MTN South Africa planning LTE network
May 6, 2011 Written by Benny Har-Even
MTN South Africa is rolling out a pilot LTE network in Gauteng, the company’s MD, Karel Pienaar, has told South African tech site TechCentral.
MTN
Iran’s ICT industry held back by the lack of 3G
August 8, 2011 Written by Mai Barakat
Despite a difficult operating environment and various restrictions on the operators’ ability to develop their infrastructure, Iran has one of the highest SIM penetrations in the Middle East, reaching 98.27 per cent at end-1Q11. The country’s high penetration is partly due to its multiple-SIM uptake, but is also due to the demand for mobile telephony services in a majority-youth market.
MTN pilots LTE in South Africa
July 14, 2011 Written by Benny Har-Even
MTN, the South African network operator, has announced that it has activated an LTE pilot program in Gauteng. The network consists of over 100 LTE sites and the operator said that these will all be activated in stages over the next few months.
Guinean government seizes MTN assets
May 6, 2011 Written by Pamela Weaver
The Guinean government has seized all assets of MTN subsidiary Areeba. Under the terms of a decree signed by state president Alpha Conde and released to Reuters, the government has requisitioned personnel, equipment, infrastructure and facilities in a row over the payment of €15m in fees. The payment relates to MTN’s acquisition of local operator Areeba in 2007.
South Africa’s 8ta launches Blackberry service with aggressive pricing
April 21, 2011 Written by Pamela Weaver
South African incumbent operator Telkom is to offer ‘free’ mobile YouTube streaming to Blackberry devices in an effort to “Shake up the market.” The fixed-line player’s move into the mobile space took place last year, when it launched its 8ta division. Since then, the unit has pursued an aggressive pricing plan in a market previously known for high tariffs, not least for mobile data packages.
Tags; 8ta, BlackBerry, Cell C, HSPA, MTN, Telkom SA, Vodacom, Africa, Handsets & Devices, Networks, News & Analysis, Operator
West African Cable System lands in Cape Town
April 19, 2011 Written by Pamela Weaver
A high capacity submarine cable system linking southern Africa with Europe landed at its final destination in Cape Town this morning. The West African Cable System (WACS), a 14,000km, 5.1Tbps system was brought ashore at Yzerfontein in the Western Cape and will both complement and compete with the 340Gbps Sat-3 system that went into service in the region in 2002.
South African regulator reintroduces controversial spectrum allocation requirements
April 5, 2011 Written by Pamela Weaver
South Africa’s Independent Communications Authority (ICASA) has reintroduced a controversial requirement that companies applying for spectrum must be 30 per cent owned by historically disadvantaged shareholders (HDI). With the country’s second spectrum auction planned for an as-yet unspecified time this year, players such as MTN and Vodacom could find themselves excluded from bidding for access in the 2.6GHz and 3.5GHz bands which form a key component in both telcos next-generation, LTE network strategies.
Tags; Business Connexion, ICASA, MTN, South Africa, Spectrum auction, Vodacom, Africa, LTE, Networks, News & Analysis, Operator
Zimbabwe’s NetOne in talks with MTN
March 11, 2011 Written by Pamela Weaver
Zimbabwe’s state-owned, oldest mobile operator, NetOne, has entered into talks with South Africa’s MTN regarding the sale of a 49 per cent stake in the company. Despite its incumbent status, NetOne is Zimbabwe’s smallest operator, trailing larger telcos Econet Wireless and Egypt’s Orascom Telecom with its subscriber base of just over 1.5 million.
Cell C secures additional spectrum
March 4, 2011 Written by Pamela Weaver
South Africa’s third cellular operator, Cell C, has had its application for additional spectrum in the 2100MHz band approved. The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) approved the application in January but the carrier only went public with the news yesterday.
Djezzy saga rolls on in Algeria
March 3, 2011 Written by Pamela Weaver
The Algerian government has hired consultants to assess the value of mobile operator Djezzy ahead of its plans to nationalise the lucrative telco.
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