Three of Russia’s mobile operators - Veon, MTS, and MegaFon - are in the process of offloading their tower portfolios.

Serbian mobile network operator Telenor Serbia has entered the fixed market with the launch of its Hipernet, a new household service that includes optical internet, digital television service.

Chayora, a data centre service provider based in Hong Kong, has launched its 54MW Shanghai hyperscale data centre campus, its second campus development in the portfolio.

Chilean gas distributor Lipigas has created a new company in neighbouring Colombia to offer internet services to residents of small and medium-sized cities where internet penetration is less than 20%.

An impressive example of telecommunications’ potential as a contributor to environmental awareness comes from Malaysia where operator edotco is helping to control greenhouse gas emissions in an ingenious way.

FSS (Financial Software and Systems) is collaborating with Bangladesh’s BRAC Bank to facilitate digital commerce in the market.

Following a flurry of investment activity recently, operator Vodacom is apparently now considering a separate listing of its South African financial services unit.

Qatari telecommunication operator Ooredoo has announced a major partnership with technology giant Ericsson that will see the two entities working together to ensure an unrivaled 5G experience for fans at the major football event in Qatar in 2022.

Haier, China’s largest consumer electronics and home appliance producer, collaborated with Huawei and China mobile to apply innovative manufacturing solutions combining 5G and mobile edge computing in its smart factories. The three announced the breakthroughs in Qingdao, China.

Polish mobile phone network operator T-Mobile Polska (T-Mobile Poland) has launched a trial of 5G standalone (SA) services at a test environment in the city of Lodz and via two commercial base stations in Zambrow and Halinow.

BNET, the national network responsible for providing broadband network services across Bahrain, has announced the launch and implementation of its new portability process for broadband Internet.

SatADSL has announced a new partnership with global satellite operator ABS which will provide the latter with access to SatADSL’s neXat platform.

The Nigerian regulator has announced what it calls strategic plans to boost the country’s telecommunications sector in the coming year.

Indian operator Bharti Airtel says it has appointed a committee to work on its efforts towards an environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) initiative.

The growth of mobile advertising indicates the continuing importance to operators of diversifying their business models, something that has been further underlined by an agreement between Indonesian operator  Indosat Ooredoo and mobile advertising and data monetisation specialist Out There Media.

Satellite firm Viasat is partnering with Intercorp Peru to expand digital and social inclusion across Latin America.

In-flight entertainment and communication systems company Panasonic Avionics Corporation has announced agreements with both Iraqi Airways and Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia). The Saudi national carrier also plans to offer a broadband solution from satcoms giant Inmarsat.

The vast telecommunications company Saudi Telecom Co (STC) has announced plans to invest $400 million in expanding its data centre rollout.

Paratus Namibia, part of Pan-African telecommunications company Paratus, has been chosen by Ongos Connect, a company working with Ongos Valley, Namibia’s first smart city development, to bring fibre connectivity to over 11,000 new residents in the new city.

MTN Mobile Money Uganda, a subsidiary of operator MTN Uganda, and TerraPay, a global payments infrastructure company, have announced an association that will enable MTN Mobile Money Uganda to facilitate international digital cross-border remittances and speedy money transfers to beneficiaries in a number of regions.

What is described as Africa’s largest satellite cellular backhaul network is about to extend its coverage.

MTN Rwanda has signed a five-year managed services agreement with Ericsson under which the Swedish vendor will deploy a new network operations centre (NOC) for the operator.

STL, an integrator of digital networks, has announced key initiatives to strengthen its presence in the Middle East, Africa (MEA) region by forming new partnerships, setting up a centre of excellence, and expanding its team.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) is reportedly planning to include 5G-capable spectrum in an upcoming frequency auction.

Iraqi internet service provider Earthlink Telecommunication is using Nokia’s solutions to build a high-capacity IP metro transport network in 15 provinces in the country as part of the Iraqi National Backbone project.

Given the ongoing conflict there, it’s probably not quite business as usual for Safaricom in Ethiopia, but the leading Kenyan operator has nevertheless announced plans to invest an initial $600 million in Ethiopia where it is part of a consortium setting up a new telecommunications operation of which it is the majority shareholder.

Libya’s Prime Minister Abd Alhamid Aldabaiba has stated that his government will aim to open the country’s telecoms sector up to competition, bringing about the end of a longstanding state monopoly.

MTN Rwanda has appealed to the country’s regulator for additional time to resolve the network issues that have incurred it the threat of penalties.

Costa Rican regulator Sutel (Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones) has explained to the country’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT) that it will not offer compensation for the 5G frequencies that it plans to appropriate from Grupo ICE.

Zambia’s fourth mobile licensee Beeline Telecom has set a deadline of 30^th June 2022 for its commercial launch.

Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), Russia's largest mobile operator, announced the successful test of Russia's first OpenRAN-based 5G telecom solution leveraging locally-sourced software that was developed by the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech).

Philippines wireless provider Smart Communications has revealed that its in-deployment 5G network now extends to 6,400 base transceiver stations (BTS), eclipsing its own target of 3,800 for 2021.