telecoms

Authored by managers at ethio telecom, the federal government may soon write a bill that will force developers of buildings to avail rooftops for the erection of wireless network antennas, says a report in Addis Fortune.

If legislated, the bill will also compel the state owned telecom monopoly to pay building owners for the service they provide; a source with knowledge to the plan, told Fortune.

Communication service company, Mainone cable has hinted on building a high standard Data centre in Nigeria which could accommodate 600 racks by the end of 2013. The data center which is expected to be fully operational by 2014 will host data from telecoms operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who till now have been hosting their data from outside the country.

Chip giant Intel is intending to plunge deeper into low-end smartphone manufacturing, with HumanIPO learning that it is set to launch a low-cost phone in Kenya in the coming weeks.

The smartphone brand, yet to be announced, is expected to resemble to one the company launched in India late last year known as Xolo -- Intel’s first smartphone operating on Android platform and with an atom-based processor.

A Nigerian opposition party has condemned a government scheme to give 10 million mobile phones for free to farmers. All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) General Secretary Tijani Tumsa said the plan was a "mischievous vote-catching exercise" for the 2015 elections.

Last week, the agriculture minister said the phones would help farmers "drive an agriculture revolution". Akinwumi Adesina said their purchase would be financed through a tax. He denied reports that the government had already set aside $400m (£249m) to buy the phones.

With local management having recently resumed control of Ethio Telecom after the conclusion of a management contract with France Telecom-Orange (FT-Orange), details of the telco’s new network management strategy have emerged.

State prosecutors here are on the verge of reaching a conclusion for the sale of the Atlantic Wireless Incorporated or Libercell GSM for its indebtedness to the government of Liberia in the tune of US$734,963.20, pending outcome of discussions expected to be held with Tax Court Judge Eva Mappy Morgan at the end of this week at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia.

In a phone interview Tuesday with this paper, Finance Ministry's Counselor Powell Duan said, "We are intending to sell Libercell [for] $1m because of default.

More than five companies are considering bidding for Zambia’s fourth mobile network operator licence with the country’s communication, transport, works and supply minister, Chris Yaluma, cited as saying: ‘I can disclose that my ministry has received bids from over five telecom operators who have expressed interest in setting up a business in Zambia. Among them is Vodacom of South Africa.’ The identities of the other would-be bidders were not disclosed.

A smartphone and tablet said to be the first designed by an African company have been launched. The products, designed by Congolese entrepreneur Verone Mankou, are manufactured in China.

His company VMK's devices run Google's Android software. They will retail at $170 (£105) for the smartphone and $300 (£185) for the tablet."Only Africans can know what Africa needs," said Mr Mankou at the Tech4Africa conference in Johannesburg. "Apple is huge in the US, Samsung is huge in Asia, and we want VMK to be huge in Africa."

• The National Communica