Saudi Arabian regulator the Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has given more details on its planned non-terrestrial networks (NTN) 5G spectrum auction in the 2100MHz band.

Yet another private network initiative has been announced – this time in South Africa, where operator MTN plans to build private 5G networks for mines and ports.

Indonesia's parliament has this week passed into law a personal data protection bill. Apparently modelled on European Union legislation, it is widely reported to be a response to a number of data leaks and alleged breaches at government firms and institutions in Indonesia.

Operator Orange Côte d’Ivoire has opened its Orange 5G Lab, devoted to digital professionals, start-ups and businesses, at an event attended by Mr Amadou Coulibaly, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, and a number of senior figures from Orange.

Following the recent announcement that Nokia and AT&T Mexico have deployed what they call the first industrial-grade LTE private network in a maritime terminal in the country, there’s been another private network announcement in Latin America – this time in Brazil and using 5G.

A deal that was close to being done and dusted months ago may face a new period of uncertainty, with Brazilian operators TIM, Vivo and Claro apparently requesting a reduction in the price they are expected to pay for the mobile division of beleaguered telecommunications company Oi.

Bangladesh operators Robi Axiata and Teletalk Bangladesh, along with infrastructure group Summit Towers, have entered into a tri-party agreement for sharing existing network infrastructure.

MTN Nigeria and Ericsson have announced what they call a ‘historic milestone’ with the launch of 5G services in a number of areas of the country.

Jusan Bank revealed it received offers for its 9.08% stake in Kazakhstani operator Kcell, and is considering a sale to National Welfare Fund Samruk-Kazyna, Kursiv Media reported.

President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo has ordered the implementation of the country’s universal service fund (USF) within “a reasonable timeframe”.

Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, has had a busy week in which it has announced a satcoms deal with Eutelsat Communications for its Liquid Intelligent Technologies business and a partnership with AWS for its Liquid Cloud division.

Telenor-owned Digi and Celcom received regulatory clearance from the Securities Commission Malaysia for its proposed merger, leaving only shareholders and the Malaysian stock exchange approvals to seal the deal.