Huawei has secured a contract worth US$70 million to upgrade the network of Ghanaian operator Telecel, as part of a nationwide modernisation effort.

Technology giant Ericsson and Egypt’s Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU), to reinforce collaboration over a three-year period and support the development of Egypt’s information and communications technology (ICT) and digital services industries.

Vodacom Group revealed on Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Starlink to leverage its LEO satellite service across Africa for enterprise connectivity and mobile backhaul, although not yet in its home base of South Africa, where Starlink has yet to receive regulatory approval.

Thuraya, a subsidiary of Space42, the UAE-based AI-powered spacetech company, has announced the commercial rollout of its next-generation mobile communications satellite, Thuraya-4, in South Africa.

Satellite technology company Avanti Communications announced on Tuesday it has expanded its partnership with Türksat with a new agreement that aims to extend high connectivity solutions across Africa, particularly underserved regions in Southern Africa.

SES and Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) announced on Tuesday they have successfully upgraded over 200 telecoms sites across Côte d’Ivoire to deliver 2G and 3G mobile data services to over 500,000 people in rural and previously underserved areas.

The United Arab Emirates regulator, The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), has announced the launch of what it calls the 6th Generation (6G) Initiative in the country.

UN partners, including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and GSMA, announced on Monday they are working on expanding efforts in Chad and other refugee-hosting countries to provide affordable connectivity to millions of forcibly displaced people and local communities in the next five years.

Pan-African telecoms network services provider Paratus Group announced on Monday it has launched “Paratus 500”, a service that leverages all of its licenced fibre and satellite operations in 15 sub-Saharan markets as a single network.

Dhiraagu said on Monday that it has inaugurated its third data centre in the Maldives – this one being a certified Tier III facility in N. Velidhoo, which also makes it the first to be located in the atolls.

BENEFIT, a leading Bahrain company in fintech and electronic financial transactions, licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) as an ancillary service provider to the Kingdom’s financial services industry, has announced a deal that will help to enable real-time cross-border payments between Bahrain and India.

It’s a major news day for data centre developments in Nigeria, and specifically Lagos, a city for which two leading names in Africa, Equinix and Rack Centre, have just announced big data centre and cloud service plans.

Paratus Botswana announced on Friday it is extending its national network coverage to Tati Siding, near Francistown, as part of its broader strategy to increase access to quality internet services for more communities and businesses across the country.

Morocco’s three main telcos – Maroc Telecom, Orange Maroc and Inwi – officially launched 5G services in the country on Friday, mainly in urban centres, four months after receiving their 5G licences.

Veon Group’s Beeline Kazakhstan has partnered with Starlink to deliver mobile connectivity across Kazakhstan, extending service to remote regions currently beyond the reach of terrestrial networks.

An interesting memorandum of understanding (MoU) has just been announced in Brazil. It aims to support power infrastructure at the Rio AI City project and involves a number of partners – including one that is part of the Google Moonshot initiative.

Digital transformation projects focused on younger end users have been highlighted this week in West Africa where operator Orange Liberia has signalled its support for digital literacy and the government of Guinea has targeted internet provision for schools.

Umniah by Beyon has signed a five-year agreement naming Ericsson as its exclusive radio access network (RAN) supplier for 3G, 4G and 5G technologies in Jordan.

Satellite communications provider Globalstar has announced the addition of eight new six-metre C-3 tracking antennas to its ground stations across Brazil, supporting its third-generation mobile satellite services across Central and South America.

UAE-based Space42 announced on Wednesday that its next-gen Thuraya-4 satellite is now globally available for customers in Europe, Africa, Central Asia and the Middle East, with new markets including South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia.

Pan-African telecoms and network services provider Paratus Group announced on Wednesday it has expanded its operations into Uganda via a joint venture with Kampala-based ISP and managed solutions provider Roke Telkom.

Bharti Airtel was given the greenlight to increase its shares in Indus Towers by up to 5%, strengthening its control in India’s largest tower infrastructure provider.

Axian Telecom’s fibre subsidiary, Axian Telecom Fibre, has completed the acquisition of 99.63% stake in Wananchi Group, a fixed broadband provider, as it looks to strengthen its position in high-demand fibre markets across East Africa.

Ericsson announced on Tuesday that it has renewed its partnership with Bahrainian telco Batelco by Beyon, which will deploy Ericsson’s latest RAN solutions to expand coverage of its 5G network.

There is bad news for operators in both Chad and Zambia, whose telecommunications regulators have highlighted what they see as serious quality of service (QoS) deficiencies in their mobile communications offerings.

Bahrain-headquartered technology group Beyon has announced the establishment of its second fully green solar-powered data centre with the successful completion of Phase 3 of the Beyon Solar Park developed in partnership with solar solutions company Almoayyed Solar.

Tanzania has been accused of shutting down internet access and restricting social media around recent elections that saw protests accusing the state of hindering democracy after the main opposition party, Chadema, was barred from participating, and its leader, Tundu Lissu, was arrested on treason charges.

Orange submarine cable subsidiary Orange Marine announced the construction of two new cable ships to boost the resilience of digital infrastructure across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.