After mixed messages recently about the cash-strapped state owned carrier, Zambia’s government has finally categorically denied media reports that it has decided to sell Zamtel.

Twitter has commenced a legal challenge against content takedown orders issue by the Indian government.

Pan-African e-commerce platform Jumia has announced a partnership with Chinese smartphone manufacturer Realme. The joint aim is to roll out new devices at a time when Africa’s smartphone market is enjoying high growth; this in turn will benefit e-commerce.

Africell, a leading African mobile operator group, has implemented the Answers chatbot solution from cloud communication company Infobip.

Brazilian capital Brasilia is to lead the way in the country’s 5G rollout with the launch of  a 3.5GHz 5G network on Wednesday 6 July.

The Algerian government has closed its purchase of VEON’s 45.57% stake in the mobile operator Djezzy via its National Investment Fund.

Operator Ooredoo Group and international communications company BICS have announced a multi-year agreement through which BICS is to manage voice services across the group’s operations.

While government and industry in another major economy, India, are still debating how and when to enable private 5G networks, in Brazil steel producer Gerdau and Embratel, a major player in both voice and data communication, have already announced an agreement to roll out a dedicated 5G and LTE private network.

The Guinean government said it is a major priority for the state to relaunch operator Guinea Telecom, as a long-term move to reduce the cost of connectivity in the country and spur digital transformation.

The Equiano subsea internet cable has been brought ashore in Namibia just under 18 months after the February 2021 announcement that Paratus Group, together with Telecom Namibia, had been selected to build the cable landing station (CLS) for Equiano.

MTN Group has announced CEO appointments in its Cameroon, Rwanda and Uganda units to support its digital-focused Ambition 2025  strategy for growth.

Airtel Africa has launched SmartCash Payment Service Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary, to provide secure and reliable financial services across Nigeria.

China Mobile-backed Pakistani operator Zong has partnered with ZTE to implement a dual-band (1800MHz and 2100MHz) FDD Massive MIMO upgrade on its 4G network.

Chilean operator Entel claims to have extended its 5G coverage to all regions in the country, with the deployment currently 83% complete.

Indian telecoms mogul Mukesh Ambani has left the role of director at Reliance Jio Infocomm.

Millicom deepened its hold in Latin America by taking full ownership of Tigo Panama, as part of wider plans to spread its operations in the country.

Brazil may be about to join the rush to standardise smartphone chargers. The National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), the Brazilian telecom regulator, has proposed making USB-C chargers mandatory for all smartphones sold in the country.

The latest nation looking to abandon 3G seems to be Tunisia, with an announcement that the state-owned incumbent Tunisie Telecom wants to get rid of 3G to focus on 4G.

Togolese regulator ARCEP (Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts) has imposed a fine on operator Togocom for “serious breaches of its [service] obligation.”

Cash-strapped Zambian state-run telecoms firm Zamtel, which provides a range of services including landline, mobile, FttH and ADSL, is reportedly for sale, though this has been denied by at least one senior government figure.

Mexican regulator IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones / Federal Telecommunications Institute) has cleared a financing deal that will see ALTAN Redes (Red Compartida) become a public-private partnership funded by the Mexican Development Bank.

Mexican conglomerate Alfa has proposed the spin-off of its entire stake in operator Axtel, a move it claimed will unlock the underlying value of the group.

MTN Nigeria, the country’s leading operator and the leading MTN operator by subscriber numbers, has taken 18 Nigerian banks to court over the alleged unauthorised transfer of ₦22.3 billion ($53.7 million) from an account owned by its recently-licensed mobile money Payment Service Bank (PSB) MoMo.

Liberty Latin America (LLA) has received regulatory approval to proceed with its US$200 million acquisition of America Movil unit Claro Panama, a move that forms an entity with over half of the market share in the country.

Zimbabwe’s state-owned fixed line and broadband operator TelOne has released a statement saying that it is faced with what it calls “acute viability challenges”.

The Kenyan Communications Authority (KCA) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Huawei to spur the growth of 5G in the country.  

MTN Ghana has reportedly put back a pilot of its 5G services this year due to the lack of licenses from authorities.

Ericsson was chosen by Orange Egypt to supply antenna products for the building of the operator’s 2,600MHz network, a move for the operator to proceed with its extensive rollout plan.

This week has seen the launch of a government-supported innovation to attract investors to Cameroon – in the form of SME-centric apps.

State-owned operator Copaco announced a cash injection of US$10 million this year to expand mobile coverage and its fibre optics network in Paraguay.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has refused to sign a controversial ICT Practitioners Bill into law.

The debt issues surrounding South African operator cell C are no closer to resolution, although the debtors’ meeting that we reported had been postponed has now been rescheduled.