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Montenegro is likely to see 5G launches by the end of 2022, with the regulator looking to outline a roadmap this year.

Tigo Tanzania has enabled interoperability between mobile wallet services, allowing customers to send and receive funds from M-Pesa in Kenya, MTN in Uganda and Rwanda, and Airtel in Rwanda.

While many development plans are at a standstill around the world, some telecommunications initiatives are still being unveiled. Hungary, for example, has invited proposals for the funding of its latest superfast internet rollout initiative.

SatADSL and YahClick have partnered to expand connectivity across Sub-Saharan Africa.

India’s handset manufacturers are facing an even more uncertain time since the Ministry of Home Affairs’ decision last weekend that non-essentials cannot be sold online during the nationwide lockdown. ‘Non-essentials’ in this case includes smartphones.

Yemen’s Al Kuraimi Islamic Bank is replacing its legacy IT systems with a single cloud-native, cloud-agnostic digital banking platform from Temenos to underpin its banking operations.

Nanosatellite manufacturer and mission integrator NanoAvionics, together with the Mexican Space Agency (AEM), is planning to introduce a nanosatellite pilot project for future space missions.

Turkcell, the leading mobile network operator in Turkey with around 34 million subscribers, has selected Mavenir, a cloud-native network software provider, to deploy its cloud-native, network functions virtualization (NFV)-based IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) solution.

Recent media reports indicate that Google has plans for a submarine cable connecting India and Italy via Israel. The cable will reach Israel in 2022.

Zimbabwe’s second-biggest operator, the state-owned service provider NetOne, is expecting a rise in subscriber numbers after the announcement of a recent government initiative.

3 Indonesia has deployed Nokia’s 3G-4G dynamic spectrum sharing (DSS) technology in its live network infrastructure to dynamically extend its 4G bandwidth when the demand for 3G subsides.

Indonesia’s new Nusantara Dua (Palapa N1) satellite did not enter its allocated orbital slot on schedule and has reportedly been destroyed.

After yesterday’s reports of continued cable repair delays near Vietnam, some better news comes from Malaysia, where Telekom Malaysia has quickly restored international capacity lost due to a submarine cable fault.

Vodafone Qatar has deployed commercial VoLTE services, allowing subscribers to make high definition (HD+) calls over its network.

When we reported early last week on the latest issue facing the Asia America Gateway (AAG) undersea cable – and internet users in Vietnam – it wasn’t clear how long repairs would take. We now know it could be another week before normal service is resumed.

Local news reports indicate that Liberian mobile operator Lonestar Cell-MTN is succeeding in its efforts to boost coverage to remote towns and villages across the country.

Telenor Pakistan and Ericsson have signed an agreement through which Ericsson will transform the Telenor Pakistan mobile backhaul network into an IP-based infrastructure.

CSS and Forsway are partnering in Mauritania to deliver affordable broadband in West Africa.

Free, Senegal’s second-largest mobile network operator, has deployed mobiquity Money from Indian mobility solutions provider Comviva to enhance its mobile money service Free Money.

The West Africa Cable System (WACS) has been fully repaired after an outage was registered on 27th March.

Senegalese operator Expresso has delayed its launch of commercial 4G services due to the outbreak of Covid-19 (coronavirus).

It appears the Asia America Gateway (AAG) undersea cable has recently experienced another issue, meaning that Vietnamese internet users have yet again had to deal with slow internet connections.

CSC e-Governance Services India, a licence holder for the provision of internet services, has claimed a nearly 100 per cent jump in data consumption for rural India in March.

Some encouraging news in this difficult time comes from the World Bank, highlighting how distance learning is being rolled out in a number of African countries during the coronavirus pandemic and associated lockdowns.

Some good news from East Africa, where the promised opening of a new data centre facility could offer some economic opportunities for Ugandans.

Global communications company Viasat Inc and Brazil-based satellite products distribution company Visiontec have announced the expansion of their partnership to focus on bringing fast, reliable internet service to residential homes across Brazil.

eWallet – a new service from telecoms giant Etisalat and Dubai-based full-service bank Noor Bank – has been launched in the UAE, promising international remittance services from the UAE to 200 countries.

Last year’s Indian gains in global smartphone production due to the US-China trade war could be lost thanks to the coronavirus lockdown.