It’s been a busy time for cashless payments in India, with two big announcements in the past week involving the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), an umbrella organisation for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.

Myanmar is making telecoms news headlines yet again – and yet again this news is receiving attention well beyond the specialist press. This time it’s because the scam centre business that has burgeoned in the country is allegedly being enabled, in part, by satellite communications provider Starlink.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Bahrain late last week announced the launch of a public consultation on what it calls a landmark proposal to authorise satellite direct-to-device (D2D) services in Bahrain.

UAE-based telco du launched two new sovereign AI offerings at GITEX Global 2025 on Monday – an AI Park in Dubai, and a National Hybrid AI platform via its ICT solutions arm, du Tech – that it said will position the UAE as an AI innovation hub.

Ericsson announced on Monday it has signed a multi-year agreement with global technology group e& to upgrade e& UAE’s 5G core network to support new services such as immersive gaming and mission-critical IoT services.

Malaysian 5G telco U Mobile announced on Monday that Eastel, a new mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) from Anchor Communications, has signed a deal to be its first 5G and 4G wholesale access customer.

Wireless solutions company Comba Telecom Limited, and Nedaa Professional Communication Corporation, a provider of mission-critical communications and secure technology platforms, have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic collaboration aimed at advancing next-generation telecommunications solutions in the UAE and beyond.

AI technologies-focused company Graphcore, a wholly owned subsidiary of multinational investment holding company SoftBank, says it is opening a new AI engineering campus in Bengaluru in India.

Omani operator Omantel has partnered with Decoil, an Omani AI startup described as a graduate of Omantel Innovation Labs – the company’s innovation arm dedicated to nurturing startups and accelerating technological breakthroughs – to co-develop Enterprise Brain, an AI-powered knowledge platform designed to enhance enterprise intelligence.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) is reportedly set to auction off 700-MHz spectrum at the start of next year, although how much spectrum will be available depends on a pending court case, which could impact operator interest in the auction.

Singapore-based telecom solutions provider Globe Teleservices says it has signed a partnership deal with Cambodian telco CamGSM (a.k.a. Cellcard) to deliver an A2P SMS firewall solution.

Telecom infrastructure and connectivity solutions provider ACES India announced on Friday it has partnered with state-owned telco Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) to deploy 4G and 5G in-building solutions (IBS) across the newly inaugurated Mumbai Metro Aqua Line-3.

Thai telco True Corp announced on Friday it has completed its project to integrate the networks of True and dtac, around two and a half years after both companies merged into a single operator.

Ericsson has pledged to manufacture all telecoms equipment sold in India domestically, in line with the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.

Global independent tower company IHS Towers announced on Thursday that it has officially completed the sale of its Rwanda unit and its approximately 1,467 sites to Paradigm Tower Ventures.

Malaysian telco YTL Communications launched 5G Advanced services on Thursday, starting in the Klang Valley, making it the first commercial operator in the country to offer live 5G-A.

Papua New Guinea’s state-owned telecoms network wholesaler PNG DataCo says that internet services in the southeastern towns of Popondetta and Alotau have been disrupted due to a subsea cable break likely caused by an earthquake on Tuesday.

Polish dry bulk vessel operator Polsteam has chosen Marlink, which supplies managed services for business-critical ICT solutions, to upgrade connectivity and cybersecurity solutions on board 50 of the vessels it controls.

Medusa, the submarine fibre optic cable system owned by AFR-IX Telecom, an infrastructure and licensed telecommunication operator that delivers internet and data services across Africa, has landed at a cable landing station in Marseille, France.

Nokia and UAE telco du announced on Wednesday that they have successfully completed a trial of Nokia’s AI and GPT-powered automation assistant designed to simplify and accelerate optical network expansions and operations, and improve network efficiencies.

IHS Brazil, part of the IHS Towers group, announced on Wednesday it has signed a new site agreement with TIM S.A. that further extends the two companies’ partnership in the Brazilian market.

ZTE Corporation hosted the Global Summit & User Congress 2025 in Milan, Italy on October 6-7 under the theme "Expanding Intelligence, Creating Possibilities".

e& UAE announced on Tueday it has signed a performance partner program agreement with Honeywell to deploy pre-configured, mobile-first 5G and AI-enabled solutions tailored for the UAE’s private sector.

Singapore-based data centre operator Digital Edge announced on Wednesday it has secured IDR 5.5 trillion (US$325 million) in funding from Bank Central Asia (BCA) to finance its planned expansion in Indonesia.

Ukrainian telco Kyivstar announced on Tuesday that it has postponed the planned shutdown of its 3G network in Chernihiv due to increased shelling and power outages in the city.

Ciena announced on Monday that Vietnamese telco Viettel has deployed its 800G coherent optics technology to boost the service capacity of its optical backbone network, which will also help Viettel accelerate its 5G rollout.

Tech Credit Fund, which says it backs entrepreneurs bringing the net to the ‘kasi’ (township), has launched a credit facility to help Black-owned internet service providers (ISPs) to expand broadband access in South Africa’s townships and rural communities.

The world’s first commercial underwater data centre is now operational in Hainan, an island province of China and the nation’s southernmost point.

Private 5G continues to make steady inroads into the Indian market. Advanced 5G infrastructure specialist Tidal Wave Technologies and mission-critical communication solutions provider Consort Digital say they have successfully completed a pilot project for 5G-based mission-critical communications for the first time at a mine in India.

Pan-African operator Airtel Africa has announced what it calls a historic breakthrough for African railways connectivity: the successful testing of satellite internet on a moving train in sub-Saharan Africa.

Airtel Business, the enterprise arm of India’s global communications solutions provider Bharti Airtel, says it has secured a multi-year contract from the Indian Railway Security Operations Centre (IRSOC) to deliver security services to safeguard the digital backbone of India’s railway network.