Issue no 821 - 1st April 2016
Top Story
Long lost fibre project finally announces next step – AfDB will fund Algiers-Abuja stretch of Niger-Chad fibre link
Before Nigeria was connected by five international seaboard fibre cables, the project that was hovering in the background was an Algiers to Nigeria link. Just when it seemed that it had joined a long list of failed fibre projects, the African Development Bank has agreed to fund a key part of the route. Russell Southwood assesses the chances of the project seeing the light of day. The announcement of AfDB funding for Algerian border to Abuja part of the link came from Algeria's ICT Minister Iman Houda Feraoun. He said in his announcement that the bank has agreed in principle…
Telecoms
South Africa: Icasa goes after cellular retailers
The communications regulator has threatened to take "enforcement action" if retailers continue to fail to comply with regulations. Communications regulator Icasa has conducted spot inspections of the retail outlets of…
Telecoms
MTN's Fine Must Be Doubled to $10 Billion: Nigerian Lawmaker
MTN Group Ltd. should pay double the $5.2 billion it was originally fined by Nigeria’s telecommunications regulator last year, according to the spokesman for the West African country’s House of…
Telecoms
Bitflux Selects Alepo’s Policy, Charging and CRM Platform to Launch Wholesale LTE Network in Nigeria
Tuesday, March 29, 2016, Austin, TX – Alepo, a global provider of core network and IT software solutions for communications service providers, has announced that Bitflux, the winner of a…
Telecoms
MTN may quit South Sudan because people there are buying bread instead of mobile phones
MTN, the troubled South African telecoms group, is paring back its operations in South Sudan, blaming currency volatility and economic turmoil. After investing over $170 million over the past two…
Telecoms
Liberia: Sabotage - -Lonestar Cell MTN Accuses Cellcom/Orange
Two of Liberia's mobile phones giants are said to be in a GSM brawl, as Lonestar Cell MTN said over the weekend that it has discovered what it calls a…
Telecoms
ntel, Nigeria’s 5th MNO debuts
Nigeria’s 5th Mobile Network operator commenced operations on Friday, April 8, 2016. This culminates from the acquisition of the old assets of Nigeria’s defunct 1st National carrier Nitel/MTel. According to…
Internet
The Internet Society brings African Peering and Interconnection Forum to Tanzania for first time
The Internet Society will bring its annual Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) to Tanzania for the first time. The organisation has partnered with the Tanzania Internet Service Providers Association…
Internet
Anonymous hacks Angolan government after activists jailed
Collective says it attacked official websites in retaliation to sentences given to 17 members of a book club in Luanda A Portuguese branch of the Anonymous hacking collective says it…
Internet
Liquid Telecom launches app mapping free Wi-Fi hotspots
Liquid Telecom has launched an app mapping more than 350 free Wi-Fi hotspots in Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Kajiado, and Nyeri. The Liquid Telecom Wi-Fi Finder app helps people…
Internet
MTN Business launches converged SME ICT offers
MTN Business has introduced a range of converged business offers for small and medium businesses (SMEs). The offers seek to provide SMEs with affordable and easy to understand Information Communications…
Computing
3D-printed fashion hits SA
South Africa has been chosen as the first country to get the exclusive unveiling of a 3D-printed clothing range from Modeclix, a project based at the University of Herfordshire in…
Computing
In Africa, Watson’s sister Lucy is growing up with the help of IBM’s Research team
IBM Research Africa is entering its third year in Kenya. The blue chip company opened its Nairobi lab in 2013, launching a $100 million initiative to create a Watson-inspired tech…
Computing
African and Middle East PC sales fall off a cliff
PC shipments in Africa and the Middle East fell by 28,7% year on year in the fourth quarter of 2015, the steepest ever recorded in the region for a single…
Money Transfer
eCommerce: Visa enters Somalia
Visa Inc has partnered with Somalia’s Premier Bank as part of a wider strategic agreement to strengthen formal banking services in Somalia. As a first step, the agreement signed between…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
TelOne recruits Orange unit as consultant on Huawei upgrade project; minister says TelOne-NetOne merger inevitable
Zimbabwe’s stated-owned fixed line operator TelOne has signed a deal with Sofrecom, a unit of Orange Group of France, to audit and analyse procurement contracts for its USD98 million network…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
BEE partner seeks Cell C liquidation
Cell C's black economic empowerment (BEE) partner, CellSAf, has filed papers in the South Gauteng High Court in an attempt to begin liquidation of Cell C's holding company, a move…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Zimbabwe: International Calls Push Telone Revenue
The country's only fixed line network, TelOne, reported a 14,2 percent growth in turnover to US$35,341 million during the last quarter of 2015, driven by a rise in incoming international…
Digital Content
The Bobs 2016: 126 finalists selected from over 2,300 submissions to DW's online competition
The international jury of the online competition 'The Bobs – Best of Online Activism' has chosen this year's finalists and announced the shortlist of nominees at thebobs.com. Until May 2,…
Digital Content
Loan App Branch Raises $9.2m to help with Expansion Across Africa
Mobile-based financial services company Branch has raised a Series A equity funding round of $9.6 million, as it positions itself for further growth and expansion into new markets. The funding…
Digital Content
WeChat Africa launches donation app for drought-hit farmers
WeChat Africa has partnered with Agri SA to establish a mobile donation channel through which users will be able to support South African farmers struggling with the country's drought, the…
Digital Content
Morocco is under pressure from children to end a ban on Skype and Whatsapp calls
Photos of children as young as 2 years old are the face of a Facebook campaign against Morocco’s decision to block residents from using voice over IP (VoIP) apps like…
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Opportunities
Zambia’s BongoHive opens applications for Launch accelerator BongoHive said Launch was a three-month accelerator programme that strategically focuses on startups that have already launched but are looking to gain further…
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People
Etisalat Prize for Literature Announced Poet and novelist Fiston Mwanza Mujila was on Saturday, 19th March 2016 announced as the winner of the 2015 Etisalat Prize for Literature for his…
