Mobile and Telecoms
First Overland Fibre Network Deployed in DRC
Liquid Intelligent Technologies has deployed the first overland fibre network in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This expansion is expected to connect millions of DRC citizens and thousands of businesses to the ‘One Africa’ broadband network totalling more than 73,000 kms across the African continent. Furthermore, Kinshasa and most major cities in the DRC are now connected directly to the world, linking to such cities as London, San Francisco, and Singapore, and many other global economic hubs. The DRC route is also part of the first-ever complete East to West network in Africa, offering low latency, high bandwidth fibre connectivity and high availability. “The completion of this project is part of the strategic vision to connect the African continent to the rest of the world,” say...
Telkom Kenya Revises its Mzito Data and Voice Bundles
Image sourced from Bandwidth Blog Telkom has made revisions to its Mzito Data and Voice Bundle deals – this includes adding more data and cutting voice minutes. The telco says these changes are to make the bundle options more competitive. Here’s a closer look at the new bundles: MZITO 500 MZITO 1000 MZITO 2000 CURRENT NEW CURRENT NEW CURRENT NEW VOICE 100 50 300 150 600 400 DATA 3 GB 3 GB 8 GB 10 GB 17 GB 25 GB VALIDITY 30 days No expiry 30 days No expiry 30 days 30 days CALL RATE PAYG PAYG PAYG PAYG PAYG PAYG PRICE KES 500 KES 500 KES 1000 KES 1000 KES 2000 KES 2000 “The new combo bundle is built with the evolving data and experience needs of our customers in mind. While they continue to demand for affordability, they are also keen on holistic and comprehensive offerings that address thei...
Shoprite to Launch an MVNO to Rival Pick n Pay
Shoprite CEO, Pieter Engelbrecht says that the retailer plans to launch its own mobile virtual network operator (MVNO). Speaking at Shoprite’s Group results, Engelbrecht says “Very soon we will launch our own virtual network to enhance our customer data even further”. This MVNO is expected to rival Pick n Pay’s newly launched service that uses MTN’s mobile network infrastructure to offer customers prepaid, SIM-based access to services including airtime, data, and SMS. “Mobile technology is core to South Africans’ way of life and an essential part of the monthly grocery shop. Our country has a very high mobile phone penetration, but data costs have been a barrier. We believe expanding our services to enter the mobile market will benefit millions of our customers,” says Richard van Rens...
Cell C Introduces New All-in-One Data Bundles
Image sourced from Town Press Cell C is set to bring back the Double Data deal for customers purchasing any All-in-One bundle, replacing the social data promotion that allocated free Facebook data. Essentially, users will get double anytime data to use on any platform when buying an All-In-One bundle. The bonus data offerings and price structures are as follows: Description All-In-One 5GB (10.5GB) All-In-One 10GB (21GB) All-In-One 20GB (42GB) Bundle Fee (Incl VAT) R359,00 R669,00 R1 249,00 Validity(days) 30 30 30 Data 5GB 10GB 20GB Bonus Anytime Data 5GB Free 10GB free 20GB Free Social Data 500MB 1GB 2GB On-net minutes Unlimited Unlimited Unlimited On-net minutes FUP 1000 1000 1000 Any-net minutes 90 120 350 Cell C has also introduced two new 6-month data bundles: 100GB and 200GB. These wi...
MTN Nigeria Acquires Additional 800MHz Spectrum
Nigeria has acquired additional 10MHz spectrum in the 800MHz band from Intercellular Nigeria Limited. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has already approved the transaction and assigned the frequency. According to the telco, this acquisition will significantly improve its customer experience. “Through this acquisition, we will be better positioned to support the deepening of broadband penetration in the country,” says Karl Toriola, CEO of MTN Nigeria. “The added resources will also greatly impact our customers’ experience providing even better internet connectivity. It is our goal to keep finding ways to grant everyone access to modern connected life.” MTN Group Adds 29 Million Subscribers Despite a Challenging 2020 MTN added 29 million new subscribers in 2020, to reach a total ...
Huawei and MTN South Africa Launch a New and Secure Payment Solution
Huawei has joined forces with MTN South Africa to launch Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) – a ‘seamless and secure’ payment method that allows users to make purchases using their airtime. For contract customers, the amount will be added to their monthly mobile phone bill, while prepaid customers will have the amount deducted directly from their available airtime. This means you can still pay for all your favourite offerings from Huawei Mobile Services without having to share your credit card details. “MTN recently reached 100 million active data customers across 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East. This shows that our customers are increasingly adopting digital offerings and we are continuously looking to meet this demand with fresh offerings that will add value to our customers,” says ...
MTN Group Adds 29 Million Subscribers Despite a Challenging 2020
MTN added 29 million new subscribers in 2020, to reach a total of 280 million across 21 markets. The group also reported a 52% increase in adjusted headline earnings per share, a four percentage point increase in return on equity to 17% and a more than doubling in operating cashflow to R28,3 billion. “We continued to perform favourably against our medium-term targets,” says MTN President and CEO, Ralph Mupita. “In constant currency terms, service revenue grew 11,9% to R170 billion and EBITDA increased by 13,4%, maintaining our strong operating leverage. The Group’s EBITDA margin improved by 0,9pp to 42,7%, benefiting from the execution of our expense efficiency programme.” The solid results were supported by growth in MTN’s larger operations as well as a broad-based improvement across...
Telco Vs TechCo – a Battlefield for the Future of ICT
Across the world, disruption has become a reality that is driving changes the business sectors. Included in this disruptive environment is the telecommunications industry, which is having to take account of changing technologies and the challenges these changes bring to the way the sector has traditionally done business. Under examination must be the industry’s twin roles as a primary provider of telephone services and platforms to OTT suppliers to launch their offerings to users. Internationally, experience shows that there has been an average decline in revenues per user as IT suppliers, offering focused services, have made products built around mobile and data less critical to end-users. Although some different market factors apply to the African and South African markets, we are not ex...
MTN Group Appoints New Strategy and Transformation Executive
Image sourced from TechFinancials MTN Group has appointed Chika Ekeji as its new Strategy and Transformation Executive – effective from 15 March. The telco says this appointment is part of its plans to further bolster management capacity to accelerate the Group’s strategic ambitions. “In December 2020, MTN Group announced the completion of a comprehensive strategy review with a focus on accelerating growth, deleveraging the holding company debt and unlocking value,” says MTN. “To support the execution of the repositioned strategy, we announced the appointment of a new Group Chief Financial Officer as well as changes to the Group’s regional structure and the Group Executive Committee.” According to MyBroadband, Ekeji has a Masters of Engineering in Computer Science from Cornell University a...
Telkom Rolls Out New Uncapped Fibre Deals
Image sourced from Bandwidth Blog Telkom has announced that not only will double the speed of its fibre lines, it is also set to introduce new high-speed fibre packages for existing and new customers as well as price changes. From 5 March 2021, new customers can experience 25/5Mbps Uncapped fibre from R399 and 50Mbps at R699, while existing Telkom internet fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) customers get a free speed upgrade, in some Instances 2.5x times more the speed, to the new speed portfolio with no price increases while others get a price decrease. New FTTH Home Unlimited Bundles prices have been updated as below: 10/5Mbps moves to 25/5Mbps @ R399 10/10Mbps moves to 25/25Mbps) @ R449 20Mbps moves to 50Mbps at the 20Mbps price @ R699 50Mbps moves to 100Mbps at the 50Mbps price @ R899 ...
Paratus Namibia Signs First ‘Fibre Open Access’ Infrastructure Agreement
Image sourced from Patriot Paratus Namibia has signed its first ‘fibre open access’ agreement with Africa Online. As part of the deal, Paratus will share its infrastructure with licensed operators in delivering fibre connections to the broader business and domestic market in Namibia. By removing the main barrier to enter the market, Open Access allows multiple operators to share the same fibre infrastructure and deliver services to their respective customers without the need to duplicate the costly development of that infrastructure. “This is really a market disruptor because we are sharing our infrastructure in a way that has never been done before in our country. By breaking with tradition, we are launching a truly commercial initiative and giving a leg-up to the ICT industry by creating...
Telkom Offers Free Data to New Subscribers in Kenya
Telkom Kenya will give new Telkom Line subscribers 1.5 GB of data over three months. The telco says that prepaid customers simply need to activate their SIM with a KES 20 top-up. According to TechWeez, customers will also benefit from cross-network calls at KES 2 valid for the first three months. “We welcome new subscribers to the Telkom family, to experience our voice and data propositions at an introductory offer, before they make an informed decision of their long-term bundle of choice,” says Telkom’s Director of Marketing, Eric Achola. Airtel Africa and Telkom Under Investigation by the Communications Authority of Kenya Airtel Africa and Telkom have been placed under scrutiny after allegedly violating the quality of services across their networks. According to Gadgets Africa, The ...
