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SAMENA Daily - Industry News Briefing

Industry News Briefing
April 13, 2026

Featured Member News

Zain Kuwait clinches triple titles from Ookla® Speedtest®

Zain Kuwait has added another major international win to its growing record of network leadership accolades, winning three prestigious awards from Ookla® Speedtest® — the world’s leading platform for network intelligence, testing, and analytics...

UAE adopts National Space Strategy 2031, targets top 10 global ranking

The United Arab Emirates has adopted the National Space Strategy 2031, setting out an ambitious framework to expand the country’s space economy and entrench its position as a leading global space power...

Member News

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AT&T and Fanatics announce strategic five-year partnership

AT&T customers and fans everywhere will have the ability to plus up their sports experiences and access through a new connected partnership...

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Cisco Report: Strategic wireless investments are driving higher ROI for enterprises in the AI era

Driven by the rise of AI, IoT, and high-bandwidth applications, four out of five organizations increased wireless investment in the past five years, with a similar number forecasting continued budget increases...

Recent Developments

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UAE Launches World’s First Commercial U6GHz Network, Advancing Path to 10Gbps Connectivity

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Nahyan bin Mubarak inaugurates the SAMENA Telecommunications Council Leaders’ Summit 2026

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SAMENA Council Leaders’ Summit 2026 Advances Industry Coordination, Reinforces Infrastructure Continuity, and Aligns Public and Private Sector Priorities

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e& and Khalifa University launch white paper for AI-native 6G networks, contributing to global standardisation

Policy and Regulation

•	Egypt’s MCIT takes digital transformation push to civil society sector Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) has participated in the First Egyptian Civil Society Forum, a multi-stakeholder platform focused on sustainable development, using the occasion to...

•	NCC moves to improve security in nation’s digital ecosystem The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has introduced a new regulation ‘Telecommunications Identity Risk Management System (TIRMS) to curb fraudulent transactions in the nation’s digital ecosystem...

Middle East

•	Vodafone Oman targets full cloud-native migration by 2028 with Red Hat Vodafone Oman is standardising its entire IT infrastructure on Red Hat’s cloud-native platform as part of a broader techco transformation, with a roadmap to transition the majority of production workloads to Red Hat...

•	Orange Jordan signs agreement to support AlOun Jordan Association for Alzheimer's Disease Orange Jordan signed a partnership agreement with the AlOun Jordan Association for Alzheimer's Disease, aiming to provide advanced hosting solutions in the field of digital hosting systems...

•	UAE adopts National Space Strategy 2031, targets top 10 global ranking The United Arab Emirates has adopted the National Space Strategy 2031, setting out an ambitious framework to expand the country’s space economy and entrench its position as a leading global space power...

South Asia

•	Dialog Finance launches next-generation virtual debit card, elevating digital payments in Sri Lanka This cutting-edge, digital-first payment solution is designed to deliver smarter control, enhanced security, and effortless everyday transactions, making online payments safer, more flexible, and fully manageable through the...

•	Afghanistan cuts internet prices 15% ATRA says efforts are ongoing to extend coverage to citizens in all parts of the country, framing the dual levers of price regulation and infrastructure expansion as complementary tools for broadening access...

3G, 4G and 5G Networks

•	MTN Côte d’Ivoire outlines network improvements and digital service innovations MTN Côte d’Ivoire is reinforcing its infrastructure with a 200 billion CFA franc investment plan centered on enhancing 4G network speed and stability alongside the launch of a self-service performance portal and...

•	SK Telecom targets commercial launch of 5G standalone network in 2026 SK Telecom aims to commercialize its 5G standalone (SA) network by the fourth quarter of this year, utilizing a dedicated core architecture to enable ultra-low latency, network slicing, and the development of an "AI highway"...

Content & Immersive Technologies

•	Movistar Plus+ expands Liga Endesa access through DAZN deal Movistar Plus+ has expanded its basketball coverage through an agreement with DAZN, making two Liga Endesa games per matchday available to all subscribers...

•	TikTok and ICC partner to boost digital commerce opportunities Social media platform TikTok and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 170 countries, have announced the launch of the Digital Commerce Labs...

North Africa

•	Visa, Zazu and Chari launch Morocco’s first fully digital SME business account Pan-African fintech Zazu has partnered with Visa and Moroccan fintech infrastructure provider Chari to launch what the companies describe as Morocco’s first fully digital professional account for entrepreneurs and...

Satellite & Internet

•	Airtel Africa tests Starlink mobile in Kenya to bridge network gaps Airtel Africa has carried out early tests of satellite-to-mobile services in Kenya, working with SpaceX’s Starlink to connect users in areas without network coverage...

•	Millicom and TAFS partner to strengthen subsea connectivity across the Americas Millicom International Cellular, a leading telecommunications company in Latin America, announced a long-term commercial agreement with Trans Americas Fiber System (TAFS), a next-generation digital infrastructure provider,...

Global Telecom Update

•	Seseko and Microsoft South Africa deliver a high-impact nationwide digital skills program Following the success of this first phase, Seseko and Microsoft South Africa are exploring opportunities to expand the program further...

•	Meta unveils first AI model from superintelligence team Meta Platforms (Meta) has launched its first artificial intelligence (AI) model Muse Spark, thus marking the first release from the company's Superintelligence group (AI machines that could outthink humans). ..

•	Virtru integrates data security platform with Cloudflare R2 to enable object-level access control Virtru, the leader in data-centric security, has announced that its Data Security Platform now delivers object-level data governance to Cloudflare R2 cloud storage...

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Disclaimer: Information contained herein has been obtained from sources, which we deem reliable. SAMENA Telecommunications Council is not liable for any misinformed decisions that the reader may reach by being solely reliant on information contained herein. Expert advice should be sought.

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