Madagascar: Telma’s 5G network suspended
04 September 2020
Madagascar’s Communication Technology Regulatory Authority (ARTEC)blocked the 5G network open to the general public by operator Telma.
It has sealed all equipment related to the technology, which Telma disputes. The telecoms company is accused of having overstepped the scope of the experiment granted to it.
On July 1, 2020, Telma announced the commercial launch of its 5G services, in partnership with Swedish telecom equipment manufacturer Ericsson. The company indicated that it was making Madagascar “the first African country to benefit from the new generation of mobile connectivity”.
Find out more Durban residents fight against 5G towers being built on their property
04 September 2020
Community leaders in Berea, a ridge above the city of Durban, have railed against a proposed government law that would allow network service providers to build 5G towers and other electronic communication devices on any private and public land.
The draft proposal, which was gazetted by Stella Ndabeni-Abarahams, minister of communications and digital technologies, is part of the government’s expansion into the 5G network.
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UFO turns out to be internet balloon
04 September 2020
An unidentified flying object (UFO) parachuted into dense Congo jungle to the confusion of local authorities, until a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet identified the device as an internet balloon.
Images shared on social media showed people inspecting a large silver-coloured contraption fitted with solar panels and wires, which had landed in the tropical forest of Bas-Uele province in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), trailing a large deflated balloon.
Locals told security after the object fell to earth around 1pm local time on Monday 24 August, Bas-Uele Governor Valentin Senga told Reuters after visiting the site around 10 km (6 miles) south of the provincial capital Buta.
Find out more GSMA creates Africa and Asia digital inclusion fund
06 April 2020
Mobile industry group GSMA has launched the Innovation Fund for Mobile Internet Adoption and Digital Inclusion, designed to increase mobile internet adoption and usage among those who have coverage but are not using it in in Africa and Asia.
It is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in Germany, the GSMA and its members.
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