Technology news and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology News and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology news and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
Technology News and insights in the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa
GSMA Foundry and Khalifa University have partnered to advance telecom-specific artificial intelligence, launching assets such as TelecomGPT and an Open Telco Knowledge Graph. The collaboration aims to overcome the limitations of general-purpose AI models by developing specialised datasets, benchmarks and tools that improve accuracy, efficiency and performance in critical network operations.
Egypt’s national innovation competition Digitopia enters its final round this weekend, with 72 teams competing for more than EGP 10m in prizes. Over 25,000 participants applied, making it the largest contest of its kind. Finals span AI, cybersecurity, and digital arts, backed by ITIDA and major industry partners. ICT Minister Amr Talaat will announce the winners.
du, BubbleRAN and Khalifa University have demonstrated the world’s first Arabic voice-controlled telecom network using O-RAN and AI-RAN APIs. Powered by an Arabic-native LLM and coordinated AI agents, the system converts spoken Arabic intent into validated network actions, enabling zero-touch automation and advancing the region’s path toward fully autonomous 5G/6G networks.
Kazakhstan’s TNS-Plus and Turkmenistan’s Turkmentelecom signed an MoU to build a new cross-border telecom cable link, supported at senior government levels. A joint working group will finalize technical plans, with construction targeted for completion within a year. The project aims to enhance regional connectivity and further deepen digital cooperation between the two countries.
ARP Digital Holdings has expanded its digital asset wealth management offering through a strategic partnership with DV Trading and Centaur Markets, alongside the appointment of Anestis Arampatzis as Group CIO. The collaboration enhances ARP’s ability to deliver regulated, institutional-grade structured products and strengthens its regional presence as demand for digital asset investment solutions grows across the Middle East.
du has marked the strong uptake of its Cloud Miner service and announced a second auction hosted on Online Auction. With high engagement from crypto-interested residents, the service continues to democratize access to Bitcoin mining through secure, telco-backed infrastructure. The new auction expands compute availability and reinforces growing demand for regulated digital asset participation in the UAE.
Initial Saudi Group has launched the country’s first mobile engineering service, offering SMEs rapid, data-driven building maintenance supported by AI, IoT and 24/7 monitoring. With nationwide coverage and predictive maintenance capabilities, the service aims to deliver speed, reliability and cost efficiency while aligning with Saudi Vision 2030’s focus on digitalization and SME support.
PTCL’s acquisition of Telenor Pakistan is in its final regulatory stage, with PTA expected to issue the NOC by the end of November. With CCP conditions already in place and further approvals pending from SBP and SECP, the merger is poised to reshape Pakistan’s telecom market ahead of the critical 2026 5G auction.
Orange Morocco has opened a 1.5 MW solar-powered data center in Casablanca, supporting national goals for digital sovereignty and expanding hosting, cloud, AI, and cybersecurity capacity. Built to Uptime standards, the facility strengthens enterprise and government services while advancing Morocco’s digital ambitions under the Maroc Digital 2030 strategy.
EDOTCO Bangladesh and Summit Communications have renewed their partnership through a Space and Power Lease Agreement, combining Summit’s nationwide fiber backbone with EDOTCO’s tower network to strengthen Bangladesh’s digital infrastructure. The five-year deal enhances network reliability, supports rural expansion, and prepares for 4G/5G growth, reinforcing national digital transformation goals.