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The first part of African Internet Country Market Profiles is out now... and web ordering now in place.. The long awaited first part of Balancing Act's African Internet Country Market Profiles is now out and covers 22 countries in West Africa. It also contains a summary overview of the internet in these countries and a look at the coming legalisation of VoIP in West Africa: who will be the winners and losers? To see the contents: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profile1.html To order: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/publications.html You can now order by credit card direct from this web site.

WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday.

For country-by-country information on internet, telecoms and computing in English go to: http://www.afridigital.net

L’edition mensuelle en francais: L’edition mensuelle en francais de Balancing Act’s News Update donne des informations sur les derniers developpements en matiere de Telecoms, Internet et Informatique en Afrique. Si vous voulez vous abonner a News Update, envoyez simplement un message en francais "Je veux m’abonner à l’édition en français de Balancing Act’s News Update" a info@balancingact-africa.com. Si vous voulez annuler votre abonnement, il suffit d’envoyer un message en francais "Je veux annuler mon abonenment à l’édition en français de Balancing Act’s News Update" a la meme adresse email.

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ISSUE NO 229

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MAURITIUS' GROUPE AFRIATIC OPENS IN SENEGAL

Mauritius-based Groupe Afriatic has opened a new subsidiary in Senegal which will focus on the development of web sites and training. Based in Point E, it will offer a 120 hour distance-learning course from the University of Paris-V which would correspond to a 600 hour course taken face-to-face.

Groupe Afriatic already has another subsidiary in Paris and is consider opening operations in Mali, Ghana and the UK.
Africatic Sénégal : http://www.africatic-formation.com/

IN BRIEF

- Telspace has announced another low-cost package as Internet service providers (ISPs) slash Web hosting costs in a thriving market. Telspace, a small Johannesburg-based Web hosting and IT service provider, has launched two new Web hosting packages, priced at R19 and R39 a month respectively.

BENIN ANNOUNCES THAT IT WILL COMPUTERISE ELECTORAL LIST BY 2006

Benin has announced that it wants to computerise its electoral list before Presidential elections in 2006. The "Liste Electorale permanente informatisée (Lepi)" has thus far remained something of a mirage for Beninois,

Minister responsible Alain Adihou said he would put considerable effort into advancing the process. In front of an extraordinary session before parliamentary deputies he said that the new programme to complete the task was beginning. However the "political class" of Benin are very uncertain about the implications of the completion of the task as it will ensure a high level of transparency in elections and help combat fraud.

(source: Fraternité)

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MASTERCARD LAUNCHES PROGRAMME TO ADVANCE SMART CARD ADOPTION IN AFRICA

MasterCard International last week launched its OneSMART MasterCard programme in Africa at a smart card exhibition at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg.The objective of the programme is to provide, under one umbrella, all the technological solutions and support required for African banks to migrate to EMV compliant smart cards and terminals, as well as to deploy value-added applications. EMV is the global standard that ensures smart cards issued in one country can be readily accepted by chip terminals worldwide. OneSMART MasterCard programmes are already operating successfully in Malaysia, Taiwan, New Zealand and across Europe. Based on the success in these countries, MasterCard decided to introduce the programme in Africa.

"The OneSMART programme covers every aspect necessary to launch a successful smart card programme," says Eddie Grobler, senior vice president and general manager, MasterCard Southern Africa. "It integrates the key areas of consumer value proposition, marketing initiatives, market-ready technology solutions and end-to-end implementation support."

The programme also enables banks, initially through the smart card exhibition, to best leverage their EMV chip infrastructure by facilitating interaction with more than 20 local and global chip technology suppliers. The suppliers will showcase their respective state-of-the-art products and services to aid banks in tailoring their smart card programmes to meet the needs of their individual cardholders.

The suppliers will provide support in six main categories - consultancy, personalisation systems, smart cards, terminals, host systems and applications. The list is expected to increase, as MasterCard works together with more suppliers, to bring technological options and flexibility to banks in Africa.

"The key to success with smart cards is giving the cardholder compelling reasons to use the card, thereby creating profitable programmes for banks and retailers," says Grobler. "The OneSMART programme is designed to act as a catalyst for African banks to create the best EMV solutions for their customers."

According to MasterCard research released last week at the programme launch, 90% of South African consumers perceive smart cards to be a far more secure way of protecting cards against fraudulent transactions. Almost 80% of those surveyed agreed that they will benefit from this security in their day-to-day spending.

From 1st January 2005 in South Africa, and 1st January 2006 in the rest of Africa, there will be a major shift in liability for fraudulent transactions. Banks who have not upgraded to the EMV smart card standard by these dates will become liable for losses attributed to fraudulent transactions that might have been prevented if they had been EMV compliant.

As well as offering enhanced security, smart cards are also equipped with the potential to carry loyalty programmes, data storage, transportation applications, and more, thus providing cardholders more personalised cards.

MasterCard will also be using the exhibition to demonstrate its latest global smart card solutions, including OneSMART Pre-Authorized, OneSMART Authentication, MasterCard Open Data Storage and MasterCard PayPass, a new 'contactless' payment feature that uses radio frequency technology. "South African banks have an opportunity to transform today's payment cards into a relationship building tool that will exceed the expectations of even the most demanding cardholders," says Grobler. "We see an unprecedented opportunity for African banks to grow their payments business across new channels and new markets."

SELEBI TO CONNECT AFRICANS TO INTERPOL IT SYSTEM

South African National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi says he will use his position as head of Interpol to connect 44 of the 182 member states to the I-24/7 Global Communication system to share critical criminal information with rest of their counterparts.

Commissioner Selebi said he would ensure that the weaker countries mostly African Interpol member states were connected to the system within six months.

The system enables police all over the world to access information about stolen vehicles, IDs, passports, and most wanted terror groups, a DNA database and any information crucial for criminal investigations.

Commissioner Selebi was speaking in Pretoria today after his return from Cancun, Mexico, where he attended the 73rd Interpol General Assembly where he was elected President of the international policing body.

"My priorities as President of Interpol are determined by the Assembly. But more importantly for me is to move resources where they are needed most, to direct and redirect resources to favour the weak and slowest countries.

"The responsibility of the President is to ensure that all those 44 countries must be connected to the I-24/7 system.

"So it is part of that programme of ensuring that resources available in the organisation are used to help the slowest and weakest," said the former South African representative at the United Nations.

Commissioner Selebi replaced Jesus Espigares Mira, Director of Criminal Investigation Department of the Spanish National Police.

Mr Mira served as President of Interpol from 2000, while Commissioner Selebi was Vice-President of the Interpol African bureau since 2000.

He said already the Assembly had allocated 2.5 million Euros for the connection of 1-24/7 system of the 44 countries.

"The system will ensure that African countries are also on the same technological footing with the rest of the world," he said.

(SOURCE: IT Web)

IN BRIEF

- Channel Data, the southern African distributor for Legato Software, has released Legato's new browser-based solution designed to give users a logical view of an entire Legato network platform, based on geographical location of servers, business unit responsibility and other criteria. Dubbed the NetWorker Management Console (NMC) 3.1, it is a bundled offering designed to optimise the management of heterogeneous Legato NetWorker environments.

- Hewlett Packard (HP), has announced the opening of its first branch in Algeria, being its 179th branch in the world, according to Al-Khabar newspaper.

- Duxbury Networking, in conjunction with its principal Proxim, has cut the price of the ORiNOCO AP-700 Access Point - Proxim's newest small/medium enterprise-class wireless LAN solution - by a significant sixty percent.

ZIMBABWE'S SNO TELEACCESS HANGS BY A THREAD AS FINANCE RUNS OUT

The stalled second fixed telephone network, TeleAccess, precariously hangs in the balance as it emerged that its financiers, who have since doled out USD147 billion, no longer have the financial wherewithal to proceed with the project, which has been on the cards for the past four years.

Highly placed sources told The Financial Gazette this week that the latest revelations have put the band of TeleAccess backers in a quandary, as they now face the tricky option of either having their licence cancelled or convincing the authorities to wait a little longer.

It has since emerged that only political intervention can save the Daniel Shumba-owned TeleAcess from losing the lucrative licence, controversially awarded by the government four years ago without going to tender.

The fresh twist to the project might spill into another legal wrangle, similar to one that rocked the mobile telecommunications sector in the late 1990s, when Econet Wireless, fronted by Strive Masiyiwa, sensationally defeated the government in court to land the country's second cellular licence.

Telecommunications sources told The Financial Gazette last week that evidence presented to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communications, which is probing delays surrounding the rollout of the terrestrial telephony project, pointed to a bleak future.

Although the committee is yet to gather evidence from the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe and the Telecommunications Ministry, evidence received so far indicates that the firm was "unlikely to operate in any foreseeable future and hence other players should be brought in" through a re-tender.

The company's financiers, who have been bankrolling the project since 2002, indicated to the committee they would no longer continue to pump funds into TeleAcess "until a tangible financial deal is worked out with a Chinese firm to bankroll the project at US$160 million". It, however, also emerged that the Chinese would have to look elsewhere for the funds.

Other prospective players in the fixed telephone network industry have also criticised the TeleAcess project to the probe team, proposing that the licence be withdrawn and other players be allowed to participate in the country's long-awaited second fixed telephone network.

"Apart from lack of funds to finance the project, what is also coming out clear is that with only a licence for a voice service, it is next to impossible for TeleAcess to run the venture profitably," said a telecommunications source privy to the latest goings-on surrounding the project.

"You need a combination of data, Internet and voice services to run a profitable venture. It is then easy for financiers to chip in if the project licence has these three aspects. So the long and short of it is the TeleAcess venture is bleak. Only a political decision can save it from collapse," added the source.

According to the evidence presented by the bankers, the project urgently needs USD160 million, about Z$1 trillion using the auction exchange rate of Z$5 600 against the greenback.

When the firm was given the licence four years ago, it indicated it needed $8 billion to effectively implement the project. It is understood the bank has pumped in about $147 billion into TeleAccess since 2002.

The parliamentary committee is also said to have been made aware of some glaring technical and financial shortcomings of TeleAccess.

The same sources said it was apparent to the parliamentary committee that the firm lacked independent resources to bankroll the massive project as its assets had been surrendered to bankers as security.

Silas Mangono, the Masvingo central legislator who is the chairman of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport and Communications, yesterday declined to discuss the TeleAccess probe, saying the matter was still under investigation.

"I am not allowed to grant interviews or comment on parliamentary issues under probe. Wait until we finish the investigations and have presented our recommendations to Parliament," said Mangono.

(SOURCE: The Financial Gazette)

INVESTORS NOW SHY AWAY FROM FIXED LINE TELEPHONY

Declining global investment in fixed line telephony is likely to undermine Kenya's search for a second national operator. Dr Cosmas Zavazava, a senior International Telecommunications Union (ITU) official says Africa governments should try to make their national operators more efficient if they are to attract foreign investment.

Speaking in Nairobi, Zavazava said investors have instead switched to the cheaper and more efficient wireless technology at the expense of the fixed line, which requires heavy investment.

"They are keen on mobile telephony with few of them willing to commit Money in the more expensive fixed line segment," he said.

He, however, said that the existing fixed line operators would still remain the backbone in the telecommunication service provisions.

He said privatisation was the best option to make operators in Africa to be more efficient. The Zimbabwe national, however, pointed out that African governments had lost an early opportunity to privatise their inefficient units by adamantly refusing to open up the sector despite growing foreign interest.

"We struggled in vain to convince African leaders to privatise these utilities when the global market was good."

In Kenya, the licensing of the second national operator failed to take off owing to controversy over the tendering process. Information and Communication minister Raphael Tuju has called for fresh bidding for the Sh2 billion license, citing irregularity in the earlier process.

Zavazava said the tele-density in African remains at one phone for every 1,000 people, a rate that is considered the lowest in the world.

The DRC Congo has the lowest coverage of one line for every 25,000 people.

He said unless policymakers adopted more friendly policies to attract new investment, the continent would remain marginalised.

"Africa has the best opportunity to leapfrog by taking advantage of the state-of-art technology that has come up in recent years."

Telkom Kenya is the sole fixed line operator and efforts to improve its services over the years have been futile.

The Communication Communications of Kenya (CCK) has, however, officially removed its five-year monopoly to pave the way for the entry of new players.

CCK also hopes the changes would help lower Telkom Kenya's tariff charges, including international call tariffs and Internet costs.

Kenya is now ranked fifth in the continent in terms of mobile connectivity having overtaken countries that opened their telecommunication sectors earlier. The country is ahead of Tunisia, Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d'voire and Uganda.

South Africa with 16.8 million subscribers leads Morocco and Egypt with 7.3 million and 5.7 million respectively.

(SOURCE: East African Standard)

IN BRIEF

- NITELlast week signed an agreement with a consortium of banks to raise N14 billion in short term loan facility to finance its operations. A consortium of about four banks led by Citibank, is providing the syndicated bank loan. The facility will be used for financing the Lagos phone expansion programme with the intends of providing 1000 digital lines to the ever-growing subscriber base in the nation's commercial nerve centre. Also, the facility would be used to finance other new projects being undertaken by the telecom firm, especially its transmission project.

WASPA SET UP TO GUARD AGAINST RIP-OFF SMS SERVICES

A watchdog body has been set up to guard the mobile industry against unscrupulous SMS services that rip off consumers. The Wireless Application Service Providers Association (WASPA) has been established by industry players, with seed money from the three cellular operators, and is an organisation aimed at providing protection to service providers.

According to WASPA's deputy chairman, Pieter de Villiers of Clickatell, it is impossible to monitor all the third-party traffic that is pushed over a network, so the association has been formed to protect service providers from being held liable for defamatory or illegal third-party content.

"It is also about protecting the public from unscrupulous scammers who operate dubious businesses that secretly charge huge fees for their SMS services," he says.

"One of WASPA's aims is to identify and act appropriately to stop such scams. It also gives consumers a platform for any grievances that might have to be heard."

A spokesman for MTN says the operator's main role with WASPA had been to help the organisation set up, but it felt the time was right for such an organisation.

WASPA chairman Leon Perlman says that the biggest complaint about premium rate SMS services is that consumers are often hit by hidden costs.

He says that often unsolicited SMS providers supply a "short cut" number of four or five digits for the opt out option, but that these numbers cost the SMS spam receiver at least one rand.

"The short cut numbers take the place of the all the opt out numbers of the various network operators that should be supplied in the spam SMS. The originators of the spam make at least 60 cents per opt out SMS they receive," he says.

Other hidden cost scams include not informing a consumer that in order to download something, such as a ring tone, at least two SMS would have to be sent, each costing six rand, meaning the total cost is double that initially thought.

However, Perleman says SMS scams are a global phenomenon and that some consumers are hit far worse than in South Africa.

"In countries such as the US and Russia, the recipient of an SMS pays for receiving it as well and so suffers at least double the charge those in SA face," he says.

De Villiers says it makes a lot of sense to have a non-profit body addressing the important industry issues on a collective basis, in order to ensure growth and help to develop world-class professional services.

"We will also institute a WASPA logo that will identify members of the association, in order to help members of the public identify reputable service providers," he says.

"Apart from providing protection for service providers and the public and developing a code of conduct for the industry, WASPA will also act as a lobbying association, as it is important to ensure the common interests and concerns of the industry are addressed by the relevant players."

He says WASPA hopes to play a supportive role to the Independent Communications Authority of SA as the regulator cannot be everywhere at once. "The point of our organisation will be to ensure responsible conduct among our members."

Key members of WASPA's management committee include chairman Leon Perlman of CellularOnline; Neil Hutchinson of Grapevine, who focuses on the code of conduct; iTouch's Greg Brophy, who will act as treasurer; Tsepo Mahlaba of e-Connexion, who handles the regulatory portfolio; and network liaison manager Alan Knott-Craig Jr, who will be the liaison between the WASPA committee and the three cellular operators.

(SOURCE: IT Web)

MANOBI WANTS TO OPEN SOUTH AFRICAN OPERATION FOR RURAL SERVICES

When it comes to mobile and Internet solutions, too much time is spent trying to adapt European models to Africa, when what is needed is a cost-effective African-designed solution.

This is the view of Daniel Annerose, CEO of Manobi, a Senegalese company that is now working on setting up a South African division, which he hopes to have up and running by the end of the year, and which will focus mostly on the SADC region and in doing so help it to drive its services through Africa.

“In Senegal, Manobi offers services such as market and trading information for farmers, supply chain management services and credit information,” says Annerose, one of the nominees in the forthcoming African ICT Achievers Awards.

“We have also developed a rescue system for fishermen, using GSM and satellite tracking, which can cover areas up to 70km out to sea, and are working on providing simple financial services such as account balances by SMS.”

He says there is a lot of potential for services such as the rescue system, the market information for farmers and the financial facilities, as well as for services in the areas of education and business in the South African market.

“Manobi wants to bring to SA its technology, its experience and its understanding of our customers and their needs – we do not expect them to adapt to us.”

Annerose says several European countries have already expressed an interest in the company's technology, but despite this, Africa remains its focus.

“Our biggest market is still in Africa, as we have a deep understanding of the market and have technology specifically developed for this arena,” he says.

“Nonetheless, we would be very proud if we were able to spin a strong European service out of our African market, and perhaps by taking an African service into the developed world, we may just help to change their image of the so-called Third World.”

(SOURCE: IT Web)

IN BRIEF

- Botswana has a talent search web site: www.maduowebtalent.com

- South Africa's Department of Home Affairs will launch an online child registration system in KwaZulu-Natal last week. The system is the first of several to be rolled out at hospitals in the province, allowing for births to be registered at maternity hospitals.

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PEOPLE

- Mobile phone services giant, Celtel International, has been honoured by the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The company received IFC's first annual Client Leadership Award for making a significant contribution towards sustainable development. "In our book, the winner of the IFC Client Leadership Award should be a company that sets the gold standard for its peers anywhere in the world, a company that is a role model for others, regardless of sector, region, or country," said Peter Woicke, the Executive Vice President of IFC. "This year's winner, the very first winner, more than meets that test, " he added. Celtel, founded by the African entrepreneur Dr Mohammed Ibrahim, now has four million customers.

- On the move: Faritec, a South African black-empowered managed services company, today announced that Mzilikazi Ndhlovu has been appointed Enterprise business development manager for its public sector division. Ndhlovu will be responsible for promoting Faritec's brand awareness and growth within the public sector. Ndhlovu has accumulated 16 years experience in the local ICT sector. Prior to his appointment at Faritec, Ndhlovu held the position of business unit director for Synthesis Informatics, where he was responsible for implementing business plans and developing sales strategies. He has also held positions at Iocore, ICL, Oracle, Workgroup Distribution, IBM, Government Computer Bureau and Extas Computers....Brahim Fall has taken over as Director of Senegal's l‚Ecole supérieure multinationale des télécommunications (Esmt). He was formerly Director of the Institut Africain d'Informatique (IAI) in Libreville, Gabon. He replaces Idrissa Touré....Robert Valentin has left the Development Gateway Foundation (which is responsible for the Development Gateway websites) and returned to the World Bank.

EVENTS

AITEC http://www.aitecafrica.com is planning a wide range of specialized events over the coming months. Highlights include:

- 2-day VSAT Training course to be held over 2-3 November at Silver Springs Hotel, Nairobi.

- Finance-IT West Africa in Lagos over 15-16 November

- Finance-IT East Africa in Nairobi over 23-24 November

- The first African VoIP Forum, to be held in Nairobi over 14-15 December

- The fourth AfriNet African Internet Conference & Exhibition, in Abuja over 22-24 February, on behalf of the Nigerian Communications Commission

- Telecoms Central & West Africa Conference & Exhibition, to be held in London over 15-16 March

- The second AITEC Europe Business Partnership Forum, London, 17-18 March as a platform for African and European ICT enterprises to develop business relationships.

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