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SAMENA Daily - Industry News Briefing

Industry News Briefing
December 18, 2025

Featured Member News

Fitch upgrades Omantel to ‘BBB-’ with stable outlook, affirming its strategic strength

Omantel is proud to announce that Fitch Ratings has upgraded its Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘BBB-’ with a Stable Outlook, marking a significant milestone in the company’s journey as a national and regional digital leader. The upgrade follows Fitch’s decision to raise the Sultanate of Oman’s Long-Term Foreign-Currency IDR to ‘BBB-’ with a Stable Outlook on 8 December 2025...

Member News

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O2 Slovakia signs an agreement to acquire 100% stake of UPC Slovakia from Liberty Global

O2, the mobile operator in Slovakia, part of e& PPF Telecom Group BV (e& PPF Telecom), a subsidiary of e& with ownership of 50% + 1 share, signed a binding agreement with Liberty Global to acquire 100% of UPC Broadband...

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AT&T named #1 in customer satisfaction for residential wired internet

J.D. Power ranks AT&T as #1 in customer satisfaction for residential wired internet service in the North Central and West regions...

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du first global integration of 25Gbps E-band Backhaul into 5G-A to enhance customer experience

du, a leading telecom and digital services provider, has entered into a three-year agreement with Huawei following a successful deployment of the world’s first 25Gbps E-band microwave link in a 5G-Advanced (5G-A) site...

Policy and Regulation

•	DRA holds a program on regulatory and digital transformation in Nicaragua The Digital Regulatory Academy (DRA) held a program titled “Regulatory and Digital Transformation “ in collaboration with The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and The Nicaraguan Institute of...

•	Digital@UNGA marks 20 years of WSIS digital development and sets stage for UN review Two decades since the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) created an international dialogue for the digital age, the global digital community voiced support at a special event at UN headquarters for...

North Africa

•	Algeria to boost internet speeds with new submarine cable project Algeria is set to significantly enhance its international connectivity as the foundation stone for a new submarine cable linking the country to global communications networks will be laid in the coming days...

3G, 4G and 5G Networks

•	Ethio Telecom to expand telehealth services as 4G reaches 93 more cities Ethio Telecom plans to extend its telehealth services to an additional 200 hospitals, following the expansion of its 4G network to 93 more cities...

•	Andorra Telecom’s 5G upgrade doubles speed and capacity for users nationwide Andorra Telecom has expanded its 5G network across the country, introducing enhanced capacity, faster speeds, and more reliable connectivity to meet growing data demands and improve user experience...

Satellite & Internet

•	OQ Technology and Nordic Semiconductor set new industry benchmark by connecting standard NB-IoT module to fully integrated LEO satellite network OQ Technology, the global pioneer in satellite 5G IoT and Direct-to-Device (D2D) connectivity, today announced a major industry milestone: the successful end-to-end NB-IoT connection and IoT data transmission from Nordic...

•	U.S fiber broadband hits record 11.8 million homes passed in 2025 The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) announced its annual Fiber Deployment Survey, performed by RVA Market Research & Consulting (RVA), revealed that 2025 set an all-time record for fiber broadband growth...

Middle East

•	IBM accelerates Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation with major AI, talent, and innovation milestones IBM has marked a pivotal year in Saudi Arabia’s digital transformation journey, announcing major achievements across talent development, regional expansion, and AI-driven innovation in alignment with Vision 2030...

•	ZainTECH and Vortex join forces to revolutionize video compression and AI visual intelligence ZainTECH, the integrated digital solutions arm of Zain Group, has announced a strategic partnership with Vortex Global, a cutting-edge software company known for its surveillance and visual intelligence innovations...

South Asia

•	Pakistan to launch secure ‘Beep’ messaging app for government officials Pakistan is preparing to roll out a locally developed secure messaging application, Beep, for government employees, as part of efforts to strengthen official communications and data security...

Global Telecom Update

•	ASUS highlights AI-driven workplace solutions The initiative aimed to raise awareness of ASUS’s commercial devices while gathering feedback to shape future campaigns and product roadmaps...

•	Malaysian solar plants to supply power for Google’s data centres Two new renewable energy agreements involving Malaysia are a reminder of the growing power demands of data centres and of date centre owners’ need to find cleaner, cheaper and more demand-responsive ways to meet them...

•	Red Hat OpenShift service on AWS GovCloud achieves FedRAMP high authorization for hosted control planes The authorization for the hosted control plane architecture builds upon the existing FedRAMP High approval previously granted to Red Hat OpenShift Service on AWS in AWS GovCloud classic architecture...

Content & Immersive Technologies

•	Synamedia extends YES deal as Partner Communications prepares new streaming service Synamedia has extended its long-standing agreement with YES, the pay-TV arm of Israeli operator Bezeq, in a move that will also support YES’s collaboration with Partner Communications on the launch of a new TV...

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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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