Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has launched the third phase of the free local roaming service and expanded the service to 691 more villages in the Eastern Province, Northern Borders region, and Al-Jouf.

MTN Group Limited, a South African multinational mobile telecommunications company, operating in many African and Asian countries, has announced that it will be investing over $120m in capital expenditure in South Sudan over the next 3 years.

The name of the UK company investing in troubled Gambian operator Comium and, importantly, promising to rid it of its outstanding debts has been revealed. It is Monty Mobile.

Paltel the leading telecommunication company in Palestine, has selected Juniper Networks, which specialises in secure, AI-driven networks, to upgrade and develop parts of its network and infrastructure.

Angola’s newest operator Africell will use wholesale IP transit and connectivity solutions from Angola Cables.

Route Mobile’s UK subsidiary is acquiring Masivian (Masiv), which provides cloud communication platform services to enterprises in Latin America.

Group Vivendi Africa (GVA) has confirmed that it will begin offering its CanalBox FTTH services in Gabon’s second city of Port-Gentil by mid-2022.

India government telecom Secretary K Rajaraman has asked state-owned telecom research and development organisation Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DoT) to start working on 6G and other futuristic technologies in order to catch up with the global market in time.

Serbian state-owned telecommunications operator Telekom Srbija has taken over all cable providers in Serb enclaves in Kosovo-Metohija, the chief executive officer of Telekom, Vladimir Lucic, announced.

Brazil's national telecommunications agency ANATEL has approved the framework authorizing using a TV White Area (TVWS).

Russia’s national telecommunications operator Rostelecom announced that it has commissioned a new data center NORD-6 in Moscow.

It seems that reports of the demise of Gambian operator Comium may have been premature. The Gambian media is now suggesting that, following a suspension of its activities imposed by the Public Utilities and Regulatory Authority (PURA) until 4 November, Comium may be planning to pay back its debts.

The years of civil war and destruction to infrastructure continue to have a toll on the telecoms sector in Syria. Although over the years the major mobile service providers Syriatel and MTN Syria have endeavoured to restore and rebuild damaged networks, the operating environment has been difficult.

Saudi Arabia’s telecom and ICT sectors continue to benefit from the range of programs aimed at diversifying the economy away from a dependence on oil, and establishing a wider digital transformation over the next decade.

Qatar had developed a mature telecom sector which has been able to absorb the additional data demands made on it during the pandemic. Mobile services based on LTE are universally available, and this has helped the two operators Ooredoo Qatar and Vodafone Qatar to migrate to 5G. In combination with a strong fibre rollout, the country is aiming to provide gigabit services nationally.

Sahel Telecom, a new wireless broadband provider, has launched services in Mauritania.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has slated the country’s 5G spectrum auctions for 13^th December.

Malaysia’s Axiata Group and Indonesia’s Sinar Mas Group are reportedly in discussions over a possible merger of their units in Indonesia.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Indian Space Association (ISpA), a grouping of space and satellite companies, at a virtual event on October 11, the industry body, informed.

Brazilian fibre provider EB Fibra has changed its name to Alloha Fibra and has appointed named Alexander Moshe as its new CEO.

Russian telecommunications services provider MCN Telecom has started providing mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services in three new regions in the cities of Kursk, Ulyanovsk, and in Ulan-Ude in the Republic of Buryatia.

České Radiokomunikace, a telecommunications company in the Czech Republic, has entered into a strategic partnership with Vantage Towers, which manages approximately 4,000 broadcasting base stations in the country.

Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai confirmed that the tech giant will invest $1 billion into Africa across the next five years.

All 1700MHz/2100MHz AWS and 1900MHz PCS frequencies went unsold at the latest auction of unused 4G frequencies in Mexico.

The Indian government has confirmed that it will be applying two of the reforms to the telecommunications sector that it announced on 15 September.

Russian media has reported that the country expects to begin the large-scale shuttering of 3G networks in 2023, with the technology set to be phased out almost entirely by 2025.

STC and Ericsson have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore sustainable initiatives to power the operator’s network infrastructure with intelligent and renewable energy.

Telenor subsidiary Grameenphone has selected NEC to supply equipment for the modernisation of its network in Bangladesh.

Viasat, a global communications company, announced Ka-band In-Flight Connectivity (IFC) coverage expansion for its Business Aviation services across Brazil, the world's third-largest Business Aviation market.

The mobile phone company MTN-Congo has signed a partnership with Flash International to facilitate money transfers between the two countries - Congo-Brazzaville and Congo-Kinshasa.

Egypt Digital Company for Investment (EDCI), the largest shareholder in Egypt Towers for Technology Services Company, has signed an agreement with IHS Towers to obtain a licence from the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to erect and lease telecom towers.