| ||||||||||
 |
|
STUDY ABROAD OPTIONS
|
|
||||
ETHIOPIAN TELCO BANS PRIVATE CYBER CAFES The Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) recently banned private cyber cafés operating in the capital, Addis Ababa. In what looked like a concern over bandwidth clogging by internet telephony (VOIP) popularized by newly started cyber cafés around town and a desire to maintain its monopoly, ETC has been aggressively clamping down on these establishments in the past 2 months.While there are no clear telecom laws and regulations that prohibit a reselling of telecom services in the country, the monopoly’s officials were adamant that they had the right to ban private cyber cafés. ETC was clearly worried that its revenue from long-distance calls will drop as customers were using cyber cafés to make such calls at the fraction of the cost.Meanwhile, in early February, ETC opened its own cyber café at its central office in Addis Ababa.In a press conference held in the capital, Addis Ababa, ETC officials talked of opening offices at each zonal office in Addis Ababa. ETC also is planning, in association with Addis Ababa University’s Medical School and the Ministry of Health, to launch a new online medical consultation service - Tele-medicine soon.ETC is betting that Tele-medicine, which has been used with success in other countries such as India and Norway, will also be successful in Ethiopia where the severe shortage of doctors might encourage customers to seek online medical advice and consultation. (contributor: Sam Kassegne) NIGERIAN GSM BIDDING IN A COMPLETE MESS Embattled Communications Investment
is hopeful that it will retain its Nigerian GSM licence, which
was withdrawn by the authorities because the local company failed
to meet the deadline for the payment of its $285 million (R2,22
billion) licence fee. According to World Markets Online, the dispute centres on uncertainties over the granting of frequencies. Communications Investment’s investors were unhappy putting cash up front without clear assurances on this issue. MTN’S SMS MESSAGING HITS 100 MILLION PER MONTH IN SOUTH AFRICA Fuelled by the global boom
in instant messaging, MTN’s SMS website shrugged off a traditionally
slow festive season for online media owners to flirt with the
magical 100 million impressions per month mark in the last quarter
of 2000, according to the latest figures from the Audit Bureau
of Internet Standards. - HP-TELTEC TIE-UP TO OFFER INTERNET-ENABLED CENTRES Hewlett-Packard (HP) and TeltecGlobal
(TTG) have formed a three-year strategic co-operation agreement
to develop Internet-enabled business and community centres in
urban and rural communities in developing nations. SOUTH AFRICA’S TELKOM ARGUES ITS VERSION OF COMPETITION Telkom has voiced its support for the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) proposal that a new rate regime to control telecommunications prices be introduced next year.Addressing members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery Association (PGA) in Cape Town, Telkom’s Chief Executive Officer, Sizwe Nxasana, said that until full competition in the communications sector allowed the introduction of market-driven cost-based pricing, regulatory price control remained essential to protect consumer interests and ensure continued network rollout. "Clearly, the best form of price control is that which is brought about by effective competition. However, we are not at this point yet, and South Africa needs a fair and transparent rate regime that works in favour of customers and telecommunications operators," he said.Nxasana added that Telkom supported the price cap method of price control, and that it was in favour of a price cap formula that would enable it to earn a reasonable rate of return on capital. As Government considers proposals on draft telecommunications policy for the post-exclusivity period, Nxasana reiterated the need for facilities-based competition to ensure economic growth and development through increased foreign direct investment in South Africa. Telkom proposed a facilities-based duopoly, with a second network operator being licensed to compete against Telkom with technology-independent licenses. (source:Telkom) THIRD CELL OPERATOR LICENCE ROUND IN CHAOS South Africa had hoped its award of a third mobile phone licence to Cell-C, a Saudi-backed consortium, last Friday would end a year-long controversy.But the timing of the decision has created fresh uproar, as the long- delayed announcement was made on the eve of a state visit to Saudi Arabia by Thabo Mbeki, the South African president. Mr Mbeki, who is accompanied by the ministers of defence and of public enterprises, is admittedly eager to foster trade relations with Saudi Arabia. One of the purposes of the trip is to support Denel, the state- owned arms manufacturer, as it negotiates the sale of artillery to the Saudi government. Opposition parties are now accusing the government of rushing through the announcement that Cell-C had been awarded the licence in order to ensure the success of Mr Mbeki’s visit. The awarding of the third mobile phone licence has been dogged by controversy for a year. Cell-C was officially chosen as the preferred operator in February last year, but was then frozen out by legal wrangling, procedural delays and accusations of corruption and political interference. Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri, the communications minister, was for months unable to allocate the licencee as she was locked in a legal battle with Nextcom, one of the losing bidders, which dropped the suit at the end of last year after it was granted a judicial review, which is still pending. Last Friday, Nextcom vowed to pursue its court action against the minister’s decision. The timing of the licence award surprised many analysts, as the judicial review into the original selection process was set for the end of March. The minister is now accused of side-stepping the judicial process under pressure from a government eager to sell arms to Saudi Arabia. "It is difficult to believe it was a coincidence," one Johannesburg-based telecoms analyst said. Mr Mbeki’s office denied any link. Cell-C’s main backer is Saudi Oger, the Saudi Arabian group, which controls 60 per cent. The remaining 40 per cent is owned by a consortium of 32 black empowerment groups. To complicate matters further, some of Cell-C’s local partners have been linked to a R43bn ($5.5bn) arms procurement deal, now mired in allegations of corruption. Cell-C, which estimates the delay has cost it more than US$15m while the two existing mobile phone providers have been snapping up millions of customers, is putting on a brave face. "It has been a long and expensive wait," Zwelakhe Mankazana, Cell-C director, said on Monday. "But we have been granted a licence and we are in business. We plan to spend $600m on infrastructure and make up for lost time." He said he was not even aware Mr Mbeki was travelling to Saudi Arabia. The third licence debacle has brought the South African government under fire for damaging investor confidence in the crucial telecommunications sector, especially as the privatisation of Telkom, the fixed-line monopoly, should go ahead before the end of the year. The choice of Cell-C should have been the "end of a long saga", as a government spokesman put it. (source: London Financial Times via http://www.AfricaNewsNow.com CAMEROON COMPANY SIGNS AGREEMENT TO BUY MMDS TECHNOLOGY Finline Technologieshas announced that it, through its wholly owned subsidiary Finline International Inc. has entered in to an agreement with Equatorial Communications Inc for the Purchase, Supply and Operation of MMDS System (Multiple Channel, Multiple Point Distribution System) to provide digital TV, telephone and high speed internet Services in Cameroon. Under the terms of the agreement Equatorial has placed an initial order with Finline for approximately US$100,000.00 for an internet head-end terminal for the city of Douala, Cameroon. The terminal will provide bi-directional high speed internet through a Satellite-Earth-Station presently being built in Douala and scheduled for traffic, commencing on February 28, 2001. As part of the Agreement, Finline obtains 25% ownership of Equatorial’s voting shares and becomes the exclusive supplier to Equatorial and will deploy its Trilogy™ Wireless solution (High Speed Internet, Digital TV and Telephone) in 9 major economic centers in Cameroon, in addition to Douala. Finline’s MMDS equipment will connect an estimated 5,000 individual subscribers and estimated 1,000 Internet and Access Points in Cameroon. In addition Finline retains an option to provide the space segment services to carry and terminate the Internet and long distance telephone calls into USA. Strategic alliances are underway to negotiate for the provision of further services by Finline. (source: Finline via Yahoo)
|
|
   
|
|||
|
This page last updated on January 28 2004.
|
|||||
