The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has commissioned Malaysian subsea cable developer SubConnex to study the feasibility of a new submarine cable system linking India with Singapore and major data centres across Southeast Asia.

Space World Group subsidiary Constl said on Thursday it is partnering with Nokia to deploy a dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical transport network across India to meet demand for webscale, cloud and AI-driven traffic.

Brazilian digital infrastructure and data centre group V.tal has announced plans for a new subsea cable system linking Brazil and the US, while its subsidiary Tecto Data Centers revealed separate plans to build a new data centre in Porto Alegre.

Saudi Arabia-headquartered global artificial intelligence company Humain and the National Infrastructure Fund, the Kingdom’s lead development financing partner for infrastructure, have announced a strategic financing framework agreement of up to US$1.2 billion.

The leading operator in Bangladesh, Grameenphone, has secured 10 megahertz of spectrum in the 700MHz band, marking the first-ever allocation of the low-band frequency to a mobile operator in Bangladesh. It was, apparently, the sole buyer.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has announced the launch of Airbel Ventures, a new humanitarian impact investing fund designed to accelerate the entry and scale of breakthrough technologies in crisis-affected communities.

India’s smartphone market contracted by 7% in the fourth quarter of 2025, shipping 34.5 million units, as rising prices and sluggish demand weighed on consumer purchases, according to analyst house Omdia.

Google Cloud launched its new Bangkok cloud region on Wednesday, with three availability zones offering customers in Thailand access to in-country Google Cloud services and AI technologies.

Orange Côte d'Ivoire has launched “Orange Sat”, a new satellite broadband internet service in partnership with Eutelsat that promises to bring data connectivity to rural “white zones” in the country unserved by 4G and fibre.

Philanthropic organisation the Gates Foundation and AI research organisation OpenAI say they plan to invest US$50 million to use AI to ease the impact of chronic staff shortages in 1,000 primary health clinics and surrounding communities in Rwanda and other African countries by 2028.

A new report by Berg Insight suggests that the market for smart metering in Latin America and the Caribbean is expected to see massive growth in the coming years.

India's policymakers seem finally to have put an end to the 6GHz debate between proponents of cellular and of Wi-Fi with government confirmation of plans to delicense the lower 6GHz band to help enable faster Wi-Fi indoors.

Jio Platforms has reportedly shortlisted Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs to steer its long-awaited initial public offering, as preparations gather pace for what is expected to be one of India’s biggest listings.

Indian telco Vodafone Idea (Vi) said on Tuesday its has expanded its 5G network in Kerala to all 14 districts in the state, covering all major towns, commercial hubs, educational clusters, tourism corridors and high-density residential areas.

Ooredoo Group announced on Tuesday that its digital infrastructure unit Syntys has acquired Qatar-based hyperscale data centre operator Q Data QFZ, which will add another 12.5MW of IT load capacity to Syntys’ data centre offerings in Qatar.

Digicel Samoa said on Tuesday it has expanded its 5G coverage in Apia with five new sites, for a total of 25 5G sites deployed in the city and its surrounding suburbs.

The Republic of Congo has announced plans to connect the country to a, so far unidentified, new undersea cable following a number of reports regarding faults in the long-established WACS cable on which the country heavily relies.

Taiwanese vendor Asus has reportedly shelved plans to develop new smartphones in 2026 as it pivots resources towards emerging “Physical AI” projects spanning smart glasses and robotics.

Digital Realty, which describes itself as the largest global provider of cloud and carrier-neutral data centre, colocation and interconnection solutions, has joined the race for data centre space in Malaysia.

Network International, a leading fintech company in the Middle East and Africa, has signed a strategic processing agreement with Saudi Sudanese Bank, one of Sudan’s prominent financial institutions.

Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) and OMS Group announced on Monday that they have signed a contract with newly formed JV Intra-Asia Marine Networks (I-AM NW) to supply and install the Intra-Asia Marine (I-AM) Cable system linking Japan and Southeast Asia.

Military-owned telco Viettel Group announced on Friday it has kicked off construction of Vietnam’s first semiconductor chip manufacturing plant to support the government’s ambition to develop a fully-fledged semiconductor ecosystem.

Cyprus-based independent subsea infrastructure provider Datawave Networks said on Monday it has secured a deal with affiliates of investment firm Cerberus Capital Management to fund its long-planned Singapore-India-Gulf (SING) Cable System.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral developmental investment bank, and Tunisie Telecom, Tunisia’s national telecom operator, say they are partnering to improve the country’s digital infrastructure and drive the company’s transformation.

Uganda has begun restoring internet connectivity after imposing a nationwide blackout ahead of elections that saw 81-year-old President Yoweri Museveni secure a seventh term in office.

African space strategies are again in the news after last week’s reports of the latest satellite launch in Algeria and the announcement of plans for the launch of Senegal’s second satellite some time this year.

An American financial company, hired to plan a digitisation programme for the Democratic Republic of Congo, has filed a lawsuit in the United States against the country and several senior officials, reportedly alleging corruption.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reportedly kicked off a six-week public consultation to assess the potential for allowing direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services in Nigeria.

China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak, a.k.a. Zong 4G) says it has signed an MoU with ZTE and its authorised local distributor Siccotel to deliver affordable 5G smartphones to Pakistan ahead of an anticipated 5G spectrum auction next month.

Globe Telecom announced on Friday it has signed an MOU to partner with LEO satellite operator Starlink to resell its Direct to Cell (D2C) satellite service in the Philippines, making it the first operator in the country (and in Southeast Asia) to do so.

Claro Peru has reached a milestone in its 5G rollout, with the network now available in nearly 100 districts across the country since launching a month ago.