Zimbabwe to restrict electronic freedom of speech
The lower house of Zimbabwe’s parliament has passed a bill that allows the national government to monitor phones, mail and the Internet to protect national security.

Opposition members believe that this bill will pave the way for President Robert Mugabe’s government to curtail freedom of speech and breach privacy.

The Interception of Communications bill sailed through the lower house without changes and will now be sent to the upper house, where it is likely to face little or no opposition. Zimbabwe’s ruling party has a majority in both houses.
Source: CNet

Nigerian GSM users to pay N8.1bn annually for Anti-Theft Scheme
Mobile phone subscribers may pay about N8.1 billion annually under a proposal being pushed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to implement a system for blocking stolen handsets on the nation’s telecoms networks.

Under the plan, every mobile phone users in Nigeria will pay a compulsory monthly fee of N20 that adds up to N680 million and N8.1billion in monthly and annual revenue respectively under the proposed system championed by the NCC to stem the incidence of handset theft.

Nigeria’s mobile penetration which grew from less than one per cent in
2001 to over 24 per cent in January this year is projected by industry watchers to exceed 40 million by year end driven by industry reforms, introduction of unified access service licensing and competition among the big three GSM operators: MTN, Glo mobile and Celtel.
Source: ThisDay

Vodacom (SA) goes head-to-head with Telkom
Vodacom SA, South Africa’s largest cellular operator Vodacom has set up a company that will go head-to-head with the fixed-line business of 50% shareholder Telkom.

The new company, Vodacom Converged Solutions, will start by building six or seven pilot optic fibre rings in metropolitan areas to create additional capacity for data growth. It will initially focus on the corporate market and offer a full range of services on one integrated electronic communications network, including virtual private networks, WiMax and an ISP.
Source: IT Web

Sudan to open communications sector
Sudan is still on track to liberalization and privatization her communications sector. Sudan currently has 16,000 kilometres of fibre-optic cable connections with about 13,000 kilometres under Sudanese Telecommunications Ltd (Sudatel), is planning to also develop its communication system, particularly with neighbouring countries.

The liberalization of the communication sector will make it easier for the private sector to invest in the fast-growing sector.
Source: Sudan Tribune

Celcon’s Revenue boosted by Acquisition
Cellphone distribution company Celcom has reported a 125,1% increase in revenue for the year to March, following its acquisition of V Cellular which accounted for 73% of the increase.

Gross profit grew by 75% to R49,057m from R28,016m with the sale of low margin electronic prepaid vouchers diluting group margins from 14% to 11%.

Significant growth in one of its Virtual Payment Solutions (VPS) sales was also experienced.
Source: Business Day

Liberty Phone launched in Malawi
Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) has launched its fixed-wireless ‘Liberty Phone’ service in the Zomba region, as part of its USD7.5 million project to provide telecommunications to rural areas. . The Liberty Phone, which has a range of 40km, comes with a solar panel for recharging in areas of unstable power supply.
Source: Daily Times (Malawi)

IFC to expand mobile networks in 5 African Countries
IFC, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, announced that it will provide financing to five subsidiaries of Celtel International B.V. to help expand and upgrade the company’s fast-growing mobile networks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Uganda.

The $320 million investment package, IFC’s largest financing to date in Sub-Saharan Africa, will result in better quality mobile access in countries with extremely limited telephone services, creating new opportunities for businesses and consumers across the economic spectrum.

IFC will provide a $160 million loan for its own account, and an additional $160 million in syndicated loans with participating commercial banks and parallel loans from bilateral financial institutions.
Source: International Financial Corporation

Benin Government increases fees for mobile phone licences
The government of President Yaya Boni, has announced an increase of the fees for mobile phone licences from 5 to 30 billion CFA (from US$10 to US$60 million) in a move to rectify bad decisions of the previous government. Existing mobile operators (Libercom, Spacetel Bénin (AREEBA), Telecel Bénin and Bell Bénin Communications SA) will be required to make a one-off payment if they want to carry on with their operations.
Source: BalancingAct

MTN to rebrand Spacefon Areeba
South Africa-based pan-African telecoms company MTN Group has announced it is rebranding its Ghanaian unit Spacefon Areeba under the MTN umbrella, soon. Until May 2006 the cellco (formerly Scancom) was a wholly owned subsidiary of Lebanon-based Investcom Holdings. In that month, MTN Group announced plans to enter the Ghanaian market through a merger with the parent company. MTN Group acquired Investcom in a deal worth USD5.526 billion.
Source: TeleGeography

Nigerian ISPs form broadband alliance
25 Internet service providers (ISPs) across the country have decided to come together to form an alliance to build a broadband network in all the major cities of Nigeria. The consortium, NAIJAWiFi, has also called on the government of President Umaru Yar Adua to urgently declare a ‘state of broadband emergency’, claiming that ‘broadband connectivity remains the key to unlock the nations potentials and accelerate economic growth’.

The consortium’s plan is to build a network across 47 cities of Nigeria, covering all state capitals and other key cities. The project is estimated to cost over NGN5 billion (USD39.9 million), and has the backing of local financiers.
(SOURCE: Telegeography)

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