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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 411 Chinese-supplied CDMA 2000 becomes hybrid convergence challenger for African operatorsThe CDMA 2000 technology supplied by Huawei and ZTE has quietly carved itself out an interesting minority position underwritten by Chinese Government loans. It is delivering the early manifestation of African convergence products and upping ARPUs for data. It not only substitutes for fixed line but is also disrupting the GSM technology-based mobile model at the edges. But with first WiMAX and LTE looming over the horizon offering alternative business models, Russell Southwood asks can it last? In the early days the Chinese vendors concentrated on incumbent telco operators who were financially "on their uppers": their fixed networks were in poor shape and they lacked the capital to fix them. Huawei and ZTE made them an offer that was hard to refuse: we give you this largely untried, fixed wireless technology and pay through loans and discounts to implement it for you. However, once the technology was put in place, it might not have initially had the meteoric growth of GSM but it showed it could work and attract customers. The voice and data offer it allowed meant that incumbent telcos felt that they were no longer simply retreating. There were initial teething problems on the data side but these were overcome in many cases as the operator got the hang of provisioning the network for demand from both. In the more competitive markets like Kenya and Nigeria, insurgent challengers began to show that it could capture a modest but promising market share. Among the larger incumbents, the subscriber numbers began to reach healthy numbers as incumbents and SNOs without mobile licences allowed its built-in mobility to challenge the dominant mobile operators with lower prices and Internet service. Challenges followed but no-one got shut down. The technology was no barrier to creating a wholesale/retail market for ISPs if the operator was innovative enough. A number of examples taken from a wide range of countries demonstrate how it is establishing itself: Telecom Namibia used it to launch a service called Switch that offered "limited mobility". Very quickly, the existing mobile operator MTC and soon-to-be mobile operator PowerCom (CellOne) lobbied the Namibian Communications Commission to get the frequencies used by Switch cut down to reduce its range. One of Africa's more dominant telco incumbents found itself in the unusual position of being the disruptive technology challenger. For it is hard to see how this technology, which even with locked cells offers considerable range, can be made illegal. At the beginning of 2008, the Namibian Government kicked any action on the issue into touch for some time by appointing a Committee to look at the issue. There has been no word yet from said Committee…. Before its recent sale to Lap Green, former incumbent Rwandatel launched a similar CDMA 2000 product and before too long taxi drivers in Kigali were fixing the desktop units to the dashboards of their cabs. Furthermore, like many others it introduced EVDO which although it rarely achieves the "up to 2.4 mbps" written on the box, it does deliver considerably faster speeds than most African users are used to. Mozambique's TDM tried both Huawei and ZTE. The latter installed in the northern provinces and the former in the capital and the southern provinces of the country. Data ARPUs from places not reached by other parts of it network soon began to deliver interesting revenues. Two years ago Cameroon's Camtel had 165,000 fixed lines in operation. It used CDMA 2000 to launch a fixed/mobile service branded CTPhone. It was officially described as a fixed line solution but with mobility of up to 40 kilometres and both mobile and fixed handsets, it was destined to put a bump in the market. Shortly after launch it had 28,000 users and this rose to the current 150,000: compare this to the now 125,000 fixed lines and you see a net gain. Again it was all financed by the Chinese Government and Camtel sees it as bridge to it getting the third mobile licence. But the introduction of a mobile operation does not necessarily mean the end of the service. Telkom Kenya introduced a similar service and has done everything possible to push the boundaries of what it could do before getting a mobile licence in the run-up to privatisation. The national rate for the service (mirroring the mobile pricing structure for the purposes of favourable comparison) is KS5.50. It was estimated to have 400,000 subscribers and is going to continue to offer the service. Two possible reasons explain this move: firstly, it's got to keep making the loan payments so it might as well get something back; and secondly, this strange hybrid service that is cheaper than mobile operators but not quite as extensive is probably a lower price, short to mid-term niche market. Although less successful, Kenyan insurgent challengers Flashcom and Popote have between them attracted 10,000 subscribers and again the pattern of higher data than voice revenues appears. In 2007, Popote was actually getting 80% of its revenues from data so you could argue that it's an ISP with a small telco attached. Even in the most unpromising countries it has had something to offer and as tough markets go, Chad is probably a hard one to beat. In 2006 Sotel Chad had 13,000 fixed lines. With ZTE CDMA 2000 equipment it launched a fixed wireless service called Tawali. It is now planning a US$24 million investment again underwritten by a loan. The pilot phase was in Ndjamena and it has attracted 4,000 users, half of whom are data users. Phase 2 will see an additional 15 base stations in Ndjamena and a further 57 in the main cities across the country. The prize for best innovator with CDMA 2000 goes to Ghana's Kasapa which as the country's sole CDMA operator has also remained a minority market share player. It has used the same technology but got ISPs to sell it to their customers. As it has a presence in seven out of ten provinces it has allowed smaller ISPs to remain competitive with the dominant incumbent Ghana Telecom. The ISPs keep about a third of the revenues. It also has plans to introduce EVDO on to the service by the end of this year or early in 2009. The difficulty for CDMA 2000 is that just as it gets a foothold, both the technology and bandwidth that can be delivered to customers is being ratcheted up another notch. Even Telecom Namibia took a side bet by ordering Wi-MAX units from Alvarion in February 2007 to upgrade local loop systems "in order to provide primary telecommunications voice services, broadband data and high-speed Internet access. The mobile companies are trying out WiMAX, most notably MTN in three different countries. The WiMAX mobile standard – 802.16 e – is now in place. It's only a matter of time before someone will want to see if they can run a business on it and what better place to try than Africa. Not so long ago Huawei had no WiMAX offering but now it has two: its base station 3707 and a wireless broadband gateway WASN 9770. Companies trying to enter Triple Play market and are trialling mobile TV are engaged in a constant upward revision of their network capacity. GSM networks were vey narrowband and were not designed for the kind of data traffic volumes now being envisaged. CDMA 2000 does not seem to have an upgrade path that will deal with the bright and shiny African multimedia future. But technology is progressing at a breathless pace and WiMAX may itself yet be overtaken by Long Term Evolution (LTE), the actual standard for which is the glamorously titled 3GPP Release 8 which is considered 4G and offers an IP architecture for that elusive moment not so far in the future when voice and data are all just bits. So as ever, it's a case of standing upright on a rolling log as it moves downhill…
Rwanda Boosts Telecom Market With Bids for New Third OperatorRwanda is set to invite bids for a third national telecom operator. The interest in a third operator comes as the Government targets having at least 5 million phone GSM subscribers by 2012. Addressing a regular presidential press conference last week (18th June) Rwanda's President Paul Kagame told journalists that already some four companies have expressed interest informally. The four companies include Orascom, an unidentified Israel company, Korea Telecom and the Kuwait based Zain International which operates the Celtel brand in sub-Saharan Africa. KT is South Korea's top integrated wired and wireless telecommunication service provider. On the other hand Orascom Telecom is a leading mobile telecommunications company operating in six emerging markets. It has a population under license of 430 million with an average penetration of mobile telephony across all markets of approximately 40 per cent. Celtel is the only telecom operating on the East African turf with a completely border free network in Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Kagame said,"By the end of the month we shall officially announce invitation for bids for the 3rd license for mobile and fixed line telecommunication. I have been informally approached on different occasion by these companies. If they are interested they are open to come and express their interest formally. " Prof. Romain Murenzi, the Minister in the Office of the President in Charge of Science, Technology, Research and ICT said that in three or four months a tender process will then commence and all the interested parties can defend their bids. The 3rd license will be preferably awarded to a GSM operator who will offer both data and voice wireless networks. Currently Rwanda has only one GSM operator, MTN Rwanda. The other operator Rwandatel uses. According to Prof. Murenzi mobile phone subscribers in Rwanda will hit the 5 million mark by 2012. If the projected targets are reached, it means that Rwanda will be the first African country in Africa to reach 50 per cent of the population being mobile subscribers and 100 percent of eligible users being over the age of over 16 years. Rwanda's telecom industry is monopolized by MTN Rwanda with almost 95 per cent of the market share to a population of over 8 million. The spoils are left for the second operator called Rwandatel. MTN Rwanda has almost 600,000 subscribers. Last year the MTN Group increased it shareholding in MTN Rwanda 40 per cent to 55 per cent. The additional 15 per cent stake was acquired from Tristar Investments, which remains a significant 35 per cent shareholder after the transaction. Rwandatel has signed a US$ 35m investment agreement with Huawei Technologies to roll-out a new GSM and 3G UMTS network. Source: The Monitor (Kampala) Telecommunications Sector in Zimbabwe Still Open to Investment according to TOAZThe Telecommunications Operators Association of Zimbabwe (TOAZ) said last Tuesday there remained significant scope for possible investment in the telecommunications sector in the country. TOAZ chairman, Douglas Mboweni told New Ziana the current regulatory and economic environment, however, presented challenges for the sector, particularly availability of foreign currency. The country is facing critical foreign currency shortages, which have left the sector battling to keep up with technological advancement. For example, over 90 percent of investment in building up capacity is in the form of foreign currency, Mboweni said. "There remains significant scope for further investment in various sectors of the telecommunications industry in Zimbabwe. "The country has made significant strides in telecommunications investment, but still lags many of its peers in Africa and much of the developing world in terms of investment in new technologies," he said. He said, as a result of the challenges, mobile penetration in Zimbabwe was only 10 percent against 40 percent for Africa. "We can only lift our average (penetration) with investment into expansion programmes," he said. The association, he said, was in constant dialogue with regulatory authorities with a view to creating a more favourable regulatory environment that would stimulate investment. Meanwhile, Mr Mboweni said the association was in continuous engagement with the National Incomes and Pricing Commission and the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) regarding tariff reviews. Tariffs are currently being reviewed after every three months, a move that is impacting on the operations of mobile and fixed telecommunications companies. POTRAZ is using the Costing International Telecommunication Union (Cositu) model for billing. The system takes into account operational costs incurred by service providers, such as the cost of the traffic itself, network expansion and movements in the exchange rate and inflation. In a hyper inflationary environment, the tariffs were, however, being "rendered useless" before they are subsequently reviewed. Mboweni, who is also the chief executive of Econet Wireless, said tariff controls had the effect of restraining service providers from realising their full potential in terms of earnings growth. Source: The Herald (Harare) Starcomms Hooks Abeokuta to Its NetworkAs a sequel to the promise it made last year of connecting more cities to its ever expanding network, Starcomms Nigeria's leading CDMA telecom operator and "triple-play" (mobile, fixed wireless voice, wireless broadband) provider has rolled out its services in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. Starcomms, which has already stamped its mark on Nigeria's telecommunications industry, is currently operating in key cities including: Lagos, Ibadan, Kano, Rano, Aba, Onitsha, Asaba, Maiduguri, Benin, Kaduna, Zaria and Port Harcourt. Plans are at an advanced stage to link other cities this year. The drive towards the South West market is to enable more Nigerians enjoy the company's array of innovative products and value-for-money services. According to Manoj Vashisht, Marketing Director, Starcomms the expansion to Abeokuta is predicated on consumers' yearning for better and quality service that the brand is noted for. He said all the bouquet of products from the brand would be available to subscribers in the city:'For quite some time now we have been having series of inquiries from potential subscribers on when we will link Abeokuta to our network, it has gotten quite deafening of late and we feel it is time to allow Abeokuta have a taste of bouquet of products." Vashisht added. Firmly established as Nigeria's leading triple play network in terms of coverage, subscriber base, customer service, network quality and delivery, Starcomms, which was commercially launched in 1999, early this year surpassed the 1 million subscriber base early this year; a feat industry watchers say is unprecedented in the CDMA category. The feat, analysts say was been made possible in part by the roll out of the 07028 range of roaming numbers and the deployment of the CDMA 2000 1X EV-DO technology, the first of its kind in West Africa, and presently being deployed in the United States of America, which gives wireless access to the Internet at a speed of between 400-800kbps. Source: Vanguard (Lagos) South African Industry Furious as Telkom SA Gets Off R3.7bn FineTELKOM has avoided a punishing R3.7bn fine for anti-competitive behaviour after the High Court ruled that the Competition Commission cannot refer a complaint against the operator to the Competition Tribunal. The decision by the Pretoria High Court on Friday is a blow to the Internet industry, which hoped to see Telkom punished for practices that have stifled the sector for years. Telkom won on technicalities stemming from mistakes made by the Commission. The court did not rule on the crucial question of whether the competition authorities have the power to slap down Telkom for illegal practices, or whether that duty lies with the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa). "We are going to appeal the verdict," said commissioner Shan Ramburuth. The lack of clarity meant the Commission would continue to investigate another 11 complaints against Telkom that industry players have lodged. The case was begun in 2002 by companies, including internet service providers (ISPs), offering voice and data services. They accused Telkom of using illegal tactics to quash rival ISPs, including cross-subsidies, charging them more for bandwidth than it charged its own internet division, and refusing to supply some ISPs any bandwidth at all. The Commission agreed and proposed the R3.7bn fine, and referred the case to the Tribunal for approval. Telkom then went to court, claiming the Commission had no jurisdiction in a sector regulated by Icasa.,Telkom argued that the evidence against it was biased, since it was supplied by a research centre that consulted people who worked for companies making the complaint. Telkom said the Commission had been too late to refer the complaint to the tribunal, as it had to act within one year. The Court agreed that Telkom had reasonable grounds to fear the evidence was biased. It also ruled that the delay in referring the case and failing to get all parties to allow more time were fatal flaws. However, the scrutiny had forced Telkom to end some anti- competitive practices. " It's not been a total loss," said Ant Brooks of the Internet Service Providers' Association of SA. Source: Business Day In brief:- Abu-Dhabi-based Warid Telecom International plans to contest the recent award in Ghana of a mobile operating licence to Nigerian firm Globacom Nigeria through its Glo Mobile Ghana unit. Warid, the second firm short-listed for the concession, is now challenging the award, saying the process was not fully transparent. In a statement, Warid officials said they qualified to pay the minimum licence reserve of USD50 million, but were not given the opportunity by the NCA. Warid says it is looking to contest what it sees as an ‘unfair bidding process’. - Helios Tower Nigeria Limited has announced the installation of 1,000 cell sites with the capacity to accommodate 4,000 base stations of wireless and GSM operators aimed at increasing the rate of mobile communication services in the country. - ICASA has finally gazetted provisions for shorter lock-in periods for consumers. Operators and service providers are being told to offer six-month and 18-month contracts from August to give customers more choice than the usual tie-up periods of 12 and 24 months. - The government of Djibouti has reportedly rejected proposals from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa's (Comesa) ICT regulatory and policy harmonisation programme. Djibouti’s decision is a cause for concern to Comesa which says it will find it difficult to start implementing the programme if Djibouti is not on board. Djibouti is still refusing to be part of the programme because of its monopoly policy in the telecoms sector. - In a short time span, Utl has registered more than 100% growth in the West Nile and northern regions. Going hand-in-hand with its network coverage expansion programme, it has set up 30 new base stations in the area to ensure that the signal is strong and clear. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- The global parent company of Celtel Kenya, Zain Group has launched in-flight roaming services that allow customers to use their phones. Clients will now be able to send and receive e-mails, text messages as well as make and receive phone calls while aboard aircraft. - Celtel Malawi has announced that it has reduced the cost of its cheapest handset by 35%, from USD25 to USD16. The move follows the government's eradication of a 25% customs and excise duty on imported handsets and cellular network equipment. - Multi-Link Telkom has disclosed that the network has recorded over a million subscribers since Telkom acquired Multi Links late last year. Telkom acquired Multilinks in 2007, when the subscriber base was a mere 200,000. Today, barely seven months after acquisition, the figured has soared to over 1,000,000. - Egyptian telecoms regulator the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has approved increases of up to 50% in some charges for fixed line telephony calls.Other charges, such as installation fees and calls between landlines and mobile phones, have been cut significantly. Under the changes, from 1 July the charge for local calls will rise to EGP0.03 (USD0.0056) after the first minute from EGP0.02. But the charge for calls between mobile phones and landlines will fall to EGP0.3 a minute at all times from EGP0.45 at peak times or EGP0.35 at off-peak times. The charge for installing a new line will fall to EGP250 from EGP500 for residential subscribers and to EGP500 from EGP1,000 for business subscribers. The cost of direct-dial national long-distance calls at peak times will fall 20% to EGP0.16 a minute (for distances greater than 60km) and EGP0.08 a minute for shorter distances, it said. The new rates are the same as those for off-peak times.
Cost of Broadband in Nigeria is among the Highest - World BankThe cost of the broadband in Nigeria is among the highest in the world, a World Bank representative said in Abuja last week. Speaking at the Nigerian eGovernment Interoperability Framework workshop, a World Bank representative at the workshop, Mavis Ampah said although about $12 billion had already been invested in the Nigeria ICT sector, the Broadband gap is very significant in the country. She said the mobile phone penetration in the country has grown up from two percent in 2000 to about 32 percent in 2007. However, she said Nigeria has emerged as the country with the highest annual growth rate in mobile subscribers but is still paying higher for the bandwidth. "It is important for us to discuss the framework and the strategy for Nigeria". She said broadband connectivity in the Nigeria is very low at 0.01 when compared to countries like Tanzania which has about 13 % broadband connectivity. "Nigeria has a very long way to go. My understanding is that 1 gig is about N3, 500. It comes down significantly compared to some couple of years back where both Ghana and Nigeria are paying about N10, 000 per gig. She said the prices when compare to what other countries are paying like India were just too expensive for the same broadband capacity. Daily Trust (Abuja) Pay-TV, Internet Boost for Naspers in South AfricaNaspers, Africa's largest media company which lifted core headline earnings 38% to R3.9bn in the year to March, would continue to expand existing businesses and develop new opportunities in the year ahead, the group said last week. Taxed profit rose to R3.9bn from R2.06bn and profit for the year increased to R4.06bn from R2.2bn the previous year. Core headline earnings per ordinary share rose 16% to R11.16. Revenue was up 19% to R20.5bn. Free cash flow was much the same at R2.2bn. The contribution to revenue from the Internet businesses in particular rose sharply by 42% to R1.62bn. The biggest contribution to revenue was from pay- television, which rose 22% during the year to R11.5bn. However, the group has its intention to sell its ISP arm MWeb. The annual dividend was raised 15% to R1.80 a share. Naspers stock rose 5.2% to R162.50 on the JSE on the day after the results were released. The group's financial performance in the year ahead would be influenced by the timing of regulatory approvals for ventures such as mobile TV and the development of further Internet opportunities. These services typically had a negative effect on cash flows and earnings, until they started contributing. The R1.1bn the group spent on developing new technologies in the past year was lower than expected due to the slower roll-out of mobile television services, which remain dependant on the issue of a commercial licence. Source: Business Day (Johannesburg) Icasa insists companies bidding for WiMAX spectrum must be 51% Black-owned but it's open to argumentStrict empowerment demands that prevent most technology companies from winning a licence to offer high-speed Internet access are not open to negotiation, the regulator says. The Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) stunned the industry last week by declaring that any company bidding for a WiMax licence must be 51% black owned. Last week its spectrum manager Mandla Mchunu said the conditions were final. Industry players say no company with the skills and cash to roll out a national network has so much black ownership, while black owned companies that could apply lack the financial clout to succeed. Mchunu said there was nothing to prevent people from making suggestions, but the document setting out the licence conditions was final. He admitted it would be a challenge for the firms that met the criteria to succeed in building a national internet business. "It will be quite difficult for them to raise the necessary funds. I guess Icasa will need to find a balance." Mainstream players could bid for a licence anyway, and might present a compelling enough case to win despite not being black enough, he said. Icasa says it is using the opportunity to empower black people, so the most crucial criteria are 51% black equity and a high degree of black management. That eliminates the big players hoping to use WiMax to expand the capacity of their networks, including MTN, MWeb, Internet Solutions, Altech and Verizon. WiMax can cover large areas and handle high volumes of traffic relatively cheaply, although constructing a national network would cost hundreds of millions of rands. Internet Solutions's chief regulatory officer Siyabonga Madyibi had hoped Icasa would relax its empowerment stance, which clashes with previous demands that telecoms licence holders be 30% black owned. Internet Solutions was about 30% black owned, and Madyibi was not aware of any company able to do the job that met the 51% criteria. "It's going to make it very difficult for anybody to apply. We are going to try to convince Icasa that 51% empowerment isn't workable," he said. "We are slightly perplexed," said Tim Lowry, MD of MTN SA. MTN was empowered, but fell short of the 51% mark. "That's the sort of clarification we will need from Icasa," he said. Source: Business Day (Johannesburg) In brief:- Burkina Faso's Prime Minister Tertius Zongo said new strategy would focus more on Internet related infrastructure. Firstly,authorities wanted to see the construction of a good network of fibre-optic cable network capable of carrying broadband Internet to large parts of the country. Secondly,operators to participate in the upcoming process of defining a "comprehensive and integrated cyber-legislation" for the country, in addition to the development of sectoral "cyber-strategies". Large investments in fibre-optic cables would need to be made to provide the country with speedy and reliable Internet services. - Books First launched its online bookstore at the weekend, making it what it claims is the first commercial website by a Kenyan bookshop.The website, www.booksfirst.co.ke will help book buffs access books of their choice easily.The website carries all of Books First's titles and customers can order conveniently from the Internet or via a dial-a-book service. The bookshop has a plan through which orders are delivered to the customer's doorstep. - South Africa's Vodacom has announced two of its fibre rings in Johannesburg and Pretoria are now live. The company also plans to roll out transmission networks in most big cities across South Africa including Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein within the next twelve months. - South Africa’s second national operator Neotel intends to bid for additional WiMAX spectrum in the 2.6GHz frequency band when (ICASA) holds an auction, to help it to launch mobile WiMAX services in the consumer market. Neotel already has 56MHz of spectrum in the 3.5GHz range, which it uses to provide fixed-wireless WiMAX network services for the corporate market, but 802.16d-based service is inappropriate for the consumer market, since WiMAX technology currently being built into laptops and mobile devices is predominantly the newer mobile standard 802.16e.
Nigeria’s Omatek Becomes 1st Computer Coy to List in Stock ExchangeOne of Nigeria's leading indigenous computer companies, Omatek Ventures Plc, last week, set a record as the first computer company to list on the Stock Exchange. Having met the requirements of the Exchange, Omatek was listed and its stock is already being traded in the floors of the Nigerian stock exchange even as its private placement ended. The company however promised that the funds it got from the concluded private placement exercise would be used to expand its activities and fund its growth plans. Part of Omatek's visions for listing on the Stock Exchange, was to ensure that it gets increased supply of the materials it needed from the manufacturers, in order to continue on a big scale on its activities. Dedicating the feat to the media, at a recent press conference in Lagos, MD of Omatek, Mrs Florence Seriki said this was not the first time her company was scoring first in the pursuit of attracting fame to the sector. She said: "Our computer factories in Ghana and Nigeria, which are the first in Africa have presented us with enormous opportunities, making us the first in the continent to locally produce computer casings and speakers from Completely Knocked Down process (CKD), locally produced home entertainment speakers and plasma and flat screens from Semi-Knocked Down (SKD) process. "We are also the first in Africa to buy directly CKD process parts from front-line producers across the world, and the first in the continent to win Microsoft Systems Builder Award 2005 for Central, West and East Africa." Source: Vanguard (Lagos) IBM Opens New Africa Innovation Centre in South AfricaAn Africa Innovation Centre has been opened to drive information technology skills development and address business challenges in the economic growth of Sub-Saharan Africa. The first of its kind on the continent, the new centre is part of IBM $120 million, two-year investment through to 2009 that includes new market expansion initiatives and houses Africa's first cloud computing centre. The centre will showcase business approaches and open technologies such as cloud computing, Web 2.0 technologies, service-oriented architecture and systems management. It will also demonstrate next generation banking systems offered at the Banking Centre of Excellence as part of the new innovation centre and environmentally-friendly computing designs. In cloud computing, dynamically-shared computing resources are virtualised and accessed as a service, making it a particularly attractive proposition for small to large-sized companies in Africa. IBM is already working with almost 300 software companies in Sub-Saharan Africa. The centre will offer access to IBM's global network of 39 IBM Innovation Centres and 60 research and development labs. In addition to establishing a $15-million IBM Business Continuity and Recovery Services facility last year in Cresta, northwest of Johannesburg, this year, IBM will donate $1.5 million Blue Gene supercomputer to the Meraka Institute. It will be hosted by the Centre for High Performance Computing in Cape Town and will be used by a range of stakeholders on the continent for challenging social, economic and environmental issues as well as for skills development. Source: BuaNews (Tshwane) Microsoft to Distribute Directly in East AfricaMicrosoft, the world's largest software company, has signed an agreement with Comtel Integrators Africa that allows the latter to vend its products exclusively in the East and Southern African region. The partnership will enable Comtel to use Microsoft's advanced infrastructure to develop and market a range of IT solutions for the small and medium enterprises that dominate sub-Saharan African economies. Most importantly, the development will now make it possible for local companies, NGOs and other entities to buy and use Microsoft's software products legally, according to Wayne Robinson, Comtel's director of Business Development. "Today in East and Central Africa we believe we have a calling to impact the population through the way we know best--that is to use computer technology to better the lives of people," said Robinson at a function in Kampala on Saturday. Some of the products that Comtel will now start to vend include corporate email, data storage, multimedia content, web conferencing, office servers and several others. Comtel and Microsoft will also collaborate to develop IT service and solutions that are particularly suited to the unique challenges that face businesses in developing economies like Uganda's. "Businesses that want to utilise Microsoft and local ISVs (Independent Software Vendors) technologies can hereby do so without large investments in infrastructures, license and competence," said a statement issued by Comtel. Microsoft, according to the statement, will supply its best business development and management technologies while Comtel will provide hosting, operations and support. Comtel was founded in 2005 and has since then developed into one of the best IT services companies in the region specialising in sales management solutions, data bases, power solutions, Wi-Fi hotspots, installation of IT systems in so called Intelligent Buildings, Blade systems and telephony. A total of Shs 2 billion was invested by Comtel to operationalise its venture with Microsoft. John Creed who represented Microsoft said Comtel was chosen as a vendor of its products and services because of the company's demonstrated expertise and pan African ambition. Source: The Monitor (Kampala) In brief:- An Sh8 billion project that promises to change the face of Kenya's Athi River town and create over 10,000 jobs begins next month. Already Sh900 million has been earmarked for starting the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Park from where Kenyans will offer telecommunications services to employers overseas.
Glo to Invest N240 Billion in GhanaNigeria's Globacom has concluded plans to invest US$2 billion (about N240 billion) in Ghana's telecoms sector, within 5 years, having recently acquired the license to operate there. According to the company's official source, Glo which had paid about $50.1 million to acquire the Ghana's National Communications Authority license of operation would stop at nothing in actualising its network in Ghana. Olafimihan further emphasised, "given our antecedent and reputation, the government and people of Ghana can only expect the very best in telephony from Globacom as we are set to roll out very soon aggressively in Ghana shortly", adding that with this license, the country's mobile phone market would boom, amidst healthy competition with MTN, Tigo, One Touch, Kasapa and Celtel. Glo which is currently building the Africa's first private submarine cable from Nigeria via Ghana to link other African nations and the Untied Kingdom as well as the United States, is Nigeria's second national carrier after Nitel, with licenses to operate GSM, Gateway, broadband and leased capacity services. Source: Leadership (Abuja) Phase3 Telecoms Firm Spends US$100m On Optic Fibre ProjectCarrier's carrier, Phase 3 Telecom said that it had spent over US$100 million on building a fibre optic project that will change the face of telecommunications in Nigeria. Its Chief Executive Officer, Stanley Jegede said that in its bid to offer excellent transmission services to the nation's telecommunications sector, the company was also set to expend an additional US$200million for its optic fibre coverage across the country. Jegede said the US$100million was spent on providing adequate backbone through deployment of optic fibre in a number of cities in the country. The company provides carrier-grade international voice services to PSTN, GSM, and Pan-European calling card operators, as well as Tier 1 traffic Carriers. It also provides a detailed Service Level Agreement that includes guaranteed interconnect. The company has international connectivity through SAT3 in Lagos, where a Gateway provides a link to its POP in London, thus giving it connectivity with over 370 carriers. In his remarks, Dr Vincent Dogo, Chief Operating Officer, Phase3, said the firm had already covered significant parts of Nigeria with its network and was making steady progress towards reaching other parts. Source: This Day (Lagos) Tata to Increase Stake in South Africa’s Neotel to 56 PercentSouth Africa's second national network operator Neotel will soon be 56% Indian-owned, with Eskom and Transnet selling their 30% stake to Bombay-listed Tata Communications. Tata already owns 26% of Neotel, which it bought after a lengthy process to find an international telecoms player to supply the skills and cash needed to compete with Telkom. Last week Tata said it had entered into an agreement with the state-owned enterprises to acquire their combined 30%. The potential value of the deal was not disclosed in the notice issued on the Bombay Stock Exchange. One insider said the move should speed up Neotel's decision making and hone its operational abilities by streamlining its ownership. Neotel has been dogged by unwieldy shareholding from the start, after a farcical process to cobble together a variety of interests and still find credible investors to buy into the business. Allowing Tata to take a bigger stake could also give Neotel access to more cash more quickly than if it had to rely on state-owned entities to contribute to its planned infrastructure investment of R11bn. The source said it was important to get the state-owned enterprises out of Neotel. "We need to reorganise the shares because it's cumbersome," he said. "We need a situation where the business has a minimal number of shareholders and we need to isolate the business from politics." Neotel had not been plagued by political pressure arising from government involvement, but there were internal politics between the different entities, he said. The exit of Eskom and Transnet had been on the cards for about six months, and Neotel's customers should notice a difference once they were out, the source said. "The business will be much smoother because it will improve the decision making process by far." Executives from Tata Communications are expected in SA this week to finalise the buyout details. Eskom and Transnet were each granted a 15% stake in Neotel in November 2001, contributing their telecoms assets to form the basis of the new operator. They were joined by the black empowerment group Nexus with 19%. Stakes of 12.5% each were awarded to CommuniTel and Two Telecom Consortium after a controversial bidding process that attracted local entrepreneurs eager for a slice of the potentially lucrative action. The six-way structure was acrimonious from the start, with Nexus taking legal action and applying for a judicial review when Two Consortium and CommuniTel were awarded shares, despite their bids initially being rejected as sub-standard.After protracted negotiations the legal action was withdrawn and the parties finally managed to launch their operations, several years after the target date. Last week's announcement from Tata said the deal to buy out Eskom and Transnet was subject to certain conditions that may take up to 180 days to be fulfilled. Once the deal was concluded Tata would own its 56% stake through Tata Communications and Tata Africa, it said. Tata Communications runs a world-class telecoms network and has offices in more than 40 countries. Its investment in Neotel gives it a strong anchor on which to build an African footprint, it said. Operating a telecoms business is not a core activity for either Eskom or Transnet. The latter has been pursuing a turnaround strategy by shedding its non-core activities, and in November it sold its telecoms arm Transtel to Neotel for R230m. Business Day (Johannesburg) Nitel sale 'hopefully' by end of 2008Nigeria's communications minister says that Nitel will hopefully have a new investor ready to take a controlling stake in the company by the end of this year, reports Reuters. Existing shareholder Transcorp, which acquired a 51% stake for USD500 million in August 2006, has failed to revive the fortunes of the telco, and in February 2008 it agreed with the government that a new investor needed to be found. 'We have set ourselves a target of towards the end of the year to get a core investor,' Communications Minister John Odey said in an interview in his office in Abuja. He added that the new investor would hold at least 51% of the company, taking part of Transcorp's share and part of the government's holding. In brief:- Sudatel has signed a facility agreement worth USD50 million with several banks. QNB Al Islami will finance USD25 million of the total, while the remainder will be jointly financed by Qatar International Islamic Bank (QIIB) and Al Salam Bank. The telco has yet to release plans indicating how it will use the money. - Ghana’s Minister for Communication, Benjamin Aggrey Ntim, has confirmed that the government has not yet taken any investment decision concerning the full or partial privatisation of national fixed line operator Ghana Telecom (GT). Ghana has received several bids for the telco, all of which have been rejected, but says it is still in the hunt for a suitable strategic investor. Industry sources say that whoever wins will not get the keys to the front door until after the election. - South Africa-based mobile operator MTN has agreed to buy 100% of corporate internet service provider Verizon South Africa, which is currently owned by US-based Verizon Communications (70%) and local group Jay & Jayendra (30%). The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Verizon South Africa provides data/internet services to corporate customers in South Africa, and via subsidiaries in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Kenya. - Etisalat says it has already invested NGN118 billion (USD1 billion) on its network in Nigeria. Etisalat is the operating partner and 40%-owner of EMTS (known locally as Mubadala).EMTS launched a limited offering in March 2008 and is currently testing its network ahead of full launch, as well as talking with competitors on the possibility of sharing facilities. - Paris-based telecoms giant France Telecom (FT) is considering plans to enter the Algerian market in 2008 either through the purchase of one of the nation’s two privately-run operators or by acquiring a 3G mobile licence.FT has previously been linked with a bid for state owned PTO Algerie Telecom, but the latter’s privatisation has been repeatedly delayed. The French telco was also approached by Orascom of Egypt and Qatar’s Qtel last year concerning a possible deal for their respective Algerian-owned mobile operators Djezzy and Nedjma, but talks failed to deliver any concrete deal, La Tribune said. It is understood FT would only consider entering the north African market through a strategic partnership.
Soapie By Cellphone a Milestone by VodacomVodacom has started transmitting SoLikeLife, a soap opera produced specifically for cellphones and available free to Vodacom's Vodafone live! customers. More than 1,7-million Vodafone live! users were able to download the soapie, or "mobi-soap", in the format of a one to two minute mobisode (episode) each day. The first series consists of 40 mobisodes. Emma Kaye, director of new media company Gate 7, said the content had been localised for the mobisoap and its success would depend on the marketing behind it and the ability to use "cross-media solutions". She said the success of mobisoaps overseas had been about building brand values that consumers could relate to. SoLikeLife tells the story of two "20-something" South Africans who meet, fall in love and are drawn into a relationship played out on the user's cellphone. Although the storyline contains all the elements of a traditional soapie, SoLikeLife breaks all the conventions of traditional TV as it is presented from the perspective of the two main characters, offering viewers a fly-on-the-wall, voyeuristic perspective of a relationship unfolding in a digital age. SoLikeLife runs for two months, with a new episode daily from Monday to Friday, and each prior episode would remain available for viewing. SoLikeLife was produced for cellphones by Ochre Moving Pictures and was sponsored by Nokia. (Source: Business Day) Lovelife Generation On Mobile Network in South AfricaSouth African teenagers with WAP-enabled phones can join MYMsta, a mobile-based social network dedicated at empowering young people in South Africa and preventing HIV. www.MYMsta.mobi is an initiative by loveLife for informing, educating and entertaining the loveLife generation. Using a minimal amount of airtime, users can build and maintain profiles, join chat groups and access bursary and scholarship information. Page view casts 2 - 5 cents and less than 25 cents for downloading data, depending on the mobile operator and individual service plan. Speaking at the product launch and media preview of MYMsta, loveLife media director Refilwe Africa said, "The call to young people is to Make Your Move build personal initiative, strengthen their ability to negotiate day-today pressures and expectations and find new links to opportunities. Given the extensive ownership of cellphones in this country, up to 75% of young people (15-24 years) have [their] own cellphones. "Social networking behaviour plays directly into the three key triggers to behaviour change - sense of identity, belonging and purpose. Users define their identity by creating personal profiles with photos, video and text they can also develop communities by connecting to like-minded individuals through forums," said Africa. Source: Biz-Community (Cape Town)
People* Cape Town-based. Low-cost VoIP calling provider Skaap has gone out of business after only a few months. Company representative told MyBroadband that she did not want to discuss the reasons for Skaap's closure with the media "at this point" but that it was "working on new things". Events* 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 * NORTH AFRICA COM 14-15 October 2008, Cairo, Egypt North AfricaCom is the largest telecommunication event specifically designed for operators and telecoms professionals. With 35 expert speakers, 700 communications professionals and a 50-stand exhibition in 2007, this event is the best opportunity for you to learn from your colleagues' experiences in other countries and find out the latest solutions that can improve your business. For further information visit http://www.comworldseries.com/newt/l/gsm/events/northafrica * 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* Business Analyst (Technical) The client is looking for a B.Com / B.Sc. degree in IT with sound working knowledge of MS Office specifically Excel, MS Project and MS Visio. Must have a min 3-4 years experience as a business analyst. The candidate must possess project management and administration skills. Should be a good communicator ideally with strong interpersonal and facilitation skills. Experience in establishing and maintaining controls for risk and quality. Have the ability of successfully relating business requirements to technical resources. For further information advertising@balancingact-africa.com *IT Manager (Cape Town) The candidate should have IT and/or Business Degree with a minimum of 8 years Management Experience ideally at a Financial Institution. Some project Management and IT Change Management Experience required.This is an opportunity to work for a dynamic industry leader.This position will require a well organised individual to have strong analytical and communication skills who will thrive in a high pressured environment.Exposure to employee benefits systems and ITIL would be a distinct advantage. The company will offer good benefits. For further information advertising@balancingact-africa.com Contracts* Tata and URA IT System - Uganda Tata Consultancy Services has won a Shs17.6 billion contract to build Uganda Revenue Authority's Information and Communication integrated system that will trace down tax invaders. TCS emerged the winner through a World Bank two-stage procurement method, which lasted for three years. * Phase3Telecoms and Fiberhome International – West Africa Phase3 Telecoms, a transmission service provider, has expanded its multimillion dollar contract agreement with Fiberhome International a Chinese firm to expand its fibre optic capacity across the country. It will expand the transmission network of 3000 kilometres in Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries. * Multilinks and Nortel – Nigeria Multilinks has signed a three-year frame contract with Nortel to expand and upgrade its CDMA2000 1x WiLL network with EV-DO Rev A. Multilinks has begun an aggressive rollout programme to increase network capacity with plans to provide [mobile] broadband coverage for 80% of the Nigerian population by 2011 and 100% of the population by 2013,' said CEO Justin Ramayia.
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