The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) has delayed the issue of two new nationwide operating licences.

While Peru has been proactive against the pandemic, the economic cost has been high.

Hungary has successfully auctioned licences for mobile spectrum in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands.

Airtel Africa has confirmed that it will not bid for the opportunity to be an MNO in Ethiopia, where government plans have been announced to invite tenders for two new operator licences.

Guinea’s telecommunications sector was given a tremendous boost following the market entry of MTN Group and Orange Group. Subsequently, the number of mobile subscribers grew strongly while revenue also increased steadily.

Russian leading operator MTS secured a seven-year $300 million loan from the New Development Bank (NDB) to fund network and cloud infrastructure development projects.

Jamaica could potentially see new operator Rock Mobile enter its telecoms market with a former banking executive at the helm after enquiries were made with the country’s regulator on new entrant market conditions.

Vodafone Group was reportedly mulling the sale of its Ghana unit to subsidiary Vodacom with the British company pushing on with restructuring plans to cut debt.

Pan-African telecoms group Liquid Telecom is back in the news, this time thanks to a major acquisition and the successful completion of a restructuring plan.

With the South African 5G spectrum auctions supposedly taking place in March, now may not be an ideal time for major operators to take the regulator to court – but that seems to be what is happening.

Regional Brazilian operator Sercomtel announced a voluntary layoff plan with the aim to reduce its 456 staff by 50%, as part of urgent plans to reduce massive debt and ensure the survival of the company.

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State-run Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is aiming to launch a “pre-commercial” 5G service using 3.5GHz spectrum by mid-2021.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Information – known as KemKominfo - has “terminated” the country’s allocation process for 2.3GHz mobile spectrum.

Mexican regulator IFT (Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones) has approved a public tender for 41 blocks of spectrum across the 800MHz, 1900MHz, 1700MHz/2100MHz and 2.5GHz bands.

Thailand’s Central Administrative Court has ruled that state-owned operator TOT must pay market leader AIS a total of THB1.35 billion ($45 million) relating to a revenue sharing concession.

It’s been a little more than 15 months since we reported that two major Indian service providers were to merge. Now it looks like the merger – between fixed and mobile service providers Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) – has been shelved.

If Indian press reports prove true, both the country’s Ministry of Defence and its Department of Space may soon give up their claims on parts of the 3300-3600 MHz spectrum.

Fitch Ratings has reiterated its prediction that Airtel Lanka will seek a merger with – or to be acquired by – a rival, given the overwhelming amount of CAPEX investment required to remain competitive in an aggressive market.

Togolese regulator ARCEP (Electronic Communications and Postal Regulatory Authority) is implementing new frameworks aimed at protecting consumer interests.

The Nigerian Communications Commission hailed its progress in improving connectivity in Nigeria, revealing base stations and fibre optic cables were rolled out rapidly after a regulatory restructure.

Nokia and China Mobile announced the successful trialing of AI-powered RANs to predict bandwidth traffic and detect network anomalies, showcasing technology to automate networks that could drastically reduce reliance on human resources.

Emirati operators Etisalat and Du have increased their cap on foreign share ownership from 20% to 49%.

India’s government is looking to sell its entire 26.12% stake in Tata Communications before the end of the current fiscal year.

Uruguay’s government is appointing a database administrator to begin implementing mobile number portability after many delays.

Cuba’s state-run operator ETECSA (Empresa de Telecomunicaciones de Cuba) has affirmed its goal of delivering fixed, wireless or mobile broadband to all districts in the Havana province before the end of 2021.

Philippines operators PLDT revealed a surge in mobile download speeds since 2017, with more plans to invest and bolster its networks in the pipeline.