EFFECTIVE INTERCONNECT - AFRICA’S NEXT LIBERALISATION FRONTIER

Charges to carriers for using the networks of others -otherwise known as interconnect - is a challenge for many African operators. Not a week passes without some African interconnect issues being in the news. This week it’s the NCC’s Ndukwe lashing NITEL for its failure to install equipment to make it happen. Complete interconnection between networks has to be the absolute cornerstone a competitive environment. The problem is two-fold: firstly. a regulatory issue, usually about the level of interconnect costs and a practical issue of installing equipment for allowing interconnect and billing for this traffic. Christian Cuipek, INTEC’s Regional Director in Africa looks at the issues.

One example is the recent difficulties faced in Mali by Soltema, the incumbent telco. Soltema’s wireless wing Malitel is dealing with competition for the first time with the launch of rival mobile operator Inkatel SA. Since going live in January 2003, Ikatel SA has attracted over 50,000 users in Mali for its GSM services. Unfortunately Interconnectivity has not been achieved between Ikatel and SOTELMA, leaving mobile users unable to make calls outside their own network. At the moment, both companies are trying to work out an effective interconnect agreement to overcome the challenges preventing the support of incoming calls. One of the main problems is Ikatel’s use of the pre-fix number "4" in front of each GSM user number, instead of the pre-fix number "6", which is the standard imposed by the country’s committee for telecommunications regulations (CRT). Soltema’s network application does not have the flexibility to identify and rate Ikatel’s calls so they are barred from entry. The company also lacks the technology to gather network usage data to bill for interconnect services.

Operators in countries such as Nigeria have also faced interconnection issues since the launch of rival GSM services. Part of the problem is the cost of the actual interconnection charges, which has a profound effect on the development of wholesale or retail markets in Nigeria, as well as on decisions to invest in infrastructure. Companies such as NITEL have argued that their GSM tariff of N21 per minute can barely support the prevailing interconnect tariff of N18. Furthermore, most companies do not have the network technology to ensure that their future inter-carrier partners are not going to overcharge for their services.

In February 2003, Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC) met with operators to smooth out this and other interconnection disputes between NITEL, the National carrier and GSM operators. The NCC warned operators that 60 days after physical interconnection, an agreement would have be executed by the parties to the interconnect. Otherwise, the NCC would step in to enforce the new policy.

NCC’s pressure has yielded some results. In May 2003, MTN Nigeria Communication Limited signed an interconnect agreement with the second national operator and fourth GSM operator, Globacom. This leaves M-Tel Limited (Nitel GSM) as the only mobile operator with whom MTN has no agreement on interconnectivity. The next step is going live with services. Before this can be achieved, however, operators must ensure they have the right Operations Support Systems (OSS) to support the interconnect agreements.

OSS is as vital to network interconnectivity as the agreements themselves. It is the glue that holds the network together, an investment that can be costly upfront but provides long-term benefits that are too great for Africa’s operators to ignore. Of particular importance is a flexible interconnect billing application. Interconnection fees already provide a vital source of revenue for operators in Africa, especially for international calls. Approximately 4 billion dollars (US) are generated each year as a result of interconnection agreements in Africa. Installing a flexible platform can allow companies to increase this revenue stream by 30 per cent. This adds up to an extra billion dollars worth of income that African countries can reinvest into their infrastructure.

The good news is that now is the right time for Nitel, Sotelma and other African operators to buy their software. The overall slowdown of the global telecoms market has meant that OSS vendors have had to slash their prices in a bid to win customers. Many software companies increased product costs in the late 1990s to take advantage of the amount of money carriers had at that time. According to the industry association Telemanagement Forum, today’s prices have fallen so much that OSS vendors are even losing money just to win business. Margins have been cut slim, and some vendors are selling at below cost. Ten years ago carriers were spending anything up to $20 million on massive systems, but now prices around $1 million, and even below that, are common.

Before investing in interconnect billing applications operators must know what to look for when selecting a system. This can seem daunting when one considers there are hundreds of vendors offering various solutions. The first thing to remember, however, is that most carriers have similar billing requirements even if their network priorities are different. To start with, operators want a system that is easy to install and requires the least amount of effort to generate the bill. It should make billing uncomplicated and support other operational support systems such as revenue assurance and fraud management. Scalability to manage growing call volumes is critical, as is flexibility to support new services on any type of network, especially when one considers the competitive advantages of fast time to market. Most importantly, operators need a system that meets its business needs anytime, whether its today or tomorrow - a platform that can be supported for as long as a user plans on running it.

A typical interconnect system collects and provides access to information that is used to produce and verify invoices from other operators, based upon products and services terminating on or originating from the operator’s own network. A flexible interconnect system provides the capability to report on all interconnection activities, such as standard telephony based charging and origin based charging. It also offers the necessary information to support production of revenue and cost reports by operator, product and service as required by middle east or international interconnect agreements.

Complementing any interconnect billing system is the mediation platform, which is the interface installed between the network and other operations support systems (OSS). Mediation allows operators to collect, process and deliver information on the traffic passing through their networks and can help operators support the growth of voice, IP and data for billing purposes without fear of losing vital information or duplicating call records.

African companies have already started to realise the benefits of interconnect, including Senegal’s Sonatel, South Africa’s Cell and Telecom Maroc. They have all recently purchased new systems in response to a growing volume of call traffic. Meanwhile, Egypt Telecom has recently installed new interconnect and mediation platforms to ease interconnect partnership agreements with content and Internet service providers. The company provides the infrastructure for 130 different ISP providers throughout the country and the billing system has helped to handle the growing volume of network traffic generated by these new content-oriented partnerships.

Installing better interconnect billing systems creates a new way for operators to generate money instead of alienating end users with higher tariffs for telephony services. Indeed, making telephony accessible is an imperative requirement for many countries in Africa where mobile and fixed-line services are already prohibitively costly for most subscribers. According to the African Telecommunications Indicators report, fixed line access in countries such as Nigeria, Chad and Ethiopia are among the lowest in the world due to cost, while 80% of African mobile users chose to use pre-paid phone cards, twice the world average, because people cannot afford more expensive contracts. Raising rates to support operational expenses will further prevent users from accessing many services, thereby undermining the success of Africa’s telecommunications industry.

Interconnect billing systems can also produce data information that will help identify losses related to fraud - a major problem for operators in Africa. The global telecommunications industry currently loses half a million dollars to common fraud schemes each day, and the numbers are increasing in areas such as Africa. Operators in South Africa, for example, have already experienced major setbacks to innovative services as a result of fraud. In 2001 half a million-fixed lines in South Africa were disconnected, many as a result of fraudulent activities. This caused the country to drop from third to fifth on the list of African countries with the highest level of tele-density. It also cast a shadow over the future growth of the computer and mobile Internet market in South Africa. North African countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Nigeria have also been identified as high-fraud areas for communications companies such as AT&T, which have lost millions to phone scams in the region. As a result, the US based company now offers restricted international calling cards that enable users to call anywhere in the world except these targeted countries.

Billing systems are important, but the role of government legislation is equally vital to ensure effective interconnect billing between partners in Africa. In many advanced telecoms markets, interconnect charges are regulated to encourage competition by making sure that the charge imposed on a carrier is the same as that used internally by the incumbent. Understandably, many PTTs are reluctant to push interconnect agreements that take away their revenue stronghold, but opening the African markets is a crucial requirement for advancing the telecoms industry and governments must be proactive to ensure that interconnect is adopted by all the carriers. Furthermore, the rise in joint ventures in the region is forcing companies to comply with international telecommunications union (ITU) regulations, which call for open markets and competitive interconnect agreements.

Among the countries pushing ahead with reform is Egypt. The government has drafted an important Telecoms Act that outlines the requirements for ensuring a strong and competitive market. Interconnect is one of the topics identified in the legislation as a precursor to developing a strong economy and the country’s leading telecoms operators are preparing for change by upgrading their billing platforms. The lack of telecoms competition in Egypt had kept consumer prices artificially high and subscriber numbers low. The Telecoms Act and a national regulatory body have quickly changed this reality. There are over 3 million mobile phone subscribers today, opposed to 900,000 last year, and over 7 million fixed line users, an increase of 30 percent since 2000.

The telecoms future in Africa looks promising. Foreign operators are continuing to invest including France Telecom, which maintains a strong presence on the continent with its subsidiaries Cote d’Ivoire Telecom, Sonatel in Senegal and Mauritius Telecom. Emerging markets such as Morocco and Nigeria are also moving ahead by adding new GSM operators to help heighten competition. Meanwhile, International IP Telephony wholesaler ITXC has seen an 1111% increase in voice traffic to and from Africa in the past year. The company, which enables operators to interconnect with its Internet-based global network to deliver and receive international traffic, currently has agreements with Zimbabwe PTC, Ghana Telecom, Senegal’s Sonatel, SotelTchad in Chad and Telekom South Africa. Through ITXC’s interconnection capabilities, operators are quickly gaining access to an international network, new revenue and very competitive outbound rates.

By investing in a solid network infrastructure, and by implementing good interconnect policies and the best billing systems, Africa’s carriers can have an opportunity to maximise their earning potential and to increase the continent’s low tele-density numbers. Billing operators have a responsibility to offer a higher level of technical and educational support with reference to the business benefits of the OSS solutions and other products that African operators purchase. There is a substantial knowledge gap between the West and Africa that must be filled and vendors should be willing to transcend the role of supplier to become a teacher as well. Information so gained by the operator, can help enhance overall network performance as well as improve communication with investors interested in new business ventures.

Christian Cuipek is Regional Director in Africa for INTEC
christian.ciupek @intec-telecom-systems.com

SA’S SNO BIDDERS NOW DOWN TO TWO AS DETECON JOINS COMMUNITEL

The second national operator (SNO) working committee has short-listed two of the original four bidders for the SNO licence, although only one of the remaining two was not recommended to the minister, writes Rodney Weidemann of ItWeb.

The recommended bids will now be reviewed by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) and a decision will then be taken as to which one will be put forward to minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri for consideration for the 51% equity stake.

Two Consortium, which includes Scandinavian operator Telenor, SwedTel and local company Mvelephanda, and CommuniTel, which involves Telecom Namibia, the Umkhonto We Sizwe Military Veterans Association, Gateway Communications (UK/South Africa) and Premier Contracts Agency from the UK were the two recommended consortiums.TeleAccess, which operates the SNO in Zimbabwe, was the bidder that was not put forward to the minister.

Deacon Mathe, chairman of CommuniTel, says an agreement was reached between it and fellow bidders T-Systems/Detecon, which will see the two consortiums collaborate in making a single bid.As such, that means the T-Systems/Detecon bid was not rejected, but merely that the bidders chose to fall under the CommuniTel ambit instead.

"We are very happy to hear that we are one of the two recommended bidders put forward to the minister by the SNO working committee, as it has been a long process and a lot of work to get us where we are," says Mathe.

"We are particularly pleased that the bids have been short-listed in their entirety, rather than attempting to have bits and pieces of several bids combined into one Œsuper bid’, as was mooted at one point."

He says that although the minister may yet choose to ask the two recommended bidders to discuss just such a possibility at a future date, CommuniTel is confident it has what it takes to win the licence on its own.

According to Siyabonga Madyibi, a spokesman at ICASA, the regulator can only recommend a single bid; it does not have the power to attempt to combine parts of different bids."We will judge the two applicants based on defined criteria, and the one that scores the highest will then be recommended to the minister, who will then decide whether to award them the licence," says Madyibi.

NCC’S NDUKWE BLAMES NITEL FOR INTERCONNECT PROBLEMS

The lingering interconnection problem among the GSM operators in the country has been blamed on the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) The Executive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, said during a media briefing in Lagos yesterday that the inability of NITEL to put its acts together was the principal cause of interconnection problems in the country.

According to Ndukwe, NITEL has not been able to install the necessary equipment to enable mobile to mobile interconnection between its mobile network and other mobile networks.

Adducing sundry reasons NITEL has performed below par in the interconnection issue, Ndukwe said NITEL has had the privatisation burden hanging over its neck since the past two years. He said "this has limited its ability to invest on its network expansion requirements in a timely manner. "

The NCC Boss continued that "the managing Directors have been changed four times since year 2000 and this comes with changes in senior management and board membership," wondering who to really hold responsible for the state of affairs in NITEL.

(source: This Day)

IN BRIEF

- SA Telkom has announced the first roll-out of ADSL in Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Potchefstroom and Welkom.

- The Nigerian Second National Operator (SNO) Globacom may be months, perhaps weeks away from the rollout of its services. After a couple of unfulfilled deadlines which has heightened anxiety among potential subscribers, the company has initiated series of activities in recent weeks which point towards a roll out anytime soon. One of such activities was the meeting recently held with the over 350 dealers who have been selected to market the company’s products and services.

  - Tenders opened last week for the second cellular licence in Namibia and the process will close on September 4 at 12h00. A clarification meeting for prospective tenderers will take place on July 23 in Windhoek. Tender documents can be be obtained from the NCC for a fee of N$2,500.

- SONATEL is rolling out ADSL to the following places: the airport, Diamalaye village, Cite BCEAO, Yoff, Tandian, Cite Air France, Liberte 6, Sacre Coeur 3, Grand Yoff, Patte d’Oie, Scat Urbam, Cite SIPRES, Hann Maristes, Dalifort, Le Mille 8 Sonacos, Cite Elisabeth Diouf and the Espace apartments.

- French phone giant France Telecom said last week it had completely restored telephone communications with earthquake-ravaged Algeria. France Telecom said in a statement it had repaired the undersea Alpal2 cable between the Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca and Algiers. The line was damaged by a severe quake that shook the Algiers and Boumerdes provinces on May 21, claiming close to 2,300 lives.

SIX E-MAIL SCAMMERS FROM NIGERIA AND BENIN ARRESTED IN HOLLAND

Six men from Nigeria and Benin were convicted of fraud by a Dutch court on Wednesday and received prison sentences of between 301 days and 4.5 years, a court official said. Two of the convicted con men, including the suspected leader of the group, also each have to return 205,702 euros (US$245,000) to one of their victims, the court ruled according to the official, writes Maarten Riejnders of Webwereld.

The six were accused of sending thousands of e-mail messages, faxes and letters to people all over the world and making up various stories to lure people to Amsterdam, from where they operated. The victims were told that their help was needed to transfer money or that they had won a lottery, according to the charges read during a court session earlier this month.

Most Internet users will be familiar with the e-mail messages that the six men from Nigeria and Benin wrote. The "419 Fraud" or "Advance Fee Fraud," as the scams are called, have been around since the early 1980s, but it is only in the past few years that the fraudsters turned to the Internet.

The senders of the e-mail messages often purport to be family members of a former African dictator in need of help to funnel money out of the country. In return for the help, they promise between 10 per cent and 25 per cent of the fortune. In fact, the only people who make money out of the whole operation are the scammers asking for help.

To most Internet users, the fraud is pretty obvious and they delete the messages immediately. Others, however, fall for the fake lucrative proposals, as the Dutch court case shows.

One of the victims, a man from Russia, was lured into paying thousands of dollars after the fraudsters told him he had won an Internet lottery. Not only did he pay a "transfer fee," but also fees for a "non drugs statement" that was required according to the West-African con artists. The victim discovered that he had been scammed only after he was told to pay US$35,000 for a "non terrorism statement," according to the charges.

Another victim, a Swiss professor, gave the scammers US$482,000 after he was told he would receive US$9 million for his help with laundering millions of dollars. The Swiss man paid, among other things, for chemicals that the scammers said were necessary for "cleaning" the bank notes, according to the charges.

Eventually the Swiss professor helped the Dutch police by luring five of the six fraudsters to a train station in Amsterdam, where they were arrested in the summer of 2002. The sixth man was arrested a few months later, it became clear during the court hearing.

Most of the accused did not testify at the trial, but the suspected leader claimed he had nothing to do with the criminal organization. He apparently did not have a convincing explanation for the scam letters found on his computer and the names of victims showing up in his agenda.

How much money the six men made from their operations is still unclear. Dutch police estimate that the scammers made millions of euros.

"Over 20 people informed the police, but we think that is only a tip of the iceberg," a spokesman for the prosecution said.

UUNET FACES CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP BY THE END OF THE YEAR

Internet service provider (ISP) UUNet may be facing a change of ownership towards year-end as its troubled parent MCI (formerly WorldCom) evaluates its investments in emerging markets.

MCI is due to emerge from protection under US bankruptcy (known as Chapter 11 protection) in August, following a plan accepted by 90% of the company’s creditors that will entail the conversion of some of its debt into equity, among other issues. The company has also undertaken a strategic review and has decided to focus on its core telecommunications services.

UUNet MD Dave Meintjies says that while the full impact of MCI’s decisions still have to be evaluated, it could mean that the ISP will be faced with a new shareholder or owner by year-end. The company has had four owners during its lifetime. MCI bought it in 2001 from SA IT group Datatec.

"Right now it is extremely difficult to predict MCI’s ultimate intensions as they are really focused on their own immediate issues and there is no concrete time frame. However, this will not affect the day-to-day operations of UUNet," he says.

Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) has been appointed by MCI to advise it on its African operations that are conducted in SA, Kenya, Botswana, Namibia and Zambia. It is not known when RMB will submit a report or finding to MCI.

While the MCI saga has affected UUNet in terms of being owned by the troubled telecommunications giant, it has had no real impact on the ISP’s operations or its customer base, which includes 2 000 corporations.

According to Meintjies, UUNet’s 2002 revenue jumped to R650 million from R383 million the year before. Customer churn has subsided substantially, giving the company a more stable client base.

"We are the largest of all MCI’s emerging market operations, however, we only account for about 0.3% of its total revenues. Furthermore, MCI has developed a very adverse risk policy that will almost definitely have an impact on its emerging market operations."

Meintjies says that for the time being, UUNet will continue to develop its client base and focus on expanding its services to the corporate market. This will include offering video conferencing facilities and document imaging facilities.

"What we are looking at is offering a corporate lifestyle service that will meet all the telecoms and Internet needs of companies. Our mobile communications services have shown strong growth," he says.

Other issues facing UUNet in the immediate future include deregulation of the telecoms market, the awarding of a second fixed-line operator licence in competition to Telkom and the maturing of the Internet market.

"A lot will depend on the advice given to MCI by RMB and it is just too early to say what form the possible change in ownership will take," Meintjies says.

(source: ItWeb)

IN BRIEF

- Moneynet, an international money transfer service, has begun to consolidate on its record success by signing on more banks, adding more services to the users and generally expanding its operational network. National Bank of Nigeria Limited was leading in operating the MoneyNet since early last year but the proprietary owners of the technology, Della & Associates Incorporated of United States and their Nigerian technical partners, Broadband Technologies Limited, said that a major bank with expansive branch network in the South-Eastern part of the country has just been signed on to operate the services.

ARIVIA.KOM PLANS TO 'CONQUER AFRICA'- "INFATUATED WITH DOMINANCE"

Arivia.kom, which last week reported a 141% increase in full-year net income, says it wants to expand from its South African base and "conquer the entire continent", writes Iain Scott of ItWeb.

New contracts include a driver’s licence system for Namibia, traffic information systems for Malawi and Zambia, a motor vehicle registration system for Tanzania and a national social security fund system and police identification system for Uganda. Arivia’s stated intention is to be the dominant information and communications technology solutions provider in Africa. "We are infatuated with dominance," Malele says.

Revenue for the year to end March rose from an annualised R1.21 billion to R1.52 billion, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased from R127.26 million to R173.43 million.

"The revenue performance indicates that we have feverishly been looking for opportunities out there," Malele comments. Net income soared from R26.94 million to R65.02 million.The group has a good base from which to fund its expansion plans, with R118.23 million cash on the balance sheet.

IBM MAY OPEN CALL CENTRE IN SA

Within the next two months, technology company IBM should decide whether to open a massive call centre operation in SA or take its business elsewhere. If SA wins its favour, IBM could become an anchor client to help persuade other global companies to consider SA as their offshore call-centre base.

Virgin and General Electric both conducted due diligence exercises on SA last month with help from the trade and industry department. Now the department is waiting for one, two or possibility all three to sign a deal.

The level of government interest in turning SA into their chosen base goes right to the top, with Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin and director-general Alistair Ruiters serving as SA’s travelling salesmen.

"We have about 60000 callcentre agents in SA and we think there is the potential to double that in a short period," Ruiters told members of the Call Centre Networking Group last week.

(source: Business Day)

IN BRIEF

- SA IT solutions integrator, Symetrix announced the acquisition of Cape-based Navision solutions provider, Astral Business Solutions.

ECONET WIRELESS IN "BATTLE OF CONTROL" FOR ZIMBABWEAN TELECOMS BUSINESS

Econet Wireless, Zimbabwe’s largest mobile operator, is negotiating to acquire a yet-to-be-named telecommunications business, which was reported last week as a "battle of control" by founder and major shareholder Strive Masiyiwa, a company spokesman said.

If successful, the spokesman from Masiyiwa’s office said, the deal would give Econet investors full value for their money and earnings leverage from its broad global ventures. "If this particular transaction does go ahead, then each shareholder will have an opportunity to assess its value for them," he said.

"We have a good track record for creating value for our shareholders. Any transaction which Econet does is designed to improve the value of the company for all its shareholders."

The company has since issued cautionary statements advising investors of the potential transaction, which the spokesman could not readily discuss or elaborate on, saying the company was bound by confidentiality and strict Zimbabwe Stock Exchange laws.

The spokesman said while investors were free to buy "as many shares as they could", it was impossible for Econet’s core group of owners to lose control of the company because "they have substantial capacity and we could deal with any threat". More importantly, there was "no danger" of Econet’s Zimbabwe operations "falling outside the control of Masiyiwa", the spokesman added.

He said: "He controls enough stock directly and indirectly to continue to exercise control of the company, and he has sufficient access to resources not to have to battle for Econet Zimbabwe’s operations."

The spokesman said it was fallacy to say a major financial institution wanted to take over Econet because of a huge debt owed by the company.

"There is no major institution in Zimbabwe which has that kind of exposure to Econet. All Econet shareholders know that one of the company’s successes in the last year was debt reduction," he said, adding that Econet, at current capitalisation and worth, was "substantially larger than most financial institutions in Zimbabwe".

(source: The Daily News)

IN BRIEF

- Egypt’s Orascom Telecom is one of the bidders for state-run Pakistan Telecommunication Co (PTCL).

- Enterprise solutions provider Baan announced last week that Invensys plc has approved the sale of the company to an investment group consisting of Cerberus Capital Management, LP and General Atlantic Partners, LLC, two private investment firms.

- The privately held MB Technologies group has struck a deal to sell 35% of its storage division StorTech to a black empowerment partner. Its new shareholder will be Sifikile, a company set up to invest in technology businesses by its founders, Sifikile Investment Holdings and Mvelaphanda Strategic Investments.

RESPONSES

ISSUE 158: AFRICAN INTERNET FRAUD BEYOND 419s

Great article as usual - you said all that has to be said ... Nigerian connection, we have our Nima boys too. Again they have their US/Europe connection too. Why blame us? Let them pick up those at the other end (see Internet News above). Quite likely that the many will suffer for the few.

So what ... If they tackle their end on this end with assistance; so much of it coming in, internet security also deserves something practical; people can be arrested and tried quickly (with some assistance?!) and perhaps our version of lock them up and throw away the key.

Sabra Asante

I read the interesting article on cyber fraud in Ghana. As to how prepared the Ghana Police are to deal with the problem, one is not too certain. It is believed there are already plain clothed policemen at (one café), but do step in there at any time of the day you can easily spot these fraudsters. At least I can :) On their part, no form of discretion is employed (not to say I condone this kind of activity) and they are basically telling you "here we are and we are doing so because we can" I really think a lot can be done not only to stop the perpetrators but also round up the other links that form the chain. It will certainly take more than just busting these gangs in cyber cafes. Where do the details coming from? How do delivery service companies tackle the problem on their end? I have a personal contact with the director of national security and he will certainly be of help if called upon. You may ask, why the concern? Well, I am currently working really hard towards the set up of an Internet consultancy, advising businesses on e-commerce solutions, the web as well as other interesting possibilities the Internet and its related technologies offer. It would be in my own and many others interest to see a curb to this ever-increasing problem. I dont want this mail to be forwarded without my permission since if I will play a role in fighting this, I will certainly do it incognito :)

(Name and address witheld)

FastrackInternet Cafes, the trade name for Tin-ifa internet cafes around Ghana experience this problem and we narrowed it down to our Ivorian clients who spend a lot of their time on the tip toe road and just come next door to browse and do these fraudulent things. We confronted them and told them not to use our cafe for such acts since we do not want to be part of their scams.

We actually had a call from our office in the USA that America Airlines security officers had called to inquire about tickets that were being purchased from our IPs with stolen credit cards and this really alarmed us and we took measures from then but blocking a whole store.yahoo.com is a real blow to e-commerce and we have to research quickly on how to utilize other means including powerful firewalls to address this issue. This is one of my main reasons for calling for the creation of the Cybercafe Association since we all could be victims of these scammers which may lead us into serious trouble with security personnel.