Balancing Act News Update - African internet developments

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The countries below contain a historic archive of information on the state of the internet that is now three years old. For some countries, the information has remained largely the same whereas for others considerable change has occurred. However it can still be used to identify organisations involved in developing the internet and to understand the historic development of the Internet in Africa. For up-to-date (but "pay-for") information click here: There are special rates for students and universities.

DOWNLOADS ZONE
This is an area where you can download longer articles and reports of interest. These will be updated as new material becomes available.

Download 1
(Word format, 875kb)
This IDRC-supported research study looks at how complaints by African consumers in the telecoms and Internet sectors are dealt with and what input consumer organisations are able to make into policy for these sectors. It is based on a survey of 30 African countries and includes detailed case studies of Kenya, Senegal and South Africa.

Download 2 Word document
(255kb)
This chapter from the ITU's Global Trends in Telecommunications Reform 2005 examines the market and regulatory implications of the shift to IP networks and outlines the different types of responses regulators are making to VoIP calling.

Download 3
(pdf format, 310kb)
Leslie Chan, Barbara Kirsop, Subbiah Arunachalam look at the use of Open Access archiving as a way of improving scientific capacity building.

If you have updates or interesting material to add, please send it to info@balancingact-africa.com

ALGERIA ANGOLA BENIN BOTSWANA BURKINA FASO BURUNDI CAMEROON CAPE VERDE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CHAD COMOROS CONGO COTE D'IVOIRE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO DJIBOUTI EGYPT EQUATORIAL GUINEA ERITREA ETHIOPIA GABON GAMBIA GHANA GUINEA GUINEA-BISSAU KENYA LESOTHO LIBERIA LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA MADAGASCAR MALAWI MALI MAURITANIA MAURITIUS MOROCCO MOZAMBIQUE NAMIBIA NIGER NIGERIA REUNION RWANDA SAO TOME & PRINCIPE SENEGAL SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE SOMALIA SOUTH AFRICA SUDAN SWAZILAND TOGO TUNISIA UGANDA UNITED REP OF TANZANIA ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE

MAIN STORY
Schoolnet - building tomorrow's digital generation
Snippets
Africa's digerati
Useful websites and discussion lists
Digital toolbox/
In search of the business model

Jobs, people, events...
Free small ads

If our correspondent is "off the mark" or you have factual amendments, mail them to us and we will include them in subsequent News Updates. If you'd like to contribute, write and let us know.
If you need information about a particular place or issue, just send your questions in. We are always happy to follow up on readers concerns.
ISSUE NO 31 IN SEARCH OF THE BUSINESS MODEL


MEASURING THE IMPACT OF YOUR WEB SITE FOR ADVERTISERS

Jupiter has unveiled web measurement technology the Jupiter Media Metrix unit AdRelevance that it will tracks and compares online advertising activity across all major industries and ad types, including banner ads. The introduction of AdRelevance 2.0, comes as many companies are reevaluating their advertising budgets to focus on profitability. More and more advertisers are looking for ways to track how effective their ad spending have been in driving traffic and transactions, as well as getting new customers. African web site owners need to pay attention to these questions as the initial web enthusiasm wears off.
(source: http://www.boot.co.za/reuters/oct00/jupiter3.htm )

CELL PHONE MATCHMAKING

In a service that sounds like it's right out of the pages of some trendy dating service, a PC games company in the UK called SCI Entertainment says it will launch a cell phone service that will tell you if an ideal partner is nearby. Users enter their personal details along with a description of their ideal mate at www.findablinddate.com. They are then alerted by e-mail when a potential lover is within half a mile radius. Perhaps this might be one of those services that will make sense of WAP in Africa?
(Source: JIN extract from Telegraph, Sep 28, 2000 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=003461571619725rtmo=
aqJWTK6J&atmo=gggggg3K& pg=/et/00/9/28/e
)

CHINA STARTS TV COVERAGE OF THE WEB

A 30-part series called Jiang Kun & Dashan On the Web is now airing on cable TV channels and the government's official China Central Television. The idea is to use celebrity and comedy to teach ordinary people everything from how to turn on the computer to how to move a mouse.While the names Jiang Kun and Dashan mean little in the West, they are as recognizable in mainland China as Oprah and David Letterman are in the United States.Last year, the two came up with the idea to develop a show that would teach the masses how to go online. Beijing KP Internet Technology, kpworld.com's parent, is financing the TV series. Apple Computer, Microsoft and local hardware and software companies are sponsoring the series as well. No sign yet of an African TV channel with the same degree okf imagination.
(source: Amy Wu, Wired.com http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,39023,00.html )


News Update is a free e-letter produced by Balancing Act that covers African internet content and infrastructure developments, It goes out to government, the private sector, education and NGOs. To subscribe, send a message saying "I want to subscribe" to info@balancingact-africa.com


This page last updated on January 28 2004.

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