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STUDY ABROAD OPTIONS
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 LIBERIAN GOVERNMENT PLANNING ONLINE CASINO Liberia has been working for over a year to try to create a virtual casino, which will be directly managed by the Government. Brings a whole new meaning to the word offshore. (source: http://www.africaintelligence.com) SOUTH AFRICA’S FREE WEB SERVICES KEEP UP THE PRESSURE WebMail.co.za, part of the Interface Media group and South Africa’s first free web-based e-mail service, is now claiming over 230 000 users, 90% of whom are based in South Africa. Via compulsory user registrations, WebMail.co.za. collects consumer purchasing profiles, banking, vehicle and other detailed demographics. (source: http://www.boot.co.za/news/may01/webmail9.asp ) Meanwhile ABSA’s backers claim that ISPs that charge consumers a monthly access fee are destined for extinction. http://www.digitalplanet.co.za/dp/news/red.asp?ID=11602 NAMIBIA ADDS RURAL COVERAGE TO TSUMKWE USING VSAT Namibia Telecom recently opened telephone services to Tsumkwe. Telecom Managing Director, Theo Mberirua, said at the recent opening (see People below) that the company spent about N$6,2m to provide services to the Tsumkwe constituency, including Okamatapati. The company installed four VSATs at a cost of N$1m, four SDEs (small digital exchanges) for N$2m and two MultiGain Wireless CDMA systems (MGW) at a cost of N$1,7m. In addition, N$507 000 was spent on buildings/containers and N$420 000 on solar power. The cost of civil work amounted to N$624 000. It has already provided telephone services deploying Ultraphone systems and VSAT technologies, to very remote and typographically challenging areas such as Epupa, Torrabay, Bergsig, Sossusvlei, Signalberg, Aroab, Gochas, Onesi, Karas Mountain, Omaere etc. where landline technology is practically impossible or prohibitively expensive. Overall, Telecom invested N$230 million into ICT (information communication technologies) during last year alone. Part of the money went to the installation of a total network of 22 Ultraphone systems and 30 VSAT sites to provide access networks with special attention to rural areas. The next area for connection is the north of the country where the company claims it has about 4,000 customers awaiting services. (source: Ferdinand Tjombe, Namibia Telecom) GUINEA GOVERNMENT ATTACKED FOR PLANS TO TAX VSAT Internet service providers in Guinea are warning that government plans to increase taxes on VSAT licences, used by the ISPs to provide connectivity to the internet, are likely to signal the end of web access for the average Guinean. (source: http://www.africaintelligence.com) SIEMENS AND I-FUSION AGREE TO CO-OPERATE Siemens Telecommunications Enterprise Solutions Business Unit said today it has signed a co-operation agreement with I-Fusion, a preferred partner for Siemens in the data networking arena. Part of the Bidvest Group, I-Fusion is one of South Africa’s fastest growing IT groups and among the leading suppliers of computer services and infrastructure to medium-sized businesses. In terms of the co-operation, both parties will work together and utilise each other as the preferred partner in projects where a combination of Data Networking and circuit switched technologies are required. Based in Midrand, I-Fusion has national coverage in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban and points of presence in all the main business centres in South Africa as well as in Mozambique, Namibia and Botswana. (source:Siemens) E-READINESS ASSESSMENTS: WHO IS DOING WHAT AND WHERE There are a number of different organizations conducting e-readiness assessments in developing countries using a variety of tools. In its Comparison of E-readiness Assessment Tools, bridges.org evaluated major assessment models in terms of topics covered, level of detail, methodology and results. This report builds on the comparison by looking at where e-readiness assessments have been carried out, and by whom. There are at least five initiatives currently underway to conduct further e-readiness assessments, including those driven by UNDP, the ITU, The World Bank, The World Economic Forum, and national donor agencies (including USAID, the UK’s DFID and a Scandinavian Government initiative). Governments, international bodies and the private sector have clearly identified the need to effectively coordinate work on the digital divide and avoid duplication of effort, yet bridges.org’s research indicated that even as these and other initiatives move forward, there is little certainty about which countries have already been assessed and with what tool. Moreover, it seemed that many countries have already been the subject of more than one assessment, and at the same time many of the assessment results are not publicly available or easily accessible. Its survey found that significant duplication of effort has occurred in some countries, while others are devoid of useful data. It found that many of the poorest countries which have the most to gain from the information technology revolution have had no assessment activities to drive their planning toward e-readiness. (source:http://www.bridges.org) ALGERIA TENDERS FOR SECOND GSM LICENCE Algeria is tendering for a second GSM mobile licence which will be granted in July and will offer another in December 2003, as part of its efforts to liberalise the telecommunications sector.The second GSM licence will allow a private operator into the Algerian mobile market for the first time. The market is currently small but is seen as set for a rapid growth. Around 700,000 Algerians are on the waiting list for a mobile phone. (source: Reuters via DigAfrica) MOBILE WHO LAUNCHES MOBILE INTERNET SERVICE In merging the power of the internet with the versatility of mobile phones, Cape Town-based company Mobile Who has launched an international, web-based mobile phone directory and e-business platform. (source: http://www.boot.co.za/news/may01/mobilewho8.asp ) SA’S TELKOM LINKS TENET UNIVERSITIES A communications solution designed and implemented by Telkom which was launched in Johannesburg, has boosted internetworking between higher education institutions in South Africa and abroad. This is being done as part of an agreement between Telkom and the Tertiary Education Network (Tenet) which represents 21 universities, 14 technikons, 10 national institutes and two consortia. Tenet takes over from its predecessor, Uninet in providing high speed internet connectivity. Uninet, which was run by the National Research Foundation (NRF), formally closes down at the end of this month. Tenet is owned jointly by the South African Universities Vice Chancellors’ Association and the Committee of Technikon Principals. The former director of Information Technology at the University of Cape Town, Dr Duncan Martin, has been appointed as CEO of this Section 21 company.
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This page last updated on January 28 2004.
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