A ByteDance board member told Caixin Global the company hoped to find an alternative to selling its US TikTok assets while allaying national security concerns, with the aim to keep its presence in the country.
William Ford, chair of private equity company and ByteDance shareholder General Atlantic, told Caixin Global he is optimistic discussions between the US and China would result in a deal in which the company does not have to sell its stake.
Ford noted a number of alternatives are being considered to allow the platform to continue to operate, suggesting a change of control may be viable.
He added talks between US President Donald Trump and China President Xi Jinping have created a more constructive environment, raising hopes of a positive outcome.
President Trump gave TikTok 75 days to line up a US partner and previously suggested a joint venture could be established in which the nation would hold a 50 per cent stake.
US legislation passed in early 2024 banned the service unless a local buyer was found.
The ban was due to go into effect on 19 January.
SensorTower data showed TikTok US drives 88 million hours of consumer engagement per day, about $2 billion in spending each year and the platform holds an 8 per cent share of the digital advertising sector.
Elon Musk’s war of words with Sam Altman intensified this week as the owner of X raised questions about the financial viability of Stargate, the AI joint venture involving OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank Group.
Announced by President Donald Trump shortly after his inauguration, the initiative is designed to ramp up AI infrastructure across the US through an initial $100 billion investment by the three companies, which could grow to $500 billion over the next four years.
Musk, however, took to X to voice his concerns about the project.
“They don’t actually have the money,” Musk stated, adding SoftBank had less than $10 billion secured for the project. “I have that on good authority”, he added.
OpenAI CEO Altman fired back, calling Stargate “great for the country,” and invited Musk to tour the first data centre site already under construction in Texas. He further retorted: “I realise what is great for the country isn’t always what’s optimal for your companies, but in your new role I hope you’ll mostly put America first.”
Feud This dispute is the latest in a long-standing history between the two tech moguls. Musk is an OpenAI co-founder, but departed the company over clashes with Altman.
Since then, Musk has taken issue with the ChatGPT-maker for straying from its nonprofit origins as the company bids to incorporate a for-profit business model.
Musk’s move to speak out against Stargate also marks a rare occasion the billionaire has seemingly taken issue with a Trump-backed initiative in recent times.
Musk was a big backer of Trump during the election campaign and he has been tasked by the President to head up a new department focused on improving efficiency within government.
His Excellency John Dramani Mahama has appointed Rev. Ing. Edmund Yirenkyi Fianko as the Acting Director General of the National Communications Authority (NCA).
This marks a historic moment for the Authority, as it is the first time a Director General has been appointed from within the organization.
Rev. Ing. Fianko is an electronic communications engineer with over twenty (20) years of expertise in radio frequency spectrum management, telecom and broadcasting regulation, policy formulation, change management, ICT industry research, writing, publishing, teaching, and public speaking.
In 2022, he was elected to the prestigious Radio Regulations Board (RRB) by Member countries of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to serve the global radiocommunications community for a four-year term (2023–2026).
Since joining the NCA as a National Service Person in 2004, Rev. Ing. Fianko has risen through the ranks and was confirmed as the Director for the Engineering Division in January 2024. In this role, he has led teams to plan, administer, manage, license, and monitor radio frequency spectrum for telecommunications and broadcasting services in Ghana. He has also served as Chairman of the Significant Market Power (SMP) Operations Team.
Rev. Ing. Fianko has chaired and also served as a member of several Technical and Regulatory Committees that have shaped industry standards, guidelines, and procedures. Internationally, he has played a significant role in organizations such as the African Telecommunication Union (ATU), the Regional African Satellite Communication Organization (RASCOM), the ITU Policy and Regulation Initiative for Digital Africa (PRIDA) and the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission. His work has also benefited neighbouring countries such as Benin and The Gambia.
Additionally, Rev. Ing. Fianko spearheaded Ghana’s transition from analogue to digital broadcasting and served as Secretary to the Digital Broadcasting Migration Committee (DBMC) from 2010 to 2016. His contributions include developing DTT receiver specifications, which were later adopted as ECOWAS standards.
He holds a first degree in Electrical/Electronic Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), a Masters in Communications Management from Buckinghamshire New University, England, and an MPhil in Applied Business Leadership and Management from Universidad Católica de Murcia, Spain.
Rev. Ing. Fianko is a member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). He is also a Minister of the Methodist Church Ghana, a published author, and the founding leader of the evangelistic outreach ministry, Nkwa.Life.
With a proven track record in technology regulation, leadership, and innovation, Rev. Ing. Fianko brings a wealth of experience to the NCA and is expected to lead Ghana’s communication industry into a new era of growth and technological advancement.
He succeeds Dr. Joe Anokye, as the Acting Director General of the NCA.
Ericsson reported a strong finish to 2024, with fourth-quarter sales and profit higher thanks largely to growth in North America. As a result, the company increased its dividend, despite lower results for the full year. Ericsson said it sees signs of the RAN market stabilising, and it will focus further on efficiency measures to maintain margins in the new year.
Quarterly revenues rose 1 percent year-on-year to SEK 72.9 billion and improved 2 percent on an organic basis, the first growth in two years. This was driven by the main Networks division, where sales were up 5 percent on an organic basis. Network sales jumped 70 percent in North America, on spending by large customers like AT&T and year-end software demand, and were also up 2 percent in the market area Europe and Latin America, helped by market share gains in Europe.
Sales in the Enterprise segment were still down 7 percent, as Vonage continues to struggle, while revenue from Cloud Software and Services was stable. Ericsson also got a big boost in IP revenue after recovering back fees in a new licensing deal, with total IPR revenue rising to SEK 3.5 billion from SEK 2.7 billion.
Rising margins, higher cash flow
A favourable product mix helped the adjusted gross margin improve to 46.3 percent from 41.1 percent a year ago. This led to a 25 percent increase in adjusted EBITDA to SEK 10.2 billion, for a margin of 14.1 percent. The bottom line was a net profit of SEK 4.9 billion, up 43 percent year-on-year.
Over the full year, Ericsson did less well, with revenues down 6 percent to SEK 247.9 billion, an adjusted EBITA margin of 11.0 percent and net profit of just SEK 0.4 billion, compared to SEK 26.1 billion in 2023. Nevertheless, free cash flow improved strongly, helped by supply chain structural improvements and contract phasing, leading to an inflow of SEK 40 billion before M&A. As a result, Ericsson raised the annual dividend to SEK 2.85 per share from SEK 2.70 a year earlier.
Outlook mixed
For 2025, the focus on APIs and programmable networks remains, with hope this will generate a new growth engine in the face of a largely flat traditional RAN market. Ericsson said it will also work on improving the commercial performance at the Enterprise division, after no improvement in the losses there in Q4, with growth sought in areas such as mission critical and enterprise private networks.
For Q1, Ericsson forecast results in line with seasonal trends for its main divisions.
The Chief of Staff at Telecel Group, who also oversees the Africa Startup Initiative Programme (ASIP), Eleanor Azar, has called for increased investment and consultative support to strengthen Ghana’s growing tech startup ecosystem.
“Ghana has immense talent and potential in the tech start-up space. We are happy to have supported 40 start-ups for the four cohorts of ASIP who are tackling local problems in their communities.
However, the reality is that startups still face barriers that prevent them from scaling, including access to sufficient capital and the strategic advice to grow and navigate challenges in their markets. These are critical gaps that need to be addressed,” she said.
In her keynote address at the opening of the Tech in Ghana Conference in Accra, she shared insights on ASIP, a corporate social responsibility initiative by Telecel Group, to set the tone for two days of discussions and showcase of Ghana’s talent in technology and innovation.
She highlighted the significant strides that ASIP has made in the last four years to accelerate the growth of high-potential tech startups across Africa through a blend of funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities, with a focus on underserved markets in countries including Ghana.
On the theme: “Security, Synergy and Storytelling”, the two-day conference and exhibition brought together entrepreneurs, investors, tech leaders, diplomats and policy makers across Ghana to discuss the future of digital innovation on the continent.
About ASIP
Since its inception in 2019, ASIP has provided financial and mentorship support to a diverse range of startups through its global network of over 3000 mentors and $750,000 in total benefits.
The beneficiary startups, with 70 per cent being women-led, have gone on to create about 4,000 jobs in the last four years.
Call for collaboration
Ms Azar advocated for collaborative efforts and partnerships to nurture the growth and innovation of African early-stage businesses, urging government bodies, investors, and corporate entities to work together to create a more conducive environment.
“We believe that sustainable collaboration between the private sector, government, and international partners will help create an enabling and supportive environment where startups grow and contribute meaningfully to the economy.
These startups are within the communities and know the existing problems better and their solutions can help tackle the challenges the communities face, if given the right investment and advisory support,” she added.
She said through ASIP, Telecel Group aims to provide African startups with access to both local and international investors, mentorship and capacity building programmes that can help them scale and compete globally.
She pointed out that ASIP has already seen success with several startups from the four cohorts, and it is committed to make a bigger impact in Ghana’s rapidly growing tech ecosystem.
As AI becomes an increasingly dominant theme in telecoms, a recent TM Forum webinar explores how the technology could be used to create new services and ultimately, it’s hoped, generate revenue.
(Source: Skorzewiak/Alamy Stock Photo)
Mobile World Congress is only a few weeks away and it’s already clear that artificial intelligence (AI) in telecom, from predictive through to generative and agentic, will be a prominent theme, as it has been since ChatGPT first made its presence felt. A quick glance at the conference program alone makes it clear how much AI will dominate the agenda, with sessions on AI and diversity, on-device AI, AI and governance and more besides.
More nuanced operator approaches to AI in telecom are beginning to crystallize, meanwhile. For instance, Laurent Leboucher, group chief technology officer and executive vice president of innovation networks at Orange, distinguishes between “AI for network”and “network for AI” to explain how operators handle a dual focus on AI, whereby the technology is used to optimize networks on one hand, and support revenue-generating services on the other.
A key question that many will be asking at MWC is: how will operators generate value from their deployments of AI, and what should the next steps be now that the industry is, perhaps, starting to move a little beyond the hype?
Driving value
Recent developments in AI mean that operators have the opportunity to use the technology for new product and service creation, potentially creating new revenue streams as well as optimizing their own networks and operations. But where do the opportunities lie, and where do they fit into the value chain?
This was the topic of a TM Forum webinar on Tuesday, titled “Leveraging AI for service and value creation.”
Mark Newman, chief analyst at TM Forum, remarked that much of the industry focus until now has been on driving operational efficiencies for greater productivity.
“That can be one part of value creation. The other part of value creation can be creating new products and services, or enhanced products and services,” Newman said.
At the same time, he added, the idea of developing new products is “newer to operators, and it’s lagging behind. However … there’s a recognition in the industry that over a period of time, the focus on value creation will become as important as the focus on productivity and efficiency gain.”
To be sure, operators “have had a tough time building new value-added products and services. They’ve been endeavoring to expand beyond voice, messaging and connectivity for the last ten, 15, 20 years, without too much success,” Newman said.
For example, he made a comparison with operator attempts in the past to become public cloud providers. Ultimately these strategies largely failed, and operators became consumers of cloud computing services instead.
“Is the industry in a different position for leveraging AI for value creation than it was for cloud computing? … There is generally a view that operators might have always been behind the curve when it came to cloud computing, but when it comes to AI, maybe some of them are not so far behind. So they’re at an earlier stage in the exploitation of AI, to play an important role here,” Newman said.
Getting an edge
One topic that also emerged was the potential for edge computing with AI. As commented by Newman, “many enterprises will want to put their AI workloads both close to their own business and close to the network to guarantee performance, security, latency. So if that is the case, if that compute needs to be right next to network, does that therefore give telecom operators the opportunity to play in the edge computing space? Is it time to dust off those edge computing investment plans?”
Volker Tegtmeyer, principal product marketing manager at Red Hat, said edge will be key to avoid having to move all of the data to a central location.
“I think from a deployment point of view, the flexibility is key. It’s either edge or it’s a private cloud, or could even be a public cloud, if you want to start something … at a small scale,” he said.
Tegtmeyer added: “What we expect to see is that service providers will have hundreds of AI models. They will leverage agentic AI, predictive AI, GenAI, and they might actually combine it, depending on what they need, to at the end, build a service. Not to make things more complicated, but yes, edge is important, and it will be a part of a much bigger puzzle.”
Getting down to business
According to Newman, “we can be pretty sure that there will be an explosion in new AI-infused products and services.”
He cited examples such as enhanced voice services, where operators try to modernize legacy voice and integrate them with services such as Microsoft Teams. Or there are concierge services, such as GenAI-based tools to help manage everyday life, as well as the concept of “artificial intelligence of things,” such as the combination of AI with video capabilities.
Ryan Walton-King, global industry market leader, communications, media, and consumer services at Pegasystems, also pointed out that predictive and adaptive AI can be used to gain insights about customers and then determine the best way to engage them, “whether that’s via digital, whether that’s via a call center rep, and making sure that you’re doing that with empathy and with context.
Meanwhile, Richard Doughty, business development director at Cerillion Technologies, provided a couple of specific case studies of current AI implementations at telcos involving the deployment of AI-enabled catalogs and workflow. Here, he cited work with Paratus in South Africa as well as Ucom in Armenia.
Cerillion is “putting AI into the products to make them increasingly frictionless to use, and there’s a big focus on that ease of use, breaking down the interface … and then using that ease of interface with things like catalog to then help create products far faster, so reduce that time to market from weeks, maybe where it was 20 years ago, to days, really down to minutes now,” Doughty said.
Walton-King also made reference to work with a US carrier on what he called outage deflection using AI. “We’ve been able to deflect over 200,000 calls in the call center and identify outages 15 minutes earlier than when they could before,” he said. “A struggle for a lot of carriers is, how do we get ahead of these outages so that we don’t have people calling in? We can deflect calls, but even better, we can fix it before it becomes an outage.”
Samsung has launched the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus and Galaxy S25 Ultra at the Galaxy Unpacked 2025 event at San Jose’s SAP Centre, ushering in a new suite of AI tools and closer ties with Google. The company said it has unified the handsets’ AI functionality, which consolidates AI features previously scattered across individual apps. Introducing AI agents with multimodal capabilities, the Galaxy S25 series is the first step in Samsung’s vision to “change the way users interact with their phone”.
The company said the models will get seven years of full security updates and seven generations of OS updates. The company confirmed prices of the Galaxy S25 series will be in the same range as previous models. Any information users provide the Galaxy S25’s AI features will be kept securely in a Personal Data Engine, which Samsung claims is secured by post-quantum enhanced data security on the device.
Samsung, Google AI integration
Samsung said its One UI 7 OS update ensures seamless integration between Samsung’s and Google’s AI assistants. Previously, users had to separately activate Google AI Gemini or Samsung’s Galaxy AI for different apps. The AI agents, which are currently applied only to basic apps of Samsung and Google, plus Spotify and WhatsApp, will be expanded to various third-party apps in the future. Users will be able to issue commands directly to the app by voice, such as calling a taxi or ordering food.
The new AI Agent features include Now Brief, which analyses user data and usage patterns to proactively offer suggestions. The Now Bar feature displays personalised information such as everyday actions and most-used apps, even on a locked screen. Users can control their entertainment, time their workouts, get directions or communicate in other languages. Samsung said users can also perform actionable searches with context-aware suggestions for next steps. Plus, Galaxy S25 makes it frictionless to switch between apps for quick follow-up actions, like sharing a GIF or saving event details.
The new Writing Assistant summarises text, checks spelling and grammar and transcribes call content. The Real-Time Interpreter feature now supports 20 languages, up from 13. The Circle to Search feature has been enhanced to enable users to search not only for images and text but also audio played on the device.
S25 specs and pricing
Unlike with the S24, all the Galaxy S25 models are outfitted with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, delivering performance improvements of 40 percent, 37 percent and 30 percent to the neural processing unit, central processing unit and graphics processing unit, respectively. It also delivers greater on-device processing power for Galaxy AI and superior camera range and control with Galaxy’s next-gen ProVisual Engine.
The Galaxy S25 comes with either a 6.2-inch FHD or 6.7-inch QHD display for the Plus. A new “ProScaler” system helps what a user is watching or playing better fit the screen, regardless of the source resolution. The 50 MP main, 12 MP ultra-wide and 10 MP 3x telephoto camera on the back of the Galaxy S25 and S25 Plus, as well as the 12 MP selfie camera on the front, are the same as the Galaxy S24’s cameras. Samsung has instead added a Next Gen ProVisual Engine to improve results during processing. The Galaxy S25 still starts at USD 799 for the basic 6.2-inch model, or USD 999 for the Galaxy S25 Plus.
Samsung has increased the standard RAM offer from 8 GB to 12 GB for all models, while the starting storage is 128 GB on the Galaxy S25 model, with a 256 GB and 512 GB version costing more. The Galaxy S25 Plus starts at 256 GB, with 512 GB as an option. As with last year’s Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24 Plus, the Galaxy S25 and Galaxy S25 Plus use 4,000 mAh and 4,900 mAh batteries respectively.
Ultra features
In addition to all of the features shared across the models, the flagship Galaxy S25 Ultra features a 6.9-inch display, 12 GB of RAM, 256 GB, 512 GB or 1 TB storage, and an upgraded 50MP ultra-wide camera lens, up from 12MP on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. Its glass has also been upgraded to Gorilla Glass Armor 2 on the front, a new scratch-resistant, anti-reflective glass from Corning which the supplier says can withstand drops up to 2.2m on concrete.
The S25 Ultra also has a larger 4,900 mAh battery than the Galaxy S25. To accommodate the slightly larger screen, Samsung has rounded off the corners and flattened the edges, delivering a 15 percent reduction on the bezel. Samsung confirmed the Galaxy S25 Ultra’s entry point is USD 1,299 which is the same as last year.
Samsung pre-orders deals
In the US, Samsung is offering up to USD 500 off Galaxy S25 pre-orders when users trade-in an older phone. Additionally, there’ll get a free USD 50 Samsung credit. Users opting for the Galaxy S25 Plus will get up to USD 700 off when they trade-in an older phone, plus a free USD 100 Samsung credit. Ultra pre-orders will see discounts up to USD 900 plus a USD 300 Samsung credit. In its home market of South Korea, pre-orders will run from 24 January to 3 February, with prices starting from KRW 1.69 million for the Ultra model, KRW 1.35 million for the Plus model and KRW 1.15 million for the S25.
It’s a struggle every time Foster Kudese. a visually impaired National Service person at the University of Ghana attempts to send money or buy airtime from his mobile money account.
The process, which should usually take less than a minute, takes Foster about five to ten minutes, sometimes more.
“It’s very difficult. Because we are using the talkback or voice-over on the phone, we have to wait to listen to whatever the phone is saying before choosing your option. After selecting your option, you sometimes have to memorize the number in your head before you can input the numbers.
“After that then you confirm the name…if you don’t get it right you have to cancel the whole process and restart again,” the 26-year-old who works with the Balme Library told TV3’s Laud Adu-Asare.
“It’s even worse when the network is unstable,” he adds.
Since its inception, Mobile Money (MoMo) has transformed financial transactions, bringing banking to the fingertips of millions of people.
Despite this glass-breaking move, visually impaired persons are yet to enjoy the full features of this transformative tool.
There are two options available for every user. The use of either the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), sometimes referred to as “quick codes” or “feature codes” or the mobile application software of the telecom company in use.
Like Foster, 24-year-old Jeffery Ayum, also visually impaired, shared his frustration with the mobile money system.
He affirms that apart from the stress associated with using the USSD for his transactions, his telco’s app, offers a more agonizing experience.
The colourful features of the app do not provide any relief for someone who cannot see and the added layer of security further exacerbates their plights.
“The isn’t disability friendly. For us persons with visual impairment, it’s not friendly at all. At first, it was good but right now it’s unreliable. I even called them to complain about it. They told me they’ll get their technical team to work on it but I never heard anything,” he lamented.
This Telco’s is just one of the many available apps provided by the respective telecommunication companies in Ghana that do not include visually-impaired-friendly options in the composition of their apps.
Generally, all instant payment systems operating in Ghana are not visually impaired-friendly raising an issue of inclusivity.
Executive Director of the Ghana Blind Union, Dr Peter Obeng-Asamoah described his frustrations when he wants to send money using his banking app. He lamented that apart from the short period required to input the details to carry out the transaction, there is no access to input an existing contact from one’s phone to send the money to.
“When you’re sending money to a different number, ordinarily there’s a button that makes you add a person from your existing contact but that’s not available to us on the screen reader. You either memorise the number or end up getting someone to mention the number to you, losing the privacy of it all,” Dr Obeng-Asamoah posited.
He noted that the stress of it all has limited his usage of banking applications for transactions.
He called for a review for it to be more accessible to visually impaired persons to make its usage worthwhile.
Chief Executive of Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications, Ing. Dr Kenneth Ashigbey shares similar sentiments with the persons with disability. He posited that more should be done to rope visually impaired persons into the inclusivity.
Ing. Dr Kenneth Ashigbey, CEO, Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications
“Most of these our digital technologies are English-based or text-based. Even if it’s not a text that you have to type your numbers… it means when the thing pops up you should be able to read it. So, if you’re virtually impaired, you’ll struggle with that.
“We need to make this a lot more inclusive. We need to ensure that the language that is used is the local language of the people. It should not be in English. It should be that, if you’re Ewe or Dagbani or Ga, you can do it in that language.
“We need to find a way of moving them unto the app so that they are not dialing a code but they can get something pictorial and something that can pick their biometrics. You are able to speak to the device and it speaks back to you. It’s able to identify your voice, your face and other biometrics and allows you to do the transaction,” he noted.
But how feasible is this? Director of Product at Ghana Natural Language Processing, Lawrence Adu-Gyamfi noted that incorporating local language features in mobile money applications is very viable.
According to him, his company which focuses on Natural Language Processing of Ghanaian Languages and its Applications to Local Problems is open to working with telecommunication companies in Ghana to incorporate local languages onto their apps.
Lawrence Adu-Gyamfi indicated that once prioritised by the telcos, it will be easy for local languages to be added to the features of the digital payment systems. The app currently has Twi, Ewe, Ga, Dagbani, Fante, Kusasi and others.
“All the services we do are available through an application programming interface so any telco could technically today for free of charge just get on board and test it and see. If it fits in their pipeline, because it’s limited through a paid package, we will be very happy to invest and support to make sure this product is available to everyone, especially the visually impaired,” Adu-Gyamfi added.
According to the 2024 State of Inclusive Instant Payment Systems report, Africanenda Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to accelerate financial inclusion in Africa revealed that Ghana is the only country where domestic schemes are interoperable with one another, giving rise to higher subscription and user base.
There are however concerns about availability and accessibility to all persons across the country.
Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Africanenda, Sabine Mensah explains that despite Africa leading in instant payment systems in the world, more needs to be done about financial inclusion.
“We’re advocating for regulators to put in place an enabling environment for digital payment systems to be accessible to all, available to all because we still have 400 million adults excluded in Africa,” she noted in an interview with the media at the launch of the report.
Digital payment system is one of the pillars of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), that helps to facilitate digitalisation. Deepening DPI requires following the principles of accessibility, interoperability, inclusivity and innovation, security and privacy.
WIFI-calling is a transformative tool for bridging digital gaps, enhancing call reliability, and supporting Egypt’s broader goals of economic modernization and rural development. By leveraging this technology, Egypt is taking a proactive step toward ensuring accessible, high-quality communication for all its citizens.
Egypt has officially introduced WIFI-calling, a new service allowing mobile phone calls to be made via fixed internet networks. The initiative, announced at a conference on Monday, January 20, aims to address long-standing network coverage challenges and enhance the quality of telecommunications services nationwide.
Minister of Communications and Information Technology Amr Talaat highlighted the service’s potential to resolve coverage issues especially in indoor spaces with weak network connections and areas where mobile coverage is technically challenging. “WIFI-calling makes it easier for users to make and receive calls seamlessly,” Talaat stated.
The Wi-Fi calling service agreements were signed in a ceremony involving the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) and the four major telecom operators: Telecom Egypt, Orange Egypt, Vodafone Egypt, and e& Egypt. Signatories included the Executive President of NTRA Mohamed Shamroukh, CEO and Managing Director of Telecom Egypt Mohamed Nasr Eldin, CEO of Orange Egypt Yasser Shaker, CEO of Vodafone Egypt Mohamed Kamal Abdallah, and CEO of e& Egypt Hazem Metwally.
Developed over the past year in partnership with the four major mobile operators and the telecommunications regulator, WIFI-calling enables users to make and receive regular mobile calls through their home WIFI network instead of relying on mobile network towers. This service is particularly beneficial for residents in areas with weak mobile signals, such as lower floors of high-rise buildings or densely populated neighborhoods.
Egypt’s National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has been actively tackling network coverage challenges, with a significant focus on improving mobile service quality. In 2023, the NTRA recorded 126,521 complaints related to mobile services, representing 39% of the 322,033 complaints received across all telecommunications services. In Q1 2024, the NTRA imposed fines totaling EGP 33 million (USD 688,948) on the country’s four mobile network operators for failing to meet quality-of-service (QoS) standards, a sharp increase from EGP 2.3 million in fines issued in 2023.
This highlights the pressing need for innovative solutions like WiFi calling. The launch of WiFi calling in Egypt directly addresses longstanding issues such as dropped calls, weak signals, and poor network coverage, particularly in densely populated urban areas or regions with challenging infrastructure. This initiative could significantly reduce consumer complaints, enhance user satisfaction, and support Egypt’s broader goals of improving telecommunications infrastructure and digital accessibility.
