Mobile and Telecoms

Politics

Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa Prepare for Massive Demand in Data Services

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Since the onset of COVID-19 and the consequential lockdown, reliable and fast Internet connectivity has become a vital requirement for businesses and individuals working and learning from home. Expansion in the digital economy and the resultant exponential growth in demand for connectivity is driving the laying of underground fibre-optic cable to feed internet-hungry homes and businesses. It is arguably the highest-growth industry in South Africa today, outstripping other sectors of the economy – even before the current crisis. That’s according to Jessica Spira, Business Development Director at Rand Merchant Bank (RMB). The bank was the joint mandated lead arranger and co-funder of an $8.7-million (R16-billion) senior debt financing package provided to Community Investment Ventures Holding...

Politics

Telkom Cuts Uncapped Data Prices

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Image sourced from My Broadband In response to the increased demand for home connectivity during the COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa, Telkom has reduced prices and removed caps on its copper-based DSL broadband portfolio to new customers. Telkom’s new promotional prices start from R199 ($10.72) for an initial 6-month period for a 4 Mbps line, with the company hoping to enable access for those who currently do not have fixed broadband. This pricing of the uncapped data is part of Telkom’s COVID-19 relief efforts to enable access to education, work, and entertainment platforms. “Telkom already has copper access technology which can provide cost-effective home connectivity. During the lockdown we decided to use all the infrastructure available to us to provide good,  affordable quality...

Politics

2Africa: The New Subsea Cable Connecting Africa to Europe

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Sourced from 2Africa.com Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, STC, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC have all partnered to build 2Africa – said to be the most comprehensive subsea cable to serve the African continent and Middle East region ever. The companies have appointed Alcatel Submarine Networks (“ASN”) to build the cable in a fully funded project which will greatly enhance connectivity across Africa and the Middle East. At 37,000km long, 2Africa will be one of the world’s largest subsea cable projects and will interconnect Europe (eastward via Egypt), the Middle East (via Saudi Arabia), and 21 landings in 16 countries in Africa. The system is expected to go live in 2023 to 2024, delivering more than the total combined capacity of all subsea cables serving Africa today, with a design ...

Politics

5G Critical to Nigeria’s Development, Claim Engineers

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Sourced from PC Mag Engineers in the field of electronics have thrown their weight behind the need for Nigeria to deploy 5G technology. This comes after the country’s communication commission announced that, despite news on social media, it had not given out any licenses for network operators to begin to deploy 5G technologies. These engineers, under the umbrella of the Nigerian Institute of Electric and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE), say that despite false claims that have impacted the deployment of the technology globally, the development potential for the country is massive. Keeping with this, the body says that Nigeria should not be left out of the opportunities that come with 5G technology. Speaking at a Zoom meeting on the topic “Expert Insights on 5G Concerns,” the national chairman ...

Politics

Loon and Vodacom Increase Internet Access in Mozambique

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Image sourced from MIT Technology Review Alphabet’s Loon and Vodacom have signed a deal to use Loon’s balloon-powered Internet solution to expand the Vodacom network in Mozambique. In terms of the agreement, Loon will help Vodacom provide service to under-served parts of the country with a network of floating cellphone towers that operate 20 kilometres above Earth. Using the Loon solution, Vodacom will expand mobile network access to Cabo Delgado and Niassa provinces, two regions that have proven hard to cover in the past due to the vast and logistically challenging geographical areas, together with low population density. This partnership aims to provide a 4G service that supports Data, Voice, SMS and USSD, which will also enable mobile financial services. The service will be available to...

Politics

MTN Donates 5000 Smartphones to COVID-19 Field Workers

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Sourced from Business Tech MTN Business has announced that it will donate 5 000 smartphones, each preloaded with 3GB of data, to the Limpopo Provincial Department of Health. These devices are to be distributed to field workers for the conducting of tests, screening of citizens and tracing of people that may have come into contact with patients that have been found to have the coronavirus. In addition to the smartphones, MTN has also pledged to conduct free after-sales services such as repairs device replacement, on-site device support, service and account management. As of 11 May 2020, 54 confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported in Limpopo, with 3 deaths and 28 recoveries according to statistics provided by the National Institute of Communicable Diseases. The number of confirmed cases ...

Politics

NCC says No 5G Licenses have been Issued to Network Operators in Nigeria

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The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is adamant that it has not yet issued 5G licenses to any of the countries operators – despite rumours spread via social media platforms that claim the local telecoms industry would switch on 5G networks in Lagos this week. In an official statement, the NCC says that these rumours couldn’t be further from the truth – “there is no deployment of 5G in Nigeria at the moment”. The commission – which insists that the rumours come from “faceless sponsors” – told The Vanguard that it had approved 5G trials in November 2019 for a three-month period, ending January 2020. The trials have since been concluded and installation decommissioned. “The trial among others was to study and observe any health or security challenges the 5G network might present. Rele...

Politics

Cell C Faces Potential Job Cuts

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Image sourced from Town Press South African network provider, Cell C says that it’s reevaluating some of the jobs at executive and management level – this process could deem certain positions redundant and ultimately result in job cuts. “In early March 2020, Cell C initiated a consultation process in terms of section 189A (2) of the Labour Relations Act 66 of 1995, specifically at a senior manager and executive level, and advised employees of the possibility of redundancy of certain positions and contemplated retrenchments,” says Cell C to My Broadband. The telecoms provider then went on to say that the process is still underway and it’s not yet sure how many positions will be cut. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_b38.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_b38.td-a-rec-img img{ margin: 0 auto 0 0;...

Politics

AirtelTigo and Opera Offer Free Data and Browsing in Ghana

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Sourced from Comms MEA Ghanaian telecom operator, AirtelTigo has announced its partnership with popular mobile web browser Opera Mini to offer free data and browsing on the Opera Mini browser and Opera News App for three months. Through the partnership, both new and existing AirtelTigo customers will automatically receive free 50MB data every day to access the latest local and global news anytime. The Opera Mini and Opera News Apps work on all Android mobile devices. Both mobile applications incorporate the unique data compression technology of Opera, capable of pre-processing and reducing the amount of data from a website before it reaches the users’ phones, saving up to 90 per cent of mobile data. /* custom css */ .tdi_3_7b3.td-a-rec-img{ text-align: left; }.tdi_3_7b3.td-a-rec-img img{ m...

Politics

MTN Plans to Re-open Stores across South Africa

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Sourced from The Techie Guy As South Africa’s economy slowly starts regaining traction, MTN has announced that all of its 410 stores across the country would reopen. Around eighty per cent of MTN’s stores already began trading on May 1. Limited trading hours, a strictly controlled shift system, 2m social distancing barrier markings, and regular health-checks are among the key proactive measures MTN has put in place. “Our focus is on continuing to give customers all the support they need to stay connected to their friends and family.  Of course, safety is of paramount importance and we ask all customers going into our stores to please adhere to the protocols in place to help them, and our employees, to stay safe,” says Jacqui O’Sullivan, Executive for Corporate Affairs at MTN. All...

Politics

Vodacom’s Chatbot Answers up to 20 000 Customer Queries per day

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With the nationwide COVID-19 lockdown in full effect, Vodacom has put numerous measures in place to protect customers and employees. These include measures that have seen frontline agents now working from home as well as stepping up its reliance on TOBi – Vodacom’s chatbot. Using the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology, TOBi was created and designed to resolve issues as quickly and efficiently as possible online. According to the network provider, TOBi now solves between 10 000 to 20 000 customer queries a day via SMS, WhatsApp, the My Vodacom app and on the Vodacom website. “Since TOBi’s launch, we have seen how the deployment of a powerful chatbot can transform the way our customers engage with the brand, especially when the chatbot is of high quality,” says Ugestra Alwar, Man...