Telecommunications giant MTN is continuing to pursue some very ambitious plans for Africa. Its latest commitment is to expand broadband access across Nigeria.

Global web innovator Opera has suspended support for VPN services in browsers on Russian territory after Roskomnadzor, Russia's telecommunications watchdog, banned the use of Opera VPN and another service called VyprVPN, having classified them as threats according to current Russian law.

With the granting by the country’s ICT Authority (ICTA) of 5G licences to three mobile operators, Mauritius is the latest African country to take a step towards launching 5G – but it has done so in a slightly different way.

The Nigerian Federal Government has raised an 18-member team to map out plans for Nigeria's 5G spectrum auctions following the Senate clearance over public health concerns.

A massive deal uniting two players in the Malaysian telecoms market to make the biggest operator in the country has finally gone through.

The complex consequences of unfettered access to social media and its opposite, banning social media, have been highlighted in recent news stories from India and Nigeria.

Total wireless subscribers in India as of March 2021 stood at 1,180.96 million, according to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) data released on Friday.

The Prime Minister Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM-WANI) initiative can result in a massive scale-up of the internet in rural areas and tremendous opportunity exists for the rapid proliferation of public Wi-Fi hotspots in India, said the telecom regulator.

Croatian regulator HAKOM confirmed that nine firms have applied to bid in the country’s upcoming 5G spectrum auctions.

There have been multiple reports over the past few days suggesting that Mocambique Telecom (Tmcel) may soon be unable to offer voice calls after an interconnection-related spat with fellow operator Vodacom Mozambique.

National regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has announced two big initiatives: a licensing review and the approval of 73 new satellite permits.

The government of India has launched the Trusted Telecom Portal six months after the Union Cabinet approved the National Security Directive on Telecommunication Sector.

Altel Communications has been awarded a new allocation of 2x5MHz, totaling 10MHz of the 900MHz band for five years, reported Malaysian newspaper The Star quoting ministerial orders/direction (MO).

The process that will lead to the sale of just under half of Ethiopia’s state-owned operator Ethio Telecom is apparently under way.

Kenya’s leading telecommunication company Safaricom has been officially awarded a licence to become the first foreign entity to provide such services in Ethiopia.

Estonia’s competitive telecom market continues to progress with a range of regulatory measures which have enabled alternative operators to chip away at the fixed-line market share of the incumbent telco Telia Estonia. Fixed-line infrastructure upgrades have been focussed on fibre, and the legacy DSL network has gradually been replaced.

The Polish competition authority has cleared the acquisition by Cellnex Telecom, an operator of wireless telecommunications and broadcasting infrastructures, of Polkomtel Infrastruktura.

Poland’s liberalised telecom market has seen considerable development in the broadband and mobile sectors. The incumbent telco, Orange Poland, dominates the broadband market and has invested in fibre infrastructure to support the growing adoption of bundled services among customers.

The demand for data-based services in the Pacific region is growing, aligning with similar trends around the world. In particular, the demand for mobile broadband is increasing due to mobile services being the primary and most wide-spread source for internet access across the region.

Venezuela’s fixed-line teledensity was relatively high for the region before the steady growth in the number of lines came to an end in 2015. Since then, the number of lines has plummeted, and by late 2020 teledensity had fallen to about 18.6%.

Cuba’s telecom sector remains a peculiarity, with state control having stymied rather than promoted the development of all sectors.

To boost the Railways network in the country, India's Union Cabinet announced to provide 5 megahertz spectrum in 700 MHz band.

Indosat Ooredoo, the telecommunications provider in Indonesia, will soon launch its fifth-generation or 5G network.

Orange Centrafrique has been unable to offer mobile services after its core network, data centre and radio installations were destroyed in a fire on 6th June.

Lebanon’s continued rationing of electrical power in the face of national shortages may prevent state operator Ogero from providing internet services, its chairman has warned.

Colombia’s national spectrum agency (ANE) sanctioned Avantel, a telecommunications company based in Mexico City, for the illegal use of WOM's spectrum.

Pan-African operator MTN has announced plans to commit $25 million to develop Ghana’s digital ecosystem.

Health technology is a growing theme – and opportunity – across the MEA region, so it’s perhaps little surprise that a major operator is now getting involved.