Infrastructure Brief

News and opinion on public works procurement

ICT

  • ICT|
  • Latin America News

    • GoldConnect Unveils its New Breakthrough Pricing & Engagement Platform Specific to the LATAM Region

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    By Kenneth Mwangi

    GoldConnect, a leading wholesale telecommunications provider in Latin America and the Caribbean, announces the release of its state-of-the-art pricing & engagement platform, LatamConnect. The new interactive platform will provide customers with external plant feasibility analysis, in more than 17 countries in the GoldConnect network plus an additional 87+ partners in Latin America.

    LatamConnect provides accurate firm pricing and delivers real-time information, including the shortest distance to a fiber optic location or building, diverse building entry, access type, and any CPE required. Meanwhile, the internal commercial team can view available providers and buildings for each location.

    LatamConnect will roll out during Capacity LATAM and GoldConnect customers will have exclusive access to the platform.

    “With this level of commercial automation, GoldConnect will enable our customers to complete projects in LATAM faster than ever,” said Jeremy Villalobos, COO of GoldConnect. “The enhanced platform algorithm can process extensive data for more than 40 million locations in Latin America. LatamConnect removes boundaries and opens endless possibilities not only for us but also for our customers.”

    LatamConnect will enhance the overall customer experience. Customers will receive secure access to a service delivery module, which allows them the ability to immediately track their custom installation details, processes, and job status for site surveys, infrastructure deployments, equipment installations, and service configurations. This cutting-edge approach takes a proactive attitude towards their disruptive and innovative partnership proposals.

    While there are similar platforms in the U.S. and Europe, there has not been one that extensively encompasses the LATAM region. In addition, while other platforms may cover their own infrastructure, they may not include off-net or third-party providers. GoldConnect incorporates its own network plus an additional 87 carriers in the region.

    “The biggest achievement with LatamConnect is the time savings for our customers. LATAM is well known in the industry for being a complicated region for gathering pricing and technical information. Our advanced platform will help cut through that wait time,” said Justo Valladares, CEO of GoldConnect.

    About GoldConnect

    GoldConnect is a leading telecommunications provider with a presence in 17 countries in Latin America and The Caribbean. With more than 20 years of delivering network solutions to corporate clients and global carriers, GoldConnect relies on its fully owned award-winning network infrastructure and extensive partnerships to provide Network Solutions, Cloud Connection, Network Security and Data Center services in more than 33 countries in the region. For more information, please visit www.goldconnect.com.

  • ICT|
  • Latin America News

    • Peppertree Capital and Goldman Sachs Accused of “Ruthless” Tactics in Latin America

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    By Kenneth Mwangi

    Private equity firms don’t often make the news for good reasons, and today is no exception.

    Apparently, Peppertree Capital Management, one of the largest private equity firms in Ohio, has teamed up with investment banking titan Goldman Sachs to allegedly try and attempt to screw over its local partners in a telecommunications towers venture working in countries like Guatemala, El Salvador, and Nicaragua, among other developing nations.

    This is according to a Yahoo! News story about a lawsuit filed by Terra Towers, which alleges that as minority shareholders Peppertree violated its fiduciary duties by blocking “thousands” of tower development opportunities while at the same time secretly negotiating a merger with Torrecom, a competing firm.

    “This complaint alleges a series of actions undertaken by the minorities in coordination with Torrecom to deprive the company of numerous profitable opportunities,” says Enrique Canton, an executive and spokesperson for Terra Towers. “We are surprised and disturbed that Torrecom’s leadership agreed to collude with Goldman and Peppertree. Like Peppertree, Torrecom is a private equity-backed entity whose leadership has a fiduciary duty to the institutional investors entrusting them with millions of dollars.”

    “We are a family-owned group that has bet on the growth of the markets where we operate for more than 20 years. We are proud of having created thousands of jobs and partnering with carriers so they can offer telecommunications services across Latin America, contributing to our region’s sustained economic development,” the spokesman said in the press release. “These are outside actors with no real commitment to the long-term development of our region, and when they engage in this kind of ruthless, short-sighted corporate maneuvering, they hinder the economic growth of the emerging markets where we operate by rejecting thousands of projects that would’ve otherwise enabled carriers to expand their coverage into communities that desperately need better telecommunications services.”

    It’s one thing to see consolidation in the telecommunications sector led by these private equity firms, but when these brute force tactics result in Latin American citizens not having access to bandwidth (especially for their children’s schooling in a pandemic), it is bound to attract criticism.

  • Africa|
  • ICT|
  • Telecommunications

    • Mastercard to invest $100 mln in Airtel Africa’s mobile money unit

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    By Kenneth Mwangi

    Global payment processor Mastercard Inc (MA.N) will invest $100 million in Airtel Africa’s (AAF.L) mobile money operations, valuing the business at $2.65 billion, the London-listed company said on Thursday.

    Airtel Africa is targeting a public listing of Airtel Mobile Commerce BV (AMC BV) within the next four years. Earlier this month, private equity firm TPG’s The Rise Fund invested $200 million in AMC BV.

    Mastercard will hold a minority stake in AMC BV, in line with Airtel Africa’s plan to monetise the mobile money business by selling up to a 25% stake in the unit, the company said.

    The unit, operating under the Airtel Money brand in Africa, includes mobile wallets, merchant and commercial payments, virtual credit card and international money transfers available across 14 countries in the region.

  • Europe|
  • ICT|
  • Telecommunications

    • Bulgaria’s Neterra Telecommunications breaks ground on second data center in Sofia

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    By Kenneth Mwangi

    Bulgarian telecommunications company Neterra has broken ground on its second data center in the capital of Sofia.

    The four-story, 1,400 square meter (15,000 sq ft) facility, known as Sofia Data Center 2 (SDC-2), is located opposite Neterra’s SDC-1 facility and is being built to Tier III Uptime standards. Construction is due for completion later in 2021.

    It has 2MW of installed capacity, and the company says it plans to become carbon neutral by the end of 2021. Neterra says it already uses 100 percent clean energy for its operations.

    “This is a long-term policy. If we are organized well enough, we can even become carbon negative. This is our responsibility to the environment and the planet. We provide our data center clients with the choice to use power from renewable sources, so they can become carbon neutral as well,” Neven Dilkov, CEO of Neterra Group recently said of the company’s sustainability goals.

    SDC-2 is Neterra’s fourth data center. As well as the two in Sofia, it owns facilities in Stolnik and Ruse.

  • ICT|
  • Latin America News

    • IHS Towers Announces Further Latin America Expansion Through Centennial Towers Acquisition

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    By Kenneth Mwangi

    IHS Holding Limited (“IHS Towers”), one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared telecommunications infrastructure in the world by tower count, has acquired Centennial Towers’ Brazilian and Colombian tower operations.

    This acquisition brings an additional 602 towers in Brazil, and 217 towers in Colombia, strengthening IHS Towers’ position and core expertise in both markets. This latest transaction comes shortly after IHS Towers’ acquisition of Skysites in Brazil and is a testament to the company’s commitment to expanding its business in both Latin American markets. Centennial Towers has extensive expertise in providing mobile network operators with a wide range of infrastructure solutions including Build to Suit towers, Rooftops, Distributed Antenna Systems, Small Cells and Site Colocation & Leasing.

    These recent acquisitions highlight and demonstrate the continuation of IHS Towers’ growth strategy and demonstrates its 20-year track record of growth and excellence in telecommunications infrastructure across emerging markets. IHS Towers has developed complete ecosystems around its towers including green energy, backhaul, monitoring and active equipment which will be leveraged across its new Latin American markets. This acquisition will further enhance IHS Towers’ customer offerings and ensure the company is well-positioned to support the upcoming roll-out of 5G by offering customers new locations for signal transmission and distribution, as well as supporting fiber deployment.

    Sam Darwish, IHS Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “Following our recent acquisition of Skysites in Brazil, I am delighted to announce the acquisition of a third Latin American tower operator. The addition of Centennial Towers’ Brazilian and Colombian operations adds scale to our IHS Towers Latin American portfolio and will further strengthen the deep expertise and solutions we can offer to current and potential customers in these markets. Latin America remains a key region for us with its high growth potential and, through these transactions, we will continue to increase our market presence and build on the momentum sparked by our initial entry into the region last year with the acquisition of Cell Site Solutions.”

    Steven Moskowitz, Chief Executive Officer, Centennial Towers, said: “We are thrilled to enter into this transaction with IHS Towers as they recognize the uniqueness of Centennial’s diverse asset base in these two countries, which are primed for high levels of growth due to their strategic locations and quality construction. Centennial’s strong client relationships and proprietary management information systems will assist IHS Towers in advancing their drive to significantly increasing footprint and colocation growth in Latin America for years to come.”

    About IHS: IHS is one of the largest independent owners, operators and developers of shared telecommunications infrastructure in the world by tower count, with more than 29,700 towers across nine markets. IHS continues to grow and develop its existing positions and offerings in Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Kuwait, Nigeria, Peru, Rwanda and Zambia. For more information, please email: communications@ihstowers.com or visit: www.ihstowers.com

    About Centennial Towers: Centennial Towers is an independent developer, owner and operator of wireless communications towers in Latin America, with current operations in Mexico consisting of approximately 800 towers. For more information, please visit: www.centennialsites.com

  • ICT|
  • Latin America News

    • Peru planning 5G spectrum tender for 1H21

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    By Kenneth Mwangi

    Peru plans to launch a tender for spectrum frequencies for 5G technology during the first half of next year, according to deputy communications minister Virginia Nakagawa (pictured).

    Speaking at a virtual event on Peru’s agenda for the development of 5G technologies promoted by the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP), Nakagawa said that before the end of 2020 the government should launch a public consultation on the channeling and use of the bands identified to implement the technology.

    After that, in the first half of next year Peru’s investment promotion agency ProInversión is expected to release the final tender terms and carry out the tender itself.

    This is the first time that Peru has committed to a roadmap for its 5G tender.

    The country is considering awarding 5G frequencies in the 3.3Ghz-3.8Ghz range (3.5Ghz band) and the 24.2GHZ-25.5GHZ range (26GHz band).

    The 3.5GHz band has been standardized by telecom bodies such as 3GPP and ITU for mobile broadband and is considered the prime spectrum for 5G deployments.

    According to Nakagawa, with 300Mhz for use, Peru is the country that has the most spectrum available in this band, in addition to another 200Mhz that has already been made available to telecom operators in small blocks of 3.5Ghz spectrum.

    One challenge is that this spectrum is fragmented, meaning that the available blocks of spectrum to be awarded in 3.5GHz are not contiguous, said Nakagawa. The international mobile standardization bodies recommend a minimum 100MHz of spectrum for adequate 5G operation.

    “Therefore, the tender must also come up with a system for reorganizing channels. With that, if a carrier who already has, say 50Mhz in a given 3.5GHz channel and wins another 50Mhz in another part of the spectrum, the contest would have to unite 100Mhz of contiguous spectrum,” Nakagawa said.

    Taking into consideration this complex channelling process and the time provided for effective use of the spectrum assigned, the minister estimates that 5G will only become a reality for users in Peru “in 2022 or 2023.”

  • ICT|
  • Kenya News|
  • Project Updates

    • Alphabet’s Project Loon Takes Off In Kenya

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    By Kevin Davids

    Alphabet’s internet-delivery balloon service, Loon, has finally received approval from the Kenyan government. To help improve communication during the coronavirus pandemic, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta fast-tracked the regulatory approval Loon and its partner, Telkom Kenya, were waiting on. Loon expects to begin providing service to remote areas of Kenya in the “near future.”

    Once up and running, Loon’s internet-delivery balloons will allow Kenyans to buy 4G service from Telkom Kenya. The project has been in the works since 2018, when Loon signed a contract with the operator. Last summer, the partners received approval for commercial testing in the country.

    Loon is now dispatching its existing airborne balloons and preparing new ones to launch from sites in the US. Those balloons will travel to Kenya via stratospheric winds 20 kilometers above Earth, a process that takes a number of weeks. Once the balloons arrive in Kenya, Loon will conduct the final stages of network integration testing with Telkom Kenya.

    “Given the global situation with COVID-19, we’re working as fast as we can to deploy the Loon service in Kenya to help in the short-term, and establish sustainable operations that will continue to serve Kenyans for the long-term,” Loon CEO Alastair Westgarth wrote in a blog post.

    While Loon is attempting to help those in need during the coronavirus pandemic, like all companies, it has been impacted too. It has reduced operational capacity at its launch sites and is adjusting to necessary travel restrictions. Thanks to the groundwork already laid in Kenya, though, Westgarth says, “we’re confident that we can address these challenges and begin providing meaningful service to Kenyas in the near future.”

  • Africa|
  • ICT

    • ATU Issues Guidelines For Africa’s Telecom Industry To Combat Coronavirus

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    By Kevin Davids

    The African Telecommunications Union (ATU), a specialized agency of the African Union in the field of telecommunications, has put together a set of guidelines to assist in combating the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic that every Member State should consider.

    Africa has so far recorded relatively few coronavirus cases compared to the rest of the world. Twenty-seven African countries have recorded over 357 coronavirus cases, according to the World Health Organization on Thursday 19th March 2020. Egypt leads in cumulated confirmed cases at 196, South Africa 116, Algeria 72, Morocco 49, and Senegal 36. Other countries with over ten cases include Tunisia, Burkina Faso, D.R. Congo, Rwanda and Cameroon.

    However, Heads of States and Governments across the continent are taking no chances as they race to stop the spread of the virus by sensitizing their citizens about the pandemic and the various ways to combat the disease.

    Globally, telecoms/ICTs have become a pillar in the prevention, preparedness and response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

    The ATU, through the Secretary-General, Mr John Omo, is urging the Ministries of ICT, through the telecommunications regulators and operators in the Member States, to consider implementing the following recommendations/guidelines to fight COVID-19 pandemic:

    Activation of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)

    Regulators should implement the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) to enable authorities to effectively prevent and mitigate the spread of Covid-19. The CAP involves the use of multiple modes of communication to educate Members of the public including vulnerable groups about the disease as well as the preventive measures. The CAP will make it possible for members of the public to receive CAP-originated information in many ways, such as through mobile and landline telephones, Internet (e-mail, Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, smartphone apps, online advertising, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, in-home smart speakers, etc.), sirens (in-building or outdoor), broadcast radio and television, cable television, emergency radio, amateur radio, satellite direct broadcast, and digital signage networks (highway signs, billboards, automobile and rail traffic control), among others.

    Collaborative Practical Measures Regulators should adopt the following:

    Network Capacity

    Fixed and mobile telephony providers should reserve some dedicated network capacity which should be made available free of charge to the authorities handling Covid-19.

    Emergency Numbers

    Fixed and mobile telephony providers should implement and enable the emergency numbers, for example 119, for voice messaging and promote short message service (SMS) as an alternative to telephony communications during this period. Emergency agencies – such as police, ministries of health and hospitals should adequately size their network capacity, e.g. lines and access trunks, to offer an efficient service when call demand is high. Also, telecommunication providers and amateur radio operators need to perform periodic emergency drills together. The public should adequately be informed of the availability of the service free of charge.

    Guidelines for action during emergencies

    Calls to emergency numbers should be free. Local and long-distance backbone providers must have redundancy networks to handle traffic from other providers that experience difficulties. Broadcasters should support communication and messaging strategies to the public in coordination with all the other agencies that are involved.

    Amateur radio operators and simplification of type-approval processes

    Radio amateurs are community based and should be involved in the information dissemination mitigation processes for Covid-19. Any type-approval acceptance could be waived during the period of emergency for equipment to be used by amateur radio operators or those processes simplified in order to gain time, for example, not subjecting such equipment to taxation at all. Regulatory authorities should recognize foreign type approvals to expedite the process and rely on the guidelines of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T).

    3.  Streamlined Regulation Processes

    Rapid response in the wake of a disaster is critical. Consequently, regulators should streamline the process to allow telecom/ICT services to be available as soon as possible. The following strategies should be considered by regulators:

    Telecom/ICT services licensing

    As the continents fight the Covid-19 pandemic, the telecom/ICT regulatory authority should urgently grant telecom/ICT service licenses necessary to support emergency telecom/ICT efforts. Therefore, exceptional expedited licensing procedures should be in place, free of charge, for use. These licenses should be temporary and valid only during this period of emergency response and recovery until the government has determined that there is no further need for the service being provided.

    Frequency allocation

    Frequency planning and allocation are critical at this time for mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Governments should make the necessary spectrum available on a national basis to allow for multiple types of applications and services, from narrowband voice services up to broadband-intensive applications. A combination of spectrum bands should be available free of charge for emergency communications, allowing both terrestrial and satellite systems to be quickly deployed with limited interference.

    Priority call routing

    During such times, networks could fail to provide service for different reasons, one of them being overload thus delaying or altogether preventing critical communication. Regulators should establish priority call routing on both mobile and fixed networks for people engaged in Covid-19 response as well as other entities and institutions involved in such activities.

    Network redundancy

    Network redundancy is a critical element of a robust network that will minimize telecom/ICT outages during this period. Disaster networks need to consider redundancy and resilience in their design, as well as increase the number of terminals. Regulators need to ensure that telecom/ICT providers have networks with adequate redundancy and multiple connectivity options for the authorities involved in combating Covid-19.

    Importing telecom/ICT equipment

    Major delays during the importation of telecom/ICT critical equipment have a negative impact on the response time to a disaster, and even impact the likely loss of lives. Delays can occur for several reasons, including duties or tariffs, restrictions based on local standards, extensive paperwork, disorganized processes, etc. Rules should be in place to expedite the importation process of critical telecom/ICT equipment that might be used for response and recovery: e.g. exemptions from duties and tariffs, clear expedited processes and streamlined paperwork. In addition, once the equipment needs to be returned to the place of origin, expedited processes should be in place to help streamline the return process.1

     Multi-stakeholder collaboration

    There should be coordinated efforts during this period and clearly defined functions for different government institutions, e.g. ministries of foreign affairs, ICT and communications, customs, regulatory agencies and first responders such as hospitals among others. Also, there should be a collaboration with the private sector, including telecom/ICT operators, private networks, and amateur radio among others to give support and insights to the government on the collection of data and dissemination of information to the public. Regulators should, therefore, carry out a set of activities and procedures to connect all actors in the ecosystem at the local, national and international levels and ensure effective flow of information as the continent fights Covid-19.

  • ICT|
  • Kenya News

    • Alphabet’s Balloon Internet Project Fails to Launch in Kenya

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    By Kevin Davids

    Alphabet’s ambitious balloon-powered internet project in Kenya is apparently being delayed by the regulatory issues. The project has not yet kicked off despite its inception two years ago.

    ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru cites the laggard nature of Kenya’s bureaucracy process as the major hindrance.
    “Everyone is working to get it there. We are 100 per cent behind it, we are just a bit slow in our bureaucracy,” said Joe Mucheru, an ardent supporter of the project.

    Alphabet’s Loon project partnered with Telkom Kenya to enable the solar-powered balloons. These balloons are meant to provide 4G internet signals to unprivileged remote areas in the country.

    To date, Loon has already set up three ground stations; Nairobi, Nakuru and Nyeri that paved the way for the final phase of testing.

    “The start of the service will be greatly informed by the outcome of the pilot as well as the reception of regulatory approvals from the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority and the Ministry of Transport, that we are currently waiting for,” said Telkom Kenya.

    Loon’s spokesperson says they have been working with the government on the matter and expects that the whole process will be “finalized soon”.

    The last update from the Loon project trickled last year when some balloons were expected to land in the country for initial commercial trials.

    Late 2019, Loon acquired a license in Uganda to fly its balloons over the country’s stratosphere.

  • Africa|
  • ICT|
  • Tanzania News|
  • Tenders

    • Tanzania’s Central Bank Targets Mobile Platforms For Retail Investors

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    By Peter Orengo

    Tanzania’s Central Bank is responding to the ICT era by targeting to introduce a mobile platform that will capture retail investors.

    The Bank of Tanzania (BoT) is planning to introduce a mobile platform that will enable retail investors to apply for and trade treasury bills and bonds.

    The central bank said the platform is expected within this year after working out a methodology with stakeholders.

    The plan centered on reaching mass participation for retail investors on bills and bonds but also reducing the low amount of tender to 100,000/- from the current 500,000/-.

    Bank of Tanzania’s Manager of Financial Markets, Lameck Kakula, said next month they expect to meet stakeholders including mobile network operators to map out a way forward.

    “We are working with FSDT [Financial Sector Deepening Trust) in introducing the platform….this will enable more players to buy government securities,” Mr Kakula said during five-day BoT’s media seminar.

    Currently, he said, they are working on stage requirement system of the mobile bidding platform for bonds before launching the initiative.

    “April [next month] we will meet with stakeholders to map out process requirements and document them.

    “We’ll be in a better picture after the April meeting…but we want to launch the platform this year,” Mr Kakula said.

    The plan could potentially take investing in treasuries to the mass market by eliminating the friction in the current market infrastructure.

    “The central bank aims at creating a simple platform where retail investors will tender directly without a third part using their mobile phones,” Mr Kakula said.

    Process requirements are documented expectations, targets and specifications for business/service processes.

    They may be collected from multiple groups of stakeholders such as business units, customers, internal customers, users and subject matter experts.

    Data from BoT showed that the number of individual investors increased from 2.0 per cent in Q2 of 2018 to 6.0 per cent in Q2 last year.

    Mr Kakula said in Kenya through the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) introduced such services of using mobile phones mid last month.

    Under Kenya’s platform the new service will make it easier to process transactions of Ksh 140,000 (8.2m/-) and below.

    “The bank is pleased to inform you about the roll-out of the Treasury Mobile Direct (TMD) services, designed to facilitate investment in government securities using the mobile telephone,” CBK said in a notice to investors last month.