Telecom Egypt eyes Vodafone unit

Investors in Telecom Egypt are giving a thumbs-up to reports that the company is looking to bolster its presence in the Egyptian mobile market, states The National.

Telecom Egypt's stock rose by 4.5% after several media reports claimed the operator was looking to buy the 55% stake in Vodafone Egypt it does not own.

The Egyptian government maintains an 80% stake in Telecom Egypt with the rest floated on the Egyptian Exchange; however, there are no apparent plans to dilute the government's stake.

Major telecommunications operator Glo Mobile is planning to withdraw its services from Ghana, reports This Day.

The company is considering the move due to the challenges it faces in its bid to roll out services across Ghana.

Just a week after it successfully introduced its network in Benin Republic, Globacom won the telco licence to operate mobile cellular services in Ghana, in June 2008.

Fixed line telecommunication companies in sub-Saharan Africa are set to benefit from the roll-out of fibre optic cables, says Business Daily Africa.

According to analyst firm, Frost & Sullivan, the fixed-line telecommunications market in sub-Saharan Africa earned revenues of $6.78 billion in 2008 and estimates this to reach $12.25 billion in 2015.

Frost & Sullivan ICT analyst Jiaqi Sun, says: “The key growth drivers for wire-line telecommunications are the increasing demand for data and Internet services, cost-effective deployment of fixed-wireless technologies, and the introduction of fibre-optic cables.”