Pan-African service provider MTN has this week launched the 2026 edition of its 21 Days of Y’ello Care campaign. Described as its flagship employee volunteerism campaign, it continues from 1 June until 21 June.

Russian telcos Rostelecom and VimpelCom announced on Monday they have completed the integration of their respective IT systems to automate coordination of access to Rostelecom's line and cable infrastructure.

Movistar has been fined COP1.36 billion (US$330,000) by Colombia’s telecommunications regulator after an investigation found weaknesses in its SIM card replacement procedures that allegedly enabled fraud against customers.

Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) fined Orange Liberia LRD4 million (US$20,000) after finding the operator liable for the unauthorised issuance of a customer’s SIM card to a third party, resulting in a privacy and communications breach.

Vietnamese operator Viettel has reportedly approved plans to launch telecoms operations in the Dominican Republic, a move that would make it the country’s fourth mobile operator.

Huawei executives said the company is repositioning itself from a traditional storage hardware supplier into a provider of full-stack AI data infrastructure, arguing enterprises will need to overhaul existing architectures to cope with the rapid rise of AI workloads.

Last week’s launch of Bharti Airtel’s Priority Postpaid service has reignited debate in India’s telecoms sector over whether network slicing – a key feature of standalone (SA) 5G – is consistent with the country’s net neutrality policy.

A number of news outlets are reporting that tech giant Samsung Electronics is planning to invest about US$1.5 billion in Vietnam to build a semiconductor testing plant, though neither the company nor the country have formally confirmed this.

Another plan to tax mobile money transactions is under attack – this time in Kenya, the market that, arguably, pioneered mobile payments.

Huawei unveiled what it called a “new semiconductor path” to drive the chip industry forward, claiming traditional Moore’s Law is reaching its physical limits.

Veon criticised the high rate of taxation on the telecoms sector in Bangladesh and Pakistan, warning it risks slowing digital and economic growth in both countries.

The East African Community (EAC), a regional intergovernmental organisation comprising eight partner states, says it has commenced a series of regional engagements aimed at advancing the development of a harmonised Regional Mobile Roaming Framework.

Sri Lankan telco Dialog Axiata launched its “Air Fibre” 5G fixed wireless access (FWA) service on Sunday, the first such service to be offered in Sri Lanka.

Among headlines relating to ongoing device registration efforts across Africa is recent news that Cameroon’s customs administration has ordered mobile network operators to block digital devices that have not been registered and cleared through the country’s new electronic customs system.

Togo and Poland have signed a EUR24 million (about US$27.85 million) financing agreement to support the local development of next-generation drones.

Safaricom’s US$2.1 billion deal to sell a 15% stake to South Africa-based Vodacom Group has reportedly been put on hold after the Kenyan High Court allowed petitions challenging the sale’s constitutionality to go ahead.

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) has approved a commitment of up to $100 million to invest in Africa-focused technology fund managers, as the institution looks to accelerate the continent’s digital industrialisation.

Kenyan operator Safaricom has secured what is described as a landmark 25-year operating licence from Kenya’s Communications Authority (CA). It’s certainly unusual; the CA has historically issued licences only lasting ten years.

Debt-laden Vodafone Idea unexpectedly posted a profit in its full-year 2026 results and secured a fresh cash injection from Aditya Birla Group, in what could mark a turnaround moment for the Indian operator.

NEC and its subsidiary Netcracker Technology have completed the acquisition of US software company CSG Systems International, strengthening their telecoms software and digital services portfolio.

The Kenyan government has given social media platform X, formerly Twitter, three months to establish a physical presence in the country.

Nokia has appointed Siemens executive Emma Falck (pictured, left) as president of its Mobile Infrastructure business, as the vendor looks to position itself for the next phase of AI-driven networks.

Malaysian operator Maxis has signed a deal to deploy LG Uplus’ AI voice calling assistant ixi-O, marking the Korean operator’s first international agreement for the platform.

At the recent Africa Forward Summit pan-African operator Orange announced what it calls a major acceleration of its commitments to youth employability, entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, connectivity and inclusive artificial intelligence across the African continent.

Vodacom Group reported strong results for its 2025 financial year (ending March 31, 2026) with growth driven by its international operations, financial services business and continued customer expansion across Africa.

MTN Group reported strong first-quarter 2026 results, driven by continued growth in data and fintech services across its African markets.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it is strengthening Jordan’s position as a regional digital hub with a US$14.1 million loan to digital ecosystem Aqaba Digital Hub (ADH) in Aqaba, a coastal city located on the Red Sea.

Telekom Srbija has secured a $50 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) to support the expansion of its 5G network across Serbia.

Airtel Africa posted strong results for the year ended March 31, 2026, with revenue growth accelerating across its core mobile, data and fintech businesses.