Mobile and Telecoms
4 Fastest Mobile Internet Operators in South Africa Ranked
Internet and connectivity speed tester Ookla last month released its market analysis for South Africa, ranking the country’s fastest mobile internet operators. The analysis only takes into account top mobile operators in the country, ones which account for 3% or more of total test samples in the market in Q2 2021 – smaller providers are not tested, and thus are not included in the rankings. All operators are ranked based on their Speed Score, which incorporates a measure of each provider’s download and upload speed to rank network performance (90% of the final Speed Score is attributed to download speed and the remaining 10% to upload speed because online experiences are typically more affected by download speed). Ookla places the most emphasis on the median speeds as those represent what ...
MTN Appoints New Chief: Customer Service Operations
Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) Effective 1 September 2021, Cornelia van Heerden will join MTN South Africa as Chief: Customer Service Operations. Van Heerden is a highly qualified business executive with both a technical and commercial background. MTN says that this latest high-level appointment is a means to continue its drive into digital service excellence. “With customer demands for reliable, fast and trusted digital solutions on the rise, MTN has made a strategic customer services appointment to ensure clients receive ongoing service excellence in the ‘new normal’,” the telco says. “Our clients have faced unprecedented challenges over the past 18 months and MTN’s focus has been ensuring we continue to deliver exceptional service; despite the circumstances. With ...
Nigeria Has Yet to Renew MTN’s Licence in the Country
Sourced from Business Tech Nigeria’s Communication Commission (NCC) said on Tuesday that MTN Nigeria’s application to renew its operating licence for the next 10 years was still undergoing regulatory processing. In March, MTN Nigeria said that it was at an “advanced stage” in renewing its operating spectrum and licence from September. This spectrum encompasses the company’s data network and telecom coverage in Africa most populous country and largest economy. The NCC has said that recent online media reports stating that the telco’s application for its licence renewal had already been granted are false, according to Reuters. “The Commission wishes to state that while MTN Nigeria has applied for the renewal of the Unified Access Service Licence (UASL) granted to it by the Commission, the ap...
Vodacom Launches “Everyday-Ta!” Bundles with Free YouTube Data
Vodacom has launched three new 30-day promotional LTE bundles available exclusively to new prepaid customers. Everyday-ta! Data Bundles come standard with a bolt-on YouTube data allocation, enabling customers to stay connected on SA’s leading network. The bundle will be rationed in equal daily amounts, over the validity period with a YouTube allocation. For example, a customer opting for a 30GB Everyday-ta! Data Bundle at R299 ($20,98) will get 1GB anytime data, every single day for 30 days, plus 2GB of YouTube allocation valid for 30 days. These Everyday-ta! data bundles give customers the convenience of a daily data allocation. In the event that customers run out of data, there are great value offers available on the Just 4 You platform (*123#) or via the My Vodacom App. “We have deliber...
MTN Nigeria Reports Increased Earnings Despite Losing 7.6M Subscribers
Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) MTN Nigeria has released its unaudited results for the half-year ended June as the telco celebrates its 20th anniversary. The results show that its mobile subscriptions had declined by 7.6-million to 68.9-million. Subscriptions had been significantly impacted by regulatory restrictions on new SIM sales and activations. Active data users also saw a decline by 52,000 to 32.5-million. However, Independent Media reports that MTN Nigeria saw voice revenue grow by 13.1%, benefiting from an 11.8% increase in traffic and its new customer value management initiatives. The impact of the industry-wide suspension of new SIM registrations was partially mitigated by higher usage in the company’s active SIM base, as well as the firm’s migration to “hi...
SMS Solutions Could Be Essential for an Inclusive Business Strategy
South African companies must take care not to inadvertently deepen the existing digital divide. Although COVID-19 and related lockdowns have accelerated a growing trend towards the digital economy such as artificial intelligence, in an unequal society such as South Africa, many consumers find it difficult to access data-intensive apps and processes. This makes it vital for local businesses to include different forms of technology in their business strategies to ensure their operations are running inclusively. An effective way to do this is by including SMS solutions in customer processes. Once seen as a luxury, mobile phones are now in the hands of 95% of South Africans, according to Geopoll, with data-hungry smartphones accounting for 91% of devices. However, data prices in South Africa a...
Nigeria Finally Ready to Deploy 5G According to NCC
Image sourced from the Verge. Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), says that all is now set for the rollout of 5G services across the country. The NCC’s greenlight for 5G rollout is part of the fulfilment of its commitment to “put Nigeria on the frontline as a technology-driven economy,” according to Vanguard Nigeria. Danbatta said that the Commission had finally completed its preparations – “crossed all the Ts and dotted all the Is” – and is currently awaiting approval from the Federal Government to begin rolling out 5G services. The announcement was made during a public inquiry on the draft frequency spectrum (fees and pricing, and annual operating levy regulations) held on Thursday in Abuja. Justifications for the NCC’s ...
Households in 17 of 33 Nigerian States Unable to Afford Airtime – Survey
Image sourced from Mail & Guardian. A recent survey has revealed that households in 17 of the 33 states in Nigeria are experiencing difficulty paying for airtime, while in the other 16 states, internet data is a more difficult expense to meet. Major areas where the populace was unable to pay for airtime regularly include the North Central, North West and South West states. In these regions, most individuals have been exploring the ‘borrow credit’ schemes offered by local network operators. The survey, reported on by The Guardian Nigeria, also tells that households in the North East, South East and South South have been experiencing difficulty paying for internet services. The North East region also has the highest share of homes that are currently experiencing difficulty paying for air...
Scalefusion: A Preferred Mobile Device & Endpoint Management Partner for OEMs
Sourced from Getty Images. As businesses gravitate towards remote working, enterprises all around the world are seeking efficient Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to help them secure and manage their corporate data and device fleets. Apart from managing traditional mobile devices, organizations also want to manage new-age endpoints such as Point-of-Sale systems, rugged handheld computers, etc. via a single solution. MDM solution offers enterprises a secure way to manage their devices and helps them gain visibility over their remote device fleets. It also helps them to secure their corporate data on devices with different ownership models such as company-owned or employee-owned devices. Scalefusion is a leading Mobile Device and Endpoint Management solution that offers a comprehensi...
5 Fastest Internet Providers in Kenya Ranked
Internet and connectivity speed tester Ookla has released its market analysis for Kenya, ranking the country’s fastest internet service providers (ISPs). The analysis only takes into account top providers of internet services in the country, ones which account for 3% or more of total test samples in the market in Q2 of 2021 – smaller providers are not tested. All providers are ranked based on their Speed Score, which incorporates a measure of each provider’s download and upload speed to rank network performance (90% of the final Speed Score is attributed to download speed and the remaining 10% to upload speed because online experiences are typically more affected by download speed). Ookla places the most emphasis on the median speeds as those represent what most network providers’ customer...
MTN SA to Invest $2.3-Million Driving Digital Inclusion in Limpopo, Mpumalanga & North West
Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) MTN South Africa is making significant headway in ensuring more people in SA benefit from the modern, connected world. A $2.3-Million Investment to SA’s Northern Region The planned network investment in the Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and North West areas, for the 2021 financial year of R350-million ($2.3-million), is aimed at modernising, upgrading, building new sites and transmission links. “We want to bridge the digital divide and create exciting opportunities for communities, businesses and individual users. Our investment is therefore far more than achieving market share growth in the region – it is about bringing the benefits of the digital world to more people through a stable, secure and innovative network experience,” says Kagi...
Orange Submits Interest for Stake in Ethio Telecom
Sourced from MSNBC. French telecom firm Orange has submitted an expression of interest to participate in the ongoing partial privatisation of Ethiopia’s Ethio Telecom. This is according to Ethiopia’s ambassador to Paris, sharing the news on Twitter. Fruitful discussions with team of @orange which has formally submitted interest to participate in the partial privatization of @ethiotelecom! 🇪🇹 with fast growing economy & income of +100 mln people remains very attractive to foreign investors. @MoF_Ethiopia @mfaethiopia pic.twitter.com/vXJxTnYHas — Henok Teferra Shawl (@_HenokTeferra) July 20, 2021 Henok Teferra Shawl said in the tweet that Orange had “formally submitted interest to participate in the partial privatisation of Ethio Telecom.” Saying that discussions with Ora...
