Around 2.6 billion people are still not connected to the Internet, but artificial intelligence may be the key to changing that, according to a new report from the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development.

Plans to build a fibre-optic submarine cable connecting six members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have reportedly been moving forward this month after key meetings in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea.

Indian telco Vodafone Idea has reportedly completed the minimum rollout requirements outlined in its spectrum licences for its 5G network, although the timeline for a proper service launch remains fuzzy.

Vodacom announced it will increase investment into the Free State and Northern Cape provinces in South Africa, a move to boost capacity and resilience particularly in rural areas.

Amsterdam-headquartered operator group Veon completed upgrades to its unit Beeline Kazakhstan’s network using ZTE equipment, to support growing demand of connectivity in the country.

Mobile internet adoption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo surged 40% to 28.9 million subscribers, according to the country’s telecoms regulator.

PLDT – along with wireless subsidiary Smart Communications and B2B arm PLDT Enterprise – announced on Thursday they are joining the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative for standardised open network APIs.

Malaysian 5G wholesale operator Digital Nasional Bhd (DNB) said on Thursday that four of five telco investors have met the deadline to complete their Share Subscription Agreements (SSAs), paving the way for the launch of a second 5G operator.

Intelligent power and sensing technologies company onsemi has announced plans to establish a state-of-the-art, vertically integrated silicon carbide (SiC) manufacturing facility in the Czech Republic.

Two Cameroon utilities, Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) and Cameroon Water Utility Corporation (Camwater), have signed an agreement to share infrastructure.

Orange opened its IoT digital platform to energy suppliers in Africa and the Middle East that tracks payment, solar kits and smart meters in rural locations, in a bid to boost uptake of its services and electricity in emerging markets.

Chile’s Movistar Empresas, the business-focused division of operator Movistar, has announced the deployment of an LTE-M network in the country, which, it says, will allow organisations of various sizes to connect their Internet of Things (IoT) devices with greater energy efficiency.

A financing package from development finance institutions IFC  and Proparco has been announced for digital infrastructure provider WIOCC Group. WIOCC says the package will fund its expansion strategy in three African countries.

Huawei, TM Forum, and eight carriers have jointly released the New-Generation Intelligent Operations White Paper 2.0 at Digital Transformation World (DTW) 2024, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Peru-based telecoms operator Global Fiber says it has selected Brazilian fibre-optic vendor Padtec and Peruvian telecoms firm Satelital as primary suppliers for a subsea ‘festoon’ network connecting two provincial capital cities in Brazil.

State-owned telco Kazakhtelecom JSC has reportedly signed separate deals this week – one to finalise the selloff of its mobile unit MTS, and the other to build a subsea cable connecting Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

More space-related announcements have recently been made, this time by Zimbabwe and Namibia, underlining the continuing growth of satellite communications initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa.

Vodafone confirmed media reports regarding its sale of shares in infrastructure company Indus Towers to pay down debts accrued in India.

Chinese LEO satellite operator Geespace said on Tuesday it has successfully tested its ‘Geely Future Mobility Constellation’ network outside of China for the first time with Oman-based satellite services provider Azyan Telecom.

Malaysia’s data centre gold rush continues as Telekom Malaysia (TM) and Nxera, the regional data centre arm of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo unit, announced on Tuesday they have formed a joint venture to develop data centres in the country.

Claro Chile, a subsidiary of giant mobile network operator América Móvil, has won the second 5G tender in Chile, making it the fourth operator permitted to offer 5G services in the country.

A programme of indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi 6 access points, which provides internet resources for 1.3 million students across Morocco, is to use wireless technology from Cambium Networks, a leading global provider of wireless networking solutions.

Indian operator Bharti Airtel has reportedly prepaid its deferred spectrum liabilities to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). These high-interest liabilities related to spectrum acquired in the auctions of the year 2012 and 2015.

Mobile money adoption surged 327% in the past five years in Benin showcasing the rising popularity of the technology.

Nokia has confirmed reports that it is partnering with Foxconn to manufacture its 5G AirScale equipment at Foxconn's factory in Vietnam.

Telecom Fiji says it has formed a strategic alliance with ICT wholesaler and retailer Janty Bondwell to provide fibre connectivity to the company’s operations across Fiji.

Telecom Namibia said on Monday it has signed a five-year transformative partnership with Huawei Technologies to modernise and expand coverage of its mobile network, to include 5G.

Digitel South Sudan has launched what it says is the first 5G trial in the country, which it hopes can help address the digital divide in South Sudan where the majority of people remain unconnected.

An AI-focused partnership between satellite operator Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NIGCOMSAT) and technology company Vault Hill described as ‘ground-breaking’ may, for once, justify the term.

Hughes Network Systems, a provider of broadband satellite services, products and managed network solutions, has announced a major sale involving Saudi Arabia.

Africa Data Centres, which owns and operates Africa's largest network of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centre facilities, says it has unlocked funding that will allow it to expand data centre capacity and meet the growing demand for cloud computing services in South Africa.

Just over a year after series of incidents affected Vietnam’s international communications network, there have been some new issues: three of Vietnam's five undersea internet cables are reported to be down.