Two World Bank members revealed plans to invest in Safaricom Ethiopia, intending to invest US$157.4 million in the operator’s parent company and loan the operator US$100 million, to enable expansion plans.

Colombian mobile providers Movistar and Tigo have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to pursue a network sharing arrangement via a jointly-owned infrastructure company.

Mitsumi Distribution has expanded its distribution partnership with Dell Technologies in the French speaking countries of West Africa.

France’s telecoms regulator Arcep has confirmed the results of spectrum auctions held in the French overseas territories of French Guiana, Saint Barthelemy and Saint-Martin.

The Zambian government revealed Elon Musk’s satellite connectivity firm Starlink has been awarded an operating license. 

The Sri Lankan government was advised by the Sectoral Oversight Committee to not pursue privatisation of state-owned telco operator Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT-Mobitel), stating national security concerns. 

A1 Serbia has signed a deal to acquire a portion of Conexio’s infrastructure.

QCell claims to have launched Gambia’s first commercial 5G service.

Ericsson and Thailand’s Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) announced ambitious plans to develop Thailand’s own version of Silicon Valley. 

IHS Towers subsidiary IHS Brazil equipped 16 airports in Brazil with connectivity upgrades to enhance coverage and enable operators to provide services in dense travel hubs. 

UAE-based du has selected Nokia’s Multi-Access Gateway (MAG) to deliver enterprise and residential broadband via 4G and 5G wireless access (FWA) networks.

The Princeton Digital Group, a leading developer and operator of internet infrastructure across Asia, has signed a renewable power consumption agreement (PCA) with a subsidiary of Tata Power Renewable Energy Limited (TPREL), one of India’s largest renewable energy companies.

Paratus Botswana has completed its new metro fibre ring around Gaborone.

An encouraging example of how IoT can boost sustainability comes in the form of this week’s news from Kenya that operator Safaricom is partnering with the Kenya Water Institute (KEWI) to deploy a smart water system at the institute’s Nairobi and Kitui campuses.

The Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications apparently announced its recent spectrum auction has been unsuccessful with no bids for airwaves, reported VietNamNet. 

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund is reportedly still in the mix to acquire Vodafone Egypt shares from Telecom Egypt Egypt, with a deal potentially to be announced this month, reported Daily News Egypt. 

Operator Beeline Kazakhstan has launched a software company, QazCode, to boost the development of new digital products and services. This was announced by parent company, global digital operator Veon.

Illiad-owned Polish operator Play expanded its TV and broadband arms by acquiring 100% shares in rival provider Syrion. 

While there are strong rumours that funding may soon be withdrawn from one state-owned Indian operator, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL), the much bigger Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is clearly still deemed worthy of support after a major injection of funding got the go-ahead this week.

The government of Senegal has blocked access to mobile internet services in certain regions of the country amidst civil unrest.

Mexican operator Telmex reached a settlement with a worker’s union proposing a 5.6% rise in pay after almost a year of disputes with striking employees.