Fiji has a relatively sophisticated communications infrastructure with the highest mobile and internet penetration in the Pacific Islands. It is the leading market to watch in terms of both LTE and 5G development in this region.

For many years, GSM was the primary mobile technology for Vanuatu’s 300,000 people.

Samoa was one of the first Pacific Island countries to establish a regulatory infrastructure and to liberalise its telecom market.

The South Pacific region has become a hub for submarine cable system developments in recent years, with further networks scheduled to come online later in 2021 and into 2022.

French Polynesia has one of the more advanced telecoms infrastructures for the Pacific Islands region.

The Superintendence-General (SG) of the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade) has approved without restrictions the purchase of the towers of Telxius Torres (a subsidiary of Telefónica / Vivo) in Brazil by American Tower.

Hard on the heels of its acquisition of Millicom’s Tanzanian operations, Axian Group has announced a major investment in the country and is apparently looking at more investment opportunities in the region.

The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 1,168.66 million in the third quarter of 2020 to 1,173.83 million in the last quarter of 2020, registering a growth rate of 0.44%. This reflects a Year-On-Year (Y-O-Y) growth rate of 0.12% over the same quarter of the last year.

The African telecommunications giant MTN Group has confirmed yesterday’s news that it is involved in a bid for a telecoms licence in Ethiopia.

In what could be seen as a necessary brake on the power of tech giants to intrude on the personal lives of app users or a potential further encroachment by the state on businesses, China has proposed new regulations on the use of apps by companies.

Only a few weeks after the country’s 3.6GHz spectrum auction finally took place, operator Telenor Bulgaria has announced that it has scheduled the commercial nationwide launch of its 5G service for 10 June.

Serbia’s telecom industry has been liberalised in line with the principles of the EU’s regulatory framework for communications, focussed on encouraging competition in telecom products and services, and ensuring universal access.

Japanese group OCC (Ocean Cable & Communications Corporation) is reportedly acquiring Nepalese operator Smart Telecom for NPR12 billion (US$99 million).

Malawi’s Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) has approached the country’s operators to address consumer complaints over high data prices.

As the government of India implementing curfew and lockdown situations in many states due to surging COVID-19 cases, it becomes of utmost importance to ensure the continuity of telecom tower operations 24 x7.

Albania’s small telecom market has experienced some significant changes in recent years. Following its acquisition of the ISP ABCom, Vodafone Albania in early 2021 committed to invest €100 million to upgrade its fixed-line infrastructure.

Azerbaijan has joined an initiative to create a single roaming space between the countries of the Eastern Partnership (EaP).

Neterra, the Bulgarian operator for telecommunications services and projects in Southeast Europe, said that it expanded Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) service in over 180 countries.

Filipino operator Globe Telecom has surpassed its network upgrade targets for Q1 2021, deploying 318 new sites for a year-on-year increase of 152%.

The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo) and broadband infrastructure provider CSquared have made an agreement that will involve leasing of GRIDCo’s excess fibre capacity to mobile network operators and internet service providers in Ghana.

Two technology companies, Group 42 (G42), based in Abu Dhabi, and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, based in Israel, have agreed to form a new joint venture (JV) that aims to commercialize artificial intelligence (AI) and big data technologies and solutions for multiple sectors.

Indonesia has commenced the auction phase of its 2.3GHz spectrum tender.

State-owned operator Telecom Egypt and Sudatel Group, a leading telecommunications service provider in Sudan, have signed a cooperation agreement in the field of international connectivity.

Slovenia’s multi-band 5G spectrum auctions have generated a total of EUR164.2 million (US$195.7 million).

Registration of new SIM cards had been suspended in Nigeria for about four months. Now there’s been a change of mind by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).