Telecel Zimbabwe’s troubles are continuing, with reports from the country’s press that the smallest of the country’s three mobile operators is set to be placed under corporate rescue, a form of bankruptcy protection, due to serious financial distress.

As mobile and digital money become more widely used across Africa, so public and private bodies are responding to fears of fraud, as recent news from Ghana and Kenya indicates.

Airtel Kenya announced the separation of its mobile money unit from its core network operations as the operator complies with regulations set by the central bank, ending a process three years in the making.

Nigeria’s Globacom has joined the rush to open payment service banks (PSBs) with the launch of its MoneyMaster PSB offering. MoneyMaster was granted a payment service bank licence by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2020.

Safaricom is set to launch M-Pesa to rival Ethio Telecom’s Telebirr, boosting the Ethiopian economy up to two mobile money platforms.  

As has long been expected, a law has been passed in the Philippines making SIM card registration compulsory.

Pan-African operator Airtel Africa and ATC Africa, American Tower Corporation’s African operation, have announced a multi-year, multi-product agreement.

Google has announced the launch of a cloud region in South Africa, its first in the African continent. South Africa now joins Google’s network of 35 cloud regions and 106 zones worldwide.

South Africa’s MultiChoice Group is perhaps best known for its DStv satellite TV service that is a major force in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it has now aggressively entered the fibre internet market by bringing both DStv and internet into its own uncapped fibre products offering at heavily discounted prices.

While some sub-Saharan African countries are making things difficult for telecommunications operators and equipment suppliers through new or increased taxes, Zambia appears to be taking a different route – at least when it comes to infrastructure.

The Kenyan government regained full control over Telkom Kenya after forking out KES6.09 billion (US$50.3m) for the 60% majority stake held by British investment firm Helios Investment Partners, reported Ecofin Agency.

Yet another SIM card registration exercise is having problems after reports that in Kenya, as the latest registration deadline draws closer, some 15 million SIM cards could be rendered unusable by 15 October.

The Raxio Group, a leading pan-African data centre developer and operator, recently held a ground-breaking ceremony that formally kicked off the construction of its Tier-III carrier neutral colocation data centre, located at Beluluane Industrial Park (MozParks) in Maputo, Mozambique.

MTN is accelerating its goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040 with the launch of a request for proposal (RFP) to convert its South African headquarters into a ‘green’ office.

Hard on the heels of the announcement that its recapitalisation efforts have been completed, South African operator Cell C has done a deal with Capitec, South Africa’s largest retail bank by customers, that makes Capitec the country’s latest mobile virtual network operator (MVNO).

In response to what it describes as growing demand for high-quality data services, Guinean operator ETI SA is implementing digital enablement expert Alepo’s BSS Transformation. Alepo says that the advanced platform will modernize the operator’s existing FTTH services, as well as provide support for the future launch of its fixed LTE network.

Digital business support systems (BSS) specialist Tecnotree is in the news again, this time after it announced a partnership with operator MTN Nigeria on a new initiative called Metamorphose.

The recapitalisation of South African mobile operator Cell C has finally been completed after years of negotiation. That’s the news from Blue Label Telecoms, the largest shareholder in Cell C, which sells innovative technology for mobile commerce to emerging markets in South Africa and abroad.

South Sudan and Djibouti have reportedly signed a deal that will see a fibre optic cable laid across three countries.

Yet another private network initiative has been announced – this time in South Africa, where operator MTN plans to build private 5G networks for mines and ports.

Operator Orange Côte d’Ivoire has opened its Orange 5G Lab, devoted to digital professionals, start-ups and businesses, at an event attended by Mr Amadou Coulibaly, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, and a number of senior figures from Orange.

MTN Nigeria and Ericsson have announced what they call a ‘historic milestone’ with the launch of 5G services in a number of areas of the country.

President Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo has ordered the implementation of the country’s universal service fund (USF) within “a reasonable timeframe”.

Cassava Technologies, a pan-African technology group, has had a busy week in which it has announced a satcoms deal with Eutelsat Communications for its Liquid Intelligent Technologies business and a partnership with AWS for its Liquid Cloud division.

After a successful launch, Africell, Angola’s newest operator, is keeping up the pressure on its rivals with a major new offering: free mobile TV.

Orange Money, the mobile money service of Orange, and leading pan-African payments company Cellulant have launched a partnership to enable card-to-wallet transfers for eight banks in Botswana.

Avanti Communications has signed a new agreement with Turksat that will see the firms deliver extensive, continuous coverage across Africa and the Middle East.

Africa Data Centres is back in the news again. This time the company that describes itself as the largest network of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centre facilities in Africa has joined forces with Nigeria's principle internet exchange point, IXPN.

The World Bank's private investment arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), has announced plans to invest in Safaricom Ethiopia.