Azercosmos, a major satellite operator in the South Caucasus, has signed a partnership agreement with TheAngle, a company that provides satellite network services in the Middle East.

Recent announcements from Italian service provider and global operator Sparkle include a Pacific cable enhancement and a new point of presence in Morocco.

Kuwaiti operator Zain Kuwait has announced that it is deploying the full traffic management suite from Enea, a supplier of software components for telecommunications and cybersecurity, to amplify its 4G and 5G network deployments.

Lebanon's government is to take back management of the country's two state-owned mobile phone networks, Alfa and Touch, after the recent expiration of the latest contracts given to the groups that have been running the networks until now.

All three of Algeria’s mobile operators have come under fire from the country’s regulator ARPCE (Autorite de Regulation de la Poste et des Communications Electroniques).

Morocco's mobile market is one of the more mature in the region, with a penetration rate of about 125%, reports Research & Markets.

Entertainment and video streaming apps are enjoying something of a boost in the Middle East at the moment, not least thanks to a new offering from Etisalat Misr and a surge in usage of Zoom in the UAE.

The telecommunications sector in Bahrain is robust and progressive and it contributes about 4% a year to the Kingdom's GDP, reports Research & Markets.

Oman’s regulator has unveiled an initiative aimed at connecting over 500 remote communities and villages in the Sultanate.

Yemen’s Al Kuraimi Islamic Bank is replacing its legacy IT systems with a single cloud-native, cloud-agnostic digital banking platform from Temenos to underpin its banking operations.

Recent media reports indicate that Google has plans for a submarine cable connecting India and Italy via Israel. The cable will reach Israel in 2022.

Vodafone Qatar has deployed commercial VoLTE services, allowing subscribers to make high definition (HD+) calls over its network.

Regional press outlets have announced the launch by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) of its Abu Dhabi Connect initiative to fast-track digitisation of government services in the Emirate.

eWallet – a new service from telecoms giant Etisalat and Dubai-based full-service bank Noor Bank – has been launched in the UAE, promising international remittance services from the UAE to 200 countries.

Axess Networks has formed a joint venture with Saudi operator METelecom aimed at providing end-to-end managed satellite communications solutions.

If there was ever a time when remote education was more than just an interesting concept, this is it. For example, the government of Bahrain has said that 140,000 students are now benefiting from remote learning in the kingdom.

According to local news reports in the Gulf region, the leading UAE operator Etisalat has expanded its CloudTalk Meeting platform. It will now enable up to 50 simultaneous participants at any one time.

Zain Bahrain has renewed its partnership with local start-up platform StartUp Bahrain to help push innovation in the telecom and fintech sectors.

Emirates-headquartered operator Etisalat has announced the launch of Business Edge, a comprehensive platform offering a wide range of services and solutions that cater to small and medium-sized enterprises.

MTN Group is continuing to invest in its Iranian unit despite the sanctions imposed on the market by the USA.

The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) announced the extension of the competition to license new mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) to provide services in Saudi Arabia.

Israel’s Ministry of Communications has ordered Cellcom to start migrating its spectrum from 1st June 2020 so that it conforms to European standards.

Omantel has announced a partnership with Ericsson to manage its multi-access mobile networks.

Press reports from the Gulf region have highlighted Ooredoo Qatar’s recent announcement that more than 100,000 customers have signed up for its recently launched Shahry 5G and Qatarna 5G plans.

Orange Money is launching in Morocco.

Ooredoo, the international communications company operating across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia, has signed a deal with Huawei that will cover its networks in Kuwait, Oman, Indonesia, Tunisia and the Maldives.

Consulting and investment company SUB.CO has announced that its Oman Australia Cable (OAC) project has entered contract in force (CIF) status, with its final system connection expected to be completed in December 2021.

Batelco and Aptilo Networks have entered into a partnership to deliver business-to-business (B2B) or (B2B2C) Wi-Fi services in Bahrain.

Saudi operator Mobily has signed a deal with Nokia for next-generation telecom technologies.

A new open-access agreement has been signed by six broadband providers in Saudi Arabia.