News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no. 850 28 October 2016
Top Story
Second generation international fibre projects will pile further downward pressure on wholesale prices – it’s a commodity market
28 October 2016
There are two new proposed international fibre cable builds on the east coast of the continent and these have now been joined by one new cable on the west coast which connects to another cable to Miami. Russell Southwood looks at what’s driving this wave of fibre build-outs and its likely impact on the market. Not a week goes by without a new round of 4G/LTE roll-out announcements. This week it was Glo expanding its reach in Nigeria and Zantel providing mainland coverage in Tanzania. The supply side for increased bandwidth use is increasingly encompassing the main urban areas in…
Telecoms
Angola Cables to launch MONET cable mid 2017
28 October 2016
Angola Cables plans to launch the MONET undersea cable, linking Africa to North America, by mid-2017, reports Mybroadband. Google is among the investors in the cable. Its sister cable, the…
Telecoms
Algerian government to debate new telecoms bill
28 October 2016
Algeria’s ICT minister Iman Houda Feraoun has disclosed that a draft Code of Posts and Electronic Communications – with an obligation for fixed line incumbent Algerie Telecom (AT) to open…
Telecoms
New player enters the SA telecom market
28 October 2016
African telecommunications company Paratus Telecom has entered the local telecoms market by acquiring Maxwell Technology (Pty) Limited, a full-spectrum end-to-end connectivity solutions provider. Paratus Telecom South Africa aims to be…
Telecoms
Vox Telecom launches Fat Pipe Wireless
28 October 2016
Vox Telecom has launched Fat Pipe Wireless, an uncapped wireless data and voice service for homeowners and small businesses. Fat Pipe Wireless for Home provides an uncapped, symmetrical, and high-speed…
Telecoms
MTN, Telkom oppose South Africa plan on shared telco network
28 October 2016
South African operators MTN Group and Telkom said they opposed a government plan to force operators to give up their broadband spectrum and share a national network, reports Reuters. In…
Telecoms
Telecoms – In brief
28 October 2016
Vodacom has launched dual-carrier high-speed uplink packet access (DC-HSUPA). “Mobile network providers spend a lot of resources improving download speeds on the 3G and 4G networks and this has resulted…
Internet
Uganda: Government Launches Free Internet Service in Kampala
28 October 2016
Kampala city dwellers are to start enjoying free internet access beginning tomorrow (Saturday). The ministry of Information, ICT and Communication and the National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA U) commence…
Computing
Nigeria’s ICT sector is set to receive a $1 billion dollar boost from Innoson Group, in partnership with Chinese investors
28 October 2016
Nigeria’s first indigenous and largest automobile manufacturer and West Africa’s largest plastic-processing manufacturer, Innoson Group, is partnering a consortium of Chinese investors to invest $1 billion into Nigeria’s information and…
Computing
MainOne chooses Minkels to enhance position in West-African Data Center Market
28 October 2016
VEGHEL, Netherlands, October 25, 2016/ -- Minkels (www.Minkels.com), part of the publicly traded company Legrand (NYSE Euronext Paris: LR), has been chosen as data center supplier for premier West African…
Money Transfer
Ecobank launches Ecobank Mobile App to transform Banking in Africa
28 October 2016
LAGOS, Nigeria, October 25, 2016/ -- Ecobank has launched the Ecobank Mobile App, an instant and convenient way of banking via the mobile phone. It is the first unified app…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
South Africa: Vumatel acquires Fibrehoods
28 October 2016
“The acquisition will help us accelerate and build a connected South Africa faster,” said Niel Schoeman, CEO of Vumatel. Vumatel said it plans to complete its fibre infrastructure roll-out across…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Maroc Telecom revises FY2016 outlook on strong 9M16 results
28 October 2016
Maroc Telecom (IAM), the country’s leading telco in terms of subscribers, has published its financial results for the nine months ended 30 September 2016, reporting a 3.3% increase in revenues,…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Jon Gosier: How ‘Equity Crowdfunding’ Can Help Spread Global Wealth
28 October 2016
While technology has put dazzling conveniences and insane riches into the hands of many, such benefits are not evenly distributed around the world—and tech innovation, so the argument goes, is…
Digital Content
SA cleaning service up for Best African App award
28 October 2016
South African cleaning service, Domestly, has been nominated as one of the best African apps in the 2016 Appsafrica Innovation Awards. Supported by Uber, Opera, Mobile Monday South Africa (MOMO)…
Digital Content
AF Radio wants to change the way you listen to radio
28 October 2016
AF Radio is a new Android app that lets you listen to and discover radio shows in Ghana from anywhere in the world. With the app, users can subscribe to…
Digital Content
Zimbabwe: Social Media Becomes Mugabe's Nightmare
28 October 2016
Rome — In a WhatsApp video that went viral in September, a middle-aged Zimbabwean man addresses President Robert Mugabe, telling him that 90 percent of the people in the country…
Digital Content
Peace Building and Literacy through Tech Innovation
28 October 2016
UNESCO and UNDP in partnership with WB4ALL are organizing a Peace building and Literacy through Tech Innovation Bootcamp for 16 students from the University of Juba from October 24 –…
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Opportunities
28 October 2016
First all-female Investor panel set for 4th Angel Fair Africa The 4th Angel Fair Africa is set to have its first all-female “Investors Panel” on the first day of the…
