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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 422 Zambian Minister and International Gateway – When you’re in a hole, stop diggingDespite Zambia’s sadly deceased President making helpful noises about liberalising the international gateway in Zambia, when it comes to the crunch the current Communications and Transport Minister Dora Siliya has bottled out and hidden behind some of the oldest and least plausible arguments for retaining a monopoly international gateway. The current monopoly gateway may itself be suffering from serial outages but the Minister seems to believe a single monopoly gateway makes her country more secure. To be fair the Zambian Minister has offered the country’s mobile operators a chance to operate their own gateways but only if they are willing to pay US$19.5 million annually, increased in August 2008 from US$12 million. By comparison, an international gateway licence can be bought in the liberalised countries of Kenya and Uganda for US$214,000 and US$50,000 respectively, according to a report in Network World. It hardly needs to be pointed out that these prices are simply designed to prevent or heavily discourage any of the mobile operators from actually taking up such a licence (as the Minister herself confirmed to Parliament) whilst allowing the Government to say that it remains fully committed to privatisation. However, since Zamtel has not yet been privatised (and there are no plans to do so) it is clear that full liberalisation could not be further from the Government’s rather unclear mind. As a result of the Government’s position, Zain has said that it will not extend its One Network roaming scheme to the country, thus depriving Zambian migrant workers, traders and business people from having access to cheaper calling from neighbouring countries. In response to a parliamentary question, Minister Silya said that the Government has deliberately restricted mobile phone service providers from obtaining licences for the international gateway for security reasons. She explained that because of security reasons, there was no need to consult the various stakeholders on the framework of running the international gateway. How convenient for the Zambian Government in these difficult times when voices of disagreement might be raised. At any attempt to liberalise international gateways over the last eight years, the security canard has been raised as an obstacle, most recently in Zimbabwe. It was even raised in Kenya as an argument to resist an Internet Exchange Point and in that instance, the security services refused to play ball and said clearly to the Government that such arguments were irrelevant. But Minister Siliya is in a hole and wants to keep digging. Having only one gateway means that by the grace of incumbent Zamtel’s inability to run it, the country has been cut off from the world. But no, as the Minister pointed out in Parliament, it was not cut off from the world, only France and South Africa. Only 2 out of the country’s 15 international routes as the Minister. Oh, well that’s all right then for being cut off from a few countries and occasional power cuts must be accepted as a reasonable part of daily life. On the South African route, Ms Siliya said that the fault occurred on August 8, from 9:00 hours to 19:00 hours on the Digital Compression Multiplexing Equipment which she said was replaced and the link was immediately normalised on the same day. "The instability on the France route started on 12 August to date," Ms Siliya said. Currently, Ms Siliya said that Zamtel's current international switch was capable of handling the demand from all operators. Cynics might observe that it has the capacity but lacks the management competence to run it. And it is still not clear how potential South African or French investors in Zambia might feel about having an occasional phone service connecting them to the country. But politicians change and one can only hope that better will come and that those who produce the wealth in the country get a better deal from the Government on telecommunications in general and the international gateway in particular. For Zambia’s citizens deserve better.
Telkom South Africa Seeks R1.3 Billion Outsourcing SavingTelkom may be able to trim R1.3bn a year off its running costs with a deal to outsource the care and maintenance of its core network. The operator is assessing proposals by international equipment suppliers and technology integration providers, and will enter detailed talks with prospective partners soon. Chief operating officer Motlatsi Nzeku said this week that expressions of interest had been received from many groups, including Ericsson, Nokia-Siemens and Cisco, as well as systems integration specialists.The next step was to firm up requirements for service levels and cost structures. It would then negotiate with bidders and evaluate their technical skills and ability to meet expectations. The effect on its 26,000 staff will be high. Union Solidarity expects up to 19,000 jobs to be affected if networking facilities, Telkom Direct shops and logistics processes are outsourced. Solidarity spokesman Jaco Kleynhans said it did not oppose the plan, as SA needed a better infrastructure, which a more technically accomplished player could provide. But job protection conditions would have to be met before the union would give its full support, he said. Nzeku said the contract was probably too large for a single winner. He expected a decision in the first quarter of next year. Telkom needs to cut running costs with demand dwindling. New customers signing up for its services are down 30% a year, and 28% of consumers and small businesses default on their bills. "You have to balance the capacity on the inside to match the demand," Nzeku said. Having employees work exclusively for Telkom while several other companies did the same was inefficient. It led to a "wage auction" as skilled technicians hopped from job to job. The answer was for one world-class operator, equipment supplier or integration company to provide network-management services to several operators simultaneously. "That's a lot more efficient in the use of skills, equipment and systems," Nzeku said. It will not outsource networks it provides exclusively for big customers such as Absa. Case studies showed operators could typically cut running costs by 28%, and boost service quality by 10%-15%. That would save about R1,3bn of the annual R4,8bn Telkom's networks cost to run. (Source: Business Day) Interconnection tariffs rules to be reviewed in NamibiaThe Minister of Informational and Communication Technology has confirmed The Namibian's exposé that he restrained telecommunications operators to make public statements on their anti-competitive behaviour. The Namibian reported that Minister Joel Kaapanda reined in Telecom Namibia, Cell One and MTC. He instructed them to stop the ongoing public squabbles over interconnect tariffs. Last month Telecom Namibia and Cell One ganged up against MTC for what they described as "exorbitant" interconnect tariffs charged by MTC to its subscribers for calling Telecom and Cell One networks. Despite claims of exorbitant charges, the minister exonerated all three players, saying "none of the players are in violation of the basic rules as provided for in law in conducting their business. I am comfortable in the knowledge that all companies are adhering to good business practices in the interest of the customers and the public." MTC charges N$3.35 per minute from its subscribers when they call a landline (Telecom Namibia), while Cell One charges N$1.79. Cell One customers pay N$1.06 per minute when they call an MTC subscriber. MTC scheduled a press conference for Wednesday last week to respond to allegations of exorbitant charges by Telecom and Cell One, but called off the briefing after the Minister wrote a letter to all three operators to desist from making public statement on the matter. "I want to express my profound appreciation to all operators and the NCC [Namibia Communication Commission] for positively considering my request for restraint in making further media statement on this matter," Kaapanda said on Friday. He said that his ministry plans to convene a meeting with the main operators to agree on exploring an alternative interconnect regime that is "fair, economically viable" and is "benchmarked along the best practices both in the SADC region and other developed markets". The minister however did not give a time frame for when exactly the meeting will take place. (Source: The Namibian) Uganda’s Telecom Companies Boast of Eight Million SubscribersUganda's four telecommunication companies are projecting to reach more than eight million subscribers before the end of this year. Subscriber estimates from four operators: MTN, Uganda Telecom, Warid and Zain Uganda show that the number of active mobile subscribers in Uganda has risen to more than 7.7 million up from 5.7 million in March. The increase represents 35 per cent growth between March and August this year and the operators still hope for more customers. The new figure surpasses Uganda Communication Commission (UCC)'s projection estimates of six million subscribers by the end of 2008. Officials from the four companies attributed the growth to the on-going market promotions, innovation and penetration of their networks in new areas. While operators claim astonishing numbers, it is important to note that a number of subscribers own on average two SIM cards. The new numbers thus, may not necessarily mean that more than 7.7 million Ugandans own mobile phones. MTN Uganda announced that it had reached three million customers at the end of August. MTN Chief Executive Officer Noel Meier said the company's progressive growth was a result of continuous investment in critical areas that assured customers of superior benefits and better quality service. "Last year MTN invested more than $100 million (Shs162 billion) in network upgrade and new structures to support unparalleled service delivery and we are beginning to realise the fruits of this investment" he said, at the beginning of this month. In addition, he said more subscribers have been attracted by the company's innovations including MTN Zone, their latest product in communication. The firm says the innovation has been a success with more than 1.3 million customers registering for the service. Some customers have however criticised the tariff plan for making it expensive to call other networks, yet the company does not come out to tell its subscribers how to revert to their old plans. Those who don't know how to get off the product have called it a trap. Warid Telecom which kicked off operations in February this year, also boasts of having hit the 860,000 in August. Joseph Walusimbi, the head of Marketing at Warid Telecom attributed the rapid growth to the company's clear and unclogged network but more so to its Mega Bonus marketing campaign and its wide coverage. Before the launch of the campaign in July, MZul Javaid, the chief executive officer of Warid Telecom Uganda told Business Power that the company had attracted 650,000 subscribers. Their new number suggests that the company grew by 210,000 additional customers in two months, according to Walusimbi." Our target is to have one million by the end of the year and we will definitely achieve it, a confident Walusimbi said in on September 4. Emmy Olaki, the Marketing Communications officer of Uganda Telecom, said UTL is about to reach the 2.2 million mark on the back of increased subscription, because of the company's Bona Bogere campaign. In February this year, when the operator hit the one million mark, UTL Public Relations Manager, Mark Kaheru, said the number was achieved, due to its aggressive $150 million (Shs243 billion) network and expansion plan. Zain formerly Celtel Uganda says it reached 1.8 million in July. Its parent company Zain Group has an ambition to double the number of its subscriber from about 50 million today to more than 110 million in all its 22 African and Middle East markets, in the next three years. (Source: The Monitor) Nigeria’s latest mobile entrant Etisalat to roll out in OctoberEtisalat Nigeria, the latest entrant into Nigeria's mobile phone market, has formally announced that as from next month it would begin to offer commercial services on its network in some cities. The service will come in the form of, what it called 3-in-1 package, which is a welcome offer for subscribers to its network. Tagged 0809uchoose, the offer, according to Etisalat, empowers Nigerians with the choice to secure free personalized numbers on its network, free SIM cards and free monthly airtime for life. Speaking Tuesday at a media event to mark the flag off of 0809uchoose, Etisalat Nigeria's Vice President, Marketing Wael Ammar said that 0809uchoose would offer at least 1 million Nigerians a chance to customize their phone numbers to reflect their lifestyles with numbers special to them when it finally roll out in October. According to Ammar, Eisalat has put all necessary things in place in preparation for the roll out next month. He said the company would give out free SIM cards and offer free airtime for life for the first one million Nigerians that subscribe to it. His words: "Let me assure you that Etisalat would demonstrate here in Nigeria its global culture of innovation and customer centricity, with a very compelling welcome package for potential subscribers on our network. (source: Daily Trust) In brief:- Kenya's third mobile operator, Econet Wireless Kenya is preparing to make its test run later this month as it seeks to beat the November deadline to launch its service. - The South African telecoms regulator has begun issuing new licences that will permit operators to build their own networks, just a week after a court victory clarified the law and opened the sector up to hugely increased competition. - The Liberia Telecommunication Authority (LTA), has issued an order equalizing frequency allocations for all GSM operators in Liberia. The decision is aimed at levelling the playing field for all telecommunications service providers operating in the telecom sectors. The details of the re- allocation of the frequencies involved will be subsequently made available to the service providers concerned and published for the benefit of the public. - A group of African telcos have signed an agreement to cooperate on the deployment of a USD400 million undersea cable along the western coast of Africa. Participants in the deal include South African operators such as Telkom, Vodacom, MTN and Neotel. The new cable, which has still to be named, would be used alongside existing international links such as SAT-3 to boost international connectivity for countries along Africa's west coast. - Egypt's telecom regulator the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has announced that the auction for the country’s second fixed line licence will once again be postponed, Reuters is reporting. The decision is understood to have been made following the NTRA’s concerns about the current state of the global economy, and it was also reported that the regulator consulted with those companies that had expressed interest in bidding for the licence before making the decision. - Nokia South Africa hopes to spread its cellphone “take-back” initiative into other Sub-Saharan countries. The company has over 30 mobile phone recycling points in its outlets around the country and plans to open more on the continent. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- Mobile services provider, Zain Kenya announced the launch of an airtime notification service to pre-paid subscribers. This will enable them to receive notification of airtime balance after making calls or sending SMS. - In Zimbabwe, the People's Own Savings Bank is set to follow industry trends by introducing Internet and mobile banking in the second half of this year. - MTN Uganda will soon launch a money transfer service. The service is timed to roll out in time for the Christmas/New Year festive season. The service will work along the same lines as the Safaricom M-Pesa in Kenya. - After just over one year of operations Etisalat Misr has announced that its network now covers 93% of Egypt, Daily News Egypt is reporting; the cellco has also revealed that it now has 2,780 base stations using a combination of 2G and 3G technologies.
Caps on broadband Internet soon to be introduced in NamibiaTelecom Namibia's high-speed ADSL Internet system does not limit the amount of data that customers can download from the Internet - a loophole that many customers are exploiting. Telecom has kept the glitch quiet, not wanting to advertise the fact that people who pay for the cheapest ADSL service can have the same benefits as those who pay much more. Telecom has been offering four ADSL packages since the beginning of the year. Under normal circumstances, customers can only download as much data as their specific package allows - a practice known as "data capping". Telecom spokesman Oiva Angula admitted to The Namibian last week that the company did not want to inform its clients of the loophole because of potential abuse. "Obviously people have found out for themselves and downloading as much as they can 24/7 without restrictions. This is causing us millions of dollars in losses because of our generosity," he said. He said the abuse also causes a system overload that leads to slowdowns in the service. He said Telecom has implemented many new systems lately and to integrate ADSL with all these systems was a challenge. "It won't last long, though. We intend to have the capping system in place by the end of the year and then customers will be limited to only what they are paying for," he said. (Source: The Namibian) Wananchi to Roll Out First 'Triple Play' Service in KenyaAfter a series of mergers and acquisitions, Wananchi Group is set to roll out Kenya’s first triple play offer. "Next month, Wananchi will roll out in the Kenyan market the first Triple Play service in Africa, comprising Internet, TV and telephony, all in the same cost-effective package and coming from one provider," Euan Fannell, the Group chief executive officer told The EastAfrican last week. The product roll out has been made possible by the group's expansion of its cable services that saw it acquire Mitsumi TV, a cable TV network. Through Africa Telecom Media and Technology Fund (ATMT), the company has also acquired a 10 per cent stake in the TEAMS cable, whose bandwidth capacity will enable it to set up a video streaming and conferencing network. "Our goal in Kenya is to migrate from dial-up to wireless broadband using WiMax technology and VoIP. These should be in place by early next year," added Mr Fannell. In preparation for the roll out of the Triple Play service and the re-launch of its Internet connectivity products, aimed both at the home and corporate market, the company is setting up WiMax base stations in Nairobi and Mombasa and plans to have rolled out at least 100 base stations by November. Currently, more than 20 WiMax base stations have been rolled out. Through Mitsunet TV, the group is targeting 300,000 homes in Nairobi and 100,000 homes in Mombasa. Subscribers will have access to 50 channels at only Ksh150 ($2.3) per channel per month. Wananchi Group is also the lead sponsor of the first ever African Film, Broadcast and Convergence conference scheduled for Nairobi from September 23-25. (Source: The East African) Emperion launches franchise programme for cybercafes in NigeriaEmperion Nigeria Limited last week made a bold move to make internet service not only available to the large majority of Nigerians, but made a promise to extend the services beyond the urban centres to rural communities. Sandeep Jayaswal, Managing Director, Emperion Nigeria said at the formal launch of the company's franchise programme the Nigeria has not been effectively served by existing ISPs. The Emperion Franchise programme, Jayaswal stated, is primarily aimed at providing "cheap Internet to mass market using partners all over the country. It is targeted to provide nationwide unified quality Internet services under one umbrella". "Cyber cafes are the best way to get cheap Internet in a developing country where majority of the people do not have power to purchase PCs. However, this business is in a sick condition today. This franchise programme suits exiting cyber cafes that can now increase their profitability by getting bandwidth on demand instead of paying for fixed bandwidth”. "Emperion is trying to revive cyber café business by innovative method through the creation of Cyber Zones on Bandwidth on Demand. Emperion Franchise providing Cyber Zone services can buy bandwidth on hourly basis on different bandwidth package and use as and when they require rather than paying their ISPs a fixed sum. For example a Cyber Zone can have a bandwidth of 64/128 kbps on non-peak hour for 2 hours, then as the number of customer grow in peak hours, it can change bandwidth to say 128/256 kbps or 256/512 kbps as may be required depending on the customer levels in their Internet café. They need to pay on hourly basis what they use. They can again revert back to slow bandwidth in non-peak hours. In fact they can stop using the bandwidth if they do not see any customer and also shut down their generator. This way Cyber Zones will cut fixed costs drastically. Existing Cyber cafes can become Emperion Franchise and become profitable instantly." According to Jayaswal, the reason for the slow penetration of internet services in Nigeria can be attributed to situation where it is provided through small holder groups, unlike in the developed economies of Europe and North America. He believes Internet services provision should various solutions like, VSAT, radio, Wi-Max or Wi-Fi. He believes through its Hot Zone, Cyber Zone, Video Zone, Support Zone and Stock Point Zone, Emperion hopes to achieve internet provisioning nationwide. Forecasting a cyber café business boom through its programme, Jayaswal said operators would "get all technical support and there is minimum down time. We would provide them free technical training on VSAT and radio networks. We would also train them to maintain their internal networks. This way, all first and second level support can be done by Cyber Cafés themselves rather than to wait for service provider's engineers to come and resolve their technical problems. This will ensure a high uptime for their operations." To reduce the stress and cost of travel, Jayaswal said Emperion is creating a nationwide video zone programme. All Emperion franchisees providing video zone services will have large or small studios, where members of the public can come and do video conferencing from few minutes to long hours. "Emperion video zone kiosks are also planned where small franchisees can just have one computer attached to video equipment to do video conference with other computers. Gone will be the days when video conferencing is viewed as a luxury meant only for the big multinational conglomerates. Franchisees providing video zone services will enable ordinary folks affordable service in various parts of the country, both for domestic and international calls. Emperion Nigeria is fully owned subsidiary of Emperion A/S Denmark, (a member of the Andersen Advisory Group). (Source: Vanguard) In brief:- UUNET Kenya intends to spend Sh680 million to develop infrastructure and products compatible with the expected fibre optic network. "Rather than spend money investing between Fujairah and Mombasa, we have opted to invest the money in developing and preparing various products and solutions to run on the coming fibre optic cable," said Mr Omariba, the managing director of UUNET Kenya. - Motorola Israel Limited (MIL), the arm of Motorola Inc which designs and develops products for worldwide marketing is looking at the possibility of providing countrywide connectivity for government offices in Sierra Leone. - South African broadband provider iBurst has launched an ‘Office in a Box’ service aimed at SOHOs and SMEs. The company is offering three different packages which include either iBurst or ADSL connectivity, up to two cordless phones, up to two analogue phones, a reception phone, a lightning protection unit, two iCall telephone numbers and ZAR100 (USD12.43) worth of free calls. - The Comium Group has announced that it has nine WiMAX licences in East and West Africa, including in the Ivory Coast, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Burundi. The Comium Group is a Lebanese-owned telecoms company, chaired by Dr. Nizar Dalloul.
Nigeria is set to Introduce E-VisaThe Federal Government is to introduce the use of electronic visa (e-Visa) to check forgery and fraud. The Comptroller General of Immigration, Chukwurah Udeh, disclosed this while briefing newsmen at the Immigration Headquarters in Abuja. He said worried by the problem, the Federal Government of Nigeria has now resolved to start issuing electronic e-visa in its effort to fight forgery of visas for travellers in the country. The Comptroller General of Immigration said "activities of issuing a fake travelling visa to innocent Nigerians is worrisome and the Minister of Interior, Major General Godwin Abbe (rtd), retired has approved that we should start issuing e-visas just as we did to the e-passports, hence forth, all the visas we will issue in Nigeria will be in e- card, it will contain the applicant's picture with his thumb print printed by our data equipment and it will be difficult to forge due to the strict security measures that we will take to protect it." The Comptroller General recalled that "in 2005 when he assumed duty as the immigration boss he had declared that some of the visa related documents were missing and in 2006, they cancelled all the visas issued and started afresh after they provided a scientific ink that only their computers can read and since then, they have arrested some people issuing fake visas, the solution to this problem is to issue e - visas," he added. Udeh added that "they have commenced discussions with some companies that will do the work for them and they have reached advanced stage in their discussions so that Nigerians will start collecting visas that are world class standard," he added. (Source: Daily Trust) South African ICT company enters ‘lucrative' IndiaDatatec has acquired a 50.01% stake in Indian ICT distribution business Inflow Technologies, marking its entry into the lucrative sub-continent and increasing its footprint in emerging markets. Inflow Technologies has a presence in nine key Indian cities, as well as operations in Sri Lanka and Singapore. According to Datatec, Inflow is a value-added distributor focusing on technology enablement and distribution of security, storage and networking products, solutions and services. The Indian company has alliances with 22 global technology vendors, including CheckPoint, Nokia, McAfee, Ironport, Websense, Radware, NetApp and Quantum. The investment will also provide Datatec with a platform to add additional vendors and eventual incorporation into the Westcon brand. Datatec group financial director Ivan Dittrich said this morning the acquisition is part of the group's key expansion into emerging markets, and follows a Turkish acquisition made in the middle of last year, as well as a “sizable” Brazil buy in May. “Our emerging market businesses are performing well. Those economies are reasonably resilient [to unfavourable global economic conditions], compared to the US and Europe.” India, he says, is a lucrative market and the Inflow acquisition is small, but strategic. “It gives us a local partner and the opportunity to add some of our skills and partners.” In the medium-term, says Dittrich, it is expected that the Inflow business will be grown organically, and plans are to double the company's revenue within the first year. Inflow reported revenue of $32 million in the last financial year, ended 31 March 2008, and employs 130 people. In the long-term, he adds, it is likely Datatec may conclude further acquisitions in the region. “For us, entering emerging markets is a means of spreading our exposure and diversifying risk. We already have a very strong presence in the US and Europe.” The group would not divulge the value of the deal, but Dittrich says it was paid in cash and included a share subscription. The remaining 49.99% of Inflow will continue be held by management and other existing shareholders. (Source: ITWeb) Nigerian University of Technology Opens in AbujaClasses have begun at the African University of Science and Technology (AUST), Abuja, with the pioneer set of 50 post-graduate students. Fifty percent of them are from Nigeria, 30 percent from Ghana and the rest from other parts of Africa. Of this group of new students, 40 percent are in Petroleum Engineering, and the rest in Applied Mathematics and Computer Sciences, as well as Materials Sciences. AUST is an initiative of the Nelson Mandela Institution, a pan-African response to the socio-economic and technological challenges facing Africa. Abuja's was the first campus of the multi-campus institution that was inspired by the dream of former South African President, Nelson Mandela for an African to win a Nobel Prize in one of the core sciences. Established during the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, AUST is supported by multilateral institutions led by the World Bank, as well as Nigeria and other African governments. The institution, under the leadership of its current Chief Executive, Dr. Karl Voltaire, was able to secure the services of a distinguished corps of visiting faculty, drawn from different parts of the world. It has more than 50 professors, many of whom are coming from institutions such as the University of Cambridge, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Pennsylvania State University and Virginia Tech in the United States. (Source: This Day) In brief:- Nigeria’s computer manufacturer, Omatek Computers Plc has rolled out a series of 8in and 10in Smart books. The key feature of the new Omatek Smartbooks is that they are light- slim-built and therefore easy to carry around. - Three hundred pupils from Kagugu Primary School in Gasabo district in Rwanda received Laptop computers during the official launch of the One Laptop Per child (OLPC) program. Two more primary schools; Nonko primary school in Kicukiro and Rwamagana B will be the next to receive a share of the 5000 laptops. - The 2008 Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) conference in Cape Town will attract local and international speakers including Google’s head of geospatial technology. - As one of the lead parties in the OOXML ISO opposition and with a government ODF strategy, the second OpenDocument Format conference is, fittingly, to be held in South Africa in October.
O3B gets financial support from Google and HSBCFinance Minister Trevor Manuel welcomed a landmark initiative by internet giant Google and Europe's biggest bank HSBC to support a plan to provide cheap, high-speed web access via satellite to millions in Africa, including SA, and other emerging markets. "The information gap is very real and clearly whatever we can do to close it must be encouraged," Manuel said at a press conference in Berlin on the United Nations-backed Millennium development goals. "Any initiative that can leapfrog over traditional means of getting information to people must be encouraged. Information is power and it supports democracy and it supports decision-making," he said. Internet penetration in SA is still low mainly due to lack of access by the majority population and also the relatively high cost of usage. According to estimates, just more than 11% of the country's population of more than 43-million has access to internet, up from about 3,1-million who had access to internet at the end of 2002. Google has joined forces with the bank and cable operator Liberty Global to back a group called O3b Networks, which stands for the "other 3-billion" people who do not have access. It will provide high-speed backhaul for telecoms operators and Internet providers, which can then sell services to businesses and consumers. O3b networks said the satellites would be constructed by Thales Alenia Space and should be operational by the end of 2010. The company's founder, Greg Wyler, said coverage would reach from Spain to SA, include most of South America, large parts of Asia and all South Pacific Islands. The project intends to offer fibre performance over satellite to parts of the world where it is not commercially viable or practical to deploy a fibre network. Because its satellites orbit earth at lower altitudes than those used to beam television signals to homes, they worked better for internet access where latency - the amount of time it takes for bits of information to travel from source to destination - was an issue, Wyler said. The project was expected to cost $650m until the launch, he said. Initial equity of $65m had been raised. In some parts of the world, the company will compete with fibre-optic cables under construction - for instance, over a dozen cables have been announced connecting Africa to Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Richard Hurst, an analyst at advisory firm IDC, said that, on paper, the project should be a good initiative. But he warned that the potentially limited capacity for satellite spectrum in Africa means there would still be a need for some fibre optic cables. (Source: Business Day) TEAMS share allotments to be reviewed by the Kenyan Privatisation CommissionThe newly established Privatisation Commission has thrown a spanner in the works on allotment of shares to 12 private firms in the entity TEAMS Ltd -- the state-funded multi-billion fibre optic cable being constructed between Mombasa and Fujaira in the United Arab Emirates. The East African has learnt that a three-man sub committee appointed by the commission last month to look into the circumstances and propriety of the manner in which these shares were allotted to the 12 firms has now recommended that subscriptions of the shares be conducted in a more fair and transparent manner and in accordance with the Privatisation Act. Early this year, a committee steered by the Ministry of Information and Communications allotted shares to 12 firms in a list that includes large and well-known companies such as Telkom Kenya, Safaricom Ltd and Econet Wireless but also unknown entities such as Inhand Ltd, Equip Ltd and Fibre Network (Uganda) Ltd. Conventional wisdom in the marketplace is that whoever buys shares in TEAMS will also be among the small group of telecommunications firms who will have the opportunity of reselling broadband services to other operators. The justification of allotting the shares to the 12 firms in the manner it was done was that -- at the time -- the Privatisation Commission was not in place and that existing laws provided for on-going privatisation projects to continue. Although the 12 companies neither paid nor signed shareholders agreements with the government, they were made to sign escrow agreements and to deposit a total of $2.7 million to Messrs Standard Chartered Bank, the arrangers of the transaction. Well-placed sources told The EastAfrican that the three-man sub committee, led by commission members James Gacoka, Wainaina Kenyanjui and Solomon Kitungu found that the structure that presided over the allotment of shares to the 12 companies had not been approved by the Cabinet. And, contrary to the belief that the shares were allotted when the new privatisation law was not in place, Gacoka, Kenyanjui and Kitungu found that the escrow agreements that brought on the 12 potential subscribers to TEAMS were made at a time when the Privatisation Act was indeed already in force. The trio also found that even though the 12 companies had deposited monies in the escrow accounts, the escrow agreements do not bind the government to sell the shares of the company to the 12 companies. They said that the government had the liberty to bring in other shareholders and veto decisions as long as it does not replace the companies which have already deposited money in the escrow accounts. The commission noted that even though the Attorney General had advised that the allotment of shares to the 12 companies could not be reversed, citing a transition clause in the Privatisation Act, his opinion was not strong in this case because the allotment of the shares to the 12 companies did not have Cabinet approval and therefore did not follow the correct procedures even under the old law. Teams is heavily funded by the government with a whopping $12 million spent so far by the State. In addition, the government has in the current financial year allocated another $15.2 million for the cable project. Furthermore, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has deposited $15.2 million in an interest earning account and committed to top up the said account with $1.5 million every month in order to guarantee the construction of the project. It is still not clear how the findings of the Privatisation Commission will affect the completion date of the project. But the development has clearly cast uncertainty over the allotment of shares to the 12 companies. According to available documents, the shares of Teams Ltd have been allotted to the following firms: Safaricom (20 per cent), Telkom Kenya (20 per cent) Econet Wireless (10 per cent) Wananchi Online (10 per cent), Kenya Data Networks/Celtel (3.75 per cent) Jamii Telkom (1.25 per cent), Access Kenya (1.25 per cent), Flashcom (1.25 per cent), Fibre Network Uganda (1.25 per cent) Inhand (1.25 per cent), and Equip (1.25 per cent). In their report, the sub committee of the Privatisation Commission noted that the arrangement put the 12 companies at an advantage because shareholders of Teams will acquire broadband capacity "at cost" for their own use and resale. "This aspect gives them a competitive edge on other suppliers of bandwidth and will enable Teams investors, who are also capacity resellers, to capture a significant share of the market," says a report by the commission. The allotment of the shares to the 12 has been a controversial issue all along. In April, the matter was investigated by the Kenya Anti Corruption Authority. The question as to whether the sale of shares of Teams should be handled under the new Privatisation Act has also been controversial. In March last year, circumstances forced the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications Dr Bitange Ndemo, to write to the Treasury to seek guidance on whether the allotment of shares TEAMS to the private firms should be conducted under the new Privatisation Act. (Source: The East African) Google And TechnoServe to Boost Entrepreneurship in TanzaniaGoogle has partnered with TechnoServe and the University of Dar es Salaam in a multi-billion shillings business plan competition. The competition - Believe, Begin, Become, is to be run for the second time in Tanzania, but this time involving more partners and bigger prizes. Speaking to journalists ahead of the competition launch, Atiba Amalile said the business plan competition will involve business ideas which require funding of between $50,000 and $1,000,000 which will be provided by Google and partners. The competition is co-organised by TechnoServe and University of Dar es Salaam Entrepreneurship Centre which last year ran two separate competitions. "We realised that we are targeting the same people with the same motive, hence continuing working separately would be wastage of resources," said UDEC director Dr Donath Olomi. Amalile said the first winner will get the whopping $20,000 while second and third winners will pocket $15,000 each. He said other three winners in the third place will go home with $10,000 each, while the following four will get $5,000 each. "The business plan should be viable, legal and profitable in three years," he said. The total of $530,000 will be provided as seed money, while some entrepreneurs will be linked to some potential financiers for support. "Apart from offering cash prizes, we want to promote the culture of making use of business support services," said Dr Olomi. Other supporters of the competition are a Netherlands-based Business in Development Foundation Network, and local prize partners which have been grouped in three categories of gold, silver, and bronze. Those are Barclays Bank Tanzania Limited which is a gold prize partner and Tanzania Gatsby Trust, a silver prize partner. In the bronze category there are Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange (DSE), Azania Bank Limited and Tanga Cement Limited. Last year, TeachnoServe and UDEC, separately attracted 1111 entries in a similar competition, whereas 622 entrepreneurs were trained in seminars, 143 receive training and developed business plans and 115 participants were invited to an investors forum. Some 30 entrepreneurs won overall seed capital and Business Development Service awards worth $380,000. This year's competition will be launched tomorrow with industrialist Reginald Mengi as guest of honour. (Source: The Citizen) Uganda’s Public Universities Get Dutch ICT FundsThe Netherlands government has provided 5.7m Euros (about sh13b) to boost the development of information and communication technology in four public universities in the country. Makerere, Mbarara, Kyambogo and Gulu universities will benefit from the project dubbed 'strengthening ICT training and research capacity'. Peace Tumuheki, the project coordinator of the Netherlands organisation for international cooperation, said during the second quality assurance workshop for the universities at Colline Hotel, Mukono last week. Tumuheki said the project came up after a successful implementation of a 3.3m Euros (about sh8b) package that ran from 2004 to 2008. She said the funds would be channeled through her organisation. "Our public universities face limited funding, so this project seeks to manage and implement relevant educational and research programmes in information and communications technology," Tumuheki added. She said the funds would also be used to develop ICT infrastructure, promote gender balance among the staff and student community and enhance ICT awareness. Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba of Makerere University, who will head the four-year scheme, said the funds were timely. "The society we live in looks upon us for solutions to transform their lives. We have a responsibility to use the resources we have to achieve this," he said. Prof. John Opuda-Asibo, the Kyambogo university deputy vice-chancellor, called for frequent interaction with the private sector and NGOs so as to produce students who are relevant to their societies. "The role of the community in guiding universities should not be ignored" Asibo stressed. (Source: New Vision) In brief:- Zain Kenya has announced a major investment to improve its infrastructure. The company said it would spend Sh3 billion in the next three months on upgrading its network especially in the rural areas. Managing Director Rene Meza said the investment was part of the firm's Sh25 billion capacity upgrade project running for the next two years. He said the initial phase of the project will see the company scale up coverage and capacity across the country. - South African social media aggregator startup Afrigator.com has sold a majority stake to MIH Print Africa, a division of the Naspers group. Afrigator Internet was founded in April 2007 as a social media aggregator and blog directory built for African consumers. www.afrigator.com uses social media tools and technologies to showcase the best digital content that the African continent has to offer, ranging from syndicated news feeds to blog posts, podcasts, videos and images. - Prospects are looking increasingly bright for Dark Fibre Africa, with the cable-laying company selling a 10% stake in its business to Absa Capital and raising an additional R950m in loans. Dark Fibre has been bubbling away in the unglamorous part of the telecoms sector that involves digging up roads and laying cables in South Africa. Its prospects have been multiplied by a court ruling last month that said every voice and data carrier licensed to offer value added services had the right to build its own infrastructure.
Mobile Health Initiative Expands to Over 20 Countries in AfricaThe United Nations Foundation and Vodafone Foundation’s Technology Partnership (Technology Partnership) announced today the expansion of its mobile health (mHealth) program in Africa. Working with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the non-profit DataDyne.org, the Technology Partnership will expand the use of EpiSurveyor, an open-source application that helps healthcare workers track health data, to 22 sub-Saharan countries by the end of 2008. EpiSurveyor, which was developed by the non-profit DataDyne.org, can be downloaded to handheld devices and is easily adaptable by workers in the field. WHO, DataDyne.org and the Technology Partnership piloted EpiSurveyor in Kenya and Zambia. Its successful implementation has greatly improved the timeliness and availability of healthcare data, making it easier to strengthen district level healthcare programs involving immunizations against malaria and other preventative programs aimed at improving public health. “EpiSurveyor allows health workers in urban as well as rural areas to easily collect, manage and share clean and timely program monitoring data,” said Dr. Balcha Girma Masresha, medical officer in the Immunization Program in the African Region of the WHO. “The introduction of this technology is enabling health workers to better understand and identify the strengths and shortcomings of their programs, so that they can actively work toward continuous improvement.” Following successful pilot programs in Kenya and Zambia, trainings conducted by DataDyne.org, in collaboration with WHO and local Ministries of Health, have been conducted in nine additional countries since 2007: Benin, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uganda. Before the end of 2008, trainings are planned in a further 11 countries. “Technology has a major role to play in enabling the international community to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals for health, including reducing child and maternal mortality,” said Andrew Dunnett, director of The Vodafone Foundation. “This program is designed to bring innovative use of technology to bear in helping the United Nations and the worldwide community overcome some of the greatest public health challenges we face today.” The Technology Partnership has committed over $2 million to develop this mHealth program. These funds provide direct support for in-country activities and for software development and support from DataDyne.org. “We are proud of our partnership with The Vodafone Foundation that supports the hard work of the UN World Health Organization and national Ministries of Health, and the technological innovation of DataDyne.org,” said Kathy Bushkin Calvin, chief operating officer of the United Nations Foundation. “This is an excellent example of the power of partnerships to find an idea that works, and then bring it to scale in the service of humanity.” South African Website to Launch in BrazilA locally developed website offering free classified adverts is expanding into Brazil today in a venture backed by Internet entrepreneur Ronnie Apteker. The Vottle.co.za website lets anybody buy and sell items for free, and has grown to attract up to 400 new adverts a day and 60000 visitors a month since its debut two years ago. Now Apteker is in Sao Paulo for the seventh time this year to launch the service on behalf its local partner, the South American publishing house Abril. "Abril is doing this because it makes sense for a physical publisher to have online publications," Apteker said. "They are covering the costs and we are getting a modest fee, but it's a very exciting business and getting a foothold into Brazil means if we do a good job it's a stepping stone to expand there with other things." Vottle was developed using resources from Internet Solutions, which Apteker founded. Now the software has been translated into Portuguese for Brazilian users. Lessons the team has learned through the foreign expansion will be used to improve the local site as well, Apteker said. It has yet to make a profit, although the revenue from companies advertising on the site is growing as it gains critical mass. Vottle is a local version of Craig's List, a hugely popular US classified adverts website that now includes job vacancies, events and discussion forums for 500 cities in more than 50 countries. It attracts about 40-million people a month who publish 30-million new adverts. Apteker is also helping the locally developed shopping site Want It All launch in Brazil at the end of next month. That site lets people buy goods that Amazon.com will not deliver to SA, by collating numerous orders that are repacked in the US and imported by courier. Want It All was founded by brothers Justin and Ryan Drennan and their friend Terence Murphy, who believe the software can be exported to other countries that are also boycotted by Amazon.com. They have also just launched Want It All in the UK for shoppers who prefer US goods to the European selection offered on Amazon's British website. Apteker and his friends own 30% of Want It All and are championing its foreign expansion, making Brazil an obvious choice because of Vottle's new presence there. Apteker and Internet Solutions have begun to fill a gap caused by the lack of venture capital available for local technology start-ups. Another of their ventures is ISLabs, a mentoring centre for ideas that will improve the internet for local users. Entrepreneurs can submit ideas that will be supported if they have a chance of success. "Venture capital in this country with regard to technology doesn't work," said Justin Spratt, a business manager at Internet Solutions. SA's internet billionaire Mark Shuttleworth and Hasso Plattner, the founder of SAP, have both created venture capital funds in Cape Town. "Just because they are smart and made money in information technology doesn't mean their venture capital arms are smart," Spratt said. "I have experienced a lot of deals and they don't work." Spratt is also a part-owner of Vottle, and said he had spent a large amount of time working on it for no pay. "Working with smart people is the pay," he said. (Source: Business Day)
PeopleJean-Michel Latute has been appointed as the new CEO of Orange in Cameroon. Events* 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. * 6th ANNUAL CTO FORUM 6-8 October 2008, Abuja, Nigeria If you are a telecom or satellite operator, equipment supplier, software developer, solution provider, a consultant, or any other stakeholder in the Telecommunications and ICT industry, and are seeking opportunities to expand in emerging markets, or are seeking the platform to meet policymaking and regulatory authorities, donor agencies and financiers to champion your business development goals, the Commonwealth ICT Summit is the event to attend. For further information visit http://www.events.cto.int/ictsummit08 * 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 * THE MOZAMBIQUE ICT CONVENTION 2008-08-14 15-16 November 2008, Maputo, Mozambique The Mozambique ICT Exhibition has been initiated by the Ministry of Science & Technology to provide an educational platform for all government ministries, departments and organisations, as well as all major private sector enterprises and SMEs. They will meet together over two days to share knowledge, learn form local and international experts and network with each other in both the conference and the exhibition. For further information contact AITEC Africa, +44(0)1480-880774; info@aitecafrica.com * 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. The conference is funded and supported by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) 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/ * UBUNTUNET CONNECT 2008 AND OPEN ACCESS 2008 11-14 November 2008, Lilongwe, Malawi For further information on the 1st UbuntuNet Alliance Annual Conference, visit
For further information on the 6th International Conference on Open Access, visit
* ngNOG 16 – 26 November 2008, Lagos, Nigeria For further information on the 3rd Edition of the Nigerian Network Operators Group Workshops and Meetings, visit http://www.forum.org.ng/ * AFRINIC 9 22 – 28 November 2008, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia For further information on the 9th AfriNIC Open Policy Meeting, visit http://www.afrinic.net/ *TELECOMS COST ALLOCATION & PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS CONFERENCE 1st – 5th December 2008 , Hesperia Hotel, London - UK Over the five day conference delegates will learn & develop techniques to over come the latest developments in European regulatory and management accounting, address vital issues such as NGNs, IP-interconnection, regulatory evolution, convergent services, customer profitability analysis and cost control functions. Learning through a wide range of different formats you will learn how to increase your understanding and benchmark activities through; keynotes, panels, roundtables, workshops, seminars, interviews and open discussion. The formats are tailored to the subject and change the pace each day, helping you to maintain concentration and boost memory of the event. To register call our Customer Service Team: +44 (0)20 7017 7483 or Email: registrations@iir-telecoms.com. Our website is constantly being updated, so please visit www.iir-conferences.com/costprof for the latest information. Jobs and Opportunities* 2nd awareness workshop organized by the EuroAfrica-ICT Project The workshop will be held at Protea Hotel, Kampala on October 20 & 21, 2008. It is organized by Makerere University, one of the partners of the EuroAfrica-ICT consortium. Organized as two-day events, EuroAfrica-ICT awareness workshops are key components of the EuroAfrica-ICT initiative (www.EuroAfrica-ICT.org) aimed at promoting and supporting the development of strategic cooperation on ICT research between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa and between Europe and the Caribbean. By attending this workshop you will get the opportunity to: · Learn about the European Commission’s (EC) Research Funding Programme (Seventh Framework Programme – FP7) in the ICT field, · Get detailed information on the EuroAfrica-ICT initiative and the opportunities it offers, · Present your ideas of EU-Africa S&T cooperation projects in the ICT field, · Introduce yourself (your organization, your expertise, your experience) to the audience (ICT stakeholders), · Network with EC representatives, the EuroAfrica-ICT team and the most advanced local/regional organizations active in the ICT field. Registration for the workshop is free but online registration is mandatory. Please note that the EuroAfrica-ICT Initiative will cover registration costs and lunches only, you will be responsible for your own travel and accommodation expenses. Workshop details and on-line registration can be found at: www.euroafrica-ict.org/awareness_workshops.html Contracts* iBurst and Herzliya – South Africa Herzliya, a provider of Billing, CRM and Business Control solutions for communication and content service providers announced that iBurst, South Africa's leading wireless broadband provider, has selected FTS' Leap(tm) Billing as its real-time billing solution.
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