Etisalat eyes Moroccan investment

Arab telecom operator Emirates Telecommunications does not expect a deal with India's Reliance Communications this year, reports The Economic Times.

Jamal al-Jarwan, Etisalat's international chief, says the company is considering different options in the Indian market and did not rule out an investment in telecoms firm Idea Cellular and adds he remains keen on Morocco.

Last year, the operator failed in a bid to take a stake in Meditel, Morocco's second-largest telecommunications firm. France Telecom is in discussions about investing in Meditel and could be weeks away from signing a deal.

According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), only 10.9% of Africa's population uses the Internet, states PBS News Hour.

Low Internet adoption figures are frequently attributed to nations lacking availability and reliability.

The ITU's latest census report estimates the African population at just over 1 billion, while North America's is around one-third of that, yet Internet access in Africa is extremely expensive and very difficult to find.

Mobile handset manufacturer Nokia is lobbying East Africa member states to zero rate taxes on handsets as a means of boosting its sales and increasing market penetration, says Business Daily Africa.

Nokia East and Southern Africa general manager Kenneth Oyolla says the company is in talks with Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda to zero rate taxes on handsets following a successful push in Kenya that saw the number of handsets sold increase by 20%.

Nokia also reveals it will be focusing on empowering local software developers to come up with applications that can be uploaded and used within the region.