The Guinean government said it is a major priority for the state to relaunch operator Guinea Telecom, as a long-term move to reduce the cost of connectivity in the country and spur digital transformation.

The Equiano subsea internet cable has been brought ashore in Namibia just under 18 months after the February 2021 announcement that Paratus Group, together with Telecom Namibia, had been selected to build the cable landing station (CLS) for Equiano.

Kacific has partnered with Indonesian operator Teleglobal to provide a large-scale deployment of mobile backhaul services to the archipelago’s major telecommunications operators.

MTN Group has announced CEO appointments in its Cameroon, Rwanda and Uganda units to support its digital-focused Ambition 2025  strategy for growth.

Airtel Africa has launched SmartCash Payment Service Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary, to provide secure and reliable financial services across Nigeria.

China Mobile-backed Pakistani operator Zong has partnered with ZTE to implement a dual-band (1800MHz and 2100MHz) FDD Massive MIMO upgrade on its 4G network.

Telenor stressed it will stay in the Thai market after the proposed merger between Total Access Communications (DTAC) and True Corporation, with future plans to transform the merged entity into a telecoms technology company to tap into new growth verticals.  

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has told leading operator Grameenphone that it must stop selling new SIMs in the latest escalation of an ongoing dispute over quality of service.

Chilean operator Entel claims to have extended its 5G coverage to all regions in the country, with the deployment currently 83% complete.

It seems Globe Telecom’s search is nearing the end as the Philippines-based operator revealed it has entered exclusive talks to sell its tower portfolio in a deal that could be worth US$1.5 billion.

Indian telecoms mogul Mukesh Ambani has left the role of director at Reliance Jio Infocomm.

Millicom deepened its hold in Latin America by taking full ownership of Tigo Panama, as part of wider plans to spread its operations in the country.

Brazil may be about to join the rush to standardise smartphone chargers. The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), the Brazilian telecom regulator, has proposed making USB-C chargers mandatory for all smartphones sold in the country.

The latest nation looking to abandon 3G seems to be Tunisia, with an announcement that the state-owned incumbent Tunisie Telecom wants to get rid of 3G to focus on 4G.

Malaysia’s communications minister has indicated that an announcement will be made by next week regarding the sale of a 70% equity stake in Digital Nasional Berhad.

Satellite operator Inmarsat, satellite communication solutions companies Global Beam Telecom and Cobham, and global two-way radio manufacturing company Hytera have announced the launch of a new seamless push-to-talk (PTT) communications solution aimed at the Middle East market.

Togolese regulator ARCEP (Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts) has imposed a fine on operator Togocom for “serious breaches of its [service] obligation.”

Cash-strapped Zambian state-run telecoms firm Zamtel, which provides a range of services including landline, mobile, FttH and ADSL, is reportedly for sale, though this has been denied by at least one senior government figure.

The Philippines’ bureaucracy-busting Anti Red Tape Authority (ARTA) appears to have had second thoughts on a previous ruling in which it approved a spectrum holding to be issued to NOW Telecom.

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.