State-owned telco Kazakhtelecom JSC has reportedly signed separate deals this week – one to finalise the selloff of its mobile unit MTS, and the other to build a subsea cable connecting Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

Vodafone confirmed media reports regarding its sale of shares in infrastructure company Indus Towers to pay down debts accrued in India.

Sri Lankan telco Dialog Axiata says it has launched a smart tracking solution for vehicle and fleet monitoring, which also uses its 4G network to power various data-based monitoring features.

Satellite operator SES and UZ-SAT, the Republic of Uzbekistan’s national broadband satellite service provider, have announced plans to sign an agreement to deliver what are described as unparalleled connectivity services throughout Uzbekistan via the SES GEO satellite NSS-12.

Mobile service revenue in India was predicted to yield a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3%  from US$27.7 billion in 2023 to US$32.6 billion by 2028, due to adoption of data services, according to analyst company GlobalData.

Global smartphone shipments are predicted to grow by 4% year-on-year in 2024 to 1.21 billion units due to rebounding consumer demand.

Malaysian property developer Mah Sing Group threw its hat in the country’s increasingly crowded data centre ring on Thursday by launching a new site in Southville City and announcing Bridge Data Centres (BDC) as its first partner.

Global digital operator Veon announced on Tuesday that it has struck a deal to sell off its minority stake in Kazakh wholesale telecoms infrastructure services provider TNS+ to focus on its mobile operation, Beeline Kazakhstan.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) has reportedly decided to let mobile operators pay spectrum fees in local currency rather than the costlier option of US dollars.

Azerbaijan’s state-owned operator Baktelecom is deploying Nokia’s XGS-PON solution to help bring new gigabit services to residential and business customers across the country.

Viasat and Azercosmos are partnering to bring L-band satellite services to Azerbaijan.

The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) announced on Tuesday that it has awarded a feasibility study grant to Bangladesh telecoms company CdNet Communications to explore construction of a new subsea cable to improve internet connectivity across the country.

Bangladesh telcos Robi Axiata and Banglalink have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to evaluate ways that they can share and rationalize their network resources to expand and improve 4G access across the country.

Veon Group announced revenue was up by 6.6% US$942 million, and maintained its full-year guidance for revenue of between 16% and 18%.

Over 1.5 billion women used mobile internet in 2023 in developing nations, as women are adopting connectivity faster than men, according to the GSMA.

Saudi firm DataVolt, which says it leads the way in sustainable digital infrastructure and renewable energy, has recently announced the launch, which took place earlier this month, of a data centre in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and signed an agreement for more to come.

­Bharti Airtel signed a long-term agreement with Google Cloud to deliver cloud and gen AI solutions in the Indian B2B market.

The Sri Lanka government is reportedly making moves to amend the country’s telecoms laws to allow independent companies to build telecoms towers.

Veon-owned Bangladesh operator Banglalink said on Thursday that it has become the first mobile operator in the country to phase out 3G services as it shifts focus to boosting performance of its 4G network.

Pakistan’s antitrust regulator warned Pakistan Telecommunication Company’s (PTCL) acquisition of Telenor’s local unit will substantially reduce competition in the mobile market.

Repair work to three damaged subsea cables off the coast of Yemen was delayed due to access disputes in the Red Sea, stemming from the ongoing civil war in the country. 

Chinese vendor ZTE announced on Monday that it has signed a strategic agreement with Veon’s Bangladesh operator Banglalink to enhance their existing collaboration to modernise and improve its 4G network infrastructure.

Nepal suffered an internet outage lasting five hours on Thursday after Indian telco Bharti Airtel reportedly cut off upstream links into the country because Nepal’s private ISPs are behind on their payments.

Uzbekistani operator Perfectum will use solutions from Qvantel to help monetise the 5G SA network that it is deploying in the market.

The Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) reportedly plans to hash out guidelines for LEO and MEO broadband satellite services that could enable SpaceX’s Starlink and similar services to operate in the country.

Bangladesh’s internet slowdown due to a break in the SEA-ME-WE-5 subsea cable may reportedly continue to the end of May due to red tape and haggling over the cost of lighting up more bandwidth on the country’s only alternate subsea route.

State-owned operator Pakistan Telecom revealed intentions to close its acquisition of Telenor’s local unit this year, reported Bloomberg.

Nokia secured a contract to supply Uzbekistan-based operator Perfectum with equipment and software to construct its standalone (SA) 5G network, in line with the operator’s plan to commercially launch Central Asia's first SA 5G network. 

Internet services in Bangladesh have been partially disrupted since early Saturday morning after the SEA-ME-WE 5 submarine cable was damaged, knocking out two-thirds of the country’s international subsea capacity.