News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 407 on 9 May 2008
Top Story
M-Money: New competitor services throw their hats into the ring in Ghana and Tanzania
Safaricom’s M-Pesa service in Kenya is heading towards 2 million users and has really got first mover advantage. But it is facing competition in Tanzania from an upstart challenger that aims to become the non-proprietary M-Money service leader. Meanwhile in Ghana Afric Express has been trialling its service with university students and is set to launch next month. Russell Southwood talked to the newcomers. Tanzania’s e-Fulusi scored a coup by getting its M-Wallet service adopted as Z-Pesa by Etisalat’s Zantel ahead of the M-Pesa launch in Tanzania. In the first week it got 2,000 customers and the average account size…
Telecoms
Algeria Announces Tender for 3G Licenses
Algeria's telecoms regulator, ARPT has issued a brief statement announcing plans to issue a tender for 3G licenses. The ARPT has invited operators wishing to establish and operate a 3G…
Telecoms
Nigerian Federal Government Approves the Sale of Nitel
The Nigerian Federal Government last week approved the issuing of a Request For Proposals (RFPs) to eleven consortia/consultants to be advisor for the sale of Nitel. Following the agreement between…
Telecoms
Telkom Kenya Bets On Mobile Telephone Licence
France Telecom’s new CEO Dominic Saint-Jean (fresh from Mauritius Telecom) has laid out his strategy in an interview with Michael Omondi of Kenya’s Business Daily. He wants Telkom Kenya to…
Telecoms
Sentencing D-Day for Former Gamtel MD
Banjul Magistrates Court, chaired by Principal Magistrate B.Y Camara, is expected to deliver judgement on the criminal case filed by the state against Omar P. Ndow, former Managing Director of…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- The head of the Moroccan telecommunications regulator (ANRT), Azdine El Mountassir Billah has announced that Morocco is planning to introduce a 3rd mobile operator this year. No date for…
Internet
Gateways launches Wireless Broadband in Nigeria
Gateway Communications, one of Africa's leading connectivity provider launched the AirLinkTM and MetroLinkTM products. The products are designed to impact on companies operating in Nigeria to access the internet and…
Internet
More Internet services for Western Region Market in Kenya
A number of telecom companies are expanding into Western Kenya in a bid to capture a market dominated by Telkom Kenya. Africa Online, UUNET and Kenya Data Network are rolling…
Internet
Online Initiative for Reporting Xenophobic Violence in South Africa
For Quirk eMarketing, merely talking about the ongoing xenophobic attacks in South Africa hasn't been enough, and www.unitedforafrica.co.za is the result - a site which provides real-time, geo-located updates of…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- State-owned Algerie Telecom has halved its price for Internet access, taking the price of a home subscription for a 128kbps connection down to DZD590 (USD8.60) a month. Lotfi Nezzar,…
Computing
Whistle Blowers' Computer Link Cut in Kenya
A computer system in Government offices that enables public servants to report corruption cases anonymously has been blocked, threatening the war against graft. Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, which runs the service…
Computing
Second ICT awards held in Ghana
President John Agyekum Kufuor on Saturday said the healthy partnership between the private sector and government was yielding positive strides in the development of Information Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and…
Computing
South Africa appeals ISO’s OOXML decision
The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) has filed an appeal against the ISO decision to accept Microsoft’s Office OpenXML (OOXML) as an international standard. South Africa is the first…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- A software package dealing with the evolution of a tsunami and its impact on Algerian coastal areas has just been developed by researchers from the Mohamed Boudiaf University of…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
- Namibia’s cellphone company MTC launched its new logo. The re-branding exercise will cost the company a staggering N$10 million. - Kenya’s Safaricom subscribers will enjoy free night calls from…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Kenya’s Safaricom Registers Record Profit Growth
Last Tuesday Safaricom reported record profits and announced plans to boost coverage in the rural areas as a strategy of growing its customer base in the face of mounting competition.…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Vodacom posts annual profit rise
South Africa's biggest mobile phone operator, Vodacom Group, reported a rise in annual profit, as it boosted subscriber numbers, parent company Telkom said on Tuesday. Telkom, said its mobile unit…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Africa's Mobile Industry to Pay US$71 Billion in Tax By 2012
The mobile industry will generate US$71 billion in tax revenues in Sub-Saharan Africa between 2000 and 2012, but that figure would be higher still if governments removed taxes that treat…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Telkom South Africa’s Media Plans On Hold As It Awaits Clarity
Telkom digital media business Telkom Media had to suspend some plans until there was clarity on its shareholding structure, Telkom Media spokesman Chris van Zyl said on Friday. He could…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
On The Money - In Brief
- MTN Group, Africa's largest mobile phone network operator, said it has been approached by India's Reliance Communications about a possible "business combination" and has entered a 45-day period of…
Digital Content
Internet provides unofficial real-time feed of war crimes trial of former Liberian President
Liberians and Sierra Leoneans are taking a close interest in the trial of former Liberian President Charles Taylor through a mixture of radio programmes and blogs, writes Shelby Grossman from…
Digital Content
Blueworld Launches Mobile Platform in South Africa
Blueworld.co.za Blueworld is a community built around the local nightlife scene and a major market penetration of 18 - 28 is expected this year. According to Blueworld, over 40,000 South…
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Events
* FORUM ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS/ICT PARTNERSHIP IN AFRICA 4-6 June 2008, Dakar, Senegal After consultation with the Steering Committee of the African Telecommunications Regulators' Network, it proved more efficient to combine…
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Jobs and Opportunities
* ICTs in Education Prize: call for nominations "Digital Opportunities for All: Preparing Students for 21st-Century Skills" is the theme of the 2008 UNESCO King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa Prize…
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Contracts
* Wahl Industries and Integr8 IT – South Africa Wahl Industries, one of the largest aluminium gravity die casting companies in South Africa, has outsourced the integration of a complete…
