Safaricom expanded its network pilot to the Oromia region, as the operator continues plans to deploy its commercial network in stages with the aim of connecting 25 locations by April next year.

Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) has ordered the country’s mobile operators to temporarily block calls and data services for unregistered SIM cards as part of its registration drive.

South Africa’s Communications Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has announced plans to shut down South Africa’s 2G and 3G networks by 2025. The proposal has now been published for public comment.

A war of words appears to have broken out in Burundi following the decision by the authorities to close operator Smart.

Two of the biggest players in the cloud space, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google, are planning to enhance their presence in South Africa.

Vodacom launched its non-standalone commercial 5G network in Tanzania, delivering higher download speeds and enabling new technologies such as IoT in the country.

MTN Sudan has deployed LigaData’s data analytics and AI platform to accelerate its digital transformation strategy.

MTN Nigeria has signed a multi-million-dollar deal with Tecnotree, a major player in the business support system (BSS) space, for the deployment of 5G-ready digital BSS solutions.

Equatorial Guinea could see its internet services disconnected in as little as two weeks if it fails to make outstanding payments to its bandwidth providers.

The telecoms-led financial revolution is continuing in Africa. This time it’s South Africa’s Vodacom Financial Services that has extended the scope of digital finance with VodaLend Cash Advance, described as a product that gives customers quick and secure access to money when they need it most.

Three Zambian mobile operators, MTN Zambia, Airtel Networks Zambia and Zamtel, have reportedly set up an industry lobby group called The Global System for Mobile Association of Zambia (GSMAZ).

MTN Nigeria launched an open 5G pilot ahead of its commercial launch making it one of very few operators to offer 5G on the continent.

In a somewhat disturbing turn of events it has been alleged that the authorities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have banned some telecommunications executives from leaving the country in response to their companies’ apparent unwillingness to pay a tax on mobile services introduced in June.

The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) said it is close to awarding new company Malcel a licence, enabling it to become the country’s third mobile operator, a move it hopes will bring competition against Airtel and Telekom Networks Malawi. 

The long-awaited launch of services by Ethiopia's new mobile operator Safaricom Ethiopia is due to take place this month. Meanwhile, state-owned incumbent operator Ethio Telecom is continuing to upgrade its offering. The latest improvement involves a new fraud management system to replace the operator's legacy system.

Internet Exchange operator AMS-IX has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with MainOne’s Lagos data centre, MainData Nigeria (MDXi).

Leading regional satellite operator Türksat and satellite communications company ST Engineering iDirect have signed a multi-million dollar contract for the ground systems required to run a variety of services over the recently launched Türksat 5B satellite.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) gave 5G license winner Mafab Communications a five-month deadline extension to deploy its 5G services, reported Agence Ecofin.

It’s being widely reported in the South African press that telecom regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) is planning to license additional radio frequency spectrum for mobile networks, although whether via auction or some other process is not clear.

In what is said to be a first for Africa, Nokia says it has successfully piloted 4G and 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) network slicing with Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom on its live commercial network.

Following news that the South African government is unhappy with mobile-data-only network operator Rain suggesting a potential merger between it and rival Telkom, Rain has, in effect, reined in its claim.

The South African government disapproved of operator Rain touting a potential merger between it and to merge with rival Telkom.

Roaming between Togo and Gabon may soon incur no additional charges after an agreement between the two states, which was made last week but only reported in recent days.

Ericsson has partnered with multinational wireless communications engineering company SkyMax Network, in a move to construct a next-generation 5G broadband network and deliver digital services across sub-Saharan Africa.

Paratus, described as a full-service network spanning the African continent and connecting customers internationally, has launched Namibia’s largest carrier-neutral data centre.

State-owned Ethio Telecom released three new mobile financial services, a move to remain competitive against Safaricom which recently set up a base in the formerly closed-off Ethiopian market.

Major operators and the Kenya Communications Authority (KCA) have mutually agreed to set new interim mobile termination rates (MTR) and fixed termination rates (FTR). 

The Ivory Coast government has announced it will sell a part of its minority stake in Orange’s unit in the country, as the company prepares for an IPO.