Issue no 618 17th August 2012
Top Story
CAPCOM aims to become Nigeria’s biggest retail broadband operator, offering faster fibre connections and triple play
The emerging deal that puts all the CDMA operators into a single pot with a US$200 million capital investment has been represented as the creation of a new mobile voice operator. This rather misses the point of its proposed strategy that will emerge when the deal is finalised. Russell Southwood seeks to look behind the wall to see what’s coming.No-one was more surprised than I was to hear that Kevin Maxwell, son the late UK tycoon Robert Maxwell, was leading an investment vehicle interested in buying the Multilinks fibre network. The latter is probably the second largest fibre network after…
Telecoms
Merger could create new Nigerian telco
Final preparations are reportedly underway in Nigeria among three struggling Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) operators to merge and form one large telecommunications firm called ‘CAPCOM’.CDMA, which competes with the…
Telecoms
Malawi telecom operators form association
Malawi telecommunications licensed and operational operators have formed an association called Association of Telecommunications Operators Limited (ATOL) which was launched in Blantyre last Tuesday evening.Speaking at the launch, its new…
Telecoms
Uganda: Sebaggala Cannot Claim Ringtones Copyright, Says MTN
Telecom operator MTN has dismissed claims that it infringed on the copyright of ex-Kampala Mayor Al Haji Nasser Ntege Sebaggala by using his speech recordings as ringtones.MTN's rebuttal is contained…
Telecoms
Zimbabwe: Econet moves m-money services to Comviva’s Mobiquity platform
Econet Zimbabwe has moved the EcoCash service from a platform supplied by Pattern Matched Technologies to one powered by Comviva. The Comviva platform, called "Mobiquity", has been widely adopted globally…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- Namibia’s Mobile Telecommunications Corporation (MTC) has reported details of the early take-up of its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile broadband services, which it launched in parts of capital…
Internet
BTC cuts internet prices by half
Internet prices are expected to go down as the Botswana Telecommunications Corporations (BTC) Group has slashed its wholesale internet bandwidth prices by 59 percent due to the commissioning of the…
Internet
Internet Monopoly by "Algerie Telecom" behind Algeria's Internet Underdevelopment
Private companies called upon the government to intervene for the liberalisation of the national fibre network and the international landing station that is still an Algerie Telecom monopoly. Heads of…
Internet
Somaliland: Somcable to build African fibre net
A company planning a terrestrial fibre network in the north-east African territory of Somaliland has awarded an equipment contract to Canadian optical networking specialist Optelian.Somcable is planning to build a…
Internet
Nigeria: Google Commences Training for 500 Entrepreneurs
Google Nigeria has commenced the "Succeed Online" training series for 500 entrepreneurs to help Nigerian small and medium business owners make better use of the internet in reaching more customers…
Internet
Cheap Internet sparks Tanzania access revolution
The arrival of new submarine telecommunications cables, paired with government investment in the national telecommunications backbone has seen the cost of Internet connectivity drop by 15 US cents a day…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- The Namibian Government is looking for an investor in its US$6.5m project to upgrade the government IP network. The project is currently in the concept phase and all design…
Computing
Liberia’s iLab lights up
Opened in May 2011, iLab Liberia, based in the capital, Monrovia, owes its existence in many ways to Ushahidi, Kenya’s outstanding technology firm that launched the iHub in Nairobi. Amidst…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- To increase compliance of motorists to the ongoing Online Vehicle Registration, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is demonstrating the exercise to local communities. The one-month exercise, which started on…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Telecoms, Rates, Coverage and Offers
Apple has announced it will officially enter the Nigerian market and has appointed four authorised resellers in the West African country. These are iConnect and Orchard in Lagos, and Meed…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
TNM warns of drop in profits
Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM), the country’s second largest mobile operator by subscribers, has said that profit after tax for the six months ended 30 June 2012 is expected to be…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Use of biometric cards for bank transactions to delay - BoG
The use of the biometric cards for bank transactions in Ghana would delay a while as the Bank of Ghana is now working with its South African partners to develop…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Money News - In Brief
- The Libyan Investment Authority is trying to recover its stakes in sub-Saharan telecom operators, Jeune Afrique reports. LIA subsidiary LAP Green Networks (LGN) held stakes in nine African poperators…
Digital Content
Kenyan presidential candidate uses Twitter to raise funds
A leading presidential candidate in Kenya is using Twitter and mobile transfer service M-Pesa to raise funds for her campaign ahead of the March 4 general elections.Martha Karua, the leading…
Digital Content
German Spotify clone Simfy to expand into South Africa
Music streaming service Simfy is expanding its international presence, with a South African version of the offering set to launch later this month.The German-based company boasts over 18-million songs in…
Digital Content
BT supports Infinite Family computer lab in South Africa
BT announced the opening of Infinite Family's mentoring laboratory in Johannesburg, allowing township teenagers to interact with role models who teach, discuss, challenge and encourage. Infinite Family's volunteer video mentors…
Digital Content
Nigeria: eHealth - INTEL to Bail Out Nigeria's Health Services With Digital Training
Apparently worried by recent world health report which rated the Nigerian health care delivery system 187th out of its 192 member countries, global technology giant, Intel corporation Nigeria has provided…
Digital Content
Senegal: invasion of the foreign sex sites
Pornographic websites are gradually taking over Senegalese cyberspace. The African Association for the Defence of Children’s Rights is calling for a law banning access to adult website. The initiative has…
Digital Content
Djibouti: Police Arrest News Website Reporter, Looking for Colleague
Reporters Without Borders has learned that Houssein Ahmed Farah, a reporter for the opposition news website La Voix de Djibouti, was arrested last week in the capital, Djibouti-Ville, and is…
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People
- Eaton Towers, the African tower ownership and management company, has appointed Gareth Townley as Managing Director and Adnan Quddus as Chief Financial Officer of its Ghanaian operations. Gareth Townley has…
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Events
Managed Services World Congress 201218 – 19 September 2012, Maritim Pro Arte Hotel, Berlin, GermanyWith Managed Service business models evolving in new and exciting directions, it’s time to reassess the…
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Jobs & Opportunities
Vodacom hosts the first SA Women’s Developer WorkshopVodacom is hosting South Africa’s first Women’s Developer Workshop which is aimed at providing South African women with the practical skills needed to…
