Chart of the Week: Niger 3G subscribers January - June 2018Source: arcep c. Blycroft 2019

A & ME SUBSCRIBER STATISTICS: Central Africa Mobile Network Subscriber Statistics by Country: 3Q 2018
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019

Blycroft's Mobile Network Statistics for Central Africa cover 11 states and 98.40 million subscribers at the end of the third quarter 2018, up from 96.31 million in the previous quarter. Year-on-year... More

AFRICA: Seasonal downturn for major smartphone markets in Q1
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
The African smartphone market saw a 7.1 percent fall in shipments quarter-on-quarter in 1Q 2019 to 21.5 million units, according to International Data Corporation (IDC). Nigeria and South Africa, ... More

AFRICA: Financial inclusion facility launched
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
The African Development Bank and partners have launched the Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI) which is designed to aid the safety and expansion of digital financial transactions in... More

BAHRAIN: Post-paid continues to rise in Q1
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has published its overview for 1Q 2019. It noted that at the start of 2019 mobile subscriptions continue to decline but at a slower. Between 4Q 2019... More

CAMEROON: Viettel presses for speedy ownership resolution
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Viettel has yet to resolve its dispute with local partner Baba Danpullo. Agence Ecofin reported that Viettel Global, the group holding company, is currently involved in a mediation set-up by the ... More

CAMEROON: IHS 2019 pricing rejected by regulator
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Telecommunications infrastructure provider IHS Cameroon will have to review its 2019 pricing for the provision of passive infrastructure. In a decision dated 10 June 2019 the Director-General of the... More

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: CRASA membership renewed
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
The Autorite de Regulation des Postes et Telecom's (ARPTC) Vice-President Odon Kasindi has announced that the DRC has renewed its membership of the Association of Regulators of Southern Africa ... More

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Court finds against Vodacom
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Following the hearing last week, the Courts have upheld the government's suspension of Vodacom Congo's 2G licence, Reuters has reported, citing the country's Ministry of Telecommunications.... More

ETHIOPIA: MNO licences to be offered in September
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
The government intends to award telecommunication licences to multinational mobile operators by December 2019, ending a state monopoly, ... More

GHANA: Mobile money focus for Vodafone in June
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Vodafone Ghana has upped its campaign to move more than 5 million subscribers onto the Vodafone cash wallet. General Manager, Sales and Distribution, Samuel Sarpong, said: "With the introduction of... More

GHANA: MMI declared a success
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019

Mobile Money Interoperability (MMI) handled more than 4.4 million transactions in its first year of its operation. In the first month of operations some 96,907 transactions were handled, and public... More

GUINEA: Orange flags off capital 4G
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
On 10 June Orange Guinea announced the commercial launch of 4G at a press conference which included Orange Guinea’s Executive Committee. Orange Guinea’s Director-General Babacar Sadikh ... More

ISRAEL: Cellcom starts switching users to new network
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Cellcom has started offering services over the fibre-optic network of the Israel Broadband Company (IBC), even though it has not yet completed an agreement to acquire a majority stake in the wholesale... More

ISRAEL: Partner maintains mobile market share in Q1
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Partner has reported that its total revenues in 1Q 2019 were ILS 794 million (USD 220.2 million), down 4 percent from ILS 826 million (USD 229.1 million) in 1Q 2018. Service revenues in 1Q19 totalling... More

ISRAEL: Concerns expressed over Searchlight bid for Bezeq 
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Bezeq bondholders have reservations regarding the Searchlight bid, with Harel Insurance and Altshuler Shaham thought likely to vote against the bid in its present form, according to ... More

KENYA: CBK records 39% of population now reliant on mobile money
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) reports that there were some 460.11 million transactions were reported in 1Q 2019, equivalent to 3,550 mobile money transfers per minute. In 1Q 2019 some KES 1.... More

KENYA: IXAfrica readiesto start operational delivery phase
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Colocation provider IXAfrica has announced the completion of the design, planning and financing phases of its new mega centre in Nairobi, Kenya. The operator-neutral data centre was designed to bring... More

KENYA: Tax authority targets Safaricom for unpaid tax
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Safaricom is being charged of withholding tax arrears due from major betting firms, SportPesa and Betin Kenya. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is demanding KES 8.59 billion (USD 83.3 million) from... More

LEBANON: Ministry orders Huawei gear for 5G testing
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Minister of Telecommunications Mohamad Choucair has told XinhuaNet in an interview that Huawei is providing his ministry with equipment for ten 5G test base stations, which will be used for 5G network... More

MOROCCO: Inwi readies to join the money club
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Mobile network operator Inwi has announced it will launch of its Wana Money mobile payment service in September 2019.Wana Money’s Managing Director Nicolas Levi made the announcement a... More

NIGERIA: Airtel confirms Nigeria rising star status in 2018
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019

In 2018 Bharti Airtel invested some USD 630 million in high speed Long Term Evolution (LTE)/4G to enhance and improve the customer experience in 14 of its African operations, including Nigeria. ... More

NIGERIA: Emergency communications centres close to launch
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is readying to launch an undisclosed number of Emergency Communications Centres nationally to provide emergency assistance.The regulator has said... More

SOUTH AFRICA: SABC says it needs an immediate bail-out
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
The South African Broadcasting Company (SABC) is now reported to be heavily in debt such that it now needs a ZAR 3.2 billion (USD 215.7 million) injection from the government in order to avoid closure... More

SOUTH AFRICA: ESTEQ acquired by Siemens
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Siemens' South African subsidiary announced on 12 June 2019 that it has completed the acquisition of ESTEQ, a distributor of software and services for life cycle management, product design and ... More

SOUTH SUDAN: MGI signs for HYLAS 4 capacity
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
International telecommunications service provider MGI Global Services has signed a five-year service agreement with satellite Internet service provider Avanti Communications to provide broadband in... More

TURKEY: SD-WAN services offered by Turkcell
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
Turkcell's corporate clients can now take advantage of Software Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) services following an SD-WAN core deployment in partnership with network functions virtualisation ... More

ZAMBIA: Biometric SIM registration mandated
Published in issue 00869 of 20 Jun 2019
The Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority's (ZICTA) Corporate Communications Manager, Edward Mulenga, has said that all Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are to be required to ... More

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