The wait for reliable connectivity is not going to be over for Tonga for some while. Recent reports suggest that the cable connecting the Tongan islands, which was ripped apart by January's devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami, could take a year to fix.

Altan Redes, the Mexican public-private initiative that seeks to expand mobile communications coverage in remote areas of Mexico, has been granted an extension of its coverage target timescale.

Lithuania’s regulator RRT will allow operators to offer 5G services using their existing spectrum holdings.

Chinese equipment maker ZTE announced a 12.9% rise in its 2021 full-year annual revenue to RMB114 billion (US$18 billion), reporting year-on-year growth across its arms. 

Barbados has licensed a third operator in a bid to introduce more competition to the market.

Ukraine’s three major operators Kyivstar, Lifecell and Vodafone Ukraine have enabled free roaming between their networks in a bid to ensure continued communications as Russia continues to pursue a war in the nation.

Liberia has a telecom market which is mainly based on mobile networks, largely due to the protracted civil war which destroyed much of the fixed-line infrastructure.

Despite a setback from the EU, the Czech Telecommunication (CTU) Office is drafting new measures to spur competition and designating incumbent MNOs as having significant market power.

Namibia’s telecom market has developed strongly since the second mobile network operator was licenced in 2006, thereby introducing effective competition between MTC Telecom Namibia and Paratus Telecom.

Airtel Uganda is the latest Ugandan operator to announce plans for a stock exchange listing.

Zain KSA and Huawei announced the launch of the Middle East and Norther Africa's first 5G LAN network in the country, as the operator aims to tap into the growing B2B demand for 5G services. 

Indian multinational telecommunications services company Bharti Airtel and compatriot banking and financial services company Axis Bank have announced a strategic partnership to bring to market a range of financial offerings and digital services exclusively for Airtel’s more than 340 million customers.

Vodafone Oman commemorated the official launch of its operations on Sunday (March 6) at the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM). 

Hard on the heels of last week’s trial announcement with Nokia, Saudi Arabian operator STC has announced another major partnership, this time involving a carrier aggregation proof of concept with Ericsson.

In what is apparently the first official Microsoft Azure region announcement of 2022 Microsoft has announced plans for a data centre in Hyderabad, India. It has also opened a new facility in China.

As would-be rival Safaricom Ethiopia gets ready to start operations, Ethiopian incumbent operator Ethio Telecom is expanding the scope of its mobile money service telebirr. According to the Ethiopian Herald news service the latest offering is a drivers' traffic penalty payment platform.

MTN Ghana has continued to make progress in making good on a agreement with the government, to increase the ownership of its Scancom and MobileMoney operations.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has approved Airtel Kenya’s application to replace its temporary licence with a new 10-year permit for 2×10MHz of spectrum in the 2100MHz band.

Brazilian operator TIM Brasil and Huawei have signed a cooperation agreement to develop the fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) in Curitiba, the capital and largest city in the Brazilian state of Parana.

Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nokia to develop the experience of its 5G technology across the Kingdom.

By 2024, 40% of Indian large enterprises will expand the use of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) across all business-critical horizontal functions like marketing, legal, HR, procurement, and supply chain logistics said a study.

As it continues to finalise its exit from Myanmar and the sale of its Myanmar operations to the unit’s new buyers, Myanmar conglomerate Shwe Byain Phyu (SBP) and Lebanese investment firm M1 Group, Norway's Telenor is said to be transferring a large sum to the new owners.

Australia’s Telstra has been cleared to acquire Digicel Fiji by the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC).

Chinese consumer electronics and mobile communications company Oppo has set up what it calls a Power and Performance Lab at at its Hyderabad R&D centre in India as part of what are described as plans to building an entire product development ecosystem from India.

Hard on the heels of a busy MWC for both companies, Ooredoo Qatar and Ericsson have highlighted the successful implementation of what is described as the world’s first 5G indoor shareable solution in Qatar, achieving speeds of 1.5 gigabits per second (Gbps).

Leading Asian regional integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company edotco Group has further boosted its aim to be a major global tower player with the acquisition, through its local subsidiary PT edotco Infrastruktur Indonesia, of approximately 1,000 towers from Indonesian operator XL Axiata.

Australia is to fund new telecommunications towers in the Solomon Islands. The support for the towers was requested by the Solomon Islands government as part of its Covid-19 preparedness and response efforts.

The Competition and Consumer Authority of Botswana has announced its unconditional approval for the acquisition of 100% of Broadband Botswana Internet (BBi) by the Botswanan arm of South Africa’s Paratus Telecommunications Ltd.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) has signed up Nokia to be its main supplier for parts as the operator expands its 4G and 5G network across Indonesia.

Indian Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Houlin Zhao signed a pact virtually to establish an area office and Innovation Centre of the United Nations telecom body in New Delhi.