Helios Towers has entered into a partnership with Vulatel to work on expanding South Africa’s mobile and fixed-line infrastructure, saying that they aim to make “major greenfield wireless and fixed-line telecoms infrastructure investments”.
Helios Towers will own 66 per cent of Helios Towers South Africa (HTSA) and Vulatel the remaining 34 per cent. Raising money for expansion across Africa for Helios and the like, seeing as the continent holds a tremendous opportunity for growth.
The company predicts that South Africa will lead in the roll-out of 5G in sub-Saharan Africa and will potentially be a part of that process. HTSA, in agreement with Vulatel, will build open access infrastructure to subsequently be leased to other companies.
Helios Towers has long considered entering into the South African market, having already established a foothold in other African countries like Tanzania, Ghana, and the DRC. Of these markets, South Africa is considered one of the more stable and so HTSA is looking at opportunities to buy towers from wireless carriers, like MTN and Vodacom.
Appolonia City has partnered with ATC Ghana, a subsidiary of American Tower Corporation, to deploy cell towers within Appolonia City’s development in Greater Accra. The first cell tower has already been installed, enhancing connections for current residents and businesses at Appolonia City.
“We continue to see more companies, both local and international, investing in Appolonia City,” Appolonia City CEO Bright Owusu-Amofah said of the partnership. “American Tower’s wireless infrastructure is world renowned, and we are committed to providing world-class connectivity to our residents and businesses.”
Gordon Xatse, Head of Sales and Marketing of ATC Ghana, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Rendeavour on the Appolonia City project, which is among the best planned sub-urban developments in Africa. Following the successful installation of our first telecommunications site at Appolonia City, we look forward to expanding our partnership with Rendeavour, and continuing to deliver world-class service to our mutual customers and communities.”
Rendeavour is building seven new cities on 12,000 hectares in five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rendeavour cities provide homes, offices, schools, healthcare facilities and industrial parks within a well-planned urban environment, along with the infrastructure – roads, power, water and ICT – that form the foundation for the continent’s future growth.
Appolonia City has forged a number of strategic partnerships recently, with entities such as the Association of Ghana Industries, Comland Company Limited and now ATC Ghana. In 2018, Appolonia City was named “The Most Promising Company of the Year” at the Ghana Business Awards and received the “Best Member Award 2018” from the American Chamber of Commerce.
The Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has underscored the importance of Ghana’s telecommunications sector undergoing a unified license regime – an agenda the Vice President refers to as the way forward to ensure alignment with our Telecoms Policy.
He made this statement during his keynote address to participants at an Industry breakfast meeting organized by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications under the theme: Leveraging effective use and distribution of Spectrum in Ghana for National Development at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra.
Outlining how Ghana’s National Telecom Policy created in 2005 was to adopt a neutral approach to regulation of the communications sector, the Vice President said “in practice the current licensing framework consists of a number of different service-specific license categories, which requires 17 different forms of permission to provide communications services to Ghanaians, Let us use this meeting to identify the way forward in ensuring alignment with section 2.1 of the above policy which states “Licensing and regulation shall be technologically neutral to encourage economically efficient and innovative market development”.
The Vice President also admonished for flexibility with regards to regulatory models in providing certainty in licensing. This he believes would reduce cost on service providers.
He said, “A finite roadmap is vital in supporting our market players and allowing flexibility, minimizing distortions from historic regulatory models, providing certainty in licensing, reducing compliance costs and allowing licensees deploy the most efficient and cost-effective network technologies”.
To that end, the Vice President said his government is willing to partner the industry and all key stakeholders, to consolidate efforts to leverage ICT for National development
Ms. Mitwa Ng’ambi, CEO of AirtelTigo speaking at the event
through the elimination of bottlenecks in the distribution of spectrum.
Chief Executive of AirtelTigo, Mrs. Mitwa Keamba Ng’ambi in her welcome address reiterated the telecoms industry’s commitment in supporting the efforts of H.E The President’s vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid.
“I’d like to assure Your Excellency that we as Mobile Network Operators in the industry, see ourselves as partners to you on the developmental agenda for this country. Therefore, when we raise concerns and recommendations as an industry, we do so in good faith, in hope that we can together continue to drive the industry forward and create history in Ghana. We commit to supporting your efforts to achieving H.E The President’s drive of a Ghana Beyond Aid using the Telecommunications industry as a catalyst and the rails on which other sectors will ride. ”
The Breakfast meeting brought together senior government officials, Parliament, NCA, GSMA, Coleago, Ministry of Finance, and Ghana Revenue Authority, members of the Chamber, some senior editors and experts from the telecoms sector.
The event was in support of government’s vision to leverage ICT for national economic development and the drive towards a Ghana Beyond Aid.
A group photograph with H.E The Vice President Dr. Bawumia and participants at the event
Ghana’s leading telecommunications provider of business connectivity solutions, MTN Business has together, partnered with Invest in Africa (IIA) to provide custom-made ICT solutions to Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana.
In the partnership, MTN Business will provide services that will help SMEs optimise their productivity to enable them to grow and expand their businesses.
IIA which is not a profit making organisation is as well committed to addressing the challenges of identifying credible local suppliers, developing local content and driving cross-sector growth across the economy.
The Country Director of IIA, Mr Clarence Nartey disclosed that the organisation, in partnership with MTN Business, has a Pan-African mobile telecommunications powerhouse and local market leader whose commitment to providing tailor-made enterprise solutions will give a big boost to the SMEs.
In addition, the IIA also intends to tap into MTN Business’ suite of ICT solutions to improve the organisational efficiency and productivity as well as ensure that the IIA flagship online marketplace platform, the African Partner Pool (APP), is technologically enhanced for the benefit of all of its buyers and suppliers.
He said, “IIA plans to provide $500 million worth of business to Ghanaian SMEs, and in the process contribute to supporting 100,000 jobs by 2022.”
The General Manager of MTN Enterprise Business, Mr Samuel Addo, reiterated as well that by partnering IIA, MTN is living up to its overriding mission to be a vehicle for Ghana’s economic growth and development.
“MTN’s world-class telecommunications products and services, as well as innovative and sustainable corporate social responsibility initiatives, are all contributing to the realization of Ghana’s strong development potential. This partnership is our way of helping SMEs grow and play their role in the nation’s development,” he emphasised.
Vodafone Ghana donated packages including GHC20,000 for the organisation of this year’s Farmers’ Day
Telecommunications giant, Vodafone Ghana has donated cash and products worth GHC40,000 to the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) towards this year’s National Farmers’ Day event which takes place on Friday, December 7.
The package includes GHC20,000 for the organisation of this year’s event, Vodafone souvenirs, Vodafone Farmers’ Club SIMs with 12 months airtime and data as well as free access to farmers’ helpline and useful information on crop and agric for all the Regional and National winners.
Additionally, the telco has announced a unique package of GHC10,000 cash, a Vodafone tablet, VIP access to Farmers’ Club with extra airtime and data for the Best National Female Farmer, in line with its continuous commitment to empowering females in agriculture.
Speaking to a cross-section of the media during the presentation, Director of Enterprise Business Unit (EBU) at Vodafone Ghana, Angela Mensah-Poku said, ‘’Vodafone is excited to join in the celebration of our national heroes and heroines within the agricultural sector. We are committed to driving innovation in agriculture whilst bridging the gap between farmers and critical farming information. Through our Farmers’ Club initiative, we have been connecting farms, agribusinesses and rural communities to drive productivity, profitability and innovation. This initiative provides farmers with access to relevant information on improved farming practices, crop information, prices of commodities and expert advice, in their preferred language.’’
‘’In collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, we will from next year, reward and celebrate farmers who among other things use innovative and new technology in their operations. The category, to be titled “National Digital Farmer of the Year”, will encourage and drive innovation within the sector,’’ she added.
The 34th edition of the National Farmers Day celebration will be held in Tamale, Northern Region.
The launch of Phase two of the Interoperability platform concludes the Financial Inclusion Triangle, and ensures universal interoperability, making Ghana one of the few countries in the world to attain this feat.
Phase One of the project, launched on May 10th, 2018 saw the interconnection of the mobile money platforms and the Ghana National Switch (gh-link system), but not the E-zwich Payment Systems. This allowed users to make payments from Mobile Money wallets to bank accounts, and vice versa. It also allowed the transfer of funds between the various mobile money services provided by the telecom companies.
The second phase has completed the interconnection between Mobile Money and the e-zwich Payment Systems. Thus, the interconnection of mobile money and e-zwich platforms, to the gh-link platform means customers can conveniently move funds across all three platforms: bank accounts, Mobile Money wallets and the e-zwich payment systems.
Speaking at the launch ceremony on Wednesday 28th November, 2018, Vice President Bawumia, said this universal interoperability – known by players in the fintech and banking circles as the Financial Inclusion Triangle, because it interconnects three payment platforms; mobile money, bank account and e-zwich – is expected to remove the constraints faced in trying to move funds around, in real time.
“This should make us more efficient and enable us to accomplish more within the same time available to us. All of these important initiatives are in sync with other programmes by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government to quicken the digitization of the economy.
“Importantly, it will improve financial inclusion by bridging the gap between the banked and unbanked. It will also enable free flow of funds between and among all the three platforms; allowing the banked and the unbanked to interact at the same level.”
The benefits to business and ordinary Ghanaians will be enormous, with endless possibilities on the horizon, Vice President Bawumia indicated.
“The quick flow of funds enabled by the universal interoperability, should also translate into quick turnaround for businesses, because producers, wholesalers and retailers can receive funds in real time in order to deliver the goods to customers, regardless of which part of the country, they find themselves.
“The possibilities are enormous, and I expect the Fintechs to take advantage and collaborate with the banks and other financial institutions to give us great products.”
With the conclusion of phase two, Vice President Bawumia said it was time to work on Phase Three.
“It is said that the best reward for a good work is more work. So let me once again, in the spirit of transforming our economy, task the partners to this project, to take on an additional challenge – call it phase 3.
“The phase 3 that I propose, is mobile money operator/agent/or merchant interoperability. By this I mean, that it should be possible for an operator, agent or merchant with one phone and SIM, to be able to load electronic funds onto the wallet of the customer regardless of the network.
“An agent currently needs to keep different float accounts for each operator to serve customers. So, when the float of the agent for a particular operator runs out, the agent is not able to serve customers from that operator even though he or she may have electronic funds sitting idle on another network.
“So you see agents turn away customers not because they do not want to serve them, but they simply cannot use the float they have for one network operator for another.
“The status quo is not efficient and affects both the agent’s output and profitability as well as puts a spoke in the wheels of the cash-lite agenda. Let me therefore ask you to work together to fix this challenge, so that anybody who walks into an agent’s location can get service once there are electronic funds available.
“I think it is a normal sequence to what we have achieved so far, and I urge all the key parties to ensure we chalk this success too, so that customers can have wider access to mobile money service.”
Vice President Bawumia commended the Board and Management of the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited (GhIPSS), Bank of Ghana, Financial technology (Fintech) companies, the telecommunication companies, and all the partners for their cooperation and contribution towards the attainment of Mobile Money Interoperability in Ghana.
The GSMA has launched a new industry-wide initiative focused on the development of cloud virtual reality and augmented reality technology.
The new GSMA Cloud AR/VR Forum is backed by a number of Asian and international mobile operators, including China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, KT, NTT Docomo and SK Telecom. Also involved are vendor and content provider partners including Huawei and HTC.
As part of the program, the GSMA aims to encourage whole-of-industry collaboration on accelerating the delivery and deployment of 5G cloud-based AR/VR services.
The forum will encourage knowledge sharing between members, as well as discussion about new business models capitalizing on the emerging technology. A key priority will be the development of a service reference architecture to avoid cost fragmentation.
Other technical development areas will include research into ultra-low latency codec compression, cloud-based graphics processing unit (GPU) rendering and virtualization technologies.
Moving processing of VR and AR graphics to the cloud has the potential to stimulate demand for AR/VR headsets beyond the high-end enthusiast segment, allowing the devices to be sold at price points that will give them mass market appeal, according to GSMA CTO Alex Sinclair.
“Both VR and AR are disruptive forms of immersive multimedia that, combined with operator edge cloud and 5G connectivity, will transform the cost structures of the enterprise and entertainment fields,” he said.
“Mobile operators will play a key role in its development, but without a common approach and industry-wide collaboration we risk fragmenting the market from the beginning. The establishment of this forum will overcome this hurdle and ensure we can scale compelling solutions faster.”
MTN becomes the first African telco to join IoT World Alliance
MTN Group, one of the biggest telecommunications operators in Africa, announced that it is joining the IoT World Alliance, making it the first African telecommunications company to do so. IoT World Alliance is a collaboration of established mobile network operators which aims to adopt and run a globally connected business through well-executed and smart business decisions.
Multinational corporations planning to roll out connected devices worldwide face a multitude of hurdles. As the largest mobile operator cooperative in the world, the IoT World Alliance aims to eliminate the complexity associated with worldwide deployments of connected devices.
The Alliance provides a global solution aimed at simplifying and promoting the adoption of IoT communications worldwide. The unique solution leverages the operators’ combined global presence to the benefit of customers.
MTN Group Executive for Enterprise Business, Oliver Fortuin said “We are very proud to be a member of the Alliance, not only do we join a community of like-minded telecommunications companies committed to making global connectivity cheaper and simpler, but as MTN we believe this partnership supports our efforts to deliver on our core belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. “
Commenting on the partnership, IoT World Alliance Chairman Mark van den Berg said, “We are pleased to have MTN on board, and look forward to leveraging the scale and reach that MTN has in Africa and parts of the Middle East. I think it is an exciting and long overdue partnership not only for MTN Group but also for IoT World Alliance as we work towards enabling our customers’ IoT device connectivity. He added that, “we look forward to a long-lasting partnership and most importantly working together to offer customers the solutions they need when they need them”.
Following the completion of the AirtelTigo network integration and upgrade nationwide, the Deputy of Minister of Communications, Vincent Sowah Odotei, says many people in rural communities stand to enjoy improved network services.
The Deputy Minister, who read a speech on behalf of the Minister for Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, made this known at the AirtelTigo first anniversary stakeholders’ dinner in Accra, themed: “Thank You”.
“With the completion of this integration, AirtelTigo now has a wider coverage and faster internet speed than it had before. I am particularly happy that many more of our people in our rural communities can equally enjoy the improved network services and the many benefits that your one big network presents. This is very impressive, and we commend your efforts,” said Sowah Odotei, who is also a Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon in the Greater Accra Region.
While commending the Ghanaian staff for their dedication and hard work in unifying and consolidating the former Airtel and Tigo network to become one big network, Sowah Odotei revealed that his Ministry was excited about the merger that is the first of its kind in the telecom industry.
He added that AirtelTigo has provided a good example and an exciting case study, for others to learn from. “Our collective desire is to see to a digitally connected Ghana in which subscribers have access to better network services. This consolidation of efforts between the two companies is certain to get us closer to achieving this.”
He further indicated that the Ministry was aware of the hard work and commitment AirtelTigo put into completing the network integration and upgrade nationwide and the subscriber challenges and concerns as well as the positive efforts the company made to ensure that subscribers were communicated to and remained connected to the network.
In his concluding remarks, he said the Ministry of Communications is pursuing an aggressive rural telephony programme with the aim of connecting the entire country within the next five years. “We are also seeking to attract foreign direct investments into Ghana to boost government’s digitalisation agenda.”
The Chief Executive Officer of AirtelTigo, Mrs Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi, thanked all stakeholders for their support during the network upgrade and pledged to continue delighting customers through innovative products and services.
The stakeholders’ dinner was graced by government officials, distribution partners, technology partners, vendors, financial inclusion and information communications technology partners, employees, media and other dignitaries.
The country’s second-largest telecommunications operator, AirtelTigo has held a stakeholders’ dinner to celebrate its first anniversary with a commitment to creating a clear customer experience in the industry and better the lives of Ghanaians through the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
Themed ‘Thank You’, the stakeholders’ dinner was well attended by government officials, distribution partners, technology partners, vendors, financial inclusion and information communications technology partners, employees, media and other dignitaries at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra.
Highlighting the new chapter of AirtelTigo, the Chief Executive Officer of AirtelTigo Mrs Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi, said: “Now that we have a wider network coverage and faster internet speeds, we will continue to introduce first-in-market affordable solutions that are sure to delight our customers.”
She explained that both AirtelTigo Money and AirtelTigo business brands will come to the fore, providing relevant and reliable solutions to customers and businesses, adding that: “You can also expect a lot more activity and focus on our role as transformation agents in the communities in which we operate. Investment in our people and network will also remain key.”
She applauded the Ministries of Communications, Finance, National Communications Authority, Bank of Ghana and other stakeholders for believing in the company’s ambition to do something that has never been done in the history of the Ghanaian telecommunications industry.
The Honorable Deputy Minister of Communications, Vincent Sowah Odotei, who read a speech on behalf of the Minister, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful as a guest of honour congratulated AirtelTigo for its key milestone.
“I am happy to note that through the collective efforts of the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Finance and the National Communications Authority and erstwhile Airtel and Tigo the journey of unifying and consolidating the two companies and networks is now complete.”
He disclosed that the Minister is happy that many more of our people in our rural communities can equally enjoy the improved network services and the many benefits that the AirtelTigo one big network presents. “I would like to reiterate the value of quality telecommunications access and service to Ghana’s development agenda which makes AirtelTigo’s network integration and upgrade exercise a welcoming project indeed,” he told the stakeholders.
