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SAMENA Daily - Industry News Briefing

Industry News Briefing
December 24, 2025

Featured Member News

e& accelerates its 5.5G evolution with 4-carrier aggregation on smartphones — a first in the region

e& UAE, the flagship telecom arm of global technology group e&, today announced a major performance milestone in its live 5.5G network with the commercial deployment of 4-Carrier Aggregation (4-CA) combining Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD) spectrum — the first deployment of its kind in the region...

Member News

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Arabsat signs strategic reseller agreement with ADMC across MENA and EMEA

Through this collaboration, ADMC will act as a reseller of Arabsat’s services, enabling the two companies to combine their expertise to meet growing demand for reliable media distribution and connectivity solutions...

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AT&T’s daily data traffic tops one Exabyte

AT&T’s global network carries an average of one exabyte of data per day, an increase of more than 1,000% over the past decade....

Recent Developments

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Sama X to Commence Operations in Jordan with Starlink Solutions

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Cisco introduces Cisco IQ, a unified AI interface to accelerate time to value

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Bahrain’s TRA launches satellite direct-to-device services

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Salam strengthens its commitment to entrepreneurship as Strategic Sponsor of DeveGo25

Policy and Regulation

•	Bahrain government takes definitive step toward building a quantum-safe economy through strategic partnership with Sandbox AQ The initiative forms a core pillar of Bahrain’s long-term cybersecurity strategy, reinforcing the Kingdom’s commitment to secure digital transformation, national data protection, and sustainable economic...

•	TDRA launches five new digital trade license documents via UAE PASS The Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) announced the launch of five new digital trade license documents through the UAE PASS digital wallet...

South Asia

•	Government announces to launch 5G services in Pakistan The Federal government has announced that 5G services will be launched in Pakistan in the near future, with the entire rollout process expected to be completed within the next four to six months...

•	Nepal Telecom launches 4G services in Simbokpa, Sankhuwasabha Nepal Telecom (NTC) has launched 4G mobile broadband services in Simbokpa hill, located in Bhotkhola Rural Municipality of Sankhuwasabha district, extending high-speed connectivity to one of Nepal’s remote mountainous...

Content & Immersive Technologies

•	Stingray to bring Music and Karaoke apps to Mercedes-Benz Canadian media group Stingray has struck a deal with Mercedes-Benz to integrate its Stingray Music and Stingray Karaoke applications into the German carmaker’s latest-generation MBUX infotainment system...

•	Instagram launches reels-first app for TVs This means that users will no longer be limited to the small screen of their mobile phones, but will be able to watch Instagram Reels directly on their large TV screens...

Global Telecom Update

•	Energy sector confronts challenge of scaling AI beyond pilot projects The global energy industry has moved past debating whether to adopt artificial intelligence and is now grappling with how to deploy the technology effectively across operations, as organizations struggle to scale AI...

•	Stonepeak to acquire TeleTower in strategic partnership to expand Baltic mobile network The transaction will create the first fully independent tower company in the region and represents the beginning of a strategic partnership dedicated to investing in the Baltics’ mobile network and improving...

•	IQM and Telefónica picked for quantum computing job in Spain IQM will install a 54-qubit IQM Radiance, apparently designed for integration into high-performance computing centres, together with a 5-qubit IQM Spark system made for education purposes...

Middle East

•	Saudi Arabia launches digital crime investigation system in Jeddah Saudi Arabia has launched a new electronic and organizational system to modernize criminal investigations and evidence collection in the Al-Husayniyah area of Jeddah, as part of broader reforms led by the Ministry of...

•	Dubai launches AI-powered traffic lab to predict and prevent congestion before it happens The city’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched a Transport Data Analysis Laboratory that uses AI to anticipate bottlenecks and deploy countermeasures before gridlock sets in...

•	PayTabs and BEDE partner to boost Kuwait payment services PayTabs Kuwait, a member of the Saudi Arabia-headquartered PayTabs Group, which specialises in payment orchestration, has announced that it has entered a strategic partnership with BEDE Kuwait, a payment services company...

•	NCNP completes record SAP ERP deployment in Saudi Arabia The project, completed in partnership with Experts Vision Consulting (EVC), has unified NCNP’s finance, procurement, and human resources functions on a single digital platform...

North Africa

•	Egyptian deep-tech startup Nawah Scientific raises US$23 million in Series A funding Egyptian deep-tech and life sciences startup Nawah Scientific has secured $23 million in a Series A funding round to support its next phase of growth...

3G, 4G and 5G Networks

•	UK government further expands rural 4G coverage through SRN Over 100 mobile masts have been upgraded across rural Wales, Scotland and England, delivering 4G coverage from all mobile network operators for the first time as part of an ongoing development scheme...

•	Verizon secures agreement with Array Digital Infrastructure to enhance 5G network flexibility Under the multi-year deal, Verizon has the ability to collocate on a significant number of new Array sites over the next several years...

Satellite & Internet

•	Bolivia lifts restrictions on satellite companies to upgrade its internet connectivity Bolivia will allow global satellite internet companies such as Starlink or Kuiper to provide internet access across the Andean nation as it tries to upgrade its technology and speed up its notoriously slow connectivity...

•	Indosat to spin off fiber assets into new Indonesia infrastructure JV Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison has signed an investment agreement with a consortium comprising Arsari Group and Northstar Group to form a new joint venture focused on fiber digital infrastructure in Indonesia...

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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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