Issue no 542 18th February 2011
Top Story
Price wars in East Africa – Safaricom and Orange Uganda CEOs on the pressures on operators
Price wars are a now a fact of life in Africa’s competitive mobile markets and there few more competitive than East Africa. Lower prices are putting even established dominant mobile players like Safaricom under enormous pressure (see Telecoms News below). Operators feel they have to take part in them to gain greater market share but the early results for those launching them are modest. Competing on quality and service get less airplay as a strategy but must surely be part of the mix. Russell Southwood talked to two contrasting CEOs in the thick of these price wars: Safaricom’s Bob Collymore…
Telecoms
Happy times as mobile phone charges are slashed in Botswana
Telephone calls (mobile and landline) and Internet access are set to radically decrease. This comes after the regulator, Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) ordered telecoms companies, among them Botswana Telecommunications Corporation,…
Telecoms
Kenya: Safaricom Takes Price Wars to Parliament
Kenya's dominant mobile operator, Safaricom on Tuesday turned to Parliament in their bid to have its rivals' cheaper calling rates tamed. At a meeting with Parliament's Energy and Communication Committee,…
Telecoms
Uganda: Mutabazi Issues Polling Day SMS Rules
As Ugandans prepare to head to the polls in less than 48 hours, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has asked bulk short message service providers not to allow their platforms…
Telecoms
Zimbabwe: Potraz Launches Rural telecommunication Project
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe will spend US$10 million on the installation of passive telecommunication infrastructure in rural areas. Passive telecommunication infrastructure refers to shared support infrastructure…
Telecoms
Sierra Leone: GSM Operators Breach Telecom Act - Top-Up Increase Illegal
Public Affairs Manager at the National Telecommunications Commission (NATCOM) has told Concord Times that GSM operators in Sierra Leone were grossly violating the NATCOM Act by inflating the price for…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
The Nigerian government has directed mobile operators that all new SIMs must now be placed on ‘receive only’ in a new hard line stance by the telecoms regulator to ensure…
Internet
Nigeria: NCC's Fresh Plans to Deploy Fibre Across Country
The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, Dr Eugene Juwah, with a team of officials including the Executive Commissioner, Stakeholders Management, Okey Itanyi, and a host of…
Internet
Altech rolls out own network in South Africa
After a tough legal battle against former communications minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to obtain an ECNS licence, Allied Technologies (Altech), through its subsidiary Altech Technology Concepts (ATC), has taken the first…
Internet
Vodacom and MTN launches rival Internet TV products in South Africa
MTN has unveiled InternetOnTV, a R999 living-room product that connects consumers to the Internet through a television set. The announcement comes just days after Vodacom took the wraps off a…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
A large campaign entitled « I Love Tunisia » was launched by the Ministry of Trade and Tourism. The aim of the new campaigning logo « I Love Tunisia »…
Computing
West Africa: UN Partners With West African Nations to Boost Information Technology in Universities
The United Nations agency tasked with promoting education and the West African monetary union today signed an agreement to launch a $12 million project to boost the information and communications…
Computing
Eritrea: 400,000 Students in Remote Areas Become Beneficiaries of Computer Training
As part of the Ministry of Education's endeavors to narrow the gap of the availability of information technology between urban and rural areas, computer training was introduced in schools in…
Computing
South Africa Absa bank splurges on IT
Absa forked out R600m more on IT in its 2010 financial year than it did in 2009. The money was spent replacing old IT systems and aligning itself with international…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
A partnership agreement that would birth the largest science and technology park in Africa in Nigeria's capital of Abuja has been hatched between the National Office for Technology Acquisition and…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Airtel Zambia has launched its first K0 campaign which will make it possible for the customers to talk for free every day. Millicom Ghana (which trades as Tigo) has expanded…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Airtel Zambia delisting rejected
India’s Bharti Airtel has seen its proposal to delist the shares of its Zambian subsidiary from the Lusaka Stock Exchange rejected, Bloomberg reports. As reported by CommsUpdate last month, Bharti…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Zimbabwe: Econet Wireless rated as the company with the highest growth potential
Econet Wireless has been rated as the telecommunications company with the highest growth potential in SubSaharan Africa (SSA), according to the latest Renaissance Capital report.The fact that the penetration rate…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Kenya: Innovators in Mobile Phone Sector to Gain From U.S.$150 Million Fund backed by RIM
Innovators could soon benefit from a $150 million global fund aimed at supporting start-ups who focus on developing creativity in the mobile phones sector.Announced on Monday at the start of…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Ghana: Experts to begin work on new national electronic payment platform
A group of experts from Morocco is to begin the installation of the new National Switch, which will add some more features to the current existing one. The experts who…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Money – In Brief
In Kenya, M-Pesa agents can now acquire unsecured bank loans for business expansion from KCB following a partnership agreement between the bank and mobile phone service provider Safaricom. Through the…
Digital Content
Uganda: Water Corporation to Save Billions in Mobile Payments
Piped water consumers in Uganda can expect to get better service delivery on the back of business deals signed between National Water & Sewerage Corporation and two mobile phone companies.Dr…
Digital Content
Taha Jiwaji - Bongo Live! - an sms and mobile marketing firm in Tanzania
This week Africa Business Communities meet with Taha Jiwaji, Founder and CEO of Bongo Live! on bringing mobile and SMS based services to empower businesses, NGOs, government and consumers in…
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People
Outgoing Telkom South Africa chairman Jeff Molobela has been replaced by Lazarus Zim, who was previously MD of MTN International. Molobela officially retired as chairman of the fixed-line operator's board…
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Events
5th Africa Economic Forum 20117-9 March 2011, Cape Town, South Africa Venue BMW Pavilion, V&A Waterfront Our 5th Africa Economic Forum 2011 (AEF-2011) in Cape Town at the BMW-Imax Theatre,…
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Jobs & Opportunities
World Bank Group is consulting on new ICT StrategyWorld Bank Group consultations open on a new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) strategy to expand connectivity networks and transform social and…
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Contracts
Togo Cellulaire and Alcatel- Lucent - TogoAlcatel-Lucent announced that it has been selected by Togo Cellulaire, the leading mobile operator in Togo for a major expansion and upgrade of its…
