Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund (PIF) has made a non-binding offer of nearly US$6 billion to acquire 51% of STC’s towers unit TAWAL.

A new app called PostalPay will, it is claimed, slash the cost of sending money from parts of Europe to Uganda.

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has issued new licences that will enable the market entry of a third mobile operator and a new satellite broadband provider.

IHS Towers, one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, has announced what it calls its Carbon Reduction Roadmap, with an emphasis on its African markets in particular.

Satellite networking technology company Gilat has been selected by Sencinet, an integrator of managed services and solutions, for Petrobras’ oil and gas industry satellite connectivity project.

Regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced that it is planning to auction the remaining two lots of 100MHz in the 3.5GHz spectrum band to support 5G deployment in Nigeria.

In its second major announcement in a matter of days, Chilean telecoms giant Entel has said it plans to sell the assets of its fibre optic business but continue offering internet services.

Mexico’s IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones) has awarded China Unicom a 30-year operating licence, reports El Economista.

In yet another deal underlining the importance of cloud service provision, ZainTech, the one-stop digital and ICT solutions division of Zain Group has agreed to acquire managed cloud provider BIOS Middle East.

Safaricom Ethiopia has plans to invest around US$500 million into its operations during its first year of commercial activity.

Telia saw its complaint thrown out by Lithuania’s Supreme Administrative Court, ruling rival Bite was not gaining an unfair advantage from acquiring state-owned broadband provider MEZON’s spectrum, CommsUpdate reported.

Iran is planning to criminalise the sale of virtual private networks (VPNs) used to bypass internet restrictions, a minister said this week.

Digital infrastructure company Equinix has announced a US$45 million investment in Colombia for the construction of BG2, a new international business exchange data centre in Bogotá, scheduled to open in the first half of 2023.

In the latest 5G partnership with a focus on the potential of private networks, technological solutions provider Entel says it is set to accelerate the digital transformation of industry in Chile thanks to a new 5G standalone (SA) deal with Ericsson.

The Qatar Investment Authority is reportedly in advanced negotiations with the Egyptian government to acquire around US$2.5bn of state holdings in various firms, including market-leading mobile operator Vodafone Egypt.

American Tower Corporation has tapped Nokia deploy a neutral fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network in Argentina.

The board of Vodafone Idea (aka VIL) has announced plans for its board of directors to look at a new fundraising proposal at the end of this week.

A reminder that African connectivity is no longer entirely about mobile phones comes in the form of an announcement from Liquid Networks, part of technology solutions group Liquid Intelligent Technologies, which has unveiled a high-speed internet product called Liquid Home.

Thai operator AIS paused its acquisition of broadband units from Jasmine International as shareholders of one of the units did not approve conditions to enable AIS to change leasing optical fibre cables and payments.

Free Caraibe, which provides telecom services across the French Antilles, has been fined by French regulator ARCEP (Autorite de Regulation des Communications Electroniques et des Postes) for failing to meet deployment requirements across several of its markets.

Vodafone Oman has added analytics, DevOps processes and an integration layer to its ongoing engagement with Netcracker. This latest expansion to the partnership will, says Netcracker, further add to the operator’s data-driven capabilities, allowing it to grow and enhance its business and deliver an improved experience for customers.

The Central Bank of Eswatini is looking into the development of a digital currency option with a little help from international technology group Giesecke+Devrient.

It’s not being described as an extension in either case, but both Kenya and Ghana are now offering more time for the SIM card registration process to be completed.

Brazil’s Algar Telecom has selected Infinera to modernise and scale its subsea network infrastructure.

The president of Mexico’s Communications and Transportation Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Víctor Manuel Perez Diaz, has called for spectrum prices to be lowered to facilitate the country’s deployment of 5G.

Indian smartphone manufacturer Lava International held negotiations with China-based Huaqin technology, to advance plans in creating a manufacturing venture in India, reported Bloomberg.

Hot on the heels of rival Globe Telecom, Philippines-based operator PLDT is reportedly considering a sale of 2,000 towers for US$300m according to sources speaking to Bloomberg.

Treten Networks, an ICT solutions and enterprise security services business, has partnered with Africa Data Centres. This partnership will, it says, allow Treten's customers access to the cloud and infrastructure they need to realise their digital transformation goals.

Reliance Jio signed up Nordic vendors Ericsson and Nokia to build its standalone 5G network in the wake of India completing its long-awaited 5G auction.