ICT company Azerconnect Group has landed a US$20 million Shariah-compliant facility from the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) to help finance telecom infrastructure development in Azerbaijan.

KKR, Nvidia, the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) and power company Vistra have launched Helix Digital Infrastructure, a new company backed by more than US$10 billion in capital to build AI infrastructure for hyperscalers.

Russian telcos Rostelecom and VimpelCom announced on Monday they have completed the integration of their respective IT systems to automate coordination of access to Rostelecom's line and cable infrastructure.

Huawei executives said the company is repositioning itself from a traditional storage hardware supplier into a provider of full-stack AI data infrastructure, arguing enterprises will need to overhaul existing architectures to cope with the rapid rise of AI workloads.

Global digital operator Veon announced on Wednesday that Ukrainian ride-hailing platform Uklon – which is owned by Veon’s Kyivstar – has started testing autonomous vehicle technology for a planned robotaxi service in Ukraine.

Tirana International Airport (TIA) has become the first airport in the Western Balkans to deploy Airbus’ airport safety solution, a solution powered by Vodafone Albania’s 5G network.

Kyivstar announced on Tuesday it has completed its acquisition of six solar power plants in the Lviv region of Ukraine in a deal worth UAH3.6 billion (US$80.8 million) as it continues to chase renewable energy as a new revenue stream.

Critical event management company Everbridge has announced the next phase of Estonia’s nationwide public warning modernisation initiative, adding end-to-end cell broadcast capabilities across government agencies and all three mobile network operators in the country.

Ericsson announced on Tuesday that Telekom Slovenije has switched on Slovenia’s first 5G Standalone (5G SA) mobile service after completing an extensive modernization and expansion of its 5G network.

MagtiCom, the largest telecommunications provider in Georgia, has selected cloud-native software company Mavenir as its strategic small cell technology partner for a nationwide small cell deployment project.

Telekom Srbija has secured a $50 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to support the expansion of its 5G network across Serbia.

International network services provider RETN announced on Thursday it has launched a new end-to-end backbone route through Romania that links the Balkans to Moldova and Ukraine.

Veon’s Ukrainian telco Kyivstar announced on Wednesday it has expanded its collaboration with LEO satellite player Starlink with a new agreement to resell Starlink's broadband services and hardware for businesses and public sector institutions.

Veon Group says it has fulfilled and exceeded its commitment to invest $1 billion in Ukraine, delivering $1.3 billion ahead of schedule.

Hungarian operator 4iG Group and Greece’s Grid Telecom have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore joint development of cross-border telecommunications and digital infrastructure across the Balkans and Mediterranean.

Danish company GomSpace and Ukrainian company STETMAN have launch a satellite communication-related joint venture in Ukraine.

Poland’s railway infrastructure manager, PKP Polskie Linie Kolejowe (PKP PLK), is apparently close to completing the installation of a GSM-R-based system on the country’s Central Railway Line (CMK), with testing planned for later this year.

Russia has recently hardened its restrictions on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs), which are a popular way of getting round state censorship and accessing banned news sites, Western services, social media platforms and messengers.

Open RAN vendor Parallel Wireless says it has extended its collaboration with Mtel Banja Luka, Telekom Srbija’s Bosnia and Herzegovina unit, to test AI RAN technology.

This week has seen the reported launch of 16 broadband internet satellites into low Earth orbit by Russian aerospace company Bureau 1440. News reports are calling this the country’s first operational step towards building a domestic satellite network.

LOT Polish Airlines, the flag carrier of Poland, says it has begun rolling out internet access on its long-haul fleet – with help from global communications company Viasat.

Telecommunications operator Orange has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AST SpaceMobile and Satellite Connect Europe, related to collaboration on direct-to-device (D2D) technology in relevant Orange markets.

Cloud and carrier-neutral data centre platform Digital Realty has announced its entry into Bulgaria, establishing a new market presence in Sofia, which it describes as one of Southeast Europe’s most important emerging interconnection hubs.

Ukrainian telco Kyivstar announced on Thursday it has purchased regional ISP Shtorm to boost its presence in the fixed broadband space. No financial details were disclosed.

International network services provider RETN says it has launched a new fibre backbone route between Estonia and Latvia as part of its broader expansion plan to diversify connectivity between Northern and Central Europe.

Bosnia and Herzegovina market leader BH Telecom is upgrading its convergent charging and payments platform via an extension of its partnership with Qvantel.

Could the olive-growing industry be of benefit to data centre development? That’s a question that a new biomass-powered data centre planned in Croatia may be able to answer.

Sparkle revealed on Wednesday it has signed deals with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) and Elettra to build its planned GreenMed subsea cable connecting the Middle East and the Balkans to Italy via the Adriatic Sea.

Kyivstar has completed the full acquisition of Ukrainian medical digital services platform Tabletki.ua for US$160 million, strengthening the operator’s expansion into healthcare.

Neterra is modernising its Bulgarian backbone network using solutions from Infinera, a part of Nokia.

United Group has selected Intracom Telecom to upgrade its network as it looks to capture growing enterprise connectivity demand across its southeastern European footprint.