The Orange Business Service is now the Best Global Operator; this was confirmed at the Communications Awards ceremony. The service also was recognized for the Best Cloud Service, Best Enterprise Service Best Small Business Service.

It was only recent that the Business Service appointed Yannick Decaux as Country Manager for South Africa and Sales Director for Sub-Saharan Africa.  He certainly responsible for driving the next phase of the company’s growth strategy within the Sub-Saharan region.

“Orange Business Services’ aggressive focus in Sub-Saharan Africa is in line with our Conquests 2015 objective to be the leader in the world’s high-growth markets,” said Decaux. “The region’s economic potential is at its highest in generations, and we will continue to invest in high speed networks, in innovative IT solutions and in our people to support the needs of our multinational customers which operate in Africa, and engage strategically with the African companies to help them grow in the global markets.”

This 7th Best Global Operator recognition highlights the rich heritage of Orange Business Services and its capacity to constantly evolve its network to provide an unmatched and complete network platform to its customers.

With local expertise in 166 countries and a cloud-ready network reaching 220 countries and territories, Orange Business Services offers the world’s largest seamless network to companies operating or expanding worldwide. Complemented with mobile networks from Orange and affiliates in 40 countries, Orange Business Services is able to offer the right connectivity at the right location.

Thierry Bonhomme, CEO, Orange Business Services, said:  “Winning Best Global Operator, Best Cloud Service, Best Enterprise Service and Best Small Business Service is an incredible validation of the unrelenting effort from the Orange Business Services team again this year. Customer testimonials are an integral part of the World Communication Awards judging process and we warmly thank our customers for their continued trust and support. These four prestigious awards are a great incentive for us to continue on our quest of being the digital transformation partner for enterprises.”

Being the 15th year, the World Communication Awards celebrates the organizations and individuals responsible for the innovations that underpin the global telecoms industry. The entries are evaluated by a panel of independent judges from the telecoms and ICT industry.

Paul ADEPOJU

Telecoms subscribers in Nigeria have threatened to abandon Airtel Nigeria over its decision to stop allowing users of internet modems, Android devices and other devices that are not manufactured by Blackberry to use its various Blackberry Internet Service (BIS) plans.

Prior to the announcement, Airtel Nigeria was the only network in Nigeria that allowed internet users to make use of its affordable BIS plans on various types of devices after MTN and Globacom Nigeria had stopped allowing their subscribers to use the tweak.

With the blockage on MTN and Globacom, subscribers that were interested in the cheap data plan bought Airtel lines. But with the latest development, the subscribers are issuing threats on the various social media platforms in Nigeria.

On Nairaland.com, Nigeria’s most visited website and social media platform, visitors said the network would record great reduction in the number of its subscribers.

“Whoever gave them the idea would definitely be fired after we’ve abandoned their network,” an anonymous subscriber posted on Nairaland.

Another said the network seemed to forget that it only recorded increase in the number of subscribers when Nigerian telecoms subscribers saw that the network did not restrict its BIS plans to Blackberry devices.

“Are they trying to tell us that they were just getting to know that many subscribers are using the BIS plans on non-Blackberry devices? This will be their downfall in Nigeria. We will use them as lesson for other networks who think they can mess with the subscribers and go unscathed,” Kolawole said.

Other users however welcome the development saying it would help in improving the service of the telecoms company.

Saheed said: “It’s high time they sent those cheating the system away from the network. If they are all leave the network, those remaining would be able to enjoy improve and faster service.”

Comparatively, Blackberry users in Nigeria pay less for data compared to users of Android and other devices. While a monthly subscription costs NGN1,000 for 3GB of data, other mobile users spend as high as NGN3,000 for just 1.5GB of data.

By Paul ADEPOJU

MTN has joined the rest of the world in mourning South Africa’s former president and Nobel laureate, Nelson Mandela who died last night at the age of 95.

In a statement issued this morning, MTN Group conveyed its heartfelt condolences to the Mandela family, South Africa and the world in the general. According to Sifiso Dabengwa, MTN Group President and CEO, Madiba left behind a rich legacy of reconciliation.

“Former President Mandela leaves behind a rich legacy of reconciliation, world peace and the triumph of the human spirit over all adversity. He embodied the spirit of human rights and dignity in the way he lived his own life,” Dabengwa said.

“His 50-year fight, including 27 years in jail, helped bring democracy and freedom to our country. Even after 27 years of prison and hardship, only one thing counted for Madiba, as Mandela was affectionately called by his clan name: creating a democratic, prosperous future for all the people of the new South Africa. This combination of humanity and unique statesmanship made his true greatness manifest for the entire world.”

Dabengwa said the dawn of South Africa’s democracy in 1994 coincided with the founding of MTN and today, MTN operates in 22 markets across Africa and the Middle East, with more than 200 million customers and still growing.

The MTN Group President and CEO said the founding democratic leader achieved so much, touched so many people and showed much leadership and courage.

“He never lost his compassion, humility and common humanity. He’s an inspiration to us all.  He taught us to love ourselves, to love one another and to love our country. So, as we celebrate his selfless efforts on behalf of human dignity, it also represents an enduring challenge for us all,” adds Dabengwa.

The season has come with its own blessings in Kenya, seems like everyone is in the Christmas spirit and Airtel and DStv is among them.

The two parties have today entered into a partnership  that will make Airtel subscribers  experience the best in television entertainment, from movies to sports  with the accessibility of DSTV mobile through their Mobile phone in the network using Drifta mobile decorder for Android after purchasing an Airtel Postpaid SIM card.

A customer who purchases an Airtel post-paid line will get a DStv Drifta free of charge.  Airtel customers will not only get the chance to get their hands on the trendiest mobile device, but will also get to enjoy  up to 16  Channels with 3 months free subscription.

Shivan Bhargava, Managing Director of Airtel said: “We are delighted to enter into this revolutionary partnership with DStv Mobile. This goes hand-in-hand with Airtel’s continued commitment to provide relevant and affordable mobile solutions to all. The Drifta mobile decorder is set to change the way our customers interact with television. Our customers will now enjoy the package of their preference using their mobile phones.”

The Managing Director echoed that his company is committed to enter into such partnerships in future that will give customers more relevant mobile solutions in the network.

“New technologies are the lifeblood of communities, and massive growth in mobile technologies has shown Africa’s readiness and appetite for these. This partnership is critical as we are introducing digital mobile decoder for Android devices with a micro USB connector to enable customers to watch television on the go,” said Mobile General Manager, Felix Kyengo.

So how does this driftA work.

• Plug the Drifta into the micro USB port of your compatible Android device (Version 4.X and supports Host Mode)
• On your device launch the Google Play store by clicking on the Play Store icon
• Search for ‘Drifta for Android’.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to install the application
• Once installed, launch the application
• If you have already installed the application, plug the Drifta into your Android device and the application will automatically launch, enabling you to begin watching mobile TV

Felix Kyengo, the Mobile GM said, “In order to continue to inspire, entertain and delight our subscribers, it is critical that we offer them the very latest world-class devices. The fact our mobile devices are so popular, and that subscribers using these platforms will now be able to access our offering, makes this launch even more exciting for our brand.”

Vodacom has spread its wings from the south to the north part of the continent, this Tuesday the South African company opened its first office in Ethiopia so as to gain a country which has a large market but the potential has not been very favorable.

The leading Telecommunication Company, Ethio Telcom which is also run by the state has captured quite a number of subscriptions; a total of 650 million by last year, which was an increase from 25 million in 2001 (according to the World Bank) and the number is still growing.

Romeo Kumalo, Vodacom Group’s CEO told Reuters in the Ethiopian capital, that Vodacom would apply for a license to provide value-added services.

“But more importantly we want to position ourselves so when the market opens and the government does decide to grant licenses in the consumer sector,” he said. “We would invest here tomorrow. Ethiopia is probably the most fantastic telecoms market on the continent. One operator, 80 million people, the economy growing at 7 percent – it’s a great market.”

Well, and it seems like the Ethiopian telecommunication market is still young and looking for growth as MTN Group opened office in the Capital and has already been given a similar license.

That’s not just about it with the telecommunication companies in Ethiopia as the country’s Ethiopian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology says more than 200 companies have applied to provide value added services.

Interent has become a major driving force in economic growth, that’s why Telkom Wholesale and Network is investing R12 billion in its Next Generation High Speed Broadband Network to ultimately to ensure the economy keeps growing as well as support South Africa’s broadband ecosystem at large.

The company has shown its commitment to the investment of Broadband in the country; Alphonzo Samuels the acting MD of the company pointed out that free DSL speed upgrades during 2012 and 2013 together with the reduction of internet prices which dropped by 43 percent in 2012 is proof enough.

“The evolution of the Telkom network is ongoing, and the impact of our deployed infrastructure has done much to grow the adoption of broadband in South Africa. As the country’s foremost supplier of wholesale network products and services, we have been committed to enabling our customers to deliver on the connectivity demands that South African’s have come to expect,” he says.

He added that continuous investment in current Broadband Access Technology, ADSL 2+, ensured lower costs and provide higher quality throughput to fixed broadband subscribers.

“Simultaneously we have also invested in new generation broadband access technologies such as VDSL, PON (Passive Optic Network) and Active Ethernet. The deployment of Fibre to the Home and Multi Service Access Nodes initiatives is aimed at delivering even higher speeds to the industry. This will ultimately drive the demand of rich media content and will enable ISPs to compete with mobile broadband offerings via LTE,” explained the MD.

New investment in transport and aggregation technology, Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing and Broadband Network Gateway deployment in the network core has reduced input costs, which he says will contribute to the broadband ecosystem by providing a world class IP Network that will support the drive of rich media content bundled with high speed DSL Access offering.