UAE-based Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) says it has contracted SpaceX as the launch provider for its upcoming new geostationary satellites, Al Yah 4 (AY4) and Al Yah 5 (AY5).

Tunisia’s Ministry of Communication Technologies reportedly launched a call for tenders for 5G operating licences on Sunday, with the aim of launching commercial 5G services in some form as early as November this year.

Saudi Arabian telco STC Group announced on Monday that it has deployed an AI-powered self-organizing network (SON) solution from Nokia in its network to automate network optimization.

Nokia acquired Infinera for US$2.3 billion to increase its scale in optical networks, a move to bolster future products and improve its profit line.  

Orange opened its IoT digital platform to energy suppliers in Africa and the Middle East that tracks payment, solar kits and smart meters in rural locations, in a bid to boost uptake of its services and electricity in emerging markets.

Chinese LEO satellite operator Geespace said on Tuesday it has successfully tested its ‘Geely Future Mobility Constellation’ network outside of China for the first time with Oman-based satellite services provider Azyan Telecom.

A programme of indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi 6 access points, which provides internet resources for 1.3 million students across Morocco, is to use wireless technology from Cambium Networks, a leading global provider of wireless networking solutions.

Hughes Network Systems, a provider of broadband satellite services, products and managed network solutions, has announced a major sale involving Saudi Arabia.

­­Smartphone shipments in Africa surged 24% in the first quarter of this year due to lowering inflation and new device launches.

The Saudi Arabian Communications, Space & Technology Commission (CST) has announced that Aramco Digital, the digital technology services subsidiary of state-owned Saudi oil and gas company Saudi Aramco, has obtained what is called a Specialized Radio Network Licence in the 450MHz band.

Smartphone shipments have for the first time surpassed feature phone stock in Africa,  showcasing the rise in adoption of more advanced handsets across the region.

UAE-headquartered satellite solutions provider Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) says it has contracted satellite manufacturer Airbus Defence and Space for its new geostationary (GEO) telecommunications satellites, Al Yah 4 (AY4) and Al Yah 5 (AY5).

Infrastructure provider Bahrain Network (BNET) announced late last week the launch of a project to transfer all the kingdom's copper internet networks to an ultra-high-speed fibre network.

NuRAN Wireless, a leading supplier of mobile and broadband wireless infrastructure solutions, has announced a five-year network-as-a-service (NaaS) agreement with pan-African service provider MTN for the deployment of 250 sites in Africa under the NaaS business model.

Telecom Egypt and subsea data system supplier SubCom said on Wednesday that they have successfully completed two cable landing stations in Egypt for the India-Europe-Xpress (IEX) subsea cable system.

Liquid Intelligent Technologies has partnered with Medi Telecom, part of the Orange Group, in Morocco.

Telecommunications operator and ICT provider Ooredoo Qatar has announced what it calls its pioneering Clean Energy – Super Hybrid programme.

Ericsson announced on Monday that Vodafone Egypt has become the first mobile operator to deploy its triple-band radio, which supports both FDD and TDD spectrum, as part of its network modernisation and capacity expansion initiative.

Multi-service operator Orange Middle East & Africa (OMEA) and cloud technology provider Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced plans to bring AWS Wavelength, a new type of AWS infrastructure designed to run workloads that require low latency or edge resiliency, to Morocco and Senegal later this year.

The Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) has established the Neo Space Group (NSG), a wholly owned PIF company whose mission will be to become a national champion in the Saudi satellite and space sector.

Orange signed a partnership agreement with Digital Africa in a move to accelerate support and investment for startups in its incubator centres across Africa and the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia-headquartered satellite operator Arabsat announced on Wednesday it is working with ST Engineering iDirect to deploy cloud technologies into its gateway infrastructure as part of a plan to reach new markets in the Middle East, Africa and West/Central Asia.

Qatari telecommunications company Ooredoo has made two service-related announcements in recent days – one alongside Nutanix, a leader in hybrid multi-cloud computing, for Qatar Airways, and the other, with digital transformation specialist Netcracker Technology, to enhance Ooredoo’s own CRM offering.

Operator Ooredoo Oman part of the multinational telecommunications company headquartered in Qatar, has signed an agreement for the landing of the 2Africa cable system in Muscat and Salalah.

UAE telecommunications company du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), has announced a strategic partnership with STL, a leading optical and digital solutions company, for advanced optical fibre cables.

Dubai-headquartered telecommunication company du, from Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), and global edge-to-cloud company Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) have announced a major deal with the Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), one of the most prominent national banks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A US-based technology startup called Iozera, in collaboration with the government of Morocco, has announced an initiative that it says is set to transform the artificial intelligence (AI) industry: the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of a “pioneering” 386MW data centre and AI hub in Tetouan, Morocco.

Cairo-based AI developer WideBot announced on Tuesday that state-owned Libyan telco Almadar Aljadid will adopt its Arabic conversational AI chatbot platform to improve customer service.

South Africa-based CMC Networks announced on Tuesday it has launched a new infrastructure as a service (IaaS) solution that offers edge computing cloud services to enterprises across Africa.

Ericsson announced on Monday it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Jordanian telco Umniah to expand its 3G and 4G network in major cities across the country.