An interesting memorandum of understanding (MoU) has just been announced in Brazil. It aims to support power infrastructure at the Rio AI City project and involves a number of partners – including one that is part of the Google Moonshot initiative.

Digital transformation projects focused on younger end users have been highlighted this week in West Africa where operator Orange Liberia has signalled its support for digital literacy and the government of Guinea has targeted internet provision for schools.

Umniah by Beyon has signed a five-year agreement naming Ericsson as its exclusive radio access network (RAN) supplier for 3G, 4G and 5G technologies in Jordan.

SpaceX’s satellite internet unit Starlink is reportedly in talks with operators in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to expand coverage to remote and underserved areas.

Satellite communications provider Globalstar has announced the addition of eight new six-metre C-3 tracking antennas to its ground stations across Brazil, supporting its third-generation mobile satellite services across Central and South America.

Multinational telecommunications corporation Orange and satellite operator Eutelsat have announced the inauguration of a new teleport hosting Eutelsat's satellite gateway in the Caribbean island Martinique. This strategic project aims to strengthen satellite coverage for the Eutelsat OneWeb constellation in the Caribbean region.

UAE-based Space42 announced on Wednesday that its next-gen Thuraya-4 satellite is now globally available for customers in Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, with new markets including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia.

Pan-African telecoms and network services provider Paratus Group announced on Wednesday it has expanded its operations into Uganda via a joint venture with Kampala-based ISP and managed solutions provider Roke Telkom.

The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) reportedly plans to block satellite operators linked to China from providing services to broadcasters and teleport operators in the name of national security.

Bharti Airtel was given the greenlight to increase its shares in Indus Towers by up to 5%, strengthening its control in India’s largest tower infrastructure provider.

Axian Telecom’s fibre subsidiary, Axian Telecom Fibre, has completed the acquisition of 99.63% stake in Wananchi Group, a fixed broadband provider, as it looks to strengthen its position in high-demand fibre markets across East Africa.

Ericsson announced on Tuesday that it has renewed its partnership with Bahrainian telco Batelco by Beyon, which will deploy Ericsson’s latest RAN solutions to expand coverage of its 5G network.

Telkomsel says it has struck a partnership deal with Indonesian smart home solutions firm BARDI to implement its dashcam smart device as an IoT-based vehicle security solution for Indonesia’s automotive and manufacturing sectors.

Microsoft officially unveiled plans on Tuesday for its second cloud region in Malaysia, Southeast Asia 3, which it said will meet growing demand for cloud services and drive long-term economic growth for Malaysia, as well as accelerate AI uptake across Southeast Asia.

There is bad news for operators in both Chad and Zambia, whose telecommunications regulators have highlighted what they see as serious quality of service (QoS) deficiencies in their mobile communications offerings.

Bahrain-headquartered technology group Beyon has announced the establishment of its second fully green solar-powered data centre with the successful completion of Phase 3 of the Beyon Solar Park developed in partnership with solar solutions company Almoayyed Solar.

Tanzania has been accused of shutting down internet access and restricting social media around recent elections that saw protests accusing the state of hindering democracy after the main opposition party, Chadema, was barred from participating, and its leader, Tundu Lissu, was arrested on treason charges.

Orange submarine cable subsidiary Orange Marine announced the construction of two new cable ships to boost the resilience of digital infrastructure across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Digital Realty has launched ACR2, its first data centre in Ghana, that it says will serve as a critical hub in Ghana’s digital ecosystem by connecting it to global markets and empowering businesses with highly connected infrastructure.

Ericsson said on Monday it has successfully completed MTN Nigeria’s first field trial of a triple-band FDD massive MIMO radio that integrates the telco’s entire 4G mid-band spectrum into a single, compact radio unit.

PLDT’s corporate arm, PLDT Enterprise, said on Monday it has partnered with API exposure platform developer Nabstract to enable direct user authentication via open network APIs rather than one-time passwords (OTPs).

Two submarine cables – one linking the UAE and Kenya and the other linking Tunisia with France – have made news recently, the former thanks to a new launch, the latter because of a successful landing.

Problems continue to pile up for troubled Brazilian operator Oi, with news late last week that rival operator Claro is to take over a connectivity contract it formerly managed.

Automation and orchestration specialist Inmanta expanded its sovereign cloud automation offering to Africa, aiming to help telecom operators and datacentre providers boost efficiency and maintain data sovereignty as infrastructure investment accelerates across the continent.

Smart utilities are again in the news after InfraX, a subsidiary of Digital DEWA, the digital arm of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, and technology giant Ericsson recently announced that they had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to accelerate the digital transformation of the utility sector in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Wingu Africa, a specialist provider of carrier-neutral, Tier III-standard data centres in East Africa, has entered a strategic partnership with Africa Data Centres, which operates the continent’s largest network of interconnected facilities.

MTN said on Friday it has migrated its Enterprise Value Analytics (EVA) platform in South Africa to Microsoft Azure, which it says will give the telco greater agility and intelligence in how it uses data to enhance customer experience, improve operational efficiency, and enable responsible AI deployment.

Ukrainian telco Kyivstar said on Friday that it’s preparing to expand its testing of Starlink’s Direct-to-Cell (D2C) satellite service to all areas of Ukraine, apart from border zones, temporarily occupied territories and areas where fighting is happening amid the ongoing invasion by Russia.

Qatar-based Ooredoo Group announced it is collaborating with Ericsson-led open network API joint venture Aduna to make its open network APIs available to businesses across the MENA region and around the world via the Aduna platform.

Telecom Fiji and Solomon Telekom announced on Friday that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen technical cooperation and support skills development in the telecoms field.

Mozambique’s government has made 5G coverage compulsory in all provincial capitals, while scrapping its earlier plan to auction spectrum licences to mobile operators.