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U.S.-China Technology Competition in the Global South

The U.S. and China are waging a hard-fought battle today for dominance of global technology standards, particularly in emerging sectors like 5G mobile telecommunications. While China's access to markets in advanced economies is increasingly limited, tech companies like Huawei, ZTE, and ...

Two New Huawei-Powered 5G Networks Launch in Africa

Chinese telecom giant Huawei may be encountering severe headwinds in the U.S., Europe and parts of Asia but not so in Africa, where the company launched two new 5G networks in just the past week: SOUTH AFRICA: Partially state-owned ...

U.S.-China Tech Competition in the Middle East

While U.S. President Joe Biden is stepping up his efforts to confront China's dominance in the Asia-Pacific, he might also want to pay attention to what's happening in the Middle East. Chinese influence in the ...

WEEK IN REVIEW: It’s Now Possible to Transport Cargo From Uganda to Kenya’s Port of Mombasa

The long-held dream of transporting goods between Uganda and the Port of Mombasa became a reality on Monday with the inauguration of a new rail line that connects Kenya's Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) with a newly refurbished meter gauge line in Uganda. This is a pared-down version of the ...

China Plans to Ramp Up Digital Engagement in Africa

The Chinese government announced new plans this week to increase engagement in Africa's tech sector by expanding partnerships in a number of areas including digital economy, smart cities, and 5G mobile communications.   “China will share the achievements of digital technology with Africa to ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

BRICS Announces Numerous New Initiatives

The BRICS group wrapped up its two-day leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro on Monday. The summit’s final communique is a 16,000-word doorstop that covers numerous issues from economics to education.
The communique avoids any direct mention of the United States, and references to “unilateralism” and other coded criticism are also relatively scarce. Rather, the communique keeps the focus on the BRICS’ vision of the strengthening and reform of the global multilateral system ...

Huawei Mobile Money is Quietly Becoming an Important Fintech Engine For Emerging Market Payment Platforms

Most of the discussion about Huawei in places like Africa or the Americas centers on the company's 5G technology that officials in the U.S., Europe, and some Asian countries believe presents a security threat. But the Shenzhen-based company isn't generating $137 billion in annual ...

Tech Digest: With China’s Tech Giants Increasingly Shut Out of the EU & U.S., Africa Now Looks a Lot More Appealing

Oversaturation in China’s domestic tech market and a pandemic-fuelled cash crunch are driving Chinese firms to expand their African ventures. As 2021’s first quarter comes to a close, let’s take stock of the scoreboard: ...

In a Surprise Move, Kenya’s Safaricom Suspends Its Huawei-Powered 5G Roll Out

Kenya's largest telecom operator, Safaricom, announced on Tuesday that it will suspend deployment of its new Huawei-powered fifth-generation (5G) mobile network. The news came as a surprise to many, given that the company has already completed testing and trials of the new network's high-speed ...

Safaricom’s Decision to Suspend Its Huawei-Powered 5G Network is Just a Business Story

It's going to be very tempting for a lot of people in Washington, D.C. to read the news that Kenya's leading telco, Safaricom, suspended the rollout of its new Huawei-powered 5G network as evidence that the company finally came to its senses about the dangers of using ...

Kenya Says Companies, Not the Government Decides Whether to Use Huawei 5G Tech

Kenyan ICT Minister Joe Mucheru said it's up to telecom operator Safaricom, not the government, to decide whether or not to use Huawei equipment. Mucheru once again asserted his country's sovereignty in the decision over which technology provider to use for telecom equipment and said there are no ...

Why the U.S. Campaign Against Huawei Will Fail in Africa

For the first time in years, the United States is seeing progress in its relentless effort to persuade/force/cajole (it really depends on your viewpoint) countries against using networking equipment from the Chinese telecom giant Huawei. The UK's recent decision to ban Huawei gear from its ...

Africa Could Be the Winner as the U.S. Attempts to Stifle Huawei

This much is clear: 5G is coming. About 100 times faster than current mobile speeds, it will deliver faster internet to more people. One square kilometer of 4G can support about 4,000 devices. With 5G that jumps to about one million devices. But this ...
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