General News

Africa’s leading telecommunications and managed services provider, SEACOM, announced that Alpheus Mangale is joining the company as the incoming Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2023. He is a seasoned business leader with over 25 years of experience across the enterprise, telecoms, financial services and technology markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He will work alongside the company’s outgoing Group Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Fortuin, for a three-month period to ensure a smooth leadership transition, at the end of which he will assume full responsibility for the business.

Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, minister of communications and digital economy, has announced that the Nigerian federal government has exempted the telecommunications sector from paying a 5% excise duty, which it had planned to introduce on telecom services, following the recommendations of a committee set up to review its applicability.

European satellite telecommunications provider SES is exploring a possible merger with Intelsat, another tie-up in the sector as the race for space-based internet service heats up.

Egyptian Prime Minister, Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, along with a group of accompanying ministers, visited several projects in the Economic Zone of the Suez Canal and Ain Sokhna Port and inspected the Benya factory for fiber optic cables, established in partnership with the Arab Organization for Industrialization.

Africa Mobile Networks Limited announced that it has successfully reached a financial close on its US$20 million senior secured loan facility. The new financing package is expected to help deliver long-term benefits and finance the rollout of mobile communications towers in rural and ultra-rural Africa.

Nigeria is at an inflection point — one where it needs to adopt enabling technologies at scale to support high growth in the telecommunications and digital sectors. Using the right technology as a catalyst, these sectors can support financial inclusion and widespread economic growth.

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin has been awarded the 2023 IEEE President's Award for her “distinguished leadership and contributions to the public."

Africa Data Centres, a business of Cassava Technologies Group, has signed a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with DPA Southern Africa Pty Ltd (DPA SA), a joint company of Distributed Power Africa and the French utility company, EDF. DPA SA will supply 12MW of renewable solar energy for Africa Data Centres facilities in South Africa.

Evina, a leading cybersecurity expert for fintech and mobile operators, announced that it now protects over 1 billion mobile users annually worldwide. Users who purchase or subscribe to services via direct carrier billing or mobile money, and mobile subscribers more generally, are increasingly likely to be protected by Evina's technology.

As the Nigerian government seeks to reduce carbon emissions in the telecommunications industry, the Nigerian Communications Commission has revealed plans to assist the government in achieving that objective.