Investment improves connectivity in Ghana
Vantage Capital has announced that the Deutsche Investitions- und EntwicklungsgesellschaftmbH (DEG) and four other European investors are contributing approximately $60-million to Vantage’s third fund. DEG’s commitment to Fund III is $20-million. In addition the DEG is providing $15-million to a co-investment with Vantage in Surfline Communications, the leading 4G LTE network operator in Ghana. Vantage invested $15-million in Surfline from its second fund late last year. DEG believes that the investment in Surfline will contribute to improve internet connectivity in Ghana and as such be an important factor to bridge the digital divide. The funds committed by DEG to Surfline will be used for the on-going expansion of the company’s 4G LTE network in Ghana as well as to enhance its product distribution and marketing capabilities. By deploying the first 4G LTE mobile network in Ghana, Surfline is able to offer high-speed internet connectivity (up to 10 times faster than the average speeds offered by the existing mobile network operators) at pricing that is competitive with existing internet service providers. The network achieved an extremely successful commercial launch in August 2014 and is experiencing tremendous growth in its customer base.
Malawi drives digital growth
Malawi recently took a significant step towards creating a digital payment ecosystem in order to address poverty and drive inclusive growth. An event organised by the Government of Malawi with the UNCDF’s Better Than Cash Alliance and Mobile Money for the Poor initiatives brought together digital payments players to accelerate the progress of digital finance in Malawi. The convening also marked the release of an in-depth analysis of the country’s readiness to transition from a nearly cash-only economy to one where digital payments are widely available through an ecosystem approach. Tillman Bruett, Mobile Money for the Poor (MM4P), said that thestudy showed that the of amount ofthe active adult Malawian population using digital financial services is expected to progress from 3,5% at the start of 2015, to 15% by 2019. As part of the programme, UNCDF plans to provide technical and financial assistance to build capacity in public and private sector organisations to support the switch from cash to digital for the most promising payments streams identified in the research.
African schools offered hands-on technological experience
Oracle Academy and the Raspberry Pi Foundation have officially launched Oracle Raspberry Pi Weather Station for Schools, an ambitious project to join thousands of schools in Africa and around the world in a global science experiment. Participating schools will receive a Raspberry Pi hardware kit for students to build and operate their own weather station with the aim of gaining valuable skills spanning computing, meteorology and geography. In addition to building a weather station, the kits teach students to write application code that logs a range of weather data, including wind speed, direction, temperature, pressure, and humidity. Supplemental teaching materials for classroom use will be made available on the Oracle Academy website. The Oracle Raspberry Pi Weather Station project is targeted at students aged 11-16 years old. Students will be asked to write applications to operate their weather station and record data in a cloud-hosted Oracle database, which they can then query through SQL elements developed in collaboration with Oracle Academy. They will also develop a website on Raspberry Pi to display local weather conditions that can be accessed by other participating schools. Additionally, students will be able to access a “Weather Station for Schools” microsite to blog about their experiences, interact with other participating schools around the globe, and receive online technical support.
Botswana striving to be regional ICT hub
Assistant Minister of Presidential Affairs Phillip Makgalemele on has announced that the Botswana government is committed to ensure that as a country they position ourselves as a regional ICT hub with lasting social, cultural, political and economic impact on our people. Speaking at an e-government workshop held in Gaborone, Makgalemele said it is not in the distant future that Government will be able to leverage online platforms to provide public services and interact with the people. Government has invested in a system where people will access services through a variety of means: through web, tablets and smart phones and at any time. In the next few months Botswana will be developing some e-services for the launch of the new portal for public use.
Nigeria: Internet users grow to 83,4-million
According to the latest figures from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the number of internet users in Nigeria increased to 83,4-million in February 2015.
According to the NCC there was an increase of 1,32-million internet users on the GSM and CDMA networks in February 2015. Of the total, 83,21-million were on GSM networks, while 153 434 users were on the CDMA networks. Among the GSM operators, MTN Nigeria had 39,28-million customers browsing the internet on its network, and MTN had an increase of 104 896 internet subscribers in February 2015 to a total 39,8-million users.
Kenya: Safaricom announces plan to expand 3G network coverage
Telecommunications operator Safaricom plans to expand its existing 3G network to cover 80% of Kenya’s population. The resulting expansion would push its coverage up from the present 69% of Kenyans covered. The company also plans to roll out 4G services to some 13 additional towns by the end of the year, up from the two cities it currently covers. The company also added that fibre optic cable connections would be extended to 10 more areas in the country. Overall, the recent period has shown Safaricom’s capital expenditure rose 21% to KE$33,7-billion over the year. CEO Bob Collymore said the set-top boxes that it plans to launch will receive TV and data services using 4G.He added that the company expects free cashflow of KE$25-26-billion, down from KE$27,5-billion last financial year. Safaricom posted 17% growth in EBITDA to KE$71,2 billion from KE$60,9-billion with an EBITDA margin of 43,6%, up 1,4%.
Orange Tunisia grows to 3-million users
After five years on the local market Orange has announced that it has attracted some three million users, positioning the operator as showing it can compete.The announcement of solid growth comes after the company announced that Samsung’s flagship Galaxy devices are now available to all its users as well as potential new customers. This is likely to spur interest in the company as more and more Tunisians are using their smartphone and other mobile devices to browse the Internet. The company claims that they always aimed to give Tunisians access to the latest technological innovations, simplify communication, create jobs and commit, as a responsible operator, to put digital to the service of Tunisian society. Orange launched the first 3G network in 2010 in Tunisia, just ahead of the uprising that ousted its government in January 2011, and the network now covers 88% of the population.The operator has around 1200 employees and is responsible for the creation of over 4500 jobs in Tunisia.
Vodafone Ghana to invest millions in network
As part of Vodafone Ghana’s overall push to increase its services and connectivity it has announced an investment of around USD700-million to improve its network capacity and lines across Ghana. Vodafone subsidiaries across Africa and the globe have been pushing forward on investment efforts to bolster their bandwidth and capacities as more and more users are becoming connected via mobile phones. The announcement comes after regulators in Ghana and across the continent have urged operators to push forward and enhance existing networks. Vodafone Ghana believes that by improving the existing network, it will enable small businesses and regular customers to have improved service on the go and at the same time should increase revenue by cutting costs for Vodafone.
Telecom adds Zambian ISP to portfolio
In a move to expand business, CEC Liquid Telecom has acquired Zambia’s second largest internet service provider, Realtime. Realtime Technology Alliance Africa (Realtime) will now focus on the retail and business markets in Zambia, which are not regulated by the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA). According to the company, the aim is to deliver communications services to businesses and households across Zambia through the use of satellite and fibre networks that CEC Liquid establishes,and the existing Wimax network. Realtime will also be one of the first resellers for Fibroniks, Liquid Telecom’s FTTH service over which homes and businesses of all sizes can receive 100 Mbps, the currently the fastest broadband available in Zambia. The Fibroniks service – with its unlimited data packages – is initially available to 15 600 homes and businesses in Lusaka including the areas of Rhodes Park, Northmead, Long Acres, Sunningdale and Kabulonga. The company said the expansion of services would be gradual through the end of the year, with much of the focus on Lusaka and then the rural areas of the country.
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