STC Bahrain has launched a Chainlink node through which it will provide smart contracts – and it is claiming a first for major telcos in the MENA region.

Airtel Africa, the provider of telecommunications and mobile money services, with a presence in 14 countries across Africa, confirmed that it has completed the early repayment of its USD 505 million 5.125% Guaranteed Senior Notes, using cash balances available at the Group level.

EllaLink, the high-capacity and low latency fibre-optic submarine cable directly connecting Latin America and Europe, which recently announced a partnership with internet operator Group IP Telecom, has announced another strategic partnership – this time with internet exchange (IX) operator DE-CIX.

South African operator Telkom has experienced mixed fortunes over the past 24 hours. It has been one of the two early winners (along with fixed wireless access operator Rain Networks) in South Africa's mobile spectrum auction but, within the same day, has been forced to delay a planned sale of its tower unit.

MTN Group reported a boost to revenue and profit as the operator pledges to invest to increase capacity in data and mobile money services.  

Malaysia’s largest operators Celcom Axiata, Digi Telecommunications, Maxis and U Mobile, hailed their collective efforts to achieve hit 96.9% coverage of 4G in the country, exceeding a government target.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) has had a tortuous history since gaining independence. The country’s stability has been affected by disputes among rival groups and armed militias, particularly in the far eastern provinces and Katanga. This has resulted in considerable social upheaval, exacerbated by considerable corruption within the government.

Mozambique was one of the first countries in the region to embark upon telecom reform and to open the sector to competition.

Cameroon was for many years one of the few countries in Africa with only two competing mobile operators. After some delays, Viettel Cameroon launched a third network and has since grown its subscriber base rapidly.

During the last decade Chad’s economy has been dominated by oil exports, and as a result economic growth has been affected by the changing prices for the commodity on international markets. Recent economic difficulties have been exacerbated by civil unrest, an influx of refugees from neighbouring countries, and the economic downsides resulting from the pandemic.

India is considering lowering the base price for 5G spectrum in its anticipated auction to spur interest from local players who are being pushed out due to pricing.  

UAE's biggest telecom operator Etisalat, part of e&, has teamed up with Samsung to become the master distributor for the entire range of smart devices and solutions and operate the marketing, supply, and distribution of its products.

South African mobile communications company Vodacom Group stated that its ICT unit Vodacom Business has launched V-Hub, an online resource portal, specifically designed to help small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Beyon Connect, a subsidiary of Bahrain's operator Batelco, has launched OneBox, as the first country in the Middle East to deliver digital postbox services.

From the start of this week, the users of Crnogorski Telekom in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica have had access to a 5G network in a number of locations, making the company the first operator in Montenegro to put a 5G network into commercial operation.

The wait for reliable connectivity is not going to be over for Tonga for some while. Recent reports suggest that the cable connecting the Tongan islands, which was ripped apart by January's devastating volcanic eruption and tsunami, could take a year to fix.

Altan Redes, the Mexican public-private initiative that seeks to expand mobile communications coverage in remote areas of Mexico, has been granted an extension of its coverage target timescale.

Lithuania’s regulator RRT will allow operators to offer 5G services using their existing spectrum holdings.

Chinese equipment maker ZTE announced a 12.9% rise in its 2021 full-year annual revenue to RMB114 billion (US$18 billion), reporting year-on-year growth across its arms. 

Barbados has licensed a third operator in a bid to introduce more competition to the market.

Ukraine’s three major operators Kyivstar, Lifecell and Vodafone Ukraine have enabled free roaming between their networks in a bid to ensure continued communications as Russia continues to pursue a war in the nation.

Liberia has a telecom market which is mainly based on mobile networks, largely due to the protracted civil war which destroyed much of the fixed-line infrastructure.

Despite a setback from the EU, the Czech Telecommunication (CTU) Office is drafting new measures to spur competition and designating incumbent MNOs as having significant market power.

Namibia’s telecom market has developed strongly since the second mobile network operator was licenced in 2006, thereby introducing effective competition between MTC Telecom Namibia and Paratus Telecom.

Airtel Uganda is the latest Ugandan operator to announce plans for a stock exchange listing.

Zain KSA and Huawei announced the launch of the Middle East and Norther Africa's first 5G LAN network in the country, as the operator aims to tap into the growing B2B demand for 5G services. 

Indian multinational telecommunications services company Bharti Airtel and compatriot banking and financial services company Axis Bank have announced a strategic partnership to bring to market a range of financial offerings and digital services exclusively for Airtel’s more than 340 million customers.

Vodafone Oman commemorated the official launch of its operations on Sunday (March 6) at the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM). 

Hard on the heels of last week’s trial announcement with Nokia, Saudi Arabian operator STC has announced another major partnership, this time involving a carrier aggregation proof of concept with Ericsson.

In what is apparently the first official Microsoft Azure region announcement of 2022 Microsoft has announced plans for a data centre in Hyderabad, India. It has also opened a new facility in China.

As would-be rival Safaricom Ethiopia gets ready to start operations, Ethiopian incumbent operator Ethio Telecom is expanding the scope of its mobile money service telebirr. According to the Ethiopian Herald news service the latest offering is a drivers' traffic penalty payment platform.

MTN Ghana has continued to make progress in making good on a agreement with the government, to increase the ownership of its Scancom and MobileMoney operations.