Issue no 655 17th May 2013
Top Story
LTE insurgent challenger Smile does a hard launch in Tanzania and will open its network on a wholesale basis to other operators
Smile Communications has put in place the first public roll-out in Africa of LTE in 800 MHz spectrum in Tanzania and has ambitious plans to roll out in the same spectrum in three more countries. This week it moved from soft to hard launch status in Tanzania and the other 3 countries will follow. Russell Southwood spoke to founder and CEO of the company Irene Charnley.Smile Communications in Tanzania has been on soft launch status for the last six months, with the sales force quietly selling to commercial customers. Nevertheless it has managed to garner nearly a thousand subscribers before…
Telecoms
Rwanda: Millions Yet to Register Phones
About 40 in every 100 mobile telephone users in the country are yet to register their sim cards, with only weeks remaining to the July deadline.However, the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory…
Telecoms
Tanzania: Telecoms to Be Fined for Poor Services, Says Minister
Service providers who provide poor services without explanation to consumers risk a penalty of 5m/- or six months imprisonment, the Minister for Communication, Science and Technology, Prof Makame Mbarawa, has…
Telecoms
Telecom stakeholders oppose NCC's intercept regulation
Stakeholders in Nigeria's telecommunication industry are opposing the Nigerian Communications Commission's draft regulation on Lawful Interception of Communications. The Joint Action on ICT Awareness and Development (JACITAD), an umbrella body…
Telecoms
Kenya: GSMA Opens Nairobi Office to Support Africa Telecoms
The GSM Association has opened its Africa office in Nairobi to effectively support the growing African telecoms market. The Africa headquarters will be based in Nairobi's iHub and will enable…
Telecoms
Telecoms – In Brief
- Telecom Egypt has announced plans to launch its mobile services in Egypt by July this year. Egypt’s only fixed-line operator told the market this will happen after it has…
Internet
Internet: Gambia to register internet cafés
Banjul, Gambia - Owners of internet cafés in The Gambia must register them with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) if they intend to continue with their businesses in the…
Internet
Uganda: Buying bulk SMS using an installer
Locally, Eiffel's, a VAS company has introduced a bulk sms installer that enables one to create an account even on their laptop to send sms either to a single user…
Internet
32.5 million Nigerians access Internet via telecoms networks
A total of 32,513,261 Nigerians are accessing the Internet through telecommunications networks, a report obtained by Sunday Punch on Friday has revealed.This means that out of the estimated population of…
Internet
Sudanese security pulls plug on Khartoum Web conference
The organizer of a forum on promoting ideas through the Internet accused Sudanese state security agents on Saturday of shutting down the event in Khartoum by cutting off the power.The…
Internet
Tanzania: Tigo Launches HSPA+
Last week Tigo Tanzania launched HSPA+ and were describing it as 4G."We recognize our customers' ever changing demands and need for better, faster and quality internet services and are constantly…
Internet
Cyber fraud up by 42 percent – Report
A new report – the Symantec Corp.’s Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 18 (ISTR) released yesterday, May 13, 2013, has revealed a 42 percent surge in cyber fraud during 2012…
Internet
Leading Ethiopian mining venture drills into Q-KON for connectivity support
Q-KON has been selected as the preferred provider of connectivity services to Allana Potash Afar PLC, an Ethiopian Subsidiary of a Canadian Corporation focused on the global acquisition of potash…
Internet
Joburg broadband network to go live on 1 July
The City of Joburg Broadband Project will go live on 1 July 2013 following a three year build phase, which BWired will operate for 12 years. The completion of the…
Internet
Internet – In Brief
- Last week all roads led to Cresta Lodge Hotel in Harare where 150 delegates converged for the inaugural Zimbabwe Broadband Forum 2013. Leading the discussion was a panel of…
Computing
Enterprise-grade cloud computing, at the swipe of a card
Internet Solutions (IS) has announced the company's Public Compute-as-a-Service (CaaS) offering can now be purchased on a pay-as-you-go basis using a credit card. The IS Public CaaS platform, available through a…
Computing
Ericsson joins Airtel to deliver tech education in Malawi
Ericsson and mobile operator Airtel have partnered to expand the Connect to Learn Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solution, now enables 600 students to use ICT through cloud-based technology.The two…
Computing
Computer – In Brief
- The ICT Association of Uganda (ICTAU), a sector lobby group was officially launched on Thursday May 16, 2013 at the Kampala Sheraton Hotel during a breakfast meeting. The ICT…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
South Africa's Afrihost is reducing the cost of excess web traffic and disk space charges on cloud hosting packages. Additional web traffic usage will now cost ZAR 3.50 per GB,…
Money Transfer
Ghana: Banks clients prefer branch banking
The banking hall remains customers’ most preferred channel for transacting banking business in Ghana, an April 2013 Africa Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey by KPMG, the global accounting firm, has…
Money Transfer
Nigeria: Cellulant, Agric bank to unveil mobile money services
Cellulant Corporation and Nigeria’s Bank of Agriculture are set to unveil a joint mobile money services aimed at driving business transaction in the agricultural sector .According to a statement by…
Money Transfer
Money Transfer - In Brief
- Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore says the government's continued taxation will erode the financial gains made through the platform. Meanwhile the company has embarked on a process to upgrade its…
Money Transfer
Money - In Brief
- Vendor-neutral data centre operator Teraco Data Environments has secured a R200m medium-term funding facility from Absa’s corporate and investment banking division. Teraco CEO Lex van Wyk says the funding…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Algerian Government Unhappy with Cost of Buying 51% Stake in Local Mobile Network
The Algerian government is seeking a fresh valuation on the local mobile network, Djezzy before it agrees to buy a 51% stake in the company.The Algerian government has long wanted…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Safaricom posts huge growth in end of year results
Kenya’s biggest network operator Safaricom has posted a pre-tax profit increase to KSh25.5 billion (US$304 million) for 2012/13, an increase of 47 per cent compared to the 2011/12 financial year.There…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Nigeria: FG May Conclude Guided Liquidation of NITEL in June
The federal government may conclude guided liquidation of the moribund Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) in June, Daily Trust has learnt.The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) would likely come out with…
Digital Content
Cote d’Ivôire online community mobilizes for progress
The Ivorian social media scene is no doubt one of the most active on the continent (search #ci225 or #team225 to see why). In what is a novel idea, a…
Digital Content
Algeria: Bloggers Expose State of Local Hospitals
As their president recovered in Paris from a minor stroke, Algerian internet users mounted a movement to demand better hospitals in their own country.A new Facebook page urged Algerian citizens…
Digital Content
Internet proving vital for young South African home buyers
Property purchasing in South Africa is being driven by a younger generation that relies on the Internet for information, bond originator ooba said.Its research showed that the average age of…
Digital Content
Kenya: Al Shabaab Recruiting Youth Online
The Somali and Kenyan youth have been cautioned against being recruited to the al Shabbab terror group through the social media.Speaking at a social media forum that brought together Kenya…
Digital Content
Smartphone-based information portal for rural Kenya
Rural Kenyans are now able to access data of various institutions in the fields of agriculture, health and education by sending a text to a smartphone-based data management system application.The…
Digital Content
Equatorial Guinea Facebook and opposition websites blocked ahead of elections
Reporters Without Borders condemns the government’s blocking of access to Facebook and certain opposition websites since 12 May. The targets include the site of the main opposition party, Convergence For…
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Events
MEF Connects Kenya May 22 2013Sankara Hotel, NairobiMEF brings Kenya's mobile industry leaders to networking eventThe first-ever MEF Connects Kenya event is aimed at bringing together the country's leading mobile…
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People
Miriam Altman to head Telkom strategyTelkom has tapped a member of Trevor Manuel’s National Planning Commission as its new head of strategy. Miriam Altman will join the troubled telecommunications operator…
