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.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has approved Airtel Kenya’s application to replace its temporary licence with a new 10-year permit for 2×10MHz of spectrum in the 2100MHz band.

Brazilian operator TIM Brasil and Huawei have signed a cooperation agreement to develop the fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) in Curitiba, the capital and largest city in the Brazilian state of Parana.

Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nokia to develop the experience of its 5G technology across the Kingdom.

By 2024, 40% of Indian large enterprises will expand the use of artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) across all business-critical horizontal functions like marketing, legal, HR, procurement, and supply chain logistics said a study.

As it continues to finalise its exit from Myanmar and the sale of its Myanmar operations to the unit’s new buyers, Myanmar conglomerate Shwe Byain Phyu (SBP) and Lebanese investment firm M1 Group, Norway's Telenor is said to be transferring a large sum to the new owners.

Australia’s Telstra has been cleared to acquire Digicel Fiji by the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC).

Chinese consumer electronics and mobile communications company Oppo has set up what it calls a Power and Performance Lab at at its Hyderabad R&D centre in India as part of what are described as plans to building an entire product development ecosystem from India.

Hard on the heels of a busy MWC for both companies, Ooredoo Qatar and Ericsson have highlighted the successful implementation of what is described as the world’s first 5G indoor shareable solution in Qatar, achieving speeds of 1.5 gigabits per second (Gbps).

Leading Asian regional integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company edotco Group has further boosted its aim to be a major global tower player with the acquisition, through its local subsidiary PT edotco Infrastruktur Indonesia, of approximately 1,000 towers from Indonesian operator XL Axiata.

Australia is to fund new telecommunications towers in the Solomon Islands. The support for the towers was requested by the Solomon Islands government as part of its Covid-19 preparedness and response efforts.

The Competition and Consumer Authority of Botswana has announced its unconditional approval for the acquisition of 100% of Broadband Botswana Internet (BBi) by the Botswanan arm of South Africa’s Paratus Telecommunications Ltd.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) has signed up Nokia to be its main supplier for parts as the operator expands its 4G and 5G network across Indonesia.

Indian Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Secretary-General Houlin Zhao signed a pact virtually to establish an area office and Innovation Centre of the United Nations telecom body in New Delhi.

Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) has signed an Open RAN (Radio Access Network) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at increasing momentum for the technology and its solutions in the region, alongside other leading Middle East Operators.

South African multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN Group and the Open RAN-focused vendor Rakuten Symphony sign an MoU to conduct 4G and 5G OpenRAN trials in South Africa, Nigeria, and Liberia based on Rakuten Communications Platform (RCP).

India's Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited (RSBVL) and US company Sanmina Corporation have entered into an agreement to create a joint venture through an investment in Sanmina's existing Indian entity.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) and industry group the GSMA, which represents mobile operators and organisations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, have signed an agreement to advance the mobile industry in India.

Beijing 2022’s Winter Olympic Games experience was improved with the use of Prevail’s cutting-edge digitalized ticketing. Spectators were able to access the stadiums in 1.5 seconds, with the digital ticketing system using Prevail’s PDA to verify ticket QR codes.

An executive revealed Cisco is replacing Chinese made equipment in Indian operator infrastructure while exploring the option of opening manufacturing plants in India.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) says it has selected mobile network testing solutions from test and measurement giant Rohde & Schwarz to assess and benchmark the performance, coverage and capacity of the country's mobile network operators.

Completing a very busy few days for Intelsat, the satellite operator has added deals in Brazil and Mali to the recently reported Ku-band-related agreement in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Saudi Arabian operator Zain KSA has announced its launch of a 5G local area network (5G LAN). This, it says, makes it the first operator in the Middle East and North Africa to adopt the technology. It made the announcement during MWC 2022.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, the leading Indonesian service provider, has been looking back on a busy MWC 2022 in which, it says, it has succeeded in strengthening its collaborations with strategic partners, including Cisco, Ericsson, Huawei and Nokia.