Despite having over US$350-million at hand to finance its expansion plans for Africa, telecommunications tower infrastructure company, Helios Towers, has announced that it cannot go ahead with the investment in the light of the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic that has also hit telecoms markets in Africa. Helios Towers CEO Kash Pandya said the current environment...
Helios Towers’ plans to expand following last year’s London share sale may have been waylaid by the coronavirus outbreak, but the Africa-focused company has US$350-million (R6.6-billion) primed and ready for when deal-making can resume. The telecommunications firm raised funds in an initial public offering in October, with the proceeds earmarked to fund an entry into new...
The telecommunications infrastructure manager of Equatorial Guinea (GITGE) will strengthen Internet connectivity in the country after approval by the government. This action is part of public efforts to combat the spread of the coronavirus. For this purpose, provision has been made to grant an Internet speed of 100 Mbps to the research laboratory of the Institute...
Internet and voice services are once again accessible in several areas of the Oromo region. The government of Ethiopia announced it at the start of the day, this March 31, 2020. Thus ended the blockage of telecom services which had lasted since January 7 in the areas of Kellem Wellega, Oromia West, Wellega West and Horo...
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) expressed, on March 29, 2020, its concerns about the prolonged interruption of the Internet and telephone lines in several areas of the region Oromo, in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. The UNHCR, which believes that telecommunication resources are essential for sending prevention messages, mobilizing health...
The West African Cable System (WACS) linking South Africa to Europe reported a break between Seixal, Portugal and Highbridge in England over the weekend. The break could impact internet access in South Africa and service providers have moved to reassure the market. Angola Cables, a member of the WACS consortium, issued a statement in which...
Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the telecommunications industry regulator has put in place new measures to reduce COVID-19 spread. The Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), had listed new measures that NCC must implement to make telecoms network resilient throughout the outbreak of the virus. In a statement issued by NCC thursday and signed...
Vox-owned fibre-to-the-home operator Frogfoot has joined rival Vumatel in promising to double line speeds for consumers stuck at home due to the Covid-19 lockdown. TechCentral reported last week that Vumatel would work with Internet service providers double line speeds for free for customers from 1 April to 31 May 2020 due to increased demand for work-from-home applications and...
State-owned telco Cameroon Telecommunications (Camtel) has had its network infrastructure vandalised on several occasions, according to the company’s General Manager, Judith Yah Sunday. In an interview with Cameroon Tribune, Sunday said the criminal acts have significantly undermined huge investments made by the government of Cameroon. “We have effectively registered numerous cases of acts of vandalism...
Kenya’s government has finally approved the roll out of the Google Loon project developed in conjunction with Telkom Kenya. The approval comes at a time where the country has encouraged its citizens to work from home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The project had stalled, having had to wait for the go-ahead from the Kenya Civil...
