This Industry Viewpoint was authored by Eli Katz, Founder and CEO of XConnect

Fraudsters are ramping up their attacks on messaging services and it’s draining revenue streams. SMS is a hugely valuable channel for brands with one of the highest engagement rates, and yet it also still holds a large untapped business market. Despite this, it is facing an uncertain future due to a sharp rise in fraudulent activity. … [visit site to read more]

Two years after India’s Department of Telecommunications (DoT) sought views on the need for overhauling laws governing the telecommunications sector (and nearly 75 years after the last relevant legislation of the sector) India has a new, updated Telecom Act. It came into effect on 26 June.

The Telecommunications Act 2023 (the year refers to when it was introduced rather than when it became law), replaces a number of earlier laws, including the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and the Indian Wireless Act 1933.

It’s clearly an understatement to say that technology has changed a lot since then. At the very least, many definitions and terms are completely different, but provisions for spectrum allocation and right of way also needed looking at, along with regulations related to ease of doing business and penalties for offences and non-compliance.

Which seems to be what has happened. As India’s Economic Times points out, there is now a simple regulatory framework. The licensing regime has been replaced with an authorisation mechanism. Right of way rules (a big problem a few years ago) have been updated.

There’s a clearly defined framework for spectrum assignment, including efficient spectrum utilisation, and an adjudication mechanism to resolve disputes before they go to law.

There are also provisions to take necessary measures for national security and public safety. In particular the Act confers power on the government to take temporary possession of telecom networks during public emergencies, including natural disasters. In addition there is now a framework for blocking and interception.

Obviously there’s a lot more to this legislation: there are 11 chapters and 62 sections in the new Act. But the long wait before its arrival makes it clear that legal frameworks are in danger of being left behind by telecoms in some territories.

Indeed, operator Cameroon Telecoms (Camtel) recently suggested that the country’s parliament needs to reform outdated legislation and provide a robust legal framework for the country’s digital economy.

Some legislators clearly agree. Tellingly, Bara Julien, president of the Parliamentary Network for Information and Communication Technologies, is quoted as saying: “Our telecoms laws are obsolete as they date back to many years. But the evolution of technology is constant.”

It’s a point that could be made in many markets with outdated telecommunications laws. How quickly will they respond?

Telecom Namibia has announced what it calls a three-year transformative partnership via a joint venture between mobile technology company ZTE Corporation and its partner company Huafull International Limited.

As part of the company’s five-year Integrated Strategic Business Plan (ISBP) 2027, Telecom Namibia intends to invest in the modernisation of its mobile network (called tn mobile) and coverage expansion. This will include the rolling out of new mobile base stations and the upgrading of existing mobile base stations across the country.

Under the terms of the agreement, Telecom Namibia will procure cutting-edge mobile radio access equipment from the ZTE Corporation and Huafull International Limited joint venture to bolster its mobile network capacity and coverage across the country, including previously underserved areas. The partnership will facilitate the deployment of advanced mobile radio access technology such as 4G, 4.5G, and 5G in order to bring quality, fast, and reliable mobile broadband services to tn mobile consumers.

ZTE Corporation, together with Huafull International, has been involved in the design, construction, and operation of Telecom 3/4G wireless networks since 2013.

Telecom Namibia says the integration of ZTE’s state-of-the art equipment into its network will enable the deployment of next-generation technologies, empowering users with faster data speeds, and improved reliability, while expansion in coverage through the deployment of new sites will enable seamless connectivity.

By leveraging ZTE and Huafull’s expertise and innovation, Telecom Namibia says it aims to accelerate the expansion of its mobile network footprint and deliver enhanced services to both urban and rural areas across the country. 

In yet another example of the continuing importance to fintechs of emerging markets, Pyypl, a fintech company in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), has announced a principal licence membership and strategic framework agreement with payment giant Visa.

The licence enables Pyypl to issue virtual and physical prepaid Visa cards, through its accessible mobile application, directly to its hundreds of thousands of active users, elevating its users from cash, mobile money and being financially underserved to the world of digital payments.

The strategic framework agreement further recognises the licence approval process in other markets that Pyypl is entering. With the support of local regulators, Pyypl is able to provide access to prepaid Visa cards in these markets, fast-tracking financial inclusion across the MEA region.

This, says Pyypl, marks the latest innovation in its transformational consumer offering and accelerates its international expansion by enabling the company to offer, over time, prepaid Visa cards on a pan-regional basis.

The partnership is aligned with Visa’s growth and innovation strategy of enhancing access to capabilities for 850 million digital natives across MEA.

Pyypl says it is one of the fastest-growing fintechs in the MEA, powered by 100% proprietary technology and operational in multiple markets across Africa and the GCC.

The company adds that its purpose-driven approach aims to offer transformational financial services to 850 million financially underserved smartphone users across Africa and the Middle East in a single app – via internationally accepted virtual and physical prepaid cards, and instant domestic and international user-to-user transfers as well as remittances to 80 countries.

The quantum future gets a little closer, some interconnection across the straits of Taiwan, and a network upgrade in Europe. … [visit site to read more]

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