Airtel – Africa Tech Digest

MTN, Airtel dominance forces another telecom operator out of Uganda

17Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Telecommunications

MTN, Airtel dominance forces another telecom operator out of Uganda

On September 7, Africell announced its decision to leave Uganda after operating in the East African country for seven years. The decision saw the U.S-owned company become the latest network operator to throw in the towel and exit a market dominated by two pan-African telecom behemoths. A statement issued by Africell blames tough competition from the local units of MTN and Bharti Airtel, both of which account for more than 90% of the market share. The remaining 10% is split between three or four other nationwide operators including Africell and Uganda Telecom. South Africa-based MTN Group, Africa’s largest telecoms operator, entered Uganda in 1998 and has since established dominance in the market; largely due to first-mover advantage and significant investments the business has made i...

Airtel Africa Targets $750m in London IPO

Airtel Africa Ltd, a subsidiary of India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd, on Tuesday said it will proceed with its plan to list shares on the main market of the London Stock Exchange through an initial public offering (IPO). “The offer is targeted to raise $750 million (plus primary greenshoe option of up to 15%) and will be used to reduce net debt,” Bharti Airtel said in a regulatory filing. Airtel Africa would proceed with an initial public offering for admission and listing of its shares on the main market of the London Stock Exchange (premium segment), it added. Additionally, Airtel Africa is also considering listing its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Continue reading

Nigeria ends 2018 with 172m subscribers, 31.5% broadband penetration

Nigeria’s telecommunications sector ended the year 2018 with 172 million subscribers, with teledensity rising to 123.4 per cent from 105 per cent in January 2018. Telephone density or teledensity is the number of telephone connections for every hundred individuals living within an area. It varies widely across the nations and also between urban and rural areas within a country. Subscribers’ statistics released yesterday by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) showed that service providers including MTN, Globacom, Airtel, 9Mobile, among others got 25.5 million new subscribers in the course of the year. In the same vein, broadband penetration in Nigeria rose from 30.9 per cent in November to 31.5 per cent as at December 31. Broadband is wide bandwidth data transmission, whic...