News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no. 852 11 November 2016
Top Story
Africa’s Platforms become the new channels and jostle to become the platform of choice
11 November 2016
The shift to digital means that there are now several different platforms competing for killer services and content. Among them is Opera that announced this week that it has 100 million users in Africa. Russell Southwood looks at the competition between platforms and what they will have to do to win. One part of the shift to digital is that there are now different platforms that services and content need to use. A platform can be an OS on a smartphone (Android and iOS being the main ones in Africa), an Internet platform like Facebook, What’s App or Opera or…
Telecoms
Orange to Own Morocco’s Meditel by 2017
11 November 2016
Rabat – Morocco’s second largest telecom provider, Meditel, will surrender total ownership to French telecom operator Orange before the current year is over. Bruno Mettling, Deputy Director in Charge of…
Telecoms
Zimbabwe: Hurdle in Govt Telecel Takeover Bid
11 November 2016
Government efforts to completely take over Telecel Zimbabwe through Zarnet have hit a fresh hurdle after it emerged that the Empowerment Corporation has signed an agreement to sell 15 percent…
Telecoms
BICS continues to invest in Africa with launch of new point-of-presence in Kenya
11 November 2016
Brussels, Belgium, 10th November 2016 – BICS, a global wholesale carrier for voice, mobile data and capacity services, has today announced the establishment of a new point-of-presence (PoP) in Nairobi,…
Internet
MTN and Huawei launch smart water metering solution
11 November 2016
MTN and Huawei have launched the Smart Water Metering solution, the “first Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) solution in Africa”. “The Smart Water metering solution enables the automated collection of…
Internet
Massive cyber-attack grinds Liberia's internet to a halt
11 November 2016
The attack was a distributed denial of service, in which a network of infected computers is directed to bombard its target with traffic and overload its servers The weapon used…
Internet
Liberia: Govt Calls for International Assistance After Crippling Cyberattack
11 November 2016
The attack was reportedly successful in crippling service provider Lonestar MTN, which provides about 60 percent of internet connectivity in the country.Authorities in Liberia are seeking the assistance of the…
Internet
Private and public sectors must work together to bring Africa’s forgotten telecom markets online
11 November 2016
New and innovative partnerships between governments, the private sector and multilateral financing institutions are vital to improving broadband penetration and boosting investment in telecoms infrastructure in African countries that have…
Internet
ATCON: 20 million Nigerians ‘to be cut off Internet’
11 November 2016
Over 20 million Nigerians risk being cut off the Internet if a bill proposing a 9% tax of communication services is passed into law by the National Assembly, a key…
Computing
AfICTA targets 1m ICT jobs across Africa by 2020
11 November 2016
HOW best to create up to one million new Information Communications Technology, ICT, jobs by 2020 across Africa was part of the declaration at the end of the 4th annual…
Money Transfer
Nigeria clocks 10+ million transactions as mobile payments grow in Q3 2016
11 November 2016
The Nigerian banking industry conducted 10,865,588 mobile payment transactions in the third quarter of 2016 (Q3 2016), indicating an improvement in electronic payment adoption trends by Nigerians. This is one…
Money Transfer
East Africa: Equity's Digital Banking Strategy Goes for SMEs, Corporates Through Equitel
11 November 2016
Equity Bank is targeting to process loans for its corporate and Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through its Equitel mobile and other digital platforms. Equity Bank says that its Equitel…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
South Africa: Green Light for Microsoft-Linkedin Deal in SA
11 November 2016
Local competition authorities have given their thumbs up to the South African leg of a global merger between Microsoft and LinkedIn. In June, software giant Microsoft announced plans to buy…
Digital Content
Digital Afrique Telecom unveils new mobile gaming at World Lottery Summit in Singapore
11 November 2016
Singapore, 09 November 2016 – Digital Afrique Telecom (DAT) has unveiled an exciting portfolio of mobile gaming and online lottery aimed at the African market. Simplice Anoh, Founder and CEO…
Digital Content
Al Jazeera, ONEm team up for news by SMS
11 November 2016
ONEm Communications is teaming up with Al Jazeera Media Network to create a new interactive channel for their news content over ordinary mobile. ONEm Communications is teaming up with Al…
Digital Content
Light Reading and KNect365 Launch Connecting Africa Community
11 November 2016
Connecting Africa will provide news coverage and analysis of the forces that are shaping digital Africa and will chart the latest developments, examining their potential to enable pivotal socioeconomic development…
Digital Content
ShowMax announces peering agreement with NAPAfrica
11 November 2016
ShowMax, an Internet-based subscription video-on-demand service, has announced it is now connected to NAPAfrica Johannesburg, the largest Internet exchange point (IXP) in Africa. Originally launched in 2015, ShowMax is available…
Digital Content
Saxonwold Shebeen: South Africa’s hilarious new meme
11 November 2016
Forget the med- and edtech industries. You know what’s a real disruptive force on the internet at the moment? Shebeens. Specifically, shebeens in Saxonwold. After the State Capture report revealed…
Digital Content
Huawei signs deal with African music vendors
11 November 2016
JOHANNESBURG - Chinese telecom giant Huawei on Thursday signed cooperation contracts with global and local music vendors in South Africa to accelerate digitalization of African music. At the Huawei Southern…
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People
11 November 2016
Newly appointed Morocco Technopark head to address global forum The 3rd Social Innovation and Global Ethics Forum taking place this week in Marrakech on the sidelines of the United Nations…
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Opportunities
11 November 2016
Rwanda to host Seedstars Africa Summit next month Seedstars World, a global competition targeting start-ups in emerging markets, will host the second edition of the annual Seedstars Africa Summit in…
