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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. 
ISSUE NO 148 GHANAIAN REGULATOR LOOKS SET TO ISSUE FRAMEWORK FOR NEW VOIP LANDSCAPEThe technologies that allow "grey market" operators to bypass those who are licensed to terminate calls are changing the whole African market dynamic and it will be impossible to hold them back. Although it has been faced with the problem of the Government-owned Ghana Telecom haemmorrhaging money, the Ghanaian regulator, the NCA looks set to issue a new policy framework that will address the new realities of the market. Eric Osiakwan and Russell Southwood look at the dilemmas the players face. Since we last reported on the Ghanaian situation in issue 145 three weeks ago very little has happened. Despite this major crisis in the market, events appear to moving rather slowly. Some lines have been reconnected but not all. Both GISPA and Ghana Telecom have met separately with the Minister and a meeting was supposed to have happened last week that brought the two parties together but the Minister was not available. A new meeting is being rescheduled which will also include the NCA, of which (rather confusingly) the Minister (as the "owner" of GT) is still the Chair. Two factors have come together to destabilise the market. The period of exclusivity for international terminations expired in February last year and since then the number of VSAT authorisations has gone from 30 to over 100. Access to a VSAT satellite allows users the capacity to bypass GT terminating international calls: in other words, they can take the international call income and feed it into GT’s infrastructure as a local call. Faced with this kind of competition, GT’s commercial strategy can either do one of two things. It can rely on Government and the regulator to try and hold back the tide of "grey market" competition or it can adjust its international rates downwards to meet the competition. Until recently, the most common business model for African telcos was that profits made on international traffic subsidised both investment in and calls at a domestic level. With international competition and porous access to the international market through digital calling, the cornerstone of the old order - the international "accounting rate" system administered by the ITU - has completely collapsed. Minutes from calling cards in the developed world (used by the diaspora) are getting into countries through a large number of different routes (often disguised) that do not involve the incumbent telco. Ghana Telecom has the means to "fight fire with fire". It has co-located ITXC equipment that allows it to handle and offer VOIP calls. ITXC can bring it "calling card" minutes provided the price is right, bringing revenue back into GT’s coffers. It may be less than it was expecting but a percentage of something is better than all of nothing. Until recently, GT’s problem has been its inability to price competitively and react quickly to price changes. As one insider close to the situation told us:"You cannot monitor all the lines all the time. You have to decide to join in and aggressively compete with the illegal operators. But you need to change your rates more than once a year. That’s how Government operates and it won’t work. I feel sorry for GT." (According to last week’s Ghanaian Chronicle, the new Telenor management at Ghana Telecom has installed new systems and "revenue has multiplied six fold and the leakage that was costing government billions of cedis every week has drastically reduced". Part of the difficulty in regulatory terms is that GT still dominates the telecoms infrastructure. The SNO Westel which was meant to have installed 50,000 lines still only has 3,000. It is now in "hot water" with the regulator for failing to reach targets and it it wants to fine the company. Westel argues that GT was slow to meet its commitments, making it difficult for it to operate. The regulator has prepared a new framework for international calling and we understand that this is due to go out for industry consultation shortly. The regulator has indicated on a number of occasions that it is not averse to opening up the market to VOIP calling. So what should happen? The regulator should announce its intention to open international call termination up to a much wider range of operators. These should include a mixture of different types of organisations including: mobile and fixed telcos, ISPs and larger cyber-cafes. A short period should be given to GT to "put its house in order" (3-6 months maybe) and then a steady roll-out of new international operators should be licensed. On an experimental basis, one or two licences should be given to rural operators to encourage growth outside the cities. Small-scale rural operators like Capital Telecoms (with just 500 lines) need a shot in the arm. Underlying this new competition policy should be a clear principle that all parts of the connectivity infrastructure must interconnect and that interconnection disputes will be settled as quickly as possible. If the NCA can achieve this, then Ghana will go from having one of the worst African telecoms infrastructure to having a lively market that responds to consumer need. (With assistance from Paul Hamilton)
MALI’s SOTELMA TO DOUBLE ITS FIXED LINES TO 222,600Mali’s incumbent telco SOTELMA has announced a massive US$78.3 million investment programme aimed at doubling its number of fixed lines from its current 102,600 to 220,600, according to its Director-General, Sidi Mohamed Nimaga. This announcement came only a week after the launch of the second Malian telco Ikatel SA, a company capitalised at 26 billion CFAs which plans to roll-out 100,000 GSM lines according to its Director-General. Source: Reuters via http://www.liquidafrica.com/business/view/default.asp?id=21391 ZAMBIAN GOVT SAYS "NO" TO CELTEL USING ZAMTEL INFRASTRUCTUREThe Zambian Government says Celtel will not be allowed to use Zambia Telecommunications Limited (Zamtel’s) infrastructure to extend mobile services to any part of the country.Communication and Transport Minister Bates Namuyamba said in Parliament last week that it was not possible for Zamtel to share its facilities with a competitor when it was also considering introducing the same service in the area.He was answering supplementary questions from members of Parliament who during question-and-answer session quizzed Government on why Celtel which was due to launch cellular service in Chipata during the N’cwala ceremony had not done so. Mr Namuyamba accused Celtel of rushing to announce the new service in Eastern Province when it had not even signed any agreement with Zamtel over the infrastructure. He said investors should set up their own infrastructure instead of using existing facilities. Chipata MP Matthew Mwale (FDD) said Chipata residents had been inconvenienced because they spent money to purchase handsets and sim cards in anticipation of the Celtel mobile service. Chipangali MP Lucas Phiri (UNIP) felt the issue was political as Celtel was permitted to use existing facilities in Southern Province but Mr Namuyamba said the arrangement was with Zesco not Zamtel. Mbabala MP Emmanuel Hachipuka (UPND) said the measure was odd as Zamtel was failing to utilise its full capacity. Earlier Communications Deputy Minister Alex Chama said Government required $12.4 billion to extend telephone services to rural areas countrywide. He said the programme had stalled because of the colossal amount of money involved and lack of infrastructure. He said K4.53 billion had however been allocated under the transitional national development plan to extend services to seven provinces. Sinjembela MP Humphrey Pumulo (UPND) had asked if there were plans to extend services to Shangombo but Mr Chama said it was still pending. Shangombo alone required $902,000. (source: The Times of Zambia) MALAWI’s MTL LOOKS TO NEW DIGITAL EQUIPMENT FOR IMPROVEMENTSMalawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) has described problems which their customers were encountering in the past when making phone calls, faxes and telexes as sad experiences of the past. MTL Public Relations Officer, Dora Banda, told The Malawi Standard that following the commissioning of new digital exchanges in many parts of the country including Blantyre and the Lower Shire districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa:"It is very unlikely that customers will encounter any problems with the new digital exchanges. If anything the problem will probably be how customers can control their talking time because the quality is just excellent," says Banda. Banda said the installation and commissioning of the new digital exchanges replacing analogue exchanges, have improved telecommunication in the country.She explained that the project has cost MTL US$5.5 million. The project involved the supply and installation of the main Southern Region Transit Switch and a ten-position operator assistance centre. The switching units, housed in the buildings complete with brick walls, were supplied and installed in the outskirts of Blantyre namely Mpemba, Chilobwe, Zingwangwa, Manase, Chilomoni, Chirimba, Ndirande, Nkolokoti, Bangwe, and Newlands with Chirimba as the controlling centre because of its proximity to the industrial site. According to Banda, under the same project 100 kilometres of optical fibre cable was laid to connect the switch centres and the national network as well as duct and cable for each telephone exchange. "Apart from installing new switches and laying of new cable network, the project also rehabilitated the existing cable network for the three main exchanges in Blantyre namely Chichiri Stadium, Limbe and Blantyre exchanges," she said. Besides commisssioning the new digital exchanges, MTL has also introduced new incentives, which include pre-paid billing system. "Our customers will also be pleased to note that a project to install a new post-paid and a pre-paid billing system has already started. These two systems will tremendously reduce the billing queries we get from our customers. The new billing systems will enable families to budget for the amount of units to purchase in a specific period of time," says Dora Banda. (source: Malawi Standard) THURAYA BIDS TO REPLACE TRITEL IN TANZANIAEmirates satellite telecommunications company may soon start providing mobile phone services in Tanzania if the government approves its application to provide new generation services. A source in the Tanzania Communications Commission (TCC) told The East-African in Dar es Salaam last week that the Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company has proposed providing mobile telecommunication services via the Global Mobile Personal Communications Satellite through its dual-mode handsets and satellite payphones. This comes in the wake of the cancellation of the contract with the Malaysian-owned Tritel late last year after it failed to comply with a number of operational conditions. Vodacom, Mobitel, Celtel and Zantel currently provide cell phone services in Tanzania. It is hoped that the entry of a fifth service provider will encourage a competitive market and lead to a reduction in connection fees. Tanzania’s charges are among the highest in East Africa. The source said Thuraya would offer a high-generation satellite cellular (GSM) service and location determination system (GPS) in a single dual-mode handset. The source said TCC had agreed in principle that frequencies that were previously used by Tritel should only be given out to a dual-mode handsets and satellite payphones provider. "We want to get a new-generation provider. Thuraya has the technology we were looking for," the source said. IN BRIEF- Motorola’s Commercial, Government and Industrial Solutions Sector (CGISS) has announced that its sales for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region amounted to some US$109 million in 2002, up US$18 million from 2001. The company’s analogue radio business and accessory sales account for US$40 million, with the balance being generated through the sale of digital radio systems. - The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has granted Algeria a US$60 million loan to finance the expansion of its mobile telephone network, the official APS news agency said last week. The money from the Jeddah-based bank would help instal another 500,000 lines, part of a government-run project to cost $142 million, the agency said. - Morocco and Italy signed a memorandum of understanding last week in telecommunication, to foster cooperation in areas of internet, e-government, e-commerce, e-education and bank-related information. The MOU also covers enhancing information trading on information and communication regulation policies, and application of new technologies in postal services. - Comsearch, an Allen Telecom company, has confirmed the sale of its microwave path design software tool to support Vodafone’s GSM network in Egypt.
KENYA’S STANDARD CHARTERED BANK UNVEILS US$15M INTERNET PLATFORMStandard Chartered Bank has unveiled a US$15 million Internet platform, as it seeks an edge in a market where technology is increasingly becoming a key factor. Branded Web Bank, the new product would enable customers to access information on their transactions from computer monitors at their work stations, thus saving on costs and hours that could have been used on things such as reconciliations. "It will ensure that customers receive latest information on their accounts from their work stations round the clock. The data will also be near real-time as it will be updated automatically every 30 minutes," said the bank’s head of product sales James Wainaina. Targeted specifically at the bank’s corporate customers, it is intended to offer cash and trade information data at any time of the day, greatly improving the efficiency of a firm’s back-office operations. The service had been undergoing testing for load and capacity reliability since last September. "This product is particularly relevant at this time when organisations are putting a lot of work on decentralising their administrative and back-office functions. Kenya is the first African country to go live with the product, also being tested in Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gambia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. (source: The Nation) M-WEB ZIMBABWE LAUNCHES PROGRAMME TO SPEED UP CONNECTINGM-Web Zimbabwe developed Easy Set-Up, a new programme designed to speed up internet and e-mail connections for the company’s customers. Developed by M-Web Zimbabwe’s Mike Ehret over the past three months, Easy Set-Up is what the company claims is "the first super-compact connection programme of its kind in Africa". The programme will automatically configure Personal Computer (PC) settings to make connection quick and easy. Manual installations would no longer be needed, nor would there be a need to call in a technician to help with initial connection. If reconfiguration of settings was needed at any other time, that task could be executed by rerunning the Easy Set-Up programme. The programme was designed for compliance with Microsoft Windows, Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. For implementation, users would need Windows 95B or 95 OSR2 or better, Outlook Express Version 5.0 or better, Internet Explorer version 5.0 or better, and an installed modem. To run Easy Set-Up, a user would double click on the programme, fill in required information such as subscription type, location, nearest dial-in number, name, user name, password and e-mail address and then select modem. The user will then click the "next" button to enable configuration, and in the next two or three seconds, details would be displayed on the screen. A built-in help tool would be available on the programme to give users step-by-step assistance and a call could then be made to M- Web’s customer services to obtain further help if needed. (source: http://www.dailynews.co.zw/daily/2003/March/March3/10719.html ) IN BRIEF- ISPA’s INX committee has surveyed all of its members about their use of the Cape Town Internet exchange (CINX). On the basis of this survey, and the current use of CINX, the INX committee "has unfortunately reached the conclusion that CINX is no longer viable". Consequently, it is recommending that CINX be shut down at the end of April, unless there are at least three networks connected to the exchange, or with connections to the exchange imminent by April 14, 2003.
ZAMBIAN MINE IN MULTI-MILLION ICT INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATEOne of the Zambia’s largest mining companies, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), has embarked on a multi-million dollar drive to upgrade its information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, enhancing communication between its four sites and significantly streamlining operations. The project is being undertaken in partnership with Intrinsic Technology, the pan-African network and systems integrator. And it sees KCM upgrading its data network, deploying a storage area network (SAN) and migrating to a new version of the ERP system that runs, controls and manages its business processes. Koos Holl, the group IT manager at the mining house, explains that ICT was long believed by members of the mining community to be a burden on the bottom line. Today, nothing could be further from the truth, he says. "ICT has a positive impact across so many areas of our business. Office productivity and email/Web communication tools are crucial. ERP systems that manage our material supply, finances, maintenance, production and human resources are vital. And other mining-specific applications drive several areas of our business." For KCM, the key is to have these horizontal and vertical market applications operating together and efficiently. To make this possible, the company uses a fibre optic network to link the Konkola mine at Chililabombwe, the Nampundwe mine outside Lusaka and a smelter at Kitwe to a central point at the Nchanga mine at Chingola."This switched network handled large volumes of data so it has to have high bandwidth and be well-managed. We’ve therefore extended the fibre optic cabling so almost 50 kilometres of it runs across the mines and the smelter. We’ve also deployed a number of new servers to host and drive our business applications," says Holl. For years the network has run Unix on Alpha processor systems. However Ed Callen, the joint MD at Intrinsic Technology, says KCM is in the process of changing this. "KCM is laying the foundation for a migration to Windows NT servers," he says. "This means that all staff can work in the familiar Microsoft user environment. It also means the cost of the infrastructure, the software and the services necessary to keep it running in optimum condition are lower." From a data storage standpoint, KCM has deployed a central Windows-based SAN. This allows users at all sites to store and access data in the same way as if the devices were direct-attached. The difference, however, is that the devices are actually based at the central location at Nchanga. "This means it’s far easier - and more cost-effective - for us to manage the devices and the data stored on them ... much more so than if they were spread across all four sites," notes Holl. The other important development is KCM’s planned migration from the existing Unix-based ERP system, Mims (Mining Information Management System), to Ellipse, a new version of Mims that runs on Windows. "The ERP system manages all aspects of KCM’s day-to-day business," says Callen. "We’re currently working with the company to ensure a smooth changeover. It’s really just a software change but we still have to ensure the cut-over takes place without impeding the flow of data." Servicing this huge array of ICT systems is another of the challenges faced by Holl. The solution has been to strike a partnership with Intrinsic-backed Zambian company, Multi Vendor Services (MVS) - one of the first IT services companies to be established in the copper belt during the late 1990s. "Internal queries from our divisions are handled through our comprehensive service desk. Users log calls with the desk ... these are then prioritised and resolved by us and the MVS team accordingly," says Holl. Approximately 20 of KCM’s staff have been transferred to complement the MVS team in a form of outsourcing agreement. There’s a direct economic impact here: instead of the revenues derived from services being transferred straight over the border into South Africa - or even overseas - they are kept in Zambia. SAVANT SEEKS TO ACCELERATE DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTH AFRICAN ICT SECTORThe launch of SAVANT, a public-private partnership between Government and several key players in the South African technology industry, seeks to accelerate development of the South African Information and Communication Technologies and Electronics (ICTE) sectors, while raising the international profile of this thriving industry. SAVANT is a coalition of industry leaders supported by government, represented by the Department of Trade & Industry (the dti) and the ICT Development Council. It is the country’s first marketing and branding campaign for the ICTE sectors. ³The establishment of strong, vibrant and thriving ICTE sectors is fundamental to South Africa’s growth and development,² says Mr Alec Erwin, Minister of Trade and Industry. Initially, the SAVANT initiative has identified six crucial areas where it believes South Africa has a distinct competitive advantage and through which it will channel the plan. These areas are IT Training & Certification, Call Centres, Wireless Development, Pilot Lab, Niche Software Development and Infrastructure Development. IN BRIEF- A cooperation agreement for introducing new e-government projects was signed last week between the Egyptian Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) and Oracle Corporation. This protocol states that Oracle Corporation will provide to Government organizations special pricing terms and technical consulting services for e-Government projects. - Credit card holders who made use of Absa Online Payments (AOP) were safe from the recent hack attack’ in the US when about eight million Visa and MasterCard accounts were compromised, according to the Bank. The attack was caused when the security of a US-based card processing company’s computer systems were breached, and several banks reported that certain cardholders may have been compromised, although none had been defrauded. Absa’s Online Payments generates a unique, secure number for each online transaction made and will send this number to the shopping site instead of the actual credit or debit card details. This makes it impossible for third parties to intercept actual card details. - Bytes Business Solutions (BBS), a division of Bytes Technology Group Limited (a member of the Altron group), announced the validation of its integration of Serena ChangeMan® DS, Software Change Manager for Distributed Systems, with the latest version of IBM’s WebSphere Studio. - South Africa’s Golaganang, the private and public sector partnership initiative to provide affordable PC ownership and Internet connection to public services employees and their families, is going to tender. Described as one of the most coordinated and ambitious information and communications technology (ICT) development initiatives in SA to date, Golaganang’s vision is to help create jobs and skills, give a broader community of users access to e-services such as online banking and e-government applications, and ultimately, foster a culture of computer literacy in the country.
NDEGWA FAMILY BUYS AFRICAN LAKES TECHNOLOGIES FROM TROUBLED GROUPThe troubled African Lakes group is selling African Lakes Technologies to the Kenyan Ndegwa family. The company has been based in Kenya for two years, having moved its main operation there from Zimbabwe. The family has bought both businesses. African Lakes Technologies will relaunch itself into the local market as Paynet Kenya Ltd following a management buyout spearheaded by the Phillip Ndegwa family. The prominent business family has investments in the insurance, banking and real estate industries among others. The Group Managing Director, Bernard Matthewman, said the buyout, led by the Ndegwa family, was occasioned by African Lakes Corporation Plc’s search for additional investment to grow its other businesses. Matthewman said that the group’s e-finance solutions, spearheaded by the Paynet service, would continue in the same manner as before and remain the primary offering of the two businesses. Following the changes, the group’s management and operational reporting lines will continue with Matthewman as group managing director while the technical side will be handled by Ron Webb. Matthewman also announced the appointment of Mike Ralston, the former Chief Executive for African Online Holdings, as the new general manager for the Paynet group. He said Paynet would focus on providing electronic banking services, and was active in ongoing support and roll out on behalf of partner banks. He said to date, 14 financial institutions in Kenya and Zimbabwe offer the Paynet service. Matthewman said Paynet was currently developing an Internet banking product that is due for release in July this year. KENYAN INVESTMENT FIRM SEEKS TO INTEREST MTN IN VIVENDI’S SAFRICOM STAKEA leading Kenyan investment firm said last week it had approached South Africa’s MTN Group to lead a consortium in bidding for a stake in the country’s second largest mobile phone operator. Tony Wainaina, the chief executive officer of ICDC Investment Co., said his company was eyeing a 60 percent stake in Kenyan mobile service provider Kencell that is owned by French-American media group Vivendi. It has said it wants to dispose of its interest in Kencell as part of a debt reduction plan. Wainaina said a proposal put forward by the ICDC to mobile phone company MTN had also recommended that the expected MTN-led consortium should consider bidding for a third mobile licence offered by the government last month. "We have already started talking in a very informal way with MTN trying to get them to take an interest in responding to the pre-qualification notice for the third cellular licence and the Vivendi opportunity," Wainaina told Reuters in an interview. Wainana said he expected a reply from MTN in the next few weeks. Kencell, which started operating in August 2000, has about 600,000 subscribers, compared with the 650,000-700,000 of competitor Safaricom, which is a joint venture between state-owned Telkom Kenya and Britain’s Vodafone. In 1999, ICDC was part of a consortium led by MTN that competed for the second mobile licence but lost to a joint venture between Vivendi and local investment firm Sameer Group. The company was also part of the Mount Kenya Consortium, which won a bid to purchase a 49 percent stake in Telkom Kenya, but the government cancelled the deal in late 2001. Wainaina said ICDC, which is the major shareholder in regional supermarket chain Uchumi and the local Coca Cola bottling company, remained keen to enter the telecoms sector. "We will continue until we get something because we feel that this is a sector that we cannot be left out of," Wainaina said. MTN runs South Africa’s second largest cellphone network and has ventured into Africa in the face of a maturing market at home. It has businesses in western, eastern and central Africa. (source: The East African) IN BRIEF- Telkom has been accused of reaching a secret deal to drop a court case against its subsidiary, Vodacom, to avoid telling its new public shareholders about the potentially costly legal battle. The clash involves least-cost routing, which slashes corporate phone bills by diverting calls off Telkom’s lines straight onto the cellular networks. Telkom has applied to have the practice declared illegal, and instigated action against Vodacom, MTN and several equipment suppliers. But a victory for Telkom would destroy about R1bn of revenue for Vodacom. And as Vodacom is 50% held by Telkom and accounts for at least 50% of its valuation, that massive dent to its revenue could have made Telkom shares a less attractive buy, according to the Independent Cellular Service Providers Association. * Former Tradek boss Paul Theron has joined media company Moneyweb in a partnership to launch an online financial management service, Vestact. After Tradek was bought late last year by the Northpark consortium, Theron left the company, evidently partly displeased about the new owners’ plans to diversity away from online trading. Vestact will see Theron revive the concept of an internet trading platform. Vestact is an online financial management service, allowing clients to buy JSE shares and invest through the internet.
LINUX USERS GROUP MAIL LIST STARTS IN UGANDAThe Linux Users in Uganda mailing list is for those working in the IT field in Uganda and are interested in and use Open Source Software. The list is administered by Lunghabo Wire James of Linux Solutions and Kiggundu Mukasa of Kym Net. Plans are also underway to conduct regular meetings of Linux Users in Uganda. To join the mailing list, send email to <majordomo@kym.net> with the following command in the body of the email message: subscribe lug IN BRIEF- A new gender and HIV/AIDS web portal was launched last week that will provide researchers, policy-makers and practitioners access to cutting edge information at their fingertips. http://www.GenderandAIDS.org - Keringet is now online. Crown Distributors, the company responsible for the bottled water brand have created a new web site: www.water.co.ke The company says it will allow the customer to get service and support online.
PLATFORM-BASIC LAUNCHES NEW WEB PUBLISHING SYSTEMThe on-line content market is currently supporting a surge in systems designed to simplify the web development process, some of which simultaneously provide editing tools that enable content control by the end user. These publishing systems are can be seen as separate from Content Management Solutions as Web Publishing Systems and Content Management Systems operate on different levels of the virtual content spectrum. One new release is Platform-Basic, which is a Web Publishing System designed to produce higher-level environments of participation within the web procession, without compromising functionality or stability. Created to satisfy a range of parties from Advanced Developers through to non-technical end users, this system capitalises on these sub-markets by drawing demand from both ends of the website procurement process. Platform-Basic is Java based, and low-level code has been wrapped into a tag-based Application Programmers Interface to provide developers with the tools for advanced site development without a necessity to have the appropriate back-end skills. Also, websites created with Platform-Basic will inherently provide an editor-authoring tool for end user content control that is driven via a non-technical interface through the web. Platform-Basic believes it has "a globally classed product that has been created within the African context. Products of this status originating offshore are known to be financially prohibitive, and difficult to source. Retailing in Rands, Platform-Basic provides excellent solutions at very competitive prices and aims to provide real value while lowering the total cost of ownership of all parties". "Basic exists as the first version in the Platform brand family and gives stability to an expanding industry within an unpredictable environment. Platform-Basic offers a self-contained and logical web solution that does not drain expertise, resources or funds".
PEOPLE* Jeff Perreira, the Chief Executive Officer of Mascom, one of the two cellular companies operating in Botswana, says the economic situation in the country cannot support a third player. Mascom’s five-year exclusivity period is coming to an end and the government’s commissioning of a consultancy to examine the feasibility of introducing a third operator. According to The Gazette, Perreira said the market is already saturated and customers are happy with the two existing companies. Perreira said while mobile phone companies want to increase their roll out to remote rural areas, they are inhibited by lack of electricity and other related infrastructure. He called on the Botswana Power Corporations to increase power presence in the rural areas. Perreira said while Mascom had initially targeted 60,000 customers, it has now reached a customer base of 280,000. * Forge Ahead BMI-TechKnowledge, a majority black-owned research, consulting and strategic networking company in the information and communications technology sector, has appointed Jane Mosebi as managing director. * The Chairman of Altron, Dr Bill Venter, has announced important changes to the Altron board of directors with the appointment of two new directors. Lex van Vught has been appointed as an independent non-executive director and Adv Dali Mpofu has been appointed an executive director of the group with effect from 1 March 2003. Lex van Vught is currently the chief executive of AECI and, as previously announced, will become a non-executive director of AECI effective 1 April 2003. Dali Mpofu is the Altron group executive for corporate affairs, a position he has held for the past two and a half years. Mike Leeming joined the Altron board as an independent non-executive director last year. * MD of the SAS Institute Bill Hoggarth believes that the South African Government already faces a substantial problem with identity theft and e-government will help crack down on it. Business intelligence software can be used successfully for fraud detection and prevention in an e-government environment. "South Africa is making progress on the road to e-Government," says Hoggarth. "As well as the many benefits of offering public services online, however, moving to an e-Government footing can create data protection problems." For example, if citizens are filling in forms relating to the registration of a new car or company, they will need to provide a level of personal information, which - if it fell into the wrong hands - could be used to create a false identity, adding to South Africa’s fraud woes.
JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES- Tanzania’s Parastatal Pensions Fund is tendering for software. It currently runs its major business applications on Sybase/UNIX platform and is seeking to acquire additional software. Deadline is 26 March 2003. Details from: The Director General, Parastatal Pensions Fund, 11th floor, PPF House, Morogoro Road/Samora Avenue, P.O. Box 72473, Dar es salaam, Tanzania - The Development Gateway Foundation is calling for proposals for Country Gateways. Country Gateways http://www.developmentgateway.org/cg are locally-owned and operated initiatives that explore the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for development in their respective countries. InfoDev and the Development Gateway Foundation have allocated US$765,000 for grants in this round of competition. No Planning Grant shall exceed US$100,000. $450,000 has been reserved for Planning Grants for Sub-Saharan Africa and $315,000 for other regions. The deadline for submitting proposals is April 7, 2003. For more information, please visit: http://www.developmentgateway.org/node/118859/news/item?item_id=464198
EVENTSSOUTHERN AFRICAN INTERNET FORUM, KWA MARITANE GAME LODGE, PILANESBERG, SOUTH AFRICA (11-13 APRIL 2003) The Southern African Internet Forum has three key objectives: 1. To help create a shared strategic agenda between the private sector, the regulators and civil society that will help each advocate for change that will overcome current obstacles. 2. To offer high-level training through experience-sharing that will enable the private sector and civil society the ability to identify new opportunities and to act boldly in tackling them. 3. To allow participants the opportunity to put in place a Southern African Internet Forum as a way of pursuing these discussions on a regular basis. The South African Internet Forum be a three-day event with a high-level training workshop on the third day (11-13) April 2003, Kwa Maritane Game Lodge, Pilansberg, South Africa). There will be a plenary stream with breakout panels to discuss specific topics. It will precede IDRC’s Acacia event &SHY; Lessons of Empowerment from Communities enabling participants to attend both events. The plenary stream will cover: DAY 1 Plenary: Setting an agenda for action Regulators, policy makers, civil society and the private
sector: Forging new relationships to make things happen LUNCH Thinking the Unthinkable - African regulatory challenges
for the 21st century (VOIP, the international bandwidth
monopoly, interconnection and rural operators Digital rights - The minefield of censorship, personal
privacy and much more: What users are entitled to DAY 2 Lobbying government and regulators: Getting your voice
heard, influencing others - Lessons to be learnt Universal Service Policy: Putting TRASA’s Universal
Service Policy into action LUNCH Domain names - How can Southern Africa regain control
of this process Plenary: Creating a Southern African Internet Forum The high-level training session will be: Panel discussions will include: Technologies to reach the parts others cannot reach Who represents the user? - Finding a role for Internet
user groups E-rate: Why it is needed and what it can do Encouraging active virtual communities: The rural challenge - Getting beyond the cities and towns Telecentres and Cyber-Cafes - Finding the best approaches to opening access The Kwa Maritime Bush Lodge is two hours from Johannesburg. Transport arrangements will be confirmed with you upon booking. The conference delegate fee for the Forum is R3,800/$480 per person in single accommodation and R2,500/$320 per person in shared accommodation. The fee includes accommodation and all meals from Friday night to Sunday lunch. For further details, contact Sean Moroney on sean@aitecafrica.com or look on the AITEC web site (http://www.aitecafrica.com) The forum is being organised by AITEC and Balancing Act, with support from the Southern African Open Society Initiative.
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This page last updated on January 28 2004.
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