Unitel and Ericsson demo Africa’s first LTE-Advanced technology

Ericsson and Angola's leading telecommunications provider Unitel, successfully demonstrated LTE Advanced (LTE-A) Carrier Aggregation technology for the first time in Africa.

The demonstration was made on both 1800MHz and 900MHz spectrum bands on a commercial network, using a commercial terminal, and took place on December 18, when Unitel transferred data across its live network in Luanda, Angola carrying commercial traffic.

LTE Carrier Aggregation is the next step in the evolution of high-speed mobile broadband services, enabling operators to make the most of their existing spectrum assets by combining multiple spectrum bands to enable higher mobile broadband download speeds.

Amilcar Safeca, Deputy CEO of Unitel says: “Unitel is always innovating to enhance the customer experience. With the global leap towards higher data access speeds for sophisticated video and mobility services, we are enhancing our network to ensure we continually provide high-quality services to our high demanding subscriber base. With this demo we are well on the way to launching in the near future the most advanced mobile network in Angola and perhaps Africa. We are working with Ericsson to make this happen.”

source: www.telecomtiger.com

T-Mobile's Deal With Facebook Is an Important Test

In Facebook's second-quarter conference call, Mark Zuckerberg outlined three main goals for the company going forward. The first was to connect everyone. Google (NASDAQ: GOOG  ) shares this goal with Facebook, and the advertising rivals might end up helping each other.

With a growing number of users accessing Facebook through mobile devices, the company wants to ensure that anyone can access its services. In February, Facebook announced partnerships with 18 carriers in 14 different countries to allow subscribers free or discounted access to Facebook.

The best part about these deals for Facebook is that it isn't footing the bill for data usage.It has helped out with marketing and promotion, but considering its access to one of the largest advertising platforms is all but free, that isn't too much of a burden for the company.

Although the terms of the arrangement with GoSmart were not disclosed, it's likely Facebook has come to similar terms. Considering Facebook's saturation level in the U.S. and the average price per ad in the country, T-Mobile is getting just as good of a deal as Facebook.

Google, on the other hand, is unlikely to make similar deals with carriers. The company's service, by its very nature, sends people to other parts of the web. Instead, Google has taken to setting up free WiFi networks all over the world, including plans for a potential network of balloons or blimps over Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, which could connect an additional 1 billion people.

Google can benefit from Facebook's deals with carriers, however, as more people sign up for data plans once they get a taste of the mobile web. This is what T-Mobile and GoSmart are banking on.

source: www.fool.com

Tigo Tanzania wins GSMA highly commended award in Africa

Tigo Tanzania  has won the Highly Commended Award under the Best Network Improvement category, awarded by global mobile association - GSMA during the continent's prestigious and largest annual communications Congress & Exhibition, Africa Com, held recently in Cape Town, SA.

Tigo was short listed under the Best Network Improvement Category as the sole mobile operator in Africa in the category.

Commenting on the award, Tigo Tanzania's Head of Operations, Mr. Deon Geyser, said that having won in this category is not only an honor for Tigo Tanzania but also a demonstration of its continuous commitment towards quality improvement in mobile services and solutions in the country.

"We have invested heavily in the past year in network quality so that we make our services more accessible and reliable to our valuable customers. Tigo is now available everywhere in the country and at a better quality, therefore this award is a great celebration towards this achievement." he said.

According to Mr. Geyser, Tigo's improvement on network quality is a result of the management teams' turnaround strategy which started implementation in December 2012 across all Tigo operations. "This strategy has led to incredible results such as a 70% reduction in network outage time, 63% reduction in call drops and 300% increase in data throughput."

"Tigo has equally invested in coverage by reaching out to more rural areas and customers across all 30 regions in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. This nationwide presence allows our customers to enjoy calls with better voice enhancement, use data with better 3G internet connectivity and have more reliable Tigo Pesa services where now they can send and receive money with less inconveniences, thus giving them another big reason to smile," further stated Mr. Geysor.

Tigo Tanzania's Head of Planning and Optimization, Mrs. Halima Idd, further explained that the company successfully managed an extremely focused Quality Transformation Program and invested money and other resources into the right areas.

"During our surveys we got a lot of feedback from our customers that our network quality needed improvement, this for us meant urgent measures must be taken. We are a customer centric company and that is in the core of our operations where we develop products and services around key findings from consumer understanding and feedback," Mrs. Idd explained.

She continued, "The Quality Transformation Program that we started implementing in 2012 included; right investments into network resilience, coverage and capacity; controlled changes and project execution; as well as improved operational management. However, all this was complimented by a great team effort internally, a robust organizational structure and key strategic partnerships to achieve the results that were required."

In September, Tigo kicked off an activation caravan dubbed 'Tigo Smile tour' to celebrate the widespread network coverage and reach in rural Tanzania due to launch of more than 280 quality towers in all 30 regions this year.

source: www.zawya.com

British Somalis held over telecom fraud

Gambian authorities have arrested two British nationals of Somali origin over allegations of their involvement in a huge communication fraud in the country, intelligence sources said.

Abdourazak Hazi and Faizal Ahmed Jama were arrested by intelligence officers on Tuesday for the alleged fraud perpetrated on Gambia’s state-run network.

They were apparently able to send vast amounts of information, via the internet and phone calls, for several weeks but avoid any charges, which were instead picked up by the state.

A state security agent said on television that there had been devastating consequences on the network because of their actions.

He said the activities of the suspects are believed to cause massive losses to the national telecommunications operator, though he did not give any specific amount.

“Operatives found two illegal sim card boxes installed, connected and operational at the residence of the suspects who came to The Gambia a few weeks ago,” the security agent who was not identified told state television.

source: midnimo.com

Huawei appoints new North Africa president as part of committee to development accross the region

Huawei, a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, today announced the appointment of Mr. PAN Fan as the president of Huawei’s North Africa Region, a significant appointment reaffirming Huawei’s long-term commitment and investment in this strategically important region.

As president, Mr. Pan will be responsible for Huawei’s overall business and development in North Africa. Mr. Pan’s appointment will strengthen Huawei’s consumer business in different key areas as the company gains momentum to be a recognized leading global brand in ICT industry. In addition to a key objective to ensure the fulfillment of corporate strategies; take responsibility for the overall business results and customer satisfaction of the region; ensure the achievement of the global business goals and competition goals of the key account departments in the region.

Mr. Pan brings with him significant industry experience including within the African continent, having most recently held the position of General Manager of Huawei Nigeria, based in Lagos, where he was oversaw the management and administration of Huawei’s operations in the country.

“I am honored and excited to be given this opportunity to lead the Huawei team in North Africa. ICT has been identified as one of the key economic growth drivers for the region and many governments have made this a priority sector for strategic investments in the next 3 to 5 years. Huawei believes that the digital makeover of the region’s ICT infrastructure will create significant employment opportunities and spur socio-economic growth and investment, and we look forward to contributing to this sustainable development,” said Mr. Pan.

Huawei’s first office in North Africa was established in Cairo, Egypt in 1998, and today, Huawei has a workforce of over 2,000 employees, of which 70% are local hires, in 20 countries across this region. In all of the markets where Huawei operates, the company develops customer-centric products and solutions to meet the needs of its local customers across the carrier network, enterprise and consumer business. In North Africa, this includes providing innovative solutions to create maximum value for telecom operators including Orascom Telecom Group, Maroc Telecom Group, Algeria Telecom, MTN Sudan, Vodafone, Orange, Mobinil, Etisalat, Sudatel Group and Libyana, Huawei also leverages its global innovation capabilities across multiple business disciplines to introduce next-generation technology to the region and provide competitive ICT solutions for its businesses and consumers. In addition, Huawei provides consulting services to customers across multiple technologies including wireless, core network, application and software, fixed network, terminals and devices, managed services and enterprise solutions.

source: africanbrains.net

Vodafone Ghana awards its digital compaign winners

The Vodafone Ghana has awarded winners of its maiden digital campaign dubbed DO More Gh campaign. At a ceremony held in Accra, Lorna Tetteh, Ricky Ansong and Percy Osei-Appiah received GHS 3,000 each and Vodafone souvenirs after sharing their dreams and aspirations on Vodafone Ghana’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages.

Vodafone Ghana in July this year introduced an online campaign to empower young Ghanaians on social media platforms to achieve more with their lives. Themed #DoMoreGh, several people shared their aspirations and dreams on Vodafone Ghana’s social media pages.

Out of hundreds of entries 5 outstanding ambitions were shortlisted and put forward for Ghanaians to vote for the best 3.

Second runner up, Percy Osei-Appiah tweeted that he had written a ‘spoken word’ song on bridging the gap between online and offline communication and needed support to shoot the video.

Ricky Ansong, the first runner up posted on Facebook that he had written a book about children in James Town-Accra and needed support to publish the book so he could distribute to the children.

The ultimate winner Lorna Tetteh, posted on Facebook that she needed financial support for her orphanage ‘Give them Hope’, which she runs with a group of friends.

Speaking at ceremony held on the University of Ghana campus, the Chief Marketing Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Uche Ofodile, reiterated Vodafone Ghana’s commitment in providing Ghanaians with a reliable network that empowers everyone to stay confidently connected. This according to her is done by offering the best experience on our network.