Namibia was slow to introduce competition in the mobile market, with a second operator not licensed until 2006.

Recent announcements from Oman and Nigeria underline the continuing growth of data centres across multiple regions outside their traditional homes in the US and Europe.

Telekom Slovenije  has begun rolling out 5G technology for mobile phone users, Slovenia's biggest telecom operator said earlier this week.

Further proof of the relevance of the Internet of Things (IoT) to sustainability in the developing world comes with the announcement that Telenor Connexion is to partner with Ericsson on a water project in East Africa.

Viettel Business Solutions will provide NOW Corp with ICT products and services in the Philippines as the latter’s mobile subsidiary NOW Telecom looks to establish itself as the market’s fourth major operator.

Montenegro’s regulator EKIP (Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services) is planning to auction 5G-capable spectrum in Q4 2021.

Following a public tender, Mauritania’s Autorité de Régulation (ARE) has finally found bidders for the country’s three available provisional 4G licences.

Algeria’s regulator has issued fines to the country’s three mobile providers for failing to improve their 4G/LTE coverage.

Mobile network operator Vodafone Czech Republic has launched its non-standalone (NSA) 5G network in a number of major cities throughout the country.

Batelco has announced that it has successfully activated 5G coverage across Bahrain.

Peruvian regulator Osiptel (Organismo Supervisor de Inversion Privada en Telecommuniciones) has ordered the local unit of Movistar to implement measures to let subscribers manage their subscriptions more easily.

Following last week’s news that India may be planning to launch its own app store as an alternative to the market-dominating Apple and Google offerings, a spat has been reported between Google and a number of Indian start-up app developers.

MTN Zambia has partnered with ZTE to construct a cross-border optical transmission network backbone in Zambia.

Orange is expanding its fibre networks in two of its markets – Poland and Cote d’Ivoire.

Brazilian regulator Anatel has cleared operators with spectrum holdings in the 850MHz band to extend their rights up until 29th November 2028.

Ukraine is laying the foundations for the advent of 5G, with the country’s Cabinet of Ministers approving a plan aimed to boosting mobile quality within the next two years.

BT Group has closed the sale of its Latin American units and assets to CIH Telecommunications Americas.

A Philippines-based fibre-focused firm may soon be able to boast the country’s biggest-ever initial public offering.

Huawei has announced a new next-gen data storage solution, OneStorage, to provide on-demand storage resources and automatic data O&M management, enabling both operators and enterprises to move towards all-scenario intelligence and multi-cloud convergence.

The Czech Telecommunication Office (CTU) has confirmed that seven interested parties are seeking to bid in the Czech Republic’s upcoming sale of 700MHz and 3400MHz-3600MHz 5G-ready spectrum.

We’ve already reported on the growing number of made-in-India apps over recent months. If local news reports prove correct we may soon be reporting on a made-in-India app store.

Huawei is set to deploy over 2000 telecom sites in rural locations across Ghana.

A number of recent reports have underlined the difficulty of making money with streaming services in the African market – even for a dominant market player like Netflix. Netflix is now trying out at a low-priced mobile-only service.

Huawei has announced full upgrades to its intelligent IP network solutions to create new drivers for industry digital transformation.

Two connectivity deals have been announced in Oman in the past few days, both relating to the extension of communications services to remote parts of the country.

According to a number of Indian press reports, Nelco, a local satellite communication service provider, is to partner with Canadian satellite operator Telesat to offer low earth orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity in India.

The Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) has signed a collaboration agreement with Huawei Kenya that seeks to deepen financial inclusion in the banking sector through further deployment of technology and building fintech capacity.

Veon is taking full ownership of Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited (PMCL), which trades as Jazz.