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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 423 Second wave investment in broadband kicks off with Wananchi putting US$100 million into HFC networks for Triple Play delivery in Kenya and TanzaniaAfrica’s second wave of investment after mobile telephony has kicked off with a commitment from Kenya’s Wananchi to invest over US$100 million in an HFC network in Nairobi and Mombasa to deliver a Triple Play service with plans to also launch in Tanzania. Once the TEAMS and SEACOM cables have arrived in Mombassa in Q2, 2009 it will be offering 3, 6 and 10 meg services with VoIP voice calling. Russell Southwood interviewed the Group’s new CEO Euan Fanell. Fanell is a veteran of the cable industry and has worked for over 20 years with the Group’s Chairman Mark Schneider and his father Gene. He joined Wananchi from Liberty, a leading cable company in Denver and had previously run a cable company in Baltimore. But his experience is not just limited to the States as he has also run operations in the Philippines and Saudi Arabia. Q: What do you think the potential subscriber market in Kenya is for Triple Play delivered over your planned HFC network? In Kenya we’re building out the HFC network in Nairobi and Mombassa. It will cover half a million homes in Nairobi and somewhere between 150,000-200,000 households in Mombassa. That’s the target market for our Triple Play services. But it takes time to construct and HFC network and it will take us 3-4 years to complete the build-out. Currently we have less than 15,000 cable subscribers but the number is a function of the size of the network. Currently it’s only capable of serving 38,000 households. On the Internet side, we have less than 10,000 subscribers. Q: I know you’re also rolling out WiMAX but that this will not have the capacity to deliver your television services. How will that work for the customer? The rationale for WiMAX is its quicker deployment. It’s much faster to roll-out than HFC. We can also deploy it in areas that are not economical for the wired HFC platform. It can then be used for two types of service: wireless broadband and VoIP. The HFC platform will deliver voice, video and data and we already have the existing cable network. Some of the households in the two main cities may start out with a WiMAX service that offer broadband Internet and voice. When the HFC network reaches them, it will be able to provide a faster Internet service and the television services. In terms of the bundles we offer, we’re looking at things in two stages. We don’t yet have an international submarine network serving Kenya. Currently all our Internet services are supported by satellite and this both limits the speed and price at which they can be offered. The African Telecoms, Media and Technology Fund has a 10% investment in the TEAMS cable (which is due to land in Q2, 2009). Once it has landed, we will be offering a 3 meg, 6 meg and 10 meg service but until then we have to limit it to a 512k download speed for residential customers and 1 meg for SME businesses. The WiMAX service will be able to deliver 1 meg or more but not the 10 meg service a business might need. Q: How will the VoIP voice calling service work? It’s not yet been launched but we expect to have it in place by the end of the year or latest January 2009. It will be a traditional long distance voice service. We’re working on an interconnection agreement with the local carriers and making good progress. Q: You’ve not experienced any delays in these negotiations? No. (Regulator) CCK has established guidelines for operators to work within. Q: So what TV bouquets will you be offering? We’re currently offering several service packages: There is the basic English language service which includes international news like BBC and Sky as well as sport, documentaries and music. There are 38 channels and it retails at KS1,000 per month. (US$14.50) We then offer an extra level of content, a premier bouquet from GTV which includes high-quality blockbuster movies, Premier League football and the PGA touring events. This costs KS2200.75 (US$31.89) per month for an additional eight channels. There are then two other packages. One offers approximately 80 channels which is the basic 38 channels plus the very best of Asian (which means Indian) programmes including Star TV and ZTV, Bollywood films and a selection of the best regional FTA channels in India. This costs KS1,500 (US$21.74) a month. You can also add the GTV package on top of that. Finally there is a basic Hindi language bouquet offering 40 channels at KS800 (US$11.59). Using HFC we can support 200 channels and consumers can choose what they want. You can get a GTV package for the same price as they offer it elsewhere. Q: Will you be doing Video downloads, sometimes described as Video on Demand? After we’ve begun the process of expanding the HFC network, in a year’s time , we’ll begin offering Pay Per View and Video on Demand. Q: Are you going to be a producer of programmes or just a distributor? We’re looking beyond being a distributor. At the Fund level, we want to make strategic investments and partner with other companies like GTV to help benefit from economies of scale. But there will be no local product or content unless we enter into a relationship with a local FTA channel. Q: How much is the Africa Telecoms, Media and Technology Fund going to invest in the HFC and WiMAX networks? The Fund currently has funding of up to US$50 million and commitments for a further US$25 million. We’re very much in fundraising mode and want to find another US$25-50 million on top of these sums. This will enable us to complete the build-out in the two cities and the WiMAX network. We currently have 30 WiMAX base stations that have been supplied by Telsima and plan eventually to have 110. Q: Are you planning to roll-out beyond Kenya? The Fund has recently acquired a broadband and VSAT provider in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) and is actively negotiating the acquisition of a cable TV provider. We plan to replicate the plan we have for Kenya. Q: There are lots of people talking about launching Triple Play in Kenya, who’s going to be serious competition? In the wireless space, you have Access Kenya who are also using WiMAX and Africa Online plus the cellcos like Zain and Safaricom. The wireless space is really very competitive. In the fibre space, Orange (the owner of Telkom Kenya) is going to be a formidable competitor, looking at applications services up to 10 mbps to the building or business facility. We will be able to do fibre to the premises. There are smaller operators but they’re planning a much smaller roll-out. We’re going after both residential and business clients.
Government Threatens Glo Operations in BeninGlobacom's Benin network launched in June may be truncated by the failure of the Beninoise government to release the frequency it allocated to the Nigerian telecoms company over one and a half years ago. Globacom has yet to get a significant part of the 25 channels the Beninoise government allocated to it after it won the licence to operate in the country last year. A source close to the Beninoise Ministry of Communication confirmed that Globacom has made several appeals to the Beninoise government on the need to urgently release the frequencies to it as approved but to no avail. Only a few of the channels allocated to the network have so far been released, making it impossible for Globacom to embark on its expansion programme, thereby frustrating its quest to enhance its quality of service delivery. The Government-owned mobile subsidiary Libercom is currently sitting on the spectrum allocated to Globacom and appears reluctant to give it up. The Government has a clear conflict of interest in that it both controls the allocation of the spectrum and owns the company. Its failure to ensure the spectrum is released is clearly damaging Globacom’s business. Spectrum released so far is all in the 1800 band and there has been no release of the valuable 900 khz spectrum. A source in Benin's telecoms regulatory body, Autorité Transitoire de Regulation de Postes et Télécommunications (ATRPT) who pleaded anonymity said:"In fairness to Globacom, they need the 900 band to enhance their in-door coverage. What the bulk of the 1800 band they have now can do for them is to give them good coverage on the road." The source said that the Beninoise government would only keep its credibility intact on the issue if it summoned the needed courage to compel Libercom to vacate the spectrum government had earlier allocated to Glo. (Source: This Day) Telkom Kenya launches Orange mobile servicesMobile telephone charges are expected to come down with the unveiling of Telkom Kenya's new Orange mobile services, which include voice and Internet. "This is an important point in Telkom Kenya's growth plan," said Chief Executive Dominique Saint Jean. Its debut in the mobile service market is set to usher in a new round of price wars after setting the lowest charges of Sh14 per minute for calls outside its network and Sh7 per minute for calls within its network. Safaricom currently charges Sh25 per minute for calls outside its network and Sh10 for calls within its network, while Zain charges sh16 for calls outside its network and Sh7 within its network. Telkom Kenya will operate on the 077 prefix charges on a per second billing. A price war between Safaricom and Zain- at the time Celtel Kenya, saw prices fall from a high of Sh50 per minute on interconnection calls to the current levels within the last two years. The Communication Commission of Kenya's intervention restricting the inter-network rate to Sh30 per minute also played a central part in bringing the charges down. Telkom Kenya will also be offering a privileged tariff of sh3.50 per minute to a group of 5 family and friends numbers. The firm will also join Popote Wireless and Flashcom in offering wireless connection. In offering Internet services, it will be joining the league of AccessKenya, Africa Online and Wananchi Online among others. The unveiling of its new commercial brand seeks to build on its 250,000 existing CDMA customers and about 6,000 corporate Internet users and 18,000 narrow band subscribers. The first roll out is to be carried out in Mombasa and Nairobi before embarking on a countrywide launch."By the end of the year we will cover all main cities in the country," said CEO Saint Jean. He said the company was spending Sh8 billion every year on its roll out of infrastructure and services. (Source: The Nation) Burundi’s mobile customers to benefit of borderless network across East AfricaBurundi's leading telecom company, UCOM has partnered with MTN to provide a free roaming service for their subscribers. The "Home and Away" roaming service will provide customers in East Africa a 'borderless' network. "With this enhanced product, customers will use their MTN numbers and be charged the local rate when travelling in East Africa," Isaac Nsereko, the MTN head of marketing, said. He said Safaricom of Kenya, Vodacom of Tanzania and MTN Rwanda were the other networks partnering with MTN to provide the service. Nsereko added that the service would allow customers to load airtime from partner service providers when travelling in these countries. However, he explained that customers would require specific access numbers to load their airtime vouchers of the local network on MTN’s lines. "Our customers shall automatically be connected to the partnering networks and will also get a special rate when calling our partner networks," he added. He said the product would in future allow MTN-Uganda customers to share airtime across partner networks. (Source: New Vision) Interconnection Rates to Drop Drastically in GambiaThe Department of State for Communication, Information and Information Technology, in conjunction with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, has declared a drastic reduction in interconnection rates between GSM mobile and fixed network operators with effect from October 8. According to the officials, interconnection rates among all the operators in the country would be reduced from D2.50 (US$0.12)/D2.00 (US$0.10) to D1.00 (US$0.1), by October 8. There will be a second phase to the reduction campaign as the authorities intend to bring the tariffs further down from the revised charge of D1.00 to D0.50 (US$0.025) by April 8, 2009. However, as the international gateway is not sufficiently competitive yet, interconnection rates for international calls remain unchanged, the officials stated. Speaking at the occasion, Fatim Badjie-Janneh, the secretary of state for Communication, Information and Information Technology, said the objective of the reduction was to create a balance between investors and consumers. She noted that it would eventually lead to a reduction in the cost of off-net calls (calls across networks). She recognised that interconnection rates for termination of calls between various telecommunication service providers were "too high". "In recognition of such, it was felt necessary to ensure that the consumer is protected from both the financial and physical inconvenience caused by such interconnection rates," she said, noting that the decision for reduction had arrived through a consultative study, facilitated by PURA and endorsed by her department. According to the Communication, Information and Information Technology secretary of state, this development demonstrates that her department and PURA share a common interest in policies that beneficially impact on consumers. She noted that both institutions had agreed that in matters such as interconnection, the aim must always be to create low charges. Rein Zwolsman, the chief executive officer of Gamcel/Gamtel, welcomed the development and said his GSM company had been collaborating with Comium to ensure cheaper rates for their consumers. (Source: The Daily Observer) In brief:- Moroccan mobile and fixed line operator Medi Telecom (Meditel) and its 32.18% shareholder Telefonica have jointly completed a 2,520km fibre-optic backbone network named Africa Gate, which provides international connectivity via an undersea section between Morocco and Spain, reports Telecompaper. - Network World is reporting that, following the collapse of Zambia's international route to France in August this year, there is no indication that it will be repaired in the near future according to Minister of Communications and Transport, Dora Siliya. Ms Siliya confirmed that the country was unable to handle inbound or outbound calls to France last week. - In an interview with local newspaper Daily Trust, a spokesperson for Transcorp – the parent of Nitel – outlined plans to restore the fortunes of the beleagured operator. The company says it will fix the national backbone network, roll out 250,000 lines by the end of 2008 and seek alternative power supply options due to ongoing problems with electricity provision in the country. - The Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) has taken the management of the Lone Star Communications to court for the company's reported failure to pay garbage fees and municipal taxes, and to settle its indebtedness to the entity. - Over 8000 retrenched workers of the Nitel/ MTEL have sent a passionate appeal to President Umaru Yar'adua to compel the Bureau of Public Enterprises to pay them the balance of their five year pension payoff. - A ruling on Vodacom Tanzania Limited's appeal against Tanzania Regulatory Communications Authority's decision to lower interconnection charges will now be announced on September 24 by the Fair Competition Tribunal. Last year, TCRA announced that it would lower interconnection rates from 8 US cents to 7 cents with effect from January 1. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- Nigeria’s Globacom, has crashed call rates for commercial phone operators in selected cities across Nigeria. The package has the lowest calling rate of 22k (US¢0.2) per second for Glo to Glo calls and 24k (US¢0.2) per second for calls to other networks within these key cities. It also has the lowest daily rental of N60 (US$0.51), ensuring that the commercial phone operators who opt for it will truly rule in the market." - MTN Uganda is to launch a cell phone-borne cash transfer service. The service is inspired by Kenya's M-Pesa, operated by Safaricom which lets people use their cell phones to send and receive money via SMS without any of the burdensome and onerous conditions associated with formal banking. - Following the launch of its promotion, 0809uchoose, prospective Nigerian subscribers have begun to visit the Etisalat Nigeria website en masse to reserve their special numbers on the Etisalat network. - MTN Nigeria Limited has launched community phones across Nigeria. The procedure for operating a community phone is as simple. The phone booths are located at designated centers. What a customer needs to do is to buy a specially made SIM card which is very affordable, insert the SIM and start to make his or her call. The tariff comes with flat rate of N22 Naira (US$0.18) per minute to any network. - Zain Malawi has announced an additional nine coverage sites in the country's central and southern regions. The expansion is part of a USD100 million expenditure plan which began in August with the target of achieving nationwide coverage by the end of 2009.
iBurst wants South Africa to ditch dial-upBroadband service provider iBurst is offering a R200 credit to new subscribers who sign up for a 24-month ADSL, HSDPA or iBurst Wireless contract with the company, provided they trade in their old dial-up modems. Contract costs start at R69 per month, including a new modem. iBurst will collect the old dial-up modem from customers at no additional cost, when delivering their new modem. This promotion aims to convince some of the 1.2 million dial-up subscribers in South Africa to convert to broadband. It also aims to drive awareness of the affordability, benefits and features of broadband Internet services to those who have yet to move away from dial-up connectivity. Says Thami Mtshali, iBurst CEO: "South Africa still has a surprisingly large population of dial-up users, despite the fact that cellular, wireless and fixed-line broadband services are readily available in many parts of the country. "Reasons that these dial-up users have yet to move across to broadband include fears about the costs of broadband, technophobia in the face of the many broadband choices in the market, and a lack of understanding around the benefits of broadband. Many are also not aware that there are broadband services available in their areas." Dial-up users can rest assured that broadband technology is as simple to use as dial-up, but with a range of added benefits such as lower total costs, enhanced speed and performance, always-on connectivity, no per-minute charges and better support for bandwidth-intensive applications such as emails with large attachments, photo downloads and video streaming, adds Mtshali. He points out that for a user processing 1GB of data in a month, broadband services offer total cost-savings of between 65 percent and 87 percent over dial-up. To illustrate, a dial-up user would spend more than 40 hours and R1,781 to download 1GB of data. (Source: IOL Technology) Glo Offers Flexible Hi-Speed Internet Packages in NigeriaNational telecoms operator, Globacom, has introduced new hi-speed internet packages which offer highly flexible usage options for subscribers on its 3G Plus HSDPA network. Globacom which was the first network in Nigeria to commercially launch the 3G Plus technology said the Internet packs were designed to cater to different segments of the market. The company in a press statement said the new packages were the 24X7 Pack, the Day Pack, the Night Pack and the Weekend Pack. The 24X7 packs is available for N19,500 (US$165) with one month free rental, adding that subsequent monthly rental is at N10,000 (US$85). The package offers up to 3GB of Internet access available at any time. On the other hand, it further said, the Day Pack enables the subscriber to have internet connection from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and is sold for N15,500 (US$131) with N6,000 (US$51) monthly rental. For the Night Pack which is sold for N14,500 (US$123) with monthly rental of N4,500 (US$38) , it disclosed the subscribers will enjoy internet access from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m, while the last package, the Weekend Pack, offers internet access from 9 p.m. on Friday to 9 a.m. on Monday. It is sold at N13,500 (US$115) and has a monthly rental of N4,000 (US$34). Globacom also said that all the packages come with an HSDPA USB or PCMCIA modem and free first month rental. The company which boasts of the largest 3G HSDPA coverage in Lagos is also to commence 3G Plus services in other cities across Nigeria shortly. "The four packages are meant to address different requirements. A businessman or corporate executive, for example, might need internet access only during the day. He might not want to take a 24/7 pack as he does not need access during the night. He would also want to pay less for day use," . With Glo 3G Plus High Speed Internet Access, subscribers will be able to browse the full World Wide Web directly on their handsets' browser or laptops/ home computers at speeds of up to 3.6Mbps within the Glo 3G Plus coverage area. Subscribers are thus able to surf the internet at phenomenally fast speeds. The usage, it was also learnt will be free during the time bands subject to the fair usage of that pack. However, there is a Pay As You Use rate of 5 kobo per kilobyte which applies when a subscriber exceeds the fair usage. (Source: Leadership) ISPA announces “Hall of Shame” Spammers initiativeThe Internet Service Providers' Association of South Africa (ISPA) yesterday, Wednesday, 17 September 2008, released its first 'Hall of Shame' report at iWeek 2008. Naming some of the country's top spammers, the 'Hall of Shame' forms part of ISPA's broader strategy to fight the growing deluge of spam across its members' networks. Spam remains one of the Internet's biggest headaches for consumers, businesses and spammers, costing all parties a fortune in wasted bandwidth and time. The Hall of Shame will be hosted on www.ispa.org.za as a constantly updated resource listing known South African spammers. It will be accessible to all ISPA members and will help them to identify and take action against spammers, so that they can conserve their bandwidth and protect their customers against unsolicited electronic messages. Said Rob Hunter, chair of ISPA's Anti-spam Working Group, "ISPA has launched a number of significant initiatives this year to fight the problem of spam. With the publication of the 'Hall of Shame,' we're hoping to take spam prevention measures another step forward. South Africa's spammers have had it easy to date and that is set to change." During July, ISPA hosted its second 'SpamJam' workshop to discuss the growing challenges that managing spam presents for Internet service providers and their customers. The event brought together technical representatives from various organizations, including ISPA member companies which are directly involved in dealing with the problem of spam. Shafiek Rasdien of Internet Solutions, Willy Mills and Jaco Lesch of SAIX, Mouritz Snyder of Verizon Business, Mike Wright of Striata and David Peall of the e-Schools' Network all presented case studies on dealing with spam. Mike Silber, ISPA's legal advisor, presented a legal view on the problem, while David Jacobson of SYNAQ spoke from an anti-spam vendor's perspective. Speakers at the workshop highlighted how spammers are using a range of sophisticated techniques and technologies to stay ahead of service providers and lawmakers who are trying to contain spam. Spam currently accounts for over 80% of all email traffic. "Spam is an arms race between end-users, security vendors and service providers on one side, and the spammers on the other. Today's spammer uses tricks such as invisible ink, camouflage and images that can resist optical character recognition to bypass spam filtering," says Hunter. Apart from the nuisance factor, spam is often associated with fraudulent and criminal activities such as phishing, '419' scams, and malware distribution, notes Hunter. In addition to email spam, spam over Internet messaging and SMS spam are becoming increasingly common. Spam will come under the spotlight in a number of presentations at iWeek, including one titled, 'Spam: The impact on Internet service delivery in Africa,' by Lanre Ajayi, director, Internet Service Providers' Association Nigeria (ISPAN), and a talk called 'ISPA update: Cyber terrorism, Spam & Internet Exchanges,' to be given by Rob Hunter from Neotel and Mike Silber, ISPA's regulator advisor. (Source: Biz-Community) In brief:- The University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) is now offering a half-hour packaged podcast, known as GIBS FN, which features interviews with leading local business people and international thought leaders. The objective is to drive more traffic to the business school's website. - Reporters Without Borders hails the decision by the Agadir court in Morocco to provisionally release blogger Mohamed Erraji pending the outcome of his appeal against the two-year prison sentence he received on 8 September for criticising the king in an online article. Erraji had been held in Inzegane prison, near Agadir. - Uganda’s Monitor Publications, the publisher of Daily Monitor, has upgraded its news website, www.monitor.co.ug that carries the online edition of the daily, introducing new features that allow broad user interactivity and deepens the site's functionality. - In South Africa, Sentech's retail product, MyWireless, will be dropped over the next year, following a long, controversial history. According to the state-owned enterprise's 2007/8 annual report, government made a strategic decision this year to phase out MyWireless from Sentech's arsenal of products. “In line with the 2008 to 2011 corporate plan, Sentech will phase out retail products in their current form during the 2008/9 financial year.”
Kenyan Students Design Vote Tallying SoftwareA group of university students in Nairobi has developed tallying software that could cut costs and eliminate errors at the Electoral Commission of Kenya. The students said the software could enable the controversial electoral body record and process results electronically at individual polling stations across the country. Displaying their creations at the 11th annual Engineering Students' Exhibition at the Sarit Centre in Nairobi, the students said those results could then be transmitted wirelessly to a central system, reducing opportunities for fraud while saving precious time and money. The University of Nairobi and the Catholic University of Eastern Africa students said they did not understand why the Electoral Commission of Kenya failed to use better technology during the December 2007 polls. "Given the power of mobile phones, there should have been a better system of monitoring the elections," said Quentin Papu, who developed tallying software for hand-held devices as part of a school project at the University of Nairobi. Using his software, agents at polling stations would first log into their mobile phones using a unique user ID and password. They would then enter presidential and parliamentary results and send them to the electoral commission headquarters in Nairobi. Agents' phones would be synchronised with the central system, to eliminate discrepancies between the final announcement and individual outcomes at polling stations. (Source: The Nation) EFCC Develops Software to Combat Cyber Crime in NigeriaNigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes (EFCC) says it is developing computer softwares that would monitor internet services in the country as a way to combat cyber crimes. Spokesman of the Commission, Femi Babafemi, who disclosed this to IT World, said the Commission is partnering with Information and Communication experts to develop the software. He said already, the report of the technical committee on the development of the software has been submitted to the chairman, adding that so far, over 136 cyber crime suspects have been arrested since Farida Waziri took over as chairman of the Commission. "We made all these arrests as a result of 28 raids on cyber cafés across the country," Babafemi said. Breaking down the arrests, the spokesperson explained that 60 suspects were arrested in the South-West, 39 in the South-East, 26 from the South-South and 11 in the entire North. He added that cyber crime perpetrators were now migrating to remote areas to carry out their acts because of the constant raids in cities by law enforcement agencies. Babafemi denounced the insinuations that law enforcement agencies have inadequate computer knowledge to combat cyber criminals, saying that staff of the anti- graft body receive training regularly. According to him, cyber cafe owners have been very cooperative in the fight as only a few of them have been discovered to be collaborators. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the banking sector lost N7.3 billion to cyber crimes in 2007 alone. The 2007 Internet Crime Report ranked Nigeria as third on the list of top ten countries where cyber crimes are perpetrated. (Source: Daily Trust) African developers release open source virtual classroomThe University of the Western Cape (UWC) and the African Virtual Open Initiatives and Resources (AVOIR) project have released version 1.0.1 of the Chisimba/KEWL3 Realtime Virtual Classroom. Avoir is a collaboration of 13 African universities specialising in creating free software relevant to African users. The virtual classroom application allows presentations to be uploaded in PowerPoint or OpenOffice format and made available online as well as embedded in websites or blogged. The Realtime Tools allow the presentation to be picked up and given live on the site, in a realtime virtual classroom setting. The developer on this project is David Wafula, a masters student at UWC and a staff member of Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and a member of the AVOIR unit there. “Most notable in this release,” says Wafula, “is the improved easy-to-use interface, which runs in its own window as opposed to using embedded applet used in version 1.0.0.” The latest release allows presenters to share desktop applications in real time with other participants. Importing presentations into the the application is a one-click operation. The virtual classroom software also allows users to import graphics as well as transfer multiple documents. Downloadable versions of the software will be available in Debian, RPM, Java and Windows executable formats. The Debian version is currently available. Users can test drive the software online on the demo site. AVOIR project leader, Derek Keats of UWC, says that this is the first application of its kind in the world that is free software. “It demonstrates the remarkable, world class talent that we have in Africa and what can be achieved when we collaborate to accomplish something.” (Source: Tectonic) In brief:- A laptop equipped with an access to the Internet, meant for pupils and students and to be sold at DZD 29,990 (US$488), will be available within a month, announced Sunday Nouar Harzellah, the Chief Executive Officer of Algeria’s Distance Vocational Learning Establishment (EEPAD). Harzellah told a news conference at El Moudjahid forum that "the laptop, to be assembled by EEPAD's Zala plant of Annaba (600km east of Algiers), is the outcome of the establishment's efforts to provide Algerian households with useful equipments." - As part of efforts to bridge the digital divide between generations, Nigeria’s Omatek Computers in partnership with Digital Peers International (DPI) has organized a holiday camp designed to develop information communication technology (ICT) capabilities in children/youths. - The first edition of the Intego awards, which recognizes excellence amongst ICT companies, will be held in October in Rwanda. The Rwanda Information Technology Agency (RITA) wants to use the Intego Awards to promote ICT private sector innovation, entrepreneurship, and production of exportable products. - A cooperation agreement between the City of Windhoek in Namibia and the City of Vantaa in Finland recently bore fruits as it spurred the opening of the Oshetu Community Market Information and Technology Centre (OCMITC) in Katutura. - Networking technology company Cisco will invest R215m over the next five years to set up a training centre and incubation hub for young technicians in Pretoria, South Africa.
Telkom South Africa Plans to Grow Nigeria's Multi-LinksTelkom South Africa plans to invest more than R4.3bn to expand the network and services being offered by Multi-Links, the majority-owned Nigerian private telecommunications firm it acquired last year for US$280m. The expenditure is part of an expansion programme of more than R11bn that Telkom, Africa's largest fixed-phone operator, will incur during the 2009 financial year as part of an investment strategy to consolidate its position as a leading pan-African telecommunications operator. Telkom said it wanted to expand the subscriber base of Multi-Links from more than a million customers as of May to 3- million next year. "Capital expenditure of $160m was spent during the 2008 financial year to accelerate the expansion of Multi-Links' network and quality operating systems," Telkom CEO Reuben September said on Tuesday. "We plan to invest $533m in capital expenditure for the 2009 financial year to further extend the network and services, and take advantage of the enormous growth opportunities in Nigeria." Multi-Links operates in several Nigerian cities on a CDMA platform. This is the cellular technology that competes with the standard GSM mobile technology on which many cellular networks operate. Multi-Links has been given a unified licence to offer the full complement of roaming, voice, internet and data services. The company generated revenue of R845m and a loss before tax of R63,5m in the year to March, but a tax credit helped Multi-Links to post a profit after tax of R49m. "Multi-Links' strategy will focus on brand awareness and promotional campaigns to increase revenue of fixed-wireless and mobile customers," Telkom said. "The prospects for Multi-Links are good and the company intends to capitalise on Telkom's brand and access to international connectivity." Telkom Acting Chief Finance Officer Deon Fredericks said the group's capital expenditure programme during 2009 would total R11,3bn, with at least R7bn earmarked for investments on its fixed-line network and the balance on Multi-Links. Telkom was targeting compound annual revenue growth of up to 10% in the next three years, and expected to benefit from increased revenues from data, broadband and converged businesses, as well as from its subsidiaries. (Source: Business Day) M-Cel Issues Bonds in MozambiqueMozambique's publicly owned mobile phone company M-Cel on Friday launched its second issue of bonds, to a value equivalent to 10 million Us dollars, to finance its ambitious programme of expansion. The first bond issue, also for 10 million dollars, was three months ago. The difference is that the current bond issue is public, and any citizen can but the bonds. The earlier issue was private aimed at a specific group of creditors. The bonds have a maturity of five years, with the possibility of early reimbursement after three years. There are 2.5 million bonds, each with a face value of 100 meticais (about four dollars). They carry an interest rate of 18 per cent, plus 3.75 per cent of an index rate, and the interest will be paid every quarter. According to the M-cel Financial Director, Abubacar Chutumia, speaking at the ceremony to launch the bonds, reimbursement of the capital will start on 23 June 2009. Public subscription for the bonds begins on 22 September, and is scheduled to end on 23 October. The purpose of the bond issue, said Chutumia, is to raise funds to finance the company's investment plan, which includes expansion, and improving the quality of the network. He added that M-Cel is determined to diversify the origin of the funds it needs to finance its activities. The chairperson of the M-cel board, Salvador Adriano, told journalists that the company intends to invest 70 million dollars this year in expanding and modernizing its network, and in improving the quality of the existing systems. 20 million dollars of this sum will come from the two bond issues. "With these two issues we only obtain part of the resources we need to implement our programme for this year", he said. "We are seeking other sources of funding for the remaining 50 million dollars, including our own funds and bank loans". Adriano said that some of the money raised from the first bond issue went into expanding the network, which was why M-cel was now in 110 of the country's 128 districts. "We are currently using the rest to implement new systems. I can't give details of what we are doing, but I assure you that by the end o the year, the market will have some agreeable surprises from M-cel. The bonds will be sold through the Mozambique Stock Exchange (BVM). The BVM chairperson, Jussub Nurmamade, said that Mozambican companies now understand what the purpose of a stock exchange is. "The exchange is pleased when institutions and companies with financial problems come to us to raise money", he said. "That's the role of the BVM, which was set up to help companies finance their programmes". M-cel is a profitable company. It grew by 12 per cent in 2007, when it obtained net profits of 346 million meticais (14.3 million US dollars). (Source: Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique) Paynet - We're No Threat to Banks in KenyaElectronic payment firm Paynet has downplayed fears that mobile money transfer services are a threat to conventional banking. Instead, the company views its recent tie-up with a mobile cash transfer product as a way of widening the formal banking system by drawing in people without bank accounts. A week ago, Paynet through its subsidiary, PesaPoint, signed a deal to offer Safaricom money transfer service, M-Pesa through its Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). The partnership also targets non-account holders who are now able to transfer money through PesaPoint cash machines. "I do not see any conflict since the opportunity for card-less transactions is huge in Kenya since the majority remain unbanked," said Paynet Group boss, Bernard Matthewman on Friday. There are 110 PesaPoint ATMs in 45 towns countrywide. Already, PesaPoint has created panic among Safaricom's 3,378 agents countrywide by riding on the 24-hour convenience and security features that its network offers. M-Pesa agents, on the other hand, operate on a 12-hour daytime basis and are required to close shop by 6 pm every evening. They also have to keep enough cash or float, making cash handling a security threat that has seen many reluctant to transfer large sums of money. The maximum daily transaction value for M-Pesa clients is Sh70,000 (US$960) . On security issues concerning the unbanked and the cashless transactions, Matthewman defended the Paynet-Safaricom model as a secure solution. Paynet was the brain behind the development of the technical solution and also provided the interface to the Vodafone system that drives M-Pesa.To enhance the security of the card-less transactions, precautionary measures had been undertaken. The phone used for transactions must be registered under M-Pesa, the Personal identification Number (PIN) sent from the user to the user is unique for each transaction and expires after two hours.This effectively reduces the risk in compromising the PIN while also enhancing its functionality. (Source: The Nation) Saudi Telecom expands to North AfricaSaudi Telecom has announced its plan to seek foreign expansion, particularly in north Africa as competition in domestic market heightens. According to company chief executive officer, Saud al-Duweish, they aim to cut 14 percent of their workforce at home and boost efforts to pursue a foreign expansion plan primarily in North Africa. Mr al-Duweish told media last week that, "we are interested in Middle East and north Africa in general but we are looking at north Africa in particular." He reportedly said, "there is only Morocco" left for acquisitions after Algeria stalled privatisation of Algeria Telecom. He noted that company was interested in purchasing a stake in Maroc Telecom owned by France's Vivendi. "We tested waters for Maroc Telecom, but we didn't get positive feedback. We hope Vivendi will change its mind. We will always be interested in Algeria, which is a country with huge potential," he was quoted as saying. Saudi Telecom is among firms reportedly competing for a 25 percent stake in Oman Telecommunications Company. Saudi Telecom is said to be under intense pressure to improve profitability as a regional telecom war heats up, with rivals like Kuwait's Zain and Emirates Telecommunications competing within Saudi Arabia. Saudi Telecom has reportedly spent in excess of US$ 6 billion on foreign expansion in past 15 months. "We are comfortable with financing of any transaction that may seem worth it. We have excellent ratings," company CEO said. (Source: afrol News) In brief:- Zain has formally completed the payment of US$115 million to the government of Ghana to complete the part-privatisation of the country’s second operator Western Telesystems Limited (WESTEL). In a press statement today, the Ministry of Information and National Orientation said the receipt of Zain's payment represented the transaction payment of its 66.67% shareholding in WESTEL and thus concluded the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA). This leaves a balance of USD5 million which will be paid subject to the completion of due diligence, it said. - In parallel, the government of Ghana is planning a US$300 million bond issue, part of the proceeds of which will be used to clear US$228 million of debt assumed from Ghana Telecom (GT), Reuters reports citing the Deputy Finance Minister Anthony Osei Akoto as saying last Friday. The government agreed to take on the debt as part of its agreement to sell a 70% stake in GT to Vodafone Group for US$900 million on a debt-free basis, in July. In other words, the GT purchase price was actually US$600 once the debt commitment was stripped out. - Egypt's Orascom Telecom bought back a further 243,000 of its own global depositary receipts, the firm said this week. The GDRs are equivalent to about 1.2 million local shares, a company statement said. The company last month purchased 587,530 of its GDRs and announced its intention to buy back up to 8.9 million GDR shares over 12 months, market conditions permitting, a company official said. - South Africa's Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) spokesperson Nozipho January-Bardill said on Tuesday that the operator will focus on investment in Africa and take advantage of the ongoing deregulation of the telecoms industry in many countries. - France Telecom is turning away from acquisitions in Europe and plans to refocus on opportunities in Africa - mainly in Anglophone countries, according to its chief executive Didier Lombard. According to an interview with the Financial Times, he said that the company would not repeat its aborted $41bn takeover attempt for TeliaSonera and would focus on small to medium deals in emerging markets. Lombard ruled out acquiring a large pan-African mobile operator, such as MTN or Orascom of Egypt, "because the value is already in the price".
Young Entrepreneur Launches Online Networking Village in AfricaMartin T. Mombeshora is announcing the launch of Afropreneur (www.afropreneur.com), a free access social networking site that caters exclusively for entrepreneurs. Afropreneur is a unique web combination of community and content, providing users with information relevant to their specific interests. The site is set to be the ultimate online destination for continental and diasporan entrepreneurs who wish to invest in Africa. As entrepreneurs play a crucial role on the development of the continent, the comprehensive social networking site aims to aggregate Africa's entrepreneurs from all walks of life and different disciplines on one platform. In turn, enabling members to offer support to each other. The site will also fill the void of a an online community focused on progress, enterprise and entrepreneurship. The objective of afropreneur.com is to promote and aid the connection of enterprising individuals by providing the necessary tools. As well as allowing people to connect, the website allows the sharing of media such as photos, videos, blogs and pod casts. Afropreneur.com is functional and has open registrations, however it is still in development. Additions will be made to the site as time progresses. Martin T. Mombeshora, the founder said, "We are continuously building the site with the development of functionality tailored specifically to our users changing needs and their feedback." Mombeshora, is also optimistic about the impact that the web site will have, "We hope that afropreneur.com will be fun, useful and will place users at the centre of their digital world." he added. To learn more about Afropreneur, please visit http://www.afropreneur.com Clicks Replace Bricks as Cellphone, Internet Banking Ring the Changes in South AfricaEvery one of the big four banks has said in the past month that electronic banking channels are growing fast and, while they have yet to make a significant contribution to group profit, First National Bank (FNB) announced yesterday volumes through its cellphone banking service are growing more than 100% year on year. "It took FNB's cellphone banking nine months to reach the 289,000 transactions per month mark. The new cellphone banking service was able to attract more than 117,000 active customers in 72 days ," CE Michael Jordaan said last week. During parent FirstRand's results presentation on Tuesday, Jordaan said cellphone transactions had grown 133% in the year to June. More traditional lines of banking, such as credit card transactions, had grown 9% in the year. Standard Bank said last month its Internet user numbers had risen 19% but did not give mobile figures. Louis von Zeuner, head of retail banking at Absa, said in the six months to June his company's mobile banking business had grown 86%, with a million of Absa's customers using the internet. Absa, like FNB, was keen to capitalise on the growth in this segment of the market. Gartner, the US-based technology research company, said in its view of the future that "mobile and wireless technologies must be at the strategic heart of every organisation's IT plans". "As these technologies proliferate and mature, they will bring new consumer and business applications to more places and devices." One of the main benefits of the rise in mobile banking is that it shifts customers away from using bank branches. "Imagine how many branches we would have to build if there wasn't internet or cellphone banking," Len Pienaar, CE of FNB Mobile Transact, said yesterday. Apart from this obvious benefit, cellphone banking was helping FNB to retain clients and decrease fraud significantly. Pienaar said while customers would pay for the SMS cost when retrieving a balance or a mini-statement, making a payment or purchasing airtime on their cellphones, FNB was not charging fees for the transactions. He said the bank made money from the retail sales of airtime and that the cost of dealing with a customer over a cellphone was "a fraction of the cost of that person going into a branch". FNB made R1bn in sales over cellphones in the past fiscal year. Pienaar said 80% of its customers were transacting electronically and there were 10 times as many cellphone customers as there were internet customers. "We can serve 6-million customers for the cost of one branch," Pienaar said. "We make more money than home loans right now." However, that statement might be less impressive than it sounds. At FirstRand's results presentation this week, Jordaan showed consumer bad debts had risen from 0,93% to 2% in a year thanks to the fact that people were struggling to pay off their mortgages. (Source: Business Day) Balancing Act’s M-Money - Finances, Banking and Payments through mobile phones can be ordered by clicking on: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/publications.html To see the contents of the report, click on:
People* The Shuttleworth Foundation’s open philanthropy fellow, Mark Surman will be moving to the Mozilla Foundation where he has been appointed executive director and will continue his work in open sourcing philanthropy. Events* 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 * MOBILEFEST FOR THE WEST AFRICAS 16-18 October 2008, Lagos Airport Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria Mobilefest Africa is the first Expo in Western Africa to offer manufacturers and resellers of mobile hardware to showcase their products and services to consumers. It is also an opportunity for other companies in the mobile ecosystem to increase their brand awareness. The Expo aims to position itself as the No 1 annual Marketplace for Mobile phone devices, trends and innovations in the booming and energized West African Market. For further information visit http://www.mobilefestafrica.com/ * 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/ Jobs and Opportunities* Commercial Technical Manager – Congo DRC The company is looking for a Commercial/ Technical Manager to help us continue to develop the business in the DRC, Congo Brazzaville and Gabon. Based in Kinshasa the primary responsibilities of the role will be to: To represent technically and commercially at all levels to customers and prospects within the parameters set by the commercial team. Prepare foundations for the establishment of an office and growing a sales and technical team in support of existing and developing business opportunities. Regularly visit each customer, establishing and maintaining excellent relationships, supporting their technical and operational needs and identifying commercial opportunities. Provide weekly feedback and activity reports to each Account Manager concerned. Identify new business opportunities within the region across all areas of the business. Support the cash collection efforts in each country. The successful candidate must be able to demonstrate the following: Fluent language capabilities in French and English, both verbal and in writing. Knowledge of the Telecommunications market in these 3 countries as well as familiarity with the individual economic, political and social contexts of each country, particularly the DRC. Technical knowledge of voice, VSAT and GSM domains. Proven successful commercial and sales account management experience, incorporating direct customer facing interactions. For further information contact advertising@balancingact-africa.com * MM(ICTPR) 2009 - Applications now open What are your plans for 2009? Will you be studying further to grow your skills, enrich your capacity and increase your pay check? Look no further than the LINK Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand. Applications are now open for the 2009 intake into Africa’s only residential Master’s level degree with a dedicated focus on policy and regulation in the ICT sector. See the attached brochure for further information. For more information please contact Sue-Ellen Donough on +27 11 717-3698 or visit http://link.wits.ac.za Contracts* Lybiana , ZTE and Huawei - Libya The Chinese equipment manufacturers ZTE and Huawei Technologies have won contracts to expand the networks of state run mobile operator Libyana. A USD58 million deal will see the two vendors expanding the capacity of the existing network to 6.5 million lines. A second deal worth USD17 million will see Huawei install the first phase of a fibre network for Libyana in the capital Tripoli. Correction:* Etisalat Misr and Huawei - Egypt Chinese vendor Huawei has announced that it has inked a deal with Egyptian telco Etisalat Misr to expand the operator’s mobile network; the contract will see Huawei build a wireless access network, core network and transmission network for Etisalat, expanding on the turnkey project that Huawei had also provided for the Egyptian operator in 2006. ‘We chose Huawei as our supplier when we got the third mobile licence in 2006. After two years development, we choose Huawei again for the network expansion. It will enable us to provide the best service quality to our subscribers.’ said Saleh Al Abduli, CEO of Etisalat Misr. Correction: We quoted by mistake in last week’s issue that iBurst signed a deal with a company named Herzliya. In fact, iBurst has contracted with a company named FTS based in Herzliya.
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