Zain Iraq is upgrading its existing network using Ericsson’s virtual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC) offering to meet the growing data demands of its customers in the region.

India’s tax authorities have issued a tax bill totalling INR79 billion ($1.23 billion) to CK Hutchison’s international telecoms unit.

Cameroonian operator iPLANS has partnered with World Telecom Labs (WTL) on its new VoIP network.

Ericsson has been selected by VIVA Dominicana to deploy its Revenue Management products, as part of a five-year, full end-to-end network modernisation project.

Cloud networking provider GTT Communications has expanded its platform of low latency services to Brazil’s financial markets.

Open Mobile is deploying a virtualised IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) Core from Interop Technologies to provide a range of network services in Puerto Rico.

China Unicom and Ericsson have launched China's first gigabit LTE broadcast commercial network, offering subscribers high-speed mobile broadband data.

Souktel will develop an online platform to improve skills and information in Djibouti as part of a new initiative to address sky-high unemployment rates.

Oman's telecoms market is highly progressive and its mobile sector in particular is well established.

Development within Benin's telecom market continues to be restricted by the poor condition of the country's fixed-line infrastructure.

Chad remains one of Africa’s least developed markets.

The number of fixed telephone lines in Bhutan is gradually declining from a very small base as the mobile segment continues to expand, according to Research & Markets.

Competition has driven mobile growth in Mozambique but penetration remains relatively low, according to Research & Markets.

Several factors have stymied development in the Horn of Africa, including instability in Somalia and a state monopoly in Ethiopia.

The Central Asian nations of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan struggled to grow their telecom sectors over the past few years, but steadily improving internet penetration should help to turn this around, according to Research & Markets.

Ooredoo has selected Ranplan’s RF indoor planning tool iBuildNet for the design and optimisation of complex in-building DAS and Small Cell HetNets for its global footprint.

The fall of the Gaddafi regime has prompted telecom reform in Libya, and subsequent unrest has not had too damaging an impact on the sector, according to Research & Markets.

Vinaphone is launching carrier billing on Google Play in Vietnam with solutions from Fortumo.

Bangladeshi operator Grameenphone has awarded a five-year IT infrastructure and applications managed services contract to Wipro.

China Unicom has confirmed that Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com and Tencent are all taking part in its upcoming CNY78 billion ($11.7 billion) share sale.

Huawei reclaimed its second place spot in the CEE (Central & Eastern Europe) smartphone market from Apple over the last quarter.

Facebook has quietly begun offering a new photo-sharing app in China via a local company with which it has no affiliations.

Orange Poland has implemented virtualised versions of Openet’s Policy Manager and Evolved Charging solutions.

Several Chinese firms are being investigated by the country’s internet authorities after claims that their social media services were being used to disseminate illegal content.

Omantel is acquiring a 9.8% stake in Kuwait’s Zain Group for $846 million in a cash transaction.

TerraPay has obtained an approval from Bank of Uganda to facilitate International money transfers to mobile wallets in the country.

Helios Towers Tanzania (HTT) has reached an agreement with Zanzibar Telecom (Zantel) for the acquisition of all unique sites in their mainland tower portfolio.