UPDATE: Ethio Telecom says it lined up several vendor deals to modernise its telecoms network at last week’s Mobile World Congress, with agreements with Ericsson and ZTE already signed and others with Huawei and Nokia in the pipeline.

Service provider Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and tech giant Ericsson and have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to design, test and deploy next-generation mobile services in Zimbabwe powered by artificial intelligence (AI), 5G-advanced and enhanced network security.

Kenya’s Court of Appeal has set aside a 2020 High Court judgment endorsing the country’s Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act (2018), ruling two sections unconstitutional.

Saudi Arabian telco stc Group announced on Friday it has rolled out the second phase of its ‘New Calling’ initiative with a pilot that enables real-time Arabic–English translation during voice calls using AI.

MTN Zambia announced on Friday it has formed a strategic partnership with LEO satellite operator Starlink to offer its Direct to Cell (D2C) service in the country after a successful field test of the technology.

Malaysian 5G wholesale operator Digital Nasional Berhad (DNB) is set to become a fully private entity after shareholders CelcomDigi and Maxis confirmed on Friday they have purchased shares owned by Minister of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc).

Turkcell made moves at Mobile World Congress 2026 this week to beef up its planned 5G network, deploy AI in its mobile core and get started on 6G via separate deals with Ericsson and Mavenir.

Axian Telecom, the parent company of pan-African telecom group Yas, says it is partnering with AST SpaceMobile to deliver direct-to-device (D2D) satellite services across Yas’ markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

Viettel High Tech, the technology arm of Vietnam’s Viettel Group, announced on Thursday it has signed 6G collaboration deals with Intel, AMD, ID Quantique and Qualcomm at Mobile World Congress 2026 as it plots out a roadmap to commercialise its own 6G gear by 2029.

Malaysian 5G wholesale operator U Mobile says it signed several MoUs at Mobile World Congress 2026 this week – two with Huawei, one with ZTE and another with Palo Alto Networks – related to 5G-Advanced, AI and security-as-a-service (SECaaS).

Liberty Costa Rica commercially launched the first sites of its 5G network across multiple regions on Tuesday using gear from Ericsson, with plans to achieve national coverage before the end of this year.

Ghananian wholesale 4G and 5G operator Next Gen Infraco (NGIC) has finally commenced full commercial operations after several delays, although initial coverage is limited.

Telekom Indonesia’s telecoms infrastructure subsidiary Mitratel announced on Wednesday that it has renewed and extended its collaboration agreement with Airbus subsidiary AALTO to provide high altitude platform station (HAPS) connectivity in Indonesia.

The government of Morobe Province in Papua New Guinea announced it is partnering with PNG DataCo and Oracle to transform itself into an AI-enabled digital government.

Beeline Uzbekistan, Veon’s digital operator in Uzbekistan, and Rakuten Symphony, a subsidiary of Rakuten Group, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at MWC26.

MTN Group has signed a multi-year MoU with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to provide meaningful connectivity and digital inclusion for refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum seekers and host communities across MTN’s African markets.

Cassava Technologies, a global technology leader of African heritage, has announced the launch of its Cassava Cloud Partner (CCP) programme during MWC26.

Sovereign AI company MeetKai and the Smart Africa Alliance announced this week during MWC26 what they call a landmark collaboration to launch a five-country pilot advancing sovereign AI across Africa.

Pan-African (and formerly Middle Eastern) operator MTN is finally leaving Syria and, it seems, a replacement is already being lined up.

SES, a space solutions company, says it is expanding humanitarian connectivity at the Farchana refugee settlement in Chad.

The GSMA Handset Affordability Coalition signed an MoU with the Africa Group of Six (G6) operators on Tuesday to introduce US$40 entry-level 4G smartphones in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda this year.

Paratus Zambia announced on Tuesday it has deployed fixed wireless access (FWA) technology from US-based Tarana Wireless that it said will deliver fibre-class connectivity to homes and businesses across the country.

NEXCOM, a provider of mission-critical network platforms, and Hytec Inter, Japan's 5G wireless communication expert, have announced at MWC26 a joint rail communications solution designed to support mission-critical rail operations using a unified hybrid 5G architecture.

AI-focused company SK Telecom has signed a three-party memorandum of understanding (MoU) with global server manufacturer Supermicro and global mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) leader Schneider Electric to develop a total solution for artificial intelligence data centres (AIDC).

Global digital operator Veon has announced a partnership with the GSMA’s Mobile for Development Foundation to co-fund digital innovation projects in Pakistan and Bangladesh that are supported by the GSMA Innovation Fund.

India-heaquartered company Tejas Networks, which designs and manufactures high-performance wireline and wireless networking products, has announced the launch of TJ1600-D3, its next-generation, versatile WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) optical transport product.

Ericsson announced at Mobile World Congress 2026 on Wednesday it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Vietnamese operator Viettel to collaborate on autonomous network development.

Global satellite operator SES announced on Tuesday it is partnering with IoT technology provider Advannotech and other service providers to enable data-driven farming in South Africa.

South African operator Cell C and Odine, a technology partner driving innovation in telecom and enterprise networks, have announced the signing of a proof of concept (PoC) agreement to pioneer artificial intelligence (AI)-driven network quality enhancement technologies.

Telecommunications operator Orange has announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with AST SpaceMobile and Satellite Connect Europe, related to collaboration on direct-to-device (D2D) technology in relevant Orange markets.