Niger is one of the largest countries in West Africa but also one of the poorest in the world. As with many African markets, a lack of fixed telecoms infrastructure has led to growth in mobile services. Niger’s mobile penetration is modest compared to other countries in the region, while fixed broadband penetration is negligible.

Panama has seen a steady increase in revenue from the telecom sector in recent years. Mobile services and broadband remain the key growth sectors, with mobile connections accounting for 90% of all connections, and over half of telecom sector revenue.

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.

South African operator Telkom has experienced mixed fortunes over the past 24 hours. It has been one of the two early winners (along with fixed wireless access operator Rain Networks) in South Africa's mobile spectrum auction but, within the same day, has been forced to delay a planned sale of its tower unit.

MTN Group reported a boost to revenue and profit as the operator pledges to invest to increase capacity in data and mobile money services.  

The Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) has had a tortuous history since gaining independence. The country’s stability has been affected by disputes among rival groups and armed militias, particularly in the far eastern provinces and Katanga. This has resulted in considerable social upheaval, exacerbated by considerable corruption within the government.

Mozambique was one of the first countries in the region to embark upon telecom reform and to open the sector to competition.

Cameroon was for many years one of the few countries in Africa with only two competing mobile operators. After some delays, Viettel Cameroon launched a third network and has since grown its subscriber base rapidly.

During the last decade Chad’s economy has been dominated by oil exports, and as a result economic growth has been affected by the changing prices for the commodity on international markets. Recent economic difficulties have been exacerbated by civil unrest, an influx of refugees from neighbouring countries, and the economic downsides resulting from the pandemic.

India is considering lowering the base price for 5G spectrum in its anticipated auction to spur interest from local players who are being pushed out due to pricing.  

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.

Lithuania’s regulator RRT will allow operators to offer 5G services using their existing spectrum holdings.

Chinese equipment maker ZTE announced a 12.9% rise in its 2021 full-year annual revenue to RMB114 billion (US$18 billion), reporting year-on-year growth across its arms. 

Barbados has licensed a third operator in a bid to introduce more competition to the market.

Ukraine’s three major operators Kyivstar, Lifecell and Vodafone Ukraine have enabled free roaming between their networks in a bid to ensure continued communications as Russia continues to pursue a war in the nation.

Liberia has a telecom market which is mainly based on mobile networks, largely due to the protracted civil war which destroyed much of the fixed-line infrastructure.

Despite a setback from the EU, the Czech Telecommunication (CTU) Office is drafting new measures to spur competition and designating incumbent MNOs as having significant market power.

Namibia’s telecom market has developed strongly since the second mobile network operator was licenced in 2006, thereby introducing effective competition between MTC Telecom Namibia and Paratus Telecom.

Airtel Uganda is the latest Ugandan operator to announce plans for a stock exchange listing.

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

MTN Ghana has continued to make progress in making good on a agreement with the government, to increase the ownership of its Scancom and MobileMoney operations.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has approved Airtel Kenya’s application to replace its temporary licence with a new 10-year permit for 2×10MHz of spectrum in the 2100MHz band.

Brazilian operator TIM Brasil and Huawei have signed a cooperation agreement to develop the fifth generation of mobile networks (5G) in Curitiba, the capital and largest city in the Brazilian state of Parana.

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.

As it continues to finalise its exit from Myanmar and the sale of its Myanmar operations to the unit’s new buyers, Myanmar conglomerate Shwe Byain Phyu (SBP) and Lebanese investment firm M1 Group, Norway's Telenor is said to be transferring a large sum to the new owners.

Australia’s Telstra has been cleared to acquire Digicel Fiji by the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission (FCCC).

Leading Asian regional integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company edotco Group has further boosted its aim to be a major global tower player with the acquisition, through its local subsidiary PT edotco Infrastruktur Indonesia, of approximately 1,000 towers from Indonesian operator XL Axiata.

Australia is to fund new telecommunications towers in the Solomon Islands. The support for the towers was requested by the Solomon Islands government as part of its Covid-19 preparedness and response efforts.

The Competition and Consumer Authority of Botswana has announced its unconditional approval for the acquisition of 100% of Broadband Botswana Internet (BBi) by the Botswanan arm of South Africa’s Paratus Telecommunications Ltd.