South African operator MTN has announced plans to invest some $11.8 million in network expansion in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province.

Trinidad and Tobago’s state-owned telecommunications provider TSTT has been told that it is legally obliged to implement fixed number portability (FNP). However, TSTT may attempt to bring the case back to court.

Somalia’s National Communications Authority (NCA) has set a deadline of 31st August for all unlicensed service providers nationwide to apply for an operating permit.

The Moldovan telecom market has been affected by a combination of high unemployment and economic difficulties which have led to constraints on consumer spend.

Latvia’s telecom market continues to benefit from investment and from regulatory measures aimed at developing 5G and fibre-based infrastructure.

The economic prosperity of Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) largely rests with the country’s continuing integration with the EU. GDP growth was inconsistent for several years before 2015, since when the economy had grown at above 3% annually.

Indonesian telecommunications provider PT Indosat (Indosat Ooredoo) has reaffirmed plans to phase out its 3G network as it shifts resources to develop 4G and 5G services in a rapidly evolving market.

Serbian state-owned telecommunications operator Telekom Srbija will establish a subsidiary in North Macedonia called Mtel and start offering mobile services there by the end of 2021.

Chinese multinational technology company Huawei Technologies has announced the launch of a new data processing centre in Russia.

Interswitch Group, the Africa-oriented technology-driven company focused on payments, has signed a deal with K-Unity Sacco to provide the savings and credit society's more than 100,000 members with secure digital payment services.

If recent reports are anything to go by, another major operator, this time Philippines-headquartered PLDT, is considering selling some of its passive infrastructure.

A new subsea and terrestrial system linking Europe, the Middle East and India is on the way – and a specialist investment trust has announced a significant financial input into the project.

Digicel Fiji has launched a satellite broadband service branded as Digisat that aims to deliver affordable universal data connectivity to remote communities across Fiji.

Uruguay’s state operator Antel is aiming to invest US$147 million into upgrading its fibre-optic network throughout 2022.

Ericsson has won a 3% share of a joint 5G radio contract offered by China Telecom and China Unicom.

Axiata Group and its Indonesian subsidiary XL Axiata have signed a non-binding agreement to acquire a 66.03% holding in Indonesian broadband provider LinkNet.

Jamaica’s telecom sector has for many years been propped up by the mobile sector, which accounts for the vast majority of internet connections and voice lines – as well as just over half of telecom sector revenue.

Although Bolivia had enjoyed strong economic growth prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, GDP remains among the lowest in South America.

In common with several other mid-sized countries in the region, Ecuador has a small telecom market dominated by the mobile sector.

Honduras is among the poorest countries in Central America and has long been plagued by an unstable political framework which has rendered telecom sector reform difficult.

Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) reported an increase of 5% in net profits to BD37.5 million ($99.5 million) for H1 2021.

MyT Mobile, Mauritius Telecom (MT)'s mobile network, has launched the 5G services in the country one month after it obtained a 5G license for mobile telephony.

Slovenian provider of telecommunications services Telekom Slovenije is the only telecom operator participating in the European project 5G-IANA (Intelligent Automotive Network Applications).

United Arab Emirates (UAE) telecoms group Emirates Telecommunication Group Company (Etisalat) has recorded a 3.9% rise in first-half net profit after federal royalties to AED4.7 billion (USD1.28 billion).

International service provider Sparkle has announced a collaboration with Google, among a number of other companies, to build the Blue and Raman submarine cable systems. Blue will connect Italy, France, Greece and Israel, while Raman will connect Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Oman and India.

5G to drive mobile services market in China through 2026, said a study. The total mobile service revenues in China are poised to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1% from US$131.3bn in 2021 to US$152.7bn in 2026.

Tata Sons subsidiary Panatone Finvest Ltd has proposed to buy a 43.3% stake in Tejas Networks, a global optical, broadband, and data networking products company, for around INR 1,850 crore (USD 249 million) in a multi-step deal.

Qatari multinational telecommunications company Ooredoo has posted strong financial results for the first half (H1) of 2021, maintaining its growth momentum despite operational challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

A1 Bulgaria, the GSM mobile phone operator in the country, has signed a new contract for the Bulgarian market together with the specialist in Conversational AI (CAI) for the enterprise Artificial Solutions and its partner Microsoft.

Silkbank, a leading commercial and Islamic bank in Pakistan, has gone live with digital banking platform Temenos Infinity from banking software company Temenos.