Rollout of 1000 solar-powered mobile towers
Nearly 4-million people in rural Africa will be connected to telecommunications for the first time thanks to an initiative by Africa Mobile Networks to build 1000 new solar-powered mobile phone base stations. The project will benefit remote rural areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Cameroon and is backed by a 24-million euro long-term investment. More than two thirds of the new mobile phone coverage will be located in North and South Kivu, and conflict-torn areas of the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where improved communications will increase security for remote and vulnerable villages there. The Democratic Republic of Congo will see 750 of the 1000 towers.
TV network solution for Egypt
PCCW Global has signed a Memorandum of Intention with Nilesat, a satellite operator in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, to deliver TV channels into and out of Egypt. PCCW Global will install its Global TV Network (GTVN) solution in Nilesat facilities to ensure dynamic TV and media content are delivered. This new alliance will leverage the satellite and teleport services of Nilesat along with PCCW Global’s telecommunications and media expertise to ensure optimal GTVN delivery between Egypt and the rest of the world. This GTVN solution will also enhance Nilesat’s connectivity with broadcasters across the globe, covering more than 90 countries via PCCW Global’s satellite network.
Internet infrastructure guidelines for Africa
The Internet Society and the African Union Commission introduced a new set of Internet Infrastructure Security Guidelines for Africa in June 2017. The guidelines were developed by a group of internet security experts and will help African Union member states strengthen their local internet infrastructure through actions at a regional, national, ISP/operator and organisational level. The recommendations represent the most important actions that need to be taken, and the essential principles to guide them, to create a baseline of internet infrastructure security in Africa. In order to thoroughly secure internet infrastructure, more specific recommendations and best practices should be created by other African organisations such as CSIRTs and the proposed Africa-Wide Cyber Security Collaboration and Cooperation Committee.
New broadband service to connect Africa
The Konnect Africa broadband venture set up by Eutelsat Communications has launched new services, starting in Benin, Cameroon, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Uganda. Konnect Africa’s service offers packages inspired by pay-as-you-go models and WiFi hotspot schemes, and are aligned with the needs and preferences of end-users in these different markets. It is using capacity on Yahsat’s Al Yah 2 satellite (16 Ka-band spotbeams) with expansion supported by a further 18 spotbeams on the Al Yah 3 satellite that is scheduled for launch by the end of 2017. Konnect Africa aims to cover most of sub-Saharan Africa by 2019.
Schools to get connected
iSAT Africa and Avanti Communications extend their partnership with a new contract to provide satellite broadband services in 500 schools in Kenya. The two-year contract will see iSAT connect schools through Avanti’s HYLAS 2 Ka-band satellite, as well as providing pay as you go services to local communities. The partnership will focus on connecting the unconnected in remote areas across Kenya to increase educational opportunities for students and teachers at the 500 sites.
IoT enabled energy and industrial solutions
An internet of things (IoT) company and an energy and industrial solutions company have partnered to develop end-to-end IoT applications to control and manage energy operations and centrally monitor performance of remote industrial assets across East Africa. These combined solutions will allow enterprises to optimise energy consumption, streamline workforce tasks, increase efficiency and optimise operational costs at improved levels. Together, WebNMS and EML aim to provide tech-driven efficiency to traditional business units across their distributed operations, in real-time. With this partnership, EML’s customers will have access to IoT-enabled solutions to securely monitor their integrated environment, perform predictive maintenance of remote assets and reduce operational cost.
Sponsored data in Africa
U2opia Mobile is offering a sponsored data suite across Africa. FonePass is a data solutions suite that offers products that allow business customers to increase visibility and engagement around their products and services. Smart mobile devices are rapidly becoming universally adopted throughout the world, enabling innovative smart services, specifically in the emerging economies of Asia, Africa and Middle East. FonePass offers bulk data packs to gratify their end consumers with free data. For the operator, this offers new revenue streams from publishers and advertisers, increasing partnership opportunities.
Mobile wallet based money transfer in Tanzania
TerraPay has obtained regulatory approval from the Bank of Tanzania to launch international money transfer services to mobile wallets in Tanzania. This is the first-of-its-kind license in Tanzania which allows TerraPay’s partners across the world to send money directly to mobile wallets in Tanzania. The company has also been licensed by Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority for mobile based domestic payments in Tanzania. Through a partnership with Selcom, a mobile money aggregator in Tanzania, TerraPay can send money to all the prominent mobile wallets in Tanzania. Tanzanian diaspora in UK, France, Italy, Canada, US, South Africa and other countries can send remittances directly to Vodacom M-Pesa, Tigo Pesa, Airtel Money and Zantel Ezy Pesa Mobile Money accounts by visiting a TerraPay partner store. Tanzania has 18-million active mobile money subscribers. According to World Bank, the country received a total of $390-million in 2015 from over 4-million expatriates living abroad.
Bringing more broadband to sub-Saharan Africa
Hughes Network Systems’ Jupiter System has been selected by Global-IP Cayman as the technology platform to bring high-performance connectivity to mobile devices used throughout the sub-Saharan Africa region. The system will be used to provision 100% of the capacity on Global-IP’s GiSat-1 150 Gbps high-throughput satellite (HTS). Hughes will supply eleven gateway stations in Europe using a centralised architecture for routing traffic in and out of the internet, as well as its HT2500 and HT2600 terminals, including WiFi access. The system is the first VSAT (very small aperture terminal) platform to support the DVB-S2X standard, widely recognised as the most bandwidth-efficient in the marketplace, yielding strong operating economics for Global-IP. The HT2500 and HT2600 terminals are designed with LTE acceleration technology to meet the demanding requirements of mobile network operators, and making it economical for data delivery.
