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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 188 GUINETEL EMBROILED IN DIALER SCAM FRAUD, SEEKS WAYS OF CLAMPING DOWN ON ABUSERSCivil war, political instability and a continuing commercial dispute with the incumbent telco’s former owners Portugal Telecom in Guinea Bissau seem to be the ideal recipe for those wanting to commit dialer scam frauds. Brian King tries to make sense of a complex web of fraud which he has uncovered. On Sunday, May 25th of this year, Terri Lockwood and her family were attending the popular Indy 500 automobile races in Indianapolis, Indiana. While they were out, it seemed, an intruder entered the house unnoticed and used the telephone. The only trace the intruder left appeared on the phone bill some weeks later: hefty charges for calls to Guinea-Bissau, a West African country she had never heard of, and much less had reason to call. When Terri Lockwood disputed the charges, the American operator AT&T told her that the calls were genuine, and that she or someone in her house must have called, or accessed an adult entertainment site on the Internet. The intruder was a program that had slipped unnoticed onto the family computer, and reconfigured the connection to dial a number in Guinea-Bissau. The number, however, does not officially exist. The national operator, the regulatory body, and the International Telecommunications Union all agree that the number dialed from Terri Lockwood’s computer is not programmed within the territory of Guinea-Bissau. Communications infrastructure of the country, furthermore, could not conceivably support the graphic-intensive content production and broadcast of many adult entertainment sites. For the last few years the national operator Guine Telecom has been concerned with repairing basic telephony infrastructure damaged in a devastating civil war. At the beginning of this year Guine Telecom had no new cables to repair its network, no wires to install phones for clients, and approximately 50,000 people on waiting lists. This is not a company receiving revenue from a brisk adult entertainment business, legitimate or not, apparently conducted in its name. What, then, is happening? To find some possible answers we need to go back to the beginning. In 1989 the Government of Guinea-Bissau cemented a strategic partnership with Marconi (now part of the Portugal Telecom group) making them the managing and majority shareholder in the new company Guine Telecom. Guine Telecom was to hold complete monopoly of the public telecommunications service for 20 years. All international traffic to and from Guinea-Bissau would run through Marconi in Portugal. Marconi was also given the right to open and maintain bank accounts abroad in the name of Guine Telecom. Critics of the company say that, while Marconi quickly installed an earth station and expanded access networks to offer direct-dial international service, they dragged their feet on significant investment in interior networks, and management of the company became increasingly chaotic and untransparent. No clear information circulated in the company‹ or in the country ‹ about expatriate salaries, company revenues, or management decisions; profits from international calls appeared to be siphoned off directly to Marconi, rather than treated transparently through yearly accounting and dividends to shareholders. In 1995 the workers’ union and the Guinea-Bissau government took Marconi/Portugal Telecom to task. Over a year of negotiations yielded a new investment plan, and a new management structure increased accountability. Guine Telecom employees recall that around this time Portugal Telecom managers set up a bank of computers at the earth station to receive pornographic calls from abroad. The calls were received at Guine Telecom and were immediately transmitted back without entering the national network. The practice reportedly generated significant new traffic to Guinea-Bissau, and the added revenue funded new investments in infrastructure. On June 7, 1998 a failed coup d’etat tipped the country into civil war; Portugal Telecom administrators fled the country on a Portuguese container ship. The front line of fighting ran through the area of Bissau in which both key infrastructure (such as the earth station) and many embassies and international organizations were located. The result was the simultaneous loss of some of the biggest customers and several thousand active phone lines. The bank of audiotext (read "phone sex") computers was destroyed. Perhaps unenthusiastic about investing in an economy devastated by war, Portugal Telecom never returned to resume management of Guine Telecom. Negotiations between the shareholders dragged on for over three years without resolution. Faced with effective abandonment of the company by its majority shareholder, the Government of Guinea-Bissau rescinded the monopoly concession of Guine Telecom in June of this year. After their departure in 1998 Portugal Telecom began withholding settlement payments for international calls terminating in Guinea-Bissau, and has continued to do so. Well before the rescission, Guine Telecom administrators had begun to suspect that something irregular was happening overseas with calls bearing the Guinea-Bissau country code (245). A journalist from the major Spanish newspaper El País confirmed it. She sought comment from the company about a so-called "epidemic" of calls to Guinea-Bissau from Spain, appearing on the bills of people who had no relationship with the country. An Internet search of El País unfortunately did not yield any exciting investigative story on the subject, though on opinion pages people exchange their experiences of the inexplicable calls. In many cases the amounts billed are very small. One consumer was charged for a voice call when he was not at home, and moreover, he is deaf. In all these instances the Spanish operator Telefonica responded that the calls were genuine. The Spanish regulator investigated at least one of these cases, and confirmed the Telefonica finding. The regulator did, however, leave open the possibility of a "computer error on the premises." Around the same time, a dissatisfied Spanish pornography consumer actually called Guine Telecom to complain about the service. Technical Director Malam Fati was alerted, and so discovered for himself the existence of a number of web pages advertising live pornographic video. The pages appear to be designed to target particular countries; all are linked to a home page at www.sexhotel.com. The pages offer "free" access to live pornographic video without requiring credit card information. Interested viewers need only to call a number on the screen (dialing instructions from each country are included), to receive a password. These access numbers bear the (245) international code, but the regional codes are not assigned within the territory of Guinea-Bissau.
For all the world it would appear that someone within the territory of Guinea-Bissau is involved in the pornography business, or, worse, in fraud. Guine Telecom and the regulatory body say this is obviously not the case, but how to collect documentary proof? National technicians carried out a test. Early in the morning when traffic was low, a Guine Telecom engineer monitored incoming calls. As each call came in a printout showed the destination number, date and time. A collaborator in the United States called a genuine number at Guine Telecom, and then dialed one of the suspect numbers. This was repeated several times, and in all cases calls to the numbers bearing bogus regional codes were answered by modems somewhere outside of Guinea-Bissau. Putting the documents together provides the necessary proof. The phone bill from the US shows a series of calls to Guinea-Bissau, yet the printout at Guine Telecom shows that some of these never entered the country. Guine Telecom still depends entirely on Portugal Telecom to carry its international traffic. Having gathered this information together, now we may re-examine our initial question: What is going on? Some hypotheses gain weight. As the operator handling international traffic for Guinea-Bissau, Portugal Telecom is the only entity outside of Guine Telecom capable of programming new numbers. Operators around the world know that numbers bearing the (245) code are destined for Guinea-Bissau, via Portugal. Portugal Telecom is probably offering the new numbers and transaction services for use on (mostly adult entertainment) websites. Bogus regional codes would ensure that numbers dedicated to transaction services would not be mixed in with genuine Guinea-Bissau numbers, making transactions easier to track. Is Portugal Telecom, therefore, directly defrauding consumers? Probably not, but by making numbers available to producers of pornography (not, perhaps, the most scrupulous segment of the information society) they may well be exposing consumers to risk of fraud. Consumers literally around the world may suffer, as the fraud is confusingly international. No matter how objectionable (or illegal) the behavior of adult entertainment producers may become, the international and impersonal nature of the fraud will ensure the operator reasonably plausible deniability. Meanwhile Portugal Telecom appears to be receiving enormous amounts of revenue from the calls, without the burden of presenting accounting to Guine Telecom or the Government of Guinea-Bissau. It is difficult to determine just how much traffic is generated in the name of Guine Telecom by these adult entertainment calls, and how many of those calls could be bogus. As more information is gathered, the numbers could prove to be dramatic. Interpretation of settlement payment data published by the Federal Communications Commission begins to give an idea:
The spike in payments in 1996 coincides with operation of the bank of audiotext computers at the Guine Telecom earth station. The decline in settlement payments over the next year may be related to competition in audiotext, or a slight decline in interest as video became more available. The 1998 conflict caused significant damage to infrastructure (including the bank of audiotext computers), and recorded payment levels plummet. Peace was restored in early 1999, and one might expect to see a slight increase in recorded payments as the economy began recovery and some international organizations returned to the country. The tenfold increase recorded for this year, however, could be related to a sharp increase in calls to adult entertainment sites. This data is for calls generated from just one country and is three years old. More recent data from the U.S. and other countries would probably confirm that back payments owed Guine Telecom could add up to tens of millions of US Dollars. According to Commercial Director Aliu Quinharé, after peace was restored in 1999 Guine Telecom had scarcely USD50,000 in its bank account. Portugal Telecom has not responded to repeated letters from the Government of Guinea-Bissau requesting clear accounting on international settlement payments. A chaotic Bissau-Guinean policy environment further complicates matters. A few weeks after a Council of Ministers decree rescinded the monopoly concession of Guine Telecom, the Minister of Transport and Communications announced a new national telecommunications company called GuineTel. The new company would be owned 90% by the Government of Guinea-Bissau and 10% by the workers of Guine Telecom, and would have an exclusive license for international traffic during a transitional period between eighteen months and three years. The move is a direct policy contradiction; national legislation liberalized the sector in 1999. Not long after the announcement, a bloodless coup deposed President Koumba Ialla, and all but the Minister of Communications were removed from office. Publication of the GuineTel statutes has been held up by the interim President, pending review by a legal team. The shareholders of Guine Telecom, however, have yet to meet to carry out a joint process of dissolution of the company. Management of the national service could be claimed by two companies that arguably do not exist. In response Portugal Telecom announced that it would take legal action against the Government of Guinea-Bissau. To date the action has not materialized, and it may not. Maintaining a certain contractual claim could prolong Portugal Telecom control over international traffic and associated settlement payments. Remaining aloof about pursuing a transparent resolution could keep a hidden revenue stream from scrutiny. In spite of severe challenges the Bissau regulator ICGB has begun to take steps to combat unauthorized use of the national code. At the urging of the International Telecommunications Union, they published the national numbering plan they drafted with an ITU consultant. Before publishing the plan they verified on-site that only numbers following this plan were programmed at Guine Telecom. As a new regulator the ICGB is focusing on building relationships and sharing information with international organizations and regulatory agencies in other countries. The Government has considered taking legal action, though at this stage they would prefer getting Portugal Telecom back to the negotiating table. Consumers hit by dialer fraud may be more interested in legal action, though this could present unique challenges. Prompted by numerous complaints, Portuguese police recently raided a central Lisbon company producing pornographic video for Internet distribution. The offense is at once local and international. Existing Portuguese penal code may not be adequate to deal with this type of fraud, and that is probably true of most countries. Elements of the scam are spread across countries (the dialer program in this case was written in Russia ). Where is one to prosecute? It is economic injury by technological proxy; a distant and anonymous intruder inflicts the injury yet never physically enters thousands of homes. Until legal and regulatory regimes catch up, most telecom companies will probably respond the way Telefonica and AT&T did ‹ they will insist that the calls are genuine because they originated in the homes of the end-users. Fraud victims like Terri Lockwood will have little legal protection , and the image, investment or otherwise, of Guinea-Bissau will continue to suffer. The case of Guinea-Bissau may serve as cautionary. Many countries share some conditions that seem to increase risk of misappropriation: weak or non-existent regulatory authority, no national numbering plan published with the ITU, political unpredictability or poor continuity in government, and ‹most importantly ‹ complete dependence on a foreign company to carry their international traffic. The scenario may already be repeating itself with other countries; similar complaints about inexplicable calls have recently begun to appear on a message board in the United States. As the regulator and international organizations continue to gather information, some countries may come to see Guinea-Bissau as a model for combating country code misuse and settlement payment misappropriation.
ECONET WIRELESS INTERNATIONAL WINS FAVOURABLE RULING IN NIGERIAN COURTThe Lagos High Court has rejected an urgent application brought before it by the Lagos State government, a significant shareholder in Econet Wireless Nigeria (EWN), to try and stop the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) from proceeding with resolving EWN’s dispute with Johannesburg-based Econet Wireless International (EWI). The arguments presented by the Lagos State government were identical to those already filed before the PCA by EWN on two occasions. They brought the matter before the Lagos High Court seeking an injunction to stop the process begun by the PCA, and sought to have the matter returned to the jurisdiction of the Nigerian courts. Lagos State argued the Permanent Court of Arbitration should stop the process they have already started and bring the matter back to a Nigerian court, as the former did not have the competence to preside over the dispute. They further submitted that EWI should be restrained from proceeding with the case outside of a Nigerian court. In dismissing the application, Justice Adebiyi of the Lagos High Court ruled that she could not grant the injunctive relief sought by the Lagos State in their ex-parte application, and ordered them to proceed and file a proper Notice of Motion. A spokesperson for EWI, Kevin Kachidza, said because Lagos State government had presented an ex-parte application, EWI did not hear about the matter until after the judge had issued the ruling. "We were only notified after they had gone before the judge and failed in their application," Kachidza said. "This is the third time in almost as many weeks that EWN have tried unsuccessfully to stop the international arbitration to go ahead. "We are quite amazed by these frantic efforts to stop the process from taking place outside Nigeria. Surely all parties to the dispute should be deriving comfort from the fact that the PCA, with its international reputation for fairness and efficiency, is handling the dispute." The PCA appointed the International Court of Arbitration (ICA) in Paris to oversee the case, and the ICA is already in the process of appointing arbiters. In August 2003, EWI wrote to Justice Rosemary Ukeje, the Chief Judge of the Nigerian Federal High Court requesting her, in her administrative capacity, to appoint a panel of arbiters to resolve the dispute among the parties in accordance with the EWN shareholders’ Agreement. EWI also filed an urgent application before the Chief Judge, seeking injunctive relief and an order restraining the shareholders of EWN from proceeding with issuing shares to Vodacom. EWI argues that it has pre-emptive rights, which were being violated by the actions of the shareholders, pending arbitration. Almost three and half months later, and after more than 10 court sessions on the matter, the Chief Judge has still not ruled on whether or not she has the jurisdiction to preside over the case. As a result, EWI invoked a provision in the shareholders’ agreement, which entitled them to approach the PCA if the Chief Judge either refused or failed to appoint arbiters upon expiry of 60 days from date of filing their initial application. "To date, EWN, its shareholders and Vodacom have ignored the existence of the legal processes that are before the Nigerian courts, and have taken advantage of continuous adjournments of the cases to proceed with their plans," Kachidza said. "EWI is confident that no-one, particularly Vodacom’s foreign shareholders who include Vodafone, SBC and Telkom South Africa, will be able to ignore the ruling of the PCA. Indeed these frantic appeals are designed to create a fait accompli whereby Vodacom is allowed to come in before the matter is finally heard by the Nigerian courts. This is a very hazardous game which will cost EWN and Vodacom dearly in the end. It is important to let the international court do their job, and give a final ruling in this matter," Kachidza said. Meanwhile, a separate court in Lagos began on Tuesday to hear an application filed by EWI against South African cell phone operator Vodacom for inducement of breach of contract, as part of the increasingly convoluted EWN imbroglio. (SOURCE:Financial Gazette) SA ANNOUNCES NEW SNO: MORE SHAREHOLDERS THAN YOU’VE HAD HOT DINNERSSouth Africa’s Minister of Communications Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has granted both of the bidding consortia - CommuniTel and Two Consortium - a 13% shareholding in the new SNO. Although all parties were putting a positive gloss on the outcome, the result is a mess. There are now a considerable number of shareholders with no clear single investor to drive the business forward. There are two completely different business plans that will need to be integrated. And the Government is warehousing 25% of the shares in the happy hope that an international shareholder will want to join the party at a later stage. The statement from the Minister said: "After engaging extensively in discussions with interested parties on the SNO, I have decided to grant CommuniTel and Two Consortium 26% equity in the SNO, of which each will hold 13%. Both parties have agreed to accept the offer. The unallocated 25% equity will remain with government, which will take responsibility for seeing that this portion is warehoused". "The SNO licence will be issued by Icasa to the integrated entity composed of CommuniTel, Two Consortium, Esitel, Transtel and Nexus Connection. The above entities are currently engaged in an integration process, which is expected to be finalized shortly". "This is really good news for us, as we can now begin to put our assets and people to work. The decision is one that was overdue, but we also understand that government processes do take time," says Dr Enos Banda, CEO of Eskom Enterprises, which owns Esi Tel."There are still many issues that need to be sorted out amongst the various parties, including issues such as the business plan and shareholder structure, but we will be working hard on them." "It is good that the licence has finally been awarded and the DoC must be commended for the good work that was done behind the scenes over the past few months," says Nexus chairman, Kennedy Memani. Mike van den Bergh, a CommuniTel director, says that this is a good first step. "At least this means that we now have a clear understanding of the ownership of the SNO," he says. "There is still a huge amount of work to be done in terms of the integration process, but at least we now have a good base from which to build, and I believe that the SNO entity will continue to evolve as we move forward." (SOURCES: Press statement, ItWeb) KENYAN MOBILE OPERATORS LAUNCH DEAL TO BLOCK STOLEN CELLPHONESLeading mobile providers Safaricom and Kencell officially launched a revolutionary phone blocking system last week. The new system technically referred to as the Equipment Identification Register (EIR) will be operational starting January next year.EIR will be jointly operated by the two phone firms alongside other leading regional service operators in conjunction with the police. Speaking during the system’s launch, Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Michael Joseph said the two firms had invested more than Sh100 million in the new system.Joseph noted that over 5,000 phones are stolen monthly hence the need for the new system to curb the vice. "Mobile thieves will no longer have market for the stolen phones since once the phone is disabled, it cannot work with any regional network. He said that each GSM phone features a unique factory pre-set serial number that cannot be altered in any way."Using this feature, the EIR system will blacklist all mobile phones reported stolen on the Safaricom and the Yes! Networks among other East Africa services providers thus rendering it useless," said Joseph. On his part, Phillippe Vandebrouck Kencelll, Communications Limited Managing Director revealed that all other regional mobile phone service providers had joined forces to ensure the EIR’s success."All the regional mobile phone service providers have signed a Memorandum of Understanding binding them to offer reciprocal stolen phones blacklisting services on their networks. (SOURCE: Kentimes) PRIVATISATION OF NITEL BROUGHT FORWARD TO 2004The privatisation of NITEL will be brought forward to 2004 in order to leverage the successes so far recorded in the liberalisation of the telecommunications sector. President Olusegun Obasanjo said, the "considerable success" in the telecomm sector, which had been largely acknowledged will be completed by improving the services of the Global System for Mobile Telecommunication (GSM), and also ensuring the privatisation of NITEL."Liberalisation of the telecoms sector is creating jobs. We now have over 2.5 million wireless lines in two years compared to just under 450,000 land lines in all of NITEL’s history," the President noted. He said in the coming year, GSM companies will be made to add more value by, for example, "printing rather than importing the recharge cards we use, and they must improve on the quality of their services - interconnectivity and reduction of charges." (SOURCE: This Day) TANZANIA’S TTCL TO INSTALL 2000 PAYPHONES ACROSS THE COUNTRYThe Tanzania Telecommunications Company Limited (TTCL) will install 2000 payphones countrywide in January, a strategy aimed at enabling telecommunication among its customers currently unable to get fixed line services. The Chief Executive Officer of TTCL, George Mbowe, said, "The phones will operate with the new Intelligent Network equipment, which will provide prepaid services with security for the customers." The project, which is scheduled to start in January 2004, will cost the company a total of USD1.1 million. Mbowe said the Intelligent Network (IN) equipment is located in the Telephone House along Kaluta Street in Dar es Salaam, adding, "The equipment will provide prepaid services with security for TTCL customers." It connects seven new telephony and data access ramps located in Tabata, Magomeni, Oyster bay, Msasani, which are installed in containers, and Kigamboni, Wageni, Pugu Road, installed inside the equipment buildings. (SOURCE: The Express) IN BRIEF- African telecommunications company GS Telecom has set up shop in SA, from where it will market its new VSAT offering.The company says its initial focus will be on its new IP-based VSAT services, branded "AfricaConnect". Grinaker-LTA Construction, MTN Nigeria, Shoprite Checkers and Woolworths are among GS Telecom’s existing local clients. Phil Hewitt, sales and marketing manager for GS Telecom, says the company uses satellite technology and incorporates C-Band and proprietary inbound and outbound TDM/TDMA access, to bring two-way broadband IP connectivity for data, Internet, voice over IP and virtual private networks within reach of companies doing business in Africa. - Uganda’s teledensity has grown from 0.25 lines in 1996 to 2.5 lines per 100 people today. The mobile teledensity stands at 2.2, while the fixed line density is 0.3, Hodge Semakula of the Uganda Communication Commission said on Friday last week. ADVERTISEMENT Give your business a global edge and expand your service to underserved and remote areas easily, without escalating infrastructure costs. We combine our fleet of satellites with a state-of-the-art ground network for end-to-end data, voice, Internet and video solutions æ anywhere, anytime, efficiently and with ease. 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TELECOM RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE- The Independent Communications Authority of SA had approved lower call charges from the Telkom network to Vodacom subscribers in 2004, the fixed line operator said late on Monday last week. Telkom owns 50 percent of Vodacom and the remaining stake is held by Britain’s Vodafone and local company VenFin. "We’ll lower our charges by 4c to be on par with charges to other cellular operators," said a Telkom official. This means subscribers will now pay the same for a call from a Telkom line to Vodacom and its rivals, MTN Group and Cell C. - Tanzania’s Vodacom officially launched its newly commissioned sites in the Southern regions of Mtwara and Lindi at the end of this week. - Kencell Communications Ltd last week revised up its charges for international Short Message Services (SMS). "Effective from midnight today all international SMS will cost Sh10 up from Sh5.13," a statement by the company said. The statement, however, indicated that the tariff for local SMS will remain at Sh5.13 per message. - Ghana Telecom has installed new Alcatel switches at the Tanoso, Buokrom and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) exchanges in Kumasi. With this, direct telephone lines in each of the three exchanges had gone up from 500 to 5,000 lines.
ZIMBABWE’S AFRICOM SHIFTS FROM ISM WITH NEW WIRELESS BROADBAND EQUIPMENTData communication services company, Africom, has commissioned new broadband wireless equipment, making redundant its old wireless equipment. Prior to obtaining its data telecommunications licence and establishing its own public data telecommunications network, Africom was using frequencies in the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band (2.4 GHz). However, when it obtained its data telecommunications licence from the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) set up two years ago, Africom only paid for part of the frequency spectrum which it used to roll out data communication services utilising wireless technology. Use of licensed frequency technology is one of the conditions for the data licence that was granted by Potraz. A spokesman for the company said Africom customers could now look forward to superior data communication services, free from the congestion that users experienced before. Potraz communications director Gideon Magodo said Africom’s initiative complied with the telecommunications laws of the land. "I am glad that Africom is taking the lead in complying. I wish them every success in their business," he said. The Africom network, which is the first such privately-owned network in the country, allows subscribers to have access to high-speed data transmission platforms. It allows the transmission of computer data from one physical location to another, through fibre optic cables and broadband wireless channels, for such applications as internet access, file transfers and financial applications such as Point of Sale and ATM transactions. The Africom service is already available in the city centre, Grani-teside, Southerton, Kopje, Borrowdale and Avondale. It is expected to be available in Newlands and Msasa before the end of the year. Work is already under way to increase network coverage to the rest of Harare and Bulawayo. (SOURCE: Financial Gazette) KENYA’S 398 POST OFFICES SET TO HAVE INTERNET ACCESS BY JUNE 2004All the 389 post offices countrywide are to have Internet access by June 2004, according to Transport and Communications Minister John Michuki. The government also expects all primary schools to be on the Internet by 2006. Already, he said, 69 post offices have the facilities. Asked how far-flung schools without electricity would afford the technology, he said the government was giving priority to primary and secondary schools in its rural electrification programme. "The government considers very seriously the potential in our primary and secondary schools because it is from here that future leaders will emerge," he explained. (SOURCE: Daily Nation) ZAMBIAN E-COMMERCE NEEDS LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE CONFIDENCE FOR GROWTHZambian ISP CopperNET Solutions says Zambia could be in the electronic commerce business but it needs proper legistlation that will build people’s confidence in it, writes Timothy Kasolo. Presenting a paper on the challenges and opportunities of e-commerce in Zambia CopperNet Solutions Operations Manager Thomas Musaluke said E-commerce needs proper legislation for Zambian businesses to succeed. Musaluke said there is need to have a legal and regulatory framework that will control online business like taxation of Information Technology applications. He said Zambia needs e-commerce for marketing, supply and procurement of goods and services so as to allow people conduct their businesses through e-commerce. Musaluke observed that e-commerce plays a role in ensuring that companies enter partnership with global business partners in order for them to extend their reach in business. He added that CopperNET solutions is one of the companies that is providing e-commerce and other selected banks in the country. "CopperNet solutions is one of the companies that is providing e-commerce, there is also a number of selected banks, celpay, Multi choice Zambia, freight companies, Car dealers and other companies," Musaluke said. Though e-commerce in Zambia is existing there are some loop holes that has led to e-commerce stagnating. He argued that though many Financial Institutions say that they are involved in e-commerce they are reluctant to get involved in active e-commerce. Musaluke said one of the major problems is that Zambia as a country has got no local credit cards insuance and that the Zambian economy is only cash driven hence goods are very expensive. He also said that there is lack of policy direction to instill confidence in the consumers by introducing different modes of payment. Musaluke observed that Zambia as a country coul benefit a lot from e-commerce by bringning back consumer credit worthiness. IN BRIEF- According to Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology Professor Turner Isoun, the country will launch another satellite. "Our next strategy now is to go into communication satellite. We missed the industrial revolution; we can not afford to miss the IT revolution," he said.
UNESCO TO SET UP 150 COUMMNITY MULTIMEDIA CENTRES IN AFRICAUNESCO and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will launch a multi-million dollar project to provide marginalized communities in Mali, Mozambique and Senegal with access to information and communication technologies, including the internet. The project, drawing on UNESCO’s experience in establishing Community Multimedia Centres (CMCs), aims to meet the needs of local populations in getting and exchanging information in their language and to provide them with learning and training opportunities. The CMCs combine radio, telephone, fax and computers connected to the internet. Some of the services they offer are commercial, helping them become financially self-sustaining. The project for the creation of 50 CMCS in each of the three countries, i.e. a total of 150 new centres, marks a huge up-scale for UNESCO’s CMCs project, which to date numbers 20 pilot centres in the continent. CMCs operating in Africa today have from five to 18 computers each but the use of these digital resources by community radio hosts means that tens of thousands of people get indirect access to online information, including people with low literacy skills. In Dakar (Senegal), and Timbuktu (Mali), for example, CMCs work with microcredit organizations and are used to help small businesses with their book keeping. CMCs are also being used to scan ancient manuscripts and photographs of ancestors. In Mozambique, the CMCs in Manhiça and Namaacha have signed a national code of conduct for community radio on election coverage, committing themselves to provide civic education and news programmes, explaining to citizens, for example, how and where to vote, and why voting is important. The key to the CMCs success, according to UNESCO, is that they belong to, and are managed by, the communities they serve. The CMCs contribute to development through activities such as literacy classes, particularly targeting women, spreading health messages, collecting and disseminating information about agriculture. The three-country project will be implemented by UNESCO with multi-stakeholder consortia constituted of national and international partners including intergovernmental organizations, government, civil society and at least one development bank. TUNISIANS TO LAUNCH TECHNOPOLE AT SIDI THABETAn MOU for a feasibility and environmental impact study for a Technopole at Sidi Thabet has been signed by Tunisia’s Secretary of State for the Ministry of Science and Technology and the French Ambassador to Tunisia, Yves Aubin de la Messuzière. The MOU commits both countries to reinforce existing links in the fields of scientific and technological research. The Sidi Thabet site covers 125 hectares and the units will be aimed at companies in the biotechnology field. It will house l’Institut national pour la recherche et l’analyse physico-chimique (Inrap) and le Centre national des sciences et technologies nucléaires (Cnstn). (SOURCE: La Presse) KENYANS SET UP NATIONAL IT CO-ORDINATION COUNCILLegislation will be passed soon by the Kenyan Parliament to establish a national information and communication technology coordination body.The National ICT Coordination Council will draw members from the government, the private sector, the civil society, the donor community, academic and research-based institutions. It will be first of its kind in Kenya. "The specific role of the [Council] shall be to advise the government and all [concerned parties] on matters relating to the development and implementation, monitoring and evaluation strategies and plans to accelerate the process of transforming Kenya into an [ICT-enabled] information-based society," a new draft policy document says. It has been crafted by the Communications Commission of Kenya, Institute of Computer Science at the University of Nairobi, National Security Intelligence Services, Telkom Kenya, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, National Communications Secretariat; Central Bank of Kenya; KenCell Communications; Kenya Power and Lighting Company; Ministries of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Tourism and Information. The Council shall operate independently of the e-Government Service Office - also to be set up under the new policy - which will be based in the Office of the President.The document is the most comprehensive ever to be written on the management of ICT policy issues, and says the Council shall set up national structures and working groups to spearhead initiatives.It will work closely with the National Economic and Social Council - launched by President Mwai Kibaki during the recent investment conference - for policy coordination. (SOURCE: The Nation)
BOTSWANA’S BTC GOES INTO THE BLACK FOR FIRST TIME IN 4 YEARSThe embattled Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has for the first time in four years shown a profit due to corporate restructuring. CEO Noel Herity has announced that the BTC has for the first time since 2000 shown a profit. "We have been making losses over the years and we can now report a profit of P36,2 million," he said. Herity’s announcement follows turbulent years in which the BTC has struggled to survive. However, a lot of progress has been made and the parastatal has now become a profitable business. "The profit returns the P11 million loss that we suffered last year, Herity pointed out, saying that a financial improvements of some P15 million has been recorded since last year. "In the last four years there has been no revenue movement and customers were leaving because of the billing problem. However, prospects for the future are good and we are ahead of what we expected," he said. BTC recently hit the headlines because of controversy over the introduction of a P60 million billing system. It has seen several customers receiving wrong bills. The system has led to an exodus of customers and the situation worsened when the telecommunication industry became liberated and mobile competitors came into the picture and killed the BTC monopoly. "We are currently engaged in a P900 million project to improve our network systems. The project will take time to complete," BTC Board Chairman Wilfred Mandlebe said. He added that government - as an equity holder - has pumped P300 million into the project. However, on questions of the media why the money was invested in non-core investments, Mandlege said: "We invested the money in the Bank of Botswana (BoB) certificates . "We may be looking at channelling our money to other areas." Herity revealed that BTC is busy finalising the restructuring exercise that could see more than 600 workers laid off. "The restructuring process is a noble approach and we engaged the trade unions in the process. We will have a 600 staff reduction and their packages will average P150 000. "These figures are better compared to benchmarks in Botswana", he said. The corporation recently won a court case in which the Manual Workers Union challenged it in the Industrial Court on how the restructuring exercise was conducted. Johnson Motsharakgole of the Workers Union argued that the BTC did not enter into negotiations, but only consulted. "BTC did not follow guidelines government set with parastatals like BTC to negotiate with its employees, and not consult them," Motshwarakgole argued. (SOURCE: Mmegi) IN BRIEF- Technology group Grintek will cement its lucrative relationship with Swedish group Saab through Saab’s 21% acquisition of the South African company. The deal would give Grintek (of which the Kunene Brothers group owns 32%) a helpful cash injection of R36,5m. More importantly, it would enable the South African company to use its new shareholder’s extensive global reach to increase exports. - The Lusaka Stock Exchange (LuSE) is lloking to establish an electronic link with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) to integrate itself with global market trends. LuSE marketing officer Brian Tembo confirmed in an interview that preparations had reached an advanced stage. "We hope to be fully connected towards the end of 2004 or early 2005," he said. Tembo said the interlink was pursuant to the aims of the Committee of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Stock Exchanges (COSSE), to have stock exchanges in the SADC countries all linked-up and accessed on a single desktop by 2006. - IB Maroc’s Managing Director Abdellatif Hadef said that the group had a turnover of 19.1m dirhams in 2002 and that it expected to see a 17% growth in turnover in this financial year.
WESTERN CAPE LAUNCHES A PORTAL TO DELIVER SERVICE INFORMATIONThe provincial government of the Western Cape has launched the completed version its information portal (http://www.westerncape.gov.za/) on 17 December 2003. The Cape Gateway portal offers transparency by providing information about all government departments and services over the Web. Although the focus is Western Cape province, the content includes information about national and local government (e.g. the City of Cape Town). It runs on its own open source content management system and allows people to input information using a series of forms if they are authorised web authors or custodians. It believes that it has now gathered up the majority of information held on services by different departments but will seek to extend it as the portal is used. SOUL BEAT AFRICA RESPONDS TO ENTHUSIASM FOR INFO SHARINGSoul Beat Africa is a newly launched website that aims to connect people and organisations using communication for change and development in Africa. Across the continent, countless ICT activities are being undertaken to address diverse social issues. The evaluation and findings from one programme, can help to guide the next. Good ideas can be adapted to suit a local context, and materials and scripts can be shared. The Internet of course offers an opportunity to collect and share this information, and that is exactly what Soul Beat Africa is aiming to do. This web portal is a space to share experiences, materials, strategic thinking and events, and to engage in discussion and debate. Through the website, and The Soul Beat, a bi-monthly e-newsletter, people and organisations are sharing information about how communication is being used to address such issues as HIV/AIDS, economic development, women’s issues, youth, health, and the environment, to name only a few. Experiences in developing radio programmes, edutainment, drama, mass media campaigns, and a diverse range of communication programmes are summarised for quick and easy review, always with contact information, helping to connect communicators across the continent. Soul Beat Africa is a collaboration between The Communication Initiative, which shares similar information globally, and Soul City, a health communication organisation based in South Africa. But why another information sharing initiative? "There is so much to learn from experiences in Africa, much of it hidden in filing cabinets or locked in the heads of communicators across the continent," says CI Programme Director Chris Morry. "Soul Beat Africa provides a platform where people involved in communication for development in Africa can share their experiences, learn from each other and make communication a more effective and fundamental part of African development intiatives." Of course, Africa faces connectivity issues, meaning that getting the information from the filing cabinets to the web is not easy. "Over the past months we have been conducting our Theta forums, an ICT discussion, in various South African provinces, to promote the practical benefits and opportunities provided by ICTs to Southern African civil society and to provide an opportunity for reflection on the relevant impact and challenges," says David Barnard, Executive Director of SANGONeT, which is implementing Soul Beat Africa. "The enthusiasm for using the web, is not yet matched by the infrastructure. This is the challenge we are rising to." Recognising that connectivity is an issue in Africa, efforts have been made to ensure that Soul Beat is as accessible as possible. "Our website content and e-newsletter is text based, to make sure that it is as easy as possible for users with low bandwidth to download," comments Deborah Walter, Soul Beat Africa Project Manager, "we also include contact information with our project summaries on the e-newsletter, so that users who can access e-mail, but not browse still have opportunities for interaction." Considering connectivity issues, how is Soul Beat faring so far? "Our network of e-newsletter subscribers is over 4000 and growing every day and we are receiving a steady stream of information from communicators to post," says Ms. Walter. "Moreover, we have found that information shared on Soul Beat is being picked up by other e-newsletters, list serves, and websites, and reproduced, extending our reach." For more information about Soul Beat Africa, or to submit communication for change information, please visit the site http://www.comminit.com/africa or e-mail Deborah Walter dwalter@comminit.com. IN BRIEF- The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global VSAT Forum launched a new map at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) held in Geneva (Switzerland) on 12 December 2003. Called ŒOpen and Closed Skies: Satellite Access in Africa’, the map shows how very small aperture terminals (VSAT) can be used for Internet access and connectivity across the continent. This is the third map in IDRC’s series for Africa, following ‘The Internet: Out of Africa’ and ‘The Status of Teleaccess: Inside Africa’. It is also published in French at IDRC: l’acces aux satellites en Afrique ŒEvery square inch of Africa is covered by satellite bandwidth, but restrictive telecom policies stop this from supporting Africa’s development. There are 48 satellites with coverage, pointing 36 Ku-band frequency beams and 28 C-band beams over Africa which can be accessed to provide international and national voice calls, broadcasting, data and Internet services. Source: IDRC http://www.idrc.ca/acacia and GVF http://www.gvf.org - A Resource Guide to the Best Web Sites on Black Culture and History by Abdul Alkalimat has just been published. For more information: http://www.africa.utoledo.edu/faculty/newbook.html - ICT Policy: A Beginner’s Handbook is a new book from APC. "The APC handbook is not a map of the ICT policy terrain," says editor Chris Nicol, "but it is a compass." Find out more: http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=16108 Download the beginner’s handbook from the APC site: http://www.apc.org/books (in a zipped file) Or order a printed copy from handbook@apc.org
PEOPLE* A Kenyan as been elected to be the Secretary-General of the African Federation of Information & Communications Technology Associations (AFICTA). Waudo Siganga, who is also the Chairman of the Computer Society of Kenya was elected during an international conference held last week in Hanoi, Vietnam by the World Information Technology Services Alliance (WITSA). WITSA is the controlling and coordinating body for all national ICT Associations, with its headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Also chosen as officials of the continental ICT body were Adrian Schofield (South Africa, Chairman), Courra Fall (Senegal, Vice-Chairman Francophone), Baguma Rodgers (Uganda, Vice-Chairman Anglophone), and Mahmoud Thabit Kombo (Tanzania, Treasurer). * Tawanda Nyambirai, proprietor of TN Financial Services, is Econet Wireless Holdings Limited’s (EWHL) new board chairman. Nyambirai, a current EWHL non-executive director, will replace Norman Nyazema, who has chaired the group since inception. Nyazema, who is now based in South Africa, leaves the EWHL board to join the Johannesburg-based Econet Wireless International (EWI) board, along with former EWHL chief operating officer, Zachary Wazara. EWI investor relations and communications director Kevin Kachidza rebutted earlier reports that the two were leaving the Econet group altogether, saying they were standing down from the EWHL board only because they no longer lived in Zimbabwe and had been elected to the EWI board. * According to Uganda’s Dr James L. Nkata most of his country’s university lecturers are computer illiterate. Nkata heads the Department of Higher Education at Makerere University. "Ninety percent of the lecturers at all universities in Uganda don’t know how to start a computer, and need information communication technology [ICT]," he said. Nkata was speaking at a one-day workshop on higher education at Hotel Africana last week. * On the move: Celtel in Sierre Leone has appointed Sierra Leonean born Bernard Sisay as its new Marketing Manager...Stavros Vougas has been appointed new channel and marketing manager for Middle East and North Africa with responsibility for the region’s medium sized enterprises. * Led by Safaricom General Manger, Michael Joseph, Kenya’s ICT sector said piecemeal reforms were creating distortions and hindering further expansion of the sector."Policy makers in the telecommunications sector have failed to understand the unique features of the Kenyan market and are busy implementing policies borrowed from the West," said Joseph. He wondered why the government had targeted the sector for taxation yet it is the most promising in line with the recently launched economic strategy.Joseph said the taxes are likely to scare away investors and to scuttle any further investment by existing players.
EVENTSThe African IT Security Forum: School of Oriental &
African Studies, DAY One, 27 January 2004 KEYNOTE: The future ain’t what it used to be Karl W Feilder, President and CEO of Red-M, the world’s leading wireless security specialist, will cut through the hype surrounding the issues and show you how to take a calm and intelligent approach to modern-day network security. An overview of Africa’s IT security challenge Applying international security standards in the African
context Information security governance in an e-enabled world Day Two, 28 January 2004 Implementing Open Source security tools WORKSHOP: Crisis Management Strategies Titi has gained her expertise in IT Security and Fraud Management through academic qualifications and professional experience across multiple industries within Europe, the US and Africa. She has held positions such as Group Security Manager, Security Governance strategist, and of late she is the Group IT Security/Fraud Director for Security Breach Management in the UK and holds the same position for TISS-IT Nigeria Ltd. Qualification: Titi was one the first candidates to attempt the MSc IT Security and passed successfully as a result of this she was head-hunted to the United States to assist business leaders and policy-makers. Titi currently holds prestigious designations from across various business governance organizations such as ISACA where she was awarded the CISM Certification. She is a CFE Certified Fraud Examiner, has an MSc in IT Security, a BA in Industrial Systems Business Management, CDRM Certified Disaster Recovery Management and she is also a Member of the Expert Witness Society. To register as a delegate log on to: http://www.aitecafrica.com/events/2003/security/register.php
JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES- Two jobs in Algeria. RF Manager and Transmission Engineer. For full details go to: http://www.delconsulting.com - We are an American company looking for a local business partner in Tunisia to develop a telecom project. This person must have contacts in the local telephone company and must be in capacity to invest at least USD10,000. All this investment must be done in Tunisia. If you are interested, please let us know experience and business profile. No past telecom experience required. Phone Pierre Trint: +1-305-588-8918 eFax: +1-928-833-4856
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