MTN Zambia offers new subscribers free calls to favourite contact with certain bundles
ZAMBIA 11:01

MTN Zambia offers new subscribers free calls to favourite contact with certain bundles

MTN Zambia has introduced 'My Laka Number' as an incentive for new subscribers to join its network. From 07 August, customers who activate a new MTN Sim can designate one preferred contact as their 'Laka Number' and get free calls to that number for up to 90 days, when they buy eligible daily or weekly bundles. These are 1Zed or Mixo Mixo bundles valued between ZMK 10 and ZMK 20.

Du and Khalifa University publish '6G blueprint for telcos'
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 10:54

Du and Khalifa University publish '6G blueprint for telcos'

UAE-based operator Du has published its first whitepaper, 'The Intelligence Network: A 6G Blueprint for Telcos'. It was developed by Du Infra in collaboration with the Digital Future Institute at Khalifa University. It presents a blueprint for AI-native, autonomous and monetisable telecom infrastructure, exploring how telecom operators can evolve into intelligence infrastructure providers. Du has published the paper on its LinkedIn feed.

Your Channels, PA Media launch sports news FAST channel in UK
UNITED KINGDOM 10:42

Your Channels, PA Media launch sports news FAST channel in UK

Your Channels, Netherlands-based FAST channel operator, has teamed with PA Media, national news agency in the UK and Ireland, to launch a new 24/7 sports news FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus in the UK. The new 'Your Sports News' channel will provide rolling coverage of UK and global sport, powered by PA Media's live reporting, archive and video footage. Content will include live press conferences, breaking news, athlete interviews and highlights of major sporting events.

Verizon offers rewards for network damage convictions in California
UNITED STATES 10:34

Verizon offers rewards for network damage convictions in California

Verizon has unveiled a USD 25,000 reward scheme in California for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people involved in network vandalism. This comes after vandals cut multiple fibre cables in recent days, leaving thousands of Verizon customers in Los Angeles and parts of Southern California without service. 

El Salvador regulator allocates Tigo additional mobile spectrum for 60 days
EL SALVADOR 10:26

El Salvador regulator allocates Tigo additional mobile spectrum for 60 days

El Salvador's telecommunications regulator Siget announced that it allocated Tigo 30 Mhz of mobile spectrum for a temporary period. The company will have use of the additional capacity for a period of 60 days effective 31 July. Siget said the spectrum award consists of 15 MHz each of download and upload capacity in the 700 MHz band.

Vodafone becomes main sponsor of Ireland Women's Rugby Team
IRELAND 10:18

Vodafone becomes main sponsor of Ireland Women's Rugby Team

Vodafone Ireland is expanding a partnership with the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to become the main sponsor of the Ireland Women's Rugby Team. The agreement runs from July 2026 to 2028, with Vodafone branding appearing on the front of the Ireland Women's jersey. Vodafone has been the main sponsor of Ireland's Men's Rugby Team since 2026. It has also supported women's rugby in Ireland for around 10 years, including supporting the 2027 Women's World Cup in Dublin and sponsoring the Women's Interprovinci

TIA signs up new members to deliver Data Centre Excellence 9000 standard
GLOBAL 10:16

TIA signs up new members to deliver Data Centre Excellence 9000 standard

Bell Canada is among eighteen new stakeholders enrolled in the upcoming Data Centre Excellence (DCE) 9000 quality framework, intended as a certified baseline for building and operating major data centre projects. DCE 9000 is supervised by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), a trade alliance focused on trusted digital infrastructures. The other new members are Avion Networks, Caterpillar, CBRE, Clayco, E.K. Machine, ESI Total Fuel Management, ITW Formex, LRQA, Netceed, OmniOn Power, Peractio P

Masorange clients get free calls to Colombia following earthquake
COLOMBIA 10:16

Masorange clients get free calls to Colombia following earthquake

Masorange has announced free calls and texts to Colombia for clients in Spain in response to this week's earthquake in the west of the country. The company also said it activated free calls and data for its clients travelling in Colombia. Masorange said the measures will remain in place for at least two weeks.

Sky Sports to broadcast 2026 Laver Cup in UK, Ireland
UNITED KINGDOM 10:11

Sky Sports to broadcast 2026 Laver Cup in UK, Ireland

UK broadcaster Sky has announced a new deal with Trident8 for Sky Sports to show all three days of the 2026 Laver Cup from the O2 Arena in London on 25-27 September. The competition will feature 12 of the best men's tennis players in the world in a Europe vs Rest of the World format. 

Philo adds discovery+ access for Bundle+ subscribers
UNITED STATES 10:05

Philo adds discovery+ access for Bundle+ subscribers

Philo, US-based OTT streaming provider, has added Discovery+ content to its Bundle+ subscriptions, allowing customers to access the Discovery+ library directly in the Philo app with immediate effect - with no separate sign-in or second app needed. Philo is also launching a Discovery+ Ad-Free upgrade for USD 8 per month (via philo.com). 

Swish integrates with PPRO to broaden merchant acceptance
SWEDEN 10:05

Swish integrates with PPRO to broaden merchant acceptance

Swedish mobile payment services provider Swish has announced its integration with PPRO, letting more merchants offer Swish as a payment option to their customers. PPRO helps businesses to offer local payment methods in different markets. In future, the company plans to offer Swish for recurring payments, too.

IQ Fiber boosts South Carolina operations with Orangeburg Fiber acqusition
UNITED STATES 09:56

IQ Fiber boosts South Carolina operations with Orangeburg Fiber acqusition

Florida-based IQ Fiber has acquired the network assets of Orangeburg Fiber, expanding its footprint in South Carolina and extending services to the City of Orangeburg. IQ Fiber is investing in the acquisition and network deployment in Orangeburg, with additional service addresses to come online by end-2026. IQ Fiber offers full-fibre broadband plans from USD 65 per month, with the XGS-PON network supporting symmetric speeds up to 10 Gbps.

EUROPE 09:50

Verda appoints CFO

Verda, the company previously known as DataCrunch, has announced its appointment of Mikko Einio as chief financial officer. The European cloud AI provider said Einio has over 20 years of experience at Morgan Stanley and Nokia. The appointment follows a period of rapid growth for Verda as it reached an annualised revenue run rate of approximately USD 120 million in June 2026, representing tenfold growth over the preceding eighteen months.

INDIA 09:49

India smartphone shipments plunge 11% in Q2 on memory chip shortage

India's smartphone market declined 11.1 percent year-on-year to 33.2 million units in the second quarter of 2026, as the ongoing global memory chip shortage kept component costs elevated and squeezed affordability across price bands, according to a report from IDC. Shipments fell to 64.2 million units in the first half of 2026, which represents a decline of 7.9 percent year-on-year. The report also shows this is the lowest first-half volume in five years, even as market value grew 3.6 percent year-on-year.

GLOBAL 09:46

Disney+ becomes global streaming home of Formula E

Disney+, ESPN and Formula E have agreed a new multi-year deal for Disney+ to become the worldwide stream home for the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in 144 markets, starting with the 2026/27 season. This includes the US market, where it will stream alongside ESPN+. 

GLOBAL 09:37

YouTube makes changes to creator partner programme

YouTube has announced changes to the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP), which currently makes payments to over 3 million creators. The changes include extending Premium Lite to all countries where YouTube Premium is available. This subscription provides uninterrupted, offline and background viewing of most content. Creators earn money from the subscriptions from a dedicated pool of revenue for each type - 60 percent for Premium Lite, and 30 percent for Premium. 

ANGOLA 09:35

Angolan President reshuffles Inacom board of directors

Angolan President Joao Lourenco has dissolved and reconstituted the five-member board of directors at the Angolan Institute of Communications (Inacom). Joaquim Domingos Muhongo retains his position as chairman, with Ana Frederica Carrolo de Matos and Osvaldo Adao Monteiro also reappointed as executive directors. The remaining executive positions have been filled by newly appointed members Ngudya Wendell Rodrigues Dias de Sousa and Diazola Lunda, who succeed Paulo Jorge Paiva and Dedaldina Raimundo Manuel.

PORTUGAL 09:34

Meo sees data traffic double at Monte Verde festival

The 2026 Meo Monte Verde festival drew around 40,000 music fans to Praia do Monte Verde in the Azores for three days of music, connectivity, and inclusion. Supported by reinforced temporary infrastructure, mobile data jumped to 11.9 TB, more than double last year's record of 5.6 TB, with 7.7 TB processed over 5G. The site Wi-Fi handled over 1.5 TB across 3,660 devices, whilst voice calls reached nearly 168,700.

AUSTRALIA 09:31

Inligo Networks picks American Fujikura to supply cabling for trans-Australia fibre link

Asia-Pacific digital infrastructure developer Inligo Networks has struck a deal with American Fujikura Limited (AFL) to supply cabling for its Unite Cable System project, which aims to build a terrestrial fibre link from Darwin to several Australian cities further south. AFL will act as the project's primary cable supplier, providing critical materials to link the conduit to international subsea routes, regional hubs and data centres.

NEW ZEALAND 09:28

One NZ announces internal executive promotions

One NZ has made two internal Executive changes as it prepares to welcome new CEO Nick Judd at end-August. Kieran Byrne, currently Chief Technology Officer (CTO), has been appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO); with Sharina Nisha, currently GM Business Transformation, promoted to CTO. It has also appointed Sonia Fernandez as Chief People Officer from end-August. 

AFGHANISTAN 09:25

Afghan government signs USD 1 mln deal for 11 rural telecom towers

Afghanistan's ICT ministry has signed a USD 1.1 million contract with major telecommunication companies to install eleven towers in Takhar, Samangan, Baghlan, Paktia, Paktika, Khost and Logar provinces to expand mobile and internet coverage in remote and underserved areas, independent news agency Pajhwok reported. The new sites will be built under the Afghanistan Telecom Regulatory Authority's (ATRA) eleventh Telecom Development Fund (TDF) project. The contracts were awarded to Atoma, Etisalat Afghanistan a

BRAZIL 09:23

De-Cix signs up Eletronet to boost Brazil interconnection footprint

Marking its first year in Brazil, global internet exchange (IX) operator De-Cix has partnered with Eletronet as a new reseller. Eletronet operates 18,000 km of fibre-optic lines and 170 edge data centres across 18 states in Brazil, with plans to expand to 26,000 km and 255 sites across 23 states. Joining the De-Cix R3 Partner Program as a Standard Reseller, Eletronet will offer its clients —including ISPs, carriers, and enterprise clients — direct access to De-Cix's cloud connectivity, peering, and remote i

COLOMBIA 09:17

Claro gifts data and calls to prepaid clients in Colombia earthquake zones

Claro has announced a bundle of free data and calls for prepaid users in zones affected by this week's earthquake in western Colombia. Clients in the Choco, Valle del Cauca, Risaralda, Quindio and Caldas departments will receive 2 GB data and unlimited calls and texts, valid for seven days. The company said its engineering teams are working on stabilising the network following an increase in traffic and power outages.

CHINA 09:14

Manus to separate from Meta following China adjudication

AI tools developer Manus said it has started unwinding its business from Meta to comply with regulatory demands, and intends to delete select customer datasets as it returns to separate management structure. The firm said the decision was meant to comply with requirements in unnamed jurisdictions. The announcement comes after China's National Development and Reform Commission reportedly instructed Meta to reverse its USD 2.5 billion takeover of Manus on security grounds.

Just In

11:01

MTN Zambia offers new subscribers free calls to favourite contact with certain bundles

10:54

Du and Khalifa University publish '6G blueprint for telcos'

10:42

Your Channels, PA Media launch sports news FAST channel in UK

10:34

Verizon offers rewards for network damage convictions in California

Commentary

11 AUG 10:49

Can Ziggo Group creation improve visibility for the Dutch market?

2 JUL 11:26

Canal Plus misses chance to strengthen Dutch business, time for exit?

23 JUN 09:56

ACM blocks Delta/Glaspoort deal - what can KPN do?

5 MEI 10:55

KPN: the art of making one-offs structural

Background

9 AUG 23:44

The week in telecom: Starlink's mobile ambitions and LEO challengers, plus Hollywood studios try streaming shorts and sports

2 AUG 23:37

The week in telecom: Telcos resist economic slowdown in Q2 while big tech gears up for more AI investment

26 JUL 23:19

The week in telecom: Samsung works on foldable challenge, US telcos try FMC

19 JUL 23:41

The week in telecom: OnePlus exits tough smartphone market and Apple takes on OpenAI