Two Israeli technology firms, Telrad and Cellwize, are in the headlines after news of acquisitions – agreed or planned – by African technology company Liquid Intelligent Technologies and wireless tech innovator Qualcomm.

Safaricom has reportedly been granted 60MHz of spectrum in the 2600MHz band by the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) in preparation for its commercial 5G launch.

Globe Telecom said its towers are still on the market and it does not feel the pressure to sell assets immediately despite rival PLDT’s recent billion-dollar deal.

Thai market leader Advanced Info Services (AIS) has voiced its opposition to the merger between rivals True and Dtac, claiming the deal would affect consumers through diminished competition. 

Ethio Telecom has announced the launch of its pre-commercial 5G services in Addis Ababa, but the operator warned a full launch will depend on demand. 

Given the Angolan government’s aim to bring in more competition to the telecoms sector and new operator Africell’s aim to be a disruptive force in that market, then it seems that both may have got their wish after news that, in its first month of full operation, Africell has won over two million subscribers.

With 5G rollout imminent and right of way issues among a number of factors that could potentially delay it, this is probably a good time for India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to launch a portal that is intended to act as a single-window clearance for tracking the status of right of way applications.

Open Access Data Centres (OADC), a company that says it has been established to transform the provision of data centre services for Africa, has announced the deployment of what it describes as the continent’s first large-scale, open-access edge data centre environment.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has moved to allay consumer concerns around a possible tariff increase following a request from the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

Trade association the GSMA has launched the Mobile Money API Compliance Verification Service to support the growth of trusted mobile money ecosystems in developing nations.

RailTel Corporation of India Limited, a central public sector unit under the country's Ministry of Railways, has again seen recognition of its strength in the telecoms infrastructure space, this time through an order from the Madhya Pradesh government for expansion of the State Data Centre (SDC) and establishment of a disaster recovery (DR) centre.

Brazil’s telecommunications watchdog Anatel has approved the sale of Oi subsidiary and fibre broadband provider V.Tal to wholesale telecoms operator Globenet. 

Edge Centres, which provides self-powered off-grid data centres, and, as we reported recently, has announced that it has begun building its first facilities outside Australia, is adding Vietnam to its portfolio.

Technology services company NTT, one of the world’s largest data centre operators, has launched a new hyperscale data centre park NAV1 in Navi Mumbai, India, containing NAV1A, the first of up to four data centres planned for the park.

Helios Towers posted “strong” growth in its Q1 results with a 23% hike in revenue year-on-year (YoY), which is attributed to the company’s established African markets, and new acquisitions in Senegal, Madagascar and Malawi.

The Malaysian government has announced it has signed up two companies to commercial services agreements to Digital Nasional, the firm established by the state to operate a single wholesale 5G network.

Cameroon has signed a MoU with Central African Republic (CAR) that will see the two countries’ communications networks interconnected by terrestrial fibre optic infrastructure by the start of 2023.

Lebanon state-owned operators Touch and Alfa have called for the government to mandate an increase in tariff prices, a move they said is required to curb their dwindling revenues to “ensure the continuity” of the telecoms sector.

Viettel Cambodia – which operates as Metfone – has signed a credit package agreement with MB Cambodia to upgrade its domestic network.

Submarine fibre optic cable project Seacom is to get a $260 million loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries that is part of the World Bank Group. The loan is said to be for debt refinancing and expansion into new service lines.

Digital infrastructure company Equinix has completed the acquisition of four data centres in Chile from Empresa Nacional De Telecomunicaciones (Entel), a leading Chilean telecommunications provider. 

Satellite operator SES and Central American telecommunications company COMNET have extended their long-term partnership, with the aim of jointly delivering high-performance, next-generation broadband services across Central America by satellite.

America Movil’s Mexican unit Telmex has signed a partnership agreement with the country’s National Guard to counter cybercrime.

International semiconductor consortium ISMC, a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based fund manager Next Orbit Ventures and Israel's Tower Semiconductor, a leading foundry in high-value analogue semiconductor solutions, reportedly plans to invest $3 billion in India's southern Karnataka state to set up a chip-making plant.

Arabsat, a leading regional satellite operator in the Middle East and Africa, and satcoms solutions provider Thales Alenia Space have signed a contract to build Arabsat-7A, a fully flexible software-defined satellite (SDS) based on the Space Inspire (INstant SPace In-orbit REconfiguration) platform by Thales Alenia Space.

Econet Wireless has expanded its 5G network in Zimbabwe to the southern region of Bulawayo, a move to progress the country in its ambition to activate new technologies such as AI, IoT and robotics.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the country’s regulator, has announced plans for a study to assess the current level of competition in the colocation and infrastructure sharing (CIS) segment of the Nigerian telecommunications sector.

Panama’s Cabinet Council, which is led by the country’s President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, has approved new resolutions concerning the republic’s telecoms sector.

India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has reportedly seized Rs 5,551.27 crore (about $725.5 million) belonging to handset maker Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the China-based Xiaomi Group.

Grab Holdings Limited, and leading communications technology group Singtel have announced that GXS Bank Pte. Ltd, their digital bank joint venture, supported by a consortium of Malaysian investors, is among the companies selected to receive a full digital banking licence in Malaysia.

NALA, a Tanzania-based fintech company, has teamed up with pan-African payments company Cellulant to power remittance payments from the United Kingdom and United States into Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Ghana.