From the start of this week, the users of Crnogorski Telekom in the Montenegrin capital Podgorica have had access to a 5G network in a number of locations, making the company the first operator in Montenegro to put a 5G network into commercial operation.

Lithuania’s regulator RRT will allow operators to offer 5G services using their existing spectrum holdings.

Ukraine’s three major operators Kyivstar, Lifecell and Vodafone Ukraine have enabled free roaming between their networks in a bid to ensure continued communications as Russia continues to pursue a war in the nation.

Despite a setback from the EU, the Czech Telecommunication (CTU) Office is drafting new measures to spur competition and designating incumbent MNOs as having significant market power.

Orange has announced suppliers for its 5G standalone (5G SA) networks in Europe, including networks in Poland and Slovakia.

Telekom Kosovo (TK) has hit another setback in its long-running spat with Dardafon with the loss of another arbitration case.

Ukraine’s Lifecell has launched VoLTE services that it plans to expand “in stages”.

Telia Lithuania will begin switching off 3G networks from next month as the operator aims to shut down the network entirely by Christmas this year to satisfy rising customer data demands.

Hungary’s telecommunications regulator the National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH) launched a mobile device replacement programme to encourage consumers to trade in 2G and 3G phones for 4G devices, before planned network shutdowns.

Part of a multi-million-euro investment fund has been spent to bridge the digital divide for 1.3 million Urktelecom customers in Ukraine, as the operator hailed its strategy in sourcing international investment.

Almost three years after acquiring Telenor’s operations in Bulgaria, Hungary and Serbia, PPF Group has confirmed that it will stop using the Norwegian group’s branding from 1^st March 2022.

Earlier this week, Latvia’s Public Utilities Commission SPRK closed its tender of 1.5GHz spectrum without confirming the results. Bite Latvia has now stated that it will acquire spectrum in the 1432MHz-1452MHz range for EUR200,000.

Latvia’s Public Utilities Commission (SPRK) has concluded its tender for 1.5GHz spectrum permits, with the regulator’s council due to approve the results by the end of January 2022.

Croatian operator Telemach has closed its acquisition of a majority holding in local broadband provider Optima Telekom.

Slovenia’s government is mulling a potential sale of all or part of its holding in Telekom Slovenije.

There’s been no let-up in 5G activity lately, with Zambia’s MTN announcing the country’s first 5G launch and Telia highlighting a dynamic spectrum sharing-based 5G launch now underway in Lithuania.

Investment firm Kismet Capital Group, through its joint venture with telecoms company Megafon, can apparently now boast the largest tower asset portfolio in Russia after a major acquisition involving a Russian infrastructure company.

North Macedonia’s Mtel – which currently offers satellite TV services – has announced plans to begin a mobile offering in spring 2022.

Following a competitive auction process, Latvian fixed broadband operator Tet is acquiring 100% of Telia’s local B2B unit Telia Latvija for EUR10.75 million (US$12.1 million).

Montenegrin regulator EKIP (Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services) confirmed that the country’s latest round of spectrum auctions saw 220MHz of frequencies sold.

Latvia’s Public Utilities Commission (Sabiedrisko Pakalpojumu Regulesanas Komisija / SPRK) has named the winning bidders in its recent auctions for technology neutral spectrum licences in the 700MHz band.

Nokia is extending its partnership with Tele2 to deploy 5G RAN in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania in a long-term deal.

Swiatlowod Inwesticje (trading under the FiberCo brand), the provider of telecommunication services based in Warsaw, Poland, has started a cooperation with Polsat Plus Group.

Slovak operators Swan and Swan Mobile (4ka) merged to create a full-fledged telecommunications operator with an offer of convergent, fixed, and mobile services.

Orange Polska has signed a new long-term PPA for the purchase of renewable energy in Poland.

Elisa Estonia has signed a five-year deal with Nokia that will see the Finnish vendor replace the operator’s existing 4G infrastructure and deploy 5G RAN nationwide.

The Czech Telecommunication Office (Cesky telekomunikacni urad, CTU) has extended the allocation of frequencies to operators in the 2100 MHz band for another 20 years.