Teraco Data Environments, which describes itself as Africa’s largest interconnection hub and vendor-neutral data centre provider, says it has raised $170 million to fund its data centre construction efforts.

Among the growing number of recent satellite communications deals of relevance to Africa are two announcements from the southern part of the continent, where both Zimbabwe and South Africa are using satcoms to improve services.

The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) has delayed the issue of two new nationwide operating licences.

While Peru has been proactive against the pandemic, the economic cost has been high.

The satellite communications industries of both Thailand and Egypt have both received boosts in the form of investment or launch announcements in recent days.

Guinea’s telecommunications sector was given a tremendous boost following the market entry of MTN Group and Orange Group. Subsequently, the number of mobile subscribers grew strongly while revenue also increased steadily.

Ooredoo Group and Ericsson have signed a global frame agreement for the supply of 5G radio, core and transport products and solutions, as well as related implementation and integration services.

Orange Egypt has selected NEC to install additional units of its outdoor, integrated, ultra-compact E-Band microwave radio system throughout 2021.

Regional Brazilian operator Sercomtel announced a voluntary layoff plan with the aim to reduce its 456 staff by 50%, as part of urgent plans to reduce massive debt and ensure the survival of the company.

State-run Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is aiming to launch a “pre-commercial” 5G service using 3.5GHz spectrum by mid-2021.

Further underlining the growing importance of cashless and paperless payment in Africa, Kenyan operator Safaricom has announced the launch of an M-Pesa Bill Management service.

Asia Consultancy Group (ACG), a leading independent private company providing telecommunications infrastructure and managed and engineering services across Afghanistan, has signed a multi-year contract with Indian networking products company Tejas Networks.

Mexican regulator IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones) has approved a public tender for 41 blocks of spectrum across the 800MHz, 1900MHz, 1700MHz/2100MHz and 2.5GHz bands.

Ooredoo Algeria has deployed Nokia’s cloud-native core software to cost effectively strengthen its network performance and reliability.

Orange Maroc, the Moroccan division of the multinational telecommunications company Orange, has acquired EtixEverywhere Maroc, part of European global data centre developer and operator EtixEverywhere. As part of this acquisition Orange is also to be the owner of a data centre in Casablanca, Morocco.

Fitch Ratings has reiterated its prediction that Airtel Lanka will seek a merger with – or to be acquired by – a rival, given the overwhelming amount of CAPEX investment required to remain competitive in an aggressive market.

Togolese regulator ARCEP (Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority) is implementing new frameworks aimed at protecting consumer interests.

Emirati operators Etisalat and Du have increased their cap on foreign share ownership from 20% to 49%.

India’s government is looking to sell its entire 26.12% stake in Tata Communications before the end of the current fiscal year.

Uruguay’s government is appointing a database administrator to begin implementing mobile number portability after many delays.

Cuba’s state-run operator ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba) has affirmed its goal of delivering fixed, wireless or mobile broadband to all districts in the Havana province before the end of 2021.

Philippines operators PLDT revealed a surge in mobile download speeds since 2017, with more plans to invest and bolster its networks in the pipeline.

Reports in the Kenyan press are making clear how much of a hit the country’s banks have taken from the recent surge in mobile money payments.

Nepal is set to receive a new player in its mobile financial space in the form of the Nepali Digital Payment Company.

Tower One Wireless has stated that it has 75 new cell sites under construction across Latin America.

Although Afghanistan continues to be confronted by numerous challenges, largely due to the material effects of many years of war and civil strife, there have been successes in the country’s efforts to rebuild infrastructure and create a functional telecom sector.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) is calling for feedback on its mobile number portability proposals via a public consultation.