Vodacom

WOODBURY, N.Y.-South African carrier Vodacom, part of the Vodafone Group, selected Comverse to provide its 5 million-customer base with call-return service, which allows users to easily return voicemail calls. “Vodacom’s …

Alcatel China. With China Unicom for CDMA equipment for a national network. Value: US$157 million China. With Gansu Mobile, Shanxi Mobile and Ning Xia Mobile for GSM expansion contracts. Value: …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The many delays that have beset South Africa’s third mobile network license process could be at an end. In February, the Minister of Communications Dr. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri announced …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Pay phones may not be the panacea to Africa’s need of extending telephony, but in rural areas where there is little or no fixed infrastructure, wireless-and specifically GSM-pay …

Nigeria Intercellular Nigeria awarded a US$21 million contract to Motorola for the supply and deployment of a CDMA fixed wireless local loop (WLL) network expansion. The 800 MHz system will …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Econet Wireless is gearing up to become one of the leading cellular operators on the African continent. With Botswana and Zimbabwe cellular operations firmly under its wing, it …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-In a cash-strapped society and an environment where wireless technology is expected to supplant fixed telephony, prepaid has become a panacea for new African operators-so much so that …

SANDTON, South Africa-The wave of liberalization and privatization that has been sweeping the African economic markets has spread to communications, revealing rich untapped potential for future investment. Cellular markets have …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The wireless market in Tanzania is gaining momentum with Vodacom’s pending rollout of a new GSM network. The new entrant is no small force to contend with and …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Cell C, the consortium backed by Middle Eastern conglomerate Saudi Oger with CellSaf as a local partner, has been officially named as the preferred consortium for the third …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Nextel Communications Inc. is eyeing the African continent as an ideal market for iDEN, the technology it uses in the United States. So much so that a consortium, …

SANDTON, South Africa-A wave of liberalization and privatization is transforming the cellular market in Africa. Countries riding high on this tide include South Africa, Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, Mauritius, C”te d’Ivoire, …

Cameroon Cameroon is privatizing its two cellular phone networks. The first network is the newly created GSM concession, which was purchased by France Cable Radio but has not yet been …

WASHINGTON-In what a spokeswoman for the Personal Communications Industry Association termed a “comedy of errors,” the wireless industry and the Federal Communications Commission last week missed an opportunity to tout …

SANDTON, South Africa-Tanzania has been described as one of the least-developed countries in the world per capita, yet only recently prominent local investors with international backing have described it as …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The potential bidders for the third cellular license in South Africa are determined to break the existing Vodacom-MTN duopoly. “We will be competing head-on with MTN and Vodacom …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Competition in the South African wireless telecommunications sector is likely to be fierce this year, with two new cellular operators scheduled to enter the arena. This will delve …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-Uganda has one of the lowest penetration rates of telephone services in the world. As of July 1995, the Uganda Posts & Telecommunication Corp. (UPTC) had an installed …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The licensing of two additional cellular carriers in South Africa will represent the biggest opportunity for black empowerment in Africa-and for some, the last chance to become involved …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The long-awaited launch of cellular service in Botswana is expected to have a huge impact on the country’s communications and business sector. Botswana’s small population of 1.47 million …

Across most of the world’s regions, carriers and analysts are claiming prepaid cellular a resounding success. Along with calling party pays, it is considered one of the leading contributors to …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-The debate of issuing a third or fourth cellular license in South Africa is gaining momentum, with the industry pressuring the government to speed up the tendering process …

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa-High on the agenda of issues raised by African ministers at Africa Telecom ’98 held here in May was using satellite technology for boosting African economies and low …

Botswana Mascom launched the first phase of its GSM 900 network with equipment provided by L.M. Ericsson. The total value of the Ericsson contract is about US$10 million and includes …

JOHANNESBURG-South African companies are poised to play a major role in telecommunications as the privatization and deregulation process, which began in the early 1990s in Africa, moves rapidly ahead. But …