Moody’s Investors Service has downgraded operator Telkom South Africa in line with the country’s recent sovereign rating downgrade. Telkom said that Moody’s had downgraded its rating to Ba1 from Baa3 with a negative outlook. This follows Moody’s recent decision to downgrade the South African sovereign rating. Telkom’s rating is linked to the sovereign one because...
Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region of the world where Mobile Money is the most dynamic. For the year 2019, the zone recorded 23.8 billion transactions out of the 37.1 billion recorded worldwide by the World Association of Telephony Operators (GSMA). Or 64.15% of the volume of global transactions, up 19.7%. Sub-Saharan Africa has also dominated the global...
Governments all over the world have been considering cellphone surveillance to help track and contain the spread of the coronavirus. In Italy, Germany and Austria, Reuters reports, telecoms companies say they are turning over data containing location information to public health officials, though aggregated and anonymized to prevent individuals from being identified. Other media reports...
This quicker, more reliable mobile network could transform society. But can we use it now and are there downsides to consider? 5G has been in the news for the wrong reasons again this week, as conspiracy theories have emerged linking 5G to coronavirus. As we explain below, 5G signals do not cause any adverse health...
Telecommunications service provider Airtel Nigeria has announced a commitment of over $4.9-million towards the fight against COVID-19 in Nigeria, reports The Guardian Nigeria. In a breakdown of the pledged sum, Airtel says that about $500-thousand will go towards the provision of an isolation centre or any required medical facility as deemed appropriate with the health authority...
The on-going COVID-19 crisis has sparked a spike in demand for laptops in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa as Europe, the Middle East and other continents face a scarcity of devices occasioned by the global pandemic which has disrupted supply chains across the world. This is according to Nigerian e-commerce firm Konga which stated that a...
There’s little reason to think 5G frequencies are any more harmful than other types of electromagnetic radiation, like visible light. EVEN AS CARRIERS around the world race to build 5G networks, some government officials are reaching for the throttle, citing fears that the new generation of wireless technology could pose health risks. Earlier this year the...
Is 5G Technology responsible for the Coronavirus and Covid 19? The President of the Association of Telecoms Companies (ATCON), Mr Olusola Teniola, responds to the tweets from Senator Dino Melaye of Kogi state. He also discusses the increase in Right-of-Way charges by some States in Nigeria and weighs in on whether Telcos should reduce data...
Over the weekend, the United Kingdom was host to a series of attacks on phone towers with at least 20 phone tower masts vandalized, and at least 3 of those towers set alight in a storm of ignorance and fear fueled by the spreading of fake news and misinformation, namely the 5G-Coronavirus conspiracy claim. Roughly, the conspiracy theory...
Telecoms regulator ICASA recently published its ICT COVID-19 National Disaster Regulations, which give guidelines on the temporary assignment of spectrum. This spectrum will be released for the duration of the national state of disaster and is expected to ease network congestion. It should also enable operators to maintain the quality of broadband services and lower...
