Saturday, April 27

Telcos

Safaricom Ethiopia
  • Safaricom targets a customer base of at least 10 million across 25 cities in the next year.
  • Since Safaricom Ethiopia switched on its mobile telecommunications network, it has grown coverage from an initial 11 to 22 cities.
  • Safaricom Ethiopia is building a wholly-owned mobile network and also has infrastructure sharing deal with state-owned Ethio Telecom.

Safaricom is now targeting a customer base of at least 10 million in Ethiopia in the next one year. The move is tailored to shake up the country’s telecommunication industry. Latest developments follows huge investments in the country, with cash transfer service M-PESA now on the table.

Since Safaricom Telecommunications Ethiopia switched on its mobile telecommunications network and services in Addis Ababa in October last year, major inroads have been made in the second-most populous country in Africa.

It has grown coverage from an initial 11 cities when it launched to 22. The telco with …

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  • Kenyan workers were paid less than $2 to make ChatGPT less toxic, a new investigation by Time Magazine has revealed. 
  • OpenAI hired an outsourcing firm Sama who tasked workers to help build a filter system that would make ChatGPT suitable for everyday use with workers taking home an exploitive wage of between around $1.32 and $2 per hour depending on seniority and performance,
  • Time reports that the workers were forced to read graphic detail like child sexual abuse, beastiality, murder, suicide, torture, self harm, and incest.

It has now emerged that Kenyan workers were paid less than $2 to make ChatGPT less toxic, a new investigation by Time Magazine has revealed. 

According to the investigation, OpenAI hired an outsourcing firm Sama who tasked workers to help build a filter system that would make ChatGPT suitable for everyday use with workers taking home an exploitative wage of between around $1.32 and

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  • Safaricom Limited Chairman John Ngumi has resigned as the Chairman of the board effective 22nd December 2022 six months after his appointment. 
  • Ngumi leaves the Board to focus on developing green energy generation across Africa with an emphasis on green hydrogen. 
  • The company has also appointed veteran lawyer Adil Arshed Khawaja as a director of the board, effective 22nd December 2022. 

Safaricom Limited Chairman John Ngumi has resigned as the Chairman of the board effective 22nd December 2022, six months after his appointment. 

Safaricom Company Secretary Kathryne Maundu says Ngumi leaves the Board to focus on developing green energy generation across Africa with an emphasis on green hydrogen. 

“We take this opportunity to thank John for his service, dedication, sound advice and commitment to the Company. The Board wishes him the very best for the future,” Maundu said in a public notice released on Friday.

She says in the brief

www.theexchange.africa
  • Airtel Africa and UNICEF said the deal will see them connect schools to the internet and ensure free access to learning platforms across 13 countries
  • Airtel Africa is the first African private sector partner to make a multimillion-dollar commitment to ‘Reimagine Education’, a global initiative launched by UNICEF in 2020

Airtel Africa and UNICEF have entered into a five-year pan-African partnership to help accelerate the roll-out of digital learning.

In a statement, the partners said the deal will see them connect schools to the internet and ensure free access to learning platforms across 13 countries.

These are Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

Airtel Africa has revealed that its financial and in-kind contribution for this partnership is $57 million over five years to 2027.

By providing equal access to quality digital learning, particularly for the most vulnerable children, …

www.theexchange.africa
  • The telco sustained 190,273 direct and indirect jobs during the year
  • Safaricom registered its first decline in full year profit in nine years, in the year ended March 2021
  • The report seeks to illustrate how Safaricom is using a sustainable business model to address society’s needs

Safaricom’s latest sustainable business report indicates that the company created a total value of Sh664 billion for the Kenyan society in the 2020/2021 financial year, which is ten times greater than the profit made during the year.

According to the report’s ‘True Earnings’ highlights, the firm contributed Sh557.1 billion to the economy in the financial year, which is 5.2% of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The independent analysis of Safaricom’s true value to society identifies the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the company and quantifies them in financial terms.

“Our Sustainable Business report, which covers our last fiscal year from 1st  April 2020 to …

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You have a debtor, it is time for them to pay, you pick up your mobile phone dial the number and the most annoying automatic response comes on; ‘Sorry, the number you are calling is not available.’ 

Upset you hang up and redial, same message, now you are really getting mad, you hang up redial and voilà! You are connected. You exchange a barrage of why are you switching off your phone, they reply no, my phone was on, you finally settle on, it must be bad network! 

Sound familiar? 

Well here is some good news, finally the telecomm services watchdog, the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) has taken note of this poor service ordeal and taken action. 

Six telecoms fined for poor service delivery

Six major mobile phone operators have been slapped fines reaching a grand total of USD16.4 million for what authorities describe as ‘violation

Tigo, Tanzania has unveiled a new package, allowing its customers to call across networks at the same tariff.

The package dubbed “Ujanja Ni” is expected to increase its customer base by stiffening competition witin the telecommunication sector in the country.

According to a statement from Tigo, the package offers absolute freedom to call any network at the same tariff, and customers purchase the voice, and data packages at affordable and competitive prices.

Tanzania Communications Regulations Authority (TCRA) September 2019 quarterly statistics, put Tigo Tanzania with 26.1 per cent of the subscription market share, at the height of voice consumption along-side other telco giants Vodacom and Airtel Tanzania.

The launching of the service adds up on the Tanzanian government’s efforts in ensuring that making calls across all networks in Tanzania is affordable and gives customers the assurance to enjoy a better internet experience on the biggest 4G+ network in the country.…

The GSMA Certification signals safer, transparent and reliable means of sending and receiving money by the mobile phone carrier’s users.

MTN Cameroon received the highest quality certification on its Mobile Money (MoMo) service from GSMA.

With the certification, MTN Cameroon becomes the first telco in the six-nation Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) to be awarded the award.

The GSMA Certification signals safer, transparent and reliable means of sending and receiving money by the mobile phone carrier’s users.

In a statement, MTN Cameroon said in December, the certification of the reliability of its financial services followed a rigorous, independent assessment describing the feat as “a source of pride” for the company.

Also Read:Former MTN boss Phuthuma Nhleko invests in Kenyan data centre

“Mobile Money users in Cameroon can rest assured in the capacity of MTN to secure their transactions, educate them on the use of the products and services that it puts at their disposal and communicate transparently on the tariffs for various services to ensure optimal quality …

Nigeria which has one of the largest and vibrant telecom markets in Africa, is now embarking on a new broadband infrastructure investment project worth $ 732 million to boost its economy which is currently recovering from its 2016 economic contraction, Bloomberg news reveals.

As the pace of the Nigeria economy remained soft in 2019 soon after the general elections, economy outlook of the populous nation in Africa shown by African Development Bank (AfDB) indicates that, the GDP growth is expected to sustain a gradual growth in 2020, anticipated to grow above 2.3 per cent, which is quicker than 2019 and below 3 per cent.

According to Bloomberg, the project will be executed within four years as the Nigeria government trains its focus on enhancing the nationwide coverage.

According to the chief executive officer of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Umar Danbatta, the government of Nigeria will offer over $ 179 …

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