All Africa articles
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Network & Infrastructure
Orange, Vodafone switch on 5G in Egypt
Telcos go live with first 5G services in the country, after Egypt’s four operators finalised new spectrum licences last year. Vodafone Egypt CEO Mohamed Abdallah says switch-on aligns with Egypt’s Vision 2030 strategic goals…
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Weekly Briefings
Orangewatch Briefing: execs bang M&A drum; high hopes on IPCEI and AI
In this issue, we report on presentations by Orange’s leadership at the AGM, with Group CEO Christel Heydemann and new Orange France CEO Jérôme Hénique taking the floor.
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People
Vodacom hands Egypt CEO a remit to scale African portfolio, drive strategy
Vodafone Egypt CEO Mohamed Abdallah adds International Markets to his remit in a move intended to ‘unify’ cross-border operations.
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Venturing & Investments
Safaricom preps $500m investment into African ‘AI infra’
Kenyan operator commits to three-year development of AI infrastructure in East Africa, seeking to tap into rising demand for ‘sovereign’ services…
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Strategy & Change
Hénique signs off from Orange MEA on a high note
France-bound Jérôme Hénique discusses the challenges of managing Orange’s sprawling Middle East & Africa business, and asserts the importance of a division that has contributed significantly to Orange’s results in recent times, delivering double‑digit revenue growth for eight consecutive quarters.
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Weekly Briefings
EMEA Infrawatch Briefing: tower sell-offs, DC deployments, orbital experiments
Cellnex CEO Marco Patuano says the TowerCo is one step closer to selling its Swiss business and French data centre assets. Meanwhile, IHS Towers forks off Rwandan unit to newly formed tower player. In the space sector, several players look to get D2D services off the ground, while others tinker with new space comms solutions.
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M&A
IHS Towers mulls further asset sales as it exits Rwanda
African wireless infra player sells off Rwandan business to Paradigm Tower Ventures. IHS Chief Executive Sam Darwish says TowerCo has achieved its M&A goals set out following its last strategic review, but indicated further deals could be on the table…
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Weekly Briefings
Orangewatch Briefing: Huawei is back in business in Spain
In this issue, we report on MásOrange’s apparent renewed enthusiasm for technology from China-based vendors for cutting‑edge network developments.
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Financial & Performance
South Africa: energy challenges push rivals Vodacom and MTN to collaborate on power
Vodacom FY24–25: operators in early stages of infra-sharing under Energy Users regulation.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Saudi satco Arabsat takes next LEO steps with Telesat deal
MEA-focused satellite operator to integrate LEO services using Telesat’s Lightspeed constellation, as part of multi-orbit strategy aimed at improving services, efficient.
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Financial & Performance
Safaricom plots bolt-on M&A to strengthen Kenyan and Ethiopian core
FY24–25: CEO Peter Ndegwa indicates willingness to look further afield for growth opportunities once Ethiopian venture reaches self-sufficiency.
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Weekly Briefings
EMEA Infrawatch Briefing: resilience under the microscope; TowerCos face up to ‘land banks’
Power outage in parts of Europe and the aftermath of USA’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs give digital infra players food for thought on data sovereignty and resilience. Meanwhile, TowerCos come face-to-face with land aggregation firms after expressing concerns that the latter could stockpile land assets.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Safaricom seeks fresh partnerships to go wider on fixed
Kenyan operator looks to forge new partnerships to expand its fixed business, rather than focusing purely on fibre expansion, after setting target to pass one million premises with fixed infra by 2030.
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Financial & Performance
Safaricom boasts Ethiopian maturity as ‘baby’ makes ‘confident steps’
FY24–25: CEO Peter Ndegwa says there is more to be done to reach commercial and infrastructure ‘scale’, but Safaricom’s Ethiopian venture is said to be nearing EBITDA positivity.
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People
Orange anoints Hénique as France CEO after Fallacher’s move to Eutelsat
Jérôme Hénique is moving back to the Group’s domestic market after 15 years in Middle East and Africa.
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Weekly Briefings
Vodafonewatch Weekly: AI agents put to task
Latest from Vodafone as the Group’s AI strategy fills out; several Business deals in Europe, Africa, and further afield; and a view from the Group and its peers as geopolitics shake up the industry…
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Partnerships & Alliances
MAST: Vodacom tower spin-off picks Infozech as key partner
South Africa’s largest wireless infra operator selects Indian specialist to support tower asset monitoring, management, and maintenance.
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Network & Infrastructure
Orange lays groundwork for ‘dark NOC’ as part of ‘platforming journey’
Laurent Leboucher hints at efforts to add “cognitive” abilities to Orange’s shared network operations centre in Europe to facilitate increased automation and faster response times.
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Partnerships & Alliances
Vodafone deepens e& ties with Maroc Telecom enterprise deal
Operator teams up with e&-backed telco to provide array of enterprise and government services in Morocco. Deal further strengthens Group’s relationship with majority shareholder, after making multiple enterprise plays over past two years…
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Financial & Performance
Tariff turbulence: Orange’s Heydemann scents opportunity in uncertainty
Operator’s CEO says turbulent geopolitical scene is raising B2B client concern over data sovereignty and security, although thinks it is too early to say whether these fears will crystallise into higher investment.