TeliaSonera Profits Plunge on One-Off Write-Downs:

Sweden headquartered TeliaSonera has reported a slight decline in its fourth-quarter revenues and a sharp fall in its net profits and the company ended what it called a "challenging year".

Revenues for the three months to the end of December came in at SEK26.5 billion (US$4.1 billion), down 2.1 percent on the previous year.

Net profits fell by 68 percent to SEK2.19 billion (US$340 million), as the company took one-off write-downs of SEK2.5 billion relating to revaluation of assets and the scrapping of an IT platform.

The company ended the year with 189 million subscribers, a rise of 6 million over the past year.

The company's President and CEO, Johan Dennelind commented: "It is clear that 2013 was an eventful and challenging year for TeliaSonera and the telecoms industry. Overall performance was impacted by modest economic growth, regulatory effects and rapidly changing customer behavior,"

Huawei to launch 4G service in Ethiopia:

Ethiopia's state-run Ethio Telecom said on Thursday it had picked Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the world's second largest telecom equipment maker, to roll out a high-speed 4G network across the capital Addis Ababa.

The introduction of the service is part of a $1.6 billion deal signed in July and August between the Ethiopian firm, Huawei and ZTE, China's second-biggest telecoms equipment maker, to expand mobile phone infrastructure throughout the Horn of Africa country.

Ethio Telecom's head of communications,Abdurahim Ahmed, said, "In terms of allocation, Huawei will be responsible for the expansion of 4G in Addis Ababa, including other mobile services - the 2G, 3G, IP and the like." 

Abdurahim said the allocation plan was finalised on Wednesday.

"It is expected to benefit more than 400,000 subscribers. Within an eight-month period, the expansion project of Addis Ababa, including 4G, will be completed."

The deal, signed by ZTE in August and Huawei a month before, will enable Ethiopia to double subscribers to more than 50 million by 2015 and expand 3G service throughout the country.

Both firms will split their work along 13 expansion areas.

The contract was awarded under a long-term loan package to be paid over a 13 year period with an interest rate of "less than 1 percent", Abdurahim said.

Africa's rapidly expanding telecoms industry has come to symbolize its economic growth, with subscribers across the continent totaling almost 650 million last year, up from just 25 million in 2001, according to the World Bank.

Ethio Telecom is the only mobile operator in the country of more than 80 million people, among the last remaining countries on the continent to maintain a state monopoly in telecoms.

The government has ruled out liberalizing its telecoms sector, saying the 6 billion birr it generates each year is being spent on railway projects. Ethiopia plans to build 5, 000 kilometre of railway lines by 2020.

Parliament approves $129 million for ZTE deal:

ZTE Corporation of China has won a bid to supply a Dedicated Security Information System infrastructure to the government of Ghana, following Ghana’s parliament approval of a $129 million agreement between the government of Ghana and the ZTE Corporation of China on Tuesday.

Parliamentarians overwhelmingly adopted the Report of the Joint Committee on Communications and Defense and Interior, which said the agreement met all due diligence requirements. The report of the committee said the Ministry of Communications had diligently incorporated the recommendations of Parliament to protect the interest of the nation.

The contract provides that the Purchaser will conduct technical due diligence and this must be agreed to before the commencement of work.

Parliament’s approval of the contract this time round is going to pave the way for the second phase of the Global Open Trunking Architecture (GOTA) project which was started by Huawei Ghana  in 2007 to build a dedicated Security Information System to be used by the Security services to coordinate security issues and emergencies as well as during big events like festivals and sports.

But Biztechafrica can confirm that some members of the same parliament are not happy with the deal between the government of Ghana and ZTE China. Some of them are puzzled with how this deal has changed hands so drastically from Huawei China to ZTE Corporate China, two competitive giants in the telecoms industry.