Three telecommunications companies have been awarded 20-year licences to develop 5G in Argentina, after bids for spectrum that netted over US$875 million for the government.

The Chilean government has signed an agreement with development bank CAF to begin feasibility studies for an undersea fibre cable linking it to the Antarctic.

Malaysia’s Bank Rakyat has tied up with CelcomDigi to boost its digital banking services, starting with providing 5G connectivity to its fleet of portable banking vehicles.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison announced that its project with Ericsson to consolidate its two nationwide circuit switch (CS) core networks has been completed ahead of schedule.

Thai telcoms player Jasmine Group and Korean telco KT Corp have revealed plan to co-develop an AI language model that supports the Thai language.

Kenya has enacted new health laws, among them a Digital Health Act, 2023, which provides for the establishment of an integrated telemedicine and m-health system.

Brazil’s minister of communications, Juscelino Filho, has signed into  law the ConectaBR programme, whose aim is to improve the quality and coverage of mobile broadband.

As the benefits of the digital economy become apparent in countries around the world, the issue of digital inclusion has never been more paramount – particularly in Africa, which is brimming with digital potential that can be fully realized with the right amount of innovation and cooperation.

The All Bands to 5G Summit held during the Global Mobile Broadband Forum (MBBF) 2023 in Dubai this month resounded with a clear message: 5G has the power to shape the future of connectivity and revolutionise societies. Industry experts and leaders from diverse stakeholders came together, sharing their profound insights.

Airtel Africa unveiled what it labelled as the “most affordable 4G smartphone” to be launched in Rwanda, as part of wider plans to boost connections to its network. 

The Middle East and North Africa continued to be a bright spot in Orange Group’s financials posting a 12% increase in revenue as 10 markets recorded double-digit growth for the operator. 

Thai operator AIS is still awaiting a final regulatory decision on its buyout of broadband operator 3BB, but a new study on the impact of the merger could finally spur a ruling one way or the other.

Telekom Malaysia’s Unifi TV has started producing its own original content, including TV series and movies, to diversity its content portfolio and compete against other streaming services.

Several high-growth sectors in South Sudan are to receive satellite-enabled connectivity solutions designed to serve specific requirements – with help from UAE-headquartered satellite solutions provider, Yahsat.

Egypt’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) is in discussions to issue 5G licenses in Egypt, according to local press reports.

Al Nowais Group, which supplies high-technology solutions to the UAE and Saudi Arabian governments in a number of different sectors, and Aurum Equity Partners, a prominent US private equity firm, have announced a data-centre-focused memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The government of Burkina Faso has announced a new bill that will limit SIM card ownership in the country.

Canadian RAN provider NuRAN Wireless secured an operating licence in Cameroon as part of wider ambitions to deploy 10,000 sites across the African continent. 

Chinese equipment vendor ZTE announced it it will supply equipment to Claro Ecuador to extend its fibre network. 

Airtel announced the milestones of connecting 900,000 customers to its 5G network in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, and 1.7 million in Kerala.

Airtel Money Tanzania has partnered with cross-border payments network TerraPay to enable its customers to pay for purchases in the United Arab Emirates.

Malaysian operator CelcomDigi has unveiled a new unified corporate logo almost a year after the merger of Celcom and Digi, and says that almost a third of its network will be fully integrated by the end of this year.

Philippine operator Globe Telecom says it is now bundling popular digital content brands into its prepaid fiber broadband service, including video streaming, e-commerce, gaming and online dating.

Benin and Togo have signed a MoU (memorandum of understanding) enabling free international mobile network roaming between the two countries.

UAE operator etisalat by e& has been busy of late. Two more partnerships with Ericsson have been announced to add to this week’s 5G downlink speed record achieved alongside the tech giant.

Connectivity has become synonymous with productivity thanks to the Internet of Everything.

China Mobile and Huawei say they have established a ‘New Calling Innovation Center’ to develop new use cases for 5G calls beyond standard voice by leveraging VoNR and IMS.

Bharti Airtel and Ericsson say that they have successfully tested RedCap software on Airtel’s 5G network, which Airtel hopes will open up new IoT use cases for 5G in India.

Jamaica’s Kingston Freeport Terminal Limited (KFTL) has selected Nokia to deploy the first private wireless network at its container terminal. The network was installed and will be deployed by Nokia Channel Partner EGC International.

The Africa-focused GSMA event MWC Kigali 2023 is well under way and is proving a useful platform for some major service providers to comment on government policy across the continent – notably on taxation.

As Malaysia continues to position itself as a major hotbed of 5G activity and innovation, the country’s operators are dominating the latest global 5G report from Opensignal, particularly in terms of download speeds and gaming experience.

Indian telco Bharti Airtel has launched a Contact Centre as a Service (CCaaS) solution that offers enterprises a unified omnichannel cloud platform to serve their contact centre needs.