Syria launches first VoLTE services
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC 12:10

Syria launches first VoLTE services

Syria announced the successful test of its first Voice over LTE (VoLTE) call, marking a significant step in the country's telecommunications modernization, transitioning from legacy circuit-switched calls to a fully IP-based system, Alsourya reported.  The pilot was conducted on MTN Syria's new IMS platform, enabling faster call connection, clearer audio, and simultaneous high-speed data browsing. 

Kuwait begins nationwide telecom exchange maintenance
KUWAIT 12:07

Kuwait begins nationwide telecom exchange maintenance

Kuwait's ministry of communications has launched a nationwide maintenance programme to boost telecom network performance and reliability, Times of Kuwait reported. The ministry announced that maintenance will occur in phases between 20 April and 13 May affecting various regional exchanges. By enhancing these systems, the ministry aims to reduce service disruptions, improve call quality, and support growing data demand. 

Omantel starts work on BSS/OSS transformation with Cerillion
OMAN 08:29

Omantel starts work on BSS/OSS transformation with Cerillion

Cerillion has started delivering a major digital transformation for Omantel, modernizing its business and operations support systems (BSS/OSS). This project is central to Omantel's "Telco to Techco" evolution. By replacing complex legacy systems with Cerillion's pre-integrated, low-code BSS/OSS Suite, Omantel is adopting a product-driven model that simplifies innovation, the vendor said. Built on TM Forum Open APIs and agentic AI, this platform ensures convergence across consumer, enterprise, and digital se

STC Pay joins Bahrain Association of Banks
SAUDI ARABIA 21 APR

STC Pay joins Bahrain Association of Banks

STC Pay Bahrain has joined the Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB), a move that allows the company to help shape industry dialogue on policy and innovation. Through this membership, STC Pay aims to collaborate with financial institutions and align with national governance standards to support the Central Bank of Bahrain and the goals of the country's Economic Vision 2030, it said. 

Oman's mobile base grows to 8.3 mln on IoT expansion
OMAN 21 APR

Oman's mobile base grows to 8.3 mln on IoT expansion

Oman's mobile subscriptions reached 8.29 million in February, the Times of Oman reported citing data from the National Centre for Statistics and Information. Postpaid mobile services rose by 4 percent to 1.28 million subscriptions, while prepaid recorded a more modest 1 percent increase, reaching 5.34 million. IoT connections surged by 14 percent to 1.65 million.

Honor meets Egyptian minister to discuss local smartphone production
EGYPT 21 APR

Honor meets Egyptian minister to discuss local smartphone production

Egypt's ICT minister Raafat Hendy met with Honor executives to discuss scaling the company's manufacturing footprint in the country. The talks focused on boosting output at the Honor facility operated in partnership with Etisal Trading to meet both local demand and increase exports. The company's plans to expand its manufacturing operations in Egypt are part of its strategy to establish Egypt as a major regional hub for its operations in the Middle East and Africa.

Vodafone Qatar net profit rises 24% in Q1
QATAR 21 APR

Vodafone Qatar net profit rises 24% in Q1

Vodafone Qatar said its net profit increased by 24 percent year-on-year to QAR 201 million for the first quarter of 2026, driven by continued revenue growth across core services and ongoing focus on cost efficiency. Total revenue increased by 7.1 percent to QAR 914 million, due to sustained growth across the company's core business lines, including mobility, managed services, fixed broadband, and Internet of Things (IoT). Service revenue grew by 9.4 percent to QAR 787 million. 

Ooredoo Qatar brings out LTE-M support for IoT
QATAR 20 APR

Ooredoo Qatar brings out LTE-M support for IoT

Ooredoo Qatar has announced the launch of LTE-M (Long Term Evolution for Machines) service, also known as CAT-M1. By introducing LTE-M alongside existing technologies such as 4G, 5G and NB-IoT, Ooredoo strengthens its Managed IoT Connect portfolio. Ooredoo plans to expand LTE-M coverage nationwide in the coming months to meet growing demand for intelligent, connected services.

STC Group adds Netflix to STC TV for Baity Fiber customers
MIDDLE EAST 20 APR

STC Group adds Netflix to STC TV for Baity Fiber customers

STC Group has announced an expansion of its partnership with Netflix. Customers subscribing to Baity Fiber packages will receive complimentary access to Netflix, alongside a selection of other streaming services integrated into STC TV. The upgraded Baity Fiber package with Netflix included is currently in a test phase and is due for wide-scale roll-out in early summer. 

Honor runs AI image competition in GCC region to promote Honor 600 range
MIDDLE EAST 17 APR

Honor runs AI image competition in GCC region to promote Honor 600 range

Honor has launched 'Dream Big with Honor 600', a six-week campaign across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)  to celebrate the new Honor 600 series. Starting 15 April, the initiative invites users to blend creativity and technology by relating their personal stories and big dreams. Well-known sports journalist and television presenter Mustafa Al Agha will announce the official launch of the "challenge" and encourage audiences in the region to take part. His personal response was to declare that his dream is

Orange Digital Centre Egypt renews partnership with government's Creativa hubs and ITIDA's TIEC
EGYPT 17 APR

Orange Digital Centre Egypt renews partnership with government's Creativa hubs and ITIDA's TIEC

Creativa Innovation Hubs and the Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Centre (TIEC), an affiliate of the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), have renewed their 2022 partnership with the Orange Digital Centre (ODC). Creativa is a national initiative by the Ministry of ICT to foster an enabling environment for students, graduates, entrepreneurs and start-ups to play a role in extending digital modernisation in every sector of the economy. Schemes will be delivered through Creativ

Egyptian NTI ties up with Roayatec, Avalon AI to provide ERP training
EGYPT 17 APR

Egyptian NTI ties up with Roayatec, Avalon AI to provide ERP training

Egypt's National Telecommunication Institute (NTI) has signed a strategic partnership with Roayatec and Avalon AI to deliver advanced, job-oriented training for graduates of the Digital Egypt Youth -HireReady Initiative in Alexandria, in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

BAHRAIN 17 APR

Bahraini iGA expands e-government services beyond 900

The Bahraini Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) says it now offers over 900 online services. They are available via government portals and mobile apps and allow citizens and residents to handle civil records, business licensing and administrative tasks remotely, removing the need to visit physical service centres. The expansion reflects Bahrain's sustained investment in e-government infrastructure.

EGYPT 17 APR

Egyptian govt discusses digital training with Oracle

Egyptian ICT minister Raafat Hendy has held talks with Oracle Egypt executives over expanded cooperation in digital transformation and digital skills development. They aims to train 150,000 Egyptians in cloud computing and AI. The meeting brought together Oracle Egypt country manager Waleed Ahmed, technology director Tamer Gamal, and senior officials from the ICT ministry. The parties agreed to organise a workshop to explore further cooperation, including key projects being implemented across government se

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 16 APR

G42 and R/GA launch Alpha.G42.ai for web interface

G42 and creative innovation company R/GA have launched Alpha.g42.ai, a generative interface for the UAE-based AI provider. This platform uses integrated Large Language Models (LLMs) to turn G42's digital presence into a conversational service that changes the way users interact with the internet. Alpha.G42.ai is described as a working prototype for the future of the web, where the front door of a brand is an intelligent agent that generates and curates content for each visitor in real time.

QATAR 16 APR

Ooredoo Qatar and DE-CIX connect Doha IX to DE-CIX Marseille

Ooredoo Qatar and DE-CIX have connected Doha IX directly to DE-CIX Marseille, letting local networks exchange data with nearly 120 networks in Marseille and providing remote access to over 1,100 networks at DE-CIX Frankfurt. Regional carriers can now access advanced cloud and connectivity services that were previously unavailable in Qatar. Since its launch in October 2025, Doha IX has been operated under the DE-CIX as a Service model and is hosted in Ooredoo's state-of-the-art data centre.

BAHRAIN 16 APR

Zain's OneCX launches AI-powered voice agent in Bahraini dialect

Zain Bahrain has launched the country's first Generative AI-powered voice agent through its dedicated customer experience portfolio OneCX. It enables organisations to engage with customers through natural, human-like conversational voice interactions in the Bahraini dialect. The voice agent is an enterprise-grade platform that uses Artificial Intelligence to analyse customer sentiment, summarise calls and automate workflows.

BAHRAIN 16 APR

STC Pay Bahrain partners with Global Payment Services

STC Pay Bahrain has tied up with local payment infrastructure provider Global Payment Services (GPS) to enhance its card and digital payment services based on GPS' more than 20 years of processing expertise. The partnership will strengthen the reliability, scalability and security of the STC Pay system, specifically supporting cards and the digital payment transactions. This expands STC Pay's interoperability with global payment networks and reinforces its commitment to supporting the growth and innovation

KUWAIT 16 APR

Kuwaiti e-govt service app Sahel enables mobile number deactivation and reactivation

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Communications has introduced new digital services on the Sahel app, enabling users to manage their mobile numbers more efficiently. Under the new 'Activate/deactivate existing phones' feature, subscribers can temporarily deactivate an active phone line, permanently deactivate an active phone number, reactivate a temporarily deactivated line and permanently deactivate both active and temporarily deactivated numbers.

TURKEY 16 APR

Viasat, Turksat, SKYFive Arabia to jointly offer roaming services for in-flight connectivity across EMEA

Viasat Aviation, Turksat and SkyFive Arabia have announced their plans to establish a strategic roaming collaboration to support in-flight connectivity (IFC) services. This initiative is designed to support the evolving connectivity needs of airlines and aviation customers across Europe, Turkiye, and the Middle East-Africa.

JORDAN 15 APR

Orange Jordan plans bootcamp for young innovators

Orange Jordan has launched registration for its 'Dream to Demo Bootcamp', a programme designed to empower young entrepreneurs. Hosted at the Orange Digital Centre, the workshop provides a platform to transform early-stage concepts into viable startups through support for tech-driven solutions. Over eight weeks, the programme offers specialised labs focused on artificial intelligence, augmented reality and augmented virtuality.

OMAN 15 APR

Ooredoo Oman signs pact with education ministry on scholarships

Ooredoo Oman and the ministry of education have signed a cooperation agreement to include scholarships within the Unified Admission Centre system, thereby strengthening the link between educational outcomes and labour market needs. The agreement aims to launch a national program that combines academic scholarships with an employment track, by providing fourteen scholarships in technical and digital disciplines of national priority, while making employment opportunities available to graduates after meeting t

SAUDI ARABIA 15 APR

Aramco Digital partners with Cumulocity to deliver fleet management

Cumulocity, a global provider of industrial AIoT, has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Aramco Digital to expand the deployment of its enterprise-grade platform across the region. The partnership already has its first deployment, with Aramco Digital implementing Cumulocity as the core platform for an advanced fleet management program supporting Aramco's operations in Saudi Arabia. The deployment signals a broader acceleration of industrial digitalization across the region, enabling scalable, rea

CYPRUS 15 APR

Hellas Sat provides satellite capacity for Cyprus' first use of GovSatCom Hub

Cyprus has completed the first operational use of the EU GovSatCom (Governmental Satellite Communications) Hub, using satellite capacity provided by Hellas Sat. The EU GovSatCom, the European Governmental Satellite Communications initiative, managed by the European Commission and implemented by the European Union Agency for the Space Programme, began initial operations in January 2026 after approval by EU Member States.

Just In

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Oi's IT arm valued at over BRL 1.2 billion

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Russian router sales up 10% in Q1

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Polish tech industry group calls for greater flexibility in 5G private network rules

Commentary

20 APR 10:36

Netflix back to organic growth and doing just fine

11 FEB 12:29

Odido shareholders face tricky exit after abandoned IPO

2 FEB 13:49

KPN results show little bother from the competition

2 JAN 13:21

Open Dutch Fiber's new management team takes up turnaround challenge

Background

19 APR 23:04

The week in telecoms: SFR takover moves ahead, Amazon bags Globalstar and Netgear in favour in US

12 APR 23:28

The week in telecoms: Samsung profits soar, Netflix targets kids and telcos build defence vertical

9 APR 15:58

Ziggo Group creation at 2026 low point sets stage for growth ahead

7 APR 11:48

Netherlands TV-video market revenues up just 0.5% in Q4