Toni Eid, founder of Telecom Review Group, was undoubtedly right when he said: “5G-Advanced has seen remarkable progress in the Middle East.” He was speaking at the recent 18th Telecom Review Leaders’ Summit 2024 in Dubai where he was delivering the opening speech prior to a panel entitled World’s First 5G-A Region Sets Sail.

Ericsson says it has successfully designed and deployed an ATEX Zone 1-certified solution on an offshore site for one of Ooredoo Qatar’s enterprise customers. The solution, an ATEX-certified Ericsson Enclosure 6129, supports the operation of conventional radio access network (RAN) equipment in harsh and hazardous environments.

UAE-based satellite operator Space42 announced on Tuesday it has signed a new AED18.7 billion (US$5.1 billion) contract with the UAE government to provide satellite services until 2043, which will also help fund construction of two new satellites in the pipeline.

National fibre broadband network operator Bahrain Network (BNET) announced on Monday it has completed the transfer of Zain Bahrain’s fixed fibre backhaul network assets to its wholesale fibre network.

Payment giant Mastercard is back in the news in the Middle East this week thanks to a major artificial intelligence-related deal in Saudi Arabia and an SME-focused agreement in the UAE.

Beyon Money, part of Bahrain technology business Beyon Group, has secured two new licenses from the Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE). The two licenses are RPSCS (Retail Payment Services and Card Schemes) and SVF (Store Value Facilities).

Global satellite operator Viasat said on Wednesday it has demonstrated its direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity technology for the first time in the United Arab Emirates, marking its third such demo in the last two months.

Pan-African infrastructure investor and asset manager Africa50 has announced a US$15 million investment in Raya Data Centre (RDC), a leading system integrator in MEA.

Ericsson and Saudi Arabian telco Mobily said on Tuesday they have successfully completed a trial of Ericsson’s 5G uplink interference optimizer, an Open RAN rApp that uses AI to make 5G uplinks run faster and more efficiently.

Two notable fintech deals have recently been announced in the United Arab Emirates. The latest involves payments services company Worldline, which has partnered with Telr, a Dubai-based payment gateway aggregator and provider, to launch an e-commerce payments solution for the rapidly expanding UAE market.

Qatari telecommunications and ICT services provider, Ooredoo, with Infobip, a global cloud communications platform, and tech giant Microsoft, plan to bring what is described as a revolutionary tool in conversational artificial intelligence to the Qatar market. It’s called AI Hub.

Direct-to-device (D2D) LEO satellite operator AST SpaceMobile said on Monday it has signed a definitive ten-year commercial agreement with Vodafone Group to roll out its services in Vodafone’s markets worldwide.

Nokia and UAE-based telco du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), said they have deployed what they claim is the first commercial deployment of a 5G Cloud RAN solution in the Middle East and Africa region.

Ooredoo Qatar announced on Sunday it has launched a new location analytics and intelligence solution that leverages the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT)'s TASMU Platform for smart city solutions.

Neo Space Group (NSG), a Public Investment Fund-owned company described as Saudi Arabia's leading commercial space services provider, has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with space company Airbus Defence and Space, to acquire its UP42 business, a next-generation earth observation digital platform.

A partnership between tech giant Nokia and service provider Ooredoo Oman claims that it will do nothing less than transform the nation’s connectivity via the deployment of a state-of-the-art dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) wholesale network.

Multi-project developer Red Sea Global (RSG), whose projects include what are described as 'regenerative tourism destinations' AMAALA and The Red Sea in Saudi Arabia, says it has unveiled the region’s first unified critical communication system (UCCS).

Tunisian telcos Tunisie Telecom, Orange Tunisie and Ooredoo Tunisia have been granted 5G licences by the Ministry of Communication Technologies and Digital Economy, clearing the way for 5G services to be launched sometime next year.

IHS Towers, an independent owner, operator and developer of shared communications infrastructure, has signed a definitive agreement to sell its 70% interest in IHS Kuwait to Zain Group.

Built at du’s Dubai headquarters, the 5G-A Innovation Center is going to be a key building block of the next generation of 5G, not just for the UAE but for anyone associated with the next iteration of 5G.

Satellite communications company Viasat has announced that it has successfully demonstrated direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity in Saudi Arabia for the first time, in conjunction with its ecosystem partners.

Digital technology, the web and data analysis for predictive maintenance have come together in a new services agreement between Saudi Railway Company (SAR) and smart and sustainable mobility company Alstom.

Aramco Digital, the technology subsidiary of Saudi petroleum and natural gas company Aramco, is widely reported to be in talks to invest about US$1 billion in telecommunications software maker Mavenir.

China Telecom Global has officially kicked off operations in Saudi Arabia with the launch of new subsidiary China Telecom Gulf, which has already secured its first cooperation agreements with local telcos STC and state-owned BTC Networks.

Underlining Saudi Arabia’s reputation as the fastest-growing data centre market in the Middle East are no fewer than three data centre-related announcements this week.

Analyst house Canalys revealed that the African smartphone market grew by 3% year-on-year in Q3 2024 despite macroeconomic challenges. It predicted that smartphone shipments would grow by a “cautious” 1% in 2025.

Bahrain-based technology group Beyon has announced that its telecommunications arm, Batelco, has launched the first off-grid mobile site in the region powered entirely by renewable solar and wind energy.

State-controlled telco Telecom Egypt said on Monday it has signed several multi-year agreements worth up to EGP30 billion (US$609.5 million) to provide infrastructure services to Vodafone Egypt to support its preparation for rolling out 5G.

Digital infrastructure company Equinix has officially opened what it describes as its state-of-the-art data centre in Salalah, Oman, built in cooperation with integrated telecommunications services provider Omantel.

At the Global Mobile Broadband Forum 2024 (MBBF 2024) in Istanbul, an exclusive ELITE FWA Club Media Roundtable discussed the potential for Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and 5.5G, which is also referred to as 5G-Advanced or 5G-A technologies across the GCC.

Telecom Egypt and Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) announced on Wednesday they have successfully landed the Africa-1 subsea cable system at the first of two planned landing points in Egypt.

Many operators are putting a lot of effort into encouraging recycling – and into being seen to lead that effort, as recent announcements from operators Vodacom in South Africa and du in the UAE indicate.