In-flight Internet to take off in South Africa

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:47:31 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

South Africans could look forward to Internet access through Fli G-Connect on flights between Johannesburg and Cape Town, as soon as April. The current programme is structured to “get everything in place in the next four months or so”, with installation in the first Mango plane set to start in April, said WirelessG CEO Carel van der Merwe.

WirelessG also has the sole rights to provide the service in Africa, from May 1. WirelessG’s international technology partner, Row44, has submitted documentation to, and would hold a meeting with, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in South Africa in February.

Approval for the required equipment making Wi-Fi access possible in-flight, has been granted in the US by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA). Thus the meeting with the CAA would be largely administrative, transferring the certification to the CAA.

“The CAA has said that it would take no longer than a month to endorse it,” Van der Merwe noted, adding that the company’s partners in South Africa, namely Vodacom Business, and Mango airlines have also given their commitment and stated their readiness to deploy the technology.

Van der Merwe explained that the safety of the technology has already been approved by the FAA, and internationally the CAA accepts certification from the US.

The technology has been installed on some 800 planes in America already.

Connecting to the Internet on-board a flight was said to be exactly the same as connecting to a Wi-Fi hotspot in the airport. “You will sit down, open your laptop, smartphone or tablet, and when you enable your Wi-Fi, you will pick up the signal. Then click on your browser, and then the gateway that regulates the traffic will stream a landing page to your screen. You then put in your G-Connect account credentials, or you purchase a voucher, and Bob's your uncle, you are on the Internet!” enthused Van der Merwe.

The service would be cheaper for G-Connect customers, and a part of the company’s converged account offering, so customers would not lose what they did not use on the plane. “We have experienced a lot of challenges, but we are there, and it will definitely happen,” continued Van der Merwe.

Mango would be first airline to offer the service, but Van der Merwe said that WirelessG was in discussions with other airlines. The Row44 technology uses a low-profile antenna, four compact line replaceable units, a server management unit, a high power amplifier, an antenna control unit and a modem data unit on each equipped aircraft. To deliver a Wi-Fi signal, one or more wireless access units will also need to be placed in the aircraft.
Speeds would vary in accordance with each specific application, but would be consistent with the WirelessG Wi-Fi hotspot experience.

Nigeria: Helios Acquires Majority Stake in Interswitch

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:17:04 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Helios Investment Partners, a private equity firm dedicated to making growth investments across Africa has acquired a majority stake in Interswitch and thus have become a shareholder of the largest transaction switching and electronic payment processing service provider in Nigeria and owner of the card scheme Verve.

A statement from the company quoted the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch, Mitchell Elegbe as saying that the company is delighted to have "Helios join our shareholder base as our core investor and their involvement is happening at a time when Nigeria is getting set for the next phase of growth in electronic payments"

He said Helios demonstrated deep domain knowledge in the payments space combined with its leadership in African private equity. Interswitch believes the partnership will be highly synergistic and will propel Interswitch to become the leading payments company in Africa

The strategic partnership and the remaining shareholders will further enhance Interswitch's strong growth and accelerate the company's pan-African expansion plans as well as build on its reputation for innovative applications developed for the African market and a service valued by banks for high reliability.

Interswitch facilitates the exchange of value between service providers by providing a secure shared payment infrastructure and integrated message broker solutions for financial transactions, eCommerce, telecommunications value-added services, eBilling, payment collections and disbursements. The company developed and administers Verve, the leading card scheme in Nigeria .

The Verve card, which is currently issued by 21 out of the 24 banks in Nigeria, is the first and only chip and PIN card accepted across multiple payment channels including ATMs, Point of Sale (PoS) terminals, online, mobile and at banks, and enjoys the largest range of value added services.

The company has been at the forefront of the development and growth of the e-payment sector in Nigeria , which is evidenced by its unique position of being the only switching and processing company connected to all banks in the country as well as to over 10,000 ATMs and 11,000 PoS terminals.

Aside, the company is the leading processor for MasterCard and the market leader in merchant acquiring PoS, a segment that is still emerging and has potential for tremendous growth in Nigeria .

The completion of the switchover from magnetic strip cards to chip and PIN cards in 2010, is expected to further accelerate growth and usage of e-payments across the country. Nigeria is the first country in Africa to have completed this migration, and is one of the few countries in the world to have completed the migration in under a year.

Africa’s power shortages threaten the development of data centres and the cost of running base stations

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:59:06 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

All this rolling out of complex mobile Internet services requires powerful local data centres to make it all work. Effective data centres need reliable power at predictable prices. There is a staggering power shortfall across the continent and prices will go up to cover future investment. With the one-year forecasts for oil putting it at over US$100 per barrel, the cost of servicing remote base stations will get significantly higher. Russell Southwood looks at the obstacles power sourcing is creating for the current round of telecoms and Internet investment and the findings of Balancing Act’s latest report, Data Centre Markets in Africa.

The upsurge in the launch of new data centres in Africa has come from three main directions. Large corporates (particularly banks) are understanding that the cost of business continuity and offsite operations is increasingly expensive and/or is not part of their core business. South Africa’s Standard Bank was openly saying out loud maybe it would look to attract other customers into data centre which tells its own story. Telecoms operators looking for new revenue streams want to be able to offer a menu of cloud services to corporates that has to have data centre to deliver it. These services include: virtualization (e.g., server, storage and desktop), software as a service (SaaS) and dynamic infrastructure services.

ARPU and margins on current voice services are decreasing, so mobile operators have started to launch services that require Internet connectivity. These services require data transfer via broadband access and large storage capacity, secured data hosting, fast access to hosted data, recovery and back up. Over the next five years, the ability to offer customers some unique value added service and increase speed to market using local storage capabilities will make a difference between winners and losers.

Lastly, in a competitive market there are many players and they all have to interconnect somewhere. Local IXPs pioneered the trail but everybody needs data “meet points” to simplify interconnection. If you have 50-100 players, they all need to be able to go to common “meet points” to be able to deliver traffic to each other without setting up that number of individual connections between each other.

So what’s not to like? Well, data centres are power hungry beasts and you do not want to be running them on “gen sets” for any length of time. Anyone who knows Africa knows that power unreliability is a constant feature and that even South Africa now has rolling “black-outs” (or should that read “load-shedding”, which is the current weasily, euphemism?).

The entire generation capacity (expressed in megawatts) of 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa is no more than that of Spain. A World Bank study identified that power outages in Africa are on average 56 days a year: imagine being in the country that is above that average. A significant amount of generating capacity is not in a suitable and usable condition and results in many firms having to operate their own diesel generators – at extremely high cost.

Around 20% of Africa’s installed power generation capacity is now emergency generation. Even to meet fairly modest energy generation targets, the continent needs to add a further 3,000 megawatts of generation capacity and this estimate predates the requirements of data centres. What’s worse is that if you take the example of one of the continent’s key economies, Nigeria, there is an estimated generated capacity deficit of 5,750 megawatts.

As one insider told us:” Electricity in Nigeria is in its worst ever shape. All around the country, the story is of low reliability and poor access to electricity. Diesel generators are the main source of power and analysts estimate that up to $8billion is spent annually by corporations and individuals on alternative sources of electricity.”

Worse still, the transmission networks are also all in poor shape and this affects the operating cost base of those mobile operators that have significant numbers of off-grid base stations. One of East Africa’s larger mobile operators has 2,500 base stations in one country and 500 of these are off-grid. That’s a staggering US$30 million cost line every year and it’s not just the cost, there’s also all the management attention that goes into making sure all those base stations are fully fuelled and that the generators are maintained and operational. In places like Sudan, they fly diesel into some off-grid base station locations and in Liberia, diesel goes by boat and hand cart to some locations. And there are probably 500 off-grid base stations in each country in this situation.

The latest report from Balancing Act – Data Centre Markets in Africa - covers the whole continent but has detailed country profiles for the main 11 data centre markets: South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco. Algeria, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal and Angola. It is the product of seven months work by three researchers, including international data centre expert Pablo Diantina. It analyses the current environment, key trends, business issues, opportunities and future developments in the market.

It assesses the "shared" data centre landscape by country and by facility type. Altogether, the reports highlights 108 "shared" data center facilities in 11 African countries. The report also answers the question "where to build new data centres in Africa?" by reviewing ideal data centre locations, their economic and political status, available power grid and access to bandwidth from an investors' perspective. This includes analysis for each selected country with relevant market segmentation, locations' strengths and weaknesses, key builds and major new planned builds in 2011.

A chapter dedicated to pricing and another one focused on market drivers bring extra ammunitions to potential investors. The study also provides an African Data Center contact directory, a directory of companies engaged in selling services into the African data centre sector, 66 tables packed with detailed market indicators.

The report is 122 pages long and has over 100 charts, tables and maps plus two excel spreadsheet contact directories. To get more details, click here:

There is a link to a full contents listing at the bottom of this page.

There is also a forthcoming report on a related topic in terms of power supply. In February, Balancing Act will publish the long-awaited Energy for Cellular Base Stations. To get more details, go to:

Balancing Act’s Web TV Channel presents:

* Jeremy George, COO, ForgetMeNot Africa on its SMS to e-mail service.

* Herman Heunis on social networking with MXit.

* Christophe Fichet of Faskin Martineau on the state of regulation in Africa (in French).

* Reg Swart, Fundamo on M-Money in Africa.

* Franck Salin of Afrik.com on its web strategy (in French).

There are 69 clips in both English and French that contain news and information that does not appear in our e-letter or on our web site.

Chinese company lobbied to build Sierra Leone national backbone

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:48:39 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information and Communication has confided in the Chinese government that his government was keen to build a fibre backbone to facilitate the landing of the ACE cable in the country.

Speaking to the Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Embassy of the Peoples Republic of China, Alhaji Ibrahim Ben Kargbo stressed the need to construct the optic backbone, noting: "The absence of the optic backbone will pose difficulties in the landing of the Submarine Fibre in Sierra Leone by 2011."

He commended the Chinese for providing his government with both the CDMA and the Security Platform for the submarine cable, which he said, should be under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Kargbo used the occasion to inform the diplomat that his ministry has launched an Information and Communication Technology Council in Sierra Leone.

The Chinese envoy, Lui Yulin, strongly promised to relay the concerns raised by the minister to his government through his embassy. He maintained that the issue of communication technology was a matter of urgency, noting, "We are living in an information technology world". Yulin reaffirmed the Chinese government's commitment to continue to work with Sierra Leone to advance information technology in the country.

Egypt: Vimpelcom confirms ‘final approval’ for deal with newly-named Wind Telecom

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:18:41 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Russian telecoms firm Vimpelcom has confirmed that its supervisory board has given its final approval for the proposed merger with Wind Telecom, the telecoms holding company formerly known as Weather Investments. Six of nine directors, including all three independent directors and the three Altimo-nominated directors, voted in favour of the transaction, with the three Telenor-nominated directors voting against the transaction, as had been previously acknowledged. With reference to the ongoing dispute with the Algerian government over the ownership of Orascom Telecom Algeria, which offers cellular services under the Djezzy brand, the Vimpelcom press statement confirmed: ‘Orascom Telecom Algeria remains a strategically important asset for Vimpelcom. Vimpelcom is therefore interested in exploring with the Algerian government a resolution which would allow Vimpelcom to retain Orascom Telecom [Algeria] following completion of the transaction’.

According to local news reports, Weather Investments, the investment vehicle founded and run by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris, switched its name to Wind Telecom on 30 December 2010. Following completion of the transaction, Vimpelcom will own, through Wind Telecom, 51.7% of Egypt-based international cellular group Orascom Telecom [minus certain assets including Egyptian and North Korean mobile businesses] and 100% of Italian full-service telco Wind. The combination of the assets of Vimpelcom and Wind Telecom - as previously announced on 4 October 2010 - will create the world’s sixth largest mobile telecoms carrier by subscribers. According to Vimpelcom, the preferred shares issued to Wind Telecom shareholders at the closing of the transaction will represent an approximate 20.0% economic interest and a 30.6% voting interest in the enlarged Vimpelcom group.

Jo Lunder, the chairman of Vimpelcom’s supervisory board, commented: ‘Vimpelcom’s supervisory board is pleased to approve this transaction. This combination will create a top-tier global telecoms company and should drive significant value for all our shareholders. While we acknowledge Telenor’s divergent view, we believe that the majority of our shareholders recognize the strategic and financial merits of this transaction. In the end, as it should be with a public company, it will be the special general meeting of shareholders that will make the final determination’. According to Vimpelcom, the enlarged company will operate in 19 countries around the world, covering a population of 838 million people, with over 173 million mobile subscribers.

Nigeria: IXPN Facility to Generate $20 Million in Savings

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:49:57 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

With the commissioning of the new Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria, (IXPN) last week in Lagos by the Nigerian Communication Commission, (NCC), Nigeria is expected to experience immediate drop in connectivity costs to the tune of more than $20 million in offshore bandwidth payments in the first year of operations.

The IXPN, initiated during the Obasanjo administration, when fully implement according to the promoters is expected to fast-track development in various sectors of the economy.

At the commissioning last Friday in Lagos, NCC EVC , Dr Eugene Juwah told stakeholders that IXPN was a dream come true as it would avoid the global imbalance in telecom connectivity that forces some nations to send traffic designed for local destinations through international hubs located outside their countries, thereby attracting extra cost and consuming more bandwidth.

"This means that this facility will save the nation some foreign exchange when fully implemented and I am told by the management of IXPN Ltd we will experience immediate drop in connectivity costs as well as cost savings of more than $20million in offshore Internet bandwidth payments in the first year of operations. This is very commendable.

For the Chairman of IXPN, Chima Onyekwere, as Africa becomes more and more connected internally, Nigeria is being positioned to be the regional IXP for West Africa.

"At IXPN, we are committed not only to the development of a national internet infrastructure, but increasingly, an infrastructure that will span the entire African continent, Europe, America, Asia and the entire world. IXPN will provide the much expected benefits required at an IXP as well as build and maintain a global reputation for quality, performance, reliability and excellence in all aspects.

"The IXPN offers connections at its currently operating locations at 100M and 1000M (1G) port speeds. The IXPN operates a Mandatory MLPA (Multi-Lateral Peering Agreement), which means it is mandatory for every member to peer with the IXPN route servers.

Uganda: Looming Job Cuts in data Firm's Restructuring

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:20:23 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

A number of jobs have been affected at the BroadBand Company as the firm moves to restructure its operations. The move, which will include merging, creation and elimination of some positions, is in line with the Internet service providers' objectives as it refocuses its business this year.

The affected, according to a source that preferred anonymity, include senior managers, field officers and other junior staff. Rodney Rudman, the firm's Chief Executive Officer, said in a press notice that the company had notified the Ministry of Labour in regard to the exercise and the board had already approved the changes. He said:"We are keen on completing the exercise fairly, sensitively and in line with the labour laws of Uganda."

The firm, which entered Uganda's business space in 2008, has seen stiff competition from other internet providers including; Africa online, Infocom, new entrants Foris Telecom and a shift by telecom firms eyeing to tap into Uganda's data industry.

BroadBand is owned by PME Africa Infrastructure Opportunities - a London equity fund, with majority shareholding and a consortium of local businessmen.

Former Naspers Exec’s Ubuntu to Launch 19 Internet Portals in Africa

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:51:26 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Former Naspers digital media executive Johan Nel says his group Ubuntu Media is to launch 19 Internet portals across Africa between 2011 and 2012, with the Zambian portal having gone live on 1 January.

Nel said he wanted to create relevant online content to attract traffic into the continent. Online media players have blamed the lack of local content for the high cost of internet in most African countries. This is largely due to the fact that Africa-based internet service providers (ISPs) have to pay to link to the internet in the rest of the world due to little internet content stored locally.

ISPs from abroad rarely link to African countries because their domestic internet users rely on local traffic to surf the internet and there is little internet content from the continent that is in high demand in the rest of the world.

"Gone are the days when African traffic goes to just international websites. We need to stand up and be counted; we need to create African media companies. We need to create online communities, make relevant information available for the masses; we need to educate, create marketing opportunities and empower the man on the street," Nel told Bizcommunity.

"The cost and connection speed issue for most of the African countries are still very present, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The growth in numbers is already there, the cables are coming and more connections will need more relevant local content," said Nel.

Five internet portals will be launched this year one for each of the following countries: Namibia, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Angola and Mozambique will also be translated into Portuguese for relevance, Nel said.

"We are about people, information and connections. We are African and we are going to change the way Africa communicates (and) accesses information, stays informed and transacts online. It's our reason for being," he said.

He said all the portals would be branded with the "i" brand and have a local URL extension. For example, iNamibia.co.na, iGhana.com. The Zambian portal is www.izambia.co.zm.

Ubuntu Media was launched by Nel and is actively supported and funded by eVentures Africa Fund, one of the first venture capital companies active in digital media in sub-saharan Africa.

Nel said eType would handle the media sales on the sites in the different countries on behalf of Ubuntu.

Explaining the feasibility of the project, Nel said: "63 million people, 3.2 million internet users and no similar offering in the selected countries bring a big opportunity to the table. Africa is also rapidly expanding with more broadband connectivity, lower costs and higher speeds constantly being offered in the continent. Africa makes up about 15% of the world's population but currently has only 4.8% of the world's internet users."

Kenya: Regulator Moves to Block 'Junk' SMSes

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:36:13 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

The telecommunications industry regulator CCK has warned operators and content providers over increasing unsolicited text messages, saying they are illegal and an infringement of personal privacy.

Communications Commission of Kenya director-general Charles Njoroge said that in the recent past, they have received many complaints from members of the public with respect to unsolicited text messages generated by telecommunications service providers.

"Users receiving such unsolicited text messages are advised to lodge complaints with their service provider. Should the service providers fail to resolve such complaints, users may come to the commission for further action," Njoroge said in a statement sent to the Nation.

This comes in the wake of the growing number of telemarketing business operators who have swamped mobile phone subscribers with SMSs on deals and offers on their services and products without first seeking the consent of the concerned subscribers.

Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore admitted that whereas a number of their subscribers have complained, the operators have a legal obligation to provide the service once CCK licences the premium mobile content providers.

"However, we are taking steps to address the issue. We have come up with a technical solution, which allows us to block such SMS once the subscribers complain," Collymore said on Tuesday.

CCK's decision comes in the backdrop of a marketing blitz by lotteries and the lure of striking riches quickly, which has seen many Kenyans spend much of their hard-earned money on sending messages to the lottery numbers only to be shocked later on learning that the SMS are charged at premium rates of up to Sh69 per SMS.

Late last week, the commission banned the short code 6969 run by Shinda Smart lottery, accusing the firm of abusing the laid down licence requirements.

"It has come to our attention that the lottery/gaming services are being provided without following the laid down procedures in accordance with provisions in CCK's Content Service Provider license," Mr Njoroge said.

He directed that the use of the telecommunications short code 6969 by Flint East Africa Ltd, the firm running the lottery, and its associates be discontinued with immediate effect.

CCK warned the general public that the use of a telecommunications short code to provide services by any person other than a licensee of the commission is illegal.

Service providers who are licensed to provide lottery services are also required to hold a permit from the Betting and Control Licensing Board.

Paypal Launches School Fees Payment Platform in Kenya

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:31:50 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Long queues in banks during school opening days will soon be a thing of the past thanks to technology that has paved way for parents to pay fees through mobile phones.

PayPal - an online payment gateway in partnership with Safaricom and some banks have launched a platform that allows one to pay fees directly to school banks accounts through a mobile phone, eliminating the risks associated with sending money to third parties and reducing bank transaction fees.

At the moment, some parents send school fees to head teachers' or bursars' mobile phones then they withdraw and pay it to the schools.

But now, parents can pay the school directly through PayPal's system dubbed Schoolpay at no fee. The schools that have linked their accounts to the web-based platform pay Sh10,000 per term. "We are giving schools one free term and then we will charge Sh10,000 per term," said Agosta Liko, the chief executive officer of PayPal said.

After a parent sends the fee it is first deposited at PayPal's trust accounts or the mobile providers' trust account where it is then transferred to the respective school accounts.
At the moment, Kenya Commercial Bank, Cooperative Bank and CFC hold trusts account.

Liko said Schoolpay will enable over 30,000 secondary and primary schools in Kenya go hi-tech by receiving and managing mobile payments from parents electronically.
Already, more than 90 schools have signed up to offer the service starting next term.

The Schoolpay system will enable schools track money paid for various activities like trips, activity, lunch, easily than the current mode where parents just pay in lumpsum through the bank. It will also enable bursars track fees paid through credit cards and allow those who are abroad to pay fees using Visa, MasterCard and American Express.

Liko said schools will save up to 80 per cent of the current costs incurred in receiving school fees.

Once more with feeling: Tanzania’s TTCL in third sale attempt, raising US$214 m

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:39:07 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

The publicly-owned Tanzania Telecommunications Limited (TTCL) is seeking a US$214.67 million credit facility, as it plans to enter into the third privatization attempt.
Reports from the TTCL workers’ union revealed last week that an unnamed Vietnamese firm has shown interest in buying the country's telecoms back bone firm.

This will be the third privatization attempt after the first two that ended miserably for Tanzania as the two firms bought in failed to meet agreed terms and scope of work and business targets.

The unconfirmed reports come in the wake of the TTCL's attempts to recapitalize by seeking a Government loan guarantee for US$214.67 million (Tshs 322 billion) to keep it financially afloat and competitive in a tough telecommunications atmosphere.
Junus Ndaro, the Secretary General of TEWUTA - a workers' union, said in Dar es Salaam last week that TTCL needs an immediate recapitalization fund of Tshs70 billion ($46.67 million).

TTCL finds itself in this situation partly because its major customers, the Government and some of its institutions, have failed to settle huge outstanding telephone bills that amount to millions of dollars, and the competition against four (major) mobile operators is mounting.

The firm, twice privatized to foreign firms, is now operated by Tanzanian staff and management, but stiff competition and an inadequate entrepreneurship has tended to drag it down. Whilst competing telecommunications firms change with the times to cope with customers' demands and appetites, TTCL has been slow to respond appropriately.
TTCL, retrenched over 500 staff in 2007 to cut operational costs and to hire new blood to boost business, has had to hire a large number of untrained staff, and those trained in-house have apparently been migrating to the competition. If the intimated sale proposal to a Vietnamese company succeeds, it will be the third foreign firm take over TTCL in the last 10 years.

TTCL first went into an 'unsatisfactory' partnership with a joint venture of millionaire Mo Ibrahim's MSI of the Netherlands and Detecon of Germany. The reasons, according to the report in East African Business Week were the failings of its management and its non-delivery of a targeted number of fixed lines. However, the company was sold on the understanding that a certain level of outstanding debts could be collected and the buyer was unable to do so.

The joint investors instead arranged to have 60% in Celtel and the Tanzania Government agreed to take 40%. A few years later Celtel was sold to Zain, and resold to an Indian firm and renamed Airtel.

Following the failed Government-MSI joint venture, the Government once again entertained foreign interests by hiring a Canadian telecoms management company Saskatel. Although the report in East African Business describes its period as a failure, Balancing Act readers will remember that it failed to find a buyer on terms the Government wanted. Maybe there’s lesson in there for this third attempt to sell? Good luck but don’t hold your breath.

Kenyan stockbrokers Race to install New IT System

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:04:47 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Stockbrokers are racing to install a common and more secure trading system in the next two months to curb cases of fraud by employees who exploit loopholes in the current operating platforms.

Donald Ouma, the Head of Marketing and product development at the Nairobi Stock Exchange said testing of the new back office system had started on January 3 and is expected to be completed by end of March.

Ouma said the system, which will have a direct connection between brokers' IT systems and the stock exchange's automated trading system, will reduce fraud by limiting manual processing of investor orders.

"The system has inbuilt alert features that send messages on attempted unauthorised actions for proactively managing any such risks. It has an audit trail functionality that tracks all changes made to data, and keeps a record of who changed it and when. Such changes are made available in a form that is easy to understand," said Ouma.

The system also sorts out dormant accounts and assigns extra security authorisation requirements before selling of any shares, a feature that is supposed to protect against sale of shares owned by either inactive or deceased investors.

Sterling Investment Bank chairman Stanley Ngaine, who is also a director at the NSE, said the information system estimated to have cost about Sh100 million will ease the detection and tracing of fraud.

"It is a versatile system and has more controls. There is no system that is foolproof but it should eliminate most operational issues and fraud," he said.

Zambian and Kenya: Researchers Seek Ways to Improve Water Supply Using Mobile Phones

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:32:59 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Researchers are working to use the mobile phone to enhance water management in Kenya. A team of experts from the University of Oxford, Rural Focus Limited (Kenya) and ZamDex in Zambia hopes to use the opportunities the handset presents. The Smart Water Systems will exploit innovations in metering and communications to improve water supplies and management.

By the end of this year more Kenyan households would have mobile phones than access to enough safe water, but this can change. "Africa may soon lead the world in the adoption of new technologies to address its oldest problem -- insufficient access to water," they said.

The group's work is financed by the UK through the Department for International Development.

The team has fingered Kenya and Zambia as being "particularly interesting case studies" and a workshop will take place today in Nairobi. Present will include Ministry of Water and Irrigation as well as water services boards staff, service providers, mobile telephone operators, banks and donor agencies.

Water Services Regulatory Board CEO Robert Gakubia said the smart water systems could improve Kenya's water supplies. "There is no transparency without information, which means that information is key to good governance in the water sector."Gabukia is expected to deliver a keynote address.

The goal of the workshop is to provide a platform on how smart water system can lead to increased accountability and improved water supply and the problems in achieving these.
The experts reiterate that the approach would lead to smart metering and payment using mobile banking.

"Smart water system offers the potential to improve the lives of millions of Kenyans who are able to pay for their water provided they receive it in a sustainable, affordable and acceptable manner," an expert said.

Ethiopia: More Charges Against Suspected Illegal Phone Operators

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:40:56 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Prosecutors of the Federal Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (FEAC) amended the charge they had brought against individuals they accused of running businesses that facilitated the placing of illegal international telephone calls, and added two more defendants, on Tuesday, January 12, 2011.

Following a three-month investigation, the prosecutors had initially charged 15 individuals with the maladministration of government work and corruption that cost the government and the public 16.2 million Br.

The individuals sold software and calling cards that allowed users to make international telephone calls that only Ethio-Telecom, the government owned telecommunications company, is allowed to provide; they also circumvented the technical protocols put in place to make the offence impossible, the prosecutors had claimed.

The charge was amended by prosecutors entering more documents and testimonies into evidence and adding more defendants to the suit, and approved by the Federal High Court.

The defendants added to the suit were Samuel Tesfaye and Abaynesh Mohammed who the prosecutors claimed were involved in the alleged commissioning of placing illegal international telephone calls. The whereabouts of both defendants are unknown.

The charge against Kalab Tesfaye, the fifth defendant mentioned in the suit, was amended to charge him with working with the newly added ones in commissioning the offence. All the defendants, except three who were charged in absentia, received a copy of the amended charge.

During the hearing, Biniam Megabi, who is in police custody and was present in the court despite not being among those charged, claimed that his was a case of a mistaken identity. He had been confused with the second defendant mentioned in the case, Biniam Girma, who used to work as a network administration engineer at the then Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) and who was not in custody at the time the charge was instituted, he argued through his lawyer.

"Although my client worked for ETC, his position and full name was not the same as the defendant mentioned in the case," his defence argued. The prosecutors were ordered by the court to clear up the confusion and reply to the allegation by the next session. The case was adjourned to January 27, 2011, when the defence is to present its statements.

If the Ethiopian Government liberalized its market, it would be double its current size and it would not need to spend time and money on trials like this one.

University of Dar es Salaam to Open Unique College to Boost IT

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:06:13 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) college of its kind will soon be opened at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) to help enable the sector provide more employment opportunities to Tanzanian youth.

The College, which was just pending an approval by the UDSM's Council to start its operations, would be independent from the University Computing Centre (UCC) and the College of Engineering and Technology (CoET).

The Managing Director of UDSM's University Computing Centre, Professor Beda Mutagahywa, told The Citizen that the college would merge some departments from different areas of the university that are ICT-related to form a single unit. "Everything is in place and what is pending is just the approval by the Council since it is the one mandated to make a declaration," he said.

Prof Mutagahywa who was speaking on the sidelines of a consultative workshop on policy note on IT/BPO strategies development in Dar es Salaam said when it starts, the college would help curb the problem of lack of technical know-how that was hampering the development of the sector in the country.

High Spending On Calls Fails to Reflect in Telcos' Earnings in Tanzania

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:42:21 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Tanzanians' spending on mobile telephones has grown to $396 million (TSh555 billion) in three months, but this did not reflect on the telecommunications profits owing to high operation costs. According to a report by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA), the money was spent by 20,771,487 subscribers between July and September 2010.

This is Sh37.475 billion more than what was spent on voice communications and short message services (SMSs) in the preceding quarter (April-June, 2010) and slightly higher than the total government revenue for the whole month of September 2010 which stood at Sh502.5 billion.

"If you calculate, you really get a huge amount, but that does not reflect the profits that the companies make...the amount also encompasses what the firms spend on investment activities, taxation, salaries and other expenditures," the TCRA director general, John Nkoma said. In some areas, there are no roads so companies have to construct their own roads as they seek the right place on which to build a tower, he said. Tanzania also faces power challenges, forcing companies to invest in backup plans. "They collect a lot of money, but they also spend a lot of money at the same time," Mr Nkoma said.

The high figures comes at a time when the seven telecommunication companies, Vodacom, Airtel, Tigo, Zantel, TTCL, Sasatel and Benson Informatics (BOL) are scrambling for customers using low pricing as the arsenal of gaining market dominance.

According to the report, the amount of money, on average, that the country's telcos brought in from each client (Average Revenue Per User--ARPU) stood at Sh26,724 during the three months from July to September, 2010.

During the second quarter of 2010, the country had a total of 19,592,795 subscribers.

The ARPU for April to June 2010 was Sh26,419, indicating that Tanzanians spent an estimated Sh517.622 billion on both voice and SMSs between April and June, last year.

Vodacom remained the market leader, boasting of 8,426,097 subscribers with Airtel coming second with 5,901,634 subscribers as Tigo came third with 4,575,534 subscribers.

Having recorded a historic 1,888,739 subscribers in June 2010, Zantel may have failed to go on with the tide. The company lost 302,223 subscribers between July and September to remain in the fourth place, though with 1,586,516 subscribers.

Tanzania Telecommunication Company Limited had 256,064 subscribers while Sasatel had 23,071 subscribers as BOL seems to be nowhere close to any competing giant. It increased just 165 new subscribers between July and September to bring the total number of its clients to just 2,571.

Outsourcing to Create 100,000 Jobs Every Year in Uganda

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:07:20 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

The Ugandan Government claims that it will create at least 100,000 jobs a year in the ICT sector through an ambitious outsourcing plan. The announcement was made by Aggrey Awori, the Minister of ICT, during the Third Business Outsourcing Process conference oganised by the Competitiveness and Investment Climate Strategy in Kampala last week.

The ambitious initiative-Business Process Outsourcing, according to Awori, will see young graduates not only take charge of the front office outsourcing - which includes customer-related services such as contact centre services, but also do internal business functions such as human resource, research and accounting outsourcing. He said: "Beginning today we shall begin the process of training students in higher institutions of learning in BOP."

"With this project, they will be able to earn at least $5 per day while doing the work at their convenience, including working at home," he added. BPO involves contracting operations and responsibilities of specific business functions (or processes) to a third-party service provider.

Worth noting is that the government will be encouraging its own agencies and institutions to outsource operations, as well as involve the private sector in the process of outsourcing. The project that targets to create about 100,000 jobs every year will be established by putting up a call centre Makerere University.

Telecoms Rates, Offers and Coverage briefs

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:29:57 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

- Airtel Uganda reduced its call rates to India and China from Shs299 per minute to Shs180 per minute for postpaid customers and Shs3 per second for prepaid customers. The Airtel move comes after Warid Telecom slashed its rates to Shs180 for calls to China, USA, UK, Malaysia and Canada, while Orange charges to Shs240 per minute to India and Shs320 to UK, China and USA among others. Cutting international call charges follows a competitive price war that engulfed the domestic industry in the last quarter of 2010, forcing telecoms to reduce local call rates to Shs3 per second, on and off-network. The battle, however, saw the industry lose revenues, with MTN seeing its domestic revenues which had initially risen to Shs67.3 billion ($29.2 million) at the onset of the price cuts plunge to Shs44 billion ($19.1 million) in October. Airtel revenues fell more than half from Shs26 billion ($11.3 million) in August to Shs12.6 billion ($5.4 million) in September before a slight recovery saw them rising back to 13.1 billion ($5.7 million) in October. Reduction in international call rates comes at a time when players are realizing that the only way to increase their sales is by growing their subscriber base.

- Just when the mobile phone price wars were cooling off, Airtel Kenya, has sprung another surprise by lowering the calling rate within its network from Sh3 to Sh1 per minute, representing a 67 per cent drop. The tariff, which starts on Friday, will be functional between 6am to 6pm. The mobile phone operator, which triggered the tariff wars in August last year when it cut rates by 50 per cent to Sh3 across networks, says the move is in line with the strategy of its parent company, India's Bharti Airtel of getting the mass market.

- Telecel Zimbabwe, the second largest mobile phone service provider by subscriber base, says it has dedicated resources to pioneer a Blackberry messenger service to enable users to send e-mail and access internet at all times. Chief Executive Aimable Mpore said work to provide the facility was underway and success of the project depended on approval of various contracts submitted to the company's service providers.

- Huawei has partnered with Safaricom to launch the IDEOS U8150, into the local market. The phone runs on the Android 2.2 operating system and it's the first economical handset since the launch of Android platform in Kenya last year. With a bargain of Ksh6500 from its original price of Ksh14999, the locals will enjoy a new generation and universal-type Android Internet Handset. The phone that is targeted at young fashionable and trendy people, has been developed by Huawei in cooperation with Google. It also comes with a 600MB free Safaricom data and Ksh1000 worth of Safaricom airtime.

- Vodacom Tanzania has reached an agreement with Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), under which members can make their remittance through Vodafone M-Pesa. The remittances to GEPF could be channelled through a new scheme known as Voluntary Savings Retirement Scheme (VSRS). The Vodacom Head of M-Pesa sales Department, Franklin Bagalla, said on Thursday that any registered Vodacom subscriber can now contribute to the Scheme through M-Pesa.

- In Kenya, Safaricom's market share has shrunk, a clear indication that the vicious price war over mobile phone calling rates is drilling deep holes into the industry's revenues. According to its financial reports, Safaricom had a market share of 78.3 per cent in March 2010, which fell to 76.7 per cent in September. Despite remaining market leader at the end of the year, the firm’s portion of the pie of the telecoms market had shrunk to about 72 per cent.

- In Tanzania, Tigo has launched internet services based on the latest 3.5G technology, promising to offer fastest and most reliable operations for its clients in the country and beyond. The firm's Internet Commercial Manager, Titus Kafuma, said that services to be delivered were tailored to meet different needs of customers at affordable prices.

- Ubiquitous social website, Facebook has extended its mobile services with the deployment of a java based application that can be downloaded onto most non-smart phones. The Facebook for Feature Phones app works on more than 2,500 devices from Nokia, Sony Ericsson, LG and other manufacturers, and it was built in cooperation with Snaptu. The news will delight a lot of African mobile phone users.

Telecoms News - In Brief

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:44:14 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

- A combined mobile connectivity solution by Gateway Communications and Altobridge has been shortlisted for the ‘Best Mobile Technology for Emerging Markets’ category at this year’s GSMA Global Mobile Awards. The collaboration sees Gateway Communications’ CellDirect, a bandwidth efficient VSAT solution, being combined with Altobridge lite-site; a GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) solution that optimises satellite backhaul and enables solar power. Benefits include reduced total cost of ownership for any mobile network operator (MNO) deploying services to remote communities and enterprises, minimum satellite bandwidth usage and cost, macro quality voice and data services and shorter ROI periods.

- The users of the Angolan mobile phone company Unitel, who reside in France, may check e-mails, access Internet, through their mobiles and computer, as result of a roaming data agreement signed with Orange.

- LAP Green Limited, which in June 2010 had a USD257 million bid accepted for a 75% stake in Zambia’s fixed line incumbent Zambia Telecommunications Company (Zamtel), aims to enable some 6,000 households in Lusaka to receive broadband services next week. According to the Lusaka Times, the telco expects to complete the first phase of its Next Generation Network (NGN) rollout in the city next week, with some 96 sites having been installed so far, while the whole network will be finished by the end of February; over the course of the next 30 months 450 sites will be installed nationwide. It estimates that it has spent around USD23 million on the upgrades so far.

- Vodacom has committed to launch an LTE network in 2011 while MTN is trialing the technology. The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) recently published its latest LTE report, revealing that 180 operators in 70 countries are currently investing in LTE.

- The Somali government plans to start regulating the country’s thriving telecommunications sector to boost growth and encourage investment, Bloomberg reports, citing Somalia’s Information, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Abdulkareem Jama. The government has drafted rules for managing cellular frequencies, phone numbers and interconnection agreements, according to Jama, who also revealed that the country’s Finance Ministry is finalising details of a tax to be introduced to the industry. ‘Rates are cheap and service is available everywhere,’ he noted. ‘This is a success story. The intention of the government is to encourage this investment and do everything possible to allow this to grow faster.’ Without giving a timeline, Jama said that both proposals will need to undergo examination by lawmakers before going into force.

- Claims of a match between Red Bull and Cell C, to create a second mobile virtual network operator in South Africa, have industry players questioning the wisdom of such a move. This morning, a media report claimed Red Bull Mobile would piggyback off Cell C's infrastructure backbone. ITWeb was unable to confirm the move.

Kenya: Regulator Moves to Block 'Junk' SMSes

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:36:13 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

The telecommunications industry regulator CCK has warned operators and content providers over increasing unsolicited text messages, saying they are illegal and an infringement of personal privacy.

"However, we are taking steps to address the issue. We have come up with a technical solution, which allows us to block such SMS once the subscribers complain," Collymore said on Tuesday.

Late last week, the commission banned the short code 6969 run by Shinda Smart lottery, accusing the firm of abusing the laid down licence requirements.

He directed that the use of the telecommunications short code 6969 by Flint East Africa Ltd, the firm running the lottery, and its associates be discontinued with immediate effect.

CCK warned the general public that the use of a telecommunications short code to provide services by any person other than a licensee of the commission is illegal.

Service providers who are licensed to provide lottery services are also required to hold a permit from the Betting and Control Licensing Board.

Once more with feeling: Tanzania’s TTCL in third sale attempt, raising US$214 m

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:39:07 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

This will be the third privatization attempt after the first two that ended miserably for Tanzania as the two firms bought in failed to meet agreed terms and scope of work and business targets.

The joint investors instead arranged to have 60% in Celtel and the Tanzania Government agreed to take 40%. A few years later Celtel was sold to Zain, and resold to an Indian firm and renamed Airtel.

Ethiopia: More Charges Against Suspected Illegal Phone Operators

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:40:56 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

The charge was amended by prosecutors entering more documents and testimonies into evidence and adding more defendants to the suit, and approved by the Federal High Court.

If the Ethiopian Government liberalized its market, it would be double its current size and it would not need to spend time and money on trials like this one.

High Spending On Calls Fails to Reflect in Telcos' Earnings in Tanzania

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:42:21 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

During the second quarter of 2010, the country had a total of 19,592,795 subscribers.

The ARPU for April to June 2010 was Sh26,419, indicating that Tanzanians spent an estimated Sh517.622 billion on both voice and SMSs between April and June, last year.

Vodacom remained the market leader, boasting of 8,426,097 subscribers with Airtel coming second with 5,901,634 subscribers as Tigo came third with 4,575,534 subscribers.

In-flight Internet to take off in South Africa

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:47:31 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Van der Merwe explained that the safety of the technology has already been approved by the FAA, and internationally the CAA accepts certification from the US.

The technology has been installed on some 800 planes in America already.

Chinese company lobbied to build Sierra Leone national backbone

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:48:39 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Nigeria: IXPN Facility to Generate $20 Million in Savings

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:49:57 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

The IXPN, initiated during the Obasanjo administration, when fully implement according to the promoters is expected to fast-track development in various sectors of the economy.

For the Chairman of IXPN, Chima Onyekwere, as Africa becomes more and more connected internally, Nigeria is being positioned to be the regional IXP for West Africa.

Former Naspers Exec’s Ubuntu to Launch 19 Internet Portals in Africa

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:51:26 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

He said all the portals would be branded with the "i" brand and have a local URL extension. For example, iNamibia.co.na, iGhana.com. The Zambian portal is www.izambia.co.zm.

Ubuntu Media was launched by Nel and is actively supported and funded by eVentures Africa Fund, one of the first venture capital companies active in digital media in sub-saharan Africa.

Nel said eType would handle the media sales on the sites in the different countries on behalf of Ubuntu.

Internet News - In Brief

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 10:52:40 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

- Vodacom Business, the internet division of South African telco Vodacom, has commenced the rollout of a series of fibre-optic networks in small Western Cape towns, including: Paarl, Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Wellington. Managing executive for products and marketing, Ermano Quartero, said that the deployment consists of 23km of fibre between Stellenbosch and Kuilsriver; 48km of cable in Somerset West; 49km in Paarl and Wellington, with 38km worth of 'optic spurs' deployed in Stellenbosch, Paarl and Somerset West.

- Uganda’s Vision Group will tomorrow, Friday launch a new website which will act as a one stop centre for election news ahead of the 2011 presidential and parliamentary polls in Uganda. The website will carry the latest updates from the campaign trails, profiles of candidates, tit-bits from manifestos, Electoral Commission bulletins, graphics and pictorial coverage of the candidates.

- The effectiveness of the multi-billion shilling stimulus spending will come under fresh scrutiny when the Government of Kenya launches an online portal to profile the status of the programme. Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta is scheduled to launch an official website on the Sh22 billion fiscal stimulus programme that was initiated in the 2009/10 budget to help support economic recovery at a time when the country was just stepping out of its worst growth performance in years.

- ICASA reveals its plan to address South Africa's broadband issues in a holistic way which will influence spectrum regulations and more. Stephen Mncube, Chairperson of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) said that ICASA is “already embarking on the frequency distribution process” and that they had enlisted the aid of an international expert to do a thorough study on broadband.

- Locally produced goods and services in Ghana will soon get international recognition as Made in Africa Investment Limited, a produce marketing company, concludes arrangements to enlist them on a website. The CEO of Made in Africa, Emmanuel Mbigbo said the website would be opened for the local manufacturers to boost their potentials for international trade.

- Kenya’s Internet users more than doubled over the past year as East Africa’s biggest economy invested in fiber-optic cables, Permanent Secretary in the Information Ministry Bitange Ndemo said. “We now have 7.5 million Internet users compared to 3 million last year,” Ndemo told reporters in Nairobi.

- The Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) has ruled against Telkom using the term "Fast" to describe its 384Kb/s service.

Computer News - In Brief

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:10:44 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

- Rwanda’s implementation of the National ICT Plan (NICI 3) that runs from 2011-2105 is set to focus on service development in the country. According to Ignace Gatare, the Minister in the Office of the President in charge of ICT, the plan will focus on the service delivery where all institutions will work together using the already existing infrastructure.

- The IEEE Computer Society of South Africa and Cape IT Initiative (CITi) have published the Proceeding of the Third Software Engineering Colloquium (SE10), entitled “Building Value through Engineering”. The proceedings are available here in pdf or here

- South Africa's long-awaited ICT sector charter is expected to come into force from the beginning of April. However, while a final document has been sent to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for gazetting, the department says there are still outstanding issues that first have to be resolved.

- Wikipedia Foundation has launched an offline encyclopedia for primary and secondary schools in Kenya. The CD version named Wikipedia Offline Encyclopedia would enable students to access content on the world acclaimed encyclopedia without being on the Internet.

Kenyan stockbrokers Race to install New IT System

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:04:47 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Stockbrokers are racing to install a common and more secure trading system in the next two months to curb cases of fraud by employees who exploit loopholes in the current operating platforms.

"It is a versatile system and has more controls. There is no system that is foolproof but it should eliminate most operational issues and fraud," he said.

University of Dar es Salaam to Open Unique College to Boost IT

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:06:13 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Outsourcing to Create 100,000 Jobs Every Year in Uganda

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:07:20 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Paypal Launches School Fees Payment Platform in Kenya

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:31:50 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Long queues in banks during school opening days will soon be a thing of the past thanks to technology that has paved way for parents to pay fees through mobile phones.

At the moment, some parents send school fees to head teachers' or bursars' mobile phones then they withdraw and pay it to the schools.

Liko said schools will save up to 80 per cent of the current costs incurred in receiving school fees.

Zambian and Kenya: Researchers Seek Ways to Improve Water Supply Using Mobile Phones

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:32:59 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

The group's work is financed by the UK through the Department for International Development.

Nigeria: Helios Acquires Majority Stake in Interswitch

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:17:04 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Aside, the company is the leading processor for MasterCard and the market leader in merchant acquiring PoS, a segment that is still emerging and has potential for tremendous growth in Nigeria .

Egypt: Vimpelcom confirms ‘final approval’ for deal with newly-named Wind Telecom

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:18:41 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Uganda: Looming Job Cuts in data Firm's Restructuring

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:20:23 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

BroadBand is owned by PME Africa Infrastructure Opportunities - a London equity fund, with majority shareholding and a consortium of local businessmen.

Money – In Brief

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:21:28 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

- Projections by global research firm, International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that IT spending in Africa will be increased by 10 per cent to $25 billion this year. It added that South Africa had recovered well with 8.7 per cent growth last year and an expected 7.5 per cent this year. Growth in Egypt will continue to be rapid at more than 15 per cent while spending in the rest of Africa will grow 12 per cent to exceed $10 billion this year.

- State-owned telecoms operator Tunisie Telecom (TT) may not be able to go ahead with an investor roadshow for its planned listing in Paris and Tunis due to the unstable political situation in the country, according to Reuters Africa.

- The largest internet cafe chain in Zimbabwe, Quick & Easy Internet Cafes, was closed by the government for failing to repay a loan. A messenger of Court effected the closure on Friday over repayments amounting to US$10,000.

- The outgoing World Bank's Regional Director for Africa, Hatib Fitini, has announced the allocation of US$27 million towards Gambia’s fibre cable and ICT infrastructure project. Fitini announced the allocation while on a farewell visit to Banjul, during which he met with Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.

Contracts

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 12:09:39 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

Vodacom and Nokia Siemens Networks - Tanzania
Vodacom Tanzania announced a planned partnership with Nokia Siemens Networks in which the latter will manage all of Vodacom Tanzania network operations. The planned deal will commence on March 1, 2011 when all Vodacom operational functions and employees will be taken over by Nokia Siemens Networks. Vodacom Tanzania said in a statement in Dar es Salaam, "We strive towards optimal efficiency and supreme service. Our partnership with Nokia Siemens Networks is a definite cause of action to continue to achieve these goals."

Libyan International Telecom Company (LITC) and Nexans – Libya/Greece
French company Nexans has been awarded a major contract to supply around 440 kilometers of fiber optic submarine cable for a project which will connect Libya with Greece. The high-profile communications link across the Mediterranean Sea is being constructed by Chinese company Huawei Marine Networks Co Ltd on behalf of the Libyan International Telecom Company (LITC). The cable will connect Damah, in northern Libya, with Chania, Greece. The cable will have an initial capacity of 7×10 Gbps and a maximum theoretical capacity of 1.2 Tbps.

Jamii Telecom Ltd and ZTE - Kenya
Kenyan broadband provider Jamii Telecom Ltd (JTL) has announced that it has signed a KES1.2 billion (USD14.3 million) deal with Chinese equipment manufacturer ZTE to connect 100,000 homes to its fibre-optic network, making it the first ISP in the country to connect residential subscribers directly to fibre. According to Business Daily, the initial phase of the fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) rollout will take place in Nairobi, with the following districts earmarked for connectivity: Karen, Lavington, Parklands, Kilimani, Kileleshwa, Lang’ata, South B, Nyayo Estate Embakasi, Gigiri and Runda. The project, which is expected to take two years to fully implement, will extend FTTH connectivity to the cities of Kisumu, Nakuru, Mombasa, Eldoret and Nyeri in due course. The ISP has indicated that it is targeting areas with clear architectural planning and convenient access roads, enabling better mapping of the project. ZTE has already connected JTL's network to apartments in the Kilimani district, where the FTTH pilot test took place. Joshua Chepkwony, chairman of JTL, commented: 'The future of the telecoms industry is in data, and mainly catalysed by the younger generation in the age bracket of between 25 to 40 years. That is whom the industry is targeting now'.

People

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:34:03 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

- Telkom South Africa confirmed that its acting group CEO Jeffrey Hedberg has decided not to renew his contract at the end of March this year, and hence will be leaving the company.

- Oyé Guilavogui has been appointed as the new Minister of Post and ICT in Guinea.

- South Africa based Software Development Company, Alacrity Technology Holdings announced changes to the leadership structure of the company with the separation of the roles of CEO and Chairman and the appointment of a CEO for the company. Brian Ford, Alacrity’s Sales and Marketing Director and founding partner of MagmaTec, has been appointed to the position of CEO for the group company.

Events

Alice — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:58:21 +0000

Issue no 538 21st January 2011

5th Africa Economic Forum 2011
7-9 March 2011
BMW Pavilion, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town, South Africa

Our 5th Africa Economic Forum 2011 (AEF-2011) in Cape Town at the BMW-Imax Theatre, with Africa Exhibition is a landmark Conference on Africa and significant business networking occasion for the top corporate players active in, across and involved with the development of the African continent - Cape-to-Cairo, with Governments and officials in key industries and state institutions.
Contact: babette@glopac.com For more information please visit here:

Cloud Computing World Forum Middle East & Africa
March 9, 2011
Grand Millennium Hotel, Dubai

Taking place on the 9th March 2011, the Cloud Computing World Forum Middle East and Africa is a Free-to-attend event and will feature all of the key players within the Cloud Computing and SaaS market providing an introduction, discussion and look into the future for the ICT industry.
For more information please visit here: or contact the Keynote team on +44 (0) 845 519 1230 or email info@keynoteworld.com.

Broadband World Forum MEA
14-15 March 2011
Dubai UAE

Network, learn and do business with 750+ decision-makers from across the regional Broadband ecosystem. The conference programme features 60+ visionary speakers presenting across keynote plenary sessions, 4 in-depth technology tracks and a Rural Coverage and Connectivity focus day. Co-located to the conference is a 35+ stand technology exhibition showcasing some of the region’s latest cutting-edge broadband technologies, applications, solutions and services to hit the market.
Limited FREE passes for operators and early booking discounts apply to all others. Register with VIP code: BBM11BAA
For more information please visit here:

ICT For Development in Africa – Sustaining The Momentum, Extending The Reach
23-26 March 2011
Ota, Nigeria

The conference will initiate research and practice agenda where ICTs will aid the academia, organizations - public and private and non-governmental to improve socio-economic conditions and directly benefit the disadvantaged in some manner.
For more information please visit here:

Managed Services Growth Markets 2011
4 - 5 April
Moevenpick Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, UAE

Now in its 4th year and attended by over 200 attendees in 2010, Informa Telecoms and Media’s Managed Services for Growth Markets event will take place on 4th - 5th April at the Moevenpick Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, UAE.
With a proven track-record and repeat sponsorship from leading suppliers Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, NokiaSiemens Networks and Motorola, this event is truly established as the ultimate meeting-place for the Managed Services industry in the growth markets. A 50% discount for operators ensures a high percentage operator attendance.  For more information please visit here:

eLearning Africa 2011 - Spotlight on Youth, Skills and Employability
25-27 May 2011
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

The 6th event in the series of pan-African conferences and exhibitions will focus on Africa's youth. Africa has the highest percentage of young people anywhere in the world. How can it unlock the vast reservoir of talent? How can technology support education and training?
For more information please visit here: