General News

SatADSL and Avanti have launched commercial Ka-band broadband services in Sub-Saharan, aiming to bring cost-effective coverage to communities and businesses.

In Ethiopia, a project of about $3 billion is being prepared to create a technology city called “the real Wakanda” in partnership with Hub City Live. This technologically advanced city will be located in Bahir Dar, in the federal state of Amhara and the project should be completed in eight to ten years.

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) called upon Senegal, Togo and Burkina Faso to undertake infrastructure and legal reforms to benefit from the opportunities presented by e-commerce.

For 23 votes against 2 for his only opponent, the Burundian Constaque Hakizimana, John Omo, candidate from Kenya won the title of Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) thus replacing the Nigerian Abdulkarim Soumaila, elected as the head of the ATU in 2011.

UAE satellite operator Yahsat announced the launch of its satellite broadband service YahClick in Ivory Coast in an attempt to increase internet access in the country where penetration rate still stagnates at 27%.

Invigo has successfully tested the download of an eSIM profile on an embedded UICC with a mobile network operator. Invigo’s eSIM provisioning platform offers a state-of-the-art subscription management solution to remotely provision and manage embedded SIM cards in both consumer and M2M devices, while meeting industry standards in terms of system security, interoperability, and scalability. The company is currently preparing for the GSMA Security Accreditation Scheme (SAS) audit for its SM-DP+ and SM-DP servers in partnership with a Tier IV datacenter provider, and expect to complete it by the end of 2018.

UAE satellite operator Yahsat announced the launch of its broadband satellite service YahClick in Ghana, in partnership with regional broadcast and internet service providers Comsys and Teledata. YahClick will offer reliable, cost-effective and high-performance internet in Ghana, thus paving the way for economic and social progress driven by high-speed connectivity.

With the aim of exchanging information and ideas on how the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) can assist on-going efforts, by the Gambian government, in strengthening and improving ICT-related services to its citizens, the Acting Secretary-General Gisa Fuatai Purcell welcomed Honourable Ebrima Sillah, Minister of Information, Communication and Infrastructure, of Gambia and Kalifa Bojang, Deputy Head of Mission, from the High Commission of Gambia, to the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) headquarters.

In order to facilitate money transfers across Africa, leading international money transfer company WorldRemit has launched a new quick, safe, secure, and less expensive digital service targeting mainly the flourishing economies of East Africa namely Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

Recently, iWayAfrica, a pan-African provider of satellite telecommunications services and solutions in Africa, has signed an agreement with Avanti Communications Group, a satellite operator and provider of satellite data services in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The agreement will allow iWayAfrica to deploy satellite broadband services from Avanti's HYLAS 4 satellite to consumers and businesses throughout sub-Saharan Africa.