All Tech News

Smart Africa, an alliance of African countries, international organisations, and global private sector players tasked with advancing Africa’s digital agenda, last week signed a potentially significant agreement with KaiOS Technologies, whose mobile platform is said to make the internet accessible to all.

African money transfer company Dahabshiil and Safaricom Ethiopia's M-Pesa have signed a partnership that will enable the Ethiopian diaspora to send money directly to M-Pesa mobile wallets.

India’s big three private operators, Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea, have put up their tariffs. This is the first time in three years they have done so. It was, however, widely expected.

Amazon has again delayed the launch of its first production satellites for Project Kuiper, the company’s rival to the Starlink satellite internet constellation.

Congolese Fiber Optic Company (SOCOF SA) has reportedly signed a partnership with the Agency for the Coordination and Monitoring of Collaboration Agreements (APCSC) to deploy optical fibre networks along new roads to be built in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

In what is described as a significant move to accelerate the country’s digital transformation, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board of the Philippines has approved a flagship infrastructure project designed to boost broadband connectivity nationwide, particularly in remote areas, and strengthen cybersecurity.

Indian data centre provider Nxtra by Airtel has joined the RE100 initiative and said it has committed to sourcing 100% renewable energy.

Africa-focused cross-border money transfer operator Mama Money partnered with payment processor firm Paymentology and Access Bank to launch a new bank card service that integrates WhatsApp banking.

Indian telco Vodafone Idea revealed on Wednesday that it has been working with Samsung to trial new technologies, including virtualised RAN (vRAN) solutions, in Chennai for its 4G and 5G network.

Globe Telecom partnered with satellite phone company Lynk Global to launch a pilot programme to examine the use of satellite-direct-to-phone communication services to plug coverage gaps in the Philippines.

Digital infrastructure company Equinix has announced its expansion into Chennai with what it describes as its first International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre, called CN1.

Thai telecoms operator True Corp says that its 5G revenue is now growing at 15% per year, which it credits mainly to its strategy of targeting domestic and international tourists with 5G packages.

Globe Telecom announced on Wednesday that it has become the second Philippine telco to join the GSMA’s Open Gateway Initiative for standardised open network APIs, just after rival PLDT did the same.

Timor Leste is set to get its first-ever subsea cable connection later this year as work begins to install the Timor Leste South Submarine Cable System (TLSSC) at its landing station in Dili, according to country’s Ministry of Transport and Communication.

Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), which owns and operates the Nigerian communications satellite systems. has announced a strategic partnership with infrastructure and technology company Infratel Africa, to provide connectivity for a major rural infrastructure project in Nigeria.

In yet another example of the continuing importance to fintechs of emerging markets, Pyypl, a fintech company in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), has announced a principal licence membership and strategic framework agreement with payment giant Visa.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly (WATRA) have announced a joint declaration aimed at strengthening collaboration on ICT infrastructure mapping across West Africa.

Recently, China Broadnet started the large-scale 400G deployment on its national backbone network.

Brazil’s National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) has approved financing worth R$41 million (US$7.5 million) for Um Telecom, a B2B operator focused on Brazil's Northeast region, to deploy the first Tier III data centre in the State of Pernambuco.

Revenues from fixed communication services in Malaysia is expected to hit a compound annual growth rate of 0.7% from US$1.87 billion in 2023 to US$1.94 billion in 2028.

Indonesian telco Telkomsel says that it has signed a MoU with Tencent Cloud and local digital infrastructure company M Cash Integrasi to explore the adoption of palm scanning technology as a biometric tool to improve customer service.

The Pacific island of Tonga is set to get a second subsea cable connection after the governments of Australia and New Zealand agreed to construct a new cable connecting it to the Hawaiki Cable.

A Vietnam News report, published late last week, has suggested that the country’s international fibre optic cable system could see the addition of at least ten new undersea cables by 2030, bringing the number of Vietnam's undersea routes to at least 15.

Plans to build a fibre-optic submarine cable connecting six members of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have reportedly been moving forward this month after key meetings in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea.

PLDT – along with wireless subsidiary Smart Communications and B2B arm PLDT Enterprise – announced on Thursday they are joining the GSMA’s Open Gateway initiative for standardised open network APIs.

Chile’s Movistar Empresas, the business-focused division of operator Movistar, has announced the deployment of an LTE-M network in the country, which, it says, will allow organisations of various sizes to connect their Internet of Things (IoT) devices with greater energy efficiency.

A financing package from development finance institutions IFC  and Proparco has been announced for digital infrastructure provider WIOCC Group. WIOCC says the package will fund its expansion strategy in three African countries.

Huawei, TM Forum, and eight carriers have jointly released the New-Generation Intelligent Operations White Paper 2.0 at Digital Transformation World (DTW) 2024, in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Peru-based telecoms operator Global Fiber says it has selected Brazilian fibre-optic vendor Padtec and Peruvian telecoms firm Satelital as primary suppliers for a subsea ‘festoon’ network connecting two provincial capital cities in Brazil.

More space-related announcements have recently been made, this time by Zimbabwe and Namibia, underlining the continuing growth of satellite communications initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa.

Chinese LEO satellite operator Geespace said on Tuesday it has successfully tested its ‘Geely Future Mobility Constellation’ network outside of China for the first time with Oman-based satellite services provider Azyan Telecom.

Malaysia’s data centre gold rush continues as Telekom Malaysia (TM) and Nxera, the regional data centre arm of Singtel’s Digital InfraCo unit, announced on Tuesday they have formed a joint venture to develop data centres in the country.