Africa wrap: Kenya to combat counterfeit phones

Consumers and operators will be inconvenienced at the end of September if a planned switch-off of counterfeit handsets takes place. Consumers will lose connectivity, while operators are set to lose revenue. An estimated 2,4m mobile phone users in Kenya use counterfeit devices. Kenya's Communications Commission says the benefits of the exercise outweigh the costs and include reduced calls to support centres for technical support for devices that don't meet minimum standards and a reduction in criminals using the devices with unregistered Sim cards. Source: Standard Digital

Surge in African smartphone users

The first quarter of 2012 has seen 30m new mobile phone users in sub-Saharan Africa, making it one of the fastest-growing regions worldwide. Global mobile subscriptions reached 6,2bn during the period, with 170m new mobile subscriptions. These figures come from the Global Traffic and Market Report, prepared by Ericsson. Nigeria now has 99,1m active subscribers despite having only 55% market penetration. This is expected to grow rapidly in coming years. Western Europe, meanwhile, has 126% cellphone penetration, with many users having multiple subscriptions. Source: The Guardian Nigeria

New prepaid satellite service for Nigeria

Nigeria has launched a new pay-as-you-go satellite service in a bid to improve Internet access in the country. The service was launched in Lagos by Sat Space Africa using the Telstar 11n and Amos5 satellites. The product has no monthly subscription fee and subscribers pay only for the data they use. It uses both the C and Ku bands. The service is mainly aimed at business users but is available to private individuals, too. Source: The Guardian Nigeria