Stop Press: Angolan President cancels fourth mobile licence after shareholding controversy

18 April 2019

Late this afternoon (18 April 2019) The Angolan President João Lourenço cancelled the awarding of the fourth mobile licence to a shell company with a General as its main shareholder. Watch this space to see what happens next. The awarding of the fourth mobile licence in Angola shows that for all the talk of reform by the new President nothing ever changes. Russell Southwood looks at the pattern of shareholdings in the telecoms sector and what they tell us about how Angola operates. In December 2017 I wrote an article about the granting of the fourth mobile licence in Angola.…

Ugandan broadcast regulator says it will enforce 70% local content quota by May 2019

24 April 2019

Many African countries have local content quotas but they are more honored in the breach than in the observance. This week saw Ugandan broadcast regulator step up and announce that it will enforce its 70% quota next month. Russell Southwood looks at local reaction to the announcement and whether it will bite this time. In 2013, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), broadcast regulator issued a directive which aimed to get broadcasters to increase the level of local content. Three years later stories appeared saying that UCC would impose the 70% local quota, even as media houses pleaded for more time…

Sub-Saharan Africa’s Digital Landscape and its Top 11 Markets – data prices, smartphones, digital content and services and e-commerce.

Researched over a four year period, this new report is probably the most detailed description yet of online behavior in Sub-Saharan Africa.