South Africa’s MTN Group has bought out its 50:50 partner in MTN Cyprus giving it sole ownership of the mobile network. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

The other 50 per cent was owned by Amaracos Holdings, a company representing the interests of the Shacolas Group and the Panos Germanos Group.

MTN Group president and CEO, Sifiso Dabengwa, said: "MTN Cyprus is an important part of MTN Group, as it represents one of our most developed markets. We see MTN Cyprus as a springboard for the development and introduction of innovative products and services that may be applicable to other MTN Group markets in future".

MTN Group acquired its initial investment in MTN Cyprus in 2006 as part of a larger transaction where 100 per cent of Investcom, a holding company of operations in 10 countries in Africa and the Middle East, was acquired.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the Commission for Protection of Competition of the Republic of Cyprus.

Huawei is to launch a low-cost Windows Phone 8 device in seven African markets this quarter as part of a partnership with Microsoft to drive up smartphone penetration on the continent.

The Huawei ‘4Afrika’ smartphone will be available in Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Angola, Morocco and South Africa “towards the latter part” of Q1. It is expected to retail at around US$150.

The device is a customised version of the Chinese vendor’s Ascend W1 smartphone launched at Consumer Electronics Show last month. It sports a 4-inch 480×800 display, dual-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon processor, front and rear-facing cameras, and 4GB of internal storage. It also features a customised store offering apps and content “built and designed by Africans for Africans.”

The launch forms part of Microsoft’s wider 4Afrika initiative, which also launches today.  Microsoft says Windows Phone already has a strong presence in Africa with devices from HTC, Samsung, and Nokia. Indeed, another aspect of 4Afrika is a joint Nokia and Microsoft customer training programme in Kenya and Nigeria designed to help accelerate adoption of Nokia Lumia 510 and 620 phones.

Huawei, meanwhile, has been active in Africa since 1999, and claims to have worked with more than 18 African governments.

“A second major component of the 4Afrika programme sees Microsoft, somewhat unusually, becoming involved in an infrastructure project, in this case a wireless broadband network in Kenya’s Rift Valley that will use white spaces (unused broadcast spectrum) and solar power to bring Internet connectivity to people living in remote, rural areas, commented Matthew Reed, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. “Microsoft is working alongside the Kenyan government and local ISP Indigo on the Rift Valley broadband project.”

“Other elements of the 4Afrika project include a portal for SMEs; a training centre that will offer technical and business courses; an AppFactory to encourage the development of African apps for the Windows Store; and a female empowerment portal, aimed at North African women.”

Ericsson says that it has partnered with Saudi Telecom for the deployment of the Ericsson Tower Tube in eight different sites in Princess Noura University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Ericsson Tower Tube solution supports the full spectra of antennas and radio equipment and can also house substantially more antennas and micro-wave dishes compared with a traditional tower solution.

The tower’s concrete exterior provides a stable internal environment while simultaneously protecting all equipment from adverse weather conditions and vandalism. The Ericsson Tower Tube also opens up for passive infrastructure sharing for example multi-operator sites.

An investigation has dismissed allegations that MTN Group bribed officials and engaged in corruption to secure Iran’s second mobile licence in 2005.

The allegations were made by Turkcell, which lost out to MTN for the Iranian operating licence, and filed a lawsuit in the US demanding US$4.2 billion in damages last year. MTN owns 49 per cent of Irancell with the rest of the operator owned by the Iranian government.

Turkcell accused MTN of bribing South Africa’s ambassador to Tehran, Yusuf Saloojee, and Iranian official Javid Ghorbanoghli – and using its influence to get South Africa to abstain from a vote on Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Turkcell’s allegations were based on testimony by Christian Kilowan, who was employed by MTN between August 2004 and November 2007.

The committee appointed by MTN to investigate the claims dismissed Turkcell’s allegations as “a fabric of lies, distortions and inventions.”

Chaired by retired judge Lord Hoffman, the committee found there was no conspiracy between MTN and Iranian officials to remove Turkcell from the successful consortium and that the company did not bribe officials.

The committee also found nothing to support Turkcell’s claims that MTN influenced the IAEA vote or promised to get the South African government to supply Iran with defence equipment in exchange for the telecom licence.

MTN said it “will continue to vigorously defend the US Proceedings” initiated by Turkcell.

Qtel Group has raised its stake in Iraq’s Asiacell to 64 per cent as a result of the Iraqi network’s stock market floatation on February 4.

Asiacell sold a quarter of its shares through the government mandated stock market floatation, and as previously suggested by the company, Qtel took the opportunity to raise its stake.

Qtel said that it had raised its stake from 53.9 per cent to 64.1 per cent.

The IPO was fully subscribed, and the shares jumped by 10 per cent on their first day of trading on the Baghdad Stock Exchange.

Foreign investors bought about 70 per cent of the shares on offer, which was supposed to be a way for the government to increase local ownership of large companies.

The country’s other two mobile networks are also required to sell a quarter of their shares through IPOs.