Mobile and Telecoms
Sub-Saharan Africa’s to Mobile Traffic to Grow 6.5 Times by 2026
Mobile data traffic in Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to grow by almost 6.5 times the current figures, with total traffic increasing from 0.87EB per month in 2020 to 5.6EB by 2026. Meanwhile, the average traffic per smartphone is expected to reach 8.9GB over the forecast period – this according to the Ericsson Mobility Report. As the demand for capacity and coverage of cellular networks continues to grow, service providers are expected to continue investing in their networks to cater for this uptake and meet evolving consumer requirements. In Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile subscriptions will continue to grow over the forecast period as mobile penetration today, at 84 percent, is less than the global average. LTE is estimated to account for around 15 percent of subscriptions by the end of...
Vodacom Launches Widest 5G Network in KZN
Vodacom has announced its plans to roll-out the widest 5G network in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its 5G network is currently available on 156 live 5G sites across the KwaZulu-Natal province and supports both mobile and fixed wireless access services. To launch the 5G network in KZN, Vodacom used the temporary spectrum assigned by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), including 1×50 MHz in the 3.5 GHz, 2x10MHz and 700MHz. Vodacom has decided to use the 700 MHz band for wide-scale mobile, 5G coverage and is supplementing network capacity with 3.5 GHz where required. “Vodacom now offers the widest 5G network coverage in KwaZulu-Natal and we expect to expand our national 5G footprint significantly once we get access to new spectrum. We are confident that the r...
Why 5G is Crucial to Closing the Digital Divide
It’s safe to say that high points during the COVID-19 pandemic have been few and far between. South Africans were, however, met with at least one welcome development earlier this year with the launch of the country’s first 5G which supports both commercial mobile and fixed wireless 5G services. Although people were confined to their homes for an extended period of time during lockdown, many South Africans living in major metros were able to use 5G technology to stay in touch, work from home and keep themselves entertained. Not surprisingly, the demand for data during this time was greater than ever before. Vodacom recorded a 40% increase in mobile data traffic in South Africa during the last week of June during the peak of the pandemic, compared with pre-COVID-19 lockdown levels. As the ci...
SEACOM Appoints New CEO
SEACOM has appointed Oliver Fortuin as its new CEO – effective 4 January 2021. He will succeed Byron Clatterbuck, who joined the ICT company in 2012 as its Chief Commercial Officer and became SEACOM Group CEO in February 2015. Fortuin, who is currently the Group Chief Enterprise Officer at MTN, has worked for over two decades in the ICT sector, across South Africa and the rest of Africa, with industry-leading organisations such as IBM, BT, and, most recently, MTN. “The SEACOM team has built an excellent data connectivity platform in the markets where we operate. We now hope to expand upon this, as well as to develop more industry-leading services that today’s corporate customers in Africa require. Our key focus will be to strengthen our customer base in the corporate segment by offering a ...
Telkom Partners with YahClick to Expand Access to Satellite Connectivity
Telkom Consumer and YahClick have signed an agreement which enables individual and business consumers to make “high-quality” voice calls and access broadband data packages from anywhere in South Africa using only a satellite connection. For Phase 1, Telkom will commence with migrating a number of identified consumer customers first and launch to new customers in early 2021. This is expected to significantly expand access to affordable connectivity in rural areas nationally without access to fibre. YahClick Satellite Services will deliver the Telkom data and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) packages through its Satellite Platforms, using Hughes Gateway and Ground Segment technology. “This agreement enables us to seamlessly connect our customers nationwide. Our data service with YahClick ...
MTN South Africa Launches New Voice and Data Deals
Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) MTN South Africa has officially launched new voice and data Combo Bundles that include monthly, weekly and daily options. Here’s a closer look at the deals: Monthly bundles range from 500MB + 30min for R49 (comprising 200MB Anytime, 200MB Night, 100MB Video and 30 all-Net minutes) to 90GB + 800min for only R999 (comprising 30GB Anytime, 30GB Night, 30GB Video and 800 all-Net minutes). Weekly bundles range from 450MB + 30min for R25 (including 150MB Anytime, 150MB Night, 150MB Video and 15 all-Net minutes) to 15GB + 300min for only R229 (including 5GB Anytime, 5GB Night, 5GB Video, and 300 all-Net minutes). Daily bundles range from 100MB + 8min for only R10 (comprising 50MB Anytime, 50MB Night and 8 all-Net minutes) to 3GB + 5...
Nigeria to Deploy Additional Satellites
Nigerian Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonnaya Onu revealed that the government is now “more determined to put additional satellites in the orbit to enhance the realization of its developmental agenda for space technology” – reports The Vanguard. At the recent Space Dialogue and National Media Conference 2020, Onu said ‘‘we will make sure additional satellites are put in orbit. I assure you that the ministry will continue to do the best it can to ensure that additional satellites are put in the orbit that will help in the direction the nation is going.” According to the report, “the administration believes so much in the ability of science and technology in the transformation of the Nigerian economy from a resource-based to a knowledge-based economy.” Onu added, ‘‘Without space sci...
MTN South Africa Launches 5G-Enabled iPhone 12
Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) MTN will be launching the 5G-enabled version of the Apple iPhone 12 in South Africa – making it the only network authorised to enable 5G on the new iPhone 12, from December 2020, into early 2021. “MTN is honoured to be the only mobile network in SA enabled to support 5G on the Apple iPhone 12”, says Giovanni Chiarelli, Chief Technology & Information Officer at MTN South Africa. “We are also proud to announce the deployment of 5G at selected MTN stores in our 5G-enabled coverage areas.” MTN’s 5G strategy has been years in the making and the Apple tests confirm that MTN’s approach of building a strong foundation to grow and support its 5G ecosystem has been time well-spent. “We are now seeing the results o...
South Africans can Pay for Apple Services with Telkom
Telkom has revealed that its customers will now be able to pay for Apple content and services – like App Store apps, Apple Music, Apple TV+, movies on the Apple TV app, Apple Arcade, and iCloud storage – via carrier billing, directly from their mobile phone account. The service will be available to all Telkom customers in South Africa for postpaid and prepaid mobile plans. Using the service is simple. Telkom customers use a new or existing Apple ID and select “Mobile Phone” as their payment method in account settings on the App Store, in iCloud or within the Apple Music or Apple TV apps from their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or on iTunes from their PC. The new payment option will be configured automatically and immediately allows for one-tap purchasing from any Apple product. Telkom Sout...
Telkom South Africa Introduces Digital Wallet
Telkom has officially launched a mobile payment solution called Telkom Pay Digital Wallet (or Telkom Pay). The platform is expected to allow users to pay others and get paid themselves using their mobile phone through the WhatsApp messaging app; to anyone on their contacts list. It also serves as a cashless Point of Sale (POS) payment option for businesses. “We are launching financial services solutions that cater to everyone and that are easy to access through one’s phone 24/7 at an affordable price for consumers and businesses. Our device insurance has been in the market for a number of years,” says Sibusiso Ngwenya, Managing Executive for Telkom Financial Services. “This year we have successfully launched funeral cover and our foray into payments further deepens our strategic intent to ...
TMCEL Joins Forces with Ericsson to Expand its Network in Mozambique
Mahomed Rafique Jusob Mahomed, Chairman of the Board at TMCEL and Todd Ashton, Vice President and Head of Ericsson South and East Africa TMCEL has partnered with Ericsson in a five-year deal which aims to expand and modernize its network and digital services ecosystem in Mozambique. This collaboration will see the telco adopt Ericsson’s Business Support Systems (BSS) and Mobile Money software innovations, features and services. As a result of the agreement, TMCEL can deliver an improved customer experience to its mobile subscribers. The BSS solution will facilitate TMCEL’s shift to customer-centric business operations and digital engagement. Additionally, Ericsson’s Dynamic Activation (EDA) will address all of TMCEL’s service activation needs with a single, flexible platform. The deal also...
MTN Introduces eSIM Support for Apple and Samsung Devices
Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) MTN has introduced its newly improved eSIM solution – capable of supporting a number of Apple and Samsung devices. “The digital journey of MTN customers takes another leap forward with the addition of embedded SIM (eSIM) connections on selected smartphones this month and the inclusion of eSIM connections for selected Apple smartwatches from 15 December 2020,” reads a statement from MTN. According to MyBroadband, this product is a “market-first in South Africa, as it allows people to store multiple profiles on a single device, effectively having two or more numbers, and switch between them at ease”. Here is a list of all compatible devices: iPhone XS iPhone XS Max iPhone XR iPhone 11 iPhone 11 Pro iPhone 11 Pro Max iPhone SE 2 iPad 7 iPa...
