Hard on the heels of last week’s report that it boasts the highest average download speed for the mobile internet for 5G service, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has now announced that it has selected Ericsson as its managed services provider in Saudi Arabia.

Orange DRC has signed a 10-year deal with Canadian vendor NuRAN that will help it to expand its rural coverage across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

A merger between Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya could be back on the cards after the country’s High Court overruled objections from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).

Sao Tome and Principe’s incumbent provider CST (Companhia Santomense de Telecomunicacoes) has announced the expansion of its fibre optic network to the north of the island nation.

It’s been a strong week for 5G in the Middle East, with Omantel launching commercial 5G mobile services and Saudi Arabia announcing that its coverage total has increased to 51 cities.

Nokia has launched the 8th edition of its Mobile Broadband India Traffic Index (MBiT) 2021, outlining mobile broadband performance in India during 2020.

Russia’s MegaFon has formed a new joint venture with the government of Uzbekistan that will assume control over Ucell, formerly a unit of Telia.

Global communications company Viasat, Russian satellite operator Gazprom Space Systems (GSS) and Russian telecom operator TMC have signed an MOU that, the partners say, aims to advance in-flight connectivity (IFC) for airlines flying into and over Russia.

Nokia has partnered with Brazil’s independent Telecommunications Research and Development Center (CPQD) to develop applications and solutions tailored for the Brazilian market.

Oracle has announced plans to set up a new data centre in Jerusalem; it will function as a regional cloud provider for Israeli clients.

A study by Peru’s regulator Osiptel has found that an additional 36,695 base stations must be deployed by 2025 to meet growing data demand among the country’s subscribers.

Orange Business Services is collaborating with Orange Egypt to design and build a new data centre to provide cloud services for Egypt’s ‘New Administrative Capital'.

Nokia and Saudi operator Mobily have extended their managed services partnership by signing a three-year agreement under which Nokia will manage and maintain Mobily’s radio and transport network in Riyadh and other regions.

India’s government is refusing to yield in its longstanding tax dispute with Vodafone Group by appealing the case in the Singapore High Court.

Tellence Technologies, a privately held technology services company headquartered in Bucharest, is to be acquired by a leading digital transformation and product development services firm.

Colombia could see a major boost to fixed access with a new agreement that, it is claimed, will provide the capital Bogotá with the largest fibre optic network coverage for fibre to the home (FTTH) in Latin America.

Hungary’s Curia (Supreme Court) has dismissed an appeal by fixed and mobile provider DIGI against its exclusion from the country’s 5G spectrum allocation process by regulator NMHH (National Media & Infocommunications Authority).

Israel’s Cellcom has filed a lawsuit in the Tel Aviv District Court accusing its rival Xfone of illegally terminating their network sharing agreement.

There’s been interesting spectrum-related news from South America recently – much of it related to rollout plans for 5G in Chile and Argentina.

ZTE Corporation has announced that Beijing Guodu Interconnection Technology, Shanghai Dahan Tricom and Nanjing Shumai Information Technology have become the first three partners to pass the ZTE 5G Messaging Openlab Technical Certification test.

Senegalese regulator ARTP (L’Autorite de Regulation des Telecommunications et des Postes) has formally warned Expresso Telecom that it must improve its services or face being stripped of its operating licence.

According to local press reports, the Gabonese government is preparing to sell more shares held in three companies relating to telecoms, water and energy, and banking.

The recently reported findings of an Indian parliamentary panel on information technology have indicated that not enough has been done to prepare for 5G rollout.

Myanmar’s operators have restored internet services one day after being ordered to suspend them amid mass protests against the country’s authorities.

The Peruvian Corporation of Commercial Airports and Aviation (CORPAC) has awarded satellite networking technology, solutions and services company Gilat a multi-million-dollar contract to provide mission-critical telecom systems for 29 of Peru's airports.

Ukraine’s developing telecom market has attracted international investors in recent years. One of the major players, Russia’s MTS, in mid-2020 sold its interest in Vodafone Ukraine to Azerbaijani investors.