News from Sub-Saharan Africa

Optical & Fixed Networks

Is a government-Telkom fibre deal on the way in South Africa?

The South African government isn’t interested in selling its 40% stake in number three operator Telkom – in fact it may soon partner with Telkom...

Operators

Burkina Faso’s operators face another consumer boycott

Issues about pricing and quality of mobile communications service are continuing to anger consumers in Burkina Faso, where a new boycott campaign...

Business

Ubuntu Towers Uganda is now TowerCo of Africa Uganda

Ubuntu Towers Uganda has announced the successful completion of its rebranding to TowerCo of Africa Uganda, which is 90% owned by TowerCo of...

Regulation

Tanzania cuts right-of-way fees in major boost for operators

There has been a significant boost for Tanzanian operators with the government’s decision, announced late last week, to slash the country’s...

Operators

Axian Telecom buys more shares in Free Senegal

Axian Telecom signed a deal to acquire a further 40% stake in Senegalese operator Free taking its total ownership to 80% to consolidate...

Investment

Rwanda and Cameroon announce edtech agreements

Rwanda and Cameroon have recently announced significant education-related technology agreements – Rwanda with investment group SoftBank and...

Regulation

CRAN to lift suspension on issuing new licences from October

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has confirmed that it will end its year-long moratorium on issuing new telecom and...

Regulation

NCA addresses MTN Ghana’s dominance with tech neutrality

Ghana’s National Communications Authority (NCA) is taking “a significant step towards correcting market imbalances” with the implementation of...

Revenue & Billing

Airtel Africa implements revenue management solution from CSG

Airtel Africa has completed a digital transformation project across its African footprint in partnership with CSG.

Mobile Finance

Two more mobile payment services come to Africa

Mobile money growth continues across Africa. Two recent announcements, from IDT Corporation, a global fintech company, and from TerraPay, a...

Operators

Safaricom pledges 800 5G sites in Kenya

Safaricom announced plans to add 595 new 5G sites by the end of March 2023, as it aims to push ahead of rivals in Kenya and capitalise on rising...

Operators

Ethio Telecom reveals profits doubling before stake sale

Ethio Telecom revealed in its 2022/23 year profit more than doubled to ETB18.8 billion (US$344m) along with rising subscriber numbers and...

Operators

Sonatel gains 5G licence

Senegal’s telecoms authority revealed it had provisionally given Sonatel (Orange Senegal) a 5G licence, after concluding a call for tender to...

Revenue & Billing

SLA Digital kicks off Viettel carrier billing deal in Mozambique

SLA Digital, which works with many of the world’s major mobile operators to power mobile revenues through carrier billing and mobile identity,...

Wireless Networks

Portugal’s ANACOM supports Cape Verde spectrum monitoring

Portuguese telecoms regulator ANACOM has announced that it is working with the Cape Verdean communications regulator ARME on the installation of...

Regulation

Uganda to go ahead with new tech tax

Uganda has reversed a parliamentary decision to abandon a new tax law that imposes a 5% levy on income earned locally by foreign companies. The...

Devices & Platforms

Bboxx and MTN Rwanda partner to boost smartphone access in Rwanda

MTN Rwanda has partnered with data-driven platform Bboxx in a bid to increase smartphone access across Rwanda, accelerating the country’s digital...

Regulation

Kenya abandons local shareholding ruling for tech groups

Citing the need for Kenya to be an attractive investment digital hub, Kenya is repealing a ruling that would have made meant only companies with...

Optical & Fixed Networks

MTN’s Bayobab wins fibre management deal in Central African Republic

MTN subsidiary Bayobab has secured a contract to manage, operate and maintain national fibre infrastructure in the Central African Republic.

Operators

MTN, Ericsson connect Benin with solar power

MTN tapped Ericsson to deploy sites to deliver affordable mobile broadband coverage to remote locations in Benin.

Q&A / Interviews

Interview: Helios Towers CEO Tom Greenwood

Helios Towers is one the biggest towercos in Africa, and since its IPO four years ago the firm has dramatically expanded its footprint and...

Operators

Vodacom to pump $27m into Eastern Cape

Vodacom announced it will invest ZAR500 million (US$27.4m) into its network and power backup across the Eastern Cape of South Africa in its...

Wireless Networks

Paratus and Ceragon partner for offshore oil and gas wireless in Africa

African telecommunications and network company Paratus, and Ceragon Networks, a provider of innovative wireless backhaul and fronthaul solutions,...

Optical & Fixed Networks

Liquid Dataport pledges new fibre routes connecting Angola and Zambia

Liquid Dataport is set to expand its fibre backbone to connect Luanda, Angola and Lusaka, Zambia directly.

Operators

Togocom gains new boss

Axian Telecom revealed Telco Oi chief executive Pierre-Antoine Legagneur took over as head of Togocom.

Operators

Telkom SA ends talks for takeover

Telkom South Africa ended talks with the consortium led by former CEO Sipho Maseko seeking to purchase a controlling stake in the operator.

Operators

Orange, e& eyeing Ethio Telecom shares

Orange and e& are reportedly considering bids for the 45% stake on offer in Ethiopia-owned operator Ethio Telecom, Bloomberg reported.

Regulation

Burundi’s regulator expects commercial 5G launch in July 2024

Burundi’s Telecommunications Regulation and Control Agency (ARCT) has earmarked July 2024 as a target for the launch of commercial 5G in the...

Investment

Safaricom plans venture capital initiative

Kenyan operator Safaricom is apparently planning to set up two venture capital firms with the aim of buying into promising technology start-ups....

Vendors

How did 5G improve a mine in South Africa?

Despite the heavy emphasis on sustainability in 2023, it does not change the fact that global economies are growing beasts, with insatiable...

Regulation

MTN and Airtel win big in Uganda’s 5G spectrum awards

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has announced its first 5G spectrum awards. Reports suggest that a little over 68% of available 5G...

Energy & Sustainability

How does connectivity enhance a dam in Ghana?

Those of us in the telecoms industry have sat through the same keynote speeches, listening to the same messages year after year on how enhanced...

Regulation

Strategic partnership aims to drive .ng domain adoption in Nigeria

The Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has announced an alliance with the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI) to...

Regulation

Ethiopia launches tender for operator number three

As promised

Operators

Mascom gets nod to acquire MTN Business Solutions

Botswana’s Consumer and Competition Authority has unconditionally approved the proposed acquisition of 100% of the issued share capital and all...

Operators

Safaricom poaches MTN exec for Ethiopia CEO role

Safaricom hired MTN executive Wim Vanhelleputte (pictured) as CEO of Safaricom Ethiopia, who will be taking the helm from September 1, and...

Wireless Networks

Bharti Airtel and Alphabet to trial laser-based connectivity in rural India

Indian operator Bharti Airtel has teamed up with Google’s parent company, Alphabet, to pilot the delivery of high-speed internet services across...

Data Centres & Networks

The Paratus Group announces its third data centre in Angola

Network operator Paratus Group has announced plans to construct Angola’s first Tier-IV-by-design data centre in Luanda.

Operators

Angola Telecom privatisation plans cancelled

In a rather surprising move, an Angolan government minister has said that plans to privatise the troubled state-owned operator Angola Telecom...

Operators

Safaricom Ethiopia boss to step down

Safaricom Ethiopia announced its first-ever CEO Anwar Soussa will depart his role on July 31 after taking the helm of the unit almost two years...

Mobile Finance

KCB, Visa and Thales boost contactless payment in Kenya

Cashless innovation continues across Africa. This time Kenyan bank KCB is partnering with payment giant Visa and technology...

Operators

ATC hits back at Smile’s claims

American Tower Corporation has rebuked Smile’s allegation that it “illegally disconnected” the Ugandan operator from its network.

Satellite Networks

SES, Intelsat end merger talks

Satellite company SES ceased merger talks with rival Intelsat, it confirmed in a statement today (June 22).

Operators

South Africa’s Cell C completes network migration

South African operator Cell C has announced the successful completion of its move to a virtual radio access network model – some months before...

Optical & Fixed Networks

Somalian service provider boosts DWDM backbone network

Somalian service provider Somtel is deploying the DZS Saber compact and environmentally hardened coherent optics solutions to future-proof its...

Regulation

CRAN calls for privatisation of MTC and Telecom Namibia to boost competition

The Communications Regulatory Authority of Namibia (CRAN) has talked up the potential benefits of privatising state-owned ICT companies.

Vendors

Malawi’s Yellow receives funding for solar and connectivity products distribution

Malawian asset financier Yellow has closed $14 million in series B funding to expand its business, which involves digital and financial products...

Operators

Uganda’s Smile blames ATC for 15-month outage

4G/LTE provider Smile, which operates in Uganda and East Africa, has apologised to its customers for the outage that has affected its services...

Optical & Fixed Networks

Liquid Intelligent Technologies deploys Mauritius Telecom T3 subsea cable

Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a business of pan-African technology group Cassava Technologies, says it has successfully installed the...

Service Management

Moniepoint-Google Cloud collaboration is ready for growth in Nigeria

Yet another collaboration aimed at the underbanked is claiming strong expectations of growth, this time in Nigeria where Google Cloud and...

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