Airtel Enters Rwanda Market

Indian telecoms group Bharti Airtel has announced it has secured a licence to provide 2G and 3G cellular services in Rwanda, The New Times reports. 

The company plans to invest over USD100 million over the next three years, including USD30 million for the purchase of the operating licence. 

It aims to bring ‘affordable services and innovative products’ to the market, and plans to expand its wireless broadband network to all major towns across the country.

 In June 2010 Bharti Airtel acquired the African assets of Kuwait’s Zain Group, in a deal valued at USD10.7 billion. The company took over Zain’s operations in 15 countries, including Malawi, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

Bharti will join two other mobile operators in the market: South Africa-based MTN Rwanda, which had a total of 2.794 million mobile subscribers at the end of June 2011; and Millicom Rwanda (Tigo), which is majority-owned by Luxembourg-based Millicom International Cellular and had a subscriber base of over 812,000 at the same date. A third operator, Rwandatel, had its mobile licence revoked in April 2011, after the company failed to meet licence obligations, such as coverage, quality of service and planned investment targets. Rwandatel is 80% owned by Libyan government investment vehicle LAP Green Networks, although telecoms regulator RURA said the decision to cancel its mobile licence had nothing to do with enforcing a United Nations (UN) resolution to impose sanctions on Libya, including the freezing of its assets, following unrest in the North African nation.

Millicom International Cellular (MIC) has announced that its subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Oasis (Tigo DRC), has agreed to sell 729 towers to Helios Towers DRC, a direct subsidiary of Helios Towers Africa.

As a result of the transaction, Tigo DRC will receive at least USD45 million of cash up front and will retain a significant minority interest in HTD. Additionally, Tigo DRC and HTD have entered into a long term leasing agreement whereby HTD will provide Tigo DRC with access to wireless communications towers and a build-to-suit agreement to support the company's wireless networks.

HTD will seek similar agreements with other operators in DRC. The transaction is expected to create savings in both capital and operating expenditure for Tigo DRC. The specific number of towers and final purchase price will be determined at closing. First closing of the transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to take place around Q3 2011.


Mikael Grahne, President and CEO of Millicom, said: ‘This agreement with HTD in DRC is Millicom’s third such deal with Helios in Africa and it brings us to a point where nearly two-thirds of our towers in Africa are committed to be outsourced.
 
'We view the DRC as a very attractive market for asset sharing considering its size, lower average purchasing power and logistical complexities. We are confident that this and similar previously announced ventures will continue to produce satisfactory results and improved service levels as we have experienced in Ghana since the creation of the first tower joint venture in Africa with Helios in January 2010. These agreements, and any future sale of our remaining towers in Africa, will enable us to improve both our capital and operating efficiency by focusing on our core activities of sales, marketing, branding, distribution, service innovation and customer care.’

MTN Announces Increase in Subscriber Base

South Africa-based telcoms group MTN has announced that its consolidated subscriber base increased to 134.47 million as at 30 September 2010, up 4% from the 129.21 million reported at the end of June. A company statement credited the increase to ‘high quality networks, attractive value propositions and efficient distribution’.

The South and East African region, which contributes 22% of the group’s customers, increased its subscriber base by 4.9% to 30.08 million for the quarter - mainly driven by growth in its domestic market. In South Africa, the customer base rose 3.9% to 17.77 million, helped by the addition of 616,000 pre-paid users and its MTN Zone offer, which allows MTN subscribers access to a discounted call rate if they are in an area experiencing a low volume of MTN traffic. ARPU in South Africa remained stable at ZAR152 (USD21.6).

The West and Central African region, which contributes 46% of the group’s subscribers increased its customer base by 3.4% in the three month period to 61.38 million. Nigeria – MTN’s largest single market and that which contributes 60% of the region’s subscriber base - grew its base 5.1% to 36.84 million. MTN credits the increase to ‘superior network quality and a successful distribution framework’. Elsewhere in the region, Ghana’s customer base declined from 8.72 million to 8.46 million due to the introduction of mandatory SIM registration on 1 July 2010.

The Middle East and North African region, which accounts for the remaining 32% of MTN’s consolidated subscriber base, increased its numbers by 4.1% to 43.01 million. MTN says that the growth within the region was mainly due to its Iranian operation, which contributes 66% of the region’s subscribers. MTN Irancell increased its users by 5.6% to 28.49 million. Elsewhere in the region, Syria benefited from improved brand awareness, increasing its subscriber base to 4.72 million, a rise of 6.8%.

Glo-1 Launched

West African submarine fibre-optic cable system Glo-1, which was developed by Nigeria’s second national operator Globacom and French-US vendor Alcatel-Lucent, has been commercially launched, local newspaper Leadership reports.

The 9,800km cable stretches from the UK across West Africa and has landing points in Nigeria, London and Lisbon, connecting 17 countries to the rest of the world. Globacom’s chairman, Mike Adenuga Jnr, said Nigerians will now have the opportunity to compete with the rest of the world, while broadband access and other services, such as long-distance voice, will now become more affordable in the country.

Globacom contracted Alca-Lu to install the cable system in 2005, in order fill the void of international connectivity in the region. The USD250 million cable landed in Lagos in September 2009 and Accra in Ghana the following month, and has been ready for commissioning since July 2010. The cable has ultimate capacity of 2.5Tbps and is expected to provide faster, more reliable internet services at a lower cost.

Telkom SA Prepares to Spread Into the Rest of Africa

SOUTH African Telecommunications operator, Telkom, has secured operating licences in east, south and west Africa, the company revealed on Monday in an interview.

Responding to questions, Telkom spokesman Pynee Chetty said the telecoms giant had secured operating licences in Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Swaziland and Namibia.
“Telkom’s ambition is to become a significant Information Communication Technology (ICT) player in Sub-Saharan Africa, focusing on the enterprise market.

“Apart from the satellite-based (SAT3) cable system, Telkom has invested in the new WACS, EASSy and SAFE submarine cables systems to further strengthen its position with regards to connectivity on the African continent,” said Chetty.

He said the operations in those countries consisted of consumer and enterprise solutions within the respective markets.

Chetty said Telkom would continue to service all these markets and acquire capabilities, through partnerships or own assets, to meet the demands of the local African enterprise and global multinational customers.
“The company continues to investigate opportunities in Africa and endeavours to expand into countries where customer demand warrants such actions.
“As far as the specific products and services are concerned, it is logical to utilise existing skills and capabilities acquired in the domestic market as far as possible when entering new markets,” said Chetty.

MTN Ghana Deploys Blade Cluster Technology

MTN Ghana says it is investing in advanced switching technology, dubbed ‘The Blade Cluster’, as part of efforts to improve network quality across the country.

A spokesman for the cellco, Bright Girentsi-Annku, told reporters that the new switching technology will result in higher capacity and enable MTN Ghana to process calls at a significantly higher speed.

The MTN official went on to say that the firm is also in the process of deploying two additional switch centres in the capital to give it ‘the most advanced and world class switching facilities in the country’.

Elsewhere, MTN Ghana is rolling out a new internet protocol (IP) network based on multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), to increase transmission speed and capacity, and has also laid 1,800km of fibre-optic cabling, with an additional 500km due to be deployed soon. Girentsi-Annku claims that MTN Ghana currently enjoys a 55% share of the mobile market, carrying 60% of Ghana’s local and international call traffic.

Kenya's Digital Village Project Gets IBM Boost

Kenya’s Digital Village initiative, which was rolled out in 2008 with the purpose of narrowing the digital divide between rural and urban areas, and accelerating the growth of ICT in Kenya, received a boost when a team of IBM Corporate Service Corps consultants (CSC) from seven different countries arrived in Nairobi for a one month project aimed at defining a rollout strategy for the project.

Under regulations introduced by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) in 2009, each constituency in Kenya should have at least five digital centres, complete with computers and internet connectivity. IBM’s eleven-strong team will start work in Machakos, joining forces with the ICT Board and the Ministry of Information and Communication.

The IBM-guided initiative will run alongside similar programmes that are currently being rolled out by other Kenyan telcos as they seek to meet new regulatory requirements.

IBM CEO Samuel J. Palmisano commented: ‘People are on the ground in Machakos to help the government realise its aim of extending the reach of digital services to rural areas. This will form part of our drive to boost ICT use in countries like Kenya.

IBM is well known for helping public and private sector organisations around the world to leverage technology to drive innovation and do things smarter. The Kenya initiative is part of a programme in Africa which began in 2008 through which IBM has deployed teams to Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa’.

Zain Signs Deal To Enable Network Expansion

An unconfirmed report from the online journal Trade Finance states that Standard Chartered Bank has signed a telecoms equipment deal with Ghanaian cellco Zain Communications Ghana Limited (formerly WESTEL), backed by Sweden’s credit agency EKN. It is understood the value of the contract is USD77 million and will be used to provide telecoms equipment to support the cellco’s network expansion in the country.

Zain Ghana had approximately 1.375 million mobile users at 30 June 2010 up from 1.293 million at the start of the year, a market share of 8.4%. Its networks covered an estimated 53% of the population.

Ghana Says Glo Is Free To do Business

Ghana’s Business Day newspaper quotes the Minister of Trade and Industry, Hanna S Tetteh, as saying that Ghanaian start-up Glo Mobile Ghana is ‘free to do business in Ghana’, hopefully ending long running speculation on its Nigerian parent, Globacom’s, future in the country.

In May this year Nigeria-based Globacom which is itself majority owned by Nigerian petrochemical firm Conpetro, a venture of the entrepreneur Mike Adenuga, threatened to exit Ghana in the face of what it termed ‘interests’ seemingly hell-bent on sabotaging its nationwide launch plans.

At the time an unnamed source claimed that since Glo Mobile was awarded its GSM frequencies by the National Communications Authority (NCA), it has faced obstacles in terms of seeking approval for the swift deployment of its base stations, an encroachment on the frequencies it was awarded by the NCA and the repeated vandalism of its advertising billboards.

However, the minister has told Business Day that all obstacles to the telco’s operation in Ghana have now been removed. ‘To the best of my knowledge from the communications authorities, there were two issues with regards to Glo. The frequency that they were assigned to was not available because it was being partially used by the national security apparatus. But that frequency has been available to them since January, and so at the moment if they want to start their business it is possible for them to do so,’ she said.

Tetteh also went on to clarify the issue of Glo’s problems in securing permits to erect telecoms towers. ‘There was no ban on Glo,’ she said. ‘As at last year, we put a ban on the erection of new telephone masts. We did this because of the quality of the infrastructure and the hazardous way they were being put up in all sorts of locations.’ As such the minister claims the ban was on the industry as a whole and not designed to single out the would-be newcomer.

Glo Secures Gambia Licence

According to a company statement, Nigerian telco Globacom (Glo) has secured a licence to operate in Gambia. The concession is Glo’s sixth, and comes four months after the award of a licence in Senegal. The company’s other countries of operation are Nigeria, Ghana, Benin and Cote d’Ivoire.

On receiving the licence, Glo’s executive director for human resources Adewale Sangowawa said: ‘This adds impetus to our desire to provide the West African sub-region with an excellent communication network and cost-effective voice, data, video and e-commerce services.'

The licence allows Globacom to land its Glo 1 trans-Atlantic submarine cable in Gambia, with opportunities to extend the infrastructure to neighbouring countries. It also gives the company the right to carry traffic for major operators, the government and wholesale customers in Gambia.

Bharti To Target Rural Nigeria With USD 600 Million Additional Investment

Indian telecoms operator Bharti Airtel has announced plans to invest around USD600 million in expanding its mobile network in Nigeria, The Economic Times reports.

Last month Bharti finalised the acquisition of the African assets of Kuwait-based Zain Group, in a deal valued at USD10.7 billion. The company has taken over Zain’s operations in 15 countries, including Nigeria, Malawi, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

Manoj Kohli, CEO and joint managing director at Bharti, revealed that the firm will invest in rural telephony in Nigeria and introduce a corporate social responsibility programme that includes setting up of schools that would offer free quality education to underprivileged children in rural communities.

‘We want to be a partner in Nigeria's growth and will work with the government to take the telecoms network deep into all corners of the country to touch the common man,’ Kohli noted.

The Indian company expects to introduce the Airtel brand across its new units by October 2010.

Bharti To Invest USD 100 Million In Niger

Indian telecoms operator Bharti Airtel plans to invest around USD100 million in Niger to improve the reach and quality of its network in the West African nation by the end of 2012, Reuters reports.

Last month Bharti finalised the acquisition of the African assets of Kuwait-based Zain Group, in a deal valued at USD10.7 billion. The company has taken over Zain’s operations in 15 countries, including Malawi, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

The Indian company expects to introduce the Airtel brand across its new units by October 2010. ‘We are going to start our activities in Niger in October and, by 2012, we will invest USD100 million in expanding the network, improving quality and the coverage in the rural areas,’ commented Manoj Kohli, chief executive of the group's international business, adding: ‘We will ensure that telecoms becomes more accessible in terms of price and the quality of the service improves.’

Zain Niger is the country’s largest cellco by subscribers, with 1.58 million users at the end of March 2010 (a market share of 61%), followed by Orange Niger with 563,000 users, Moov Niger (341,000) and SahelCom (105,000).

Tanzania Retains 40pc Stake In Zain

The government of Tanzania is set to receive TZS15.4 billion (USD11.2 million) and to hold on to its 40% stake in fixed and mobile operator Zain Tanzania following the sale of the telco to India’s Bharti Airtel.

Last month the Indians finalised the acquisition of the African assets of Kuwait-based Zain Group, with the deal valued at USD10.7 billion. Under the terms of the deal, first announced in March 2010, Bharti will pay USD8.3 billion upfront, followed by a further cash payment of USD700 million after one year, while it will also take over approximately USD1.7 billion of Zain’s debt.

The Citizen now reports that the country's minister for Higher Education, Science and Technology, Prof Peter Msolla, told the National Assembly that the government is 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.’

Bharti has taken over Zain’s operations in 15 countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The Kuwaiti company’s subsidiaries in Morocco and Sudan were not included in the sale.

Ghana Begins SIM Registration

Ghana yesterday implemented its controversial mobile SIM registration scheme. Under the National Communications Authority (NCA’s) new policy, no one can buy a SIM card without first providing personal details backed by an official national identity document. According to the industry watchdog, the SIM card registration will help curb crime and also help to control an unwanted rise in unsolicited text messages.

Main One Goes Live

Main One Cable Company has announced the launch of its high capacity fibre-optic cable system, which links West Africa to Europe, on time and within budget.

The cable spans 7,000km and has landing stations in Nigeria and Ghana with branching units in Morocco, Canary Islands, Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire. Main One said the cable system will deliver 1.92Tbps of much-needed international capacity into West Africa, more than ten times what is currently available; in the past rapid growth in telecoms in the region has been blighted by limited global connectivity.

‘Today is a historic day for West Africa. The arrival of the Main One cable proves that much good can be done by Africans for Africans. We are pleased to realise the fruit of our dedication and commitment in the past 30 months,’ noted Fola Adeola, chairman of Main One Cable Company, adding: ‘More importantly, we are happy to be a channel for driving growth in Africa and changing the status quo for the average African as reliable internet connectivity becomes easily accessible and affordable for all.’ Wholly African-owned, the Main One cable is the first privately-owned submarine cable system in West Africa.

Bharti To Invest USD100 In Malawi Expansion Plan

Indian telecoms group Bharti Airtel has said it will spend USD100 million on network expansion in Malawi over the next three years, news agency Reuters reports. Earlier this month Bharti finalised the acquisition of the African assets of Kuwait-based Zain Group, in a deal valued at USD10.7 billion. The company has taken over Zain’s operations in 15 countries, including Malawi, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Uganda.

The Indian company expects to introduce the Airtel brand across its new units by October 2010.

‘We plan to invest USD100 million in Malawi in the next three years to improve coverage and reach out to Malawi's rural farmers ... and help the country's economy grow,’ chief executive officer of Bharti Africa, Manoj Kohli, told a news conference. Kohli added that Bharti plans to increase the number of its subscribers in Malawi from the current 2.5 million to seven million, although no date has been given for the company to reach its target.

Cel C Joins Zain's One Network

Zain has announced the expansion of its ‘One Network’ platform to South Africa in a strategic partnership with Cell C, the country’s smallest cellco. Over 41 million Zain customers across Zain Africa’s 15 mobile operations may now benefit from ‘One Network’ services when visiting South Africa. The ‘One Network’ borderless mobile phone platform enables pre-paid and post-paid Zain customers when travelling to another 'One Network’ partner country to be treated as a local customer in terms of pricing, while retaining home country service functionalities. Now, in South Africa, Zain customers will be able to make calls, send SMS and access the internet (data) at local rates of the visited country and to receive incoming calls at a minimal charge.

The 15 Zain countries that benefit from this service with Cell C in South Africa are: Burkina Faso, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Main One Goes Live In NIgeria & Ghana on 1 July

Main One Cable Company has announced it will launch its high capacity fibre-optic cable system on 1 July in Ghana and Nigeria. Last month the firm completed the first phase of installation from Accra in Ghana to Lagos, Nigeria, and has begun testing network equipment. According to Main One’s CEO, Funke Opeke, Phase 1 of the system spans 6,800km from Seixal in Portugal through the West African coast to Ghana and Nigeria and will deliver 1.93Tbps of much-needed international capacity into West Africa where rapid growth in telecoms has been blighted by limited global connectivity. In Portugal, it will interconnect to cable systems serving other markets in Europe, the Americas and Asia. Phase 2 of the project will see extension of the cable to South Africa.

Last week Main One signed a deal with Huawei Nigeria to provide it with its Intelligence Optical Switching System (OptiX OSN 9500) to serve as the backbone platform to provide high transmission bandwidths in the region. Main One has also inked a maintenance contract with Alcatel-Lucent for Phase 1 of the system. The agreement will enable Main One to address the need for managing and maintaining the network at the highest level of performance delivered at the lowest operating cost.

Glo Gets Senegal Licence

Nigeria-based Globalcom (Glo Mobile) has reportedly been issued with a mobile operator’s licence in Senegal. If confirmed, the concession, the fourth to be awarded in the West African country, will also allow Globacom to land its Glo 1 trans-Atlantic submarine cable in Senegal, with opportunities to extend the infrastructure to Mali.

Local newspaper This Day quotes the Nigerian firm’s chairman Mike Adenuga Jr as saying that the licence would enable his company to offer ‘world class telecommunications services’ to the government and people of Senegal. ‘In line with our vision, Glo will continue to play a major role in stimulating a new era of prosperity in the sub-continent and build facilities that will offer Africa advanced telecoms services such as teleconferencing, distance learning, disaster recovery, telemedicine, on-line diagnosis and video conferencing during surgery and research,’ Globacom added in a statement.

The Nigerian company also holds operating licences in Nigeria, Ghana, Benin Republic and Cote d'Ivoire, but as reported recently, has threatened to exit the Ghanaian market citing sabotage as the reason.

Ghana To Assemble Mobile Phones

Ghana based rLG Communications has made the bold boast that it will create 30,000 jobs within a year with the opening of the first mobile handset assembly plant in the country. rLG phones recently signed a US$2.5 million contract with Huawei to produce 100,000 phones in Ghana.

Mr Roland Agambire, Chief Executive Officer of the company, told the Ghana News Agency, "rLG Communications has already concluded plans for the construction of a state of the art multi-purpose mobile phone assembling plant in Ghana, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa."

"We are looking forward to capturing 80 per cent of the market by the close of the year, particularly because of the feedback we get from patrons of our r-72 phone, which looks very much like Nokia E72." he added/