Tanzania's Vodacom says hits 10 million subscribers

Vodacom Tanzania, part of South Africa's Vodacom Group , increased its users to 10 million this month from 9 million in March this year,
Ranked the largest mobile phone operator in East Africa's second biggest economy, Vodacom said its M-Pesa money transfer service had more than 2 million customers, double the number in 2009.

M-Pesa has been highly successful in neighbouring Kenya where the biggest operator, Safaricom , has over 9 million active users on the same service.

Tanzania's mobile phone subscribers rose 20 percent to 21 million last year as a vicious price war pushed tariffs down.

Mobile phone penetration in Tanzania stood at 47 percent last year, the communications regulator said.

Communications is the fastest-growing sector in Tanzania, accounting for 20 percent of gross domestic product in the country.

Other major players in Tanzania's mobile phone industry are Bharti Airtel, Millicom's subsidiary Tigo Tanzania and Zantel.

Some smaller companies such as state-run telecoms firm TTCL, Sasateland Benson, have tiny share of the market

SEACOM has announced that it will upgrade the capacity of its cable following an increase in demand, after receiving a 60% subscription to the current 1.28 terabytes per second capacity.

SEACOM Chief Executive Officer Mark Simpson (image: mybroadband)

SEACOM Chief Executive Officer Mark Simpson said that following trends by mobile operators shifting to data, the firm plans to increase its capacity to meet the demand.

“Technology is changing a lot and we have already begun to plan for our next upgrade which will be in the next 12-15 months and therefore we will have plenty of capacity to serve our customers,” Simpson said.

SEACOM, the first undersea cable to land in Kenya, sells Internet capacity on its cable to mobile operators and Internet services providers for resale to retail Internet users in the country and region.

The upgrade involves installation of nine land-based Internet access points that will store web content closer to where the ISP is accessed from.

Simpson said that SEACOM also has plans to start selling premium services to its clients to tap into the growing provision of content in Africa.

Premium services that the firm plans to start selling include multiprotocol label switching (a data carrying mechanism that allows a simple relay of information over a network).

“We also need to further build resilience into the network using west coast capacity as well as having highly reliable network,” he said.

Simpson expects Internet costs to start coming down as cable companies recoup their initial investments.

“The combination of the economics we offer on the sub-sea and the benefits we see from the terrestrial networks will continue to deliver quite a reduction in price but with quality being our focus,” Simpson said.

Stretching some 17 000kms along the eastern and southern African coastlines and onwards to India and Europe, the SEACOM system has already connected a number of countries within the regions.

“As we look at the growth of different markets, we are happy with what is happening in Kenya and like Tanzania where the fibre cables are built through consortiums and private public partnerships led by governments; we continue having discussions with them,” he said on future growth of the company.

Kenya, Nigeria snatch Google apps award

Two Kenyans are among three winners of the Sh7.2 million (about US $75 000) Google Android Developer Challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa aimed at encouraging mobile phone applications for use in Africa.


Kenya and Nigeria scoop Google app award (image source: file photo)

The two, David Lemayian of Capefield Ltd and Gerald Kibugi of Elan Telemedia Ltd and a third from Nigeria, Afrinolly, will each receive Sh2.4 million (about US $25,000).

They are expected to use the money to grow their businesses, with mentoring from Google.

The three winning applications, were chosen from hundreds of developers in Sub-Saharan Africawho submitted applications for entertainment, media and games; social networking and communication; and productivity, tools, and geo services.

Capefield’s application, Olalashe (which means ‘brother’ in Maasai) is a geo-alert application that could help one communicate when in distress, through a widget that sends the location of the person with a pre-set message at the push of a button.

Elan Telemedia Ltd’s Shoppers’ Delight allows buyers to compare prices across supermarkets in different areas, unearthing bargains complete with access maps and health information.

The winners were chosen from a short-list of 29 finalists who were then provided with new phones, mentoring from Google and also given six weeks to improve their applications.

The judges also gave honourable mention to finalist apps Rainbow Racer and Wedding Plandroid whose developers would each receive $5,000 (about Sh471,200).

The three winning apps, honourable mentions and finalists will be available on the Android Market soon.

More than 1,000 developers participated in over 25 Android hackathons.

Software developers submitted their apps to one of three specially-designated categories from June 1 2011.

Each application was only submitted to a single category. To determine the winner, there were two rounds of submission.

Google judges reviewed the applications to determine the top three in each region by category (there were 27 in total). Those who reached the final stage were each awarded Android devices and given six weeks to improve their apps before the committee of judges announced the three final winners.

AIRTEL has extended its coverage in more areas in Mbeya Region, a move that officials described as "keeping the promise of going rural." Airtel Public Relations Manager, Jackson Mmbando said: "As part of Airtel's plan to expand and upgrade its communications reach, we have recently added coverage in new areas in Mbeya Region and the Lake Zone. "The new areas covered recently will allow better clarity and connectivity in Tanzania rural that will offer clarity and quality calls to the South region's population." "We are connecting Tanzania with pride as we can see what communications does when one gets exposures to communications. In the past it was seen as a luxury but today it is a necessity and a tool to development", added Mmbando. Relevant Links East Africa Tanzania ICT Land and Rural Issues On Thursday, in the Lake Zone Airtel launched Utegi spots which also will benefit other villages around including Koaki, Ingili, Bukwe, Nyanduga, Otuna, Buturi, Yagoro, Kanguge, Mangra in Rorya District, Mara Region. On upcoming plans, Mmbando explained that, further coverage will proceed this year in various parts of the country, focusing in the rural areas to ensure all regions are evenly covered. "The more we expand our network, the more impact we have on the communities and people we connect by increasing and improving their quality of life by facilitating and making communications easily accessible. "All those connected will be entitled to all our products and services at a go," he said.

SEACOM appoints new CEO

SEACOM, the pan-African ICT enabler, announced the appointment of Mark Simpson as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with effect 5 September 2011. Brian Herlihy, the current CEO, will remain with the company as a member of the Board and take on the new role of Executive Director where he will focus on strategic projects essential for SEACOM’s continued success.

An industry veteran with more than 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry, Mark Simpson has held a number of senior international executive positions during his career, most recently as President and CEO of Pacific Crossing, a company operating a trans-Pacific cable systembetween the United States and Japan. He was also Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Asia Netcom (now Pacnet) and CEO of C2C Pte Ltd, Asia's then largest cable system.

Commenting on his appointment, Mark Simpson said: “The SEACOM system has changed the African ICT landscape and I am pleased to be joining a market shaping company with a firm plan to evolve its core infrastructure and lead Africa into the next stage of ICT Growth.

“It is a great opportunity to come to a company with a great team that has accomplished so much already and set out a clear strategic plan going forward. I look forward to working cooperatively with Brian, who has meant so much toSEACOM.”

Simpson will be responsible for leading SEACOM into a new era of data-based projects and growth assisted by Herlihy. In addition he will bring to bear his operational know-how in developing and running a best-in-class quality of service international network and ensuring that SEACOM’s customers are well served by its network, products and services.

In his new capacity as Executive Director, Brian Herlihy will retain a key role in the strategic direction of the company focusing on maximizing development opportunities and network deployment.

“I am delighted to welcome Mark on board. His experience will contribute considerably to securing SEACOM’s efforts to consistently improve network operations while maintaining our position of being first to market with new products. 

“Mark’s extended experience ensures that SEACOM can leapfrog technology evolutions and develop a best-in-class pan-African solution.

“I am confident that our cooperation will provide me the capacity to pursue the correct partnerships necessary forSEACOM’s vision to truly lead the development of the African Internet,” concluded Brian Herlihy.

Nigeria launches two satellites into orbit

NigeriaSat-2 will help with disaster monitoring and security AFRICA’S most populous nation Nigeria is playing a key role in Africa’s science and technology development as demonstrated by the West African nation’s launch of two satellites into orbit on Wednesday. President Jonathan called the event “another milestone in our nation’s effort to solve national problems through space technology”. In a move aimed at ensuring proper disaster monitoring and security of the West African nation, Nigeria launched NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X in the late afternoon of Wednesday. NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X spacecraft were taken into orbit aboard a Russian Dnepr rocket from a launch pad in the town of Yasny, southern Russia. President Jonathan congratulated his country’s scientists for being “resourceful” and for putting the West African nation on the world map of technology. “I congratulate our nation for this new chapter in our transformational efforts as we strive for self-reliance. Let me congratulate the resourceful Nigerians who made this history possible,” said President Jonathan. Both satellites were built at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) in Guildford, under contract with the Nigerian National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA). But 26 Nigerian engineers worked alongside SSTL engineers in Guildford to assemble the 100kg NigeriaSat-X satellite. In a statement, the government said the two satellites would be used for forestry mapping, disaster monitoring, military applications and security, among other applications.