Digital fintech enablement provider Ukheshe Technologies and Infobip, a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected customer experiences, say they have developed South Africa’s very first WhatsApp payment gateway. It is to be used by mobile operator Telkom.

Bulgaria’s Vivacom has issued a legal challenge to the regulator’s decision to allocate 5G spectrum frequencies without conducting a scheduled auction.

UAE-based operator du has signed a four-year 5G expansion deal with Nokia.

Infinera, a supplier of networking solutions, and American Tower, a leading independent owner, operator and developer of multi-tenant communications real estate, have announced the successful completion of the first point-to-multipoint coherent optical transmission in a carrier network environment in Latin America.

The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), the country’s main regulatory body for telecommunications, has invited companies to take part in a satellite broadband scheme that aims to serve a number of hard-to-reach areas of the country.

Pan-African technology group Liquid Telecom has rebranded itself as Liquid Intelligent Technologies, the culmination, it says, of its extensive business transformation from being a telecommunications and digital services provider to a full one-stop-shop technology group.

Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet), a wholesale provider of national and international telecommunication infrastructure, has announced plans to build a data centre at the Science and Technology Park in Gaborone, the country’s capital.

Brazil’s Oi has sold off a data centre unit to Piemonte Holding for BRL367 million ($65.3 million) in a further manouevre to restructure its debt burden.

Orange Cameroon has extended its Network as a Service (NAAS) contract with NuRAN Wireless to add a further 120 sites to its footprint in the market.

MTS Belarus registered a year-on-year mobile data traffic increase of 43.6% during 2020, driven by a 56.5% rise in smartphone subscribers on its network.

LogRhythm has partnered with Mideast Communication Systems (MCS) to deliver next-generation security information and event management (NextGen SIEM) solutions to organisations across the Middle East and East Africa.

The woes of state-owned Indian operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have apparently deepened after a request to use 4G core technology from established names for a future rollout was turned down.

Oman has blocked the American audio app Clubhouse. The reason given was that it did not have the right permit.

Israel’s Bezeq has begun the commercial rollout of its fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) network.

A busy period for pan-African operator MTN Group – and its ongoing plan to sell assets, pay down debt and invest in expansion – looks set to continue.

A Zimbabwean union of communications workers is calling for the beleaguered state-backed mobile firm Telecel to enter receivership or a corporate rescue process.

Pakistan's media has recently reported on government plans for significant tax cuts for telecommunications companies and services.

Malawi has unveiled a five-year Digital Economy Strategy aimed at massively boosting access to connectivity by 2026.

Gautam Buddha International Airport has become the second airport in Nepal to deploy a TETRA (two-way radio) communication solution, following TETRA adoption by Tribhuvan International Airport. The solution will be led by SC20 hand-held radios from Sepura, a leading supplier of public safety communications, which deploys radios in both of Nepal's airports.

The situation regarding the merger of India’s state-run telecommunications operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has become a touch more complex.

United Group is reportedly weighing up whether to remove equipment manufactured by Huawei from its networks.

Cape Verde is on track to clear its “digital dividend” spectrum by the end of June.

The Philippines’ newest operator DITO Telecommunity has been awarded a 25-year operating franchise after the Senate committee on public services approved the move.

Jordan’s Umniah has confirmed imminent plans to shutter its 2G network to allow further investment and more extensive upgrades to its 3G and 4G networks.

A plan to build one of the largest new greenfield campuses in the Mumbai region has been announced by Singapore-based Princeton Digital Group (PDG), one of Asia’s leading data centre providers.

Digicel has signed an agreement with the Government of Curaçao under the School Digitalisation Project that will see 118 schools receive high-speed fibre optic internet connectivity.

Zambia has passed sweeping laws to criminalise cyber abuse. But local commentators have argued that the move is really a way of stifling free speech in the run-up to elections due in August – and it does appear to have uncomfortable echoes of state intervention in places like Russia, China, Uganda and Cambodia.

Hot on the heels of its rival Claro, Entel Peru has announced the launch of a 5G New Radio (NR) fixed-wireless broadband offering using 3.5GHz spectrum.