A service agreement was signed by the Egyptian government through the National Company for Telecommunications Services (NCTS) with the high-speed satellite internet service provider Hughes Network Systems. NCTS will have access to many solutions including two Hughes Jupiter System gateways, a network management system, to provide connectivity in rural areas via the Tiba-1 satellite.
Libyan Post Telecommunications & Information Technology Company (LPTIC) and telecom infrastructure provider Retelit Med signed an agreement which holds a 50% stake, covering the provision of strategic, technological and technical expertise to LPTIC subsidiaries LITC, an international wholesale operator, and Hatif Libya, a fixed-line operator. This support will help the country to progress in digital transformation.
Telecom operators was forced to expand their data capacities due to the pandemic. According to GSMA, the mobile internet penetration rate was 28% in sub-Saharan Africa in 2020 compared to mobile penetration of 46% because of the high smartphone prices rate.
The 2Africa consortium, comprised of China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC, announced the addition of a new segment — the 2Africa PEARLS branch — which extends to the Arabian Gulf, Pakistan, and into India.
Google announced that it would invest $1 billion in boosting Africa's internet access and startup scene, as the tech giant eyes a youthful market increasingly armed with smartphones. Spread over five years, the investment includes funding for Google's Equiano subsea cable - a major private infrastructure project aimed at ramping up Africa's high-speed connections.
Africa Data Centres, the only pan-African network of interconnected, carrier-and cloud-neutral datacentres on the continent, has completed its new Johannesburg datacentre, based in its Midrand Campus which is one of the largest in Africa. This state-of-the-art facility, designed with the latest global standards is the ideal location for technology companies and enterprises to secure IT infrastructure in an interconnected environment.
Netscout systems INC, a leading provider of security, service assurance, and business analytics, and Africa's leading broadband internet provider Seacom, today announced a strategic alliance to provide managed DDoS and security services to enterprise customers throughout Kenya and South Africa, as well as to wholesale customers utilizing Seacom’s subsea and terrestrial networks.
Africa’s leading technology group, Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid.Tech), is now delivering affordable high-speed connectivity to communities in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using state-of-the-art Wireless Optical Communication technology (WOC) from Project Taara at X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory. This achievement marks a robust high-capacity communications bridge between Kinshasa and Congo Brazzaville.
Total international internet bandwidth now stands at 786 Tbps, representing a four-year CAGR of 29%. Among all countries, Africa experienced the most rapid growth of international internet bandwidth, growing at a compound annual rate of 45% between 2017 and 2021.
In 2020, a comparison was made between multiple mobile networks and the results came as follows: in sub-Saharan Africa, 3G mobile technology represented 52% of mobile networks compared to 36% for 2G and 12% for 4G. The GSMA said that in 2025, 3G will account for 58% of mobile networks compared to only 28% for 4G. As for 2G, it will drop to 11%. However, 5G will only represent less than 10%.
