News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 976 – 17 May 2019
Top Story
GVA is targeting the big cities of Francophone Africa with its FTTH vision – High-speed household access at more “affordable” prices
17 May 2019
At the end of April 2019 Groupe Vivendi Africa opened up another city for its FTTH roll-out in Congo-Brazzaville’s second largest city Pointe-Noire. GVA is slowly and systematically working its way through the big cities of Francophone Africa. Russell Southwood looks at its ambitions and its likely impact on the market. GVA wants to be the “premier operator in Africa with high speed broadband and fibre offers of exceptional quality accessible to the greatest number of people in the big cities of Africa.” In October 2017 it rolled out an FTTH network in the Gabonese capital Libreville and in March…
Telecoms
Vodacom Added 1.5 Million New Customers In South Africa
17 May 2019
Vodacom South Africa’s data revenue grew 3.9% to R24.3 billion, contributing 43.5% to service revenue. It added 1.5 million new subscribers in the year to end-March 2019, reaching 43.2 million…
Telecoms
Nigeria: NCC to 'audit subscriber records' of GSM Big Five
17 May 2019
The telecoms regulator is to audit SIM registration database of Nigeria's five biggest mobile phone companies to verify the integrity of their subscriber records. Professor Umar Garba Danbatta, Executive Vice…
Telecoms
Safaricom introduces affordable 4G-enabled smartphones in Kenya
17 May 2019
Safaricom has introduced a smartphone campaign by launching the cheapest 4G-enabled smartphones Neon Ray and Neon Nova in Kenya. The introduction of the smartphones is intended to offer a digital…
Telecoms
Vanu, Inc. Continues To Grow Off-Grid Connectivity In Africa
17 May 2019
Vanu, Inc., has announced the expansion of its ongoing agreement with Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) to supply mobile network infrastructure in support of AMN’s mission to serve rural communities in…
Internet
Orange rolled out 4G in Guinea
17 May 2019
Telecom operator Orange launched the 4G mobile technology in Conakry, Guinea on May 9, 2019. The new service already covers all the areas of the capital: Kaloum, Dixinn, Ratoma, Matoto…
Internet
South Africa's Cool Ideas signs collocation deal with Angola Cables for Fortaleza data centre
17 May 2019
South African based ISP Cool Ideas has signed an agreement with Angola Cables to take up colocation services at its newly inaugurated data centre in Fortaleza, Brazil. Cool Ideas was…
Internet
Rwandan Govt signs agreement with Motorola Solutions to open a continental hub
17 May 2019
Yuval Hanan, the General Manager Motorola Solutions Rwanda and Region Manager East Africa said that their choice of Rwanda was based on Rwanda’s ICT growth prospects. Government of Rwanda has…
Internet
SA startup IoT.nxt set to be acquired by mobile operator Vodacom
17 May 2019
Leading South African mobile operator Vodacom is to acquire a 51 per cent stake in local Internet of Things (IoT) startup IoT.nxt, subject to approval by the Competition Commission. IoT.nxt…
Internet
A porn block may be implemented in South Africa in the future
17 May 2019
A renewed call to block porn in South Africa has been made in a report by the South African Law Reform Commission. The independent advisory body’s latest paper published in…
Computing
Microsoft expands investment in Africa with $100 million initial sites in Kenya and Nigeria
17 May 2019
Microsoft has announced an expansive push of its investments across Africa with the opening of a $100 million Africa Development Centre (ADC) in Kenya and Nigeria. The new sites will…
Computing
Teraco’s Africa Cloud Exchange offers a direct connection to multiple leading global cloud services in Africa
17 May 2019
Enabling secure connectivity to any cloud provider of choice within 24hrs Cloud investment into Africa has increased sharply as the continent sees the establishment of its first cloud regions. Through…
Computing
Vodacom goes big on cloud with AWS partnership
17 May 2019
Vodacom has announced a strategic partnership with cloud giant Amazon Web Services (AWS), which will see Vodacom become both a customer of AWS and a reseller of AWS services. "We…
Computing
Liquid Telecom launches Azure Stack in East Africa, providing top security data platform at triple previous possible speeds
17 May 2019
The private and hybrid Microsoft cloud delivers a cybersecurity step-change for East Africa’s data-sensitive organisations, providing a doorway to high-speed data safety Liquid Telecom Kenya, part of the leading pan-African…
Money Transfer
Kenya - Mobile cash transactions hit Sh1.1trn in quarter one
17 May 2019
The volume of money moved through mobile phones in the first three months of the year rose 10.7 per cent to Sh1.1 trillion, underlining the growing importance of digital wallets…
Money Transfer
Nigeria - Visa partners PalmPay to drive financial inclusion in Africa
17 May 2019
Visa, the global payments technology company, and PalmPay, a new player in Africa’s Fintech industry, have announced a partnership to advance financial inclusion across the continent through access to digital…
Money Transfer
2nd African Blockchain conference to focus on technology for development
17 May 2019
CrytoSavannah and the Blockchain Association of Uganda, working in collaboration with the ministry of ICT and national Guidance will host the 2nd edition of the African block chain conference. The…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
MTN plans to raise NGN200bn to expand operations
17 May 2019
MTN Nigeria, the country’s largest mobile operator by subscribers, plans to raise around NGN200 billion (USD552 million) this year to expand its operations and network coverage, Bloomberg cites Chief Financial…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Officials meet to resolve Viettel Cameroon shareholder dispute
17 May 2019
Vietnam’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nguyen Quoc Cuong, has met with the Prime Minister of Cameroon, Joseph Dion Ngute, to resolve a dispute between the shareholders of mobile operator…
Digital Content
Rwanda - Govt moves to regulate social media content amid misinformation
17 May 2019
The Government is going to devise strategies to regulate social media content, a move which is intended to curb the spread of misinformation, the Minister for ICT and Innovation, Paula…
Digital Content
Kenyan invents smart gloves that sound out sign language motions
17 May 2019
Kenyan man Roy Allela has invented smart gloves that could change the lives of hearing impaired people across the world. His gloves, named Sign-IO, convert sign language motion into audio…
Digital Content
These Reactions to the Current Election Results from South Africans are Hilarious
17 May 2019
South Africans are having a field day on social media as the votes from the elections are still being counted. South Africans cast their votes in the national elections just…
Digital Content
Huawei partners with local app developers to push SA content
17 May 2019
Chinese multinational telecommunications giant Huawei said on Monday that it had partnered with 48 local developers of mobile apps, and was still looking for more, in a drive to promote…
Digital Content
Kenya: UNICEF and Safaricom Launch Internet of Good Things in Kenya
17 May 2019
Nairobi — UNICEF and Safaricom have launched the Internet of Good Things in Kenya - a set of information and resources which promotes living better and healthier. Internet of Good…
Digital Content
Somalia will turn off social media access to stop high school exam cheating
17 May 2019
African nations have increasingly taken to blocking social media access during protests and contentious elections. Now, Somalia is doing the same—to stop students cheating. The government has announced it will…
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Opportunities
17 May 2019
African gaming startups invited to apply for Google accelerator African gaming startups have been invited to apply for a Google accelerator that looks to supercharge their growth on the Android…
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People
17 May 2019
Sudatel’s CEO Wins Major African Telecom Award Mr. Tarig Hamza Zain Elabdein, President and CEO of The Sudatel Group, has been named East African CxO of the year at the…
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Events
17 May 2019
SAFNOG-5 & iWeek 2019 We are proud to announce that for the 5th instalment of SAFNOG, we will be returning to Johannesburg, South Africa where it all began. SAFNOG and…
