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SAMENA Daily - Industry News Briefing

Industry News Briefing
February 20, 2026

Featured Member News

e& and Aster Pharmacy team up to launch ‘Pharmacy in a Box’ initiative

e& UAE, flagship telecom arm, of e&, has announced a strategic partnership with Aster Pharmacy, one of the region’s most respected pharmacy chains...

Member News

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AT&T and Cisco: Powering the future of IoT with 5G standalone

AT&T and Cisco are deepening a long-standing strategic relationship built on trust, innovation, and a shared commitment to enabling highly secure connectivity and management tools that help enterprises optimize operations...

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Citymesh goes live with world’s first commercial mobile service on 5G Core SaaS, powered by Nokia and AWS

The world’s first commercial mobile service on 5G Core SaaS, powered by Nokia and Amazon Web Services (AWS), is now live with Belgium’s Citymesh, marking a new era in how telecommunications providers can choose...

Policy and Regulation

•	NCC sets March 20 deadline for stakeholder submissions on revised National Telecommunications Policy The Nigerian Communications Commission has set March 20 as the deadline for stakeholders to submit feedback as part of the ongoing review of the National Telecommunications Policy...

•	Ofcom complaints flat in Q3 2025 Customer complaints to Ofcom about fixed broadband, landline, pay-monthly mobile and pay-TV services were broadly unchanged in Q3 2025, with overall volumes similar to the previous quarter, according to the regulator’s...

South Asia

•	Nepal Telecom completes copper-to-fiber transition in Far-West province The copper-to-fiber shift is expected to improve service reliability, deliver higher internet speeds, and support advanced services such as HD voice and IPTV, aligning with Nepal’s broader digital infrastructure...

North Africa

•	Morocco launches public-private partnership with AXA to build national AI and data talent Morocco has signed a landmark public-private partnership with global insurance group AXA to accelerate the development of national talent in artificial intelligence, data science, and advanced digital technologies...

3G, 4G and 5G Networks

•	Videotron selects Samsung to deploy cloud-native 5G and 4G core in Canada Videotron has selected Samsung Electronics to modernize its network infrastructure using Samsung’s 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) and 4G LTE Core Gateway solutions...

•	Orange Romania to invest over 200 million euro in 5G network in 2026 Orange Romania, a unit of French multinational telecommunications corporation Orange, plans to invest more than 200 million euro (US$236.7 million) to expand the coverage of its 5G/5G+ network in 2026...

Content & Immersive Technologies

•	Stingray adds ZenLIFE, Qello Concerts, TikTok Radio and DJAZZ to Pluto TV Stingray has expanded its distribution deal with Pluto TV, launching four new FAST channels on the free streaming platform: ZenLIFE, Qello Concerts, TikTok Radio and Stingray DJAZZ...

•	TikTok teams up with Moving Walls to take social content offline TikTok’s Out of Phone initiative goes global, giving marketers new ways to merge online engagement with real-world visibility...

Global Telecom Update

•	Ethio Telecom and AFC explore strategic financing partnership to accelerate digital expansion The engagement signals a potential collaboration that could strengthen Ethiopia’s digital infrastructure ecosystem while contributing to Africa’s wider connectivity, cloud, and AI ambitions...

•	Calix launches Calix One to unify AI, cloud, and managed services for CSPs Calix One adoption is advancing in scheduled cohorts, with one-third of customers already operating on the platform and the full customer base expected to transition by the end of March 2026...

•	RingCentral integrates OpenAI into communications platform Integration will enable organisations to work smarter, serve customers faster and deliver full value of every conversation...

Middle East

•	DCO launches global “Ctrl+Alt+Delete” campaign to combat online misinformation and enhance trust in digital economy The “Stop Online Misinformation” campaign marks the culmination of sustained global collaboration to strengthen trust in the safe and all-inclusive digital economy...

•	Mastercard cardholders can now use Google Pay in Saudi Arabia Mastercard and Google are collaborating to further enhance the availability and usage of Google Pay in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia...

•	Oman connects 50 schools to Starlink Oman has connected 50 government schools to Starlink satellite internet as part of its broader digital infrastructure expansion, while the telecommunications sector recorded a 25% increase in revenue in 2025, reaching RO961...

•	Saudi Arabia’s HUMAIN invests US$3 billion in xAI ahead of SpaceX merger The merger with SpaceX is expected to accelerate xAI’s technological integration and growth trajectory, potentially expanding its access to capital, compute capacity, and advanced engineering resources...

Satellite & Internet

•	MTN launches mission-critical satellite connectivity services with SpaceX LEO network This agreement strategically positions MTN to deliver highly secure, mission-critical communications leveraging SpaceX's advanced Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite ecosystem, which is purpose-built to meet the stringent...

•	Westconnect deal extends Vodafone Germany’s open access reach to 2m premises Vodafone Germany and Westconnect have confirmed plans to expand their fibre partnership, paving the way for Vodafone to market gigabit broadband services across Westconnect’s open access FTTH network...

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