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SAMENA Daily - Industry News Briefing

Industry News Briefing
January 21, 2026

Featured Member News

stc Bahrain partners with CFI to deliver advanced ICT solutions

stc Bahrain, a digital enabler, announced its partnership with CFI, the region’s leading online trading provider, to provide advanced ICT solutions and connectivity services...

Member News

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Georgetown University selects Cisco to transform campus connectivity

Cisco has announced a multi-year partnership with Georgetown University to modernize the campus network, delivering advanced connectivity and new digital experiences powered by Cisco’s latest networking technologies...

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Nokia selected by altafiber for fiber network expansion across Ohio and Hawaii

Nokia has announced that it has been selected by altafiber to support the technology provider’s comprehensive, multi-gigabit network expansion in Ohio and across Hawaii, where the company does business as Hawaiian...

Policy and Regulation

•	Regulatory reforms, investment push Oman into top 20 for mobile speeds Oman has made significant gains in mobile and broadband performance, climbing five places to 18th in the Speedtest Global Index in 2025, according to Ookla’s Speedtest Intelligence data...

•	Britain launches consultation on children’s social media use, tightens school phone bans The British government has launched a nationwide consultation on children’s use of social media and mobile phones amid growing concerns that excessive screen time is undermining young people’s mental health,...

Middle East

•	Ankabut and WeVideo partner to advance video-based learning and digital creativity across the GCC Through this agreement, Ankabut will integrate WeVideo into its portfolio of advanced education technology solutions. This will expand access to creative digital tools that support the UAE’s national innovation agenda...

•	Digico Solutions collaborates with AWS to accelerate cloud and AI transformation in Saudi Arabia Digico Solutions, a specialized cloud and AI consultancy, has announced a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to accelerate digital transformation across Saudi Arabia’s key industries...

•	Thawani Pay and Network International partner to expand digital payments in Oman The collaboration builds on Thawani Pay’s rapid growth and innovation momentum, following its recent milestone as the first leading fintech in Oman to officially secure a Visa license to issue credit cards...

North Africa

•	Morocco launches national digital platform for healthcare protocol management Scheduled for deployment between February and June 2026 and financed through Global Fund support, the project will be delivered as a turnkey system, including the mobile app, administration interface, source code, and...

3G, 4G and 5G Networks

•	MTN launches 4G+ coverage in Wun Kuel, strengthening digital access in Warrap The rollout is part of MTN’s broader strategy to extend faster and more reliable internet access across South Sudan, supporting the growing demand for digital services...

•	India reaches 400 million 5G subscribers in three years India has surpassed 400 million 5G users, making it the world’s second-largest 5G market after China and one of the fastest adopters globally since launching commercial services in late 2022...

Content & Immersive Technologies

•	France Télévisions to launch francetv sport digital channel France Télévisions is launching a free digital channel, francetv sport, on france.tv, extending the public broadcaster’s online sports offer following the performance of its digital coverage around Paris 2024...

•	The United Arab Emirates launches the “Fast Track” mobile app to speed up border crossings After downloading the app, users create a single profile, scan the identity page of their passport, take a selfie, and capture their fingerprints using their phone’s camera...

South Asia

•	PTA launches initiative to protect overseas Pakistanis’ SIM cards The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has introduced a new initiative to help overseas Pakistanis secure their mobile SIM cards and prevent them from being blocked during extended stays abroad...

Satellite & Internet

•	CityFibre enables FTTP business broadband network-wide CityFibre has announced that it has expanded the availability of its business FTTP broadband service to now cover its entire ready-for-service network footprint...

•	SKYWAVE launches new hybrid satellite-cellular module to enable remote mission-critical IoT applications SKYWAVE has announced the launch of the ST 4000, a hybrid IoT module that delivers seamless global connectivity across satellite and cellular networks and provides direct-to-device (D2D) capabilities for mission-critical...

Global Telecom Update

•	Origin AI, NXP accelerate embedded WiFi sensing for smart home This endeavor fast-tracks the deployment of intelligent motion sensing into smart home devices, opening the door for powerful new services across home automation, security and energy management...

•	Cloudflare acquires Astro to accelerate the future of high-performance web development With the Astro team joining Cloudflare, the companies are doubling down on a sustainable future for Astro to remain the definitive framework for content-driven websites...

•	OpenAI achieves record revenue thanks to tripled computing capacity OpenAI has experienced unprecedented growth, with revenue more than tripling from US$6 billion in 2024 to over US$20 billion in 2025...

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