Browsing: GSM

Helios Towers—UK based telecommunications company anticipates using around $450 million in new funds to increase its operations in Africa’s telecom sector, including Africa’s fast-growing economy Ethiopia, according to Bloomberg News.

The London listed telecom company which Q1 2020 financial show revenue increased by 9 per cent, is eyeing on capturing the region’s telecom potential, which has grown substantially over the past decade, especially in East and West African countries.

By the end of 2018, there were 456 million unique mobile subscribers in Sub-Saharan Africa – an increase of 20 million over the previous year and representing a subscriber penetration rate of 44 per cent, according to GSMA 2019 report.

Hence, the company looks forward onto Ethiopia’s process of opening its telecom industry to private investors, with two new mobile licenses up for auction alongside a minority stake in the state monopoly.

According to Bloomberg News, Helios Chief Financial Officer Tom …

Tanzania, one of East Africa’s largest economy is executing a phase-based sim cards shutdown across the country, following the set deadline of biometric sim card registration.

The procedure comes at hard times when, only 28.4 million sim cards have been registered by January 19, while Tanzanian Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) statistics show 48.8 million active sim cards are active in Tanzania.

In a nation with more than 55 million people, mobile services have become the most pervasive communications platform in Tanzania; by 2007, over 5 million people, representing a 10^th of the population, subscribed to a mobile service. Hence—the 2019 GSM report on Digital Transformation in Tanzania, showed that today, the number of unique mobile subscribers has grown five-fold to 25.2 million.

This means that Tanzania’s current sim card lock could lose a significant portion of the tax and cripple money transfer income to mobile money agents and services …

Rwanda’s mobile industry has joined forces with the GSMA to drive mobile internet adoption and increase digital literacy in the country.

Local operators Airtel and MTN will commence a program of activity around digital inclusion as part of the GSMA’s We Care initiative in Rwanda. We Care is launched in collaboration with Rwanda’s Ministry of ICT and Innovation and the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), supporting government efforts to boost ICT penetration and digital services across the country.

“I am glad to see the mobile operators, Airtel and MTN, coming together to work towards a common goal that will be beneficial to society,” said H.E Paula Ingabire, Minister of ICT & Innovation of Rwanda.

“Smartphones are important ICT tools that can be used to access key digital services: education and information, healthcare, financial services, amongst others. Increasing digital inclusion in Rwanda will, therefore, go a long way in empowering our …