Telecoms
From telco data wars, to 5G, Techpoint Africa brings you the latest update on connectivity, telecom companies, Internet service providers, Internet infrastructure among others.
Top stories
Following repeated calls from telcos for tariff increases, the federal government intends to reintroduce telecom taxes and other fiscal policies on Nigerians to secure a new $750 million loan from the World Bank.
Safaricom has announced that it earned KShs 139.9 billion ($1.07 billion) before interest and tax in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024. The earnings exceeded market expectations and the group’s guidance range.
Airtel Africa plans to take its mobile money unit, Airtel Money, public in 2025 while expanding to more countries, with a valuation of $4 billion.
Botswana’s President, Mokgweetsi Masisi, reportedly met with SpaceX executives who expressed an interest in obtaining an operational licence in the country. This comes after Starlink’s application was denied in the region.
Telecom Namibia, a government-owned telecom service provider in Namibia, has announced its partnerships with three debt collection agencies to recover monies owed to it by clients.
Following the restoration of Internet and television services due to a recent technical issue with an undersea cable, Mauritius Telecom is said to be in talks to install a new subsea cable linking Africa, the Indian Ocean islands, and Asia.
MTN Nigeria generated over ₦700 billion in revenue in Q1 2024, but experienced ₦656.4 billion in foreign exchange losses and a decreased user base due to the NCC NIN-SIM directive.
Guinea and Gambia have reportedly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a second subsea optical fibre cable. They plan to collaborate on a feasibility study for the development.
Telecommunications companies in Nigeria are considering raising service prices to offset operational costs.
Forty-three new players are entering Nigeria’s telecoms space with MVNO licences in a matter of months. Heading some of the first MVNOs in the world, Ernest Akinlola gives a detailed breakdown of what this means for Nigeria.
Following a loss of ₦27 billion reported by MTN and Airtel, the Nigerian government plans to impose penalties for damaging broadband cables.
Bayobab, an MTN Group’s digital infrastructure subsidiary, has announced the acquisition of MTN Zambia’s fibre assets following organisational restructuring.
MTN Group and Huawei have officially launched the Technology Innovation Lab in South Africa, which aims to improve connectivity in remote areas while increasing the development and adoption of innovative technology.
South African telco Seacom has launched a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite service in South Africa. This move comes two months after the company experienced a subsea cable system outage lasting over 48 hours in the Red Sea region.
A few days after announcing that it would disconnect subscribers using its roaming service in Zimbabwe, Starlink has warned that users outside of unlicensed locations would have their service turned off by the end of April 2024.
MTN MoMo has expanded to 10 new countries and 25 wallet corridors for a 4% launch fee. This comes after Mastercard committed to investing $200 million in MTN Group fintech in February 2024.
Vodacom Tanzania has acquired Smile Communication Tanzania Limited for TZS 68.8 billion ($27.4 million) on a debt-free, cash-free basis to accelerate the rollout of its 4G and 5G network services.
Niger and Togo may enter into a bilateral free-roaming agreement to facilitate electronic communication services between the two countries.
Airtel Africa has purchased 8.6 million ordinary shares from Citigroup as part of a $100 million buyback programme that began on March 1, 2024.
Following two months of Internet blackouts in Sudan, mobile network service providers have partially regained coverage in the war-torn country.