck a deal to acquire regional provider Brick Servicos Digitais for BRL10 million (US$2 million), reported BNamericas.

Operator Ooredoo Qatar and Reailize, a company that says it injects automation intelligence into every aspect of telco operations, have announced that Ooredoo Qatar has implemented Reailize's Continuous Assurance (CA) solution to digitize its network operations centre (NOC) and provide what is described as a single pane of glass into the health of its network, service and customer experience.

Vehicle tracking and telematics company Netstar and Vodacom Business (the enterprise-focused ICT subsidiary of the Vodacom Group) have partnered to offer Wi-Fi to commuters on thousands of minibus taxis around South Africa.

Chinese company Highlander, which specialises in maritime and marine technology, has built what is described as the first commercial underwater data centre facility off Hainan island in China – and now wants to sell submerged data centre facilities to global customers.

As part of its debt-cutting plan, Digicel Group announced three-quarters of bondholders are set to take shares in the company to resolve its debts and reduce founder Denis O’Brien’s stake from 99.9% to 10% to have US$1.8 billion written off, reported the Irish Times.

Industrial action by employees of Lebanon’s state-run Ogero has been suspended by the Executive Council of the fixed operator’s union.

Veon Group announced it will use OneWeb low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites to extend its coverage in emerging markets.

It may come as little surprise to learn that mobile operator MTN South Africa is investing heavily to combat site vandalism and battery theft, but both are partly due to the problem of load shedding and power cuts, which MTN has also been forced to address.

Bharti Airtel, one of India’s biggest telecommunications service providers, has partnered with India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a division of India Post, to launch WhatsApp banking services for IPPB customers, enabling them to access banking services on their mobile phone.

African digital payments network MFS Africa has announced another deal targeting the remittance market. This time it is partnering Nigeria’s Access Bank to enable outward remittances from Kenya and Nigeria.

Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan has called for state-owned TTCL (Tanzania Telecommunication Corporation) to reconsider its future as an operator given its failure in the telecoms space.

Montenegro’s Crnogorski Telekom (CT) has launched a commercial 5G network in the capital of Podgorica, and is lining up the launch of a new VoLTE service.

Uruguay’s regulator URSEC has until the end of April to hold 5G spectrum auctions after the tender’s specifications were cleared by the country’s President Luis Lacalle Pou on 30^th March.

MTN and Vodafone expanded a pilot roaming agreement nationwide in Ghana to bolster connectivity in the country, reported Ghana Web.

While 5G has been around for three years, its development speed has exceeded industry expectations. Around 240 commercial networks have launched during these three years, with the 5G customer base reaching 1 billion, accessing services through one of around 800 5G-compatible devices launched by a range of vendors.

Bangladeshi mobile money firm bKash has extended its existing partnership with Huawei.

SpaceX’s Starlink will launch operations in Ecuador on 1^st April, with its first services going live in the Galapagos Islands.

Telekom Malaysia completed its new fibre optic hub across the northern regions of Sabah and Sarawak to connect remote locations situated there.

Orange Liberia has commissioned Vanu to deploy at least 200 telecom towers as it seeks to improve rural coverage in the country.

AIS partnered with Bangkok Bank to expand its fintech strategy by launching a debit card, which the operator aims to have six million accounts opened by 2028.