India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has reportedly said it has finalised rules that will allow telcos to lease spectrum to enterprises for private 5G networks, and will be releasing them "soon".

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison said on Saturday that it had managed to restore network services in the Central Java and Yogyakarta Special Region within 24 hours after a fire broke out at one of its transmitter buildings on New Year’s Day.

Pakistan GPS tracking and IoT services provider TPL Trakker has renewed a partnership deal with state-controlled telco PTCL Group, under which the telco will continue to provide machine to machine (M2M) and ICT services.

The government of Pakistan has established what it calls the Telecommunication Appellate Tribunal, an entity aimed at swiftly addressing and settling disputes within the telecoms sector.

The Government of Gabon and the World Bank, one of the world’s largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries, have signed a US$68.5 million loan for the Digital Gabon Project.

The government of Paraguay still seems determined to restore state-owned service provider Corporación Paraguaya de Comunicaciones (Copaco) to something like profitability, despite a number of failed attempts in the past.

American Tower Corporation (ATC) signed a deal to sell its entire Indian unit to Data Infrastructure Trust (DIT), an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management for INR165 billion (US$2 billion).

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) has issued a new white paper calling on OTT players who generate huge amounts of traffic to share network upgrade costs with Indian telcos to make the telecoms industry more sustainable.

Azerbaijan operator Baku Telephone Communications (Baktelecom) revealed it has deployed a fibre-optic GPON network in the Garadagh settlement in Baku.

Regulator the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has a new director general following the early exit of Ezra Chiloba last year. He is David Mugonyi, the former Head of the Presidential Communication Service.

India’s smallest union territory, and arguably one of its most remote, is to enjoy submarine cable connectivity for the first time.

NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), has announced plans for what it calls its second demand-driven satellite mission.

Philippine mobile operator Smart Communications said on Wednesday it has launched a new service package that gives prepaid 5G subscribers unlimited data when they drop down to 4G.

Bharti Airtel Services revealed it has purchased majority control of Bharti Group’s telecoms product maker Beetel Teletech for Rs 6.6 billion (US$79.2 million).

The chairman of Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck, has outlined some urgent policies that will be accelerated in 2024, including a number aimed at supporting the launch of new MVNOs in the market.

Elea Digital, which describes itself as the largest platform with the highest number of operational data centres in Brazil, has announced a new R$570 million (US$115.9 million) issuance of debentures linked to sustainable goals for the expansion of data centre infrastructure in Brazil.

The giant Indian business conglomerate Adani Group’s data centre joint venture with EdgeConneX is reportedly in talks with a group of global lenders to raise as much as US$400 million via an offshore loan.

Reliance Jio could gain landing rights and market access to launch gigabit speed fibre services based on satellite technology. 

Vodafone Idea denied Elon Musk’s SpaceX was looking to buy a stake in the operator as a move to deploy Starlink in India. 

Robi Axiata’s new digital services subsidiary Axentec PLC officially opened for business on Monday, offering high-tech digital solutions and services for both the Bangladesh and global market.

Three Vietnamese banks have reportedly changed their SMS notification policies in a bid to encourage customers to switch to digital banking apps, as SMS charges from telcos are too expensive.

In an interesting development in the very lucrative and competitive online shopping market in China, JD.com has reportedly won a lawsuit against rival Alibaba Group in the High People’s Court of Beijing.

Among news stories that may have sneaked under the radar during the holiday season is an interesting partnership announced about a week ago between Vienna Payment Solutions/VIPASO and technology solutions provider Interswitch East Africa (Kenya) Limited.

As might have been predicted a few months ago when the process appeared to be going slowly, the Namibian government last week extended its SIM card registration deadline.

Turkcell has signed an agreement to sell its units in Ukraine to the French investment firm NJJ Capital.

Papua New Guinea’s telecoms watchdog issued Starlink a five-year licence to operate in the island, while pledging to clamp down on illegal LEO satellite terminal operations.

Somali operator Somtel has launched the country’s first 5G network.

Indian telecoms vendor HFCL said on Monday it has landed a deal worth INR 11.2 billion (US$135 million) from state telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to upgrade its optical transport network (OTN) across the country.

True Corp’s mobile arm True Move H Universal Communication (TUC) says it has paid THB 4 billion baht (US$116.3 million) for the sixth instalment fee for 900-MHz spectrum originally acquired by Dtac TriNet (DTN).

North Korea is reportedly now taking on subscribers for a new 4G network in Pyonyang, although take-up has been slow due to limited coverage.

Network testing and benchmarking is an important way to improve operator performance and reputation.