M2M managed services provider Wyless has signed an important agreement with Telefonica Digital that will help it tap into the surging demand for M2M services in Latin America.

The deal allows Wyless (Lawrence, MA, USA) partners to use the Telefonica Global SIM in conjunction with Wyless managed services on more than 350 networks around the worldwide.

Nevertheless, the real focus in on Latin America, where Telefonica (Madrid, Spain) operates networks in some of the region’s biggest markets.

Mexico's Congress on Tuesday gave overwhelming final approval to an expansive overhaul of the telecommunications sector, which aims to boost competition in the industry and tame the likes of billionaire Carlos Slim and broadcaster Televisa.

The bill encourages more foreign investment in the telecoms industry and gives regulators the power to stop companies from controlling more than 50 percent of the market, a measure aimed directly at telecoms tycoon Slim and Televisa (Mexico City, Mexico).

Cellular operator Digicel Group Ltd jumped into Myanmar early and big, hiring staff, funding local sports, negotiating land deals for thousands of cell tower sites and signing up hundreds of partners for retail outlets.

The strategy helped propel it onto the shortlist for a mobile license in one of the world's last mobile frontiers, putting an operator that ranks 65th globally in terms of customers up against giants such as Vodafone Group Plc (Newbury, UK).

Shipments of so-called MFF2 SIM cards designed to withstand the harsh conditions of various M2M deployments rose by 42%, to 5 million, between 2011 and 2012, according to new figures released by trade association the SIMalliance.

The organization said the increase illustrates the potential of the M2M opportunity and expects to see further growth in the next few months as applications are introduced in new vertical markets.

India’s Bharti Airtel has been ordered by regulatory authorities to stop providing 3G services in seven regions where it does not have the requisite permits, according to the Economic Times newspaper.

Authorities have also imposed a fine of INR3.5 billion ($64.6 million) on the operator for abusing the terms of its licenses.

Google Inc Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, who visited North Korea in January, will become the first high-profile tech company executive to visit Myanmar in the wake of reforms that prompted Western nations to ease sanctions following decades of military dictatorship.

The visit next week to Myanmar, where Schmidt will speak at a technology and communications park and meet with government officials, is just one stop in a multi-country Asian tour to promote Internet access, according to Google (Mountain View, CA, USA).

Swedish network equipment maker Ericsson has signed a five-year deal to manage the networks of Atlantique Telecom, the African subsidiary of Middle Eastern telecoms giant Etisalat.

The contract will see Ericsson (Stockholm, Sweden) manage all of the mobile networks of Atlantique Telecom, which serves about 10 million customers in Benin, the Central African Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Niger and Togo.

Atlantique Telecom says the deal will allow it to focus on the development of value-added services and tailored offerings for its customers.