FSAU (the Fundo do Servico de Acesso Universal), the Mozambique government’s Universal Access Service Fund, has launched projects to improve connectivity in ten locations.

Cameroon’s CamTel has been granted three licences by the country’s regulator following a restructuring process last year.

According to Indian news reports, the government is considering setting up what it calls an empowered group of ministers (eGoM). Its role? To manage the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) crisis now affecting a number of telecommunications companies.

After over a year of negotiations, MTN Uganda has reached an agreement to renew its licence for US$100 million.

The Afghanistan Telecoms Regulatory Authority (ATRA) has fined the country’s five main operators a total of AFN1.2 billion (USD15.7 million) for falling short of quality of service (QoS) standards.

The government of India has ordered the country’s telecoms operators to play a 30-second audio clip about coronavirus in place of a ringing tone in order to raise awareness of the pandemic.

Press reports from the Gulf region have highlighted Ooredoo Qatar’s recent announcement that more than 100,000 customers have signed up for its recently launched Shahry 5G and Qatarna 5G plans.

The news that self-assessment done by Indian telecommunication companies for AGR dues has come up with much lower figures than the government’s has added a further layer of confusion to an already uncertain situation.

Multinational operator Airtel Africa has announced that it has finalized the acquisition of 10 MHz of spectrum in the 900 MHz band in Nigeria from fellow operator Intercellular Nigeria Limited.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has blocked access for around 2.2 million SIM cards which were incompletely or inaccurately registered.

It’s still not clear whether Vodafone Idea will be helped out by the Indian government, but reports on last week’s meeting between the CEO of parent company Vodafone and government ministers indicate that the participants seemed to be making the right noises.

Reliance Jio looks set to snap up the assets of its bankrupt former rival RCom (Reliance Communications) after the State Bank of India approved an insolvency proposal.

Not everyone is convinced that the floor prices for voice and data services that Indian operators are calling for would be a good idea.

Vodafone Ukraine has extended its branding and access partnership with Vodafone Group.

Tele2 has completed the sale of its Croatian unit to the United Group for EUR220 million (USD241 million).

The US-backed telecoms group Africell Holding has been asked to submit a bid for the fourth Angolan Unified Global operating licence.

Romania has become the latest country to announce a 5G spectrum auction. According to the Romanian regulator, the National Authority for Management and Regulation in Communications (ANCOM), the auction will take place in the fourth quarter of this year.

Bhutan’s regulator has set out its roadmap towards 5G adoption, with deployments expected to begin in 2022.

Mexican cable operator Megacable is deploying fibre GPON infrastructure across its footprint via a US$400 million investment.

Now Indian banks are getting involved in the ongoing pricing and debt issues afflicting operators in the country. In particular, suggestions that there should be a hefty raise in mobile tariffs seem to have worried the Reserve Bank of India.

Chile is implementing a new tax law that obliges overseas providers of OTT and e-commerce services to pay VAT from 1^st June 2020.