Iraqi operator Asiacell Telecom has selected Nokia to optimise its nationwide network, in a two-year contract beginning in January 2021.

The Niger government announced it will invest CFA58 billion ($107 million) to connect around 1.4 million people to connectivity.

Cyprus’ telecoms watchdog set a date for the island country’s upcoming 5G auction for later this month, as it attracted four interested bidders after seeing delays due to a high starting price for licenses.

The Philippines new third operator DITO Telecommunity bullishly increased its coverage target pledge to 90% of the population by the end of its five-year network deployment programme, improving on its obligation to the government to secure its telecoms licence.

MTN Group could sell and lease back as much as 50% of its towers in its home market of South Africa.

Just when SIM-linked controversies appeared no longer to be news, two SIM registration stories have hit the headlines – this time from Nigeria and Malaysia.

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South African communications minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has been ordered to cut mobile data prices in half.

Telecel Faso announced the launch of 4G+ (LTE-A) mobile services which deliver download speeds of 100Mbps and upload speeds of 20Mbps, as the operator moved to match rival offerings in Burkina Faso.

After recently announced plans to limit the fees America Movil can charge customers, it looks like the Mexican telecoms regulator and billionaire Carlos Slim’s telecoms giant America Movil are heading for another scrap.

Nokia conducted 5G standalone tests in the 3.5GHz band in collaboration with Colombian operator Tigo in the city of Medellin, as the companies prepare for the country’s commercial launch of 5G.

Recent reports from Zimbabwe indicate that the Ministry of Information Communication Technologies, Postal and Courier services has completed the development of its five-year strategic plan.

The Colombian government pledged to invest almost $1billion in two programmes to develop smart cities and construct educational centres, in a bid to spur the country’s digital transformation.

Zimbabwe’s telecoms regulator outlined $123 million was needed to deliver on its plan to bring connectivity to all districts of the country.

Malaysia has developed one of the more advanced telecom networks in Asia, with a focus on deploying new technologies. There is considerable fibre infrastructure in place, while the network operators have made considerable progress in 5G, using a number of vendors.

Thailand’s telecom sector has seen a continuing shift from fixed-line services to the mobile segment. The decline in fixed-line penetration seen in recent years is expected to continue as subscribers migrate to mobile networks for voice and data services.

Peru’s MTC (Ministry of Transport and Communications) has issued draft proposals for active infrastructure sharing.

The fixed line market in the Philippines remains underdeveloped with low penetration in both the fixed broadband and fixed-line markets. This is partly attributed to under-investment in fixed infrastructure, the dominance of the mobile segment and the rapid development of mobile broadband.

Trade association the GSMA tipped the Latin American telecoms market to reach 15 million 5G connections by 2022, as the continent recently saw network launches in Brazil and Uruguay and spectrum auctions lined up next year.

There won’t be a fourth operator in Ethiopia – at least not yet. The Ethiopian Communications Authority (ECA) has decided that it will not let a fourth operator enter the telecommunications sector for at least 10 years.

Burkina Faso’s regulator ARCEP (Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts) has opened a public consultation over issuing spectrum for fixed internet offerings.

Mali has endured a number of challenges contributing to the poor state of its telecom infrastructure. The country’s topography includes large tracks of sparsely populated desert, with many settlements being hard to reach and so rendering it difficult and expensive to service with effective fixed or mobile networks.

Saudi operator STC hailed successful trials, in collaboration with Ericsson and MediaTek, to demonstrate the first global 5G carrier aggregation using low and mid-band spectrum, a move illustrating its 5G network development.

Now Telecom chose Nokia as its equipment supplier to deploy standalone 5G network, as the Philippines operator progresses plans to launch nationwide fixed wireless access and mobile services.

Telefonica’s Brazilian unit Vivo strengthened its B2B transformation program with the inclusion of e-commerce support, choosing Netcracker solutions to facilitate this move.

The Ghanaian National Communications Authority (NCA) extended the licensing of additional temporary spectrum to MTN and Vodafone, as the regulator predicts a surge in mobile traffic.

Saudi operator announced group chief executive officer Nasser Al Nasser resigned from his role and will depart the company on 28 March 2021, due to personal circumstances.

Lithuania’s antitrust regulator has granted conditional clearance to mobile provider Bite’s proposed acquisition of the state-owned business MEZON.

Zimbabwe is to allocate a significant sum of money to infrastructure improvement in the ICT sector over the coming year.