In an unusual turn of events, India’s operators are said to be asking for a relaxation in 26GHz 5G rollout rules because there are not enough 26GHz-capable devices to make it worthwhile.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is reportedly planning to carry out  another round of 5G spectrum auctions in January and February next year. Spectrum in 11 bands, ranging from 600MHz to above 37GHz, is likely to be put up for sale.

There’s been some controversy reported in Uruguay in the run-up to operators Claro and Movistar prequalifying for 5G spectrum in an auction scheduled for 9 May.

4G is about to become a reality in São Tomé and Príncipe in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa, thanks to Unitel STP, which has announced that it has become the first mobile operator to launch commercial 4G services in the country, after receiving approval from regulator AGER.

The EU and US have warned the Malaysian government to not use Huawei equipment in 5G infrastructure, as the new administration was reportedly mulling plans to deviate from its controversial single 5G network strategy by building a second.

GTT (Guyana Telephone and Telegraph) is partnering with domestic satellite firm Wansat to deliver satellite connectivity to Guyana’s rural regions.

The Ghanaian National Communications Authority (NCA) set a hard deadline for the 11 million remaining unregistered SIM cards to be signed up, warning those SIMs will be cut off from services at the end of the month. 

Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) has ordered mobile operator Korek Telecom to pay US$800 million to resolve an ongoing dispute over outstanding unpaid fees.

The Timor-Leste (East Timor) government approved the purchase of Brazilian operator Oi’s stake in Timor Telecom for US$21.1 million, a move that would make the state the majority shareholder.

Tomorrow will see a potentially significant development for the Sierra Leonean economy as the Bank of Sierra Leone officially launches the National Payment Switch, a system that, it is hoped, will move the country closer to achieving the objective of building a cashless economy.

Camtel, MTN and Orange have been ordered by the Cameroonian government to immediately fix mobile services after subscribers staged protests over the lack of quality service.

Flō Networks, a provider of digital infrastructure solutions, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of American Tower's Mexico fibre business, ATC Holding Fibra México (known commercially as redIT), and its high-capacity fibre optic network, which maintains a dense presence in over 40 cities throughout Mexico.

Dito Telecommunity is banking on the launch of post-paid mobile plans and entry into enterprise this year for growth this year.

The African Development Fund and the Smart Africa Alliance have jointly launched a US$1.5 million project to streamline digital trade and e-commerce policies across 10 African countries.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi and telecom tower infrastructure provider Indus Towers this week both unveiled plans to substantially reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Fiji’s government revealed it has begun working with mobile network operators to eventually install 5G infrastructure, paving the way for a launch of commercial services.

Analyst firm Canalys reported smartphone shipments in China saw an 11% year-on-year decline in Q1 2023 to 67.6 million units, a fifth consecutive quarter of decline for the Chinese market, as it continues to recover from Covid-19 restrictions.

India’s RMZ Corp, one of one of Asia's largest privately-owned real estate owners, investors and developers, is reported to be expanding into three new asset classes, including data centres.

This week saw thousands of Cameroonians yesterday protest against what they regard as unacceptable quality of service from mobile operators MTN Cameroon and Orange Cameroon.

Vietnamese technology giant FPT is said to be planning to build a cable to connect Vietnam with the undersea Asia Link Cable.

Orange Group again credited its revenue growth to its Africa and Middle East segments as units there demonstrated how the operator had responded to increased competitive pressure.

Chinese equipment vendor ZTE announced double-digit profit growth despite the external environment remaining complex and volatile in 2023 for the company.

Telecentro Argentina has selected solutions from Nokia for its network transformation.

Indian telecommunications provider Bharti Airtel has teamed up with Secure Meters, a company that focuses on users of energy in homes and workplaces to help reduce energy waste, to deploy 1.3 million smart meters in Bihar, a state in eastern India. The smart meters will use NB-IoT services.

Two more indications of the growing role of renewable energy in network rollout – both to save the environment and to save money – have come from Brazil and Bahrain.

Mozambique is set to introduce biometric SIM verification as it seeks to improve the registration and activation process for SIM cards.

Safaricom expanded its 5G network in Kenya to 21 counties where around 400,000 subscribers are now able to tap into speeds between 400Mbps to 700MMbps.

Latin America and Africa could be among the beneficiaries of plans recently announced  by Gilat and Intelsat to strengthen their strategic partnership.

Troubled Brazilian operator Oi chose to postpone publishing its 2022 financial results, reported Reuters.

The Philippines’ ICT regulator reportedly said it held crunch talks with operators today (April 24) to potentially extend its hard SIM registration deadline of April 26, which could see over half of total subscribers cut off from connectivity services.