Author: Gugu Lourie

South African mobile operator MTN, together with Huawei launched their C-band 5G trial on the first day of AfricaCom 2019, as part of the operator’s network evolution plan towards 5G. C-band, the so-called ‘golden band’ for 5G spectrum, is a valuable slice of spectrum and comprises of a frequency range of around 3.3 – 3.8GHz. Many countries around the world are deploying this spectrum band to deliver their 5G services, making it highly valuable for mobile operators. MTN and Huawei signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Joint 5G Innovation Program to assess and work on new technologies such…

MultiChoice continues to experience strong subscriber growth for the period ended 30 September 2019 despite concerns from experts that this growth would taper off as competition intensifies. Africa’s biggest pay-TV operator, which is valued close to R60 billion on the JSE, informed investors on Monday that it added 1.2 million 90-day active subscribers, representing 7% year-on-year (YoY) growth. This growth pushed MultiChoices’ overall 90-day active subscriber base to 18.9 million households as at 30 September 2019. The group said it’s home market of South Africa delivered solid results, reporting subscriber growth of 7% YoY or 600 000 subscribers on a 90-day…

OLX Group (OLX), a Prosus’ classifieds business, is investing $400 million (R5.9 billion) in online car marketplace Frontier Car Group (FCG). The transaction will result in OLX becoming the largest shareholder in FCG. FCG is a Berlin-based automotive marketplace group founded in 2016. It develops, launches, and operates online and offline used-car marketplaces within high-growth market economies, with operations in over 10 countries and 5 continents. In these marketplaces, FCG enables buyers and sellers of cars to transact in trustworthy and transparent ways through technology, infrastructure, access to capital, and innovative business models compared to otherwise complex systems. OLX, the fastest-growing…

Tech giant Prosus has threated Just East investors that it will withdraw its takeover bid if they back a merger with Takeaway.com. The Telegraph reported that despite being armed with a €20bn (£17bn) warchest, Prosus’ boss Bob van Dijk is telling Just Eat shareholders that Prosus is not interested in buying both companies. Just Eat has rejected a £5bn hostile swoop by Prosus, the Dutch arm of South Africa internet titan Naspers. Its board is instead recommending investors support a planned merger with Takeaway.com that was announced this summer. The Euronext and JSE-listed tech giant owned by Naspers has made a…

Telecommunications network provider MTN’s Zakhele-Futhi’s empowerment scheme will list on the JSE on November 25, the Johannesburg-based telco said on Monday. MTN’s previous scheme, MTN Zakhele, listed on the JSE in 2015, but delisted in the next year as the scheme was wound up. Recently, MTN’s Zakhele-Futhi’s scheme was found to be inconsistent with South Africa’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act. In July, the BBBEE Commission disclosed that the scheme, which was announced by MTN on 12 September 2016, is inconsistent with the act that provides a legislative framework for the promotion of BBBEE. “The Commission found that the…

Vodacom doles out R3.4 billion ($224 million) to buy 26% stake owned by Mirambo Holdings in Vodacom Tanzania. The South African-based mobile phone operator now owns 75% of Vodacom Tanzania. Mirambo Holdings is the investment vehicle of Tanzanian business tycoon Rostam Aziz. The Vodafone-owned group acquired 588 million shares in Vodacom Tanzania. The transaction was effective on 27 September 2019, and purchase consideration to the value of $224 million (R 3 417 million) was paid in cash, Vodacom said on Monday. Vodacom Tanzania controls 32% of the market share of the country’s 40 million mobile subscribers, ahead of Tigo Tanzania,…

Vodacom has disclosed on Monday that it could pay as much as R1 billion to acquire Internet of Things (IoT) innovator IoT.nxt. In May, Vodacom announced plans to buy 51% stake in IoT.nxt for an undisclosed amount to enhance its current IoT offering. The Vodafone-owned mobile phone firm disclosed on Monday that it bought the 51% stake in IoT.nxt for R1 billion, of which R469 million was settled in cash, with the remainder being contingent on the future performance of the business. IoT.nxt creates data-connectivity between new data sources and legacy systems which allows for real-time data availability across a…

Vodacom’s diversification into financial services is slowly paying off for the Vodafone-owned mobile phone operator. The company announced on Monday that revenue from its Financial Services business jumped by 37.1% to almost R1 billion, as Airtime Advance, insurance and its recently launched VodaPay service all gained in popularity. “Our strategic focus on financial services supported strong performance, growing revenue by 37.1% to R972 million,” said Shameel Joosub, Vodacom’s CEO. The mobile phone operator said it has advanced R4.9 billion in airtime via its Airtime Advance platform to 9.9 million customers. Furthermore, Vodacom added that its insurance revenue rose 21.8%, and…

Vodacom South Africa’s streaming service Video Play continues to attract more customers. Video Play is now bigger than Netflix South Africa, the world’s biggest streaming service. The Vodafone-owned company announced on Monday its Video Play service has more than 1 million customers engaged on our video platform, with 14.8 million daily, weekly and monthly subscriptions over the last six months. The company added that its digital services in video, music, sports and gaming are providing customers with more reasons to consume data as it increases engagement through our strategy of “one more service” to the customer. Netflix is projected to…

Greenlight Planet, a pay-as-you-go solar player, is pursuing a strong telecom-focused strategy that aims to have a far-reaching impact on more than 600 million unelectrified consumers across the African continent. Since its founding in 2009, the company has become a leading global provider of solar energy products to over 27 million rural consumers in more than 60 countries. The company has sold over 12 million Sun King solar home energy products to off-grid households around the world.  It also reaches remote, off-grid customers through a unique business model involving a vast network of micro-entrepreneurs, more than 300 global strategic distribution partners.…