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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 412 Dabba looks set to make micro low-cost voice telco operations a realityThe dream of creating micro-low cost voice operators for under-serviced urban and rural areas looks set to become a reality. The South African company Dabba with support from Internet Solutions is creating a business model that will allow micro-operators to function. Open software and hardware development support is coming from Shuttleworth Foundation. Russell Southwood talked to the Foundation’s Steve Song about developments. The idea developing the idea of the micro low-cost telco in South Africa came out of a workshop run by the Shuttleworth Foundation attended by among others Rael Lissos, CEO of Dabba; Elektra Freifunk, BATMAN, the author of the mesh networking protocol of the same name; David Rowe of the Free Telephony Project and open hardware pioneer; Jeff Fletcher, Internet Solutions; and Jeff Wishnie, CTO, Inveneo. According to Steve Song: "The intent of the workshop was to bring together the right people to be able to prototype a Village Telco, with the intention of getting some configurations and code up on to the website so that interested parties would have something to hack on…We never did build a prototype but we did something better, we brainstormed a new, low-cost start-up model for a Village Telco". The workshop differed from previous low-cost attempts in two ways. Firstly, previous geek enthusiasts have been keen on cheap Wi-Fi to deliver Internet. This group came together to create a technology and a model that would deliver voice and fit into the telco world. Secondly, it was working on the assumption that whatever technology was created that it needed to be able to be assembled "out-of-the-box" and be durable away from the caring hands of maintenance staff. The ideas have been taken up by Dabba run by South African entrepreneur, Rael Lissos who has previously successfully developed education content for the Open University. It has a VANS licence and is already operating in Orange Farm, 45 minutes south of Johannesburg. Song says that it’s still prototype technology but the aim is to achieve the simplicity of an "out-of-of-the-box" offer: "There’s a lot of energy among the participants." Dabba has partners who want to expand into Alexandria and Soweto in the greater Johannesburg area and Khayelitsha in Cape Town. Emerging markets low-cost voice provider Inveneo is also interested in participating for the markets it operates in. Dabba is already interconnecting with South Africa’s four main voice carriers but reactions are mixed. One of the larger mobile carriers has been very helpful, whilst a couple have been blocking calls. It has had support from IS who are one of the 20 VANS currently queuing to get infrastructure licences (see Internet News below). Dabba’s plan is to become an intermediary for the much smaller micro telcos, allowing them to aggregate traffic before entering the telco world and providing much needed support. It will also enable the micro telcos to offer cheap calling to other micro telcos that work with Dabba. The business is focused on working financially with 1,000 subscribers. And the technology to run this? According to Song: "…we came to our 5000 dollar recipe for a Village Telco startup. USD 5000 should get you a server and printer (for pay-as-you-go coupons) running Asterisk and A2billing (modified into simple management framework), an Ubiquiti Nanostation-based Super Node and about 40 Mesh Potatoes (a ruggedised ATA and Mesh AP)." The user would get a cheap VoIP handset from someone like UT Starcom. The SuperNode will deliver a coverage area of 2 kilometres but the phone’s range is only 100 metres. The alternatives are that there would have to be a greater density of wireless access points or as with the precursors to mobile phones, the access points might be physically marked and people could stand near them. The former would make sense for a large village, latter might work in a smaller settlement. For the mobile operator, it allows others to take the financial and control risks in areas of marginal business. And if it succeeds, it may offer valuable lessons in how to strip back the CAPEX to meet market demand in increasingly marginal areas. This will not prevent the more pig-headed mobile companies from trying to strangle it at birth. It offers local entrepreneurs the opportunity to build a business. For the unspent millions in Universal Service Funds all over Africa it offers a new market-driven element that could energise the drive to reach the last 30-50% of Africans who do not yet currently have access to voice or Internet. A link that will take you into a great deal more detail:
Vodafone Confirms Buying Majority Stake in Ghana TelecomVodafone has now confirmed that it is to take a 70% stake in Ghana Telecom for a payment of US$900 million. The transaction values Ghana Telecom at approximately US$1.3 billion. The Government of Ghana will retain a 30% stake in the company. As part of the transaction price, it has been agreed that the Government of Ghana's fibre network assets will be transferred to Ghana Telecom. Commenting on the transaction, Arun Sarin, Chief Executive of Vodafone, said "Ghana is one of the most attractive markets in Africa with mobile subscribers growing at more than 55% p.a. and mobile penetration around 35%. Our extensive operating experience together with our portfolio of products and services position us well to deliver a superior mobile experience to Ghanaian customers and significantly improve financial performance. I expect that our investment will generate substantial benefits for Vodafone and for the Ghanaian economy and we are delighted that we will be working in partnership with the Government of Ghana." Over the next 5 years, Vodafone expects Ghana Telecom to invest over US$500 million in its operations and network, restoring and expanding network coverage and completing and integrating the fibre backbone. Vodafone said that it also plans to leverage its experience of rapid network deployment in India and other emerging markets, its brand and customer propositions such as M-PESA and ultra-low cost handsets, to accelerate Ghana Telecom's growth. Vodafone intends that Ghana Telecom will raise its mobile market share over time to around 25%, reversing recent underperformance. According to figures from the Mobile World database, Ghana Telecom ended the last quarter with an estimated 1.3 million subscribers. There are four operators in the country at the moment, MTN (53%), Tigo (28.6%), Ghana Telecom (15.5%) and Kasapa Telecom (3.3%). Nigeria based Globalcom recently secured an operating license in the country. (Source: Cellular News) France Telecom Launches Orange Network in NigerLast Monday France Telecom launched a telephone and Internet service under its Orange brand in five centers across Niger, the company said. As well as the capital Niamey, the towns of Zinder, Maradi, Birni-N'Konni and Tahoua are also covered, France Telecom's head of operations for Africa Marc Rennard said. The network will soon be available in about 30 other towns, he added. The authorities in Niamey gave France Telecom a license to market its global GSM fixed-mobile-Internet service for EUR48 million last November. The company has joined forces with two African partners, Mohamed Rissa and Moctar Thiam, to run its network in Niger. Taking into account the low wages of most of the population, Orange is selling recharge cards for as little as EUR0.3. It has also launched a promotion offering a SIM card with credit from EUR1.53. Orange, which operates in 12 African countries, is also offering high-speed mobile Internet access in Niamey. Three other companies have a presence in Niger's GSM sector, including Celtel, which has more than 80% of the 709,000 subscribers, followed by Moov (formerly Telecel) with 10% of the market, and Sahelcom, a subsidiary of Sonitel, with 7%. (Source: AFP) Libya Becomes First African Nation to Pass 100% Penetration LevelIsrael was dumped from third to fifth position in the Middle-East & Africa (MEA) penetration rankings in Q1 2008 as both the Seychelles and Qatar overtook it to line up behind the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which have held the top two places for the last year. If the second quarter even came close to matching the first in the UAE, then that market will have finished June with a penetration rate in excess of 200%, the rate having stood at 192.5% at the end of March. The ownership in Bahrain was more than 20pp behind, at 172.2%, although in the last two quarters at least, the rate has been growing noticeably quicker than in the UAE. The rate in Qatar and the Seychelles has been progressing much more steadily, but both overtook Israel as penetration fell for the first time ever from 127.1% to 126.3% in Q1 08. Four other markets - Kuwait, Reunion, Saudi Arabia and Libya - boasted penetration rates in excess of 100% at the end of March 2008. Libya became the first mainland African market to join this elite club in the quarter, as the quite remarkable rise of mobility in the country continues. South Africa was the tenth most penetrated market at the end of Q1 08 with a rate of 96.6%, after also suffering a decline in penetration (although in this case not its first) from 97.9% in the quarter. The penetration rates of a further seven markets also lay within the fourth quartile at the end of March, these being Botswana (90%), Algeria (87%), Oman (83%), Gabon (80%), Jordan (79%), Tunisia (78%) and new entrant Mauritius (76%). Perhaps surprisingly, only three markets - Morocco, Gambia and Mauritania - finished Q1 with penetration rates between 50% and 75%. However, Iran joined them just a few days after the end of the quarter, the mobile ownership rate there having stood at 49.6% at the end of March. Iran breaking the 50% barrier would have taken the total number of markets with penetration rates in excess of 50% to 21, after Mauritania and Gambia took the total from 18 to 20 in the first quarter. Including Iran, 50 of the 70 markets in the MEA region finished Q1 08 with penetration rates below 50%. However, progress is clear to see. At the end of Q1 07, 36 of markets had penetration rates of 25% or below, a number which fell to 25 a year layer. (Source: Cellular News) Rising Demand for CDMA Phones in NigeriaA survey carried out in Nigeria's capital, Abuja has indicated a growing demand in the GSM dominated market for CDMA based mobile phones. The survey, carried out by local newspaper The Tide cited the regular problems with network congestion on the GSM networks in the city for the increased interest in CDMA operators. Currently there are four CDMA operators in the city, Multi-links, Visafone, Starcomms and Reltel. The respondents hinged their optimism on clarity of communication and affordability of CDMA phones, when compared with GSM phones. "For instance, with as little as N1,500, you can get a phone and a line on the CDMA network, while for a GSM line, a subscriber may need to pay at least twice that amount," claimed respondents to the survey. Wakili Shehu, a telecommunications consultant said that "the technology also provides the capacity for quicker transmission of data and Internet, unlike the GSM which has limited capacity," but he warned that the use of the CDMA technology in the country was also fraught with challenges, such as limited coverage of cities and towns, unlike the GSM. (Source: The Tide) In brief:- Telkom Kenya is set to start trial runs for its mobile telephony network in two weeks in a move that sets the stage for bruising battle for control of the local mobile telephony market. - The new Minister of ICT in Guinea, Tibou Kamara, has announced that he will support the set up of a regulataory body overseeing the telecommunication sector. - Celtel, Comium, Africell and Tigo have formed an alliance in Sierra Leone. The motive of forming an Association of GSM Operators in the country was to ensure a proper working relationship among mobile communication service providers. In the short term, the association has called for a review of the country's international gateway. Sierratel's exclusive control over operating the gateway is due to expire on 3 August. 'The association expects that the review process will be open and transparent. - Transcorp, core investor in the Nigeria’s former incumbent Nitel said its decision to send Nitel management staff on administrative leave is part of its critical initiative to return the company to profitability. - Tunisia’s National Frequency Agency (NFA), has been certified ISO 9001, the 2000 version, after having been able to set up a quality management system in compliance with the required international standards in this field. - Dovetel Limited, Tanzania’s latest telecoms entrant, announced the launch of its services in the capital Dar es Salaam. Dovetel has been granted a Network Facility Infrastructure Licence, a Network Service Licence, an Application Service Licence and frequency spectrum to use Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology. The newcomer hopes to develop products and services to fill gaps in the Tanzanian telecoms market. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- Nigerian CDMA operator Visafone has announced that it is aggressively moving towards the 1 million subscribers mark, six months after the launch of its service. The telecoms firm is also increasing its coverage in 16 states and over 150 cities in Nigeria. - At the end of Q1 08, there were 42.3m mobile customers in South Africa, meaning it was surpassed by Nigeria as Africa’s largest market. This was mostly due to a strong quarter in Nigeria, but the loss of 0.61m South African customers in Q1 certainly helped. This decline also meant that South Africa failed to break the 100% penetration barrier, having reached 97.9% at the end of 2007; the loss of customers saw it slide to 96.6%. - In Zimbabwe, three mobile network operators - Econet, TelOne and Telecel have again announced tariff increases by slightly over 100 percent. - The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Ernest Ndukwe has assured consumers that plans were underway to reduce SMS tariff by GSM operators. - Tigo Tanzania doubled the number of ring back tone subscribers to 100,000 in March alone. Meanwhile its WAP users have reached 80,000 just three months after the launch of the service. - China's ZTE says that it is developing Ethiopia’s nationwide network to cover 14 major cities including, Addis Ababa, the country’s capital. This cooperation marks ZTE’s success in penetrating Ethiopia, after reaching an agreement with Ethiopia Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) to help construct an IP-backbone network late last year. It is unclear how the fibre backbone that ZTE will be building relates to the existing fibre backbone the company said it built several years ago. - 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.
Nigeria’s Main One Cable System hooks to UhurunetNigeria's Main One Cable System is joining the Uhurunet project that aims to link the entire African continent via undersea and terrestrial fibre optic cables, Department of Communications Director General Lyndall Shope-Mafole says. However, since the DCC does not seem to be in the business of building cables (that having been left to the Department of Trade), Uhurunet appears to be little more than a piece of political “badge engineering”. She also says that negotiations were well advanced for the Kenyan-led Teams - The East African Marine System cable that will link that east African country to the United Arab Emirates – to join Uhurunet. The participation of Main Street Technologies, the operating company of the Main One Cable System, is a coup for the DOC, especially after the SA government announced two months ago that the African West Coast Cable being built by state-owned enterprise Broadband Infraco was its preferred choice. That decision, along with the rapid progress being made on the east coast by the privately funded Seacom and the DOC's divorce from the East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy), left its Nepad ICT Broadband Infrastructure Network (NBIN), now known as Uhurunet, in danger of floundering. Shope-Mafole says some details still have to be worked out to accommodate Main Street Technologies' cable as it has different design specifications to Uhurunet. Main One Cable is designed for a capacity of 1.28Tbs (similar to Seacom), while Uhurunet wants the continent to be ringed with cables with more than 3Tbs capacity. However, an added advantage of the Main One Cable, and possibly Teams, joining Uhurunet is that these projects are already well advanced. Main Street Technologies' system will stretch from Nigeria to Ghana and Portugal and it plans to be ready for use in May 2010. Teams is looking at a similar time frame. Both cable systems state that their intended objectives are to bring down the African connectivity costs that are among the highest in the world. Last month Main Street Technologies awarded the contract to construct its cable to Tyco and last year Alcatel-Lucent won the bid to construct the Teams cable. “We are on target for Uhurunet to be operational by May 2010,” Shope-Mafole says. She says that while neither Nigeria nor Kenya have signed the NBIN protocol, this did not exclude companies from those countries from participating in Uhurunet. Of the original 23 countries that signed the NBIN memorandum of understanding, only 12 have adopted it and three, namely South Africa, Rwanda and Zimbabwe have ratified it. Shope-Mafole says Nigeria is “looking at the protocol.” She went on to say that the good thing about the Nigerian and Kenyan participation is that those two are among the most powerful economies in Africa. (Source; ITWeb) Altech Blamed For Net Providers' Licence Delay in South AfricaEfforts to create a more competitive Internet market have been thwarted purely because legal action by Altech has halted efforts to liberate the industry, says the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa). Blame for a delay in progress has been heaped squarely on Altech, with Icasa councillor Marcia Socikwa saying its legal challenge was preventing numerous hi-tech companies from winning a licence to construct their own national voice and data networks. Socikwa blamed Altech in defence of Icasa's failure to grant the coveted licences to about 20 companies that want to build their own wireless networks to compete more effectively with Telkom and the cellular operators. They include Altech itself, MWeb, Internet Solutions, Gateway and several smaller players. Instead, they are being offered less valuable licences that let them supply voice and data services, but only if they use the infrastructure owned by far larger operators including Telkom, Sentech and Neotel. The court case meant Icasa could not carry out its plan to grant an unlimited number of the more powerful licences to any hi-tech company that met some not-too-onerous criteria, Socikwa said. Instead, Icasa is just converting their existing licences into the weaker version to meet the new format required by the Electronic Communications Act. "If the court case wasn't going ahead we would have issued these licences to Internet service providers. Effectively, Altech has stopped all other ISPs (internet service providers) from getting one, " Socikwa said. The dominant operators would remain the sole providers of network infrastructure and other players would still be forced to lease bandwidth from them. Altech's objection has rankled rivals including Vox Telecom and Internet Solutions, which say it is an unnecessary delay to liberalisation. Icasa planned to grant a network-building licence to any company that was at least 30% black-owned, had the cash to construct a national network, the skill to operate it properly and a sound business plan to make it sustainable. "If they met these criteria we'd give them a licence. It wasn't going to be competitive. We sought to introduce competition as soon as possible but Altech has diminished that opportunity," Socikwa said. Altech CEO Craig Venter has described the legal challenge as a matter of principle, saying the licence conversion process is flawed. Fuzzy issues about which companies were entitled to do what, and who would be awarded a licence, needed to be clarified before any were granted, he said. The high court hearing is set down for July 29. (Source: Business Day) South African’s Broadband over Power Lines company gets investorInvestment group Safika Holdings had agreed to buy a majority stake in Goal Technology Solutions (GTS), a company that provides high-speed data services over power lines, GTS confirmed this week. GTS has been on sale since last year following the death in September of major shareholder and chairman, Miko Rwayitare. The company is part of Rwayitare's empire, Mikcor Investment Holdings (MIH). GTS, which lost a pay television licence last year, needs cash and a partner to accelerate its growth in the local market. According to reports, the buyer will acquire 80 percent of the company. GTS confirmed that Safika would buy a controlling stake but would not elaborate. Safika was not available for comment. Patrice Lasserre, GTS's chief operating officer, said several companies including Telkom were interested in the company. "We believe we have a very good business." GTS's customers include 3,000 households that access broadband over electricity power lines. It uses a combination of cable and fibre to provide services in Tshwane, Heidelberg and Nelspruit. The group had a substantial number of paying clients. Lasserre said the number was increasing every week. It had agreements with municipalities to provide the services. "Now that we have good partners … we will definitely look at other models," he said. These could include offering contract packages and other bundled products to clients. GTS has 52 employees, a presence in Rwanda and Uganda, and a pilot project in Angola. According to technology newswire ITweb, the draft shareholders' agreement stipulates that the buyer would have power to appoint the chief executive, the chief technical officer, the chief financial officer and the board chairman. Some of MIH's subsidiaries are being reviewed and might be put on sale. These include a Franschhoek-based hotel. MIH said the hotel was not for sale. But it confirmed that several subsidiaries would be sold. Safika has investments in financial services, property and natural resources. The company recently parted ways with its chief executive, Vuli Cuba, after he reduced his stake in Safika to buy a majority shareholding in subsidiary SafikaTel, a specialist technology firm. (Source: Business Report) In brief:- The Federal Government of Nigeria has ordered all Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to only access their information technology network through the Galaxy Backbone Plc. The directive is to ensure that government and its agencies share information and have access to a common pool over a secured network. - The Algerina ISP EEPA will shortly launch a 5 services in one package comprising a simple phone line and two easy-to-handle pieces of customer equipment. The Algerian-made new offer called Five Play, will help EEPAD’s subscribers take advantage of a broadband Internet connection (ASSILA), unlimited telephony (ASSILABOX), cinema, e-learning, music and games, Chief Executive Officer Nouar Harzallah at a press conference. - Orange Botswana has launched the WiMAX-based broadband internet service dubbed Livebox, reports Telecompaper. Speeds of up to 1Mbps are available to initially 90% of residents in Gaborone. The company launched a similar service in Cameroon in April.
Nigeria is betting on E-Tourism products to revamp the industryThe Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode, said the recent launching of e-Tourism products would re-shape the tourism industry. He said the e-products were intended to utilize the numerous advantages of the global Information Communication Technology (ICT) status to promote both domestic and international tourism. He said the just concluded two-day national workshop on the implementation of the Nigerian Tourism Development Master Plan and e-Tourism products provided stakeholders unique opportunities to acquire skills to enable them implement the Tourism Master Plan inline with global ICT status. The five e-Tourism products launched were: the National Tourism Portal, State Tourism Portals, Tour Nigeria Monthly Publication, Tourism Cash Card, Tourism VolP Solution and Farin Ruwa Eco-Tourism Development Project. A communiqué made available to Travel and Leisure after the workshop said the aim of the event was to actively engage and show the participants how the three tiers of governance at federal, state and local government levels would implement the master plan and manages their tourism related activities through correct deployment of ICT tools. Participants according to the communiqué, called on the federal and state governments to create the necessary enabling environment in partnership with the organised private sector to fund, package market tourism products and infrastructure located in each of the 774 local governments in the country. The theme of the workshop was "Strategic Issues in the Implementation of the Nigerian Tourism Development Master Plan, while the sub-theme was Mainstreaming ICT into the Nigerian Tourism Development Master Plan" (Source; Daily Trust) E-Learning Taking Root in Education Institutions in KenyaThe days when children came home with dozens of books to finish homework are numbered. Online homework is now being introduced in some Kenyan schools and online companies such as AccessKenya are cashing in on the concept. As the city's top schools and universities continue to incorporate the Internet's resources into studies, the move will create an academic divide between the children who have Internet access at home, and those who don't. According to research, children with computers and Internet access at home and at school perform better in some subjects than those who do not. In the US, educators are now introducing a model where schools provide each student with a laptop, which has Internet connectivity. The laptop holds almost all of the student's work, and interfaces directly into the school's Intranet and records. The UK is testing similar programmes, against the backdrop of a government commitment to eventual home Internet access for all pupils. Will this work in Kenya? According to a survey by Access Kenya Group, Nairobi's leading education institutions are all moving towards e-learning. The University of Nairobi has said e-learning is the only way of efficiently managing a student body. Kenyatta University now provides wide-ranging e-learning and online materials and United States International University has moved further still, building a system for online studying in all its courses. Local schools such as St Mary's School, Braeburn, Peponi, Consolata Shrine, Rusinga and Peponi are all fully connected with their own Intranet systems, which they have integrated into curriculum-driven studies. However, Dr Andrew Riechi of the Institute of Policy Analysis and Research said the lack of a policy framework on e-learning has hampered development of technology in school. But Nancy Imunde of AccessKenya is enthusiastic about the niche that will be served due to the changes " The next important step for us, as a group, was to offer broadband to home users. The evidence is that many households now need this service to keep top students abreast of everyday learning material." (Source: Business Daily) ODF translation to be simplified by South African IT companySouth African localisation experts, Translate.org.za, have launched a new project to simplify ODF document translation. The project aims to develop software that will convert documents in the ISO-approved OpenDocument format (ODF) into XLIFF, a standard format used by translators. The process will convert just the text of ODF documents into the XLIFF format for translation and then convert translated text back into the OpenDocument format. Dwayne Bailey, managing director of Translate.org.za, says that “this software will allow us to support the South African government’s drive to open standards, and to help translators, not only in South Africa but across the globe, to work more quickly and with higher accuracy.” The OpenDocument format is an ISO standard for information exchange of office documents. It has been approved as by the SABS, South Africa’s standards bureau, and was adopted by the South African government at the end of October last year. With the conversion of the ODF document into the XLIFF format, a human translator will be able to work more effectively. The translator will be able to perform the work in any specialised translation tool that reads XLIFF and will not be limited by the program in which the original document was created. This leads to increased translation quality and speed, which benefits both the translator and the customer, says Bailey. The project is being funded by a grant from the NLnet Foundation, a Netherlands-based donor organisation focused on open standards and open source software. Translate.org.za will collaborate with Itaapy - a French based organisation focused on content management solutions. The final software will be released as open source software, says Bailey. (Source: Tectonic) In brief:- Four students from Makerere University in Uganda are to represent East African universities in this year's Microsoft Imagine Challenge Cup world finals to be held in France next month. - An observatory of information and communication technologies (ICT) will be "shortly" set up, announced the new Algerian Post and Information and communication Technologies (ICT) Minister Hamid Bessalah in Algiers. The observatory, which aims to contribute to building the information society, will have a website for in order to access all the reliable and real-time information. - Rwanda’s National Post Office will soon upgrade its mail delivery service by extending the Virtual Private Network (VNP), a facility that connects the headquarters to all postal agencies all over the country. - Participants in the international symposium on " Information and Communication Technologies in education," held on June 26-27 in the northern suburb of Gammarth, adopted the "Declaration of Tunis for the use of ICTs in education," stressing the commitment of the French-speaking community to build-up the knowledge society. - Netgear trumpeted the release of the WGR614L, hardware the company is calling the “first open source router”. The new router supports both Tomato and DD-WRT firmware which makes it possible for users to hack the router to meet their own needs. To date Tomato and DD-WRT have been unofficially used on Netgear as well as other routers.
Meditel to invest MAD 4.2 billion in MoroccoMoroccan telecoms operator Meditel will invest MAD 4.2 billion over the next two years to keep up with market growth and introduce new services, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The sum (MAD 4.2 billion) will help Meditel develop its data services and seize more of Morocco's promising Internet market, which has a relatively low national access rate of 1.7%. The investment will also allow the company to develop its GSM and 3G networks and compete with rival Maroc Telecom in mobile network coverage. “This investment is a fundamental element in ensuring profitable and durable growth in an increasingly competitive sector”, said Meditel's Managing Director, Mohamed Elmandjra. Meditel said it would cover MAD 3.28 billion of the investment from its own funds, and the rest will be paid by a group of Moroccan banks, including BMCE, Atijariwafabank, Banque Central Populaire, Credit Agricole du Maroc and BMCI. (Source: Morocco Business News) Skannet Shareholders Endorse Merger in NigeriaShareholders of Skannet, one of Nigeria’s service providers in the country have approved the proposed merger of the company with smaller organisations in its bid to stay afloat in the wireless communications market. The chairman of the company, Dr. Lani Sogbetun,said that the merger became imperative because of the huge financial investment costs in the telecommunications industry, which Skannet would not be able to shoulder alone. He told the board members that the company cannot achieve the desired level of growth, if it concentrates only on organic growth and expansion. He added that the company has weighed all options and believes that the Skannet is ripe enough to acquire smaller companies or even merge with a company of the same structure to create a more formidable entity. Sogbetun added that in the proposed restructuring of the company, the board has commissioned a management consulting firm to examine the structure and operations of the company to assist in determining the areas that need specific and urgent intervention for the continued survival of the company. He said that the company has witnessed increased competition from the activities of the CDMA providers who also offer Internet services. He hinted that the low cost of acquisition of the CDMA devices puts the company at an advantage initially when it was able to respond with the Access for All {AXS4ALL}, which has performed well in the market. The introduction of the product, Sogbetun maintained, raised the demand for the services of the company. "But due to the financial requirements to maintain the needed inventory, we could not get the needed financial assistance from the banks leading to a slow down to our market penetration", he said. He admitted that telecommunications is a field that requires a huge capital outlay hence the need for consistent evaluation of opportunities and technology if a company is to remain relevant. The Skannet boss expressed misgivings at the degeneration of power supply, which he noted has stretched the services of the company. He noted that electricity, which hitherto was a small input into the business creped from a mere 1 per cent of costs to almost 8 per cent over just one year. Commenting on the company's financial performance, Sogbetun noted that turnover increased by just 1.7 per cent from N148 million in 2005 to N150.5 million in the year 2006, while profit after tax increased by 315 per cent from N2.9 million to N12.1 million. Earnings per share according to him, increased by 275 per cent from N0.04 to N0.15. He pointed out that it was noteworthy that Internet service prices were adjusted such that Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) dropped by 23 per cent from N14,754 per customer per month in April 2006 to N11,405 per customer per month in December 2006. He therefore, said the small revenue increase is from the growth in the company's customer base. He also hinted that the company plans to expand to places like Lagos and Abuja but that paucity of funds did not really allow this. (Source: This Day) Huge Group Cuts Off MTN on iTalk Deal in South AfricaThe Huge Group said in a statement last week, Monday, 30 June 2008, that it intends to oppose the transaction between MTN and iTalk on the basis that the transaction between MTN and iTalk substantially lessens competition in SA's mobile telecommunications market. In this regard the Huge Group intends to make formal and legal submissions to the competition authorities. Last Friday, MTN Group Limited made public their intention to exercise their pre-emptive right to acquire the balance of the 59% of the shares held by the Bebinchand Seevnarayan Trust in iTalk Cellular (Proprietary) Limited. The actual status of the transaction concluded between the Huge Group and the Bebinchand Seevnarayan Trust in relation to iTalk requires further elaboration: Huge Group has not abandoned its own transaction related to iTalk. In order to avoid any doubt in this regard the Huge Group released a SENS announcement to the JSE Limited: this announcement was released late on Friday afternoon, 27 June 2008. In this announcement the Huge Group confirmed that it is aware that MTN has exercised its pre-emptive rights in respect of iTalk; it was further confirmed that the transaction between the Huge Group and the Bebinchand Seevnarayan Trust remains in full force and effect but is subject to certain waivers and approvals from MTN, which waivers and approvals MTN are not prepared to provide at this point in time. The transaction between MTN and the Bebinchand Seevnarayan Trust is subject to unconditional approval by the Competition Tribunal. The Competition Commission will investigate the transaction between MTN and iTalk to ensure that this transaction does not "substantially lessen competition" in the South African mobile telecommunications industry. It will then make a recommendation to the Competition Tribunal who will make a judgement in respect of this case. The Huge Group would not oppose the transaction between MTN and iTalk if it felt that its opposition was without merit: in this regard the Huge Group is of the view that its case has substantial merit and the Huge Group remains confident about its position. In the event that the transaction between MTN and iTalk does not receive the unconditional approval of the Competition Tribunal then the Huge Group will proceed with the conclusion of its transaction with the Bebinchand Seevnarayan Trust in relation to the acquisition by the Huge Group of a controlling interest in iTalk. For now it is business as usual: all that this means is that the Huge Group will effectively have one further hoop to jump through in its effort to acquire a controlling interest in iTalk, the statement concluded. (Source: Biz-Community) Vodafone to challenge Western Union for overseas money transfersHaving achieved considerable success with money transfers in emerging markets--notably Kenya, Vodafone is now actively considering implementing a scheme that challenges the overseas money transfer incumbent Western Union. The initial focus will be the large number of migrant workers in the U.K., thought to be contributing between £2 billion and £5 billion of the total economy, who want to send money to India, Turkey, Egypt and South Africa using their handsets. Vodafone's existing m-pesa service is run in partnership with Citibank and is currently using the service for domestic money transfer schemes in developing countries, where people in cities send money back to families in rural areas. This experience will be used by Vodafone to launch its international service and compete with the well-established Western Union--although many believe at a substantially lower cost. (Source: Fierce Wireless) In brief:- Former Telkom CEO Papi Molotsane's Synglo Technologies has bought a 65% stake in value-added network service provider UniNet for an undisclosed sum. The deal has an ironic twist to it: Telkom, under Molotsane's leadership bitterly opposed UniNet's link up with the Municipality of Knysna to supply a WiFi Internet and voice network that has made the town the first in Africa to be wirelessly connected. - Zain, formerly Mobile Telecommunications Co, said yesterday its has won government approval for a $4.53 billion capital hike to finance foreign expansion. Zain's Africa Chief Executive said the firm was keen to acquire a licence to become South Africa's fourth mobile telephone operator, which the government of the African nation said could become available in 2009.
Celtel Targets Rural Kenyan Market with subsidised mobile handsetMobile telephone service providers look set to extend their turf battles to the rural areas, where the cost factor is the only lure for consumers. On Monday, Celtel Kenya unveiled a six-month promotion that entitles customers to free monthly airtime worth Sh300 for six months. However, to take advantage of the offer, one will have to purchase a low-cost phone, either a Nokia 1110i or a Motorola C118 each retailing at Sh2,100. "Our main focus is to make inroads into the rural markets by subsidising the costs of the handsets," said Celtel corporate communications director Michael Okwiri. Celtel is seeking to push up its mobile penetration in the country, currently at 35 per cent nationally for the entire telecommunications industry. The number of local subscribers has grown to over 15 million. Celtel's main rival, Safaricom, boasts of having hit the 11 million mark this year, which leaves the former with the remaining 4 million subscribers. Just recently, a new range of phones, Mi, costing between Sh1,500 and Sh3,500, hit the market, targeting the same low-end consumer. (Source: The Nation) Online Memorial Wall Keeps the Departed a Click Away in South AfricaA small hi-tech company that develops technologies for community use has set up a memorial website so that people can commemorate their loved ones. The online "memorial wall" allows people to post a photograph and obituary, which friends and family can build around by sending their own condolences, memories and thoughts. The system combines the Internet with cellular technologies so people can post comments directly to www.memorialwall.co.za by sending an SMS. The company behind the operation, Digital Bridging Technologies, does not charge anyone for creating a memorial web page, but will take a portion of the R3 charged for every SMS. Director Kate Elphick said the site was simple to use and had been developed especially for the townships. "Using a combination of web and mobile phone technologies we deliver the virtual world of the internet to people in the real world through their cellphones. The Memorial Wall is the first such project," she said. The biggest barriers to internet uptake are the lack of accessibility, a fear of the unknown and a lack of understanding of its benefits. Digital Bridging believes it has developed a website relevant to South Africans who may not understand the internet. The website will be a cheap way to create family memories. It can also be printed to distribute at funerals, posted or e-mailed to people living far away. Every year the client will be asked to reconfirm by SMS that they want the wall to stay up for another year. In time additional services will include advice on what to do when somebody dies, who to notify and how a deceased estate is administered. "The idea is to take away the unnecessary pain that comes with not knowing what to do next, and to demonstrate the relevance of the internet to all South Africans," Elphick said. Digital Bridging Technologies is based in Pretoria's Innovation Hub, which is an incubation centre for small technology outfits. (Source: Business Day)
People* Tibou Kamara has been appointed Minister of Communication and ICT in Guinea (Conakry). * In Algeria, Hamid Bessalah is now head of the Ministry of Post and ICT. * Montassar Ouali has been appointed as the new CEO of Tunisie Telecom. * Econet Kenya, the soon to be third mobile phone service provider has picked Michael Foley to oversee the roll-out of its services. Econet also announced the appointment of three other senior executives: Shailendra Khare as Chief Technical Officer, Philip Mudimu as Project Director and Anne Othoro as the Marketing Director. Events* UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY FOR SOCIAL IMPACT 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/ * ITU REGIONAL CYBERSECURITY FORUM FOR EASTERN AND SOUTHERN AFRICA 25-28 August 2008, Lusaka, Zambia The purpose of the forum is to identify the main challenges faced by countries in the region in developing frameworks for cybersecurity and critical information infrastructure protection, to consider best practices, share information on development activities being undertaken by ITU as well as other entities, and review the role of various actors in promoting a culture of cybersecurity. For further information visit www.itu.int/ITU-D/cyb/events/2008/lusaka/ * 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* Head of IT – West Africa The company, a West-African Mobile Phone network, is seeking a Head of IT to manage all aspects of their IT systems and Enterprise Solutions environment. Reporting to the CEO, the Head of IT will have full responsibility for a number of vital technical issues including: Enterprise Solution enhancements/upgrades; Configuration management; User acceptance testing coordination; Change and release management; Operational analysis and reporting; IT Project Management; IT service desk. The Head of IT will lead the future direction of enterprise systems within the company so will need to keep abreast of technological developments. Knowledge of telephony principals, especially IT infrastructure, UNIX systems, Oracle databases, LAN/WAN Networks and Security, will be vital for the role. The role will also entail maintaining third-party relationships with contractors and ensuring the IT training and development of all company staff. From a technical background, the ideal candidate will have excellent telecoms experience in a similar role. Fluency in English, French and/or Arabic would be advantageous. Salary: Negotiable, according to experience For further information contact advertising@balancingact-africa.com Contracts* Meditel and Inovacao - Morocco Meditel, Morocco’s second mobile operator has awarded a network upgrade contract to PT Inovacao, after the Portuguese vendor won an international tender to equip the Moroccan operator’s fibre-optic links with SDH systems developed with Netb@nd technology. PT Inovacao is part of the PT Group.
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