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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 413 Fight the power: Ghana’s insurgent challenger ISPs set to take on the vertical-integratorsGhana still has 7-10 active independent ISPs and the process of consolidation has not yet begun. Vertically integrated mobile operator MTN sniffed around for acquisitions and either decided against or has yet to announce. At least two companies are up for sale and further two show all the signs of their owners having lost interest in them. Once mobile operators’ backhaul networks are upgraded, the likes of MTN, Zain (Celtel) and the new entry Vodafone (which will become the major DSL player) will start to put some really serious pressure on the market. Russell Southwood looks at the business strategies of those who want to be around after this happens. South African-based iBurst recently raised over US$200 million from the Development Bank of South Africa and is aggressively rolling out in a number of countries including: Congo-Brazzaville, DRC, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. Its South African company is separately owned but there are overlapping shareholders. It operates a proprietary Wi-Fi technology (on 802.3B) licensed from Kyocera. Kyocera will release an upgrade to 4 mbps next year and because the technology is proprietary, the upgrade times are potentially shorter. It has 10 base stations operational and will roll out two more in the next few months. These both provide backhaul and cover the greater Accra area (Accra itself and Tema). The radio towers connecting Accra and Tema also serve customers along the route. It plans to roll-out in this way to Kumasi and Takoradi. By provisioning in this way it hopes to overcome high backhaul prices where they exist and control the speed and quality of their network. It claims that one of the largest players in the market has up to 40% downtime with its offer. Customer devices are proprietary so cost between US$200-500 which the company subsidises by offering an equivalent amount of pre-loaded, pre-paid use. South African CEO in Ghana Loren Bosch sings a very similar song to Orange: to paraphrase, it’s the not the technology, stupid. Customers want a useful service and don’t much care if it’s delivered by tin cans or the wibbly-wooper. The brand has to be instantly recognizable and create a clear emotional connection with users. As Bosch says:”Being a solution provider, where DSL is in place and I can’t provide coverage, I will provide a DSL service.” In practical terms, this means it has its own technology but will buy connectivity from others if it works and it’s at the right price. As Bosch says:”My current cost of bandwidth is bigger than my payroll.” And although it currently buys SAT3 capacity under the GISPA agreement, it is keen to develop options to buy this same capacity directly as prices come down. The iBurst technology is already voice-ready but not mobile. So although Bosch is keen to make clear that it’s not possible in the local legislative environment, iBurst is planning to offer voice as an “leader product” in DRC where it is currently testing. On this basis it wants to form alliances with voice partners needing last mile access to customers. It estimates that the total number of Ghanaian subscribers is 30,000 but that there is potential to go up to 200,000-250,000, of which iBurst would like to acquire a 10% share. Currently it has 1,400 active subscribers so although there is clearly a long way to go, it has a plan that addresses many of the challenges that the larger vertically-integrated competitors will begin to impose. In the same spirit, we make no apologies for returning to Kasapa’s relationship with local ISPs. As the small outsider in the mobile market with good data provisioning, it decided to offer local ISPs a revenue-sharing partnership based on offering ISPs last mile access to customers across its coverage area. Hosting is on the ISP’s server and the revenue is split 60/40 in favour of the ISP. The advantage for the small, independent ISP is that it can reach a geographically more diverse customer base: Kasapa has coverage in 7 out of Ghana’s ten regions and reaches 70% of the population and intends to extend its coverage area. The advantage for Kasapa is that it brings much needed income to its network. There are seven ISPs signed up but one is a corporate back-up option and another has not yet commenced service. The five current users are: Busy Internet, NetAfrique, KNet, Ecoband, Afrinet and Teledata. The two biggest users are NetAfrique and Teledata. There are currently 2,200 subscribers accessing the system, of which two-thirds do so on a daily basis. This sounds modest but this is on the basis that the wholesale-retail arrangement has not been actively marketed and is not yet completely set up. It is going to be introducing EVDO within the next 6-9 months and it wants to keep the number of users limited up until that point. Being an ISP now requires serious capital investment and a clear understanding that retail customers are the next area of growth. In order that challenger ISPs are not completely dependent on the bandwidth of their competitors, they need to be able to find technologies that will deliver high volumes of capacity to large numbers of people in more cost-effective ways. They need to stop thinking like technologists and start working out how to connect with a wider subscriber base, not just the easy ones in the capital cities. The new vertically-integrated mobile operators have terrific advantages but they are not invincible. With more mobile players entering the market (particularly with five or more players), there will always be one with outsider status with whom alliances can be formed. The infrastructure investors may in time come to understand that they have a wholesale function to play if they are to recover their investment. The arrival of triple play bundles will force new alliances as competing contenders seek to arrange all of the different elements of the bundle. There may yet be life after the vertical integrators take over….
Sotelma is finally up for privatisation in MaliMali’s Government has published a call for tender for the privatisation of the Société des Télécommunications du Mali ("Sotelma"). Below is an extract of the call. The Government of the Republic of Mali (the « Government »), as part of its telecommunications sector reform, has decided to privatize Sotelma under the financial advice of the investment bank Linkstone Capital. The privatisation strategy is as follows : 1. A 51% stake will be sold to a Strategic Partner that meets the prequalification criteria; 2. A 19% stake will be sold in a public offer ; 3. 10% of the share capital will be reserved for the employees of Sotelma. After completion of these three tranches, the Government will hold a 20% residual shareholding. Sotelma's key operational highlights as at 31 December 2007 were as follows: - Provider of fixed line and mobile telephony services. - A network of about 90.000 fixed lines, 100% digitalized. - 480.000 mobile subscribers. - Revenues of about 70 billions FCFA (approximately 107 millions Euros) and an EBITDA of about 25,2 billions FCFA (approximately 39 millions Euros) Interested potential investors are invited to submit their expressions of interest (the « Dossiers de Candidature ») according to the rules specified in the Prequalification Document (the « Prequalification Document ») which includes (i) a summarized presentation of SOTELMA, (ii) the prequalification criteria and (iii) the information that must be submitted by potential investors. The Prequalification Document is available upon simple request addressed to the Advisor. An Investors' Conference will take place July 3 2008 in Paris and the Dossiers de Candidature must be received at the latest on 22 July 2008 at 6pm Bamako time. Investors that are pre-qualified directly or conditionally will be notified at the latest on 28 July 2008 and will receive the Bidding Document which contains the Bidding Rules, the Information Memorandum and the Legal Documentation. More details on the call for tenders can be found at http://www.economist.com/classifieds/view_ad.cfm?sitd=7084&sitd_type=T Botswana to Commence Registration of Pre-paid Mobile PhonesThe registration of pre-paid mobile subscribers will begin on 15 September 2008. This was determined by the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) after due consultations with the three Public Telecommunications Operators (PTOs) – Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC), Mascom Wireless Botswana (Pty) Ltd and Orange Botswana (Pty) Ltd. Accordingly, the BTA has given the three PTOs a two-month period that is, from 14 July 2008 to 14 September 2008 (both dates inclusive) to set up all the necessary processes and related systems. Thereafter, the three PTOs will start the actual registration which is expected to last for fifteen (15) months (15 September 2008 – 31 December 2009) for new and existing sim-card holders. At the end of the fifteen months registration period, subscribers who would not have registered will be disconnected and they will have to purchase new sim-cards to be registered. The BTA wishes to inform the general public that the registration of pre-paid mobile subscribers is a licence requirement for the three PTOs and is in line with international best practices. The PTOs who use agents for pre-paid mobile business will have to ensure that their agents abide by this order as provided for in their respective licences. The Guidelines on registration of pre-paid customers will be available from the PTOs. Cell One cleared Over Trustco Mobile activities in NamibiaThe communication regulator and Cell One have smoked the peace pipe over the operations of Namibia’s Trustco Mobile. The Namibia Communication Commission (NCC) has, however, asked Cell One and Trustco Mobile to clearly state, in their promotional materials, the airtime value and that it is being bought from Cell One and not from Trustco Mobile. Trustco Mobile sells virtual mobile airtime on behalf of Cell One. Only the airtime is sold in exchange for a one-month life cover insurance to consumers, which could be up to N$100000. "We have no issues with Trustco Mobile," said David Imbili, the Chairman of NCC. Cell One and Trustco Mobile have already rectified the problem and issued new advert materials that clearly tell consumers that the airtime sold is from Cell One. Imbili said the NCC met with Cell One who clarified the operations of Trustco Mobile. The NCC was earlier concerned that Trustco Mobile, the joint venture between Cell One and Trustco group is operating as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), something that the current NCC legislation does not permit. "We have met and there is nobody operating an MVNO," Imbili said. The term MVNO refers to an operator without network licence who goes into partnership with an existing mobile network operator to piggyback on the network. Imbili said unlike with Virgin Mobile in South Africa, Trustco Mobile is not using Cell One's network. Spokesperson for Cell One, Rejoice Itembu, had earlier maintained that Trustco Mobile is merely a distributor of Cell One airtime, just as with many other airtime distributors. "The only difference is Trustco Mobile added some value-added services to the package," said Itembu. (Source: New Era) Stolen Handsets Could Be Blocked Throughout West AfricaThe National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) Tuesday said that it would soon introduce an anti-theft device that will render any stolen telephone handset unusable within the West African sub-region. The President of NATCOMS, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, told journalists on Tuesday in Lagos that two countries, Ghana and the Republic of Benin had been contacted while efforts were being made to convince other countries in the sub-region to embrace the idea. "The Republics of Benin and Ghana are readily available while we are still going to contact other countries in the sub-region," Ogunbanjo said. Speaking on the plan by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to introduce a device that will render any stolen handset unusable by December, Ogunbanjo described the move as a welcome development. He, however, said that his organisation decided to include other countries in West Africa because stolen phones in Nigeria could be used in any of the countries in the region. (Source: APA) In brief:- Reuters is reporting that the auction for the second fixed line licence in Egypt has been postponed. A date of 18 September has been given for the auction, with the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) citing global market conditions as one of the reasons for the postponement. This is the second time that the auction has been delayed, with the original date having been set as 19 June, and subsequently delayed to 29 July. Companies that have expressed an interest in the licence include France Telecom, Orascom Telecom, Giza Systems and Noor Financial Company. - In Nigeria, Head of Corporate Communications at Transcorp, Adedayo Ojo has publicly denied that Transcorp has a plan to sell, lease or concession the SAT3 gateway. - Portugal Telecom (PT) has formally concluded the transfer of the management of fixed line PTO Guine Telecom and mobile operator Guinetel to the government of Guinea-Bissau, reports the local Lusa News Agency citing officials as saying. On 15 May 2008 CommsUpdate reported that the decision to transfer PT’s management of the two operators had been agreed in principle after the Portuguese firm effectively turned its back on the two companies. In a statement at the time the government said: ‘with the prolonged absence of PT and its refusal to call together the governing bodies of Guine Telecom and Guinetel, abandonment has been confirmed.’ It went on to say that it had rejected a call from the Portuguese firm to sell its stake in the GSM operator to a buyer of its own choice. It is understood the transfer of control to the government was formalised at the end of last week. - Celtel Nigeria announced it has commenced phase payments of compensation of N175 as directed by the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) to its subscribers.. - An Accra Fast Track High Court (FTC) determining the ownership status of "Kasapa Telecom" between the Ghanaian corporate entity, Kludjeson International Limited (KIL) and its overseas business counterparts, Hutchison Telecommunications Limited and Certwell Limited, has opened the floodgate for evidence to be adduced by the litigating parties. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- The publicly owned Mozambican mobile phone company Mcel is planning to invest about US$70 million in infrastructures for its network. This strategy will call for the opening of 110 new base stations in the areas covered by its network, this being just part of the 200 planned for opening this year. Recently, the company extended its services to the Tete Corridor, in the west of the country, between the cities of Tete and Chimoio, with 12 new base stations. - Eritrian mobile operator, Eritel has announced that the town of Nacfa thas now access to 24-hour mobile phone service. Previously mobile phone service in the town was limited to only 8 hours. - In a move meant to keep the competition alive, Celtel Kenya has launched an 'unlimited talk' service that will see its subscribers make on-net calls everyday between 6am to 6pm at a flat rate of Sh99. - Uganda Telecom has deployed its 3G mobile broadband service, which now enables its subscribed clients fast Internet access on their laptop computers or desktop PCs in the capital Kampala and two other towns, namely Jinja town (80 kilometres east of Kampala) and Entebbe town (35 kilometres south west of Kampala). - Celtel Kenya customers can now access both data and voice services while in Nigeria. This follows the signing of a roaming agreement with Celtel Nigeria last week making it possible for customer travelling to the West African nation to use General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) services while roaming. - Nine South African writers have written original 28-chapter short stories to be read on cellphones as part of a larger MOBfest initiative, which inspires innovative content creation on the mobile platform. - Pirate handsets are selling at 30% of what you would pay for a genuine branded handset in Ghana.
GLO connects Southern Nigeria to its national fibre networkNational Telecom Operator Globacom has connected the Eket, Akwa Ibom, axis to its high capacity Optic Fibre telecommunication transmission backbone. The Eket-Port Harcourt route is the first such commissioning of the Glo Optic Fibre network in the South-South part of the country. The operator had recently commissioned the Abuja-Minna, Onitsha-Awka, Owerri-Onitsha and Enugu-Awka legs of the project. It is expected that the launch in Eket would lead to a major improvement in the quality of telecom services in Akwa Ibom and Rivers states and adjoining communities. The Eket section of the optic fibre backbone is expected to connect residents of the oil rich Akwa Ibom and Rivers states to world class telecommunication services and bigger business opportunities. The fibre cable network has already covered the entire Lagos - Abeokuta-Ibadan route, Lagos-Ijebuode-Ore-Benin-Sapele-Warri-Kaima (Yenegoa junction) - Port Harcourt route, Port Harcourt-Aba-Owerri-Enugu, Onitsha-Awka route and the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano and Abuja-Minna routes. Other major cities to be covered in the first phase of the project which will span 10,000 km include Enugu-Oturkpo-Makurdi, Markudi-Lafia-Abujaand Ibadan-Ilorin-Jebba-Mokwa-Bida-Minna-Abuja routes. (Source: This Day) Safaricom Extends Broadband Internet Service to Mombasa in KenyaResidents of Mombasa will enjoy broadband Internet access after mobile phone firm, Safaricom, extended its services to the coastal town. Customers have the option of accessing the Internet through 3G enabled devices that range from data cards, broadband modems and phones. Safaricom's move will increase competition in the sector coming a few days after rival company, Celtel, launched its own Internet service. The service targets busy professionals looking to be productive while on the move and business owners among others. Safaricom has invested a total of Sh1.9 billion ($30 million) in license fees and infrastructure development to launch the Internet venture. Michael Joseph, Safaricom's chief executive officer, said the service will eliminate perennial challenges of limited network infrastructure and expensive Internet access alternatives The broadband service, which was initially available only in Nairobi, will now be rolled out to other major urban centres countrywide before the end of the year. Where the service is not available, the Safaricom modem will automatically access Safaricom's EDGE/GPRS network, which is available throughout the country. (Source: The Nation) Internet Solutions creates business incubator for Internet ideasEntrepreneurs with ideas on how to improve the internet are being offered funding and mentoring by Internet Solutions in an effort to turn bright ideas into potential businesses. The technology company has formed a new division, IS Labs, to incubate early-stage concepts that will make the Internet more user-friendly or more relevant to users. As well as providing funding to develop the ideas, the company will also offer access to its skilled engineers, technical facilities and its network of business contacts. "We are trying to improve the Internet in South Africa," product development manager Jeff Fletcher said. "If you have an idea for something that will make the Internet better, come to us and we will give you the resources to get the idea to a prototype. Then we will decide if it's a business we want to invest in." IS Labs will work in two ways: to support entrepreneurs with the potential to develop the idea themselves, and for less technically savvy people to describe their idea on a public forum for discussion. If an idea gets a lot of support and looks feasible, IS Labs will appoint someone to develop it. The company is also encouraging its staff to be more innovative, so employees with an interesting plan will be given time and resources to develop it. Internet Solutions is part of Johannesburg and London listed Dimension Data, but the IS Labs unit has been set up separately because it is investing in projects that may never make money. Ideas could include new compression technology to transmit data more quickly, or a new website. If the idea attracts more local users, gives them a better experience or shifts more traffic to local sites and off expensive international bandwidth, Internet Solutions would benefit indirectly, Fletcher said. The company expects to sponsor two developers for two months to develop their ideas. The entrepreneur will have to allow Internet Solutions to take a stake in the fledgling business if it is commercially viable, but if the company does not want to invest in the prototype it will help the entrepreneur find financial or technical support elsewhere so the idea survives. (Source: Business Day) In brief:- Seacom, the venture capital company that is laying a cable down the east coast of Africa, says the first length of cable will slip below the waves just over two months from now. Thee cable is in the final stages of manufacturing and the first shipload will be deployed around September. - As part of efforts to roll out Nigeria’s e-governance project, the Plateau State government has commenced the training of 36 officials that would eventually man the respective Internet connectivity mini-hub stations in the 17 local government headquarters that are linked to the central hub station situated at the Ministry for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, in Jos, the state capital. - In Uganda, Makerere University engineering students are the beneficiaries of the iLabs project, which involves using online laboratories. The project is a brain child of the Massachussets Institute of Technology in the US. Other African universities using iLabs technology are Tanzania's University of Dar-es-Salaam and Nigeria's Obafemi-Alowo University. - The US Trade Development Agency announced funding for two feasibility studies: one will look at the technical feasibility and viability of a metro fibre ring in Liberia’s capital Monrovia to be delivered by LTC and the other will examine creating a national backbone for Niger and will be delivered by Seaquest Infotel Niger.
Sahara Computers to set up Assembly Plant in MozambiqueA factory assembling computers is to be set up in Maputo this year, resulting from a partnership between the Mozambican government's Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (MICTI) and the South African company, Sahara computers Currently, the building where the factory will operate is undergoing rehabilitation. This should be concluded within two months, and then all the necessary equipment will be installed. According to Jamo Macanze, the MICTI official in charge of nurturing new companies in the computer field, the factory will have a minimum capacity to assemble 100 computers a day, and should begin to operate at the end of this year. He said that the production of the computers would take place in phases, and the quantity produced would depend on the business model and the response from the Mozambican market. The cost of the imported components would be the factor that determined the price of the computers. "Right now, we are discussing fiscal incentives with the Investment Promotion Centre (CPI) for the import of components", he said. "If we achieve such tax exemptions, the computers will be cheap, but if don't they could be more expensive". He added "we're waiting for the conclusion of the revision of the customs tariff list, which will establish new rates and exemptions for technology imports". The total investment in setting up the factory is estimated at around a million US dollars, much of which is being spent on rehabilitating the building. (Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique) Microsoft Sign Sh2 Billion Pact with Uganda ComtelMicrosoft and a local firm, Comtel Integrators Africa, have signed a sh2b agreement to develop localised software and provide related services. "We are investing sh2b in this project that will produce software for the whole of sub-Saharan Africa and the medium information technology (IT) market in the region," Microsoft's director for communications, John Creed, said. He said the software would allow all businesses to utilise IT to develop. "The initiative will contribute towards bridging the digital divide in Africa and reduce entry barriers for businesses to invest in efficient IT infrastructure," he told a press conference after the signing ceremony. Creed signed the agreement with Comtel's director for business development, Wayne Robinson, in Kampala. The project will initially serve Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Malawi. "Businesspeople who want to utilise Microsoft's and local independent software vendors' technologies can do it without large investments in infrastructure," Creed said. (Source: New Vision) ISO dismisses OOXML appeal by emerging countriesThe International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has dismissed appeals by emerging market leaders SA, Brazil, India and Venezuela on the publication of Microsoft's Office Open XML (OOXML). Heads of the ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) released a recommendation to the ISO Technical Management Board (TMB), saying the board should dismiss appeals that were lodged. In April, SA became the first country to appeal against the widely criticised process to fast-track OOXML as an international document standard. India, Brazil and Venezuela joined SA to successfully prevent the standard being fully ratified. Shuttleworth Foundation fellow Andrew Rens says the recommendation is a blow for the emerging markets and could well destroy the credibility of the ISO. “The CEOs of these organisations have failed to acknowledge the gravity of the situation.” He says the response is an attempt to minimise the issues raised by the countries that lodged appeals. “It looks like a way for them to avoid dealing with the problem.” owever, Rens believes the recommendation is not the end of the road for SA and its emerging market partners. “Now the TMB needs to decide whether to follow the recommendation or not.” If the TMB decides not to follow the recommendation, it will be coup for the appellants, but an unprecedented move, says Rens. “It would be like the board of a company overriding the decision of the CEO.” The next step for the ISO is for the TMB to vote on each appeal, with each member being entitled to vote yes, no or abstain on one or the other of the resolutions, which are either to not process the appeal at all, or to process one or more of the appeals. In its appeal document, the South African Bureau of Standards questioned the integrity of its international counterpart: “SA wishes to register its deep concern over the increasing tendency of international organisations to use the JTC 1 processes to circumvent the consensus-building process that is the cornerstone to the success and international acceptance of ISO and IEC standards.” The ISO and IEC have also dismissed Brazil's appeal as irrelevant, since it does not appear to be a participating member. Rens says it is “absurd” to allow the country to vote in the process, but not to allow it to appeal. Despite worldwide criticism on the credibility of the process followed during the ratification of OOXML, the document states categorically that due procedure has been followed. This statement is largely the basis for the organisations' dismissal of the appeal claims. The document says: “All judgments made during the course of the process were appropriately made under the directives. The fact that the BRM [ballot resolution meeting] voted on all proposed resolutions in some fashion satisfies the directives. The fact that a sufficient percentage of national bodies ultimately voted to approve DIS 29500 ratifies the process and any flaws in that process; and many objections, regardless of their merits, are irrelevant to the appeals process.” Another factor the document details is that countries, specifically India, did not stipulate changes to the specification in its appeal document. Rens slams this, saying: “The OOXML specification has never been published, so there is no way that India could have made changes.” According to the ratification process rules, the standard should be published one month after the ratification, so that appellants have a chance to review the standard and make changes. However, according to Rens, OOXML is still a mystery to most countries. (Source: ITWeb) In brief:- To increase computer literacy among Sierra Leoneans, the country's parliament have passed an act allowing the government to remove all duties related to importing computers into the country. - Tanzania’s judiciary system will automate some of its operations to expedite court proceedings and deliver justice with minimal hindrances. - Chinese-based Information Technology Company, Spur Group is to establish a multi-million dollar manufacturing plant to produce computing hardware and soft ware in Nigeria. - The Linux Professional Institute (LPI) no longer has an official affiliate in South Africa. The Meraka Institute, the previous LPI affiliate in the country, recently discontinued its role as LPI affiliate in the country. - nCipher, a data protection software company, has appointed Networks Unlimited (Pty) as distributor for sub-Saharan Africa to support existing customers and further expand business in the region. - With Intrepid Ibex, the next version of Ubuntu Linux, just a few months away the development team has released details of the most pressing issues for the 8.10 release. Among these are better 3G integration, tighter Firefox integration in KDE, and faster boot times.
Fresh Row Erupts At TTCL Shareholding in TanzaniaTrouble is brewing again at the Tanzania Telecommunication Limited (TTCL) with some workers now demanding the government to review the company's shareholding and management contracts. Telecommunication Workers Union of Tanzania (Tewuta) officials said last week the shareholding contract between TTCL and Celtel International, and its management contract with Sasktel International Inc of Canada were "hampering the development the company". Tewuta secretary general Junus Ndaro said the presence of Celtel International as shareholders for 25 years was not good for the development of TTCL as the former was overbearing and working as a competitor. Flanked by other union officials, Ndaro told reporters they believed there was conflict of interest in the TTCL shareholding deal between Celtel International and the government. However, reacting to the union's concerns over the phone last week, Communications Deputy Minister Dr Maua Daftari denied knowledge of any trouble within TTCL, but said the government would wait for the union to submit its complaints so that they could be addressed appropriately. The workers want the government to sell its 35 percent shares in the company through the stock market to raise the company's capital. In addition, the workers said the new management under Sasktel had failed to show commitment to improving the performance of the company. "Since the foreign management has shown poor performance, the government should stop it immediately and return the company to local management for the benefit of this nation," said Mr Ndaro. He added that should the government fail to comply with the workers' demands, the courts would be an option for them to push for a scrutiny of the contracts, which they claimed had been suspiciously flouted in the past. Efforts to get a comment from Sasktel managers were futile as no one was available to respond to our queries on the issue. (Source: The Citizen) Vodafone gets reduced stake in Ghana Telecom’s dealA day after the Minority in Parliament raised issues over government's negotiations with Vodafone Plc UK, over the sale of 70% shares in Ghana Telecom (GT), government has announced that it had reached an agreement with the company, in a partnership deal for 50% shares in GT. Contrary to the Minority's claim that Vodafone's offer was $960 million with stringent caveats, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, says that in consideration of the agreement, GT's enterprise value is at approximately US$1.3 billion, which is subject to approval from Parliament. He stressed that the Government of Ghana (GOG) still retains a 30% stake in GT, adding that government had further reached an understanding with Vodafone, to float the remaining 20% GT shares on the Ghana Stock Market, as soon as possible. This was contained in a statement, issued and signed, by the Minister himself. According to him, the transaction would benefit Ghanaians, such that it will re-engineer GT to deliver a superior product, and service to Ghanaians in every part of the country, and also raise its (GTs) mobile market share, to provide competitive per minute call charge. The Minority said it was concerned about the general lack of openness and fairness, with which government was conducting negotiations. It claimed that government had included the National Fibre Optic backbone, constructed at the cost of $100 million, with a loan from China, which has never been part of GT's assets, saying, "we demand to know why this has been included as part of GT's assets, as the second phase of this ICT infrastructure highway is yet to commence." (Source: Ghanaian Chronicle) Nigeria’s Nitel is up for sale again, any buyer with deep pockets is welcomeThe Federal Government has said it would only consider best bidders in the process of privatisation of Nitel so as to conclude the issue in the interest of Nitel staff and the country. The Vice President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, said this when he received Vodafone Executives United Kingdom, at the state house in Abuja. Transcorp's Group Managing Director, Tom Iseghohi, has, however revealed that US$100m required for the interim restructuring of NITEL before the sale of some equity to a new core investor, has been set aside. Vodafone, led by the Company's Chief Executive Officer UK, Paul Donovad, was in Nigeria to seek an opportunity to invest in Nigeria's fast growing telecommunications sector. Iseghohi during an interactive session with top management staff of Nitel who pledged their loyalty to the quest of transforming Nitel in Abuja, disclosed that though the interim plan would not get Nitel out of the woods, but it will help reposition it to be able to attract the right kind of core investor envisaged by both Transcorp and the Federal Government which owns 49% equity in the company. Iseghohi reiterated that one of the key areas that needs a quick fix before this is possible is the backbone and transmission infrastructure of Nitel. He added that the plan is expected to begin to yield result within a period of three to four months. He also disclosed that Transcorp has moved to end the monthly leakage of about N1.7bn from Nitel. The General Manager in charge of audit of NITEL, Abdulkarim Momoh, in his remarks called for the probe of the company's investment in continental submarine cable popularly known as SAT-3. Momoh pointed out that even though SAT-3 has the capacity to generate funds to run NITEL, only a paltry part of the capacity was being utilised thereby leaving a lot that could have been tapped from the facility. (Source: This Day) GijimaAst, Home Affairs sign R2.5bn deal in South AfricaHome Affairs director-general Mavuso Msimang and GijimaAst officials signed a deal, said to be worth R2.5 billion, to transform the department. Aspects of the deal were recently referred to the auditor-general for investigation after persistent allegations of irregularities surrounding the processes followed to award the deal. Insiders have dismissed the claims as “sniping from the sides”. The deal, to implement the “Who am I online” project, has been touted as a key component in the DHA's turnaround strategy that started last May with the appointment of Msimang as director-general. “Who am I?” could potentially revolutionise the department by providing access to two core systems to branch offices and field teams. The national population register and the Home Affairs National Information System (Hanis) have, to date, only been accessible to officials at the DHA's Waltloo head office, resulting in the issuance of urgent documentation taking at least a week. With positive biometric verification at DHA offices around the country, temporary identity documents can be issued immediately. The NPR is a mainframe database containing the identity records of every living South African citizen, resident and deported illegal, while the Hanis automated fingerprint identification system contains their photographs and fingerprints. Hanis is used to verify identity and acts as a “guard dog” for the national population register. “Who am I” will allow DHA officials, border guards and immigration officers countrywide to check anyone's identity against the NPR and Hanis. “Who am I” will also simplify the visa application process for foreigners – which is why it is meant to be part of government's 2010 preparations. (Source: ITWeb) In brief:- In the wake of Algerie Telecom group’s partnership agreement with the Finnish network security solutions provider Stonesoft Corporation to supply integrated security solutions and continuity of services applications, the CEO of the AT, Moussa Benhamadi has confirmed the process of opening the company’s capital has started. A merchant bank has already studied the file and the calendar of the operation has now been submitted to the government. - The government of the People's Republic of China has confirmed assistance to Sierra Leone-owned telecommunication company, Sierratel, with the signing of an inter-governmental agreement that made available a concession loan (US$20million ) to support the rollout of a CDMA 2000 EVDO1X network by Sierratel. It doesn’t come as a surprise that Huawei Technologies has been chosen to provide the equipment and carry out the installation. - Neither Siemens South Africa nor Siemens internationally have been able to clarify whether South Africa will be affected by the company's global job cuts. According to both Siemens South Africa spokesman Greg Gibbons and Siemens Germany spokesman Monica Bruecklmeier, it is too soon to break down the job losses in terms of countries other than Germany.
Mobile Social Networks are New Advertising Medium for South AfricaA MXIT subscriber frantically punches some text before sending a message to a friend, who replies obligingly. Another acquaintance, chipping in on the conversation, introduces a new friend to the two buddies. This hypothetical exchange not only shows the entrenchment of mobile social networks such as MXit in SA - it is also part of an emerging advertising medium: mobile advertising. MXit, which is to cellphone users what FaceBook is to Internet users, has built a considerable subscriber base. According to its website, it has about 5.79-million subscribers, and the instant messenger is eagerly courting advertisers. "We have the ability to position advertising in your consumers' pockets. We can help you to establish your presence in future mobile technology now," MXit says on its website . Vodacom, which owns The Grid, a mobile social network that matches rival MTN's noknok, estimates that mobile advertising will grow to about R1.5bn by 2011. "Mobile social networks have the potential to attract advertising in the same way that internet-based social networks are already attracting significant amounts of advertising," says Vodacom SA's commercial executive director, Romeo Kumalo. He says mobile social media is just one category of mobile advertising, and cautions that no independent measure of mobile advertising as an advertising medium is available yet. Globally, mobile advertising is forecast to double to about $2,44bn next year from $1,11bn this year and $504m last year , according to Jack Myers Media Business Report, published by JackMyers.com, a business-to-business website for media, advertising and entertainment industry professionals. Gloria Ruhrmund, GM at GloCell Wireless Application Protocol, a division of GloCell that is behind UBU, another mobile social network, says "the growth potential for mobile advertising" is immense. Corporate advertisers have started testing the waters. For instance, MXit, in which Naspers owns a 30% stake, notes on its website that Peugeot used MXit as part of the launch of the Peugeot 107. Ster-Kinekor has also run campaigns on MXit. Eddie Groenewald, the CEO of mobile marketing firm Multimedia Solutions, agrees this is a trend : "Mobile advertising is certainly growing as more corporates are beginning to use MMS (multimedia messaging service) as a way to communicate directly with their customers," he says. High response rates to mobile advertising campaigns, ranging from 10%-25%, outstrip the meagre 1%-2% response rates of traditional advertising campaigns, he says. " A strong base of users locally means there is base to send advertising to," Groenewald says. But he also cautions that mobile social networks are useful in advertising "only for brand building and for certain types of sales". "Social media is ideal for targeting under-18s, but they have little buying power. While social media is trendy and cutting edge, it's not ideal for a call to action or to promote FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods), as the purchasers are generally not into social media networks." Mobile penetration highlights the advantages mobile advertising offers. Last year, 18,81-million cellphones were either owned or rented in SA, compared with 17,52-million in 2006 and 15,27-million in 2005. Ruhrmund says: "The use of mobile internet is prolific." She says about 3,7-million cellphones are compatible with instant messaging, about 5-million are Java-enabled, and many are equipped with WAP (wireless a pplication p rotocol). Modest costs make mobile advertising appealing. "The high cost of TV and print advertising is driving the market to mobile as it is cost-effective," Groenewald says. Devising a typical mobile campaign presents fewer difficulties. "Campaigns are easy to formulate, being put together in less than a week as opposed to traditional media campaigns which often take months to formulate and penetration to over 90% of the base happens within 48 hours," Groenewald says. "There is also a strong viral spread with people forwarding messages to friends and family." The "viral spread" is measurable too. " You can see which people respond and match that to the base it was sent to, thereby identifying new cellphone numbers which can then be added to the base. Kumalo says that Vodacom expects mobile advertising to grow rapidly , and could overtake advertising spend on the Internet by next year. (Source: Business Day) South Africans are offered online payments by cellphoneInternet Solutions (IS), together with FNB, have launched a service where hotspot access-time payments can be made using a cell phone. Cell Pay Point is the new online payment solution from FNB that allows its customers to pay an online merchant using their cellphone. What this means is that customers registered for FNB's cellphone banking can use Cell Pay Point to purchase goods online directly from any of their transactional accounts. Users can use Cell Pay Point on any of the registered merchants' websites. Justin Spratt, manager FMC and hotspots for IS, says that Cell Pay Point is easy to use and the purchase of Hotspot access time is now on offer to more than 700 000 FNB customers. “Online purchasing has to date been limited to people with credit cards, excluding a wide base of other bank customers,” says Len Pienaar, CEO of FNB's mobile and transact solutions division. “FNB's Cell Pay Point brings all FNB bank account customers into the digital economy, as well as addressing some of the security concerns in the marketplace.” However, consumers will have to wait for broad access, as the Cell Pay Point solution requires vendors to sign up with the bank before the service is available on their website. When Cell Pay Point, FNB’s online payment solution, is chosen as the payment mechanism, the vendor displays a dial string which the customer dials. The customer is authenticated by their mobile PIN, and the purchase is confirmed by the handset without disclosing any banking or personal details. The payment is processed real-time with both customer and vendor receiving instant notification. The customer is then provided with the purchased goods, in this case a username and password, to access the IS WiFi hotspot network. The IS WiFi hotspot network is available at over 600 locations countrywide. “Cellular is an important channel for FNB as it is pretty much pervasive throughout SA. We have been pleasantly surprised by the adoption of cellular banking by our entry-level customers too. We intend to grow on this success through broadening access and continuing to focus on innovation as a key performance indicator,” says Pienaar. There is also good news for customers who wont be charged bank fees for goods purchased using Cell Pay Point. (Source: MyBroadband)
People* Globacom, has announced the appointment of Mohamed Jameel as the Group Chief Operating Officer for Glo Mobile. * Keith Keyes, CFO of South Africa Universal Service and Access Agency has been suspended after an internal audit highlighted financial irregularities. * Seacom has appointed Craig Wilson as Chief Financial Officer and Jean-Louis Parmentier as Chief Operating Officer. 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 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND CONSUMERS RIGHTS IN WEST AFRICA 22-24 October 2008, Cotonou, Benin The conference aims at impulsing a new dynamics to the telecommunications sector through taking into account the concerns of consumers regarding quality and services rates at the national and regional level. The conference will also deal with all the aspects related to the regional regulation in term of telecommunication, the settlement of the West African ICT Consumer Associations Network as well as the advocacy techniques to be used during the campaign which will be conducted towards sub-regional institutions. For further information contact the League for the Consumers Defence in Benin on +229 21 35 24 58 or visit their website at www.ldcb.org * 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* Telecoms Contract Negotiations Expert – East africa The company is looking for an experienced Contract Negotiations Expert who is experienced within Wireless Networks environment. You should have full understanding of Wireless Site Works, including: Telecoms Install, Civil Work, Generator and power system etc. The candidate should have a background in Contract Review and negotiation, especially from large- scale telecommunication turnkey projects. It is essential that candidates have experience of contract negotiation in an Ericsson or other major vendor environment. Key Responsibilities: review of Bidding documents especially the commitment of service parts to the client’s customers, ensuring the solution is realistic and economic; review and negotiation of Contracts, paying special attention to the Contract Conditions and Critical Clauses, ensuring the quality of the contract ; negotiation and management of contract variations during implementation, ensuring benefits to the vendor. For further information contact advertising@balancingact-africa.com Contracts* Sotelgui and Cerillion - Guinea Guinean telecoms operator, Sotelgui is set to implement Interconnect Manager from convergent billing specialist, Cerillion Technologies to support billing, settlement and least cost routing for all of its interconnect agreements. The new contract represents an expansion of the relationship between the two companies. Sotelgui has been a customer of Cerillion’s CRM and Billing solution for five years. * Safaricom and Huawei - Kenya Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei Technologies has signed a deal with Kenya’s largest cellular operator Safaricom for the provision of 3G infrastructure. The financial terms of the deal were not revealed, though Safaricom did say that it had invested a total of USD30 million in its 3G licence fees and network equipment to date. ‘3G is the future. We need state-of-the-art products with the highest speeds,’ said Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph in a statement. Safaricom launched its first 3G and 3.5G services in selected areas of Nairobi and Mombasa earlier this year.
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