India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has laid out the rules for building captive non-public networks (CNPNs) – or private 5G networks.

Philippines operator PLDT will switch on the United States-Transpacific Jupiter cable system next month, boosting its extensive fibre network.

Mexican regulator IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones / Federal Telecommunications Institute) has cleared a financing deal that will see ALTAN Redes (Red Compartida) become a public-private partnership funded by the Mexican Development Bank.

Mexican conglomerate Alfa has proposed the spin-off of its entire stake in operator Axtel, a move it claimed will unlock the underlying value of the group.

India’s controversial new cybersecurity rules may still be going ahead, but there has been a slight change of plan. There’s been an extension of almost 60 days to the date on which the legal requirement to report security breaches and keep customer information comes into force.

MTN Nigeria, the country’s leading operator and the leading MTN operator by subscriber numbers, has taken 18 Nigerian banks to court over the alleged unauthorised transfer of ₦22.3 billion ($53.7 million) from an account owned by its recently-licensed mobile money Payment Service Bank (PSB) MoMo.

Liberty Latin America (LLA) has received regulatory approval to proceed with its US$200 million acquisition of America Movil unit Claro Panama, a move that forms an entity with over half of the market share in the country.

Zimbabwe’s state-owned fixed line and broadband operator TelOne has released a statement saying that it is faced with what it calls “acute viability challenges”.

Fintech platform Nomanini has announced the launch of a new supply chain finance app called StockNow that connects fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and financial service providers in order to serve Africa’s informal retailers at scale.

A number of spectrum announcements have been made in recent days that could further help India’s operators’ ongoing rollout plans – if they are put into effect.

The Kenyan Communications Authority (KCA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei to spur the growth of 5G in the country.  

MTN Ghana has reportedly put back a pilot of its 5G services this year due to the lack of licenses from authorities.

Ericsson was chosen by Orange Egypt to supply antenna products for the building of the operator’s 2,600MHz network, a move for the operator to proceed with its extensive rollout plan.

This week has seen the launch of a government-supported innovation to attract investors to Cameroon – in the form of SME-centric apps.

Two telecommunications satellites – one Indian and one Malaysian – have been successfully placed into geostationary orbit by the Ariane 5 launcher, operated by satellite launch company Arianespace.

Approved Apple repair centres in Russia are reportedly struggling to find legit parts to carry out repairs for devices after the nation was sanctioned by a raft of nations after beginning the invasion of Ukraine.

Vodafone Romania CEO Achilleas Kanaris stated the company’s parent has no plans to exit the market as a repositioning of the unit is commencing.

Is Kenya aiming to encourage an end to roaming charges in Africa? If reports from the local press are true, the country’s ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru may be hoping to pursue this course.

Axiata Group and its Indonesian arm XL bought a 66.03% stake in broadband and TV provider Link Net for IDR8.7 trillion (US$114 million), a move to leverage the company’s expertise to penetrate the underserved areas.

As the late July date for India’s 5G auctions approaches, operators will have to think carefully about where the money is coming from for the additional spectrum. However, it looks like Vodafone Idea (Vi) is already positioning itself financially, both to bid and to invest in its network, through a planned equity deal and a delay to AGR dues, among other plans.

Ukrtelecom deleted software to prevent Russia from taking control of Ukraine’s internet and phone services, its chief executive officer Yuriy Kurmaz told Bloomberg.

Infrastructure manufacturer Ericsson predicted 5G will account for 40% of all connections in India by 2027 despite operators not launching commercial services yet in the South Asian country.

State-owned operator Copaco announced a cash injection of US$10 million this year to expand mobile coverage and its fibre optics network in Paraguay.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has refused to sign a controversial ICT Practitioners Bill into law.

The debt issues surrounding South African operator cell C are no closer to resolution, although the debtors’ meeting that we reported had been postponed has now been rescheduled.

PLDT mobile arm Smart Communications is throwing its weight behind an attempt to revitalise SIM registrations in the Philippines, despite the proposed law being vetoed by Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte.

There’s been some good news for telecoms giant Ericsson after four of its former executives were acquitted in Sweden early this week on charges of bribing high-ranking Djibouti officials.

Elisa Estonia has confirmed the launch for fixed wireless access 5G services over its recently obtained 3.5GHz spectrum.

Etisalat UAE, the telecoms pillar of e& (formerly known as Etisalat Group), has announced the successful deployment and testing of mobile network slicing through 5G in collaboration with Huawei.

South African operator Cell C is apparently in talks with its infrastructure partners to deploy 5G on a launch date yet to be disclosed. Cell C secured 10MHz in the 3500MHz band for ZAR288 million (about US$18.2 million) in March after South Africa’s long-awaited broadband spectrum auction finally took place.