The governing body of Libya’s telecoms sector is seeking cooperation with American tech firms in a bid to increase overseas investment in the market.

South African mobile operator MTN is reportedly hoping to do a deal worth US$65 million for its Syrian business. However, Reuters reports that this sale, amounting to 75% of MTN’s Syrian unit, may now be under threat.

Digital and mobile finance and payment services are continuing to make advances in developing regions – as recent announcements involving Latin America and the Middle East suggest.

Operators in Qatar and Sri Lanka have recently announced SD-WAN-related partnerships with global technology provider Cisco.

UAE-based operator du has selected Ericsson to deploy 5G radio access network (RAN) products and solutions as part of a major network expansion and modernisation.

The government of Iran is pressing ahead with the auction of 3.5GHz spectrum, which will allow operators to deliver 5G services.

Hard on the heels of last week’s report that it boasts the highest average download speed for the mobile internet for 5G service, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has now announced that it has selected Ericsson as its managed services provider in Saudi Arabia.

It’s been a strong week for 5G in the Middle East, with Omantel launching commercial 5G mobile services and Saudi Arabia announcing that its coverage total has increased to 51 cities.

Oracle has announced plans to set up a new data centre in Jerusalem; it will function as a regional cloud provider for Israeli clients.

Orange Business Services is collaborating with Orange Egypt to design and build a new data centre to provide cloud services for Egypt’s ‘New Administrative Capital'.

Nokia and Saudi operator Mobily have extended their managed services partnership by signing a three-year agreement under which Nokia will manage and maintain Mobily’s radio and transport network in Riyadh and other regions.

Israel’s Cellcom has filed a lawsuit in the Tel Aviv District Court accusing its rival Xfone of illegally terminating their network sharing agreement.

Umniah Jordan has selected Ericsson for an upgrade to its 3G and 4G RAN infrastructure in the face of escalating data demand.

Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) has announced a multi-year extension to its partnership with CSG.

Orange Jordan has deployed additional towers and spectrum frequencies in two of the Kingdom’s governorates to boost its mobile network.

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

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.

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

There have been some significant recent announcements about international cooperation – actual or potential – between Saudi Arabia and a number of European countries involving digital technology.

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.

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

Following hard on the heels of yesterday’s Bango and Tpay mobile money alliance comes another multi-regional digital finance deal. This time Wari and Lycaremit have announced a strategic partnership to facilitate cross-border remittance.

Cable technology supplier Nexans opened a new plant in Morocco for its telecoms business unit, a move to bolster its industrial capabilities to cater to the European and North African markets.

Saudi Arabian operator Mobily, alongside vendor Nokia, is claiming a first: the first-ever network slicing trial on a live commercial network.

Jordan is host to a growing number of ICT companies and has emerged as a technology start-up hub for the Middle East. This has been made possible due to a focus on ICT education and a regulatory environment supportive of ICT investment.

This week a decree was announced in Algeria, promising number portability – which should be a reality two to three years after it was first included in the provisions to a new law.

During the last few years Libya has struggled to rebuild its economy and infrastructure following disruption caused by the civil war and the subsequent political unrest. Much of the telecom infrastructure was destroyed or stolen following the 2011 disturbances, including about a quarter of the country’s mobile tower sites.

The anticipated launch of a third mobile network operator in the Sultanate of Oman will increase competition in the mobile sector. The current operators Omantel and Ooredoo have a similar and sizeable market share.

Etisalat Misr, Telecom Egypt and Vodafone Egypt will receive half of the acquired spectrum in the 2,600MHz band within the next three months, as all three operators push on with plans to upgrade connectivity services.

Nokia and Saudi operator Zain expanded their 5G partnership by deploying  60,000 units of the vendor’s FastMile 5G Gateway wireless broadband hub with eSIMs, across Saudi Arabia over the next 12 months. 

Vodafone is now formerly recognised as the third mobile operator in Oman. A recent royal decree has mean that the company has obtained a first-class license to establish and operate public telecommunications services in the Sultanate.