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
A seminar at FBA explored how Bangladesh’s telecom sector drives economic growth. Grameenphone’s Mohammed Kayum Sarker shared insights on taxation, pricing misconceptions, and the industry’s GDP contribution, giving accounting students real-world context on the financial dynamics shaping national development.
Pakistan’s telecom regulator has warned multiple broadband providers, including PTCL and Net Cloud Telecom, after a Q4 2025 survey revealed widespread issues with latency, jitter, and network reliability. While minimum speeds are met, weak routing, core failures, and peak-hour congestion continue to disrupt video calls, gaming, and international access.
Lebanon’s Cabinet is reviewing a plan to relaunch international tenders for managing its two public mobile networks, shifting toward a hybrid model that blends state ownership with private operation. The move aims to improve performance, restore competitiveness, and attract investment while avoiding full privatisation of national telecom assets.
stc Bahrain has signed an MoU with Huawei to advance its Evolve 2.0 programme, accelerating its shift into a TechCo. The partnership focuses on AI, cloud, data intelligence, and autonomous operations, enabling enterprise-grade intelligence, zero-touch networks, and scalable digital services for sustainable growth.
Pakistan’s telecom operators have warned that PTA’s 5G Information Memorandum imposes rollout obligations requiring $150–200 million in annual infrastructure investment per operator, excluding spectrum costs. In a low-ARPU market, executives say the framework is commercially unviable and must be revised to enable sustainable 5G deployment.
Nepal Telecom’s 18th AGM approved a NPR 30 dividend and outlined major expansion plans, including nationwide fiber growth and upcoming 5G rollout. Despite fierce competition, NTC reported strong revenues and reaffirmed its focus on remote connectivity, digital inclusion, and large-scale infrastructure projects.
Nigeria’s telecom regulator has engaged PwC to conduct its first industry-wide competition review since 2013, amid concerns over market dominance and sustainability. The study will assess structural shifts, new technologies, and barriers to entry, as the sector faces ARPU decline, MVNO fragility, and intensifying digital competition.
Bangladesh expects mobile phone prices to fall after import duties were reduced, but Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb says coordinated action from regulators is needed for savings to reach consumers. He urged patience due to production lead times and defended ongoing telecom reforms, calling them foundational for the country’s digital economy.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister met Ericsson leadership to explore deeper collaboration in next-generation connectivity, including 5G, digital skills, and financial inclusion. The engagement reinforces Pakistan’s openness to foreign technology partners and highlights Ericsson’s long-standing role in strengthening the country’s telecom infrastructure.
Nepal Telecom is migrating user data to a new SMSC system on January 13–14, which may temporarily disrupt SMS services overnight. The upgrade is intended to improve reliability, speed, and security of text messaging across the network, strengthening the core infrastructure that handles message storage and delivery nationwide.