Regulation

Papua New Guinea’s telecoms regulator announced on Friday that it’s ready to issue 5G spectrum licences in the 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz bands to "qualified" mobile operators.

Thailand reportedly suspended construction of 49 data centres on Friday over concerns of their impact on local communities, making it the second Southeast Asian country after Malaysia to rethink its data centre investment strategy in recent weeks.

The Philippines' telecoms sector is set to invest more than US$2.2 billion in 2026, with the country's largest operators continuing to expand network infrastructure amid growing demand for digital services.

In a move that will benefit mobile operators – and potentially save them money – the Indian government has announced that it will increase the electromagnetic field (EMF) limits for mobile networks to global standards, allowing telecom operators to cover larger areas with fewer towers.

Malaysia is reportedly planning to toughen oversight of e-commerce platforms operating in the country, to include requiring them to be registered with the government.

MTN Group has reportedly secured conditional approval from Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for its proposed acquisition of the remaining stake in tower company IHS Holding Limited.

The Bangladesh government’s Posts and Telecommunications Division has reportedly blocked the deployment of two subsea cable vessels into Bangladesh's territorial waters to install the privately-owned Bangladesh Private Cable System (BPCS).

The Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (Indotel) has announced the award of radio spectrum frequency blocks to operators Viettel and Claro Dominicana after a recent public tender.

Interesting news for countries trying to grow their internet domains comes from Kenya, where recent data has shown the .ke domain growing four times faster than the global average. But why is this?

Around 80% of Malawians live within mobile broadband coverage but do not use mobile internet, highlighting a major usage gap that could be worth MWK 1.1 trillion (US$637 million) to the economy by 2030, according to the GSMA.

Nigeria has announced what it calls a National Digital Cloud Policy aimed at attracting US$750 million in private investment within 24 months and positioning Nigeria as a major cloud computing and data-hosting hub for West Africa and the wider African market.

The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt (NTRA) has announced Africa’s first trial of mobile services using the 6GHz band.

Colombia's Ministry of ICT (MinTIC) has cancelled a tender for a major fibre optic project in the Amazon rainforest, citing financial uncertainty and potential technical, environmental and coverage risks.

UAE regulator the TDRA has renewed the licences of both of the country’s telecom operators – e& and du – for another 20 years.

The Democratic Republic of Congo's Universal Service Development Fund (FDSU) has outlined a 10-year strategy to expand connectivity in underserved areas, built around a collaborative infrastructure model bringing together TowerCos, mobile operators, government and the telecom regulator.

Iraq's Communications and Media Commission (CMC) kicked off legal proceedings on Monday to shut down the network of Korek Telecom, who is fighting the move, accusing the CMC of overstepping its authority.

American Tower Corporation (ATC) Uganda has contributed UGX20.9 billion (US$5.7 million) to Uganda's Universal Service and Access Fund (UCUSAF), supporting government efforts to expand connectivity and digital inclusion in underserved communities.

Ghana's National Communications Authority (NCA) has taken another step towards the rollout of 5G services by holding a pre-application briefing for prospective bidders interested in acquiring spectrum licences in the 700 MHz, 2.3 GHz and 3 GHz mid-band frequencies.

Rwanda’s Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies and Innovation (MINICT) says it has received approval from the government for its plan to shut down 2G and 3G services over the next two years.

The Pakistani government has reportedly halted plans to rebrand the merged Ufone-Telenor Pakistan business as "e&" while it reviews the legal authority behind the proposed name change.

Senior figures from industry association the GSMA, and representatives of the governments of Nigeria, Togo, Kenya, Namibia and Benin have announced ATLAS Umoja AI – a new pan-African initiative to strengthen collaboration on African language AI.

Bangladesh's telecommunications regulator has fined the country's four mobile operators a combined BDT86.8 million (US$710,000) after identifying thousands of SIM cards allegedly being used for illegal international call termination via Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Zambia has apparently begun enforcing its Cyber Crimes Act No. 4 of 2025. The government has warned that the unauthorised recording, publication or distribution of private communications could result in criminal penalties.

Liberia’s telecommunications regulator has revoked the operating licence of Starcell International Liberia after the operator failed to meet a series of regulatory and licensing obligations.

Niger’s telecoms regulator ARCEP launched a public consultation on Monday to seek input on the country’s spectrum plan should be reorganised to enable deployment of 5G services.

South Africa's communications regulator ICASA has fined B2B telecoms provider Session Telecoms ZAR6 million (US$340,000) after finding the company misused telecoms numbering resources, violating national regulations.

The ITU’s advisory body on subsea cable resilience issued its final report on Friday, adding climate change to the list of subsea cable risks, highlighting the vulnerability of developing countries to outages, and recommending a proactive approach and greater stakeholder cooperation.

MTN Ghana and Telecel Ghana are reportedly planning to make bids for 5G licences after the government revoked the exclusive concession of 5G wholesaler Next-Gen Infraco (NGIC).

The Chad QoS saga, pitting authorities against operators, continues. This time operator Airtel Chad has presented a new investment plan to improve service quality as Chadian authorities intensify pressure on telecom operators over network performance.

The East African Communications Organisation (EACO) and the Smart Africa Secretariat have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to strengthen strategic collaboration in advancing the digital transformation and accelerating the realisation of a single digital market in Africa by 2030.

This week will see Tunisian plans to make mobile IDs mandatory for investment project declarations come into force.

Chad’s government has warned Maroc Telecom-owned operator Moov Africa Chad to improve network performance, amid growing frustration over what officials described as the deteriorating quality of mobile services across the country.

African operator Airtel Madagascar has announced the introduction of the new 035 mobile prefix, suggesting that this marks a significant milestone in the operator’s expansion strategy as it continues to grow its customer base and network coverage across the country.