Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
- The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) has revealed that it has no plans to issue new fixed line or mobile telephony licences, despite interest from a number of foreign firms,
- Safaricom last night discontinued sale of its unlimited data bundles as it seeks to optimise the sharing of its 3G network by users.The company has recently blamed some users for hogging bandwidth through massive downloading of content to the detriment of its other users.Safaricom now says the unlimited data model is suited for a fixed line network where users get dedicated pipes as opposed to a wireless network which has to be shared by the number of users connected.
MTN Rwanda internet subscribers are set to benefit from the operator's decision to cut its data prices. The company announced on Monday that it had slashed data prices by half the current price for both post-paid and top-up users as it seeks to consolidate its leadership position amidst growing competition.
- Openweb has launched a new 10Mbps uncapped ADSL product at R1,649 per month. This announcement follows the company’s reduction in 1Mbps uncapped ADSL rates earlier this week.
- Zimbabwe’s Aquiva Wireless has launched commercial voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) services. Acquiva reports that it has signed an interconnect agreement with Econet Wireless, and is seeking similar agreements with cellular operators Telecel and NetOne, and fixed line incumbent TelOne.
Vodacom announced on Tuesday that Vodacom Tanzania customers can expect roaming savings when travelling to 9 African countries where Vodacom and its partners operate.
These countries include: South Africa (Vodacom), Mozambique (Vodacom), Lesotho (Vodacom), DRC Congo (Vodacom), Ghana (Vodafone), Kenya (Safaricom), Rwanda (MTN), Uganda (MTN), Uganda (UTL) and Burundi (UCOM).
Prepaid and contract/postpaid customers can now receive free incoming calls, SMSes and lower call and data rates while roaming these networks from Vodacom Tanzania.
- Kenyan mobile giant Safaricom has promised to double 3G broadband speeds to 42Mbps, Business Daily Africa reports. Although the operator has not explicitly confirmed the exact technical specifications behind the increase in speeds, it is assumed that the advanced connections are courtesy of a Dual Carrier HSPA+ (DC-HSPA+) network deployment. The move comes just a month after long-term rival Airtel Kenya launched its own belated 3G network in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret and Naivasha.
- Africonnect, one of Zambia’s leading internet service providers, has launched a WiMAX network which it claims is the fastest in Zambia.
- Vodafone Ghana has launched a promotion offering double the mobile download allowance for the first two months for new subscribers.
- ZTE says that it has signed a contract with the MTN Nigeria to upgrade and expand its GSM/UMTS networks in Nigeria.
Internet subscribers of Orange Uganda are set to receive bonuses upon renewal of their Mobile Internet and Internet Everywhere packages.
Customers will automatically be rewarded with the bonus once they renew their packages and will be able to enjoy up to 50% bonus on Mobile Internet and 20% bonus on Internet Everywhere. For instance, Internet Everywhere (modem users) subscribers who buy data of 10GB will be able to receive a 20% bonus of 2GB while a mobile internet user who buys 1GB of data will receive a 20% bonus.
MTN Ghana have launched a tariff that makes on-net calls free of charge after the first three minutes of billable voice calls.
- Google has added two indigenous African languages, Afrikaans and Zulu, to their social network, Google+ Google+ is available in up to 60 languages and they hope their latest move will drive users away from the frontrunner Facebook.
- Zimbabwean ISP Aquiva Wireless will become the latest company to launch voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony under an Internet Access Provider (IAP) licence in April
