Zegtel, a new Nigerian mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), has announced plans to invest about US$21.8 million over the next five years to expand mobile connectivity across the country.

Digital support for Africa’s MSMEs is again making headlines thanks to news stories about companies in Zambia and Cote d’Ivoire being enabled to digitally boost their businesses.

The London Internet Exchange (LINX), described as the UK’s leading peering community, has announced that pan-African network provider AFR-IX Telecom is the latest member network to join its new interconnection hub in Kenya – LINX Nairobi.

CMC Networks announced on Tuesday it has launched its Air Connect solution in South Africa, which promises to deliver broadband wireless connectivity to businesses in remote and rugged environments.

A remittances-focused partnership has been announced that could see the expansion of M-Pesa, the continent’s leading mobile money and digital payments service, to West Africa.

Actis, a global investor in sustainable infrastructure, has signed an agreement to sell leading South African fibre network operator Octotel to a consortium of investors.

Nigeria has called for a coordinated and multilateral approach by the West African region to protect shared telecommunications infrastructure and diversify connectivity to ensure uninterruptible connections – with particular reference to submarine cables.

Eutelsat Group says it has signed a multi-year, multimillion-dollar deal with African ICT integrator NEC XON to supply connectivity capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa via Eutelsat’s OneWeb LEO satellite constellation.

UPDATED: Telkom South Africa confirmed the sale of its tower unit Swiftnet for ZAR 6.75 billion (US$355 million) to infrastructure-focused private equity firm Actis, a move to pay down debts and balance its books. 

Given the recent damage to many of the subsea cables that provide connectivity to Africa, major connectivity providers have been swift to respond.

Is Ghana accelerating the pace of satellite internet licensing in response to the disruption caused by the widely reported subsea cable damage off the coast of West Africa?

Vodacom South Africa confirmed up to 80 members of staff might be let go in a move to lower costs and continue its strategy to transition from a telecoms to technology company. 

The mobile money market matured as transaction value grew by 14% to US$1.4 trillion and total global registered accounts reached 1.75 billion in 2023, an increase of 12% year-on-year.

Hormuud Telecom launched 5G in key locations across Somalia with 4G customers receiving free upgrades to the next generation technology starting from today (March 21). 

Safaricom Ethiopia’s M-Pesa mobile money service has signed an international money transfer agreement with Onafriq, Africa’s largest digital payments network, which currently operates in 40 African countries.

Cloud-based OTT video platform vendor Perception Group announced on Tuesday that mobile operator Africell Angola has launched AfriTV, an OTT mobile TV service using Perception’s TVCDN platform.

The Nigerian neobank Kuda is reportedly expanding its reach with new payment licences in Tanzania and Canada.

Telecoms and agriculture are in the news yet again. Service provider MTN Nigeria has announced plans to partner the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), in disseminating weather and climate information to farmers and other users across Nigeria.

Research group Opensignal has produced its latest analysis of the mobile network customer experience in South Africa, in which, it says, MTN again takes home the largest haul of awards.

Wholesale connectivity provider Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet), which operates Botswana’s largest fibre network, is boosting its offering with solutions from DZS.

Airtel Tanzania managing director Dinesh Balsingh revealed the operator had expanded its coverage with newly constructed towers, as part of an initiative to boost connectivity in rural locations, The Citizen reported.

MTN Uganda Mobile Money managing director and CEO Richard Yego revealed the operator is aiming to almost double its loans to UGX1 trillion (US$256,000) this year. 

As Nigeria’s MVNO sector gathers pace, software solutions provider Mobilise has launched Tier 5 MVNE services to cater to this burgeoning market segment.

EcoCloud, a leading Kenyan provider of sustainable data centre solutions, and G42, a UAE-headquartered technology holding group, have announced a memorandum of understanding (MoU) highlighting plans for a data centre powered by geothermal energy.

TowerCo of Africa Uganda has procured funding of US$40 million to boost coverage in rural areas of the country.

Oil and gas production are major industries in the Middle East, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa and other regions covered by this publication. But should telecoms monitor the effect of these industries on the environment – and if so, how? Two possible answers come in the form of a recently launched satellite.

MTN South Africa has launched a new collaboration with the Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board in a bid to address network infrastructure theft and vandalism.

Satellite technology company Avanti Communications has been granted the authorisation required for its HYLAS 4 satellite gateway station in Diamniadio, Senegal, about 32 kilometres from Dakar.