Telecom Armenia has begun construction on a new fibre-optic Next Generation Network (NGN) in the Armenian capital of Yerevan.

Etisalat, one of the leading telecommunications operators in emerging markets, has selected Domain Orchestration solutions from Netcracker Technology – a subsidiary of NEC Corporation that offers digital transformation solutions – to complement its strategy of bringing new and innovative 5G services to market.

The saga of South African regulator ICASA and the release of more spectrum to operators has taken another twist, with ICASA now planning to appeal a recent court order halting a forthcoming spectrum auction.

A recently signed partnership agreement between connectivity provider Dwi Tunggal Putra (DTP) and SES Networks is likely to boost access to telecommunications for residents of 158 villages in remote parts of Indonesia’s West Java Province.

Hard on the heels of South Africa’s similar announcement, Nigeria’s National Broadcasting Commission now says that the country’s Digital Switch Over (DSO) project will be completed by middle of 2022 when the country will fully transit from analogue to digital terrestrial broadcasting.

Guinean regulator ARPT (L’Autoritie de Regulation des Postes et Telecommunications) will deactivate any SIM cards that remain unregistered from 2nd May this year.

Claro Peru is now offering commercial fixed-wireless 5G broadband via its 3.5GHz spectrum holding.

Last week saw Paratus Namibia announce the signing of its first fibre Open Access agreement, onboarding Africa Online as a client.

Brazilian regulator Anatel (Agencia Nacional de Telecomunicacoes) has cleared a proposal that will see the 6GHz (5925MHz-7125MHz) frequency band opened for unlicensed Wi-Fi 6E access.

Zain’s local unit in South Sudan has launched a commercial 4G offering in the capital city Juba.

Tuvalu Telecommunications Corporation’s (TTC) is upgrading its network with satellite services provider ABS to expand Pacific Islands connectivity.

Ghana’s only Tier IV data centre has reportedly been bought by fund management group African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), which now promises to make the former Etix facility the largest data centre in the country.

Slovenian operator T-2 has filed a new damages claim against Telekom Slovenije, accusing the market leader of abusing its dominance.

Vodafone Hungary has confirmed that it now has 200 5G base stations live in Budapest, marking the completion of the expansion plan it announced in October 2020.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is making its first investment into Kyrgyzstan in the form of a US$3 million loan to wholesale broadband operator ElCat.

TIM Brasil has entered exclusive talks with IHS Brasil Participacoes over the potential sale of a stake in its fibre network assets unit, FiberCo Solucoes de Infraestrutura (FiberCo).

Mexico’s GigNet has chosen Tejas Networks’ optical networking and broadband access products for its high-capacity fiber optic network expansion in the Cancun region of Mexico.

Vodafone Fiji, the dominant mobile operator in the country, has announced two firsts: one involving digital SIMs, the other concerning the arrival of Wi-Fi in a remote area of Fiji.

The backlash to WhatsApp’s announcement of a new privacy policy continues. The latest adverse response has come from South Africa.

Telecom Egypt has announced plans to launch what it calls the Hybrid African Ring Path (HARP), a new subsea system that will outline the African continent, forming the shape of a harp. The launch is due to take place by 2023.

For many years Uzbekistan has been struggling to bring its telecommunications system up to the standard found in developed countries.

Xiaomi has taken third place in the Latin American smartphone market after rival Huawei dropped out of the top five brands in Q4 2020.

Malaysia’s Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has stated that its 5G vehicle Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) will be subject to the same regulations as other communications firms despite being a government body.

Claro and Entel’s Peruvian units have been cleared to offer 5G new radio (NR) fixed-wireless internet services via their existing 3.5GHz spectrum holdings.

Guinea is planning to revive the country’s shuttered fixed line provider Sotelgui (Societe des Telecoms de Guinee) through international investment.

Following yesterday’s news of a potential agreement to set up a new fibre optic broadband wholesaler in Brazil, this deal has now been confirmed.

The  Raxio Group, a pan-African data centre developer and operator, has claimed a first. It will establish and invest in Raxio Kinshasa, the first in a series of state-of-the-art, privately owned, carrier-neutral data centres in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Lithuania’s small telecoms market is among the more advanced in Europe, particularly given the universal access to LTE infrastructure and the extensive fibre footprint.