Vodafone Oman overhauls Red, Black and Black for Business portfolios to reflect usage patterns
OMAN 08:40

Vodafone Oman overhauls Red, Black and Black for Business portfolios to reflect usage patterns

Vodafone Oman has overhauled the structure of its Red, Black and Black for Business mobile plans to reduce fragmentation, simplify customer choice and reflect actual usage behaviour. It says mobile usage in Oman has become continuous, spanning communication, work, payments and entertainment, often in different countries. Customers have long had to rely on add-ons, switch between plans, or use more than one SIM to meet different needs. In the business segment, this has turned into layered configurations and

Zain KSA reports 28% rise in data traffic at holy mosques during Ramadan
SAUDI ARABIA 1 APR

Zain KSA reports 28% rise in data traffic at holy mosques during Ramadan

Zain KSA said it has delivered reliable digital service for pilgrims at the two holy mosque sites during Ramadan 1447H, particularly in the last ten days. The operator recorded a 42 percent growth in 5G users and a 28 percent increase in overall data traffic during Ramadan 1447H compared with last season. Average download speeds surged by 53 percent, while high-quality voice call users showed a 15 percent increase in volume. The 5G network offers 100 percent coverage across the holy mosque sites.

Iranian drone strike hits Batelco HQ housing AWS infrastructure
BAHRAIN 1 APR

Iranian drone strike hits Batelco HQ housing AWS infrastructure

Iranian missiles have struck the headquarters of Bahraini telecom group Batelco in Hamala, Azeri news agency APA reported. The facility also hosts Amazon Web Services infrastructure, making it a significant target in what appears to be a deliberate escalation of Iran's stated campaign against US tech companies in the region. Media reports claim that Bahrain has since confirmed the facility was hit and that Amazon servers housed there have been affected, rendering parts of the complex inoperative. Power outa

Es'hailSat and EgyptSat sign satellite capacity pact for VSAT services
EGYPT 1 APR

Es'hailSat and EgyptSat sign satellite capacity pact for VSAT services

Qatar Satellite Company (Es'hailSat) and EgyptSat signed a multi-year satellite capacity agreement, enabling EgyptSat to provide VSAT services to its customer base in Egypt and across the Middle East and North Africa region. Es'hailSat said in a statement that this agreement builds upon the partnership established in 2025 between the two companies to leverage their shared satellite services and extensive ground infrastructure.

Turkcell, Turk Telekom, Vodafone launch 5G services in Turkiye
TURKEY 1 APR

Turkcell, Turk Telekom, Vodafone launch 5G services in Turkiye

Turkcell, Turk Telekom, and Vodafone Turkey have launched 5G services in Turkiye. The service is now available in all 81 provincial centers of the country. The government and operators have established a two-year timeline to achieve full nationwide geographical coverage.

Drone targets Thuraya building in Sharjah
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 31 MRT

Drone targets Thuraya building in Sharjah

The UAE's Sharjah Government announced that local authorities responded to an incident on 30 March involving the targeting of the Thuraya Communications administrative building in the central region by a drone launched from Iran. The media office said in its official account on X that no injuries were reported, noting that relevant authorities are actively managing the situation. The media office assured the public that updates will be provided as soon as available.

Jordanian fixed voice subscriptions drops 2% in Q4, mobile broadband subscriptions rise 6%
JORDAN 31 MRT

Jordanian fixed voice subscriptions drops 2% in Q4, mobile broadband subscriptions rise 6%

The total number of subscribers to fixed voice telecommunications services in Jordan declined by 1.8 percent year-on-year to 4.77 million in the fourth quarter of 2025 from 4.86 million in Q4 2024, according to from Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC). It says that the residential sector accounted for 67 percent of the total and the commercial sector for the other. The report also shows that the total number of mobile broadband subscriptions rose by 5.7 percent to 8.5 million from 8.04 million.

Core42 appoints former Microsoft executive Tawfik as chief business officer
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 31 MRT

Core42 appoints former Microsoft executive Tawfik as chief business officer

Core42, a UAE-based AI infrastructure provider, announced the appointment of Sherif Tawfik as chief business officer (CBO). In his new role, Tawfik will lead Core42's global commercial organization, with end-to-end responsibility for all global revenue-generating functions, including global sales and marketing, business development, partnerships, and both professional and managed services. His mandate includes expanding Core42's global commercial reach and accelerating adoption of its sovereign AI cloud and

Orange Jordan organises health and safety training programme
JORDAN 31 MRT

Orange Jordan organises health and safety training programme

Orange Jordan organised an occupational health and safety (OHS) training programme as part of its framework to foster a secure and healthy workplace environment. Led by the human resources unit - health, safety and environment department, the programme was attended by 180 participants, including technicians, engineers, supervisors, support teams, and others from across the country, for a series of theoretical and practical sessions.

Saudia brings in Google's Find Hub service to support baggage recovery
SAUDI ARABIA 30 MRT

Saudia brings in Google's Find Hub service to support baggage recovery

Saudia, the national flag carrier of Saudi Arabia, has introduced Google's Find Hub location service to support the recovery of lost or delayed baggage. Passengers using a compatible tracker tag or Bluetooth accessory can generate a secure, temporary link and share the location of their bag with the airline when reporting delayed or missing luggage. This helps ground staff to identify and recover baggage more efficiently. Location sharing can be stopped at any time by the traveler and expires automatically

Zain Jordan renews support for Paralympic champions
JORDAN 30 MRT

Zain Jordan renews support for Paralympic champions

Zain Jordan has renewed its Paralympic champions sponsorship for the sixteenth consecutive year as part of its strategy to promote inclusion and embed its values across society. It aims to invest in human potential and empower people with disabilities while fostering social inclusion. The company was among the first telecom operators in the region to introduce mobile service contracts in accessible formats, including sign language, voice translation, and text transcription. Zain also launched the prepaid Ba

Turkcell issues TRY 530 million bond at 41% interest
TURKEY 30 MRT

Turkcell issues TRY 530 million bond at 41% interest

Turkcell has announced it has completed the sale of financing bonds totaling TRY 530 million. These bonds were issued specifically for qualified investors in Turkey. This issuance falls under the broader TRY 10 billion limit previously authorized by the Capital Markets Board. These bonds carry an annual simple interest rate of 41 percent, and are set to mature on 24 June this year.

SAUDI ARABIA 30 MRT

Saudi CST reports improvement in gaming internet quality in Q4

Saudi Arabia's Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) has released its GameMode report for Q4 2025, which reveals a 57 percent overall improvement compared with the same period in 2024. The report evaluates the performance of telecom service providers for leading online games in the country. It shows that Mobily and STC led download speeds on the STEAM platform at 100 percent, with Mobily topping Xbox at 97 percent and sharing the PlayStation lead with Salam at 98 percent. The two providers l

TURKEY 30 MRT

Turkcell picks Shaquille O'Neal for 5G launch campaign

Turkcell has selected basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal to feature in its 5G service promotion ad in Turkey. Turkcell said that O'Neal traveled to Turkey in January to film promotional material for the project, which coincides with the official launch of Turkcell's 5G services scheduled for 1 April.

BAHRAIN 27 MRT

Binance Bahrain joins forces with Beyon Connect for eKey 2.0 ID integration

Binance Bahrain, part of global blockchain system Binance, has announced a partnership with Beyon Connect to enable the integration of the eKey 2.0 national identity service. This will enable secure digital verification of users when conducting its transactions. Binance Bahrain is leveraging Beyon Connect's exclusive rights as an authorised reseller of the eKey 2.0 system, and the enhanced eKey application available through the eGovernment App Store (bahrain.bh/apps).

TURKEY 27 MRT

Turkcell brings 10 Gbps UltraFibre internet to residential users

Turkcell Superonline has introduced its UltraFibre service with internet speeds of up to 10 Gbps for residential customers in Turkey. Turkcell claims this is the first time 10 Gbps speeds have been made available to homes in the country, exceeding previously available top speeds of 1000 Mbps. Turkcell now offers speeds of 2 Gbps, 5 Gbps, and 10 Gbps.

ISRAEL 26 MRT

Bezeq approves project for new submarine cable connecting Israel to Europe

Bezeq said its board has approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding with an unnamed international telecom company for cooperation in the establishment and operation of a new submarine cable that would link Israel to strategic landing points in Europe. The cable system will create a communications route between East and West via Israel, the company said. The parties agreed on a framework for commercial cooperation, including a joint investment in the establishment of the cable system infrastructur

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 26 MRT

Emtelle uses UAE Green Corridor to maintain global deliveries

UK-based Emtelle says its utilising the UAE's Green Corridor to keep its customers in the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and beyond supplied with its passive network products. The Green Corridor is a UAE government-led initiative that streamlines procedures, including pre-cleared shipments, reduced inspections for trusted or compliant cargos, priority handling at border crossings, and faster customs processing leading to fewer delays.

EGYPT 26 MRT

Egyptian NTRA runs online type approval training course for 16 African countries

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has organised an online course on Type Approval in Egypt through the Egyptian African Telecom Regulatory Training Center (EG-ATRC). Thirty trainees from sixteen African countries received training in type approval and the key regulatory frameworks and technical standards necessary to ensure device compliance with established specifications. They also learned about the application process and technical testing procedures.

SAUDI ARABIA 25 MRT

Solutions by STC signs contract with Aramco for production supercomputing project

Solutions by STC has signed a contract with Saudi Aramco for a supercomputing project dedicated to exploration and production by the Saudi energy giant. The IT contract is valued at SAR 1.4 billion, according to a statement to the bourse. The one-year contract involves establishing advanced high-performance computing infrastructure to support Saudi Aramco's digital capabilities in oil and gas exploration and reservoir analysis. The project comprises two interconnected supercomputing systems operating as a u

BAHRAIN 25 MRT

Amazon says AWS Bahrain region 'disrupted' following drone activity

Amazon said its ⁠Amazon Web Services region in Bahrain was "disrupted" on 23 March amid the current conflict in the Middle East, Reuters reported. The disruption is due to drone activity in the area, an Amazon spokesperson said. Amazon said it ⁠is helping to migrate customers to alternate AWS regions while it recovers, though it did not provide additional details such as the extent of the damage or how ⁠long it anticipates ⁠the disruption to last.

MIDDLE EAST 24 MRT

Mindware signs distribution partnership with SUSE for MENA region

Mindware, a value-added distributor (VAD) in the Middle East and Africa, signed a strategic distribution partnership with SUSE, a provider of enterprise open source software. The agreement aims to accelerate the adoption of SUSE's enterprise portfolio across the MENA region, supporting organizations seeking secure, flexible, and sovereign IT infrastructure. Under the partnership, Mindware will distribute SUSE's portfolio, including SUSE Linux, SUSE Cloud Native as well as SUSE Edge and SUSE AI products.

TURKEY 24 MRT

Turkcell lands USD 1 billion financing deal for 5G rollout

Turkcell has finalized a USD 1 billion international financing deal with a group of 14 banks to fund its transition to 5G and next-generation digital infrastructure. This Islamic financing arrangement, known as a Murabaha facility, was originally set at USD 500 million but was increased to USD 1 billion after receiving significant interest from global lenders, particularly those in the Middle East, Turkcell said.

EGYPT 23 MRT

Egypt's NTI offers graduates free 5G/6G Open RAN training with 23 March application deadline

Egypt's National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) has announced the four-month HireReady programme in the 5G/6G Open RAN Technologies track as part of the Digital Egypt Youth Initiative. The training starts on 04 April and the deadline for applications is 23 March. It is fully funded by the ICT ministry and targets graduates in the past five years.

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Background

29 MRT 22:46

The week in telecoms: Italy brings back PTT, US bans foreign routers and social media on trial

23 MRT 00:38

The week in telecoms: OFC and Nvidia events drive data centre networking talk, Orange debuts full French office stack

16 MRT 00:25

The week in telecoms: Pakistan ready for 5G, Google exits FTTH market and Canal Plus works on pay-TV turnaround

6 MRT 16:00

The week in telecom: MWC brings 5G advances, AI and satellite integration, plus first robot phone