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ISSUE NO 36 NEWS ROUND-UP & SNIPPETS

BALANCE SHEET OF THE INTERNET IN AFRICA

It may sound like stating the obvious, but poverty is still the greatest barrier to Internet growth in Africa, according to the US Internet Council in its State of the Internet Report 2000. "The monthly connection cost for the Internet in Africa exceeds the monthly income of a significant portion of the population. Until costs decrease, most of Africa will remain unconnected," the report states.

"Other problems stifling the Internet in Africa are low computer penetration, illiteracy, lack of trained personnel, disinterest and a failure to understand the benefits of Internet access," the report continues.

Africa's online population is estimated at between 1.15 million and 2.58 million, depending on whether you opt for the pessimistic or optimistic survey results. Either way, the growth trend lags far behind that of other regions. South Africa is the only country on the continent with a significant number of Internet users -- 1.05 million. The State of the Internet Report 2000 lists the next country on the connected list as Egypt, with 50,000 users, followed by Morocco with 20,000 and Kenya with 15,000 users.

Congo, according to the report, is the only country that is not directly connected to the Internet, following the recent linkup of Eritrea (March 2000) and Somalia (September 1999). But doesn't mean there is widespread connectivity -- only eight countries have nation-wide dial-up access while 42 countries have public access in the capital cities, the report states.

"Only a handful of African businesses are online, for purchasing or selling. The vast majority of African commercial sites are for informational purposes only."

The report goes on to say that last year there were 10 703 African host Web-sites and that most of these are very basic. Again, South Africa is the exception, its Web-sites being "the most diverse, technologically advanced and up-to-date".

The State of the Internet Report 2000 attributes the slow Internet penetration in Africa to poor telecommunications infrastructure and low income. "The telecommunications infrastructure is sadly inadequate due to under-investment and strong government control, so that development of dial-up access has been slow. Deregulation and increased telecom investment will boost phone penetration and, as a result, Internet penetration."

(source: US Internet Council: http://www.usic.org/ )

EGYPT PLANS REGIONAL TECHNOLOGY HUB WITH SMART VILLAGES

Egypt plans to build hi-tech "villages" to try to become a regional technology hub and extend its long-standing pre-eminence in the Arabic media to the internet. "Egypt is traditionally the intellectual capital of the Middle East and Arab-speaking countries and is where a lot of the content in media is produced," Communications Minister Ahmed Nazif told Reuters. "This is the future. Pumping content onto the world wide web. Egypt is a leader in media, television, cinema and the Internet, as well as a gateway to Africa," he added.

Nazif has announced that the first purpose-built information technology (IT) business park, or "smart village", would be built in Giza, in the outskirts of the capital Cairo. A second is planned in Mansoura, 125km north of Cairo, and a third in the Mediterranean port of Alexandria. A "smart village" in the southern city of Assiut has been mooted and Nazif hopes to repeat the model across the country. President Hosni Mubarak has allocated government land for the Giza project and given smart villages a 10-year tax break. Facilities will include business-oriented hotels, a convention centre, restaurants and financial services. The private sector has pledged $26 million for the Giza development, which it will run.

A visit by President Hosni Mubarak to the United States this year helped seal alliances with IT firms such as Microsoft, IBM and Cisco in upgrading Egypt's IT education. The agreements aim to train 5 000 professionals a year to develop IT in Egypt and compete in international markets. "The value added by each professional is about $100 000, which means half a billion dollars added to GDP every year," Nazif estimated. He said Egypt had seen heavy investments in IT the past 12 months, attracted partly by a big local market in a population of 65 million. The US electronic chip-making giant Intel Corp. won government approval last month for a $500 million project to build a microchip plant that would create 3,000 jobs. Fast growth from thin base Egypt's IT industry is relatively small but growing fast, like that of other Arab countries.

The London-based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper has estimated the number of Internet subscribers in the Arab world at 500 000 and users at two million, including 400 000 in Egypt. Khaldoon Tabaza, co-founder of Arabia Online, the Arab world's first portal, reckoned the region already has three million Internet users and up to six million personal computers. It would have at least 13 million Internet users by 2004.

(source:WOZA http://www.woza.co.za/reuters/nov00/egypt13.htm )

SOUTH AFRICA'S JOHNIC INVESTS IN CONSUMER E-PUBLISHING

Johnnic e-Ventures (JeV), the internet division of black empowerment giant Johnnic, has acquired 50% of SA digital publisher comPress in a bid to explore new publishing models and to open up publishing to the masses. The new business will provide tailor-made publishing services to the corporate, academic, and traditional publishing markets, both in digital and in paper format. The deal, which creates the country's largest digital publishing business, also adds a new dimension to Johnnic's existing media, entertainment and telecommunications portfolio, which includes holdings in print media businesses Times Media Limited, BDFM, Struik / New Holland, Caxtons and Random House.

"This is in line with our philosophy to invest in businesses which add strategic value to the group," said JeV CEO Neil Jacobsohn. "Digital delivery and on-demand production processes are revolutionising the legacy publishing industry, which was traditionally characterised by high risk and low margins," said Jacobsohn. "Andersen Consulting's media division recently reported that the potential e-market for trade books alone will reach $3.2 billion by 2005. Success stories such as the phenomenal sale of 500,000 copies in only 48 hours of Stephen King's e-book Riding the Bullet support such forecasts." Jacobsohn says one of the company's primary aims is to give writers a marketplace.

"Most manuscripts are rejected by publishers because of economics. Print-on-demand and online publishing will enable us to take a book to the market and let the public decide." comPress, the first digital publisher in South Africa to sell e-books, has established a strong presence in the emerging market of electronic publishing. By breaking down production and distribution barriers, it has targeted niche markets previously deemed unreachable. "Publishing, for so long an exclusive domain, is finally being opened up to the masses," said comPress joint MD François van Schalkwyk. "What we're seeing is the true democratisation of information dissemination, which will ultimately bring an end to the inequalities of information access which are entrenched by traditional publishing models." Using the internet as a marketing, sales and distribution mechanism, comPress has developed an e-commerce-enabled online catalogue ( www.oneworldbooks.com) through which it sells a wide range of downloadable e-books.

Traditional paper books (but printed digitally, which makes short runs economical) can in turn be printed on demand. comPress' clients include traditional publishers, consultancies, independent authors, business schools and media personalities. Jacobsohn said the new venture also brought tremendous opportunities to JeV's business hub, I-Net Bridge. comPress joint MD Ross Frylinck pointed out that on-demand print processes, e-book formats and the internet present incredible opportunities to anyone wanting to publish books, journals, corporate materials, manuals and newsletters. "Huge numbers of documents are published by companies, and we will be using I-Net Bridge's reach into the corporate market to exploit this opportunity," said Jacobsohn. Added Frylinck, "By printing on an on-demand basis, problems and expenses of maintaining stock are avoided and materials need never be out-of-print. Furthermore, e-books cater to the growing demand for digital information products that can be downloaded to PDAs, laptops and other devices. "They also offer the advantage of being searchable along with benefits such as forms and hyperlink navigation."

(source: Boot http://www.boot.co.za/news/nov00/johnic14.htm)

HARARE CITY COUNCIL BANS ADS FOR ECONET'S LIBERTY PACKAGE

Harare City Council has removed banners promoting Econet's new Liberty incentive package. The Council removed the banners from along Samora Machel Avenue after the city council said they had political connotations and would not be allowed, the Daily News reported today. The banners featured the offensive statement "Liberty-Express Yourself," and were similar to the advertising style used in the print media over the past two weeks. The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation refused to carry advertisements for the same product on its air and television programmes for "ethical reasons," according to today's Financial Gazette. Pulling the advertisements cost the City Council and ZBC a reported $400 000 and $2 million respectively.

(source: MDC mailing list - http://www.mdczimbabwe.com )

ICANN NAMES 10 TOP-LEVEL DOMAIN NAMES

ICANN has zeroed in on 10 new top-level domains, pending a vote of its board of directors that is scheduled for this month.

(source: IDG-NET http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=363913

SOUTH AFRICA: COMPETITION FOR SCHOOL COMPUTERS

SchoolNet SA and 3Com have joined forces to help you win computers for YOUR school! Take part in Planet Project's Student Underground on November 15 and win... a minimum of 10 PCs for YOUR SCHOOL, as well as network equipment to connect computers in the classroom on a Local Area Network.As part of Planet Project's Student Underground (http://www.planetproject.com/index.html) initiative, a global poll aimed at students aged 13 to 20, 3Com is donating computers worth R1 million to 10 lucky schools in South Africa that take part in Student Underground.

The 10 schools with the most creative implementation of their Student Underground poll, which takes place from November 15- 18, will each walk away with the prize. Please note that the prizes are not for individuals entering the competition. It will be awarded to the school that wins. Read the Entry Form ( http://151.164.131.44/entry_form.pdf) carefully and ensure you do not leave anything out. Submit your 1000-word essay, no later than 5 December, telling us about the creative ways your school has gone about ensuring participation in the Student Underground and how the results of the poll have benefited your school. Don't forget, entries close on 5 December!

(source: http://students.planetproject.com/ )

NEW ZAMBIAN COMPANY TO PROVIDE RURAL ACCESS TO THE INTERNET

A new company, E-link Limited, that will provide the rural community with access to the internet has been launched in Lusaka and will start its initial operations in Mazabuka, Choma and Kasama. According to E-link Limited information officer Chilufya Chisashi, they will establish telecentres across Zambia and foster information and trade services befitting rural populations. These telecentres are establishments that will provide telecommunications services including internet access.

She said among others, the telecentres will provide information on agriculture, education, health and pharmaceuticals. She said E-link Limited was a joint venture business between the International Institute for Communications Development of Netherlands (IICD) and Coppernet Solutions. Coppernet general manager Tom Lungu said they would also explore opportunities in exploiting wireless communications as their role was to provide technology.

He said where there was no communications infrastructure, Coppernet would put up the required facilities to enable the establishment of telecentres which would be offered out on franchise. IICD manager for Zambia and Uganda Marcel Werner said the institute had joined forces with Coppernet Solutions to establish E-link Limited because partnership was critical especially in the telecoms sector. He said while striving for knowledge to become accessible to everybody, smart partnerships between public, private and non-profit institutions was critical. Coppernet Solutions chief executive officer Cris Munyati, during the launch of E-link Limited last Thursday, said government should have direct policies towards the development of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in Zambia. Munyati said ICT was an economic driver industry globally. (source: http://www.babinmedia.com/zambezi/ZT246b.html#elink )

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