News & Views

Content posted in January 2020

MTN Mobile Money returns to SA

Paula Gilbert
1/31/2020

MTN has relaunched its Mobile Money offering in South Africa after previously pulling the service due to poor performance.

MTN promises $1.6B Nigeria investment, legal woes over

Paula Gilbert
1/30/2020

MTN has committed to invest $1.6 billion in Nigeria over the next three years, while its $2 billion tax-related court battle has been resolved.

Repairs underway to fix SA's slow Internet

Connecting Africa News
1/30/2020

Repairs have begun to fix a dual cable failure which has left South Africa and other parts of Africa with slow Internet.

Saudi Telecom to Buy Vodafone Egypt for $2.4B

Iain Morris
1/29/2020

Saudi incumbent could land one of the region's fastest-growing operators as it looks to keep expanding its international presence.

Ericsson Predicts 5G Take-Up for MEA in 2020

Paula Gilbert
1/29/2020

After a successful 2019 when it comes to 5G deals, Ericsson is predicting more 5G growth for the Middle East and Africa in 2020.

Airtel Africa Boasts Strong 9-Month Growth

Paula Gilbert
1/28/2020

Airtel Africa gained 9.2 million new customers during the past year and its revenue increased by 9.9% for the nine months of its fiscal year to December 31, 2019.

New Telecoms Licensing Regime in Uganda

Paula Gilbert
1/27/2020

Ugandan telecoms operators only have until a January 30 to meet the Uganda Communications Commission's deadline for a new licensing regime in the country.

Samsung Is Ready for 5G in SA

Paula Gilbert
1/24/2020

Samsung says it will bring 5G handsets and other 5G devices to South Africa as soon as regulation allows.

African fintech startups rake in $107M in 2019

Connecting Africa News
1/23/2020

Africa's fintech sector was the most popular among investors in 2019 according to Disrupt Africa's new Tech Startups Funding Report.

Tanzania Cracks Down on Unregistered SIMs

Paula Gilbert
1/22/2020

Tanzania's telecoms regulator has blocked access for over 650,000 mobile users who did not register their SIM cards biometrically, according to local media.

Hot Startup of the Month: Nigerian Fintech Innovator OneFi

Connecting Africa News
1/21/2020

Nigerian fintech startup OneFi is on its way to becoming a fully digital bank.

MTN & ZTE Trial 5G in Uganda

Connecting Africa News
1/21/2020

MTN Uganda and ZTE have jointly tested East Africa's first 5G network.

Angola Cables Trials Cutting Edge Tech on Direct Subsea Link to US

Ray Le Maistre
1/20/2020

Using state-of-the-art optical technology, Angola Cables has forged a high-capacity subsea data connection between Africa and the US, via Brazil.

New Lead for Google SA

Connecting Africa News
1/20/2020

Former advertising exec Alistair Mokoena is taking over as country director for Google South Africa.

SA hit by slow Internet after dual cable failure

Connecting Africa News
1/17/2020

South Africa has been experiencing slow Internet speeds after two major undersea cables were hit by separate failures.

MTN Appoints New South Sudan CEO, Cameroon CEO Resigns

Paula Gilbert
1/17/2020

MTN has appointed industry veteran Gordian Kyomukama as CEO in South Sudan but says Cameroon CEO Hendrik Kasteel has handed in his notice.

Telkom Planning Major Job Cuts

Paula Gilbert
1/16/2020

South Africa's Telkom could cut up to 3,000 jobs across a number of business units.

Nigeria's Mobile Market Hits 182.4M Subs

Connecting Africa News
1/16/2020

Market grows by 13.7 million subscribers in the 12 months to the end of November 2019.

Is Vodacom Making a Play for Cell C Customers?

Paula Gilbert
1/15/2020

Vodacom is rumored to be looking to take over some of struggling rival Cell C's contract customers, according to a Bloomberg report.

Internet Shutdowns Cost Africa $2B in 2019 – Report

Paula Gilbert
1/14/2020

Major Internet blackouts in 2019 cost African economies a combined $2.36 billion, according to a report from Top10VPN.com.

Nigeria's Attorney General Gives Up on $2B MTN Tax Battle

Paula Gilbert
1/13/2020

Some good news for MTN Nigeria – the country's attorney general has withdrawn a US$2 billion tax demand that has been hanging over the telco for more than a year.

Orange Preps IPO of Middle East & Africa Unit

Ray Le Maistre
1/9/2020

French operator considers IPO of regional unit as it opens new Orange Middle East and Africa operational head office in Morocco.

Tanzania Adds 1 Million Mobile Subs in Q3

Connecting Africa News
1/9/2020

There were 44.8 million mobile subscribers in Tanzania at the end of September 2019 and 23.7 million mobile money subscriptions, but the number of mobile money transactions declined during the quarter.

Unitel's Zambia Plans in Disarray

Connecting Africa News
1/7/2020

Unitel had planned to launch services in Zambia more than a year ago – now it appears to be in danger of losing its license.

Africa's Pay-TV Subs Market to Grow 54% by 2025 – Report

Connecting Africa News
1/6/2020

Nigeria will be the continent's largest pay TV market growth in the coming years, according to a forecast from Digital TV Research.

American Tower buys Eaton, acquires JV stakes from MTN

Connecting Africa News
1/3/2020

Passive mobile infrastructure specialist strengthens its hand in Africa with closure of Eaton Towers acquisition and a deal to acquire MTN's stakes in two joint ventures.

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