MTN Group has announced plans to shake up its c-suite team in three African units to support a growth strategy through developing its fintech and fibre businesses.

The Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), Saudi Arabia Governor Dr. Mohammed Bin Saud Al-Tamimi announced the Kingdom's candidacy for membership of the ITU Council at the ITU Council 2022 session in Geneva.

Zain has chosen Huawei to accelerate its upgrade from 4G to 5G and advance into so-called 5.5G across its markets with plans to develop new use cases, as the two signed a memorandum of understanding.

Algeria is in the process of clearing and optimising radio frequencies to be used for 5G as it prepares for a widespread launch of the technology “soon”, according to Telecoms Minister Karim Bibi Triki.

Bahrain’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and Beyon Connect, the digital services provider for the public and private sector in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, have signed an MoU that will see the former adopt an innovative digital identity and digital postbox solutions and services delivered by Beyon Connect.

The Middle East, Turkey, and Africa (META) smart home devices market saw its value increase 21.6% year on year in value last year as the market's value reached $9.5 billion in 2021, said a study.

United Arab Emirates-based operator group Etisalat (e&) has made an offer to increase its stake in Saudi Arabia’s Etihad (Mobily) in a deal that could be valued at up to US$2.12 billion.  

Egypt’s large telecom market is supported by a population of about 103 million and benefits from effective competition in most sectors. A liberal regulatory regime allows for unified licenses which permit operators to offer fixed-line as well as mobile services.

The Turkey Wealth Fund has acquired 55% of shares in Turk Telecom from LYY Telekomunikasyon (LYY), a consortium of banks, for US$1.65 billion.

Egyptian operator Etisalat Misr is modernising its Business Support Systems (BSS) using solutions from Ericsson.

Ooredoo Kuwait, the telecommunications company in Kuwait owned by the Ooredoo group, has appointed data analytics specialists LigaData to support data-driven digital transformation projects.

STC Bahrain has launched a Chainlink node through which it will provide smart contracts – and it is claiming a first for major telcos in the MENA region.

UAE's biggest telecom operator Etisalat, part of e&, has teamed up with Samsung to become the master distributor for the entire range of smart devices and solutions and operate the marketing, supply, and distribution of its products.

Beyon Connect, a subsidiary of Bahrain's operator Batelco, has launched OneBox, as the first country in the Middle East to deliver digital postbox services.

Zain KSA and Huawei announced the launch of the Middle East and Norther Africa's first 5G LAN network in the country, as the operator aims to tap into the growing B2B demand for 5G services. 

Vodafone Oman commemorated the official launch of its operations on Sunday (March 6) at the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM). 

Hard on the heels of last week’s trial announcement with Nokia, Saudi Arabian operator STC has announced another major partnership, this time involving a carrier aggregation proof of concept with Ericsson.

Mobile Telecommunication Company Saudi Arabia (Zain KSA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nokia to develop the experience of its 5G technology across the Kingdom.

Hard on the heels of a busy MWC for both companies, Ooredoo Qatar and Ericsson have highlighted the successful implementation of what is described as the world’s first 5G indoor shareable solution in Qatar, achieving speeds of 1.5 gigabits per second (Gbps).

Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) has signed an Open RAN (Radio Access Network) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), aimed at increasing momentum for the technology and its solutions in the region, alongside other leading Middle East Operators.

Saudi Arabian operator Zain KSA has announced its launch of a 5G local area network (5G LAN). This, it says, makes it the first operator in the Middle East and North Africa to adopt the technology. It made the announcement during MWC 2022.

O-RAN activity continues to ramp up. Now a group of Middle East operators has established the region’s first open RAN centralised test lab in collaboration with the industry group the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) and technology company Intel.

High-altitude platform systems (HAPS) are again in the news after UK company Stratospheric Platforms Limited (SPL), a partner of German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom, successfully trialled pioneering technology that provides 5G network coverage from the stratosphere in Saudi Arabia.

MWC 2022 saw the signing of an agreement between Telecom Egypt (TE) and AFR-IX Telecom regarding the construction of a landing station in Egypt for the Medusa submarine cable system.

Türk Telekom has announced a partnership with fellow Turkish firm Odine with to shape the future with 5G and new generation technologies.

Notwithstanding its concerns with corruption allegations and Ukraine, reported yesterday, Ericsson seems to have had a successful MWC in terms of agreements announced at the show. Deals involving Zain KSA, Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and Ooredoo Qatar have all been highlighted by the telecoms giant during the event.

Finnish multinational telecommunications major Nokia and Saudi Telecom Company (stc) have announced the successful completion of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region’s first trial of a 1-Terabit high-capacity channel.

The UAE’s biggest telecom services provider, Etisalat Group, has launched a new brand identity. It’s called e&.

At MWC 2022 international communications company Ooredoo says it plans to update the industry on the many developments it has been working on since the last edition of the event, and will share news of its latest partnerships, products and solutions.