All Tech News

A potential solution to the problem of ensuring the wide affordability of satcoms services – or at least satellite-enabled Wi-Fi services – has been announced by UAE-based spacetech company Space42 in South Africa.

The adoption of private networks by industry has continued, this time in Bahrain, with the introduction of what is described as Bahrain’s first commercial private 5G network.

Hytera Communications, a leading global provider of critical communications technologies and solutions, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Egypt’s Orascom Services.

Japan’s SoftBank Group announced on Monday it has signed a joint development agreement (JDA) with Singapore-based digital powerhouse Grab and Malaysian oil and gas firm Petroleum Sarawak (PETROS) to invest US$1 billion in developing AI data centre infrastructure in Sarawak.

The ongoing digitisation and automation of the energy industry continues to be a hot topic, not least at last week’s ADIPEC energy exhibition and conference in Abu Dhabi, where AIQ and Siemens Energy announced a strategic collaboration agreement.

Mannai Corporation QPSC, a diversified business group headquartered in Qatar, has announced that its Saudi subsidiary, Mannai Information Technology KSA (Mannai IT KSA), has been awarded a major systems delivery contract with a strong connectivity component.

Operator Vodafone Qatar has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with general-purpose AI robotics company Agibot to explore collaboration opportunities in the development and deployment of embodied AI-powered robotics solutions.

Data centre research and development is a key theme of recent announcements from the Brazilian government and cloud and carrier-neutral data centre platform Digital Realty, although the focus of each initiative is slightly different.

Armada de Chile (the Chilean Navy) says it has signed an MoU with local telecoms operators Cirion, Gtd and Telxius to explore ways to cooperate in protecting subsea cables landing in Chile.

Rivada Space Networks said on Monday it has signed a deal with space services firm Telespazio Brasil to leverage Rivada’s planned “Outernet” LEO satellite network for secure, high-performance satellite connectivity across Latin America.

Ericsson announced on Monday that Vodafone Egypt has trialled Ericsson’s AI-native scheduler for link adaptation on its 5G network to explore how AI can enhance network performance and customer experience.

African fintech WayaWaya has partnered with Choice Bank, a microfinance bank licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, to launch WayaWaya Banking, a service that allows users to open bank accounts, hold funds in multiple currencies, make local and international transfers and pay utility bills.

Zambia’s National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) and operator Airtel Zambia say they are exploring opportunities for collaboration aimed at improving customer experience and expanding access to pension and savings services through digital platforms.

Worldwide spending on telecoms and pay-TV services is forecast to reach US$1.585 trillion in 2026, up 2.3% year on year, due to inflation and rise in energy costs, according to IDC.

State-owned Thai telco National Telecom (NT) has reportedly submitted a proposal to the Finance Ministry to build four new international subsea cables connecting Thailand to Singapore, Japan and Europe at a cost of THB16.1 billion (US$480 million).

Brazil’s telecoms regulator Anatel said on Wednesday its board of directors has endorsed two internal proposals to allocate BRL1.7 billion (almost US$309 million) of leftover funds from its 5G auction in 2021 to two new projects: a sovereign AI data centre and TV 3.0 converter subsidies.

Pan-African telco Paratus Group officially launched its Lesotho unit on Thursday, offering Starlink enterprise connectivity services alongside Paratus network solutions to businesses and organisations in the country.

Cambodian telco Smart Axiata launched a new carrier-neutral fibre infrastructure subsidiary called Smart Infrastructure Co., Ltd (SmartInfra) on Tuesday to support Cambodia’s growing demand for reliable, high-capacity digital connectivity.

ZTE Corporation, a provider of integrated information and communication technology solutions, has partnered with operator Ethio Telecom to deploy what is said to be Ethiopia's first pre-commercial AIR RAN solution.

Backbase, builder of the AI-native Banking OS, has announced that it has been selected by Wahda Bank, one of Libya's largest banks to build a new digital banking platform for its business and retail customers.

Google has announced plans to invest US$15 billion in Malaysia across the next two years.

Recent announcements from Oman underline the country’s commitment to expanding both satellite and submarine cable connectivity in the coming years.

Veon, a global digital operator, has announced the commercial launch of Mukto Pay, a digital payments platform powered by its Bangladesh operating company, Banglalink.

In a busy week for the company, BSS/OSS specialist Amdocs has announced a number of deals including collaborations with leading service providers in the Philippines and Peru.

Crisil Ratings, an Indian a full-service rating agency, says India’s data centre industry is entering what it calls an investment ‘supercycle’. Installed capacity, it notes, is expected to increase five-fold to about 7.5 gigawatts (GW) by March 2030.

Scams, hacks and cybercrime in general are making headlines around the world – and Africa is no exception. But as the continent becomes more connected is cybersecurity keeping up? Three recent announcements may encourage modest optimism.

Viettel Group and Vietnam's Government Cipher Committee revealed on Wednesday they have jointly developed a semiconductor security platform featuring VGC v1.0, a homegrown chipset that integrates a domestic cryptographic algorithm directly into silicon.

DE-CIX and Ooredoo Oman announced on Tuesday they have signed an agreement to launch Gulf Gateway-IX, a new internet exchange (IX) that will interconnect the country’s dual subsea corridors in Muscat and Salalah.

NTT Data announced on Tuesday it has opened a new AI-ready data centre, Jakarta 2 Annex Data Centre (JKT2A), alongside the launch of its next-gen all-photonics network (APN) technology to interconnect its other data centres in Indonesia.

Nigeria’s First City Monument Bank (FCMB) and payment technology giant Mastercard have launched AgroPass, a digital platform designed to expand access to finance, markets and agricultural services for smallholder farmers across Nigeria.

Along with its Solar Park business, two other companies that are part of Bahrain-headquartered technology business the Beyon Group are also in the news – this time thanks to recent deals evolving Bahraini aviation holding company the Gulf Air Group.

Bahrain-headquartered global technology group Beyon announced on Monday that Phase 5 of its Beyon Solar Park programme will enable it to add a third solar-powered data centre to its green data centre portfolio.