Technology news and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology News and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Pakistan’s USF has approved Rs13.05bn for nine new projects to expand high-speed broadband and fiber connectivity to 5.55 million rural residents. The NGBSD and OFC initiatives span multiple provinces, strengthening national fiberisation, supporting digital inclusion, and enhancing access to education, health, and IT opportunities in underserved regions.
Microsoft has surpassed its goal of connecting 100 million Africans, now reaching 117 million through diverse partnerships and technologies. The company’s next phase focuses on digital skills, blended finance, and measurable economic impact, supported by initiatives such as its new African Development Bank partnership targeting agriculture, SME growth, and connectivity gaps.
Netcracker has completed a large-scale revenue management modernization for SLT-MOBITEL, migrating the operator to a unified Digital BSS platform supporting both mobile and fixed business lines. The upgrade enhances billing speed, scalability and cash flow, while enabling the rollout of new services and long-term IT consolidation as part of SLT-MOBITEL’s national ICT strategy.
Nepal Telecom restored its mobile data service after a technical disruption that began around 5:00 PM on December 2. While data connectivity was widely affected, voice calls, SMS and VoLTE mostly continued working. The operator has not yet released an official explanation, but services are now functioning normally for users nationwide.
Asiacell and Seamless Distribution Systems have launched a next-generation S&D platform to modernize Iraq’s telecom retail ecosystem. Announced at MWC Doha 2025, the new unified system enhances operational efficiency, improves reseller performance and strengthens customer engagement through real-time analytics. The rollout builds on a decade of collaboration focused on digital and prepaid innovation.
Angola Cables has launched Luanda-02, its third cloud node in Angola, strengthening its Clouds2Africa platform and advancing national data sovereignty. The company also introduced Acelera Clouds, a programme offering free cloud services to startups. These moves aim to expand local cloud capacity, reduce international dependency, and accelerate Angola’s digital economy.
stc Bahrain has launched the kingdom’s first VAT-Free shopping service in the telecom sector, enabling eligible tourists to claim refunds on BD100+ cash purchases through the Planet VAT Free programme. The initiative enhances visitor convenience, boosts retail performance, and supports Bahrain’s goals of becoming a premier tourism and shopping destination.
du, BubbleRAN, and Khalifa University demonstrated an industry-first Arabic voice-controlled autonomous 5G system that converts spoken intents into validated network actions using O-RAN/AI-RAN APIs. Powered by Arabic-native telecom LLMs and coordinated AI agents, the solution enables zero-touch automation, cultural alignment, and next-generation 5G/6G network intelligence.
Ahya Technologies, operating across Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, won the UN’s 2025 AI for Climate Action Innovation Award for its AI-driven emissions tracking and carbon market platform. The firm supports climate compliance, partners with major regional institutions, and aims to reduce 150 million tons of CO₂e by 2030 while expanding climate-tech opportunities in MENAP.
Mindanao is expanding digital collaboration with Qatar through talks on ICT investments, tech talent development and innovation programs. The MinDA–MCIT partnership could bring startup support, digital skills training, innovation hubs and smart-tech solutions to local communities, advancing Mindanao’s competitiveness and aligning with national goals for AI readiness and digital transformation.