MTN Group announced on Monday it has commercially launched its 5G network in Congo-Brazzaville, making it the group’s sixth 5G launch in Africa along with last week’s launch of 5G in Benin.

ZTE says it is collaborating with True Corp’s enterprise arm TrueBusiness and Thai company Charoen Pokphand Foods (CPF) to develop a private 5G network solution designed to enable smart manufacturing in Thailand.

Indian state-owned telco BSNL’s recently issued 5G tender has reportedly been poorly received by potential bidders – particularly by Ericsson and Nokia, who are unhappy with BSNL’s plan to use only indiginous gear to build the network.

Aramco Digital, the technology subsidiary of Saudi petroleum and natural gas company Aramco, is widely reported to be in talks to invest about US$1 billion in telecommunications software maker Mavenir.

As expected, Mexico has gone ahead with plans to abolish a number of regulatory bodies, including telecoms watchdog the Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT). However, it hasn’t been the wholesale clear-out some commentators feared.

Mobile broadband service revenue in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2%, from US$229.6 billion in 2024 to US$296.2 billion over the next four years, driven by the availability and adoption of 5G services.

Telecom operator MTN Benin officially launched the country's first commercial 5G network on Friday, with initial services available in select areas of the port city of Cotonou and Abomey-Calavi.

China Telecom Global has officially kicked off operations in Saudi Arabia with the launch of new subsidiary China Telecom Gulf, which has already secured its first cooperation agreements with local telcos STC and state-owned BTC Networks.

Thai satellite operator Thaicom said on Friday it has successfully relocated its recently acquired Thaicom 9A satellite to the 50.5º East orbital slot just a few days before Thailand’s rights to the slot expired.

Brazilian neutral network, digital infrastructure and data centre group V.tal has agreed a contract with Atlas Renewable Energy, an international renewable energy solutions provider, which says it is entering the data centre sector in Latin America through the deal.

TIM has claimed that it is the first operator in Brazil to carry out 5G network slicing on a public network for real-time video transmission. The initiative took place with help from Ericsson in the design and optimisation process.

Another attempt to manage virtual private network (VPN) use is under way in Pakistan, where the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has extended a deadline for unregistered VPN owners to give their details until the end of this month.

Underlining Saudi Arabia’s reputation as the fastest-growing data centre market in the Middle East are no fewer than three data centre-related announcements this week.

Analyst house Canalys revealed that the African smartphone market grew by 3% year-on-year in Q3 2024 despite macroeconomic challenges. It predicted that smartphone shipments would grow by a “cautious” 1% in 2025.

Indonesian telco Telkomsel said on Thursday it has teamed with ZTE to implement an AI-powered network solution in its 4G network to optimise base station performance after completing tests in Makassar and Kendari.

China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak), which operates under the brand Zong 4G, says it has developed its own in-house large language model (LLM) designed specifically for customer service support for its telecoms services.

Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA), in collaboration with the ministry of communications and digitalisation and mobile network operators, recently began negotiations with relevant stakeholders in The Gambia to advance the implementation of the ECOWAS Free Roaming Initiative.

SpaceSail, a Chinese low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite company, has signed an agreement to enter the Brazilian market. The signing took place during Chinese President Xi Jinping's recent state visit to the capital, Brasilia.

There’s been good news on the tax front for India’s telecommunications industry. However, one of the beneficiaries, operator Vodafone Idea, has received less positive news from banks relating to letters of credit.

Ukraine’s telecoms regulator said it raked in UAH2.8 billion (US$67.7 million) during its spectrum auction on Tuesday, with Vodafone, Kyivstar and Lifecell buying five lots of spectrum in the 2100, 2300, and 2600-MHz bands.

MTN South Africa and sportech company Telecoming said on Wednesday they have extended their partnership to launch a new cloud gaming service in South Africa.  

Apple has reportedly offered to invest an additional US$100 million in Indonesia to convince the government to approve its new iPhone 16 to be sold in the country.

Somalia is working to put in place a favourable regulatory framework to strengthen its digital infrastructure. In particular, regulator the National Communications Authority is preparing the introduction of new regulations on submarine cable landings.

Nokia has been awarded a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar extension deal by operator Bharti Airtel to deploy 4G and 5G equipment across key Indian cities and states.

Madagascar’s three mobile money operators – MVola, Orange Money and Airtel Money – have denounced plans by the government’s Directorate General for Taxes (DGI) to tax mobile money transactions, which they say will discourage financial inclusion and harm the economy.

Colt Data Centre Services (Colt DCS) and Indian realty firm RMZ announced on Tuesday that they have formed a joint venture to invest US$1.7 billion in data centre development in India.

African connectivity, digital and financial services company Vodacom Group says it has partnered with a number of technology providers to provide young people on the African continent with access to digital skills as part of its commitment to driving digital literacy for Africa’s next generation.

Cybersecurity and digital privacy company Kaspersky and AFRIPOL, the African Union’s dedicated police cooperation body, have signed a cooperation agreement focused on preventing and fighting cybercrime.

South African wireline and wireless telecommunications provider Telkom has suspended plans to sell part of its fibre business, Openserve, according to a statement by CEO Serame Taukobong this week.

Thousands of guests including industry leaders, technical experts, and partners from around the world, gathered in Paris last week at Huawei Connect 2024, to explore how digital and intelligent technology can accelerate Europe's twin green and digital transition.

5G connected cars are expected to be an increasingly hot item for India’s smart-device consumers next year as new models include 5G IoT connectivity and onboard GenAI as default technologies, says a new research report.

Telecom Namibia says it successfully completed eight FTTx projects worth NAB35.5 million (US$1.9 million) for underserved areas in 2023 and 2024, and will invest another NAB27 million to expand its fibre access network further in the coming year.