Editor’s Note: This piece is a pull out from the Global Mobile Daily that covers news from the global mobile telecom industry. Although the coverage is global, we have narrowed down our share to the African mobile telecoms industry; this edition features Nigeria, Gambia and Senegal.
Nigerian mobile ops agree to pay fine
Nigerian operators MTN, Globacom, Airtel and Etisalat have been fined a combined NGN1.17 billion (US$7 million) over poor QoS. Although the companies had up to end of May to settle their respective amounts, payments were delayed as the operators first contested the amounts, with the regulator threatening to increase the fines if payments were not made.
All parties eventually found an agreement but operators asked for a review of the present KPIs, which they argued did not take into consideration the peculiarity of the Nigerian business environment.
Gambian regulator extends deadline for SIM registration
Public Utilities Regulatory Authority (PURA) extended the deadline for SIM card registration in Gambia to 15th September 2012. The original deadline was set for 15 June 2012. Reportedly, a large number of subscriptions remain unregistered, thus making it necessary for the regulators to allow more time. At the end of 1Q12, there were over 1.8 million active subscriptions in the country.
Senegal developer launches chemist location app
Senegalese developer SenMobile has launched SMSPharma, an SMS based application that gives information on available duty chemists. In order to access the data, subscribers need to SMS the word “Pharma” followed by the name of a city to a short code. The service is available on Orange’s network and covers the cities of Dakar, Thiès, Saly, Saint-Louis, Mbour, Tivaouane, Tamba and Kaolack. Each SMS sent is charged XOF150 (US$0.28).
