All Tech News

Sri Lankan operator Dialog Axiata has announced what it calls a landmark strategic partnership with UnionPay International (UPI), a China-headquartered company described as one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing global payment networks.

Aramco Digital, the technology subsidiary of Saudi oil giant Aramco, says it is set to launch the kingdom’s national industrial communications network operating in the 450MHz band.

Technology company ACES India and state-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) have signed a strategic agreement to deploy advanced telecom and digital connectivity infrastructure at Noida International Airport in Uttar Pradesh, a state in northern India.

Ocean Network Express (ONE), one of the world's leading liner shipping companies, and Japanese technology group MTI have established a joint venture called Quaveo in Vietnam's Ho Chi Minh City.

Luxembourg-based 5G NTN satellite operator OQ Technology has signed a LEO satellite partnership agreement with cloud-based hybrid connectivity provider Monogoto.

The rush to develop data centre infrastructure in Malaysia continues with Tien Wah Press Holdings saying that its joint venture (JV) with Singapore-listed property developer Lum Chang Holdings is entering the data centre business to tap into the growing demand for such infrastructure.

Oman Data Park (ODP), a managed services and cloud provider delivering ICT solutions, has entered into a strategic partnership with ZainTECH, the integrated digital solutions provider of MEA telecoms giant Zain Group, to strengthen cybersecurity services across Oman and selected regional markets.

Software provider Cerillion has won its largest contract to date after securing a GBP42.5 million (around US$57.1 million) deal with Oman-based operator Omantel.

Egypt’s regulator the NTRA (National Telecom Regulatory Authority) has granted tpay the country’s first licence to offer Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) for government payments.

A sixth subsea cable has been damaged in the Baltic Sea, keeping regional authorities on high alert amid growing scrutiny of Russian-linked maritime activity, the Financial Times reported. 

State-owned operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has announced the awarding of two more BharatNet contracts as the village connectivity project enters its third, and presumably final, phase.

Chinese smartphone maker Oppo is set to bring Realme back under its core brand structure as a sub-brand, as parent company BKK Electronics looks to better integrate resources and align its brand strategy alongside OnePlus.

Africa-focused payments technology company Flutterwave is to buy Mono, an African open banking and financial data infrastructure provider.

Veon Group plans to invest US$20 million in its financial services subsidiary Mobilink Microfinance Bank, as the company looks to scale digital banking services in Pakistan.

Ground has been broken on a new data centre for the Saudi Arabian government in Riyadh, described as the world’s largest government data centre.

Ethiopian Airlines Group, a leading African airline, has signed a strategic agreement with Nucore Technologies to advance its digital transformation efforts – and in particular to strengthen the services it offers via the platform it calls the Ethiopian Airlines’ Agency Portal.

Satellite service provider Starlink has shut down access to its satellite internet service in Uganda after receiving instructions to do so from the country’s regulator, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC).

Malaysian 5G operator U Mobile revealed on Monday it has enabled scam protection across its entire network in partnership with signalling security, roaming and analytics solutions provider Cellusys.

Eutelsat announced on Tuesday that it partnering with Airtel Gabon to provide OneWeb LEO satellite connectivity to passenger trains in Gabon to support on-board Wi-Fi services.

Ooredoo, Qatar’s leading ICT provider, and the Gulf Organisation for Research & Development (GORD), a research group with a strong emphasis on sustainability, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU).

As part of what appears to have been an upbeat overview of the country’s ICT sector the Egyptian Minister of Communications and Information Technology recently highlighted some ambitious plans for local phone production.

Orange Middle East and Africa announced on Monday it has signed a deal with the Confederation of African Football (CAF) granting it mobile-only broadcasting rights for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations tournament currently underway in Morocco.

SpaceX’s LEO satellite operator Starlink has shut off service in Papua New Guinea – at least for now – and has reportedly withdrawn from the market amid ongoing legal tangles that have delayed approval of its licence to operate there.

Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority (CMA) says it has officially licensed operators Safaricom and Airtel Money Kenya to operate as what are called intermediary service platform providers (ISPPs).

Professional services company Deloitte India says it has expanded its strategic partnership with cloud computing services business Google Cloud. The firm will serve as a premier partner, reseller and managed security service provider (MSSP) for Google Cloud in India.

The slow but steady growth of private networks in Latin America appears to be continuing with last week’s news from operator Telefonica Movistar Colombia that its business division Movistar Empresas has implemented the first industrial private LTE network in a maritime terminal in Colombia.

Ooredoo Qatar has launched a new eSIM solution for IoT devices, which it says can help enterprises simplify device management, enhance security, and scale IoT operations across borders.

e& UAE says its EMIX IP transit platform has upgraded its UAE core with 400G links in collaboration with Cisco to meet demands for traffic growth that is growing over 20% annually.

Edotco Services Lanka says it has commissioned 400 resilient power systems across Sri Lanka to strengthen telecoms network reliability and resilience during natural disasters and prolonged power outages.

PayTabs Kuwait, a member of the Saudi Arabia-headquartered PayTabs Group, which specialises in payment orchestration, has announced that it has entered a strategic partnership with BEDE Kuwait, a payment services company.

In what is described as a first for the EEMEA region, First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and payment giant Mastercard have officially launched Mastercard’s proprietary mobile-first virtual card number (VCN) solution for businesses.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) of Bahrain has announced the launch of satellite direct-to-device (D2D) services in the country, although ‘launch’ may mean ‘authorisation’ in this case.