Broadband

Dec172019 by Nasha HarperNo Comments

Djibouti’s fibre optic to land in Kenya

Djibouti African Region Express (DARE 1) the 4,854 km undersea fibre optic whose landing point in Kenya will be managed by Telkom Kenya is expected to be completed by June next year. “The system is on track to be ready for commercial traffic in June 2020,” the venture partners were quoted as saying. They also said that the manufacturing aspects are complete and the remaining works are progressing. “Telkom is excited to be the landing party in Nyali, Mombasa, with the DARE1 consortium, considering the benefits it has in store for the country. This investment will offer diversity in the routing of traffic and will also provide for fibre continuity, cognizant of the risk at the high seas. The development of regional backbones such as the DARE1 will also increase access to data in the regi

Dec162019 by Alex ReeceNo Comments

Google uses balloons to provide Internet

Broadband, Internet, Technology

Google’s mother company Alphabet plans to use balloons to provide Internet in rural Uganda under its Loon project which uses large balloons carrying solar-powered equipment in the sky to send high–speed Internet signals to the ground. The head of government relations at Loon Anna Prouse, said that the company is searching for a local telco partner to start operations. “Our balloons will need to connect to physical cell towers of an operator in order to send a message to other balloons so that people in that area can be connected,” said Dr Prouse. The balloons, which are designed to stay around 20km above sea level for 200 days, will be moving by surfing wind channels predicting speeds and directions. Each carries an antenna which relays Internet signals transmitted from the ground ex

Dec112019 by Nasha HarperNo Comments

Holiday broadband consumption over 300GB

Broadband, Mobile

Household broadband consumption in the US is anticipated to reach as much as 330GB per subscriber during the current holiday season, according to OpenVault, a provider of technology solutions and industry analytics for broadband operators. Using historical trends catalogued over more than a half-decade of accelerating broadband growth, OpenVault calculates that consumption will increase by approximately 19 per cent between Q3 and the end of the Christmas/January holiday season. Based on the Q3 2019 average of 275GB per subscriber, OpenVault is predicting holiday mean usage of 315GB to 330GB per subscriber. According to OpenVault, per subscriber holiday consumption has risen from 38GB in 2012 to 270GB last year, as reflected in the chart below. For the first time last year, the com...

Oct232019 by Nasha HarperNo Comments

Safaricom launches ‘no expiry’ data bundles, calls and SMSs

Broadband, Business, Mobile, Technology

Safaricom has today announced a new type of data bundle that do not expire which is a feature users have been waiting for so long. This comes after Kenyan telcos Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom Kenya were sued over expiry of data and loss of unused Internet bundles. Most recently, the Ghanaian Ministry of Communication in a letter dated October 9, directed all Telecommunication operators in the country to stop the expiry of voice and data bundles purchased by consumers. “All unused data and voice bundles purchased by subscribers that has not been used must not expire and must be rolled over with the next recharge,” read the letter by Ghanaian Ministry of Communications. You can buy these ‘no expiry’ bundles from mySafaricom app or by dialling the usual *544#. You need to update the mySaf

Sep262019 by editorNo Comments

Ethio Telecom to launch 4G network as the telecoms sectore preps for liberalisation

Broadband, Business, Internet, Mobile

Ethiopia’s state-run Ethio Telecom plans to install a 4G network in the capital and other regions and to upgrade other network services, it said on Friday, as the government prepares to open up the sector to private foreign investment. In July, Ethiopia announced it would award two telecoms licenses to multinational mobile companies, signaling a move toward opening up one of the world’s last major closed telecom markets. Referring to the liberalisation drive, Ethio Telecom on Friday announced a three-year strategic plan to “reshape the company and lead with business orientation and a competitive mindset.” Based on data traffic growth and demand, Ethio Telecom will roll out 4G network capacity in Addis Ababa and other regions, and improve network coverage and capacity, the company