Vodafone Seeking to Publish Government Wiretap Requests:

Vodafone says that it plans to contact the regulators and governments in the 25 countries it operates in to seek the public release of the wiretap requests it receives.

Like all regulated telecoms companies, it is required to permit legal wiretapping or provide location information about customers to the police or security services. Such requests are usually kept confidential though.

Vodafone is now seeking permission to publish, if not the details, at least the volumes of requests that it receives.

A number of internet companies such as Google now routinely publish how many censorship or related requests they get from governments. However, as they are generally unregulated in most countries, they can publish that data regardless of the government's opinion on the matter.

Telcos are would need permission, or face sanctions or even the loss of their operating license.

M2M Revenues Forecast to More Than Treble over the Next Five Years:

Although machine-to-machine (M2M) technology is a bright spot in the rapidly maturing mobile industry, operators will not realize its full potential without strategic partnering, says Ovum. Forecasts from the global analyst firm show that over the next five years, M2M revenues will grow to reach US$44.8bn, with more than a third coming from Asia-Pacific.

New forecasts from Ovum reveal that revenues will grow slightly more slowly than connections, reflecting the increasing competitiveness of the market and the extension of M2M into lower-value applications. Total global M2M connections will more than treble from 106.4 million in 2012 to 360.9 million in 2018, at a CAGR of 22.6 percent. There will be growth across all regions, but it will be fastest in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East and Africa. Revenues in Asia-Pacific will grow to almost US$15bn, at a CAGR of 26.5 percent, between 2012 and 2018.

The most important industry verticals in 2018 will be healthcare, manufacturing, and energy & utilities, which are forecast to generate revenues of US$7.9bn, US$7.1bn, and US$7bn respectively by 2018.

Ovum's M2M forecasts present a more modest and sober picture than some of those produced by other industry pundits. "This is not a forecast of the 'Internet of Things' but rather of managed and paid-for connections over public mobile networks, "says Jeremy Green, Principal Analyst, Industry Communications and Broadband at Ovum. "For telcos there are really two opportunities: to stand back and provide the connectivity for M2M services, or to roll up their sleeves and get involved with the end-to-end provision of solutions."

Right-of-way: Nigerian govt, Lagos, telcos strike deal:

The Federal Ministry of Communications Technology has ended the stand-off between the Lagos State government and the telcos, acting under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

The deal will remove all the constraints to installation, rollout and deployment of base transmission stations (BTS) and fibre optic cable (OFC) in the state.the telcos, acting under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

The Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson and the Governor of Lagos State Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) with some officials of ALTON struck a deal to end the long standing feud existing between them over spurious charges, levies, multiple taxation, harassment and forceful closure of BTS.

After a closed door meeting at the State House over the weekend, the issues of multiple taxes, levies, decommissioned BTS and Right of Way (RoW) fees, factors which the operators say have been mitigating against quality of service in the state addressed dispassionately.

Also in attendance at the meeting were Commissioner of Science and Technology, Mr Biyi Mabadeje, Commissioner of Works, Mr Obafemi Hamzat and officials from Etisalat, Main One, MTN and Globacom.

According to a statement signed by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister, Efem Nkanga, ATCON members expressed concerns over the issue of decommissioned sites and others, arguing that these issues were making it difficult for operators to rollout the much needed ICT infrastructure in Lagos state.

Govt, Lagos, telcos strike deal:

The Federal Ministry of Communications Technology has ended the stand-off between the Lagos State government and the telcos, acting under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

 The deal will remove all the constraints to installation, rollout and deployment of base transmission stations (BTS) and fibre optic cable (OFC) in the state.

The Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson and the Governor of Lagos State Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) with some officials of ALTON struck a deal to end the long standing feud existing between them over spurious charges, levies, multiple taxation, harassment and forceful closure of BTS.

After a closed door meeting at the State House over the weekend, the issues of multiple taxes, levies, decommissioned BTS and Right of Way (RoW) fees, factors which the operators say have been mitigating against quality of service in the state addressed dispassionately.

Also in attendance at the meeting were Commissioner of Science and Technology, Mr Biyi Mabadeje, Commissioner of Works, Mr Obafemi Hamzat and officials from Etisalat, Main One, MTN and Globacom.

According to a statement signed by the Special Assistant (Media) to the Minister, Efem Nkanga, ATCON members expressed concerns over the issue of decommissioned sites and others, arguing that these issues were making it difficult for operators to rollout the much needed ICT infrastructure in Lagos state.

In his response, Governor Fashola said infrastructure rollout and deployment was in the best interest of residents of Lagos State, adding that it is not the wish of the state to prevent operators from rolling out.

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.

WIOCC, Dalkom Somalia to take fibre optic connectivity to Mogadishu:

Award-winning Africa’s carriers’ carrier, WIOCC, together with local shareholder Dalkom Somalia, has announced that it will launch connectivity to and from Somalia via the EASSy cable from Q1 2014, offering services directly from Mogadishu to the rest of the world. Capacity will be available from 2Mbps to 10Gbps and above!

Chris Wood, WIOCC CEO, commented, “Until now, Somalia has been served exclusively by satellite – with high costs and limited bandwidth severely restricting the rollout and uptake of internet access and advanced services. WIOCC and Dalkom will be the first into commercial operation with international fibre-optic connectivity direct into Mogadishu. The new services from WIOCC will reduce the cost of international bandwidth and drive significant improvements in performance. I anticipate huge benefits for telcos and internet service providers, local and international businesses, Embassies and other foreign Government facilities, and the academic and research community in Somalia. Improved access to the internet will also have a profound effect on the day-to-day lives of the people of Somalia. WIOCC’s partner, Dalkom Somalia, is building a 1,000 sq m state-of-the-art data centre to host equipment for all Mogadishu telcos and ISPs to facilitate direct connection into the international fibre network.”

Mohamed Ahmed Jama, CEO of Dalkom Somalia, added, “As has been seen in other African countries over recent years, access to affordable, high-speed, international connectivity has a significant impact on economic, political and social development… and improvements happen relatively quickly. To complement the new connectivity to EASSy, Dalkom Somalia is building a fibre-optic metropolitan area network that will extend connectivity to customers within Mogadishu.

This entire initiative will greatly benefit the growing number of international organisations and local business entrepreneurs there, as well as the people of Somalia. I expect it to drive lower cost internet and broadband, to boost mobile penetration from its current 60 per cent and to dramatically increase the development and use of internet-based services and applications – with all the associated benefits to my country and the international companies operating there. We operate an open access policy and encourage all local operators and ISPs to take advantage of the new infrastructure we are bringing to our country.”

Somalia has become one of the most competitive telecoms markets in Africa, with some of the lowest international call rates on the continent. However, access to the internet is very limited – in 2000, Somalia was one of the last countries in Africa to get connected. With speed and quality severely constrained and costs high, internet penetration rates are low, with only an estimated 1.3% of the 10-million population having any access.

WIOCC, Dalkom Somalia to take fibre optic connectivity to Mogadishu:

Award-winning Africa’s carriers’ carrier, WIOCC, together with local shareholder Dalkom Somalia, has announced that it will launch connectivity to and from Somalia via the EASY cable from Q1 2014, offering services directly from Mogadishu to the rest of the world. Capacity will be available from 2Mbps to 10Gbps and above!

Chris Wood, WIOCC CEO, commented, “Until now, Somalia has been served exclusively by satellite – with high costs and limited bandwidth severely restricting the rollout and uptake of internet access and advanced services. WIOCC and Dalkom will be the first into commercial operation with international fibre-optic connectivity direct into Mogadishu. The new services from WIOCC will reduce the cost of international bandwidth and drive significant improvements in performance. I anticipate huge benefits for telcos and internet service providers, local and international businesses, Embassies and other foreign Government facilities, and the academic and research community in Somalia. Improved access to the internet will also have a profound effect on the day-to-day lives of the people of Somalia. WIOCC’s partner, Dalkom Somalia, is building a 1,000 sq m state-of-the-art data centre to host equipment for all Mogadishu telcos and ISPs to facilitate direct connection into the international fibre network.”

Mohamed Ahmed Jama, CEO of Dalkom Somalia, added, “As has been seen in other African countries over recent years, access to affordable, high-speed, international connectivity has a significant impact on economic, political and social development… and improvements happen relatively quickly. To complement the new connectivity to EASSy, Dalkom Somalia is building a fibre-optic metropolitan area network that will extend connectivity to customers within Mogadishu.