Broadband satellite networks and services provider Hughes Network Systems and Indonesian operator DTP plan to connect citizens in Papua and throughout Indonesia with satellite broadband.

The Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, has submitted an offer to buy a 60% stake in the mobile phone towers unit of the kingdom’s second-largest telecom company, Zain KSA.

Indonesia’s biggest cellular operator Telkomsel chose Infinet Wireless solutions for building up a radio link of 180 km to provide connectivity in challenging terrain.

Namibia's largest telecommunications company, Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC Namibia) is set to list on the Stock Exchange (NSX) by the end of November 2021 and 367.5 million shares are to be made available to the general public, MTC chairperson Theo Mberirua said.

5G will accelerate the adoption of Smart Home IoT devices, such as Smart TV (29%), Smart Health Systems (21%), and Smart Speakers (17%), said a survey.

The South African dispute that has delayed a planned spectrum auction in the country still hasn’t been resolved. However, communications regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) on Tuesday moved to avoid a lengthy court battle over the issue, saying it believes the auction could still happen by January.

The Peruvian Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) has announced continued enhancements in its drive to expand mobile coverage in rural areas.

According to a number of reports, PLDT, a leading operator in the Philippines, is considering selling its data centres, with a potential value in the region of half a billion dollars. However, its towers, also the subject of sell-off speculation, could make even more money.

Africa’s largest fintech platform has been celebrating a major milestone with the news that M-Pesa has reached 50 million monthly active customers, cementing its position as Africa’s largest fintech platform.

Debt-laden telecommunication services provider Vodafone Idea (Vi)’s precarious risk position is likely to impact its rivals, the government, and the other stakeholders at large and could jeopardise the telecom industry in India.

Indonesian wireless network provider Telkomsel closed another tower sale with Dayamitra Telekomunikasi (Mitratel), selling 4,000 units for IDR6.2 trillion ($434.8 million) and agreeing on a ten-year leaseback.

Philippines' largest publicly-listed telco Globe Telecom said its diversification into non-core businesses was bearing fruit, allowing it to move beyond traditional telecommunications and transform the company into a “digital solutions group.”

Russian production company Star Media has unveiled the new streaming service 'Lava', which promises to offer more than 7,500 hours of content to a Russian-speaking audience abroad.

Ghana’s Minister of Communications and Digitisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has announced that the country’s national SIM card re-registration process will start at the beginning of October. Ghanaians over the age of 15 will have until 31 March 2022 to re-register their SIM cards.

Tower sales are back in the news. This time an operator is selling its towers in Russia to a company keen to expand its infrastructure portfolio – and making just under a billion dollars from the deal.

Saudi Telecom Company (STC), the provider of telecommunications services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said that its internet-services unit Arabian Internet and Communications Services Company is seeking to raise as much as 3.62 billion riyals (USD 966 million) from an initial public offering (IPO) in Riyadh.

Indian telecom sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said that special mobile number portability (MNP) specific tariffs are discriminatory and a violation of current rules.

Telecom operators in Rwanda will be implementing new directives for SIM card registration in a move Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA) said will help curb fraud.

Russian communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, has blocked six providers of virtual proxy networks (VPNs), which people can use to circumvent government restrictions on the Internet.

Toko Wireless (Tonga) and WanTok Networks (Vanuatu) have announced the formation of WanTok Pacific Corporation, a company that will launch a new local mobile operator and, it says, provide a full suite of additional telecom services.

The UAE has a strong mobile market, dominated by Etisalat and du. Both are majority-owned by the government. In a bid to attract additional foreign investment, it was resolved in early 2021 that the stake held by foreigners in the two companies could be increased.

Jordan’s government has focussed on the use of ICT in a range of sectors, aimed at transforming the relatively small economy through the use of digital services.

Iraq continues to face a number of political and economic challenges, though increasing civil stability has made it easier for mobile and fixed-line operators to rebuild telecom services and infrastructure damaged during the last few years.

The Dominican Republic’s telecom sector continued its solid though unspectacular form throughout 2020 and into 2021, shrugging off the economic turmoil unleashed by the Covid-19 pandemic to maintain a decade-long run of low but positive growth across all areas of the market.

India's telecom operator Bharti Airtel said that it has successfully demonstrated cloud gaming in the country over a 5G network.

Philippines telecommunications giant PLDT is doubling its existing total network capacity from 55 terabits per second to 92 Tbps by the end of 2021. That is almost more than triple from its capacity last year which was only at 30 Tbps.

The Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority (BOCRA) has floated a tender for an international mobile telecommunications spectrum (IMT) licence for the provision of mobile broadband wireless access services.

Digital infrastructure products provider Vertiv announced a distribution agreement with the US IT services company Ingram Micro covering the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) distribution markets.

Data centre development in India’s largest city Mumbai looks like enjoying an enormous boost after some recently announced plans from major players in the data centre industry.

After six weeks during which its government has faced increased criticism, Tanzania has finally reduced the amount of its controversial mobile money transaction levy – by 30 percent.

Altan Redes, the consortium tasked with deploying Mexico's 4.5G shared network – called Red Compartida – has announced that it has secured a $50 million loan from shareholders.

Despite the harsh impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country’s population and economy, Colombia’s telecom sector had a solid year thanks to positive performances in the fixed-line broadband, mobile broadband, and mobile voice and data markets.

Cellulant has entered into a five-year partnership with Senegal-based Gainde 2000 to offer an end-to-end Pan-African technology infrastructure and payments solutions for trade, revenue & tax collection for governments and multinational companies.