Mobile and Telecoms
Airtel Africa Coughs Up $40-Million for New Kenyan Spectrum
Sourced from Comms MEA Airtel Africa, one of the continent’s largest telecommunications groups with a presence in 14 countries, today announces that its Kenya subsidiary, Airtel Kenya, has concluded its purchase of additional spectrum in the country. According to the announcement Airtel Kenya has purchased 60 MHz of additional spectrum in the 2600 MHz band from the Communications Authority of Kenya, for a gross consideration of $40-million. The current spectrum license is valid from July 2022 for a period of 15 years. “This additional spectrum will support our 4G network capacity expansion in the market for both mobile data and fixed wireless home broadband capability, and will allow for future 5G rollout, providing significant capacity to accommodate our continued strong data growth in th...
Airtel Money is Now On its Own
Sourced from Comms MEA Telecoms group Airtel Kenya has announced that it will be splitting its mobile money business – Airtel Money – from its main company. Instead, Airtel Money will now be operating under the name ‘Airtel Money Kenya Limited’. “Following this business separation, Airtel Money Kenya Limited will take over and continue the provision of the Airtel Money Services, in collaboration with the licensed telecommunications network of Airtel Networks Kenya Limited,” reads the announcement from Airtel. Airtel says that customers that continue to use Airtel Money services agree that their personal information and accounts will still be shared between Airtel Money Kenya Limited and Airtel Networks Kenya Limited. “The continued use of the Airtel Money Service shall be deemed as proof o...
Vodacom to Invest $58-Million into Rural KZN, South Africa- The Details
Image sourced from SABC News. South African telecommunications group Vodacom said on Thursday that it is seeking to invest R1-billion, or around $58.2-million, into improving its mobile network in the country’s eastern coastal province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). In a statement seen by Developing Telecoms, Vodacom KZN managing executive Imran Khan detailed the planned billion rand investment and that it would include the deployment of more infrastructure sites and upgrades to existing networks in the area all in an effort to increase reliable connectivity in KZN’s deepest rural regions. “This significant investment into the region’s mobile network drives our goal of building an inclusive, digital society,” said Khan via the announcement. Vodacom is planning to inject $26-million of the total i...
The 15 African Countries with the Most Expensive Data
Image sourced from Iberdrola.com. Countries in Africa generally have some of the most expensive mobile data in the world due to several factors, including the unavailability of telecoms infrastructure and high taxation in the African telecom industry by governments. Many telecom firms may hold key monopolies and simply charge more for data because they can. In 2020, the median price for 1 GB of mobile data in Africa was more than $5 while the price per gig in the European Union (EU) was closer to $3.5 per gig, and while data is getting cheaper, there are still many countries in Africa with incredibly high mobile data prices. Increasing access to the internet is a key target for many developing nations as it promotes access to education and access to financial services, among other benefits...
MTN is Planning to Buy Telkom
MTN Group is reportedly in talks to buy its telecommunications rival Telkom. According to Bloomberg, the company said the discussions are still at an early stage and there is no certainty that the transaction will be completed. The news that was announced on Friday morning instantly saw Telkom’s share price soar by 30%. “Shareholders are advised that MTN and Telkom SA SOC Limited [Telkom] have entered into discussions in relation to MTN acquiring the entire issued share capital of Telkom in return for shares or a combination of cash and shares in MTN,” MTN said in an announcement. MTN would pay for the partially state-owned company in shares or a combination of cash and stock, according to a statement the giant telecommunications company released on Friday morning. According to Moneyweb, n...
MTN South Africa is Number 1 – Again
MTN South Africa has once again been ranked as the country’s best network, this time in the second quarter of 2022. According to the tech publication MyBroadband Insights report, MTN reigned supreme with a Network Quality Score of 9.75 in comparison to the 6.38 achieved by its nearest competitor. In 2021, the largest telecom in Africa won a similar prize, ranked as the best mobile network in South Africa by MyBroadband. Michele Gamberini, CTIO at MTN SA says “The quality of experience delivered to our customers is very important to MTN. We have embarked on a major network modernisation and expansion drive to improve both coverage and reach.” “While accelerating and improving access through 5G is one critical leg, our aim throughout is to significantly enhance access broadly and open the do...
IT Angola Rebrands, Joins the Paratus Fold
Offices of Paratus Angola in Luanda. Angolan telecommunications service provider, Internet Technologies Angola (ITA), has officially changed its name as part of an extensive rebranding and harmonisation process led by its parent company, the pan-African Paratus Group. ITA will, with immediate effect, operate under the name ‘Paratus Angola’. This identity establishes the company within the group’s broader network and pays homage to its Angolan roots from which a 19-year heritage was born. According to the announcement of the company’s rebranding, synergy of ITA’s brand identity with that of the wider Paratus Group is of strategic importance to the company’s overall vision to deliver efficient, affordable network solutions with the end goal of transforming the continent’s digital landscape. ...
Telkom Kenya Faces Delays on its New Mobile Money Subsidiaries
Image sourced from News24 Telkom Kenya says that it is facing delays in getting approval from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) for its two mobile money subsidiaries that it announced last year. According to Business Daily, the telecommunications company announced Telkom Digital and T-Kash in May 2021 as a bid to reorganise its company structure. T-Kash, the telco’s mobile money services will reportedly house T-Kash Loan, a loan service that hasn’t been activated on the app as yet. The digital subsidiary is expected to involve infrastructure including a fibre network, international submarines cables, and a smart landing hub to act as a gateway to the East African region amid increased demand for data service, as per Business Daily. “We have done most of it we are waiting for the r...
MTN Desperately Seeks Generators to Keep its SA Customers Connected
MTN South Africa is desperately seeking generators to keep its customers connected amid the country’s deepening power crisis. “MTN is inviting all businesses that are in possession of generators, to become potential suppliers to MTN. Whether the business has two or 20 generators, MTN is looking to partner,” the company says. South Africa is currently facing daily rolling blackouts as the country’s energy utility, Eskom, continues to struggle to maintain the electricity grid after decades of mismanagement, corruption and poor planning all the while the cost of living for South Africans, including the price of electricity, continues to increase. MTN South Africa says it is working “around the clock” to ensure its customers stay connected with an aggressive rollout of batteries, generators an...
MTN Nigeria Bleeds $54-Million to Shady Bank Transfers
Sourced from TheTechieGuy (https://thetechieguy.com/) Nigeria’s largest telecom firm, MTN Nigeria and MTN’s leading subsidiary in terms of sheer number of subscribers, has taken 18 banks in Nigeria to court over an alleged series of unauthorised transfers to the tune of $53.7-million. The shady transfers were from an account reportedly owned by its mobile payment service bank (PSB) MoMo, which was only recently licensed in the West African country. According to several Nigerian publications covering the story, MTN Nigeria alleges that the 18 banks, which are partners of the telecom, have wrongly transferred billions of Naira to 8000 accounts maintained by customers of the banks. MTN through MoMo is currently seeking a court declaration that states that the fund deposits belong to MoMo and ...
5G to Top One Billion Subscriptions in 2022: Ericsson Reports
Ericsson, a Swedish telecommunications company, released a report predicting that there will be one billion 5G subscriptions in 2022. The forecast is contained in the latest edition of the Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) Mobility Report. The 2027 timeline also includes projections that 5G will account for: 82 percent of subscriptions in Western Europe; 80 percent in the Gulf Cooperation Council region; and 74 percent in North-East Asia. In India, where 5G deployments have yet to begin, 5G is expected to account for nearly 40 percent of all subscriptions by 2027. In global terms, 5G is forecast to account for almost half of all subscriptions by 2027, topping 4.4 billion subscriptions. The latest Ericsson Mobility Report – the twenty-second edition of Ericsson’s network traffic insights and forecast...
