Issue no 554 13th May 2011
Top Story
SIM registration in Africa: Subscribers number down but what about revenue and ARPU?
Following the SIM cards registration process, the number of mobile subscribers in Zimbabwe went down by nearly 2.4 million (see full story in the telecoms section). In Ghana, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire, SIM card registration is ongoing while the Liberian regulator will soon be launching the same process. All SIM cards registrations exercises in African countries have translated into a temporary decrease in the number of mobile subscribers but how did it affect operators’ revenue? Isabelle Gross looks at the outcomes of SIM registration process in South Africa for some clues. No African mobile operator has really contested the legal…
Telecoms
Malawi: Macra Grants Celcom Limited Mobile Licence
Malawi-owned Celcom Limited, run by MD Ted Sauti-Phiri, is expected to roll out services such as voice telephony and mobile voice telephone by October 2012. MACRA Communications Manager Zadziko Mankhambo…
Telecoms
Zimbabwe: Teledensity Rate Takes Dip
Zimbabwe’s tele-density rate took a dip after the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe recently cut off unregistered lines. Statistics from Potraz show the country's overall teledensity fell from…
Telecoms
South Africa: MTN to build LTE network in Gauteng
MTN SA has begun work on a pilot network using long-term evolution (LTE), the next generation mobile broadband technology, and will have 100 base stations active in Gauteng by the…
Telecoms
Vodafone turns TV sets into computer screens for Ghanaians
Televisions in Ghana can now be used to browse the Internet, credit to Vodafone Ghana, which has introduced a specialized keyboard with an in-built edge modern and memory card. Webbox,…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- Telecom operators in Nigeria warned of impending failure in their networks in some parts of Katsina if the state government goes ahead to close over 600 telecoms cell sites…
Internet
Online sales accelerate in South Africa
Online retail in South Africa has entered a phase of sustained acceleration, according to a new research report released today by World Wide Worx. The total spent on online retail…
Internet
Sierra Leone: Comium Unveils Wigo Wireless Internet Service
In 2006 C-Data launched its best in class Wireless Broadband Internet network in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Within a short period of time, the company served more than 3,000 subscribers with…
Internet
Support for paid Android apps to consumers in 26 new African countries
Google announced that Android Market will increase consumer access and developer support for paid applications in several new countries. Consumers from 99 new countries – including 26 African countries –…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- Kenya: Facebook updates by Joshua arap Sang is part of the evidence ICC prosecutor Moreno Ocampo is relying on to convince judges that he is guilty of post election…
Computing
South Africa: Road traffic offences system ready to roll
The technology behind the controversial traffic points demerits project, also called the administrative adjudication of road traffic offences (Aarto) system, is ready to go, says Tebogo Mphuti, CEO of Tasima,…
Computing
Kenya: Sh100 Million seed funding to Advance ICT services
The government has given Family Bank $1.3 million (Sh110.7 million) for onward lending to IT entrepreneurs in a bid to scale up Internet access and online services in rural Kenya.In…
Computing
FMDA Inaugurates Electronic Trading Community in Nigeria
Nigeria's foremost financial self-regulatory body, Financial Markets Dealers Association (FMDA), in collaboration with International Capital (ICAP) of South Africa has inaugurated the Inter-Dealer Brokerage Service (IDB), designed to accommodate voice…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- Finca Uganda has introduced biometric technology for financial transactions, a move that is expected to minimise fraud and heighten competition to increase market share.- New research finds that, while…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Telecoms Rates, Offers and Coverage
- Five months after it launched the 2Good plan, Airtel Nigeria has introduced a new tariff plan which offers very affordable call rates and sets a new benchmark for value…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
IFC evaluates investment in Nigeria’s mobile money market
The International Finance Corporation may invest in the Nigerian mobile money industry if it is satisfied with the result of the due diligence it is currently carrying out on the…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Vodacom South Africa eyes government's 13.9% stake
Vodacom is concerned that it does not yet meet black economic empowerment criteria of 30% and is eyeing the government's 13.9% stake in the company, worth about R16.5 billion, to…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Rwanda: Govt to Raise Rwf25 Billion From Bank, MTN Shares
The Government of Rwanda plans to raise Rwf25 billion through the sale of its shares in Bank of Kigali (BK) and MTN Rwanda to increase domestic revenues, the Finance Minister…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
South Africa: Datatec bullish on 2012
Dual-listed Datatec's revenue for the new financial year will grow by at least 12%, as economic conditions in the markets in which it operates continue to improve.The company is also…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Money – In Brief
- In Zimbabwe, Econet Wireless could increase its stake in Afre Corporation amid disclosures it will underwrite the insurance group's planned US$10 million rights issue. This follows reports that the…
Digital Content
South Africa: MTN Traveller in global partnership
MTN Traveller and Hotels.com have entered into a global content interface partnership, to provide a mobile travel-planning solution, while also promoting local tourism.MTN Traveller was launched in November last year,…
Digital Content
Vodacom Tanzania launches mobile TV service
Tanzanians can now access news or entertainment channels using their mobile phones following the launch of a Vodacom Tanzania-DSTV mobile facility.Speaking during the inauguration of the facility recently in Dar…
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People
- Teraco Data Environments, a provider of vendor neutral data centre facilities in South Africa, has appointed Jan Hnizdo as Chief Financial Officer.
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Events
eLearning Africa 2011 - Spotlight on Youth, Skills and Employability25-27 May 2011, Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaThe 6th event in the series of pan-African conferences and exhibitions will focus on Africa's…
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Jobs & Opportunities
Nokia Flexi Packet Engineers – South AfricaAll applicants must have hands-on experience working on Nokia Flexi Packet transmission equipment. You must be able to independently work on the comissioning and…
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Contracts
MTN Group and Nokia - AfricaNokia and MTN Group have signed an agreement to expand their strategic relationship to new markets within Middle East and Africa MTN affiliates. The framework…
