South Africa's Vox Telecom Launches Uncapped ADSL Service

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:02:45 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

South Africa’s leading alternative telecommunications company, Vox Telecom Ltd., is planning to launch uncapped asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) service, as well as exploring the idea of offering 3G service to its customers, according to a post on MyBroadband.com site.

Vox Telecom CEO Douglas Reed told MyBroadband that “they believe uncapped ADSL is sustainable,” but highlighted that a “proper business model” is essential. He added, “Bottom line, uncapped broadband is what the consumer wants and a way has to be found for the Fair Access Policies (FAPs) to not only be transparent but not antagonize the average users.”

According to the MyBroadband report, Vox Telecom is planning to use its own network to deliver uncapped ADSL. The report quoted Reed, as saying, “It is an evolutionary process and in the interim we do offer Telkom, IS and MWEB wholesale packages.”

Currently, Telkom is the only provider of public switched communications services in South Africa, providing fixed-line voice, data, directory services and wireless data business services. As of March 31, 2006, Telkom had approximately 4.7 million telephone access lines in service and 99.9 percent of telephone access lines were connected to digital exchange. While Internet Solutions is South Africa’s major Internet service provider, MWEB is South Africa’s leading Internet service provider with services to other countries on the continent.

MyBroadband editor Rudolph Muller wrote, “Reed is well aware that it is not easy to make uncapped ADSL work financially with fluctuating margins and stiff competition.” According to Vox Telecom’s Reed, “It is a continuous balancing act to reduce input costs and to stay competitive in this highly deflationary sector of our business.”

Continuing to speak to MyBroadband, Reed told editor Muller that “economies of scale, investment in infrastructure and a focus on Internet services is key to make ADSL profitable.”

The company has been in business for over 10 years. And has grown organically and through strategic acquisitions, wrote Muller. It is listed on the JSE with a market cap of 2.5 billion.

Nigeria: Number Portability To Begin By September - NCC

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:03:35 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said that the Number Portability (NP) service would begin by September.

In an interactive session with journalists in Lagos, Dr. Eugene Juwah, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, said that the license for the service would be given to the operator this February.

NP is a service that allows a subscriber to use another network other than his original network without losing his original number.

Juwah said that the NP operator would be allowed six months to build the infrastructure and an additional two months to test run the infrastructure.

''So we expect that most likely the Number Portability service will start in September this year,'' he said.

The NCC chief also said that the NCC was on the verge of auctioning the remaining slots on the 2.3GHZ frequency.

''We are also looking at the 2.6GHZ frequency, which today is not in the custody of NCC, it is in the custody of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

“And we are discussing within the National Frequency Management Council on what to do with this frequency.

“We believe that by the time we conclude all these, there will be enough frequency to be able to add towards the fibre development to create a good broadband deployment in Nigeria,'' Juwah said.

New tablet designed in Congo-Brazzaville

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:11:27 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Congo’s VMK Tech has unveiled its answer to tablet computing – the Way-C device.
The tablet, which was launched this week, was designed locally but is assembled in China.

It retails for around USD299 and will be available initially in Brazzaville and Ponte-Noire. VMK expects to take the product to market in several West African countries later this year.

The Android tablet has a 7 inch screen, 1.2GHz processor, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of internal memory and supports WiFi, with a battery life of 6 hours. Plans are underway to integrate 3G.

South Africa: ICT Helps the Blind

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:21:34 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

A portable voice-based computer for the blind, developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has been shortlisted in the South African Breweries (SAB) Foundation inaugural Innovation Awards.

The notetaker device is the first invention of its kind in South Africa and was developed by Willem van der Walt, a blind researcher at the CSIR.

Fellow researcher Gerhard van den Berg was also involved in the development of the product.

Van der Walt is respected in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) for disabilities.

The SAB Foundation Innovation Awards recognise individuals who have unique and practical ideas that can improve the lives of people living in low-income areas.

The notetaker is one of five recipients of a seed grant for further development. The grant includes funding for the commercialisation of the product, which will be supported by the SAB Foundation over a period of two years.

The notetaker was shortlisted as one of 18 inventions, selected from more than 100 entries, for improving the lives of blind South Africans.

According to 2009 statistics of the World Health Organisation, 314-million people worldwide live with some form of visual impairment. Of these, 45-million are blind, and 90% live in low-income countries. Cataracts remain the leading cause of blindness in middle- and low-income countries.

About 2.6-million South Africans are disabled, of which 24% have visual disabilities.

"As a blind programmer, I realised that a much more flexible, localised and cheaper machine could be built than other similar expensive accessibility devices for the blind, available from overseas," Van der Walt says.

The notetaker is different from a standard notebook computer in that it does not have a screen and only uses speech as feedback to its user.

The computer has a keyboard for input and a voice synthesiser for output.

All its features are customised so that they can be used with a speech interface.

The device provides support for multiple local languages, including English, Sepedi, Afrikaans, Setswana and an experimental isiZulu voice.

Van der Walt says that finding a balance between cost and functionality was one of the biggest challenges of developing the notetaker.

"Finding the suitable hardware for the software was challenging," he explains. "For example, finding hardware with which one can make a good audio recording is not easy when cost, battery life and size is crucial."

The notetaker has been tested in the market at disability conferences and workshops, with successful results.

It is also supported by the South African National Council for the Blind.

The next phase of the project is to develop a production-ready prototype.

"I would like the notetaker to come into production and be available in the market through specialised companies such as those currently supplying accessibility technology to the blind," he says.

The customised computer device is easy to operate and can be used by young school children, university students and older people.

There is a gap in the market for an affordable computer for the blind. He believes that the product has the potential to have an immediate impact in the educational and employment sectors.

Blind people can use computers that are connected to Braille keyboards and screens, but the skill and technology is not widely available and is usually only imported.

However, if the product is manufactured locally and is cost effective, it could change the lives of thousands of blind people.

Ghana - Glo hails number reservation a success but no launch date

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:04:32 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Glo Ghana boss, George Andah has disclosed exclusively to Adom Business News that the 023-3 number reservation campaign has been successful, creating the opportunity to open up another block of numbers beginning with 023-5 to enable more people reserve special numbers ahead of commercial launch. However, the company has still to set a launch date for its service.

“023-3 has been successful – majority of those numbers have already been reserved but we also have our ears on the ground and a lot of people are telling us that the special numbers they wanted have already been reserved and that is why we have opened up the 023-5 block to give those people the opportunity to do so,” he said.

The “Reserve Your Number Campaign” allowed some one million Ghanaians to text a special number beginning with 023-3 plus one’s own choice of six digits, to 0230010100 and reserve that special number until commercial service begins.

Prior to the Glo ‘Reserve Your Number Campaign’ launch, some telecom bosses said the market was not ready for the new entrant; but George Andah responded and said “if competition is not ready for us, Ghanaians are.”

George repeated his strong statement saying “we said the customers were ready for Glo and this active participation is testimony to that.”

But George Andah stopped short of saying when exactly Glo will be doing its commercial launch since the 023-3 has been successful.

MTN to invest R4m in rural schools

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:13:52 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

The MTN SA foundation has opened media centres with Internet connectivity in 10 schools in KwaZulu-Natal's Msinga district.

MTN announced it would invest R4 million in rural KwaZulu-Natal schools to raise the basic education bar and bolster electronic education in rural areas.

In line with this bid, the MTN SA Foundation announced it has officially opened media centres in 10 schools in the province's Msinga district.

MTN SA's chief corporate services officer, Robert Madzonga, said the company is intent on meeting national imperatives to make the move into an age of electronic education. “While we support more access for learners to the world of information technology, we are also aware that quality education is the most sustainable way to break the cycle of poverty and provide young people with a brighter future.”

According to the latest statistics, only 23% of schools have Internet connectivity. While some private schools have started to introduce the use of iPads and other tablet devices in schools, MTN says the challenge for rural communities is the cost of basic utilities, such as electricity.

“Our investment in KwaZulu-Natal comes at a critical juncture. The province's matric results declined by 2.6% in 2011, compared to 2010. There is a massive drive to improve numeracy and literacy levels. We hope our social investment goes a long way in helping learners and teachers hike pass rates and education standards,” says Madzonga.

MTN will equip each media centre with 20 computers, a multifunctional printer, a data projector, an interactive white board, worktables to accommodate the 20 workstations, routers, modems and data cards. In addition, the company will provide each of the 10 schools with Internet access for 24 months, subsidised at R1 000 per school per month.

The MTN SA Foundation's integrated development strategy is aimed at benefiting selected cluster communities in six provinces. Interventions include providing schools with technology-based teaching and learning aids, enhancing the outreach of existing science centres, establishing interactive tele-teaching technology platforms, and developing the capacity and institutional infrastructure of schools.

Kenya: Chief Tweets His Way to Reducing Crime

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:22:25 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Using 140 characters or less, Chief Francis Kariuki in Kenya, has tweeted his way to reducing crime in his and surrounding villages.

"I have brought crime and illicit brewing under control in my location," Kariuki told IPS, "until May 2011, this place was very dangerous. Incidents of carjacking, mugging and burglaries occurred daily, but they are no more."

Kariuki, who is from Lanet Umoja Location, a semi-urban area in Nakuru County, Rift Valley Province, first began tweeting in May 2011 when local IT expert, Njoha Gathua, created a Twitter account for him. It was an innovative idea because to date, Lanet Umoja is the only semi-urban area in this East African country that uses this social media site to fight crime.

Gathua told IPS that he wanted to help the community reduce crime, so he gave the chief and his assistants training on how to use the free instant messaging tool that limits users to post or tweet messages that are a maximum of 140 characters.

"Twitter is good to broadcast messages to the mass. It is good for the chief and his assistants to pass messages to their people," Gathua explains. But while worldwide people and companies mostly use it to keep in touch with friends, market products, and to broadcast breaking news, Kariuki uses it to alert his villagers to crimes.

Using the Twitter name "@chiefkariuki", Kariuki sends messages to over 15,000 of the 28,000 people who live in Lanet Umoja. They include village elders, community and church leaders, the police, youth and women's groups, and school principals.

When an incident occurs, the victims or eyewitnesses send text messages to the chief, describing the nature of the incident, the place and the nearest known landmark. The chief then broadcasts his instructions to the community through Twitter.

While not everyone has 3G-enabled cellphones here, many just subscribe to follow Kariuki's account through their local service providers and receive his tweets by text message.

Taxing international inbound calls: Is there a middle way between fleecing consumers and monitoring international voice traffic transparently?

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:48:11 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Many African regulators’ have introduced a tax on international inbound calls. It started with Côte d’Ivoire and then spread like a plague to Gabon, Ghana and Senegal, to name but a few. The latest country wanting to join the fold is Liberia and operators are seeking to persuade the regulator LTA not to go ahead. Isabelle Gross talks to Marzen Mroue, the CEO of Lonestar/MTN in Liberia and Richard Chisala, board member of Macra, the regulator in Malawi about this contentious subject.

Back in August 2011, the LTA, the telecoms regulator in Liberia, issued a draft regulation on international traffic proposing that “all international inbound calls terminating to subscriber number with country code +231 incur a minimum regulatory fee of US$0.15 per minute (on top of the US$0.12 per minute wholesale price) and shall be collected by the terminating service provider on behalf of LTA”.

If implemented, this would mean that the wholesale cost of calling Liberia from abroad would more than double. Inevitably, this increase would rapidly trickle down to the retail level and the Liberian diaspora would soon notice that the price for calling home had drastically increased.

According to Marzen Mroue, MTN’s experience from other African countries that have implemented such a tax points to a decrease in volume of traffic which would translate into a decrease in revenue and finally a decrease in tax revenues. Mroue is also worried that any tax on international inbound calls would have a broader socio-economic impact, causing the diaspora to have less money available to send back to their families in Liberia.

The disproportionate nature of the proposed tax appears all the more stark when one considers that 80% of Liberia’s international voice traffic is with the USA – one of the lowest priced telecoms wholesale markets on earth. While US carriers charge a couple of US cents to terminate a minute in their country, they will need to pay 27 cents to terminate a minute in Liberia: an imbalance that seems unfair and ultimately unsustainable. MTN’s CEO is of the view that US carriers will respond to this disparity by increasing the current termination rate to the USA. As a result, Liberians will need to pay more to call their family and friends in the USA.

As we have suggested in earlier articles, some African regulators are not looking beyond the short term in terms of taxes on inbound calls, preferring to treat the consumer as a cash cow, rather than looking at the bigger picture including the impact on their people, and the negative effects on their country's international image as a business-friendly environment. Marzen Mroue says that his company remains optimistic about solving this issue with LTA. Based on best practices in other markets, he is sure that alternative solutions are workable that will raise income for the Government of Liberia without stifling the growth and innovation that taxed international voice connectivity will bring.

In East Africa, Malawi’s regulator MACRA tried to introduce a similar monitoring system on international and national traffic. A lack of communication between the regulator, the telecoms operators and the press ended with Airtel launching a campaign against what it labelled the “spy machine”. According to Richard Chisala, member of MACRA’s board, Malawi is not actually going to monitor calls but will rather create an independent platform for call traffic analysis. The core requirements are QoS, revenue assurance, fraud and spectrum management.

Initially, Malawi was not far from implementing a similar monitoring system to those in Ghana, Congo-Brazzaville or Guinea. These of course are limited to monitoring international inbound voice traffic and are intended to generate considerable revenue by applying a hefty levy, tax or fee or whatever inventive term regulators could come up with on the price of international inbound calls.

Visits by MACRA to the monitoring providers in these countries gave the regulator second thoughts and encouraged it to look for alternative providers. Richard Chisala explains that he went to the USA to meet with Agilis International, a company specialised in revenue management and fraud detection. Their services and offerings come with few strings attached: a CAPEX layout to acquire the system and a small maintenance, fee which MACRA will recoup on voice call traffic. For the telecoms operators this represents a levy of between 4-5% on voice traffic, which is considerably cheaper than what the initial monitoring service provider had asked for.

It is important to understand what is at stake here. The issue is not the enforcement of regulatory requirements in itself, but rather ensuring that this is done in a way that does not excessively reward the monitoring provider or that it imposes inefficient tax burdens. To some extent what one may term "the Malawi solution" might offer an acceptable midway course. It fulfils the regulator’s aim of having more transparency on the volume of international and national voice traffic, while at the same time it is more cost-effective and less likely to penalise African citizens and business.

To follow the exchanges about this news, you need to be on Twitter. Follow us on @BalancingActAfr

This week on Balancing Act’s You Tube channel:

Things that drive traffic…new clips

Nigerian digital entrepreneur Ayo Alli on the rise of social network Eskimi in Nigeria. It has 2.5 m subscribers and the secret to its success is that it works on low-end handsets

Nigerian digital entrepreneur Ayo Alli on social media and the Occupy Nigeria protest

Jon Davies, Chief Executive, Wikimedia UK on Wikipedia in Africa, its deal with Orange for Africa and its search for other mobile operators to work with. Wikipedia is one of Africa’s most widely used sites.

Things that drive traffic…past clips

Reg Swart, Fundamo on M-money services in Africa

Kofi Dadzie, CEO Rancard Solutions on the state of the mobile Internet in Ghana

Nadeem, Juma, CEO, Mobipay on m-payments and social media in Tanzania

To subscribe to Balancing Act’s You Tube channel so that you get immediate notification when videos are uploaded, press the link here and then press the yellow subscribe button above video clip.

Seacom signs capacity agreement with Mozambican Ministry of Science and Technology

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:06:08 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

The Mozambican Ministry of Science and Technology has signed a 20 year agreement to access international broadband fibre connectivity on the SEACOM network to Europe and onwards to the rest of the world.

Beneficiaries of the newly acquired capacity include the Mozambique Research and Education Network (MoRENet) and the Government Electronic Network (GovNet), which are government-led projects established to improve online public service access and capability.

The bandwidth will help MoRENet to deliver reliable and cost-effective, high-speed internet traffic to member institutions whilst creating the platform to share education and research content with other Nationwide Research Education Networks (NRENs) around the world.

Similarly, GovNet will be able to better support its mandate to improve eGovernment performance. GovNet currently interconnects government institutions at both central and provincial levels, with an aim to connect all state and government institutions through a single private data communications network.

Seacom CEO, Mark Simpson, said: “Seacom is the ideal partner to provide the international connectivity that will complement Mozambique’s extensive broadband data communications networks initiatives. Over the past three years, we have witnessed how the availability of true broadband at lower prices can accelerate educational initiatives and economic development across the region and we look forward to working with the Mozambican government to help Build a truly African Internet.”

Both MoRENet and GovNet form an important part of the Mozambican government’s ICT Policy Implementation Strategy. The policy covers all major areas of Mozambique’s economy and society; tasked with creating an enabling environment for societal up-liftment, improved performance of both public and private sectors and most importantly the ultimate eradication of poverty in the country.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Dr. Evaristo Baquete, said: “The Mozambican government views affordable and high quality data networks as a vital tool to achieve the country’s various developmental goals. Seacom brought cheaper and faster international connectivity to this country and we believe that they are the partner of choice to continue to bring about positive changes to the country and its people.”

Cellulant to run Barclays M-Banking services

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:15:28 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Cellulant Kenya has sealed a deal to provide mobile banking services for Barclays Africa across its markets in the continent. In a venture dubbed, ‘One Africa’ Barclays Bank has entered into a deal with Cellulant to offer satisfying customer digital experience.

The services to be revitalised by the communication solutions firm are mobile and Internet banking as well as ATMs across its 12 African countries, by deploying a new unifying platform.

“This digital drive is part of our One Africa strategy to increase channel access for both retail customers and corporate clients.

"For corporate clients, this offers an efficient and cost-effective channel to bill and receive payments from their customers,” said Mr John Gachora, Barclays Africa, corporate banking managing director.

Speaking when he signed the partnership, Mr Gachora, said the move will facilitate the bank’s strategic efforts to provide convenient consumer access solutions.

Cellulant’s chief business officer, Mr Paul Ndichu, said the model will increase Barclays Africa customers activity on its electronic platforms by allowing them to transact with a wide network of businesses across Barclays Africa and Absa Bank network.

The new structure will be rolled out in phases with Cellulant providing a bill payment platform and a mobile network operator e-network to facilitate mobile business solutions.

Twitter's role in revolutionary Egypt - isolation or connection?

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:23:48 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

The role of the internet and social media in the January 25 Revolution is undeniable; despite this, some observers believe that Twitter is isolated from the mainstream of Egyptian society and that tweets (Twitter posts) represent only a small segment of the population.

Only 27 million Egyptians have access to the internet, according to the latest official numbers, out of a population of nearly 83 million. According to a September report by the Dubai School of Government about social media in the Arab world, there are around 130,000 Egyptian Twitter users (“tweeps”).

At the time of the January 25 Revolution, the social network in Egypt was dominated by pro-revolution users. This year, however, has seen an increase in pro-Mubarak supporters and pro-SCAF supporters using Twitter.

This year, tweets became one of the most important sources of news in Egypt, as well a tool for coordinating activism and protest.

Uganda: UCC, telecom firms set to meet over service quality

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:57:17 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

The Uganda Communication Commission will hold a meeting with telecom executives to discuss, among other things, the increasingly deteriorating service quality, according to Eng Godfrey Mutabazi the UCC Executive Director. The meeting will mainly focus on the failures registered in the mobile money service, ambiguous charges, service interruptions and network failures.

Speaking to Daily Monitor on the sidelines of the launch of UCC’s 2nd Annual Communications Innovation Award, Eng Mutabazi, said growing challenges in the telecom sector have impacted heavily on telecommunications, inconveniencing customers and businesses. He said: “Telecoms have grown their subscription but have not cared to grow their capacity so as not to interrupt customer services.”

Eng Mutabazi said the growth in customer numbers must be matched with growth in technology, service points and human resource. He said: “Unless telecoms work on expanding their capacity to meet the growing subscriber numbers, communication might in the near future become worse.”

Commenting on the matter, Themba Khumalo said: “Although am not aware of the meeting, it is a welcome measure that will help telecoms devise ways of improving service delivery.

South Africa: Young people in Ha-Masia connect to the world

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:07:06 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Masia young people in the rural area of Ha-Masia, Limpopo will soon be connected to the rest of the world through the internet.

This comes after Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti during his visit to the area announced that they are going to build a structure which will host a computer laboratory, cultural centre, community hall and a library.

"We've a good working relationship with Apple Computer and we've an agreement with them to supply computers in 13 rural schools across the country.

"Just like in other areas, we will do the same here and this will help young people in this village connect with the rest of the world," he said.

When he visited the village last year in October, residents asked him to revamp their ageing showground.

"We are going to put a capacity building structure that will be comprised of a library, computer laboratory, community hall and a cultural centre where you will showcase your cultural work and skills as well as telling the story of your village or South Africa.

"Remember, a library is a source of knowledge and I also emphasised to the people driving the new project to include sporting facilities for netball, tennis court, table tennis and soccer fields," he said.

According to Nkwinti, a lot of technical work has been done and these include the appointment of an engineer and a consultant.

The Minister said construction of the new structure which has been designed in consultation with the Masia Community will commence in March.

Giving feedback on the land claim issues raised by residents during his previous visit, Nkwinti said: "As government, we are busy working on a policy document that will help us to solve this land issue," he said.

In neighbouring Matsila village, which is still under the traditional leadership of Nthumeni Masia, there is a thriving Matsila Community farming project aimed at developing agricultural productivity.

Nkwinti also visited the project before addressing the Masia community accompanied by chief Livhuwani Matsila and Thovhele Masia.

Through the Matsila Community Development Trust, the project received a whopping R54 million to fight food insecurity over the next three years.

The project, unveiled by Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has 180 goats, a herd of cattle with 50 Nguni cows, two bulls and 4 000 chickens with the capacity to lay up to 3 000 eggs per day.

Thovhele Masia said: "We are excited about the infrastructure which is going to be built in my village. We are of the view that this will improve the lives of our people and in order for us to develop this settlement completely, we will continue working with our government," he said.

Nigeria: Airtel to Appeal Verdict Ceding 5 Percent Share to Econet

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:16:20 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Bharti Airtel has said it will appeal against a Nigerian High Court ruling which gave Econet Wireless 5 per cent share in Airtel Nigeria. A Federal High Court, last week, awarded Econet Wireless the 5 per cent stake, after a lengthy legal process.

Econet said in a statement earlier Monday that the high court had reinstated the shares and also ordered that the name change from Econet Wireless Nigeria Limited was irregular, and must be reversed forthwith.

Airtel Nigeria said it had filed an appeal against this judgment. 'The company abides by and has full confidence in the law of the land, and believes the Appeal Court will determine the appeal on its merits.'

Airtel added that the judgement would have no impact on the equity holding of other shareholders in Airtel Nigeria.'We wish to assure our customers, employees and business partners that the ruling will in no way affect operations or the company's ability to fulfill obligations to its stakeholders.'

Tunisia: Twitter Users React With Anger, Dismay At Twitter's Decision to Comply With Censorship Regimes

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:59:37 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Tunisians reacted with anger after a new twitter policy was announced. The social network may now "re-actively withhold content from users in a specific country," so that Twitter can further expand globally and "enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression."

On the company blog, Twitter explained: We haven't yet used this ability, but if and when we are required to withhold a Tweet in a specific country, we will attempt to let the user know, and we will clearly mark when the content has been withheld. As part of that transparency, we've expanded our partnership with Chilling Effects to share this new page, which makes it easier to find notices related to Twitter.

Yassine Ayari, a Tunisian blogger with over 9,300 followers on Twitter said that the company's decision is "a big mistake." " Twitter should do the opposite because people living in countries with governments that are censorship regimes need Twitter to fight censorship," Ayari said. Ayari added that these kinds of decisions only "support the system of dictatorship."

Tunisian blogger Malek Khadraoui (co-founder of the highly regarded collective blog Nawaat), also declared his strong opposition to the company's decision, "I am against any type of censorship," he asserted.

According to Khadroui, Twitter played a major role during the Tunisian Revolution. "Twitter was link between international media and what was happening in the streets of Tunisia, journalists from around the world were following what was happening in Tunisia through Twitter," he added.

"I was not actually surprised by this measure, after all Twitter is a private enterprise, however, I wonder what basis will Twitter use to classify the countries that need censorship," he added. Khadraoui has more than 5,600 followers on Twitter.

Linda Ben Othman, a blogger and a Twitter user who has more than 3,600 followers, said that Twitter was a critical source of information during the Revolution. "People knew what was happening in Tunisia through Twitter."

" I really think that this announcement was mainly for money and economic reasons, Twitter is the only social network where we can express ourselves freely, this is sad," she stated.

Wajd Ben Abdallah, is also a blogger, with more than 25, 300 followers on Twitter. He said that during the revolution, traditional media was completely absent from following what was happening in the country, while the social network sites - Facebook and Twitter - were informing the whole world moment by moment about what was happening in Tunisia. "Activists relied on Twitter to publish videos and bring the reality of the situation in Tunisia at the time when the official Tunisian media was totally absent," she added.

Regarding the censorship of Twitter, she said "it is such a shame that a space that is a sanctuary for delivering news and freedom of expression would make such an announcement."

"This is a real coup against freedom, I believe, the credibility of Twitter is on the line because millions trusted it as a tool for communication and even more to broadcast the news at the time of our revolutions," she added.

Google-Kenya boss exits as data scam purge takes toll

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:07:54 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Google country manager Olga Arara-Kimani has left the firm days after the Internet giant said it had taken action against employees implicated in a recent data poaching scandal.

Ms Arara-Kimani, who had been at the helm of the firm’s Kenyan operations when the scandal broke, last week said someone had to take responsibility.

“I confirm I have left Google Kenya. As the leader of the Kenya office, I felt that the buck stopped with me and I decided to leave,” she wrote in a phone message to the Nation on Monday.

Two weeks ago, Kenyan online business directory firm, Mocality, accused Google of fraudulently using its data to sell competing product to clients. Google later apologised over the matter and promised to launch investigations into it to guide its next course of action.

Last Friday, Google’s Vice-President for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, Nelson Mattos, said that investigations into the affair had been concluded.

“We’ve taken appropriate action with the people involved and made changes in our operations to ensure this does not occur again,” said Mattos. Ms Arara-Kimani’s exit from Google came just three days after the statement was issued.

“It’s a private matter between Olga and Google,” said Google’s head for Sub Saharan Africa, Mr Joe Mucheru, who is running the office until her replacement is found.

Mocality chief executive Stefan Magdalinski had claimed that Google attempted to sell its “Getting Kenyan Businesses Online (GKBO)” products to business owners listed on Mocality’s site by claiming that the two companies were working together.

Ghana Parliament to amend business registeration laws for e-transactions

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:17:14 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Parliament is set to amend various business registeration laws to provide for electronic transactions in line with government’s e-Governance project.

The project aims at modernizing key ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) to support the provision of citizen-friendly services through ICT.

Three amendment bills, including the Registeration of Business Names (Amendment) bill 2011 and the Companies (Amendment) bill 2011 are before the House for amendment.

A report of Parliament’s Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee said the amendment of the Registeration of Business Names (Amendment) bill will permit the electronic filing and registration of business names.

“The electronic registeration of business names has become necessary because the e-Governance project which is linked with the Ghana Revenue Authority to effect the implementation of e-governance system insists on a unique tax identification number of the sole proprietor engaged in the registeration process..” the report said.

This, it said, is to “make it possible for the identification of the sole proprietor promoting the business and also avoid the duplication of tax returns.”

According to the report, the commencement of the electronic registeration process by the Registrar-General’s Department is not provided for in any legislation hence the need to urgently amend the law to address difficulties and anticipated suits.

The government under the e-Governance project envisaged mainstreaming ICT into all aspects of governance, in this regard the Registrar-General’s Department began the electronic registeration of business names in December last year to facilitate the effective renewal of business names by the end of this year.

In this regard, the amendment of all business related laws including the Companies (Amendment) bill 2011 and the Private Partnership (Amendment) bill have become necessary in order to regularize the initiative taken by the Department.

MTN brought into Vodacom discussions; consultant awarded USD21 million by Kinshasa court

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:00:57 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

South Africa’s MTN Group is reportedly investigating options relating to the future of Vodacom’s Congolese operation, Vodacom Congo. According to local news source IT Web Business, a spokesperson for MTN, Rich Mkhondo, said that MTN, along with other parties with an interest in the cellco, were involved in the process of assessing various options for Vodacom regarding its investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Meanwhile, a Kinshasa court recently ordered Vodacom to pay a consultant hired by the company to assist in negotiations with CWN betweenn 2007 and 2008 USD21 million. Moto Mabanga was paid USD2.8 million for the work, but has sued the company for a USD40.8 million ‘success fee’ that he believes he is entitled to. Although the amount awarded was just under half of the amount asked for, Mabanga believed the matter finalised. Vodacom is unlikely to accept the court’s decision, however.

Spokesman Richard Boorman said: ‘We have not received the judgment on this matter so it is difficult to comment in detail. We would clearly have material objections to any judgment by a Congo court in which a monetary award was granted … while the contractual dispute is currently being heard in court in South Africa, which has jurisdiction on the issue.’

Vodacom is embroiled in a long-standing dispute with its local partner Congolese Wireless Networks (CWN) regarding the funding and structure of the venture.

Zesco improves Zambian access

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:08:39 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Zambia’s electricity parastatal, Zesco, is installing an advanced fibre optic infrastructure in the Western Province. The new network, being rolled out by China’s ZTE at a cost of around USD80 million, will deliver high speed broadband to government agencies, schools and businesses in the region.

ZTE said in a statement that the network would not only largely accelerate Zesco’s bandwidth lease service and profit growth, but would also promote the development of optical network in the whole country of Zambia.

The company said the old Zesco SDH national backbone network was no longer able to cope with rising market demands. The upgraded and network would build on the existing backbone to save on construction investment.

Kenya: TSF sets up Cash Transfer activities in the pastoral regions of the Marsabit South district.

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:18:08 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

On 15th October 2012, Télécoms Sans Frontières, in collaboration with Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Germany, launched the RAPID M-PESA pilot project, financed by GIZ, whose objective is to improve food security of vulnerable households in pastoral areas of Kenya, and reduce the effects of famine on their living conditions.

The aim of VSF-G is to conduct Cash for Work and Cash Transfer activities, and thanks to TSF’s expertise, to remune- rate the beneficiaries using the M-PESA system. Regular payments via the M-PESA system will enable the reduction of the beneficiaries’ vulnerability – villagers from the Marsabit South District (Marsabit County, northern Kenya) – to recurrent food crises in the country.

The aim of VSF-G is to conduct Cash for Work and Cash Transfer activities, and thanks to TSF’s expertise, to remunerate the beneficiaries using the M-PESA system. Regular payments via the M-PESA system will enable the reduction of the beneficiaries’ vulnerability – villagers from the Marsabit South District (Marsabit County, northern Kenya) – to recurrent food crises in the country.

TSF and VSF-G decided to conduct the pilot project in the Marsabit South District. It will be implemented in three towns: Laisamis, Merille and Logologo. From 4th to 21st January 2012, TSF went to each of the selected areas to train the beneficiaries who will be paid via M-PESA.

The beneficiaries are pastoralists. VSF-G chose them according to vulnerability criteria such as: household where the head is a single mother, household with a herd of less than 20 heads of cattle, household where the head takes care of orphans. In each village, a support committee helped VSF-G to select the beneficiaries, with at least one person with literacy and/or knowing how to use a mobile phone per village.

At the beginning of January, beneficiaries were separated into groups of 5 people and they attended training where each group received a cell phone and a solar charger provided by TSF. Moreover, each beneficiary who did not yet have a line received a personal SIM card and registered on M-PESA.

Most of the beneficiaries are not used to dealing with a cell phone, and for this reason, TSF trained 14 community assistants among the beneficiaries who are literate and already have some knowledge about cell phones. They will be able to help the other beneficiaries in case of problems with the cell phones or if needed, to read a message.

TSF also created a User guide detailing how to use a cell phone, and the creation and use of an M-PESA account, to assist them during and after the training.
Finally, if the inhabitants of big towns are familiar with M-PESA agents and systems, for villagers living in more isolated areas it is very often a discovery. The opening of an M-PESA account is compulsory for the beneficiaries of the project to receive the payments for Cash for Work activities. To assist them in the process of M-PESA registration, TSF recruited a local assistant with good knowledge of the M-PESA system.

To confirm the secure registration of each of the newly created M-PESA accounts, TSF will use the FrontlineSMS application before carrying out the first payment.

Rwandatel takeover : Lap Green out of the running

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:01:57 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Libya’s LAP Green has lost the chance to reclaim the assets of its former troubled telco Rwandatel which are up for sale in the ongoing liquidation process, Rwandatel’s Administrator has disclosed. Lap Green had earlier on approached the authorities for a possible bid to reclaim assets of its former subsidiary.

The liquidation process has attracted big players in the telecom industry including Bharti Airtel, which is set to commence operations in Rwanda before the end of this year.

“Lap Green was given an opportunity to submit a bid like any other player, but they didn’t submit any, now I can declare them out of the running,” Rwandatel’s Administrator, Richard Mugisha, said.

“They approached us with a view of participating in the liquidation process and it is possible they (LAP Green) will participate like any other potential buyer,” RURA Director General, Regis Gatarayiha, said earlier last month.

Rwandatel’s assets were supposed to be on course before the end of this month but ,according to Mugisha, they have pushed the deadline forward by another one month.

“Because assets will be sold in parts, we have received some bids from successful bidders and are about to close them but we are still evaluating others, causing the delay to the selling date,” Mugisha noted.

Mugisha dismissed claims that Airtel has already acquired Rwandatel’s telecom masts, saying that they have submitted a different bid but not for masts. A court decision, last year, placed Rwandatel under liquidation.

Rwandatel’s woes started when its GSM licence was revoked, early last year, by sector regulator RURA, following what RURA insisted was the failure by Rwandatel to comply with its operating obligation.

The company was jointly owned by LAP Green networks a subsidiary of Libyan African Portfolio and the National Social Security Fund of Rwanda (CSR), with 80 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

LAP Green is an investment arm that was started by the government of former Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi, who was ousted and later killed last year, during an uprising in the African oil rich nation.

The University of Namibia rolls out wireless internet

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:09:25 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Unam’s public relations officer Utaara Hoveka told The Namibian that all students who have laptop computers equipped with wireless modems would have internet connectivity on campus.

Hoveka said Telecom Namibia was installing the necessary cables last week.
The university is further installing vending machines where students can buy printing credit on their student cards.

In the past students queued up to buy credit, which is loaded onto their student cards to enable them to use printers in the copy centre.

According to Hoveka, after the installation of the wireless internet connectivity, students will be able to print from their laptops in their rooms through a local area network.

Telkom, KT to finalise potential JV findings in a few weeks

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:18:57 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

Talks between JSE-listed telecommunications group Telkom and Korea’s KT Corp appear to be progressing well. In an update to shareholders on Friday, Telkom says a “diagnostic review” is “well progressed” and the two companies expect to finalise their finding within the next few weeks.

KT Corp has expressed an interest in acquiring 20% of Telkom’s equity, a move widely praised by analysts and opposed by trade unions. In terms of the potential deal, Telkom will issue new ordinary shares at an issue price of R36,06/share, diluting government’s shareholding in Telkom from nearly 40% to about 32%.

In December, Telkom entered into a memorandum of understanding with KT Corp in terms of which they agreed to a period of exclusive engagement and information exchange to share areas of mutual strategic and business cooperation.

Following completion of these talks, the companies will present the findings to their respective boards and “engage with key stakeholders before finalising the transaction agreements and presenting the transaction to Telkom shareholders for approval”.

“Shareholders are advised that discussions regarding the potential strategic venture are ongoing and there is still no certainty that a formal transaction will be proposed or concluded.”

Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)

Alice — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:20:36 +0000

Issue no 590 3rd February 2012

- Senegal operator Sonatel announced the launch of a mobile TV service. The Orange subsidiary offers 12 channels, including channels from Canal+ Afrique, 2STV and TFM. Available over the ¬3G network, the service includes live content and videos on demand and requires a prepaid credit of at least XOF 400 for 30 minutes access. Postpaid customers can also access the service. Orange is offering a promotional pack of a compatible handset and prepaid card for XOF 49,000.