We’ve been reporting recently on a less than favourable effect of data centre development in Mexico recently: the massive use of water by data centres in areas already suffering shortages.

Digicel Tonga announced that CEO Daniel Horan will step down from his role next month after just two years, citing personal reasons.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and Cisco launched a sovereign security operations centre (SOC) for Indonesia on Wednesday that they say also marks the first deployment of Splunk Cloud Platform and Splunk Enterprise Security in the country.

Liberty Networks has revealed plans to replace its MAYA-1 subsea cable route in the Caribbean with a new system – dubbed MAYA-1.2 – with fewer landing points but double the capacity of the original network.

Argentina has apparently made plans to start allocating spectrum for private mobile networks. Regulator Enacom has assigned the 2300-2400MHz frequency band for private mobile wireless broadband systems. The spectrum allocation will be for ten years and can be used for indoor or outdoor deployments, according to the resolution published on Monday.

A statement from Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology, following a meeting this week between a minister and a Project Kuiper representative, indicates that Amazon is aiming to deploy its Kuiper satellite services in Vietnam.

Drone technology continues to make inroads into developing markets, as recent news stories from the African Development Bank (ADB) and Movistar Chile indicate.

MTC Namibia has fired the starting gun in the country’s 5G race, launching commercial services across four locations.

Two Malaysian companies, clean energy solutions provider Gentari, the renewable energy arm of Malaysian oil and gas company Petronas, and construction and engineering company Gamuda, through its energy arm Gamuda Energy, have entered into a data centre-focused energy collaboration.

Ethio Telecom CEO Frehiwot Tamiru (pictured) revealed ambitions for the state-owned operator to almost double revenue at the end of its financial year in June to ETB236 billion (US$1.6 billion), on the back of increasing users and data usage.

UAE-based satellite operator Space42 announced on Tuesday it has signed a comprehensive MoU with Angola's Military Intelligence and Security Service (SISM) to collaborate on developing advanced technologies across multiple domains over the next five years.

PLDT Enterprise, the business arm of PLDT, announced on Tuesday it has partnered with the provincial government of Camarines Sur in the Bicol region on Luzon to integrate Starlink’s LEO satellite technology into its operations.

Smartphone shipments in Africa climbed 7% to 19.2 million units in Q2, continuing an upward trend fuelled by easing inflation and currency stability in key markets.

Malaysian telco U Mobile revealed on Monday it has signed a strategic collaboration deal with the Malaysia Retail Chain Association (MRCA) that will see U Mobile leverage its newly launched 5G network to help accelerate digitalisation of Malaysia’s retail sector.

Kuwait Airways announced on Monday it has signed a joint cooperation protocol with stc Kuwait to explore ways to integrate digital services in the telecoms and aviation sectors in ways that can benefit customers of both companies.

Indonesian telco XLSmart says its business unit has unveiled an autonomous 5G drone for goods delivery, developed in collaboration with polytechnic university ASTRAtech as a logistics solution for the manufacturing sector.

Service provider Orange Egypt says it has signed an exclusive money transfer partnership with Enjaz Payment Services, one of the largest fintech companies in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East.

Malaysian telco CelcomDigi says it has partnered with Huawei to launch a fibre-to-the-room business (FTTR-B) solution for enterprises in Malaysia that promises high-speed connectivity in every corner of their premises.

Telecom Fiji announced on Saturday it has launched NetSafe, a new network-based cybersecurity service for businesses delivered in partnership with telecoms software firm Allot.

Legislation intended to make it easier for new players to enter the Philippines’ data services market lapsed into law on Sunday over the objection of telcos that have complained the bill is unfair to them and raises cybersecurity issues.

Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is to launch the country’s first-ever 191 Emergency Location Service (ELS), a strategic collaboration between the Patrol and Special Operations Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, leading mobile operator AIS, and global technology giant Google. As its name suggests, the service will automatically provide precise location data from callers.

Japanese agriculture fintech Degas Limited has announced a US$100 million investment over the next four years to help establish Ghana as Africa’s first AI-powered agricultural hub, expanding a model that, it says, has already financed more than 86,000 smallholder farmers across 122,000 acres nationwide.

Cirion Technologies, a leading provider of infrastructure and digital technology in Latin America, has announced the expansion of its data centre in Buenos Aires, known as BUE1, which, it says, is the most connected in the region.

Whish Money, a Lebanese fintech company, has collaborated with payments giant Mastercard to enable inbound and outbound remittance flows for consumers in Lebanon.

A feared increase in telecom service prices, an apparent extension of a 5% excise tax previously earmarked for telecommunications services in Nigeria, may not now happen.

Malaysia operator CelcomDigi announced CEO Datuk Idham Nawawi (pictured) will step down from the market leader, citing personal reasons.

PLDT’s Smart Communications aims to expand eSIM adoption in the Philippines with the launch of a “pluggable eSIM adapter” for Android users whose phones don’t support eSIM.

Indonesian telco Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison announced on Thursday it has launched a new AI-powered semantic search feature powered by Google Cloud in its customer service apps, which it says will enable smarter and more intuitive digital experiences for customers.

The Kenyan government is mulling a division of the nation’s largest publicly listed company, Safaricom, into mobile, tower, and mobile money units, citing potential efficiency and value gains.

NaiTel, a licensed telecommunications service provider in Jordan and the telecom arm of Aqaba Digital Hub (ADH – Jordan's largest carrier-neutral data centre), and telecom services provider Telecom Egypt, have announced the completion of the laying of the 15-kilometre express subsea cable Coral Bridge connecting Egypt and Jordan, the first direct subsea cable between the two countries in over 25 years.

Technology giant Nokia says it has been selected by INX-ZA, the internet exchange point division of the Internet Service Providers’ Association (ISPA), a South African internet industry representative body, to modernise its exchange infrastructure. INX-ZA says it operates the only completely neutral and community-run internet exchange points in South Africa.

Turkey is officially going ahead with 5G spectrum auction plans. Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu announced earlier this week that the 5G frequency tender would take place in October.

Bharti Airtel subsidiary Bharti Hexacom has reportedly received approval from the majority of its shareholders to sell 3,400 telecoms towers to Indus Towers after its minority shareholder Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) initially opposed the deal.

Nokia announced on Wednesday that Indian ISP Netplus has deployed its 400G routing technology and software-defined access network (SDAN) platform to scale its high-speed broadband and IPTV services across Punjab and other cities.