The general shareholders of the Colombian operator WOM Colombia have agreed to proceed with a merger by absorption of mobile operator Avantel within 3 to 4 months, said a special merger notification from the Chilean telecommunication group.

Qatar-based multinational telecom company Ooredoo is launching the Enterprise EDGE service, which, according to the company, can be added to any standard networking service to speed cloud adoption, boost operational agility, and meet network connectivity’s need for cost-effective bandwidth.

Telefónica Movistar and DIRECTV reached an agreement through which Movistar acquires and assumes the operation of DIRECTV's Internet services in Colombia.

Mondia Pay, part of leading mobile commerce company Mondia, and mobile money service M-Pesa have partnered to allow Tanzanians to conveniently access Mondia’s suite of online content on the Vodacom Tanzania digital services network.

Voice over LTE (VoLTE) is back in the news; this time Indonesian operator Telkomsel is announcing ambitious coverage targets for the technology.

A fascinating announcement from Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) indicates that Peru and Korea are to cooperate on a project involving the sharing of telecommunications infrastructure.

Rain, an operator that offers a data-only 4G and 5G service to a number of South African cities, has announced ambitious coverage growth plans for its 5G network.

Togo’s regulator ARCEP has fined mobile operator Moov Togo XOF593 million (US$1.1 million) for “serious and lasting breaches of its obligation to provide its electronic communications networks and services on a permanent and continuous basis.”

Malaysian ICT provider Allo has selected Nokia to deploy a gigabit fibre network in the states of Melaka, Johor, Negeri Sembilan and East Coast of Malaysia.

The Sonatel group, the telecom operator in West Africa, has officially become the delegated manager of the Benin digital infrastructure company (SBIN).

CETIN, a telecommunications infrastructure group in the Czech Republic, has announced hitting a milestone of one million households connected to its high-speed fibre broadband.

Comviva, the global player in digital solutions, has announced its strategic partnership with Etisalat Misr to offer media-rich Caller Ring Back Tone (CRBT) services.

Brazilian Internet Service Provider (ISP) Desktop Sigmanet is planning to stage an initial public offering (IPO).

Asian e-commerce giant QNET has said it is seeking to establish a physical presence in Kenya and to grow a large network of independent representatives.

The continuing importance of the small and medium enterprise (SME) market – and helping to enabling it for a digital future – is a theme reiterated in a number of initiatives, most recently from Malaysia’s Maxis and Bahrain’s Batelco.

UAE operator Etisalat has announced further expansion plans for its SmartHub ecosystem of interconnected communities with the planned launch of a new facility.

Ghana is all set to begin re-registration of SIM cards with Ghana Card, the country’s smart national ID, or risk getting their SIMs blocked.

Ethiopia’s telecommunications regulator awarded one operating license to a consortium led by Kenya’s Safaricom Vodafone, Japan’s Sumitomo Brook Taye, and UK finance agency CDC Group.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has accepted the proposal of a single orbital position of 26.7 degrees West and the frequency channels of future satellite networks of the Republic of Serbia for the FSS (Fixed Satellite Service) and BSS (Broadcast Satellite Service).

There are 40 countries/territories worldwide with private network deployments based on LTE or 5G or LTE or 5G-suitable private network spectrum licence.

Claro Chile has signed a US$10.75 million deal to acquire a 2×15MHz holding of 3.5GHz spectrum from rival operator Entel.

What is claimed to be Thailand’s first 5G open RAN smart city is on the way, courtesy of the country’s National Telecom Public Company Limited (NT) , 5GCT, a local partner specialized in delivering end-to-end 5G smart cities, networking company Cisco Systems (Thailand), and end-to-end, cloud-native network software provider Mavenir.

IoT solutions specialist Kerlink has partnered with Vietnamese start-up Cloud Energy to develop and deploy new solutions to meet demand for IoT services in rural areas around Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC).

The global satellite operator Telesat and TIM Brasil, the Brazilian subsidiary of Telecom Italia, completed in-orbit 4G mobile data backhaul testing using Telesat's Phase 1 low earth orbit (LEO) satellite.

The state-owned telecommunications company in Azerbaijan, Aztelekom is building a network based on Gigabyte Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology in the villages of the country within projects to expand the coverage area of ​​communication services and improve their quality.

Mobile TeleSystems Belarus (MTS Belarus), in cooperation with the state-owned infrastructure operator beCloud, is expanding its 4G network in the Minsk region.

The Russian operator VimpelCom (Beeline trademark) announced the launch of the VoWiFi (Voice over Wi-Fi) service in Moscow and the Moscow region in a pilot mode.

Underlining the growth of the mobile payment business across Africa, operator MTN has announced a $2 million partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to expand its mobile money business – called MoMo – in South Africa.

Tele2 Russia has selected Ericsson to upgrade its network with the 5G-ready Ericsson Radio System, including software. The partners will jointly deploy 50,000 base stations across the country in 27 regions including Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

Togolese regulator ARCEP has ordered local mobile operator Moov to attend a public hearing to explain its subpar quality of service.

The Communications Authority of Kenya has decided to approve the framework authorising the use of the TV White Space (TVWS) spectrum.