Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda agreed on Thursday to move forward with a plan to launch a regional satellite to boost connectivity in East Africa’s northern corridor.

Sierra Leone is ramping up efforts to strengthen digital infrastructure through satellite-enabled solutions, as part of a wider strategy to expand nationwide connectivity.

MTN Nigeria has secured shareholder approval to sell its stakes in fintech subsidiaries MoMo Payment Service Bank and Yellow Digital Financial Services to parent company MTN Group.

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is considering doubling its initial loan to tower company Eastcastle Telecom to $60 million, backing the firm’s expansion in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kenyan opposition leader Kalonzo Musyoka has petitioned the High Court seeking to block the government’s proposed sale of its 15% stake in Safaricom to Vodacom, arguing that proper legal and constitutional procedures have not been followed.

Airtel Africa is lining up a potentially sizeable IPO of its mobile money business, with the deal expected to raise between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter.

MTN Group has appointed former Deloitte executive Lwazi Bam as its new Group Chief Risk Officer, effective 1 June.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Africa Data Centres announced on Monday it has signed a deal with South African fibre optic cable infrastructure provider Oni-Tel Fibre Networks to strengthen interconnectivity across its facilities in Gauteng province.

Ethio Telecom announced on Thursday it has partnered with Ethiopian Toll Roads Enterprise (ETRE) to launch an RFID-powered digital toll payment solution for users of the Addis Ababa-Adama expressway.

Operator Telecom Namibia and regulator the Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) have officially entered into a strategic partnership.

The London Internet Exchange (LINX), a not-for-profit organisation delivering interconnection solutions across the UK and globally, has launched a 12-month no-charge promotion for all services at its new Ghana internet exchange point (IXP), LINX Accra.