India has announced that, in future, all mobile phones will need to be preloaded with a government app called Sanchar Saathi (meaning Communication Companion) to ensure cybersafety.

TIM will roll out a 5G network at Brazil’s Estacao Comandante Ferraz in Antarctica, using Nokia radio equipment and satellite backhaul supplied through a combination of Starlink’s LEO constellation and Hispasat’s GEO satellites.

Airtel Madagascar and Nokia have launched the first fully off-grid Rural Connect sites in the country, marking a major milestone in extending mobile connectivity to underserved communities.

Paratus Botswana said on Friday it has updated its uncapped fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) packages and pricing in response to growing market demand for faster speeds at lower prices with shorter or no contractual commitments.

Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar announced the commercial release of network APIs standardised under the GSMA Open Gateway initiative that enable identity verification tools to combat digital fraud in Qatar.

Axian Group says it has formed a strategic collaboration agreement with Mastercard to launch digital payment solutions in the five African markets where Axian operates mobile networks: Madagascar, Comoros Islands, Senegal, Togo, and Tanzania.

Viettel’s Cambodian subsidiary Metfone has reportedly signed a cooperation agreement with Cisco to distribute and deploy its ICT solutions to local enterprises as part of Metfone’s strategy to shift from traditional telco to tech solutions provider.

A partnership agreement has been announced between the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations specialised agency for digital technologies, and Senegalese regulator ARTP. The aim of this agreement is to support young women in digital development.

Vodafone Idea Telecom Infrastructure has scaled back the size of its planned bond issuance, with the company now expected to raise around INR32 billion (US$359 million) instead of the previously targeted INR50 billion, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Iraqi telco Asiacell announced a slew of AI-related partnerships at this week’s MWC Doha 2025 event with Google Cloud, Cisco, Enea, Evam and Druid AI, most of which are aimed at improving the customer experience.

MTN Digital infrastructure – a.k.a. Bayobab – says its South Sudan subsidiary, Bayobab Infra Solutions, has been awarded a license from the country’s National Communications Authority to construct, install, and operate fibre networks.

Vodacom Tanzania launched a global payments service for its M-Pesa mobile money platform on Thursday that enables Tanzanian customers and merchants to use their M-Pesa wallets to make payments while traveling and doing business abroad.

Beyon Connect, part of Bahrain-headquartered technology company Beyon Group, the Ivorian postal service La Poste de Côte d’Ivoire, and Post Connect, an Egyptian company specialised in technical solutions for electronic trust services, have signed a memorandum of understanding.

It is – as so often these days – a busy time for finance initiatives targeting developing regions. Indeed, two recent announcements relevant to such regions involve pan-African operator MTN.

Pakistan has expanded its international connectivity after landing the SEA-ME-WE 6 subsea cable system, adding a major new high-capacity route linking the country to markets between Singapore and France.

South African operator Vodacom and Remgro, a diversified investment holding company, have announced that regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has approved Vodacom’s acquisition of a minority stake in Vumatel’s parent company. The transaction will be implemented on 1 December.

One Hungary will serve Direct One’s satellite TV subscribers from December following regulatory clearance for the acquisition of the platform’s Hungarian customer base.

Orange Morocco has opened a new 1.5MW data centre in Casablanca, expanding the operator’s local hosting and cloud capacity as the country pushes ahead with its Maroc Digital 2030 agenda.

5G subscriptions across the Asia–Pacific region are expected to reach 4.6 billion by 2030, up from 2.7 billion in 2025, according to GlobalData.

Telkomsat, Indonesia’s leading satellite service provider, has formally signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Australia-headquartered satellite IoT company Myriota, to bring its connectivity and solutions platform to the country.

South African operator MTN and technology giant ZTE Corporation have announced three major joint innovations in South Africa that they say will transform network performance and customer experience.

Amazon has started trialling its Leo (Project Kuiper) satellite broadband service with selected enterprise customers, marking the first phase of a broader commercial rollout planned for later this year to take on Starlink.

Jiangsu, one of the most economically dynamic coastal provinces in eastern China, has a permanent population of over 85 million and has ranked first nationwide in per-capita GDP for 16 consecutive years. Its 13 cities boast diverse cultural heritages and historical backgrounds, creating a “mega-market” with varied demands.

Thai telco True Corp announced on Tuesday that it has become the first mobile operator in Thailand to achieve Level 4 autonomy validation from TM Forum for 5G service assurance and RAN energy efficiency optimization.

NeutraDC Singapore – a subsidiary of Telkom Indonesia-owned NeutraDC – revealed on Tuesday it has signed an MoU with Indonesian operator Super Sistem to connect the latter’s planned subsea cable between Singapore and Indonesia to its data centres in both countries.

Nokia announced on Tuesday it has partnered with Indian neutral telecoms infrastructure provider RailTel to upgrade its DWDM National Long-Distance (NLD) network and metro optical transport networks across India.

China has launched a two-year commercial trial programme for satellite Internet of Things (IoT) services, a move designed to expand low-Earth-orbit (LEO) connectivity and speed up adoption of non-terrestrial IoT across key industries.

The three member states of the confederation known as the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) – Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso – have signed an agreement to coordinate the use of radio frequencies along their shared borders.

Technology giant ZTE, operator China Unicom Liaoning and Dalian Changhai Airport have announced the successful launch of a 5G-Advanced (5G-A) ISAC private network aimed at improving low-altitude security and airport safety.

Vodacom Group has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud, adopting the company’s data analytics and generative AI technologies to build new digital services tailored for African consumers and enterprises.

ZTE and state-owned Ethio Telecom revealed on Monday that they have successfully deployed 152 rural base stations across Ethiopia’s remote regions, providing 2G, 3G and 4G mobile coverage for over 1 million users in underserved areas.