Issue no 707 30th May 2014
Top Story
MTN Play Côte d’Ivoire getting "5,000 video views a month”: Broadband access is not an issue anymore
Since July 2013, MTN has been getting its feet wet with content by piloting a VoD services offer - MTN Play - in Cote d’Ivoire. Balancing Act’s associate editor Sylvain Béletre talked to Laurent Duprey, Head of Product & Services Department and Boubakar Sorgho, Manager Consumer Project, at MTN Côte d’Ivoire. At the end of 2013, Balancing Act launched a market report reviewing all VoD platforms related to Africa. MTN Play in Ivory Coast was one of the 52 platforms we listed. Nine out of the 52 are set up by telcos. For African Telecoms service providers, there were at…
Telecoms
Smart signs IP backhaul contract with Avanti Communications
Smart, the East African mobile operator, has appointed global satellite operator Avanti Communications to deliver IP backhaul services in East Africa.Owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Smart…
Telecoms
MTN Uganda contributes UGX 16 bln to RCDF
MTN Uganda has paid UGX 16 billion to the Uganda Communications Commission Rural Communications Development Fund (RCDF) in tax remittance. This is part of the mandatory 2 per cent levy…
Telecoms
Ministry urges three smaller players to unite to increase competition
The Ministry of Communications in Cote d’Ivoire is calling for the three smallest operators in the country’s cellular market to merge to create a more effective competitor to the trio…
Telecoms
PCCW Global and Etisalat Group sign group framework agreement for voice interconnection
PCCW Global serves MNOs with the genuine end-to-end value of IPX over a private and managed IP networkHKT PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong's premier telecommunications…
Telecoms
Govt abandons plan to privatise Comores Telecom in wake of strong opposition
The government of the Union of Comoros has shelved a plan to privatise the country’s incumbent fixed line operator Comores Telecom (Comtel) and postpone until a later date, after receiving…
Telecoms
Telecoms – In Brief
- The government of Osun State in Nigeria has shut down a number of base stations of mobile operator MTN in the region, following the South African-owned company’s failure to…
Internet
Globacom Nigeria targets 90% 3G coverage in 6 months, set to upgrade network
Globacom has announced plans to increase its 3G coverage in Nigeria to 90 per cent from the current 43 per cent, while it will also invest in network upgrades in…
Internet
Yaoundé & Douala First To Experience An Internet Hub In Cameroon
Cameroon’s Minister of Postal Services and Telecommunication, Jean Pierre Biyiti bi Essam has announced that soon the construction of the first internet hubs in Yaoundé and Douala, the two largest…
Internet
Stellenbosch free WiFi chaos
The Stellenbosch free Wi-Fi project seems to be in disarray, with different stakeholders in the project giving very different versions of what is really going on.The free Stellenbosch Wi-Fi project…
Internet
Gilat Satcom expands its fibre network with the new PoP in Tanzania
Gilat Satcom, a leading provider of satellite and fibre-based connectivity services in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, today announced additional investment in its broadband network in East Africa with…
Internet
East Africa Discuss Sharing Internet Infrastructure
Members of the east African region are currently deliberating on how they can put up regional internet exchange points to contain local Internet traffic and reduce costs associated with traffic…
Internet
Internet – In Brief
The Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE) is in the process of changing the Automatic Trading System (ATS) and Central Securities Depository (CSD) engine into a more robust and cost…
Computing
Nigeria: NPC Insists On Biometrics, Satellite to Conduct 2016 Census
As a complete departure from the 2006 census exercise, the National Population Commission (NPC) said it would ensure that biometric, digital satellite and other information and communication technology (ICT) facilities…
Computing
Kenya Leads in M2M Connections in Africa
Kenya has stood out among the early adopters of machine to machine communications in the continent with half of all respondents questioned by IDC's 'Annual Europe Middle East and Africa…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Vodacom Tanzania is offering all users unlimited access to mobile internet on its new ‘Uhuru Wa Kweli’ data bundles, irrespective of what type of phone they use, available on all…
Money Transfer
WesternUnion.ng Finally Launched in Nigeria
Western Union Yes!Global payments firm Western Union has finally launched in Nigeria, allowing consumers in Nigeria to use www.WesternUnion.ng to direct funds Into bank accounts.The new web site in Nigeria…
Money Transfer
Kenya: Equity Rolls Out SIM Cards for Mobile Money Service
Equity Bank announced last week it will reduce cost of transferring money through mobile phones by up to half the prevailing average market rates when its service goes live in…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Zantel defaults of USD96m loan, sources claim
Tanzania telecoms operator Zanzibar Telecommunication (Zantel) is facing a bank demand for the immediate repayment of a USD96 million loan after defaulting on its payments, according to a bond prospectus…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Etisalat Drops Offer to Buyout Minority Shareholders in Maroc Telecom
UAE based Etisalat has cancelled its offer to buy out the minority shareholders in Maroc Telecom after securing a special waiver from the local stock exchange.Etisalat recently bought a 53%…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Vodacom cuts off iBurst for unpaid bills
Vodacom has terminated an SMS agreement with iBurst owner WBS, and cut off its SMS interconnect, after WBS failed to pay its interconnect bill. WBS, however, said that there was…
Digital Content
Sudan looking into ways to control Facebook and Whatsapp
Sudan’s National Telecommunication Corporation (NTC) is conducting technical studies on social networking sites, particularly Facebook and Whatsapp, in a bid to find ways to control their use in the country.NTC…
Digital Content
The Slums Of Liberia Spring To Life In These Animated GIFs
François Beaurain explores life in the capitol of Liberia through a series of beautiful GIFs.What makes an animated GIF so compelling isn't just that it's an image in motion; it's…
Digital Content
Tanzania’s new online music platform Mkito.com wants to reach a million users in a year’s time
Launched at the end of April, Mkito.com is Africa’s newest online music platform. Founder Sune Mushendwa spoke to Digital Content Africa about how the idea came about and his ambitions…
Digital Content
Tunisia’s rubbish selfie trend
A Facebook page in Tunisia is harnessing the power of the selfie to draw attention to piles of rubbish littering the nation's streets.A selfie is usually designed to portray its…
Digital Content
Street style fashion offers opportunities for South Africa's entrepreneurs
Ask the average European what they brought home from their safari trip to South Africa and they're likely to show you a beaded cuff, a pair of salad tongs or…
Digital Content
eLearning Africa’s Response to ICTAU on Conference Fees
his week, Uganda ICT Association released a statement in which it urged the organisers of the eLearning Africa Conference – happening at Speke Resort, Munyonyo, Kampala, starting Wednesday – to…
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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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Jobs & Opportunities
Software developer2Company: Futures GroupDeadline: Monday 30th June 2014Location: LusakaJob DescriptionWe are looking for two skilled, motivated and creative full time software developers for our informatics team in Zambia. We are…
