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SAMENA Daily - Industry News Briefing

Industry News Briefing
November 13, 2026

Featured Member News

Nokia strengthens partnership with Aalto University with €1.5 million donation and expanded R&D collaboration for future technology research and talent

Nokia has announced plans to donate €1.5 million to Finland’s Aalto University, strengthening one of its most important academic partnerships and supporting research and education in technologies that will shape the future of connectivity...

Member News

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Cisco reports first quarter earnings

Record revenue of US$18.5 billion, up 24% year over year, record GAAP earnings per share of US$1.14, up 58% year over year, and record non-GAAP earnings per share of US$1.40, up 40% year over year...

Recent Developments

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stc Bahrain partners with ASRY

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Zain Group reports 17-yr high results for 9M 2026; Revenue grows 4% YoY to KD 1.8 billion (USD 5.71 billion); Net Profit soars 59% YoY to KD 304 million (USD 990 million)

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Infra, Humain ink US$667 million financing deals for Saudi AI infrastructure

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AI Agent Identity and Accountability Critical Trust Requirements for the Global Digital Economy, SAMENA Council

Policy and Regulation

•	ITU re-elects Doreen Bogdan-Martin for second term as secretary-general The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has re-elected Doreen Bogdan-Martin (pictured) as secretary-general for a second four-year term, giving her 164 of the 173 votes cast by member states at its Plenipotentiary...

•	Adel Darwish Elected ITU Deputy Secretary-General Member States of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) today elected Adel Darwish of Bahrain as the organization's next Deputy Secretary-General...

•	Kuwait telecom chief holds bilateral talks at ITU conference Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) Chairman Khaled Al-Zamel held a series of bilateral meetings with heads of national delegations on the sidelines of the International Telecommunication...

Middle East

•	Saudi Arabia among world’s top 3 in AI talent growth and model development The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) released a comprehensive study on the state of artificial intelligence in the Kingdom, reviewing national progress across seven main pillars and 15 sub-pillars spanning regulatory...

•	Ooredoo to develop high-capacity fibre corridor linking Gulf and Europe Ooredoo Fibre Networks (OFN), the international connectivity arm of Ooredoo Group, secured authorization from Iraq’s General Company for Telecommunications and Informatics to establish an international fiber-optic...

•	Yango launches AI, robotics education initiative for UAE schools The initiative began with an interactive workshop at GEMS World Academy, bringing together around 50 students aged 10–12 for practical learning sessions led by Yango Group's technology specialists...

•	Syntys breaks ground on new data centre facility in Qatar The project is part of Syntys' strategy to scale its Qatar platform through both acquisition and new build. Earlier this year, the company acquired QData QFZ, adding two operational, Tier III-compliant, carrier-neutral...

South Asia

•	PTA bars telecom operators from supplying internet bandwidth to unlicensed providers The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority has reminded licensed telecom operators that they cannot provide internet bandwidth or related services to unlicensed businesses and distributors...

•	Grameenphone launches Bangladesh’s largest data centre solar power plant in Sylhet Bangladesh’s leading telecommunications operator, Grameenphone, has inaugurated a 325 kilowatt-peak (kWp) solar power plant at its Sylhet Data Centre, marking a significant investment in renewable energy...

3G, 4G, 5G/5G-A, Cloud, AI, Energy

•	EE UK comes top in updated map of South Yorkshire 4G and 5G mobile speeds Network analyst firm Streetwave and the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) in England have published an updated map and analysis of 4G and 5G mobile broadband coverage and speeds across the region using bin...

•	Verizon Business completes Thames Freeport private 5G deployment across five sites Verizon Business and Thames Freeport announced the completion of a multisite Private 5G platform across the Thames Freeport economic corridor, part of a multiyear, multibillion dollar operational transformation and economic...

•	Vietnam’s AI strategy in the agentic era Vietnam’s AI strategy is moving toward AI-native transformation, with the state acting as an early adopter and market-maker...

Global Telecom Update

•	AWS launches new South America Region in Chile Amazon Web Services (AWS) opened its new AWS South America (Chile) Region to select customers on Wednesday, with plans to make it generally available to everyone else by the end of this year...

•	Red Hat launches OpenShift 5 with agentic AI and zero trust security Red Hat, the world's leading provider of open source solutions, announced the general availability of Red Hat OpenShift 5, bringing built-in operational intelligence, zero trust security and a longer, predictable...

North Africa

•	Egypt: Magnom Properties, ALG to develop US$1 billion data center within Forbes Tower project Magnom Properties and Aedan Looking Glass (ALG) signed an agreement to develop a data center and advanced computing facility within the Forbes International Tower project in the New Capital, according to a statement...

Satellite & Hybrid Networks

•	Paratus launches in Malawi with Starlink enterprise service Pan-African telecoms services provider Paratus Group expanded its reach to Malawi with the launch of Starlink’s LEO satellite connectivity solutions for enterprises in the country...

•	Comporium completes US$6.3 million broadband build in North Carolina Comporium has completed a US$6.3 million fiber broadband expansion in Transylvania County, North Carolina, bringing high-speed internet access to 723 additional homes and businesses...

Content & Immersive Technologies

•	HD+ adds more than 500 Couchplay games to TV app German TV platform HD+ has expanded its TV app with more than 500 games from Couchplay, allowing users to play directly on their television using the remote control, without registration or an additional subscription...

•	HBO Max reaches 3.1 million UK homes as multi-service streaming grows HBO Max has reached 3.1 million UK households in its debut appearance in Barb’s publicly reported streaming data, as the British subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) market continues to expand through multiple...

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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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