The SpaceX satcoms service Starlink is now live across the more than 300 islands in the Republic of Fiji, marking, the company says, the 99th country, territory or market around the world where Starlink’s high-speed internet service is available.

Three investment groups have partnered to support operator Sonatel’s telecoms expansion in Senegal. The combined €87 million (about $94.5 million) financing package aims to help the company expand telecoms infrastructure, including towers and cables, in rural areas and provide reliable and affordable mobile and internet services to people in Senegal.

The Indonesia smartphone market saw a sharp rise in smartphone shipments due to the holiday season, as it continued its recovery. 

TOA (TowerCo of Africa) Tanzania has signed a US$30 million financing agreement with UK development investor British International Investment (BII).

MTN group president and CEO Ralph Mupita has called on governments across Africa to harmonise tech regulations, which he says is necessary to increase the capital investment in digital infrastructure needed to accelerate economic development.

Bangladesh telcos Robi Axiata and Banglalink have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to evaluate ways that they can share and rationalize their network resources to expand and improve 4G access across the country.

SpaceX’s LEO satellite operator Starlink officially launched its service in Indonesia on Sunday, which among other things will be used to bolster healthcare and education services in remote areas under a new agreement.

Malaysian satellite operator MEASAT announced on Thursday that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with local healthcare tech company Mudah Healthtech to bring telehealth services to remote communities.

A coalition of humanitarian NGOs in Sudan has warned that the shutdown of telecoms services in the midst of the country’s civil war is making a massive humanitarian crisis even worse, and urged all stakeholders – including Starlink – to restore services as soon as possible.

Veon Group announced revenue was up by 6.6% US$942 million, and maintained its full-year guidance for revenue of between 16% and 18%.

Global cable provider Nexans says it has started production of TAM-1, a new fibre optic submarine cable network owned by Trans Americas Fibre System.

In a remarkable change of heart, Zimbabwe seems to be about to bring back mobile money services that it once blamed for the country’s currency crash.

PAIX Data Centres announced a joint venture with the Djibouti Sovereign Fund to construct a data centre in Djibouti, a move to serve growing connectivity demand in East Africa.

ST Telemedia Global Data Centres (STT GDC) announced on Wednesday it is expanding into Vietnam via a joint venture with Vietnamese tech firm VNG Corporation to build and operate data centres in Ho Chi Minh City.

The long-rumoured merger of Indonesian telcos XL Axiata and Smartfren moved another step closer to reality on Wednesday as parent companies Axiata Group and Sinar Mas announced they have officially signed an MoU to explore the proposed merger.

The government of Nigeria has revealed ambitious plans to launch a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the delivery of an additional 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable to complement existing infrastructure and increase connectivity across Nigeria.

BW Digital, a subsidiary of BW Group, a global energy and maritime group, and PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International (Telin), a provider of premium international carrier services, have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the joint development and construction of the Hawaiki Nui 1 submarine cable system.

Over 1.5 billion women used mobile internet in 2023 in developing nations, as women are adopting connectivity faster than men, according to the GSMA.

Evolution DC Thailand, a joint venture between real estate developer Central Pattana and Evolution Data Centres, have announced a partnership with International Gateway Company (IGC) to provide fibre infrastructure for its domestic data centre project.

The government of Tonga is reportedly deliberating whether or not to grant an operator licence to SpaceX’s LEO satellite operator Starlink, which a number of people in the country are already using, albeit not legally.

For the second time in just over a year, the Nigerian government has thought better of a plan that would, effectively, tax users of mobile communications: this time it’s a levy intended to raise money to enhance cybersecurity.

Saudi firm DataVolt, which says it leads the way in sustainable digital infrastructure and renewable energy, has recently announced the launch, which took place earlier this month, of a data centre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and signed an agreement for more to come.

Operator Ooredoo Oman part of the multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Qatar, has signed an agreement for the landing of the 2Africa cable system in Muscat and Salalah.

UAE telecommunications company du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), has announced a strategic partnership with STL, a leading optical and digital solutions company, for advanced optical fibre cables.

Malaysian telco CelcomDigi says it’s close to the halfway mark in integrating and modernising its mobile network across the country, which puts it ahead of schedule in its post-merger transformation plan.

UAE-based satellite operator Yahsat announced that it has successfully restored services to Thuraya’s satellite customers in southeast Asia and most of China after its Thuraya 3 satellite went offline in mid-April.

Internet services across East Africa were reportedly disrupted on Sunday due to yet more subsea cable faults, this time on the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) and the Seacom cable.

GlobalNet, a Dutch backbone provider, says it has confirmed its expansion into Central Europe with one new point of presence (PoP) in Warsaw. The new PoP is based at the Equinix WA1 data centre.

A potentially significant announcement – made last week but only now being widely reported – is MTN Rwanda’s claim that it is pioneering the introduction of paper-based biodegradable SIM cards in that country.

Technology giant Huawei, alongside Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer, Midea, Thai operator AIS, and Chinese operator China Unicom say they have jointly implemented the first 5G fully connected factory in Southeast Asia, setting what they describe as a new standard for smart manufacturing in the region.

General insurance provider Tata AIG has launched what it calls its Satellite In-Orbit Third-Party Liability Insurance policy for satellite manufacturers and operators in the Indian space industry – a first, it seems, for Indian insurance provision.

­Bharti Airtel signed a long-term agreement with Google Cloud to deliver cloud and gen AI solutions in the Indian B2B market.