Developing Telecoms - Has mobile money had its day in Africa?

Mobile money is one of the great success stories in Africa – or at least, this is the popular narrative around the technology. In this two-part series of Features, we will examine mobile money’s impact in Africa, and the extent to which it really has revolutionised financial inclusion in the continent.

Orange revealed it pulled out of plans to acquire a 45% stake in Ethiopian operator Ethio Telecom, stating it saw no new value creation by going ahead with the move.

Axiata Group reported profits were hit by an asset charge stemming from its Nepalese unit however growth was reported across most of its operators.

China Unicom faced huge challenges in operating a centralised customer contact centre serving users in 31 provinces across China. The centre handles the largest number of users (420 million) and the highest traffic volume (100 million calls/month) in China.

New statistics from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) suggest that while internet connectivity and usage is on the rise, it’s barely making a dent in the digital divide as low-income countries continue to be left behind.

Indonesian operator XL Axiata revealed that Garut Resort Police have arrested a group of fraudsters who ran a scam by impersonating XL Home service officers to steal home broadband routers.

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) expanded its broadband business with the acquisition of rival MNC Play, as the company bets on broadband being a growth accelerator from 2024. 

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Orange have joined forces to support over the next two years the establishment of a viable business model for a high-quality standard secondary market of mobile devices and networks/IT equipment in Egypt.

Malaysian telecoms infrastructure services provider REDtone Digital says it has signed an authorised reseller agreement with SpaceX to offer Starlink's LEO satellite broadband services in Malaysia.

Thai telco True Corporation has unveiled its strategy for sustainable artificial intelligence (AI) adoption that includes new guidelines for ethical usage of the technology in Thailand.

Korean telco SK Telecom said on Monday it has signed several new publishing partnerships, including one with Malaysian operator CelcomDigi, to expand its metaverse product “ifland” to Southeast Asia.