Indian communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw (pictured, right) said that India should take the lead in 6G technology.

Colt Technology Services, a provider of network and voice connectivity to businesses in Europe, Asia and the US, has announced that it is enhancing the reach of its Polish metropolitan area networks (MANs) in six cities across Poland: Katowice, Wroclaw, Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk and Poznan.

The Indian government has ruled operators must streamline the process to port over phone numbers regardless of their tariff plan.

The Turkey Wealth Fund has acquired 55% of shares in Turk Telecom from LYY Telekomunikasyon (LYY), a consortium of banks, for US$1.65 billion.

Egyptian operator Etisalat Misr is modernising its Business Support Systems (BSS) using solutions from Ericsson.

Nokia is currently in discussions to replace Huawei 4G gear in Vodafone Idea’s network in India, a potentially large contract for the Finnish vendor.

Mobile wallet payments are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 42.7% between 2021 and 2025 and reach INR305.6 trillion ($4.1 trillion) in 2025 in India, said a study.

Nokia announced that it has successfully completed a trial on high-speed fibre optics (25 Gb/s) with Hrvatski Telekom (HT), which belongs to the Deutsche Telekom Group (DTAG).

Tanzania Telecommunications Corporation (TTCL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with technology giant Huawei for the deployment of FTTH (fibre to the home), fixed wireless network (4G), and countryside deployment and expansion of mobile network and the fixed network.

Wateen Telecom, a leading ICT company in Pakistan, and Beaconhouse, the country’s largest network of private educational institutions, have partnered to provide managed internet services over SD-WAN across the Beaconhouse network.

Philippines-based operator PLDT announced it has received offers from six foreign companies to buy up half its towers for around US$1 billion, as the firm pushes on with plans to cut debt and invest in its broadband and mobile internet business.

M-Pesa, which is Kenya’s, and the African continent’s, best-known mobile payment system, has passed the 30 million user mark in Kenya.

Airtel Nigeria has announced the milestone of upgrading its entire footprint of cell sites to 4G.

Brazil’s Telefonica Vivo is deploying a simplified and automated, 5G-ready IP network for its converged mobile and fixed networks as part of the Fusion Network Project in Brazil using solutions from Cisco and NEC Corporation.

A series of reforms within Uganda’s telecom sector have provided the country with one of the most competitive markets in the region.

Niger is one of the largest countries in West Africa but also one of the poorest in the world. As with many African markets, a lack of fixed telecoms infrastructure has led to growth in mobile services. Niger’s mobile penetration is modest compared to other countries in the region, while fixed broadband penetration is negligible.

Panama has seen a steady increase in revenue from the telecom sector in recent years. Mobile services and broadband remain the key growth sectors, with mobile connections accounting for 90% of all connections, and over half of telecom sector revenue.

International payments platform Paysend has expanded its money transfer services with Pix, the Central Bank of Brazil’s instant payment platform.

Ooredoo Kuwait, the telecommunications company in Kuwait owned by the Ooredoo group, has appointed data analytics specialists LigaData to support data-driven digital transformation projects.

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.