Annual purchases made via mobiles, tablets, desktops and other connected devices should reach 125 billion globally by 2018, fuelled by an increase in "commuter commerce", according to new data by Juniper Research.

The GSMA has announced the appointment of Mats Granryd as new director general and member of the GSMA board, to lead the organisation in its efforts towards "connecting the world".

Airtel, Vodafone, Aditya Birla Nuvo, and Tech Mahindra are among 11 applicants to have been granted "in principle" approval by the Reserve Bank of India to launch payments banks, in a bid to achieve universal access to financial services in the country.

Ecuadorian telecoms provider Telconet is deploying Ruckus Wireless’ Smart Wi-Fi products across the Latin American country, with over 4,000 ZoneFlex indoor and outdoor access points so far rolled out.

Fibre-optic (FTTH/B) connections in Latin America will hit 5.1 million connections by the end of 2015, according to Pyramid Research’s latest Fixed Communications Demand Forecast, with fixed lines reaching 163.8 million.

India is expected to be the largest contributor to global smartphone unit growth this year, according to a new report, which also notes that 58 per cent of smartphones sold in the second quarter of 2015 were 4G-enabled.

Israeli operator Partner Communications has received €15 million from Orange under the terms of a new framework agreement regarding use of the Orange brand in the country.

Google is relaunching its Android One project in order to strengthen its position in the Indian smartphone market.

Huawei has won a $300 million contract to extend and modernise the 2G network of Uninor, the Indian subsidiary of Telenor.

Emerging markets-focused ISP New Call Telecom is attempting to bolster its presence in the Indian OTT/app space by acquiring as many as 4 new companies.

China Mobile has selected Alcatel-Lucent’s Rapport communications software to enable consolidation of video, voice and messaging services onto a single platform. 

Sri Lanka Telecom has deployed new revenue management, interconnect and mediation solutions from NetCracker.

Indian market leader Bharti Airtel is extending its 4G coverage in India from the current 45 cities to a further 296 urban areas across the next month.

The West Africa Cable System now uses 100G transmission technology following an upgrade by Huawei Marine Networks.

Turkish market leader Turkcell has begun a preliminary review to establish whether it will bid in the upcoming tender for managing Lebanon’s state-owned mobile networks.

Orange has confirmed that it will sell its 100% stake in Orange Armenia to local ISP Ucom.

Ooredoo has offered support to those affected in Myanmar’s 11 national disaster zones following severe seasonal flooding. 

SLA Mobile has partnered with the Arabic App Store, GLWAN, to facilitate Carrier Billing with Middle Eastern Mobile Operators.

Hitachi Data Systems has announced a strategic partnership with Mitsumi Distribution to extend its footprint in East and West Africa.

Astellia is extending its monitoring of Digicel Haiti’s 2G network to its 3G network to support the growth of mobile broadband.

Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN) has completed the commissioning of the Pacific Caribbean Cable System (PCCS).

Online payment service provider PayFort has announced the launch of its installments service in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

Indian operator Reliance Communications (RCom) has had a number of firms express interest in acquiring the tower unit that it is attempting to divest.