News & Views

At the recent AfricaCom event in Cape Town we spoke to Chafic Traboulsi, head of networks for Ericsson, Middle East and Africa, about the challenges and opportunities associated with the rollout of 5G across the African continent.

4G to Dominate MEA in 2025

Paula Gilbert
11/26/2019

By 2025 LTE (4G) will be the dominant mobile access technology in the Middle East and Africa (MEA).

Vodacom CTO Resigns

Connecting Africa News
11/26/2019

Andries Delport is leaving Vodacom after 23 years.

Africa Lags in Ericsson's 5G Forecasts

Paula Gilbert
11/25/2019

Ericsson expects 5G to account for 2.6 billion subscriptions by 2025, but only about 30 million of those will be in Sub-Saharan Africa.

SA Companies Back Away From Public Cloud

Paula Gilbert
11/25/2019

South African companies have outranked the global and EMEA averages in moving applications out of the public cloud and back onto premises-based infrastructure, according to a new study.

Safaricom IoT Solution Is Keeping Kenya's Beers Cold

Paula Gilbert
11/22/2019

Telecoms operator Safaricom is partnering with Kenya Breweries to connect and enhance its coolers using Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

Telkom Is Gaining Mobile Subs but Suffering ARPU Erosion

Paula Gilbert
11/21/2019

South African mobile operator Telkom may be gaining mobile customers by the truckload, but it is generating less money from each of them than a year ago.

SA Regulator Pours Cold Water on MTN & Cell C Roaming Deal

Paula Gilbert
11/20/2019

The Independent Communications Authority of SA wants MTN and Cell C to clarify details of their recently announced national roaming agreement.

Vodacom Is 5G-Ready but Still Focusing on 4G

Paula Gilbert
11/19/2019

Vodacom is focusing heavily on continuing 4G rollout across its five operations in Africa while preparing for the launch of 5G in South Africa.

Telkom Confirms Cell C Courtship

Paula Gilbert
11/18/2019

SA's Telkom has finally confirmed it is in discussions with Cell C regarding a potential acquisition.

AfricaCom 2019: Key Takeaways From the Week

Connecting Africa Video
11/18/2019

Connecting Africa Editor Paula Gilbert and Telecoms.com Deputy Editor Jamie Davies provide insights into the final day of AfricaCom 2019 and a summary of the conference in general, including how Africa is embracing the 'Fourth Industrial Revolution' and the rise of smart feature phones in Africa.

More Smart Feature Phones Drop at AfricaCom

Paula Gilbert
11/15/2019

Africell and Orange both launched new KaiOS-powered smart feature phones for markets like The Gambia, Sierra Leone and Botswana.

AfricaCom: Liquid Telecom Connects East to West Africa via DRC

Paula Gilbert
11/14/2019

The pan-African telecoms group has announced a direct land-based fiber link connecting East to West Africa through the Democratic Republic of Congo.

AfricaCom 2019 Day 2: Key Takeaways

Connecting Africa Video
11/14/2019

Connecting Africa Editor Paula Gilbert chats about key topics from day two at AfricaCom 2019, including 4G vs. 5G, Liquid Telecom's new fiber link between East and West Africa, and the rise of the super-app.

AfricaCom 2019 Day 1: Key Takeaways

Connecting Africa Video
11/13/2019

Connecting Africa Editor Paula Gilbert and Telecoms.com Deputy Editor Jamie Davies provide their insights into topics such as spectrum availability and digital inclusion from the first day of AfricaCom 2019.

AfricaCom: MTN commits to rural coverage using open RAN tech

Paula Gilbert
11/13/2019

MTN is set to deploy 5,000 open RAN sites across its operations in Africa and the Middle East.

AfricaCom: MTN Wants Ayoba to Be a 'Super-App'

Paula Gilbert
11/13/2019

MTN's messaging platform has reached over 1.2 million active users and CEO Rob Shuter's vision for Ayoba is to become a 'super-app.'

Is Telkom About to Snap Up Cell C?

Ray Le Maistre
11/12/2019

South African operator warns shareholders of potential acquisition as it announces a dip in profits for the first half of its fiscal year.

AfricaCom Interview: Irdeto's Jim Phillipoff on Smart Home Security

Africa Tech Perspectives
11/11/2019

Ahead of AfricaCom 2019, Irdeto's Jim Phillipoff discusses the security threats facing smart home devices and where the responsibility for securing IoT devices lies.

African Mobile Broadband Connections to Boom by 2024 – Ovum

Paula Gilbert
11/11/2019

Ovum's Africa Digital Outlook 2020 report forecasts that there will be 1.08 billion mobile broadband connections in Africa by 2024.

Vodacom Half-Year Profit Jumps 19%

Paula Gilbert
11/11/2019

Vodacom has seen strong half-year profits due to sustained growth in the international operations and an improved second-quarter performance in South Africa.

SA's Cape Flats Get Free WiFi Through Google

Connecting Africa News
11/8/2019

Google Station has launched in South Africa to provide free WiFi to underserved areas like Khayelitsha and Gugulethu.

SA Spectrum Licensing: What You Need to Know

Paula Gilbert
11/7/2019

South Africa's spectrum licensing process looks like it will finally move forward, with plans for both 4G and 5G spectrum licensing set out by the communications authority.

How Transnet Puts IoT to Work

Ray Le Maistre
11/6/2019

Major South African freight logistics company Transnet has been improving efficiency and maximizing resource potential using Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

Tanzania Joins Smart Feature Phone Revolution

Connecting Africa News
11/6/2019

Vodacom has launched Tanzania's first smart feature phone powered by KaiOS.

Hot Startup of the Month: SA Data-Only Network Rain

Connecting Africa News
11/4/2019

The cost of mobile data in South Africa remains high and data-only network Rain plans to solve the problem, by ignoring voice and SMS.

M-Pesa Continues to Buoy Safaricom

Iain Morris
11/1/2019

The Kenyan operator reports growth in sales and profit thanks again to growth in revenues from its mobile money service.

Blue Label Gets Real About Cell C

Paula Gilbert
11/1/2019

The board and management of Blue Label Telecoms are 'extremely disappointed in the performance of Cell C.'

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