Issue no 514 23rd July 2010
Top Story
Digicel may enter African market – Cape Verde’s ANAC to offer three 3G licences later this year
When the Cape Verdean regulator ANAC offered BWA licences, Digicel was one of the successful bidders. So when ANAC tenders for three 3G authorisations later this year, it looks reasonable to conclude that Digicel may well be one of the bidders: it has no data only operations anywhere else in the world. ANAC is seeking to keep the costs of the 3G authorisations low in order to develop the country’s potential as an information society.Three months ago the Cape Verdean regulator ANAC tendered five BWA licences: in the 2.5 GHz (mobile) and 3.5 GHz (fixed and nomadic) spectrum. There were…
Telecoms
MTN to sell ZAR8.3 billion stake to black investors
MTN South Africa has announced that it will make 4% of its shares available to black South Africans, in the largest empowerment transaction in the telecoms sector to date. The…
Telecoms
ICASA withdraws invitation for spectrum applications
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has withdrawn its offer for telcos to apply for radio frequency spectrum licences in the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands. In May the…
Telecoms
Rwanda: Tigo's Market Share Up 12 Percent
Tigo Rwanda, a Subsidiary of the Luxembourg based Millicom International Cellular S.A says it has 12 percent of market share within seven months of their launch into the Rwandan market.…
Telecoms
Etisalat, MTN and Starcomms sign up for Main One fibre cable
Three Nigerian telecoms operators have subscribed to Main One Cable Company’s high capacity fibre-optic cable system, which was launched commercially earlier this week linking West Africa to Europe, Reuters reports.…
Telecoms
Telecoms News: In Brief
* MTN Uganda, and Chinese telecoms solutions group Huawei, last week announced the launch of their partnership to offer 3.5G services in Uganda. * Algeria’s government has announced that it…
Internet
MainOne Fibre Optic Cable Launched
The MainOne fibre cable was launched last week ahead of the rival Glo One cable which has not yet set a launch date.It cost about $240 million (N36 billion) and…
Internet
DiscoveryTel Ghana and Intracom “storm in a teacup” over WiMAX Network
A Greece-based international telecoms technology company, Intracom Telecom announced on in a press release dated 19 July 2010 that it had won a contract to supply DiscoveryTel Ghana. It said…
Internet
Africaonline Namibia Doubles its capped Wimax Bandwidth offer
AfricaOnline, formerly MWEB Namibia, has announced that it will double the amount of bandwidth capping for the majority of users of its WiMax internet from the beginning of next month.…
Internet
Rwanda’s national fibre network will be complete by December
The Rwanda government says it will have a complete national fibre network across the country by December. The government is building the national fibre optic cable of 2,300 kilometres across…
Internet
Internet News: In Brief
*Kigali — A new global report on internet connectivity has put Rwanda among the top three African countries with the fastest internet broadband connectivity and downloading speeds, ranking the country…
Computing
New IBM Software Introduced in Tanzania
Information and Communication Mid-Africa Limited (ICMA) has introduced IBM's Tivoli Foundation software solution for small and medium businesses in Tanzania. The firm's Managing Director, Johan Grobler, told the 'Daily News'…
Computing
New Website Contains All Laws in Namibia
A comprehensive project to make a host of legal information available to users via a web interface was launched in Windhoek this week. This ambitious undertaking known as the Namibian…
Computing
IBM Helps Cross River Varsity on Modern Tech in Nigeria
Having worked through the months to successfully complete another program of corporate citizenship activity in Nigeria aimed at helping Cross River State compete in a global marketplace, IBM consultants have…
Computing
Computing News: In Brief
*Members of the Cameroon chapter of the Centre for Biodiversity and Sustainable Development-Cameroon (CBSD-Cameroon), have been schooled on e-learning with the objective of adequately building their capacities to fully assume…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Telcoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage: In Brief
*Telkom recently announced their new rates, and you will pay a few rand more on your total ADSL bill. Telkom announced in June that it has filed its latest tariff…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Zamtel has spent US$31 million on its national fibre network
Zamtel has spent US$31 million on laying the optic fibre network countrywide, Transport and Communications Deputy Minister Mubika Mubika told Parliament last week. The deputy minister told the House that…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Axiz R170.9m Takeover 'Will Open New Markets for Pinnacle'
Pinnacle Technology has acquired Axiz Technology for R170.9m to create one of the largest distributors of technology products in the country.Pinnacle CEO Hano Coetzee said the transaction would add new…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Vodacom Group reports solid Q2 growth
Pan-African cellco Vodacom has announced revenues of ZAR14.4 billion (USD1.9 billion) for the three months ended 30 June 2010. This figure represents a 0.7% rise, from ZAR14.3 billion recorded in…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Zimbabwe: POTRAZ has over US$20 million in unused Universal Service funds
More than US$20 million under the Universal Services Fund is lying idle at the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe after the authority failed to come up with a…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
On the Money News: In Brief
*Bharti Airtel of India has revealed plans to invest USD150 million over the next three years to expand Zain Tanzania’s networks and services. Bharti considers the Tanzanian market ripe for…
Digital Content
Police, NigComSat Partner to Deploy Satellite to Fight Crime
NigComSat Ltd said it is working with the Nigerian police to put in place a modernised public safety network with the use satellite to combat crime in the country.Managing Director…
Digital Content
KWS Goes Digital in Tracking, Protecting Lions
The Kenya Wildlife Service has introduced a digital animal tracking system, in a bid to reduce human-wildlife conflict. By last week, KWS in partnership with the University of the Netherlands…
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People
* More than a year after the Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) fired its CEO, James Theledi, his appeal process against the axing has finally come to…
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Event
Capacity Africa 2010 21-22 October 2010, Nairobi, Kenya The most comprehensive African wholesale telecoms conference bringing together local and regional fixed-line and mobile operators from across the continent For further…
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Contracts
Gateway and Cisco – Nigeria and Sub Saharan AfricaAfrican telecoms supplier Gateway Business, a wholly owned subsidiary of Vodacom Group, has announced it has selected Cisco for its multiprotocol label…
