Etisalat Plans To Have 4 Million Clients In Nigeria This Year

UAE-based telecoms operator Etisalat has said it plans to increase its current 2.6 million mobile subscriber base in Nigeria to four million this year, Nigerian newspaper Daily Trust reports. According to Etisalat Nigeria’s CEO, Steven Evans, the company plans to achieve this through the investment of around USD700 million aimed at expanding its wireless network, compared to the approximately USD800 million spent last year.

Etisalat will rent infrastructure from telecoms companies rather than spending the money on constructing new networks. Evans added that the global economic slowdown has affected the telecoms business in Nigeria, but Etisalat remains hopeful that the industry will pick up by 2011, by which time the company is expected to break even. In order to boost its customer base, Etisalat is targeting users of other network operators by focusing on high network quality, the provision of robust products, competitive prices and good customer service.

At present, Etisalat is operational in all of the country’s states and its network covers 40% of the population.

MTN and Telkom SA Target Stakes In Zim's NetOne & TelOne

The government of Zimbabwe confirmed this week that South African cellco MTN and fixed line operator Telkom South Africa are persisting with advances to buy stakes in two Zimbabwean state-run companies, mobile operator NetOne and incumbent PTO TelOne, respectively.

Local newspaper The Herald reports that the South African firms are amongst several foreign companies that have expressed interest in buying stakes in the two operators. A senior state official was quoted as confirming that MTN and Telkom had made formal bids for the cash-strapped pair, adding that the government was in the process of considering the bids and that the respective investment proposals would soon be presented to Cabinet. According to the unnamed official: ‘Several firms have expressed interest in [NetOne and TelOne] and we are in the process of conducting due diligence on these bids. They will soon be presented to Cabinet before we choose the winner.’

An injection of foreign capital into the underfunded networks of TelOne and NetOne would further the aims of the Zimbabwean government in the communications sector. At the beginning of this week the Ministry of Information Communication Technology unveiled its new National Information Communication strategic plan that will run from 2010 to 2014.

ICT minister Nelson Chamisa said the strategic plan would address issues of infrastructure development and management, assist in the establishment of a governance regime, ICT utilisation, e-business and e-government, cyber security, ICT investment and partnerships. In addition, the plan would also focus on promoting research and development in ICT and also mobilisation of resources to achieve the ministry's mandate of transforming the sector.

‘This strategic plan... promotes the emergence and convergence of information and communication technologies... to transform Zimbabwe into a knowledge society, and pulls the entire nation around a single vision,’ said Mr Chamisa on Monday. The Ministry has already finalised its ICT Bill and is awaiting approval from Cabinet before the legislation goes to Parliament for further scrutiny; Chamisa announced that efforts were being made to pass the bill to the legislature ‘soon’.

Bharti CEO Says Africa Has Potential

While explaining the rationale for buying Zain, Africa was described as a potential emerging market by Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder Chairman and Group CEO, Bharti Enterprises.


The need of globalisation for Bharti has also been explained by him as Indian operations were generating free cash flows. While defending his decision to enter into talks with the Kuwait telecom major, he made it clear that competitive intensity is low for Zain in most countries and the valuations offered are fair and reasonable.

According to Bharti officials, Africa had good growth opportunities among emerging markets, given its high population, lower mobile penetration and relatively less competition and the tariffs too, in Africa are more than 10 times India.

Maroc Telecom Completes Fibre Link to Western Sahara

Moroccan communications group Maroc Telecom has reached 60% completion in the first phase of a plan to roll out a fibre-optic backbone network linking Morocco with West African countries, reports Dow Jones Newswires quoting Middle Eastern daily Asharq Al Awsat.

Phase one of the network will link the capital of Mauritania, Nouakchott, to El Ouyoun in Western Sahara, revealed Maroc Telecom's president Abdulsalam Ahizoune, whilst the finished route will link Mauritania, Gabon, Mali and Burkina Faso, he said.

Mobiles Help Church Growth In Africa

A mobile phone suspended on a belt round the waist, or from the neck, is a common sight among members of church congregations in Africa. Now, church leaders are heaping praise on mobile phones, sometimes called cell phones, because they say the instruments help congregations grow.

Mobile phone use increased rapidly in Africa about 10 years ago. At that time, however, some Christians on the continent criticised the phones for being "marks of materialism". Now, that has changed.

"It is as if cell phones have come to revolutionise everything, even Christianity," says Anglican Bishop Charles Gaita of Nyahururu in central Kenya. "They are making things happen quickly."

Gaita says mobile phones make it easier and cheaper for the church to spread word about its activities, such as Bible studies and meetings. The phones also make it quicker to get information, and help improve lives.

The bishop says Kenya's mobile phone boom is inspiring creativity among Christians. They are sharing Bible verses through text messaging services (SMS). Young people are using the phones to discuss religious matters on social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, and downloading Gospel tunes to use as ring tones.

Connecting the phones to microphones to record sermons that can then be sent to congregations in remote areas may sound strange but the churches are doing it, according to Archbishop Mweresa Kivuli, chairperson of the Kenyan Chapter of the Organization of African Instituted Churches.

"If there is a preacher the congregations consider important elsewhere, we connect them to the pastor through this means," Kivuli told Ecumenical News International. "We have at times linked our churches to overseas preachers."

Africa's mobile phone subscribers total nearly 300 million, according to latest International Telecommunication Union statistics. The figure is projected to double by 2020.

South Africa, where about 80 percent of the estimated nation's 50 million population are Christians, leads the continent's mobile phone subscription level. Nigeria is second, with Kenya third.

"The Church sees the mobile phone as a blessing and a gift from God," says the Rev. Martin Wanyoike, national secretary of the Social Communications Commission of the Roman Catholic Church's Kenya Episcopal Conference. "We must use it for the service of the world."

Recently, mobile phone companies introduced money transfer services, which some Christians now use to tithe or give offerings. The churches only need to inform the congregation of the required cell-phone number for this service.

"We get money through the mobile phones once we give out the account details. We have realised there are many Kenyans who do not earn a monthly salary. So, to facilitate their offering, we use the money transfer service," says the Rev. Wellington Mutiso, an evangelical church pastor and general secretary of the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya.

Mutiso says the phones have proved useful as a follow-up tool for converts to Christianity.

"If we do not see them in church [after their conversion] , we call them or send an SMS. The response is immediate," he says. "I can assure you they [the phones] are helping the Church to grow."

At the same time, money transfer services are providing an extra way for churches to raise relief funds. In January, for example, following the earthquake in Haiti, the Catholic Church in Kenya appealed for donations for Haiti to be sent through one of the phone money transfer services.

"The response has been good. We managed to collect 500 000 [Kenya] shillings (US$6500) in a short time. The money was sent to us through the mobile phones. This is a beautiful service," says Wanyoike.

-Ecumenical News International

MTN Uganda Sues UTL Over Interconnection Fees

MTN Uganda is suing Uganda Telecommunications Ltd (UTL), seeking UGS7.2 billion (USD3.55 million) for unpaid interconnection fees. In a case filed at the Kampala High Court's Commercial Division, MTN accused UTL of breach of contract.
It claims that in February 2001 its management entered into an agreement with UTL to interconnect their respective networks, as required by their respective telecoms licences awarded by the Uganda Communications Commission. According to MTN, in accordance with the interconnection charges that were detailed in the agreement its management issued invoices to UTL, but that the state-owned telco failed to pay them. MTN has asked for a court order compelling UTL to pay the owes plus interest, damages and costs.

Togo Telecom Chooses Xtera For Fibre Network

Togo Telecom has contracted Xtera Communications, a global provider of optical and IP networking solutions, to deploy a high capacity fibre-optic network across Togo. Phase I of the work was completed in January 2010. When completed, the deployment will migrate the current Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) long-distance domestic network to a new optical layer relying on advanced broadband optical amplification technology for higher capacity, providing enhanced network resilience and availability. The new network will also create a high-capacity, reliable backhaul system, connecting landlocked countries in the west sub-Saharan area to international submarine cable systems via Togo Telecom's cable landing station, which is part of the West African Cable System (WACS).

'Togo Telecom's advanced nationwide optical network combined with the WACS infrastructure will offer landlocked countries in the sub-region and Togo access to the rest of the world,' said Sam Bikassam, general manager of Togo Telecom. 'This will free landlocked countries from the exclusive use of microwave radio systems and satellite connectivity for international communications, enabling them to offer more reliable, higher capacity broadband services to their residential and business customers' he added.

Ghana Court Adjourns Vodafone Case

Ghana’s Supreme Court yesterday announced its decision to adjourn to 9 March 2010 the case concerning the sale of national PTO Ghana Telecom (GT) to the UK's Vodafone Group. The decision was taken by a nine-member panel which ruled the High Court, which handed the case to it, had not fully complied with the rules of the court, GNA reports. In a statement the Supreme Court said: ‘We find that the trial High Court did not comply with rule 67 of CI 16. We hereby order the High Court to comply within 14 days.’

In October 2009 CommsUpdate reported that the committee set up to investigate the sale of a 70% stake in GT to Vodafone recommended that the government consider renegotiating the Sale and Purchase Agreement. At the time, Dr Valerie Sawyerr, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the committee said that Ghana’s government should in particular reconsider Parties to the SPA; compliance or otherwise of the SPA with the laws of Ghana, particularly the NCA Regulations and the Internal Revenue Act 592; value for money/ Transaction consideration; retention of the National Fibre Optic by the Government of Ghana as a strategic national asset; decoupling of the Ghana Telecom University from the transaction (already done); and return of GT investments to the Government of Ghana such as the Telecom Emporium.

Earlier the same month a leaked Ghanaian government report claimed that last year’s sale of the incumbent fixed line operator was ‘unconstitutional and illegal', and did not represent good value for money.

Wana Launches Inwi In Morocco

Moroccan fixed-wireless, 3G mobile and broadband operator Wana has launched commercial 2G mobile services over its new GSM network on schedule, under its new Inwi brand.

The GSM network has an initial capacity of two million subscriber connections, whilst at launch the company announced that it had 75% population coverage.

Alongside the GSM launch, Wana is offering 3G mobile broadband services, based on its existing national CDMA2000 1xEV-DO network, but now also rebranded under the Inwi banner, with double-play mobile voice and internet bundles including USB wireless modems offered to pre- and post-paid consumers and business users. Aiming for a basic range of low-cost voice and SMS packages to quickly soak up remaining mobile demand, Inwi's initial GSM-based offerings include pre-paid services with per-second billing and a range of post-paid packages with inclusive on-net calls, as well as BlackBerry services.

Having contracted China's Huawei last year to roll out a GSM/W-CDMA network with at least 1,500 2G/3G base stations, Wana is expected to eventually introduce a range of 3G W-CDMA-based services over the new network such as video calling, videoconferencing, streaming media and HSPA-based mobile internet.

Maroc Telecom Profits Down 1%, Revenues Up 2.8%

Moroccan full-service telco Maroc Telecom, majority-owned by France’s Vivendi, has posted a 1% year-on-year fall in 2009 net income to MAD9.43 billion (USD1.15 billion) on consolidated revenues that climbed by 2.8% to MAD30.34 billion, as it increased spending, especially in the mobile segment. Group EBITDA for the year rose by 2.9% to MAD18.15 billion.


Operations in Morocco generated net revenues of MAD25.76 billion in 2009, up 0.1% versus 2008, EBITDA of MAD16.16 billion, down 1.5%, and earnings from operations of MAD13.08 billion, down 3.5% year-on-year, chiefly due to the impact of promotional initiatives deployed to stimulate the market and maintain its leading position. Maroc Telecom’s domestic mobile subscriber base grew by 5.6% in twelve months to 15.27 million at end-December 2009, whilst it had 1.234 million Moroccan fixed lines in service at year-end, down 5% year-on-year, due mainly to shrinkage in the residential customer base (down 8.8%) resulting from mobile substitution. At end-December the telco had 469,000 ADSL subscribers, down 1.7% compared to the same date in 2008.

However, it also signed up 174,000 3G/3.5G mobile broadband customers on its W-CDMA/HSPA-based cellular network by year-end, up from less than 30,000 a year earlier.

Group-wide, the operator had a total of 21.7 million customers at end-2009, up 12.6% year on year, reflecting the inclusion of Malian operator SOTELMA, the resurgence in domestic mobile growth and continued year-on-year expansion of other subsidiaries’ mobile customer bases in Gabon, Mauritania and Burkina Faso. A statement from the company read: ‘Based on current market conditions, and barring any unforeseen disruptions to the group's operations, Maroc Telecom will achieve moderate growth in revenues in 2010, driven mainly by growth of subsidiaries.’

MTN Silent On Dubai Relocation Claims

No comment has been made by South Africa’s MTN on the rumors regarding the moving of its headquarters from the country to the Middle East. The refusal came after it was reported that the company plans to move its group operations out of the country and eventually delist its shares from the Johannesburg Securities Exchange.

According to MTN executive director Nozipho January-Bardill in late January, the planned relocation of the technical services support team to Dubai is part of the group’s ongoing response to the challenges of the changing global telecommunications industry and it is also intended to address the logistical challenge of supporting the group’s networks in the Middle East in particular, and certain parts of Africa.

Using Dubai as a regional hub offers significant benefits to the company for tax and transport options even though MTN doesn’t have any operations in the UAE.

Zain Launches International Top-Up Service

Zain has unveiled an International Airtime top up service that will enable people living in Europe, USA, and Canada to purchase Zain airtime for friends and family living in countries where Zain operates.

The new service is now live 'to Kenya' with further roll-outs to Uganda and Tanzania, and other countries planned over the coming months. Those using the service will be able to top-up each specified mobile phone with defined airtime values ranging from Kshs 1500 to 3500. Top up will be through credit cards which are functional in the 16 participating countries.

The service will be accessed online through the Zain website. "To buy a top up, users will be required to register on the website and select up to three numbers which they may directly send airtime to," said Rene Meza, Zain Kenya Managing Director. With 30 million members of the African diaspora currently contributing approx $40 billion annually in remittances to Africa, Zain and Mi-Pay anticipate high demand for the service.

Under the contract, Mi-Pay is providing Zain with full-service delivery which includes Zain branded front-end web designs; settlement and reconciliation; merchant acquisition; and system monitoring and reporting.

"We operate in many prime remittance corridors where people living in rural and remote regions rely on family and friends abroad for additional financial support," said Chris Gabriel, CEO, Zain Africa. "We believe this international top-up service will provide a new way to channel this support through the provision of airtime. We chose Mi-Pay, because of its proven expertise and capability," he added.

The scalable and flexible solution will allow Zain to quickly create, implement and roll-out the international top-up facility; creating valuable new revenue streams and vital new services for its customers. Norman Frankel, CEO of Mi-Pay said: "We are delighted that Zain has agreed to work with Mi-Pay on an exclusive basis, using our International Airtime platform to deliver remote airtime top-up. Given the high numbers of Africans now living abroad and their desire to ensure contacts at home have access to crucial mobile communications, we believe this will prove a popular service. Our world class platform is designed to accommodate rapid growth allowing us to 'go-live' in both recipient and sending countries in quick succession - with minimal cost and risk to Zain."

The service is now live and available from the following 16 key sending countries: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America.

Nigeria Dispute Could Curtail Bharti Zain Deal

Minority shareholder Broad Communications Ltd, which owns 14% share in Zain Nigeria, will seek to enforce its rights in any potential transfer of ownership in the company. The announcement came after Bharti Airtel entered into exclusive talks with Zain until March 25 to buy most of Kuwait-based Mobile Telecommunications Co. or Zain’s assets in Africa in a deal that could be worth up to $10.7 billion.

According to the largest minority shareholder in Zain Nigeria, Broad, the company has not been formally informed by the Zain Group of its intention to sell its 65% shareholding in the Nigerian entity and the company intend to fully exercise its pre-emption rights as directed by the courts and as guided by the company’s shareholders’ agreements entered into between the company’s shareholders.

The dispute over ownership of the largest unit in Nigeria might disrupt Bharti’s third attempt to enter the African market. Econent Wireless Holdings Ltd., a South African telecommunications company is attempting to overturn a 2006 deal in which Celtel, now known as Zain, bought a controlling 65% of the business that had been founded at the beginning of that decade by a group of government, institutional and private investors.

"The Vodafone Way" Introduced In Ghana to Make Staff More Customer Focused

“The Vodafone Way”, a new business model has been launched by Vodafone Ghana to create a significant shift in the work culture of employees and partners of the telecom giant to make it more customers oriented.
According to Isaac Abraham, Corporate Communications Manager of the Company, new business model was designed to make the company’s customers’ expectations real by investing in programmes that would help it understand what motivated customers and it will ensure that Vodafone, its staff and partners do business with speed, simplicity and trust.

The service is also expected to assist in making the company the number one communications network in the country not only in terms of total mobile numbers but in terms of quality of voice and data services and finding solutions to telecommunications problems.

SingTel Could Buy Into Bharti To Help Finance Zain Acquisition

Shares of Bharti Airtel might be sold to Singapore Telecommunications by the operator to partly fund its purchase of Zain’s African assets and avoid taking on too much debt.
According to SingTel, it is premature to talk about funding as the transaction is subject to ongoing discussions, due diligence and customary regulatory approvals and as a strategic investor, the company has significant governance and shareholder rights besides having involvement in key decisions, including major investments.
Bharti Airtel is in exclusive talks to buy most of the African assets of Kuwaiti telecoms firm Zain for $9 billion.

Angola Mobile Lines Hit 8.7 Million Mark

The mobile market of Angola continued to grow steadily and the number of subscriptions reached 8.7 million at the end of December 2009, up from 6.8 million twelve months previously.
Even the fixed line telephone connections reached a modest total of 303,000 at the end of 2009. This represents a significant growth from a figure of 218,000 at end-2008.