Last week’s agreement between Togo and Burkina Faso to end roaming charges for incoming calls comes into effect at the end of this month. But is it really part of a growing wave of roaming initiatives across West Africa?

The global smartphone market recorded flat growth in the first quarter of 2025, as signs of saturation emerge in key developing regions, according to the latest report from analyst firm Canalys.

Magalu Cloud, a cloud computing services platform, and data centres and connectivity company Ascenty, have committed to continuing a partnership to support the digital transformation of Brazil’s retail sector.

Digital infrastructure company Khazna Data Centres, part of UAE-based artificial intelligence-focused technology group G42, has announced plans to build an AI-capable data centre in Turkey, with a potential capacity of up to 100MW, after securing a site in Başkent Organized Industrial Zone in Ankara.

Airtel Uganda has expanded its 4G network to Kazo District with the establishment and launch of new base stations in Rwemikoma as part of a broader drive to deploy more base stations and upgrade existing ones in the Ankole sub-region.

Ericsson said on Tuesday it is partnering with Ooredoo Qatar to modernize its charging system with a cloud-native solution to help the telco more flexibly monetise its  5G standalone (5G SA) network.

UAE-based telco du says it has joined the FreeMove Alliance between Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telia, and TIM, which expands the reach of the alliance’s global mobile connectivity solutions for multinational corporations (MNCs) into the Middle East.

Aspiring LEO satellite player Rivada Space Networks announced on Monday it has signed new deals enabling it to launch its "Outernet" services in Costa Rica and the Czech Republic.

Operator Ethio Telecom, in partnership with Siinqee Bank, an Ethiopian provider of banking and microfinance services, has launched a new range of mobile financial services and smartphone financing solutions.

Egyptian fintech company Fawry has partnered with global communications platform Truecaller, which calls itself the world’s best caller ID and spam blocking app, to provide its customers with a more secure, transparent, and seamless calling experience.

MTN has revealed that hackers gained access to some customers’ personal information, but emphasised that the core functions of its business remained unaffected and fully operational throughout the incident.

SpaceX’s LEO satellite unit Starlink is one step closer to launching services in Bangladesh after the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) reportedly approved its application for a satellite internet licence.

4iG Group, a leading ICT company in Hungary and the Western Balkans, has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Azerbaijan's state space agency Azercosmos.

Quite a few weeks after Ethiopia’s maiden initial public offering (IPO) closed, Ethio Telecom has revealed how many of the company’s shares were actually sold of the 100 million on offer – and it seems the total was very modest indeed.

Global internet backbone and data services provider Arelion and Latin American network provider Gold Data have announced a strategic partnership to leverage dark fibre infrastructure.

Bharti Airtel has announced plans to expand its international roaming (IR) portfolio by introducing unlimited data bundles available across 189 countries.

Vodafone Business and Maroc Telecom, which is majority-owned by e&, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide connectivity and digital services to enterprises in Morocco.

AzerTelecom and Kazakhtelecom said they have awarded a supervision services contract to subsea cable project management firm Pioneer Consulting to oversee construction of the Trans-Caspian Submarine Cable System connecting Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

Orange Group has once again praised its Middle East and Africa (MEA) division for driving revenue growth in the first quarter of 2025, marking the unit’s eighth consecutive quarter of expansion amid ongoing global economic turbulence.

Satellite operator Viasat says it has completed another demo of its direct-to-device (D2D) technology in Brazil – this one using consumer smartphones – following last month’s D2D demo for connected cars.

There has been unease expressed by the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ)  about many of the provisions in Zambia's new Cyber Security Act, which recently became law.

Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa has pledged to elevate the company’s mobile money platform, M-Pesa, into its next phase-emphasising the need for stronger cybersecurity and uninterrupted service.

UAE operator Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) has announced a major hyperscale data centre deal with Microsoft.

Globalsat Brasil, a Brazilian affiliate of satellite telecommunications company Globalsat Group, says it is leading the modernisation of communications for the locomotives of logistics company VLI Logística, in partnership with Viasat.

UAE-based Khazna Data Centers said it has broken ground on two new facilities in the UAE as it looks to expand its data centre footprint and meet demand for AI workloads.

Nepalese telco Ncell announced on Tuesday it has become the first – and so far only – company to be officially certified by the Department of Information Technology (DoIT) as a data centre and cloud service provider in Nepal.

Nokia and Saudi Arabian neutral tower provider Tawal announced on Tuesday they have completed a live demo of a shareable multi-tenant, Open RAN edge cloud platform that could enable operators to share 5G infrastructure more cheaply.

Service provider MTN has officially concluded its operations in Afghanistan, transferring its stake to the Beirut-based M1 Group. The company will now operate under the brand name ATOMA.

Bharti Airtel has reached a deal to acquire 400MHz of spectrum in the 26GHz band from Adani Data Networks, a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises, as part of its strategy to enhance 5G services across key regions in India.

Canalys has predicted that Egypt’s smartphone market could stabilise following the enforcement of new regulations aimed at curbing its long-standing grey market, which led to a sharp drop in shipments at the start of the year.

Yet another financial innovation using mobile telecommunications has been introduced in Africa. This time, it's an investment product from Uganda’s MTN Mobile Money (MTN MoMo), a mobile financial service provider.