Emirati operators Etisalat and Du have increased their cap on foreign share ownership from 20% to 49%.

India’s government is looking to sell its entire 26.12% stake in Tata Communications before the end of the current fiscal year.

Uruguay’s government is appointing a database administrator to begin implementing mobile number portability after many delays.

Cuba’s state-run operator ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba) has affirmed its goal of delivering fixed, wireless or mobile broadband to all districts in the Havana province before the end of 2021.

Recent deals involving Chile and Brazil underline the continuing growth of the data centre market in South America.

Philippines operators PLDT revealed a surge in mobile download speeds since 2017, with more plans to invest and bolster its networks in the pipeline.

Following hard on the heels of yesterday’s Bango and Tpay mobile money alliance comes another multi-regional digital finance deal. This time Wari and Lycaremit have announced a strategic partnership to facilitate cross-border remittance.

China’s central bank is seeking feedback on its antitrust proposals for stricter regulation of payment services provided by non-bank companies, such as Alibaba and Tencent.

Reports in the Kenyan press are making clear how much of a hit the country’s banks have taken from the recent surge in mobile money payments.

Latvia’s Bite has deployed a further six 5G base stations in Riga to expand its coverage in the capital.

Cable technology supplier Nexans opened a new plant in Morocco for its telecoms business unit, a move to bolster its industrial capabilities to cater to the European and North African markets.

Nepal is set to receive a new player in its mobile financial space in the form of the Nepali Digital Payment Company.

Tower One Wireless has stated that it has 75 new cell sites under construction across Latin America.

Vodafone and Russian operator MTS announced an extension of an existing strategic partnership through to 2023, as part of plans to further streamline operations.

TPay Mobile has partnered with Bango to increase access to digital commerce across Turkey, the Middle East and Africa.

Although Afghanistan continues to be confronted by numerous challenges, largely due to the material effects of many years of war and civil strife, there have been successes in the country’s efforts to rebuild infrastructure and create a functional telecom sector.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) is calling for feedback on its mobile number portability proposals via a public consultation.

Saudi Arabian operator Mobily, alongside vendor Nokia, is claiming a first: the first-ever network slicing trial on a live commercial network.

Vogel Telecom has partnered with Ciena to deploy Sao Paulo’s first 800G optical network.

Gilat Satellite Networks won another contract to boost mobile connectivity, this time to expand signal for two Mexican operators in a multi-million-dollar deal from AXESS Networks.

India’s Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA) has written to the country’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT), hoping to get speedy implementation of recommendations on infrastructure sharing policy. 

Satellite operator Eutelsat Communications has signed a framework agreement with its distribution partner InterSat to provide connectivity services to the Post Office in Côte d’Ivoire.

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom reportedly announced plans to upgrade 3G infrastructure to 5G-ready 4G systems in several locations on the islands of Visayas and Mindanao, continuing its mass connectivity upgrade programme.

Cameroon was for many years one of the few countries in Africa with only two competing mobile operators. After some delays, Viettel Cameroon launched a third network and has since grown its subscriber base rapidly.

Swedish equipment vendor Ericsson was chosen by Taiwanese operator Asia-Pacific Telecom (APT), to modernise its national 4G network with non-standalone 5G-ready equipment and services.

Further proof of the vast strides being made by cashless payment on the African continent comes from Malawi where a new agreement aims to enhance the country’s e-commerce sector.

The Brazilian government will not prevent Huawei from competing in 5G auction which is due to be held in June, a potential blow to US government efforts in restricting the manufacturer.

Telecom services in Madagascar have benefited from intensifying competition between the main operators, including Orange Madagascar, Airtel and the incumbent telco Telma.

Recent publicity from Equatorial Guinean operator Getesa has confirmed that it is now offering 4G/LTE smartphone services.

Chile’s regulator Subtel has confirmed that it now plans to auction several 5G frequencies across several rounds of bidding after a stalemate between the initial technical offers received from the country’s major players.