Author: Akin Naphtal

MTN Ghana will temporarily halt all Mobile Money (MoMo) services for six hours starting at midnight on Sunday, August 17, to conduct a major system upgrade, the telecommunications company announced. The suspension, scheduled to end at 6:00 a.m., will affect over 14 million MoMo users, who will be unable to send or receive money, make deposits or withdrawals, pay bills, or transfer funds between wallets and bank accounts during this period. The company urged customers to complete essential transactions before the midnight cutoff to minimize disruptions. Charles Asamoah Assah, Chief Technology and Service Delivery Officer at Mobile Money Limited, confirmed…

In response to recurring internet disruptions across Africa, telecom leaders, including the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), Internet Society (ISOC), and African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC), are calling for the adoption of a Model Framework for Building Regional Internet Resilience. The framework, endorsed by these organizations, aims to safeguard Africa’s digital infrastructure against outages that cripple communication and critical services. The proposed framework focuses on three key areas: strengthening networks and internet service providers (ISPs), securing critical infrastructure like power grids and undersea cables, and improving market conditions to enhance affordability and demand. Once adopted, entities such as mobile operators, ISPs,…

Oracle has partnered with Google Cloud to integrate Google’s Gemini AI models into Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) and its suite of enterprise applications, the companies announced today. The agreement, revealed on August 14, will bring Gemini’s advanced text, image, video, and audio generation capabilities to Oracle’s finance, HR, and supply chain tools, enabling customers to access these features using existing Oracle cloud credits for seamless procurement and billing. Building on their 2024 multicloud collaboration, which introduced Oracle Database@Google Cloud and a low-latency Oracle Interconnect for Google Cloud, this partnership strengthens Oracle’s strategy of offering diverse AI solutions from multiple providers.…

F5 and Equinix have announced an expanded partnership to streamline secure, AI-ready infrastructure for enterprises, enabling seamless global scaling of digital applications without the burden of physical hardware. The collaboration integrates F5’s Application Delivery and Security Platform (ADSP) with Equinix’s Network Edge and Equinix Fabric, aiming to simplify deployment and enhance security for modern applications and AI workloads in hybrid multicloud environments. The enhanced solution allows businesses to rapidly deploy and secure applications, reducing infrastructure costs and management complexity. F5’s Distributed Cloud Customer Edge, a key ADSP component, is now available as a virtual network function on Equinix’s Network Edge,…

Vodafone and Three has initiated automatic network sharing for Vodafone and Three customers, leveraging Multi-Operator Core Network (MOCN) technology to deliver enhanced coverage, faster speeds, and fewer 4G not-spots at no additional cost. The rollout, part of the company’s £11 billion investment to build the UK’s premier network, has already activated over 600 sites, with plans to integrate 9,000 more by the end of the first year following the Vodafone-Three merger. The integration combines spectrum assets to expand 4G and 5G coverage, improve reliability, and increase capacity. Approximately seven million Three UK and Smarty customers have experienced 4G speed increases…

‎Airtel Nigeria announced on Tuesday its ambitious plan to construct a 38-megawatt hyperscale data centre in Lagos, set to become the largest of its kind in Nigeria. The facility, located in the prestigious Eko Atlantic City, aims to address the soaring demand for cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) services in the region. ‎Eko Atlantic City, a high-end development built on land reclaimed from the Atlantic Ocean, has become a hub for major corporations, including First Bank of Nigeria, Dangote Group, and MTN Nigeria, which is relocating its national headquarters there. The strategic choice of this location underscores Airtel’s focus on…

MTN Uganda, under the leadership of CEO Sylvia Mulinge, has signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Uganda Hotel Owners’ Association (UHOA) to deliver tailored ICT and mobile money services to over 780 hotels, marking a significant step in its transformation into a technology company (Techco). The agreement, announced last week, aims to revolutionize Uganda’s hospitality and tourism sectors, which employ over 70% of the country’s tourism workforce. The partnership will see MTN Mobile Money and MTN’s Enterprise Business Unit provide solutions to enhance efficiency and customer convenience. Hotels will gain access to mobile payment systems for reservations…

Bharti Airtel has unveiled Airtel Cloud, a sovereign cloud platform designed to slash enterprise cloud spending by up to 40%, marking a bold expansion into digital infrastructure under its new Xtelify arm. Initially developed to handle Airtel’s internal operations, processing over 1.4 billion transactions per minute, the platform is now available to businesses across India. Hosted in next-generation sustainable data centers and backed by over 300 certified cloud professionals, Airtel Cloud offers Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), and advanced connectivity, emphasizing secure migration, elastic scaling, and freedom from vendor lock-ins. “This is a telco-grade platform with complete control residing in India,”…

Egypt’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has issued a three-month ultimatum to TikTok to regulate its content in line with the country’s social and moral values, following a high-level meeting last month. The directive comes amid growing public outcry over the platform’s content, with critics claiming it violates societal norms and defames Egyptian women. The meeting, attended by TikTok Egypt and North Africa representatives, NTRA head Mohamed Shamrouk, and members of the House of Representatives’ Telecommunications Committee, including MP Ahmed Badawi, addressed concerns about the platform’s impact. ALSO READ: ORANGE AND JUMO PARTNER TO ENHANCE MOBILE MONEY SERVICES IN FRENCH SPEAKING…

Orange, a leading telecommunications operator, has announced a strategic partnership with South African fintech Jumo to revolutionize its mobile money division, Orange Money. By integrating Jumo’s advanced artificial intelligence and data analytics tools, Orange aims to refine customer scoring, reduce processing times, automate decision-making, and tailor loan amounts to individual user profiles, enhancing financial inclusion across emerging markets. The partnership will expand Orange Money’s offerings beyond basic loans, introducing targeted financial products for small entrepreneurs, merchants, and informal workers. Jumo’s technology, boasting a default rate below 4%, ensures robust risk management while improving user experience. The collaboration will initially focus…