Vodafone’s Congo unit suffers shareholders battle
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The Congo unit of Vodafone Group Plc, the world’s largest mobile-phone company, is facing a shareholders dispute under which the Congolese unit is seeking a $484 million capital injection in the business through a share sale. The move is expected to dilute the stake of the Congolese unit.
According to a letter issued on March 15 by Vodacom Congo Managing Director Godfrey Motsa, shareholders of the venture, Vodacom Congo Sprl, have been invited to meet tomorrow at the Johannesburg office of Vodafone- controlled Vodacom Group Ltd. to discuss the new funding.
As per a complaint filed by CWN on December 17 with Congo’s attorney general, Vodacom owes it more than $166 million, a claim which has been denied by Vodacom.
Vodafone introduces ultra low cost handsets
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: To enable millions of people in the developing world to experience the connectivity a mobile phone can offer, two new ultra low cost handsets has been launched by Vodafone.
Vodafone 150 and the Vodafone 250 offer voice and SMS services, polyphonic ringtones, 2 integrated games, a vibrating alert, memory for up to 100 phonebook entries, a 500mAh battery (up to 400 hours standby and up to 5 hours talk time) and it will operate on GSM 900/1800.
The handsets will be launched in India, Turkey, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Qatar, South Africa and Tanzania at a price of US$15 and US$20 respectively.
According to Patrick Chomet, Vodafone’s Group Director of Terminals, the cost of mobile handsets can be one of the most significant barriers for people in accessing and benefiting from the growing number of socially valuable mobile services.
Vodafone to supply low-Cost mobiles to its emerging markets
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A couple of low-cost mobile phones will be started by Vodafone that will retail, without a subsidy, for less than US$20 each. India, Turkey and 8 markets in Africa – The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Qatar, South Africa and Tanzania will receive the phones initially.
An extensive logistics infrastructure, reaching deep rural segments where mobile penetration typically remains low will support the launches in order to maximize the availability of the handsets across countries with sizeable and isolated rural populations.
According to Patrick Chomet, Vodafone’s Group Director of Terminals, the cost of mobile handsets can be one of the most significant barriers for people in accessing and benefiting from the growing number of socially valuable mobile services and the lives of the people will be changed and improved as they become part of the mobile society.
1.1 mln customers lost by Vodacom in December quarter
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: With 9.5% increase last year, African mobile operator Vodacom’s mobile customer base reached 40.5 million. Due to the RICA rules in South Africa and a change in disconnection policy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Vodacom lost a net 1.1 million customers versus September.
The decline was entirely due to prepaid losses, while the contract base grew by 190,000 to 4.349 million.
Quarterly revenues were up 6 percent year-on-year to ZAR 15.425 billion while the Vodafone subsidiary saw 7.5 percent annual growth in quarterly revenue. Traffic in South Africa was up 4.0 percent year-on-year and down 1.3 percent from the previous quarter to 6.655 billion minutes, while ARPU of ZAR 140 was stable year-on-year and up from ZAR 125 in the September quarter.
4th license awarded to ETC in Congo
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Equateur Telecom Congo (ETC), a subsidiary company of Bahrain-based Bintel has been awarded the fourth mobile operating license in the Republic of Congo.
The other three license holders in the country are Zain Congo with a market share of 49.7%, MTN Congo with 41.9% and Warid Congo with 8.5%. .
ETC is already operating in Gabon, Central African Republic and Somalia. According to Thierry Lezin Moungalla, Congo’s minister for post and telecommunications, the new business will help develop Congo’s economy
Haiti to receive emergency GSM network from Ericsson
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Ericsson has been requested by the United Nations to deploy its Ericsson Response organization to aid relief work in earthquake-stricken Haiti. Four out of 20 volunteers on stand-by will be sent to set up a container-based mini GSM-system to enable mobile communication in the area. All the volunteers are telecom experts.
UN transportation will be used to send personnel and equipment. According to Rima Qureshi, head of Ericsson Response, aid workers can get their work done faster if they can provide them with the tools to get quickly in touch with the outside world, each other and those most affected by the emergency.
Formed in 2000 with a conviction to provide telecommunication expertise during disasters, Ericsson Response also supported relief work in Congo, Sudan, Indonesia and Philippines in 2009.
Shareholders of Vodacom DRC engage in public spat
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A public spat has been started by the shareholders of Vodacom DRC which is a combined entity of Vodacom with 51% and Congolese Wireless Network with 49% stake, with the latter accusing the South African group of reneging on promises. USD200 million has been demanded by CWN to compensate for dues allegedly ‘illegally’ extracted by Vodacom from the DRC business.
According to Alieu Conteh, head of Congolese Wireless Network, sale of the group’s stake in the Democratic Republic of Congo subsidiary was offered by Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys last year but he later changed his mind.
The two companies have been in partnership for the last eight years and according to the CWN, Vodacom’s last minute withdrawal of its offer is indicative of the way Vodacom has treated CWN. CWN is preparing to file a suit against Vodacom accusing its partner of ‘fraud, swindling, usury and other offences.’ Vodacom on the other hand has accused CWN of engaging in ‘malicious litigation.’
Financial plans of Vodacom Congo in dispute
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Discussions are being carried out by the Mobile operator Vodacom with its minority shareholder in the DRC that could affect the relationship with this shareholder. Although the company has constructively engaged Congolese Wireless Networks (CWN) which is 49% shareholder, no concrete results has come out.
Vodacom owns 51% of the Vodacom Congo which commenced operations in 2002. The funding agreements between Vodacom Congo and Vodacom clearly states that the company’s directors including those appointed by CWN unanimously approved the terms of the funding.
Despite the fact that CWN has always been free to seek alternative funding, its primary dispute with Vodacom relates to these funding agreements, and CWN has threatened to take this matter to court in the DRC to force Vodacom to invest significant further sums in the business.
According to Bob Collymore, Vodacom’s chief officer for corporate affairs, the company has been entirely open in its dealings with CWN and has acted in good faith to ensure the viability and growth of Vodacom Congo. Vodacom aim is to defend any legal action in the DRC besides seeking an amicable resolution.
MTN & IMI announce partnership
Millions of mobile and online content users across Africa and the Middle East will reap the benefits of a landmark tie-up between MTN and IMImobile – an India-based software and managed services provider linked to 350 content providers worldwide.
The two companies have teamed up in a bold move to address the growing demand for content in emerging markets. This strategic partnership will entail providing MTN’s 21 markets access to a repository of current and globally popular content through enhanced delivery platforms. Content categories will include music (with local and international flavour), sports, games, entertainment, news and much more.
It will also enable MTN to launch new income-generating voice and data services across its global footprint, with revenues from mobile content and services estimated at around US$150.2 billion in 2011, up from US$89,3 billion in 2006, worldwide. (more…)
Uganda: Celtel Takes Over Nigeria’s Vmobile
CELTEL International has fully taken over control of Nigeria’s Vmobile and re-branded it into its famous red and yellow logo along with its brand promise of ‘Making Life Better.’
In a press statement issued recently, the Celtel International Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Marten Pieters, said Nigeria is a very important market for any serious telecommunications operator in the world.
“Celtel has taken Nigeria seriously right from the days of the license auction. We also tried to acquire Nitel, when it was up for sale, but the more attractive option of buying into Vmobile proved too tantalising to be ignored,” he said.
Celtel’s success in Nigeria underscores the increasing competition among telecom players on the continent for more visibility and business as Africa continues to take leaps into the cyber world.
Re-branding Vmobile, the first mobile network to launch commercial services in Nigeria, follows the acquisition of a controlling stake in the company by Celtel.
The deal, worth $1.005 billion (Shs1.8 trillion), was concluded in May 2006. Officials said the Group plans to do an extensive rollout of the Celtel brand in Nigeria, with investments already hitting more than $700 million (Shs1.2 trillion) being spent to improve network coverage through the erection of 1,000 new base stations and bringing the latest mobile network products to our customers
Celtel offers telecommunications services with mobile licenses covering more than 400 million people, close to half of Africa’s population.
Celtel International is owned by MTC, a leading provider of mobile telecommunications in the Middle East and Africa.
It has more than 15 million customers and operates mobile cellular operations in 14 countries. These include Burkina Faso, Chad, DR Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi, Niger, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia among others.
Source- http://allafrica.com
Technorati : Africa, Celtel, MTC, Middle East, Mobile, Nigeria, Uganda, Vmobile
Ice Rocket : Africa, Celtel, MTC, Middle East, Mobile, Nigeria, Uganda, Vmobile
