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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 409 Triple play and broadband will power the next stage of growth for Africa’s InternetWith dial-up, the experience of Africa’s Internet has been like trying to eat a meal by sucking it through a straw. It’s been slow and expensive for the individual user so it’s hardly surprising that it has thus far only attracted a relatively small band of users compared to mobile phones. By the middle of next year, much cheaper international fibre prices will come to East Africa and their impact will spread out across the continent starting in South Africa. Cheaper International prices will mean downward pressure on national backbone prices. All this lays the foundation for much faster retail broadband services and the possibility of delivering genuine Triple Play bundles in Africa. Except in the larger markets, the potential for the Internet in Africa is in the hundred of thousands or the tens of thousands depending on the size of a country but this is a great deal larger than the current size of Internet subscribers which tend in the main to be in the thousands. One of the key shifts will be that an increasing number of ISPs and telcos will devise broadband and Triple Play offers that are targeted at Africa’s middle classes in their homes. This week sees the publication of the second edition of African Broadband, Triple Play and Converged Markets (the first edition was in 2005), a comprehensive 155+ page report that contains both consumer and industry data covering the key issues that will emerge as broadband growth takes off. The consumer data covers key questions from national and urban samples in 24 countries from both the high and low-growth markets. African Broadband, Triple Play and Convergence Markets covers: • Triple play and converged players: No one operator has all the skills required to create a successful African Triple Play offer but the report examines the likely players including: the vertically integrated telcos, the cable operators, the larger incumbent telcos, the Pay TV operators and alternative insurgent challengers. It also identifies those who have chosen to sit out this particular dance and the strategic alliances the players will have to make to succeed. For six key markets it provides numbers of cable, IP-TV and satellite subscribers and projects the likely potential for Triple Play operators by looking at levels of home PC ownership. • Price survey and pricing strategy: Based on a survey of broadband offers in 38 African countries, the report provides comparisons between different capacities and download caps and between fixed and mobile Internet prices. In the relatively small number of countries where broadband pricing has allowed consumer use to develop, the report looks at the relationship between price and subscriber numbers. Although some operators are offering laughably slow speeds and calling them broadband, the amount of capacity users are getting is increasing and the amount they are paying for it will continue to fall. Many African operators do not really believe that the Internet is a consumer service and price broadband services as a sort of leased line substitute for the low-end of the corporate market. But as the consumer survey data in the report shows, this is a very short-sighted commercial strategy in all but a handful of Africa’s poorest countries. By the end of 2007, there were nearly 3 million African broadband subscribers and this number is set to treble over the next 3 years. • Speed of roll-out: When the first edition of this report was published in 2005, slightly less than half of the countries in Africa had some form of broadband offer. Now nearly all countries have some form of broadband services and those services are increasingly widely distributed on a geographic basis. The report updates operator implementation by delivery type and looks at which types of operators are using the different types of delivery technology available, providing one of the most complete and detailed overviews of broadband implementation. • The question of content – the Internet as media and who’s using what content?: Broadband use in Africa, as elsewhere, thrives on the services and applications that are available to users. Increasingly the Internet is becoming a media in its own right: a tiny 1% of advertising revenues in South Africa goes to the Internet but this will increase rapidly over the next three years. African newspapers will be particularly vulnerable as those with smaller circulations are expensive to produce and have disproportionately high advertising rates. Drawing on a wide range of country consumer surveys, the report looks at who is using the Internet on a daily basis, what they use it for and how its use compares to other competitor media like newspapers, radio, TV and SMS. It divides Internet markets into three categories – top, mid and low-tier – and provides a set of comparable data for each. The more detailed information from the top-tier markets offers intriguing clues as to what will happen in the mid tier markets as consumer broadband use becomes more widely distributed. • Converged market bundles like mobile TV and other offers: The continent is the site of one of the most extensive set of roll-out plans for mobile TV. The report has a section that covers how it is being done, the initial numbers using the services and the technologies involved. It looks at how Triple Play offers might become Quad Play offers with mobile voice and mobile TV added in. France Telecom-owned Telkom Kenya has already announced that it will include these kinds of services when it launches its mobile service in September. Balancing Act’s Broadband, Triple Play and Converged Markets, is over 155 pages long and has 42 charts, 38 tables of statistical data and 1 graphic map. In addition there are is a spreadsheet workbook with 10 worksheets providing actuals and forecasts of broadband numbers and a spreadsheet of broadband pricing and offers from 38 countries. For details, go to: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/publications.html For an extract that contains a detailed table of contents with a full list of the charts, tables and maps, send an e-mail to: editorial@balancingact-africa.com The report is priced as follows: Full price (Africa) – GBP250/US$500; Full price (Rest of the World) – GBP4000/US$800; Reduced price for universities and NGOs – GBP125/US$250. Click below to order:
Zain Seeks More African MarketsCellular operator Zain is planning to raise $5bn through listing on a European stock market to help fund its entry into three more African countries within a year. Zain, one of the main African rivals to MTN, operates in 22 countries and is already the world's fourth-largest operator measured by geographic spread. Now its CEO for Africa, Chris Gabriel, says his ambition is to turn Zain into one of the world's 10 largest operators by revenue and profit by 2011. Its growth plans are based on acquisitions in the coming months. Its parent company is Kuwait-listed Mobile Telecommunications Company (MTC), a network operator in the Middle East, which gained its operations in Africa through the $3,4bn acquisition of Celtel in 2005. Celtel's networks now trade under the name of Zain. MTN had tried to take over Celtel for itself, but its bid was trumped by the cash-rich Kuwaitis. Zain's ability to borrow from its parent company would be augmented by a listing next year, Gabriel said on Friday. "We are looking at expanding in Africa and in the next six to 12 months we will definitely take on three African operations." The company was assessing opportunities in about seven countries . "We are looking across Africa at opportunities that arise and if we see any value we will be making acquisitions. We are looking at all options." Paying for an acquisition would not be a problem as its parent company had access to plenty of cash, Gabriel said. "The listing on a European stock exchange will provide currency for the organisation but there is no shortage of funds if we find the right acquisition," he said. There were no specific countries that Zain wanted to enter, and each opportunity would be assessed on its merits. Zain competes against MTN and Vodacom in several countries, but has never entered South Africa. Gabriel said Zain would like to operate in South Africa and was keeping an eye on the market. He would not comment on whether Zain may make a bid for South Africa's lagging third cellular operator, Cell C. Cell C is 60% owned by the industrial conglomerate Saudi Oger and 15% by another Saudi company, Lanum Securities. That Middle East connection could smooth the way to a potential takeover, but Gabriel said he would not comment on conjecture. Nor would he comment on the potential deal MTN is negotiating with the Indian cellular operator Reliance Communications, except to say: "I actively encourage them to do it because it stimulates the market and expands networks into remote and rural areas. We have our own aspirations and are looking at acquisitions as we speak, and I encourage all our competitors to do the same thing." Gabriel would not say whether Zain will bid for a third cellular licence in Iran, which should go up for sale next month. That would again bring Zain into competition with MTN, which is rapidly rolling out its network in that country. The most attractive countries for Zain are those neighbouring its existing operations, so it can expand a scheme to let users make calls from adjacent countries without paying roaming fees. "We want to expand our footprint into contiguous countries to grow our One Network scheme," said Gabriel. The One Network initiative has proved popular in several countries where users regularly cross the borders as it makes the cost of calls far cheaper. (Source: Business Day) TDM Prepares to Face Competition in MozambiqueMozambique's publicly-owned telecommunications company, TDM, is preparing to guarantee its survival in the market place in the face of possible competition, following the end of its monopoly on the fixed phone network on 31 December last year. Interviewed by AIM, the chairperson of the TDM board of directors, Joaquim de Carvalho, said that all the company's activities nowadays were geared to meeting the challenge from a future competitor. Carvalho said restructuring of TDM has been under way since 2004, in order to strengthen TDM's financial situation, and to guarantee that it will continue to lead the fixed phone market, even if competitors appear in the newly liberalized market. TDM has been expanding its network to parts of the country where previously there was no access to fixed phones, and has been ensuring access to broadband internet service on TDM lines in all provincial capitals. "We are aware that our monopoly has ended and we are taking measures to meet the competition with the greatest of ease", said Carvalho. "We want to put the company in the best possible position. We are seeking to consolidate our position as market leader, so that when a new operator does arrive, it will find us very well positioned". TDM has already had to meet the threat posed by a different technology - that of mobile telephony. With the advent of mobile phones, many people, unwilling or unable to pay for both a fixed and a mobile phone, gave up their fixed line, and so the number of TDM subscribers declined. Clearly TDM does not want to see its subscriber base (which currently stands at 72,000) further eroded. Carvalho said that one of the main challenges TDM faces is to ensure that basic telephone services - by which he meant voice, fax and Internet access - become available in all 128 districts. This is an enormous challenge, since even ensuring these services of an acceptable quality in all 11 provincial capitals would cost 20 million US dollars. So far TDM only has five million dollars available for this investment, and hopes to raise the rest from grants and loans. To date the government has issued no statement about licensing a second fixed phone operator, and it is not clear whether other companies are really interested in challenging TDM. (Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique) Lower call rates introduced by the Mauritius regulatorMobile phone subscribers will no doubt welcome the latest decision of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA). The ICTA has issued a determination to mobile phone operators to lower their tariffs on calls from a mobile to a fixed telephone by at least 87 cents per minute. It will now cost an Emtel or Orange customer using a prepaid card just Rs3.48 per call per minute instead of Rs4.35. The Authority has also approved revised tariffs for International Direct Dialling (IDD) calls, Internet Telephony Services (ITS) and services on the Mauritian mainland and inter-islands. The Authority examined the tariff structure proposals from the operators before approving the new tariff grid which represent a fall of up to 46% compared with the current tariffs. Approval has been given for a reduction of 5-30% on Internet Telephony charges for Emtel; a reduction of 7-33% on international calls for MTML and a 1-46% reduction on international calls for Hotlink. Wana launches national mobile service in MoroccoMoroccan CDMA network operator Wana launched nationwide mobile voice roaming services, reports Telecompaper. Since launching limited mobility and fixed-wireless CDMA-based services to the consumer market in February 2007 (under the Bayn brand), Wana has signed up a total of over 1.1 million customers, but delayed the launch of full mobile services whilst it ironed out customer service problems caused by strong demand. The domestically-owned operator - which holds a 3G cellular licence - is offering around 20 mobile handsets from manufacturers such as Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and LG, available at all of its 500-plus sales points, and has set up a 24-hour hotline. International roaming is available in over 200 countries via an agreement with Vodafone Group. Wana’s mobile services are initially only available to pre-paid users, although a contract option is planned ‘shortly’. The ONA subsidiary is hoping to make a dent in the market shares of Morocco’s GSM mobile operators, Meditel and Maroc Telecom, by offering a ‘unique’ voice call tariff of MAD0.03 (USD0.004) per minute at any time of the day to fixed and mobile numbers. (Source: Telegeography) In brief:- Executive Vice Chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC) Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, has reaffirmed the agency's resolve to protect consumers right, stated that there would soon be put in place a merit awards instituted in the country to deserving operators and service providers, who have distinguished themselves in delighting and creatively managing the expectations and needs of consumers. - The planned entry of two players into Kenya's mobile phone market has sparked an intense battle for talent in the telecoms sector. Positions that are facing shortages include those for telecoms engineers, sales people and marketers with industry experience. Sources at Celtel and Safaricom told to the local newspaper Business Daily that the twin firms are on high alert following increased approaches on their critical staff from Econet Wireless and Telkom Kenya. - Indian telco Tata Communications has established a new multi-service point of presence (PoP) in South Africa via its local subsidiary Neotel. The new PoP in Johannesburg offers MPLS, Ethernet, IP and International Private Leased Circuit (IPLC) services, connecting through Tata Communications’ global network to over 600 cities in 50 countries and onwards to customers in over 200 countries. Neotel is South Africa’s second national operator; it introduced its first business services in August 2006, with its consumer launch coming earlier this year. - The network of Somali cellular service provider Hormuud Telecommunication Company has been damaged by shelling in the capital Mogadishu. Local news agency APA-Mogadishu says that Somali-Ethiopian forces destroyed the Bakara market in the capital which is the site of Hormuud Telecom’s headquarters building. ‘A heavy shell landed on our company, it destroyed many devices including the transmission device which caused all cell phone service to be idle in Mogadishu today,’ said Abdi Rashid Ali of Hormuud Telecom. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage- Celtel Nigeria has introduced special payphone or fixed cellular phones into the market. Fixed payphones are aimed at Nigerians especially those who live or work or in places where mobile phone usage is restricted and those who cannot afford mobile phones. Celtel added that the service will considerably push up the government's Universal Access Initiative, which is aimed at increasing access to telecommunications services. - In Kenya, fixed wireless telecommunication service provider, Flashcom, has reduced its call charges. It becomes the third operator to do so in a month as competition in the business hots up. “With the business plan, a caller will be making up to 18 per cent savings on their landline and mobile calls combined and up to 60 per cent savings on their international calls," said Flashcom CEO, Mr Joe Kimani Kariuki. - In Madagascar, telecommunication operator Telma has reached half a million mobile subscribers, 18th months after launching its service. This translates into a 15% market share. The group has also 150 000 fixed line subscribers and is the national leader in Internet and ADSL.
Fibre Optic Rollout Set for 2009 in RwandaThe rolling landscape of Rwanda is poised to be levelled by communication technology through broadband network set to start in December 2009. The cyber framework basics such as optic fibre cables and net transmitters are being laid to spread information and communication technology services countrywide. The Minister in the Office of the President in charge of Science, Technology, Scientific Research and ICT, Prof. Romain Murenzi, disclosed this Tuesday in a phone interview. He said the government has liaised with private investors in ICT like MTN and Lapgreen to bring high-speed broadband internet access to the entire country next year. "We have to recognise the urgent need for different forms of communication technology here," said the minister, citing a national plan to train more experts in the field. He added that once fibre optic cable networking is over, the rural broadband community will be marketed and sold to everybody currently facing problems in ICT use. The promotion of broadband technology is one of the main targets of the national development ambition to encourage a knowledge-based economy among citizens. Meanwhile, easy access to fast internet services and adequate human skills to spearhead it has remained a big challenge throughout the country and the African continent in general. A recent study by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) on ICT use in 42 African countries said that it is still poor due to limited human skills and facilities. The survey, which targeted people involved in e-learning in these countries, was released at the eLearning Africa conference in Accra, Ghana, last May. It suggested that expertise and management skills were the key, not just advancing infrastructure and hardware. (Source: The New Times) MTN's Reported Verizon Deal Faces Headwind in South AfricaAn uncomfirmed deal for MTN to pay R1,4bn for networking firm Verizon Business is heading for the Competition Commission -- if the deal takes place -- as rival internet companies try to block the move. MTN and Altech were short-listed buyers for Verizon, one of SA's largest internet service providers (ISPs) for corporate clients. A report on the FMTech website this week cites two unnamed sources confirming that cellular operator MTN had beaten Altech to win the bid, after negotiating with Verizon's New York-listed parent company. FMTech reports that MTN will acquire 100% of the local operations for R1,4bn, including 25% owned by empowerment partners J&J. Verizon's country manager, Angela Gahagan, refused to confirm the news yesterday, saying she had nothing new to report. But the deal is already heading for trouble. "There's no way the Competition Commission can approve this," said a source at a rival ISP. "You have one of the top corporate ISPs buying another top corporate ISP, and with MTN's voice infrastructure they can cross-subsidise and use unfair cutthroat pricing." Verizon is believed to have annual revenue of about R400m in Africa, supplying voice and data services to businesses and governments in SA, Zambia, Namibia, Kenya and Botswana. Internet Solutions CEO Angus MacRobert said he was waiting for confirmation of MTN's victory, but his company had prepared much of the evidence they would need to fight the takeover at the Competition Commission. Internet Solutions accuses MTN of anti-competitive conduct in deals with ISPs. "We have seen how MTN operates around interconnection and mobile data and it is anti-competitive. This is going to intensify it," he said. One MTN practice was to sell data capacity on its wireless network to its retail users for far less than the wholesale rate it charged other ISPs, MacRobert said. Evidence of that would be put to the commission. Altech had been optimistic about winning the bid precisely because of the potentially long and abortive hurdle MTN would face in winning Competition Commission approval. Altech CEO Craig Venter has acknowledged MTN could pay more, but he said the decision would be based on more than money. Altech did not have a huge presence in the data market so it would not pose anti-competitive challenges. Neither Jay nor Jayendra Naidoo of Verizon's empowerment partner J&J would confirm the deal yesterday, or say if J&J was relinquishing its shares to the new owner. If MTN takes over Verizon, that probably knocks it out of the next upheaval facing the internet arena when MWEB goes up for auction. MacRobert said MTN would be unable to bid for MWEB as "they can't buy two of the largest ISPs in the space of a few months". Internet Solutions would bid, probably with Altech and Vox Telecom. MWEB has more than 320,000 home users, or more than 25% of the market. It operates in 25 other countries, and has a business division to help companies integrate their business processes with the internet. (Source: Business Day) Ghana Lags Behind In Internet ConnectivityGhana has been overtaken by Nigeria as the leading provider of internet service in West Africa according to a Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA)/USAID Communications Policy and Research/Advocacy Report. According to the report, Senegal is also ahead of Ghana as regards internet connectivity. The report carried out from January 2006 and completed in March this year indicates that though the country’s growth rate is close to that of Senegal, it is 50 percent behind Nigeria. Despite being the first country to issue Internet Service Providers (ISPs) licence in the West Africa sub region, the report states that the recent development in the country needs to be viewed with concern since it is an indication of the existence of constraints to access to communications services in Ghana. According to the survey, the constraints are due to lack of consistent and sustained effort in the implementation of the national information and communication technology (ICT) strategy arising from impediments especially to the ICT policy framework and regulatory environment. Others include the relatively high cost of access to and low quality of communication services. With regard to the policy framework, the unclear role for private sector regarding information technology (IT) policy implementation, government involvement in private sector activities such as ownership in Ghana Telecom and no ICT policy unit at the Ministry of Communication were some of the major hindrances. On regulatory environment, the consistent changing of ministers, long delays in appointing the Board and Director General of the National Communications Authority (NCA) though the law states that the board should appoint the management, were some of the factors hindering the growth of the sector. Non-transparent frequency management and lack of effective dispute resolution were some of GISPA’s regulatory challenges. ICT laws such as the National Communications Authority Bill, the Electronic Communications Bill and the National IT Agency Bill that are to strengthen regulatory framework are in the draft form since 2005, the report added. Ghana presently boasts of 360,000 fixed lines compared to Egypt’s 10.8 million and South Africa’s 4.7 million, which the report says limits capacity for relatively cheaper DSL broadband internet connectivity. Also, only about 28 ISPs out of over 100 licensed are currently operating in the country. The report suggests that separate departments for IT, ICT and telecom at the Ministry of Communications should be established to deal with peculiar issues. Subsequently, government should in earnest privatize GT since it will not have enough funds to invest in the company. The report also called for the elimination of regulatory challenges to facilitate increased investment by ISPs as well as promote private sector competition for the provision of international and local bandwidth. (Source: Happyghana) In brief:- WiMAX equipment supplier Aperto Networks has announced that it has deployed a wireless broadband network for the Algerian ISP Icosnet. Icosnet is targeting its new WiMAX service at corporate customers, with an emphasis on the financial and energy sectors. - NextEinstein.org has been launched in response to the TED Prize wish of Neil Turok. At this past TED, he wished for to help unlock and nurture scientific talent across Africa, so that within our lifetimes we are celebrating an African Einstein. - A Strathmore University student has won the inaugural Kenya Facebook Developer Garage award, boosting the institution's standing as a centre of innovation. - An annual survey of editors around the world reveals that 72% of journalists in Africa and the Middle East are expected to become multimedia reporters, meaning they will be able to write for both print and Web platforms, as well as produce video and photo versions of their stories.
Computer Thieves to Be Tracked Down by Technology in South AfricaThe Khanya Project, a project of the Western Cape Department of Education, is to install software to track the thieves who steal computers and computer parts from schools in the province. ICT Implementation Coordinator at Khanya, André Pietersen said despite strong security, thieves target between 10 percent and 12 percent of school's computer laboratories. "The thieves are not always successful, however, some do get past various security systems to steal valuable computer equipment used by schools to support teaching and learning," Mr Pietersen said. Khanya is aimed at enhancing teaching and learning using information and communications technologies (ICT). Explaining how the software works, Mr Pietersen said data is fed to a centralised database and given to the police and second-hand shops. They in turn can then use it to check whether any computer or parts of computers were previously stolen. Mr Pietersen said it was important to record serial numbers of both the computers and its parts because thieves usually broke up computers in IT "chop shops" to sell the components. "The system sends the data to the central database automatically via the internet and schools can also back up the data onto a flash disk," Mr Pietersen explained. He encouraged schools to use both systems in case internet connections go down at any point. The software automatically detects whether any parts have been added or taken out of any computer or the school network, so that those with the right password can maintain and update the system. He said that the system was already being used in the in the eastern district where police recently used the data to identify stolen hard drives. The project team is in the process of rolling out the system to other education districts in the Western Cape. Khanya have funded 21 295 computers on Khanya computer laboratories to date, while schools funded a further 13 717. The project not only aims to ensure that learners are computer literate but to use ICT to support teaching and learning. It focuses on teacher training and support to ensure that teachers know how to use ICT to enhance education. Up to date, the project supports 21 119 teachers on how to use computers to enhance teaching and learning for the benefit of 711 416 learners. (Source: BuaNews) Uganda is to Set Up Plant to Recycle ComputersUnder the national industrialisation policy, Uganda and Microsoft are to sign a deal, allowing the country to refurbish used computer, state minister for industry and technology Prof. Ephraim Kamuntu has announced. The policy, which was approved by the Cabinet, was evolved by the Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Industry with the support of the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO). Under the project, used and obsolete computers will be given a new lease and sold at subsidised prices. Meeting the director general of UNIDO in Kampala, Kandeh Yumkella, Kamuntu said the project, which is the first of this kind in East Africa, would boost industrialisation. The programme will transform Uganda from a third world into an industrialised nation, which focuses on exploiting and developing natural domestic resource-based industries, agro processing, engineering and information and communication technology tools, the minister said. However, he noted that despite the development policy, energy was among the things that had hampered the industrialisation drive in the country. Kamuntu called for the development of alternative power sources, like thermal, solar and biogas. Only 9% of the Ugandan population had access to power, the minister noted. "Because of the energy crisis and some parts of the country not being connected to the power grid, people in rural areas go early to bed and indulge in other things." Yumkella pledged that UNIDO would help Uganda develop the energy sector. (Source: New Vision) New Software Clears Hotel Booking Hurdles in South AfricaThe travel industry is increasingly seeing the importance of smaller, independent hotels and guesthouses in meeting demand from a growing tourism sector. Online travel group Global Online Hospitality Holdings will, in association with Vodacom, launch new software that will allow travel operators to tap into this market by booking online in real time. The group will offer establishments with fewer than 50 rooms the software free, with Vodacom providing connect- ivity for a small fee. Until now the biggest hurdle facing guesthouses and B&Bs entering the mainstream travel market was that their inventory was not readily available to travel operators, with bookings often handled manually. The software will enable hotels to manage reservations better while making their inventory accessible to travel operators. Fraser Gregg, MD of Global Online Hospitality Holdings, said the group learnt a lesson on its website Justin-time.co.za where guesthouses were slow to confirm bookings or made double bookings. "The failure of our system become clear when over a particular busy rugby weekend last year when we made 300 accommodation bookings, several of which were bungled. While we were making bookings online the hotels would take their own booking without checking with us first. It really blew up in our faces. It was then that we realised the importance of booking in real time," said Gregg. The group has spent the past seven months working on the new software and is now ready to launch it to market. "For the first time, travel agents will be able to offer smaller establishments to customers, knowing their bookings are secure," said Gregg. Global Online Hospitality was not the only group eyeing small hotels. Match, the events company overseeing accommodation requirements for the 2010 World Cup, has targeted the sector to make up the shortfall in its inventory with large hotel groups. It has already secured 6000 rooms with smaller hotels out of a targeted 10000. Low-cost airline Kulula.com is also expanding its travel offering, building on the popularity of its website. Using its own flights and car rental through Imperial Car Rental, the focus is on accommodation and it has signed up a 1000 smaller establishments to complement the larger hotel groups represented on its website. But signing up these guesthouses and B&Bs is not without its challenges. "T here about 10000 guesthouses and B&Bs in South Africa but the industry is fragmented and often not represented online. We will only load inventory that can be book in real time, otherwise it is too costly to integrate into our system," says Comair joint-CEO. (Source: Business Day) In brief:- The Kenya Power and Lighting Company will introduce the Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) system to enable its customers pay their electricity bills more easily. The service will initially be available to businesses before rolling out to domestic consumers. - Four teams from Egyptian schools have placed in the top ten of the Oracle Academy's annual Global Data Modeling Competition. The Egyptian entries included the Zahran Experimental School, Elryadia School, Gamal Abdel Nasser Experimental School and Elhadissa-Elfagr Elgadid School, whose teams placed 7th-10th respectively, out of over 100 entries. - Air Algerie met the deadline set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to use as from 31 May 2008 electronic tickets. The rate of the electronic ticket use in Algeria, which was at 2% in March, went up to 40% in April to reach 100% past May. - Siemens’ outsourcing unit is snapping up some of South Africa’s brightest open source minds as it readies to offer large-scale open source services to clients. Going, as it does, head-to-head with the likes of IBM and T-Systems, the company is hoping its open source strategy will find a new niche in an already highly-competitive market. - The Moroccan Ministry of Trade, Industry and New Technologies and the US company Cisco signed in Casablanca, a convention on the development of a Moroccan digital strategy.
ICT Gets Large Bite of Budget in KenyaPlayers in the Information, Communication and Technology sector emerged as the biggest winners after the Government announced a raft of incentives meant to create more jobs to the youth. Among the stimulants for the sector is a plan to establish a Sh900 million Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) park within the 2008/9 financial year that would eventually create 10,000 jobs. "The minister turned our initiatives into practical ones and it will now be easier to market Kenya as a BPO hub," said the ICT board chief executive, Paul Kukubo. Such a park would also mean small and medium enterprises would enjoy better tax incentives, he added. The park's construction would also coincide with the plans to complete the National Fibre optic network and the laying of the East African Marine System. This financial year, the Government announced an additional capital injection of Sh700 million to compared to the Sh1 billion allocated towards the TEAMS project last year. It was set to be completed by the end of this year, but there is now a mention of April 2009. Another sure winner was the removal of import duty on small-scale printers, a move meant to increase their usage on the market due to reduced prices. The telecommunications sector, previously favoured by the Government during Budget day, only had import duty on telecommunication equipment scrapped. ICT was also mentioned among the sectors set to benefit from plans by Mr Kimunya to raise Sh52 billion locally through an infrastructural bond. (Source: The Nation) MTN Want Taxes on Airtime Abolished in UgandaAs Uganda approaches the 2008/09 budget reading, the telecommunications industry wants the Finance Minister Dr Ezra Suruma to broaden the tax revenue base and make the tax burden be shared equitably by the major sectors of the economy. Such a move, MTN's Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Eric Van Veen said in an interview on Julne 2nd, would permit the government to possibly abolish excise duty on airtime, a tax that has impeded the growth of the telecoms industry, leaving Uganda to trail its EAC neighbours in phone penetration. Uganda's tele-density, while having improved tremendously in the last ten years, remains only an unremarkable 16 per cent against Kenya's 30 per centand Tanzania's per cent. "Uganda is the only country in the world with excise duty on airtime, even Rwanda which had introduced it realised its harmful macroeconomic impact and abolished it," Van Veen said. Telecom companies in Uganda pay a VAT of 18% and excise duty (airtime tax) of 12% bringing the total tax burden to 30%. This has meant that airtime in Uganda remains comparatively far more expensive, locking out a large chunk of the population from cell phone use, and consequently limiting their economic potential. Countless studies by the World Bank and telecoms industry bodies have shown that a rise in the spread of mobile communications often produces a huge positive impact on GDP growth. "The world over, excise tax is a luxury tax mainly put on products like cigarettes, cars, perfumes etcetera, never on basic services like communications," said Mr Van Veen. "So until the government realises that and changes its policy the Ugandan economy will not fully reap the benefits of telecommunications." Because a large section of the Ugandan economy is still informal, the tax burden is disproportionately borne by telecoms and a few other sectors: breweries, soft drinks, banks, fuel companies. That iniquity though has inevitably made products and services from these industries expensive thus putting breaks on their growth and ultimately limited their contribution to the economy. Mr Van Veen, suggested, too, that the allocation of Uganda's fiscal resources must be rationalised to give areas like infrastructure that underpin economic growth top priority. Uganda is among countries with the worst transportation infrastructure in Africa: no modern rail system, craterous and treacherous roads and undeveloped waterways. Lack of a rail system for instance, Van Veen said, has meant that Uganda will continue to suffer crippling fuel shortages and yet MTN runs nearly all of its hundreds of base stations across the nation on diesel generators. "You can't be landlocked in the first place, then lack railways and then have the sort of roads like the one between Bugiri and Jinja, the government must stop giving lip service to infrastructure," he said. Even more worrying, Uganda's electricity supply is increasingly thermal generated while fuel supplies are growing frustratingly more fickle. That has meant a rise in power outages, making telecom companies rely on generators which in turn balloons their overhead costs. (Source: The Monitor) ACTowers Revenue Leaps in South AfricaBuoyant conditions in the cellphone industry, and forays into the rest of Africa and other emerging markets have continued to pay off for AltX- listed Africa Cellular Towers (ACTowers). The group said revenue for the year to February climbed 66% to R327m, largely due to increased demand for its products as it expanded into new regions such as Madagascar, Congo (Brazzaville) and Uganda. ACTowers is active in 18 countries on the continent including Niger, Sierra Leone, Chad, Burkina Faso, Zambia, Uganda, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Tanzania. It manufacturers steel communication towers, portal factories, steel fencing, diesel and water tanks, solar structures and it also undertakes general steel engineering. Headline earnings grew to R45m, up 45% from the previous comparable period, while headline earnings per share rose 10% to 17,7c. The results were also boosted by ACTowers' acquisition last year of cellular tower shelter manufacturer JK Shelters, which added R58,5m to total revenue. Since listing about two years ago, the group has benefited from Africa's high-growth cellphone market. According to the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations body that sets worldwide telecommunication standards, Africa is the fastest-growing cell phone market in the world. ACTowers' strong performance was achieved despite delays in completing contracts in Chad because of fighting in the country and some debtors being slow to make payment. (Source: Business Day) Parliament Team Wants to Probe Safaricom IPO in KenyaA parliamentary watchdog committee wants to investigate the Safaricom initial public offering, claiming that a foreign company was allowed to buy its shares fraudulently. The Public Accounts Committee chairman, Dr Boni Khalwale (Ikolomani, New Ford-Kenya), pleaded with the House to let his 11-member team find out how a foreign company, Alcazar Capital Limited, was launched in Kenya just a few weeks before the closure of the Safaricom IPO and given the nod to take part in the offering. He said searches at the Immigration department revealed that the directors of Alcazar never visited Kenya, and that the company is based in Dubai. Wednesday, Dr Khalwale claimed that the instability of the Safaricom share prices was being influenced by some foreign investors who sought to create panic among local shareholders. "They want locals to sell off their stake, so that they can take up the lion's share," he said. However, Finance assistant minister, Dr Oburu Oginga said he had no information about the firm. Dr Khalwale rose moments after Dr Oginga had given a statement as demanded by Gwassi MP John Mbadi (ODM) who sought to know why there were two sets of prospectuses. The Ikolomani MP claimed that the issuance of the two sets of documents was deliberate, since the Government did not want to inform the investing public that Safaricom had a debt of Sh68.8 billion. Deputy Speaker, Farah Maalim then ordered Dr Oginga to bring a comprehensive ministerial statement next Wednesday. (Source: The Nation) In brief:- It has been reported that the proposed merger of South Africa's MTN with India's Reliance Communications would then seek a secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange. The London Times newspaper, citing sources close to the merger talks said that the negotiations, which started in secret several months ago, were going well and were likely to be concluded before the end of a 45-day exclusivity period. Reliance and MTN agreed to a 45 day period of exclusive talks at the end of last month after discussions between Bharti Artel and MTN broke down over management issues. - Celtel Tanzania paid taxes and levies of Sh71 billion to Government last year. The company said in a statement that the dues paid were corporate tax, value added tax, excise duty, pay as you earn, the skills development levy and the withholding tax. - Kuwaiti based, Hits Telecoms which operates in Uganda and Congo will held a general assembly meeting at the end of June to discuss the recommendation of the Governing Council to increase the capital from KD 19,500,000 (US$73 million) to KD 95,000,000 (US$356 million), an increase of KD 75,500,000 (US$283 million). - Telkom South Africa says its talks with two separate groups concerning potential buy-out offers are still proceeding. Telkom has received an offer from Vodafone of the UK to acquire part of its 50% stake in South Africa’s largest cellco, Vodacom, on the condition that the remainder of the stake is offered to the public. Vodafone already owns the other 50% of Vodacom. Meanwhile, a consortium headed by local businessman Tokyo Sexwale has made an offer to acquire Telkom, conditional upon its disposal of its interest in Vodacom. - Vodacom Tanzania says that to date, it has invested around USD2 billion in the country to expand its networks and services and will continue to invest there to reach more people – particularly those living in rural parts of Tanzania. - Telkom South Africa has reported a 7.8% drop in net profit for its financial year to the end of March as gains from its mobile operations were cancelled out by higher operating costs. Net profit for the year fell to ZAR7.98 billion (USD1.01 billion), from ZAR8.65 billion in 2006/07, though revenues rose 9% to ZAR56.87 billion. - Separately, Vodacom published its own full-year financial results, with net income up 23% to ZAR7.81 billion, while sales were up 17.1% at ZAR48.2 billion, boosted by a 49.7% increase in data revenue. Vodacom had 34 million subscribers at the end of March, up 12.7% in twelve months, with 24.8 million in South Africa and the remainder at its operations in Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania. - Mallam Bashir el Rufai, the Chairman of IHS Nigeria, a leading telecom infrastructure provider, has disclosed that the company will be introduced to the Nigerian Stock Exchange before October. IHS according to him has built infrastructure in more than 30 states and has offices in Lagos, Abuja, Benin, Uyo and Port Harcourt.
FNB Launches Cellphone Business Banking services in South AfricaFirst National Bank (FNB) is banking on small businesses to secure its position in cellphone banking and also to provide another important revenue stream. The bank is the first in South Africa A to launch cellphone banking for businesses, allowing inter- account payments, checking of account balances and buying of prepaid electricity and airtime. FNB marketing director Kheepe Moremi said the bank chose to concentrate on small businesses as it believed they were the future of how business would be done and because of the employment opportunities they created. Once customers have signed up for the service, registered cellphone numbers together with the correct Pin will enable users to perform transactions. This is done through SMSes and a menu feature on their phones. Len Pienaar, CEO of FNB Mobile and Transact Solution, said the product catered for business partnerships through a dual authorisation agreement that required approval from both partners for transactions. The bank is expecting more than 4000 businesses to sign up for the product in its first year. Moremi said at least 42000 transactions are expected, which would bring in R10m in revenue this year. To attract customers, FNB has kept charges the same as for internet banking but less than the cost of visiting a branch. There are also no subscription or registration fees attached to the product. The cellphone service was built on existing individual cellphone banking platforms, with a few modifications for new features such as the dual authorisation agreement. (Source: Business Day) Cash in On Local Content urges official in KenyaThe web content market offers a great opportunity for Kenyans to make money, a government official has said. The PS in the Ministry of Information and Communication, Dr Bitange Ndemo said with the laying of the fibre optic cable nearing completion there is need to generate web content for the enormous bandwidth that will be in place early next year. Dr Ndemo said the Government is spending billions of money to create the infrastructure and hence the private sector has to take advantage of the available opportunity to generate income. "We don't want a situation where Americans or Europeans will use this resource to drive their content and we later end up not having ours. We have already created an enabling environment to make the cost of access low," he said. He noted that the economy will grow faster once the technology is fully instituted, adding that the Government was digitalising judicial and land records for easy access to the public. Dr Ndemo said that Kenyans will be able to access public information if the Freedom of Information bill in Parliament goes through. He was speaking during the launch of Google Maps for Kenya. Dr Ndemo said a task force has been instituted to locate and digitise streets in major towns in Kenya. Mr Joe Mucheru, head of Google East Africa said this was the first step on the content strategy the Government is adopting. "This is a good start for content and in line with the Government's initiatives such as TEAMS (The East African Marine Systems undersea cable) and digital villages. These villages will be a resource for generating local content," Mr Mucheru said. Google maps for Kenya have been developed by graduates from Kenyan universities and a team from India. The maps, Mr Mucheru said, can be used to access information and once it is on mobile phones, businesses or products can be available to customers on the maps. Google Maps cover over 100 countries across all continents. Kenya is the first in East Africa for Google. (Source: The Nation)
People* Eng. Charles M. Sibanda has been appointed substantive Director General of POTRAZ, the regulator in Zimbabwe. * MTN Ghana announced the appointment of Mrs. Beryl Amma Benneh-Amponsah as its new Human Resource (HR) Executive. * Computer Society South Africa has appointed Adrian Schofield as its new president, following its annual general and executive council meetings last week. * Lebanese, Sami Ayoub is the new Acting CEO at Tunisie Telecom. * Tunisie Télécom dispose d’un nouveau Directeur général adjoint, en la personne de M. Sami Ayoub, un pur Libanais qui semble bien en phase avec les télécoms. Events* EURO-AFRICA ICT AWARENSS WORKSHOP 17 & 18 June 2008, Premier Hotel - 573, Church Street Acadia, Pretoria, South Africa The workshop aims at supporting the involvement of sub-Saharan African organisations in the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) for Research (under the ICT theme). This workshop is organised by the Meraka Institute of CSIR, South Africa (http://www.meraka.org.za/). Participation is free but pre-registrations are compulsory. More information is available at the following link: http://euroafricaict.org/events/awareness_workshops.php * WEST CENTRA AFRICA COM 18-19 June, Abuja, Nigeria Reflecting the region's existing economic and cultural ties, this event will bring together the Western and Central regions of Africa. With over 20 countries represented, West & Central Africa Com will give all participants an opportunity to create and develop partnerships with over 100 operators and service providers in the region. For further information visit http://www.comworldseries.com/newt/l/gsm/events/westafrica * FRAUD PREVENTION AND REVENUE ASSURANCE MEA 1-2 July 2008,Dubai UAE ViB events’ Fraud Prevention and Revenue Assurance MENA will bring together telecoms operators and industry experts to discuss the critical issues, which are faced by revenue assurance and fraud personnel today. For further information visit website
* UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY FOR SOCIAL IMPAC August 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa he fourth annual SANGONeT “ICTs for Civil Society” conference and exhibition will be held in August 2008 in Johannesburg. This year’s event will be co-hosted with MobileActive.org and branded as “MobileActive08”. For further information visit www.sangonet.org.za * THE AFRICAN NETWORK (TAN) CONFERENCE 16th August 2008, Accra, Ghana The theme for TANCon Ghana 2008 is “Next Frontier in Business: Propelling Africa to New Heights”, to reflect the growing number of African entrepreneurs in business today, and to showcase to the world Africa's limitless intellectual and economic capital. This year’s attendees will include seasoned, as well as first-time entrepreneurs, business leaders, public policy leaders, venture capitalists and investment bankers interested in learning first-hand how to successfully invest in technology and in Africa. The topics that would be covered at this year’s conference will include Social Entrepreneurship, Women in African Business, Raising Capital, Entrepreneurship in Informal Sector, Infrastructure Development and Creative Partnership Strategies. Attendees will network with the big wigs in entrepreneurship, business, government policy makers and politicians. For further information visit http://www.theafricannetwork.org/tancon/africa/ 3rd CONNECTING RURAL COMMUNITIES AFRICA FORUM 2008 26th - 28th August 2008, Lilongwe, Malawi With strong support from the industry and public sector this ICT forum will be the continent’s most important forum devoted to last mile solutions. To participate as a delegate, sponsor or exhibit please contact j.taylor@cto.int, m.dekock@cto.int or s.naidoo@cto.int. * 7th IWEEK ANNUAL CONFERENCE 17 - 19 September 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa iWeek has become a critical calendar entry for everyone with a stake in the Internet sector and is the only conference endorsed by the Internet Society of South Africa (ISOC-ZA). Anyone with an interest is welcome to attend free of charge. You are encouraged to register at your earliest convenience at: http://www.ispa.org.za/iweek/2008/apply.shtml prior to the conference. * MOBILEACTIVE08 SUMMIT 13-15 October 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa SANGONeT and MobileActive.org are pleased to announce that they will be hosting the MobileActive08 Summit. The theme of the event is “Unlocking the Potential of Mobile Technology for Social Impact”. More information about the event is available on the MobileActive08 Summit website at http://www.mobileactive08.org * CAPACITY AFRICA 2008 14-15 Oct 2008, Cape Town, South Africa This unique event features a business-driven agenda that will address the latest market developments and opportunities and equip delegates with strategic information to enable them to grow their businesses. Dedicated networking opportunities throughout the programme will provide you with the optimum opportunity to build profitable partnerships and execute business deals. For additional information visit http://www.capacitymedia.com/conferences-events.asp * TECHNOLOGY: A PLATFORM FOR DEVELOPMENT? 30 - 31 October 2008, Chatham House, London, UK Technology is now recognized as having the potential to transform the lives of millions in the developing world. This major international conference will seek to identify best practice for achieving the successful implementation of new technology. For further information visit http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/events/conferences/view/-/id/127/ Jobs and Opportunities* ICT Manager – Benin Africa Rice Center (WARDA) seeks a highly qualified individual to fill the position of ICT Manager at the Internationally Recruited Staff level at its temporary headquarters in Cotonou, Republic of Benin. The ICT Manager will be in-charge of all general computing and networking activities at WARDA and is responsible to and operates under the direct authority of the Director of Finance and Administration. Applications will be considered until 20 July2008 or until the position is filled. For further information contact WARDA HR Manager Tel (229) 21.35.01.88 Fax : (229) 21.35.05.56 E-mail : warda-hr@cgiar.org Contracts* BTC and Tech Mahindra - Botswana Indian telecoms solutions provider Tech Mahindra (TechM) says it has been awarded a three-year multi-million dollar deal by state-owned national fixed line operator Botswana Telecoms Corporation (BTC) to provide end-to-end system integration services for its mobile, internet and fixed line businesses. In a three stage deal, TechM will implement an Operations and Business Support Systems (OSS/BSS) stack for BTC’s mobile start-up BeMobile (in phase I), before rolling out a converged solution for mobile, internet and fixed line telephony under phases II & III. * KCC and UUNET - Kenya Kenya Co-operative Creameries (KCC) has signed a Sh10.8 million deal with telecommunications service provider UUNET to provide communication services and support to KCC head office and branches across the country.
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