Orange Tunisia, Ooredoo Tunisia and Tunisie Telecom all launched their respective 5G mobile services late last week, less than three months after receiving their 5G licenses.

Nokia announced on Thursday that it has signed a deal with Ooredoo Qatar to modernize its core network to support standalone 5G, which in turn will boost the telco's ability to deliver more advanced services.

Qatar-based telco Ooredoo Group announced on Thursday that US information management services company Iron Mountain has agreed to take a minority equity stake in Ooredoo’s carrier-neutral data centre company, MENA Digital Hub.

Tawal, a leading Saudi telecommunications and IT infrastructure company, has entered into a strategic agreement with Saudi Entertainment Ventures (SEVEN), part of Qiddiya Investment Company (QIC), a wholly owned Public Investment Fund (PIF) entity that develops and operates entertainment destinations.

Aramco, the giant Saudi Arabian integrated energy and chemical company, has been in the telecoms news recently after the announcement of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AMD and handset innovation with Qualcomm.

Mobile telecommunications provider Zain Kuwait and Parallel Wireless, a provider of open RAN hardware-agnostic solutions, have successfully completed what they describe as a groundbreaking 5G standalone (SA) proof of concept (POC).

Ericsson announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi Arabian telco Etihad Etisalat (a.k.a. Mobily) to explore technologies to develop intent-driven autonomous networks using AI and automation.

Saudi Arabia’s STC Group announced it has signed a collaboration deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate deployment of cloud-based services and AI infrastructure in the country.

Iran’s state-owned Telecommunication Infrastructure Company (TIC) says it has signed a memorandum of agreement with Omantel and Iranian infrastructure firm Pishgaman to create a data transit corridor between Iran and Oman.

National operator Tunisie Telecom has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Medusa, the submarine fibre optic system connecting the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic and the Red Sea.

Connectivity solutions provider iBASIS announced on Wednesday that it has signed a deal with Saudi Arabian telco Etihad Etisalat (a.k.a. Mobily) to renew and extend their multi-service IPX agreement for roaming services.

UAE-based e& Carrier & Wholesale and global internet exchange operator DE-CIX have followed up last month’s IX interconnection deal with plans to establish an Internet corridor between the UAE and India.

Saudi Arabian telco Etihad Etisalat (a.k.a. Mobily) announced on Tuesday it has successfully landed the Africa-1 subsea cable in Duba, which it says will position the country as a key international data exchange hub.

Ooredoo Qatar announced on Sunday it has contracted Ericsson to supply and deploy its latest RAN and microwave backhaul solutions to expand the operator’s 5G coverage, including to remote areas.

As the air transport industry faces more competitive and financial pressures, ICT is stepping in with technology that can enhance efficiency and, it is hoped, cut costs, as recent deals in the Middle East involving Wipro and SITA indicate.

Qatar-based Ooredoo Group announced on Thursday it has signed an agreement with Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to build a new subsea cable connecting seven countries in the Gulf region.

Technology giant Ericsson and Bahrain operator Batelco, part of the technology company Beyon Group, have announced the expansion of Batelco’s mobile broadband network to enhance its 4G and 5G capabilities by strengthening its network coverage and capacity across Bahrain.

Operator Orange Jordan and independent software provider SoftAtHome say they have announced the imminent deployment of the world’s first fully prpl-based broadband solution with a home gateway and Wi-Fi repeater powered by prplWare and complementary SoftAtHome products.

The 45,000 kilometre 2Africa subsea cable systems interconnecting Europe, Asia and Africa is back in the news again, this time thanks to an announcement from Telecom Egypt and Cisco.

Ericsson has extended its managed services and customer support contract with e& Egypt for another five years, pledging to enhance the operator’s AI integration and operational efficiency as part of the renewed agreement.

UAE-based e& Carrier & Wholesale says it is partnering with global internet exchange operator DE-CIX to create an IX ecosystem in the Middle East that they also claim will turn the UAE into a major interconnection hub.

Philippines-based PLDT Global said on Thursday it has extended its exclusive partnership with Saudi Arabia’s STC Group for a second year to deliver high-quality international voice services across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

Satellite operator Arabsat says it has established a partnership with UAE-based digital and ICT solutions provide ZainTech to provide satellite-powered cloud, IoT, AI, drones, digital and data services across the MENA region.

UAE-based satellite firm Space42 said on Wednesday it has successfully deployed the second of its Foresight earth observation LEO satellites in partnership with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite constellation operator ICEYE.

Nokia and Zain KSA announced on Wednesday they are partnering to deploy a 4G/5G femtocell solution for enterprise customers in Saudi Arabia to fill indoor mobile coverage gaps and optimise connectivity.

Iraqi operator iQ Networks says it has signed the country’s first dark fibre IRU framework agreement with Qatar-based subsea cable operator Gulf Bridge International (GBI), whilst also announcing its terrestrial transit network now has over 1 Tbps of capacity.

Nokia and Saudi Arabian telco STC Group say that they’ve successfully wrapped up what they claim is the first trial in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region of a long haul terabit optical solution for data centre interconnectivity.

UAE-based Space42 says it successfully launched its Thuraya 4 (T4) geostationary satellite, which it says will be key for launching new services across Africa, Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East.

Turkish telecoms giant Turk Telekom has announced a new 5G project focusing on smart agriculture in collaboration with Chinese telecommunications company ZTE.

Morocco’s Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, Minister Delegate for Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, last week announced that the country will soon launch a 5G internet service. The launch plans are described as part of preparations to host the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament and the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Telecom Egypt, the country's main telecom services operator, has signed a commercial agreement with China Mobile International (CMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of China Mobile, to expand digital services.

Technology giant Ericsson and Bahrain-headquartered technology group Beyon have renewed their collaboration to expand their joint sustainability initiatives and circular economy practices for building energy-efficient networks in Bahrain.

Telecom and digital services provider du has announced an exclusive partnership with Emirati firm Cyberspace Technologies for Tairra, a business management platform dedicated to optimising operations for teams of varying sizes.