LEO satellite operator Starlink appears to have had a pretty good week or two in Africa, with licence awards in Lesotho, Guinea-Bissau and Somalia making headlines. But it isn’t quite as simple as that.

Sam George, Ghana's Minister Of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations, is widely reported to have set what is described as a firm deadline of June 2025 for the Next Generation Infrastructure Company (NGIC) to launch 5G services in the West African country. But will it be met?

Unitel has expanded its mobile network in the municipality of Cachingues to enhance voice and data services delivered over its 3G and 4G infrastructure.

Private 5G networks may not be storming the market yet, but there is undoubtedly steady growth. In fact this week has seen the news that Bahrain operator Batelco by Beyon and tech giant Nokia have joined forces to deploy Bahrain’s first 5G private network.

Apple airlifted US$2 billion worth of iPhones from India to the United States last month, in a strategic move to shield against the impact of rising US import tariffs.

MTN Uganda and PostBank Uganda have reportedly completed a six-month proof of concept (POC) of the operator’s  secure access service edge (SASE) business solution to power the bank’s digital transformation. 

The Moroccan government has signed separate MoUs with Nokia and Ericsson to accelerate its Digital Morocco 2030 plan, with both vendors agreeing to contribute to digital talent development among other things.

Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SecDojo, a cybersecurity training platform, to strengthen the country’s resilience against cyberthreats through what are described as targeted capacity-building initiatives.

Cloud services giant Amazon Web Services (AWS), has announced a collaboration with Manara, a social impact startup dedicated to unlocking the untapped potential of top technology talent in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), including women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Operator e& UAE has announced the launch of its autonomous drone-based cell tower inspection, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), calling it a major leap in telecom infrastructure management and operational safety.

Carbon neutrality has long been a priority for telcos, and despite the surge in AI innovation sweeping through the mobile industry, sustainability remains firmly on the agenda.

South Africa-based MTN Group announced on Tuesday it is collaborating with Meta to enhance the quality and reliability of OTT voice and video calls on applications such as WhatsApp across 12 MTN markets, starting in Nigeria.

Zimbabwe mobile operator NetOne has reportedly struck a deal with direct-to-device (D2D) LEO satellite operator AST SpaceMobile to expand the reach of its 5G services once the satellite network is available in Africa. 

Spanish telecom company Telefonica has finally confirmed  that it has agreed to sell its Peruvian unit, Telefonica del Peru, which recently filed for bankruptcy protection. It will be sold to Argentina's Integra Tec International for about EUR900,000 euros (about US$1.02 million).

Operator MTN South Sudan, part of the pan-African MTN Group, has secured a 15-year operating license from the country’s National Communication Authority. MTN had previously operated in South Sudan under a Sudanese license.

Sri Lankan telco Dialog Axiata announced on Friday it has brought Voice over New Radio (VoNR) out of the lab and into the real world after conducting what it claims is the country’s first successful VoNR trial on a live standalone 5G network.

Oman’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) says that Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has issued a decree approving a Category 1 telecoms license to Omani Space Communications Technologies (OmanSat) to provide fixed communications services.

Zimbabwe’s telecoms regulator is urging the government to introduce mandatory handset registration in a bid to tackle rising cybercrime and improve the safety of mobile money transactions.

Inflight connectivity tech firm SkyFive says it has signed a MoU with Kazakh telecoms operator Freedom Telecom to provide inflight connectivity to airlines and other aircraft operators using SkyFive’s air-to-ground (A2G) solution.

CSG International says that it has struck a deal with Liberty Latin America to streamline its wholesale business and unify its operations across multiple lines of business in 21 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean.

ICT solutions and smart devices giant Huawei, and Ektech, a solutions distributor, have announced a partnership to develop the internet service provider (ISP) market in Brazil.

Open payments platform Spreedly and EBANX, a global payment service provider specialised in emerging markets, have teamed up to offer international companies seamless access to popular alternative payment methods in Latin America – methods like Brazil’s Pix – as well as e-wallets and local cards.

Axian Telecom is set to receive a financing package of US$100 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB Global) to help expand its mobile broadband infrastructure across Madagascar and Tanzania.

Somalian operator Hormuud Telecom has announced that its founder and CEO, Ahmed Yusuf, will step down on 1 June, with deputy chairman Mohamed Farah (pictured) set to take the reins. 

Orange Jordan announced on Wednesday it has become the first telco in the country to offer satellite broadband services for consumers and enterprises via the Eutelsat Konnect satellite.

While many subsea cable stories recently have been about accidents and repairs in the world’s oceans, two recent stories from India and West Africa are land-based and underline some of the potential pitfalls of inadequate planning.

Brazil’s telecoms regulator, Anatel, has granted approval for SpaceX to operate an additional 7,500 Starlink satellites in the country’s airspace.

Global satellite operator SES announced on Tuesday it has landed a deal to provide inflight connectivity (IFC) services to Uzbekistan Airways, whilst also expanding an existing IFC deal with Thai Airways, which in turn launched a separate IFC service with Intelsat.

The announcement late last week that a UAE-based investor Rowad Capital Commercial (RCC) is to acquire a 60% stake in Uganda’s national telecom company, Uganda Telecommunications Corporation (UTel), begs a number of questions that are yet to be answered.

TIM Group's global operator Sparkle has announced the expansion of its network in Mexico with the opening of a new point of presence (PoP) in Querétaro, a city in the centre of the country.

Canada-based network vendor NuRAN Wireless missed its target for new mobile sites deployed in the Democratic Republic of Congo this month citing transit issues.

e& UAE said on Monday it has kicked off tests to utilise the 6-GHz and 600-MHz spectrum bands for 5G services, with both bands promising to significantly boost data speeds and extend 5G’s coverage range.

Finnish development financier and impact investor Finnfund says it has closed a US$5million equity investment with Netwey, a Mexican internet service provider (ISP), to expand its fibre optic network and improve internet accessibility.