The original deadline for NIN-SIM registration in Nigeria was the end of 2020. It’s been moved three times since then. The new deadline – the fourth in total – is 6 May.

The global drive to encourage digital payment continues – this time with an announcement from Sri Lankan operator SLT-Mobitel that its mobile money arm mCash has partnered with payments solution giant Visa.

Bharti Airtel has announced the expansion of what it calls its green energy footprint with the commissioning of a captive solar power plant for its data centres in Uttar Pradesh.

The long-promised Russian software legislation favouring local companies came into force late this week. Smartphones, computers and other smart devices purchased in Russia must now come pre-installed with Russian software.

Pan-African group Smile Telecoms Holdings has agreed a debt restructuring plan with its lenders.

Cellnex will formally assume control over 7000 telecom tower sites formerly owned by Poland’s Play (Polkomtel).

Saudi Arabia’s Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) has issued what it calls its Three-year Outlook for Commercial and Innovative Use of the Spectrum in Saudi Arabia – and Wi-Fi supporters appear to be very happy with the contents.

Brazil’s Oi has closed the sale of its tower unit to Highline after signing an initial agreement in November last year.

Digitec Communications appears on track to launch mobile services in Papua New Guinea by the end of 2021.

The formation of a new Indian telecommunications industry body has just been announced. It’s called the Satcom Industry Association (SiA-India).

Cambodian operator Smart Axiata has announced plans to invest more than $90 million in its mobile network infrastructure in 2021.

Suriname’s leading operator Telesur has signed a ten-year contract with Cerillion for a fully convergent BSS/OSS platform.

Data centre provider ST Telemedia Global Data Centres’ India unit has announced a new partnership with Indian cleantech company Avaada Energy to procure renewable energy.

Hungary-based IT service management company 4iG Plc says it has entered into a preliminary agreement with the Romanian RCS & RDS consortium for the acquisition of the Hungarian interests of the Digi Group, a leading telecommunications service provider in Hungary.

Botswana’s information technology and communication (ICT) sector may be about to receive a boost, after news that the country’s government has decided to direct more projects towards locally owned ICT businesses.

According to local press reports, India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is set to earmark additional 5G spectrum bands in the run-up to the next auction. The question, however, is, which ones will be added?

Nokia and Mobily have completed a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network deployment in the L-800 band in Saudi Arabia.

According to a blog on the IBM website, the technology giant has launched a proof of concept (PoC) with Movistar, a Telefonica brand, to deploy one of the first fully functional Open RAN networks, covering 81,000 inhabitants in the city of Puerto Madryn in Argentina.

South Africa’s operators will be able to make use of their emergency spectrum allocations for an additional two months after regulator ICASA (Independent Communications Authority of South Africa) delayed a scheduled multi-band auction.

Recent news from India indicates that there has been a lot of activity and comment relating to 5G spectrum and its pricing and allocation. However, whether this will help to advance the rollout of 5G is hard to say.

Senegal’s Sonatel has won a contract from Benin’s government to run the state-owned SBIN (Societe Beninoise d’Infrastructures Numeriques, or Beninese Digital Infrastructure Company) with the ultimate goal of launching a third network in the market.

A major new announcement from pan-African data centre developer and operator  Raxio is a useful reminder of the continuing acceleration of data centre development across Africa.

Namibia will require all mobile phone users to register their SIM card prior to accessing services following the introduction of new regulation.

Not to be outdone by its longtime rival Globe Telecom, which this week announced a major upgrade to its 4G services while pledging new 5G coverage, Smart Communications confirmed that it has activated over 2000 5G sites in the Philippines.

South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is holding discussions with shareholders in a bid to avert the liquidation of pan-African operating group Smile Telecoms Holdings.

Nokia and Safaricom have confirmed yesterday’s news that East Africa’s first commercial 5G services have been launched in parts of Kenya, and have added more detail about the technology involved.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has launched an investigation into WhatsApp’s delayed and highly controversial privacy policy update.

Kenya’s leading operator Safaricom has announced plans to launch a 5G network this Friday in Nairobi and western Kenya.

According to local press reports, the Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Communication and Information (KemKominfo/MCI), has again opened the 2.3GHz spectrum auction in the 2.360-2.390MHz range for 4G (and possibly also 5G) services.