DESPITE the arrival and successful operation of a third undersea fibre optic cable, East Africa Submarine System (EASSy) the penetration of the internet in rural communities is still very low. (more…)
Tags: African mobile networks, African Telecoms, Bridging the digital divide, Kenyan internet
According to IT News Africa, Econet Wireless Group (EWG) of South Africa has started moves to block the sale of Kuwaiti-based Zain’s interests in Zain Nigeria until a ruling on a dispute over ownership of the company is passed. Last week media reports indicated that the Zain Group, a mobile telecoms company with operations in 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa, may agree to a deal to sell its African operations to French company Vivendi for up to USD12 billion.
Tags: African mobile networks, Econet, ForgetMeNot Africa, Nigeria, Zain, Zimbabwe
Strive Masiyiwa
As founder and chief executive of Econet Wireless he has pursued his ambition of creating a truly African multinational business, spinning a web that spans seven countries, more than 25 million customers and generates an estimated $3bn (£1.8bn) in annual revenues. He has fought his way through Africa’s often tangled legal jungle and had the security forces on his tail – more often than not sitting outside his house.
Next week his legal team will enter a courtroom in the Netherlands to mount the next challenge: throwing a spanner in the works of what could potentially be one of the biggest deals in African history, the $10bn sale of rival mobile-phone operation Zain.
Read the rest on the Guardian website…
Source: Guardian
Tags: African mobile networks, Econet, Nigeria, Zain, Zimbabwe
SMS Applications come into their own when the majority of subscribers don’t have smartphones.
Juniper Research believes that, in 2008, approximately 45% of mobile devices sold worldwide were socalled ‘entry-level’ handsets (which… Nokia defines as being handsets with a retail value less than $60). A small but growing proportion of this total is accounted for by ultra-low cost handsets, which retail for $15 or less.
Of the 700 million low-cost handsets expected to be sold in 2014, Juniper Research believes that the greatest proportion – around 24% – will be sold in Africa and the Middle East…
Tags: African mobile networks, Bridging the digital divide, digital divide debate, ForgetMeNot Africa, Handsets, Low cost handsets, Ultra low cost handsets
Business is getting tougher for operators as a consequence of slowing growth rates, increasing competition and falling ARPUs, and the global economic slowdown according to Mathew Reed from Telecoms.com. (more…)
