MTN has outlined plans to spend US$3 billion on network upgrades in Nigeria to improve the quality of the network and expand its reach.

The investment is to be phased-in over a three-year period.

MTN and most of the Nigerian mobile networks have been criticised for poor quality of service and signing up customers to networks that cannot cope with the demand.

MTN has just over 57 million customers in Nigeria, and a market share of nearly 50 per cent.

Vivendi has completed the long running attempt to sell its 53 per cent stake in Maroc Telecom to Etisalat.

The final price came in at €4.14 billion (US$5.66 billion) – which is compared to the €4.2 billion that the companies originally said the deal would be worth.

However, that figure does not include the US$650million that Maroc Telecom has just spent buying a number of Etisalat subsidiaries – so the net cost to Etisalat is about US$300 million lower than originally expected.

In addition, Etisalat is due to receive €507 million in dividend payments from Maroc Telecom, payable next month.

Etisalat agreed to buy the 53 per cent stake in the Moroccan mobile network from Vivendi last November following a protracted bidding process, but completion has taken longer than expected.

Etisalat now owns 53 per cent of Maroc Telecom, with 17 per cent listed on a local stock market. The remaining 30 per cent is owned by the government, which also has a veto over any change in ownership.

Maroc Telecom has operations in Gabon, Mauritania, Burkina Faso and Mali, and recently acquired Etisalat’s stakes in its subsidiaries located in Benin, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Niger and Togo.

VimpelCom has reported a near collapse in its first quarter profits as revenues also declined by a tenth.

The company posted revenues down by 10 per cent at a shade over US$5 billion, while net profit collapsed, down by 90 per cent to just US$39 million.

The decrease in net profit was primarily the result of the decline in operational performance, as well as foreign exchange losses of US$92 million. A higher rate of tax in some countries also impacted on the net profit figure.

The revenue decline was mainly due to operational performance in Russia, the intense price competition in Italy particularly through the summer of 2013, regulatory and governmental actions in the Africa and Asia, together with unstable macro-economic situations in Pakistan and Ukraine.

EBITDA decreased organically six per cent year-on-year to US$2.1 billion, reflecting the decline in revenue and higher infrastructure and distribution costs in Russia.

Capex increased 24 per cent to US$736 million in Q114, reflecting the continued investments in high-speed data networks, including the roll out of LTE networks in Russia, 3G networks in Algeria and Bangladesh, and continued investments in Italy in HSPA+ and LTE.

The Group’s total customer base grew by three per cent to the end of the period at 218 million subscribers.

Cell C has outlined plans to invest ZAR2.3 billion (US$223 million) this year as it sees a rising subscriber base.

The company’s customer base has risen by 22 per cent over the past year, reaching 16.6 million at the end of April.

Cell C, which is majority owned by Dubai-based Oger Telecom, said that it will add 300 more base stations, expand its fibre-optic network and carry out general network upgrades.

Cell C also said it was close to agreeing to a US$125 million financing deal with investors.

Econet Wireless is reporting that WhatsApp usage now accounts for nearly a quarter of its entire mobile data traffic.

In February the telco launched an unlimited WhatsApp bundle, using Sandvine’s Usage Management solution. The bundle includes various plans – US$0.30 daily, US$0.95 per week and US$3 a month – to offer bite-sized Internet plans priced to meet the needs of the market demographic.

WhatsApp now accounts for more than 23 per cent of network activity.