Telecommunications – Page 2 – Africa Tech Digest

Liquid Intelligent Technologies connects the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville with high-speed connectivity using wireless optical communication technology

16Sep

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Africa, Telecommunications

Liquid Intelligent Technologies connects the Democratic Republic of Congo and Congo Brazzaville with high-speed connectivity using wireless optical communication technology

LONDON, United Kingdom, September 16, 2021/APO Group/ -- Africa’s leading technology group, Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid.Tech), is now delivering affordable high-speed connectivity to communities in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using state-of-the-art Wireless Optical Communication technology (WOC) from Project Taara at X, Alphabet’s moonshot factory. This achievement marks a robust high-capacity communications bridge between Kinshasa and Congo Brazzaville. Despite being just 4.8 kilometres apart, internet is more expensive in Kinshasa than in Brazzaville. The reason being, the two cities are separated by the Congo River, the second fastest and deepest river in the world, making it difficult to lay fibre across it. Historically this had resulted in ope...

UN Launches the First Regional Online Portal to Bring Together all African Countries with Data and Evidence on Sustainable Development

14Sep

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Africa, Telecommunications

UN Launches the First Regional Online Portal to Bring Together all African Countries with Data and Evidence on Sustainable Development

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, September 14, 2021/APO Group/ -- Measuring and evaluating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals in Africa became much easier as a group of regional UN entities launched the first online data portal that brings together statistical data harvested across all countries on the continent. Today, 17 regional UN entities, under the Africa Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP), unveiled the Africa UN Data for Development Platform. This is the first platform to serve as a one-stop-shop repository that captures high-quality data and evidence on the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs from all the African countries. It is also the first of its kind to raise the profile of statistical progress toward the African Union vision – Agenda 2063. “With barely nine years left...

MTN Pumps $10.5-Million Into Fixing Infrastructure Damaged by KZN Unrest

14Sep

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Telecommunications

MTN Pumps $10.5-Million Into Fixing Infrastructure Damaged by KZN Unrest

MTN today has announced a number of community interventions as part of its initiatives to assist in the rebuilding of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) after the deadly unrest that gripped South Africa in July, including the investment of R500-million ($35.2-million) which will go towards network upgrades and expansion throughout the province. A further R150-million ($10.5-million) is being channelled by MTN towards replacing stolen and vandalised network infrastructure including batteries and copper cables. MTN’s interventions also include R10-million ($704K) towards the support of qualifying spaza shops in KZN and Gauteng. This investment will see over 1,000 spaza shops benefiting. Each spaza will receive trading stock, airtime to resale, MoMo tools among other benefits. Continue readi...

iPhone 13 Pro Models Reported to Have 1TB Storage Option

13Sep

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Mobile, Telecommunications

iPhone 13 Pro Models Reported to Have 1TB Storage Option

According to reliable Apple and iPhone analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max will reportedly offer 1 TB storage options, marking the first Apple smartphone devices to cross this storage threshold. 9to5Mac reports that a new investor report from Kuo details what storage options the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 mini will be available in. These include configurations of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Notably missing is the 64GB storage option, which possibly makes the iPhone 12 series the final set of devices that will be released with the configuration. The iPhone 13’s storage configurations far outclass its predecessors, according to the report. In contrast, iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are only available in 128Gb, 256GB, and 512GB storage options. The iPhone 13...

Facebook Launches Campaign to Take on Fake News in Nigeria

11Sep

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Apps, Nigeria, Social Networks, Telecommunications

Facebook Launches Campaign to Take on Fake News in Nigeria

Facebook is collaborating with Nigerian companies Big Cabal Media and Comic Republic to launch the #NoFalseNewsZone educational campaign aimed at helping individuals identify fake news and educate them on how to minimise the spread of false information across Nigeria’s internet and otherwise. “We are super excited to be working with Big Cabal Media and Comic Republic to launch #NoFalseNewsZone in Nigeria,” said Oluwasola Obagbemi, Facebook’s Corporate Communications Manager for Anglophone West Africa, quoted by the Guardian Nigeria. Obagbemi says that the social media giant is committed to the well-being of individuals and communities. Continue reading

CBN’s new directive, Flutterwave X MTN MoMo, MTN Nigeria’s licence renewal

10Sep

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Africa, Telecommunications

CBN’s new directive, Flutterwave X MTN MoMo, MTN Nigeria’s licence renewal

What’s the news? The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks and payment service providers (PSPs), via a circular, to begin processing end-to-end bulk payments or transfers on their platforms and to track accounts that receive credits in the custody of the sender’s bank. How were things done before? Originating banks and PSPs passed a debit entry through the initiating customer’s account and multiple credits to beneficiaries without keeping adequate records of the credit entries in their system. This, reportedly, altered the audit trail and reduced transparency. But with the new method, all end-to-end bulk payments or transfers for customers are processed on the platforms of banks or PSPs, with a detailed breakdown of the accounts that receive the credits held in the sender’...

TECNO’s CAMON series to be the first to release MediaTek’s latest Helio G96 chips in the African market

9Sep

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Africa, Mobile, Telecommunications

TECNO’s CAMON series to be the first to release MediaTek’s latest Helio G96 chips in the African market

Lagos, Nigeria, 9th September 2021 – International smartphone brand, TECNO just confirmed that it will feature MediaTek’s Helio G96 chipset in its CAMON 18 series to launch in Oct, making it the first smartphone brand to do so for the African market. The newly launched MediaTek Helio G96 chipset is ideal for powerful 4G smartphones for the mainstream market, and is equipped with enhanced technology features which boost display and photography experiences. TECNO CAMON series was first launched in 2015 with a dedication to bring pioneering camera technologies to African consumers. It has grown to be one of the most popular camera phones. The Helio G96 chipset will allow the TECNO CAMON series to further enhance its position and provide cutting edge display and photography capabilities. Co...

Nigeria’s Akiddie is scaling to become a storytelling platform for minority kids worldwide

8Sep

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Nigeria, Telecommunications

Nigeria’s Akiddie is scaling to become a storytelling platform for minority kids worldwide

“I came up with the Akiddie idea because I felt my niece deserved better, more representative stories, and that idea still drives what we do today, only that it’s no longer for just my niece, it’s for every child around the world and their right to having content that affirms them.” — Dominic Onyekachi, CEO of Nigerian media startup, Akiddie. The last time we covered Akiddie, we detailed how the startup was creating the most extensive collection of African children’s stories, to give children powerful and culturally relevant stories. In the past year, the startup has been scaling to cater to minority kids across the globe. Until recently, most children’s literature from popular culture has mainly featured Western civilisations, and there was a distinct lack of diversity. ...

Samsung Galaxy Z Series Foldables Now Available for Pre-Order in SA

8Sep

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Africa, Mobile, Telecommunications

Samsung Galaxy Z Series Foldables Now Available for Pre-Order in SA

Samsung has announced that its newly launched Galaxy Z series is now available for pre-order in South Africa. The highly anticipated device series includes the foldable smartphones Galaxy Z Fold 3 and the Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G. The South Korean tech juggernaut is also adding in some pre-order bonuses for its South African customers, which include the Galaxy Buds 2 earbuds, the Galaxy Smart Tag key finder and the Samsung Care+ warranty package. “When you pre-order or purchase during the 1 September to 20 October 2021 promotional period, you will receive an exclusive offer, that includes the new Galaxy Buds2, the must-have Galaxy Smart Tag and the peace of mind of Samsung Care+, all valued at R5,200,” the company says in a statement. Continue reading

Meet Ruth Iselema, the Bitmama of the African blockchain space

7Sep

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Africans in Tech, Telecommunications

Meet Ruth Iselema, the Bitmama of the African blockchain space

In 2016, after Ruth Iselema got scammed of ₦250,000 (~ $1200 at the time) trying to sell bitcoin, she saw an opportunity to solve a problem. At the time, there were hardly any structured crypto-trading platforms in Africa, just WhatsApp and Telegram communities, many of which she was a member of. “Even though I did my due diligence, I still got scammed, she recalls, “so I decided this has to stop”. Enlisting a couple of trader friends, she set out to build a crypto exchange platform but things didn’t work out. “Everyone just had different views on how things should work, so we eventually went our separate ways.” Undeterred, Ruth set out on her own. The first major step? Leaving her hometown and comfort zone — Port Harcourt — for Lagos with barely any validation for what she was...