Hitting the spot – African Wi-Fi hot spots come of age

Initially “pay-for” Wi-Fi hot-spots proved a difficult sell in developed countries but eventually those that couldn’t bear to be parted from their e-mail became slowly addicted. In the UK the addiction has become so bad that it is affecting sales levels in the coffee shops that offer the service.

African markets are very price-sensitive so it is probably not surprising that hot-spots have been so slow to take off in Africa: it would be easy to think of it as a luxury.  But a number of countries now have a growing number of hot-spots. Russell Southwood looks at one of the fastest growing markets – South Africa – and looks at different business models that might emerge.

The South African market is divided between two key players: Internet Solutions and Telkom. Estimates of market share vary enormously depending on who you are talking to but a fair guess probably be 75%:25% in Internet Solutions favour. There have been small providers but most have not expanded because they have been unable to attract a community of users or offer the infrastructure support required. The nearest thing to real competition is the HSDPA service offered by Vodacom which although still a premium product, it is comparatively cheap.

In broad terms, there are two types of hot-spot offers: someone offering it free as a service attraction for customers (typically hotels) and a “pay-for” service. We have not yet come across any free hot-spots in South Africa but have found them in hotels in places as diverse as Mozambique and Sudan.

In South Africa, the pay-for hot-spots operate using a web-based interface that allows you to buy time either by putting in a pre-paid voucher number or by using a credit card.

Internet Solutions pay-for hot-spots are provided by bringing together three partners: Always-On (to do the implementation and support); Internet Solutions (bandwidth, billing and customer relations); and MWeb (to give access to a large pre-existant, retail customer base). Internet Solutions bills MWeb for use of the hot-spots by its customers and it enables the latter to add this service to its customer offer. The income from the hot-spot is split 50/50 after a 7.5% royalty payment to Airports Company of South Africa that developed the customer platform.

Internet Solution’s access costs are on a sliding scale depending on the time used and vary from R1 a minute to 62.5 cents for two hours. The minutes bought are time-limited and expire after time-limited periods. Telkom (which is partnered with WirelessG) offers the same R1 per minute access but both offer larger chunks of time at lower prices. This compares for example with R1.50 a minutes offered by the Garden Court Hotel in Sandton for access using a hotel-provided PC.

Internet Solutions is about to launch a per meg charging service and it also has a service for its corporate customers where they can roam using the hot-spots.

For the company buying the service, there are two broad models: the supplying partners pay all the costs of the set-up and take all the income and a revenue-share model where the company offering the service takes on some of the capital costs. The first option provides a risk-free service offer for the organisation offering it and the second an opportunity to share both risk and revenue. The organisation offering the service buys a modem with an access port with Wi-Fi capability for R200 a month. The revenue is then split three ways after the royalty payment to ACSA.

But as Paul Sconborn who has just become head of IS’s Mobile Solutions Business Unit points out:”We’re also negotiable. If a hotel for example invests in the capex of the equipment, we can vary the revenue share to reflect this.”

There are three main types of organisations offering hot-spots: airports. Hotels and coffee shops. And the whole growth of hot-spots in Africa started in airports. Places as diverse as Kenya, Rwanda and Senegal all offer hot-spots for visitors passing through their facilities. Hotels offer the Wi-Fi service in three different ways: all rooms, premium rooms only and only open areas.

As a regular user of these hot-spots, I have to report that although overall the service is good, there are a number of issues. With two different hotels I have booked Wi-Fi enabled rooms and found the signal too weak to use in the room. With the Telkom service in several different locations, the signal actually went down several times during half hour or hour-long sessions.

An although nearly always extremely fast, there were moments when the service was so slow that it appeared almost as if the service was lost. But as Sconborn observes:”The bandwidth connections are made using a Telkom DSL line, usually offering a total of 512K download. Contention rates vary, depending on the exchange and the time of day.” Overall African hot-spot download speeds reflect the speed of access in a given country. Kenya’s satellite-dependent hot-spots are much, much slower as are Rwanda’s.

Internet Solutions will have 200 hot-spots by the end of August 2006 with 450 wireless access ports and will probably double this infrastructure in the next 12 months. These hot-spots are spread throughout all the major cities of the country but with the largest number in Johannesburg.

As Sconborn told us:”We were first to market. We have an exclusive relationship with ACSA and good relationships with chains like City Lodge, Sun International and Mug and Bean.”Growth is usally slow at first according to Sconborn:”In the first few months it’s not very dramatic. Then it gets critical mass and takes off and an exciting customer base begins to grow.” Sconborn confesses that IS entered the market with some trepidation:”We entered hesitantly but we’ve seen it take off. It’s all about presence, footprint and branding.”

So who are the people actually using hot-spots? The corporate business traveller and the lap-top-owning consumer. According to Internet Solutions 95% are local and 5% are international based on payments they make to international providers iPass and QuickerNet. But this does not include credit card or voucher payments so the international proportion is likely to be somewhat higher.

The physical coverage is limited by South African regulations and the desire of the providers to make the service exclusive to a single company premises rather than have it spread throughout say a shopping mall. It needs to add value to the company offering and not do the same for all of his neighbouring competitors. It uses 2.4 ghz and can extend to 100 metres line-of-sight.

In another of Africa’s larger markets – Egypt – ISP Way Out.net is operating 108 Wi-Fi hot spots in the same categories of locations as in South Africa and plans to open 56 more in the coming year. For a full list go to: http://www.wayout.net/docs/hotspot.asp

By contrast, a smaller market like Ghana has a smaller number of hot-spots in the market but is beginning to grow. First in was Busy Internet that provides free Wi-Fi service in its café as a service to customers with lap-tops. Teledata ICT has sold hot-spots to fast food outlet Frankies and cable provider Cable Gold offers hot-spots in its coverage area in Sakumo. There is also a provider called Kaslain. But the much larger Nigerian market lags well behind. There are fast-food outlets in Lagos offering hot-spots but on a visit last week, they did not seem to be working. There also apparently one in the Le Meridien Hotel on Victoria Island but we were unable to confirm this.

So what do these early returns say about the future development of hot-spots? A number of issues emerge:

- It’s comparatively easy to size the first wave of the market. Count up the number of four or five star hotels. Add in the number of airports with international travellers and top it off with either branded coffee shops or fast food outlets. The latter will usually include the by now nearly ubiquitous South African-style malls in Anglophone countries with Steers and Nandos. In smaller countries this will add up to 10s of hotspots. In places like Kenya it might be somewhere between 50-100 and in larger markets it will start at around 500 and eventually hit the low 1000s.

- The providers are understandably coy about seeing income figures announced publicly but the numbers in the South African context are certainly interesting if not spectacular. The same will probably be true for hot-spot operators outside of South Africa although they would probably rely more heavily on international visitors for their revenues.

- Although the revenues are not large, the substitution of hot-spot use for other types of access will probably send out a number of ripples. It will take out a stream of high-end customers from cyber-cafes. Why sit in an uncomfortable chair in a badly lit room without air conditioning when you can sit in a coffee shop or fast food outlet in greater comfort for a relatively modest outlay on food or drink?

- Although the current customer with a laptop doesn’t yet know it, what he or she would probably sign up for would be the ability to be online almost anywhere. For the African power user (a small but not insignificant group), this is probably an already identified state of nirvana.

- The outstanding questions are will they pay for it and who will provide it? It offers an interesting niche opportunity for the larger retail ISPs in bigger markets. But it may be that it will the mobile operators if they get the pricing right. If that’s the case, you can sit wherever you feel most comfortable and read and write e-mails…Don’t let it be me that tells you to get a life.

According to an ABI study, there will be 350,000 Wi-Fi hot spots worldwide by 2008. Somewhere in the region of the mid-thousands will come from growth in Africa.

If you are aware of free or pay-for Wi-Fi hot spots available in countries not mentioned, please mail: info@balancingact-africa.com

PHONE TAXATION 'VERY HIGH' IN EAST AFRICA

A recent study has revealed that high phone tariffs are making East African countries miss out on long term phone benefits by targeting short term tax revenue from telephone companies. According to the survey carried out by the GSM Association, short term taxes are affecting long term phone benefits.

The report entitled: 'Tax and digital divide: how new approaches to mobile taxation can connect the un-connected', that was carried out in 210 countries based on first hand experience from over 680 mobile service providers shows that high E.A taxes are blocking millions of people from reaping the benefits of mobile phones.

Of the 50 countries surveyed, East African countries, with Uganda has the highest tax as a ratio of the cost of mobile ownership (combined cost of hand set and airtime).

According to the survey, although annual subscriptions grew by over 100% in the E.A countries, access to mobile phones was barely 5% in Sub Saharan Africa.

Kenya which has a friendlier E.A. mobile tax policy has 14% of its population with access to mobile phones while Uganda has got 5% population access. The major reason given is that most cannot afford purchasing the mobile phones.

Earlier, the Economist Magazine reported that phone companies had been trying to make hand sets more affordable for developing countries, projecting an earlier decrease in price of mobile phones to go below $30 (from $50 at the start of the year) and less than 20% by the end of 2007.

According to the GSM report, what mobile phone manufacturers give to dealers as incentives, the governments grab in soft target taxes.

The four consultancies that conducted the study were also endorsed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Bank: Pyramid Research, frontier economics, Delloitte and Touche and Tarifica.

"Closely following Turkey is East Africa with over all non recoverable taxes on importation of 27%, a VAT rate of 18% and an excise duty rate of 12%, all leading to a tax proportion of 29.9% in the total annual cost of mobile ownership," the report says.

The study suggests that while scrapping telecommunication specific taxes would reduce tax revenue in the short run, the increased number of users would ensure that government got higher revenues from the industry in the long run.

"It's like profit: If you make a profit of shs 40 per person from 500 people, it's better to make shs 40 from 2000 people," said Patrick Bitature, the proprietor of Simba Telecom, the largest mobile telephone network chain in Uganda.

If the excise duty was reduced by six percent, he said, government would collect more taxes from a wider base because the ability to pay of the average Ugandan is generally low, high prices-caused in this case by high taxes-mean that phone companies sell only to the affluent, missing out on the mass market.

Akash Kumar, the authorized Celtel dealer in Uganda, also the pioneer mobile phone operator in Uganda, says an improved tax policy would definitely make their service more affordable.

 (SOURCE: The New Times)

MOBILE PHONES REDUCE BTC SUBSCRIPTIONS IN BOTSWANA

The fixed telephone service provided by Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) experienced a decline of 4,389 subscribers between March 2005 and March 2006.

The number of subscribers fell from 136,423 to 132,034, the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) annual Report states. However, the mobile phone market - provided by Mascom and Orange - experienced a growth from 577,437 subscribers to 823,070 in the same period.

With a population of 1.7 million, it means that half the population owns cellphones.

The report further states that BTA revenue increased to P42 million from P38 million reported last year.

"This was attributed to the increase in turnover related fees from the major operators being BTC, Orange and Mascom," the report said. However, there was a decrease in investment incomes due to payments towards the Automated Frequency Spectrum Monitoring System (AFSMS) project. The AFSMS cost BTA P33.6 million and the total payments were P87.1 million by March this year.

Furthermore, the government intends to liberalise the telecommunications market by lifting the restriction on the provision of VolP by value-added network service providers since the beginning of this month.

Government also wants mobile operators to start self-providing transmission at the beginning of this month. The report further stated that current fixed line and cellular operators may apply for service-neutral licences from September 1, and to liberalise the international voice gateway by October.

(SOURCE: Mmegi/The Reporter)

NIGERIA LOSES N200BN ANNUALLY TO ABANDONED INFRASTRUCTURE

Nigeria is losing at least N200 billion annually because it cannot use communication cables and wires installed by ministries, agencies and other parast-atals, a consulting firm working with the government in recent reforms said in Abuja last week.

Sam Ikoku, head of Nakachi Consulting said the loss can only be addressed if government allows businesses and public agencies to use abandoned cables that run the whole length of the country. He said such communication infrastructure existed in the Nigerian Railway Corporation, Ministry of Science and Technology, heath, education, communications, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, among others. According to Ikoku, such infrastructure on information and communication techn-ology installed by INEC in the 36 states can be used by universities and research institutes.

Nakachi Consulting is currently employed to work with the Education Trust Fund (ETF). Last week's call for an opening up of abandoned Ministry of Communications infrastructure was not connected with that contract, but on their own initiative, Ikoku said. He said: "Take a look at the railway system and the cables of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

These are some of the basic infrastructure needed by the telecoms firms and the Ministry of Communications to extend broadband to the remote communities. Too much emphasis is being placed on Public-Private Partnership (PPP), by the present administration. We believe that while this is the way to go, not adequately exploiting Public-Public Collaboration opportunities that exist in Nigeria may degrade over N200 billion in installed capacity". According to Ikoku, a lot of such infrastructure has been abandoned in ministries, departments and agencies, saying if government cannot do that, "we are willing to show government how to make the most of this".

(SOURCE: Daily Trust)

MTC READY TO BATTLE POWERCOM IN NAMIBIA

MTC appears unfazed by the prospect of a powerful new competitor entering the mobile phone market, saying it has plenty of ammunition in its arsenal to fight competition from new entrant Powercom.

MTC was approached for comment following the announcement this week

Oracle Content & Collaboration that Powercom (Pty) Ltd would be granted Namibia's second GSM cellular mobile licence.The granting of the licence to Powercom ends MTC's 11-year monopoly of the cellular phone market in Namibia.

After 11 years MTC claims to have acquired a total active customer base of 500 000, of whom 90% are pre-paid customers. Customers have however not always been entirely satisfied with the quality of service provided by the company. Members of the public are now waiting anxiously to find out whether the entry of Powercom to the market will bring about better service and lower subscription and call rates.

MTC Senior Manager: Corporate Services, Albertus Aochamub, last week appeared confident the company would be able to meet the challenge posed by Powercom.

Aochamub said the company welcomed competition in the hope that the two companies could collectively grow the overall market for mobile phones. "We trust that the consumers will be the ultimate victors with improved choice of solutions and technologies," he said.

He however conceded competition could result in some customer "churn" for MTC, which in turn would minimise MTC's customer growth rates and only time would tell if this would impact profitability.

The unanswered question at the back of many people's minds is whether a small country such as Namibia can support two mobile phone operators - without one operator killing the other, or the two each other. According to Aochamub, there are conservative market estimates that put the market size at 700 000 - 800 000 potential customers. "Depending on the competitive posturing of the new operator the market is large enough for two," he confidently predicted. Mac Allman from Powercom on Tuesday pledged the company's service would be up and running before Christmas.

Allman refused to divulge how much the company would be investing to set up operations, saying only it was a "significant amount". The company however expected to eventually create 400 jobs, with additional jobs being created by sub-contractors working for the company. Powercom is a consortium made up of NamPower, Namibia Mineworkers' Investment Holdings Company (Nam-mic), Old Mutual and TMP as the management and technical partner.

TMP is a creation of the Norwegian telecommunications company Telenor, with which it has a strategic partnership. TMP, amongst others, manages Ghana Telecom.

In terms of the licence, Powercom must have paid the Namibian government a fee of N$65 million by the first anniversary of granting of the licence, and a N$1 million annual licence fee thereafter.

Allman, the TMP representative at Powercom, said the company would not be able to compete with MTC all over the country immediately. "Reality is reality. MTC has an 11 years' head start, but we expect to have similar coverage in three years' time," he said.

The real question for consumers is whether the promised competition will bring about lower phone charges or not. It will obviously not be in the interest of either company to start a price war in which they will both end up losers. Allman of Powercom said he believed there would be real change for consumers, with his company offering very competitive pricing.

Powercom has indicated it plans to introduce 3G service and HSDPA, a form of high-speed mobile technology for multi-media access on the move. Countering this, MTC says its network is already at 2.5G while providing GPRS related services as well, thereby placing Namibia among the leading countries on the continent.

 (SOURCE: New Era)

TELKOM KENYA PROBES CABLE THEFT AT MAIN STATION

Telkom Kenya has started investigations after thieves stole cables and paralysed Internet services in six provinces. The thieves raided the firm's Kikuyu Township station at 4am and shut down Telkom's Jambonet Internet gateway services for seven hours before the company's engineers restored services.

Cable vandalism had jeopardised the country's ability to communicate and had led to losses amounting to Sh500 million a year, said a press statement issued by the organisation's head of corporate communications,  Khalid Salim.

"The continued decapitation of Telkom cables and lines appears to be a well coordinated effort of sabotage," said Salim.

"These thefts are seriously affecting the country's ability to communicate and heavily impact on the valued infrastructure put in place at the taxpayers' cost around the country. As a result Telkom Kenya is faced with mounting financial pressure from losses accumulated," said the statement.

Parts of Western and North Eastern provinces were not affected, said Salim.

The theft comes in the wake of the company's Friday statement revealing a rise in vandalism of cables across the country. Salim called for cooperation and patience from the public and pledged that the company was fighting the vice.

(SOURCE: The Nation)

MOBINIL ASKED TO DISCONTINUE EDGE SERVICES IN EGYPT

The Egyptian telecom regulator has asked Mobinil to stop offering enhanced data services, such as streaming video, on EDGE technology. The government has asked the operator to apply for a 3G licence in order to offer these services. However, Mobinil stated that EDGE is an enhanced version of GPRS, and they are second-generation technologies that do not require further licensing.

According to Trade Arabia, Mobinil has postponed its plan to apply for a licence for higher-bandwidth 3G technology for a year, citing unattractive provisions as the reason. A 3G licence would cost the company around USD 580 million.

According to Mobinil, the company is in talks with the government to resolve the dispute. It also revealed that it has an understanding with the government and it can continue to the technology as long as discussions continue. The company started with EDGE trials in the region in 2006, and offers its services to major cities and airports.

(SOURCE: Trade Arabia)

IN BRIEF:

- The African Union has mandated Rwanda to convene a meeting in Kigali on August 29 during which 23 countries from the region will endorse the protocol, paving the way for the construction of the EASSy sub-marine cable.

-The Nigerian  Federal Government (FG) has announced plans to establish an Emergency Communication System (ECS), to boost emergency rescue operators in the country.

- A Benin Government Commission is investigating around a dozen joint ventures entered into by incumbent OPT that have floundered and may take legal action against some members of management.

- ETA, the Ethiopian Communications Authority is in the process of being approved by the government. As an authority, it will not only be regulating the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC), which the agency has been doing since its creation in 1996, but will also monitor the Express Mailing Service (EMS) and the Ethiopian Postal Service (EPS).

- The Gabonese government has announced its latest re-structuration plan for Gabon Telecom, the national incumbent due to be privatised.  This includes the appointment of independent financial controller, the freeze of new recruitments, salary increases and internal promotions. Furthermore 600 of 1,700 employees will be made redundant (338 of them have already received their redundancy letter) under a scheme that will cost 13,103 billions CFA francs. Gabon Telecom employees affected by the first redundancy wave are reported to be on strike.

- According to the Cameroon Tribune, the launch of Camtel new mobile service has been blocked. The local newspaper reports that the national incumbent is still awaiting to receive its licence from the telecommunication regulator. This unexpectedly long delay is rumoured to be due to the fact that the government wants to see Camtel privatised before seeing it rolling out a mobile network that would compete with Orange and MTN. 

- Sudanese SNO Kanartel has almost completed its fibre link from Khartoum to Port Sudan.

- The Congo- Brazaville Government has decided that all calls will go through a single international gateway to maximise call income. This monopoly strategy overturns the previous situation where mobile operators had their own gateways. The new gateway is provided by a little-known UK company called Telsoft in partnership with Norway’s Taide.

TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE

- Vodacom Tanzania has ramped up its network coverage of Zanzibar with the commissioning of ten new communication towers. The new equipment has been installed at Lumumba, Bububu, Chukwani and Fuoni, in Urban West District. In addition, three sites in the south region and three more in the north have also been improved. Vodacom Tanzania hopes the increased footprint and improved reception will help it attract new customers.

- Mobile operator Areeba in Ghana has launched a new service labelled 'free network calls,' Areeba customers can call for free between the hours of 12:30am and 5:00am each day. Calls are restricted to only from Areeba to Areeba. SMS (Short Messaging Service), MMS (Multi media Messaging) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) are however excluded.

- South Africa cellular operator Cell C has lost more than 200,000 customers in the past six months as users defected to its rivals. The network now claims 2.7-million users, down from 2.9-million in December. Loss of many lower-spending prepaid users helped to push up the average monthly spend from R142 to R152 a customer. Cell-C is currently testing a 3G service and has been operating a Huawei supplied IP/MPLS backbone for the last nine months.

- Cellular operator Vodacom Tanzania has relaunched its public access wireless service People’s Phone, known locally as Simu ya Watu. People’s Phone is a low cost communications facility for people who cannot otherwise afford a mobile phone, designed to empower more people in the country by giving them telecoms access. Vodacom is teaming up with three companies – Shared Phone, Planetel and OneCell – to re-launch People’s Phone and hopes the trade partnership will result in even more affordable prices.

- Four months after its launch, MTN Uganda's has announced that its MTNWeb2U service has proved to be a success with an increase of usage over a short period. MTNWeb2U allows users to purchase and send airtime instantly over the Internet to others without having to send money.

- Nigeria’s Globacom is offering Blackberry handsets to new users. Business is apparently brisk although no take-up figures have been issued.

'LITTLE CHANCE' OF TELKOM MAKING NEW ADSL DEADLINE BUT EXPECT SPEED TO GO UP

Customers waiting for high speed internet will soon bombard the industry regulator with complaints because Telkom lacks the capacity to offer the service within a new deadline of 30 days, according to the Internet Service Providers' Association of SA.

Telkom has been ordered to install its high-speed ADSL service within a month under new rules from the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa).

Icasa would be inundated with complaints given Telkom's current backlog and slow installation times, said Greg Massel, co-chairman of the association. Imposing a strict installation time is almost the only step Icasa has taken after hearing complaints about the high cost and low quality of Telkom's ADSL service. In findings issued last week, Icasa did not intervene in the prices or lift a cap on the amount of international bandwidth that can be used each month.

Massel said the positive step of setting specific installation times was dramatically overshadowed by the authority's lack of action to prevent anticompetitive behaviour by Telkom or to make the service more affordable. "The central issues of the lack of affordability and limited bandwidth capacity have been neatly sidestepped, while it remains uncertain what sanctions will be imposed should Telkom fail to meet the 30-day installation deadline."

Telkom spokeswoman Lulu Letlape acknowledged that "a big number" of customers were waiting for ADSL but did not give an actual figure. One industry source said he believed the backlog stood at 50,000 customers.

At the same Telkom has announced that customers on the home and business DSL 1024 offerings will be upgraded to a service capable of 4Mbps downlink speeds – almost four times faster than the current speed, the fixed-line operator says.

The upgrade will pave the way for the delivery of new services, like video on-demand, says Telkom's Steven Hayward.

It is initially available on a trial basis that is planned to begin early next month. Lulu Letlape, group executive for corporate communications, says if the trial proves successful, Telkom intends replacing the DSL 1024 product with the new service.

“The cost of the 1024 service offering will apply to the ‘up to 4Mbps' offering,” says Steven Hayward, Telkom managing executive for retail marketing.

The DSL 1024 access rate of R516, plus line rental and ISP charges, will remain for the duration of the trial. It is likely rates will stay the same if the service becomes a permanent Telkom broadband offering.

Consumers on the upgraded service will see minimum actual downlink speeds of 640Kbps, going up to a theoretical maximum of 4,096Kbps, he notes, adding upstream speeds will vary between 256Kbps and 384Kbps. At the moment at least, Hayward stresses, it is purely a trial. “It's a pilot to see how the network will respond to the speed. These changes will pave the way for the provisioning of suitable broadband services for delivery of higher speed applications such as video on-demand (VOD)”, Hayward says.

The fixed-line operator's broadband executive officer, Alphonzo Samuels, said earlier this year Telkom has established a partnership with MultiChoice to stream selected TV content over the Web. He revealed that a closed-group VOD trial is being conducted, but declined to reveal further details.

(SOURCE: Business Day and ITWeb)

Q-KON COMMISSIONS PAN-AFRICA IDIRECT NETWORK

Q-KON has recently secured capacity on Intelsat IS10-02 hemi-beam for its new iDirect C-band platform that will provide premium services in a single beam to all of Africa. The iDirect C-band platform requires only 1.8m, 5W systems anywhere in Africa and is the perfect solution for premium corporate services that requires an integrated seamless solution throughout Africa.

Q-KON says that its iDirect services have been seamlessly integrated with terrestrial services to provide an end-to-end solution for Internet access and VPN access services to Europe, USA and South Africa as well as high-quality site-to-site telephony services and international dialing services.

According to Q-KON CEO, Dawie de Wet, "We structured and defined the iDirect C-band service to provide a service throughout Africa that is seamlessly connected back to South Africa and Europe. This is a premium service and supplement our low-cost shared services currently available in West Africa."

With its 1.8m, 5W configuration the iDirect platform will not compete in the low-cost market segment and is introduced to the market as a perfect fit to the multinational organisations and enterprise operations. Previously this market sector could only be serviced with more expensive 2.4m or 3.8m systems and advanced equipment.

Meanwhile the New "Per-hour" billing for Satellite Internet Access Services Q-KON has introduced "per-hour" billing for satellite services which is yet another "first" to the Nigeria market. The ViNet On-demand service provides unequalled business benefits for hotels, cyber café's and other hotspot operators. By integrating Q-KON's ViNet PAS1R satellite access network with advanced hotspot billing software Q-KON can now offer services to hotspot operators at "per-hour" billing.

 (SOURCE: This Day)

BCN TO BRIDGE BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE GAP IN NIGERIA

With an initial investment of over $200 million on high bandwidth network infrastructure, Backbone Connectivity Network Limited (BCN) has said its target is to help existing national telecom providers in Nigeria link underserved areas to the national and global communications system.

President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Dr. Kwame Boakye, told This Day that the inadequacy of supporting physical high capacity transmission backbone in Nigeria's information and communications technology (ICT) sector prompted the roll out of a country-wide fibre optic network.

He said this would ensure that existing operators do not spend so much resources or worry about building strong backbone infrastructure for themselves "because that funds could be channelled to improving the quality of their services".

"Our objective is to be a neutral, wholesale telecommunications operator that enables other operators to provide quality, secure, high bandwidth connectivity for their own internal networks, interconnection with other operator networks and broadband access to their end users", Boakye said.

Licensed by the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) to deploy and operate a National Long Distance and Metropolitan Fibre Networks for back-haul and other high capacity telecommunications services, BCN was March 2006 granted a pioneer status by the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), in recognition of the unique role that the establishment of fibre optic networks would play in the development and growth of ICT in Nigeria.

Boakye said BCN plans to roll out a country-wide fibre optic network starting from the Northern and Middle Belt parts of the country that have been relatively underserved by telecom facilities.

He said the company's plan involves laying cable within ducts buried in trenches that traverse Nigeria using the highways and motorways adding, "Consistent with our intent to be a neutral carrier and in conformance with the requirements of the Federal Ministry of Works, the ducts will be able to accommodate multiple users."

"As indicated earlier, BCN has already laid fibre optic cables within the FCT (Federal Capital Territory) with the intention of moving toward the North of Abuja as soon as arrangements are finalized for the right-of-way from the Federal Ministry of Works.

"BCN's network would consist of fibre optic rings for both the Metropolitan and Long Distance Networks providing a capacity of 2.4 Gigabits per second (Gb/s) or what is referred to as STM-16 of the Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH). The reliability of the network is expected to be 99.9 per cent which would imply a down-time of less than 5 minutes in a year", he added.

Boakye stated that the BCN project has entered into a technical partnership with Wuhan Research Institute of Post and Telecommunications (WRI), China, also known as the Fiberhome Group, a major manufacturer and seller of telecoms equipment. The company also has a partnership with Ephyra Networks, based in California's Silicon Valley to provide consulting in network planning and design.

(SOURCE: This Day)

SA ISPS AWAIT SAIX PAYMENT STRUCTURE FOR UNCAPPED

Internet service providers (ISPs) may have to choose between increasing the risk associated with customer credit and suffering losses when they implement the provision not to cap local bandwidth, in accordance with the new ADSL regulations.

According to Greg Massel, chairman of the Internet Providers Association of SA, if the ISP chooses to remove the cap, it will carry a greater credit risk. If it charges a flat rate for ADSL services to accommodate the no-cap provision, it runs a risk of making a loss.

ISPs will have to wait to see how Telkom restructures the wholesale ADSL accounts of the South African Internet Exchange (SAIX), and offer services as dictated by this structure, he says. Massel notes there is a very real cost of local bandwidth, which is exacerbated because ISPs are still forced to purchase facilities from Telkom.

“Until ISPs are granted the necessary permission and licences to operate their own fibre and radio frequency infrastructure, local bandwidth will remain excessively costly.”

One also has to keep in mind that ISPs selling their own bandwidth via ADSL incur a massive surcharge to Telkom for the IP Connect link into the ADSL network that is relative to the size of the link, he says. This link is used whether or not the ISP is transmitting local or international bandwidth to the user, he notes.

While the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) has stated that local bandwidth should be uncapped, it has not prevented ISPs from charging for that bandwidth at a market-related price, Massel adds.

Before Telkom introduced the capping system, users could surf local sites free when their allocated bandwidth was finished.

Massel says there is scope for completely new billing models that circumvent a number of these problems – if ISPs could realistically and fairly compete by selling their own bandwidth via ADSL, instead of selling Telkom SAIX accounts.

“Until authorities prevent Telkom from being anti-competitive, it will dictate the structure of ADSL offerings in the market and prevent innovation in ADSL product structuring and billing,” he says.

Ideally, Telkom should scrap the IP Connect fee, thereby allowing ISPs to deliver their own bandwidth and structure their own packages, Massel states. Telkom is double-charging for this: it charges the ISP to get to the end-user through the IP Connect fee, and then charges the user to get to the ISP through the ADSL access fee, he says.

Telkom should engage the ISPs and allow them to give input to the structuring of SAIX service offerings based on their clients' requests, he adds. “Telkom should be listening to its customers, which in this case are the ISPs and indirectly, the end-users.”

A Telkom spokesperson was unable to provide comment on what the fixed line operator's plans are regarding the implementation of the regulations. ICASA chairman Paris Mashile stated previously that the issue of bandwidth interconnect charges will be addressed in the interconnection and facilities leasing regulations.

(SOURCE: ITWeb)

IN BRIEF:

- Ghana’s national operator Ghana Telecom (GT) says it will roll out broadband internet access services to Kumasi, Koforidua and Takoradi before the end of this year, adding Tamale in the first quarter of 2007. The telco says it is adding new broadband customers at a rate of 20 to 30 a day and hopes to increase this to 50 per day by September 2006.

- Rwanda’s Terracom recently rolled out its network-based Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) service in Muhanga, Nyanza and Gaculiro. Therefore coverage has expanded to almost two thirds of the country. The release further indicates that Terracom’ss ADSL customers will get phone, internet and television in the coming year. The telco says that it is upgrading the entire Rwandatel network to triple play standards.

- A spokesperson for Google, the world’s leading search engine, has told ACN that it will soon be opening an office in Egypt to concentrate on its Arabic services. The regional office in Cairo will be the first to open in the Middle East and will be headed by Sherif Iskander, the regional head for Google Middle East and North Africa.

- ISPAN agreement with NITEL not yet signed. Planning to do so when IXP set up and for Nitel to connect capacity directly into the IXP.

- Accelon won the ISP of the year award in Nigeria.

ACER SOUTH AFRICA OVERTAKES HP’S MARKET SHARE FIGURE

Acer has taken the top spot in SA's notebook market, deposing Hewlett-Packard (HP) for the first time. Figures from research house IDC show that Acer's sales grew 48% year on year to give it a market share of 23% for the second quarter of this year.

Acer also moved up to third place in the combined notebook and PC market with year-on-year growth of 53%, to corner a market share of 10%. Acer SA country manager David Drummond says the steady growth justifies its strategy of using a distribution channel, and validates its continued investment in the South African market. "We've invested heavily in building our brand in SA, marketing our products and backing them up with strong support, which has translated into robust growth."

Acer used to sell its products directly to some clients, but switched to a completely indirect business model five years ago. That allowed it to focus on channel development, marketing, support and customer service but left the configuration, installation, sales and logistics to business partners with the expertise and economies of scale to do it better, Drummond says.

Acer SA has had strong growth in market share since it moved to that model. It uses distributors Axiz and Tarsus, and Incredible Connection stores, Drummond says. Globally, Acer ranks in the top five PC vendors.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

TUXLABS EVOLVES INTO INKULULEKU TECHNOLOGIES

The tuXlabs project, initiated by the Shuttleworth Foundation, has had new life breathed into it with the formation of Inkululeku Technologies - a company formed to continue the work begun by tuXlabs. This new company aims to take tuXlabs to the next level as a serious business.

tuXlabs was initiated in partnership with 200 local schools to bolster the use of open source software in schools, as well as to develop a sustainable model that can be easily replicated in other educational environments. Since its pilot phase in 2002, tuXlabs has installed over 4000 computers, and over 500 teachers have been trained, enabling over 200 000 learners to use the open source software and educational open content on a daily basis.

Zelda Holtzman, CEO of Shuttleworth Foundation, explains the organisation’s intentions. “The foundation's main goal is to invest in projects that drive innovation in education and, given the success of tuXlabs, we strongly believe that this is a model the Education Department is able to adopt for implementation in SA schools,” she says.

“Over the past years we have seen numerous organic replication projects both locally and internationally. Given the scope of the project, the foundation decided to reward the tuXlab team with the remaining funding to continue with its work, applying its passion and creativity to drive the sustainability and growth of the project through the formation of a company.”

Hilton Theunissen, founder of the tuXlabs project, says: “tuXlabs is more than just software and hardware. During the project we were able to develop a complete seven-step project management cycle for the establishment of a sustainable ICT programme, built on the application of the open source philosophy. The added bonus is that the model can be replicated in any ICT community centre or social entrepreneurship project.”

With so many parties reliant on the solution, a suitable exit strategy had to be put in place. It was decided by the Shuttleworth Foundation that Inkululeku Technologies would be formed to take tuXlabs into the future. The tuXlab Team will continue its work with tuXlabs in the newly formed Inkululeku, which was established on 1 July.

He says that the company will also challenge the tuXlabs project in a commercial context. “This will ultimately help us to focus on building sustainability and operate as a service provider to the Shuttleworth Foundation and other corporates. This independence allows us to focus on the job at hand,” explains Theunissen.

The foundation has provided an operational budget and project funding to get the company going. The future, however, lies in the commercial viability of tuXlabs, something that Theunissen and his team are planning to make a success.

“It is not often that employees are given such an opportunity,” enthuses Theunissen. “The foundation recognised our passion and decided on a great exit strategy for the project to ensure that the educational institutions involved continue to get support.”

Inkululeku is a Xhosa word for 'freedom' - which is in line with tuXlabs’ objectives and the open source philosophy.

(SOURCE: ICT World)

ETHIOPIA IS IN SEARCH OF A NATIONAL DIGITAL PRESERVATION POLICY FRAMEWORK

At a national consultation workshop, which was held this week on Digital Materials Preservation here, two officials from UNESCO and the National Archives Libraries of Ethiopia (NALE) said that there was a need for a policy framework for digital materials preservation in this country.

In opening the meeting both UNESCO's representatives, Awad Elhassan, and the Director-General of NALE, Ato Atkilt Assefa, underscored the importance of the workshop both in the context of supporting preservation of heritage material and the larger picture of increasing access to information and knowledge as a lever for development. They both stressed the need for a developing a policy framework for digital materials preservation in Ethiopia.

Oracle Content & Collaboration

The range of organizations participating in the meeting served to emphasize that digital material preservation was a challenge that needed to be addressed not only by cultural institutions but also by all sectors of society involved in creating, using, sharing and storing digital information objects.

At present, there is a massive effort under way in Ethiopia to introduce information systems and high bandwidth networks under the umbrella of the national ICT4D plan. The workshop provided an opportunity to raise awareness of the need to incorporate and address digital preservation practices and guidelines within this framework. During the workshop, significant attention was given to presenting and discussing the findings and implications of a baseline study on digital material preservation in Ethiopia that has been commissioned by UNESCO.

In presenting his findings, Dr Dawit Bekele of Addis Ababa University, leader of the study team, pointed out that while there was growing awareness of the need to implement digital preservation procedures and the consequences if this was not done, little concerted action had been taken either within the public or private sector. For example, while 65% of the institutions surveyed were aware of the risks associated with inadequate preservation measures, only 35% had developed in-house guidelines or policies on how digital files were to be managed. Furthermore, while Ethiopia's national laws regarding legal deposit and archives addressed the needs of digital material preservation, they needed to be expanded to include producers of digital content.

Dr Dawit emphasized the need for significant support to enhance the human resource and institutional capacity at NALE so that they could fulfil their legal mandate to preserve both analog and digital materials.

The Ethiopian study is part of a wider comparative research effort commissioned by UNESCO to examine the status of digital preservation practices in Botswana, Ethiopia and South Africa. These studies will support the implementation of the UNESCO Charter on the Preservation of the Digital Heritage which was adopted in 2003 and the regional implementation and adaptation of the Guidelines for the Preservation of Digital Heritage prepared for UNESCO by the National Library of Australia in 2003.

Another expected outcome of the cooperative research project is the exchange of professional experiences and the strengthening of South-South cooperation. Similar consultative workshops will also be held in Botswana and South Africa later this month and it is anticipated that the final comparative study with recommendations and case will be available for dissemination by October 2006.

(SOURCE: The Reporter)

BARCAMP FEVER HITS SOUTH JOHANNESBURG AND DURBAN

"Open source conferencing" will hit Johannesburg and Durban by the end of the year as BarCamp fever grips South Africa. Earlier this year, Tectonic reported on preparations for the massively successful BarCamp Cape Town. Now geeks in Johannesburg and Durban are following suit.

The BarCamp formula is simple: entrance is free, but attendees are expected to help out in some way, for instance, giving a presentation or blogging the event. Dozens of BarCamps have been held across the world since the first, and most famous, one held in Palo Alto, USA, in August 2005. BarCamp Johannesburg will run from 9-10 September while BarCamp Durban will run from 18-19 November 2006.

There's been plenty of buzz around the Johannesburg event, since technology writer and co-organiser, Mike Stopforth, announced it on his blog last week.

The event, under the slogan "Culture. Tech. Media", already has an impressive participant list and is likely to attract most of Johannesburg's top geeks by the time it gets going at the Sci-Bono Science Museum in Newtown.

Meanwhile, planning for Durban's event is well underway. Leading the charge is organiser Edrich De Lange, a 17-year-old uber-geek, who among his many passions (in no particular order: linux, amateur radio, developing a low-cost thin client and playing the French horn), enjoys organising events.

However, only 12 people have signed up on BarCamp Durban's wiki. "I am worried a tad," says De Lange, "but everyone else thinks we'll have enough people".

"I think we'll get at least 80 [people] from the Durban area coming over the two days, so we should have a great jol," he adds.

De Lange says his motivation for organising the event is the exciting ideas that may come out of a large geek gathering. "I hope it will spark things like new projects, as Barcamp Cape Town has done, for example in my case it just got more support for one of my projects [a low-cost thin client]. I hope it will spark new friendships as well." People can sign up for both events on the respective BarCamp wikis (Johannesburg, Durban).

(SOURCE: Tectonic)

IN BRIEF:

- During a virtual general assembly the members of Schoolnet Africa have decided to relocate the headquarters of the organisation from South Africa to Dakar in Senegal. Schoolnet Africa is an pan-african organisation promoting the introduction of ICT in schools.

- The Joburg Centre for Software Engineering at Wits University says that it is one step closer to offering introductory courses to the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) after two of its members went overseas for training.

MTN SINKS $2.8BN IN NIGERIA

Nigeria's mobile telephony provider, MTN, has disclosed that it has sank a princely $2.8 billion in the country since its inception five years ago. The amount is outside the licensing fee of $285 million paid to the government.

Group president and Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Phuthuma Nhleko made this known at the on-going Nigeria Investment Forum in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Addressing participants at the forum, Nhleko said an enabling business environment spurred by the Nigerian government's commitment to trade liberalisation has facilitated MTN's contribution to infrastructure investment phenomenal subscriber growth and business operations in Nigeria.

"MTN has established a mutually beneficial relationship with the Nigerian government through which MTN Nigeria has to date cumulatively invested more than $2.8 billion in capital investments" he stated.

He said MTN Nigeria, as a result enjoys a lion's share of the market at 47 per cent adding that the service provider has the highest share of net connections with over 10 million subscribers.

Nhleko disclosed that in 2005 alone, MTN Nigeria procured over R3 billion products and services and also invested over R30 million in corporate social responsibility.

He said that in recent time, the service provider was recognised as the Best Mobile Operator of the Year 2005 at the Nigerian Telecoms Awards.

The MTN boss was emphatic that the company remains not only the strongest brand in the sector but one of the leading brands in the country.

He called for the narrowing of the gulf of ignorance regarding business opportunities in Nigeria, saying such ignorance had resulted in misconceptions about available business opportunities in the country, thus giving the untrue picture and culminating in imbalance of trade between the two countries.

"Nigeria remained a material component of MTNs business in spite of its expansion into 21 countries in Africa and the Middle East he said.

MTN Group is a co-sponsor of the Nigeria Investment Forum which has been an annual event hosted in South Africa for the third time.

It could be recalled that MTN Nigeria was launched in 2001 and is on its fifth year of operation as one of four GSM operators in Nigeria.

Since inception, MTN Nigeria has aggressively focused on subscriber growth, supported by rapid network roll out amid keen competition in the market.

In January 2002, MTN started building its own nationwide microwave transmission backbone, 'YelloBahn, to increase MTN’s network capacity and improve call quality.

To date this transmission infrastructure spans in excess of 7000 kilometres, traversing cities and villages across the country. MTN has also constructed its own power system, YelloWatts, to keep the entire MTN network at peak performance 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. MTN invests US$ 4 million monthly and over US$ 70 million annually to source diesel that powers YelloWatts.

As the network continues to develop MTN has been able to meet the requirements of lower income users by reducing the cost of recharge cards and booster services.

MTN Nigeria's subscriber profile remains predominantly prepaid, making up 99 per cent of the base.

MTN Group began operations in 1994 and has grown to become a multinational telecommunications group, and listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) Securities Exchange, recording over 28 million subscribers across its operations as at March 31, 2006.

(SOURCE: The Daily Champion)

ORASCOM TELECOM  INCOME JUST KEEPS ON RISING

Egypt’s Orascom Telecom has posted a 41% increase in first half EBITDA as its group mobile subscriber base leapt 93% year-on-year to more than 41 million. Revenues in the six months ended 30 June rose 36% to EGP11.86 billion (USD2.06 million), pushing EBITDA up to EGP5.31 billion and net income up 12% to EGP1.93 million. Orascom has stakes in mobile operators in Algeria, Pakistan, Egypt, Iraq, Tunisia, Bangladesh, Africa and the Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville). At the end of June its total subscriber base across all operations reached 40.97 million, up from 21.21 million a year earlier.

Orascom also owns 19.3% of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd (HTIL), which holds stakes in operators in Hong Kong, Macau, India, Israel, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Indonesia and Vietnam. It is looking to increase its stake in HTIL by 3.7%, lifting its overall ownership to 23%, and is currently seeking approval for the deal from the governments of the various countries in which HTIL operates.

(SOURCE: Telegeography)

ZIMBABWE CELSYS RESULTS EXCEED EXPECTATIONS

An upbeat Celsys Ltd has reported earnings per share far ahead of analysts' expectations. Settling most debt by December, Celsys Ltd channelled free cash flows into creating real growth, successfully controlled costs and achieved pleasing volume growth in all divisions with little real increase in overheads.

In June 2006 Celsys acquired a security software business, adding critical mass to its IT division. The management team was strengthened by the appointment of Geoff Goss as chief executive officer on July 1 2006 and Rosinah Hove as financial director on January 1 2006.

Turnover increased by 1 048 percent via greater numbers of payphones in operation, increased ATM transaction fees and printing of higher volumes of recharge cards and cheques.

Focus on higher margin business, cost cutting and the benefits of a fixed cost structure with growing volumes, led to an increase in net profit from a loss of $19.6 billion to a profit of $444.9 billion. Earnings per share in historical cost terms increased from a loss of ($22.65)/share to a profit of $390.73/share.

Celsys C-phone, the payphone division, rolled out 500 more payphones, meeting stated mid-year targets. Operations were rationalised, including the integration of payphone loading systems with new reporting systems which provide minute-by-minute data.

Celsys expects to take up a large share of additional payphone lines being issued by networks and remains the largest payphone dealer in Zimbabwe.

Recharge card volumes increased by 19 percent over the previous year as a result of the market increase in cell phone lines. Volumes of cheques printed increased by 44 percent. Printing orders from new customers effectively increased Celsys Print's market share.

Volumes of ATM transactions increased by 69 percent and Celsys IT continues to be recognised as the service provider of choice. The recent acquisition of Hillside Technologies, which provides software security to large corporates, allows for further expansion of lucrative markets across Africa. With the deal came distribution rights throughout sub-Saharan Africa for world leading UK based anti-virus, anti-spam and computer security vendor, Sophos.

Celsys Ltd is generating sufficient cash to allow for growth, which is forecast in all divisions. Cellphone networks are due to release about 14,000 payphones lines and 550,000 cellphone lines and the payphone, cell phone and print divisions are set to benefit significantly.

(SOURCE: Financial Gazette)

BCX OPPOSES R261M LIMPOPO IT TENDER

Business Connexion (BCX) this week filed a formal application to review the controversial R261 million Limpopo hospital information system (HIS) tender process.

One of the losing bidders, BCX filed the application to review the tender at the Pretoria High Court, following its filing of an interim court interdict about a month ago, citing irregularities in awarding the tender to a local empowerment consortium.

“We are now waiting for notice to oppose the application from the respondents – the Limpopo Department of Health and LHC Health Solutions [the consortium awarded the tender in May],” says Neil Haupt, senior legal counsel for BCX. He explains there were “certain irregularities in the awarding of the tender – and we feel it shouldn't have been awarded to LCH”.

Haupt adds BCX is contesting its disqualification at one of the stages. “We were disqualified for allegedly not complying with one of the formal requirements regarding pricing.” He confirms what CEO Peter Watt has said of BCX's tender quotation being R121 million – substantially less than that of LHC. The Department of Health has consistently maintained BCX was simply not offering the solution it was looking for.

Both respondents are expected to have about a month to respond to the application; and, if no objections are received, or the court deems them invalid, the tender process will be reconsidered.

Haupt says BCX is pushing for the tender to be awarded directly to it, but if that fails he says he hopes to see it sent back to the Department of Health for re-evaluation.

Speaking from its Canadian headquarters, HIS provider Heron Technology chairman Ron Hebert says the previous failures of health IT systems in Limpopo are indicative of public sector HIS projects in developing countries.

"Almost all public sector HIS attempts in developing countries fail, according to my international research over the past 10 years. I have never found a success," says Hebert.

“Regarding the LHC consortium, it is hard to imagine how a new, and probably inexperienced ‘consortium' could now take the lead and tell the earlier partners (Medicom and IBM) how to proceed towards success with the same software and hardware as was used before,” he adds.

Hebert's comments refer to the Standing Committee on Public Accounts' investigation into an alleged wasted R193 million on failed IT system deployments when IBM deployed Medicom software between 1996 and 2000. It is understood that LHC, through its service partner, Australian-based IBA Health, will deploy Medicom software.

(SOURCE: ITWeb)

IN BRIEF:

- The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has said it would be willing to invest in Telkom Kenya and it is currently holding talks with the government with a view to taking a stake in the telco. The East Africa Standard reports that the organisation has not, however, confirmed how much it would be willing to invest in state-owned Telkom, which is being restructured ahead of its privatization. The IFC, a division of the World Bank, has already invested in other African telecoms firms, including Celtel and MTN.

- This list of government ministries and departments owing money to their national telcos is getting longer with the UNETEL (National Union of the telecommunications industry) in Ivory Coast reporting this week that the debt stands currently at 15 billions CFA francs ( 292 million US$). In Kenya, a cabinet minister Mutahi said that Telkom Kenya is owned Sh4.5 billion (61 million US$).

- The board of directors of the South African based Dimension Data has approved the upgrading of its office in Nigeria as the headquarters of its West African's operations.

- A decision on who will be the successful private buyer of Burkina Faso’s Onatel will be taken in November 2006. There are seven potential buyers including France Telecom, Monaco Telecom and Maroc Telecom. Meanwhile in Central African Republic, the Government is unhappy at the investment and performance of France Telecom-owned Sotelco. France Telecom owns 40% and will make a decision next month as to whether it will continue or pull out. If it pulls out, its stake will go up for sale.

READERS’ RESPONSES:

ISSUE 318 – TRANSITION FROM SATELLITE TO FIBRE

A reader from Kenya wrote in to say that despite there now being two operational fibre links from Nairobi to Mombasa provided by KDN and Telkom Kenya, there is no sign of any price competition on the route.

ASK LAUNCHES BUSINESS WEBSITE IN KENYA

The Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) has launched a website to promote agriculture, livestock development and allied industries. The website, www.onlinebiashara.com, will be officially launched by President Mwai Kibaki when he officially opens the Mombasa ASK show towards the end of this month.

The ASK national chairman, Mr Timothy Omato, said the website would ensure the society works closely with stakeholders. He said this while addressing show exhibitors the show ground.

"We shall use the website to organise and stage exhibitions, trade and agricultural shows as well as use information communication technology to promote agriculture," said Omato.

He said the ASK website would also help in marketing society's potential sponsors and give the it a corporate image. Omato said the council of the ASK has adopted a strategic plan aimed at ensuring better performance by various organs of the society and ensure efficient delivery of services.

(SOURCE: The East African Standard)

RWANDA GATEWAY DEVELOPS WEB PORTAL FOR JUSTICE SECTOR

All information on legal reforms and Gacaca records will soon be viewed online after Rwanda Development Gateway (RDG) develops a dynamic web portal for the whole justice sector.

The new portal, to be finalized within a month's time, will contain information and content from the justice sector. "This will offer visibility for the justice ministry, Supreme Court, Office of the Ombudsman, Gacaca secretariat," according to the RDG content coordinator Immaculate Bugingo.

Others are the military court, the national police and the prison's services. RDG officials recently met those from the justice sector to review different interfaces already developed by RDG for the new portal.

It is expected that the joint portal will create more access to all judicial records online and increase traffic.

Currently, RDG is collecting content from the different institutions of the justice sector for the upcoming website that is viewed as the first of its kind in Rwanda combining different government organs.

Bugingo added: "This is part of the RDG initiatives to offer more visibility to government services.

RDG has already developed a dynamic website for the agriculture and education ministries. More portals are to be developed for other ministries and embassies.

Under the same initiative, RDG is currently developing web portals for ISAR and KIE. The justice sector has a media coordinating team that is handling the web project.

(SOURCE: The New Times)

NIGERIAN INTERNET TV FOR LAUNCH

Lagos Television Service and White Pages Limited have concluded arrangement to launch Nigerian.TV on Friday , the television which can be accessed across the Internet is the next revolution in television broadcasting.

According to the release signed by Marketing Director of the project, Mr Akeem Adewunmi, the television will allow viewers to get the best of music, talk shows, films, animations ,actions, sports, news and others.

He explained that Nigeria.TV was set up in order to allow those with low speed Internet connection to enjoy watching programmes online. He said that a special focus on Nollywood will also be featured on the television.

" Nigerian TV also represents a new concept in advertising, that of featuring corporate video online alongside more conventional forms of advertising across the Nigerian TV network sites. The partner web sites in the Nigerian. TV network are quality, high traffic sites including Nigerian. TV, African Capital Markets, Lagos State TV. and the web site of THISDAY newspaper, Thisdayonline.com"

"The launch also includes the launch of Lagos State TV. on line information service and a platform on the internet for Lagos State. It provides information for Lagos state".

(SOURCE: This Day)

IN BRIEF:

- The Media Alliance of Zimbabwe (MAZ), a group of media organisations, together with the Zimbabwe National Editors Forum (Zinef) have said the Interception of Communications Bill 2006 is intrusive and has no place in a democratic society. In a submission to the Parliamentary Legal Committee, the MAZ and Zinef said the Bill impinges on individual freedoms and liberties and is therefore unconstitutional.

PEOPLE

Etisalat has appointed Saleh El Abdooli, formerly network development manager for Etisalat in the UAE, as the CEO for the third mobile network in Egypt, in which Etisalat has a 66% stake.

*James Maclaurin has recently joined the management board of Celtel International BV as its Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Celtel, James was the CFO of UbiNetics, a private equity funded wireless technology business successfully sold to Cambridge Silicon Radio in August 2005.

Denis Ndjimbi has been appointed as new independent financial controller at general direction of Gabon Telecom

South African networking and communications distributor, Comztek, has appointed Chris Davies as manager of its KwaZulu-Natal branch.

Aboubacar  Chaibou from Sahelcom has been appointed as the coordinator of the newly founded association of internet services providers in Niger (ANFAI)

EVENTS

- 10TH ANNUAL CONTACT CENTRES WORLD AFRICA

28th - 31st August 2006, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South  Africa
Effective strategies for excellence in call centers