Industry News

Telecommunication giant, MTN, has commissioned the construction of a 24-unit classroom block for the Ghana Police Education System worthGHC1.6 million.

The project is aimed at supporting the education needs of Ghana Police Service and expected to benefit over 2,493 pupils annually.

It comprises of a head teacher’s office, staff common room, modern toilet facility and furniture.

In addition to the 24-unit classroom block, MTN will convert and enhance an existing library into an integrated library, which will have a hardcopy book area and an ICT centre.

Speaking at the event at Tesano in Accra, Chief Executive Officer  of MTN Ghana, Selorm Adadevoh said: “MTN values our relationship with Ghana Police more essentially for the safety and security we enjoy as Ghanaians. MTN Ghana has declared this year as the year of the customer and so we are enjoined by this to brighten our customers’ lives at various touch points and today is the beginning of our time with Ghana Police”.

Mr Adadevoh noted that MTN’s vision is to “lead the delivery of a bold new digital world and this facility, when completed, will have an ICT centre to bring the immense benefits of ICT to the students”.

MTN CEO added that the project is the 143rd investment of the MTN Ghana Foundation since its inception over a decade ago.

He noted that they are glad to have invested significantly in Ghana’s education with more than 82 educational projects across the country.

The Inspector General of Police David Asante- Appeatu, in his speech, explained that the Ghana Police Education System was ready to educate the children of the Police administration but it had become necessary to involve the general public.

He continued that since the mainstream duty of the police is to give security to the public, it made it logical for the facility to be opened to the general public.

He said the MTN assistance had come at the right time because when the old school was opened to the public, it led to the rise in student population, putting pressure on the old and weak facility and causing the quality of the facility to deteriorate, which made the police administration to think of entering into partnership with their key stakeholders, particularly MTN Ghana.

Source:myjoyonline.com

The Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) is to work on the deployment of a mobile application for the secondary trading of listed securities.
Kofi Yamoah, the Managing Director of GSE said the Exchange would leverage on the approach of mobile money application, where investors could buy their shares and trade on the secondary market.
Mr Yamoah was speaking at a press briefing on the review of the stock market in 2018 in Accra.
He said “the GSE is looking at building on what MTN did in its latest IPO.”
He said the global stock market in 2018 suffered the worst year in a decade and nearly all African markets also suffered losses.
On global market environment, the MD said there were slower global growth especially in China and the political uncertainty and setbacks in the United State and Europe also affected the market.
He said the GSE composite index was flat at -0.29 per cent and the GSE financial index lost 6.79 per cent as compared to positive 52.73 per cent and 49.51 per cent respectively in 2017.
He said 2018 saw the telecommunication sector, now represented on the market by virtue of the biggest telecommunication company MTN, being listed on the market.
“Three non-performing equity securities were de-listed,” he said.
On factors behind GSE’s market performance, Mr Yamoah said inflation trended down and reached a single digit for the first time in over five years at 9.4 per cent in December, 2018.
He said new oil and gas field discoveries, means additional revenue for government as well as the satisfactory review by the international Monetary Fund of Ghana’s economy contributed to the performance.
He said the GSE’s market performance was also due to the continued strong investor confidence and interest in the Ghanaian economy, adding that, even though there were positives, the market also witnessed some negative like the pressure on the Cedi from a strong United State dollar leading to an 8. 39 per cent depreciation of the Cedi.
He said challenges in the banking and non-banking sectors, where seven banks failed in the last two years, mixed results of listed companies and securities sell-off by non-resident investors, due to rise in United State federal rates and profit-taking, affected the market.
Mr Yamoah said on the outlook for 2019, the GSE would facilitate the introduction of securities lending and borrowing and would improve market compliance by dealers and issuers through the use of technology such as a reporting portal.
“We will continue stakeholder engagements on GSE’s plans to demutualize in the short to medium term,” he added.
He said Vodafone Ghana should be made to go public to off load part of the 30 per cent in the company to enable the public to own a stake on the company.
He said adb bank shares re-possessed by the Bank of Ghana from entities related to Unibank should in the medium term be sold on the market to the public.
The MD said viable State-Owned Enterprises should be encouraged and allowed to raise equity or debt securities, based on their balance sheet, to better pursue their mandate.
“Ghana should have a formal and centralised reporting framework for forex trading for better price discovery in the foreign exchange market space.

Source:GNA

Governor Godwin Emefiele has on Tuesday revealed that MTN has paid $53 million to settle a money transfer dispute with Nigeria’s central bank and the matter has been withdrawn from court.

The central bank had ordered MTN and its lenders to bring back a total of $8.1 billion it alleged the company had illegally repatriated using improperly issued paperwork between 2007 and 2008.Emefiele said the money paid by MTN was a notional sum and that the company has been absolved from any wrongdoing, he said during a monetary policy meeting at which the bank left interest rates on hold at 14 percent.

Source:ITNews Africa

Vodafone Ghana has affirmed its resolve to strengthening customer care for the sustainable growth of the company.

Ms Yolanda Cuba, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone, said for that reason the company was working assiduously to roll out innovative products to address the needs of customers.

The company intends to introduce a ‘4G’ component to its line of services by the close of this year, and this was being pursued by the Management to bring their services to standard, she said.

Ms Cuba, who was inaugurating a new retail shop of the company at the Kumasi Shopping Mall, said Vodafone would continue to work to the satisfaction of the customer.  She was accompanied by Mr Puspinder Singh, Vodafone Ghana Director in-charge of Consumer Business.

The CEO indicated that the new retail outlet was to help expand its activities for the convenience of the customer. Mr Singh said the company had stepped up efforts to opening up more of such outlets to meet its growing customer base.

Source: GNA

The maiden edition of MTN Digital Music Conference has been held today January 17, 2019, in Accra.

It featured seasoned record labels and online music distribution platforms such as Universal Music Group, Content Connect Ghana and so on who ‘schooled’ artists and other stakeholders on how to make money from their music and stay relevant in the music industry.

At the event, artistes were duly advised to register their content with copyright societies such as GHAMRO in order to retrieve royalties and also prevent other platforms from unlawfully using their songs.

Speaking to this regard, Managing Director for Content Connect Ghana, Munya Chanetsa urged the general public to desist from downloading songs from unauthorised music sites.

He again recommended that artistes should try their best to collaborate with ‘giant’ industry players to enable their brand grow.

“Grow your fan base and find a way of working with major artistes so they can help you. The public should stop engaging in piracy. Stop downloading songs and stop feeding those sites”. He added

Senior manager for products and services for MTN, Mr Bless Agordjo also revealed that MTN has acquired an online music distribution platform known as CIMS which would enable their 200million subscribers have access to locally manufactured songs.

“We are here to help artistes so they can take advantage of our 200million subscribers. MTN has also acquired CIMS, an online distribution platform that would make music accessible and inexpensive to all”. He stated.

He went on further to note that a subscription model where mobile money can be used to purchase music would be provided so as to make songs accessible and affordable in the country.

MTN digital music conference brought together key stakeholders in the industry to discuss the state and future of Ghanaian music.

Source: MTN

Device vendors and operators are betting on 5G to unlock a new chapter in the smartphone growth story but new research from the GSMA suggests consumers will need to be convinced before upgrading. GSMA Intelligence’s annual consumer survey of 36,000 people across 34 key markets found that almost 90 percent of consumers in developed countries own a smartphone, with an average of 2.5 smartphones in every US household. More than half of consumers in developed countries (54 percent) said they expect 5G networks to deliver faster speeds, but it is not yet clear if they will pay a premium for the speed boost.

In addition, the survey revealed that only one in four consumers (25 percent) expect 5G to deliver ‘innovative new services’, and only 20 percent believe 5G will usher in a new era of devices.

Other findings include the fact that the average US and UK household now owns six connected devices – from TVs to consoles to emerging categories such as smart speakers – with 16 percent of US households owning a smart speaker, compared to 9 percent a year earlier.

However, adoption rates of VR headsets in developed markets stayed flat year-on-year at around 6 percent of households and have even dropped in some key markets such as the UK. AR applications in fashion, gaming and various enterprise sectors are more advanced at this stage, said the GSMA.

The industry body added that it will be using the data to publish two new GSMA Intelligence reports on ‘The Future of Devices’ and ‘5G’s Great Expectations’ at CES 2019.

Source:GSMA

MTN Ghana has pledged to prioritise the safety of mobile money (MoMo) agents as some in certain parts of Ghana have become targets for criminals in recent times. They have been attacked, maimed and in some cases killed, and their monies stolen. MTN said its officials have begun educating agents in personal safety, information management and how to avoid recruiting personnel who might pose a risk to their businesses.

General manager for mobile money financial services at MTN Ghana, Eli Hini, said processes are under way with the Central Bank to set up an agent registry. He said this will ensure that those on the registry are validated, and they would be taken off the system if they caught in any malpractice.

He said the company will take finger prints and do a thorough background check on people who want to become agents to ensure that they do not have any criminal records before setting up a MoMo business with MTN. He advised agents to stop working late into the night to save their businesses from being targeted by robbers.

Source: Telecompaper

Helios Towers has entered into a partnership with Vulatel to work on expanding South Africa’s mobile and fixed-line infrastructure, saying that they aim to make “major greenfield wireless and fixed-line telecoms infrastructure investments”.

Helios Towers will own 66 per cent of Helios Towers South Africa (HTSA) and Vulatel the remaining 34 per cent. Raising money for expansion across Africa for Helios and the like, seeing as the continent holds a tremendous opportunity for growth.
The company predicts that South Africa will lead in the roll-out of 5G in sub-Saharan Africa and will potentially be a part of that process. HTSA, in agreement with Vulatel, will build open access infrastructure to subsequently be leased to other companies.

Helios Towers has long considered entering into the South African market, having already established a foothold in other African countries like Tanzania, Ghana, and the DRC. Of these markets, South Africa is considered one of the more stable and so HTSA is looking at opportunities to buy towers from wireless carriers, like MTN and Vodacom.

Source:ITNewsAfrica

Appolonia City has partnered with ATC Ghana, a subsidiary of American Tower Corporation, to deploy cell towers within Appolonia City’s development in Greater Accra. The first cell tower has already been installed, enhancing connections for current residents and businesses at Appolonia City.

“We continue to see more companies, both local and international, investing in Appolonia City,” Appolonia City CEO Bright Owusu-Amofah said of the partnership. “American Tower’s wireless infrastructure is world renowned, and we are committed to providing world-class connectivity to our residents and businesses.”
Gordon Xatse, Head of Sales and Marketing of ATC Ghana, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Rendeavour on the Appolonia City project, which is among the best planned sub-urban developments in Africa. Following the successful installation of our first telecommunications site at Appolonia City, we look forward to expanding our partnership with Rendeavour, and continuing to deliver world-class service to our mutual customers and communities.”

Rendeavour is building seven new cities on 12,000 hectares in five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rendeavour cities provide homes, offices, schools, healthcare facilities and industrial parks within a well-planned urban environment, along with the infrastructure – roads, power, water and ICT – that form the foundation for the continent’s future growth.

Appolonia City has forged a number of strategic partnerships recently, with entities such as the Association of Ghana Industries, Comland Company Limited and now ATC Ghana. In 2018, Appolonia City was named “The Most Promising Company of the Year” at the Ghana Business Awards and received the “Best Member Award 2018” from the American Chamber of Commerce.

Source: ITNewsAfrica

The Vice President of the Republic, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has underscored the importance of Ghana’s telecommunications sector undergoing a unified license regime – an agenda the Vice President refers to as the way forward to ensure alignment with our Telecoms Policy.

He made this statement during his keynote address to participants at an Industry breakfast meeting organized by the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications under the theme: Leveraging effective use and distribution of Spectrum in Ghana for National Development at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra.

Outlining how Ghana’s National Telecom Policy created in 2005 was to adopt a neutral approach to regulation of the communications sector, the Vice President said “in practice the current licensing framework consists of a number of different service-specific license categories, which requires 17 different forms of permission to provide communications services to Ghanaians, Let us use this meeting to identify the way forward in ensuring alignment with section 2.1 of the above policy which states “Licensing and regulation shall be technologically neutral to encourage economically efficient and innovative market development”.

The Vice President also admonished for flexibility with regards to regulatory models in providing certainty in licensing. This he believes would reduce cost on service providers.

He said, “A finite roadmap is vital in supporting our market players and allowing flexibility, minimizing distortions from historic regulatory models, providing certainty in licensing, reducing compliance costs and allowing licensees deploy the most efficient and cost-effective network technologies”.

To that end, the Vice President said his government is willing to partner the industry and all key stakeholders, to consolidate efforts to leverage ICT for National development

through the elimination of bottlenecks in the distribution of spectrum.

Chief Executive of AirtelTigo, Mrs. Mitwa Keamba Ng’ambi in her welcome address reiterated the telecoms industry’s commitment in supporting the efforts of H.E The President’s vision of a Ghana Beyond Aid.

“I’d like to assure Your Excellency that we as Mobile Network Operators in the industry, see ourselves as partners to you on the developmental agenda for this country. Therefore, when we raise concerns and recommendations as an industry, we do so in good faith, in hope that we can together continue to drive the industry forward and create history in Ghana. We commit to supporting your efforts to achieving H.E The President’s drive of a Ghana Beyond Aid using the Telecommunications industry as a catalyst and the rails on which other sectors will ride. ”

The Breakfast meeting brought together senior government officials, Parliament, NCA, GSMA, Coleago, Ministry of Finance, and Ghana Revenue Authority, members of the Chamber, some senior editors and experts from the telecoms sector.

The event was in support of government’s vision to leverage ICT for national economic development and the drive towards a Ghana Beyond Aid.

Source: Chamber News Desk