Qatar-based telco Ooredoo Group announced on Thursday that US information management services company Iron Mountain has agreed to take a minority equity stake in Ooredoo’s carrier-neutral data centre company, MENA Digital Hub.

MTN South Africa reportedly plans to shut down its 3G mobile network by the end of this year – a full year earlier than initially planned – following a successful pilot project in Cape Town to migrate 3G users to 4G and 5G.

Cameroon-based cloud services provider ST Digital has launched GPU Cloud Africa, a GPU-as-a-service (GPUaaS) offering that aims to provide African businesses and institutions with access to Nvidia GPUs to develop AI applications.

Tawal, a leading Saudi telecommunications and IT infrastructure company, has entered into a strategic agreement with Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN), part of Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), a wholly owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) entity that develops and operates entertainment destinations.

Aramco, the giant Saudi Arabian integrated energy and chemical company, has been in the telecoms news recently after the announcement of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AMD and handset innovation with Qualcomm.

Mobile telecommunications provider Zain Kuwait and Parallel Wireless, a provider of open RAN hardware-agnostic solutions, have successfully completed what they describe as a groundbreaking 5G standalone (SA) proof of concept (POC).

Telecentro Argentina has signed a multi-year extension to its existing deal with Netcracker for the vendor’s Digital OSS.

Ericsson announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Arabian telco Etihad Etisalat (a.k.a. Mobily) to explore technologies to develop intent-driven autonomous networks using AI and automation.

Saudi Arabia’s STC Group announced it has signed a collaboration deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate deployment of cloud-based services and AI infrastructure in the country.

Iran’s state-owned Telecommunication Infrastructure Company (TIC) says it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Omantel and Iranian infrastructure firm Pishgaman to create a data transit corridor between Iran and Oman.

National operator Tunisie Telecom has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Medusa, the submarine fibre optic system connecting the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and the Red Sea.

Nokia has announced that CEO Pekka Lundmark (pictured) will depart this year to make way for Intel executive Justin Hotard, in a move seemingly aimed at sharpening its expertise in AI and data centres.

Ghana’s Minister of Communications, Samuel Nartey George, has revealed plans to establish an interministerial committee aimed at addressing the high cost of data in Ghana.

Kenyan operator Safaricom and global NGO Opportunity International last week announced the launch in Kenya of FarmerAI, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot aimed at providing real-time, relevant farming best practices to smallholder farmers in underserved communities – notably potato farmers.

The Indian smartphone market grew by 4% to 151 million units in 2024 and became Apple’s fourth largest market as rival Samsung recorded decline. 

Nokia announced on Friday that it has signed a deal with internet service provider Puntonet Ecuador to upgrade its fibre broadband network to 10G, with an eye towards 25GPON in the future.

Satellite operator Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF) to supply satellite connectivity for the NGO’s operations, while separately announcing it has hit its ITU Partner2Connect target of connecting 1 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa well ahead of schedule.

Telefónica has requested that Colombia’s Superintendency of Industry and Commerce evaluate its unit, Coltel, ahead of a potential sale to Millicom as part of its ongoing divestment plan in Latin America.

M-Pesa Safaricom said on Thursday it is partnering with Dashen Bank and CashGo to launch a new international remittance service in Ethiopia that enables users to receive money from abroad directly into their M-Pesa mobile wallets.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX withdrew from a planned public hearing where it was set to propose a new licensing framework for satellite services in South Africa, drawing criticism from an industry body representing MNOs.

Connectivity solutions provider iBASIS announced on Wednesday that it has signed a deal with Saudi Arabian telco Etihad Etisalat (a.k.a. Mobily) to renew and extend their multi-service IPX agreement for roaming services.

UAE-based e& Carrier & Wholesale and global internet exchange operator DE-CIX have followed up last month’s IX interconnection deal with plans to establish an Internet corridor between the UAE and India.

Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC), one of the three arms of government that conduct the affairs of the country at the federal level, has approved two major initiatives to advance Nigeria’s digital economy: the Nigeria Universal Communication Access Project and the National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Trust.

The Zambian Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has penalised Airtel Zambia with a ZMW4 million (US$143,000) compensation bill following continuous service disruptions on its network.

Saudi Arabian telco Etihad Etisalat (a.k.a. Mobily) announced on Tuesday it has successfully landed the Africa-1 subsea cable in Duba, which it says will position the country as a key international data exchange hub.

Wholesale fibre optic connectivity services and infrastructure carrier InterNexa has announced a five-year US$100 million investment to strengthen connectivity in Colombia.

The global smartphone market grew by 7% to 1.22 billion units in 2024, marking a rebound after two consecutive years of decline, with emerging markets highlighted as the industry’s key growth driver.

Colombian mobile network operator Tigo cut off connectivity access to MVNO Flash Mobile users after the latter failed to pay its last two bills.

The latest African roaming agreement comes from the west of the continent, where the governments of Liberia, The Gambia and Sierra Leone have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at reducing telecommunications costs through improved roaming services.

It looks like SIM card registration in Ghana, supposedly over and done by May 2023, isn’t quite finished yet, at least according to Ghana’s Minister-Designate for Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation, Sam Nartey George.

As the air transport industry faces more competitive and financial pressures, ICT is stepping in with technology that can enhance efficiency and, it is hoped, cut costs, as recent deals in the Middle East involving Wipro and SITA indicate.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a US$160 million loan to Axian Telecom to support the operator’s plans to upgrade its nine subsidiaries in Africa and explore expansion into new markets.

The GSMA and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have launched a fund to equip enterprises in developing markets with the means to harness emerging technologies, including AI.