Telenor has confirmed that it is reviewing possible buyers for its 55% majority stake in Telenor Microfinance Bank, which provides financial services in Pakistan.

In relation to its telecom sector, Nepal has several topographical and economic constraints which have impeded efforts to expand network infrastructure and improve the quality of service for end-users.

Armenia had to battle through 2020 on two fronts: the Covid-19 pandemic that effectively shut down the economy, and a brief but brutal war with neighbouring Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has revoked the operating licences held by Wi-Tribe after the fixed wireless provider violated the terms of its concessions by failing to maintain services.

Veon has signed a seven-year agreement with Amdocs to enable innovative digital services for its customers in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. 

Bangladesh’s economic resurgence over the last decade took a battering in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The country had been on track to move off the United Nation’s Least Developed Countries list by 2026, however the crisis may have pushed that back a few years.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka has been legally cleared to launch mobile number portability (MNP).

Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Digital Development has stated that Nur Telecom, which operates as O!, has opted not to acquire a 2300MHz TDD spectrum licence that it won at auction last month.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has issued NGMS (Next Generation Mobile Services) spectrum licences to the winners of its recent spectrum auctions for the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit Baltistan (GB) regions.

Telenor subsidiary Grameenphone has selected NEC to supply equipment for the modernisation of its network in Bangladesh.

Bharti Airtel and Ericsson have commenced what they claim as India’s first rural 5G network trial.

Bangladesh’s state operator Teletalk has revealed its goal of launching 5G services before the end of 2021.

Nepal has seen widespread fixed broadband outages resulting from a clash between the state-owned Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and several of the country’s ISPs.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has concluded the auction of 1800MHz spectrum in two of the country’s regions, with several operators acquiring holdings.

Three operators have procured 2300MHz spectrum holdings in Kyrgyzstan’s recent spectrum auctions.

Kazakhstan’s state provider KT (Kazakhtelecom) is selling a 24% stake in its majority-owned mobile subsidiary Kcell.

Pakistan’s government has settled a long-running spat with Etisalat that arose following the UAE-based group’s purchase of a minority stake in PTCL (Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited).

Pakistan’s state-owned Ufone obtained a further 2×9MHz of 1800MHz spectrum in the country’s latest spectrum auctions.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has won the backing of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) for its 2019 decision to increase the licence renewal fees of mobile operators Jazz and Telenor Pakistan.

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has outlined its plans for auctioning 1800MHz and 2100MHz spectrum in the Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan regions.

The government of Kyrgyzstan is reportedly evaluating a number of proposals for the sale of the state-owned mobile provider MegaCom, with the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan one of several potential buyers.

The Maldives’ Dhiraagu is upgrading its systems and consolidating its standalone assurance functions with Subex’s Revenue Assurance and Fraud Management (iRAFM) solution.

Two of Azerbaijan’s operators have detailed recent deployment expansions, with both noting that they have installed base transceiver stations (BTS) in a region that experienced military conflict during 2020.

Silkbank, a leading commercial and Islamic bank in Pakistan, has gone live with digital banking platform Temenos Infinity from banking software company Temenos.

Uzbekistan’s state provider Uzbektelecom claims to have made significant strides in its push to replace its copper communication networks with fibre-optic infrastructure.

The government of Tamil Nadu has signed MoUs with two firms with the goal of constructing data centres in and near Chennai.

Pakistani operator Jazz has announced a successful roll-out of massive MIMO technology, which, it says, enhances the 4G experience.

Wateen Telecom, a Pakistan-based converged communication services provider, and Telenor Pakistan, an operator and part of the multinational Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor, have announced a partnership.

Nepal’s regulator the National Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has confirmed plans to refarm the 900MHz spectrum band for 4G use.