Wireless Federation

Safaricom gains stock value with increase in subscriber base (Kenya)

On 01.13.12, In Mobile, By Editor

Safaricom, a leading mobile network operator in Kenya, has added maximum number of subscribers in the second quarter of 2011, causing its share price to rise. According to reports, the stock rose 1.7 percent from US$ 0.033 on 30 December 2011 to US$ 0.034 on 6 January 2012.

As per sources, the Communications Commission of Kenya revealed that Safaricom is currently the most dominant operator in Kenya with a market share of 67.7 percent. Further, the Commission has reportedly stated that Safaricom added the highest number of new customers at 593,177 followed by Airtel Networks Kenya Ltd., with 557,567 new subscriptions in the quarter ending September. Also, Essar Telecom Kenya Ltd., added 46,742 new customers while Telkom Kenya Ltd., added 16,683 new users.

Bharti Airtel contemplates mobile service launch in South Africa and Cameroon (Africa)

On 01.02.12, In Mobile, By Editor

India’s leading telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel may be planning to expand its network in South Africa and Cameroon, as learned through industry sources. Airtel is a dominant player in the mobile industry with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa.

Mobile penetration has steadily been increasing in African countries, and with most of the global markets being saturated, emerging markets such as Africa provide mobile operators with new opportunities to increase their subscriber base and enhance their revenue.

Currently Airtel offers services in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Niger, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. By adding South Africa and Cameroon, two of Africa’s fastest growing mobile economies to the list, Airtel aims to strengthen its position in Africa.

Airtel is the leading mobile operator in India and is well known for its innovative and competitive tariff pricing. The operator’s entry into these new markets is expected to take the mobile industry by storm and introduce an unprecedented level of competition.

Airtel presently offers services in 15 cities in India and with the population of one Indian city being similar to that of one African country, South Africa and Cameroon have the potential to be extremely lucrative for Bharti Airtel.

Further, sources claim that rival operators currently offering services in these economies such as MTN, Vodacom and Orange are already working on strategies to maintain their market share and offer stiff competition to Airtel.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Bharti Airtel • Burkina Faso • Cameroon • Chad • Congo Brazzaville • Gabon • Ghana • India • Kenya • Madagascar • Malawi • MTN • Niger • Nigeria • Orange • Seychelles • Sierra Leone • South Africa • Tanzania • Uganda • Vodacom • Zambia

Bharti Airtel goes green with Ericsson (Africa)

On 11.17.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Telecommunications operator Bharti Airtel has reportedly signed an agreement with Sweden based Ericsson to upgrade its diesel powered stations in Nigeria with E-site, a new green energy solution. According to reports, Manoj Kohli, CEO and joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, has said that the new E-site solution would enable Airtel to harness solar energy to power mobile base stations across Nigeria.

He added that they are happy to take the lead in deploying and rolling out state-of-the-art green power solutions and reducing dependency on diesel. Further, this latest initiative will not only enable Airtel to significantly reduce operating costs but also contribute to the reduction in the greenhouse effect.

As per sources, the E-site solution developed by Flexenclosure, has been tested for two years in Kenya helping them in reducing the diesel consumption and emissions of the diesel powered sites. Further, the E-site is said to use renewable sources of energy including wind turbines.

Reports reveal that Lars Linden, President (sub-Saharan Africa) Ericsson, has said that they are driving the implementation of this innovative solution in support of sustainability and development of the networked society. The new green and highly cost efficient base station solution makes not only environmental sense but also financial sense for their customers, enabling the efficient deployment of services to previously un-served or underserved areas.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Bharti Airtel • E-site • Ericsson • Flexenclosure • Kenya • Lars Linden • Manoj Kohli • Niger • Nigeria • Sweden

Safaricom to launch fibre-optic network (Kenya)

On 11.11.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Kenya’s dominant mobile network operator, Safaricom, has reportedly announced that it plans to roll out its own independent fibre-optic network, in an attempt to strengthen its position in the mobile data market, and reduce its dependence on the declining voice market.

According to reports, Bob Collymore, CEO, Safaricom has said that this move is a part of their strategic decision to be the regional leader in broadband provision. He added this new direction will offer them greater control of the quality of service offered to their customers. As per sources, the operator is on the lookout for a company to build and maintain the inland network expected to cost US$10.22 million.

As per sources, Safaricom activated a fibre-optic link between Nairobi and Mombasa in February last year, using infrastructure leased from the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) for $ 2.9 million.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Data • fibre-optic • Kenya • Safaricom • Voice revenue

Safaricom hikes call rates for the first time in 11 Years (Kenya)

On 10.14.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Safaricom Ltd., Kenya’s largest mobile-phone operator, has increased all voice tariffs by one shilling citing increasing inflation and the weakening currency. As per reports, Bob Collymore, CEO, Safaricom, said that this is the first time in Safaricom’s 11-year history that they have had to effect a price increase on retail voice tariffs. He said that they have set out to run a sustainable business and they have to charge a price which makes sense for their customers as well as shareholders.

Sources claim that rates will rise by an average of 1 shilling per minute, further, calls between Safaricom users will climb to 4 shillings (USD 0.04) and calls by subscribers to rival networks will rise to 5 shillings (USD 0.048). The new tariffs have the maximum impact on users making international calls. Safaricom has raised the call charges by three times for calls made to US, Canada and India which combined constitute for as much as 60 percent of all international calls made by Kenyans. The inflation rate in Kenya climbed to 17.3 percent in September, while the shilling fell 19 percent against the dollar, making it the world’s most underperforming currency.

As per reports, the number of mobile-phone users in Kenya grew at the fastest pace in at least a year, rising 12 percent to 25 million, in the three months through December as the cost of calls fell.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Bob Collymore • Canada • India • Kenya • Safaricom • tariff hike

Bharti Airtel signs deal with Nokia to expand 3G services in Africa

On 10.13.11, In Mobile, Mobile Operators, By Editor

Bharti Airtel, a leading telecom operator has signed a contract reportedly worth $ 700 million with Nokia Siemens Networks to expand its 2G network and deploy and manage 3G services in Africa.

As per the agreement, Nokia Siemens Networks will manage all network operations as well as provide energy-efficient base stations for Airtel in seven African countries including Madagascar, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Congo Brazzaville. In an attempt to increase its subscriber base, Airtel has been expanding its presence in Africa’s rural regions.

According to reports, Manoj Kohli Airtel’s CEO (International) and Joint Managing Director said that this partnership will further enable them to rapidly expand their network coverage and provide high-speed wireless internet connectivity to their customers. Further, Nokia Siemens Networks, Chief Executive Officer, Rajeev Suri said that they look forward to working closely with Airtel to expand its network rapidly and deliver the right innovative products and services to help meet user demands.

Filed under:Mobile,Mobile Operators Tagged with: 3G • Africa • Bharti Airtel • Congo Brazzaville • Kenya • Madagascar • Malawi • Monaj Kohli • Nokia • Tanzania • Uganda • Zambia

Bharti Airtel launches ‘PayOnline’ in Africa

On 09.19.11, In Mobile Banking, By Editor

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.

Filed under:Mobile Banking Tagged with: Africa • Bharti Airtel • Kenya • Online Payment • PayOnline

Wanachi Group, Aptilo Network and Google come together to launch WiFi services in Nairobi (Kenya)

On 08.31.11, In Mobile Operators, Mobile Solutions, By Editor

Wanachi Group along with wireless data service management company Aptilo Network and Google, have come together to launch Wazi Wi-Fi, a high-speed wireless broadband network in Nairobi, Kenya. Initially being offered in the Junction Shopping Mall area of Nairobi, the service is free for the first ten minutes of use per day after which users can either pay for a single day pass (54 cents) or for one month ($5.4)per device. Payment for the same can be done using their credit cards or via M-PESA, Airtel Money and PesaPal.

As per reports, Aptilo is expected to provide cloud-based service management and policy controls for Wazi Wi-Fi. Sources claim that Wananchi Group CEO Richard Bell and Euan Guttridge, Google’s technical program manager for emerging markets in sub-Saharan Africa, aim to get more users online by reducing Internet access barriers and developing a vibrant Internet environment.

Filed under:Mobile Operators,Mobile Solutions Tagged with: Aptilo • Euan Guttridge • Google • Kenya • Manachi • Nairobi • Richard Bell • Wazi WiFi

3G services now launched in Kenya by Telkom Kenya (Orange)

On 08.30.11, In Mobile, Mobile Operators, By Editor

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.

Filed under:Mobile,Mobile Operators Tagged with: 3G • Africa • Kenya • Kisumu • Mickael Ghossein • Mombasa • Nairobi • Orange • Telkom Kenya

Airtel ropes in additional distribution channels to spread money transfer (Kenya)

On 08.12.11, In Mobile, By Editor

airtel_kenya

In a bid to lure more subscribers for its money transfer product, Airtel Kenya has added more distribution channels to its list while reducing transaction fees at the same time.

The outlets of this money transfer product also, known as Airtel Money will take the form of banks, Nakumatt and Pesa Point.

According to Airtel Kenya Managing Director Rene Meza, in order to increase the uptake of the service, more than 6,000 agents have been recruited countrywide and the number is expected to grow to 8,000 by the end of the year.

The telco has also revised the rates at which it applies charges for money transfer. The rate will be $0.269 for money sent to on-net and off-net subscribers. According to the data furnished by the Central Bank of Kenya, $33.334 million worth of value are exchanged on mobile transfer platform per day while the number of money transfer transactions carried out nationwide stands at 1.1 million.

The preceding announcement to this move is the roll out of the telecom’s 3G mobile internet technology this September.

Meza also stated that technical and billing trials in Nairobi and Mombasa stand to be completed within the next two months thereby laying the groundwork for the launch of this technology that is understood to present customers more choices in terms of mobile payments.

Currently, Airtel provides data services by the use of older technology whilst the roll of 3G services is tipped to make it possible for the telco and offer high speed internet to its users.

The only company that offers 3G services in Kenya is Safaricom while tests by other companies are ongoing.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Kenya • operator