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

TOGO: FIRST VOIP CALL CENTER IN AFRICA
News round-up & Snippets
On the money
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 47 USEFUL WEBSITES AND DISCUSSION LISTS


UPDATE ON INTERNET IN ETHIOPIA

Samuel Kinde, a Phd student in the USA has just published an extremely interesting and quite detailed look at the development of the internet in Ethiopia. It provides a useful addition to News Update’s own article in issue 17. The article is at:
http://www.ethiopians.com/Engineering/Internet_ET.htm
(source: Samuel Kinde)

BURKINA ONLINE OFFERS INFO PORTAL

Burkina Online offers a wide range of information about Burkina Faso including: newspapers, addresses for useful organisations and embassy telephone numbers.
http://www.burkinaonline

TRAVEL TRACES DOCUMENTS GTZ IN UGANDA

Travel Traces includes a stunning collection of photos of Uganda based development projects taken by German artist Harald Stuckmann on behalf of the "German Technical Cooperation" (GTZ). The photos document a variety of GTZ activities in Uganda, including education, youth, health services, energy, agriculture and the environment.
http://www.harald-stuckmann.de

IICD RELAUNCHES ITS WEBSITE

The International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) has revamped its website (http://www.iicd.org/). It provides valuable information on all its activities in the area of ICT for development purposes.

The website has a new design and improved navigation structure, starting with the homepage that offers a clear overview of IICD’s core activities, including links to the Global Teenager project and the ICT Stories pages. Next to general information on IICD, the website provides easy access to recent information on so-called Country Programmes. IICD’s approach to ICT for Development, in which the institute acts as a catalyst, is based on an integrated three-prong strategy - a Country Programme.

Local ownership is the major spearhead in implementing the institute’s strategy. IICD’s role is to act as a facilitator and an independent broker in knowledge, partnering and funding. Focus countries in Africa are to date Burkina Faso, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Mali and Uganda.

ONLINE HANDBOOKS FOR SMALL-SCALE ENTERPRISES

Do you support, research or work with small enterprises in Africa? If so, you may be interested in two online handbooks, available from:
http://www.man.ac.uk/idpm/ictsme.htm

The first handbook is for support agency staff, advisers, consultants and researchers.It explains the role of information and communication technologies in small enterprise.It provides clear, simple guidance about information, about technology, and about support agency strategies.

The second handbook is for entrepreneurs.It also explains the role of information and communication technologies in small enterprise, from the entrepreneur’s viewpoint.It explains what the technologies are, what benefits they can bring, and how to get the most out of them.

With the proviso that they are left unaltered, both handbooks can be freely copied.We welcome feedback on the handbooks.

For those with a particular interest in research, there are links from this Web site to research reports and concept papers about ICTs and small enterprise in development.

(source: Richard Heeks, University of Manchester, UK)

NET MAPS FOR AFRICA - KNOW WHERE THE INTERNET HAS GOT TO

NSRC have produced a great set of net maps of various african countries at: http://www.nsrc.org/AFRICA/africa.html
(source: Mike Jensen)


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

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This page last updated on January 28 2004.

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