Issue no 826 - 6th May 2016
Top Story
Senegal’s ADIE begins to drive online services for Government and its own fibre roll-out
If you had a Government agency talking about the roll-out of online services five years ago, you might have looked closely at the gap between rhetoric and reality. But slowly as Internet infrastructure improves, Government is beginning to put a range of services online. In this issue we have translated an interview with the MD of ADIE, the agency responsible for driving that process in Senegal. 34 year old Cheikh Bakhoum is Managing Director of the Agency for State IT (ADIE) of Senegal. Previously, he was Technical Advisor and Head of IT department of the Presidency of the Republic. And…
Telecoms
MTN Nigeria to deploy LTE-800 network by July 2016
Nigerian cellco MTN is gearing for a 4G LTE network rollout in selected cities by July 2016, following the acquisition of LTE-suitable frequencies in the 800MHz band earlier this year…
Telecoms
Tanzania telecoms finally wiggle out of law on listing on DSE
The Tanzanian government has been forced to amend a law that required telecommunications companies to list on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange, following strong opposition from the companies. For…
Telecoms
MTN Pays Former CEO N350m As Exit Package
Mr. Michael Ikpoki, former MTN Nigeria chief executive officer, has received about $1.8 million (N350 million) as exit package which includes his salary and post-employment benefits after his resignation in…
Telecoms
New telco Orange Ivory Coast established
The Ivorian government has signed a merger deal with the Orange Group that will give the French telco greater control in the national fixed line carrier, Ivory Coast Telecom. The…
Telecoms
Ethiopia: Viettel Opens Representative Office in Ethiopia
Viettel, Vietnam's largest mobile network operator, will establish a representative office in Ethiopia with the aim of researching the market and promoting investment in the country, Viettel said. Le Dang…
Telecoms
Telecoms – In Brief
MTN Ghana, the country’s largest cellco in terms of subscribers, is set to roll out commercial 4G LTE services in June this year, reports News Ghana. Successful regional tests have…
Internet
Internet Solutions Bags Internet Service Provider of the Year Award
IS Internet Solutions Nigeria bagged an industry awards at the just concluded Beacon of ICT Awards ceremony which held recently. The company won the award of the Internet Service Provider…
Internet
South Africa: IP Video Solutions in South Africa Gets New Distributor
IP Video Solutions (IPVS), a security systems distributor and integrator in South Africa, today announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Genetec Inc, a provider of open-platform, unified…
Internet
SES Satellite to Deliver Facebook Internet.org in Africa
SES Satellite, one of the world’s leading satellite operators, has announced a new satellite broadband deal with Facebook for Africa. The agreement will provide high-speed broadband connectivity services to Sub-Saharan…
Internet
Major boost for EU-Algerian science collaborations through first AfricaConnect2 connection
International connectivity available to Algeria’s scientists, academics and students has recently been upgraded from 622Mbps to 2.5Gbps by networking organisation GÉANT and its regional partner ASREN (Arab States Research and…
Internet
Uganda: Government to Spend Shs50 Billion On Western Internet Connection
Ugandan Government will spend $15m (about Shs49.9b) on extending National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure and e-Government Infrastructure (NBI/EGI) from Kampala to Masaka, Mutukula, Mbarara, Kabale and Kyenjojo and Masindi areas.…
Internet
Telkom Group’s Openserve to peer at NAPAfrica
In another significant move to strengthen customer focus through a more flexible and agile operating model, Telkom Group’s Openserve wholesale and networks division has announced that it is peering at…
Computing
Pinnacle Africa named distributor for Alienaware
Pinnacle Africa has been appointed by Dell as the sole distributor of the Alienware range of products in the Southern African region. According to the distributor, stock of standard Alienware…
Computing
Kenya: Primary School Pupils Finally Get Much-Awaited Laptops
Butere Primary School in Kakamega County is among the first schools to benefit from the pilot free primary schools laptop project. At least 150 urban, peri-urban and rural schools across…
Computing
This New Data Set Is Poised to Revolutionize Climate Adaptation
People in developed countries rarely think of weather in life-or-death terms. But millions in the developing world have no choice but to do so. The global rich have stable governments,…
Money Transfer
KLM goes M-Pesa in Tanzania
Vodacom Tanzania has today announced its new partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines through its M-Pesa payment service, adding to the list of airlines that the leading cellular network company…
Money Transfer
Fortumo launches payments in Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia & Senegal
Mobile payments firm Fortumo has launched direct carrier billing in 3 new African markets. More than 52 million people in Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia and Senegal can now make seamless digital…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Airtel Divests Telecoms Tower Assets in DRC to Helios Towers Africa
Bharti Airtel International (Netherlands) BV, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, a global telecommunications services provider with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa and Helios Towers Africa, an…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Business Connexion Group acquires RDC Group
As the appetite for cloud-based solutions continues to grow, a number of enterprise companies are moving towards engineering hardware and software to simplify IT, making use of the cloud to…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results - In brief
Etisalat has announced the signing of a share purchase agreement with Kuwait-based Zain Group for the sale of its 92.3% stake in Sudanese fixed line operator Canar Telecommunication Company (Canar).…
Digital Content
Can an app tackle domestic violence in Somalia?
A Somalian NGO is hoping technology will help women be safer in their homes, where domestic violence is often accepted as the norm. Dahrio, a mother of three, lives in…
Digital Content
Amazon Eyes-up Emerging Markets for Next Growth Opportunity
Emerging markets offer Amazon Prime an untapped $70 billion revenue opportunity for OTT services according to a new report. As Amazon has unveiled its latest revenue figures, a new report…
Digital Content
Africa: GeoPoll Launches Self-Service Portal in Africa
GeoPoll has announced the launch of GeoPoll On Demand, an online, self-service portal which allows anyone to create and send surveys through our mobile platform in Africa. "We're excited to…
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People
Airtel Uganda gets new boss Bharti Airtel has announced the appointment of Anwar Soussa, as the Managing Director of Airtel Uganda, with effect from June I, 2016. Soussa was the…
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Events
18-19 May 2016East Africa ComRadisson Blu - Nairobi, Kenya 29th May to 10th June 2016Fourth Edition of the Africa Internet Summit AIS’16 Gaborone, Botswana The Summit aims to bring the…