Orange partners with CANAL+ AFRIQUE for mobile payment services (France, Africa)
CANAL+ AFRIQUE and Orange have signed a partnership offering CANAL+/CANALSAT subscribers in Africa a convenient way to pay their subscription fees with their mobiles, using Orange’s mobile payment service.
CANAL+/CANALSAT subscription fee payment using Orange Money will be launched in Madagascar in June 2012, so all Malagasy subscribers who are both CANAL+/CANALSAT and Orange customers with an Orange Money account will be able to pay their subscription fees easily and directly from their mobiles, and enjoy great flexibility and instant delivery of their favourite TV programmes.
Orange Money is the mobile phone payment service designed by Orange to meet the needs of its customers in Africa and the Middle East. It provides Orange subscribers with functions such as money transfers from mobile to mobile, bills payment, withdrawal services and cash deposits with networks of registered agents, as well as paying for goods and services with certain businesses.
Orange Money is making life easier for a large number of people in Africa where 60 percent of the population has a mobile phone but less than 10% has a bank account. It has been launched in nine countries so far: Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mali, Madagascar, Mauritius, Niger and Senegal, and has already reached over 3.5 million customers.
CANAL+ AFRIQUE, present in more than 20 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, provides its subscribers with a variety of TV channels packages, which can either be prepaid or paid through direct debit. The majority of users opt for the prepaid formula which helps them control their spending, but which means they have to go to a retailer to renew their subscription. Orange Money will provide added comfort and flexibility for these customers by providing a way for them to pay their bills anytime, anywhere, with almost instantaneous service activation.
In addition to Madagascar, by the end of 2012, this mobile payment service will be offered to CANAL+/CANALSAT subscribers in various African countries where the Orange money service is already available.
Guy Lafarge, President of CANAL+ OVERSEAS, said that they are very pleased with this partnership with Orange on mobile payment. With Orange Money, they will provide their subscribers with an innovative and simple means of payment which is both quick and secure.
Marc Rennard, Executive Director responsible for Africa, Middle East and Asia, said that this agreement with CANAL+ AFRIQUE, a major player in the world of digital content, is another example of their resolve to continually broaden the range of Orange Money services to make life easier for customers. Further, thanks to the different partnerships based around Orange Money, they wish to improve the lives of their customers by providing them with a quick and simple means of accessing all services, on a day to day basis.
Bharti Airtel contemplates mobile service launch in South Africa and Cameroon (Africa)
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.
Bharti Airtel furthers m-payment services in Madagascar (Africa)
India’s leading mobile phone operator Bharti Airtel has reportedly begun the operation of its money-transfer service in Madagascar, in an attempt to provide financial services for the unbanked via their mobile devices. According to reports, Heiko Schlittke, Director, Airtel Madagascar, had earlier said that the service would compete with Orange SA’s Orange Money and the M-Vola product offered by Telma, the state-run phone company.
As per sources, the mobile operator has entered into an agreement with the taxi operators association, thereby enabling passengers to pay for their taxi fare using their Airtel Money account. Further, reports reveal that the operator has also provided around hundred taxis with the required reader equipment. The selected taxis will display the Airtel logo and the drivers will be required to wear a red jacket provided by Airtel.
Bharti Airtel signs deal with Nokia to expand 3G services in Africa
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.
UN-backed scheme ropes in private sector to provide poor people with mobile phone numbers (UK)
For about three million people that constitute the poorer section across Africa and South Asia, it will now be easy acquiring low-cost mobile phone numbers. The United Nations in collaboration with a technology firm Movirtu will roll out an initiative that will rope in the private sector in the fight against poverty. As part of this scheme backed by the UN, the majority of the beneficiaries would be women.
The Movirtu provided cloud phone number will enable the owner to use any mobile phone to log in with their unique number to make and also, receive individual calls instead of sharing a phone number with family members and so forth. These unique numbers will also help the users gain access to critical information and services in the form of banking or agriculture support.
The Business Call to Action (BCtA) is a global initiative under the aegis of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Global Compact which is the corporate responsibility scheme, in addition to few other organizations and governments, as part of which the UN-backed scheme is being undertaken.
Movirtu is based in the United Kingdom, and the company is looking to usher in the phone technology to minimum 12 markets across Africa and South Asia by early 2013. This move will facilitate access to the technology, to at least 50 million people across both the continents. In addition, the target for the technology’s usage on a regular basis would be 3 million.
By way the unique personal mobile identity, users stand to get access to network applications that provide information about employment opportunities, promote access to mobile payment systems or banking services, and help keep users up-to-date on a variety of health and market topics.
Women in rural communities across South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are the primary targets of this scheme.
Movirtu has been instrumental in implementing these phones across Africa; Madagascar being the first market entry point while additional country launches will be announced later this year.
Orange Tunisia to roll-out Mobile Money by year-end
France Telecom-Orange’s director of international relations for contactless payment systems, Jean-Christophe Bernard has announced that Orange Tunisia is planning to introduce Mobile Money before the end of the year.
According to the company, only half of Tunisia’s bank account holders are using bank cards at present and that its service could complement bank cards excellently.
Orange first introduced a service called Orange Money in Senegal, Mali and Madagascar last spring, then in Kenya in the summer.
VWV introduces Airtel brand across Africa
South Africa’s VWV Group, an experiential communications agency, was recently appointed to produce the launch of a new mobile telecommunications network into Africa.
Bharti Airtel commissioned VWV to launch the brand into 16 African countries, through events that ran simultaneously.
Airtel’s launch was conceptualized, produced and managed by VWV. The launch consisted of an interactive production which saw a tie between pre-recorded video and live theatrical presentations.
These events were staged in Burkina Faso, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Madagascar, Niger, Nigeria, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
Telecom Malagasy to triple money-transfer users
Telecom Malagasy’s Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pisal-Hamida expects to triple the number of users of its money-transfer service by the end of this year.
According to Pisal-Hamida, Telma has attracted 200,000 M-Vola users since starting the system in May 2010 and plans to reach 600,000 by the end of December.
The company, which has 60% of the money- transfer market, competes with France Telecom Ltd.’s Orange and Bharti Airtel Ltd.’s local unit in the Indian Ocean island nation, where mobile-phone users have increased to 4.2 million from 1 million in 2007. Madagascar has a population of about 20 million.
He added that if there hadn’t been a crisis, Madagascar would be at 6 million and this is what they are expecting will happen in the two years following its resolution.
Madagascar’s economy contracted 3.7% in 2009 and 2% in 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund, the only one in Africa to shrink last year. The European Union and the U.S. halted non-humanitarian aid to Madagascar after President Andry Rajoelina, a former DJ and mayor of Antananarivo, seized power from his predecessor Marc Ravalomanana with the help of the military in March last year and later reneged on power-sharing agreements.
Pisal-Hamida stated that business is expected to stagnate this year and turnover may rise or fall by 5% depending on the crisis.
Beeline continues expanding its roaming geography
Beeline single mobile operator informs about further expansion of international roaming network. Now voice roaming is available in Telecom Seychelles (Seychelles), Elisa (Finland), Wana (Marocco), Wind (Italy).
The company signed GPRS roaming agreements with Cellplus (Mauritius), Latelz (Cambodia), Vodafone (Hungary), Cable&Wireless (Guernsey), Orange (Madagascar), U-Mobile (Malaysia), Alands (Finland), Manx Telecom (Mann island). CAMEL roaming is available in Bakcell (Azerbaijan) and Africell (Gambia).
“In 2010 we were first in Uzbekistan in number of roaming partners around the world,” Anton Golikov, Technical Director of Unitel LLC commented the event. “Beeline has been a roaming operator number one for a long time, and we are proud to prove this image in our country.”
Today Unitel subscribers enjoy international voice roaming in 380 networks of operators from 159 states, GPRS roaming by 182 operators from 95 states. Beeline also leads in 3G roaming (123 operators in 80 states) and CAMEL-roaming (110 operators in 69 states).
To be noted, CAMEL roaming is a unique service when Unitel subscribers can use Beeline connection at any positive balance, i.e. without paying $50 guarantee fee, until the balance is equal to $0.
At that, fee is charged in real time mode. CAMEL roaming doesn’t need any activation, the service is automatic. The service is available for all subscribers individuals using prepaid tariff plans, at any positive balance.
