Data delivers for Vodacom
Strong smartphone sales and continued robust demand for data services have again underpinned Vodacom’s financial performance. In the financial year ended 31 March 2013, the group lifted data revenue by 22,2%, helping it grow overall revenue by 4,5% over 2012 to R69,9bn. Operating profit climbed by
Orange outsources towers
France’s Orange has signed a deal to allow tower operator IHS to oversee more than 2 000 of its towers in the West African markets of Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon. Though Orange will continue to own the towers, IHS will manage them for the next 15 years Surplus space on
Vodacom hires top banking executive
Vodacom has hired a top expert in electronic payments and financial services to head its mobile commerce division. The telecommunications operator has appointed Herman Singh, formerly head of Standard Bank’s innovation arm, Beyond Payments, as its managing executive for mobile commerce. Singh
Vodacom feels pressure from rivals
Vodacom’s revenues in South Africa have come under pressure in the three months ended 31 December 2012, and the operator is blaming increased price competition from rivals, along with other factors, for the muted performance. South Africa is Vodacom’s most
Slow set-top box take-up in Kenya
Sales of digital set-top boxes, which went on sale last month in Kenya, have been sluggish. The boxes are required to convert digital terrestrial broadcasting signals so that that the East African country can switch off analogue broadcasts before the International Telecommunication
Mobile money needs closer scrutiny
The continent is being hailed as a global cellphone banking and payments innovation hub, but it seems the sector will be coming under increasing regulatory scrutiny as the relationships between cellphone operators and banks are placed under the spotlight. A survey of players in the African
MTN, Pick n Pay in banking tie-up
MTN and Pick n Pay are poised to launch a mobile bank. Called Tyme, which stands for “take your money everywhere”, the venture will piggyback on the banking licence held by Bank of Athens. Tyme hopes to make mobile money transfers and mobile banking commonplace in South Africa, where consumers
Airtel passes 60m active users
Indian telecommunications company Bharti Airtel says it now has more than 60m active users in Africa. It added 10m subscribers in less than 12 months and says this growth has helped make it the fourth largest mobile operator worldwide and Airtel one of the largest players in Africa. The company
Technology a pathway out of poverty
It will take a century for a poor household to tweet its way out of poverty. That’s a very long time for anyone wondering where their next meal is coming from. But it’s a significant new finding because it proves once and for all that social media and access to information and communication technology
Kenya to tax M-Pesa transactions
M-Pesa, which has more than 14m subscribers in Kenya, could be forced to increase transaction costs by 10% as East African nation’s treasury looks to impose a levy on transactions made using the mobile money transfer service. Though Kenya’s treasury says it expects mobile
Duncan Nowers: 
hostinsight.com: 
Moshidi Thamaga: 
BritinSA: 
Mothusi Tsebela: