The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Bahrain has announced the launch of satellite direct-to-device (D2D) services in the country, although ‘launch’ may mean ‘authorisation’ in this case.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison has signed an investment agreement with a consortium comprising Arsari Group and Northstar Group to form a new joint venture focused on fibre digital infrastructure in Indonesia.

Ericsson and Zain Bahrain announced on Monday they have expanded their strategic partnership to include Ericsson’s 5G Edge User Plane technology, which Zain will deploy to enable Industry 4.0 technologies in Bahrain’s industrial sector.

Vietnamese telecoms player Viettel said it has held “high-level bilateral working sessions” with Japanese companies Nikon Corporation and Tokyo Electron Limited (TEL) as part of its preparation to help build Vietnam’s first domestic semiconductor manufacturing plant.

ASN and OMS have revealed that their contract with Vanuatu-based telecoms infrastructure firm Prima to build the Tamtam subsea cable has officially entered into force as of Thursday, with the system now scheduled to be ready for service by the end of 2027.

Underlining the continuing government push not only to make Malaysia an attractive home for data centres but for renewable energy to power those data stations is a recent announcement of a 250MW solar initiative positioned to supply AI data centres in Malaysia.

Indian state-run telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) seems to be enjoying a period of making positive business headlines lately, with initiatives in airport communications and fixed broadband in the news this week.

The challenge of keeping businesses safe from cyberthreats is yet again in the news, this time in Qatar, where a leading telecommunications and ICT provider has announced a cybersecurity deal.

Peru’s telecoms regulator OSIPTEL reported a 3% year-on-year increase in sector revenues to SOL12.5 billion (US$3.7 billion) in the first three quarters of 2025, driven by rising demand for mobile and fixed internet services.

Bahrain-headquartered provider telecommunications and digital services Batelco by Beyon has signed an agreement with Cisco to modernise its IP backbone infrastructure.

Econet InfraCo, the infrastructure arm of telecommunications provider Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, has announced plans to develop a 300-hectare industrial park not far from the country’s main airport.

Pan-African technology group, Cassava Technologies and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tools provider, Gebeya have reportedly collaborated to launch Gebeya Dala, a suite of AI tools aimed at enabling Africans to create digital content using Cassava’s data centres and infrastructure.

Global digital operator Veon announced on Friday that its financial services subsidiary, Mobilink Microfinance Bank has launched Islamic banking operations in Pakistan, in response to growing customer demand for Shariah-compliant financial services.

Digicel Fiji said on Friday it has signed a universal service obligation (USO) contract with the Telecommunications Authority of Fiji (TAF) to deploy mobile and digital connectivity services to underserved communities in the Lau group.

Dialog Axiata announced on Friday it has signed a partnership deal with SpaceX to resell its Starlink LEO satellite internet service to enterprises and underserved communities in Sri Lanka.

Telecoms activity, you might think, should be slowing down as the holiday season approaches – but 5G launches are still making headlines. Following recent announcements from Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata and SLT-Mobitel, it’s now the turn of Claro Paraguay.

Uruguay-headquartered dLocal, which describes itself as the leading payment platform connecting global merchants to emerging markets, has announced a new strategic partnership with commercial payments specialist Convera.

Payments giant Mastercard say it has partnered with MoneyHash, a payment orchestration platform built for emerging and global markets, to expand merchant access to the newly launched Merchant Cloud across the Middle East and Africa.

PLDT reported a decline in cable and telecoms equipment theft across most of 2025, citing closer cooperation with local government units, police and community groups.

Bharti Airtel has promoted chief executive Gopal Vittal to executive vice chairman as part of a wider reshuffle of its senior leadership.

Airtel Zambia has announced plans to invest US$107 million in a nationwide network upgrade programme, following pressure from the country’s telecoms regulator to improve quality of service.

Saudi Arabian telco stc group announced on Thursday that it has formed a a strategic joint venture partnership with Humain, a Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF)-owned AI company, to build AI data centres in the country.

Sri Lankan telcos Dialog Axiata and SLT-Mobitel commercially launched their respective 5G networks on Thursday, following years of trials, after the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) wrapped up its spectrum auction this week.

Google plans to build three subsea cables in Papua New Guinea, funded by Australia under a mutual defence agreement between the two countries.

Liberty Global has agreed to sell its Slovakian subsidiary, UPC Slovakia, to e& PPF Telecom Group’s local unit O2 Slovakia for EUR95 million (around US$110 million), as e& continues to diversify its telecoms portfolio.

Veon-owned digital telco Kyivstar says it has made first investment in renewable energy by buying solar power company Sunvin 11, which owns a 12.9-MW solar plant in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine.

The Central Bank of Liberia (CBL) has launched an interoperable payments platform developed by the Mojaloop Foundation that enables mobile money transfers between mobile operators Lone Star Cell MTN and Orange Liberia.

The Medusa Submarine Cable System, the largest subsea connectivity project in the Mediterranean, reached another major milestone this week with the successful landing of its cable in Nador, Morocco.

Two new renewable energy agreements involving Malaysia are a reminder of the growing power demands of data centres and of date centre owners’ need to find cleaner, cheaper and more demand-responsive ways to meet them.

Omani operator Omantel and Archangel Lightworks, a UK-based pioneer in optical and laser communications, have announced the signing of an agreement to accelerate the future of satellite and optical communication services.

El Salvador’s telecommunications regulator, SIGET, has selected Liberty Networks to construct and deploy the country’s first subsea cable, in a move aimed at expanding international connectivity capacity and meeting rising demand.