The Global System for Mobile Communications Association (GSMA), an industry organisation that represents the interests of mobile network operators worldwide, announced the formation of the Asia Pacific (APAC) 5G Industry Community.

Starlink, Elon Musk’s satellite internet service, received the operating permit from Chilean telecoms regulator the Department of Telecommunications (Subsecretaria de Telecomunicaciones, Subtel) to operate five satellite ground stations, enabling the operator to launch commercial services on a national level.

Emirates Telecommunication Group Company (Etisalat) and Microsoft have joined forces to unlock new 5G scenarios with Azure Multi-access Edge Computer as part of their strategic partnership.

The new mobile communications entrant in the Angolan market, Africell, says it has taken another major step towards launching services in Angola by opening a data centre in Luanda.

Multilateral development finance institution the African Development Bank has signed a grant agreement for $500,000 with Y’ello Digital Financial Services (YDFS), a fintech subsidiary of operator MTN Nigeria. The grant will be used for a study into economic, religious, and social factors hampering access to finance for women in northern Nigeria.

Indian operator Vodafone Idea has indicated its willingness to accept a Department of Telecommunications (DoT) offer of a spectrum payment moratorium, part of a number of measures that may offer relief for the cash-strapped company.

Etisalat Group, a leading telecom group in emerging markets, and AI and cloud computing company Group 42 have announced plans to merge their data centre businesses.

After suffering a sharp retraction in the number of subscriptions and revenue during 2020 due to the Covid-19 crisis, Peru’s telecom sector managed to stage a small recovery in the first half of 2021. The extent of the decline, however, will take some time to recover from fully.

Bangladesh’s economic resurgence over the last decade took a battering in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The country had been on track to move off the United Nation’s Least Developed Countries list by 2026, however the crisis may have pushed that back a few years.

Indian government-owned telecommunications service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has received Inflight and Maritime Connectivity (IFMC) license from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to offer Inmarsat’s Global Xpress (GX) mobile broadband services in the country.

Mexican telecommunications company America Movil announced that it was "ready" to launch a 5G market in Mexico.

Analysts from direct carrier billing (DCB) protection firm Evina, and DCB implementation specialists Telecoming, have developed the first Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) Index. This aims to provide an overview of the current state of the DCB business and its potential.

Chinese multinational technology corporation Huawei, through its new Digital Power division, announced a strategic partnership with Brazilian telecommunications equipment company WDC Networks.

Iran’s telecom infrastructure has suffered from sanctions in recent years, which prevented the import of equipment and devices and encouraged widespread smuggling, with a consequent loss of tax revenue. To address this, the government introduced a device registration scheme, and bolstered the capacity for domestically manufactured mobile phones.

Yemen continues to provide an exceptionally challenging market for telcos. Civil unrest has caused havoc and devastation across most parts of the country, while the threat of sanctions has also made it a challenging environment in which to operate.

Bahrain continues to develop its telecoms sector in a bid to develop its long-term Economic Vision 2030 strategy. This is a multi-faceted strategy aimed at developing a digital transformation across numerous sectors, including e-government, e-health, e-commerce, and e-banking.

Arc Solutions, a joint venture between UAE's du and Bahrain's Batelco, has selected Nokia to provide a high-capacity data center interconnection solution in the Middle East.

China United Network Communications Group (China Unicom) and Chinese multinational technology corporation Huawei Technologies completed the initial test of the latest XMC-3E ODU product.

Polish cellular telecommunications provider Play Communications SA (known as Play or P4) has signed a new agreement with Ericsson to expand its RAN (Radio Access Network).

MENA-based integrated networking services provider Arc Solutions has expanded its network footprint to Oman with a presence in Equinix’s International Business Exchange(IBX) data center in Muscat.

Operator Vodafone Turkey, and wholesale telecoms platform provider Linxa have announced the deployment of Linxa Connect, which, the partners say, enables Vodafone Turkey to bring the automation, control and efficiency of its international and national voice wholesale business to the next level.

Underlining the growing importance of streaming video and OTT services, Indian operator Bharti Airtel has announced the launch of its video platform as a service (VPaaS); it’s called Airtel IQ Video and was developed by Airtel’s in-house engineering teams.

Interconnection platform provider Asteroid has announced the deployment of its modern internet exchange point (IXP) within the PAIX cloud-and-carrier neutral data centre in Nairobi, Kenya.

Continuing a neutral host theme that has been prevalent in infrastructure news in recent months, infrastructure operator Phoenix Tower International (PTI) has signed an exclusivity agreement with Outremer Telecom, a service provider serving Martinique, Guadeloupe and French Guiana, to own and operate tower sites across French West Indies.

At the 7th Ultra-Broadband Forum (UBBF 2021), Kevin Hu, President of Huawei's Data Communication Product Line, introduced four new features of Huawei's Intelligent Cloud-Network Solution and all-scenario NetEngine series intelligent routers, providing differentiated cloud-network convergence service capabilities and accelerating digital transformation for industries.

Mobile Telecommunications Company Zain Group, which has presence in eight countries across the Middle East, announced the establishment of ZainTech, a new regional entity that unifies the group's ICT assets to offer comprehensive digital services for enterprise customers in the Middle East.

Aaron Jiang, President of Huawei's SRAN Product Line, launched the GreenSite and PowerStar2.0 solutions to help operators build green, low-carbon 5G networks in Dubai.

Zain, the digital service provider in Kuwait, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with its global partner Huawei to advance its 5G infrastructure for achieving the best user experience and enhancing the network’s quality.

The Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority (ATRA) claimed that all telecom sites have been made re-operational in 34 provinces and the service has been being provided and expanded for unserved areas.

One of India’s big three telecommunications operators, Vodafone Idea (aka Vi), and the smart world and communication business of leading engineering and construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro have partnered for a pilot project to test 5G-based smart city solutions.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean, has approved a $100 million loan for a programme to promote internet access and digitization in Argentina.

Yet another example of the growth of the infrastructure leasing model in the telecommunications world comes from Kenya, where a major name is hoping to interest a number of big local operators in its tower offering.

Slovenian operator T-2 has awarded a 5-year 5G network contract to Nokia.