Vodacom eyes acquisition opportunities in Africa (Africa)
South African cellphone operator Vodacom Group Ltd. said that it is ready to grow its operations further across Africa and is on the hunt for small acquisitions.
Chief Executive Pieter Uys told DJN that they feel more comfortable that they have the recipe to be successful outside South Africa. Uys said the company is looking to make smaller acquisitions in the $100 million range focusing on a few countries on the continent that provide a stable political environment, big city populations and which aren’t overcrowded with other mobile phone operators.
As per the report, the key to expansion, Uys said, will be to establish a local presence in each country. When the company first expanded, Uys said it would put together packages in its home base of South Africa and then carry them out to the other countries it operates in–Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho and Congo. He added that Vodacom is considering expanding into Angola, Ethiopia and Uganda.
While telecommunications companies in Africa are benefiting from the expansion of its user base as more people enter the cellphone market, that growth doesn’t come without complications.
Vodacom is battling a court case over its 51 percent shareholding in Congo after a former consultant for the company took it to court over a payment dispute. Congolese courts ruled that Vodacom is liable to pay the company, Nememco,$21 million, and said if the company doesn’t settle the payment, the courts will conduct a public auction of its shares in Vodacom Congo on June 3.
Total Vodacom customers rose to 47.8 million for the year ended March 31, up 11 million from the previous year. In South Africa, customers rose by 6.1 million to 28.9 million.
MTC launches 4G LTE services in Namibia (Namibia)
Mobile operator MTC has rolled out the 4G LTE cellular telephony in Windhoek, a broadband network that is said to be 10 times faster than the previous connection, according to a report by AllAfrica.
Speaking at the launch of the new technology, Miguel Geraldes, Managing Director of MTC said customers will have a much better experience in 4G as the speed will be tremendously faster. 4G is the fourth generation of wireless communication standards, converging computers and cellphones wirelessly in an era of ultra-fast broadband internet access.
As per the report, Geraldes said that there will be no latency, when you click the button, you no longer have to wait to get a response from the network as this will now be instant which is significant for business.
After Angola, Namibia becomes the second country in Africa to be equipped with the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE). MTC’s latest move follow last weeks launch of the long awaited West African Cable System, a connection that, among others is set to enable high-speed internet access. The 4G LTE will for now only be accessed in certain areas in Windhoek.
Geraldes added that they further expect to cover the whole of Windhoek with 4G LTE at the end of July 2012, adding that 4G LTE will allow mobility with download speeds up to 100MB per second and 50 Megabits per second upload compared with the current 3G where the speed was up to 7.2/1.8 Megabits per second. Further, put simply the speed will be 10 times much faster than the current version of Netman 3G.
Geraldes said MTC has ambitions to cover 45 per cent of the Namibian population in the next 12 months, including part of the rural areas, which, according to him, compared with the current 3G that covered close to 32 per cent based in urban areas.
There are a full range of devices already available for the customers from the dongle to connect with a laptop, a desktop, a tablet, and even a smartphone.
Movicel introduces new tariff (Angola)
Movicel, which operates in Angola has launched a new tariff that allows users to make calls with only US$1.07 for the whole day.
According to the company’s deputy director Carlos Brito, the so called Movicel Free Day service was designed for customers that have the constant need of phoning.
Mach launches RoamHouse roaming service for operators (US)
Mach has launched its RoamHouse roaming platform. The service aims to enable mobile network operators to enter or expand in the roaming space, speeding up the time to market.
Mach has already deployed its RoamHouse service with Movicel of Angola. RoamHouse is designed to provide operators with a completely outsourced roaming function backed up by well-defined SLAs.
It provides the full portfolio of coverage expansion services offered by Mach, including Bilateral Roaming services and the Link2One Roaming Hub, and includes IREG/TADIG testing, traffic control, billing, re-pricing, data clearing, business intelligence, fraud protection, coverage services and financial settlement for mobile operators.
Supported by a single customer interface to ensure constant communications and responsiveness, Mach also works to guide operators through the implementation and management phases, delivering on-site support.
Telecom Namibia Deploys Fiber-Optic Cable for High-Speed Broadband Connectivity
Telecom Namibia is set to link the southern African country to the consortium submarine system called West African Cable System (WACS) that links Africa to Europe.
The undersea fiber-optic cable, which was installed along the West African coast, delivered higher broadband connectivity for Namibia and its neighboring cities.
The WACS consortium includes 12 companies. They are Vodacom, Togo Telecom, Telkom SA, Telecom Namibia, Tata Communications/Neotel, Portugal Telecom/Cabo Verde Telecom, Office Congolais des Postes et Telecommunications, MTN, Congo Telecom, Cable & Wireless, Broadband Infraco and Angola Cables.
It is anticipated that the high-speed fiber-optic cable will help in reducing the cost for internet users. The cable will also be expanded to Botswana. According to media reports, Telecom Namibia has installed the required infrastructure to connect its Swakopmund’s landing station to the domestic network. The cable, which is installed in Swakopmund beach, was developed by Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks and Telecom Namibia.
Telecom Namibia anticipates that the commercial operation will be initiated in the Q2 of 2011 and hopes that the country will benefit from direct access to worldwide network cable network.
Telecom Namibia’s Managing Director, Frans Ndoroma stated that the 14,900 km WACS will provide direct connectivity between the UK, West Africa and Namibia.
Telecom Namibia ready for WACS
Telecom Namibia is ready to connect the country to the West African Cable System (WACS), a consortium high speed submarine system linking Africa to Europe, which it hopes will lead to higher-bandwidth, cheaper data and voice services for all end-users.
The US$600 million fibre-optic cable has reached the shores of Namibia, while Telecom has already deployed infrastructure to link its landing station at Swakopmund to its domestic network and expects that commercial services could be launched by the second quarter of this year. The project will give Namibia its first direct access to global submarine cable networks.
The WACS consortium consists of twelve companies: Angola Cables, Broadband Infraco, Cable & Wireless, Congo Telecom, MTN, Office Congolais des Postes et Telecommunications, Portugal Telecom/Cabo Verde Telecom, Tata Communications/Neotel, Telecom Namibia, Telkom SA, Togo Telecom and Vodacom.
Zamtel to invest $23m in Internet services (Zambia)
Zambia’s largest fixed-line Phone Company, Zambia Telecommunications Co., or Zamtel, is planning to invest at least $23 million in its network across the country in a bid to improve Internet services.
According to company’s CEO Kennedy Mambwe, the project is a rollout plan that is aimed at ensuring all districts in the country attain improved Internet services by the end of February.
Last year, Libya’s LAP Green Networks bought a 75% stake in the former state-owned company for $257 million, beating out bids from groups led by Angola’s Unitel Corp. and Russia’s VimpelCom Ltd. (VIP). The government retained a 25% stake in the company.
Movicel launches pilot GSM service (Angola)
Angolan CDMA-based mobile operator, Movicel has launched pilot GSM services in its second area, Benguela Province, following its initial launch of a GSM system in the capital Luanda at the end of November.
Benguela-based customers with compatible devices will now be using a GSM SIM card in place of the CDMA equivalent.
The company has promised a new range of products and services for GSM users, whilst it is introducing free calls between users of the new network, in which it has so far reportedly invested US$100 million.
Movicel plans to invest $1 billion on network upgradation
Movicel, Angolan CDMA network operator, has announced its plans to invest US$1 billion on upgrading its network over the next four years.
According to the Director General of Movicel, Bento Louren§o is investing in maintenance of CDMA network, launching modern systems and innovating technological products, as well as training of specialized technicians.
As per his statement, through this amount, the firm has guaranteed the maintenance of 600 direct jobs and fulfilled with all its social responsibilities, such as, paying regular wages, medical and medicine assistance and paying incomes tax, among other obligations.
He expects to bring forward existing planned programs that were due for completion in 2012 to be completed a year ahead of schedule.
Movicel, which has been operating in Angola since 2003 when it was set up as a subsidiary of state telephone company Angola Telecom, was partially privatized in 2009, when 80% of its shares was sold to a consortium made up of Angolan companies Portmil Investimentos e Telecomunica§µes, Modus Comunicar, Ipangue, Lambda Investement and Novatel.
