Issue no 705 16th May 2014
Top Story
Rotten Wi-Fi – Driving better quality and speed in Wi-Fi hot-spots and 3G in Africa through getting consumer information
Wi-Fi hot-spots and 3G coverage are the main ways that Africans get the Internet. Being charitable, quality of service and price are very variable. A new Lithuanian start-up Rotten Wi-Fi has set out to drive improvements in these two areas using consumer testing and feedback. Russell Southwood spoke to its co-founder Arturas Jonkus.Both free and paid Wi-Fi hot-spots are a source of constant frustration in Africa. There is no real relationship between what you do or don’t pay and quality. As almost everywhere in Africa, those providing the hot-spots under-specify the bandwidth needed. If I’m in a hotel, the other…
Telecoms
SkyVision launches new fibre network in Guinea
Global communications provider SkyVision Global Networks has launched integrated fibre and wireless services under the SkyVision SkyFibre banner in Conakry, the capital of Guinea. According to a press release, the…
Telecoms
MTN Expanding Network in South Sudan
MTN's South Sudan subsidiary has switched on the first of 161 base stations that it has been deploying across the newly independent country.The switch-on is part of a USD76 million…
Telecoms
Expresso barred from providing promotions after QoS breaches
Ghanaian cellco Expresso (formerly Kasapa Telecom) has been banned from implementing sales or marketing promotions until the end of May 2014, after falling foul of the country’s Quality of Service…
Telecoms
Nigeria: Mobile Rises Sharply While Radio Dominates for News
While a vast divide remains between “media rich” and “media poor” Nigerians, household mobile ownership has surpassed that of radio and TV in Nigeria, and the use of Internet is…
Telecoms
Telecel introduces video calling
Zimbabwe’s second largest mobile telecoms firm by earnings and subscribers, Telecel, on Monday introduced a video calling service as it revealed national coverage had reached 85 percent.Video calling allows subscribers…
Telecoms
MTN to pay $3bn for upgrades in Nigeria
MTN Group will spend more than $3bn to upgrade and expand the infrastructure of its operations in Nigeria over the next three years to improve the quality of its service…
Telecoms
Telecoms – In Brief
- Azouaou Mehmel, the CEO of the country’s incumbent telecoms operator Algerie Telecom (AT), has revealed that the company faces difficulties in implementing its fibre-optic deployment programme, due to a…
Internet
90% of African Internet Content Is Hosted Outside Region
Content delivery networks (CDNs) play an integral part in the management of internet bandwidth. And as the internet gains wider acceptance in Africa, providers are adopting CDN services to create…
Internet
Kenya: Orange Connects for more Counties to Its High Speed Broadband Network
Integrated telecommunications solutions provider, Orange has added four more counties to its high-speed broadband network in Kenya, bringing the total number of counties on its network to 31.The four counties:…
Internet
Internet – In Brief
A comparative study carried out by Twinpine Networks, a premium mobile advertising network, contradicts popular opinion, as its recent research reveals that Nigeria’s older generation are more active online than…
Computing
IBM opens cloud computing hub in Kenya
IBM has launched a hub in the Kenyan capital Nairobi offering cloud computing and data analytics services to banks, insurance firms and government agencies.The facility – which is based alongside…
Computing
Hewlett-Packard introduces large-scale e-waste recycling in Africa
Today there are more mobile phones in Africa than there are in America and they will all eventually need to be disposed of. Electronic waste is expected to top 60…
Computing
Computing - In Brief
Ethiopia: Four Hello services were launched with quick-dial four digit numbers, giving access to sponsored services and lists. Belcash also hosts a mobile cash transfer platform for remittances from Ethiopians…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
- Media and telecoms group Millicom International Cellular (MIC) says its Tanzanian mobile subsidiary has created a ‘Tigo Business’ unit to develop a series of products using high speed fibre…
Money Transfer
Three African Financial Startups Launch on Mambu
Mambu, the cloud banking technology provider, has expanded its customer footprint in Africa, confirming three new customers in Angola, Kenya and Nigeria. All three are new financial organisations extending access…
Money Transfer
UGANDA: Mobilemoney agents set to enter tax net
There are plans to get mobile money agents to register for Tax Identification Numbers, a move that would widen Uganda Revenue Authority’s tax base in the informal sector. Recently, MTN…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Safaricom set to earn Sh8bn for managing security system
Telecoms operator Safaricom will earn a Sh2 billion annual fee for its management of the national security communication system, which the government has contracted it to build and operate for…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
South Africa: uAfrica.com secures growth funding
Local e-commerce group uAfrica.com has secured $1.5 million in funding, which it will use to expand quickly, bolstering its presence in Africa.uAfrica.com secured the funding from bidorbuy.co.za – which also…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Bouygues favourite for Gabon fibre contract
Axione, part of France’s Bouygues Group, is the favourite to win an international tender for the management of a fibre-optic network in Gabon, the results of which will be announced…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Vivendi Completes $5.8 Billion Sale of Maroc Telecom to Etisalat
France's Vivendi has completed the long running attempt to sell its 53% stake in Maroc Telecom to Etisalat.The final price came in at EUR4.14 billion -- which is compared to…
Digital Content
WhatsApp Accounts for a Quarter of Mobile Data Usage at Zimbabwean Network
A Zimbabwean mobile network is reporting that WhatsApp usage now accounts for nearly a quarter of its entire mobile data traffic.In February, Econet Wireless launched an unlimited WhatsApp bundle, using…
Digital Content
Nigeria: Mobile Phone-Based Mapping Tool for Health Debuts in Northern Nigeria
The pilot roll out of Safe Space Youth Clubs (SSYCs) of the Community Space for Adolescent Girls' Empowerment (CSGAE) that will use age specific curricula to build health, education, and…
Digital Content
Botswana Assesses Open Data Readiness
The Botswana Innovation Hub, in conjunction with the e-Government Unit in the Office of the President, have agreed to conduct a diagnostic study to assess the capability of Botswana, inside…
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Events
AITEC Banking & Mobile Money15 - 16 July 2014Eko Hotel, Lagos NigeriaDear Colleague,For a number of reasons, including the recent dismissal of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,…
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People
Netxcell Limited, one of India’s leading telecom technology solutions providers; announced the appointment of Ms. Abimbola Kazeem; a native of Nigeria (Africa) to Netxcell’s core team in Africa. Ms. Kazeem…
