Bharti Airtel launches ‘PayOnline’ in Africa
Bharti Airtel’s African unit has launched an online payment system – PayOnline enabling users to use their mobile handsets to make purchases. As per reports, the company has said that while the system has initially been launched in Kenya, it will soon be available across Africa.
The online payment system will allow Airtel users to purchase goods from any site where MasterCard is accepted. The customers will receive a 16 digit number in order to complete the transaction, following which the consumer will receive a confirmation message.
As per reports, N. Arjun, chief projects and transformation officer, Airtel Africa, has said that the sustained socio-economic changes witnessed in Africa over the last decade have shown that the continent has the ability to leapfrog conventional systems and embrace innovations on platforms such as the mobile phone.
Airtel expects US$ 5 billion revenue from its African business by May 2013 (Africa)
Bharti Airtel has reportedly said that it expects its African operations to generate revenues worth $ 5 billion by May 2013. As per sources, Manoj Kohli, CEO (International) and Joint MD, Bharti Airtel said that they are extremely satisfied with their African acquisition. He added that they were on track to achieve their target of reaching $ 5 billion in revenue and $2 billion EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortisation).
Bharti had acquired Zain’s African business for $10.70 billion in 2010. Airtel’s African operations had reported a net loss of US$ 98.8 million, while revenues stood at US$ 2.7 billion crore in 2010-2011.
In response to MTN being the market leader in Africa, Kohli has said that while MTN is very competitive, they are digging their heels and are trying to get their foundation, network and customer services right. If foundation is right, leadership is not far away. He further said that the African business has been very satisfying. He claims that this is the last frontier of the global markets, specifically telecom market, and he believes that Bharti’s entry has not only been right but also tangible which will be seen in the next 10 years. He added that the African market has a population of 1 billion with an average age of just 18 and clearly, it needs voice, communications and wireless broadband.
Regarding the company’s new tower, he said that their first objective is to build their own tower company which is in the process. In next few months, they expect to have their tower company ready, registered, all the staffing completed and all the legal approvals done. He said that the new tower company will help improve the cost efficiency by bringing down the fuel cost, which in turn brings down the cost of the tower.
Bharti Airtel to offer 2G and 3G services in Rwanda (Africa)
Bharti Airtel has obtained licenses to operate 2G and 3G services in Rwanda, for which it plans to invest US $100 million over the next three years. With this license, Rwanda is the 17th country in the African continent to receive Airtel services.
According to reports, Sunil Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel said that they were pleased to be part of the vision of the Government of Rwanda to take telecommunications forward as a priority. He added that they will work with the government to bring affordable and best in class mobile services that add value to the lives of people of Rwanda and contribute towards bridging the digital divide in the country. Further, he also said that Rwanda is a key telecom market with immense growth potential which will strengthen Bharti Airtel’s footprint in East Africa. Rwanda is amongst the fastest growing telecom markets in Africa. Sources claim that according to the National Statistics Institute of Rwanda, the mobile penetration in the country was 38.4 per cent as of July 2011.
As per reports, Minister in the President’s Office in Charge of ICT, Ignace Gatare welcomed Bharti Airtel to Rwanda and expressed confidence that its experience in operating in emerging markets will add immense value to telecommunications sector in Rwanda. He said that they are entering an exciting era in telecommunications in Rwanda, which entails bringing advanced broadband wireless services at more competitive prices and allowing more people in rural areas to access mobile technology. He added that this also marks the largest investment out of India into Rwanda and will be invaluable in enhancing the economic co-operation between the two nations.
Airtel Zambia to enter remote areas of Western Province (Zambia)
In an effort to target the large base of rural subscribers in Zambia, southern African mobile operator Airtel Zambia has begun infrastructure work in the remote areas of its western province. With this move, Airtel aims to maintain its market share by bringing connectivity to people living in rural areas accessible only by water. As per reports, Airtel Zambia managing director Mr. Fayaz King said that they would first be entering areas such as Mutomena, Lukena, Liuwa, Libonda Palace and Mishulundu in Western Zambia. He further stated that the network expansion comes as part of the initiative taken up by the company over the past 10 months in order to provide services to some of the most remote areas of the country.
According to reports, rural areas covered by Airtel in the last 10 months are in Luapula, Northern, North-Western, Eastern, Southern, Central and some rural parts of the Copperbelt like Lufwanyama, Masaiti, and Mpongwe districts. So far 88 isolated rural areas and communities have been connected by Airtel in Zambia .
3G services now launched in Kenya by Telkom Kenya (Orange)
Telkom Kenya, the largest provider of integrated communications solutions in Kenya, has launched 3G services in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, providing subscribers with an internet speed of 21 Mbps. The service provider operating under the flagship of Orange plans to expand the service to other regions as well in order to cater to the ever increasing demand for data related services.
According to reports, Mickael Ghossein CEO Telkom Kenya states that a new internet era has begun where Orange will steadily take the lead in offering innovative products and services while providing simplicity through customer experience and maintaining value proposition to the customer. He also confirmed that users would be able to browse for as low as 0.40 cts per MB, with these rates being applicable across all its internet platforms.
Orange also unveiled a 3G shared broadband WIFI router which will allow upto 10 users to connect to the internet simultaneously, thus minimizing cost. As per reports, Ghossein stated that the service would be using multiple pole technology which separates voice and data channels, assuring users that the quality of data will remain unaffected even when there are multiple subscribers using voice services. This service also comes with parental control software enabling customers to manage internet abuse.
MTN to offer music across Africa
Music is big in Africa, and so is MTN – Africa’s leading mobile operator.
To capitalize on this competitive strength, MTN will now offer a much wider variety of world-class calibre music to our customers via our www.mtnplay.com digital content portal.
This follows the signing of an agreement with Content Connect Africa (CCA), an aggregator and provider of on and off-portal content.
CCA has a substantial catalogue of African musical content by artists in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya – among others. It also has rights to exclusive video content featuring a host of popular African artists including Hugh Masekela, Fela Kuti and Busi Mhlongo.
Christian de Faria, MTN’s Senior Vice President for Commercial and Innovation, says there is a growing demand for digital content in Africa.
“More and more people in Africa and in the developed world are going online for entertainment content. With Africa’s mobile penetration now at approximately 50% of the 1 billion population, MTN sees a huge opportunity in music content being delivered on people’s mobile handsets via our www.mtnplay.com digital content portal,” says De Faria.
He explains that the African consumer, with an estimated spending power of $1.4 trillion by 2020, has become highly aspirational with a taste for world-class goods and services over the last few years.
Through its deal with CCA, MTN will offer a wide selection of music content which will be available as full tracks and CallerTunez.
CCA’s vast catalogue includes recording labels such as AS Entertainment, Godfather (specializing in Nigerian content), Al Records (East and West Africa content) and Soulistic Music which features top DJs like Black Coffee.
“Connect Africa is passionate about music from our continent. We have always strived to be ahead of the pack when it comes to representing African music, offering our artists and labels a bouquet of services from content to marketing, sponsorship and digital management. We are delighted to work with MTN Play to deliver this content to the rest of Africa” says Antos Stella, Managing Director for Content Connect Africa.
Mi-Fone launches low cost dual SIM phones (Africa)
Mi-Fone has rolled out Mi-Fone ultra low cost dual SIM handsets to African carriers. The mobile phones will be powered by Mediatek chipsets.
Mi-Fone will launch the ULC Mi320 with MP3 player, followed by the Mi326 version with camera and GPRS version. Next will be the MiQ501, an ultra slim JAVA capable device, and the MiQ502 with noise suppression software.
4G Cameroon introduces operations (Africa)
4G Cameroon has introduced its operation in Cameroon under the brand name YooMee. The wireless network covers Douala. Yaounde will be operational during the summer. YooMee’s mission will be to offer affordable, reliable and state-of-the-art internet access in Cameroon.
YooMee services are designed for the residential and SME markets, as well as governmental entities. The product range includes various types of wireless broadband internet access.
According to CEO Dov Bar-Gera, the company offers a variety of services using either a mobile internet USB key, or a stationary desktop device. The service offering will start with CFA 1000 for monthly 90 minutes and goes up to an unlimited subscription. The download speed of YooMee is 640 kbps, compared to market offerings of 256 kbps or lower.
YooMee’s services are based on mobile Wimax (16E), upgradable to LTE, should it be necessary. 4G Africa AG, a private Swiss company, was founded in 2009 by a team of telecom entrepreneurs active in emerging countries for the last decade. The team includes the founders of a wireless broadband operator in Europe, which deployed over 200 base stations in Austria, Slovakia and Croatia, and acquired thousands of customers.
Airtel Africa donates $196,324 for schools
Airtel Africa has announced that it has donated US$196,324 towards a supplementary feeding program in Kenya which aims to target 25,000 school children from drought-stricken parts of the country, over a period of six months.
The donation will be used by Red Cross Society to offer Unimix – a highly nutritious corn and soya blend – to students from over 250 schools. The evolving drought coupled with poor rainfall this season has resulted in drier than normal conditions, spreading hunger and sickness across many parts of the Kenya.
As a result, families have been forced to pull children out of school as they migrate in search of water and pasture. In fact, according to statistics from the United Nations, the drought has already forced some 10,000 Kenyan pastoralists and 30,000 livestock to cross the border to Uganda in the hope of finding food. In addition, parts of Samburu, Turkana and Pokot are experiencing heightened inter-community conflict – leading to increased school dropouts -because of the competition for the quickly dissipating resources. The donation will be spread evenly across the 10 target districts, covering approximately nine schools in each district.
