All Tech News

Earth observation and data analysis are in the news again thanks to two MoUs of strong relevance to Africa.

Indian company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), a major name in IT services, consulting, and business solutions, has announced the opening of a new delivery centre in Londrina, a city in southern Brazil.

Submarine cable network operator and managed connectivity service provider Seacom has launched a low-earth-orbit (LEO) satellite service for its enterprise clients in South Africa.

Global smartphone shipments increased 7.8% year-on-year to 289.4 million units in Q1 2024, marking a third consecutive quarter of growth and indicating that recovery of handset sales is well underway. 

Lebanon-based OTT video platform provider Mangomolo says it has won a deal with UPICtv, the OTT commercial wing of Botswana Fibre Networks (BoFiNet), to provide a turnkey solution for The Ministry of Youth, Gender, Sport & Culture (MYSC) of Botswana.

Viettel Business Solutions, a subsidiary of Viettel Group, announced on Friday that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singtel to collaborate on deploying the first subsea cable directly connecting Vietnam and Singapore.

This week saw a potentially highly significant signing ceremony take place when representatives of Iraq’s Informatics and Telecommunications Public Company (ITPC) and the Kuwaiti service provider Zajil Telecom signed a strategic collaboration agreement to create a communications route from the Gulf to Europe.

Executives at Philippine broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions have reportedly said that two major international subsea cable networks it’s participating in are behind schedule and may not be completed until next year.

South African operator MTN has responded to the country’s ongoing power blackouts with further investment in generators in an attempt to make up for the deficiencies of state electricity provider Eskom.

Saudi oil giant Aramco has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GCT Semiconductor Holding, a leading designer and supplier of advanced 5G and 4G semiconductor solutions.

Vietnamese telecoms firm Viettel reportedly inaugurated its new data centre in Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park in Hanoi on Wednesday, claiming it to be one of the largest such facilities in Vietnam to date.

Eutelsat Group announced on Tuesday that its LEO satellite unit OneWeb is providing broadband services in Antarctica for British Antarctic Survey (BAS) on a trial basis.

Philippine telco PLDT and its wireless unit Smart Communications, have established a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCOE) to help build up the skilled workforce needed to support its cloud strategy.

Google says its Firmina submarine cable has now landed on the Argentine mainland.

Ericsson and Orange Egypt announced on Monday that they have signed a multi-year deal to collaborate on accelerating the telco’s digital transformation by fortifying its backend and building a resilient architecture across its network.

Kacific Broadband Satellites Group revealed on Monday it’s collaborating with Microsoft’s Airband initiative to connect rural educational and healthcare institutions across developing countries in the Asia Pacific using satellite broadband connectivity.

Indian data centre company CtrlS has launched Google Cloud Interconnect services in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi.

Africa Data Centres, Africa’s largest network of interconnected, carrier and cloud-neutral data centre facilities, say it has broken ground on the construction of a solar farm in South Africa's Free State in collaboration with DPA Southern Africa, a joint company of the French energy utility EDF.

Indonesian telco Telkomsel has announced that it has launched an eSIM service for local customers, making it the last of the country’s major operators to do so, as the industry awaits upcoming eSIM regulations from telecoms regulator Kominfo.

Remittances are in the news yet again, this time in the shape of LemFi, a cross-border payment solution that allows people in the diaspora to send and receive funds back home. LemFi has announced that it has secured the approval of the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to operate remittances in Kenya.

Indonesia’s Minister of Communication and Information Technology (Kominfo), Budi Arie Setiadi, has reportedly claimed that Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison and Nvidia intend to invest in an artificial intelligence (AI) centre in Central Java sometime this year.

SpaceX, which designs, manufactures and launches advanced rockets and spacecraft, has applied to Indonesia's government for an internet service provider (ISP) permit for its Starlink satellite unit, according to a statement from the country’s communications ministry late this week.

Bangladesh operator Banglalink has partnered with mobile financial service provider bKash and City Bank to finance 4G smartphone purchases for customers to make the devices more affordable and in turn boost 4G adoption.

China Mobile has launched what it claims is the world’s first commercial 5G-Advanced network ahead of the standard’s expected completion later this year, and is collaborating with Ericsson to develop use cases for it.

Thuraya, the mobile satellite communication arm of UAE satellite player Yahsat, announced on Tuesday that it has expanded its partnership with Algérie Télécom Satellite to become the authorised distributor of Thuraya’s new direct-to-device (D2D) satellite smartphone in Algeria.

Malaysian broadband operator Time dotCom announed on Tuesday that it has started upgrading its existing Time Fibre Home customers with a permanent speed boost of at least 200 Mbps that it says will deliver a better online experience.

PLDT’s wireless subsidiary Smart Communications revealed on Tuesday it has deployed an AI-powered 'green radio' network solution in all its base station sites that has enabled it to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions as well as opex costs.

The Saudi Arabian market is to welcome a new player in the cybersecurity solutions field through a venture established by a Public Investment Fund-owned company alongside Korean security solutions business AhnLab. 

Vodacom Mozambique is widely reported to be investing US$25 million in a new data centre in the country.

YouScribe, described as the largest digital reading library on the African continent with over one million subscribers, has announced the launch of its services in Ghana in partnership with mobile payment specialist Digital Virgo and operator MTN.

Telkom Indonesia announced on Monday it is collaborating with IT firm Scala Japan to develop digital innovations and utilise Telkom’s digital agriculture platform to strengthen Indonesia’s agricultural ecosystem and food sustainability.