Telma signs deal with Ericsson
18 October 2019
Telecom Malagasy (Telma) chief executive officer Patrick Pisal-Hamida announced to the press the signing of a US$100m commercial contract with Ericsson, spanning the 2019-2023 period.
Under the agreement signed last July, the Swedish technology company will provide Telma with extension, optimisation and software upgrade services for its main network and radio access network to increase capacity and peak throughput.
Signed by Patrick Pisal-Hamida and Nora Wahby, customer unit head of Morocco and West Africa at Ericsson, the four-year agreement provides for the deployment of 2,000 mobile sites that will enable Telma to complete its network coverage of the country.
Find out more Vodacom offers free internet to customers
18 October 2019
Users are currently averaging sessions of nearly six minutes as they use the free digital content available in the platform
Vodacom has offered free internet essentials to more than 25 million mobile phone users in South Africa.
The service is powered by Upstream’s Zero-D connectivity platform and one of the country’s largest telecom operators has seen a massive uptake with 55% of its phone subscriber base already engaging with the portal branded Vodacom Flex.
Find out more
‘SA’s gov pension fund looks at Liquid stake’
18 October 2019
South Africa’s pension fund for government workers is tipped to buy a stake in pan-African fibre company Liquid Telecom if the latter goes ahead with a planned initial public offering, according to reports.
News wire Bloomberg reported three “people familiar with the situation” said the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) agreed to set aside funds to guarantee a $375m loan to Liquid parent Econet Global from Deutsche Bank AG.
The story has since been picked up by other news outlets.
It would then buy stock in Liquid when it lists at a discount and that money will be used to repay Deutsche, according to the sources.
Find out more Johannesburg to Cape Town fibre line lit up
18 October 2019
Cable operator Seacom has lit up a one terabyte fibre line connecting Johannesburg and Cape Town, the company told the media.
It comes at a time when the firm is said to be lighting up the fibre assets of FibreCo, which it bought almost a year ago.
The new addition owns and operates a national open access dark fibre network, providing infrastructure, connectivity and services across the whole of South Africa.
Seacom previously only had capacity from Durban up to Johannesburg, but since this new Johannesburg to Cape Town development, Seacom is said to be targeting East London.
Find out more