Google has announced Umoja, which it says is the first-ever fibre optic route to directly connect Africa with Australia. Anchored in Kenya, the Umoja cable route will pass through Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, including the Google Cloud region, before crossing the Indian Ocean to Australia.

Accelerit, a telecommunications company dedicated to providing innovative connectivity solutions across South Africa, has announced what it calls a groundbreaking partnership with a local VSAT provider.

Satellite communications company Eutelsat Group says it has extended its partnership with InterSAT, one of Africa's leading satellite service providers, to support InterSAT’s growth in the pan-African enterprise and retail segments.

Azerbaijan’s state-owned operator Baktelecom is deploying Nokia’s XGS-PON solution to help bring new gigabit services to residential and business customers across the country.

Orange signed a partnership agreement with Digital Africa in a move to accelerate support and investment for startups in its incubator centres across Africa and the Middle East.

Viasat and Azercosmos are partnering to bring L-band satellite services to Azerbaijan.

Saudi Arabia-headquartered satellite operator Arabsat announced on Wednesday it is working with ST Engineering iDirect to deploy cloud technologies into its gateway infrastructure as part of a plan to reach new markets in the Middle East, Africa and West/Central Asia.

Eutelsat Group and YahClick, the data solutions arm of UAE-based Yahsat, have signed a multi-year, multi-Gbps contract under which Yahsat will lease capacity from the Eutelsat Konnect satellite to extend YahClick’s service coverage, particularly to Ethiopia.

Qatari telecommunications company Ooredoo has made two service-related announcements in recent days – one alongside Nutanix, a leader in hybrid multi-cloud computing, for Qatar Airways, and the other, with digital transformation specialist Netcracker Technology, to enhance Ooredoo’s own CRM offering.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced on Tuesday that it has awarded a feasibility study grant to Bangladesh telecoms company CdNet Communications to explore construction of a new subsea cable to improve internet connectivity across the country.

PAIX Data Centres, a provider of data centre solutions, has announced the expansion of its facility in Accra to 1.2 MW in what it calls a critical boost to the digital economy that will also spur job creation.

The Congolese capital Brazzaville is to house a data centre, supported by funding of €66.55 million (about US$72.2 million) including US$57 million from the African Development Bank (ADB) and US$15.70 million from the government of Congo.

Three investment groups have partnered to support operator Sonatel’s telecoms expansion in Senegal. The combined €87 million (about $94.5 million) financing package aims to help the company expand telecoms infrastructure, including towers and cables, in rural areas and provide reliable and affordable mobile and internet services to people in Senegal.

TOA (TowerCo of Africa) Tanzania has signed a US$30 million financing agreement with UK development investor British International Investment (BII).

MTN group president and CEO Ralph Mupita has called on governments across Africa to harmonise tech regulations, which he says is necessary to increase the capital investment in digital infrastructure needed to accelerate economic development.

Bangladesh telcos Robi Axiata and Banglalink have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to evaluate ways that they can share and rationalize their network resources to expand and improve 4G access across the country.

A coalition of humanitarian NGOs in Sudan has warned that the shutdown of telecoms services in the midst of the country’s civil war is making a massive humanitarian crisis even worse, and urged all stakeholders – including Starlink – to restore services as soon as possible.

Veon Group announced revenue was up by 6.6% US$942 million, and maintained its full-year guidance for revenue of between 16% and 18%.

Global cable provider Nexans says it has started production of TAM-1, a new fibre optic submarine cable network owned by Trans Americas Fibre System.

In a remarkable change of heart, Zimbabwe seems to be about to bring back mobile money services that it once blamed for the country’s currency crash.

PAIX Data Centres announced a joint venture with the Djibouti Sovereign Fund to construct a data centre in Djibouti, a move to serve growing connectivity demand in East Africa.

The government of Nigeria has revealed ambitious plans to launch a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the delivery of an additional 90,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable to complement existing infrastructure and increase connectivity across Nigeria.

Over 1.5 billion women used mobile internet in 2023 in developing nations, as women are adopting connectivity faster than men, according to the GSMA.

For the second time in just over a year, the Nigerian government has thought better of a plan that would, effectively, tax users of mobile communications: this time it’s a levy intended to raise money to enhance cybersecurity.

Saudi firm DataVolt, which says it leads the way in sustainable digital infrastructure and renewable energy, has recently announced the launch, which took place earlier this month, of a data centre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and signed an agreement for more to come.

Operator Ooredoo Oman part of the multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Qatar, has signed an agreement for the landing of the 2Africa cable system in Muscat and Salalah.

UAE telecommunications company du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), has announced a strategic partnership with STL, a leading optical and digital solutions company, for advanced optical fibre cables.

A potentially significant announcement – made last week but only now being widely reported – is MTN Rwanda’s claim that it is pioneering the introduction of paper-based biodegradable SIM cards in that country.

­Bharti Airtel signed a long-term agreement with Google Cloud to deliver cloud and gen AI solutions in the Indian B2B market.