African telecom landscape looks towards high speeds:

A number of factors have contributed to Africa’s increasing adoption of mobile phones for internet use over PCs — cost and lack of ethernet infrastructure for two. The cost of computers versus the lower prices of mobile phones in addition to the lack of physical internet cable implementation has spurred the growth of mobile devices in Africa — a trend that is now of global proportion. But Africa’s mobile scene presents unique challenges, and the recently reported interest in the continent’s digital communications from Mideast and European telcos has spun a larger conversation over the future of the continent’s growth.

MidEast telcos have been developing their presence in North Africa for a while. Etisalat — an Emirates-based telco — took over France’s Vivendi’s stake in Maroc Telecom in July, heightening its presence in West Africa. (Maroc Telecom was also Morocco’s largest operator, according to reports.) And European companies such as Orange have been increasing their investments in various countries to get a foothold in the developing markets. These growing investments from operators have accumulated throughout the year, and made for conversation at AfricaCom 2013 — a telecom conference held in Cape Town, South Africa earlier in November which calls together global technology leaders.

An executive from Gemalto — a digital security company — spoke after the conference and called for operators to take advantage of the unique communications landscape in Africa in order to bypass 3G implementation and escalate quickly to 4G. While attaining high speed wireless seems unlikely in regions that have barely reliable 2G, Sherry Zameer, head of Africa and Middle East telecommunications for the company, described the lack of regulation and restrictive platforms actually make Africa ripe for the buildout of 4G.

Liquid Telecom scoops Best African Wholesale Carrier Award:

It is the second year in succession Liquid Telecom has won the gong, beating off strong competition from WIOCC, Orange and PCCW Global.

According to the panel of judges: “Liquid Telecom has again shown great promise and ambitious plans for development in Africa. It has aggressively targeted expansion of its fibre footprint in the continent and is attempting to access a range of countries where infrastructure maintenance remains the most challenging in the world.”

The judges said Liquid Telecom’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) strategy was a significant highlight to the company being recognised, with the firm having acquired four companies in 2013.

They also said the company commitment to serving the region’s communications sector was a key highlight, where Liquid Telecom has been diverting traffic as a result of multiple cuts to undersea cables to enable redundancy on a number of routes from Africa to Europe.

Nic Rudnick, Liquid Telecom’s chief executive officer (CEO), said: “At Liquid Telecom we celebrate the people who make it happen. This award is a real team effort and recognises our company’s drive and ambition to provide internet connectivity across the whole of Africa”.

It is the second week in a row Liquid Telecom has been recognised after it bagged Best Connectivity Solution in Africa at last week’s AfricaCom 2013, in Cape Town, for building the longest fibre links in Africa.

Organised by Capacity Magazine and now in its eighth year, the Global Carrier Awards have become the biggest and most prestigious awards event of the wholesale telecoms calendar.

HumanIPO reported last week Liquid Telecom had built the first fibre optic cable into Somalia, connecting the country to undersea cables by fibre for the first time.

“We are providing the people of Somalia with access to the global internet at higher speeds and with more capacity than ever before,” said Rudnick.

“Our goal is to connect every person and business in Africa to the internet and to each other.  We are an agile and entrepreneurial company which is investing heavily in building our pan-African fibre network.”

CCK, operators to decide use of Universal Service Fund:

Kenya is wrapping up plans to unveil the much-awaited Universal Service Fund, which aims to spread ICTs to the remote areas.

According to the Communications Commission of Kenya, already a bank account has been opened and Sh1billion deposited towards the fund.

"The council is meeting to determine where the funds will be used and to choose who will implement it,” CCK director-general Francis Wangusi said when he appeared before Kenya's Parliamentary committee on Energy, Communications and Information.

Wangusi said CCK and mobile phone companies will discuss and launch modalities that will guide the fund.

Already, Safaricom, Orange, yuMobile and Airtel, are meeting with the regulator under the Universal Service Advisory Council to iron out issues that had threatened to scuttle the fund’s administration.

The fund was set up almost five years ago to help step up telecommunication infrastructure in rural and remote areas, which are normally considered financially unviable. However a squabble between CCK and the mobile operators on how to run the fund has delayed its implementation which Parliament wants to unhinge.

The mobile firms had protested their exclusion from the fund’s board, resulting in the parliamentary committee summoning Wangusi to explain why the fund was still dormant almost half a decade since it was set up.

Orange Expands Mobile Money Service to Support International Remittances:

Orange is launching an international money transfer service that will allow transfers between Mali, Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire.

At the moment, roughly EUR200 million is moved between those three countries in the form of money transfers each year.

Orange's service allows money to be sent and received from mobile phone accounts so that users no longer need to have cash with them when they travel, and sending cash doesn't have to be done by a third party.

For example, a customer in Cote d'Ivoire can send money directly to friends and family or to suppliers in Mali or Senegal with their Orange Money account. All the sender needs to do is to dial #144# from his or her mobile phone, then enter the Orange telephone number of the recipient and the amount to be sent. The money is immediately available in the recipient's account to make payments, purchases or transfers, or it can be withdrawn at a nearby location from any Orange Money distributor.

If the recipient is not yet an Orange Money customer, they can open an account free of charge.

"In launching Orange Money International Transfer today, several months of work to simplify life for our customers come to fruition. We are proud to be the first operator to offer customers the ability to make international money transfers between mobile phones in this area of Western Africa," says Thierry Millet, Director of the strategic NFC and payment program at Orange.

Orange's goal is to expand this service in Africa to other countries in which the Group is present. Available in 13 countries in Africa and the Middle East, Orange Money has more than 7 million customers today.

Orange Linked Visa Card to Mobile Money Accounts:

Orange had launched a service that links a prepaid Visa debit card to a customer's mobile money account, allowing them to spend their mobile money balance at a conventional retailer.

The service had been launched initially in Botswana.

Registered Orange Money subscribers in Botswana will be able to use their Orange Money account to make Visa enabled payments and pay invoices at stores, international online merchants and at over 300 Visa ATMs across the country.

To access this range of innovative services, Orange Money subscribers will need to apply for a Orange Money prepaid Visa card, which will be instantly linked to their existing Orange Money account. The card, secured with a PIN code, will then allow them to use funds to make point-of-sale payments at retailers and withdraw cash at ATMs. Subscribers will also benefit from a secured virtual Orange Money prepaid Visa card for their web purchases.

Other countries in Africa and the Middle East, where Orange Money is already available, will progressively offer the Orange Money prepaid Visa card.

Orange Kenya launches festive specials:

Integrated telecommunications service provider Orange has launched a series of festive season special offers on devices.

Announcing the launch of the Christmas offers, company CEO Mickael Ghossein says the offer is an ideal opportunity to reward loyal customers and attract new ones during this period.

The Christmas promotion that will run till January 6, 2014, will see shoppers enjoy offers on various mobile and data devices, ranging from modems to data enabled mobile phones. Amongst these devices, Orange will be introducing the new Alcatel Pixi Dual SIM smartphone at a pocket friendly price of only KSh 5,999. The Alcatel T-Pop Dual SIM that will also be on offer will retail at KSh 6,959 with one month unlimited Internet access.

In addition, the Nokia 105 non-data handset will sell for KSh 1,999 and comes with KSh 5 daily airtime for on-net calls for 365 days. The handset seeks to serve the entry level market and also enhance the use of the ‘Facebook Bila Net’ service to customers who were not previously mobile data users. Facebook Bila Net allows users with very basic handsets, without internet connection or a data plan, to stay connected through this simple and affordable text based platform.

To enable customers enjoy reliable and faster internet speeds, Orange will be offering the 3G 7.2 Mbps modem at a 50% discount that will see the device retail for KSh 999 with a 500MB data bundle.

Vodafone poised for Telecom Egypt buyout:

The Vodafone Group is ready to buy Telecom Egypt’s 45 per cent stake in Vodafone Egypt, according to a Bloomberg report.

Analysts at Naeem Brokerage, quoted by Bloomberg, reckon the sale could raise $2 billion for Telecom Egypt, which is 80 per cent owned by the state.

As well as boosting government coffers, a Telecom Egypt exit may well avert a conflict of interest for the country’s fixed-line monopoly holder.

Telecom Egypt has already applied for an integrated licence, a concession that allows operators – for the first time in Egypt – to offer fixed and mobile services under one licence.

Integrated licences would also open the door for Egypt’s three main mobile operators – Etisalat, Orange and Vodafone – to offer fixed-line services.

France Telecom to expand its presence in Africa

France Telecom wants to expand its presence in fast-growing African mobile markets by entering Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mauritania.

Elie Girard, the group's head of strategy and development, said plans for Africa also included seeking to sign management contracts with telecom groups in Libya and Algeria.

He said no talks on acquisitions were currently underway, but Africa and the Middle East were a priority for growth.

"If we manage to enter Benin, Togo, Burkina (Faso) and Mauritania, for example, that would be very valuable for us," he told reporters at a briefing in London. He said the countries' proximity to Orange's existing operations in Mali and Senegal made them more attractive.

The group, which markets its services under the brand Orange, operates in 21 Middle East and African countries.

Orange, sponsor of soccer's Africa Cup of Nations in 2013, is the third-largest mobile operator in the region, behind South Africa's MTN and Britain's Vodafone.

A presence in Benin would also improve a link between the company's network in Niger and the submarine cables that carry Internet traffic between Africa and the world, Girard said.

He said France Telecom also wanted to expand into Libya, Algeria and Ethiopia, and would seek contracts to manage other operators' telecom networks as a way to get a foot in the door.

Girard gave no update on whether France Telecom would bid for Vivendi's stake in Moroccan operator Maroc Telecom . Vivendi hopes to get at least 5.5 billion euros ($7.34 billion) for its 53 percent stake in Maroc Telecom in a sale process now underway.

South Korean telecom firm KT Corp submitted a preliminary offer for the Maroc Telecom stake in mid-December.

A move by France Telecom would be complex given that it already owns a 40 percent stake in Morocco's second-biggest operator Meditel, which it might have to divest.