General News

DASAN Zhone Solutions, a leading enabler of the emerging hyper-connected, hyper-broadband world, has announced the appointment of Charlie Vogt as president, CEO and director.

Nigeria has announced that it aims to launch a new earth observation satellite that will replace NigeriaSat-2 which has been in orbit since 2011. According to the director of the National Space Research and Development Agency, Francis Chizea the country aspires to strengthen its space capabilities.

PCCW Global today announced that its Console Connect Software-Defined Interconnection® (SDI® ) platform is now available in many more data centers via an extended collaboration with Global Switch, a leading owner, operator and developer of large-scale carrier and cloud neutral data centers in Europe and Asia Pacific.

As part of its vision to transform its economy, the Republic of Sudan announced a new commitment to accelerate the transition from cash to digital payments. By joining the United Nations-based Better Than Cash Alliance, the government commits to increasing financial inclusion and transparency, taking steps to build an economy that benefits all citizens.

Infinera announced that Orange deployed spectrum capacity with Infinera’s submarine solution on its MainOne submarine cable, a new network built to provide large-scale international capacity to support the development of a digital ecosystem in West Africa. Built upon Infinera’s fourth-generation Infinite Capacity Engine (ICE4) on the XTS-3600 platform, Orange was able to significantly increase its regional capacity as well as improve the resilience of its submarine cables to provide its customers with enhanced connectivity and access to affordable new services.

The Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, the Chairman of the Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) and the Chairman of the Suez Canal Economic Zone attended a partnership signing ceremony between AOI and Benya Capital.

Ecobank has extended its zero-charge fee for digital money transfers below N5,000 till the end of September this year. In addition to the free USSD session fee currently enjoyed by Ecobank customers, users of Ecobank Mobile, Ecobank Online, USSD - Ecobank *326# can continue to enjoy zero fee charge for digital money transfers below N5,000. New customers can also benefit from this by opening an Xpress account from the comfort of their homes by simply dialling *326#.

Tunisia launched a contact-tracing mobile phone app that identifies and alerts users who may have had contact with others infected with the new coronavirus. The E7mi application, available on Android and awaiting validation for Apple's iOS, was developed by a Tunisian start-up specialised in digital marketing tools for foreign companies, the health ministry said.

Zimbabwe abruptly suspended all mobile money transactions, the most widely used platform to make and receive payments in the crisis-ridden country, claiming the move would tackle crime and economic sabotage. The government also suspended all trade on the country's stock exchange, which it accused of being complicit in illicit financial activities.

China Mobile International, Facebook, MTN GlobalConnect, Orange, stc, Telecom Egypt, Vodafone and WIOCC announced that they will partner to build 2Africa, which will be the most comprehensive subsea cable to serve the African continent and Middle East region. The parties have appointed Alcatel Submarine Networks (“ASN”) to build the cable in a fully funded project which will greatly enhance connectivity across Africa and the Middle East.