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SAMENA Daily - Industry News Briefing

Industry News Briefing
November 12, 2026

Featured Member News

stc Bahrain, a digital enabler, has announced a strategic partnership with the Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (ASRY), the leading industrial maritime hub, for the successful deployment of Bahrain’s first commercial Private 5G Network...

Member News

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One New Zealand expands Nokia partnership to accelerate its autonomous networks transformation

One New Zealand has selected Nokia’s autonomous networks solutions to accelerate its journey toward higher levels of network autonomy and AI-native operations...

Recent Developments

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Côte d’Ivoire reaffirms commitment to digital cooperation at AU ICT Meeting in Gabon

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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

•	Participants in PP-26 underscore importance of enhanced international cooperation to advance secure digital infrastructure Participants in the fifth plenary session on the second day of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference 2026 (PP-26) called for substantially augmenting digital infrastructure through...

•	South Africa’s ICASA asks for input on spectrum assignment plans Regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) says it has embarked on a process to make additional high-demand spectrum available for assignment to the providers of mobile communication...

Middle East

•	Emirates NBD, Bridgewise launch AI-powered market insights Delivered through a fully native experience within ENBD X with no additional cost, the new Bridgewise feature identifies significant global market movements across global equities and ETFs in the United States, Europe and...

•	stc and Kuwait Digital Academy join forces to launch Kuwait’s first and largest AI initiative of its kind The collaboration will provide educational and training opportunities that strengthen younger generation’s technical capabilities and prepare them to contribute to Kuwait’s digital future...

•	Mannai IT KSA wins major Riyadh development contract The contract, awarded by China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), an international engineering and construction company, is for the delivery of mechanical, electrical, public health services and technology works on a...

South Asia

•	NCINGA to develop Sri Lanka’s first AI-powered national information platform for GIC NCINGA has been contracted by GovTech to design and develop the country’s first AI enabled national information platform, serving the trilingual Government Information Centre (GIC)...

•	Pakistan’s fixed broadband operators fall short of PTA quality benchmarks Under PTA standards, upload speeds must remain at least 25% of advertised package speeds for xDSL connections and above 50% for other technologies, while download speeds must exceed 80% of advertised package speeds...

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

•	BYD and TIM seal alliance to connect Camaçari Factory and nearly 400,000 vehicles in Brazil with 4G and 5G TIM Brasil and BYD have signed a far-reaching technology alliance to digitize the Chinese automaker’s industrial operation in Brazil and expand connectivity for its electric and hybrid vehicle fleet...

•	Verizon Business completes private 5G deployment across UK's Thames Freeport Verizon Business has completed a multi-site private 5G network deployment across Thames Freeport, establishing industrial-grade connectivity for port operations, logistics and manufacturing facilities along the River Thames...

•	KT ‘Meisters’ and Microsoft engineers build AI agents to spot network issues before customers do South Korean telco KT and Microsoft co-developed AIO-Net, a continuously learning AI platform trained by human experts that halves network troubleshooting time while keeping operators in control of final repair decisions...

Global Telecom Update

•	VodafoneThree and Google expand RCS messaging to more UK devices in 2027 VodafoneThree has announced a new wholesale agreement with Google to expand Rich Communication Services (RCS) to non-Android devices on consumer price plans from Spring 2027...

•	Smart connects underserved areas in Cebu, Bukidnon and Cotabato PLDT’s wireless unit Smart Communications said on Monday it has rolled out three new cell sites to connect geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDA) in Cebu, Bukidnon and Cotabato...

North Africa

•	Algeria explores AI data center project in partnership with China Algeria is considering the development of an artificial intelligence data center in cooperation with China, with the facility expected to be located at the National Higher School of Artificial Intelligence (ENSIA) in...

Satellite & Hybrid Networks

•	China launches new batch of internet satellites China has launched a Long March-12 carrier rocket from the island province of Hainan in southern China to send a batch of internet satellites into space...

•	Ribbon, Viaero Fiber expand optical network partnership to support AI infrastructure Ribbon Communications has announced an expansion of its longstanding partnership with Viaero Fiber Networks, a regional fiber infrastructure provider operating across areas of the West and Midwest in the United States...

Content & Immersive Technologies

•	Disney+ launches ad-supported subscription tier in Austria Disney+ has launched its advertising-supported subscription tier in Austria, expanding its offering in the market to three options...

•	US streaming platforms quadruple creator-led content as Tubi dominates expansion The sharp increase reflects growing competition between traditional streaming platforms and social media for younger audiences...

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