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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 211 ENERGY SPECIAL - GENERATING ELECTRICITY FOR ICT IN REMOTE LOCATIONSOperating any form of ICT in remote locations offers considerable challenges beyond using the equipment itself. One of the key problems to overcome is being able to access a reliable source of electricity. This week News Update looks at two solutions to this problem. Rebecca Meyer and Will Cawood describe a biogas generator at a school in South Africa. Although now connected to the national grid it continues to use its own electricity to power a telecentre. Global Catalyst Foundation’s Jeff Schneidermann describes two different responses in Tanzania: a biogas generator for a teachers’ college and solar panels for a refugee camp. SOUTH AFRICAN HIGH SCHOOL TURNS WASTE INTO POWER Sixteen thousand rural schools in South Africa lack electricity, placing a large barrier to the universal introduction of computer science courses in the curriculum. Two thirds of rural schools lack adequate sanitation, and some 12% have no toilets at all, forcing students and teachers to use pit-latrines that pollute the ground water. These problems, seemingly unrelated, affect thousands of students and their hopes of some day joining the labor force of the information economy. Solar Engineering Services (SES) of South Africa, one of the country’s leading innovators in the application of renewable energy for the benefit of rural communities, came up with an ingenious way to address both the lack of sanitation and the lack of electricity. SES initiated a demonstration project in the use of biogas digesters at Myeka High School, showing that the digesters could be used to improve sanitation and provide fuel for electricity and other uses by converting human waste into useable energy. The project took place at Myeka High School in Maphephetheni, a 2600-household community in KwaZulu-Natal Province, and was funded by the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) of South Africa and USAID, via Winrock International. Myeka High School has about 1000 students and 30 teachers.
The biogas installation at Myeka uses human and animal wastes to produce gas for cooking, science experiments, and driving an electricity generator at the high school. The installation consists of two 20,000-liter digesters receiving the waste from 16 flushable school toilets, which are arranged in two concentric circles around the digesters (shown above). The installation also incorporates two cow dung inlet ports to increase the output from the digesters, and to cover weekends and holidays when the students are not in school. The main process that takes place in the digester is called anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is a biological process that occurs naturally in the absence of air. The process produces a gas principally composed of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), otherwise known as biogas. Biogas is typically 55% to 75% pure methane. To operate efficiently, biogas digesters need to be located where there are warm temperatures (35° to 40° Celsius in the digester) and water resources in addition to animal wastes.
The installation at Myeka High School has the capacity to deliver an estimated 13 cubic meters of gas daily, enough to produce 18kWh per day for computers and lighting. The biogas can be used as fuel for a 3kW modified diesel generator, which runs on a mixture of 20% diesel and 80% biogas. The diesel is used mainly to start up and lubricate the engine. To prepare the diesel generator to accept biogas as a fuel only one modification is required: the creation of a connection into the air intake tube for the biogas to flow through. Biogas from cow dung is considered better for fueling generators than biogas from human waste, because the latter’s higher acid content causes corrosion of the generator parts. Since the school was finally connected to the electricity grid about 6 months ago, plans have been made to use the electricity from the biogas-fed generator to power a public telecentre. Electricity from the grid costs the high school R0.35/kWh (US$0.05), so the provision of 18kWh/day of electricity from the biogas-powered generator could potentially reduce the planned telecentre’s operating costs by up to R139 per month (USUSD20.70). SES is working with the school and the Department of Agriculture on plans to fully optimize the use of the biogas digesters through additional activities, such as the abovementioned public telecentre, and the use of the effluent from the digester to fertilize fruit trees and grow reed beds. The effluent can be used in its raw state for above ground crops such as bananas, mangoes, litchis, and umdoni fruit, all of which are either indigenous or grow extremely well in the Maphephetheni region. It is hoped that the reed beds will serve a dual purpose, clearing pathogens from the digester output slurry so that it can be used to water ground crops, and producing dried reeds that can be sold to local organizations for making baskets and other products.
Myeka’s biogas installation was planned and built by SES with strong participation from the high school’s Biogas, Agriculture and Toilet Committee (BATCOM). Labour and material costs of the installation amounted to approximately R97,400 (USD14,504). This is equivalent to the cost of extending the electricity grid less than 2km, whereas the school was more than 5km from the nearest grid at the time the biogas installation was constructed. Comparative costs for a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, a diesel generator and a biogas digester are presented in Table 1 below. Total life-cycle costs (TLCC), annualised life-cycled costs (ALCC) and levelised energy costs (LEC) were calculated on the basis of a 20 year life-cycle and a daily load of 7.5kWh. The results show that biogas has the lowest LEC of the three off-grid options at R3.41/kWh (US$0.51), compared to R5.00 (USD0.75) for PV and R7.16 (USD1.07) for diesel: Maintenance of the biogas digesters is low in cost. One of the biggest maintenance problems at Myeka has been caused by mischevous students, who will break the school toilet cisterns ­ and anything else they can get their hands on ­ just for fun. Still, the digesters have been relatively safe from attempts at theft, as opposed to the solar panels donated to the high school several years ago. As put by Will Cawood, one of the authors of this article, "There’s not much to steal in a human waste biodigester." One of the most fascinating aspects of this project is the variety of benefits it has produced. The biogas digester supplies both thermal and electrical energy. It eliminates ground water pollution from previous pit latrines, transforms an unpleasant waste material into an excellent fertilizer, and enables income generating opportunities such as a telecentre. Domestic biogas digesters are virtually unknown in South Africa, despite the fact that some 3.4 million biogas digesters are in daily use in India, and smaller countries such as Nepal are installing around 500 digesters weekly. On the basis of the demonstration project at Myeka, SES is working to obtain funding for biogas digesters at additional rural schools. Using a strategy that has proven successful in promoting the use of solar home systems in the Maphephethe community, SES believes that when children are familiarized at school with the biogas technology and its applications, they will introduce these concepts, and the opportunities they provide, to their parents and home communities. This article is an excerpt from the forthcoming publication, "Guidebook on Powering Small-Scale Rural Information and Communication Technology Systems," by Winrock International and partners. SOLAR OR BIOGAS? ­ LESSONS FROM RURAL TANZANIA With a population of 28,000, the town of Kasulu, Tanzania lies 640 kilometers west of Dar es Salaam and is just 45 kilometers from the Burundi border. Kasulu is a long way from paved roads and electricity; the per capita income is about Tsh 280,000 (USD270), and economic and education resources are scarce. Nearby is the Mtabila 1 Refugee Camp for Burundian refugees, one of a string of camps run by the UNHCR and the Tanzanian government. Most of its 50,000 inhabitants have been there for years and have no access to resources beyond food, clothing, and shelter. In 2001 two US nonprofit organizations, Global Catalyst Foundation
and Schools Online, launched the Kasulu Internet Project (KIP)
to encourage communication, development, and cooperation among
Burundians and Tanzanians. The centerpiece of the project was
the construction of 2 public Internet centers at: A number of organizations joined the project as partners, including the Kasulu and Mtabila Internet Steering Committees, the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), UNDP, and the UNHCR. In August 2002, just before the Internet centers were complete, there were only 40 network-configured computers with email access in the Kasulu area. The 15 TTCL telephone lines had (official) data connection speeds of 4.8 to 12 Kbps, but subscription rates of US$200 to US$400 per month put this well out of reach for most. No computers were available for public use. There is also no electricity available to 99% of the people in the area, so both computer centers required unique power generation capabilities. Long-term sustainability was the main objective ­ a power supply that could not be afforded or maintained by local means was impossible. Kasulu Teachers College: Cows and Computers
A biogas system was installed at the Kasulu Teachers College center because it used basic technology, local materials, and created work for people in Kasulu. The system design includes a concrete-floored cattle pen where manure is collected and moved into a gas digester. The digester is a 50-cubic-meter wire, brick, and cement dome chamber buried underground with a waste output sluice and a gas output pipe. A gas pipeline runs 150 meters to a standard 10Kw diesel generator. Two key cost factors were: The Kasulu Teachers College center received 12 computers, a 1.2 meter VSAT dish and modem, and a Cisco Academy from the UNDP with 5 additional computers and networking equipment. Connectivity fees through Iway run US$540 per month including VAT, with average data speeds of 35 Kbps up and 120 Kbps down. Biogas (methane) is now 70% of total generator input, bringing diesel costs down to a few dollars a day. Over the long-term, maintenance of the gas digester and care of the cattle are labor-intensive tasks well suited to the predominantly agricultural skill base in Kasulu. The power system also improves the bottom line for the entire
College: Mtabila 1 Refugee Camp: The Sun and Computers The Mtabila Internet Steering Committee mobilized volunteers to construct a new building for their Internet center including a concrete floor, brick walls, suspended ceiling, tin roof, and furnishings. This was no small feat for a community with very scarce resources.
Plans for electricity at the Mtabila center were more restricted: the refugees are not permitted to own cattle and they have no funds available for even a small amount of diesel consumption. The center required independent, low-maintenance power, which was best met with solar photovoltaics. This system uses solar panels to recharge a battery bank, which then feeds current through an inverter to the computers. The Mtabila center received 10 computers, a VSAT system, and lights. The solar panels, batteries, and lights are on a 48-volt DC circuit; this is connected to a Xantex inverter, which sends out AC current on a 230-volt circuit to the computers, VSAT, and peripherals. The system size called for 48 BP 75-Watt solar panels, which were installed by local solar power experts on two manually adjusted structures that track the path of the sun, maximizing solar exposure. Battery design called for 5 days of autonomy (for operation during the rains), and an average depth-of-discharge no lower than 50% to preserve battery longevity. The minimum battery capacity was calculated at 833 Amp-hours and is met by 24 Hawker TYS12 2-cell lead batteries weighing 91 kilograms each with battery acid. Although this project was initiated by international NGOs, the centers are now controlled and operated locally. By August, 2003 there were 700 public and college student users per week at the Kasulu Teachers College taking International Computer Drivers’ License courses, Cisco Certified Network Associate courses, general computer training, and using a very affordable fee-for-access Internet café. The Mtabila center offers ICDL training, secondary school access, and general services to the refugees with about 400 child and adult users per week. 50 refugees are accessing higher education courses in Belgium, and about 20 refugees are training as Cisco engineers. The College center is bringing in enough income to cover the monthly connectivity fees and the diesel costs. The monthly connectivity fees for the Mtabila center are more than the refugees can afford, but these costs have been covered by some of the NGOs involved. Power system considerations include: Cost of materials: concrete can add significant expense to rural projects. Extra capacity: an extra bio-gas storage tank was added at the Kasulu Teachers College because the gas output is higher than expected. Flat screen monitors at Mtabila added expense to the computer budget but saved on the solar system size and cost because they consume less electricity than CRT monitors. Transport costs: the solar panels and batteries are very heavy. Transport was more affordable for this project because the UN logistics system was involved. Delays: planning for the solar system had to begin about a year before expected delivery to overcome official paperwork and bureaucracy. The biogas system used more local materials, but finding the electrical engineer to make the delicate pipe-to-generator connection and injector adjustments took time. Local commitment: this is necessary long before there are tangible results. Local training programs for power system usage, maintenance, and safety are important. For the biogas system, the delicate balance of manure input and gas output requires Œhands-on’ experience; for solar systems everyone wants to help but safety with high current levels is the priority. A number of organizations joined the project as partners, including the Kasulu and Mtabila Internet Steering Committees, the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH), UNDP, and the UNHCR."
HIGH CELLPHONE COSTS CHOKE CAMEROONIAN MARKETThe growth of the cellphone industry in Cameroon is being choked by expensive cellphone handsets, with a motorbike being cheaper than a cellular telephone. A Sony Ericsson P800 costs about 546,425 CFA francs compared with a motorbike, which retails at R5 000. A motorbike is used as a taxi in Cameroon, according to a report in South Africa’s Business Report. Fomare Jacob Nji, a cellular user in Cameroon, says that in the rural area of Bamenda few people were rich; most people paid for phones by selling crops. He pointed out that this process took a long time because cellular handsets were expensive. "We do not have a regular income," Nji said. Theresa Puwo, a director of a service centre at Bamenda who used to sell second-hand cars, decided to branch out into the cellular industry in 2001. She invested about R100 000 to start her business but argued that "cellphone handsets are still expensive to buy". To deal with this challenge, Puwo found cellular manufacturers in Dubai, China and France offering good deals. Now Puwo is bringing in cheaper cellular handsets, such a Nokia 8210 that retails at R1 000, an Alcatel at R500 and a Siemens at R600. These cheaper cellphones are only available at Puwo’s shop and other customers in the country are still faced with exorbitant prices. Cameroonians are keen to be part of the world by using cellular telephones. Sadly, there are too few Puwos able to help customers get connected by importing cheaper cellular handsets. The cellphone manufacturers and network operators themselves are best placed to change this dire situation, but they seem unaware or uninterested in solving the problem. There is a big market waiting for it in Cameroon, and cheap imports could encourage other manufacturers to bring their prices down. The country is serviced by two cellular network operators, MTN Cameroon and Orange Telecom, and a single fixed-line operator, Camtel. Camtel is awaiting privatisation, which could provide a possible third cellphone operator. The government of Cameroon has been granted a two-year moratorium on the privatisation of Camtel since the beginning of last year. But some of Camtel’s communications equipment is obsolete and the government is not investing in maintaining or improving the network. The moratorium, however, has given Camtel an exclusivity period to expand its network to the entire country. MTN Cameroon is gearing itself to increase its 54 percent market share in Cameroon against its rival Orange, which is majority owned by France Telecom. Orange Telecom was launched in 1999 and has been overtaken by MTN Cameroon, which started operations in 2000. Orange Telecom’s active subscriber base was 460 000 by last September and MTN Cameroon had 526 000 customers. The market is expected to grow to 2.6 million, with cellphone penetration at 5.5 percent. Ron Allard, MTN Cameroon’s chief executive, said the company did not subsidise cellular handsets. "We only bring low-cost phones that meet our standards," he said. He explained that the cellular handset market in Cameroon supplied itself with lower-quality phones. But he added that the barrier to entry in the cellphone industry was corrected by Dubai imports. Allard said the management of MTN Cameroon was getting motivation to reduce costs and barriers to entry. As part of its strategy to reduce the barrier to entry, MTN Cameroon is looking for partners to offer community phones. The Telecommunication Regulatory Board, which regulates the country’s telecoms industry, argued that in spite of the advent of cellular telephones, the fixed-line service remains one of the most important modes of access to the telephone. It said the access to the telephone was provided through 8,000 traffic resale points, or "teleboutiques" - privately owned and operated telephone booths or call boxes found in all towns where the fixed-line network is present. Telephone booths were increasing the reach of communications in the country as most Cameroonians could not afford cellular handsets. Hopefully call boxes will help Cameroonians to access telephones at a cheaper rate. (Masango was a guest of MTN Cameroon) (SOURCE: Business Report) ORASCOM TELECOM’S ALGERIAN OPERATION ORDERS MEDIATION PLATFORMAlgeria’s GSM mobile operator, Orascom Telecom (OTA), has signed a USD2 million contract with Intec Telecom Systems for its InterconnecT billing and Inter-mediatE convergent mediation solutions to enable the GSM operator to effectively manage intercarrier billing and settlement. The deal is the third large contract Intec has announced in Africa this year. Inter-mediatE, a carrier-grade convergent mediation solution, will support the InterconnecT system by delivering a platform that can collect and process usage information from OTA’s entire network. This will be performed by gathering raw data from switches, routers, and servers and transforming it into detailed, accurate billing information. OTA is poised to capture an even greater subscriber base in Algeria as the country enters a period of political stability and economic rejuvenation. Since launching its services in 2002, OTA has become the leading GSM operator in the country with over 1.7 million subscribers. With a population of over 30 million people, there is tremendous potential for business growth as Algeria prepares for a mobile boom. According to the latest figures published by the country’s Information and Communication Technologies Ministry, the number of wireless phone users in Algeria will soar to 8 million by 2005 with OTA securing the majority of subscribers. MADAGASCAR GOVERNMENT SELLS STAKE IN FIXED-LINE INCUMBENTAccording to a report in the South China Morning Post, Distacom Communications, the parent company of Hong Kong mobile operator Sunday Communications, has invested in Madagascar’s Telecom Malagasy (Telma), to become the country’s principal foreign telecommunications investor. Distacom purchased a 68% stake in government-run fixed-line provider Telma for US$ 25.2 million. The bidding took place in December 2001, but political instability in Madagascar delayed the privatisation process until this year. Finance Minister Benjamin Andriamparany Radavidson said the government of Madagascar would still own 32% of Telma’s shares. France Cable and Radio, a subsidiary of France Telecom which owned 34% of Telma, sold its share to Distacom. "Under the agreement, Distacom is committed to covering the 112 regions of Madagascar with fixed-line telephony from now to 2006," Mr Andriamparany said. Madagascar had a population of 16 million and a per capita GDP of USD800 in 2002. Telma has approximately 58,000 fixed-line subscribers, which Distacom has committed to increasing to 160,000 over the next four years. Mr Andriamparany said, "Distacom must set up a backbone between Toliara, in the southwest, and Anstiranana, in extreme north, which must facilitate the development of modern telecommunications throughout the country." (SOURCE: Intelecon) MAURITIUS: OUTREMER TELECOM CONTESTS TWO DECISIONS FROM ICTAOutremer Telecom, a French operator doing international calling to Mauritius, has lodged an appeal over two decisions by the regulator ICTA to the ICT Appeal Tribunal, the first time it’s been used. Outremar Telecom believes that Telecommunication Order 4 of 2004 and the restriction on international access codes imposed by ICTA represent a shackle on competition and do not respect the provisions of the ICT Act and the National Telecommunications Policy defined by the Mauritian government. The conditions imposed by the regulator do not allow "a level playing field." between new operators and incumbent Mauritius Telecom. There will be an initial hearing on 15 June. (SOURCE: Le Mauricien) LIRE EN FRANCAIS: IN BRIEF- The South African Ministry of Communications last week approved the applications of four telecommunications firms to operate small networks in far-flung, underserviced areas, providing rural communities with new communication options. The four winning bidders are Bokone Telecoms, Kingdom Communications, Thinta Thinta Telecoms and Ilizwe Telecoms. But, as expected, communications minister Ivy Matsepe Casaburri referred the applications of three companies back to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) to ensure that they are truly broad based. - Vee Networks in Nigeria is trading under a new name: Vmobile and its Board reiterated its decision to sever operational ties with EWI. - South Africa’s Vodacom has reported that its South African subscriber base has continued to expand beyond the anticipated market size. Total customers increased by 23.5% to 9.7 million (2003: 7.9 million), with the majority of the growth coming from the prepaid market. The number of prepaid customers increased by 24.3% to 8.3 million, while the number of contract customers increased by 20.2% to 1.4 million, fuelled to a large extent by increased connection incentive levels in the market. The strong growth in customers was a direct result of the remarkable number of gross new connections achieved of 5.0 million, coupled with low churn in the contract base, offset to some extent by increased churn in the prepaid base. - Nigeria’s Starcomms Ltd subscriber base hit the 100,000 mark last week.
TELECOM RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE* NITEL, last week entered into agreement with Telecom New Zealand on termination of international traffic. * Thuraya has entered the Kenyan market through local franchise holders, Telemedia Communications Limited. Because Telemedia has signed a roaming service contract with the two local mobile service providers, Thuraya subscribers are able to use their mobile phones on the GSM network while operating within the network area and link automatically to the satellite mode once outside the GSM service area. * Telkom expects business and residential telephone services in the Johannesburg suburb of Parktown North had their service restored by last Sunday evening, following the theft of cables at the corner of 8th Street and 2nd Street. Telkom said its technicians worked around the clock to restore the service, which affected around 4 000 customers. * The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), which regulates telecommunications service providers, is expected to review Telkom’s price tariffs after concerns were raised that its tariffs adjustments were not reasonable. * Angola’s mobile operator, Movicel, launched officially last week, after an experimental period, its service in south-western Namibe province. According to Movicel’s executive director, Francisco Basilio, the project calculated at USD2 million, will offer in its first phase about 2000 lines supported by a base radio system. * Telephone users will from next month pay less for the service as Telkom Kenya prepares for a major cutback in its tariffs. Mr Joseph Ogutu, the company’s general manager said the move is aimed at keeping the firm competitive as its monopoly comes to an end. According to Ogutu, international tariffs, are expected to fall by between 60 per cent and 70 per cent by the end of 2006. The price cuts, he said, will be made possible by the construction of a sub-marine cable linking 15 different countries in the region at a cost of USD200 million (Sh15.6 billion). Ogutu said the Telkom Kenya has finalised plans to build an optical fibre line between Nairobi to Mombasa to increase local bandwith. The project will cost the company $5million (Sh3.9 billion)."The plans is complete and all that is remaining is issuance of the tender," said Ogutu.
ISPs IN GHANA’S N REGION OF TAMALE CALL FOR REVIEW OD LICENCE FEESISPs in Tamale, in the northern region of Ghana, have called on the regulator, the National Communication Authority (NCA) to review its licensing regime. The ISP’s claim that the USD30,000 ISP license fee required by the NCA is a big impediment to them rolling out services more widely locally. The ISP’s say the huge fees is a major reason for the slow pace of Internet growth in northern Ghana, as not many businesses would like to invest in Internet services in the North where the market is relatively small. The ISPs made the appeal during a Technical Update Seminar organised by the International Institute of Communication and Development, IICD, Centre for Information Technology Research and Development (CITRED) and Ghana information Network for Knowledge Sharing (GINKS). The aim of the seminar was to share information with the residents of the Northern region on connectivity options available in the world today and how best as a community they can develop and promote the region into the knowledge based economy using Information and Communication Technology tools. Ernest Kofie, Director of GrasRut, a cybercafé and ISP operator in Tamale, said considering the high cost of Internet usage to most of the people of Tamale, his ISP has adopted a community approach to the deployment of Internet in Tamale. He was therefore very agitated by the requirement of NCA to pay USD30,000 license fees as paid by all ISPs in Ghana. He pleaded to the NCA to have some waivers for ISP’s who decide to operate outside of Accra. Jonnie Akakpo of CITRED introduced new technologies to the participants and said it was important that the government take the new ICT4AD policy seriously and implement its recommendations to the letter. Denise Clarke of IICD introduced the Bgan Mobile IP Satellite Technology as one of the possible connectivity options for rural areas. She was of the view that such connectivity tools where relatively cheap and afforded people in the rural areas to also have access to the benefits of Internet. Kofi Mangesi of GINKS encouraged the community to continue to dialogue on how best they can influence policy in the area of connectivity. (SOURCE: GINKS) SA’S ICASA TO PROBE TELKOM ADSL INTERNET SERVICEThe Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) has approved a committee to investigate Telkom’s Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) after a formal complaint was lodged by MyADSL, a broad-band internet service with a high data transfer rate, accusing Telkom of providing a service far below international standards. MyADSL said its complaint focused on many facets of the service, which enabled users to speak on the telephone while using the internet by connecting a modem. "Some of the concerns include exorbitant line rental charges, inferior international speeds and a lack of general service." Telkom said initial modem costs were high in South Africa because of landing costs from abroad. "But Telkom reduced the cost of its modems by stocking cheaper modems produced locally," the fixed-line operator said. Referring to the alleged high cost of the local service, Telkom said that in South Africa, the international bandwidth had to be purchased at a premium, while connectivity between the US and Europe was very cheap because of high volumes. "Smaller operators subsidise the larger US and European internet service providers, since we have to pay for the privilege of connecting to their networks," Telkom said. Line rental costs also covered the ADSL port cards that made it possible to use the higher frequency of the network. Icasa said a date for the public hearing would be announced "at a later stage". MyADSL said many ADSL users felt very strongly about the limitations and high pricing of ADSL in South Africa. "The South African information technology [IT] industry and economy as a whole would benefit greatly from an internationally competitive and affordable ADSL service, but unfortunately Telkom is currently not willing to provide an internationally equivalent product. It is not surprising that many local IT companies are finding it difficult to compete internationally." However, Telkom responded that a Markinor survey had indicated that 88 percent of its 16,000 customers were satisfied with the service. (SOURCE: Business Report) XANTIC OFFERS FASTER AND CHEAPER ONLINE BROWSING VIA EASY ACCELERATORXantic has announced the launch of Easy Accelerator, an innovative application that makes browsing the internet via satellite faster and cheaper than ever before. Available free of charge from Xantic’s website, Easy Accelerator optimises internet and intranet usage by reducing the size of the selected web page content. A proxy computer located at a Land Earth Station Œdownsizes’ pictures, for example, by up to 80 percent, depending on the settings chosen. Audio files and text can also be reduced. As a result, browsing is much faster and the user’s satellite costs can be decreased by as much as 90 percent. Inmarsat has co-financed the development of this new service. "We are very pleased with Easy Accelerator as it can be used for internet and intranet access from any Inmarsat service," comments Carole Plessy-Gourdon, Business Solutions Unit manager at Inmarsat. "Easy Accelerator is easy to set up, simple to use, reduces satellite costs and is free," adds Ronald Spithout, Vice President Marketing & Sales at Xantic. "It is an excellent value added service for our portfolio, especially for use with MPDS and Regional BGAN." One of the pioneers in using the Easy Accelerator service has been Tony Holland from Inmarsat Service Provider E3 Airtime in Spain. "Internet via satellite used to be slow and expensive," says Tony "Thanks to Xantic’s new solution, we can now offer our customers a highly cost-effective way of browsing the web." More information: http://www.xantic.net/ea IN BRIEF- Having recently freed up its 2.4GHz or 5.8GHz frequency bands for use by ISPs, the regulator CCK is encouraging operators to attend a WLAN Technology Course at the African Regional Advanced Level Telecommunication Institute (AFRALTI on 21-24 June 2004. Details from CCK or AFRALTI. - The website for the DRC’s local Internet society can be found at: http://www.ispa-rdc.org and provides useful updates on the internet scene in the DRC. - The criteria of security of digital signature may be enforced in Angola as from 2005, should the Government comply with the programme under the accord signed with Wiskey on the protection of computerised information.This was announced last Wednesday in Luanda by the deputy minister of Science and Technology, Pedro Teta, during a seminar on information security.
ACT 2004 IN MAURITIUS PROMISES TO BE ‘KEY NETWORKING EVENT’ACT 2004 is set to attract a wide range of participants from throughout the continent to participate in this ‘key networking event’. Flavien Bachabi, Vice-President of Africa sales for Intelsat’s Data, Carrier and Internet business unit, said: "We believe that the ACT Summit is a superb networking event which brings solution providers, end-users, suppliers, operators, regulators and policy-makers from throughout Africa together. We are pleased to support ACT 2004 in achieving its objective of enhancing networking opportunities and building partnerships to accelerate ICT development on the continent." The theme of this year’s ACT is "Building partnerships to mainstream Africa’s ICT sector". In addition to the Telecom Operators Forum, the Summit will include a Forum on Business Process Outsourcing, which is important for the Mauritian economy as the government has a concerted strategy to develop the island as a BPO destination. The event is going to be held in the brand new CyberTower, a key element of the strategy, providing world class BPO facilities. Other ACT forums include Open Source Software, Mobile Telephony Applications for Development, Knowledge Sharing, eGovernment and Capacity Development. Welcoming Intelsat’s commitment, Sean Moroney, Group Chairman of event organizer AITEC Africa, said: "ACT 2004 is growing in momentum as a true partnership event, with a wide range of private sector, government and developmental organizations supporting it as a platform to share knowledge and experience across sectors and countries, to develop partnerships, and to seek best practice solutions to drive forward the rapid roll-out of computing and communications development across the continent." Other organizations supporting ACT 2004 include: Full details of the ACT 2004 Summit are available on the AITEC web site (www.aitecafrica.com) A LINUX TOOLKIT FOR NON TECHNICIANS IN COMMUNITY BASED TELECENTRESAs one of its objectives within the TELELAC II project, co-ordinated by Fundación Chasquinet www.chasquinet.org and sponsored by International Development Research Centre IDRC-CRDI (www.idrc.ca ) and the Institute for Connectivity in the Americas - ICA (www.icamericas.net) from Canada, it is focusing on the issue of technological sustainability and, one of its finished products is the TC-Toolkit 2.0 which is a tool kit of open source software for community based telecentres and for non technicians that are in charge of telecentres. The main components of the toolkit are: - Introduction to technological sustainability: The reasons for why a tool kit for open source software for community based telecentres is necessary. - More in-depth information about technological sustainability based on the right to communicate, economic inequality and how community based telecentres should use open source software to address these issues. - A hands-on, step by step guide that is graphically illustrated and easy to follow to the setting up of a telecentre with open source software: computers, installation of the hardware, installation of the local area network and installation of linux in a server. A linux manual and frequently asked questions (FAQ) as a trouble-shooting guide. - Tips for hardware and software maintenance and understanding basic concepts. - A section on FAQ: introduction and general information, processes before installation, processes during installation, administration amongst other topics. - An interactive forum to deal with other queries and problems to which you might not have found the answers in the FAQ section. The toolkit is the result of a two year collaborative research process with technical and non technical members of somos@telecentros network, on how community based telecentres should use open source software as an alternative when they do not have the resources to pay for commercial software among other issues. The toolkit was presented in the Third Regional Meeting of somos@telecentros held in Sao Paulo Brazil May 26-29, 2004. The toolkit is in Spanish and the Prefecture of Sao Paulo http://www.prefeitura.sp.gov.br/sid/encontros/latino.htm is going to translate it into Portuguese and enhance it by adding their own experiences. The toolkit is available on CD but you can also find it at the following address: http://www.tele-centros.org/toolkit2.0.htm It would very much like to hear your comments and please send them to the following email address tigres@tele-centros.org CIDA RECEIVES R12 MILLION WORTH OF E-LEARNING COURSE CONTENT FROM LEARNING RESOURCESPeople effectiveness specialists, Learning Resources, announced today the donation of the full range of NETg and Harvard Business School Publishing e-learning courseware to CIDA City Campus, South Africa’s first virtually free higher education institution. The donation is valued at R50 million over a four year period, to co-incide with CIDA’s four year degree cycle, and includes support services that will ensure the success of the implementation. An annual evaluation of success criteria will further be undertaken to ensure ongoing value and to meet the unique needs of CIDA learners. Thomson Learning (NETg) is a world renowned provider of technical and end user skills courseware, with Comptia accreditation for the content. The suite of products offered to CIDA includes over 1000 titles in back office technical and end user/desktop (Microsoft) skills as well as business and professional skills training. The Harvard Business School courseware range includes training in leadership, business, strategy and management skills. This content is highly applicable to CIDA’s focus on equipping students with business, technological and entrepreneurial skills. Courseware will be fully integrated into the CIDA Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) curriculum, as applicable, with more technical or specialised components integrated into the appropriate CIDA schools of excellence, for example the areas of information technology or management. Aspects of the courseware will, in addition, be incorporated into the CIDA staff development programme. All course content is expected to be up and running by July this year, at which time the CIDA campus will also be equipped with the necessary IT infrastructure and at least 400 computers. CIDA chief executive, Taddy Blecher said: "the e-learning courseware, designed to be part of a blended learning approach*, is of enormous value to an institution such as CIDA. It is highly applicable to the business orientation of the CIDA degree and gives students, who previously would not have made it into the world of higher education, unprecedented access to world class material they could only have dreamed about before." Additional value offered by the courseware is its linkage to international accreditation criteria, the ability to generate high user uptake, the creation of a positive learning experience and the strong retention of knowledge gained through learning. "Multi modal or blended learning approaches are enormously powerful in helping people retain what’s been learnt and then utilise that knowledge practically," commented Blecher. "This matches what the CIDA model is attempting to bring to higher education institutions in South Africa and eventually Africa itself. It’s particularly applicable to people that have come from an inadequate educational background. Necessitated by South Africa’s past, learning is self paced and training undertaken is in line with each learner’s own learning profile and level of competency. This adds a tremendous richness to the learning process," he said. "Using instructional design, all course content is customised for a particular user group and is accessed in such a way that people are encouraged to become more self-sufficient and to develop their research skills. Online administrator functionality will further allow us to track student progress in terms of the training required for course completion," said Blecher. Managing Director of Learning Resources, Ricky Robinson said: "Learning Resources is proud to contribute to the development of tomorrow’s business leaders and looks forward to an ongoing partnership with CIDA. We are confident of the value of the learning material provided and will undoubtedly be inspired by the way in which CIDA puts this to use." "Technology has brought enormous changes to the way in which training is today undertaken. This is tremendously exciting as learning content can now reach the entire country and be meaningfully applied to all individual learners. At CIDA the aim will be to encourage the uptake of a blended learning approach to develop a practical application of business and entrepreneurial skills, creativity and innovation from all students," Robinson stressed. * The blended learning approach involves combining application based e-learning with traditional classroom learning, incorporating role plays and case studies IN BRIEF- Acer, has invested USD2 million to create a service infrastructure in SA in line with international standards. "As a leading vendor of notebooks in SA, Acer realised the importance attached to customer service. With the computer market in this country entering a maturity phase, a large percentage of equipment sales are for replacement purposes," says David Drummond, MD of Acer. - Uganda’s inaugural National ICT for Development Directory (2004) has been completed. The National ICT for Development Directory was conceived by UgaBYTES Initiative as a strategy for bolstering ICT sub-sector. The Directory is meant to facilitate information sharing and overall scale up of the impact of ICT to development in Uganda. The Directory captures Resource Persons,ICT Coordinators, Projects and Initiatives in ICT sub-sector in Uganda. You can access the link to the UgaBYTES Initiative’s online version of the National ICT for Development Directory at the following link; http://www.ugabytes.org/ug_ict4d_directory.html
NIGERIAN TELECOM FIRM RELTEL RAISING FUNDS ON THE INDIAM MARKETelTel, a Nigeria-based telecom company, is looking to raise funds and find a strategic partner from India. The company has appointed the Mumbai-based investment banking firm Strategic Capital Ventures Ltd as its exclusive financial advisor.RelTel hopes to raise about USD120 million from the Indian markets and tie up with an Indian telecom operator with expertise in large scale expansion projects. Sunil Pathak, director, RelTel, said that the funds will be utilised for expansion and will be a combination of debt and equity, adding that the company is willing to sell its controlling stake if all other criteria fall in place.Pathak said, "The similarities between Indian and Nigerian telecom services have prompted us to come to India as the expertise here can be very well utilised to shore up operations in a small but growing Nigerian market."He said talks are on with some big telecom players in India but declined to disclose names. VIVENDI RE-AFFIRMS ITS COMMITMENT TO HANG ON TO MAROC TELECOM STAKEFrench group Vivendi Universal is to sell its 55% in Monaco Telecom as it has sold its 60% in Kencell but will hold on to its stake in Maroc Telecom, where it would like to become a majority. Vivendi is in the process of getting rid of its "non-strategic" telecoms holdings as part of concentrating on what it sees as its core holdings in France: SFR/Cegetel and overseas in Morocco. This was completed with the sale for e169,000 on 25 May of Monaco Telecom to Cable and Wireless. The sale of Kencell to investment group Sameer realised another USD250 million. This leaves it with a 35% stake in Maroc Telecom which it says it will be hanging on to. Last year Vivendi’s Board agreed "in principle" that it would seek to become a 51% shareholder in the company. The Moroccan government has agreed but that does not necessarily mean it will happen. The Moroccan Government for its part has announced the engagement of a consortium of bankers including Merrill Lynch, BNP-Paribas and BCM to take part of MT’s capital to market. This consortium is working with another consortium headed by Morgan Stanley and six other groups, including local bankers. The Government hopes that these external advisers will help it realise a sale income 12.3 billion dirhams this year from the 16% that Vivendi wants to acquire in the second semester of this year. The Government wants to sell 5% of the capital on the Casablanca bourse and 10% in overseas exchanges including London, New York and Paris. Maroc Telecom achieved a turnover of e376 million in the first semester of 2004. (SOURCE: Le Matin) SA’S TELKOM CONTINUES TO MAKE HIGH PROFITS IN ABSENCE OF SNOTelkom last week announced strong group annual results for the year ended March 31, 2004, with healthy increases in operating revenue and operating profit, positive cash flow growth, and excellent growth in both headline and basic earnings per share. The group financial highlights for 2004 include: * 8,8% group revenue growth to R40,795bn; Commenting on the results, Group CEO of Telkom, Sizwe Nxasana, says: "The management of the Telkom Group is pleased to report strong results in our first full year as a listed company that has seen us execute well on strategy and deliver growing returns to our shareholders. "Group operational highlights include the Telkom Group achieving robust operational performance across all levels of the business, with delivery against its three strategic pillars of customer growth and retention, operational efficiencies and innovation and sustaining the development of the marketplace." Key achievements include: * 14% growth of data revenue, 44% growth in Internet subscribers,
17% growth in ISDN channels and 661% growth in ADSL subscribers; Nxasana adds, "Telkom aggressively promoted data products to the consumer and SMME markets through campaigns in the past financial year, which advanced the group’s strategy of becoming the data provider of choice." The increase in revenue growth was said to be mainly due to higher demand for data services in the medium and small business segment, with leased line revenue growing by 17,7%, which was offset by a 2,2% decrease in mobile leased facilities revenue, due to network optimisation initiatives by the mobile operators. There has also been a stringent focus on key business imperatives. The execution of group strategy helped Telkom SA to grow headline earnings per share by 175% to 863,6 cents, from 314 cents in its first full year as a listed company. The group declared a final dividend of 110c per share, thanks to sustained revenue from traditional voice services and market endorsement of value-added data and mobile services. Telkom’s strategy to defend core revenues and enhance operating efficiencies lifted group operating revenue by 8,8% to R40,795bn (2003: R37,507bn). Basic earnings per share grew by 177,5% to 812 cents (2003: 292,6 cents) through a 39,5% increase in operating profit to R9,088bn (2003: R6,514bn)and a reduction of finance charges, which included net losses of R776m arising from measuring derivates at fair value and currency volatility. Ebitda margins expanded to 40% from 35%, underpinning the generation of strong cash flows. Telkom advanced on its stated plan to contain net debt to equity within a 50 - 70% range. Net debt decreased by 33,8% to R13,362bn (2003: R20,171bn), bringing the net debt to equity ratio to 60,6%, compared to 109,9% in the previous period. Group capital expenditure decreased by 7,1%, and represented 13% of group revenue, in line with the group’s guidance of maintaining capital expenditure in the range of 12 to 15% of group revenues. The mobile segment accounted for 25% of group operating revenue, driven largely by customer growth that is evident in a decrease in contract churn. "Telkom has also allocated R7,7m in its 2004/05 financial year to programmes designed to control the HIV/Aids pandemic," Nxasana adds. Telkom’s strategy is to enhance education campaigns and to offer voluntary counselling, testing and treatment for affected staff across the country. Telkom estimates HIV/Aids prevalence at 9,6% within its workplace, which is considerably lower than the country’s estimate of 26,5%. Nxasana says, "People are Telkom’s most important competitive asset, and are key to it being an efficient and cost-effective group. The group has implemented a strategic human capital management plan, which seeks to protect and nurture its people. Telkom’s people are driving operational efficiencies and innovation within the group, and are the people behind customer retention." Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) also underpins Telkom’s drive for sustainability. Telkom has advanced its strategy, which elevates BEE as a crucial growth imperative for Telkom, by directing R5bn to BEE suppliers in the 2004 financial year. And, in its efforts to contribute to the development of a broad-based black middle class, Telkom created an estimated R560m in value for over 100 000 retail shareholders, who subscribed to Telkom’s Initial Public Offering (IPO). Telkom has also proceeded with a socially responsible approach to headcount reductions, which has been boosted by the Agency for Career Opportunities. This is an initiative to help employees, often through re-skilling, to become re-employed either internally or externally. Telkom reduced its fixed-line headcount by 8,5% (excluding subsidiaries) to 32 358 in the 2004 financial year, with only 3,6% of losses being involuntary retrenchments. Telkom aims to reduce employee numbers on an annual basis by 7 to 10% per annum, including natural attrition. This will be largely enabled through the Operational Support Systems (OSS) initiative, which aims to provide automated solutions to enhance revenue and reduce costs. Already, increased employee productivity has been reflected in growth from 137 to 149 lines per employee. (SOURCE: ICT World)
CORRECTIONISSUE 210: ZAMBIAN COMPUTER SOCIETY PRESIDENT RECOMMENDS COMPUTER REGISTRATION Our Zambia correspondent misunderstood that Computer Society of Zambia President Milner Makuni was actually opposed to the registration of computers. The President of CSZ actually recommended amendment to the bill to remove the registration of computers as the intention of this provision is not clear. The Government is on the one hand trying to reduce the cost of ICTs and on the other hand introducing new taxes. Implementation of a 'computer registry' would not only be costly to government, and virtually impractical, but also very costly to industry.
SENEGALESE WEB SITE LOOKS AT ISLAM IN WEST AFRICACreated by a group of Senegalese preachers and teachers, a site called "Islam in West Africa" proposes to popularise Islamic thought, philosophy and civilization. Among its creators is Khadim Mbacké a researcher for l’Institut français d’Afrique noire (Ifan). This is a beautiful initiative that remains unrealised. In effect, the site is a long way from completion. Unfortunately the authors of the project are not the titans required to realise the ambition they’ve set themselves. The result is a site which seems too academic, too austere and without illustrations really gives a very low level of content. However internet users will get a very rapd history of the growth of Islam in West Africa. The articles often lack significant details like the different institutes, universities and schools that are active in the subject area in the country. (SOURCE: http//:www.afrik.com) LIRE EN FRANCAIS: IN BRIEF- Two South African companies today launched an interactive, home-based HIV awareness site for families. The purpose of the site, ActionAIDS, is to educate subscribers about the HIV/AIDS threat, and provide them with the knowledge needed to protect themselves, says ActionAIDS sales manager Daniel Seidman. The subscriber is also allowed access to a 24-hour communication centre that provides advice on all aspects of HIV/AIDS. - WOUGNET’s website had a total of 4,723 unique visitors. The Top Ten Visitor Countries were: United States, Great Britain, Uganda, Canada, Belgium, Australia, South Africa, India, Kenya and Germany. - Ten APC members have created national ICT policy portal websites in their own countries in a joint initiative. The portals which are all uniquely adapted to address each country’s particular situation all use free software that allows content-sharing in different languages and between multiple information databases hosted in different parts of the world. http://www.apc.org/english/news/index.shtml?x=20966 [English]
AFRICAN COUNTRIES CONSIDER US CDMA WIRELESS STANDARDUnder pressure to provide unlimited access to telephones, African countries are considering a US technology that also offers the promise of bringing the Internet to some of the world’s poorest people. Telephones are a luxury for the continent’s estimated 800 million people, over half of whom have never made a call. Experts say a version of the US Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) standard offers Africa an opportunity to leapfrog technology into the digital first-world. The CDMA 450 wireless local loop technology, also known as the "third world standard", is already being used in some Eastern European countries and Russia as they switch from analogue to digital cellular systems. It promises a new lease of life to many cash-strapped fixed-line African operators by giving them a chance to roll out high quality, affordable voice and data services using non-conventional methods in areas deemed unprofitable. "The fixed-line operators are under a lot of pressure. They have to do something to add more fixed-lines and they were failing because they needed copper wires or fibre optic cables," said Thomas Sonesson, Ericsson’s vice-president customer solutions and sales support for sub-Saharan Africa. "Now they can deploy fixed wireless with CDMA," Sonesson said. Equipment vendors like Sweden’s Ericsson are aggressively promoting CDMA in sub-Saharan Africa where they are competing with firms such as China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corp. Supporters of the technology point to the success of CDMA, albeit on a different frequency, in India, where some fixed-line operators were given "mobile" licences. Users talk on a wireless handset that can be moved within a limited area. Although they predominantly use electricity, in areas where there is none, community operators are equipped with solar or fuel generators for recharging. This "limited mobility" service, which charges fixed-line tariffs, was so successful in India that the phones were called the "poor man’s mobile" for bringing telecommunications to people who previously could not afford mobiles because of the high tariffs. "The opportunities are extraordinary, particularly for meeting universal access goals. Not only does it provide voice, but because we’re using the same technology as 3G (the newer cellphone technology), we can provide high speed data access," said Perry LaForge, executive director of the CDMA Development Group. Kevin Tao, Huawei’s president for sub-Saharan Africa, said because CDMA 450 operates on a lower frequency, one base station offers coverage double that of rival European Global Systems for Mobile Communications (GSM), lowering infrastructure investment. Huawei, which has won a contract to build a CDMA-based wireless system for Ethiopia’s fixed-line operator, says the wireless infrastructure costs about a third of the conventional fixed-line, at about US$300. Other countries to embrace CDMA include Egypt, which in May awarded ZTE a contract to build a wireless network in the rural Nile Delta. Ericsson has deployed digital CDMA wireless networks in Mauritius, Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. "As we speak, we’re conducting CDMA trials in South Africa, some other parts of Nigeria and we have tendered in 10 other African countries," said Sonesson. One of the biggest drawbacks of the CDMA is the cost of mobile handsets. They typically cost 20 percent more than those of rival GSM because of the lack of a significant mass-market, Sonesson said. Industry officials rule out a war between the two technologies — at least for now — but say it is unlikely mobile operators in Africa will adopt the US standard given that most international roaming agreements are with GSM operators. GSM is the de-facto global standard, dominant in Africa and Europe, while CDMA is used widely in the US and Asia. "GSM still has the advantage of its early lead, but increasingly CDMA vendors have become more aggressive. Most handsets today are multi- mode, can handle both GSM and CDMA, so the decision becomes more economic," said Kwame Boakye, vice president of technology for Harris Corp, a firm which makes equipment for the cell-phone industry. (SOURCE: Financial Gazette)
PEOPLE* On the Move: Francois Jay has left Afrique Initiatives to join the French diplomatic service He is replaced by Pierre Charpentier...The Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has appointed Jackie Manche as its new CEO. Manche will replace the former CEO, Nkateko Nyoka.Formerly deputy director-general in the Department of Provincial and Local Government (DPLG), Manche is expected to bring her years of experience in the public service to bear in her new role as CEO at the regulator. * The new members of the AfriNIC Board are as follows (region for which they were elected): Kamal Okba (N), Pierre Dandjinou (W), Alan Barett (S), Viv Padayatchy (IO), Moktar Hamidi (N), Sunday Folayan (W), Alan Levin (S), Kenny Yiptong (IO), Didier R. Kasole © , Pierre Mutumbe ©, Brian Longwe (E) and Charles Musisi (E).
JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIESNSS - Core network Engineer We are urgently looking for several Core Network Engineers for a mission in the Middle East. Tasks: - Design: competence on Cell planning and RF propagation - Technology: competence on MSC, HLR, GPRS, mediation devices elements - Implementation: competence on equipment operation (to evaluate upgrades and roadmap), site infrastructure Requirement: - At Least 2 to 4 years experience in the same function - Experience with Ericsson and Siemens platforms - English spoken mandatory - Arabic is a plus Starting date: - ASAP. Salary: - to be negotiated - attractive package. Job Type: Contract - Full-time - 3 month renewable Country / City Libya - Middle East Agency DelConsulting LTD Please submit your application on our website at http://www.delconsulting.com Job reference me100604 Job posted 9th June 2004
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