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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 183 CYBER-CAFÉ USERS CANNOT FIND LOCAL CONTENT THEY WANT, SAYS CCOAK SURVEYThe greatest number of internet users in Africa are to be found in its rapidly burgeoning number of cyber-cafes but thus far information on what they do has largely been anecdotal. Research looking at cyber café user habits in the Kenyan capital Nairobi show that there is significant demand for local content, especially content in support of special interest groups. The research shows that cyber café users rarely find what they’re looking for. Marcel Werner and Francis Hook outline the conclusions of the survey. In August 2003 the research was carried out, using professional sampling methods with questionnaires and activity loggers in the cyber cafes’ servers. Most sampling was done in and around East Africa’s Times Square’, Cinema Plaza, in the heart of Nairobi. The research was carried out for the Cyber Café Operators Association of Kenya (www.ccoak.net) and funded and carried out by Kenyan research firm Archway Technology Management Ltd (www.archway-africa.com). Most Kenyan cyber-cafes are to be found in Nairobi where the survey was conducted. The majority are found in its central business district, popular neighbouhoods and shopping malls. In larger towns there are cyber-cafes in the town centres and popular neighbourhoods. There are almost no cyber cafes in rural areas but a number of schools have computer labs with internet access. Most revealing is what cyber café users say they are interested in compared to what they actually do. 39% of users said that web mail was their most popular application but based on activity logging actually 58% of users made use of large, international web-mail hosts like Hotmail and Yahoo. Again 17% of users said their primary interest was in lifestyle sites but actually only there was only 11% of this kind of activity logged. 29% claimed that business interests (including news) was one of their interests but again only 4% of this kind of browsing was logged. This clearly shows the aspirations of cyber café users rather than their actual pattern of activities. The main logged categories of browsing were as follows:
So what pattern of use lies behind these broad categories? Lifestyle interests covers dating sites, entertainment, music (eg Kiss FM), health, communities and sports. Religion includes Christianity (particularly evangelical Christianity), biblical quotes, literature and counseling. Jobs includes the jobs themselves, scholarships and emigration. Business includes sites covering news and advertisements, academic courses, learning opportunities and technical information. There is an overwhelming interest in messaging, dating and jobs and significant use of jobs and reference sources. However much of the search engine activity comes up with no results and no surfing action taken. 73% of users were assessed as being proficient in using web software and e-mail. The local media occasionally runs "panic" stories about how young people are using cyber-cafes to view pornography: a typical example is an article on 16 August this year in the Daily Nation making just this assertion. There is absolutely no evidence from the logged browsing of this kind of activity. Of all the users 30% has never experienced a rewarding, exciting
or memorable experience on the web. The conclusion here must be
that there is untapped potential for networking among Kenyan people,
with: The Cyber Café Operators Association of Kenya (CCOAK) was established in 2001 as an independent, registered industry association with to date over 200 member-cyber-cafes, mostly in Nairobi. CCOAK lobbies for cost-effective Internet access nationwide and political awareness on the national development role of cyber-cafes. It also promotes the exchange of know-how among members.
MALI'S SOTELMA SIGNS 1.5M EURO DEAL WITH INTECMalian incumbent SOTELMA has signed an agreement with Intec Telecom Systems for its InterconnecT(tm) ITU billing and Inter-mediatE(tm) real-time convergent mediation systems. Intec’s combined solutions will help to overcome the technical difficulties currently preventing state-owned SOTELMA from supporting interconnection network activity with Mali’s recently launched new GSM mobile operator. SOTELMA will use InterconnecT ITU to seamlessly handle domestic interconnect and international settlements generated from the second operator and future intercarrier partners in Mali. The solution will also offer full compliance with the standards imposed by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and will be used to handle international settlements with all international operators that SOTELMA is interconnected with around the globe. Inter-mediatE will enable SOTELMA to acquire information on calls being provided over its network for use in producing accurate interconnect invoices and traffic statements. This will be achieved by feeding data into the existing retail and InterconnecT billing systems. "With the liberalisation of the market SOTELMA decided to gain the capability to support interconnectivity between operators through the use of quick and efficient billing systems," explains Sheik Sidi-Mohamed Nimaga, CEO of SOTELMA. "At present we do not have the means to manage interconnection fees for calls generated from customers using the second GSM’s mobile services. The only efficient way to solve this problem is to implement effective OSS systems such as Intec’s InterconnecT ITU and Inter-mediatE. These solutions, which have been proposed by Intec Telecom Systems, were selected following an Open Request For Proposal for their performance in supporting Call Detail Records (CDRs), summarising traffic data and creating accurate billing information for use in checking accounts between operators-all with total ease and complete serenity." This agreement increases Intec’s customer base in Africa, which already includes Maroc Telecom, Cell C Mobile, Telkom South Africa, Telecom Egypt, M-Tel Nigeria, Orange Madagascar, Orange Reunion Island and Senegal’s Sonatel. CCK SETS TENDER RULES FOR TELKOM KENYA’S RIVALThe Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has commenced the process for licensing a second national fixed line telecommunications operator to rival Telkom Kenya .CCK kicked-off the exercise last week with the invitation of experienced telecommunications operators to participate in the pre- qualification process. The awarding of the tender to operate the Second National Operator network is expected in May 2004. The new player is expected to be in place at least by July with the expiry of Telkom Kenya monopoly in June. The new entrant is expected to roll-out its network a few months thereafter. According to the pre-qualification for the international tender notice, the SNO licence would entail construction, operation and maintainenance of systems to provide Local, National and International fixed telecommunications services. To pre-qualify, CCK says the prospective bidders would have to submit evidence that the minimum annual turnover of the bidding consortium exceeds Sh11.7 billion and that the number of subscribers managed by the bidder’s network exceeds 500,000 subscribers. In addition, interested parties would be required to submit a financial network history of bidder or consortium members including past three years’ annual reports and that 30 per cent of the equity owned by Kenyans. It must also provide year-end financial statements for the last three years. Further, and in accordance with Government policy, CCK stated, prospective bidders must be prepared to have at least 30 per cent of the equity owned by Kenyans. (SOURCE: East Standard) VODACOM TO LAUNCH ITS MOZAMBIQUE OPERATION IN DECEMBER AS VMThe South African mobile phone company Vodacom has announced that it is to start operating in Mozambique in December, following a period of equipment tests during November. Initial roll-out will be in the country’s capital Maputo The company will operate in Mozambique under the name VM. This is essentially a Vodacom subsidiary, with a small percentage of the shares held by the Mozambican company EMOTEL. (SOURCE: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique) VOCALCOM’S MOROCCAN CALL CENTRE SIGNS UP RAD TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCEVocalcom, a provider of solutions for international call centers, has deployed RAD Data Communications’ Vmux-2100 TDM over Internet Protocol (TDMoIP®) Voice Trunking Gateway in order to eliminate poor performance E1 lines between Paris and a Casablanca call center. "Our previous equipment suffered performance degradation at every peak in traffic, and that created constant user dissatisfaction," explains Anthony Dinis, Vocalcom’s Director of Strategy and Development. "Communications quality is of utmost importance in our operations, especially because poor voice transmission can make it difficult to understand the accent of a non-native French-speaking teleoperator," he continues. The compression capabilities integrated into the Vmux-2100 meet Vocalcom’s strict requirements and standards by regenerating natural speech qualities. "RAD perfected the Vmux to such an extent that the device generates the precise amount of background noise that is necessary to ensure the user’s auditory comfort on the line," Dinis adds. This noise, moreover, is artificially generated at the trunk end point to save bandwidth. Given that a single E1 leased line between France and Morocco costs e30,000 per month, every single kilobyte that can be saved is valuable. While call centers are now being relocated offshore at a rapid pace, the cost of international telecom links can considerably erode expected savings. "The Vmux’s voice compression capability was the second argument in favor of choosing the RAD solution, since the savings in labor costs accrued by the offshore relocation of the call center cannot be compromised by higher than necessary transmission costs," Dinis notes. Working in tandem with Vocalcom, Connect Data, a RAD Data Communications distributor partner in France, installed a Vmux-2100 Trunking Gateway at each end of a single 2 Mbps international link, compressing each 64 kbps channel down to 4.7 kbps. The compressed voice allows the remaining bandwidth to be allocated to the transmission of data, including the user’s data records that appear on the teleoperator’s screen when a call is made to the center. While the Vmux’s maximum compression capability allows for up to 16 E1s to be multiplexed onto a single link, a total of eight E1s are compressed in this particular application. In comparison, the installation that had previously been used could only compress at a factor of 4:1, which would have obliged Vocalcom to add a second international leased line. By requiring only one E1 rather than two, the RAD voice compression solution saves Vocalcom a total of e30,000 per month in leased line costs while still providing an option for future expansion. IN BRIEF- Mobile subscribers in Nigeria’s Gombe State have decried what they describe as "poor services" offered by Econet Wireless Nigeria. - Comverse and Angel.com have announced a joint venture to offer a voice-driven suite of business productivity services to cellular network service providers. It is a tool that enables customers to create and deploy services to their customers over Voice XML on the Comverse Media Server. - Mauritian GS Computing, a subsidiary of Rogers has signed a partnership agreement with Vocalcom for the promotion of their call centre solutions. It is interested in working in three market: Madagascar, Mozambique and Réunion. - SA’s Telkom has applied to the Pretoria High Court for leave to appeal last month’s decision to declare least-cost routing (LCR) a legal service. - Government plans to splash hundreds of millions of pula to modernise the country’s telecommunications system, President Festus Mogae has said. Delivering his state-of-the-nation address in Parliament, President Mogae said P300 million has been committed to rehabilitate and fortify the national telecommunications network. An additional P300 million was being mobilised to provide high capacity international connectivity through undersea cables off the East and West coasts of Africa.
TELECOM RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE- Since October Chinese company Xangai Belt have been installing a new fibre optic-based phone system in Angola’s Namibe province, according to Government sources. - Nigeria’s Glo-Mobile has introduced the friends and family product which gives subscribers a further 15 per cent reduction in tariffs. Under this, a subscriber on the Glo Prepaid Classic have opportunity to select two lines regularly called numbers either to friends or members of family to which he is given 15 per cent discount each time the number is called. The company’s Chief Marketing Officer, Shubhra Das said the package has several key benefits for subscribers, among which is its cost saving proposition. - Malawian mobile phone service provider Celtel spread its network coverage to Nkhata Bay, a move that is expected to curb communication problems faced by both locals and tourists in this growing tourism town. - With the festive mood already in the air, Swazi MTN has introduced a special pre-paid package of Christmas airtime vouchers. Public Relations Officer Vuyisile Hlatshwayo said MTN offers new affordable airtime cards of E15, E30, E60, and E90. The new cards were introduced on Saturday last week. - At the moment Starcomms to Starcomms calls are free on weekends; local calls cost N4.30 per minute while international calls cost N106. In the next few months, it said these prices will plummet downwards because of the new deal his organization has struck with gateway operators like NITEL. In the new arrangement NITEL has even promised to give Starcomms an open access to the Sat3 cable and that may further influence cost of services.
ETHIOPIA TO USE SATELLITE FOR RURAL EDUCATIONHughes Network Systems (HNS) says that it will supply Ethiopia Telecommunications Corp (ETC) with a comprehensive DIRECWAY broadband satellite network. One of the first projects under this USD25 million contract is a national distance learning network, SchoolNet, connecting schools across Ethiopia. In addition to linking Ethiopian schools, ETC will utilize the DIRECWAY network to provide a wide range of value-added applications, including video conferencing, distance learning, Internet/intranet access and VoIP voice solutions, to a variety of government, private enterprise and financial customers. "HNS has a proven track record in delivering reliable service and innovative network solutions to organizations across Africa," said Ato Tesfaye Biru, managing director of Ethiopia Telecommunications Corporation. "Satellite is the only solution that allows us to provide digital, always-on, reliable service no matter where our customers are. The DIRECWAY broadband satellite solution allows Ethiopia to expand its national commitment to provide quality education to all our students by reaching our 28.7 million school age children nationwide with the latest in educational tools." Given the limited municipal infrastructure that exists in some areas of Ethiopia, many of the remote terminals will be powered by solar energy, capitalizing on a resource that is abundant in Ethiopia-sunshine. Network installation began in June and is scheduled for completion by year end 2004. (SOURCE: Cellular News) TELKOM INTERNET WINS TWO YEAR CONTRACT WITH STANDARD BANKTelkom Internet has won a two-year contract to provide Standard Bank, one of SA’s big four banking groups, with a cost-effective Internet access package for its 10 000-strong Internet banking customer base. Internet customers, fearful of higher costs and a barrage of virus-invested e-mails and spam, stand to benefit from the user-friendly package, which offers Standard Bank staff and customers preferential rates and applications to protect personal data, at the cost of a local call. Telkom Internet offers Standard Bank Webmail, virus filtering, anti-spam filtering, unlimited Internet access, local PoP (Point of Presence) access and technical support. Rikus Matthyser, executive of Telkom Business Integration Services, says, "Standard Bank’s decision to go with TelkomInternet was based on price, delivery, experience and quality of service. TelkomInternet also provided value-added services that enhance customer protection and privacy." Standard Bank customers are not under any obligation to take up the offer. Both the bank and Telkom will jointly market the offering to customers. The offer is only available to Standard Bank customers, and only via direct debit order through the bank. Customers taking up the offer can register online or via the call centre. The pricing package offers analogue connection at R69 per month, 64k ISDN at R89 a month, and 128k ISDN at R140 per month. (SOURCE: ICT World) MAURITIUS SEES FIRST WI-FI INTERNET OFFERING FROM ISP DCLThe official presentation of the first public wi-fi offering by ISP DCL took place last Thursday. This new wi-fi approach will compete directly with Mauritius Telecom who already offer corporate wi-fi solutions. Other operators also have ambitious plans in this market including the Indian operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) and Ireland Blyth Ltd (IBL). The first company says it will invest USD50 million over five years to create a wireless network using CDMA technology. The second company which already several operations in the region will set up wi-fi connections using fibre between its main centres. DCL announced that it would offer internet access via wi-fi from the third week in November. (SOURCE: Le Mauricien) IN BRIEF- The Gauteng branch of South Africa’s National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) is planning to give away 10000 e-mail address accounts to its existing and potential members after taking a stake in an internet service provider.Nafcoc Gauteng is heading a consortium buying a 26% share in TELG Online Solutions for an undisclosed amount. The move is designed to help the chamber clean up its database and to give its members easier and cheaper access to e-business opportunities. Johannesburg-based TELG provides internet access and runs an online payment and delivery service, Sellnbuy.bz, to help small companies begin trading online. - Lack of bandwidth, a key business tool, is one of the fundamental problems facing businesses in SA and across the continent, meaning that network managers are increasingly being pressurised to provide reliable capacity with guaranteed service levels.Internet solutions company, Technology Concepts (TC), says it has introduced a cost-effective solution to this problem, in the form of its locally developed product, TC Bandwidth Manager, which is aimed at businesses of all sizes. ADVERTISEMENT Bypass network congestion, reach new markets and offer top quality, high-speed Internet access with one provider: Intelsat. Our Internet Trunking Service is a turnkey, end-to-end solution providing direct, high-speed Internet access to small and medium-sized ISPs. We offer fully redundant, multi-homed connectivity to the Internet backbone with rapid, responsive deployment to terrestrially underserved areas. With our diverse and scalable solutions you can capture more market share and give customers the access and bandwidth they want. Go further with Intelsat. Connect with us at +27 11 535-4700 or visit www.intelsat.com
ASYST KENYA WINS OGILVY & MATHER ACCESS ACCOUNTS CONTRACTASYST International SA last week announced that its Kenyan subsidiary had won acontract for the purchase and installation of the Access Accounts Dimensions Lite’ product at Ogilvy & Mather in Kenya. Francesca Albon Kairo came to The Kenya offices of O & M as Financial Director in May last year and immediately conducted a re-evaluation of the Agency’s financial systems. It was evident that that they needed inter-relational databases and a comprehensive job management system, and thus began to investigate the market. Access Accounts was one of the four systems that were evaluated. "Access Accounts met all our stated requirements, had high functionality, was easy to use and was within budget," commented Kairo. "Even after only a few months, we were already realising some of the efficiencies that were being delivered by the new system." "The separate ledgers that O & M operated required manual entries to be made to the General Ledger, but Access immediately eliminated the need for these duplicate tasks. The computerised system provided more accurate information, a clear audit trail and eliminated the need to refer to hard files. This enables the finance team to carry out the same amount of work in less time," continued Kairo. "Additionally, we have been able to fully customise all stationery to include our own logo and preferred layouts for signatures and address details, thus, all the documents being produced by the accounts system reinforce the Ogilvy brand." (SOURCE: Mweb) UNISYS AFRICA HELPS CURB RUNAWAY VOICE-OVER-DATA COSTS WITH NEW SERVICESUnisys Africa is helping local companies take care of network performance issues when running voice over data, as well as keeping costs in line and maximising return on investment (ROI). The company is doing this through two new services: Network Performance Analysis and Convergence Readiness Survey. "CIOs understand the benefits of converged voice and data networks, but they might never see the return they expect if their networks cannot handle the extra load," says Geoff Tuck, regional sales director for global network services at Unisys Africa. "Also, it may have been more cost-effective for them all along simply to use the public switched telephone network, but they would not know unless they analysed the state of their infrastructure." The Convergence Readiness Survey is normally used as part of the pre-installation phase of a convergence implementation. Another approach is for a CIO to use the survey to determine the feasibility of implementing convergence in their company, and constructing a technology roadmap to achieve convergence readiness. (SOURCE: ICT World) IN BRIEF- Eskom has signed a R1 billion outsourcing deal with arivia.kom, to address Eskom’s IT requirements to the end of 2005. - Gateway Communications has selected NexTone’s session controllers to perform core routing and secured VoIP interconnections. - The Mutombo Dikembe Foundation has paid for 20 computers to go into the Mutombo Dikembe Computer and Internet Room at John Mabuidi College (formerly the Institute of Kasaï) in Gombe in the DRC. - The Impi League, a collective grouping of Linux users, companies and associations in South Africa released a Linux distribution from and for the African continent. The Impi team is also finalising a 24 hour support-line for Impi as well as other versions of Linux. Read more on Impi Linux at: http://www.tectonic.co.za/default.php?action=view&id=240&s=news
CORA - THE IVORIAN MOBILE SAGA DRAGS ONIt is now a month since the clients of the CI’s third mobile operator have said anything to its subscribers, writes Adediha Kokou, News Update’s CI correspondent. More than a month has passed since it has been possible to call or receive calls using the network. The situation shows no sign of being resolved any time soon. This is the Nth time that Ivorian justice has waltzed between the interests of Alexandre Galley, MD of GA Holdings which has a 51% share of CORA, and its other shareholders (Comstar SA) who are believed to have used American investment to buy their shares. The latter are threatening to quit the country if the dispute is not resolved. The Court of Appeal ruled that the Comstar SA is directly responsible for the running of the company, whilst the Supreme Court ruled in favour of GA Holdings. Alexandre Galley was installed back as MD "manu militari". A couple of cudgel blows here and a couple of blows there were enough to enthrone him as MD, not forgetting the documents seized. However a few days later the Supreme Court changed its mind and issued a counter-decision saying that the Comstar shareholders were really in charge. Therefore at present there is no MD at the helm of the company and the victims have been the subscribers and employees of the company. Most subscribers have defected to Orange and Telecel over the last two months. Meanwhile a reliable source tells us that French mobile operator Bouygues Telecom may come in to pick up the pieces....watch this space.
SA WEB SITES START TO CHARGE FEES TO OVERSEAS USERS FOR PREMIUM CONTENTMajor news publishers News24 and Mail & Guardian Online have joined forces to charge foreign readers for access to premium areas of their websites. The M-Web initiative will provide video-on-demand from M-Net of programmes such as Carte Blanche, Egoli, Die Casper Rasper Show, Summit TV, Boots & All and Super Saturday. Foreign readers will be charged a monthly access fee of USD2.95 for the basic service, which includes Media24’s news titles Beeld, Die Burger, Volksblad, Rapport, City Press, Women24, Food24 and Wheels24. A premium service, which costs USD9.95 a month, gives broadband users access to South African television streaming media services. News24 publisher Cobus Heyl Media24 Digital, publishers of News24, knows the transition from "free to fee" will be a painful one. "However, it was an exercise needed as we could not keep on giving away all content for free." Paid content strategies, while relatively new in SA, are common in other countries. Many online brands have been charging readers for access to premium content and archives for some time. News24 is still available free of charge to local users. (SOURCE: Business Day)
FOLA ODUFUWA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ESHEKELS, ON THE TELECOMS WORLD CONGRESS 2003According to Tim Kelly, Head of Strategy & Policy, ITU, Africa is the first region in the World where mobile phones outnumbered fixed lines. Several countries including Nigeria, Morocco, Cameroun and Uganda, have mobile phones at up to five times more than fixed phones. Using mobile telephony, African countries are expanding their telecommunications coverage at a frenetic pace as part of a seemingly unconscious continental experiment at substituting fixed lines with mobiles. Though Africa has just 33.6 million of a global total of 1,145 billion mobile telephone users at the end of 2002, the dramatic growth in mobile take-up on the Continent only shows dramatically when that figure is compared with the number of mobile subscribers in Africa at the beginning of 1999, a mere 2.4 million. Additionally, with 46% of total global mobile telephone subscriptions in developing countries, the digital divide is indeed being bridged, at least with respect to digital mobile services. The main drivers of mobile growth on the continent include: - Liberalization of the telecoms market, allowing private companies to provide services by competing with each other and the incumbent operator. Countries that have successfully liberalized the mobile communications space include South Africa, Cameroun, Nigeria, Morocco, to mention just a few. - Strong demand for communications services. This derives from the natural need to communicate, the absence of reliable fixed lines, the convenience of owning a mobile, etc. In a recent World Bank-assisted primary market survey at 18 locations in Nigeria towards determining a Universal Access strategy, eShekels found that Nigerian households were spending between 8% and 17% of monthly income on communications. The results are not untypical of many African countries. "The enormous potential and revenue per line," says Hamadoun Toure, Director, ITU, "is higher than elsewhere in the World." - The choice of prepaid. Prepaid is a developing economy innovation and was first introduced by the Portuguese operator TMN in 1995, and is a major driver of growth in mobile subscriptions in Africa, as an effective means of ensuring payment is secured for communications service. Prepaid take-up in the developing world is an instant hit, and Africa is no exception. Interestingly, the West is adopting prepaid not just for mobile telephony but even for emerging services such as Wi-Fi, Multimedia, Internet content, etc. - Dynamism of mobile operators. Mobile licensees have been very proactive in aggressively addressing the demand for services and ensuring that their networks and services meet up with minimum global standards. The dynamism of mobile is in most cases, lacking in the fixed sector. Mobile telephony affords operators a faster, cheaper network installation. "Mobile (is) unstoppable as a solution to the chronic communications malaise affecting most of the world’s poor", points out Sarah Parkes, freelance journalist. That mobile is succeeding in Africa is no longer news. What is new and challenging is how the success of mobile can be replicated and applied to other technologies and industries within Africa. Africa still has a lesson or two to teach the world with respect to the use of technology and the solutions that work in low-income environments. eShekels is one of Africa’s foremost market research firms serving the ICT industry. Email: fola.odufuwa@eshekelsnigeria.com
PEOPLE* UUNET Zambia, which has been operating for two years, has recently appointed Rienzo Colpo as its general manager (GM) to further expand and entrench its business solutions on offer to this market. Colpo joined UUNET in 2000 after completing a number of his own successful business ventures and for the last three years he has held the position of regional sales manager in UUNET’s KwaZulu-Natal branch. * Disgruntled former employees of IBM in SA plan to take the global technology company to court, alleging that it improperly used more than R200m in pension fund money, enriching itself at the expense of more than 400 pensioners. The pension group said it would draw Finance Minister Trevor Manuel into the case, alerting him to the drama as the minister with overall responsibility for the South African pension fund industry. * The first phase of the six to eight months programme to improve the quality of teaching and learning through ICT, according to SchoolNet Coordinator, Olaolu L. Sasore, will commence in five centres in each of the states, Federal Capital Territory, Niger (North central), Gombe (North-east); Cross River (South-South); Anambra (South east); and Ondo (South west).Briefing newsmen after a media tour of facilities of the project at the Model Secondary School, Maitama and Government Technical College, Garki, Sasore said: "SchoolNet is working to establish at least 1,000 centres in Nigeria within the next two years through its strategic partnerships." * To sustain a competitive environment for attracting investors, President Festus Mogae says there is need for an urgent upgrading of Botswana’s local and international telecommunications capacity. President Mogae stressed the importance of building a strong capability in research, science and technology. This, he said should be supported by the development of human capital to meet the challenge of the information and knowledge age. Delivering his state-of-the-nation address in Parliament last Monday, Mogae said investors from the developed world need advanced technologies.
EVENTSFinance-IT East Africa Conference Including a Micrfinance Stream under the auspices of the ICT Board of the Kenya Private Sector Foundation and a Masterclass on "The technology roadmap for banking today" by Deepak Pareek, a leading banking technology consultant from India For the full programme and registration form, log on to http://www.aitecafrica.com/events/2003/Finance-IT/index.htm The African IT Security Forum International experts provide intensive briefings on developing
effective security strategies, including: This Forum includes a training workshop on Security Breach Crisis Management. Spaces are limited so register now by logging on to: http://www.aitecafrica.com/events/2003/security/register.php THE CHALLENGES OF ICT DEVELOPMENT: POLICY, STRATEGIES, EQUITY AND ACCESS The 3rd International Conference on ICT and Development is being organized by the International Chamber for Economic Development, USA in collaboration with the Ghana Ministry of Information, Ministry of Communications and Technology-Ghana, AITEC-Ghana, The Electronic Community-USA, IAED-USA and a host of ECOWAS member countries. The event which is scheduled for March 3-5, 2004 is unique as it coincides with the host country’s 47th Independence Day anniversary celebrations. At least 15 countries from the sub-region are expected to present on "The State of ICT and Development in their respective countries." For more info send to: kwami@aitecafrica.com ICT FOR GOVERNMENT IN 2004 Organised by CTN in collaboration with Deloitte & Touche, it will take place at the Accra International Conference Centre 28-30 January 2003. It will focus on solutions and services for government services delivery, national development projects and large corporate organisations. For more info: ctn@ighmail.com
JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES* The Request for Service that it is hoped will lay the basis for the African Internet Exchange "is to be circulated to all network operators who are interested in providing this service within Africa. With this RFS, we intend to obtain innovative and cost-effective proposals that meet the requirements of the African Internet community. Since this is a new opportunity opening up in Africa’s communications, it will provide the successful party (or parties) entry into a market that has huge suppressed demand with plenty of growth potential." The RFS lays out the bandwidth and technical requirements to be met. The bandwidth requirements are focused on IXPs in six countries: South Africa. Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique and Nigeria. Carriers interested in responding should obtain a copy of the RFS from Brian Longwe brian@pure-id.com * The Open Knowledge Network is looking for a Mobile Business Manager, Open Knowledge Network East Africa.OKN Mobile, supported by the Vodafone Group Foundation, is developing mobile data/Voice/Text-To-Speech services (on health, agriculture, employment, etc) targeting OKN beneficiaries via a sustainable business model. This is a unique 12-month opportunity for an experienced hands-on social entrepreneur to implement our business model. This highly motivated individual will be capable of managing a small team and achieving results quickly in order to ensure success. For further details write to Ann Longley (ann.longley@oneworld.net)
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