Ethiopia was one of the last countries in Africa to allow its national telco a monopoly on all telecom services including fixed, mobile, internet and data communications.

Philippines-based operator DITO Telecommunity expressed confidence in passing a first government technical audit of its network which begins next week (January 7), to stay on course for its March launch.

News from several countries across Central and Latin America has emerged in the past few days, with regulators laying out plans for the year to come.

North Korea possesses an underdeveloped yet growing market. The sector has been supported by some foreign investment, including the Egyptian telecoms investment company Orascom Telecom Holdings.

Mexico’s Movistar has completed the first phase of it network migration initiative, under which it has connected subscribers across several states to infrastructure operated by AT&T Mexico.

In another example of how operator business models are changing as we approach wide-scale 5G rollout, Vodafone Romania has transferred its passive infrastructure to another Vodafone company.

The Colombian Communications Regulatory Commission (CRC) demanded operators to pen interconnection agreements with new entrant Partners Telecoms Colombia, ahead of the debutant’s launch of its WOM brand in Colombia.

In the latest step towards a full merger between India’s state-owned operators, BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) has assumed control over the Delhi and Mumbai mobile networks of its sister firm MTNL (Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited).

Vodafone’s Albanian unit pledged to invest €100 million into upgrading its fixed infrastructure, after being given the final go-ahead to merge with internet service provider ABCom by the Albanian Competition Authority.

The Bahamas’ Utilities Regulation and Competition Authority (URCA) is assessing the viability of introducing a third operator to the archipelago’s mobile market to compete with ALIV and BTC (Bahamas Telecommunications Company).

SAP, a leading cloud company with 200 million users worldwide, has announced a major investment in the Indian market.

Slow growth in telecom services in Turkmenistan, a predominantly rural country and former Soviet republic, can be attributed to a large extent to the slow development of the private sector and state control over most economic activities.

The anticipated launch of a third mobile network operator in the Sultanate of Oman will increase competition in the mobile sector. The current operators Omantel and Ooredoo have a similar and sizeable market share.

Malawi remains one of the world’s least developed countries, with few resources to build efficient fixed-line telecom infrastructure. As a result, the country’s two mobile networks provide the vast majority of connections for voice and data services.

Etisalat Misr, Telecom Egypt and Vodafone Egypt will receive half of the acquired spectrum in the 2,600MHz band within the next three months, as all three operators push on with plans to upgrade connectivity services.

Nokia and Saudi operator Zain expanded their 5G partnership by deploying  60,000 units of the vendor’s FastMile 5G Gateway wireless broadband hub with eSIMs, across Saudi Arabia over the next 12 months. 

A new fibre optic deployment in Bolivia has brought broadband connectivity to residents of the highest city in the world.

Vodafone is now formerly recognised as the third mobile operator in Oman. A recent royal decree has mean that the company has obtained a first-class license to establish and operate public telecommunications services in the Sultanate.

Romania’s telecoms market continues to evolve under the dynamics of competition and technological change. Alternative operators have launched competing services in the fixed-line voice market, with the provision of bundled services being a key driver.

Eswatini (or eSwatini) was one of the last countries in the world to abolish an almost complete monopoly in all sectors of its telecom market. Until 2011 the state-owned Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications also acted as the industry regulator and had a stake in the country’s sole mobile network, in an uneasy partnership with MTN Eswatini.

Mexico’s Grupo Alfa has abandoned its plans to sell its telecoms arm Axtel despite a high number of interested bidders.

Telefonica is reportedly in advanced talks to sell its Chilean unit with Liberty Latin America and Claro among bidders, as the company continues its divestment plan to focus on core regions.

Given the reported uncertainty surrounding spectrum availability, the news that Iran will see the launch of 5G this year may come as a surprise to some readers.

Indonesia’s large population and complex geography pose a number of challenges for governments to develop economic growth. These challenges are mirrored in the telecom sector, which is well served by mobile infrastructure, but which has inadequate fixed-line capacity in many areas.

Airtel Networks Zambia Limited has been awarded 20 MHz of radio spectrum by the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) in the 800MHz frequency band.

There’s been a boost for the relatively underpenetrated fintech services market in the Middle East with the award to operator Zain’s subsidiary Tamam of a Saudi microfinance licence.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) reversed course on plans to delist shares of China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom, following further regulatory advice before enacting.

The Dominican Republic’s fixed-line teledensity is well below the Latin American average, a legacy of under-investment in network infrastructure over the years.