Cameroon to Licence More Cellcos

Cameroon’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Jean Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam, has announced that the government will license up to two new mobile operators in the next few months, local newspaper Le Messager reports. The Minister hopes the introduction of further competition in the market will lead to lower tariffs and improved quality of service.

Mr Biyiti Bi Essam also revealed that the government plans to deploy more than 5,000km of fibre-optic cable by 2011 to help the country cope with increased traffic, as well as boost access to broadband services.

Cameroon is home to two wireless operators: market leader MTN Cameroon, which reported a subscriber base of 4.443 million at 31 March 2010, while France Telecom-owned Orange Cameroun followed with 2.829 million customers. The pair have held a duopoly on the market for over ten years.

Cameron Acts on Internet Fraud As It's Reported to Have the Riskiest Sites

Cameroon starts the new year as home to the world's riskiest Internet sites according to cyber-security firm McAfee. The government says it is drafting new laws to punish Internet fraud.

Cameroon's place atop the Internet fraud list is partly a result of the alphabet.

Criminals are taking advantage of Cameroon's Internet suffix ".cm" to trick careless Web surfers who mistype the popular ".com" suffix. By establishing false ".cm" sites that appear similar to the ".com" Web page people thought they were going to, criminals can acquire personal information for identity theft and spread spyware and malicious downloads.

The U.S. cyber security firm McAfee says more than one-third of Web sites hosted in Cameroon are suspicious, putting the West African nation ahead of China, Samoa, the Philippines and the former Soviet Union as the world's riskiest destination for Internet surfers.

But Cameroon's minister of posts and telecommunications, Jean-Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam, says the McAfee study does not reflect everything that is going on in Cameroon.

Biyiti Bi Essam says Cameroon is still at the beginning of its Internet development, and it is at this moment that McAfee is making its judgment. He says President Paul Biya's government has read the report and is responding, first by moving to improve security.

Biyiti Bi Essam says Cameroon is working with South Korea on a project to improve Internet security. He says the study has been completed and action will soon be taken to boost Internet security, electronic commerce, and electronic banking in Cameroon. The minister says the government is also drafting laws against cyber criminality.

Tougher criminal penalties are a big part of solving the problem as McAfee says cyber-criminals target regions that pose the least risk of being caught and where registering sites is cheap and convenient.

Cameroon's government has its own problems with computer hackers as official government sites were crashed several times last year, preventing people from accessing on-line information. Web sites for Cameroonian newspapers have also been hacked, sometimes to place advertisements for the sale of protected species.

McAfee's third annual report on worldwide Internet security says the countries with the safest domains are Japan, Ireland, and Croatia.

 - Voice of America.

MTN Attributes Fall In SA Growth To Sim Registration

­South Africa's MTN Group has announced that it had a shade under 108.5 million subscribers at the end of September. This is a 5% increase for the quarter from 103.2 million subscribers recorded at the end of  June 2009 and a 19.6% increase for the year to date.

The South and East Africa (SEA) region increased its subscriber base by a very modest 0.5% for the quarter. This was primarily due to the disappointing negative movement of the South Africa subscriber base which contributes 64% to the region. South Africa's subscriber base declined from 17.23 million at the end of June 2009 to 16.42 million at the end of September. The main reason for the movement is the significantly lower number of gross connections following the implementation of RICA in August, which requires PrePay SIM cards to be registered with the operators. Given the current market uncertainty following the RICA implementation there are challenges with South Africa achieving its revised target of zero net additions for the full year.

Uganda increased its subscriber base by 11% in the quarter following the continued success of MTN Zone which now constitutes 95% of the total prepaid base.

The West and Central Africa (WECA) region increased its subscriber base by 5% for the quarter driven mainly by Nigeria which accounts for 58% of the region's subscribers. Nigeria recorded a 5% increase in its subscriber base to 28.76 million mainly due to continued network rollout, innovative product offerings and the effectiveness of the distribution channels implemented earlier in 2009. Ghana maintained its market share and increased its subscriber base by 2,6% despite aggressive competitor activity. Both Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire increased their subscriber bases by 4% and 5% to 4.19 million and 4.21 million, respectively.

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region recorded a 9% increase in subscribers for the quarter. This was largely due to continued growth from the Iran operation, which contributes 62% to the region's subscribers and increased its base by 8% to 20.7 million. Iran's growth was attributable mainly to expanded network coverage and continued promotional activity. Syria increased its subscriber base by 13% to 4 million, well above expectations. Afghanistan, although a relatively smaller operation, has been steadily contributing positively to the region's growth and has gained No. 1 position in the market from No 3 at the beginning of 2009.

MTN has revised its subscriber net addition guidance for the year for South Africa to zero and for Syria to 550,000 while other individually disclosed country guidance remains the same. MTN expects to achieve the total group subscriber net addition guidance for 2009 of 22.6 million.

Cameroon: MTN, CamTel Dispute "Settled"

Cameroonian newspaper Le Messager is reporting that the country's telecoms regulator, Agence de Regulation des Telecommunications (ART), has settled a dispute between state-owned incumbent telco CamTel and mobile operator MTN Cameroon regarding the cellco's deployment of an 81km fibre-optic cable in Douala.

Decision No 000113/Art/Dg/DajciI of 11 August 2009 signed by the director general of ART, Jean-Louis Mbeh Mengue, requests MTN to halt deployment of fibre-optics in the city, and subjects the cellco to a penalty of CFA10 million (USD22,000) per day of delay from the date of service.

According to the report, ART said that the cellco did not obtain approval from the relevant state agencies for the deployment of its network, stating that amongst other things, MTN has not met 'technical specifications for civil engineering of telecommunications networks in Cameroon' and has not complied with 'provisions of Decree No. 77/526 of 23 December 1977 on the protection of cables or electric, water pipes or gas, sewage or equipment of the same nature.'

CamTel objected to MTN's project, claiming that it holds exclusive responsibility for the installation and management of optical fibre for intercity and urban areas.

France Telecom Plans To Cut Call Rates With New System

France Telecom (Orange) intends to cut the cost of call services in most of its African markets by implementing a new system it calls ‘Cell Broadcast’, Arnauld Blondet, the director for emerging countries, announced on Tuesday.

‘We launched Cell Broadcast in Botswana under the [local] name Sesolo. With the number of people interested in that offer, we can be optimistic about trying it soon in most of our African subsidiaries,’ Blondet told news agency PANA at the presentation of the technique.

France Telecom operates in 15 African countries including Egypt, Uganda, Mauritius, Madagascar, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Niger, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Kenya and Equatorial Guinea.

Essar Acquires GSM Licence in Uganda

A unit of Essar Group has won a licence in Uganda to build a USD 200 million GSM phone network, India's Mint newspaper reported. Unlisted Essar Teleholdings, which obtained a similar licence in Kenya last year, will own 90 percent of the venture, the paper said, quoting a group official.

The company said it has paid USD 3 million for frequency charges to the Uganda Communication Commission and will launch the service in August in a joint venture with Kenyan Telecom Uganda, a local telecom company. It quoted Srinivasa Iyengar, managing director of Essar Telecom Kenya.

Uganda has six mobile phone operators, of which MTN is the market leader with a 45 percent share. Essar Teleholdings has also decided to bid for licences in Tanzania, Congo and Cameroon, the paper said.

MTN Reports Growth In Subscriber Numbers

­South Africa based MTN Group has published an update of its global subscriber based and recorded 98.2 million customers at 31 March 2009. This is an 8% increase for the quarter from 90.65 million subscribers recorded at the end of last year. The company noted that while strong subscriber growth continues to be a feature in almost all countries in which it operates in, currency volatility has generally had a more negative impact on ARPU reported in US$. Changes to spending patterns have been varied as economies respond to the global economic situation.

South and East Africa (SEA) region contributed 26% (December 2008: 27%) of the Group's total subscribers while West and Central Africa (WECA) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) contributed 45% (December 2008: 44%) and 29% (December 2008: 29%), respectively.

The SEA region increased its subscriber base by 4% for the quarter. The South African operation contributes 69% to the region's subscribers, increasing 2% to 17.43 million for the quarter ended 31 March 2009. The modest increase in subscribers was due to the mix of seasonal trends, weakening economic conditions and aggressive competition. Uganda increased its subscriber base by 13% due to the continued success of MTN Zone.

The WECA region increased its subscriber base by 10% for the quarter. The strong growth in the region was primarily due to growth in Nigeria which contributes 59% to the region's subscribers and recorded a 12% increase in its subscriber base to 25.9 million. This was mainly due to continued improvements in network quality and capacity with 173 BTS's added in the quarter. Ghana increased its subscriber base by 5% despite fierce competition. Both Cameroon and Cote d'Ivoire increased their subscriber bases by 7% to 3.82 million and 3.81 million respectively.

The MENA region recorded a 9% increase in subscribers for the quarter. This was due to continued growth from the Iran operation, which contributes 63% to the region's subscribers and increased its subscribers by 14% to 18,252,000. The disappointing slowdown of subscriber acquisitions in Sudan and Syria is mainly attributed to the economic downturn in the respective countries. Sudan increased its subscriber base to 2.66 million while Syria saw its base drop by 3% to 3.43 million subscribers.

MTN South Africa's blended ARPU decreased by 6%. This is as a result of increased penetration into lower market segments, seasonal trends and a slowdown in consumer spending. Iran's ARPU remain relatively stable notwithstanding seasonal trends and increased penetration. The decline of many local currencies against the US$ has negatively affected ARPU trends. Larger operations including Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Syria and Sudan experienced significantly more resilience in local currency ARPU than reflected in the reported US$ number.

RFI, France 24 in Orange Partnership

Didier Lombard, Chairman and CEO of France Telecom-Orange and Alain de Pouzilhac, Chairman and CEO of Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France today signed a strategic global partnership for news over the web, mobiles and TV.  

This agreement aims to extend FRANCE 24’s and Radio France International’s (RFI) international broadcasting as well as jointly develop innovative projects.

Thanks to this partnership with Orange, the news departments of Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France, FRANCE 24 and RFI are undertaking the largest ever deployment of their news services, in all languages, over the largest number of networks (satellite, IPTV, web, mobiles).

FRANCE 24’s broadcasting on Orange networks will shortly increase from six to 13 countries and from seven to 36 channels (IPTV, web, mobile and satellite).

RFI’s live and podcast feeds will increase from the 12 currently available on LiveRadio to nearly 80 within the next few weeks. RFI’s broadcasting will also be extended over the Internet and mobiles.

In France, from January 14, FRANCE 24 will be available in French and English on Orange TV (ADSL and satellite), TV over Internet and TV on Orange mobiles. The Arabic version will start broadcasting by the end of April.

The partnership signed between Audiovisuel Extérieur de la France and Orange also aims to enrich the news experience available to Orange customers.

A new interactive service will allow viewers to pick and choose from all the channel’s broadcasts and have immediate access to televised news updated every half hour. It will allow in-depth analysis of key news topics using audiovisual reporting, debates and documentaries. There will also be a dedicated channel to cover large events and special editions of FRANCE 24. This is a first for Orange, never having until now produced an interactive service for a channel outside the Group.

For RFI, the mobile services running on a trial basis in the Ivory Coast and in Cameroon will be deployed in six African countries. RFI’s “Journal Afrique” available via the Audiotel kiosk has shown rapid and great success, particularly in the Ivory Coast with 240,000 subscribers recording a daily peak of 175,000 calls. New services are also being studied to exploit RFI’s content, brands and audiences among Orange customers worldwide.