Last week saw Paratus Namibia announce the signing of its first fibre Open Access agreement, onboarding Africa Online as a client.

Brazilian regulator Anatel (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes) has cleared a proposal that will see the 6GHz (5925MHz-7125MHz) frequency band opened for unlicensed Wi-Fi 6E access.

Zain’s local unit in South Sudan has launched a commercial 4G offering in the capital city Juba.

Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation’s (TTC) is upgrading its network with satellite services provider ABS to expand Pacific Islands connectivity.

Ghana’s only Tier IV data centre has reportedly been bought by fund management group African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), which now promises to make the former Etix facility the largest data centre in the country.

Slovenian operator T-2 has filed a new damages claim against Telekom Slovenije, accusing the market leader of abusing its dominance.

Vodafone Hungary has confirmed that it now has 200 5G base stations live in Budapest, marking the completion of the expansion plan it announced in October 2020.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is making its first investment into Kyrgyzstan in the form of a US$3 million loan to wholesale broadband operator ElCat.

TIM Brasil has entered exclusive talks with IHS Brasil Participacoes over the potential sale of a stake in its fibre network assets unit, FiberCo Solucoes de Infraestrutura (FiberCo).

Mexico’s GigNet has chosen Tejas Networks’ optical networking and broadband access products for its high-capacity fiber optic network expansion in the Cancun region of Mexico.

Vodafone Fiji, the dominant mobile operator in the country, has announced two firsts: one involving digital SIMs, the other concerning the arrival of Wi-Fi in a remote area of Fiji.

The backlash to WhatsApp’s announcement of a new privacy policy continues. The latest adverse response has come from South Africa.

Telecom Egypt has announced plans to launch what it calls the Hybrid African Ring Path (HARP), a new subsea system that will outline the African continent, forming the shape of a harp. The launch is due to take place by 2023.

For many years Uzbekistan has been struggling to bring its telecommunications system up to the standard found in developed countries.

Xiaomi has taken third place in the Latin American smartphone market after rival Huawei dropped out of the top five brands in Q4 2020.

Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has stated that its 5G vehicle Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will be subject to the same regulations as other communications firms despite being a government body.

Claro and Entel’s Peruvian units have been cleared to offer 5G new radio (NR) fixed-wireless internet services via their existing 3.5GHz spectrum holdings.

Guinea is planning to revive the country’s shuttered fixed line provider Sotelgui (Societe des Telecoms de Guinee) through international investment.

Following yesterday’s news of a potential agreement to set up a new fibre optic broadband wholesaler in Brazil, this deal has now been confirmed.

The  Raxio Group, a pan-African data centre developer and operator, has claimed a first. It will establish and invest in Raxio Kinshasa, the first in a series of state-of-the-art, privately owned, carrier-neutral data centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Lithuania’s small telecoms market is among the more advanced in Europe, particularly given the universal access to LTE infrastructure and the extensive fibre footprint.

The theme of environmental responsibility has been making news in Middle East telecommunications in recent days.

Spacecom, a satellite service provider and the owner and operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, together with its local partner in Nigeria, Intertel, and in partnership with Zinox, a leading Nigerian internet and e-learning service provider, has signed a multi-year contract to enable internet connectivity and e-learning solutions for schools in Nigeria.

The Chinese cloud company Tencent Cloud has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) that will see the company build a data centre in the kingdom. This will be its first MENA facility in Bahrain.

At MWC Shanghai 2021, Bill Tang, President of Huawei Global Technical Service, launched the General Digital Engine (GDE) platform.

Telefonica is reportedly close to agreeing a deal with Canadian pension fund CDPQ (Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec) to set up a new fibre optic broadband wholesaler in Brazil.

The governing body of Libya’s telecoms sector is seeking cooperation with American tech firms in a bid to increase overseas investment in the market.

The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was renamed as the Republic of North Macedonia in February 2019.

Senegalese operator Expresso has been granted a 4G licence by the country’s regulator ARTP (L’Autorite de Regulation des Telecommunications et des Postes).