The Azerbaijani economy has a major dependence on oil resources and the ICT industry. The COVID-19 pandemic and oil price slump is expected to result in an economic contraction of 2.2% in 2020, and slow recovery afterwards. The telecom sector is also exposed to the risk of delays in infrastructure and the launching of services based on new technologies, including 5G.

Djibouti is one of the few remaining countries in which the national telco, Djibouti Telecom, has a monopoly on all telecom services, including fixed lines, mobile, internet and broadband. The lack of competition has meant that the market has not lived up to its potential.

Indonesia’s large population and complex geography pose a number of challenges for governments to develop economic growth. These challenges are mirrored in the telecom sector, which is well served by mobile infrastructure, but which has inadequate fixed-line capacity in many areas.

Morocco has developed one of the most advanced telecommunications markets in Africa, supported by the government’s Maroc Digital 2020 strategy to encourage the development of a digital economy and on the National Broadband Plan which aims to provide fixed or mobile broadband access to the entire population by 2022. The country had the fastest mobile broadband data rates in Africa as of June 2020, a testament to investments made by the MNOs over the years.

Zimbabwe since 2019 has been hit by significant macro-economic difficulties, a climate-related drought, and the effects of COVID-19. Revenue from the telecom sector came under pressure from a number of recent regulatory measures and taxes imposed by the cash-strapped government, though to alleviate the effects of inflation, mobile service tariffs have been increased three times since mid-2019.

Chile’s Mundo Pacifico is looking to climb up the country’s fibre broadband rankings by becoming the second firm in the world to adopt the HyperNET solution.

Brazil-based Internet service provider Triple Play Participacoes set October 14 for its initial public offering.

Slovakia’s government has stated that it plans to commence its delayed 5G spectrum auction before the end of 2020.

Philippines operator Globe Telecom announced a large-scale network upgrade backed by massive investments, in a bid to boost connectivity services in the country by 2021 and adhering to government requests. 

Sri Lankan operator Mobitel is launching direct carrier billing in the market with Fortumo.

Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance is reportedly looking to sell off a stake in state provider Ethio Telecom next month.

Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi deployed mobile retail stores to reach rural areas of India, in a bid to recover sales lost during the shutdown of the country’s economy.

Airtel bought a 10 per cent stake in AI cloud telephony start-up Wayebo, as part of plans to upgrade its enterprise cloud offering.

The United Arab Emirates’ telecommunications regulator set an ambitious target of 100% 5G coverage in the country by 2025, in a bid to become technology leaders of the network standard in the Middle East.

Indian operator Bharti Airtel wrote to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to confirm its first payment in adjusted gross revenue (AGR) due, in a bid to bring clarity to the complicated process.

Filipino operator PLDT has stated that it will migrate all customers still using its legacy copper wire network onto fibre within the next 18 months.

Turkcell has completed the next phase of its OSS transformation using Netcracker’s suite of solutions.

Chile’s Movistar is looking to sell a 10MHz block of 1900MHz spectrum via a private tender.

Kyrgyzstan’s regulator announced its series of spectrum auctions scheduled for this month has been called off due to a lack of interest.

Telenor Serbia and Montenegro CTO Sasa Lekovic hailed recent digital transformation efforts for preparing the operators for future revenue streams, predicting new ICT infrastructure and data leverage will become vital in this as technology evolves.

Telecom Egypt has applied to the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to acquire a holding of 2600MHz TDD spectrum.

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom rolled out 5G connectivity to more key cities in Metro Manila, as the operator continues deployment plans.

MFS Africa and Moroccan mobile money provider inwi money are bringing smooth and affordable international digital money transfers and payments to Morocco.

3 Indonesia deployed software from Indian mobility solutions provider Comviva, in a bid to tackle stock issues on its device voucher top-up system and enhance the customer experience.

Croatian operator Hrvatski Telecom kicked off plans in upgrading its HRK19 million ($3 million) fibre-optic network, pledging to connect thousands of premises to 100Mbps connectivity speed.

Romania saw a setback with its telecoms regulator stating it would be impossible to issue interested parties 5G licences, at a scheduled auction in the fourth quarter of this year.

The Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications announced telecom operators in the country will reduce call and data tariffs, in a reflection of a recent tax cut by the government.

Telkom South Africa and Telenor penned a managed roaming agreement which will enable Telkom to enhance roaming products for retail customers.

A new agreement has been announced that aims to allow satellite service providers to access Spanish-speaking markets throughout South America.

Philippines-based telecoms group PLDT hailed its preparation in future-proofing its network which proved vital during the Covid-19 pandemic, and urged other operators to diligently bolster their networks, in order to prepare for a new normal of operating.

It’s been a very busy week for Nokia. Following an LTE FWA announcement involving Nigeria and an FTTH announcement involving the Philippines, there’s now 4G expansion news from Azerbaijan.