News & Views

Telkom prepares for spectrum battle with SA regulator

Paula Gilbert
11/13/2020

Telkom's CEO has voiced concern about the way the South African regulator is handling an upcoming spectrum auction and how it will impact competition.

Orange launches pan-West African fiber network

Paula Gilbert
11/10/2020

Orange has announced a massive fiber-optic network in West Africa, called Djoliba, which is a first-of-its-kind pan-West African backbone.

Telkom SA continues strong mobile growth

Paula Gilbert
11/10/2020

Telkom South Africa saw its mobile data traffic grow 81% over the past six months and mobile data revenue increase by 53.8%.

COVID-19 bites into Safaricom profit

Paula Gilbert
11/9/2020

The economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic saw Safaricom's first-half net profit drop 6%, but the Kenyan telco said it plans to get 4G to 100% of the population by the end of 2020.

Interview: Jimmy Nguyen on Bitcoin and blockchain in Africa

Connecting Africa Video
11/6/2020

Bitcoin Association founding president Jimmy Nguyen speaks to Emily Parrett about Bitcoin and blockchain technology and the potential benefits of these technologies for Africa.

GVG to invest $300K in African regtech startups

Connecting Africa News
11/6/2020

Global Voice Group wants to invest US$300,000 in African tech startups which are coming up with regulatory technology (regtech) solutions.

Vodafone Egypt gets additional ten-year spectrum license

Paula Gilbert
11/5/2020

Vodafone Egypt has acquired a block of 2.6GHz spectrum for $540 million which it says will significantly expand its network capacity.

Vodacom Tanzania promises shareholders a big dividend payout

Connecting Africa News
11/4/2020

Growth in M-Pesa customers and data usage has boosted Vodacom Tanzania's service revenue and will see it pay out US$184 million in dividends to shareholders.

Telkom SA predicts earnings jump

Paula Gilbert
11/3/2020

Telkom South Africa is expecting its half-year headline earnings per share to be as much as 25% better than last year, as its mobile business continues to grow.

Nearly half the world has never used the Internet

Paula Gilbert
10/28/2020

Nearly half of the global adult population has never used the Internet, and the majority live in Africa and South Asia, according to a recent ITU report.

Karl Toriola appointed new MTN Nigeria CEO

Connecting Africa News
10/26/2020

Karl Toriola to take over as CEO of MTN Nigeria, and Ferdi Moolman will return to South Africa to take on role of MTN Group chief risk officer.

COVID-19 hits Ericsson's MEA sales

Paula Gilbert
10/21/2020

Ericsson's third quarter sales in the Middle East and Africa declined 9% year-on-year, due to COVID-19-related macroeconomic uncertainty and delayed investments in the region.

Cell C's financial struggles continue

Paula Gilbert
10/20/2020

South African operator Cell C recorded a net loss after tax of almost R7.6B (US$460M) in the six months to June 2020 and lost 4.5M customers in a year.

Safaricom contributed 6% of Kenya's GDP

Paula Gilbert
10/16/2020

Safaricom's 2020 Sustainable Business Report places its overall social impact over the past year at 6% of Kenya's GDP.

Vodacom denies Rain deal is a merger

Paula Gilbert
10/15/2020

Vodacom is confident its agreements with Rain do not constitute a merger and do not contravene the South African Competition Act.

Telkom SA wants Vodacom, Rain spectrum deal scrutinized

Paula Gilbert
10/14/2020

Telkom has approached South Africa's Competition Tribunal to get it to look into spectrum deals between fellow local operators Vodacom and Rain.

MTN Ghana pulls back on dominance court case

Paula Gilbert
10/14/2020

MTN has withdrawn a court case in Ghana related to its market dominance, and is trying to find an amicable resolution with the National Communications Authority.

Vodacom gets a lifeline in Lesotho

Paula Gilbert
10/12/2020

The High Court of Lesotho has granted an interim interdict stopping the Lesotho Communications Authority from revoking Vodacom's unified license in the country.

New MTN Liberia CEO announced

Connecting Africa News
10/12/2020

MTN has announced that Rahul De will take over as CEO of MTN Liberia in November.

Vodacom Lesotho's license revoked

Paula Gilbert
10/9/2020

Vodacom's license in Lesotho has been revoked by the Lesotho Communications Authority for failing to pay a hefty fine, but the telco will fight the decision in court.

Orange commits to keep intra-African data traffic in Africa

Connecting Africa News
10/8/2020

Orange has announced it is creating two new international voice points of presence in Nigeria and plans to open a data clearing house in Africa next year.

Ericsson tapped to modernize Airtel Kenya 4G network

Connecting Africa News
10/8/2020

Airtel Africa selects Swedish equipment maker for network overhaul.

MTN Zambia signs fiber deal with ZTE

Connecting Africa News
10/5/2020

MTN Zambia and ZTE have signed a partnership to construct a cross-border optical transmission network backbone, promising better connectivity and lower data costs for Zambians.

Ericsson, Telenor Connexion power smart water purification solution in East Africa

Connecting Africa News
10/2/2020

Ericsson and Telenor Connexion are bringing connectivity and enabling IoT solutions for micro-brewery and water filtering firm Wayout's water purification micro-factories in East Africa.

SA operators allowed to keep COVID-19 emergency spectrum longer

Paula Gilbert
10/1/2020

South Africa's telecoms regulator says operators don't have to give back temporary 4G and 5G spectrum until March next year.

US-Africa Tech Challenge to take place in 2021

Connecting Africa Video
10/1/2020

David Bray, inaugural director of the GeoTech Center at The Atlantic Council, spoke at East Africa Com, giving more details about the US-Africa Tech Challenge.

Strong mobile growth predicted for sub-Saharan Africa – GSMA

Paula Gilbert
9/30/2020

Nearly half a billion people subscribe to mobile services in sub-Saharan Africa with 4.3% annual growth predicted until 2025.

Orange, Google launch $30 smartphone for Africa

Paula Gilbert
9/29/2020

Orange CEO Stéphane Richard told the GSMA Thrive Africa conference that the telco is partnering with Google to launch a low-cost smartphone aimed at the African market.

Hot startup of the month: Kenya's MPost

Tom Jackson
9/25/2020

MPost, a Kenyan digital addressing company, is providing those without physical addresses a way to receive mail using a virtual address linked to their mobile number.

MTN Eswatini drops mobile data prices

Paula Gilbert
9/21/2020

Mobile data price drops by MTN in Eswatini are a strong move towards more affordable mobile communications in a country that previously had Africa's most expensive data prices.

Vodafone not giving up on Egyptian stake sale

Paula Gilbert
9/16/2020

Vodafone is not ready to call it quits on plans to sell its 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt to Saudi Telecom Company (STC).

East Africa's digital economy needs progressive policy – Kenyan regulator

Paula Gilbert
9/14/2020

Communications Authority of Kenya's Mercy Wanjau told East Africa Com digital economies must have progressive policy and regulation on spectrum, data protection and digital taxation.

AfricaCom Interview: Temidayo Oniosun on Africa's space and satellite industry

Africa Tech Perspectives
9/11/2020

Space in Africa founder, Temidayo Oniosun, shares his views on the challenges and opportunities in the African space and satellite industry.

Egypt smartphone market bucks COVID-19 decline trends

Connecting Africa News
9/10/2020

Smartphone sales in Egypt were not as badly impacted by COVID-19 as expected, according to IDC.

Vodafone hails $28m ambulance taxi program expansion

Connecting Africa News
9/10/2020

The Vodafone Foundation has committed $28 million to expand its M-Mama 'ambulance taxi' program beyond Tanzania, taking it to Lesotho next.

STC set to revise Vodafone Egypt offer – reports

Connecting Africa News
9/9/2020

Saudi Telecom Company said to be in discussions to reduce its $2.39 billion offer for Vodafone Group's 55% stake, potentially scuppering eight months of talks.

Nigeria sees mobile subs boom – Ericsson

Paula Gilbert
9/8/2020

According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report stats, Africa added 12 million new mobile subscriptions during Q2 2020, half of which were in Nigeria.

Ericsson, UNICEF partner to map school Internet connectivity

Connecting Africa News
8/28/2020

Ericsson and UNICEF are joining forces to map school connectivity in 35 countries, 13 of which are in Africa.

Cell C recapitalization making good progress

Paula Gilbert
8/27/2020

Major shareholder Blue Label Telecoms is confident that Cell C's recapitalization will be concluded by the end of 2020.

Vodacom has a new group CFO

Connecting Africa News
8/25/2020

Raisibe Morathi will take over as Vodacom Group CFO in November 2020.

Ties between SA and Huawei remain strong

Paula Gilbert
8/24/2020

The Western campaign to ban Chinese company Huawei is not making an impact in South Africa.

Cell C planning mass store closures in SA

Paula Gilbert
8/21/2020

Embattled South Africa operator Cell C is planning to close 128 out of its 240 stores as COVID-19 bites.

MTN Nigeria to help 10,000 SMEs, startups after COVID-19

Connecting Africa News
8/20/2020

Revv Programme for startups and small businesses offers classes by MTN executives and experts, with 200 chosen for Y'ello accelerator.

Spectrum pricing a barrier for 5G in SA

Paula Gilbert
8/13/2020

A new World Wide Worx report has quoted SA's mobile operators saying high spectrum prices could place a barrier on 5G growth in the country.

Ethiopia bars foreign infrastructure after Ethio letter

Connecting Africa News
8/12/2020

Media report claims Ethio executives demanded government block infrastructure firms from entering the market, safeguarding plans to remain the sole provider.

MTN reports COVID-19's impact on voice and data growth

Paula Gilbert
8/11/2020

MTN has seen some interesting voice, data and fintech trends emerge over the first half of 2020, caused by COVID-19 lockdowns across its markets.

SA president backs 4IR to assist economic recovery

Connecting Africa News
8/7/2020

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa believes the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) can help the country to emerge from the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airtel and Telkom Kenya call off merger

Paula Gilbert
8/7/2020

The planned merger between Telkom Kenya and Airtel has been shelved about 18 months since the pair first agreed terms.

MTN planning Middle East exit

Paula Gilbert
8/6/2020

MTN has announced an 'orderly exit' out of Middle East operations and is in advanced discussions to sell its 75% stake in MTN Syria.

Ethio Telecom sees revenue jump ahead of privatization

Paula Gilbert
8/3/2020

Ethiopian operator Ethio Telecom has reported a 31.4% YoY revenue bump ahead of plans to sell a major stake in the state-owned company to private business.

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