TZ Govt Owes TTCL $501,000

The government of Tanzania reportedly owes state-backed national PTO Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) more than TZS7.2 billion (USD501,000) in unpaid communication services bills, making it hard for the telco to improve its financial position and roll out services to underserved areas.

The telco’s chief executive officer, Mr Said Said, is quoted as saying that his company needs TZS322 billion (USD230 million) to invest in the equipment necessary for the planned expansion, and to compete with rivals in the domestic market. Mr Said told the country’s minister for communication Prof Makame Mbarawa that payment of its bill would allow TTCL ‘to improve and extend our services and coverage in the country.’ The minister has promised to ‘work’ on the matter.

TTCL has been struggling with its finances for several years. Indeed, in October 2009 the nation’s Parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure requested that the government bail out its ailing national fixed line PTO, arguing the company could be close to collapse.

Tanzania Wants To Get Back Control of Zain

Bharti Airtel of India, which recently completed the purchase of the African operations of Kuwait-based Zain Group in a deal valued at USD10.7 billion, could be heading into troubled waters in Tanzania, with the news that the government has an acquisition strategy of its own.

Local press suggest that Bharti has put in place a USD11 million bid to acquire the state’s 40% stake in Zain Tanzania, but the government now maintains it will not sell its holding, and will instead look to buy back the majority of the company that it does not currently own. The Tanzanian government claims that the acquisition of the Zain Tanzania operation by Bharti Airtel contradicted the partnership agreement between Zain Tanzania and national fixed line operator Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL).

Alongside its stake in Zain Tanzania the Kuwait group owned 35% of TTCL. However, an agreement signed in April 2010 saw Zain agree to sell its TTCL stake back to the government in order for TTCL to be wholly owned by the state.

Now, in addition to wanting to reacquire Zain's stake in Zain Tanzania, the Tanzanians want to make TTCL a 100% government-owned firm, hoping the company will be able to compete with private operators in the local market. The permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs, Ramadhan Khijjah, is on record as saying Zain Tanzania’s management did not fully communicate to the relevant government authorities information about the Bharti Airtel deal.

Earlier this month, the country's minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, Prof Peter Msolla, told the National Assembly that the government was still in talks with Bharti Airtel concerning the sale. In a debate on the country’s budget for the 2010/11 financial year, Msolla said: ‘We met with the company’s officials on 21 June to discuss the sale… We have told them to finalise the evaluation of the assets so that we can determine whether the payment made to us is satisfactory.’

The minister went on to add: ‘Since the government has shares in the company, it is imperative that it be involved in transactions regarding the sale. The shares we hold in the company are assets that ensure our role is not underestimated.’

Tanzania Adamant on SIM Registration Deadline

The government of Tanzania is adamant that the deadline for registering SIM cards in the country is 30 June and warned yesterday that anyone failing to comply with the order will see their service cut off. Local newspaper The Citizen quotes the Communications, Science and Technology Minister Peter Msolla as saying that after the deadline, all new mobile SIM connections will be registered at the point of purchase. Tanzania launched its registration scheme in mid-2009 with a view to completing the process by 31 December, however the scheme was subsequently extended to 30 June 2010. The minister confirmed too that, some 10.2 million people had successfully registered their SIM cards by March.

Tanzania was home to 16.592 million mobile subscribers by the end of March 2010, with the country's five cellcos collectively adding 328,820 net new subscribers in the first three months of this year. Market leader Vodacom claimed a market share of 35.3% at that date, while second-placed Zain had 30.4% of the pie. Third place operator Tigo commanded a further 24.6% of users, and Zantel Mobile — once the nation's fastest growing cellco — had 9.0%. Trailing far behind the big four, the mobile arm of fixed line operator TTCL had 0.7%.

Tanzania to Buy Back Zain's Stake in TTCL

A report in the Guardian newspaper says the government of Tanzania is preparing to acquire the remaining 35% it does not already own of national PTO Tanzania Telecommunications Company (TTCL), after the Zain group pulled out of the partnership.

The country’s Communications, Science and Technology Minister Peter Msolla is quoted as saying that negotiations are underway to finalise a deal to make TTCL wholly government owned. It is understood that Zain has agreed to sell its shares in order to improve the telco’s efficiency.

Tanzanian Phone Users Now 17.6 Million

Data just released by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) shows that the country was home to a total of 17.642 million fixed and mobile subscriptions at the end of 2009, up from 13.130 million a year earlier, a combined teledensity of 43% (32%, 2008). Of the total subscriptions recorded at end-2009 17.469 million were cellular connections to one of the country’s leading mobile operators.

Market leader Vodacom attracted 1.475 million new users last year for a total of 6.883 million, while second-placed Zain (Celtel) signed up a net 1.048 million new users in the period for a total of 4.910 million. Zain, however, failed to reach its own stated goal of six million customers by the end of last year.

Third place operator Tigo boosted its base to 4.178 million by the end of 2009, and Zantel Mobile — once the nation's fastest growing cellco — added roughly 300,000 net new customers during the period for a total of 1.378 million. Trailing far behind the big four, the mobile arm of fixed line operator TTCL added just 10,000 subscribers for a total of 115,681, and Benson Informatics Limited (BOL), which lost 300 subscribers in 2008, had 3,101 data-only subscribers, up 101 since the start of the year.

In the fixed line segment, TCRA reported 172,922 fixed lines in service as at 31 December 2009, up from 123,809 at the start of the year, but only marginally higher than the 163,269 counted at 31 December 2007. National PSTN operator Tanzania Telecommunications Company Ltd (TTCL) claimed the lion's share with 157,321 lines at end-2009 (its December 2008 figure was 116,265 after it disconnected a number of active lines), with Zanzibar Telecommunications' (Zantel's) fixed line division taking the remainder.

TTCL Needs US$ 150 Million Bail-Out

Tanzania's Parliamentary Committee on Infrastructure has requested that the government bail out its ailing national fixed line PTO Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited (TTCL), arguing the company could be close to collapse.

Committee spokesman Prof Philemon Sarungi told reporters that the telco, which is a joint venture between the government and Zain Tanzania, needs an urgent cash injection of USD150 million, almost double its own liability portfolio of USD80 million.

The state controls 65% of the operator with the remainder held by Zain, however the two partners have a strained relationship and the latter is reportedly seeking to exit the company. Unconfirmed reports say an unnamed Chinese bank is willing to provide the loan subject to it receiving the necessary guarantees from the government.

Zain to Relinquish its 35% Stake In TTCL

Zain Tanzania is to give up its 35% equity stake in state-backed national PTO Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL), according to Reuters quoting the nation's minister for technology as saying. 'Recently, Celtel has shown interest in exiting. But there's need for consultation before that happens,' said Peter Msolla, Tanzania's minister for communications, science and technology.

Mr. Msolla's comments came during a budget presentation to the national Assembly in Dodoma. The cellco was originally known as Celtel when Netherlands-based Celtel International bought a stake in TTCL in 2004; the Tanzanian government retained the original name in its records. The minister went on to say that in a meeting last week to discuss firms owning shares in state-run corporations on the government's behalf, Zain, TTCL and Consolidated Holdings Corp discussed the redistribution of state assets. 'In principle, they have agreed to end the partnership and Celtel exits.

Celtel's 35% shareholding will revert to the government. We will continue talks on how to offload those shares,' Msolla said. The government holds the other 65% of TTCL, while only last week it said it had reached an agreement with SaskTel International, a subsidiary of Canada's SaskTel, to end a three-year contract to manage TTCL. The contract, brokered in 2007, was worth up to USD5 million.