News from Sub-Saharan Africa

Regulation

Nigeria’s NCC introduces device management system to combat phone-related crime

Regulator the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has introduced a device management system (DMS). The NCC DMS is described as a...

Optical & Fixed Networks

Kenya Pipeline Company joins leading ISP to boost intercity data capacity

Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), a state corporation that transports, stores and delivers petroleum products to consumers, but that also has a...

Satellite Networks

Starlink boosts traffic for rural Nigerian cell sites 45%, says AMN

Africa Mobile Networks (AMN) said on Monday that it has connected more than 100 rural base stations in Nigeria to Starlink’s LEO satellite...

Satellite Networks

Lobby group files lawsuit to support Starlink's access to Kenyan market

In a rather unusual turn of events, a Kenyan lobby group has apparently filed a lawsuit against operator Safaricom, along with regulator the...

Operators

MTN CEO Mupita cleared of wrongdoing allegations

MTN Group’s board publicly backed CEO Ralph Mupita after an independent investigation found no evidence to support allegations of misconduct made...

Data Centres & Networks

If Gartner’s Magic Quadrant turns to US hyperscalers, how will emerging markets react?

The Gartner Magic Quadrant has been a highly influential metric in the technology sector for over ten years. As an ostensibly objective analysis...

Vendors

Sierra Leone and Malawi announce digital development deals with Chinese vendors

Two recent deals in Sierra Leone and Malawi underline the continuing role of Chinese telecommunications in general, and tech giant Huawei in...

Humanitarian Comms

ETC lights up gigabit subsea link in Sudan for humanitarian ops

The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) for Sudan reports that it has installed a new dedicated subsea fibre connection in Port Sudan to...

Optical & Fixed Networks

Telesonic and Hotspot Network poised to enhance Nigerian connectivity

Two positive announcements for Nigerian connectivity have made headlines in the past week – one from pan-African operator Airtel Africa’s...

Regulation

QoS issues back on the agenda as Mauritanian operators face more fines

Not for the first time, officials in Mauritania have targeted mobile operators for alleged failure to provide a service of acceptable...

Wireless Networks

WHO finds no link between mobile phones and brain cancer

The World Health Organization found there is no link between brain and head cancer from use of mobile phones or being situated close to mobile...

Optical & Fixed Networks

Guinea adds Côte d'Ivoire to regional fibre interconnectivity plan

Guinea's Ministry of Posts, Telecommunications and the Digital Economy (MPTEN) reportedly plans to interconnect the country’s national fibre...

Mobile Finance

Multiple players battle for share of Ugandan remittance services market

International money transfer operator Sasai Money Transfer has announced that it has partnered with Airtel Money, the payments division of...

Consumer Ecosystems

Mauritius provides free mobile internet for 18-25-year-olds

The government of Mauritius has launched a new scheme under which citizens aged 18 to 25 years are eligible to get free mobile internet services...

Investment

Burkina Faso to expand connectivity to more underserved areas by 2027

Burkina Faso is planning to extend mobile and internet services to 1,000 remote areas over the next three years. These areas, known as ‘white...

Vendors

Nokia dismisses Samsung link to Mobile Networks unit

Nokia shot down speculation from a Bloomberg report claiming that it is prepping its mobile unit for a US$10 billion sale for suitors including...

Wireless Networks

Orange Liberia, ZTE boost rural connectivity with new 2G/4G sites

Orange Liberia and ZTE said on Thursday they have successfully completed a project to build new base station sites in rural areas across the...

Regulation

Nigeria’s NCC sets one last deadline for SIM registration

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has set 14 September 2024 as the final registration date for subscriber identification module (SIM)...

Satellite Networks

Starlink grows in Africa with announcements in Botswana, Ghana and Kenya

There’s been a flurry of African news from Starlink – satellite communications company SpaceX’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellite internet...

Optical & Fixed Networks

Bayobab Kenya completes fibre network from Mombasa to Uganda

Bayobab Kenya, part of Bayobab Group, the digital infrastructure business arm of MTN Group, announced on Tuesday the completion of a terrestrial...

Energy & Sustainability

Renewable energy expansion planned for iColo’s Kenyan data centres

iColo, which designs, builds, and operates state of- the-art carrier-neutral data centres in Kenya and Mozambique, has announced a significant...

Satellite Networks

Safaricom urges Kenyan regulator to make Starlink partner with telcos

Kenyan telco Safaricom has reportedly written a letter to the Communications Authority of Kenya complaining that LEO satellite operator Starlink...

Wireless Networks

Nokia and NGIC partner for open-access and cloud-based network in Ghana

Nokia has announced that it is further strengthening its partnership with 4G and 5G network-as-a-service (NaaS) operator Next-Gen InfraCo (NGIC)...

Satellite Networks

Airtel Nigeria sets up Eutelsat OneWeb satellite dish

Airtel Nigeria says it has successfully set up a satellite dish in Lagos for Eutelsat OneWeb’s LEO satellite broadband service, which it says...

Investment

South Africa's ACT calls for OTT contribution to network infrastructure

The question of whether over-the-top (OTT) services need to pay for the infrastructure they use has come up again – this time in South Africa,...

Data Centres & Networks

Raxio Group inaugurates DRC’s largest data centre

A second big data centre story this month has come from the Democratic Republic of Congo as it inaugurates a US$30 million data centre from Raxio...

Mobile Finance

Ethio Telecom enhances remittance with Visa

Ethio Telecom partnered with financial powerhouse Visa to launch the first Visa digital wallet in Ethiopia, a move the operator claimed...

Regulation

Liberian regulator addresses short code assignment issues

The Acting Board of the Liberia Telecommunications Authority (LTA) has signed two major regulations which, it argues, are aimed at enhancing...

Enterprise Ecosystems

Nigeria plans to use data to support agricultural productivity

Nigeria’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, in collaboration with the country’s National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), has...

Devices & Platforms

African smartphone market grew by 6%

The African smartphone market saw smartphone shipments grow by 6% year-on-year to 17.8 million units in Q2 2024, continuing recovery over the...

Satellite Networks

Zambia completes US$14m ground station for first satellite

Zambia has completed the construction of a ground receiving station which it says will pave the way for the launch of the country's long-awaited...

Operators

MTN points to Nigeria and Sudan for loss

MTN Group saw a ZAR9 billion (US$506 million) loss and blamed the ongoing battle against currency devaluation in Nigeria and grappling with the...

Regulation

ICASA to streamline licence process for new LEO satellite players

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has kicked off a consultation process to develop a new framework that will make...

Satellite Networks

Senegal enters African space race with GAINDESAT-1A nanosat

Senegal finally launched its first-ever satellite, GAINDESAT-1A, into orbit on Friday – after numerous delays – marking the first stage of its...

Operators

MTN, IHS bury the hatchet

MTN Group and IHS Towers pledged to work constructively to resolve a governance issue as the firms push to bolster their relationship after...

Operators

Vodacom pledges more cash for South Africa

Vodacom pledged to spend ZAR800 million (US$44.4 million) this financial year to upgrade its network and deliver connectivity to deep remote...

Satellite Networks

MTN's Bayobab taps Eutelsat for LEO satellites

MTN subsidiary Bayobab signed a multi-year deal to integrate Eutelsat’s LEO satellites, a move to expand cellular backhaul and coverage in rural...

Data Centres & Networks

First phase of DRC’s first Tier III data centre is live

The first phase of OADC Texaf Digital, a joint venture between African data centre company Open Access Data Centres (OADC) and TEXAF, a major...

Investment

Uganda’s troubled service provider UTel to receive major cash boost

In a deal that seems to have been finalised last week but has only recently been widely reported, Uganda plans to sell 60% of its troubled...

Regulation

South African 2G and 3G switch-off plans causing concern

Local industry association the Association of Communications and Technology wants the South African government to lift its deadline for shutting...

Operators

Both Ethiopian operators announce positive news

The two competitors in what is an effective mobile operator duopoly in Ethiopia have both made headlines this week with upbeat news.

Wireless Networks

Safaricom extends 5G to all counties in Kenya, but coverage still low

Safaricom announced on Monday that its 5G network is now available in all 47 counties in Kenya, which it claims makes it the biggest 5G operator...

Satellite Networks

Azercosmos announces satcoms deal in Botswana

Azercosmos, Azerbaijan's space agency, and the Civil Aviation Authority of Botswana have announced a new partnership, described as a ‘new...

Enterprise Ecosystems

Nigeria to establish digital free zones to attract tech businesses

Nigeria’s federal government has launched an initiative to establish digital free zones in the country. These zones will be designed to attract...

Cloud & Virtualisation

Liquid Intelligent Technologies announces first Azure Stack in Uganda

African technology business Liquid Intelligent Technologies has announced the official launch of the first Microsoft Azure Stack in Uganda.

Operators

Axian Telecom poaches MTN executive as new boss

Pan-African operator group Axian Telecom poached MTN Nigeria COO Hassan Jaber (pictured) as its new group CEO, as the challenger operator...

Operators

MTN gets green light to dump Guinea-Bissau to Telecel

MTN Group announced it received regulatory approval to sell its Guinea-Bissau unit to Telecel Group as the operator pushes on with its plan to...

Investment

Clear Mobitel promises big investment in Zimbabwe telecoms

Clear Mobitel, a UK-based technology data company, has announced plans to invest US$200 million in Zimbabwe’s telecommunications sector.

Wireless Networks

IHS Towers renews and extends leases with MTN Nigeria

Independent tower operator IHS Towers announced on Wednesday that its subsidiary in Nigeria has signed a deal with MTN Nigeria to renew and...

Mobile Finance

MTN Nigeria takes full control of MoMo PSB

MTN Nigeria says it has taken full ownership of Mobile Money Payment Service Bank (MoMo PSB) after buying the 7.17% share owned by Acxani Capital...

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