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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 361 Power to the base stations – a modest propositionAfrica’s mobile operators have achieved an enormous amount in a very short period of time. Their roll-out of mobile services to millions of people has energised the economies of many African countries. However, much of what has been put in place is both costly to operate and requires logistical operations that overcome almost impossible obstacles. Hats off to them because they can do it but is it a sensible way to run a business? One of the largest Sub-Saharan operators has over 5,000 base stations in a single country, many with two back-up generators. Is it in the telephony or the power business? Russell Southwood tries to find a way out of this dead end. A base station might cost a mobile operator in the region of US$125,000 for everything: the mast, the generators, the equipment to transmit, air conditioners to cool it, fencing and a hut for the equipment. In countries like Nigeria or South Africa, the number of base stations required runs into the thousands. For most other African countries, an operator would require hundreds of base stations. For example, MTN’s Lonestar in Liberia, a relatively small but undeveloped country, will have 100 base stations at the end of its current investment phase. Many of these base stations are in urban areas and have a power supply from the state energy utility. These only require one diesel generator as a back-up source to cover the all-too-frequent power outages found in most African countries. But beyond the reach of the national power grid, the operator has to install two diesel generators, allowing for continuous generator-provided energy in the event of one generator failing. In addition, some sites are so far from the point where diesel can be obtained that they require tanks to store up to three months worth of fuel: in other words, at these base stations, operators literally have money buried in the ground. Enormous sums of money are spent both on fuel and on transporting it around African countries to service these base stations. In one of the more extreme cases on the continent, an operator has to send the fuel by boat where it is then hand-loaded off the boat on to a lorry for the final portion of its journey. Lorries used on roads in the West African rainy season are very rapidly wrecked beyond the point where maintenance is useful. The more urban base stations with relatively easy access to roads and grid power can cost US$2500 a month to run. By contrast, the rural bases stations without either of these advantages can cost up to US$20,000 month to run: in other words, each base station of this type costs an additional $210,000 a year to run. So both capex and opex are held high through lack of power to the base stations. There are three threads to untying the knot of how to supply power to more base stations: the current assumptions around power generation; the taxes levied on mobile operators; and the universal service levies made. No-one who has worked in Africa for any length of time will have escaped the “lights-out” moment. The grid power goes down and if you’re lucky, you sit in darkness until the emergency generator kicks in. Speaking personally, on many occasions this has been in hotels running conference events. Pause for a moment to think…. Organisations like hotels can and probably do pay their electricity bills. Yet because the monopoly power operator has not invested enough in its grid and cannot manage demand properly, it turns off its power when it overloads. So demand is not the problem but supply is. The only near parallel in telecoms is when mobile operators fail to provision sufficient capacity and the network goes down: Nairobi on a Friday afternoon might be an example. In both cases at that point supply is being rationed rather randomly. Power supply is often a monopoly (either private or public) and on rare occasions a duopoly. But in almost all cases these are vertically integrated organisations that combine both transmission and local delivery, not so dissimilar to the early days of African telecoms. But the reality is hundreds of thousands of costly individual diesel generators as people seek to pay their way (rather inefficiently) out of the mess of the current power utilities have created through under-supply. So why not allow a greater range of service providers and generators who can put both investment into smaller-scale power generation and transmission? In other words allow a town-sized generator in a rural area to provide power across the local area and if there is a surplus of power, put it into the national grid. Promote pre-payment cards and electronic vouchering as a way of cheapening the financial transaction. What’s this got to with base stations?, I hear you ask. We’ll come to that all in good time. Currently Africa’s mobile companies are charged somewhere between 25-35% in taxes. No-one is saying that the mobile companies should not pay taxes and because they are efficient organisations, they serve as an extremely useful way for less efficient Governments to collect tax. But the higher the tax levels imposed on the companies, the higher their operating costs and as sure as night follows day, the higher the amounts they have to charge people for using their services. So you have two things that might have some impact on the power to base stations issue standing very close to each other. The mobile operators cannot reduce their base station energy costs because there is no power transmission. Government is responsible for the supply of power transmission. Government is collecting money to provide public services like power transmission but for whatever reasons (and they are many) does not have the capacity to act on the supply of power transmission with any speed but it has collected money to do so. Hold that thought. So we come to the third thread in the knot: universal service agencies and their funds. According to World Bank global figures, universal service mechanisms have collected US$6.2 billion but thus far have only managed to spend US$1.7 billion, leaving US$4.5 billion “in the pot”. Again according to the World Bank, a further US$3.8 billion will be collected by 2010. Universal service charges to operators are between 2-5% depending on the country. However, the story these figures tell is that the universal service access money cannot be spent fast enough. So again we have money that might tackle the power to the base station task. The difficulty for Government and its agencies is that in most African countries, the money has simply been put away in the wrong drawer, labelled ‘please spend on telecoms only’. For Africa has only three horizontal regulators (Mauritania, Niger and Rwanda) who have the task of tackling both power and telecoms issues together. But this is simply “box mentality” and if there is a recognition that the problem is important and a will to do something about, money exists to tackle it. If the recent forum held by Nigeria’s regulator NCC is anything to go by (see Telecoms News below) then there is an awakening understanding that power is a problem. It’s then a case of converting this into political will to get something done. So how might it get done? On the investment side, it would be possible with political will to get both Government and its universal service agencies to contribute financially to the task. The devil’s bargain between the Government and the mobile operators is as follows: we lower your taxes and in exchange you help us solve a range of agreed power transmission problems. The Government wins by extending the power network. The mobile operators win through getting lower operating costs on their base stations. In a nutshell, the mobile operators appoint a private company to build and operate a power transmission network. This company would have as its anchor customers at least two mobile companies. Whatever surplus power it generated would either be sold to the national grid operator or be sold on to retail customers. There are private investors in Africa wanting to put money into private power generation and perhaps they might also come in as investors. The mobile operators have shown that it is possible to get things done on the continent and to make money doing it. Perhaps they should now pick up the gauntlet that will allow them to address their high operating costs and get lower taxes at the same time.
INTERCONNECTION FEES ROW IN SOUTH AFRICACell C recently claimed that MTN owes them US$28.6 million in interconnect fees related to a Community System Telephone dispute. MTN says they are amazed at Cell C’s claims. Cell C CEO Jeffrey Hedberg recently said that a dispute revolving around Community Service Telephones (CSTs) resulted in MTN refusing to pay interconnect fees to Cell C. According to Hedberg MTN owes Cell C US$28.6 million in interconnected fees, and that they have also approached the Competition Commission to make a decision as to whether MTN is abusing its “significant market power”. MTN however contests this claim, saying that they are flabbergasted by Cell C’s statements. “Note that Cell C lost its case against MTN. All of Cell C's CST's have no approvals and have been declared unlawful. We are flabbergasted by Cell C's claims and stand by our position,” MTN says. Cell C explained their position: “Cell C’s license stipulates that we should submit our CST roll-out plan annually to the regulator. Furthermore, ICASA would have to provide its approval or disapproval on completion of the roll-out after 7 years. Cell C and ICASA agreed on an additional process in which ICASA would approve the roll-out on a monthly basis to ensure compliance,” said Zeona Motshabi, Chief Corporate Officer at Cell C. “The court’s judgment does not resolve the question of whether or not any of Cell C’s CST’s are, as a matter of fact and law, located within under-serviced areas and whether or not they are CST’s as defined in the license. MTN’s contention that Cell C’s CSTs are unlawful is incorrect as no judgment has been made on the validity of our CST roll-out. ICASA is currently considering this roll-out for approval,” Motshabi concluded. (SOURCE: MyBroadband) AREEBA MAKES U-TURN IN ARBITRATION CASE IN GHANAScancom Limited, operators of Areeba mobile telecommunications network, has beaten a dramatic retreat from pursuing an arbitration process it filed at the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), in the case in which a Ghanaian Investor is laying claim to 20% shares in the company. Before a motion filed against Scancom Limited, by Grandview Management Ltd in the USA, 3rd defendant in the original suit, could be heard by the commercial division of the High Court, the former had withdrawn arbitration proceedings against the latter, through a supplementary affidavit. Counsel for Grandview Management Ltd, Thaddeus Sory, last week informed the court presided over by Justice Henry Kwofie that he had not been served with the supplementary affidavit filed by Scancom Limited. Counsel therefore requested that the hearing of his motion be suspended in order for him to study the affidavit of the Areeba operators and respond appropriately. The case was then adjourned to July 3, 2007 for continuation. The motion filed by Grandview Management Ltd, was seeking an order of the court to restrain Scancom Limited from going ahead with the arbitration processes before LCIA since it may cloud the main issue. Counsel, in his application, noted that in the event where the London Court of International Arbitration decides the pending issue differently from the Ghanaian court, it would create a misunderstanding among the parties involved. However, the supplementary affidavit filed by the telecommunication network provider indicated that it would not pursue arbitration against its co-defendant, Grandview Management Ltd. The court on May 31, this year, refused a request made by the Beirut based parent company of Areeba network, Investcom Consortium Holdings SA (now Investcom LLC) to stay proceedings pending arbitration at the London Court of International Arbitration. According to the court, it was capable of dealing with the issues brought before it in a fair and just manner since the issues complained of were the same that would be placed before the arbitration court in London. It was the view of the court that, where different courts handle the same subject matter, it would lead to multiplicity of issues, a situation that would not augur well as far as justice administration was concerned. Mr. Aggrey has sued Investcom Consortium Holdings SA (now Investcom LLC) Scancom Limited and Grandview Management Ltd, for claims that his name had been removed from the shareholders list of Scancom Ltd, without any explanation. Nana Aggrey is in court seeking that the 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 shareholding membership of Scancom Ltd to include his name and to accordingly restore him to his position as a shareholder and director of the company. (SOURCE: Ghanaian Chronicle) ICC rules in favour of Orascom Telecom in ChadOrascom Telecom Holding has announced that the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) panel has issued a final decision in its favour, with financial compensation, in the arbitration action brought by Orascom against Sotel Tchad, the Chadian fixed line telco, and the Republic of Chad. The dispute arose from a decision by the Chadian Ministry of Telecommunications to invalidate the transfer of 51% of the shares of Tchad Mobile to OTH despite the fact that a valid agreement was entered into in late 2002 between OTH and Sotel Tchad. As a result, OTH suspended its operation of Tchad Mobile in July 2004. After repeated efforts to resolve the matter amicably with representatives of Sotel Tchad and the Government, and as a last resort for the enforcement of its rights, OTH proceeded with the ICC arbitration. Now all it has to do is collect on the judgement… (SOURCE: Telegeography) Monitoring Group to Address Poor Telecoms Service in NigeriaIn its bid to find a lasting solution to the poor quality of service being provided by mobile telecom operators in the country, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is to set up a Quality of Service Monitoring Group. Executive Vice Chairman of (NCC), Engr Ernest Ndukwe said this last week in Abuja at a public forum organised by the commission on the quality of telecom service in the country. He said the group would be an industry and government working body set up to put quality of service issues at the front burner and would be made up of representatives of operators, Association of Telecoms Companies (ATCON), Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators (ALTON), NCC, one or two consumer advocacy groups as well as any interested person who applied and is adjudged to be able to add value to the Group. The NCC boss said the group would have regular monthly meetings in a bid to find lasting solutions and ensure telecoms subscribers enjoy better quality of service. According to him, "the monitoring group will take whatever solutions to the underlying problems responsible for poor quality of service to the government if it concerns the government and the ones they think managing directors of affected companies should address would be taken to them for solutions." At the forum last week, issues of lack of adequate power supply, insecurity, vandalisation, transmission, multiple taxation and network overloading were cited as reasons for the poor quality of service currently being experienced by telecoms subscribers in the country. While identifying six key issues highlighted at the forum, Ndukwe said top on the agenda was power which he said runs across all the presentations. (SOURCE: This Day) MTN GOES IT ALONE ON US$1.4 M FIBRE BACKBONE IN SOUTH AFRICACellular operator MTN is spending US$1.4 million to lay a fixed-line cable between Sandton and Rosebank to ease network congestion and give it more capacity to carry data. The move will sever its reliance on Telkom to provide the high-capacity backbone to link its base stations, giving MTN a cheaper alternative to leasing Telkom's lines. The cable will also connect major customers directly to MTN's network, again taking business away from Telkom. The JSE has already been hooked up, and the priorities now are to finish laying the cable in Rosebank and extend it to stockbrokers in the area. Tim Lowry, MD of MTN SA, said the underground cable was a pilot project that could be extended to other areas if it proved cost effective and efficient. Leasing its transmission backbone from Telkom was one of MTN's largest operating expenses and would become its single largest cost within 18 months. "Waiting for Telkom to provide bandwidth also took too long so MTN had to decide whether to start building its own infrastructure or co-operate with other suppliers. We don't have a burning desire to build our own backbone, but with extra data coming it's an increasing cost to our business and we have to look at ways to reduce those costs. "The purpose of this pilot is to determine whether it's worthwhile for the benefits," he said . One benefit will be to let MTN switch on new base stations more quickly than if Telkom connected them. That will boost the quality and capacity of its cellular coverage in congested areas. Rival Vodacom has voiced similar complaints about the cost of leasing bandwidth from Telkom, and plans to lay fibreoptic cables in metropolitan areas to end its reliance on Telkom. CEO Alan Knott-Craig said: "We have to provide our own infrastructure to give us independence and capacity and lower the costs. Fixed lines will become part of our business." While Vodacom was still preparing to do that, MTN was already half way through its first fibreoptic installation, Lowry said. Voice calls account for the bulk of the cellular operators' revenue, with data accruing about 8% of their income. Most of the data traffic is for SMS text messages, but customers are gradually using the cellular networks to connect their laptops or cellphones to the Internet. About 139,000 people use Vodacom's network to connect computers to the internet, and 33,000 people watch its mobile television channels. Demand for data capacity is bound to grow as mobile television catches on and as applications to use cellphones as electronic wallets to pay for small purchases or to buy goods over the internet flourish. As both cellular operators begin to build their own backbones, they could do so together if it made sense. "I don't see why we have to do it in competition with Vodacom. We could do it in partnership with Vodacom," Lowry said. "The situation for all operators in SA is that we have a greater demand for transmission capacity than can be supplied by Telkom." Lowry would not say how much backbone capacity it leases from Neotel, but said Neotel was another partner it could work with to meet its bandwidth needs. (SOURCE: Business Day) UGANDA TELECOM IN $50 MILLION EXPANSIONUganda Telecom has earmarked $50 million to expand its network coverage across the country. "We are investing over $50million (about Shs80b) in this expansion project that has seen us rolling out to Mugamba-Kyazanga and Karamurani on June 18 2007," said Communications Manager Mark Kaheru in a recent interview with Daily Monitor. "Our objective is to access all communities in every corner of Uganda and because of that, we can't leave some areas uncovered." He said the new shareholding structure of the telecommunications company brought in an injection of funds, some of which will be used in the expansion exercise. He also said the company would be rolling out to more 200 sites in the near future. "We shall be using Huawei and Alcatel network systems technology that is used by renowned telecom companies the world over," he added. Currently, Uganda Telecom has more than 220 base station sites countrywide and a mobile subscriber base of more than 580,000 customers - a market share of about 20 per cent in a sector that has other players including MTN and Celtel. Over the last few years, Uganda Telecom has spent over $68 million (Shs110b) in expanding its network and now covers 60 per cent of the country. (SOURCE: The Monitor)
IN BRIEF:- Kenya’s Information and Communication Permanent Secretary, Bitange Ndemo said that future reduction in mobile phone tariffs will have to await a government study on tax charged on airtime. The taxes amount to 26 per cent of the cost of the airtime, value- added tax (VAT) constitute 16 per cent and excise duty 10 per cent. - The pan African mobile operator, Celtel Nigeria is set to invest N11.2billion in the north east region of Nigeria by the end of this year in order to speed up the coverage expansion programme of the network in the region. - Chinese telecommunications service provider Huawei Technologies says that it will support the network expansion for CDMA fixed wireless telephones in Zimbabwe. The company was working with the University of Zimbabwe to train technicians to install and repair the CDMA telephones that were recently commissioned in the country. TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE- After 50 days of operation, Etisalat Misr has announced that it has signed up close to a million customers already. Etisalat launched Egypt’s third mobile network in May, becoming the country’s first 3G and 3.5G provider. -Celtel Niger has launched per second billing on international calls while unveiling an expansion plan to cover 200 towns to increase coverage from 54 to 85 percent by the end of 2008. - Sentel Gsm, Senegal’s second mobile operator has introduced Blackburry solutions which will enable subscribers to receive, send emails and access office tools.
SEACOM BEGINS MAPPING FOR SEABED CABLE IN EAST AFRICAWhile progress on a government-backed undersea cable to boost Africa's bandwidth remains embroiled in political bickering, rival cable operator Seacom begun mapping out the ocean bed ready to start installation. Seacom’s cable will connect South Africa to Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya. It will then be linked to global networks in India, the Middle East and Europe. The marine surveying is being carried out by Tyco Telecommunications. Its survey vessel, the Fugro Gauss, arrived in Durban on June 17 and was due to set off last week to begin assessing the 13,000 km route along the east coast of Africa. The US$300m project is being led by Herakles Telecom, but its vice- president, Brian Herlihy, has declined to identify other private investors backing the venture. "The arrival of the Fugro Gauss in the Durban harbour to start the marine survey, which precedes the construction of the Seacom cable, is a reassurance to the African communities which we serve of our commitment to construction deadlines," said Herlihy. Seacom's fibreoptic link is due to go live early in 2009 and promises cheap, high-capacity bandwidth for national carriers, broadcasters, and education and research networks. (SOURCE: Business Day) GAMBIA’S RURAL WIRELESS EXPANSION IN CRISISThe Gambia’s efforts to provide wireless telephones to 350 villages have been hampered by insufficient funds, the Communications and Information Technology Minister, Nenneh Macdouall-Gaye, told the parliament. She said for the completion of the rollout of wireless links to the rural communities, Gambia Telecommunications Company Ltd (Gamtel), the country's telecommunications provider, needs to raise D50 million (US $1.9 million). In 2005, Gamtel first rolled out fixed wireless local telephony services using CDMA technology with a local brand name of Jamano. Most Gambians, especially those in the urban areas, questioned the security of Jamano. They saw it as the government’s scheme to tap private calls in and out of the country. Apparently, the government opted for the Airspan without explaining the reasons. But according to Mrs Macdouall-Gaye, the Airspan wireless installed by Gamtel in rural and semi-rural Gambia has proven to be costly, hence the delays. She said the residential lines provided via Airspan each cost US $3,000, which is why the government is planning to provide install CDMA, which is cheaper in some rural communities. Mrs Macdouall-Gaye said while the Airspan project is being reviewed, the government has halted connection work for the earmarked villages. In the meantime, the government is also making efforts to borrow additional funds from banks in the country. (SOURCE: afrol News) NEPAD’S BROADBAND PROTOCOL UNDER POLITICIANS FIRE IN SOUTH AFRICAThe Democratic Alliance (DA) has objected to the ratification by Parliament last week of the broadband protocol of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad). The grounds for the opposition were that the protocol would result in the expropriation of the east African submarine cable and would introduce state-led operators within all regulatory regimes, including in South Africa. DA communications spokeswoman Dene Smuts said the element of expropriation in the protocol on the policy and regulatory framework for the Nepad ICT Broadband Infrastructure for eastern and southern Africa related to its unilateral declaration that the East African Submarine System (Eassy) would be part of the Nepad network. "The Eassy consortium is driven by Kenya, which is one of the 11 countries (out of 23) that has not signed the protocol. South African telecoms companies, including Telkom, are investors in Eassy," she said. Ratification of the protocol would also have direct consequences for SA's communications regulatory regime as it provided for the creation of state-led operating entities or special purpose vehicles. These instruments would consist of a government representative with a golden share and veto right; operators who had invested; and nonoperator entities nominated subject to the approval of an intergovernmental assembly. The operating entities would build or lease infrastructure, buy bulk capacity and act as a wholesale provider of transport infrastructure to authorised service providers. They would be entitled automatically to international gateway operator status, 15-year licences and exemption from turnover and licence fees. "The protocol clearly binds each contracting party to amend their licensing and regulatory frameworks and laws to accommodate this, and where such changes are not made exempts the operating entities from the laws of the land," Smuts said. Two-thirds of contracting countries or the intergovernmental assembly could amend the protocol. This would require reratification in each case. The National Assembly's decisions on the special purpose vehicles would automatically become annexes to the protocol. Smuts noted that section 231 of the constitution provided that any self-executing provision of an international agreement became law after ratification, unless it was inconsistent with an act of Parliament. While the communications department had claimed it was taking the principles of SA's Electronic Communications Act to the rest of Africa, the protocol created duties and rights by exemption which if incorporated into SA's regulatory regime would have "a destabilising effect", Smuts said. This destabilisation would occur just at the time that the new regime was coming into being. In voicing her objections to the protocol, Smuts emphasised the need for the construction of terrestrial infrastructure in eastern and southern Africa. It was also important for SA to be connected more efficiently and affordably with the world through more undersea cables. However, Smuts did not approve of the way the communications department was dealing with Eassy. (SOURCE: Business Day) NIGERIAN FIRM DEPLOYS FIBRE CONNECTIVITY SOLUTION FOR BANKAn Abuja-based IP solutions provider, layer3, has successfully connected Aso Savings and Loans to its Abuja metro fiber connectivity service whereby the bank can enjoy an end-to-end interconnection of all its branches in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) without disruptions. A statement from layer3 signed by Ritdimwa Orga, its Chief Marketing Officer, said Aso Savings and Loans has also subscribed to its SIPconnect, IPpbx for all its enterprise voice communication. "SIPConnect allows unlimited IP voice communications between connected branches and completely eliminates phone bills accruable from inter-branch toll calls," the statement said, explaining further that, "FIBERConnect solution enables high speed inter-branch real-time data and voice communication within organizations with multiple branches in the Abuja metropolis. This improves service efficiency, ensures secure communication channel, and eliminates network downtimes prevalent with wireless radio network." The firm said Aso Savings is one of the first financial institutions in Nigeria to take advantage of the benefits of the fiber connectivity by upgrading its network from a wireless radio network. According to Orga, layer3 is "fully prepared and adequately equipped to meet the needs of businesses and organizations that desire secure, more efficient and effective communication network within the FCT and even beyond." (SOURCE: This Day) IN BRIEF:- Altech Stream Rwanda, a subsidiary of South African vendor Allied Technologies (Altech) has been granted a licence to offer broadband in Rwandan cities, using both Wi-Fi and WiMAX. The concession includes spectrum in the 2.5GHz, 3.5GHz and 15GHz bands, and allows Altech Stream to install its own satellite earth station to provide international bandwidth. The latest estimate of Internet penetration in Rwanda provided by the ITU was 38,000 at the end of September 2005 — around four people in every thousand. - Ghana Telecom has launched "GT Broadband4U" Internet service in Cape Coast to make access to Internet services easy for businesses in the Municipality to enable them to reach their deadlines and become as competitive as those in other parts of the country. - Algerian customs will acquire a new private data transmission system after a frame agreement was signed with Telediffusion d’Algerie (TDA). TDA will provide the customs with two links, one through the terrestrial network to cover northern areas, and another via satellite network for the far southern areas. The new system will make it possible to receive information instantly then transmitting them to the Algiers central data base. Another advantage of this system is the ability to keep data safe. - Nominations for directors to serve on the board of the ".za" Domain Name Authority has been opened by the Communications Minister Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri. - The Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom) has said the installation of a MWK2.1 billion (USD15 million) fibre-optic cable is underway. The cable, between Lilongwe and Blantyre is intended to ‘improve interconnectivity nationally, regionally and globally in a more secure and safe environment,’ said an Escom spokeswoman, adding that the company had already completed installation of a Salima-Kanengo fibre link and was leasing it to telecoms firms in accordance with a commercial operating licence issued by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA). She also said that a Salima – Mzuzu – Karonga fibre link was expected to be installed in 2009.
1,000 MANAGERS TO BE TRAINED FOR KENYA’S DIGITAL VILLAGESThe Kenya government is launching a Digital Village Project to establish information and communications technology centres throughout the country. To jump-start the process, the programme is designed to train 1,000 digital village managers to manage the centres in the 210 constituencies in the country. The managers will undergo an intensive three-week training programme in the basics of business management such as recordkeeping, business plan preparation, sourcing for funds, project implementation and basic computer skills. The villages will be operated on a public-private partnership basis with the Ministry of Information and Communications and will involve the government, public and private sector organisations, development partners, civil society and individuals who will participate through adopting, supporting or investing in digital schools, kiosks or centres. The project, which seeks to connect even the most remote villages to the information super highway by taking ICT facilities to the people, is stipulated in the Millennium Development Goals as one way of increasing economic and social development through the free flow of information to a wider population. A digital school will serve as an ICT educational centre, to be established in every location with between five and 10 computers each. A kiosk will be the equivalent of a commercial enterprise and will be established in constituency level with between one and five computers, while a digital centre will be a development ICT facility to be established in very district with 10-20 computers. Initially, the World Bank will assist the government in implementing the project concept as other partners are sought. The facilities will be owned and operated by stakeholders in the rural community. According to the concept paper, the digital villages are expected to spur employment in rural areas where poverty and unemployment are rampant. Participants are required to raise a minimum of Ksh100,000 ($1,492) as capital towards the set up of the project. Funding for the villages will be available from earmarked sources such as micro finance institutions, local investors, the Youth Enterprise Fund, development partners and donations. The villages are designed for the youth, retired workers, retrenchees or business people seeking to expand their businesses. Each of the digital villages will provide e-mail and Internet services, electronic banking and money transfer services, electronic governance such as access to police abstracts, P3 forms, national identification applications, driver's licence applications and loan application for the Youth Enterprise Fund. Others are e-monitoring, which includes real-time monitoring of projects such as the constituency development fund and HIV/Aids funds, the Roads Trust and LATF among others. Also targeted are e-businesses such as franchised postal and courier services, e-procurement such as Sokoni and the Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange. The project will be set up in two models; the enterprise and community set-up. The enterprise will be set up by individual entrepreneurs such as micro-finance institutions, small and medium size enterprises and co-operative groups. The community model will be run by women or youth as well as faith-based organisations. (SOURCE: East African) Nigeria Spends US$1 Billion On Software for BanksFederal Government has disclosed that not less than N127billion (US $1billion) is spent on the importation of software annually for use in the banking sector of the country. Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Prof. Cleopas Angaye who stated this at the forum organized by the National Association of Science Journalists (NASJ) in Abuja explained that the amount above was only for the banking sector as the country was yet to get a final figure for the importation of software for other sectors. Angaye noted that about 95 per cent of all software used in Nigeria are being imported, adding that the government is poised to develop local capacity in ICT which led to the Act establishing the NITDA in 2001. According to him, the Act stipulates that "a levy of one percent (1 per cent) of the profit before tax of companies and enterprises shall be tax deductible for the development of Information Technology in the country" Speaking on the rate of software usage in the country, the NITDA boss who was represented by the Director of Planning Research and Statistics in the Agency, Dr. M.O. Ubaru disclosed that the new entrant into the nation's telecommunication industry, the Global Satellite Mobile (GSM) tops the chart of software consumers in Nigeria. He told the gathering that the existence of NITDA as it is today was the fruition of a journey that began early in the last administration under President Olusegun Obasanjo, adding that the Act establishing the Agency was recently approved in April 2007 before the exit of the former Nigerian leader. (SOURCE: Daily Champion) DELL SIGNS MOU TO SET UP OFFSHORING PLATFORM IN MOROCCOMorocco and the American leading global systems and services company Dell last Monday signed a memorandum of understanding under which the American company will set up an offshoring platform in the zone of Casanearshore. Through this project, the American company is expected to increase its headcount in Morocco by creating no less than 200 new jobs in the short term. The U.S. company had signed, in April 2003, a memorandum of understanding with the Moroccan government for the creation of a computer sales center in Casablanca, to export computers in particular to the French and Spanish markets. Dell’s activities in the North African country consist of exporting its services such as orders processing, customers service, technical assistance and the quality management. Present in Morocco since June 2003, Dell employs now a total of 1,600 employees. (SOURCE: MAP) WORLD BANK BUYS 50,000 COMPUTERS FOR COLLEGUES IN TANZANIAThe World Bank will soon buy 50,000 laptop computers for use by higher learning students in Tanzania. The computers will be supplied by Toshiba and the procuring agency is the government of Tanzania, but the actual monetary cost of the project has not been established. The deal is part of the Tanzania student`s laptop project whose focus is to provide access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) to students in higher learning colleges. Speaking in Dar es Salaam last week, the Toshiba regional manager for East and Central Africa Livingstone Indetie said that the project would be implemented as soon as negotiations between the Treasury and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training are concluded. The laptops would be available to students on loan basis to be repaid in six months` instalments and would be hugely discounted. No price tags were mentioned. Toshiba would manufacture a special order for Tanzania and specifications would consider country`s environment and the learning situations of the local students. (SOURCE: Guardian ) ANGOLA IS READY TO BECOME AN INFORMATION SOCIETYAngola's deputy minister of Science and Technology, Pedro Teta, Saturday in Luanda said Angola is now in a better position to become an information society, thanks to the progress in the mobile telecommunication and Government projects. According to Pedro Teta, who was speaking to Angop on the state of the country's information technologies, nowadays urban centres are more inclusive, because mobile telecommunications progress make many people connected to Internet. According to the deputy minister, who is also co-ordinator of the National Commission on Information Technologies (CNTI) , almost all Luanda's neighbourhoods have a cyber cafe and once the number of people using them everyday is estimated, one can say that the country has over 100,000 internet users. But he said it does not mean that there is the same number of people with computers at home, underlining that Angola, alike other African countries, has statistics problems. At the moment, he said, internet is available countrywide, but the great constraint has to do with the lack of telecommunication infrastructures and training of staff and the Government is installing fibres to bring costs down. The first step is that all public servant know how to use a computer and afterwards the students. The goal until 2015 is to reach the rate of one computer in all villages, as recommended by the United Nations. Until January this year, CNTI received about 600 computers that have been distributed to the Provinces, he said, adding that in the ambit of the dissemination, CNTI intends to distribute till the end of this year over 1000 computers to the provincial capital cities, communes and villages. With regard to public administration, he spoke of the existence of a strategic plan of development of information technologies that the Government is accomplishing in order to standardise computing solutions in institutions, adding that the country is a good stage of electronic governance. (SOURCE: Angola Press Agency) HP AND UNESCO TEAM UP WITH AFRICAN UNIVERSITIES TO COUNTER BRAIN DRAINHP and UNESCO today announced their selection of universities in Algeria, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Zimbabwe that will benefit from their joint project “Piloting Solutions for Reversing Brain Drain into Brain Gain for Africa”. The goal of the project is to allow universities in Africa to collaborate on research by connecting to international networks through the use of advanced technology called grid computing. HP and UNESCO developed the project following the success of a similar programme in South-East Europe. Replacing the 300,000 highly qualified Africans who have emigrated costs African countries an estimated $4 billion annually. HP and UNESCO will cooperate with IT-intensive science departments of African universities which can use grid computing to connect students to the valuable experience of emigrated researchers. ”Technology represents a powerful tool in facilitating “brain gain”. It has the potential to help create environments for the sharing and exchange of knowledge among scientists who remained in their home country and those in the diaspora,” said Ana Luiza Machado, the UNESCO deputy assistant director-general for education. “But more importantly, access to joint research and development collaboration and to the worldwide distributed scientific community through high performance technology, could prove to be a strong incentive for experts to continue to work in their home country.” “We selected the universities from a wide range of impressive proposals in disciplines ranging from biotechnology to renewable energy,” said Jeannette Weisschuh, head, Corporate Affairs, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, HP. “The project will make it possible for ambitious researchers who stay in Africa to benefit from the experience of those who have left.” HP and UNESCO chose the five universities for their ability to connect with their diasporas in order to carry out advanced scientific research: - Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables (CDER), Algeria - College of Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana - University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria - Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, Senegal - Chinhoyi University of Technology, Zimbabwe Beyond the provision of IT equipment and training, HP will fund research visits abroad and meetings between the universities. For example, one of the grantees, the Centre for the Development of Renewable Energies in Algeria, will create a ‘virtual network’ of Algerian researchers working on solar power at home and abroad. Using video-conferencing, experts working in advanced laboratories abroad will lecture students in Algeria. The university will thus be able to offer doctorate-level teaching to its students and relay the classes to remote parts of Algeria. “Before, if we funded researchers to work in laboratories abroad, we could not be sure if they would come back,” said Dr. Maïouf Belhamel, director of the CDER. “We hope that this project will set an example that others can follow.” Grid computing is a hardware and software infrastructure that clusters and integrates high-end computer networks, databases and scientific instruments from multiple sources to form a virtual environment in which users can work collaboratively. The grid concept was developed in the mid-1990s as a shared computing approach that coordinates decentralised resources and uses open, general-purpose protocols and interfaces to deliver high-quality service levels. Grids of computing centres are being created by universities and public research laboratories to be able to make massive distributed computations in areas such as bioinformatics, physics, molecular science and meteorology. Most efforts in grid computing are related to the ability to build infrastructures and use them for cooperative work. The grid is designed to render almost anything in IT – computers, processing power, data, web services, storage space, software applications, data files or devices – a “grid service”. IN BRIEF:- Biblionix has announced that it will donate its Apollo automation system for use at the planned new library of the Interdisciplinary Genocide Studies Center (IGSC) in Kigali, RNA has established. - The Linux Professional Institute Approved Training Partner Program (LPI-APT) is expanding in Africa. New approved trainers include Optima Consulting in the Ivory Coast (www.optima.consulting-ci.com), the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania (www.udsn.ac.tz) and CFT Tunis in Tunisia (www.cftunis.com.tn).
KINZ TELECOM’S BID FOR WESTEL IMPLODES – WHERE WAS ETISALAT?Negotiations between Ghana government and the United Arab Emirates-based Kinz Telecom Group, over the sale of 66.34% stake in the second national fixed line operator, Westel have broken down. Kinz Telecom Telecom Group has been unable to come up with the US$250 million bid offer it made. Two months ago, government began negotiations with the Kinz Telecom Group, prospective buyers of the majority stake in Westel. According to a local report in the Business and Financial Times, Kinz is blaming this on the Government which it says bid the price up to US$250 million. This is a poor excuse as those making bids should only do so if they are able to afford to pay. Westel already had additional liabilities including a US$25 million penalty owed to the regulator NCA for failure to roll out services. And the prospective purchaser would have had to pay US$13.5 million to acquire the promised mobile licence. There is no doubt that at $250 million the company was over-priced. Early signs that the bid was not going ahead after the signature of the share purchase agreement on 12 April were that the Kinz Telecoms Group management made no effort to visit the company it was buying. The 45 day grace period for payment came and went. The other mystery is the non-appearance of UEA-based Etisalat who Kinz Telecom Group said were backing the bid. All through the bidding and purchase process there has not been a single word about the transaction on the Etisalat web site and despite several attempts to get an answer from it, the company remains silent on the issue. In a similar transaction in Nigeria – when Transcorp was bidding for Nitel – the company withdrew because the sums being asked were larger than it wanted to put up. Etisalat is also involved as a 40% shareholder in the Kenyan Government’s TEAMS fibre project (see next story) and has just rolled out as the third mobile operator in Egypt. This is yet another disaster in the long string of setbacks the Ghanaian telecoms privatisation process has suffered in the hands of the Government. Whilst it must have been heartening for the Government to accept the US$250 million bid, it required only fairly rudimentary mathematics to see that the numbers would not add up. Perhaps a speedy second bidding round will achieve a more realistic lower price. Without the successful privatisation of Ghana Telecom, Westel and Voltacom, the country’s potential to grow its ICT sector is likely to remain stymied. TEAMS FIBRE CABLE SHAREHOLDING MEETING SET FOR JULY 4THStakeholders in The East Africa Marine System (TEAMS) project will meet on Wednesday this week to discuss the shareholding structure. The project seeks to boost the region's communications infrastructure by laying a fibre optic cable link from Fujairah in the Gulf of Oman to Mombasa. Communication Permanent Secretary, Bitange Ndemo said the process to identify shareholders will begin next week. Standard Chartered Bank, which was picked as the lead advisor in the deal, signed the agreement documents at the Kenya College of Communications Technology (KCCT) on Wednesday. The Government will own a 40 per cent stake in the venture, while Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates will take up 20 per cent stake. The other 40 per cent is expected to go to regional telecommunications companies, Internet service providers (ISPs) and governments in the region. Dr Ndemo refuted Tuesday reports that the Government was in dispute with Etisalat over the shareholding structure, with Etisalat insisting on owning a 40 per cent stake. Finance minister, Amos Kimunya allocated Sh1 billion in this year's budget for the TEAMS project. (SOURCE: The Nation) N29BN DEBT OWED BY NITEL WORRIES TRANSCORPTransnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp) has unfolded business transformation plans aimed at repositioning its business portfolios, meeting stakeholders' expectations and competing favourably in the global economy. The new agenda, which has been approved by the Board of the Conglomerate, is expected to reinvigorate its businesses and recover a whooping N29 billion debt owed its major subsidiary, Nitel. Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp, Tom Iseghohi, disclosed that under the new plan, Transcorp will be organized by business in units to facilitate the speed of transformation of acquired businesses such as the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL), the Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTEL) as well as acquired Oil blocks. Iseghohi explained that a restructured Transcorp will be better positioned to focus on development of the conglomerates key business areas which spans telecommunication and information technology, oil and gas, hotel and tourism, agriculture as well as international trade. As part of the repositioning initiative, Executive Directors of Transcorp have been assigned to direct the conglomerate's focus on some of the initiatives which offer immediate and dynamic growth opportunities and signify the repositioning of the conglomerate on the path to delivering enhanced stakeholder value. Anthony Ofili, group executive director, finance and administration will join NITEL as interim chief financial officer with the responsibility of reorganising the company's finances and taking charge of its assets and liabilities, particularly recovering NITELís estimated debt of about N29 billion. Whilst Transcorp now clearly has a management plan, there are still a number of questions that will not go away. How will Transcorp be able to recover the estimated N29 billion it is owed? A great deal of it is probably rather elderly and some large part of it can undoubtedly be placed at the government’s door. Along with other African Governments, the Nigerian Government has yet to acquire the habit of paying its bills on time or indeed paying them at all. Without better cash-flow, how will it pay its creditors as bills become due? It is reported to have paid off its SAT3 debt to Telkom but how long before this builds up again? Well-placed sources say that it was negotiating with a rival company to get this debt paid in exchange for that company’s access to more SAT3 bandwidth for resale. Finally, where is the investment capital going to come from to transform the company? Answers on a postcard please to Anthony Ofili, Interim CFO, Nitel. (SOURCE: This Day) BID FOR BUSINESS CONNEXION BLOCKED IN SOUTH AFRICAThe Competition Tribunal yesterday said it had blocked Telkom's R2.4bn takeover bid for IT outsourcing firm Business Connexion Group. The tribunal is expected to release its motivation for the decision within a month. Industry analysts had been sceptical throughout that Telkom would get the tribunal's nod, given the company's dominant position in the market. Telkom first announced its intention to acquire Business Connexion in November 2005, in a bid to diversify its fixed-line operations by strengthening its IT services offering. The tribunal's decision follows a 17-day hearing in March into the proposed merger, which was opposed by industry heavyweights, including Internet Solutions and the Internet Service Providers Association. Telkom refused to comment until reasons for the decision had been made known. "We have not officially been informed about the decision by the tribunal; we have just seen media reports," said Telkom spokesman Lulu Lethlape. Business Connexion CEO Benjamin Mophatlane shrugged off the decision, saying the company was in a strong position to carry on independently. "It was always going to be a 50-50 decision. Telkom is a monopoly player in the market and the decision did not come as a surprise. From our point of view this is a great business that has proven itself even through difficult times," Mophatlane said. The decision, however, would be a bitter pill for Business Connexion, whose earnings took a knock over the continued uncertainty around the deal, while also spurring numerous resignations. (SOURCE: Business Day) IN BRIEF:- As part of its programme to rid itself of debt, Telkom Kenya handed over the Kenya College of Communications Technology (KCCT) to Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) as part of its restructuring before privatisation.. - Morocco’s government has offered a 4% stake in incumbent Maroc Télécom to domestic and international institutional investors. 35.16 million shares went on offer with shares to be transferred on 5 July. Following the transaction, the state will own 30% of Maroc Télécom, which is 51% owned by France’s Vivendi Universal, with 15% currently in public float. - In South Africa, DataPro Group announced that they will now be called Vox Telecom. The name change represents a shift in the company’s strategy to position itself as an alternative telecom operator offering a wider range of voice and data services.
COURT REFUSE JUDGE’S REQUEST TO BLOCK WEBSITE IN EGYPTThere have been promising developments in the case against judge Abdel Fatah Murad, who has filed multiple fabricated charges against the Hisham Mubarak Law Center and HRinfo, as well as bloggers and human rights and news websites, report the law center and HRinfo. The State Commissioner Committee has released a report on the request by the judge to block 51 human rights and news websites and blogs that allegedly abused the state's dignity and threatened its interests. Rejecting the request on the ground that the judge lacked the authority to invoke such an action, the committee nevertheless accepted the judge's lawsuits against the targeted institutions, but not those against the justice and social liability ministers (see: http://www.openarab.net/issues/2007/issue1 ). The committee accepted the cooperation between the government and administrators of websites and blogs, finding that they have a shared interest in the lawsuit and have authority over their work, but refused the request by some lawyers to side with the judge, on the ground that they do not have an interest in the case. It refused to block the websites, though conceding the government's right to omit pages that contain insults against the aggrieved party in the case or his judicial identity. In response to the report, the court session has been postponed to 8 July 2007. Meanwhile, police have suspended the investigation on blogger "Amr Gharbia", charged with defaming Judge Murad. Gharbia, the 2005 winner of the Best Arabic Blog, awarded by the Deutce Welle organization, is now free on bail. PC Police declared that Gharbia's blog had merely hosted comments insulting the judge; as the comments did not come from him, he was absolved of the charge. In another related matter, the Alexandria Prosecution Office has taken up HRinfo Chair Gamal Eid's demand for an investigation into the judge for violating intellectual property rights. Gamal Eid also called for the lifting of the judge's immunity, so that he will face a prison term and a fine, if found guilty. Gamal Eid is also suing the judge, demanding a compensation of 500,000 pounds (approx. US$ 995,263), for violating intellectual property rights. The judge had quoted extensively from HRinfo's report on free expression on the Internet without crediting the source. "We will be investing in a unit for lawyers to defend freedom of opinion and expression and intellectual property rights," Gamal Eid said. "The Arabic Network has decided to start receiving complaints on violations of intellectual property rights." The suit will be reviewed in the South Cairo Court of First Instance on 14 July. A North Cairo court hearing that began on 17 June, on the extortion charge against Ahmed Seif and Gamal Eid, fabricated by judge Murad, was postponed upon a demand by the two accused that the Lawyers' Syndicate be informed of the case before it could proceed further. Gamal Eid's case will resume on 27 June, while Ahmed Seif's will resume on 1 July. Declaring the promising developments in the case against the judge, HRinfo and the Hisham Mubarak Law Center said that the one thing that gave them the strength to face the judge's fabricated cases against many websites and youth bloggers in Egypt, was that there was no deception on their part. The case against the judge has changed from that of violating intellectual property rights to a defense for intellectual property rights and freedom of opinion and expression. In addition, HRinfo and Hisham Mubarak Law Center have uncovered many facts about the case - which they will expose later - that will provide evidence for the prosecution and conviction of the judge. All that is required now is a fair and just investigation. (SOURCE: Arabic Network for Human Rights Information) FIRMS PUT WEB TOOLS ON CELLPHONES IN SOUTH AFRICALocal companies Fontera and Jump are adapting internet-based technologies for the small screen as cellphones continue to massively outstrip computer usage. Cape Town's Fontera believes the social networking phenomenon of Facebook and YouTube will prove just as successful on the cellphone, and has launched mobimii.com as a mobile rival to these popular social websites. Mobimii lets users upload their own content such as photographs or video clips to share with friends through their phones. Subscription to the site is free, so users will only pay the usual network fee for data services. Users can connect via the internet, or over a high-speed cellular network after downloading a software application to their phone. CEO Simon Leps said South Africans were quickly embracing online social networking and content sharing, and Mobimii was the logical next step in connecting people. The technology developed in Cape Town had to be robust and flexible to deal with different cellular systems worldwide and to let customers access content on their handset or via a computer, he said. Meanwhile, Jump has migrated its existing internet-based comparative shopping service www.jump.co.za on to cellphones for people who want to check a price before they make a purchase. The service is designed for people who are out shopping and suddenly wonder if it would be cheaper to buy the goods over the internet. The mobile version is accessed by entering m.jump.co.za in the cellphone's browser, then typing in the details of the item. The software searches through more than 3-million products from 100 online stores in SA and gives the product description, the price and website details of potential suppliers. "It makes perfect sense to launch such a product, as there are more mobile phone users than PC users in SA. This gives them the ability to look for comparative prices while shopping in the real world," said Jump Shopping MD Albert Bredenhann. In January, Jump Shopping sold 22% of its business to the online auction site BidorBuy in the US. The BBC recently reported that 20% of international visits to its website from cellphones originated in SA, as people learn to use their handsets for more than making calls and sending text messages (SOURCE: Business Day) IN BRIEF:- SangoTech is an online portal for connecting NGOs with ICT companies wishing to make donations or offer discounts on hardware and software. The programme is seeking local companies to become involved and extend its donor base. Open source solutions and support services are also on the cards. - Despite the high cost of Broadband, the past two years has seen a massive 120% increase in the number of South African unique internet browsers, a leap from 1.8 million to 3.9 million, according to traffic data from members of the Online Publishers Association (OPA). During the same period, page impressions grew by 129% from 91 million to 207 million.
TENDERSThe government of Ghana has published an advert seeking a strategic investor in Ghana Telecom as part of its plans to liberalise the market. The tender says that the government plans to sell just over 66% of the telco, which operates both a landline and mobile network. Any investor is required to be an existing telco with at least one million landline subscribers - and six million mobile subscribers. It seems that the tender is ruling out any "mobile only" companies from bidding. Any investor will also be required to be able to support a tripling of the current mobile subscriber base within 3 years, along with fixed line capacity increases. Fortunately, the fixed-lines can be fixed wireless and do not have to be cable/fibre based.The closing date for interested parties is 20th July 2007. PEOPLEPatrick Bénon has been appointed by the Government to head Benin Telecom. Kris Warreyn has joined Newtec as Vice President Worldwide Sales. Microsoft has appointed Ali Faramawy as vice president, Microsoft International, with responsibilities for business strategy development and business operations in the Middle East and Africa. EVENTS- SatWiBB Africa: African Satellite & Wireless Broadband Conference & VoIP Forum EAST AFRICA: Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, 11-13 July 2007 WEST AFRICA: Muson Centre, Lagos, 21-23 August 2007 Theme: ”Broadband bridges across Africa: First and last mile solutions” Local and international industry leaders will make presentations on the following topics: Efficient bandwidth delivery mechanisms Next Generation Networks: Selecting the right migration path Building wireless communities Fiber optic vs. satellite-based connectivity: Do they compete or do they complete? DVBS2: Its role in trunking Rural Wireless: The role of WiMAX, WiFi, CDMA and hybrid technologies VoIP survival strategies for telcos, ISPs and cyber cafes Build vs. buy: VoIP solutions for Africa Providing a VoIP service over a WiMAX network Maximising international VoIP services The event also includes a Masterclass on Building Wireless Communities by Paul Munnery, CEO, Wireless Digital Cities, UK To request full details, email info@aitecafrica.com or log on to www.aitecafrica.com - 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 - IWEEK CONFERENCE 5-7 September 2007, Johannesburg, South Africa ISPA and UniForum SA are proud to state that this is the 6th year that they have been hosting and running iWeek, the Internet industry's premier conference. Registration is now open at http://www.ispa.org.za/iweek/2007/apply.shtml - ICT Africa 2007 October 1-5, 2007, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya ICT Africa is an annual continental information and communications technology conference addressing all aspects of ICT development in Africa. The conference is convened by NEPAD council in collaboration with the NEPAD Kenya secretariat. The 2007 event will be organized by Global Conferences, Cape Town, South Africa. For further information contact rjacobs@globalconf.co.za - Infrastructure Partnerships for African Development (iPAD) Central Africa 3rd - 5th October, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo iPAD Central Africa 2006 provides an opportunity to network directly with key partners. The event aims to facilitate regional planning and collaborations under one roof between government, the public sector and business. iPAD Central Africa 2006 is a one-stop-shop for investigating investment opportunities in DRC and the Central African region as a whole. For further information visit http://www.spintelligent-events.com/ipad-central2006/en/ JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIESMPBN Engineer - Tanzania The company requires the service of a MPBN Engineer .Applicants have to be proficient in MPBN design guidelines and IP networks in general and should have broad understanding of IP and Telecoms networks and their interrelation. Experienced in GPRS, Layer Architecture, Multimedia products. Good IP network supporting ability and be able to Implement IP design changes as required. Prepare design/Solution documents, participation in customer meetings and Technical meetings. Good Customer Management experience and be able to contribute to add on sales. Good understanding of Ericsson processes in MU, Global Services and PDU. For further information contact advertising@balancingact-africa.com CONTRACTS: WHO'S SELLING WHAT TO WHOM?WATANIYA AND ERICSSON -ALGERIA Wataniya Algeria has selected Ericsson’s mobile softswitch solution for its nationwide GSM network. The solution will increase network capacity, performance and operational efficiency, allowing Wataniya to meet subscriber growth and demand for its mobile services, Ericsson says. Wataniya Algeria, which operates under the name Nedjma, is the newest of the country’s three cellcos, launching in August 2004. It had almost three million customers and 14.5% of the Algerian mobile market at the end of March, according to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database. GHANA TELECOM AND ALCATEL-LUCENT-GHANA State-owned Ghana Telecommunications firm, has signed a loan agreement worth 33.543 million Euros with French incorporated Alcatel Lucent for the supply equipment to boost the Ghanaian company's mobile phone network.
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