MAURITANIA: ARRIVAL OF THIRD OPERATOR WILL SHAKE UP COSY DUOPOLY Telecoms news Internet news Computing news Digital toolbox/In search of the business model On the money Web news People, events, jobs, contracts...

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ISSUE NO 324

Mauritania: arrival of third operator will shake up cosy duopoly

Mauritania’s new third operator has already paid a staggering USD107 million for its unified licence. And all this money for a country that only has a population of around 2.75 million people. Currently there is a fairly cosy duopoly on mobile between the former incumbent Mauritel (now owned by Vivendi’s Maroc Telecom) and Mattel (owned by Tunisie Telecom. In other key areas like international bandwidth and the Internet Mauritel has a de-facto monopoly. The new operator Chinguitel has a unified licence and will start operations in December 2006.

The sum for the third bid has raised eyebrows both locally and elsewhere because the runner-up France Telecom (that owns Sonatel in neighbouring Senegal) only paid US$36 million. However Chinguitel looks set to invest a significant sum in making its operation work. And in doing so, it will force the other two operators in the market to raise their game. It has recently appointed a Mauritanian CEO currently working in a telecoms company in Saudi Arabia. Chinguitel is betting that the economy is set for some spectacular growth with the impact of oil (which has recently started pumping from offshore fields) and a newly opened copper mine.

The new entrant is a consortium of Sudatel (with money from the sale of the stake in its mobile operation) and Gulf state investors. It is rumoured to be planning to spend US$40 million on a network that will have 150 base stations from day one compared to the 160 it has taken Mauritel several years to build up. Mattel has only 80 base stations although it is also engaged in a rapd build out to get its coverage to match Mauritel's.. To meet the competition, Mauritel is also ramping up its network spending and modernising its network over the 2006/2007 period.

A key problem for all operators is access to international bandwidth. An international fibre connection is available through Sonatel but the Senegalese incumbent is charging a significant premium for the transit to the SAT3 landing station. Competition may force the solution of this problem. It would be easy for Mauritel to build a fibre link to Nouadhibou on the country’s northern border. It is then only a comparatively small distance between there and Laayoune, the western-most extension of Maroc Telecom’s fibre network. This would give it access to international bandwidth that was significantly cheaper.

In order to compete, Chinguitel would either have to get regulatory dispensation to share the resulting cheaper prices on Mauritel’s fibre link or build its own. It has two possible choices: go north to Morocco and build a submarine spur to the Canary Islands or build a link to Mali and off to a cheaper SAT3 destination overland. The latter is probably less feasible given the distances and the generally higher prices on SAT3 further along the pipe.

The incumbent’s mobile subsidiary Mobitel Mobile has 500,000 subscribers and its only competitor Mauritel has 400,000 subscribers. However, these figures are misleadingly optimistic as many Mauritanians have two phones because the interconnect rates between the two networks are very high. Industry insiders say there is a a mid-term potential of 1.2 million subscribers.

Currently mobile coverage is limited to coastal strip between Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and the “route de l’espoir” to Mali and along the Senegal River that makes up the frontier with southern neighbour Senegal.

Mattel will launch a GPRS service later this year (probably ahead of the Chinguitel launch) aimed at high-spend, post-paid customers. It will start the service in Nouakchott and roll-out the service once that has been established.

Mattel claims to be 30% cheaper than Mauritel Mobile but this is a relatively recent price differential. Both operators have paid fines for quality of service issues but as local industry sources point out, these fines are relatively modest alongside the sums of money each operator is making.

Mattel seems to have adopted a minimum investment, maximum return approach that has worked well with a duopoly where each player shadows the price and service behaviour of their competitor. However, Mattel chose not to bid for any of the recent round of licences and it looks like that it does not have the money to keep up with the spending race that will be initiated by Chinguitel’s entry into the market. As a result, it is probably the operator with the most to lose as competition hots up.

Internet access is only available in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou and that covers only about 40% of the population.

There used to be five ISPs but that number has gone down to two: Mauritel and Top Technology. The latter is having a hard time making any money. Mauritel has squeezed all Internet competition out of the market. Its charges meant that ISPs were left with a margin on the supply of basic bandwidth of only US$7 per subscriber. Since some had only 200 subscribers, the complete impossibility of creating a business model is apparent. Mauritel has also refused to supply DSL services to the one remaining independent ISP.

There are 3,000 Internet subscribers, of which around 1,000 are DSL subscribers. Many of these subscribers are using Skype to speak to friends and relatives abroad. DSL prices are very high: US$95.69 (without tax) for a 256K connection as the roll-out is essentially seen as targeted at the corporate market.

However the emergence of a third competitor may force Mauritel to adopt the strategy of its parent in Morocco. It has used the lowest DSL prices on the continent (US$22 compared to Mauritel’s $95.69) to get the highest number of DSL subscriptions on the continent (340,000). The tactic has been a “land-grab” to deny its competitor Meditel the opportunity to get established. However before low prices can really emerge both Mauritanian competitors will have to find lower international bandwidth prices.

All of this investment and competition can only be good news for Mauritian consumers until both Mauritel and Chinguitel have effectively forced Mattel off the road.

KENYAN GOVERNMENT WANTS CHANGES TO EASSY PROTOCOL

The Kenyan Government has fundamental disagreements with the EASSy Government Protocol signed in Rwanda and it is hard to see how these disagreements will be bridged. Balancing Act’s Isabelle Gross spoke to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information, Bitange Ndemo on a visit to London last week.

According to Ndemo:” The Kenyan Government is not going to sign the Protocol unless some fundamental issues are solved before. Over the last years the Kenyan economy has gone through a liberalisation process and this includes the telecommunications sector whereby the role of the Government is to facilitate the expansion of the private sector and not to interfere with it.”

From this perspective, it fears that NEPAD may have an overbearing influence on the project:”The NEPAD protocol implies that at some stage a type of “governmental body” supervised by the NEPAD secretariat would be created to manage the project. NEPAD will have a lot of power in this project. How will it for example communicate to the Board of the SPV? We fear that the form of communication between NEPAD and the SPV would be in the form of directives”.

The Kenyan Government maintains that a regional protocol of this kind is illegal as it will override national law:” The IGA (has the power) to overrule all regulatory agreements in East and Southern Africa and therefore that would make it illegal in Kenya. We want EASSy to stay private with a shareholders agreement. NEPAD has no role in this project even when it defends the principle of open access to EASSy. At first we want the EASSy project to be out of any governmental control and later on we can discuss about the open access model. We fear that the current situation is potentially stopping foreign interests and investment”.

The Kenyan Government fears the influence of South Africa in NEPAD:” NEPAD is controlled via South Africa. We are all brothers and sisters and therefore should work together! We don’t want any control. Personally I think that the e-Africa commission is overstepping and has lost directions with what NEPAD main role and tasks are.

But the bottom line for Kenya is that it needs a cable as soon as possible if it is not to lose potential global opportunities, particularly in outsourcing:”For Kenya’s economy the cable is a matter of life or death and therefore all means are good to get it. Right now there are some outsourcing opportunities coming up. Some European companies have shown interest in outsourcing work in Kenya. These opportunities only happen once. If the EASSy project is further delayed we would need to continue to rely on expensive satellite backhaul for data and voice transmission. Further delays in the project would stop opportunities in the outsourced market”.

Ndemo feels that the Protocol is a step backwards in terms of regulatory approach:”The protocol that has been signed by the other countries needs to be domesticated in terms of its content. The protocol reflects a different stage in the regulatory environment. As it stands now it will take us back to a regulated environment (versus a liberalised environment) and what access would it be and at what cost? NEPAD has no resources to do it and who should invest with this protocol? There is already the EASSy consortium.

At this point, Ndemo’s fellow national, Telkom Kenya Managing Director Sammy Kirui (who was with the PS) chipped in:”The EASSy consortium is ready to address the issues around the SAT3 consortium. We don’t intend to go back to the monopoly of SAT3 and its blocks. The question of price can be addressed today. At that time (when the SAT3 consortium was set up) there was no regulator. Today the telecommunication sector is more open and there is a regulatory framework in place to deal with complaints/issues with regards to access. Operators are not here to keep prices high and they acknowledge that if they offered lower prices they will attract more customers.”

Ndemo cited the example of Caribbean regulators addressing similar access issues with Cable and Wireless:”Access to the cable is an issue that today can be dealt with the regulator. EASSy has come a long way from a regulatory and financing point of view. The question of (the) access model and price can be addressed too”.

So how will things move forward? According to Ndemo:“ The EASSy consortium has already contracted Alcatel for the construction of the cable. The financing is in place. At this stage Telkom SA can’t do anything. They can’t do what they did in the past when they pulled out of the Africa One project and started SAT3”.

But what does the Kenyan Government intend to do?:”Kenya will support the EASSy consortium or build a redundant cable”. But if it has to go it alone, how will it do it?:”The money will be raised on the Kenyan Stock Exchange. Bonds will be issued but there is also the possibility of a partnership with the UAE. Bonds could be convertible (to) equity after two years. (The return on investment would be)”not much, less than the banks rates. The redundant cable project could be structured around another SPV”.

VODAFONE TO BID FOR INTERNATIONAL GATEWAY LICENSE IN EGYPT

Vodafone Egypt (VFE) has unofficially announced its decision to bid for one of the two international gateway operators' licenses to be offered by the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA) by the end of this year.

The move comes just days after the company's acquisition of 51 percent of Raya Telecom for LE 104 million and amid speculation of a conflict brewing between NTRA and VFE as the former has already said the two existing mobile operators will not be allowed to enter the bidding for the international license. The authority did not include the winning consortium of the third mobile license led by UAE's Etisalat.

"If the third (mobile) operator is going to be allowed to bid, we feel it's our right to get a similar license," says VFE Corporate Affairs Director Omar El Sheikh.

Etisalat Chairman Mohammed Omran has already made clear his company's intentions to apply for one of the two international licenses.

Although NTRA had promised to release fees, pre-qualification and bidding conditions for international license bids as early as January 2006, none have been released yet. The authority now says conditions will be released by the end of this year. One NTRA official told the financial weekly Al Mal bidding conditions will be release in October.

Telecom Egypt's (TE) monopoly on international calling operations ended in December 2005. The company collected LE 2.3 billion in international calling revenues, or 27 percent of total revenues of LE 8.5 billion in 2005. International calling revenues include incoming international calling fees, mobile international traffic via its 25 percent share in VFE and fixed international calling traffic via its network.

In comments made by several NTRA officials, including Chairman Amr Badawi, the authority made clear neither of the existing GSM operators will be allowed to bid for international operations. No clear reason has been given by NTRA, although in one statement the organization said one of the goals of liberalizing international communication was "conveying international experience of Egyptian companies in the field of international cables construction, operation and maintenance."

The Daily Star Egypt made repeated attempts to contact several NTRA officials including Badawi and Vice Chairman Sherif Ginena but none were available as of press time.

While most analysts believe VFE's recent acquisition of Raya puts the company in a better technical and legal position to pursue an international license, El Sheikh says denies the move was made with that intention.

"Our acquisition of Raya was mainly aimed at providing our enterprise customers with total solutions in voice and data," says El Sheikh.

El Sheikh declines to disclose how much VFE plans to spend on infrastructure development should the company be granted an international license, but says the figure is already included in the company's announced annual network upgrading budget, set at LE 1.7 billion for this year.

"An international license will help us expand and diversify our services in order to better meet the needs of our clients," El Sheikh says. "We are looking forward to getting an international gateway license to provide our customers with the best quality in international communication."

Though legally expired, he says, TE's existing monopoly has kept quality low and prices high for years. He says the two offered licenses will introduce competition to reverse both trends. Still, it is unclear how NTRA will keep Vodafone out of contention if Etisalat is allowed to bid.

"I think 3 billion makes a case," says one senior market analyst who declined to be identified. He spoke in reference to the $2.9 billion paid by Etisalat's consortium for the third mobile license.

The possible conflict comes on the heels of the ongoing dispute between NTRA and Mobinil over the latter's recent commercial introduction of Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution (EDGE) technology without a license. EDGE allows users to transfer data at six times the speed of GPRS. While NTRA classifies the technology as third generation, a license worth LE 3.3 billion, Mobinil argues it is 2.75 as proclaimed by the GSM Association, an international support body, which requires no additional licensing. Earlier this month, Mobinil agreed to suspend EDGE services until the dispute is resolved.

(SOURCE: Daily Star)

THIRD GENERATION MOBILE PHONE LICENCE GRANTED IN MOZAMBIQUE

Mozambique's largest mobile phone operator, M-cel, on Monday received a licence to operate a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication System) network, which is part of the so-called "third generation" of cellphone technology.

M-cel, which is effectively a public company, has thus outpaced its sole competitor, the South African owned Vodacom, and becomes the first phone company in Mozambique to offer users the multimedia capacities of UMTS, including unlimited internet access.

With this system, M-cel clients can also send and receive images and videos. They can transmit faxes by mobile phone, and can also see the person they are speaking to, if he or she also has a UMTS phone.

At Monday's ceremony the M-cel chairperson, Rui Fernandes, signed the terms and conditions of the licence with the chair of the regulatory body, the National Communications Institute of Mozambique (INCM), Salomao Manhica.

The catch is that M-cel clients cannot immediately enjoy the benefits of UMTS technology. Fernandes told reporters it will only be available as from mid-2007. The first people who will have access will be that minority of clients who pay their mobile phone bills by contract, and not the bulk of users who buy the pre-paid cards.Fernandes said that UMTS technology is part of a package of investments being made by M-cel, which amounts to around 50 million US dollars in 2006 alone.

Currently M-cel, the pioneer of mobile phone technology in Mozambique, covers about 70 per cent of the country, and the company expects this figure to reach 90 per cent by the end of the decade. M-cel has over a million clients, who mostly rely on the relatively cheap pre-paid cards.

(SOURCE: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique)

RWANDA GOVERNMENT SOFTENS ITS ATTITUDE TO TERRACOM SHARE DEAL

Details emerging from two weeks of talks between the Rwandan government and executives of Terracom Communications over the transfer of Rwandatel shares to a third party firm show a softened stance over the deal.Terracom is the company that last year acquired a 99% controlling stake in Rwandatel, the country's sole provider of fixed lines for years at a price of US$20m.

Late last month, Terracom attempted to trade its stake in Rwandatel to a Swiss-based GV Telecom, owned by business tycoon, Miko Rwayitare in a share-swap arrangement. But the government swiftly denounced the deal and declared it 'null and void' because backdoor tactics may have been used since government officials were not informed about it.

Eng. Albert Butare, the communications state minister, said the government had a Share Retention Agreement (SRA) with Terracom that binds it (government) to retain Rwandatel shares if the buyer fails to fulfill obligations spelt out in the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA). A clause in the share retention agreement says no change or transfer of shares may take place until all the obligations have been completed.

President Paul Kagame later added his voice to the issue when he told reporters that the company could only be disposed off by following the terms stipulated in the contracts with Terracom.

Last week though, sources close to the negotiations told Business Week the government had now agreed to a suggestion that Terracom offers a 25% stake to Miko's GV Telecom.

"The man (Miko) is interested to invest in the telecom sector but those issues will be tabled and discussed before the Cabinet soon on return from recess," the source said. Officials contacted by Business Week have since been quite cautious, preferring to avoid the issue. The director of the Rwanda Utility Regulation Agency (RURA) Francois Zimurinda, said he would only comment after negotiations with government are complete.

Terracom's chief executive, Greg Wylar, reportedly traveled to South Africa a fortnight ago, apparently to present the offer to businessman, Miko.

(SOURCE: East African Business Week)

MOBILE PHONE OPERATORS AWAIT ICASA NOD ON ROLL-OUT FOR POOR IN SOUTH AFRICA

Cellphone operator MTN had not yet been able to meet its obligations to give away 2,5-million SIM cards and 125000 handsets to poor people, or to roll out internet access to 8000 schools, the company said last week.

The social upliftment obligations were imposed as licence conditions when the cellular networks were awarded the 1800MHz spectrum and the high-speed third generation (3G) spectrum to boost their coverage.

MTN has taken no action yet as it tabled its proposals for distributing the equipment only late last year, and is waiting for approval of its plans by the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa).

Vodacom was also waiting for Icasa to approve its social obligation plans, said spokeswoman Dot Field. She could not say when Vodacom had submitted its roll-out plans to Icasa but said the company was working with government to plan the internet access service for schools. The agreement to give away the SIM cards and handsets to poor communities was thrashed out in August 2003, to give poor communities access to telecommunications. In return, the operators paid just R5m for their 1800MHz licences, far lower than the R700m that was proposed initially by government.

The agreement to provide internet access to 8000 schools and 140 institutes for disabled people came in June 2004 when 3G licences were granted. Yet MTN put all its proposals together in one document that it presented to Icasa only last October.

"We have prepared the roll-out of our 1800 and 3G obligations, and those plans have been submitted to Icasa for approval," said MTN's GM of internal business development Nkateko Nyoka. "Icasa hasn't yet approved our roll-out."

An industry commentator said it seemed unfair that the operators were granted the licences at very favourable prices when the "obligations" would also benefit the operators by putting more users on to their networks.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

IN BRIEF:

- According to local newspaper Guinée News, the Ministre of Poste and Telecommunications in Guinea has issued a fourth mobile phone licence to Cellcom, an Israeli company. The newspaper disagrees with Jean Claude Sultan, the minister in charge that this is the fifth licence and not the fourth issued so far. According to the minister there are four licenced GSM companies, Sotelgui, Intercel, Areeba and Cellcom. With regards to Spacetel, their activities are just tolerated and Spacetel has no licence, said the minister. The newspaper Guinée News reminded that Spacetel was granted a temporary licence 1997 and that the licence has been cancelled since the introduction of new regulations in the telecommunication sector.

- Zimbabwe's largest mobile operator Econet Wireless is planning to launch 3G services in the first quarter of next year, according to its chief executive officer Douglas Mboweni, who reported on Friday that the company had ordered UMTS equipment for an initial 50,000 lines from Swedish manufacturer Ericsson. Mr Mboweni said that the W-CDMA lines are in addition to 300,000 GSM connections that Econet will start releasing to customers from next month under a USD20 million expansion programme to increase network capacity from 500,000 to 800,000 by the end of the year. He added that 3G services will be launched initially in the capital Harare, and subsequent rollouts will be restricted to major urban centres due to the high cost of rollout.

- The Nigerian Minister of Communications, Dr. Femi Anibaba, disclosed that Nokia and Motorola, will soon establish plants for the manufacturing and assembling of mobile phone handsets and other accessories in Nigeria. The plants are to be established under a special partnership arrangement between the Nigerian government and the foreign investors. A Chinese firm, ZTE, has already established a handset terminal manufacturing plant in Abuja with an initial capacity to manufacture one thousand handsets per day.

- The extent of fraud, theft and improper behaviour within the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) is beginning to emerge, with police investigating the theft of R100,000 and the auditor-general highlighting a blatant flouting of tender processes. Icasa CEO Jackie Manche is facing a disciplinary hearing, while the authority’s former information technology manager has been found guilty of 11 charges.

TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE

- MTN Uganda has unveiled a tariff designed for the youth. The Late Chat tariff is a per second billing and it will be introduced to different universities. The new tariff package costs Shs12 per second from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. and is discounted to Shs4 from 11 :00 pm. to 6:00 am.

INTERNET SHUTDOWN IN ZIMBABWE

The benighted mess that is the remnants of Zimbabwe’s economy has slid further towards complete disintegration with the news that what limited Internet traffic there was in, and to and from, the country has all but come to a complete standstill after Intelsat cut access to its satellite bandwidth because of unpaid bills.

TelOne is controlled by the Mugabe government and owns the country’s principal satellite link. However it owes US$700,000 in unpaid fees and after negotiations that led nowhere, Intelsat has pulled the plug, plunging Zimbabwe further into the mire.

Inflation in Zimbabwe is running at 1,200 per cent (the highest anywhere on earth), unemployment is conservatively estimated to be 75 per cent, there are shortages of food, fuel and housing, the national currency is worthless and access to foreign reserves is practically non-existent after overseas companies withdrew their support and cash.

On it’s website (yes, you can go and have a look) the Zimbabwe Internet Services Providers Association (ZISPA) says that with the severing of the Intelsat link the country’s access to the Internet “is in a state of almost total collapse.”

ZISPA says it will approach the government in an effort to get it to pay its debt to Intelsat so that connections can be re-instated, but it will have to tread carefully with a regime that says the economic ills the nation has been suffering for so long are not the result of failed government policies and maladministration but are being caused by a concerted campaign of economic sabotage being carried out by the West in general and Britain in particular.

Meanwhile, Phil Chingwaru, a spokesman for TelOne, says “We have approached the reserve bank of Zimbabwe for foreign currency and they are working on that but there will be big delays in Internet access because of the cut-off by Intelsat.”

In an effort to ensure the whole sorry process doesn’t repeat itself again the next time a bill falls due, TelOne has asked the government for permission to charge the few of Zimbabwe’s big companies that are still operating for their Internet access in hard currencies including the US dollar, the Euro and the reviled British pound. Ah, pragmatism, it’s a wonderful thing.

And, in another strategy to generate foreign currency, TelOne is branching out into farming. The company is contracting tobacco and cotton farmers to produce crops that will go for export overseas. Phil Chingwaru says the company should realise somewhere in the region of US$12 million from the sale of its tobacco crop. Don’t tell Mr. Mugabe.

(SOURCE: Telecom TV)

DOUALA-YAOUNDE OPTICAL FIBRE CABLES READY IN NOVEMBER

Camtel announced that a range of fibre links will soon connect major cities in the country. The 12 optical fibres to be installed by government through the Cameroon Telecommunications Corporation along the Chad-Cameroon pipeline will soon be completed, Blaise Lentchou Kouayeb, Director of the National Network and Infrastructure, said.

The Camtel official told Cameroon Tribune, in his Yaounde office, that work on this ambitious project is well advanced. "It is our hope that by November this year, installations on the Douala-Yaounde main axes will be completed", he said. Lentchou Kouayeb underscored the task awaiting his department; that of equipping all the 14 outlets of the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline. "The Optical fibre will equally thread through from Douala-Edea-Kribi- Lolodolf-Ngoumou to Nzamengoue and from Nzamengoue to Nkolbisson", he said. To demonstrate the milestone covered on the project, he cited the construction and equippment of the station in Kribi which is already being used by the CT Phone. In the same vein, Ngoumou-Mbankomo-Nzamengoue will soon be installed while five to ten kilometres of optical fibre line has already been built at Obala-Nkoteng and Nanga Eboko to link the areas to Yaounde.

According to Kouayeb, the Optical Fibre Communication System has far reaching social impact. "We have been employing the services of villagers to dig the treches in which the fibre is buried. This is our own contribution in the fight against poverty", he said.

(SOURCE: Cameroon Tribune)

KENYAN STATE TO RECLAIM INTERNET HUB

The Government has taken steps to repossess the hub used by Universal Satspace and whose disconnection has caused internet disruptions in parts of the country.

The Ministry of Information and Communications has written to the Attorney-General seeking legal advice to get back the hub used by Universal Satspace for Very Small Aperture Terminal (Vsat) services to the Postal Corporation of Kenya (PCK). The PS, Dr Bitange Ndemo, wants the Attorney-General to state how the ministry can take possession of the hub which was financed by the public.

In a letter dated September 8, 2006, the PS notes that Gilat Alldean, the local agents for Universal Satspace, had switched off the Vsat service for PCK although it did not have a contract with the State corporation.

The letter addressed to the solicitor-general, Wanjuki Muchemi, states that Universal Satspace had signed an agreement with the Government and not PCK. The contract for the provision of bandwidth communication for PCK was signed on July 11, 2002, between the Treasury, the Transport and Communication ministry and Universal Satspace.

Further, Dr Ndemo notes that an inspection by the PCK board of directors at Gilat Alldean offices in Westlands, Nairobi, had revealed that Universal Satspace was using the hub to serve organisations other than the State corporation.

Should the Government move in to repossess the hub, many organisations are likely to be left without data and internet services or will have to move to another service provider.

Some of the companies which are served by Gilat Alldean include Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Department of Defence, National Security Intelligence Service, the Meteorological Department and Uchumi supermarkets.

(SOURCE: The Nation)

BROADBAND OVER POWER LINE SOLUTION APPEALS TO PROPERTY SA DEVELOPERS

Gauteng broadband-based Services Company Goal Technology Solutions (GTS) has been contracted by developer Zotos Construction to supply an integrated broadband residential solution.

The technology, using the existing electricity grid within the estate, will supply the upmarket Park24 development in Kyalami with broadband Internet access and telephone services for all units, as well as surveillance cameras, security communication, and access control.

While the technology itself is not entirely new, says GTS CEO, Adrian Maguire, it is significant that a developer of Zotos Property Group’s stature has sought a complete broadband solution in a residential development application, he adds.

“The residential market is demanding cost-effective broadband services provisioning on one seamlessly integrated homogenous network, and with backbone bandwidths of more than 200Mbps possible, that is a very real possibility,” says Maguire. “The inherent cost-effectiveness of marrying all functions within residential developments – from essential services such as access control and security to value-added service like internet access and email to all residents - is very attractive.”

Broadband across electricity grids is one of the most stable systems available, accessible by simply plugging into any electrical wall socket within the estate, he adds.

“Convergence of systems in residential and business environments is a marked trend,” says Maguire. “Not only do system and communication management integration save substantial costs, but management and availability of information becomes streamlined and sustainable within a secure environment.”

(SOURCE: ICT World)

BIG DISH SELECTED AS THIRD REGIONAL CARRIER BY AfrISPA

Big Dish have also been selected by the African ISP association, AfrISPA, in response to its request for Service for data transport between the different ISP members of local Internet Exchange Points. Big Dish Ltd, a new satellite provider incorporated in Mauritius has joined the two earlier bidders that successfully met the Request For Service (RFS) criteria to provide an African Regional Internet Traffic solution. The peering point design can be extended to allow additional Internet Exchanges to join the network with ease at any time in the future.

AfrISPA wants to establish true inter-country connectivity within the African continent, to remove the current dependence upon overseas carriers and to promote the establishment and growth of African regional data carriers. The establishment of a network of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) within Africa would also result in reduced costs, improved speeds and the improvement of the Internet backbone within Africa as a whole.

Big Dish has implemented a project that will revolutionise Internet access in Africa by breaking the current paradigm of Interconnection charges. This is achieved by buying substantial amounts of bandwidth where it is inexpensive, and delivering it via a leased Teleport and bulk space segment. This yields the capacity to deliver bandwidth via 5 satellites to any corner of Africa, using VSATs and proprietary modems.

This project can help ISPs in the African market who are currently struggling with high interconnection charges. Simultaneously, the Big Dish network can become a regional transit and interconnection provider. The project is being used to easily realize the dream of establishing a Pan African Virtual Internet Exchange (PAVIX) by selling transit at each IXP and offering interconnection between all African IXPs.

According to Matthew Rudd who is the CEO of Big Dish, “Big Dish can leverage its inexpensive bandwidth, burst capabilities and thousands of square feet of rack space into a Point to Multipoint configuration. We can connect every national IXP to each other, and thus exceed the requirements of the original RFS.”

IN BRIEF:

- Mali’s incumbent fixed line operator Société des Télécommunications du Mali (SOTELMA) has launched its first ADSL services in conjunction with Huawei Technologies, the company said in a statement. The service is initially available in the capital Bamako, Kayes, Ségou and Sikasso, but will be rolled out across SOTELMA’s entire network in phases. The telco has launched four tariffs, including a residential connection at download speeds of 128kbps for CFA1,000 (USD1.92) a day, or around USD58 a month, as well as 256kbps, 512kbps and 1Mbps connections targeted at business clients. All packages include a free modem plus e-mail accounts.

- As part of Telecom Namibia rollout programme to boost ICT in the country (Strategic Blueprint for an IP-Enabled Namibia for 2006-2010), ADSL will be launched within the next three months. By mid-next year, most places in Namibia would have broadband wireless access to the Internet.

- Intelsat and Telenor Satellite Broadcasting AS (TSBc) have announced that they have entered into an agreement to interconnect the two companies' fiber networks in London, providing customers of both Intelsat and Telenor with expanded, seamless access to new regions and services through each provider. This will mean their African customers will also be able to interconnect.

- Ghanaian ISP and provider of the Ghana.com service, Network Computer Systems (NCS), and NetSAT, a Ghanaian infrastructure and data services provider, have joined forces with SA-based wireless network solutions provider, RapidCloud Technology, to deploy West Africa's first WiMAX Forum Certified WiMAX network built on Redline Communications' WiMAX Forum Certified RedMAX systems.

- A Gambia ISP, Macoumba Group, has expressed interest in building an IXP in Gambia. They are looking for a sponsorship to pay for the technical training that would be provided via AfrISPA.

SOUTH AFRICA EDUCATION SOFTWARE WINS GLOBAL FANS

International open courseware practitioners have adopted Kewl, an education application framework developed in South Africa. This is according to Philipp Schmidt who says a number of organisations providing open courseware, including the United Nations University Merit Institute, are using the software.

Kewl, a PHP framework for educational organisations, was developed by the African Virtual Open Initiatives and Resources at the University of the Western Cape in South Africa.

UWC is also a member of the open courseware consortium, a global network of open courseware organisations.

This follows UWC's recent policy announcement that it was to make its make its course material freely available on the internet. Materials included in the announcement include courses, syllabuses, lecture notes and exam papers.

Other international organisations making learning materials freely available on the internet include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States. MIT launched its online open courseware materials in September 2002.

The UWC open courseware project is funded by the university with some assistance from the German government's human resources placement agency, which funds Schmidt's position.

Schmidt says they are looking for other funders that may be able to assist. He says that the new PHP5-version of KEWL is built on top of a web application framework called Chisimba that is also being developed mostly by the member of the AVOIR network. To cater for the open courseware project they are also extending the functionality of KEWL, says Schmidt

(SOURCE: Tectonic)

ARROW NETWORK SYSTEMS SELECTED FOR THE TECH MUSEUM AWARDS

The Tech Museum of Innovation, one of America’s leading science and technology museums, announced today Arrow Network Systems as a 2006 Tech Museum Awards Laureate. The Tech Museum of Innovation, located in San Jose, California, named 25 Laureates for the prestigious Tech Museum Awards Program, presented by Applied Materials, Inc., which celebrates those who leverage new and existing technologies to benefit humanity. This esteemed group of Laureates was selected from among 951 entries received representing 98 countries by program partner, Santa Clara University’s Center for Science, Technology, and Society.

Arrow Network Systems has been named a Laureate for the Microsoft Education Award for creating Javelin, a technology which seeks to give free access to educational resources on the Internet to schools in Africa.

“We are greatly excited to be picked up from Africa and honored as a Tech Museum Laureate for work aimed at helping education in the developing world” said Kwaku Boadu, CEO of Arrow Network Systems. “Education is key in reducing poverty and enhancing human development on our continent. It is our aim to use practical technologies like Javelin to put the Internet’s educational resources at the disposal of the African student for free.”

Arrow is a data telecommunication company with a mission of deploying low cost wireless telecom solutions in Africa for on-line-banking, ATMs, point-of-sale applications, telemetry and Internet access. Javelin seeks to address Africa’s Internet access challenges of cost and poor/patchy telecommunication infrastructure. The technology combines long/wide reach UHF data radios and open source Linux-based software for website mirroring and e-mail handling. Educational websites and e-mails are hosted on local servers for instant access, and slowly refreshed using UHF radios. Javelin enables students in poor communities have access to the same educational websites their counterparts in other parts of the world have access to, while effectively blocking students from accessing unauthorized sites using school resources.

CONSOLE WAR DELAYED IN SOUTH AFRICA

Computer gaming is a growth area worldwide and South Africa is no exception. Gamers in SA can largely be split into two camps: those who use their PCs to play games and those who use gaming consoles, primarily Sony's PlayStation2 (PS2).

In the SA console market, Sony has had things pretty much its own way for the past decade, with the original PlayStation and then PS2. While the PS2 had strong competition in the international market from Microsoft's XBox console, the XBox never made it down to SA, and Sony was able to garner a virtual monopoly here.

Two events are conspiring to make the easy life that Sony has had in SA substantially more difficult. First, Sony has announced that it's delaying the launch of its next generation gaming console - PlayStation PS3 - from November to March next year in all markets outside North America and Japan. Second, Microsoft is getting ready to launch its next generation offering - the XBox 360 - in SA.

Sony's delay was caused by its inability to build enough units to meet the anticipated global demand, a shortfall caused by key decisions made during the design of the new console.

Even though both the Microsoft and Sony consoles use processors designed and built by IBM, Microsoft decided to use a version of an existing chip tweaked for its requirements; while Sony worked with IBM to build a completely new processor, called the Cell.

While Sony may have got its act together to produce enough processors, the second piece of cutting-edge technology - the Blu-Ray drive - has been the main culprit for the delay. Blu-Ray is one of two technologies vying to provide the next generation of DVD drives, the other being HD-DVD.

However, it's proving difficult for Sony to produce enough drives to fill the needs of its PS3 production schedule, and reports are already filtering in that it may even delay its US launch until early next year, causing it to miss the vital Christmas spending season.

However, Microsoft chose to make an earlier launch date by eschewing the bleeding-edge technologies and delivering its XBox with a standard DVD drive. Though that means those looking to play high-definition DVDs on their XBox will be disappointed in the SA market, where HD has yet to make a ripple, let alone a splash. So it's unlikely to be a key buying factor.

What the launch delay of PS3 in SA means is that over this holiday season there will only be one true "next generation" console on sale - the XBox 360, which Microsoft is launching at month-end.

Cindy White, group marketing manager at Microsoft SA, says that local consumers are benefiting from the year's difference from the original Xbox 360 launch, as they'll have access to a much larger catalogue of games than those available then.

The one part of the Xbox experience that SA won't get at its launch is its XBox Live online service. White says that one reason for the delayed rollout of the service - which allows gamers to connect their consoles to a broadband connection and play against others online, as well as download new game trailers, demo versions or updates for their games - was to ensure that the quality of the service matched what was in place internationally.

"With the nature of broadband in SA we're negotiating with the various operators to ensure that when the service does launch early next year, customers aren't disappointed with the experience," says White. "Those who don't want to wait for the SA launch can buy an account in Britain and subject themselves to the difficulties of playing across international links, which is likely to affect the quality of the experience."

With the XBox 360 priced at R2?699 for the entry-level model and R3?699 for the more fully featured version, it's not a toy for the masses.

But for once the gap between the SA and worldwide price isn't as wide as it often is in the technology environment, currently just a few hundred rand. White hopes that will ensure SA consumers buy their consoles here rather than from international markets.

Whether South Africans are willing to desert Sony now that it isn't the only show in town remains to be seen. But given Microsoft's dedication to make its XBox a success, you'd be foolish to think that they aren't expecting a mass conversion.

(SOURCE: MyADSL)

MICROSOFT INTRODUCES INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE PROGRAMMES

Microsoft (MS) is working towards unifying communities through the use of indigenous languages, the Regional General Manager for West, East, Central Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, (WECA) Thomas Hansen said yesterday.

"We want to let people utilise our technology in a language familiar to them. It is about breaking down barriers," said Hansen, in an exclusive interview with Mmegi at Grand Palm.

Hansen said Microsoft has a responsibility to provide broadband access to the community it operates in, to enable it use their technology effectively and positively.

"We have a Local Language Programme (LLP) in Setswana for Windows and Office. We started off with Kiswahili, then Zulu and it was only logical that Tswana should be the next language to be online," added Hansen.

Microsoft has expanded its presence in Africa with empowerment drives taking place in Botswana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Senegal and Nigeria. Hansen said his mandate is to drive access to technology and education in Africa. Microsoft has a historical interest in Africa and Botswana in particular. For the past two years, the company has featured extensively by providing access to technology in rural schools from primary level.

On numerous occasions, Microsoft has donated computers to schools in Botswana. Explaining his visit, Hansen said Microsoft has engaged government to ensure that communities have an advantage to the technology his company offers. "We are collaborating with the Ministries of Education, Science and Technology to roll out technology in schools countrywide. We are committed," Hansen said.

Microsoft has challenges as it continues doing business in Africa. Hansen said the issue of Intellectual Property (IP) rights remains a serious concern for the company, though Microsoft has put in place strategies to address the problem. "Piracy is a challenge to us," Hansen pointed out.

The company, which has been in the software business for over 30 years has adopted a long term strategy on matters of IP rights. Hansen said he is pleased that government is working hard on addressing the issue of IP rights. "As the IP rights are enforced, we are likely to see more potential in the ICT sector."

Despite the challenges, the WECA region has seen remarkable growth in the IT industry. As Regional Manager for WECA and Indian Ocean Islands, Hansen assumes overall responsibility for Microsoft's commercial software business, as well as its broad-scale citizenship activities - including the local language programme.

For his part, Namibian-based Microsoft Public Sector Accounts Manager, Matipa Glen Matswetu, said Microsoft has proposed frameworks to improve affordability of ICT in Botswana. "If the region has good ICT laws, technology will be more affordable in the region," Matswetu said.

(SOURCE: Mmegi/The Reporter)

IN BRIEF:

- A frame contract entitled ‘Contrat Progrès 2006-2012’ for the development of the ICT sector has been signed between the Moroccan Government and the ABEPI, the association representing the interest of the ICT industry in the country.

- New Horizons, an international IT training institution, in partnership with EC-Council of the USA has launched 2 new programmes in Nigeria: the Masters of Security Science (MSS) and MBA in E-Business. The two programmes are designed for successful professionals who want to become even more successful in their profession. They will run for a period of 16 months on weekends and evenings with the first batch commencing in November 2006. Credit facility has also been put in place by a consortium of banks under a project tagged "study today and pay tomorrow"

- The Urban Ministry (UM) of the Lutheran Church in Liberia (LCL), has officially launched a computer skills training center for the handicap and disable community.

KIMUNYA LEADS KENYA'S TEAM TO UK TALKS OVER SALE OF SAFARICOM

Top Kenya Treasury officials are in London to negotiate a multi-million-dollar deal with UK mobile phone conglomerate, Vodafone plc.

The UK company wants to acquire 9 per cent of local mobile company Safaricom Ltd, the largest operator in the market with one of the largest balance sheets in corporate Kenya - worth more than Ksh22 billion ($297.2 million) as at March this year.

Representing Kenya in the negotiations will be Finance Minister Amos Kimunya, Treasury Permanent Secretary Joseph Kinyua and Investment Secretary Esther Koimett.

The managing director of Telkom Kenya, Sammy Kirui and Safaricom's managing director Michael Joseph are also in the team.

Currently, the government - through Telkom Kenya - owns 60 per cent of the company, with Vodafone owning the remaining 40 per cent stake.

The government must raise Ksh27 billion ($375 million) to modernise the ailing Telkom Kenya and pay off more than 11,000 workers being sent home in what is going to be the largest retrenchment of workers by a public corporation in the country's history.

But it neither has the money to finance the retrenchment nor the financial flexibility to borrow it from the market, hence the decision to dispose of the 9 per cent stake in Safaricom.

One of the largest corporate organisations in Kenya, with a workforce of 18,000, Telkom is in deep distress with losses ranging from Ksh3 billion ($40.5 million) to Ksh5 billion ($67.5 million) per annum, according to a due diligence audit last year by audit firm PKF Consulting.

Indeed, Telkom Kenya's only valuable asset at the moment is the 60 per cent in Safaricom. Initially, the government refused to sell to Vodafone, literally sitting on a jewel even as Telkom Kenya was tottering towards insolvency. All along, the government's argument was that no potential strategic investor will take an interest in Telkom if its Safaricom shares are excluded from its balance sheet.

The change of mind was to come in March this year when President Mwai Kibaki announced that the government had decided to sell 9 per cent of its shares in Safaricom to the UK giant.

How much is the government likely to raise from the deal ?

So far, both parties have been playing their cards close to their chests, unwilling to give even the slightest indication of what the deal is likely to be worth.

A valuation of the company conducted on the government's behalf by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) - the World Bank's private sector-lending affiliate - has remained a guarded secret, its contents and recommendations only known to a few top Treasury officials.

But it is believed that during the London negotiations, the government will be basing its negotiating position on the basis on the work by the IFC. The IFC team, led by infrastructure specialist Javier Calvo, took up the assignment early this year and handed its report to the government several months ago.

Although the UK giant will naturally be bargaining for a low price, Vodafone is not expected to go below what it quoted in April last year when it made an offer to purchase part of the company.

In a letter by its chief executive for Americas, Africa and China, Gavin Derby, Vodafone had offered the government a cash payment of $100 million for an 11 per cent stake of the company.

The offer by Vodafone implied an enterprise value of $1 billion for 100 per cent of the company. A great deal has happened in the company since then and chances are that the UK firm will accept a much higher offer than it made in April.

Indeed, Safaricom has experienced phenomenal growth both in terms of turnover and profits since Vodafone made the $100 million offer for an 11 per cent stake in the company.

In March this year, the company reported a profit of Ksh8.4 billion ($113.5 million) up from Ksh5.8 billion ($78.3 million) in 2005.

Annual revenues increased to Ksh26 billion ($351.3 million) from Ksh18. 8 billion ($254 million) in 2004 and have been rising at a fast rate in response to phenomenal growth in subscriber numbers, now estimated to be over 3.8 million lines.

The company has projected the number of its subscribers to hit the five million mark by the end of next year.

The growth rate is unprecedented in the corporate sector, considering that six years ago - in March 2000 - revenues were at a mere Ksh1.6 billion ($21.6 million).

Experts are predicting that the deal could be concluded at between Ksh10 billion ($135.1 million) and Ksh12 billion ($162.1 million), making it the biggest transaction in the history of privatisation in East Africa.

Still, the worth of Safaricom Ltd remains an open ended question, with estimates changing depending on the valuation formula which one adopts and who is valuing the company.

It must be remembered that the $1 billion enterprise value which Vodafone quoted in April last year was nothing more than a mere negotiating position floated to kick start proper haggling with the government.

According to a valuation by PKF Consulting, which was appointed by the government, last year to advise on corporate restructuring of Telkom Kenya, the value of 60 per cent of Telkom's shares in Safaricom was in the region of $471 million and $790 million.

The audit firm said it had based this valuation on an analysis of Safaricom's financial statements up to March 2004.

But under other conventions, prices of telecommunications companies are valued on the basis of the number of lines and subscriptions a telephone company has.

Under one such convention, one telephone line is valued at $400. With Safaricom's lines having increased to an estimated 3.8 million, 9 per cent of the company is likely to earn the government billions of shillings.

Apart from price, another thing which Mr Kimunya's team will be negotiating with the UK giant is control of the company.

Going by the April offer by Vodafone, it is clear that the UK giant is prepared to give a better offer to the government, depending on the amount of control which the government is prepared to cede.

Had the UK company been allowed to purchase the 11 per cent share of Safaricom as it had asked in April, it would have assumed a 51 per cent controlling stake in the company. During this week's negotiations, the UK telephone giant will most likely to bring up the issue of control again.

In April, Vodafone had informed the government that it would be willing to support a listing of Safaricom on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.

This matter is expected to feature prominently in the negotiations because the UK company would appear to be keen on situation where - after the sale of the 9 per cent stake is completed - both itself and the government will follow by selling more shares on the Nairobi Stock Exchange under an arrangement that will allow it to remain as the anchor shareholder in the company.

It is noteworthy that PKF Consulting had in its report of last year advised the government to sell only 9 per cent of the shares to Vodafone.

The audit firm suggested that with Vodafone at 49 per cent, the government can then negotiate a shareholders agreement whereby both of them can each dispose 12.5 per cent each to the public, allowing the public to end up with 25 per cent shares of the company.

Whichever way things go, whether the government succeeds in what it wants with Telkom and Safaricom will still depend on the goodwill and co-operation by the UK giant.

Under an existing shareholders' agreement signed in 1999, the government cannot sell shares of Safaricom without the consent of the UK giant, which has pre-emptive rights over the shares.

(SOURCE: East Standard)

TELECOM EGYPT ANNOUNCES VODAFONE EGYPT SHARE OFFER

Telecom Egypt on Wednesday announced its offer to buy up to 24.4 percent of Vodafone Egypt in a move to increase its stake in the mobile phone operator.

British group Vodafone will not be reducing its 50.1 percent stake in Vodafone Egypt, a source close to the deal has said.

Telecom Egypt, which already owns 25.5 percent of Vodafone Egypt, said on Tuesday it would approach the Capital Markets Authority for approval to publish the offer to buy shares in a deal worth LE 5.856 billion ($1.02 billion).

Telecom Egypt is offering LE 100 for each Vodafone Egypt share and is seeking to buy the 16 percent of the firm which is floated on the bourse, along with 5 percent held by Alkan Group and the state's Banque du Caire with 3.4 percent.

A Telecom Egypt statement said its offer to buy Vodafone Egypt shares would be published in local newspapers.

"Sell orders can be received and registered for one week starting from the day following the tender offer announcement published in Al Ahram, Al-Akhbar and Al-Alam Al-Youm newspapers," it said.

"Shareholders who want to tender their shares should place sell orders with any of the brokerage firms during the tender offer period," the statement said.

Telecom Egypt is seeking 58.56 million shares and would accept a minimum of 24 million, it said.

Telecom Egypt said in July it would resume close cooperation with Vodafone Egypt after failing in its bid for the country's third mobile phone license, won by Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates. Reuters

(SOURCE: Daily Star)

WITH NEW DEALS, ETC BIDDERS OFFER FINANCING

The Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) is examining project proposals from four European companies that include financing programs from governments and international banks, a service usually handled by ETC itself outside the bidding process.

The European companies who have submitted their proposals after finding financiers from different banks and governments are SIEMENS from Germany, ERICCSON from Sweden, NOKIA from Finland and ALCATEL from France.

ETC requires 2.4 billion dollars in financing for projects planned for the next four years. To secure the financing and quickly implement its ambitions, ETC is using a new strategy of allowing bidding companies a packaged deal whereby they find the financing for the projects concerned in conjunction with the work bid.

Though some observers see the new strategy as new and dynamic, it has already raised eyebrows as it apparently works against existing government procuremet low of inviting contending parties to participate in a public tender.

In the new system, the provider also becomes the de facto financier and, critics argue, bypasses a true public bidding process based simply on the merits of the work to be conducted.

"Regulations do not allow any purchases to be done by a governmental organization without a tender," a legal expert told Fortune. "ETC is violating the purchase regulations by contracting projects without going through the tender process. Though these are all developmental projects, ETC should still abide by the rules and regulations of the government."

The system is not altogether new in Ethiopian deal-making. It is was first developed by the Ethiopian Electric and Power Corporation (EEPCo) in their agreements with Salini Construction, the Italian construction giant, who solicited financing for the building of the Gilgel Gibe II, Gibe III and Beles hydroelectric dam projects on behalf of EEPCo as part of their overall proposal.

In its four year project, ETC plans to offers four million landlines from the existing 600,000 lines and two million mobile lines from the existing 600,000. It is also projecting to construct new telephone stations to reach around 15,000 rural kebeles.

According to Fortune's sources, the total budget submitted by the four companies is around one billion dollars. It is not yet clear however if these different financed bids compete with each other or provide separate portions of the work required by ETC. Fortune was told only that management will evaluate the proposals and negotiate with the concerned companies to reach an agreement in the next two weeks.

"Our company has secured a loan from the Belgian government, and other European banks for the mobile expansion, fibre optics technology, and rural telecom projects that ETC will be undertaking," said Samuel Giorgis, general manager of SIEMENS Ethiopia.

He did not want to comment on the loan amount and the name of the banks who agreed to help finance the projects.

Abdurahim Ahmed ETC's Communication Affairs Manager, said that the four European companies had submitted their proposals, but could not comment as the deals were still in negotiation.

Aiming to satisfy other portions of the Corporation's four year plans, on September 6, 2006 at the Sheraton Addis Hotel, Amare Amsalu, ETC's CEO, signed a memorandum of understanding with three Chinese companies; ZTE Corporation, Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd and China International Telecommunication Construction Corporation (CITCC). Under the same scheme being used by the European companies, these companies have found financing for ETC from the Chinese government for 1.5 billion dollars worth of projects.

Huawei Technologies Co.Ltd and ZTE Corporation will work on the mobile network expansion and wireless telephone technology while CITCC will work on fibre optics technology.

(SOURCE: Addis Fortune)

SEXWALE, ZIM CONSORTIUM GETS DISCOUNT ON SAHARA STAKE

Black investors including the high-profile Lazarus Zim and Tokyo Sexwale have taken a stake in technology supplier Sahara Holdings, buying its shares at a 33% discount.

The R173m deal sees Sahara sell 27% of its shares to a consortium formed by Sexwale's mining group, Mvelaphanda Holdings, and Zim's Afripalm Consortium. Mvelaphanda and Afripalm are each taking 12,1% of Sahara, and 2,8% goes to the Sahara Employees Trust Fund. The two investment groups jointly paid R15m in cash, along with an R85m loan from Nedbank. Sahara MD Atul Gupta is temporarily funding the rest via vendor financing. The shares all come from the founding Gupta family.

Sahara was valued at R960m, but the deal was based on a discounted price of R640m. That showed Sahara's commitment to transformation by letting black investors afford more equity, rather than just complying with the bare minimum demanded by empowerment law, Zim said.

Zim was CEO of Anglo American SA until he resigned in April. He still serves on Anglo's board and is chairman of Kumba and president of the Chamber of Mines. "I will be very involved in expanding Sahara's business," he said. "As I travel across Africa looking for mining opportunities I'll also be looking for opportunities for Sahara. We believe we can apply our resources to help Sahara grow its market share. We can also apply our knowledge and experience outside SA in the rest of the continent."

Despite the high profile of the new investors, Gupta said the deal would give Sahara a credible empowerment profile because Sexwale and Zim were heading broad-based entities. Within the Afripalm group were 35000 shareholders who had each invested a minimum of R2000.

Mvelaphanda's business strategy executive, Vusi Mavimbela, said it made sense to invest in a hi-tech player so they could help each other. Mvelaphanda aimed to grow in Africa and internationally with its oil exploration, mining and security operations. Information technology was an essential part of that, Mavimbela said.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

IN BRIEF:

- Mauritius Telecom, a 40%-owned subsidiary of France Télécom, reported net profits of USD52 million in 2005, up 19.3% year-on-year, officials said in a statement. The group’s mobile arm Cellplus Mobile Communications reported a 13% rise in revenues to USD67.8 million on the back of a 15% increase in subscriber numbers to 438,000. Its internet unit Telecom Plus recorded a 2% increase in turnover at USD13.9 million, and reported 8,300 users at the end of the year.

- Standard Trust Bank Ghana Limited has launched the ‘TextMe Cash’ service, a mobile phone transfer money product. The TextMe Cash product has a maximum transaction sum of ¢10 million per day whiles the minimum is ¢15,000 with a transaction fee of ¢10,000. The product is dominated in cedis and transfer could be sent from Areeba and Tigo mobile networks.

- Swift Networks Limited, a high-speed Wireless Broadband Access services provider, has announced a transaction with Capital Alliance Private Equity (CAPE) II, the private equity fund managed by African Capital Alliance, to accelerate the rollout of a portable, plug-and-play WiMAX-class broadband access network based on the WiMAX (IEEE 802.16e) standard in Nigeria.

BIBLE NOW AVAILABLE ON SOUTH AFRICAN MOBILE PHONES

South African Christians seeking a quick spiritual boost will be able to download the entire bible on to their mobile telephones phones from Wednesday as part of a drive to modernize the scriptures.

The South African wing of the non-denominational International Bible Society, which translates and distributes the Bible, said mobile phone users with the right type of phone could download the whole bible in either English or Afrikaans using the text messaging function SMS.

"The Virtual Bible will enable the Bible Society to supply the Bible to every modern cell phone user in a fast and affordable format," Rev. Gerrit Kritzinger, chief executive of the Bible Society in South Africa, said in a statement.

The Bible Society hopes the gimmick, which costs 40 rand ($5.43), will appeal to young people in mobile-mad South Africa, where the majority of the population is Christian.

Customers can choose between the traditional King James version of the bible or more up-to-date translations. Zulu and Xhosa version will be available soon and other languages will follow.

By sending an SMS, customers get the complete Old and New Testaments as well as a built-in search engine.

The Bible Society provided the content, while Christian Mobile -- a South African firm that sells mobile phone ringtones of Christian songs and an "SMS Hopeline" of daily bible verses and prayers -- came up with the technology.

The statement said 80 percent of South African phones had the 1.2 megabytes of memory needed to receive the Bible and were java enabled with Internet access.

(SOURCE: Reuters)

TUNISIAN JOURNALIST FROM WEBSITE WWW.BAKCHICH.INFO EXPELLED

Reporters Without Borders has criticised the Tunisian authorities for expelling French journalist Léa Labaye, of the satirical website http://www.Bakchich.info, who was sent back to Paris immediately after arrival in Tunisia on 16 September 2006, without any official explanation.

"This expulsion demonstrates once again that journalists who criticise President Ben Ali are not welcome in the country," the worldwide press freedom organisation said. "It recalls the banning of our secretary general from attending the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia in November 2005."

Bakchich.info, an "irreverent" website about Africa, the Maghreb, the Middle East and France, was launched by a group of French journalists in May 2006. It is filtered in Tunisia and can only be accessed through proxy servers ( for proxy servers, see: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15013 ).

After Labaye landed in Tunis on an afternoon flight from Paris, airport officials prevented her from leaving her seat and sent her back to France in the same plane. The young journalist had written a by-lined article about Tunisia on Bakchich.info on 23 August in which she attacked the latest book by Antoine Sfeir, editor of "Cahiers de l'Orient", as a "work of propaganda" in favour of the Tunisian government. She was also in phone contact with several political dissidents living in the country.

"In Tunisia, online journalists who cause annoyance are sent back at the border, local cyber-dissidents are imprisoned and independent websites are filtered: this country confirms every day that it fully deserves its place on our list of the "15 Enemies of the Internet", the organisation said.

Let us not forget that it would be impossible to maintain a website like Bakchich.info from inside Tunisia. Mohammed Abbu, who has been in jail since March 2005 for using a website to criticise the president, found that out the hard way".

Abbu, a lawyer and human rights activist, was arrested overnight on 1st March 2005 after posting an article online comparing the politics of President Ben Ali with those of then Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He was sentenced on 29 April to three years and six months in prison in a travesty of a trial. The authorities have also been harassing his family. His wife, Samia, has been subjected to lengthy questioning every time she visits the prison in which her husband is being held.

Dissident judge, Mokhtar Yahyawi, has also continued to suffer harassment. His blog was hacked into at the beginning of August and is now closed. He was invited to the EU headquarters in Brussels to talk about the political situation in Tunisia on 28 September but the authorities have banned him from leaving the country. Yahyawi strongly condemned Labaye's expulsion, adding that in Tunisia, "We badly need the humour and independence of a site like Bakchich.info".

On 17 November 2005, Tunisian police in plain clothes physically prevented RSF Secretary General Robert Ménard from leaving the plane on which he had just arrived at Tunis airport to attend the WSIS conference.

(SOURCE: Reporters sans Frontières)

IN BRIEF:

- Microsoft owners of the email portals, Hotmail, has appointed a Lagos based Media and Marketing firm - Seed Media Limited - as their Online Sales Representative in West Africa.

PENDUKA DENIES DEFRAUDING NBC IN NAMIBIA

Penduka, the defunct broadcasting licence fees-collecting agency, a subsidiary of the J and P Group, has broken its silence on alleged financial irregularities which led to the termination of its contract with NBC.

Solomon Nemaire, the managing director of J and P Group, told New Era yesterday that there was no case of defrauding by NBC Penduka in its licence-collecting deal with the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation.

"It is very difficult to explain it, but there was no case of fraud between us and the NBC. It was a mutual agreement, and it was also by mutual consent that we opted out of the contract," said Nemaire.

When asked why his company pulled out of the contract in a huff, Nemaire said they felt their relationship with NBC was taking its toll on the company's other operations.

He said: "We felt that the relationship was having a negative impact on our other business operations, hence we felt it was necessary not to pursue the Penduka NBC venture."

He added that there was no bad blood between his company and the NBC.

"Everything was agreed upon and put in black and white. We just agreed to differ."

Penduka is accused of having failed NBC through a flawed collecting system, which saw the national broadcaster getting less in licence fees than what it previously used to get.

The J and P Group boss accused the national broadcaster of not doing things the right way in previous years.

"Their data base was incorrect and we were in the process of correcting the anomalies. There are many television sets out there which were not paying licences. We were just at the initial stage of this massive national project which has the potential to rake in money for the broadcaster, and NBC can build on what we had started," said Nemaire.

Meanwhile, the national broadcaster will soon embark on an ambitious restructuring programme which will see most of its operations being revamped. It is understood that negotiations are under way to hire professionals in different fields to help in the process.

(SOURCE: New Era)

SOUTH AFRICA’S TELEVISION INDUSTRY MOVES INTO THE DIGITAL AGE

Sentech says that there is no doubt that Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) will benefit the citizens of this country, as well as Government, which has championed broadcasting as a critical information delivery mechanism for all South Africans.

At a press briefing on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) held at Sentech Offices on 21 September 2006, Dr Sebiletso Mokone-Matabane, Chief Executive Officer of Sentech, says the company has started the move to DTT, which will take South Africa into the digital television age and bring an enhanced viewing experience into the living rooms of most South Africans.

“Government has already committed to fund R208 million to Sentech over 3 years and we have already commenced rolling out DTT infrastructure,” says Mokone-Matabane.

Sentech is presently in discussions with Government to provide further funding options, which will be required to complete the digitisation roll-out.

In these discussions, Government has shown full commitment to make the required funding available, Mokone-Matabane adds.

Global deadlines

South Africa is part of the global community in terms of trade and commerce, technology and standards among others. It is also an affiliate of international bodies such as the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which is an organisation of the United Nations where governments and the private sector work together to address issues of common interest.

The ITU at its recent conference agreed to set the deadline of June 2015 for Africa Regions to have migrated to digital broadcasting. According to Mokone-Matabane South Africa is aiming to migrate before this time.

An update on the process

DTT test transmissions commenced in March 2006 from Sentech’s main broadcast tower site in Brixton, Johannesburg.

The first phase involves upgrading the Sentech broadcast network and duplicating the current analogue network channels on a digital system.

Sentech anticipates the first phase of network upgrades will take two years, with digital migration commencing in 2008.

“Most of the 220 sites needed to broadcast DTT to 92% of South Africa’s population are in fact already in place and only need to be upgraded to become fully digital,” says Mokone-Matabane. Once that process is complete, DTT and analogue systems will be run side-by-side (a dual illumination process) until South Africa is ready to switch off analogue transmission, a decision which will be made by Government.

FIFA World Cup 2010

By 2009 all the requirements of the FIFA World Cup 2010 broadcasting requirements will be met by Sentech, the parastatal said.

As stated in the Sentech Annual Report 2006, the completion for World Cup 2010 is dependent on:

--The Department of Communication’s Digital Broadcasting Advisory committee, which includes regulatory, industry players and government, who will submit a draft report on DTT policy by the end of 2006. -- Final funding required to complete the DTT roll-out.

The benefits

DTT will give users access to a multi-channel, multi-platform viewing experience and will finally bring true convergence into living rooms.

Digital TV sets will increasingly become integrated with fixed and mobile broadband networks, allowing viewers to switch easily between watching television, surfing the Internet, or even doing online shopping.

DTT therefore opens the way to combine the pay-per-view services and the Internet with the simplicity of television.

By being able to deliver multiple channels on the same platform and multiple language offerings per channel, government will be investing in a technology that delivers higher technical quality and potentially more relevant content to citizens.

Even more exciting is DTT’s ability to facilitate interactivity, allowing users to not only find and view information relevant to their needs, but respond to it as well by asking questions and expressing their views.

This allows Government to take the next step in e-government and meet overall goals of socio-economic development by providing a host of e-services such as e-learning and e-health.

Another benefit of DTT, which is sure to delight consumers, will be the clearer, sharper pictures provided by DTT, without the interference and ghosting that some residents of built-up areas or hilly terrain sometimes experience. DTT also offers a wide screen format.

Costs

A set-top box costing approximately not more than R500 each is required to decode the signal, even for public broadcasting service and free-to-air channels.

Although the cost of the set-top boxes should reduce significantly over the next four years, they will still need to be subsidised if the main aim of reaching the masses in a relatively short time is to be achieved.

The success of the DTT project lies primarily on Government, the Public Broadcaster (SABC) and Sentech. This will ensure that public interest and access to broadcast services is not compromised.

By using digital broadcasting technology, South Africa can take a giant step in making effective e-government work and an information communications society a reality.

(SOURCE: MyAdsl)

PEOPLE

* Mac Allman has been appointed as the first CEO of Powercom, the latest entrant into Namibia's mobile telecommunications market. He joins the company from Telecom Management Partner (TMP), a strategic partner of Norway's Telenor, which owns 39 per cent of Powercom.

* Cuthbert Moses Lekaukau, the Chief Executive Officer of the Botswana Telecommunication Authority (BTA), announced that he would retire from the Chairmanship of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) by end of this year.

EVENTS

- WORKSHOP ON BROADBAND OVER POWERLINE

3-4 October 2006, Dakar, Senegal
The African Telecommunications Union (ATU) is holding a workshop on Powerline Communications (PLC), the alternative last mile platform utilizing the electricity network. The workshop will address keyissues such as technology, invest and business case, standardisation, hybrid platforms (Satellite, Wireless, Fibre & PLC) and others. For further information visit the ATU website at www.atu-uat.org.

- 2ND INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS FOR AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT (IPAD) CENTRAL AFRICA

3rd-5th October 2006, Grand Hotel, Kinshasa, Congo Democratic Republic
2nd Infrastructure Partnerships for African Development (iPAD) Central Africa will take place from the 3rd-5th October 2006 at the Grand Hotel, Kinshasa.
For further information visit www.ipad-africa.com

- ACHIEVING BEST VALUE IN HUMAN RESOURCE AND SKILLS MANAGEMENT USING INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT)

23rd-24th October 2006, Johannesburg South Africa.
ICT enables Human Resource Practitioners in Africa access to information, best practices, concepts and processes such as streamlining their recruitment and selection process which is of added value in building and retaining skills in Africa, it also drives down the cost of HR services delivery.
For further details visit www.africarecruit.com

- WEST AFRICAN SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SUMMIT

31 October - 2 November 2006, Le Meridien Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria
The summit is dedicated to the deployment of satellite and satellite hybrid-based communications solutions across the region of West Africa and will provide an unparalleled networking opportunity for global and regional satellite communications providers to meet with ever-expanding communities of vertical market communications end-users.
For further information visit http://www.gvf.org/gvf/events/index.cfm

- GSM-3G WORLD SERIES - NORTH AFRICA

8-9 November 2006, Sheraton Tunis Hotel, Tunis, Tunisia
"What are the market impacts of additional competition and 3G licensing in North Africa? How can you attract new users to drive forward penetration? And more importantly what plans do your suppliers, clients and competitors have for this region? The 5th GSM>3G North Africa is the one forum in the region vital to manufacturers, application developers, operators and regulators who are active, or seeking to be active, in the North African market.
For further information visit www.gsm-3gworldseries.com/northafrica"

- 1ST INTERNATIONAL ICT INVESTMENT CONFERENCE FOR AFRICA

14th – 15th November 2006, Tunis, Tunisia.
Under the auspices of Secretary General United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) Regarding sponsorship or delegate attendance, please contact Dan Morrissy in London on +44 207 2871326 or at dmorrissy@i-ep.com

- eLEARNING AFRICA 2007

28-30th May 2007, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
The subject is Building Infrastructures and Capacities to Reach out to the Whole of Africa, reflecting the significant efforts of African countries to set up their national and regional ICT infrastructures to create access to education, training and services for all.
For further information visit www.icwe.net or call +49-30-327 6140

JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES

* ERICSSON CORE NETWORK DESIGN ENGINEER – SOUTH AFRICA

The company is looking for an experienced Ericsson Core Network Design Engineer. Must have at least 3 years experience on Ericsson equipment. The ideal candidate will have previous Core Network Design (Monolithic) experience connecting to MSS (MSC-S). The successful candidate will be responsibile for determining the best implementation practice and High Level design and Low level design. Previous experience with Ericsson RAN would be considered an advantage.

For further information contact advertising@balancingact-africa.com

* CALL FOR SUBMISSION OF VIDEO PODCAST – UNESCO

Within the framework of its international project, (Harnessing ICTs for the audiovisual industry and public service broadcasting in developing countries), UNESCO is launching a call for submissions of video podcast proposals for a series of production grants.

For further information contact creativecontent@unesco.org

* ACCESS TO LEARNING AWARD

We invite you to apply for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s annualAccess to Learning Award.This award recognizes excellence in providing access toinformation by utilizing new information and communication technologies in an innovative way,at no cost to the user. The recipient will receive an award of up to US $1 million. The award is administered by the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP). Completed applications should be sent to INASP and must be postmarked or emailed by 31 December 2006. A PDF version of the application will be available for downloading to your computer from www.inasp.info/ldp/awards.

* GSM ACADEMY - BSS O&M TRAINING FOR AFRICAN PROFESSIONALS

Starting October 2, 2006, TOP will provide a GSM curriculum for Expert Training on BSS Operation & Maintenance. The boot camp includes 3 months oflectures and hands-on labs and is completed by 6 months of apprenticeship at a European GSM network operator. This heavily sponsored program targets on African engineers / technicians to improve their job possibilitiesin their home countries.

For further information visit http://www.topbusinessag.com/e/news/07-04-2006_gsmacademy.php

CONTRACTS: WHO'S SELLING WHAT TO WHOM?

* GENIAC COMPUTERS PARTNERS AND VIA TECHNOLOGIES- NIGERIA

In line with the Federal Government's efforts to make PCs affordable to Nigerians,Geniac Computers,has gone into partnership with a VIA Technologies, a Taiwanese chips set manufacturer to develop a series of low cost PCs for the Nigerian local market.

* COMIUM AND HUAWEI – COTE D’IVOIRE

Cote d’Ivoire’s latest cellular licensee, Comium Mobile, has chosen Huawei Technologies to deploy a full turnkey GSM, GPRS, 3G and Intelligent Network platform. The Chinese equipment supplier is expected to have the network ready to go live by March next year. The Lebanon-based Comium group, which was awarded its Cote d’Ivoire licence in July, is already working with Huawei via its operations in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

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