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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 336 MTC Namibia signs push-to-talk trial with policePush-To-Talk has come to Sub-Saharan Africa this week with an agreement by the Namibian police to test MTC’s Push-To-Talk service over the festive season. Until now, the only Push-To-Talk service on the continent was operated by Maroc Telecom and sceptics were wondering whether the service would ever gain traction in Africa. Whether it will perform well in “mission critical” circumstances like policing. we will have to wait until the end of the trial to find out. The trial is the precursor to a full launch of a Push-To-Talk service in the New Year. At the official hand-over of the test phones to the Namibian Police, Managing Director of MTC, José Ferreira indicated the importance of the equipping the national security and emergency services with the latest technologies to execute their functions well. He stated “PTT is one such innovation we wish to launch in the new year and the Police service will have the privilege to test the functionalities”. Lt General Ndeitunga, Inspector General of the Namibian Police stated that “This is a private-public partnership we are proud to embrace. Our officers in the field will appreciate any improvements in costs of communication and efficiency of service delivery that PTT will give us.” The trial will be for the month of December 2006 as part of the National Road Safety campaign Xupifa Eemwenyo, before a commercial launch takes place in 2007. Meanwhile MTC Namibia has launched also launched an HSDPA network making it one of three operators on the African continent to have done so. During Phase 1 the network will be deployed in Windhoek, the capital and the coastal settlements of Walvisbay and Swakopmund. Phase 2, commencing in April 2007, will eventually cover majority of the country’s commercial settlements. MTC is owned by the Namibian Government and its strategic partner is Portugal Telecom that owns 34% of the shares. In a busy week of announcements for Namibia, the country’s Cabinet also approved the end of the VSAT monopoly (see Internet News below) but it is unclear what level of VSAT licences will be approved.
3G FORUM CAMPAIGN FOR FAIR PRICE FOR LICENCE IN NIGERIANigerian operators have begun to lobby to ensure that the price for the new 3G licences is not too high and that the GSM operators do not dictate policy on how it is rolled out. This was the message contained in the communiqué released at the end of the Next Level mobile forum organised 3G workshop, which was held in Lagos recently. According to Seni Adio, Development/Corporate Services Executive, MTS who signed the communiqué the government also has to make the software development of 3G a policy issue, thus, giving the indigenous software developer the opportunity of being properly engaged, especially as the nation begins to lay emphasis on local content provision. Participants at the two-day workshop called for improvement on transmission network, particularly in getting the Nigerian Communications Commission to completing its initiative on Wire Nigeria project and State Accelerated Broadband Initiative Actions, (SABI). In addition, they canvassed cooperation of Governments at all levels so as not inhibit infrastructural developments. The communiqué urged the NCC not to allow the GSM operators to dictate policy on how 3G will be rolled-out in Nigeria, emphasizing that the 3G technologies as being regularly preached by the GSM operators are strictly peculiar to GSM, while the CDMA operators are equally working very hard on the EVDO. Consequently, it implored the NCC to take into cognizance the entire landscape particularly obtaining the input of the PTOs and Nitel. On the strategy for granting the license, participants were unequivocal that the Government should adopt an "administrative process" for issuing 3G licenses as opposed to via auction. The participants argued in the document, that auctioning will lead to unnecessary costs; whereas the licensing fee should be a "token" to cover administrative costs for issuing licenses. Criteria should be developed for qualifying for a license; and it called on the Government to ensure that Spectrums are "clean” (free of interference) before the issuance of licenses and a call went out for the NCC to develop a policy for ensuring "clean" Spectrum. (SOURCE: This Day) CELTEL KENYA LOWERS CALL CHARGESIt will now be cheaper to call Safaricom or Telkom Kenya using the Celtel Kenya's network. This follows a surprise move by Celtel to introduce two new and cheaper tariffs. Safaricom and Celtel, and Telkom Kenya had agreed to lower the fees they charge one another on calls across their networks, following numerous complaints from customers. However, Celtel may appear to have beaten its rivals to the punch with its new tariffs, which it says sets its customers free to call their friends or relatives without discriminatory pricing, no matter what network they are in. The reduction in interconnection charges between the telephone networks is a further step toward sorting out the already high calling charges to consumers. In August the two mobile phone service providers and Telkom signed an interconnection treaty to reduce to Sh10 per minute, the amount their customers have to pay when they call their competitor's number. Under Celtel's Umoja tariff, a customer pays a flat rate of Sh16 a minute when calling Celtel, Safaricom or Telkom, while Jamii tariff has a flat off peak rate of Sh12 a minute to any network. However, all calls are charged per second. Celtel corporate affairs manager, Janet Kabue, told Nation the Jamii tariff was conceived because the majority of its customers make calls during off-peak hours. Chief Commercial Officer Michael Dabaly said the rationale behind the new tariff structure is to give customers freedom to make calls across the networks without price discrimination. Celtel's regulatory affairs director, Clare Ruto said her company has continuously reduced its interconnect charges for other networks to reach its customers yet those networks have not passed that on to the customers."Kenyans are still restricted to calling within certain networks at certain times," Ms Ruto told reporters last Monday. "With call termination [interconnection] between operators being levied at less than Sh10, there is no justification why Kenyans should be charged as much as five times more to call their colleagues across other networks," she added. This move by Celtel is widely anticipated to stir reaction from its rival Safaricom. Kabue said Celtel would continue looking for ways of making mobile phones services available and affordable. In September Celtel launched one network for East Africa at no extra charge. Known as One Network, the service allows customers in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania to make calls in whichever country they visit and pay as local calls. This service seeks to dismantle country boundaries, and offer alternative to roaming phone services, which are currently expensive. Roaming services offered only to some postpaid customers cost up to $2.50 (Sh182.50) per minute for calls within East Africa. Another disadvantage for roaming service is a subscriber does not only pay for calling while outside the country, but pays for receiving calls. It costs up to Sh182.50 a minute for received roaming calls within East Africa. (SOURCE: The Nation) AREEBA LOSES AGAIN, ¢10M COST AWARDED IN GHANAThe mobile phone service operator, Scancom Limited, operators of Areeba mobile telecommunications last Friday had its application to stay proceedings before the Commercial Division of an Accra Fast Track High Court dismissed. The Court, presided over by Justice Henry A. Kwofie, rejected the application filed by the mobile phone service provider, on the grounds that it has no jurisdiction to stay proceedings. Areeba is challenging the July 14 2006 ruling of the Court that rejected its request to strike out the writ of summons brought against it by Investcom Consortium Holdings SA (now Investcom LLC) of Beirut, the parent company, Scancom Limited and Grandview Management Ltd in the USA for procedural irregularities. Justice Kwofie held further in his ruling that the Court could grant the application to stay proceedings in a matter under a special circumstance. The Court's ruling noted that in the case before it, no special circumstance existed to warrant it to grant the application. He indicated that Areeba should have gone to the Court of Appeal to request for stay proceedings. The Court accordingly awarded a cost of ¢10m against Areeba Scancom Limited. The legal brawl begun between the plaintiff in the suit, Mr. Richmond Aggrey, Vice Chairman of Scancom, sued Investcom Consortium Holdings SA (now Investcom LLC) of Beirut, the parent company, Scancom Limited and Grandview Management Ltd in the USA contending that his name had been removed from the shareholders list of Scancom Ltd, without any explanation. As a result of this, he filed an ex parte motion for an interlocutory injunction against the three restraining them from dealing with the shares, stock and or interests in Scancom Limited in any manner which the Court did. This decision was however disputed by Scancom and Investcom leading to the filing of an application to strike out plaintiff's action that on grounds that they failed to adhere to procedures in filing such an application. However, the Court held that the process followed by plaintiff to institute his action was proper, and ordered the cellular phone companies to file their defence. As a result of this, Areeba filed a notice of appeal challenging the Courts of Appeal's decision and a motion on notice to stay proceeding pending the determination of appeal, which the Court dismissed last Friday. Aggrey is seeking that defendants, jointly and severally, be ordered to pay him his true share of dividends declared in the 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 financial years and in a manner which was proportionate to his shareholding, with interest calculated at the commercial rate. Additionally, he is seeking, among others, an order rectifying the membership of Scancom Ltd to include his name and restore him to his position as a shareholder and director of the company. (SOURCE: Ghanaian Chronicle) NIGERIAN COURT DECLINES REQUEST FOR ARBITRATION IN THE CELTEL CASEA Lagos High Court Judge, Justice Adesuyi Olateru -Olagbegi has declined to appoint arbitrators to determine the issues in the dispute between Econet Wireless Limited (EWL) and Vee Networks Limited (now Celtel Nigeria BV) and its 21 sharesholders, over the take over of the Nigerian company by Celtel. EWL, a Zimbabwean company, had approached the court to stop the take over of Vee Networks (Vmobile), pursuant to the sale and purchase agreement and the Share Subscription Agreement both dated April 15, 2006. But applicants, Broad Communications Limited, Delta State Ministry of Finance Incorporated and Ms. Foluke Otudeko, all who were defendants in the suit by EWL, in October approached the court to stay further proceedings in the matter, on grounds that the claimant (EWL) and the defendants, by virtue of the Shareholders Agreement and collateral Agreements thereafter, had agreed to refer to Arbitration, the claim in the pending suit, being the subject matter of the arbitration clause in the said agreement. The trio had also asked the court to appoint three arbitrators to determine the issues in the dispute following the refusal of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to do so. Delivering a ruling in the matter, Justice Olateru-Olagbegi held that the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court is the person empowered under the Shareholders Agreement by the parties to appoint arbitrators to determine any issue/issues in dispute under the said agreement. " I hold that the 1st and 22nd defendants (Vee Networks Limited and Celtel Nigeria BV) did not agree to the arbitration clause in paragraph 25.1 of the Shareholders Agreement. I hold further that even if all the parties were bound by the arbitration clause, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and not the State High Court is the person empowered to appoint arbitrators for the parties. In this circumstances, this application for stay of proceedings fails and is hereby dismissed" the judge declared. Moving the motion for stay, counsel for applicants, Ayanlaja, SAN, had argued that the main document which constained the arbitration clause for justification of a stay in the matter, was the Share Purchase Agreement dated April 30, 2002. The counsel, who affirmed that Vee Networks and Celtel were not parties to the said agreement as at the date of execution, noted that the Share Purchase Agreement was adopted by Vee Networks and Celtel and that all the parties were bound by the arbitral clause, by virtue of the arbitration Act. But opposing his submission, Demola Akinrele, SAN, Celtel's counsel and Paul Usoro, SAN, who represented six of the defendants, had argued that the arbitral clause relied upon by the applicants was contained in the Shareholders Agreement, dated April 30, 2002 whereas the cause of the action in the suit was predicated on alleged breach of the terms of an offer letter dated April 15, 2006. Share Purchase Agreement between the 2nd - 21st defendants on one hand and the 22nd defendant (Celtel) on the other hand, the Share Subscription Agreement between Vee Networks and Celtel and the Escrow Agreement between a named escrow agent on one hand and the 1st- 22nd defendants on the other hand. The two senior lawyers had also argued that there was no nexus between the Shareholders Agreement on one hand and the other documents upon which the application was predicated. On his part, Konyin Ajayi, SAN, counsel for Vee Network, had argued that for a party to be bound by an arbitral clause in a previous document on the grounds of adoption of such clause in a subsequent document, such adoption must be a clear act. He submitted that Vee Networks was not a party to the shareholders agreement nor an assign of it and therefore cannot be bound by the said agreement. Dismissing the application, the judge noted that neither Vee Networks or Celtel expressly agreed to go to arbitration in respect of the matter before the court, adding that their constitutional, right to bring their action before the court remained extant. The judge also noted that the parties knew that "there is a Federal High Court different from a State High Court before they so graciously put their fate in the hand of the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court. The judge reasoned that, for the submission of Ayanlaja to succeed, it would require the court to amend the reference to the Chief judge of the Federal High Court, by adding, or any judge of the Lagos High Court, stating that such amendment would amount to making a contract for the party which is not the function of the any court. (SOURCE: This Day)
IN BRIEF:- The government of Benin has put in place a recovery plan for the Benin Telecom Ltd, which it said has been suffering from gross mismanagement and acute liquidity problems. - The row over Econet’s licence in Kenya to operate a mobile phone service has deepened after the High Court rejected attempts to block the Government from issuing frequencies to the company. The Kenya National Federation of Cooperatives (KNFC) had gone to court seeking orders to block the Government through the Communications Commission of Kenya from granting the mobile telephony company frequencies to rollout its network. - Telecoms companies in the Somali capital of Mogadishu have transferred their heavy weaponry to the Islamic Courts administration under new regulations prohibiting big weapons in public hands. Telcom Somalia, a wireless provider, and Hormuud and Nationlink, which offer fixed and mobile services, handed over 14 ‘battlewagons’ (pick-up trucks mounted with artillery guns) between them. Previously the companies had been using private militias to protect their assets, but new rules have been introduced by the interim Islamist government in the region banning the possession of ‘illegal’ weapons by the public, including private enterprises. - Etisalat wants to take around 25% of the Egyptian mobile phone market over the next three years, which is expected to grow to 40m subscribers, according to CEO Mohammad Hassan Omran, quoted by Reuters. A consortium led by the UAE-based Etisalat bought Egypt's third mobile licence for $2.9bn in July 2006. TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE- Uganda Telecom (UTL) has signed a roaming agreement for the United Arab Emirates with Etisalat. This brings UTL's total roaming destinations to 267. -As Christmas shopping gathers steam, cellphone retailers are experiencing a surge in business in Botswana. Customers interviewed around Riverwalk and Gaborone Bus Rank by local newspaper the Monitor, indicated that they are buying cellphones to upgrade and also to give to friends and family as presents. - Millicom Ghana Limited, operators of TIGO cellular network has been asked to give priority to the coverage of newly created districts in its expansion programme, especially those in Upper West, which lack such amenities. - According to reports in the local Daily News newspaper, national PTO Tanzania Telecommunications Limited (TTCL) will next year begin work on installing a next generation network (NGN) in Zanzibar to improve the island’s telecoms system. - Vodacom South Africa has selected Celtro to deploy its DynaMate solution to increase its backhaul capacity and improve service delivery. Vodacom is installing the Celtro equipment at over 850 sites as part of its W-CDMA and HSDPA rollout programme. Vodacom executive Johan Engelbrecht said in a statement: ‘With our current focus on delivering GPRS, EDGE, and HSDPA data services, Vodacom's backhaul transmission resources were being stretched to their limits.’
CABINET DECISION REGARDING VSAT LICENSING IN NAMIBIAThe Namibian Cabinet authorised the Minister of Information and Broadcasting to proceed with the signing of the licensing and tariff regimes for the opening of the VSAT satellite market for competition. The Cabinet, furthermore, directed that a clear regulatory regime should be set up and guidelines should be developed on the issuing of VSAT licenses before the Namibian Communications Commission consider VSAT applications from commercial operators. . In March 2005, Cabinet approved the opening of the VSAT satellite telecommunications market for competition in accordance with the 1999 Telecommunications Policy and Regulatory Framework. The opening of the VSAT market will also help to relieve the communication frustrations experienced by big local and international businesses, especially those involved in highly technical exploration. VSAT will also allow the educational sector to roll out information technologies, especially Internet, to educational institutions countrywide, in line with the Education Policy on ICT. Further information can be obtained from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. OPENING OF ANGOLAN IXP BRINGS THE TOTAL TO 17 AND MORE PLANNEDSilvio Almado of Nexus signalled the opening of the Angolan IXP with a message to the AfrISPA mail-list:” Multitel already connected and running. We have now 3 ISP connect to IXP”. Although there had been some delays, Africa’s seventeenth IXP is now up-and-running. There are now IXPs in the following countries: South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Tanzania, DRC, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Rwanda, Swaziland, Ghana, Botswana, Mauritius, Zambia and Namibia. AfrISPA has plans to open IXPs in a further 11 countries including: Benin, Malawi, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Cameroon, Senegal, Gambia, Central African Republic and Congo-Brazzaville. The long-awaited IXP in Lagos has yet to see the light of day despite having Presidential support. ONLINE BETTING SOON AVAILABLE IN SOUTH AFRICAOnline and cellphone gaming will become legal for the first time in SA if a draft amendment bill adopted by the cabinet last week is finally passed into law. The South African gambling industry has been frustrated by the length of time it has taken government to come up with regulations to legalise Internet gaming. Foreign operators, particularly British operators, have been waiting for internet gaming to be legalised so that they can enter the domestic market, while provincial governments have been losing out on an additional source of tax revenue. The draft bill proposes a licensing system for both the players and the online gaming websites. The manner in which gaming proceeds would be taxed still had to be determined, trade and industry deputy director-general Astrid Ludin said last week. She said a key challenge in drafting the proposed legislation was to find a way to effectively regulate anything on the internet and how to prevent money-laundering. Additional resources would be required for the proposed regulations to be enforced by the National Gambling Board. The department also had to look at the economic effect of interactive gambling and attempt to restrict access to a select audience, which would exclude young people. A proposed way of limiting the scope of online gambling would be to make it illegal for advertisers to advertise on gambling sites, Ludin said. Interactive gambling was outlawed by the National Gambling Act of 2004 because government considered that more time was needed to conduct research into this form of gaming, which has assumed massive proportions worldwide. The act gave Trade and Industry Minister Mandisi Mpahlwa two years to draw up regulations to govern internet gambling, which will be regulated in terms of the proposed Gambling Amendment Bill. The long-awaited regulations stem from a report compiled by a National Gambling Board committee and the recommendations of a national gambling policy committee consisting of Mpahlwa and the provincial MECs responsible for gambling. Research was conducted on how other jurisdictions such as Britain, the US and Australia regulated online gambling. Unlike the US, which decided to outlaw internet gambling to prevent money-laundering and funding terrorism, the South African government has decided to allow interactive gambling within a regulated framework. This is consistent with its general approach to gambling. Gambling is a concurrent competence between national and provincial governments in terms of the constitution, so provinces were closely involved in framing the regulations. The US law prevents credit-card companies from collecting payments for online bets, which effectively closed down a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry. Estimates by foreign market-research companies suggest that the global gambling industry -- worth more than $8,2bn a year in 2004 -- would triple to $25bn a year by 2010. (SOURCE: Business Day ) EGYPTIAN BLOGGER ARRESTED FOR CRITICIZING ISLAMIC CLERICSWatchdog groups are pressing for the release of an Egyptian blogger, arrested last month for posting articles critical of Islam on his Web log (blog). They say Abdel Karim Nabil Suleiman, 22, is a victim of Egyptian attempts to limit freedom of expression on the Internet. Suleiman, known by his Internet pseudonym Kareem Amer, was expelled from the Al-Azhar University earlier this year because he wrote critically about the role of religion in Egypt, the Middle East Media Research Institute reported on Thursday. (Al-Azhar is the regarded as the highest Sunni Islamic learning institution in the region. The grand imam of al-Azhar mosque, Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, is one of the most senior Muslim clerics in Egypt.) Suleiman also was arrested last year when he condemned violent Muslim reaction to a Coptic Christian play, which some Muslims considered offensive to Islam. The Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information and the Egyptian Observatory for Justice and Law are campaigning for Sulieman's release. The groups say he's been imprisoned on "false charges." "The real reason for his imprisonment is that he expressed his anti-governmental and anti-Islamic views in his own online articles," the groups said. According to the groups, which are providing legal representation for Suleiman, he was supposed to be questioned before a judge on Thursday in the presence of his lawyers, but police misinformed the lawyers about where the interrogation would be held and took Suleiman to a different court, where he was given another 15 days' detention. A petition calling for Suleiman's release has been posted on the HAMSA (Hands Across the Middle East) website. HAMSA is an American Muslim organization that promotes civil rights in the Middle East. HAMSA Director Jesse Sage said more than 1,500 people have sent emails to the Egyptian government and U.S. State Department demanding Suleiman's release. "This is the first time that someone [in Egypt] was arrested for what he wrote on a blog," said Sage by telephone. Other bloggers have been arrested, but usually for participating in street demonstrations, he said. In the last article posted before his arrest, Suleiman blasted clerics at Al-Azhar University and predicted he would be arrested for it. "[To] Al-Azhar University, to the professors and sheikhs at Al-Azhar who stood and stand against anyone who thinks freely, I say: You will end up in the dustbin of history. Then you will find no one to cry for you," Suleiman wrote according to a translation provided by MEMRI on Thursday. According to Reporters Without Borders, Egypt is among the 13 countries known for violating freedom of expression on the Internet. (SOURCE: CNCNews) TSHWANE MUNI NETWORK PROVIDES WIRELESS IN ETHEKWINIWhile customers in Tshwane are browsing and downloading to their hearts’ content, residents within the eThekwini municipality can expect a service that will offer broadband access and domestic voice calls for as little as R150 a month. The race to deliver cheaper broadband and telephony services to residents via municipal networks is alive and kicking, with most of South Africa’s metros planning to bring services to market in 2007 or early 2008. Tshwane may be leading the pack with services already on offer in Hatfield, but the other metros are hot on its heels with Cape Town intending to award the tender to build its network this week and eThekwini and Johannesburg issuing requests for proposals early in the new year. eThekwini metro’s head of geographic information and policy, Jacqui Subban, is heading up its digital city project and says the network is rolled out and services could be delivered the day after the contract is signed. Subban says the metro is looking for a telecoms partner to set up a telco that will wholesale bandwidth on the municipality’s network to a variety of internet service providers. “Our key objective is to make sure that Durban’s citizens in three to four years can get internet access and make domestic calls for about R150 a month,” says Subban. “That is our benchmark.” Subban says the eThekwini network consists of a fibre roll-out as well as a wireless network consisting of about 100 high sites. “Technically we are up and running,” she says. Subban says the metro is currently running a commercial pilot that had been very successful. (SOURCE: Mail & Guardian) IN BRIEF:- Stellenbosch in South Africa now offers motorists the chance to pay traffic fines over the Internet, as well as verify the fines by viewing online pictures from speed and red light cameras. - Algerian ISP, EEPAD, has just launched online supporting lessons in the benefit of candidates to final examinations. Students who are to sit for final exams, can benefit of supporting lessons on the website www. clicforma.com, for the cost of AD500 per matter and per year. - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) met in Sao Paolo last week and made progress on a project to expand domain names to more languages and alphabets. The IDN project is meant to revamp the Domain Name System (DNS) so that it supports domain names from different languages and alphabets, such as Arabic and Chinese, which cannot be rendered in the ASCII character set. - Concerned Yoruba leaders and artists, led by playwright and artist, Prof. Akinwunmi Ishola have expressed worry at the gradual extinction of the Yoruba Language from homes and schools and called on parents and teachers to rise to the challenge. Speaking at a meeting of the Yoruba Centre of Excellence (YCE), held at the Oodua City Hall, Ibadan, recently, Ishola suggested the posting of the language on the internet in order to keep youths who are computer literate abreast of the culture and values of the tribe.
SOUTH AFRICA ANNOUNCES BOLD PLAN TO GET 400,000 TEACHERS SURFINGYoungsters now stand a slightly better chance of an education fit for the future through an Intel initiative to boost access to information technology. On Monday, Intel chairman Craig Barrett opened a computer lab at Maope school. Microsoft has donated the software and MTN's cellular network provides high-speed internet access. "It's our duty as adults to make sure every child has equal opportunities," said Barrett, who chairs the United Nations' global alliance for information and communication technologies. "They have to have access to computers and those computers have to be connected to the internet because the internet is where the world's information database resides. This is the first time in history where one person at a desk with a computer can have access to all the information in the world." Barrett also stopped at a local craft market where Sahara Computers gave wood carver Robert Hlongwane a laptop. VEA Communications is providing internet access and helped him create a website to advertise his wares. "I am so excited to have my first PC and my children can't wait to use it too," Hlongwane said. "I will be able to reach customers from far away. If I start getting orders from Johannesburg, I will help other Bela Bela craftsman sell their goods." But watching Hlongwane appear thoroughly daunted by the technology -- and distinctly nervous as a laptop worth R11000 sat on his stall in the impoverished marketplace -- you cannot help wondering how good these ad hoc initiatives will be. Barrett acknowledged that the new computer centre at Maope School was the same as numerous labs sponsored by other companies across SA. One difference would be a heavy emphasis on training teachers to use technology and following up to ensure nothing prevented it being used efficiently, he said. "Educating teachers is perhaps the most important thing we can do to educate our young people." The Bosele centre received eight new PCs from Hewlett-Packard and Intel is paying for internet access to help the centre extend its PC training to local adults. Ntshangase said it was not enough to provide three free meals a day to her AIDS orphans. "It will be an empty programme if it's just food and nothing intellectually challenging for the children," she said. That is why the staff first clubbed together to buy some old PCs. "We started teaching them computer literacy because in this area there are no computer schools or training of any sort. Children end up in the street, but if we can give them a start in the right direction they could be employed as a receptionist or a clerk." Because Ntshangase and her one computer-literate colleague cannot train 200 children by themselves, they have asked a computer teacher from a local school for disabled to help in the evenings. But he will be thinly stretched, as teachers from the other school also want to come to the Bosele centre to learn how to use the Rotary-donated PCs. Things are also bad at Maope school. "We have a terrible predicament. We need to teach students to become part of the 21st century and we need to teach them things we don't know," said Este Eindehoven, the IT co-ordinator. "We only needed to be able to read and write and do arithmetic." Intel's regional manager for sub-Saharan Africa, Jacques van Schalkwyk, said it was tough deciding where to focus its efforts when so many parts of SA were needy. "We wanted to pick a community where we could incorporate the components of health, education and connectivity and we couldn't go thousands of miles from a logistical point of view. Bela Bela is one of the most needy areas and it's close enough to us for sustainable maintenance." The donations by Intel, the world's largest chip manufacturer, are part of its $1bn World Ahead initiative to take technology and education to developing countries. Its grand plan in SA is to donate 5000 PCs with Microsoft software and internet access from MTN to 1200 schools by 2010. Equally ambitious is the aim of training all SA's 400000 teachers to use technology to improve the standard of education. So far nearly 43000 have completed Intel's teacher training programme since 2003. (SOURCE: Business Day) NIGERIA’S OMATEK DELIVERS 10,000 CANI PCS UNDER COMPUTERS FOR ALL INITIATIVEFlorence Seriki ,the Managing Director of OMATEK Computers, has disclosed that her company has commenced the delivery of 10,000 computers under the federal government's Computers for All Nigerians Initiative (CANi). Seriki in a statement last week commended the Federal Government for the CANi scheme and added that the Federal Government recorded its first milestone with the Federal Government's award of contracts for the purchase of 14,500 CANi branded computers valued at N1.27 billion with OMATEK Computers already delivering the first batch of the computers. The Computers for All Nigerians Initiative is the Nigerian model of Government Assisted PC Purchase Program (GAPP). It is essentially a social programme designed to assist individual employees to purchase personal computers and laptops at discounted prices and under an affordable and convenient repayment plan for use in their homes. Many countries worldwide have implemented GAPPs- usually through incentives driven models- to boost their PC penetration, productivity levels and economies. She praised the OlusegunObasanjo led administration for its commitment to CANi. She said that CANi computers now being rolled out from the production lines of her company will go a long way towards building the future generation of Nigeria. According to her, "CANi is laying a foundation by identifying with the average Nigerian that may never be able to easily acquire computers because of the prevalent high cost. CANi has come to dramatically push down the prices which will bring great relief to Nigerians to own computers" Seriki added that the Federal Government sees CANi as a policy issue and was able to scale all the initial teething problems in making the initiative a reality. "It is a timely move. That a deliberate effort is being made to bridge the digital divide demonstrates the Federal Government's commitment to catch up with the rest of the world. Going further, she said "What Nigeria needs more than anything now is to harness its vast human resources. It is only computer literacy through access to affordable computers that can enhance their productivity and marketability. A government initiative in which the private and public sector employees are expected to be the beneficiary of the 500,000 computer units slated for the first phase of its introduction needs to be commended and adequately supported by all. CANi is truly a scheme for all Nigerians" she concluded. (SOURCE: This Day) IFAP TO DIGITALISE AUDIO-VISUAL CONTENT IN THE SAHELTo preserve various media resources in the Sahel and make them available to future generations, UNESCO, through its Information for All Programme and Kent State University in Ohio, USA, will cooperate to establish the Digital Library of Sahel. The Sahel region possesses an abundant collection of audiotapes, as well as significant music recordings, films and photographs spanning 50 years and more. Within the framework of UNESCO’s Information for All Programme (IFAP), the Pan-African Studies Department at Kent States University (KSU) will assist the West African Research Centre (WARC) in Dakar, Senegal, to achieve the digitization of part of the audio-visual heritage of the region. The initiative will result in a website to broadcast information, disseminate assets and initiate the discussion on the preservation of local content in the region. A Distributed Learning Module on Information Literacy will also be developed and integrated in the curricula at KSU and its counterparts in the Sahel region. According to IFAP’s principles, this cooperation will first focus on the preservation of valuable local knowledge and cultural content. By saving the collection in a digital form, this knowledge will become accessible to more people. Thus, the Digital Library of Sahel will at the same time contribute to the achievement of an inclusive Knowledge Society in the region. The second aspect of this collaboration is the promotion of scholarly exchange between West Africa and the United States. KSU will not only provide their Africa colleagues with computer units as a kick-off for their work. Key collaborators will receive training on the content and its preservation. They will also be taught in the potential ICT applications that can be used for this purpose. The element fosters the capacity building in the region and helps to ensure the sustainability of the initiative. MAURITIUS LAND REGISTER TO GO ELECTRONICA land register is at long last in preparation. Its aims are two fold: to eliminate corruption in the lease of state lands and to permit implementation of the National Residential Property Tax. "We're in 2006 and Mauritius still does not have a land register. Can you believe this?" the Prime minister asked members of the press last Thursday. His comments came in the aftermath of a ministerial meeting on land management in his office earlier on the same day. Eight senior ministers of the Ramgoolam administration attended this meeting where a technician of the Housing and Lands ministry held a presentation aimed at explaining the importance of having a land register, the functions of such a body and the problems it will solve in the present chaotic state of the state lands and other residential lands. A land register will keep track of every single piece of residential land in the country as well as all transactions pertaining to them. As at now, all transactions on private lands are registered at the Registrar's office in Port Louis. The system is far from foolproof given that it is not computerised. The lack of a register - hence an official database where all residential lands are registered - disables further the control of transactions of residential lands. State lands are in even more disarray than private lands. A senior official at the prime minister's office (PMO) says that the present situation has made of the ministry of Housing and Lands "a landmine and the most corrupted ministry ever." It is little wonder, isn't it when that particular ministry has the responsibility of managing state lands. "The problem about state lands is that most people do not know where all of them are. The only people in the know are the ones who have, let's say, studied the matter. How are you ever going to know what they do about a piece of land if you're not even aware of its existence?" says a former "in the know" official. This is the part of the project that PM Ramgoolam wants to advertise. In a statement to the press, Ramgoolam said it was unacceptable that people could take their pick out of State Lands and be allocated them "after having pressurised the government". A statement that comes at an opportune moment; The Icac has currently been asked by the PM to inquire about the transfer of a plot of state land by a man who allegedly got the lease through his political connections. Red connections. More importantly though, once the system is in place, the click of a mouse on a virtual map of Mauritius will visually show you the area under investigation. Click further and you will zoom in on the specific land or house. Another click and all the details of the property including the name of the owner and all transactions past and present will show. The implementation of such a complex register will take five years, according to official sources. It seems, however, that the prime minister is in a hurry to have the Register in place. For various reasons, ranging from tax to the fight against corruption to electoral ones. "Five years is a long time and obviously, we want to be here when the system is up and running", says a source. And it seems that it will be possible to have the register ready in some 18 months, says a senior minister. "We will build on the register that we already have - however inadequate", he adds. Besides the fight against corruption, the land register will also serve a very down to earth - if not the most important - purpose; it will make it possible for government to have a comprehensive land policy so it can implement the much-opposed National Residential Property Tax. The prime minister mentioned a few months ago that the NRPT has been put on hold because "the criteria might be unfair to some as we don't have a land register." Whereas many thought that was a way for government to cop out in the face of criticisms surrounding the property tax - and a probable subsequent electoral price to pay - government couldn't now be any clearer. The determination and the sense of urgency were confirmed on Friday. The matter was discussed at cabinet level, merely a day after the presentation held at the PMO. The cabinet communiqué states: "In line with Government's aim to set up a modern and effective Land Administration Management System with a national database on the market value of immovable properties used for residential purposes, Cabinet has taken note of developments in the establishment of a national valuation roll of all properties within the boundaries of the Republic of Mauritius, excluding agricultural properties." (SOURCE: L'Express) IN BRIEF:- OpenOffice.org has managed to squeeze in a third release before the end of 2006. Superficially the same as version 2.1 it has five more languages, interoperability improvements and better final presentation. - Satyam Computer , a consulting and information technology services company, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Egypt, to set up a global development center (GDC) in Smart Village, Giza. The center will serve as a major technological development and software support facility for Satyam’s Middle Eastern customers. - Commercial open source document management system, KnowledgeTree, have announced a licensing programme that allows original equipment manufacturers to build on the KnowledgeTree document management platform to customise and brand their own programs.
GT PAYS OFF MALAYSIANS $100MGovernment is set to regain 100 per cent ownership of the national biggest telecommunications company ahead of a privatisation targeted for June 2007. After an arbitration settlement, government agreed to pay $100 million to Telekom Malaysia and its minority Ghanaian partners in G-Com to buy back their 30 per cent stake in GT, which they paid $38 million for November 1996. More than half of the amount had already been paid by government, with the remainder expected to be settled in time for next year’s privatisation. (SOURCE: Ghanaweb) UNEXPECTED RESPONSE TO CELLPONE BANKING INITIATIVE IN NAMIBIABank Windhoek's latest initiative to make banking more affordable to its clients has registered over 4000 clients since it was launched slightly more than a week ago. The bank says it is overwhelmed by the number of clients registering for CellPhone Banking, especially with the transaction volumes of MTC top-ups being way above its expectations. The service enables Bank Windhoek clients with Cheque, Easy Save or Transaction accounts, who have mobile telephones to register to access the service through which one can pay their bills, transfer money, enquire about their balances, get a mini statement and top up airtime wherever there is an MTC network. The new initiative was developed by Bank Windhoek in partnership with MTC and their technology partner Cointel, and was partly funded by the British Government's Financial Deepening Challenge Fund. The bank feels the move will enable it to provide accessible and affordable banking services to Namibia because the service does not require registration or monthly service fees. The bank said in a press statement on Friday that the response from the public demonstrated that the initiative made banking easier and more accessible for its clients. "Due to this tremendous response, clients registering for limited access CellPhone Banking might have only received a call from our HelpDesk within 24 hours after sending an SMS to register. However, the situation has now normalized and clients will receive a call from our Helpdesk staff shortly after sending their sms and they will be provided with a pin code," explained Stoney Steenkamp, Head of the Cards and Support Services Department of Bank Windhoek. "Through this new service, the bank offers its clients two options, namely: limited access or full access to CellPhone Banking, and Bank Windhoek clients can register for full access by visiting and applying at their local branch with their cell phone and Namibian Passport or Identity Document." Full access to CellPhone Banking allows clients to do balance enquiries, view a mini statement, transfer money and do top-ups on their Tango pre-paid package or pay their MTC account. CellPhone Banking is compatible with all types of cell phones and allows clients to do banking wherever they roam in South Africa during this festive season. (SOURCE: New Era) DIVIDED BOARD BACKS TELKOM OVER BCX TAKEOVERThe share prices of Telkom and Business Connexion rose last week after a "long and difficult" debate saw Business Connexion's board resolve to keep supporting a R2.4bn takeover bid by Telkom. Terms of the potential takeover expired last week, forcing both boards to decide whether it was worth fighting for permission to conclude a deal the Competition Commission wants vetoed. The firms agreed to extend the deadline to seal the deal until March 15, though the Competition Tribunal may not have begun adjudicating the potential deal by then."It was a very long and tough debate," Business Connexion CEO Peter Watt said. "Some parties were unhappy with the decision but that's what a board is for, and the majority had to prevail." Telkom's offer of R9.25 a share swung the extension, particularly since Business Connexion shares are trading at a much less valuable R7.30. "In the interests of shareholders, as there is R9.25 on the table, we felt we needed to take it to a logical conclusion and understand whether the commission ruling can be challenged," he said. Telkom's share price rose R2 to R134, and Business Connexion gained 7c to R7.30 last week before both gave up some gains. (SOURCE: Business Day) ETC MANAGEMENT TERMINATES PROCUREMENT WORTH 250M BRThe management of the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) has cancelled procurements worth over 250 million Br, after the foreign procurement section of the Corporation submitted those selected from the tender process for final approval. ETC says that the reason it took the cancellation measures was to avoid unnecessary spending. Established in 1894, ETC operates over 1.1 million mobile and around 30,000 internet subscribers as well as over 800,000 landline users. Of the 37.7 billion Br budget the Corporation has allocated for the fiscal year 2006-2007, four billion Birr is reserved for procurement of equipment. Around 120 local and international bidders have participated to supply equipment from pick-up trucks and automobiles to metro-junction power batteries and rectifiers (which help to ease traffic congestion), transit switch (used to calls to international operators), spare parts for switchboards and supporting towers as well as accessories; to coin and card combined pay phones, and armoured and unarmoured cables. These were procurements issued by the Corporation in 20 series of public tenders under the previous management of Tesfaye Birru, but submitted for a final approval to the new management installed in May 2006, under Amare Amsalu, chief executive officer of the ETC. All these tenders were cancelled, with the new management striking half of them on November 22, 2006. According to the new management, almost all these procurement orders placed by the previous management were to be made while they are available in stock in ETC's stores, while others are ordered in excess of what is actually demanded. ETC sources revealed to Fortune, however, there are telecom equipments worth more than two billion Birr kept in its main store located around Beklo Bet area, on Beyene Aba Sebseb Avenue. For instance, the management has cancelled the procurement of transit switch, which would have cost the Corporation 30 million Br, while ETC had previously procured the item for 24 million Br, still kept in its store, Amare confirmed to Fortune. The management does believe that the procurement of 450 pick-ups and automobiles as well as six trucks and tractors with semi trailers is more than sufficient to the actual needs of the Corporation, thus decided to limit the order to 100. He sees the possibilities of outsourcing the transportation requirements of the Corporation as a much better option than involving the company in fleet management, arguing that it may make ETC defocused from its major task. "The Corporation's goal is to expand telecom services and technology infrastructure; not to operate transport services," Amare told Fortune. Amare said a large number of the Corporation's vehicles sat idle in different regions of the country as it was. There was no point in him placing orders for new cars, when they could shift those vehicles that are idle to regions where there is a higher demand. Another area of concern to the management is the planned procurement of towers; Amare believes a single tower could hold a mobile, landline and wireless transmission antennas. "Buying and setting up three towers for each is the type of work that we no longer intend to pursue," said the CEO. "Except for the pressing procurements, the Corporation intends to cease procurement orders up until it is able to restructure the entire structure." Nevertheless, those on the suppliers' side are sceptical about the intention of the move by the management; alleging that, in fact, it is trying to steer clear funds to other procurement deals it may enter soon with four Chinese telecom companies. Amare had signed four months ago a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Huawei Technologies, ZTE Corporation, CITCC and RSW International in order for them to supply its goods and services worth two billion dollars. "We really feel bad about this [the cancellation]," Dereje Walelign, general manager of Lydetco Plc., a local agent to various international telecom suppliers told Fortune. Although the Corporation has a reserved right to cancel tenders it issues, it is appropriate and an accepted practice for it to explain the reasons to bidders, so that they would not fall prey to rumours, according to Dereje. "In the absence of an official explanation from the Corporation, it would be very hard for us to accept what is being said as fact," he told Fortune. (SOURCE: Addis Fortune) NEOTEL RAISES R2 BILLION IN LOCAL LOAN FINANCEThree months after its official launch, the new national operator Neotel has raised loans of R2bn to begin extending its network to supply its long-awaited services to more customers. Neotel has borrowed the cash in a bridging loan from Nedbank Capital, Investec Bank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa and the Industrial Development Corporation. It will ultimately need R8,5bn to fund its operations but MD Ajay Pandey said this initial cash would "take us to where we want to go". Nedbank Capital's Mike Peo, head of its infrastructure project finance team, said the loan agreement was "a notable achievement" that would finally let the second network operator come to market. The R2bn loan would be provided on a project finance basis over 18 months, Pandey said, with attractive repayment terms that would not overburden Neotel as it established itself in the market. It can also be converted into long-term debt after 12 months. Pandey said there had been widespread interest in funding Neotel from both local and international financiers. This was one of the largest telecommunications infrastructure deals to be financed in SA, he said, and it was pleasing that four key local players were pitching in to make sure a project of this shape and size was adequately supported. Further cash will come as Nedbank Capital, Investec and the Development Bank act as lead arrangers for long-term debt facilities with a target of raising R4bn. The members of Neotel -- Tata, Eskom, Transtel, Nexus Connexion, Communitel and Two Consortium -- have committed another R2bn in equity. There were no immediate plans to change the shareholding structure of Neotel to bring in any further equity investors, Pandey said. Neotel operates 1300km of fibre optic cable in six cities after buying that network from Transnet for R256m. It also has access to a government-owned high-speed network built by Eskom and Transnet. Nevertheless, its network is nowhere near the size or scale it needs to be to carry voice and data traffic for cellular operators, large corporate customers and, eventually, to serve ordinary consumers too. Neotel now supplies some international bandwidth to customers including Cell C, Vodacom and MTN. It hopes to offer bandwidth directly to large corporations by the first quarter of next year, Pandey said yesterday. The man in the street should be able to place fixed-line calls or access the internet via Neotel by the second quarter of next year, as long as the street in question was in a main urban area. Pandey refused to say how much business its first customers had entrusted to Neotel, saying this was confidential. The amount of business it was conducting now was not a true reflection of its potential, as it had been operating for only a matter of weeks, he said. The predicted R8.5bn of investment within five years will mostly go towards expanding network infrastructure. Neotel has short- listed some technology suppliers but has yet to award contracts. Pandey expects Neotel to turn cash positive for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after three years and to return a net profit after four. (SOURCE: Business Day) SAFARICOM SHARE ISSUE - VODAFONE CHANGES RING TONEThe eagerly awaited Safaricom initial public offer (IPO) may not after all happen as soon as had been expected. The EastAfrican has learnt that Vodafone Plc of the United Kingdom, which must give an okay before shares of the company can be sold to the public, has come up with tough new conditions that the government is finding difficult to fulfil. This new twist has come as a surprise because, until recently, all indications were that both parties had broadly agreed on the terms of the IPO and all that remained was for the matter to be tabled before the Cabinet for approval. Well-placed sources have told The EastAfrican that during the last round of negotiations with the UK company held at the Teleposta Towers offices of the Ministry of Information and Communications on November 15, Vodafone had agreed to most of the terms the government had suggested. But matters would appear to have taken a turn two weeks ago as the parties were preparing to go on to the next stage, where they had to sign documents spelling out the actual and final terms and conditions under which the IPO is to be held. In a new draft agreement prepared by Vodafone and presented to the government last week, the UK company sent notice that it was not prepared to give the go-ahead to the IPO without reassurances that its own interests were not going to be compromised by the share flotation. The UK company has also signalled that it is not prepared to allow Telkom Kenya to pledge 9 per cent shares of Safaricom to borrow some $80 million from a syndicate of local commercial banks to finance its second phase of retrenchment, in which the state-owned company will be putting 6,000 workers on the street. Apparently, Vodafone had earlier given the indications that it was not against the pledging of the shares to the banks. But the company is now saying that it is only willing to accept the deal on condition that all contentious issues surrounding the IPO issue are resolved. Although the exact details of the disagreement between the government and IPO are hard to come by, sources have revealed that the potential deal-breaker is Vodafone's insistence that it must be guaranteed an option to buy 9 per cent shares of Safaricom when the shares go on the market for secondary trading. Vodafone has reportedly demanded that a provision be included in the agreement stipulating that once the IPO takes off, it will have the option to buy 9 per cent shares of Safaricom Ltd at market price during secondary market trading. Furthermore, the UK company wants the option to purchase 9 per cent of Safaricom to be allowed to run for 10 years. Even though Vodafone has not given its reasons for making this demand, it is clear that the UK company has calculated that it will be better off with an arrangement whereby, once the IPO takes off, it will have the leeway to wait as long as it desires and only come to the market to buy the 9 per cent shares when it is most expedient. Vodafone is angling to emerge as the single largest shareholder of the company. However, what it does not want is to pay too high a price for the 9 per cent stake. The current negotiations are a follow-up on the first round where the government and Vodafone disagreed on the price of the 9 per cent stake the government had offered to sell the latter. Apparently, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's private sector lending arm, which had been appointed by the government to value the company, had come up with a figure of $4.8 billion. When the government went to London for the negotiations with Vodafone, this is the figure its team tabled. On its part, Vodafone valued the company at $ 1.3 billion. As it turned out, the government was to make a major climbdown on the IFC figure when it quoted a value of $2.7 billion for Safaricom. With such a huge gap in the expectations of the two parties, the negotiations reached a stalemate. The IPO option was, therefore, embraced by both sides as the middle ground, the argument being that the market was best at discovering the value of the company. Clearly, the government now finds itself in a tight corner, having to go back to the drawing board to consider how to accommodate the new demands of Vodafone. Making the situation even more complicated is the fact that what Vodafone wants is not feasible under existing capital markets laws and regulations. On the face of it, the government can influence the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to grant waivers. But the difficulty is that as thing stand, Safaricom is right now a private company operating outside the jurisdiction of the CMA. According to sources, Vodafone has also made the following demands. First, that Safaricom be exempted from the State Corporations Act before and after the IPO; second, that Vodafone be allowed to be part of the committee that will oversee the IPO; and third, that if the IPO is not done within 18 months from the time of signing the agreement, Vodafone still be allowed to exercise its right to purchase the 9 per cent shares of Safaricom Ltd, with the shares being valued by an independent investment banker. What is at stake for the government in the whole saga? Quite simply, if it does not come to an agreement with Vodafone , the whole plan of restructuring and turning around Telkom will be put in jeopardy. And that would be a missed call to rue. (SOURCE: The East African) IN BRIEF:- The Johannesburg Stock Exchange went live with the first phase of Project Orion, a massive IT systems overhaul that replaces the majority of the JSE's legacy systems, some of which are 20 years old. - Ghana’s Business Chronicle reported that Vodacom of South Africa has expressed interest in investing into Ghana Telecom. It is likely to be interested in its mobile arm, One Touch but who would run the fixed line business? Maybe Telkom, maybe not. - The South African telecommunications industry is thriving. It contributed over 7% to SA's gross domestic product (GDP), which grew 4.6%, to just over $239.5 billion last year, says an Oxford Business Group report.
EXAM RESULTS TO BE AVAILABLE BY SMS IN NAMIBIAFor the first time, Namibian exam candidates will this year be able to obtain their results by SMS, the Ministry of Education has announced. The new service will be available to students who sat the JSC, IGCSE and HIGCSE examinations in October and November. It will become active at 08h00 on the day of the official release of the results. The exact dates will be announced at a later state, but will be in the weeks between December 18 and 22 for JSC and HIGCSE, and between January 22 and 26 for IGCSE results. To obtain the results, the candidates should follow this procedure: Send a message giving the type of the examination, followed by surname and then first name (for example: JSC Kalomoh Fenni); or write your full examination number (for example: JSC 061E250025, or HIGCSE NAM050015, or IGCSE NXK030012. Send this information to the number 2929. This service costs N$4 (excl VAT). On the day of the official release the results will also be available from 08h00 on the website of the Directorate National Examinations and Assessment at www.dnea.gov.na as well as at the schools or centres where the candidates have written their examinations. (SOURCE: The Namibian) VOTE FOR SA'S BEST E-COMMERCE SITESNominations for the South African e-commerce Awards closed at the end of November and the shortlist of nominees has been announced. The awards have been spearheaded by Albert Bredenhann of Jump Shopping in an effort to promote South Africa's e-commerce development and culture. Commenting on the nominees, Bredenhann said, "the list has been very interesting, especially as this is what the public has chosen." He said that there were a few surprises as some sites he believed would do well were in fact poorly supported by the nominations. About 1000 nominations were received across the 19 categories. The public is invited to vote for the nominees until the end of December at www.jump.co.za/awards/2006/. Thereafter it will be up to the expert panel of judges to decide the final winners. The winners of the awards will be announced on 15 January 2007. (SOURCE: My ADSL) IN BRIEF:- The IT Policy Compliance Group says that it has launched a Web site - www.ITPolicyCompliance.com. The Web site is said to feature research findings, guidance, and contributions from compliance experts to assist organisations with improving compliance results
NIGERIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO BROADEN BROADCAST SPACEThe Minister of Information and National Orientation, Frank Nweke Jnr., has restated the Federal Government's commitment to broaden the broadcast space in Nigeria. He made this affirmation yesterday at his office while receiving the report of the Community Radio Policy drafting committee. The minister identified community radio as one of the most cost-effective media of reaching the grassroots population, considering the reach of radio in broadcasting. Opening up the space, he added, would enrich the industry by providing alternative options for people to access information and express themselves. "This is the reason why government is committed to expanding the broadcast space to enable people participate in the development process," Nweke said. He paid glowing tribute to members of the committee for their passion, commitment, professionalism and vision for community radio and assured them that government would look at their recommendations and act in the best interest of the nation. Earlier, while submitting the report, the chairman of the committee, Prof. Alfred Opubor, explained that as the guarantor of citizens' interests and their freedom to pursue the attainment of reasonable objectives without hindrance, government owed it a duty to get them properly informed. Opubor, who was represented by Mrs Deborah Ogazuma, said this objective could be achieved if the people were sufficiently empowered to participate in the processes that affect their existence, including that of governance. He further noted that progressive societies leverage on the capabilities of community radio to harness their available human resources by creating the right environment for the emergence of community broadcasting. He therefore recommended that the implementation of the policy should depict transparency and participatory democracy in line with the general reforms of this administration. The Federal Government had set up the seventeen-man committee in August to, amongst others, work out a clear policy framework for the emergence of community radio in Nigeria in line with the African Charter on Broadcasting as well as look into how a viable community radio sector could fit appropriately into the national mass communication policy. (SOURCE: This Day) LINUX RADIO SUITE POWERS INDEPENDENT BROADCASTERSCommunity radio stations in Sierra Leone and in other emerging democracies may well soon be powered by Campcaster 1.1, free and open source software that turns a PC running the free Linux operating system into an essential tool for radio broadcasting. Campcaster 1.1, code-named "Freetown", was released last week by developers Media Development Loan Fund (MDLF). This week members of MDLF are in Sierra Leone providing training to community users. MDLF's Douglas Arellanes says Campcaster 1.1 was built with conditions in difficult environments such as Sierra Leone in mind. It provides very stable playout and, because it runs on Linux, there are fewer problems with viruses, spyware and malware. "In a user-friendly way, it enables both automated broadcast at preset dates and times, as well as allowing 'live' playout from the studio. At the same time, it also enables the exchange of radio programme material both online and off-line, and provides a stable, secure, extensible archive server for storing, searching and retrieving program content," says MDLF. "Campcaster provides features that used to be only available in extremely expensive commercial radio systems," says Sava Tati_, Managing Director of the Media Development Loan Fund's Center for Advanced Media, Prague (CAMP), which coordinates the Campware Initiative. "We believe there is a strong north-south aspect to using and extending Campcaster," Tati_ says. "Every time a station in North America or Europe adapts and extends Campcaster, stations in places like Sierra Leone benefit." Tati_ says, however, that Campcaster's relevance is not limited to the developing world: stations in the developed world are starting to adapt the system to their own needs. In Vienna, for example, Austria's Radio Orange is adapting Campcaster's playout system to work with its existing digital archive, while in Hungary, a network of independent radio stations is integrating Campcaster's storage server into its IKRA project, a generic public website engine for radio stations. Because all of the Campcaster software is free and open source, stations are free to adapt it to their individual needs, but are strongly encouraged to share their efforts with others. Campcaster was developed by an international team of software developers, user interface designers, media activists and radio professionals who have worked for more than 12 months on the 1.1 "Freetown" release, says Tati_. "Campware representatives have coordinated their work with the Cornet community radio network on the software, and members of the development team will travel to Freetown, Sierra Leone later this month to provide training to partners implementing and servicing Campcaster locally." Campcaster 1.1 is the latest release from the MDLF's Campware Initiative, which creates free and open source tools for independent media in emerging democracies. Initial funding for Campcaster was provided by a grant from the Open Society Institute. The tools are all free and available for download at the Campware website at www.campware.org. Developers can visit the developers' page at http://code.campware.org/projects/campcaster. (SOURCE: My ADSL) IN BRIEF- Intelsat has renewed and expanded its agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA) for international distribution of the league's games. The NBA distribution network will now include full-time and upgraded Intelsat capacity in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
CALL FOR TENDERThree major tenders together worth billions of Rands will be published early next year to replace the core software systems used by government departments in South Africa. The first tender will be issued in January to select the technologies necessary to develop various software applications. In February, a tender will be issued for commercial off-the-shelf procurement software, and a third tender will be issued by the end of June for human resources management software. * .ICT firms are set, following news that the tendering process of 20 Multi Purpose Community Centres (MCT) countrywide is due in January. According to a report from the Uganda's Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development the deals will involve a roll out of MCTs in 20 selected districts and extension of telephone infrastructure network in 154 sub counties. PEOPLE* Valerie D'Costa will be joining infoDev as Program Manager, effective January 8, 2007. Ms. D'Costa was selected via an intensive international recruitment process. She currently serves as Director of the International Division at the Info-Communication Development Authority of Singapore - the government agency charged with the development, promotion and regulation of Singapore's ICT sector. * Henry Ferreira has been appointed as MD and VP of Unisys Africa. He replaces Barry Holt, who stepped down from the position two months ago. * Retail IT company UCS Group has appointed Frank Pinto as chief operating executive of the UCS Software division, with effect from the beginning of last month. * It has been announced that Thapelo Lippe, CEO of cellular phone operator, Orange Botswana will leave the company soon. * Christopher Lundh has been appointed CEO of Rwanda’s incumbent Terracom. EVENTS- BROADBAND SUMMIT 2007 26-27 February 2007, Southern Sun, Grayston, South Africa South Africa faces a huge broadband demand, from all sides. However, the broadband access media and business strategies in South Africa still do not resemble the international standards. In order to reach these standards you as ISPs, mobile and/or fixed operators, need to assess the current and future potential of the African broadband market. For further information visit http://www.iir-conferences.co.za/eventInfo.php?e=1202 - SMB ROADSHOW 2007 - MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA 26th March 2007, Nile Hilton, Cairo, Egypt. IDC's SMB Roadshow provides a comprehensive and trustworthy platform for discussing strategic IT issues directly impacting the SMB sector. Debate led by recognised experts and based on best practices and sound technology analysis provide objective and critical insights required by leaders in this sector. This event will target IT decision makers – by vertical industry sector - within SMBs across the region. For further information visit http://www.idc-cema.com/events/smbeg07 - 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 - TELECOMS WORLD AFRICA 31st July - 2nd August 2007, Johannesburg, South Africa Key decision-makers in South Africa and leading international players will share their expertise and forge invaluable business relationships in a highly interactive environment. For further information visit www.terrapinn.com/2007/telecomza - WI-WORLD AFRICA 2007 27 – 30 August 2007, Michelangelo Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa. In Africa, fixed-line infrastructure is lacking and there is a major problem with copper wire theft. Wireless communication is therefore a great alternative. For further information visit www.terrapinn.com/2007/telecomza JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES* ERICSSON SITE ENGINEER – SOUTH AFRICA The ideal candidate must have at least 3 years experience on Ericsson equipment. The ideal candidate will have previous Ericsson installation experience. Strong Ericsson Radio and Core installation experience essential. It is a 12 months contract. For further information contact advertising@balancingact-africa.com * CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR UNESCO DIGITAL ARTS AWARD 2007 Young artists around the world will be encouraged to submit creative projects based on the DigiArts’ 2007 theme ‘Urban Environment and Communities’. The prize of US$10.000 will be awarded to one or several laureates. of digital technology. The deadline for submission is 31 December 2006. For further information visit www.unesco.org * CALL FOR PROJECTS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH SECRETARIAT The Commonwealth Secretariat is inviting governments, NGOs and academic institutions to submit project proposals that can help bridge the digital divide. The call for projects comes on behalf of the Commonwealth Connects Programme, an initiative to improve information and communication technology (ICT) skills in the Commonwealth and use them as tools for development. Projects can be submitted no later than 5 January 2007. For details and to download applications forms, visit http://www.commonwealthconnects.com/ and click on the 'Project Marketplace' link. CONTRACTS: WHO'S SELLING WHAT TO WHOM?* MTEL AND MOTOROLA - NIGERIA Telecommunications supplier, Motorola has announced that it has signed a $75 million GSM network expansion contract with Mtel, a mobile communications operator in Nigeria. The expansion will enable Mtel to expand its coverage across Nigeria. * COMIUM AND ESKADENIA - IVORY COAST AND GAMBIA Eskadenia has bagged its tenth telecom customer care billing project in EMEA. Comium Group, one of West Africa’s leading mobile service providers, picked Eskadenia’s billing and CRM system (BCRM) for its new GSM operations in the Ivory Coast and Gambia. Comium will also deploy Eskadenia’s mediation gateway.
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