Regulation

Regulator the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) has suspended the Universal Telecommunications Operating Licence and Spectrum Authorisation of Starcell International Liberia, an operator about which little appears to be known.

Malaysia has announced an immediate and full ban on the importation of electronic waste (e-waste) – discarded electronic products such as computers, mobile phones and appliances.

India’s Supreme Court has warned Meta it could once again bar WhatsApp from sharing user data with other group companies such as Facebook, as the country revives a long-running dispute over privacy practices.

A ‘digital Liberia — leaving no one behind’ is the promise of a recently launched new five-year roadmap aimed at accelerating the country’s digital transformation and strengthening national control over critical technology systems.

Regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it has teamed with the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to tackle telecom-related crimes, including, it seems, damage to fibre optic infrastructure.

The leading operator in Bangladesh, Grameenphone, has secured 10 megahertz of spectrum in the 700MHz band, marking the first-ever allocation of the low-band frequency to a mobile operator in Bangladesh. It was, apparently, the sole buyer.

India's policymakers seem finally to have put an end to the 6GHz debate between proponents of cellular and of Wi-Fi with government confirmation of plans to delicense the lower 6GHz band to help enable faster Wi-Fi indoors.

Uganda has begun restoring internet connectivity after imposing a nationwide blackout ahead of elections that saw 81-year-old President Yoweri Museveni secure a seventh term in office.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has reportedly kicked off a six-week public consultation to assess the potential for allowing direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services in Nigeria.

For the second time in five years Uganda faces a government-sanctioned internet blackout before a nationwide vote. The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has told all service providers to suspend internet access ahead of Thursday's presidential election.

The week just ended seems to have been a busy one for regulator Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), with important rulings related to MVNOs and 5G reported by the local press.

Regulators in Malaysia and Indonesia announced separately over the weekend that they have temporarily restricted access to X’s AI tool Grok over its ability to generate and distribute non-consensual deepfake pornographic images of women and children.

A recent update of Brazil’s General Telecommunications Law means that cooperatives from all over the country have gained authorisation to offer telecommunications services, including telephony and broadband internet.

As predicted in recent days by many news outlets, including this one, Indian operator Vodafone Idea today confirmed that its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues for the period from FY 2006–07 to FY 2018–19 are to be frozen from 31 December 2025.

RANext Technologies has been empanelled by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) as a Digital Connectivity Rating Agency (DCRA), meaning it is authorised to evaluate the digital connectivity infrastructure of properties to ensure seamless connectivity and readiness for smart technologies.

As it suggested it would in late 2024, Zimbabwe has now started levying a new tax on payments to increasingly popular multinational digital service providers.

Though it does not yet seem to have been formally confirmed by the Indian government, beleaguered operator Vodafone Idea (Vi) has apparently been granted a ten-year grace period before it has to pay more than 95% of its adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues.

India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has formally announced its National Frequency Allocation Plan 2025 (NFAP-2025). It took effect from 30 December 2025 but is already attracting negative comments from operators.

Apple has settled its case with Brazilian antitrust regulator CADE, which had criticised alleged restrictions by the technology giant on certain payment methods.

The Government of Pakistan has reportedly approved a process for the auction of 600MHz of spectrum within two months. 

Peru’s telecoms regulator OSIPTEL reported a 3% year-on-year increase in sector revenues to SOL12.5 billion (US$3.7 billion) in the first three quarters of 2025, driven by rising demand for mobile and fixed internet services.

South Africa's Electronic Communications Act, which requires foreign-owned communications licensees to sell 30% of equity in their local subsidiaries to historically disadvantaged groups, is to be amended.

Mexico plans to suspend unregistered mobile lines very early in 2026, a deadline that allows only a matter of weeks for consumers to respond.

The long-anticipated merger of Telenor Pakistan with Pakistan Telecomm­unication Company Ltd (PTCL) does now appear to be close to becoming a reality after it received the approval of The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) late last week.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency for digital technologies, has announced that the next Radiocommunication Assembly (RA-27) and World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-27) will take place in Shanghai, China, from 11 October to 12 November 2027.

A UNDP report, published this week, warns that unmanaged artificial intelligence (AI) could reverse the trend of narrowing development inequalities that has marked much of the last half-century.

Madagascar’s Ministry of Digital Development has confirmed that the country’s operators will cut internet tariffs from this week, following talks aimed at boosting digital access, as reported by TechAfrica News.

Zimbabwe plans to introduce what it calls a 15% Digital Services Withholding Tax from January 2026. The new levy will apply to a wide range of services supplied by foreign companies with no physical presence in Zimbabwe.

Member States of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) agreed on a roadmap to bring connectivity to everyone around the world as the World Telecommunication Development Conference (WTDC-25) closed last week in Baku, Azerbaijan.