South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is holding discussions with shareholders in a bid to avert the liquidation of pan-African operating group Smile Telecoms Holdings.

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has launched an investigation into WhatsApp’s delayed and highly controversial privacy policy update.

According to local press reports, the Indonesian government, through the Ministry of Communication and Information (KemKominfo/MCI), has again opened the 2.3GHz spectrum auction in the 2.360-2.390MHz range for 4G (and possibly also 5G) services.

Zimbabwe’s smallest mobile operator Telecel is reportedly courting investors to generate funds for a new network expansion.

China is implementing new regulations aimed at clarifying the nature of the customer data that apps are allowed to gather.

The government of India has fully divested its final 10% stake in Tata Communications.

The Competition Council of Romania is investigating allegations that Telekom Romania exploited its dominance in the market by hiking fees for technical approvals.

To strengthen its leadership in 5G business transformation, Huawei is increasing investment in carrier software as a strategy to support 5G business success.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has finally indicated that both fixed and mobile number portability (FNP and MNP, respectively) are expected to be introduced in October 2021.

Somaliland’s Somtel has begun its initial public offering (IPO), with interested parties able to acquire a minimum of 20 shares for US$100 apiece.

January 2021 saw Vodafone Idea (Vi) register its first monthly increase in subscribers for over a year, amid a broader nationwide trend towards subscriber growth.

After a legal challenge from operator Vivacom, Bulgaria’s Communications Regulation Commission (CRC) has revoked its decision to award 3.6GHz spectrum without an auction and will instead hold a bid on 6th April 2021.

The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) has published its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector annual market report for the year 2020, and many of its findings – and predictions – are positive.

Bulgaria’s Vivacom has issued a legal challenge to the regulator’s decision to allocate 5G spectrum frequencies without conducting a scheduled auction.

Pan-African technology group Liquid Telecom has rebranded itself as Liquid Intelligent Technologies, the culmination, it says, of its extensive business transformation from being a telecommunications and digital services provider to a full one-stop-shop technology group.

The woes of state-owned Indian operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have apparently deepened after a request to use 4G core technology from established names for a future rollout was turned down.

A busy period for pan-African operator MTN Group – and its ongoing plan to sell assets, pay down debt and invest in expansion – looks set to continue.

A Zimbabwean union of communications workers is calling for the beleaguered state-backed mobile firm Telecel to enter receivership or a corporate rescue process.

Pakistan's media has recently reported on government plans for significant tax cuts for telecommunications companies and services.

The situation regarding the merger of India’s state-run telecommunications operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has become a touch more complex.

United Group is reportedly weighing up whether to remove equipment manufactured by Huawei from its networks.

The Philippines’ newest operator DITO Telecommunity has been awarded a 25-year operating franchise after the Senate committee on public services approved the move.

Zambia has passed sweeping laws to criminalise cyber abuse. But local commentators have argued that the move is really a way of stifling free speech in the run-up to elections due in August – and it does appear to have uncomfortable echoes of state intervention in places like Russia, China, Uganda and Cambodia.