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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 277 New wave of African VOIP operators emerge from the shadows of the grey marketAfrica's grey market VoIP operators are coming out into the light as attitudes and legislation change. The emergence of a VoIP service providers sector could prove almost as significant for Africa as the earlier emergence of independent ISPs. Because beyond the mobile companies, it has been the entrepreneurial energy and lobbying of ISPs that has driven regulatory change in many countries. The emergence of the newly legalised VoIP service providers (or those who hover in a legal 'no-man's land) will add further pressure for change. In this week's issue we talk to one of this new breed of operators Joseph Tekeng of Icon in Cote d'Ivoire. So who are these former grey market VoIP operators? Most are young (aged between 30-40), have a background in IT and are involved in some way in distribution or sales. Often they operate IT businesses (offering computers, networking and installation) as part of a broader portfolio of businesses. At the smaller end of the business, many are cyber-cafe owners who have sought to increase their income. Indeed, the main motivation for taking the legal risks associated with VoIP has been the desire to make money but also to meet an overwhelming demand for cheap voice calls. The operators are becoming increasingly sophisticated as the business grows. In the early days, it was enough simply to sign up with a US or European-based provider but now a number are operating gateways on their own networks which requires a higher level of in-house skills. These former grey market operators have been emerging with the end of the international monpoly in many countries or in response to the formal legalisation of VoIP. The list of countries where VoIP is operated fairly openly includes Senegal, Cote d'Ivoire, Angola, Tanzania and Nigeria. Places like Cameroon would have more VoIP if Camtel was capable of competently selling broadband and its SAT3 capacity. In places like Equatorial Guinea and Gabon it is much more difficult for operators to come out into the open. The sceptics are inclined to believe that these operators are simply parasitic arbitragers and that they will disappear when the telco incumbent is able to resume its rightful place through rebalanced lower international pricing. However the critics have perhaps failed to understand the impact of IP networks on the shape of the business. IP networks - in contrast to traditional telco networks - are decentralising. They allow the intelligence in the network to be at the edge rather than the centre of the network. As a result, they encourage the growth of small service providers at the edge of the network and not just in VoIP services. So how big is the VoIP sector? We estimate that the current large-scale local providers and international suppliers conservatively account for about 15 million minutes out of an annual 64.9 million minutes (source: Balancing Act Voice and Data Bandwidth Forecasts): in other words about 23% of the total market. So what choices does an incumbent telco have faced with this competition? At present because the traffic is "illegal", these operators have almost all used international gateways. However when the business is out in the open, there is nothing to stop incumbents wholesaling minutes to these operators and to start treating them as a retail channel. But this poses a major challenge for incumbents rebalancing their pricing structure: they will need to bring their wholesale prices down to 2-3 cents a minute. Cameroonian Joseph Tekeng of Icon is a good example of this new breed of VoIP operators. Icon is offering VoIP solutions to both corporate and residential customers in Cote d'Ivoire and has plans to expand in other parts of West Africa. His operation exists in the legislative 'no-man's land' (vide juridique) that exists in the country. The international monopoly has been ended but the Government is currently in no shape to frame and pass a framework for voice operators. As Tekend told us:"Cote d'Ivoire telecom are not able to pursue us on this. It still has a monopoly on local calls but not on international." 90% of Tekeng's customers are call-shops in Abidjan and as Teken says:"Because of the political situation we have not been able to offer the service more widely."Icon has contracts with two ISPs for connections. Customers get an ADSL line: FCFA38,000 a month fore 128K or FCFA65,000 for 256K. It sells to its call shop customers at 3 cents a minute for calls to places like the USA, Canada and Europe and offer per second billing. The call shops sell on these minutes at between 10-20 cents a minute. Its margin is between 15-25% depending on the type of customer:"We are trying to find ways to reduce our margin so that we can expand the number of customers we have." The call-shop customers take an internet connection from Icon and buy an internet gateway with a graphic user interface where they can buy pre-paid minutes from a minimum of 25 euros upwards. Currently it has about 200 customers but when it reaches between 300-400 customers Tekeng believes that it will be able to offer free calls to residential customers on the basis of a monthly fee of FCFA5,000 a month. It buys its international minutes from Xeloq.com in Holland and Icon has set up its own domain to sell its minutes. It has opened an office in Ghana and plans to expand there. It is offering its services to corporate and residential customers only at the moment as VoIP is still 'illegal' there and therefore it will not sell to call-shops. And the price? 15-20% more than 3 cents a minute. It is looking at going into Burkina Faso on the same basis. Where there is little competition, it will increase its margins accordingly. It wants to be able to add security solutions like firewalls and anti-virus software to its offer. It is also acting as local agent for Taiwanese router manufacturer iDraytek:"They have good routers that combine internet access, security and Quality of Service bandwidth management. We can give priority to VoIP calling using MPLS. We're going to sell routers to companies that need an 'always-on' internet connection."
DISAGREEMENT OVER SAT3 ASSET MAY STALL NITEL PRIVATISATIONA disagreement between the Ministry of Communication and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) over the sale of Nigerian Telecommunications (NITEL) stake in the SAT 3 submarine cable project may stall the privatisation of the national carrier. The SAT 3 cable project connects Africa with Europe and is a major revenue earner for NITEL NITEL spent some $45 million about N5.9 billion in 2002 to co-own the facility which runs through the Atlantic ocean linking countries along the route. Investigations by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, revealed weekend that the ministry of communications had set up a telecom firm to manage the facility after the sale of NITEL. The ministry took the decision because of its strategic importance to all telecom companies. An impeccable source in the ministry, however, said the BPE had disagreed with the ministry's arrangement as it said that SAT 3 cable should not be separated in the sale of the company. NAN gathered from NITEL's sources that the SAT 3 cable was listed in the data room presented to the six bidders for the company which commenced its due diligence a fortnight ago and had gone round to inspect NITEL facilities. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NITEL, Mr. Albert Mashi, confirmed to NAN in an interview that he got a letter from the ministry on the issue. Mashi noted that the company had sent its position to the ministry. "I have made my views known that SAT 3 is part of NITEL," Mashi said. NAN gathered from the ministry that the ownership of the SAT 3 had been under contention for sometime as some operators, especially the second national carrier Globacom, had made an attempt to buy into the facility. NITEL's CEO, however, declined to comment on the ongoing discussions between the ministry and the BPE on the ownership of the facility. Attempts made to speak with the Minister of Communication, Chief Cornelius Adebayo, on the issue failed as he was said to be indisposed. Sources in the ministry who preferred anonymity confirmed that the ministry had written to NITEL to notify the company of the new telecom company that would manage SAT 3 after NITEL's sale. Meanwhile South African regulator Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) has urged African leaders to help cut prices on sub-Saharan Africa’s only undersea international communications cable in a bid to reduce prices for consumers and boost access to high speed internet services on the continent. ICASA appealed to the 53-member African Union (AU) – a pan-African group aimed at promoting political stability and regional economic integration – to intervene and help lower the cost of access to the West Africa Submarine Cable System at the annual Africa Investment Forum in Johannesburg. The submarine fibre-optic cable runs from the Portuguese town of Sesimbra, near Lisbon, to Dakar and on to Johannesburg, with most countries in southern, central and west Africa tapping into the cable for their international gateway. South Africa’s Telkom has the single largest stake in the undersea system at 13%, alongside 36 other shareholders in the project, including Nigeria’s NITEL. Telkom contributed about USD85 million to the cost of laying down the cables. However, ICASA has had to ask the AU to intervene because neither the operators nor their respective country regulators are able to ask for lower prices under international accords. (sources: Daily Champion and All Africa) ZAMBIAN REGULATOR CAZ PREPARES THE GROUND FOR LEGAL VOIPThe Zambian regulator is preparing the ground for the legalisation of VoIP. It held a workshop on the subject last week in Lusaka, writes Timothy Kasolo. CAZ is seeking to ensure that there will be flexible market entry for every service provider. VoIP offers the opportunity for cheaper phone calls in Africa. CAZ Deputy Director Richard Mwanza explained that the current market indicators suggests that 11 percent of all international traffic in Africa is carried using VOIP and it is predicted that by 2007 it will account for 75 percent of global service. Last year in July CAZ suggested that the incumbent teleco Zamtel install VOIP capacity to help it lower the cost of international calls. CAZ Acting Director-Frequency Management, Kephas Masiye explained that onceVOIP was more widely implemented, tariffs on International calls would reduce. Masiye said the CAZ had written to Zamtel suggesting it to install the VOIP citing that the move would enable voice traffic to be routed on via the internet, hence reducing call charges. NIGERIA'S NCC SAYS "TELECOM FIRMS MUST MERGE TO SURVIVE"Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has said Private Telecommunications Operators (PTO) and Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) must merge to survive. The backlog of unpaid bills - both for interconnect and international carriage - is beginning to threaten the stability of the whole sector. NCC Head of Consumer Affairs, Malam Abdullahi Maikano, said this in an interview with in Abuja. He said NCC was concerned with the poor performance of some operators in subscriber base index and revenue generation as they compete with the more fluid four mobile operators, MTN, Glomobile, V-mobile and M-tel. "Quite a number of them are not big enough to be viable, and interconnection is a function of volume. So, it has been very difficult for them to stay in business," he said. Maikano said the commission has observed that most of the operators would not survive the rising competition if left to continue on their own as some have already folded up. "It will not be possible for them to continue in their current size, so we have advised that they drop the fear of losing control on their investments and merge," he said. Maikano said there was a the need for some of the operators to go public as they would do better as big corporations rather than small telecom outfits. PTO's, FWA and pre-paid operators already owe NITEL over N5 billion for local and international carrier services that they could not pay, and some of them had folded up without prior notification. NCC Head of Consumer Affairs said the commission has been monitoring their performances to ensure safety of subscribers funds should any of the companies close-shop. He said the regulatory body would take a more decisive position after the implementation of the new unified licencing regime in February next year. NCC Executive Vice Chairman, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, has at several fora in recent times directed PTOs and other smaller telecom operators to merge to withstand the rising competition with mobile operators. (SOURCE: This Day) MUNDOSTARTEL ROLLS OUT WIMAX IN ANGOLAZTE Corporation is to deploy its first ever Africa commercial WiMAX network in Angola following an agreement signed recently with Mundostartel, Angola's 2nd largest fixed-line operator. ZTE will provide Mundostartel with the equipment to build a nationwide WiMAX network by January 2006. All the equipment provided by ZTE complies fully with WiMAX standards. The network will cover three cities and will provide broadband and VoIP services for more than six million people, including, in the first stage, Luanda, capital of Angola, Benguela and Lobito. ZTE won the contract in competition with four other global telecoms equipment suppliers. Under the terms of the agreement, ZTE will supply Mundostartel with its end-to-end WiMAX solution including base stations and CPEs (Customer Premises Equipment) which offer smooth scalability to an 802.16e (mobile WiMAX) network, roaming support architecture and product serialisation. (SOURCE: http://www.litmags.co.za/articles.asp?id=2074) 3G SOON TO BE LAUNCHED IN EGYPTEgypt is set to launch a tender for a third national mobile licence later this month. A senior advisor to the government’s Communications and Information Technology Minister, was quoted by Reuters this morning as saying that the sale of the government owned, fixed line operator Telecom Egypt is also on schedule to go ahead this year. Egypt, which is the most populous country in the Arab world, currently boasts two second generation mobile phone networks. One is controlled by the Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (MobiNil) and the other is operated by the ubiquitous Vodafone. However, the new licence will enable the winner to offer both second generation mobile services and 3G. At the same time the government says it will allow the two existing operators to upgrade their licences to 3G. All next generation mobile phone services in Egypt will be given the same start date. The Cairo administration will request proposals for the third licence during the final week of this month, ahead of full bids from interested operators. The final offers from prospective license holders will be judged in January with the licence finally issued by March of next year. The new network will be expected to go into operation in late 2006 or early 2007. According to the Egyptian government Arab companies as well as US and European operators have so far expressed a strong interest in the licence. One of the first companies to declare an interest was Egyptian outfit Raya Holding, which last month said it was considering bidding for the licence. It also admitted that it is in negotiations Kuwait’s Wataniya Telecom over a joint bid. (Source: http://www.bwcs.com/index.html?p=6) SA MOBILE OPERATORS DEFEND HIGH PRICES AT COLLOQUIUMMobile operators are defending mobile pricing structures, contradicting the view of government, stakeholders, international experts and an appointed working group that concluded that the South African telecoms pricing structure was unreasonably high. The debate on pricing structures heated up at the second telecommunications colloquium, held in Midrand this week. Responding to the working group's report, mobile operators said the group's outcomes were not based on proper evaluation mechanisms. They claim that the mobile pricing structure compares favourably to international counterparts. Supporting the working group's findings in the debate was the International Telecommunications Union's strategic and policy unit head Tim Kelly. Using the digital opportunity index as a benchmark, he said, SA was performing the worst with regard to telecoms, compared to countries at a similar level of development. Mobile compared to fixed-line was performing better in SA, he conceded, but said that compared to other countries, mobile should be performing better.“SA's telecoms costs are exceptionally and unacceptably high. We have to put in place a series of effective strategies to reduce the costs and contribute to providing universal services to our people,” he said. “There is a strong need to investigate the facts through proper mechanisms before concluding that prices are too high,” said Vanessa Van Zyl, Vodacom's executive head of special regulation, during a breakaway session at the colloquium.Market assessment is necessary to determine empirically whether the market is in fact over-priced. Furthermore, this assessment would provide the least intrusive remedy to specifically address this potential pricing problem, she explained. “We need to assess first whether prices, specifically mobile prices, are an impediment to doing business in SA and achieving universal access,” said Van Zyl. MTN and Cell C echoed Van Zyl's stance when ITWeb caught-up with company representatives after the session.Conclusions that prices are too high should be based on accepted regulatory accounting as provided for by the chart of accounts and cost allocation manual framework for telecommunications accounting, said Karabo Motlana, head of regulatory affairs at Cell C. It is not a matter of whether the prices are high or not, but what framework is in place to determine the cost of services and for the authority to introduce remedies, he said. “Any conclusions based on country comparisons, in the absence of such framework, would be regarded as subjective and contestable.“Pricing is a regulatory issue and therefore requires proper research to determine which market and in what instance it is excessive,” said Motlana. MTN did not believe SA had the most expensive rates, as was suggested. “Mobile penetration at 24 million speaks for itself. MTN's new 3G data tariffs are among the lowest in the world; furthermore, MTN's off-peak SMS and GPRS tariffs are among the lowest in the world,” said Ashraff Paruk, GM of products and innovation at MTN SA. “One needs to compare like with like, especially with regard to market penetration, population coverage and quality of service,” said Paruk. (source: http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2005/0510141030.asp?S=Cellular&A=CEL&O=FRGN MAURITEL TURNS IN DISPPOINTING RESULTS FOR MAROC TELECOMMauritanian incumbent Mauritel - bought by Maroc Telecom in 2001 - has just announced its annual results which show a turnover of 9.7 billion dirhams in the first half year of 2005. These results must be disappointing for Maroc Telecom as it has invested 434 MDH since its acquired the company. And this performance is in a market where it has 70% of the overall market: 39,000 fixed lines and 415,000 mobile subscribers, with the latter now reaching 20% of the population. However if these figures are to continue to grow, it still has much to do in terms of infrastructure. In the period for which the results were announced, it invested 90 MDH. However tariffs remain high and this is a cause of some considerable resentment locally. However Mauritel Mobiles commercial strategy remains hampered by the fact that low incomes in Mauritania mean that there is a very low level of post-pay subscribers. However, Maroc Telecom remains interested in opportunities in other parts of Africa. As the President of Maroc Telecom said:"We will take the decision to invest in Africa based on the criteria of operational control. The projects will have to be creators of value for the shareholders of Maroc Telecom." (SOURCE: Le Matin) IN BRIEF- Ghana - The Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) has busted a cellular phone smuggling gang at the Aviance cargo section at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA). Two thousand, five hundred and forty seven pieces of assorted cellular phone estimated to generate four hundred and twenty- five million cedis (¢425,000,000.00) revenue to the state were intercepted. - Celtel Kenya doubled its subscribers between May 2004 and September 2005 to two million. With its rival Safaricom having 3 million subscribers, the total market is 5 million but still rising. - The Independent Communications Authority South Africa (ICASA) has announced details of the forthcoming introduction of mobile number portability (MNP) and the country’s cellcos have until July 2006 to put the necessary technology in place. ICASA has relaxed its original MNP proposals in a bid to keep the process simple and let market forces determine which operators benefit the most from the service. After operators roundly rejected the suggestion that a fixed ZAR200 fee be levied at users looking to switch networks, the regulator has dropped the plan and users will not be charged for leaving their existing operator, although a charge may be levied by the new provider that ports their number. Operators will carry the burden of introducing the service, which they claim will cost around ZAR600 million, though they can appeal to ICASA to have the costs taken into account when they next submit their annual tariffs for approval. - The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has received all the applications for new international gateway licences, and is expected to award them in the ‘near future’, although it has not finalised the details of when it will do so. The CCK said it will consider quality of services, security and pricing when it awards the concessions. TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGETelkom Kenya last week raised cost of local telephone calls by 16 per cent. In the new tariff structure that comes into effect on November 1, local calls will cost Sh10 per three minutes up from Sh8.60 In a bid to promote trade and communication within the East African Community, the cost of calls to Uganda and Tanzania went down by 25 per cent. Callers to the two countries will now pay Sh30 per minute down from the previous Sh40. Managing Director Sammy Kirui said the high cost of local calls had been justified by current charges that had been subsidised by high cost of international and regional calls. "Elimination of cross-subsidy ensures that long distance and international charges do not cross-subside local services," said Kirui when he announced the new tariffs at Teleposta Plaza, in Nairobi, last week. The company has also introduced international VoIP taiffs ranging from Sh15-30 a minute. * Many subscribers of the Sierratel network in the capital Freetown were disappointed on Thursday last week to find that their lines were down for the whole of the day,
THE GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA AND MICROSOFT ANNOUNCE CO-OPERATION TO HELP FIGHT CYBERCRIMEThe Government of Nigeria and Microsoft Corp this week signed a Memorandum of Understanding defining a framework for co-operation between Microsoft and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of Nigeria to fight cybercrime. This agreement is the first of its kind between Microsoft and an African government and will help support the Nigerian government’s efforts to create a safe legal environment for technology development and enforce laws that help attract investment and ensure sustainable economical development. This open and collaborative approach to working with the Nigerian government to combat issues such as spam, financial scam, phishing, spyware, viruses, worms, malicious code launches and counterfeiting is a key example of how a public-private partnership can broaden the impact of joint efforts and address large-scale issues that are important to the IT industry worldwide. Nuhu Ribadu, executive chairman of EFCC, said, “Having a committed, reliable and value-conscious software partner such as Microsoft that shares our vision and recognises the challenges facing governments today is critical to our success. We are excited to work with them on this endeavour and look forward to the benefits this agreement will bring in preventing the occurance of cybercrime and encouraging local software industry growth in Nigeria.” The EFCC is in the forefront of Nigeria’s anti-cybercrime war and the commission investigates and takes proactive measures to help prevent the occurrence of cybercrime. The various steps the commission has taken, evidence gathering, painstaking investigation, arrests, seizure of assets, diligent prosecution and media education, have served to reduce perpetration of cybercrime in Nigeria. In addition, the Advance Fee Fraud Section of the Commission is currently investigating hundreds of suspects and prosecuting over 50 cases, involving close to 100 accused persons, in courts throughout Nigeria. Under the terms of the agreement, the Microsoft and the EFCC will work together to combat the problem of internet crime through information sharing and training on Microsoft’s technical expertise in this area. “At Microsoft, we recognise that we have a responsibility to use our time, technology, and resources to help ensure that people around the world can benefit from technology,” said Neil Holloway, president of Microsoft Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). “This agreement to share our technical knowledge and best practices with the Nigerian government is an important step towards creating a safer legal environment that encourages ICT business development in Nigeria.” With long-term partnerships with governments, industries and communities in Europe and throughout the developing markets of the region, Microsoft is helping address the issue of security, and is helping to enable ongoing advances in interoperability in support of economic development and competitiveness. Microsoft takes a comprehensive approach to security and works with governments worldwide to provide education and training along with offering several government-specific security programmes and solutions. In addition, Microsoft is working with industry partners and others worldwide to provide leadership in the fight to protect users from security threats such as worms and viruses, as well as emerging online security threats, including spam, financial scam, spyware and phishing, that threaten consumers and customers’ systems. “At Microsoft, we have invested substantial resources and implemented comprehensive campaigns and initiatives to help make the internet a safer place to help ensure the integrity and viability of e-mail and the internet. Nigeria is often perceived as a country that hosts financial scammers, this is why it is a great honour for us to contribute to the outstanding efforts of the EFCC,” said Horacio Gutierrez, Associate General Counsel of Microsoft EMEA. “We are excited to share our knowledge and resources in this area to support the efforts of the EFCC so that these emerging online threats do not continue to proliferate.” KIGALI-MOMBASA TRADE SOON ON THE INTERNETThe delay of Rwandan merchandise at Mombasa port will soon end when the Kenyan government introduces internet transaction system.The new developments will enable Rwandan traders to monitor the arrival and departure of their merchandise at Mombasa Port through the internet to be installed next year. This was revealed by the Kenyan State Minister of Transport, Andrew Ligale, while presenting the new development plan of the Mombasa Port to the Rwandan business community at Hotel Continental-Kigali. Ligale assured traders that installation of electronic commerce that will promote regional business integration and reduce inefficient handling of cargo at the Mombasa Port. "We want to ease clearing and forwarding of transit merchandise so that owners get them at a convenient time," he said, adding that the electronic commerce system minimizes theft of cargo containers at the coast. Without revealing the cost of the IT project, the Kenyan minister said that the electronic transaction is also to reduce the burden of Mombasa-Kigali enroute revenue check points that delay goods. Through Internet, all countries in the region that use Mombasa business gateway would be able to identify the location of their merchandise at the port, and the Kenya Port Authority (KPA) official charged to handle their transaction matters. John Bosco Kalisa, an official from the Rwanda Private Sector Federation (RPSF) expressed gratitude over the Kenyan e-commerce initiative associated with streamlining the cargo handling at Mombasa port. "We're (Rwandans) behind the initiative," Kalisa said that the Rwandan business community expects new developments to improve in the transactions between Kigali and Mombasa. (source: The New Times) NIGERIA'S PRESIDENT OBASANJO OKAYS E-VOTINGAdoption of electronic voting in future elections in the country may have been settled as President Olusegun Obasanjo last week said digitalising the ballot system would help minimise short comings associated with past elections. The president said this in Abuja, just as Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Maurice Iwu, declared in Kano that those kicking against e-voting were those who have for years been holding Nigeria to ransom through election rigging. Iwu also denied saying he was happy with what is happening in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Receiving in audience members of the Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers at the State House, Abuja President Obasanjo stated that electronic voting would help reduce human errors and other types of vices that usually threaten the credibility of election results. "The more we are able to take human error, either by omission or comission, away from the electoral porcess, the more our electoral process and the results will be less controvertible and controversial," Obasanjo said. Besides, President Obasanjo maintained that the country could not afford to lag behind in revolutionalising the electoral process in this modern age especially "in these days when everybody is going digital and everything is going ditigal." (SOURCE: Daily Champion) BOTSWANA'S ISPs LAUNCH BISPA AND IMPLEMENT BINXThe Botswana Internet Service Providers Association (BISPA) officially launched the Botswana Internet Exchange (BINX) at a function at the Phakalane Golf Estate. BINX has been built by BISPA’s members, being the main commercial ISPs in Botswana, to interconnect their separate networks and is presently hosted centrally at BTG’s premises in Gaborone west. The latest managed Gigabit switching technology has been used with access via leased line and high speed wireless and remote management via SNMP with webcam monitoring and SNMP based environment sensors for power, temperature & humidity. As of September 2005 the following ISPs are connected to the BINX:- BBi, Bytes Technology Group, Botsnet, Geosat, HPS, OPQNet, UUNet & VBN Services. The Botswana Government Department of Information Technology (DIT) with the largest local computer user base is also directly connected as an affiliate member making BINX unique in the region. This private sector initiative supports the government’s initiatives to further develop Botswana’s ICT sector and making the local internet industry regionally competitive, this initiative will also be of strategic importance to the future roll out of broadband in Botswana and will have a dramatic influence in all internet related activity. BISPA is ecstatic with support and encouragement it has received from both Government and industry at large. IN BRIEF* Protection of privacy and data draft legislation and discussion documents have been issued by the SA Law Reform Commission for public comment. The aim is to bring SA closer to international standards. Another aim of the proposed legislation is to offer South Africans proper legislative recourse for the protection of their personal information, which is currently covered only through the Constitution and some sections of other Acts. The proposed legislation, the draft Bill on the protection of personal information, is available at http://www.doj.gov.za/salrc/index.htm. The closing date for comments is 28 February 2006. The SA Law Reform Commission also plans to hold a series of workshops on the legislation during February. (SOURCE: http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/business/2005/051
SA'S SITA DENIES BUYING INTO MIT'S US$100 LAPTOP PROJECTMIT's Nicholas Negroponte's plans for a US$100 laptop for developing country students (see issue 275) received a heavy blow last week when one of the backers he had announced denied they were participating.South Africa's State Information Technology Agency (Sita) has denied reports circulating last week that SA had committed to buying vast numbers of computers being designed for a breakthrough price of under $100. The BBC and The Economist named SA as one of five countries that had each agreed to buy 1-million of the computers being developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). But Fantus Mobu, from Sita's procurement department, says it has not made any commitment. The development of a sub-$100 laptop is led by Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of MIT's Media Lab. He initially said children in SA, Brazil, China, Egypt and Thailand would be among the first to get the computers. MIT confirmed no formal commitment had been made, but said it would like to involve SA in a pilot roll-out. It is claimed that a prototype will be ready by November and that production will start late next year. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said in SA last week: "If you can do a $100 Linux PC, we'll do a $100 Windows PC." However, "a device at $100 isn't a PC". It may be a good device, he said, but may not have enough features to satisfy users. "For people who will simply never afford a PC we need innovations that are not PCs but might serve that market well. We have researchers working in that area." (SOURCE: Business Day) OPENLAB4 RELEASED INTO GROWING AFRICAN LINUX MARKETOpenLab International has announced the international release of its Linux distribution OpenLab4. Already installed in more than 500 schools and community centres across Africa, OpenLab caters for desktop as well as server users. OpenLab also simplifies the process of installing and setting up Linux thin client-based laboratories. OpenLab started development in 2001, with OpenLab1 released in April 2001 in the UK as a thin-client, diskless computer centre solution, based on Linux Terminal Server technology. The initial release was based on Mandrake (now Mandrivia) and catered to the education market. AJ Venter, chief software architect at OpenLab, says the distribution has evolved enormously since its first public release in 2002. "But it was really with the release of OpenLab3 in 2004, particularly 3.2.8, that OpenLab started to get international attention," says Venter. "OpenLab 3 was developed on the base of Slackware, and this tradition has continued with the release of OpenLab4," he says. Venter says OpenLab4 allows users to use a wide range of different PC configurations, from obsolete to state-of-the-art, from stand-alone fat-clients to diskless workstations. "You will be surprised at the new lease on life given to older PCs through this solution. Old PCs can perform as new, enabling schools and community facilities with limited resources to bridge the Digital Divide", says Denis Brandjes, MD of OpenLab International. Brandjes says OpenLab4, is bundled with a range of desktop productivity applications and back-end server software. "OpenLab4 has a look and feel just like that of other graphical desktops, based on KDE." OpenLab also, however, caters extensively for the educational sector and includes specialist educational software and a range of applications ensure that the tools are available for an effective and meaningful educational experience, says Brandjes. OpenLab4 is distributed across a number of CDs. The base distribution is OpenLab4-LIVEcd, which is available for free download or low-cost CD. LIVEcd contains the entire operating system, and all basic applications including KDE, OpenOffice and Firefox, all on a single CD. The Live CD can also be used to install the operating system. Two other CDs are also available: the POWERcd and the KARMAcd. The POWERcd includes a lost of desktop add-ons as well as the software required to set up a thin client server. The KARMAcd includes language packs and games. The LIVEcd is available for download from OpenLab International. The two additional CDs can be ordered from the company. (SOURCE: http://www.tectonic.co.za/viewr.php?id=641) ETHIOPIAN MINISTRY OF JUSTICE IMPLEMENTS LANThe Ministry of Justice inaugurated Local Area Network (LAN) established at a cost of 3,378,445 birr to enhance its service delivery. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Justice Minister Harka Haroye said that Information Communication Technology is vital for effective service delivery. The Managing Director of Micro Sun and Solutions (MSS) PLC, a local supplier, Ato Beluye Haddis, on his part said that the local area network enables the ministry to minimize criminal activities like forgery and corruption, adding that it also serves as a planning tool. He added that the network would foster the ministry's external relation with the world and enhance internal communication within the ministry itself. Employees of the Ministry who made notable contributions in the installation of the network were awarded certificates on the occasion. (SOURCE: AllAfrica) VIDEO iPODS IN SA WITHIN TWO MONTHSThe date for the South African release of Apple's video iPod has not been announced, but Digicape director Robin Olivier expects the device to be on the shelves within six to eight weeks. Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the release of the video iPod, alongside the third-generation iMac G5, via a satellite broadcast from California last week. The announcement is unexpected, as two weeks prior to the release at the Paris Apple Expo, Jobs went out of his way to say the world was not ready for a video iPod. The video iPod will be available in black or white, has a 2.5-inch display screen and can play music, videos and photos. “Going by what we have seen with the release of the iPod Nano, we expect the video iPod to be available in SA in the next six to eight weeks,” says Olivier. The iPod photo will be discontinued as a result of the release of the video iPod, he adds. The 30GB option will cost R2 785 while the 60GB option will cost R3 762. (source: http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/computing/2005/0510131405.asp?A=COM&S=Computing&T=News&O=ST) IN BRIEFA new computerised global distribution system that enables service providers like airlines, hotels and car rental companies disseminate information about their services will be launched. The Amadeus System was introduced in East Africa in 2003 beginning with Kenya, then Tanzania and in July this year, Uganda. "We provide marketing, distribution and information technology services to the travel and tourism industry worldwide. Through Amadeus, airlines and other travel service providers can distribute and market their products through travel agency terminals and airline sales offices in over 215 markets," Aymeric Lanez, the regional general manager, said.Lanez said Amadeus enables improved performance through fast and simplified work procedures and support to the travel agent. He said the system improves management information.
ECONET TO SEEK SHARE REVERSAL SPLITECONET Wireless Holdings Limited will be seeking shareholder approval at its forthcoming annual general meeting, slated for October 28, for a share reversal split of a maximum of 10 percent of the issued owners' equity. The telecommunications group said it would repurchase its shares at a price not lower than the nominal value of $100 per share but not higher than 12 times the inflation adjusted net value per share. That, however, would be subject to the shares being purchased at a price not greater than 5 percent of the weighted average cost of the stocks traded during five business days immediately preceding the AGM. Econet said the share reversal split would be carried out as an ordinary resolution at the group's AGM. Most Zimbabwe Stock Exchange-listed companies have resorted to share reversal splits as part of measures to reduce the number of shares in issue. As part of the ordinary resolution Econet would also be seeking shareholder endorsement for a dividend of $709,20 per share. Furthermore, the company wants to create a capital redemption reserve out of the revenue reserves registered in the books of the company from time to time. If approved, this authority would be binding until the next AGM. "The company is in a strong financial position and will, in the ordinary course of business, be able to pay its debts for a period of 12 months after the annual general meeting. "The assets of the company will be in excess of its liabilities for a period of 12 months after the annual general meeting. The ordinary capital and reserves of the company will be adequate for a period of 12 months after the annual general meeting," said Econet in a statement to shareholders. (SOURCE: The Herald) ALTRON REPORTS SOLID INTERIM RESULTS BASED ON GOOD PERFORMANCE BY GROUP COMPANIESThe Altron group’s results for the six months ended 31 August 2005 have shown good growth with a 16% increase in headline earnings per share, 17% increase in revenue, from R6 billion for the prior period to R7 billion, and a 14% increase in operating income from R442 million to R502 million. In accordance with JSE Limited requirements, the results for the prior year’s half year and full year results were restated to comply with IFRS. The Chief Executive of Altron, Robert Venter, said: “Positive business confidence and sound economic conditions have created healthy trading conditions for the group. Increased consumer spending stimulated growth within the Altech operations and higher public sector spending as well as an active building and construction industry, drove demand for Powertech products and services. The successful integration of CS Holdings and Digital Health Care Solutions at BTG, as well as a recovering ICT market, also contributed to growth.” Commenting on the performance of its sub-holding companies, Venter said that Altech delivered a sound set of results, reporting improved headline earnings per share of 15.3% to 181 cents per share. This was driven by better than expected performances from most of its operating companies including Autopage Cellular, Netstar, Altech Card Solutions and Isis. On 10 October 2005, Autopage Cellular and Vodacom signed a 5-year renewal of their service provider and incentive agreement with an option to renew for a further five years. Agreements with Cell C are already in place and discussions with MTN in this regard are at an advanced stage. “The signing of this far reaching agreement with Vodacom provides the foundation for future growth at Autopage Cellular for the medium to long term”, said Venter. He pointed out that Altech recently disposed of its 50% plus 1 share in Econet Wireless Global Limited (EWG) for US$87.5 million plus interest, which reflects a R155 million profit on investment. These funds were received in September and are not included in reported group cash balances. Venter said that BTG performed above expectations with revenues increasing 23% to R1.7 billion and operating income by 35% from R95 million to R128 million, reflecting, for the first time, the inclusion of the businesses acquired from CS Holdings and the consolidation of 100% of Digital Healthcare Solutions. “We are also satisfied with the performance by the 100%-owned Powertech group. Revenue increased by 22% to R2.1 billion despite the continuing strong rand, depressed conditions in the telecoms cabling industry and increased competition from foreign imports. Operating income was up by 28% to R131 million from R102.7 million on the back of strong results produced by ABB Powertech Transformers, Aberdare Power Cables, the Battery Group and the Industrial Group,” said Venter. Venter further commented that the return to profitability of Aberdare Cable’s offshore operations and the improved performance from the power cables division had a positive impact on the performance. He added, however, that the downturn in the telecoms sector resulted in Aberdare Cables mothballing its copper and fibre telecom cables manufacturing plant in Port Elizabeth during September. Referring to the various sectors in which the group operates, Venter said that Altech is well positioned to benefit from the increasing liberalisation in the telecoms market, the introduction of the Second Network Operator and the finalisation of the Convergence Bill. “Powertech operations are expected to benefit from increased public and private sector capital expenditure in infrastructure projects such as the announced capex plans of Eskom and Transnet, World Cup 2010 and the Gautrain project,” he said. According to Venter the ongoing conversion of the financial sector to the Europay Mastercard Visa (“EMV”) standard has seen some delays but continues to benefit Altech and BTG. “In the light of the positive outlook for the sectors in which the group operates, Altron is well positioned to achieve acceptable growth in headline earnings and dividends for the full year,” Venter said.The Chairman of Altron, Dr Bill Venter, has announced the following board changes which will become effective from 12 October 2005: The appointment of Mark Lamberti, the Deputy Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Massmart Holdings Limited, to the board of Altron as an independent non-executive director and the resignation of Buddy Hawton as an independent non-executive director of Altron. Norbert Claussen, the Chief Executive Officer of Power Technologies (Pty) Limited, has been appointed to the board as an executive director. As was announced on 21 July 2005, former executive director Adv Dali Mpofu, remains on the board as a non-executive director following his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the SABC. BUSINESS CONNEXION GETS GREENLIGHT FOR BIDVEST DEALBusiness Connexion has Competition Commission approval for the acquisition of Bidvest Network Solutions (Bidnet). The transaction will be effective from November. Business Connexion's acquisition will give the company a foothold in the R70 billion-a-year telecommunications industry and the ammunition it needs to achieve some ambitious growth targets in ICT. Willem van Rensburg, Business Connexion's strategy executive and head of the new entity, says: “Bidnet provides us with the foundation for a next-generation network which will allow us to guarantee network performance and to add cost effective voice, data, video and broadcasting services to our existing integrated offering – a service that many of our existing clients require. “We will also introduce Bidnet clients (Bidvest Group companies) to an expanded ICT service offering,” he adds. Meanwhile, management teams will now start the process of integrating the 87 employees from Bidnet into Business Connexion – a move embraced by Business Connexion as it will significantly boost the company's strategic telecommunications skills base. (SOURCE: www.itweb.co.za) IN BRIEF- Vodacom and Altech today confirmed that an agreement has been signed whereby Altech’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Altech Autopage Cellular, will be a preferred Independent Service Provider to the Vodacom network for at least the next five years – with an option of a further five years. There was speculation that the signing of this contract was one of the contributory factors to the falling out between Altech and Econet. - Emirates Telecommunications Corporation- Etisalat - has announced its prequalification for the bid that will soon be underway in Tunisia. Etisalat The Corporation has been selected along with 12 other international companies, who will all participate in a bid to purchase 35 per cent stake in the Tunisian government-owned Tunisia Telecom. The final bid process is expected to be in December 2005, and the final dates and procedures will be announced soon.”
UGANDA - HOTUGANDANS.COM + RED PEPPER = CONTROVERSYThe spread of the internet has opened Uganda to a vast array of trends and influences that would have had little effect in previous years. However, a good many citizens who have peered into this brave new world are not sure they like what they see -- especially the two unusual sites featuring Ugandans that took the country by surprise recently. The sites, including the unambiguously named 'hotugandans.com', came to public attention in July. They displayed explicit pictures and videos, alongside contact addresses in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and Japan. According to various reports, the pages were hosted in Canada, and popular with Ugandans living abroad who used credit cards to pay for access to the material. A public outcry has since led to the websites being blocked (in an ironic twist, visitors to 'hotugandans.com' are now directed to the site of Benny Hinn Ministries). But, the debate about the globalised society that enabled them to emerge rages on. "When it comes to morality, globalisation is not a good thing," Stephen Langa, executive director of the Family Life Network, told IPS. This non-governmental organisation, located in the capital of Kampala, advocates traditional values through counselling and education. Women featured on the site were apparently paid up to 1,000 dollars to be photographed and filmed -- although one claimed that they did so on the understanding that this material would not appear in Uganda. Official figures put the proportion of Ugandans living on less than a dollar a day at 38 percent. However, the notion that the women's participation in the site was motivated by poverty is dismissed by Raymond Kyambadde, a pastor based in Kampala. "According to the newspaper reports about the website, most of the featured were decent women who had decent jobs," he said in an interview with IPS. "Some even have families and husbands. So it is not all about money, but Western influence on our society." Since government gave a tax holiday for the import of computers two years ago, hundreds of internet cafés have sprung up even in the most remote areas. In Kampala, a five-minute walk can take you past two or three such cafés. Some forbid customers to open such sites, and use monitoring devices in a bid to deter access. But, matters are complicated by the fact that Uganda still lacks a legal definition on this subject -- let alone a law banning its consumption. Two years ago, the Parliamentary Select Committee proposed that the constitution should be amended to prohibit and eliminate it in Uganda. "One of the justifications we gave is that it is harmful to public health and order," Sarah Kiyingi Kyama, chairwoman of the 12-member committee, told IPS. "It not only violates the basic human rights of dignity of people -- especially women but it also leads to the spread of disease at a time when we are fighting against HIV/AIDS," she added. However, the proposed amendments were not approved -- and the committee's attempts to enlist the media in the fight have also been unsuccessful. "My take is that we cannot compromise on the question of press freedom, a fundamental human right, because some people are abusing it. It's obvious that the press needs to be responsible and most journalists do take their responsibility seriously," says James Tumusiime, editor of the 'Weekly Observer' -- a newspaper in Kampala. Uganda's first tabloid -- 'Red Pepper', launched in 2002 -- also reflects the way in which global trends are making themselves felt in the country. "We realised that much as tabloids were doing well elsewhere in...the UK, Netherlands and the United States, this was something that was not happening in Africa -- especially in developing countries like Uganda," says Arinaitwe Rugyendo, one of the founders of the paper, and its editor. "So we thought that if we came with a different kind of product from the mainstream journalism, we would be able to create a niche in the market." As with these types of sites, Red Pepper's mix of evocative pictures and scandal sparked outrage and calls for appropriate legislation to be put in place. "The criticism we received in the beginning was not justified," Rugyendo told IPS. "All we were doing was exposing what was previously deemed as non-African." While it may be Red Pepper's images that are capturing public attention, the paper is also intent on revolutionizing the media in other ways. "The mainstream media was ignoring certain aspects of society. It was delegating (front page news) towards politically-oriented material, and had this thinking that a good story is one that has taken place in parliament, at State House or a political rally," notes Rugyendo. But, "The new generation does not think politically," he adds. "It has its own aspirations and the way they look at society these days is bent towards social aspects." (SOURCE: http://allafrica.com/stories/200510110070.html)
DIGITAL CITIES - A STRATEGIC LINK ACROSS THE DIGITAL DIVIDEThe concept of creating digital cities or metropolitan network areas is fast gaining interest across the world. Interest in SA comes from a wide spectrum of industry participants, particularly as a real opportunity to begin closing the digital divide presents itself. Worldwide trends have shown that municipal networks may serve as a strategic lynchpin in bridging the digital divide by providing services to citizens via municipal broadband networks. Recent media attention focused on Google, the Internet search engine and portal, and its application to supply the city of San Francisco with free WiFi, or wireless Internet connectivity. This would allow anyone in the city to connect to the Internet free and has brought the issue into the spotlight once again. In SA the cities of Tshwane, Cape Town and Knysna have announced their intentions to roll-out their own wireless and fibre optic networks, which would give users free or low rate broadband Internet access. The driving force behind the establishment of roughly 600 digital cities and municipalities around the world has been the shift in the need for connectivity especially from a cost point of view. The growth in digital cities has been widely regarded as a major disruptive trend in the global telecommunications sector. In addition the opportunity for service providers exists as the majority of municipal networks are managed in public private partnerships (PPPs). Argument in favour of government-sponsored broadband networks of equal importance in respect of digital cities will be the need to develop and harness applications which will be of benefit to the citizens and the municipality as a whole. The most likely applications to be developed will be for the emergency services such as the fire brigade, ambulance and police. These networks provide a relevant and powerful option aid SA bridge the divide. National government has placed service delivery as the number one priority in the political agenda and municipal networks can play a huge role therein. More broadly, municipalities are viewing the wider benefits of wiring cities as a means of injecting interest and innovation into businesses, enabling them to seamlessly conduct business with others across town and across the globe. The telecoms sector may simply regard the new municipal network as being another competitor, but diversity in the delivery of cost effective solutions should always be welcomed – particularly in our part of the world. (SOURCE: ITWeb Market Monitor)
WHY SHOULD AFRICANS CARE ABOUT ICANN?During the last few years the relationship of African stakeholders with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has received greater attention. Driven by a few key individuals within African governments, the technical community, and civil society organizations, the increased scrutiny has highlighted the importance of Internet governance issues for Africa. But the question hangs in the air: “Why should Africans care about ICANN?” The number of Africans using the Internet is increasing every year, but there is debate as to whether ICANN and Internet names and numbers management should be a priority issue for the continent. Many commentators argue that Africa /should/ care about ICANN. Internet infrastructure offers Africa unprecedented access to information, participation, communication, and trade, and Africans are major stakeholders in the information society today and, perhaps more importantly, in the future. The argument follows that, therefore, Africa should have decision-making responsibility to control its own Internet resources, such as domain names and IP addresses. And this view holds that the continent’s participation in ICANN is essential if it is to accelerate the development of its technical communications infrastructure -– something that promises to benefit the poor every bit as much as the wealthy. Many others disagree. They point out that only a limited number of local technical experts and civil society organizations need to be involved in ICANN and Internet architecture development in order to look after Africa's Internet development. Bolstering their efforts may be useful. But taking the ICANN debate to the general public and getting governments more involved may not only be a distraction from more pressing issues facing Africa, it could backfire and lead to government control of the Internet that is not in the best long-term interests of Africa's development efforts. These commentators point out that people in poor countries need to learn how to use the Internet and to use it to run businesses, share information, support healthcare and education and other important activities. Instead, many of their best-educated, wealthiest citizens are spending time in Geneva and other nice places, glad to have a seat at the table. But what is being accomplished at that table? The creation of additional bodies and working groups and advisory councils to give people a say is not the best use of scarce resources. Africa would do better spending its valuable time discussing issues related to the rampant disease, poverty and food security issues, among other pressing needs. The answer may be that African Internet architecture development /would/ benefit from the effective participation of a few well-informed and well-resourced people from each African country who have a role in Internet names and numbers management. But ground-level realities in Africa demand that the issue be put in perspective; even given the importance of Internet for the long-term development of the continent, ICANN’s relevance to the general public may be small compared to other priorities. (SOURCE: CIPESA International ICT policy commentary series Volume 1, Commentary 3, 10 October 2005)
EVENTSAfriNIC-3 and Africa IPv6 Meeting Cairo, Egypt 11-14 December 2005 AfriNIC and The Egyptian IPv6 Task Force are organizing a two days Ipv6 event collocated with AfriNIC-3 public policy meeting. If you are interested in making a presentation at the AfriNIC-3 or the IPv6 day, please submit a proposal as soon as possible, but not later than 21 October 2005. For further details see www.afrinic.net/meetings/afrinic-3 West African Satellite Communications Conference & Exhibition Meridien Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria, 23-25 November 2005. For further details, see the NewCom WAFSAT pages of the GVF web site at www.gvf.org JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIESPreliminary Call for Participation - ICTe Africa 2006 Conference May 17-21, 2006, Kenyatta, International Conference Centre (KICC) ICTe Africa is an annual conference, exhibit and media event that address information and communications issues for the entire African continent. ICT Africa 2005 was held from June 26-30 and was organized by Global Fairs TT-MESSE (Germany and Kenya) in collaboration with the Government of Kenya, ATU and URTNA. NEPAD Council organized a Stake Holders meeting at this event to bring together International and local telecommunication organizations and discuss challenges faced by Africa in the development of ICT infrastructure. Motivated by the concept of ICTe Africa and the potential it has in making a difference in the ICT industry in Africa by bringing together policy makers, financiers, Industry leaders, scientists, engineers and educators, NEPAD Council will organize the ICTe Africa 2006 with the collaboration of the Kenyan Government, NEPAD secretariat in Kenya, Africa Telecommunications Union (ATU) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).
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