Another South African telecom firm waves goodbye to the Kenyan market

South African fixed-line telecom operator, Telkom SA, last month made a dramatic retreat from the East African market, selling loss-making units iWayAfrica and Africa Online to Gondwana International Networks. Telkom SA’s sale highlights the competitive and difficult environment facing many telecom companies and Internet service providers as new technologies and better-funded competitors dominate the market and influence the pricing of products and services. Analysts expect the sale to set up the telecom market across Africa for mergers and acquisitions to consolidate market share. It also brings to the fore how a number of South African companies are struggling to penetrate the East African market. The financial details of the Telkom SA transaction were not disclosed, but the operator termed the companies an “immaterial part of the group”. “This transaction is one of many initiatives that will contribute to our own turnaround, allowing us to focus on our core South African fixed-line and mobile operations,” said Telkom SA CEO Sipho Maseko. 


source: www.standardmedia.co

high-speed internet hits Arusha

Smile Communications (Tanzania), a company that specialiases in providing high speed Internet services, has opened for business in Arusha. Smile deals in the new 4G LTE.

Arusha, located to the northern part of Tanzania with booming developments and the headquarters of the East African Community, becomes the second place after the initial launch in Dar es Salaam during May this year.

These developments make Tanzania the first country in Africa to gain access to this revolutionary technology of its ultra-high speed broadband Internet access, the Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) billed as the cutting-edge fourth -generation mobile technology.

Speaking in Arusha recently, Fiona McGloin, the Country Manager for Smile Communications in Tanzania and Uganda, said Smile was confident that providing reliable, high speed Internet will significantly contribute to the success of Arusha. Smile hopes to give Arusha a faster , more reliable and cost effective service.

Arusha is famed for its cosmopolitan city with regional and International Institutions and Organizations such as the EAC, Africa's Human Right Court, Commonwealth Regional Health Secretariat, WWF and more, including institutions of higher learning, corporate businesses, tour and travel agents as well as SMEs, NGOs and residents.

"Smile Communications Tanzania rolls out the high speed Internet to Arusha that is comparable to the speed and quality enjoyed in Europe, said Ms McGloin adding that Tanzania was the first country to be connected with the fastest, most reliable Internet service at a transparent competitive price and high-level customer satisfaction and service".

The Arusha launch came in on the sidelines of the 10 year celebration of the Tanzania Communication Regulatory Authority (TCRA), cited by Smile Communications Tanzania as a regulatory authority which factors in conducive investment policies.

McGloin said that the laying of the fiber optic cables has to a greater extent boosted Internet uptake by people for development - all being the motivating factors for Smile to invest in Tanzania.

source: www.allafrica.com