News & Views

Content posted in November 2020

Nokia announced 5G deals in Kenya, Togo

Connecting Africa News
11/30/2020

Nokia has announced two separate 5G deals with African operators in Kenya and Togo.

SA telcos must start paying for COVID temporary spectrum

Paula Gilbert
11/30/2020

The Independent Communications Authority says local operators will have to start paying for temporary spectrum given to them for free during the pandemic.

COVID-19 spurs e-commerce uptick in MEA – Mastercard

Paula Gilbert
11/27/2020

According to a new Mastercard study, over 70% of consumers in the Middle East and Africa were shopping more online than they did before the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Liquid Telecom accelerates fiber access in Botswana

Connecting Africa News
11/26/2020

Liquid Telecom is expanding fiber access in Botswana by activating 82km of fiber in a cross-border network into the Southern African country.

Pandemic propels mobile money growth

Paula Gilbert
11/25/2020

Pan-African telcos MTN, Vodacom, Orange and Airtel have all seen a boost in mobile money users during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vodafone UK builds up IoT offering with SA's IoT.nxt

Connecting Africa News
11/24/2020

The UK-based operator signals progress with ambition to take South African startup's IoT solutions global.

Amazon CEO backs African fintech Chipper Cash

Connecting Africa News
11/24/2020

Tech billionaire Jeff Bezos is investing in Africa's fintech startup scene, backing mobile money company Chipper Cash.

Women in Tech Interview: IFS Africa MD Emma Murray

Paula Gilbert
11/23/2020

IFS Africa MD Emma Murray spoke to Connecting Africa about her more than 20 year career and shared advice for young women joining the IT industry.

Hot startup of the month: SA's FlexClub

Tom Jackson
11/20/2020

South African startup FlexClub has launched a managed marketplace that helps independent drivers on digital platforms become vehicle owners.

Major investments in African carrier-neutral data centers

Paula Gilbert
11/19/2020

About 25% of sub-Saharan states have or are planning carrier-neutral data centers, with significant investment across Africa, says PCCW Global's Console Connect.

Vodafone still holding out for Egypt sale

Paula Gilbert
11/18/2020

Vodafone still wants to offload its 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt, despite decent half-year results in the North African nation.

Data demand boosts Vodacom H1 revenue

Paula Gilbert
11/16/2020

The COVID-19 pandemic didn't dampen Vodacom's interim revenue growth by much as the SA-based telco saw a big surge in data traffic and growth in data and financial services customers.

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.

Vodacom's focus on 'bite size' products

Paula Gilbert
11/12/2020

Vodacom is finding success in providing what it calls 'bite size' products like nano-loans, nano-investment and cheaper short-term entertainment offerings and data bundles.

SD-WAN and satellite – how MNOs and telcos can enjoy the best of both worlds

Partner Perspectives
11/11/2020

Ofer Asif, SVP BizDev, marketing and strategy at Spacecom, presents the benefits of the AMOS-17 satellite paired with SD-WAN.

Econet and X's Project Taara join forces to connect Africa

Paula Gilbert
11/11/2020

Econet Group and Google X's Project Taara are teaming up to deploy new high-speed Internet technology to communities across sub-Saharan Africa.

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.

Podcast: Infinera's Tim Doiron on TIP, open networking and how vendors adapt

Connecting Africa Video
11/2/2020

Infinera's Tim Doiron discusses open networking and Infinera's role in a recent Telecom Infra Project deployment.

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Omdia View: June 2022

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