Saudi Arabian telco Zain KSA announced on Sunday its digital platform Yaqoot is partnering with Huawei to upgrade Yaqoot’s BSS to boost operational efficiency and make its digital services more competitive.

Pan-African infrastructure and services group Axian Telecom announced on Monday it has signed a partnership deal with Oracle to unify its ERP across its portfolio.

Togo, Benin and Senegal have launched free roaming services. The launch, announced late last week, marks the implementation of two bilateral agreements — one between Togo and Senegal, the other between Senegal and Benin — signed on the sidelines of the ARTAO 23rd annual general assembly.

State-run operator Telecel Zimbabwe is looking for an investor willing not only to take on a very big debt burden but also to put a lot of fresh capital into reviving the company.

Mozambique’s Communications Regulatory Authority (INCM) has kicked off a national roaming service pilot in a bid to equalise mobile coverage for users.

Eutelsat announced on Thursday it has signed a new multi-year agreement with MTN Côte d’Ivoire to provide satellite broadband services across the country using Eutelsat’s KONNECT high-throughput satellite.

Telecom Namibia and Angola Telecom announced on Thursday they have signed an MoU and commercial terms agreement (CTA) to boost regional and international subsea cable connectivity along Southern Africa’s west coast.

African data sovereignty is again in the news. UniCloud Africa (UCA), a pan-African sovereign cloud platform, and data centre company Open Access Data Centres (OADC), have announced a strategic partnership to, as they put it, accelerate Africa’s digital transformation and independence.

Digital transformation is a key phrase in many modern telecoms initiatives – and is clearly a driver for two recent strategic partnerships involving major North African operators.

Veon Group announced on Wednesday that its Bangladesh subsidiary Banglalink has signed an agreement with Starlink Mobile to integrate its Direct to Cell (D2C) satellite connectivity in remote areas with Banglalink’s terrestrial coverage.

Two recent announcements, from smart devices provider Honor and smart mobility specialist Valeo, have underlined the strategic important of Egypt to Middle Eastern and African ITC by growing their presence in the country.

The government of Sierra Leone has approved the appointment of private sector operator Africell Sierra Leone as its investment partner for the relaunch of troubled state-owned telecommunications company Sierratel.

NTT Data announced on Monday that it has established active 400 Gbps peering at the Johannesburg Internet Exchange (JINX), adding that it’s the first network operator in Africa to do so.

Nigerian finance firm Credit Direct says it has signed an MoU with Chinese handset maker Vivo Nigeria to make the company’s smartphones more affordable.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at tackling SIM-related fraud and strengthening consumer protection across Nigeria’s digital ecosystem.

Ooredoo Qatar announced on Sunday it has launched what it claims is Qatar’s first LTE-M service, enabling its 4G network to support large-scale IoT applications.

ICT company Azerconnect Group announced on Monday it has signed a GeForce NOW Alliance Partnership agreement with Nvidia to launch cloud gaming services in Azerbaijan.

Mozambique’s Communications Regulatory Authority (INCM) has kicked off plans to allocate 5G spectrum after receiving proposals from the country’s three main telcos – Tmcel, Vodacom Mozambique and Movitel.

Operator Econet Wireless Zimbabwe says it has launched Econet AI, which is described as a dedicated standalone business unit created to accelerate artificial intelligence adoption across the country’s economy.

Telecom Namibia said on Friday that it’s making progress in dealing with network service disruptions that plagued users during the latter half of last week due to international connectivity problems.

Millicom, a major international operator with a strong focus on Latin America, has officially introduced its Tigo brand in Uruguay and at the same time announced an investment initiative of US$600 million aimed at expanding the country's digital infrastructure.

MTN Ghana's independent mobile payments firm MobileMoney Fintech announced on Thursday that it has temporarily restricted some MoMo agent accounts as it conducts checks to ensure agents comply with guidelines and regulatory requirements.

Following yesterday's Hughes-Air India news, another partnership has been announced for in-flight connectivity (IFC). This initiative is designed to support the evolving connectivity needs of airlines and aviation customers across Europe, Turkey and the Middle East Africa (MEA) region.

Ooredoo and DE-CIX have connected Doha IX - Qatar’s first commercial Internet Exchange (IX) – to DE-CIX Marseille.

Kazakh telco Transtelecom JSC says it has signed a partnership agreement with national postal operator QazPost to expand telecoms services to rural areas in Kazakhstan’s Kyzylorda region.

Viasat Aviation, Turksat and SkyFive Arabia announced plans on Tuesday to enable seamless roaming for in-flight connectivity (IFC) services across Europe, Turkey and the Middle East-Africa (MEA) region.

Digital payment deals continue to makes headlines across Africa. This time Nedbank and Mastercard have announced what is called a landmark agreement to transform digital payments across Southern Africa.

The government of Sierra Leone has announced the relaunch of state-owned telecom operator Sierratel through a new private sector partnership.

Mauritanian telcos Moov Mauritel, Mattel, Chinguitel and Rimatel have reportedly bid MRU1.08 billion (around US$27.1 million) in total for 5G licences being auctioned by the Autorité de Régulation (ARE).

Gabon has introduced a sweeping new social media ordinance which eliminates online anonymity and imposes strict identity requirements, among other measures. It comes in the context of a recent wave of social media restrictions in Gabon.

Algeria’s telecoms regulator ARPCE last week launched a call for bids for two satellite licenses, a significant move in a sector so far only open to public companies.