Telecommunications company Telefonica, whose operations in Brazil are branded as ‘Vivo’, has announced that the neutral fibre network operator FiBrasil has officially started operating in the country.

As 5G customers are on the rise on the back of continuing efforts to make the technology more available and accessible in the Philippines, Globe Telecom said it expects a faster rollout of fifth-generation technology in the country.

Singapore’s Ascendas Property Fund Trustee Pte. Ltd, the trustee-manager of Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust), will build data centres in India and invest around INR 1,200 crore (USD 161 million) to develop phase one of its first data centre campus in the country.

In a move that reverses plans announced a year ago, two Saudi operators have apparently decided to abandon a mooted tower merger.

An interesting, and apparently continent-wide, communications deal has been announced involving the Pan African Postal Union (PAPU) and Spanish technology services company Lleida.net.

A reminder of the growing importance of smart mobile devices to African broadcasters has come with the announcement by streaming giant Netflix of a new mobile-only subscription plan for its mobile device-using audience in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sri Lankan operator Dialog Axiata has switched on its 4000th LTE network tower as it takes strides towards boosting rural connectivity nationwide.

Achieving mass production of 14nm chips will secure China’s place as a domestic chip producer at scale, says the deputy head of the country’s leading technology research centre.

Liquid Technologies has partnered with Facebook to build an extensive long haul and metro fibre network in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The UAE’s du has partnered with Wipro to launch a new multi-cloud platform offering management and migration capabilities.

The government of Nigeria has granted the nation’s mobile phone users additional time to register a valid National Identification Number (NIN) with their network provider.

The Romanian regulator National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (​ANCOM) has announced plans for a new auction for the frequencies remaining after selection procedures carried out in 2012 and 2015.

The largest Chilean telecommunications company Entel reached an agreement with Ericsson which will pave the way for the launch of 5G and IoT services.

Brazilian telecommunications company Embratel is using Wi-Fi 6 technology for projects in several segments, such as industry and retail, with plans to expand into healthcare and finance as well, said local media reports.

Malaysia state-owned operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) has selected Ericsson for the deployment of its 5G network and ecosystem.

Netherlands-headquartered VEON Group has exercised its put option to divest its entire 45.57% holding in its Algerian unit Omnium Telecom Algerie.

Norway’s Telenor Group is considering an attempt to sell its Myanmar unit, reports Reuters.

Another region has made roaming easier; this time it’s the Western Balkans. In fact, the Roam Like at Home regime in the Western Balkans has just entered into force.

Armenia is set for nationwide gigabit broadband over passive optical network (PON) following a new agreement between Telecom Armenia and Nokia.

Indian mobile provider Vodafone Idea (Vi) posted a loss of INR 6,985.1 crore (USD939.5 million) for the three months to end-March 2021 and raised concerns over its ability to service debt and pay adjusted gross revenue (AGR) and spectrum dues.

DITO Telecommunity, the Philippines' third player, has expanded its coverage in 17 more areas and is now available in a total of 140 cities nationwide.

TIM Brasil activated 5G DSS networks in three cities of the Northeast, namely Fortaleza (Ceara), Recife (Pernambuco), and Salvador (Bahia).

A bit of highly futuristic thinking was on display at the Mobile World Congress, where UAE-headquartered operator Etisalat told visitors about its ambitious 6G plans.

Israel’s Communications Ministry plans to shutter the country’s 2G and 3G networks by the end of 2025 as 5G becomes increasingly prevalent in the market.

Russia’s largest mobile operator Mobile TeleSystems PJSC (MTS) has acquired compatriot service provider Multiregional TransitTelecom (MTT) for RUB 5.0 billion (US$69 million) on an enterprise value basis.

The now-live Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable is interconnecting at three of Teraco’s data centres across South Africa, expanding access to broadband connectivity and digital services in Africa.

In 2024, Orange Polska plans to have 8 million households within the reach of the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) - said the president of Orange, Julien Ducarroz, during the presentation of the new Group strategy for 2021-2024.

Angola Telecom (AT), a telecommunications and Internet service provider of Angola, will again become a shareholder of the compatriot mobile phone company Movicel after leaving the company at the end of 2019, due to the huge debt that the company has with the national telecom operator.

Pakistan’s state provider PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited) has contracted Huawei to upgrade its IP Edge and Optical Transport Network (OTN) infrastructure.

Pan-African fintech firm Carbon has entered a strategic five-year partnership with Visa to provide its customers with digital and physical Visa payment cards.

Brazil’s much-delayed 5G spectrum auction has been moved a few times. Recent adjustments involved an auction late last year, after which June and July this year were among dates mooted. Now the dates have changed again.