Gabon Wagers on High-Speed Internet

Gabon wants to be a player in the digital economy on the African continent and a regional hub hosting enterprises in the sector. The authorities of the middle-income African country have announced this goal in their quest to diversify Gabon’s economy and reduce its dependence on oil.

At the TransformAfrica summit on new technologies held in Kigali, Rwanda, in late 2013, Gabon’s president, Ali Bongo Ondimba, declared that Gabon’s connection to the Central African high-speed fiber optic network by 2015 would mark the “first step of a journey toward digital independence.” The president stated, “If we want to change the lives of our citizens, we need to act quickly to make ICTs a top priority.”

According to ARCEP, Gabon’s Postal and Electronic Communications Regulatory Agency, out of a population of 1.6 million, Gabon had only 497,371 Internet subscribers (mobile and fixed) at the end of 2012, and high-speed 3G and 4G mobile connections were not yet available. Thus the country lags far behind its goal to increase Internet speed for the public. Development of high-speed mobile and fixed Internet in Gabon cannot be achieved without fiber optic infrastructure to facilitate high-quality, low-cost transmission of digital applications, services, and content to citizens and businesses across the country.

source: www.worldbank.org

OnMobile bets on 3G boom for VAS push in India

While caller tunes, which contribute about 70% to our overall revenues, are primary focus, we are now in the process of rolling out other services in the areas of music and sports as well. For example, we acquired Livewire, which offers high quality, personalised service at low cost, in the US in July. We also recently won a large deal with MTN, the largest operator in Middle East and Africa, with 200 million users, and we have a contract to roll out services in 22 countries where MTN is present. Latin America and Africa contributes 26% to revenues, and , in the last 1-1.5 years, besides emerging markets, we are also focusing on rolling out VAS services in Europe and North America.

Out of 120 million users globally, we have 45 million in India. While in the last 1-1.5 years, OnMobile has witnessed a de-growth of 20-22% in India, due to regulatory intervention for promotional services and the downturn in the telecom and VAS industry, this does not reflect the opportunities that lie ahead. With 800 million mobile users in the country, a lot of them first time mobile internet users, we are seeing a lot of demand for VAS services on the mobile in local languages. There are also enough developers who want to provide services to these customers.

The ecosystem being developed for anybody who wants to provide these services. In the next 2-3 years, we will see a lot more services on mobile.

source: www.dnaindia.com

Top Selling Gadgets In Nigeria This Season

A little over a decade ago, land phones and mobiles (or nought-nine-nought) were exclusive to the top class of Nigeria’s society. Put simply, the presence of a landline in a household represented affluence and cellphones were the private jets of this age. But with the advent of GSM technology in 2001, mobile telephony gradually became easily accessible, even to people living in the remotest part of Nigeria.

Between 2009 – 2010, the smartphone trend, which was also exclusive to a certain class of the country’s over 170 million population, surfaced. However, when Chinese phone maker Tecno ventured into the Nigerian market it presented a opportunity for Nigeria’s fast-rising middle class to access services available on smartphones. Other phone makers, i.e. Solo Phone, soon followed suit, providing cheap, yet standard services on affordable smartphonesto all who move with the trend of new gadgets in the country’s increasingly demanding and tech-savvy population.

In 2013, the “gadget boom” continued with the launch of a series of eye-catching phones, tablets, and gadgets and stiff competition for market share between major phone makers, i.e. Samsung, Apple, Tecno and Blackberry (Yes, Blackberry still accounts for a significant percentage of the market share in Nigeria), while mobile penetration experienced a surge across the Africa. Thus, consumers have benefited from innovative competition between phone makers, with citizens now afforded the luxury to select from a wider range of products.

During this festive season, our team scanned through the retail markets to spot a few of the top selling devices

source: www.ventures-africa.com

watching television on mobile phones on the increase

Watching television on mobile phones is expected to become common soon as mobile operators increase value added services on their networks. The move is driven by the increasing attempt by various telecommunication companies to grow revenue streams across Sub-Saharan Africa. The growing number of smartphones in the market and deployment of faster networks by mobile operators are aiding the shift in consumption of TV content. Though delivery of TV content on mobile phone seems futuristic especially in Africa, telecommunications infrastructure firm Ericsson says there will be 913 million mobile connections in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2019. It adds that 65 per cent of these connections would be on the third generation (3G) network.

source: www.standardmedia.co

south Africans spend more on mobile

South Africans spend more on their mobile bill than the global average, new research from the GSMA shows.

According to the “Sub-Saharan Africa Mobile Economy 2013” report by the GSMA, South Africa’s Average revenue per subscriber (ARPU) is recorded at $25.4 (R264) – above the global average of $25 (R260) and a Sub-Saharan Africa average of $13.6 (R141).

It follows a study commissioned by Informa Telecoms & Media in July 2013, which found that smartphone users in South Africa spend on average US$31 (R321) per month on their mobile phone bills.

ARPU levels vary significantly across the SSA region – largely driven by differing GDP per capita and income levels – but remain in line with the developing market average, the GSMA said.

The only exception is South Africa which, of the larger markets, has ARPUs above the global average level – reflecting mainly high average income levels in the country.

source : businesstech.co

is Ethopian government stifling in telecommunications

The mobile reception in my neighborhood had been spotty for days preceding my call with Andrew Rugege, the director of the Africa Regional Office at the International Telecommunications Union. I wanted to talk about information communications technology, or ICT, across the African continent -- and here in Ethiopia particularly -- to learn how developing countries are using technology to encourage economic growth. 
 
But just as Rugege began to speak, the line went dead. I called back, but promptly lost the signal again. By the end of our talk, we'd had to reconnect seven times.
 
I had first met Rugege at a conference the week before, when he presented the findings of "Measuring the Information Society," ITU's annual report that tracks and compares ICT progress in countries around the world. Speaking in front of journalists, techies and international diplomats in a ballroom at Addis Ababa's Sheraton Hotel, Rugege had a positive prognosis for the continent. "I'm very optimistic about Africa and the potential that ICT holds for us," he said. "What countries on this continent are doing for e-commerce, for e-agriculture, for e-education -- it's phenomenal."
 
Connectivity across the continent is indeed getting better, and African countries are making some of the biggest leaps in terms of mobile and Internet penetration. But growth is easier when you're starting from a low base -- of the 157 countries surveyed in ITU's ICT Development Index, the worst-ranking 22 are all African. 
 
Ethiopia in particular is lagging behind. Ethio Telecom, the sole telecommunications provider in the country, is owned by the government, which has no plans to open up the sector to private competition. The country came in 40th out of the 46 African nations included in the ITU report and has an Internet penetration rate of less than 2 percent, despite being home to the continent's second-largest population, the biggest economy in East and Central Africa, and a fast-developing capital city that hosts the African Union and a number of international summits.
 
"Although Ethiopia's ranking is very low, there's a lot of activity in Addis, and these issues happen when you have very steep growth," Rugege said during our intermittent phone conversation. "I know the government is making efforts to alleviate these problems."
 source: ibtimes.com

Mideast operators join race for African telecoms

Connecting another billion people to the internet is an ambition for many mobile operators, which see the relatively untapped markets of Africa as the next big opportunity for growth.

With a lack of fixed-line infrastructure in many parts of the continent, people have embraced smartphones as their means of connecting to the web, which has placed mobile operators among the main providers of internet services in Africa.

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The number of broadband connections over cellular networks is expected to top 250m by the end of 2015. A fifth of internet traffic in Africa will be carried by mobile broadband by 2015, according to Informa Telecoms and Media, compared with 3 per cent globally.

Demand for telecoms services is high, as parts of the continent are becoming increasingly affluent. However, poorer areas also represent a good opportunity for telecoms operators that offer plans designed to get users connected to social networking sites using mobile devices.

Mobile is at the centre of life in Africa, where it has applications from sending vaccination reminders by text to credit lines for farmers. The M-Pesa mobile payment system is so successful that it acts as a quasi-currency.

telecom Namibia slashes price for 2013-2114

Telecom Namibia has reduced its tariffs for 2013/14, with effect from 01 December, as part of the company's efforts to stimulate traffic to key international destinations and facilitate economic growth and development, The New Era reported. Peak tariff for calls to RSA mobile destinations will go down by 8 percent while off-peak RSA mobile and RSA fixed call charges will be unchanged. Peak tariffs for calls to Angola, Germany, UK, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, France and Kenya will be cut by an average of 10 percent while off-peak tariffs to the same destinations will go down by an average of 8.5 percent for both fixed and mobile destinations. Call tariffs for the US and Rest of the World will be reduced by 9 percent for both mobile and fixed line destinations. Tariffs to call Zimbabwe mobile will be increased to NAD 4.35 and NAD 5.15 per minute for postpaid and prepaid, respectively. The Talk International package will enable fixed line residential customers (post-paid) to benefit from preferential tariffs to selected international destinations and bundled minutes. With this plan, calls to all fixed and mobile RSA destinations will cost NAD 0.99 per minute. Calls to Germany, the UK and the US will be charged at NAD 1.99 per minute for both fixed and mobile destinations. Calls to Angola, Botswana and Zambia will be charged at NAD 1.49 per minute for both fixed and mobile destinations. The Talk International call plan costs NAD 199 per month, with customers awarded 100 free minutes for international destinations. Telecom Namibia fixed to mobile tariffs will be reduced from NAD1.49 to 1.29 per minute. Local call tariffs for CallMaker will be reduced by 15 percent, while CallMaker national call tariffs for peak and off-peak will be reduced by 16 percent and 12 percent respectively. The validity periods for the initial CallMaker starter pack will be revised from 180 days to 360 days.

source : telecompaper.com

3G specifications

This is a set of standards used for mobile devices and mobile telecommunication use services and networks that comply with the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications by the International Telecommunication Union. 3G finds application in wireless voice telephony, mobile Internet access, fixed wireless Internet access, video calls and mobile TV.

Several telecommunications companies market wireless mobile Internet services as 3G, indicating that the advertised service is provided over a 3G wireless network. Services advertised as 3G are required to meet IMT-2000 technical standards, including standards for reliability and speed (data transfer rates). To meet the IMT-2000 standards, a system is required to provide peak data rates of at least 200 kbit/s (about 0.2Mbit/s). However, many services advertised as 3G provide higher speed than the minimum technical requirements for a 3G service. Recent 3G releases, often denoted 3.5G and 3.75G, also provide mobile broadband access of several Mbit/s to smartphones and mobile modems in laptop computers.

liquid telecom Kenya to offer home users internet, tv

Liquid Telecom Kenya is set to launch an Internet Protocol television (IPTV) service in Nairobi in 2014. ITWebAfrica from South Africa reports that the Internet Service Provider will offer a mix of "free" and premium channels, possibly in partnership with DSTv.

In September, Liquid Telecom Kenya announced that it would be getting back into retail sector, with a pilot launch in 3 to 6 months. The video service may thus be offered alongside retail Internet, making Liquid Telecom the second ISP in Kenya to offer TV and Internet, the other being Wananchi Group with their Zuku Service.

Safaricom has also being reported as setting its sight on offering TV and Video to its subscribers. The firm is currently spending KSh. 10 billion on laying fibre across the country - which may be extended to home users or used to offer data intensive video services via mobile. Related stories

Shahab Meshki takes new role at Liquid Telecom tasked with multi-country SLAs Zuku TV hits 35,000 subscribers as units stock out

KDN sees service improvement after buy out by Liquid Telecom Richard Alden takes over as Wananschi Group CEO

source : allafrica.com

Dubai holding unit sees telecom stakes sale in few months

Dubai Holding's telecom unit could conclude the sale of stakes in two other telecom firms in the next few months, its chief executive said, part of a strategy by state-linked companies to sell assets to repay the emirate's debt pile.

Dubai Holding, owned by the ruler of the emirate, is among a group of state-linked companies trying to recover from a 2009 property crash. The firms face debt repayments of about $50 billion over the next three years.

Its unit, Emirates International Telecommunications LLC (EIT) is seeking to sell its 35 percent stake in Tunisia's state-owned Tunisie Telecom and 26 percent stake in Dubai-based mobile phone retailer Axiom Telecom.

J.P. Morgan Chase estimates the sales of the minority stakes could generate $1 billion in total.

EIT Chief Executive Deepak Padmanabhan said on Tuesday that formal sale processes were underway.

"The process (Tunisian sale) is still going on. Given the current political climate it would be a few months ... The government has been so far supportive but it is the overall political climate that is the challenge," he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Abu Dhabi.

source : www.reuters.com