e& UAE announced on Tuesday it has launched what it claims is the first commercial 5G network slicing product in the MENA region for business customers on its standalone 5G network.

Underlining the continuing diversification of space-based telecoms, satellite communications company Viasat has made two very different announcements in recent days – one involving satellite communications for buses and the other for private jets.

UAE-based satellite firm Space42 said on Monday that its high altitude platform stations (HAPS) subsidiary Mira Aerospace has opened a HAPS manufacturing facility in Abu Dhabi, making it the first such facility in the MENA region.

UAE-based tech group G42 will lead a consortium of US companies to build a new 5GW AI data centre campus in Abu Dhabi as part of an agreement by the US and UAE governments to build and invest in AI infrastructure in the UAE and globally.

Saudi Arabia-based Arabsat and Canada-based satellite operator Telesat announced on Wednesday they have signed a term sheet under which Arabsat will lease multi-gigabit capacity from Telesat’s planned Lightspeed LEO satellite constellation.

Nokia announced on Tuesday that Saudi Arabian telco stc group has successfully completed a proof-of-concept (PoC) for network slicing over a GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Network) infrastructure using its Altiplano Access Controller.

UAE-based telco du has launched a GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) offering to enable enterprises and government entities to access the necessary compute power to adopt AI more cost-effectively.

UAE-based satellite firm Space42 announced on Wednesday that its mobile satellite services (MSS) subsidiary Thuraya is collaborating with Danish software company Gatehouse Satcom to demonstrate the commercial viability of Thuraya’s upcoming direct-to-device (D2D) satellite IoT service.

Operator Orange Tunisie has announced the inauguration of a new data centre in Sousse in the central-east part of Tunisia. This latest-generation data centre is described as part of the country's digital transformation and, Orange Tunisie says, has been designed to meet the highest standards of performance, security and resilience.

UAE-based telco du says has officially set a new Guinness World Record for the "longest promotional livestream” with TikTok Live MENA, in which a single smartphone livestreamed across the country’s seven emirates for 48 hours straight over du’s 5G network.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced plans to embed its cloud technology within Orange’s mobile networks in Morocco and Senegal this year, aiming to significantly improve connectivity speed and reduce latency.

Zain Iraq says it has signed a strategic MoU with Krafton Europe – the global games company behind hit titles such as PUBG: Battlegrounds – to develop Iraq’s growing gaming and esports sector and improve the player experience.

Digital infrastructure company Khazna Data Centres, part of UAE-based artificial intelligence-focused technology group G42, has announced plans to build an AI-capable data centre in Turkey, with a potential capacity of up to 100MW, after securing a site in Başkent Organized Industrial Zone in Ankara.

Ericsson said on Tuesday it is partnering with Ooredoo Qatar to modernize its charging system with a cloud-native solution to help the telco more flexibly monetise its  5G standalone (5G SA) network.

UAE-based telco du says it has joined the FreeMove Alliance between Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telia, and TIM, which expands the reach of the alliance’s global mobile connectivity solutions for multinational corporations (MNCs) into the Middle East.

Egyptian fintech company Fawry has partnered with global communications platform Truecaller, which calls itself the world’s best caller ID and spam blocking app, to provide its customers with a more secure, transparent, and seamless calling experience.

Vodafone Business and Maroc Telecom, which is majority-owned by e&, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to provide connectivity and digital services to enterprises in Morocco.

Orange Group has once again praised its Middle East and Africa (MEA) division for driving revenue growth in the first quarter of 2025, marking the unit’s eighth consecutive quarter of expansion amid ongoing global economic turbulence.

UAE operator Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (du) has announced a major hyperscale data centre deal with Microsoft.

UAE-based Khazna Data Centers said it has broken ground on two new facilities in the UAE as it looks to expand its data centre footprint and meet demand for AI workloads.

Nokia and Saudi Arabian neutral tower provider Tawal announced on Tuesday they have completed a live demo of a shareable multi-tenant, Open RAN edge cloud platform that could enable operators to share 5G infrastructure more cheaply.

Service provider MTN has officially concluded its operations in Afghanistan, transferring its stake to the Beirut-based M1 Group. The company will now operate under the brand name ATOMA.

Canalys has predicted that Egypt’s smartphone market could stabilise following the enforcement of new regulations aimed at curbing its long-standing grey market, which led to a sharp drop in shipments at the start of the year.

Pan-African operator Orange says it has launched the first-ever 'My Customer, My Boss' initiative simultaneously in its 17 subsidiaries in Middle East and Africa.

Private 5G networks may not be storming the market yet, but there is undoubtedly steady growth. In fact this week has seen the news that Bahrain operator Batelco by Beyon and tech giant Nokia have joined forces to deploy Bahrain’s first 5G private network.

The Moroccan government has signed separate MoUs with Nokia and Ericsson to accelerate its Digital Morocco 2030 plan, with both vendors agreeing to contribute to digital talent development among other things.

Cloud services giant Amazon Web Services (AWS), has announced a collaboration with Manara, a social impact startup dedicated to unlocking the untapped potential of top technology talent in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), including women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Operator e& UAE has announced the launch of its autonomous drone-based cell tower inspection, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), calling it a major leap in telecom infrastructure management and operational safety.

Carbon neutrality has long been a priority for telcos, and despite the surge in AI innovation sweeping through the mobile industry, sustainability remains firmly on the agenda.

Oman’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) says that Sultan Haitham bin Tarik has issued a decree approving a Category 1 telecoms license to Omani Space Communications Technologies (OmanSat) to provide fixed communications services.

Orange Jordan announced on Wednesday it has become the first telco in the country to offer satellite broadband services for consumers and enterprises via the Eutelsat Konnect satellite.

e& UAE said on Monday it has kicked off tests to utilise the 6-GHz and 600-MHz spectrum bands for 5G services, with both bands promising to significantly boost data speeds and extend 5G’s coverage range.

Riyadh Air, Saudi Arabia's new premium international airline, has selected satellite communications company Viasat to provide full, fast, free in-flight connectivity for all Riyadh Air loyalty members on initial Boeing 787 Dreamliner factory-installed deliveries.