Airtel scoops 2013 African operator award

BHARTI Airtel, one of the country’s leading telecommunications service providers with operations in 20 countries across South Asia and Africa, has been recognised as the African Operator for 2013 at the CommsMEA Awards.
Airtel out-shined strong shortlisted contenders, among others the MTN Group, Vodacom and Nedjma, at the eighth edition of the event held at Jumeirah Emirates Tower in Dubai.
The event was attended by over 300 executives from the telecommunications sector, vendors, ministers and regulators.
The award recognises excellence within the telecommunications sector across the Middle East and Africa.
This is according to a statement released in Lusaka yesterday.
The winners were picked from a record number of nominations by a judging panel.
Bharti Airtel managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) (international), Manoj Kohli is elated by the achievement.
“We are humbled by this recognition and the trust that the international industry panel, consumers and other stakeholders have placed on Airtel since our entry into Africa in 2010,” he said.
Mr Kohli said in the past three years, the company has succeeded in serving more communities within countries it operates.

source: www.daily-mail.co

ZICTA threatens operators with more criminal proceedings over QoS

The Zambia Information and Communication Technology Authority (ZICTA) has threatened continued criminal proceedings against mobile operators if they fail to improve their services.

ZICTA has already sued the operators to seek remedial measures relating to the enforcement of quality service pursuant to Zambia’s Information and Communication Technology law of 2009. According to ZICTA, the law gives it powers to protect the rights and interests of customers where they are being exploited.

ZICTA says the provision of poor services by the operators were criminal in nature because subscribers are being exploited.

The organisation said it has handled over the docket it opened in July this year to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for perusal and further instructions before the matter goes to court.

ZICTA accuses the three operators, MTN Zamtel and Airtel of failing to meet the minimum standards of quality of service.

source: www.biztechafrica.com

Airtel Malawi establishes new data centre

One of Malawi’s two mobile phone service companies, Airtel Malawi has unveiled a new data centre in Malawi’s commercial capital, Blantyre which double Airtel’s capacity, thereby enabling the company to host additional ICT infrastructure.

Airtel Malawi Managing Director Saulos Chilima disclosed that his company has injected over US$1 million into the project which will support customers’ growing business needs.

“The data centre will enable Airtel Malawi provide first class data services to customers as it will help eliminate congestion on the systems and ensure systems stability,” declared Chilima who presided over its Commissioning.

Following the launch of the new data centre, Chilima said Airtel Malawi will now unveil cloud computing systems in the next few weeks.

“As a result of the project’s investment, it is expected that Airtel will improve stability of the systems, increase the service offerings and respond to customer’s needs more favourably,” said Chilima.

He explained that cloud computing is an overarching term which defines the myriad tools that enable idea-sharing, non-hierarchical decision making and the full utilisation of the world’s massive ‘cognitive surplus’ the ability of the world’s population to collaborate on large, sometimes global projects.

source: www.biztechafrica.com

Bharti Airtel bucks trend after brokerage upgrade

the BSE Sensex was down 135.85 points, or 0.65%, to 20,789.76.

On BSE, so far 77,000 shares were traded in the counter, compared with an average volume of 3.61 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 329.50 and a low of Rs 324.50 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 373.50 on 1 November 2013. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 266.95 on 5 April 2013.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 12 December 2013, sliding 4.15% compared with the Sensex's 3.17% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 1.67% as against Sensex's 5.78% rise.

The large-cap company has an equity capital of Rs 1998.70 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.

The foreign brokerage also raised its target price on the stock to Rs 375 per share. According to the brokerage house, risk reward in case of Bharti Airtel (Airtel) has turned favourable, India pricing pressures have abated, data ramp-up is at inflection point and Africa operations have stabilised.

Airtel and Reliance Jio Infocomm (Reliance Jio) on 10 December 2013, announced a comprehensive telecom infrastructure sharing arrangement under which they will share infrastructure created by both parties. This will include optic fibre network - inter and intra city, submarine cable networks, towers and internet broadband services and other such opportunities identified in the future. The cooperation is aimed at avoiding duplication of infrastructure, wherever possible, and to preserve capital and the environment. This will also provide redundancy in order to ensure seamless services to customers of the respective parties.

On 9 December 2011, the company announced partnership with Government of Punjab to expand high speed 4G LTE services across the state. The company will invest over Rs 4000 crore in the Indian State of Punjab over the next 5 years to expand services and contribute to the Government of Punjab's digital inclusion agenda. Airtel and the Government of Punjab signed an agreement on the sidelines of the Progressive Punjab Investors Summit, under which Airtel will take its high speed 4G LTE services to all towns and villages across Punjab.

Bharti Airtel's consolidated net profit declined 29% to Rs 512 crore on 9.9% growth in net sales to Rs 21324.40 crore in Q2 September 2013 over Q2 September 2012.

source: www.bussiness-standard.co

Airtel to buy warid Congo

The deal, still subject to regulatory and statutory approval, will make Airtel the largest mobile operator in Congo, ahead of MTN. "This acquisition is in line with our stated strategy of strengthening our market position through in-country acquisitions, as and when suitable opportunities come along, "said Bharti Airtel MD and CEO (International) Manoj Kohli in a news release.

Having acquired Warid Uganda in May, Airtel hopes that the acquisition will strengthen its 2 G and 3 G networks. So far no financial terms have been released by the two telecom companies.

Bharti Airtel which is 32 per cent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, has since June 2010 bought several firms in Africa.

source :www.allafrica.com

connect to learn partners connect 3 millenium schools

Airtel is helping Connect To Learn, a global education initiative of the Earth Institute, Ericsson and Millennium Promise, to provide mobile broadband connectivity to three new schools under the authority of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in Ghana. This is a first step in an ambitious plan to provide mobile broadband connectivity to some 50 new schools being built by AMA. This project is part of Airtel’s ongoing support for Connect To Learn   which uses Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to help improve the quality of learning in secondary education across schools in Africa. Ericsson will provide access to its cloud-based solutions developed to support the global Connect To Learn initiative. Ericsson will also provide 3G routers as well as a minimum of 150 netbooks to be distributed among the three schools. Ericsson employees will also work hand-in-hand with teachers in the schools as part of a professional development program to improve their ability to use ICT in the classroom.

source: www.spyghana.com

in Africa , Bharti shifts focus from volume to value

The Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel is shifting from a volume-based strategy to a value one in Africa.

Africa has been a higher average-revenue-per-user (ARPU) market.

For the September quarter, it saw signs of growth in Africa after three quarters on a shift from just customer acquisition. Now, the strategy involves focusing on markets with high-value customers and high-ARPU retail customers. The company is trying to draw people to data-based services.

“Initially, Airtel needed to grab subscriber market share to penetrate the market. Now, it is time to inculcate value out of it,” said an analyst with a management consulting firm.

During the quarter, Airtel’s customer base in Africa increased three per cent, while the monthly churn dropped to 6.6 per cent from 6.7 per cent the previous quarter. Voice ARPU increased four per cent, while voice usage a customer rose seven per cent compared to the previous quarter. During the quarter, data customer base increased 13 per cent; at $1.5, a 15 per cent increase was seen in data ARPU, while data usage per customer increased 21 per cent. Total data usage on the network jumped 34 per cent. Year-on-year, data ARPU rose 46 per cent, and total MB on network increased 97 per cent. But, voice ARPU declined 15 per cent on the year-on-year basis. “Clearly, Airtel is focusing on data-based services, which is the under-penetrated segment and would boost net realisation in the coming quarters,” said a telecom analyst with a management consulting firm.

Meanwhile, Airtel’s net realisation in Africa, voice and data, fell in July-September. While voice realisation dipped two per cent to 3.3 cents, data realisation (an MB) dropped four per cent to 1.74 cents, compared to the previous quarter. “After three tough quarters, the Africa market is again buzzing and showing good growth momentum. The mobile customer base is growing again, rates are stable, mobile internet is growing and mobile commerce is booming,” Managing Director Manoj Kohli had said, after announcing the quarterly results.

Revenue from Africa operations rose two per cent to $1.1 billion during the quarter, against $1.09 billion a year ago.

Quarter-on-quarter revenue growth for the Africa business was about 5.4 per cent, primarily backed by net addition of about 2.18 million subscribers and a rise of seven per cent in minutes of usage on the network. At 29.6 per cent, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) margins for the Africa business were almost flat.

“The revenue growth in Africa reflects the inherent potential in the world’s most promising continent. I am also pleased to see the evolution of Airtel Money, a significant service in geographies that are relatively under-banked,” Mittal had said in a statement.

A Bharti Airtel spokesperson said, “For us, Africa is a growth market and we are there for the long term. We have always said we wanted to bring affordable and innovative services to Africa and that is what we are investing in. We have already done the hard work by overhauling the network and technology across our operations, and are now focused on growing the market. We have the largest 3G network in Africa, across 14 countries, and have rolled out Airtel Money across all our 17 markets.”

source: www.businesss-standard.com

Kirusa captures the imagination of Ghanaians with celeb connect service

ACCRA, GHANA and NEW YORK, NY and CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA--(Marketwired - Nov 14, 2013) - Kirusa, the leader in voice and social media solutions for mobile users in emerging markets, announced a partnership with Makeba Creates, a leading celebrity agency in Ghana. This partnership enables top celebrities like John Dumelo, Efya, Mzbel, Reggie Rockstone, amongst others, to more personally engage with their fans in their own voice.

Using Celeb Connect, celebrities can share their daily lives, thoughts, and emotions in their own voice with their fans. Participating stars can call or use smartphones to leave messages. These messages are then delivered immediately to fans, who can listen to what is happening in their most cherished celebrities' lives, in the celebrities' own voice, which creates a "Voice Twitter"-like experience. Ghanaian subscribers can see messages, call, and listen to what's happening over the phone, or on the web at vobolo.com, and can share with their friends on Facebook and Twitter. Further, the fans get an opportunity to speak and engage with the celebrities on-line and off-line.

The Celeb Connect service, powered by Kirusa's Vobolo™ social media platform, is currently available to mobile subscribers of Airtel, Tigo, and Vodafone in Ghana. Airtel and Vodafone users can dial 2510 and Tigo users can dial 1001 from their mobile and subscribe to the service.

There is a huge interest amongst Ghanaian people to listen to the daily happenings in the lives of their stars, with a whopping 860,000 people following John Dumelo, Efya, Mzbel, and Reggie Rockstone in the first few months. To share a perspective, these stars have 240,000+ followers on Twitter and 700,000+ on Facebook.

Makeba Boateng, CEO, Makeba Creates Ltd., states, "Kirusa's Vobolo platform is unrivaled in its state-of-the-art technology and innovative solutions. Our proficiency in our respective fields delivers a privileged service to the fans. Connecting celebrities to consumers is an inevitable development of the digital age. It has been happening online for many years now and using mobile voice is an added dimension."

source: www.marketwired.com

Africa: airtel partners with radio express on branded radio shows in 35 radio stations accross Africa

Airtel with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, announced today that it has partnered with Radio Express, a leading international branded audio company, to launch two newly created shows on local radio stations across 17 African countries.

The weekly countdown shows, Airtel Music Express (in English) and Airtel Musique Express (in French) are produced by Radio Express and feature the hottest Hip-Hop, R&B, and pop artists on the African airwaves, connecting people to performers from Africa and beyond. Both shows feature global hits, as well as local hits in each country. The charts are based on airplay reports from dominant mainstream music radio stations throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Airtel Music Express is an English language program hosted by African superstar IK ("I.K."), and features music from artists including Wyre (Kenya), Tiwa Savage (Nigeria), Magic System (Côte d'Ivoire), Bebe Cool (Uganda), and Lady Jaydee (Tanzania). Airtel Music Express airs weekly in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Seychelles, on six stations in Ghana and on 13 stations across Nigeria, including Lagos, Abuja, Pt. Harcourt, Jos, Benin, Awka, Nsukka, Ibadan, Kaduna, Kano, Oraifite and Effurun.

The second radio show, Airtel Musique Express is a French language program hosted by African personality, Jed, and features music from French-speaking artists like Alain Ramanisum (Mauritius), Constance (Senegal), DJ Arafat (Côte d'Ivoire) and Fally Ipupa (Dem. Rep. of Congo). Airtel Musique Express airs weekly in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Niger, Chad, Rep. of Congo, Dem. Rep. of Congo and in Gabon.

Andre Beyers, Chief Marketing Officer at Airtel Africa, said: "Our objective is to raise brand and product awareness for Airtel among consumers in Africa. Radio is the world's most accessible and personally engaging mass medium, and it was a natural choice to work with Radio Express and these popular radio stations to bring Airtel Music Express and Airtel Musique Express to music lovers across these 17 countries. We think listeners will love the mix of world music and local music hits in the shows' engaging countdown format."

He added: "Airtel Music Express helps communicate our commitment to supporting up and coming performers and their music."

source :allafrica.com

Uganda : Airtel to buy warid congo

The deal, still subject to regulatory and statutory approval, will make Airtel the largest mobile operator in Congo, ahead of MTN. "This acquisition is in line with our stated strategy of strengthening our market position through in-country acquisitions, as and when suitable opportunities come along, "said Bharti Airtel MD and CEO (International) Manoj Kohli in a news release.

Having acquired Warid Uganda in May, Airtel hopes that the acquisition will strengthen its 2G and 3G networks. So far no financial terms have been released by the two telecom companies.

Bharti Airtel which is 32 per cent owned by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, has since June 2010 bought several firms in Africa.

source : allafrica.com

Airtel launches " Go for it " youth compaign

Airtel Networks Zambia Plc, Zambia’s leading Telecommunication Company has launched  the much awaited for youth targeted initiative dubbed “Go for It”.

The launch of the campaign comes against the background of Airtel’s vision of enriching the lives of millions of Zambia’s youths and empowering them with the relevant tools and initiatives for deepening data usage and knowledge.

Airtel has made major upgrades to its 3.75 G network to deliver a world class mobile internet service. Airtel has also upgraded the billing system which will see build on the numerous innovative services that are launched.  

Airtel  Managing Director Ms.  Charity Lumpa said  “ The Airtel “Go for it” Campaign  is offering the youth an exciting, very affordable high-speed Internet service which  allows them to make video calls, have quick and easy access to social sites, email; download music quickly and  even originate and participate in video blogs.”

She further explained that “Airtel has launched the campaign to motivate the youth so to work towards achieving their dreams and using the world class mobile internet platform as a means of generating  revenue generating activities as emerging entrepreneurs.

Airtel customers can subscribe to tailor-made data bundles and make exciting savings by dialing *575# and just “Go for it” she added.

Airtel Tanzania inks partnership deal with Manchester united

Airtel Tanzania has announced a partnership deal with English Premier League champions Manchester United that will see the operator's customers win all-expenses-paid trips to watch the club's matches live at Old Trafford stadium. Airtel Tanzania MD Sunil Colaso said the partnership underlines the company's commitment to partner with major global brands and bring them close to its customers. The announcement was made during the launch of the operator's promotion 'Mimi Ni Bingwa' (I'm the champion) that seeks to reward its customers with over TZS 500 million worth of prizes.

source:  telcompaper.com