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.

Libyan Owned Uganda Telecom in Finacial Crisis

THE financial sustainability of Uganda Telecom (utl) remains uncertain following several claims of unpaid dues in billions owed to the firm’s partners and service providers. 

Among the companies seeking payment is MTN, which for the second time this year, has sued utl claiming unpaid sh9.3b accrued from interconnection charges, indicating a further deepening rift and uncertainty in the telecom industry. 

According to sources, the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is also demanding about sh6b from utl over non remitted contributions to the rural communication development funds. 

All telecom operators are required to remit 1% of their gross revenue to the commission for the fund. 

Sources revealed that a fortnight ago, the Uganda Media Owners Association also suspended any form of advertising from utl because of about sh3b unpaid dues accruing from advertising. 

The association comprises major media houses, including Monitor Publications, Vision Group, NTV, WBS, UBC, Capital FM, Simba and Sanyu FM. 

Airtel Uganda public relations officer Joseph Kanyamunyu said utl also owes them about sh8b from “interconnect and related charges.” 

MTN is also demanding another sh744m in interests accrued from May 31, 2011. 

“The actions of the defendant amount to breach of the interconnection agreement between the plaintiff and the defendant,” read the suit. 

“They have continuously disputed figures, but in this case they signed and acknowledged the debt, but we are half way the year and they have still failed to pay,” said an MTN official. 

The MTN suit filed on June 15 says the interconnect fees are for the period from January 2010 to December 2010. 

But utl chief Donald Nyakairu said there was nothing new in the law suit. “The only difference is in the figures, they are just causing anxiety within the public,” said Nyakairu. The suit follows an earlier one, filed about three months ago, over MTN’s claims of unpaid sh20b in interconnection charges that the telecom giant says was accumulated over a three-year period. 

The interconnection fee is the amount an operator pays another for routing traffic through their networks. 

David Ogong, the UCC director of competition and corporate affairs, said they had been mediating over this issue and the two players agreed to keep their networks connected until June 26, 2011. “We are advising the Government that we could have a big problem in our hands, we have tried our best to see that utl pays,” said Ogong. 

The Libyan government owns about 69% of utl under its investment arm, Libya Africa Investment Portfolio. The Government owns the rest. But a few months ago, government took over full control of utl partly complying with UN sanctions against Libyan assets in the wake of the political turmoil in the North African state.

Rwanda Begins winding Up Libyan-Owned RwandaTel

The Rwandan government has reportedly begun insolvency proceedings in the country’s commercial courts against telecoms operator Rwandatel, which is 80% owned by Libyan government investment vehicle LAP Green Networks. 


According to a report by local daily The New Times, which cites Registrar General Louise Kanyonga, the decision to liquidate Rwandatel – in which the state holds the remaining 20% stake – comes after audited reports found that the company is in financial difficulties.


‘We were in receipt of their audited financial statements for the financial year 2009/10 in which the auditing firm concluded that the company was technically insolvent,’ Kanyonga said, adding: ‘Based on the powers given to the Registrar General by the Insolvency law to institute insolvency proceedings, an application was made to the commercial court in Nyarugenge [on Monday 11 April].’ 


Earlier this month telecoms regulator Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA) revoked Rwandatel’s mobile concession due to its failure to meet licence obligations, though the operator’s fixed telephony and ISP permits remain operational. In a separate development, the government last month froze all Libyan-owned assets in Rwanda to enforce United Nations (UN) sanctions following unrest in the North African nation.

Uganda Takes Over Libyan-Owned UTL

The Ugandan government has taken over management of troubled Libyan-owned telecommunications company, Uganda Telecom Ltd. (UTL), Uganda's minister of information and communications technology said Tuesday.

As a regulator and a minority shareholder in Uganda Telcom, the government has decided to take over management of the company to safeguard its interests and the interests of its customers, Aggrey Awori said in a telephone interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

"We cannot sit and watch as things get out of hand," he said.

The Libyan Arab Portfolio, or LAP Green Network, holds a controlling stake in Uganda Telecom.

According to Awori, the move is part of government's decision to implement the United Nations-initiated sanctions against Libya. Last week, the Ugandan central bank took over Libya-owned Tropical African Bank.

Uganda Telecom has been struggling to meet payment obligations to other Ugandan telecom companies arising from interconnection fees. A company spokesman couldn't return calls seeking comment immediately.

Earlier this month, MTN Uganda--a unit of Johannesburg-listed MTN Group Ltd. threatened to block calls to Uganda Telecom over a 20 billion Ugandan shillings ($8.3 million) unpaid interconnection fees that have accumulated over a three-year period.

Airtel Uganda Ltd. also claims that Uganda Telecom owes it UGX8 billion in interconnection fees and had also threatened to terminate calls to the network. Airtel Uganda Ltd. is a unit of India-based Bharti Airtel Ltd.

However, government has prevailed upon the two companies from blocking calls to Uganda Telecom, to avoid inconveniencing the public. People familiar with the situation say that the two companies were now planning to attach some of the properties belonging to Uganda Telecom.

Attachment is a legal process by which a court of law, at the request of a creditor, designates specific property owned by the debtor to be transferred to the creditor, or sold for the benefit of the creditor.

Uganda's foreign affairs minister announced last week that government would freeze Libyan assets worth $375 million; other Libyan-owned companies that have been affected by the sanctions include Tamoil East Africa, National & Housing Construction Company, Laico Lake Victoria Hotel and Libya Oil. 

-Dow Jones Newswires

LAP To Launch In Sierra Leone This April

GreenN Sierra Leone, a subsidiary of LAP Green Network, itself 100% owned by Libyan government-owned investment vehicle Libyan Africa Portfolio (LAP), will launch commercial operations in Sierra Leone’s wireless market in April this year, local newspaper Awoko reports.


Earlier this week Information and Communications Minister Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo made the first official call over the company’s GSM network to President Koroma. The minister said that GreenN Sierra Leone is part of efforts to strengthen the bilateral ties between Sierra Leone and Libya. 


According to GreenN Sierra Leone’s CEO, Elmabruk S. Elgembari, the company plans to invest USD50 million in the next three years, adding that the operator has so far constructed a total of 128 cell sites, including 42 in the provinces. 


The CEO also revealed that GreenN will provide quality and affordable voice, data and internet services. As well as Sierra Leone, LAP holds telecoms licences in six other African countries, including Rwanda, Uganda, Niger, Ivory Coast and Togo.

Libya to List State Cellcos By April 2011

According to Reuters Africa, state-owned Libyan mobile phone operators Al Madar Telecomm and Libyana will definitely be floated on the North African country's stock exchange by the end of April 2011.

Gamal Al-Lamushe, the chairman of Libya's privatisation and investment board, told the news agency: 'We are working on it with Al Madar and Libyana. Probably about 2% to 5% - that is the maximum that will be floated'.
In October, chairman of the Bourse, Suleiman Shehoumi indicated that the two companies would each list 30% stakes on the local stock exchange in early 2011, but Al-Lamushe has contradicted Shehoumi's assessment, stating: 'I don't think that much will be floated. The capacity of the Libyan stock market is very limited. It will not be a good idea to float such a big amount of capital'.
 
Shehoumi said that the two cellcos would be among as many as 20 local firms expected to list themselves on the exchange in 2011. The move suggests further progress in the gradual opening up of Libya’s economy; long-standing international trade sanctions were lifted by the US in 2004, after Libya publicly turned its back on weapons of mass destruction.
 
Reports concerning the privatisation of Libya's telecoms sector have circulated regularly since 2007, adding an element of doubt to predictions that the flotation will go ahead as planned in 2011.

Zamtel Spends US$34 Million In Fibre-Optic Project

Zambia’s monopoly fixed line operator Zambia Tele- communications Company (Zamtel) claims to have spent approximately USD34 million on laying fibre-optic cable across the country, AllAfrica reports.

The investment figure was revealed by Transport and Communications Deputy Minister Mubika Mubika in Parliament, who in responding to questions about the telco’s future spending plans noted that it remained unclear whether Libya’s LapGreen Networks, which recently acquired a 75% stake in Zamtel, would continue the current fibre rollout project.

LapGreen Networks submitted a USD257 million for the majority stake in Zamtel, and it was announced last month that it had beaten out bids from Russian telecoms investment firm Altimo and Unitel of Angola for the majority holding to win the holding. The government meanwhile has retained the remaining 25% stake, although it may sell this at a later stage through an initial public offering on the Lusaka bourse.

Libya Plans to Privatise Mobile Firms

The government of Libya is reportedly planning to sell stakes in two mobile operators, Libyana and Al Madar, according to Bloomberg. Under the first phase of the sale plan, an initial 5% stake in the two wholly state-owned companies will be divested for a total of USD400 million, with the government planning to the offer further stakes of up to 40%.

Beltone Securities International, a subsidiary of Egyptian investment bank Beltone Financial, is said to be advising on the sale.

Libyana and Al Madar are the country’s only wireless operators and are both wholly state-owned via the Libya Post and Telecommunications Information Technology (LPTIC). Libyana, which launched in September 2004, had an estimated subscriber base of 6.55 million at 31 December 2009, while sole rival Al Madar, which started operations in November 1996, had 1.4 million cellular users at the same date.

Vodafone Signs Deal With Libya's Al-Madar

 Vodafone says that it has signed a non-equity cooperation deal with Libyan state owned mobile network, Almadar Aljadid (Al-Madar) to offer Vodafone branded services in the North African country.

Under the terms of this agreement, Almadar Aljadid will have exclusive access to Vodafone's range of products, devices and services in Libya. In addition, Vodafone will be able to use Almadar Aljadid's network to offer its customers a range of services, which utilise 'home' network capabilities as well as extended coverage within Libya.

The partnership will also enable multinational companies located outside Libya and with local operations to meet their needs for unified communications, centralised customer care and Vodafone services using Almadar Aljadid network.

Commenting on the agreement, Colin MacDougall, Vodafone Partner Markets director for Africa and the Middle East, said: "We are delighted to partner with Almadar Aljadid in order to better serve our business customers' communications requirements as they look to grow their operations in Libya."

Etisalat Confirms Libyan Bid

Etisalat has confirmed that it has submitted a bid for Libya's third mobile phone license i­n a brief statement to the Abu Dhabi stock exchange. According to Reuters, the company would plan an investment of at least US$500 million if it won the license.

In the statement, the company said that it " has submitted a technical, commercial and financial bid to the Libyan General Telecommunications Authority (GTA) on 15th July 2009 to participate for the Fixed/Mobile Convergent License in Libya"

Libya currently has two mobile networks. According to figures from the Mobile World, Libyana is the dominant operator with 83% of the market, followed by Al Madar. The country has a population penetration level of 134%.

Etisalat has also confirmed that it is looking at taking a majority stake in Kuwait's Zain, which had had been in talks with France's Vivendi over a sale of its African assets.

Libya Invites International Bids for Telecom Licences

Libya invited bids by foreign companies to provide private mobile-phone and landline services, Agence France-Presse said yesterday, citing an unidentified spokesman for the state-owned General Telecommunication Authority.

The North African country, which is expected to grant a fixed-line license and mobile license to one operator, is opening to foreign operators for the first time as it aims to stimulate the Libyan telecom market, AFP reported.