News & Views

Content posted in March 2020

WACS cable break slows SA Internet, again

Paula Gilbert
3/31/2020

South Africa is once again experiencing slow Internet as the West Africa Cable System (WACS) suffered its third major fault in 2020.

Sub-Saharan Africa adds 50M mobile money accounts in 2019

Paula Gilbert
3/30/2020

Sub-Saharan Africa added 50 million new mobile money accounts in 2019, and global mobile money accounts surpassed 1 billion for the first time.

Hot startup of the month: Mini-Internet network provider NodeOne

Connecting Africa News
3/27/2020

Rwandan-founded NodeOne has developed a hardware and software package that enables anyone, anywhere to create small, affordable Internet networks.

Telkom SA to cut IP Connect pricing

Paula Gilbert
3/26/2020

Telkom has come to an agreement with the SA Competition Commission to address concerns over IP Connect pricing and reducing the digital divide.

Cell C planning to give customers free 'lifeline' data

Paula Gilbert
3/24/2020

Cell C's CEO says the telco is planning to give its customers a 'lifeline package' of free data, in response to the South African Competition Commissions call for operators to do so.

Cell C narrows loss, but loses customers

Paula Gilbert
3/23/2020

South African telecom operator Cell C managed to reduce net losses in 2019 and is seeing some success from a turnaround strategy introduced from March 2019 onwards.

MTN to give SA users 20MB free data every day

Paula Gilbert
3/20/2020

MTN SA has promised to reduce its smaller data bundle prices by between 25% and 50% and is offering 20MB daily free data to users.

Huawei's path forward without Google

Paula Gilbert
3/19/2020

Huawei's CTO in SA speaks to Connecting Africa about what consumers can expect from a Huawei phone without Google apps.

What African operators are doing to help during COVID-19 outbreak

Paula Gilbert
3/18/2020

African operators are stepping up to help during the COVID-19 outbreak which is now affecting at least 30 African nations.

COVID-19 to slow East African smartphone shipments

Paula Gilbert
3/17/2020

East Africa can expect a slowdown in its smartphone market over the coming quarters as the global COVID-19 outbreak continues to severely impact economies and supply chains worldwide, according to IDC.

MTN's MusicTime expands African footprint

Connecting Africa News
3/16/2020

MusicTime has reached over 500,000 downloads and is now available in six African countries.

Telkom job cuts to cost $90M

Paula Gilbert
3/16/2020

Telkom's plan to shed around 3,000 jobs is going to cost the telecoms operator about R1.5 billion (US$90 million) and will have a negative impact on its earnings for the 2020 financial year.

SA tech stock bloodbath

Paula Gilbert
3/13/2020

South Africa's tech and telecoms stocks plummeted on Thursday as worries over the spread of the coronavirus caused massive equity sell-offs.

MTN prepared for coronavirus supply chain woes

Paula Gilbert
3/12/2020

MTN Group CEO Rob Shuter says the company is prepared for possible supply chain issues as a result of the spreading coronavirus.

Nigeria, Ghana shine for MTN but SA struggles

Paula Gilbert
3/11/2020

Strong performances in Nigeria and Ghana helped push up MTN's profitability in 2019 as the South African business struggled to grow.

Rob Shuter to step down as MTN CEO in 2021

Paula Gilbert
3/11/2020

MTN Group President and CEO Rob Shuter will be leaving the telco when his contract ends at the end of March 2021.

Vodacom to slash SA data prices by 30%

Paula Gilbert
3/10/2020

Vodacom has promised to reduce its data bundle prices by between 30% and 40% and is launching a range of other free data services for South Africans.

Africell to become Angola's fourth telecoms operator – reports

Connecting Africa News
3/9/2020

Lebanon-headquartered Africell looks likely to get a telecoms license in Angola, according to local media reports.

Telkom selling 53 properties in SA

Paula Gilbert
3/6/2020

The operator is auctioning off 53 properties in South Africa as it moves forward with plans to modernize its network and improve efficiency.

Sub-Saharan Africa still struggling with mobile gender gap

Paula Gilbert
3/5/2020

Sub-Saharan Africa remains the second-worst region in the world when it comes to the mobile gender gap, according to a new GSMA report.

MTN battles battery theft in SA

Connecting Africa News
3/4/2020

MTN South Africa says it is making progress in its battle against battery theft syndicates.

BICS commits to free roaming initiative in Africa

Paula Gilbert
3/3/2020

Global communications enabler BICS has joined the Smart Africa Alliance, which is working to reduce roaming charges among the 30 participating African countries.

MTN Nigeria's data customer base grows 35%

Paula Gilbert
3/2/2020

MTN Nigeria added 6.5 million new active data users in 2019.

Cell C is being courted by multiple suitors

Paula Gilbert
3/2/2020

Cell C's CFO, Zaf Mahomed, has confirmed that the group has received multiple offers to sell the business.

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