The GSMA and the World Bank have developed what they call an innovative, ground-breaking study on the impact of mobile broadband on welfare and poverty reduction. It uses data from Nigeria – the largest mobile market and economy in Africa – and its findings are fascinating.

Cyprus’ telecoms watchdog set a date for the island country’s upcoming 5G auction for later this month, as it attracted four interested bidders after seeing delays due to a high starting price for licenses.

The Philippines new third operator DITO Telecommunity bullishly increased its coverage target pledge to 90% of the population by the end of its five-year network deployment programme, improving on its obligation to the government to secure its telecoms licence.

MTN Group could sell and lease back as much as 50% of its towers in its home market of South Africa.

Just when SIM-linked controversies appeared no longer to be news, two SIM registration stories have hit the headlines – this time from Nigeria and Malaysia.

The Indian cabinet has agreed to an ambitious public Wi-Fi plan that could bring broadband data connectivity to anywhere in the country – even places that at present have no mobile coverage.

Colombian operator WOM is deploying 125 cellular backhaul sites in partnership with Axess Networks as it seeks to connect rural areas as part of its nationwide build-out.

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South African communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has been ordered to cut mobile data prices in half.

Telecel Faso announced the launch of 4G+ (LTE-A) mobile services which deliver download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps, as the operator moved to match rival offerings in Burkina Faso.

After recently announced plans to limit the fees America Movil can charge customers, it looks like the Mexican telecoms regulator and billionaire Carlos Slim’s telecoms giant America Movil are heading for another scrap.

Welcome news for Kenyan operator Safaricom, though possibly less so for its customers, is that coronavirus-related price cuts affecting its mobile payment business may end soon.

Nokia and Vodafone India Foundation, the CSR arm of Vi (formerly Vodafone Idea), have deployed a smart agriculture solution that aims to improve the productivity of farmers in India.

Nokia conducted 5G standalone tests in the 3.5GHz band in collaboration with Colombian operator Tigo in the city of Medellin, as the companies prepare for the country’s commercial launch of 5G.

US-based travel app Tripadvisor was banned by the Chinese government as part of a list of 105 apps, which were deemed to promote pornography, prostitution, gambling, violence, and obscene content.

Rohde & Schwarz has been awarded a contract by Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (AEROTHAI) to deliver voice over IP (VoIP)-capable air traffic control (ATC) communications and a remote monitoring and control solution (RCMS) from its CERTIUM portfolio.

Recent reports from Zimbabwe indicate that the Ministry of Information Communication Technologies, Postal and Courier services has completed the development of its five-year strategic plan.

The Colombian government pledged to invest almost $1billion in two programmes to develop smart cities and construct educational centres, in a bid to spur the country’s digital transformation.

Alphabet subsidiary Loon announced its internet-beaming balloons will now be piloted using reinforcement-learning (RL) AI, an advancement it claimed will simplify processes and provide reliable and constant connectivity.

MegaFon Tajikistan is now offering commercial VoLTE services, which it claims is a first for the market.

Mobility solutions company Comviva and Indosat Ooredoo, Indonesia’s leading mobile operator, have announced a strategic partnership.

Philippines operator Smart Communications has announced plans to upgrade 40 per cent of its sites to 5G by the end of 2021.

A couple more examples of the growing importance of cashless, mobile phone-based payments in Africa have emerged in recent days – this time in South Africa and Uganda.

The PNG Sustainable Development Program (SDP) is working with Kacific Broadband Satellites Group (Kacific), Emstret Holdings and Tag Energy to install and operate 30 solar-powered satellite dishes.

Zimbabwe’s telecoms regulator outlined $123 million was needed to deliver on its plan to bring connectivity to all districts of the country.

Malaysia has developed one of the more advanced telecom networks in Asia, with a focus on deploying new technologies. There is considerable fibre infrastructure in place, while the network operators have made considerable progress in 5G, using a number of vendors.

Thailand’s telecom sector has seen a continuing shift from fixed-line services to the mobile segment. The decline in fixed-line penetration seen in recent years is expected to continue as subscribers migrate to mobile networks for voice and data services.

Peru’s MTC (Ministry of Transport and Communications) has issued draft proposals for active infrastructure sharing.