Saudi ICT infrastructure firm Tawal is making a full acquisition of Pakistani tower company AWAL Telecom from its shareholders.

Philippines operator Smart Communications has announced that it has expanded the 5G roaming, serving customers in forty-five countries worldwide.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group and the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, has announced that it has invested in a maiden bond issuance by pan-African telecommunications services provider Axian Telecom.

Pakistan is the latest country to announce initiatives that will, eventually, lead to the auction of 5G spectrum and the rollout of 5G technology.

Nokia bagged a contract to upgrade Saudi operator Zain’s digital infrastructure and enhance network capabilities across all regions in the kingdom.

Pan-African telecommunications service provider Seacom is acquiring selected infrastructure assets from Africell in Uganda.

Brazil’s competition regulator approved the sale of Oi’s mobile assets to rivals Claro Brasil, Telefonica Brasil (Vivo) and TIM Brasil but with conditions, after recent calls to have the deal blocked.

The latest part of the long-running spectrum auction saga in South Africa is due to take place during the week of 11-14 April when regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and operator Telkom will meet in court.

Philippines-based operator Globe Telecom recorded a “massive” boost in monthly data traffic on its 5G network last year, showing the fruit from its major investment into its network last year.

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has allocated new frequencies to Orange Egypt, offering 30MHz in the frequency space of 2,600MHz with a Time Division Duplex (TDD) system.

Bahrain Telecommunication Company (Batelco) has become the first telecommunications company in the Middle East region to launch the AMS-IX (Amsterdam Internet Exchange) service, Manama-IX Reseller Service.

South Africa’s Independent Communications Authority (ICASA) will hold public hearings to review call termination rules, as the country’s largest operators dispute over a rule change eight years ago.

Customers of Ugandan operator Smile Communications have reportedly been unable to access its services for several days.

Fledgling Philippines-based operator Dito Telecommunity announced more than PHP50 billion ($971 million) has been attained and will be pumped into expanding its network this year.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Ministry of Communications in India will engage telecom operators for developing 5G use-cases in the field of precision agriculture and smart farming in collaboration with the agriculture ministry.

Brazilian regional telecom operator Copel Telecom has acquired Curitiba-based ISP and data centre provider Nova Fibra from ABL group in a deal valued at BRL500 million (US$ 94.7 million).

Telkom Kenya claimed it is forced to pay half of its revenues to Safaricom and other rival operators due to high rates for ending customer calls on their network, rendering the country a loss-making territory for the operator.

The SIM registration trend continues. This time SIM registration is about to become law in the Philippines where the country's congress has ratified an act mandating ownership registration of all SIM cards for electronic devices and social media accounts. The bill now awaits the president’s signature.

Zimbabwe operator Telecel announced its network is back to full working operation and rebuffed rumours it was shuttering due to debt, as customers experienced service outages due to expired licenses.

Mexico could see a 5G spectrum auction later this year following the IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones)’s approval of its Annual Work Programme 2022.

Bharti Airtel subsidiary Airtel Africa reported profit after tax almost doubled to $514m as revenue grew by 21.7% to $3.4 billion.

Sri Lankan mobile network operator company Bharti Airtel Lanka has tested 5G infrastructure over a commercial network and recorded the highest ever Internet speed in the country.

Ooredoo Maldives has announced the appointment of Khalid Al-Hamadi as the new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Another part of the Indian 5G spectrum auctions puzzle is nearly in place. The country’s Telecommunications Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) recommendations on 5G spectrum will be available by March.

Asian nations have greenlit a plan to produce a joint system to battle against the use of counterfeit and stolen mobile phones, and accelerate other future technologies.

Saudi Arabian operator Zain announced the rollout of the Kingdom’s first 5G standalone (SA) network in a bid to attract partners with ambitions to develop projects in vertical technologies such as IoT, AI and robotics.  

Telecom Italia Brazil has appointed its fourth permanent CEO naming Alberto Griselli as its head, a role which was vacated when Pietro Labriola was unanimously appointed as group CEO.

Saudi Arabian efforts to cut back on the kingdom's reliance on oil are continuing. The latest initiative involves $6.4 billion of investments in future technology.