A remarkable concept that could support power-hungry data centres and reduce power-wasting and environmentally dangerous gas flaring looks like gaining some traction in the Middle East after two recently announced investment deals.

Globe Telecom is reportedly considering a sale of half of its tower portfolio which could net the firm around US$1.5 billion, a move that would fund long-term 5G rollout plans and keep it on the heels of rival PLDT. 

Following years of isolationism and economic under-achievement, North Korea languishes near the bottom of the world’s telecom maturity index alongside Afghanistan and Turkmenistan (who also happen to be struggling under repressive political regimes).

Thailand’s telecom sector is relatively mature and hosts a mix of public and private sector players. The mobile market is highly developed and has experienced strong growth over the last seven years.

SoftBank Corp, a leading Japanese communication and information technology service provider, says it has secured an equity stake in German company 1NCE, described as the only provider of connectivity and software for IoT at a global flat rate. It has also signed an exclusive distribution deal covering the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Indonesian operator XL Axiata has chosen Juniper Networks solution to upgrade its existing network infrastructure, a move to support the growing demand for 5G services.

Digital infrastructure company Equinix is planning to build its fourth data centre in India, which will also be its third facility in the city of Mumbai. The company aims to invest more than $86 million developing the facility.

The return of the Taliban to power in August 2021 following the American-led withdrawal of security forces has thrown the telecom sector – along with the rest of Afghanistan’s developing economy – into disarray.

In spite of the telecom sector being one of the major contributors to Azerbaijan’s non-oil GDP, overall development, growth, and investment in the sector has been held back by years of political and civil unrest coupled with endemic corruption.

Mobileum and Smartfren have announced a multi-year deal for digital insights and network analytics in Indonesia.

Veon has agreed on the sale of its unit in Georgia to a former local partner for US$45 million, as part of plans to simplify the overall group structure.

Globe Telecom is upgrading its support services with Netcracker Managed Services to maintain a higher level of operational efficiency.

Israel’s Minister of Communications, Yoaz Hendel, has announced plans for the gradual abolition over a three-year period of connectivity rates for the networks of cellular companies and landline telephone companies.

Helios Towers has signed up Oman-based equity fund Rakiza Telecommunication Infrastructure to purchase a share in a holding company for Omantel’s passive infrastructure assets.  

In what is accurately described as a rare acquisition of a US tech company by an African tech company, MFS Africa, Africa’s largest digital payments network, has reached an agreement to buy Global Technology Partners (GTP), which specializes in creating innovative processing and payment solutions for the prepaid industry.

Ooredoo Maldives has commenced a trial of its International Money Transfer service via m-Faisaa.

Airtel Africa acquired spectrum to expand its 4G network in the Democratic Republic of Congo to support growing data demand in the country.

Following last week’s report that ExpressVPN has decided to remove its servers from India, a second VPN provider, Surfshark, has also shut down its physical servers in the country.

The Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has announced plans to monitor telecommunications traffic for revenue assurance purposes, suggesting that the existing system, whereby operators declare their revenues, may no longer be adequate.

Africa Data Centres, which boasts Africa’s largest network of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centre facilities, has announced plans to building a 30MW data centre facility in Accra, adding Ghana to its existing Nigeria and Togo data centres.

Latvian operator LMT has selected Nokia’s 5G Standalone (SA) Core to help deliver 5G services including network slicing, enhance its network experience and reliability, and more quickly monetise its network assets.

­­Finnish vendor Nokia has secured an early ten-year contract extension with Orange's Poland unit. 

There’s been positive news on the sustainability front from operator MTN in Cameroon, which has announced a renewable energy initiative.

Last week came news from The Federation of Businesses of the Congo (FEC)’s telecom commission that a hike in telecoms tariffs was on the way. But the telecoms regulator ARPTC has responded by saying it can’t happen.

Telefónica’s Latin American arm Telefónica Hispam (Hispanoamérica) has selected Mavenir to supply cloud-native IMS Core for fixed and mobile networks across Mexico, Colombia, and Chile.

Mobily Pay, a mobile wallet powered by leading Saudi Arabia-based telecommunications and digital service provider Mobily, and MoneyGram International, a major name in digital P2P payments, have announced a partnership to launch MoneyGram's international money transfer capabilities on Mobily Pay.

Kenya’s Safaricom and financial services giant Visa have introduced the first M-Pesa GlobalPay Visa Virtual card, a mobile-phone-based system that they say opens up global shopping for Kenyan consumers.

Satellite technology company Hughes Network Systems has announced a number of major deals that aim to bring connectivity to rural and hard-to-reach areas in Mexico.

DE-CIX (German Commercial Internet Exchange), a leading operator of internet exchanges, has announced plans to establish interconnection platforms across Africa through the DE-CIX as a Service (DaaS) partner model, and, as an initial step, has announced strategic partnerships in three African markets.