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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 426 Central Africa markets fail to get the attention they deserve, says new reportIt is easy but lazy to talk about Africa for the continent contains fifty plus countries all of which are completely different in some way. Whilst operators like to think they are considering the continent as a single market, they often unconsciously avoid some countries because there is less information about their potential. In order to rectify this position, Balancing Act has just published African Telecoms and Internet Markets – Part 2: Central Africa which for the first time provides detailed information on the sub-region's eight countries. Central Africa contains some of the fastest growing markets on the continent. Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea and Gabon are both making considerable investments in the communications sector. DRC is the second largest country by area in the whole continent and is emerging from civil war: it may have hardly any roads but its telecoms and Internet sectors are growing at above average rates. Recently it signed a deal with a Chinese financial institution to underwrite a fibre link between Kinshasa and Angola that would give it access to the international fibre routes. The report contains detailed estimates of the pent-up demand in the country that would rapidly expand with the availability of cheaper bandwidth. Both Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea still have only two mobile operators and others have only three operators: if these countries follow trends elsewhere, more will enter the market. Warid has already gone into Congo-Brazzaville. There are four potential privatisations of incumbents (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo-Brazzaville and Chad) which will need to come with mobile licences if they are to sell. Only Cameroon’s Camtel has announced the process so far. Sao Tome and Principe is Africa’s smallest market but currently has only one operator but has announced that markets will be liberalised. No single mobile operator dominates the sub-region and this provides fertile ground for new market entrants. With the exception of Gabon where saturation point may soon be reached, all of these countries experienced very rapid growth in mobile subscribers over the last three years. However, the region still has some of the continent's most expensive voice and data prices. Again with increased competition and access to cheaper international fibre prices, the number of subscribers is likely to continue to climb. Balancing Act’s African Telecoms and Internet Market’s Part 2: Central Africa is the most detailed current description of these eight markets which include: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, DRC, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Sao Tome and Principe. For five out of the eight countries the author either lives in the country or has recently visited it. The report is 151 pages long and has 33 tables, 7 charts, 2 graphics and full page maps illustrating GSM coverage and networks in each country. It also includes a spreadsheet that summarises data from 2005 and 2008 (see right-hand column). The report opens with an overview of data and significant trends across all eight countries. This includes comparisons of growth in different countries for both mobile and Internet subscribers and chart of operators in different countries. As with all reports in the African Telecoms and Internet Markets series, it opens with two introductory pieces: these look at recent trends in the market across Africa. The first of these contributions - Chinese-supplied CDMA 2000 becomes hybrid convergence challenger for African operators – looks at CDMA 2000 is becoming both a fixed line substitute and a disruptive technology. The second contribution - Mobile operator and ISP loyalty programmes – An idea whose time has come – examines loyalty programmes and argues that as market become more saturated, operators may need to use these programmes to retain high-value customers. To see the full contents page, including a list of tables, charts, maps and graphics, click on the link below:
Mauritius’ government sets up a Universal Service FundThe government of Mauritius is establishing a Universal Service Fund (USF) that aims to give citizens in poor regions of the country better access to Internet and communication technologies. Regulations under the Information Communication Technology (ICT) Act of 2001 have been finalized, and the fund should come into operation in several weeks time. Operators holding a telephony license, be it for local or international phone calls, will be required to contribute to the fund initially set at US$2.5 million. "We're quite positive about this decision," said Ganesh Ramalignum, chairman of Data Communications, one of Mauritius' main private international telephony companies. "To contribute to this fund is part of our obligations under our license, and the more people have access to ICTs, the better it is for us operators. We would like to know how we would have to contribute," he nevertheless added. "It should be a win-win situation." The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) and the Ministry of ICT held discussions with the private sector over contributions earlier this year. Each operator will likely have the choice to either contribute a percentage of its turnover or a percentage of the price of every incoming call on its network. Following provisions made by the ICTA, which manages the fund, the USF should raise about US$2.5 million. With the fund, the authority intends to help public institutions work together to reduce the cost of Internet access, as well as to boost the speed of broadband Internet in Mauritius. The fund may also cover the financing of community access points, with a view toward promoting affordable Internet access. (Source: IDG New) Vodafone Makes Inroads in GhanaOnly 49 days after its arrival, Vodafone, the new owners of Ghana Telecom, have moved quickly to announce how it intends to improve services for its customers. With a time-bound action plan to address the challenges confronting the company, it has identified specific targets that it aims to meet over the next three months in order to extend coverage to more Ghanaians, enhance the capacity of the network and also to achieve a significant increase in service quality. It has already carried out the following improvements: the expansion of capacity of the IN by 70%, installation of NgHLR to match the enchanced capacity on the IN, additional capacity at Madina, Dansoman, Teshie-Nungua, Tema A and B exchanges and increased throughput for Broadband4U customers in the Western Region. Additionally, the company has also cleared 80% of the backlog of installations for corporate customers, introduced new high quality Broadband4U modems, provided 15,000 additional fixed lines at Accra West, Accra East and Kumasi and reduced the fault levels at Madina exchange by 95%. The battle to turn round perceptions of the former ailing incumbent has clearly begun. For prospective Broadband4U subscribers are being offered a 50% reduction in installation fees from GH¢90 to GH¢45 plus free installation, effective September 24, 2008, till the end of December 2008. Finally a number of Ghana Telecom employees have benefited from professional training at other Vodafone operations in Germany, United Kingdom and Spain. The company is clearly keen to show that under its management there will be a clear break with the past. The more sceptical will want to know whether it can maintain the pace of change over marathon rather than sprint distances. (Source: Ghanaian Chronicle) MTN and Cell C in Cheap Phones Dispute in South AfricaA multi-million rand dispute over the roll-out of cheap pay phones could see thousands of poor communities lose the ability to make cut-price calls to preserve the profits of MTN, the industry regulator has heard. Cell C's 100,000 community service telephones (CSTs) had sparked a revolution by taking affordable telephony to SA's poorest citizens, its CEO, Jeffrey Hedberg, said last week. They had created jobs for the entrepreneurs who ran them and gave people the ability to contact their families and seek work, he said. But the phones are under attack from MTN, which claims that Cell C is using them to boost its profits unfairly. Cell C charges the caller 90c a minute and pockets the profit. But MTN can charge an interconnection fee of only 6c a minute when someone uses a Cell C community phone to dial an MTN subscriber. The interconnection fee from a normal phone would cost Cell C R1.25 a minute. MTN claims that about 80% of Cell C's community phones are not in needy areas, so MTN is sacrificing its interconnection fee, yet Cell C still makes a profit. Last week the rival operators gave evidence to the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), which must decide exactly what constitutes an under serviced area. Once the areas are defined, Icasa will assess whether Cell C's phones are correctly placed, possibly prompting the withdrawal of thousands of cut-price phones. MTN's GM for legal and regulatory affairs, Graham de Vries, told Icasa that 81% of South Africa would be classified as under served if Cell C had its way. Yet the burden of the subsidy was born by MTN and not by Cell C itself, he said. Both are withholding cash from the other, with Cell C claiming MTN owes it R1bn and MTN saying it is owed R800m in unpaid interconnection fees. How much each owes the other will be resolved only once Icasa decides which phones are incorrectly sited and should pay a commercial interconnection fee. Cell C has almost doubled the 52,000 phones it was obliged to install in poor areas as part of its licence obligations. Yet those efforts had not been welcomed by its rivals, Hedberg said. "They have sought to penalise Cell C financially, not by competing with better prices but rather by competing in the courts." Nor was MTN really suffering from the lower fees, he said, as its profits continued to soar. Icasa had to decide whether to bow to threats and litigation from a competitor trying to protect its bottom line or to support universal service, Hedberg said. "It can't be that the benefits to many through affordable and accessible services can be constrained for the profits of a few," he said. "Affordable telephony requires sacrifices from the incumbent operators. The greed of a few cannot constrain the opportunities for many." Economist James Hodge told Icasa that every other effort to take affordable telecoms services to poor areas had failed, and CSTs were the sole success. Vodacom had responded by matching Cell C's roll- out, and MTN was finally following suit, benefiting communities across SA. (Source: Business Day) Vodafone Egypt’s Market Share Declines in Q2 - 2008At the end of Q2,08, the number of mobile connections in Egypt reached 33.86m, equivalent to a penetration rate of 41.5%, up from 28.5% a year earlier. The second-quarter performance was a definite improvement on Q1: Q2 saw 9.8% growth compared to 6.6% in Q1, while on an actual basis, the Q2 figure of 3.01m quarterly net additions was the second highest ever recorded behind the Q3 07 figure of 3.33m. Annual net additions stood at 10.99m, again the second highest figure on record. France Telecom subsidiary Mobinil is the Egyptian market leader with 16.33m customers at the end of Q2 08. It added 1.31m customers in Q2, the fourth successive quarter of market- leading quarterly gains. On an annual basis it was up 4.82m, compared to 4.28m for the prior twelve months. However, as a result of Etisalat’s growth, it lost 2.1pp of market share during the year to finish Q2 08 on 48.2% - the lowest figure it has ever recorded. Vodafone also lost market share, a 2.7pp year-on-year decline taking its share to 44.3% at the end of Q2 08. Like Mobinil, this drop was in spite of an improvement in annual net additions from 3.84m to 4.25m. Vodafone edged past the 15m barrier during the quarter to finish June with 15.003m. On a proportionate basis, Vodafone’s annual growth stood at 25.4%, less than half the 55.5% recorded in the prior twelve months. Mobinil saw a similar trend, a 33.0pp year-on-year drop taking its rate to 59.2%. The total market growth rate also dropped significantly, from 61.7% in the year ending 30th June 2007 to 29.2% in the subsequent twelve months. This was despite the launch of Etisalat in Q2 07. Etisalat reached 2.53m customers at the end of Q2 08, up 1.93m or 94.9% year on year. In terms of market share it claimed 7.5% at the end of the quarter, up from 2.6% a year earlier. This is a somewhat disappointing performance: given the low penetration rate, Etisalat might have been expected to make more of an impact. However, the third quarter is traditionally the strongest of the year, so we can only hope the best is yet to come. (Source: Cellular News) In brief:- ECOWAS member states are close to adopting a regulation that would facilitate mobile roaming in the region and reduce call charges. Dr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, the President of the ECOWAS Commission, gave this indication at the ongoing 6th annual Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) Forum in Abuja. - An enactment to ensure a compulsory registration of GSM lines by the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) is being proposed by the Senate to elinate crimes carried out using mobile phobes. After a poor first quarter in which there was a net loss of 0.63m customers, the South African market managed positive growth in Q2 with a gain of 0.82m. This took the total customer base to 43.15m, equivalent to a penetration rate of 98.5%. In annual terms, growth stood at 10.7%, less than half the 22.5% recorded in the prior twelve months and, moreover, the lowest rate for six years. - Uganda Telecom has taken steps to stamp its presence in the increasingly competitive telecom market with $115 million network expansion. The company recently completed another phase of expansion in which it extended its network to cover more than 75 per cent of the Ugandan population. - South African telecoms company Telkom will over the next month deploy its own third generation (3G) wireless network across the country. This will bring the fixed-line operator closer to providing its customers with fully converged information communication technology solutions. - The GSM Association has launched the Green Power for Mobile programme with the goal of helping the mobile industry use renewable energy sources (eg, solar, wind, or sustainable biofuels) to power 118,000 new and existing off-grid base stations in developing countries by 2012. Achieving that target would save up to 2.5 billion litres of diesel per annum and cut annual carbon emissions by up to 6.3 million tonnes. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- Kenya’s newest mobile provider Orange has sweetened the mobile phone pricing war by introducing a one shilling per minute tariff within its network, the lowest ever in Kenya's telecommunication history. - MTN Uganda has made MTN Zone, the telecom giant's novel tariff discount offering that has been running on a promotional basis since July this year, a permanent option in their range of call tariff lines. - Zain Tanzania is looking to increase its mobile subscriber base by 15% to 3.8 million between now and the end of the year, according to Reuters citing a senior company executive.
Rwanda Gets $24 Million Boost for Regional Broadband NetworksThe World Bank has announced that it has approved $24 million for a program that will see Rwanda develop her national capacity to provide broadband connectivity. The money that was cleared through an International Development Association (IDA) financing grant for the Regional Communication Infrastructure Program - Rwanda Project (RCIPRW), is supposed to increase the availability of broadband to more than 700 Rwandan institutions including schools, health centers and local government administrative centers. IDA is the concessional lending arm of the World Bank. The money will also help increase the availability of international bandwidth to the country by ensuring that Rwanda is connected to the East coast submarine fibre-optic cables. It is envisaged that a Rwandan cable will be connected to either the Seacom or EASSy submarine cables on the East African coast. Work on the both the Seacom and the EASSy cables has already commenced. Once connected it would mean that Rwandans will have the opportunity of benefiting from Seacom's 1.2Tb bandwidth capacity or the initial capacity of 640Mb from the EASSy project. Both Seacom and EASSy cables aim to be fully operational in time for the 2010 Soccer World Cup to be played in South Africa. According to a statement issued by the World Bank last week the volume of international bandwidth connected to Rwanda is expected to rise more than three times and the price is expected to fall by over 50 per cent. The Rwanda project is part of the World Bank's $424m Regional Communication Infrastructure Program which is designed to improve the regional communications infrastructure and increase the deployment of e-government in Southern and Eastern Africa. The program also complements the submarine fibre optic cable projects being developed along the East coast of Africa which will link the region into the global communications network. RCIP Rwanda will also promote investment and competition among local licensed operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), who will be selected to implement project activities through a competitive bidding process. According to the Director General of ICT at the Office of the President, David Kanamugire, "The availability of affordable broadband countrywide will play a critical role in realising our transition to a service oriented, knowledge based economy." Rwanda is already working on a national fibre optic loop that will run across the country. RITA Executive Director Nkubito Bakuramutsa the role of Rwanda's private sector on this project is to provide the physical connections to customers of the access network. (Source: The Monitor) Telkom South Africa Confirms Fixed Wireless Network rollout Plan using W-CDMATelkom has confirmed its plan to roll out a new wireless network with the prime aim of winning more business from small and medium-sized enterprises. Telkom's relatively high prices for voice and data calls were inflating the day-to-day running costs for business clients, its chief of operations Motlatsi Nzeku admitted last week. It was also "acutely aware" of losing customers to the mobile networks as its own services were made unreliable because of copper cable theft, he said. To resolve those problems a new network will be rolled out using W-CDMA a cost-effective wireless technology that offers high-speed data and video downloads as well as voice calls. One aim is to give small companies more affordable data packages for high-speed internet access. The technology will initially provide voice and data services to fixed- line phones, but later this year Telkom will introduce new national numbers to use on cellphones, pitching it head-to-head with the cellular players. That is necessary as Telkom may soon shed its 50% stake in Vodacom, at a time when operators need to offer a blend of fixed and mobile services. The new network being installed by Huawei would also let it provide a wider range of products and services, Nzeku said. CEO Reuben September said the move was part of an effort to grow its income. "Our revenues have been under significant pressure from declining voice services due to competition and are further affected by copper cable theft." The services are being tested with customers in Gauteng, where 38 base stations have been erected. More than 200 should be operating by March next year. Telkom is looking to outsource the running of all its networks, in a controversial plan invoking a threat of strike action by unions representing many of its 26,000 staff. It expects to save R1.3bn a year by outsourcing network maintenance, and negotiations are under way with several bidders. Last week an insider said Amdocs had already been quietly selected to handle the billing and customer relationship management systems without the task being put out to tender. Amdocs is the world's largest billing and customer support software company by sales, and already supports some of Telkom's existing systems. Telkom would give Amdocs a new contract worth about US$70m to provide and maintain some IT systems for the wireless network, he said. But procurement managers had been instructed to encourage a second company to bid for the outsourcing tender so the process did not look like a done deal, he claimed. The insider also alleged that HP had been identified as a preferred supplier for hardware to run some of the systems, and some rivals were not bidding as they realised they would not win. Telkom executive for capability management Theo Hess said the new wireless network would be built and operated by Huawei, a market leader in the technology, and was not part of the general outsourcing deal. Huawei was also supplying the hardware for that network. Telkom was still awaiting proposals from several bidders to manage its other services, and no one entity was favoured. (Source: Business Day) Wananchi Group Launches Triple play offer in KenyaTelecommunications service provider, Wananchi Group, has unveiled Kenya's first triple play product. Branded as Zuku, the service offers customers television, Internet broadband and telephony. Wananchi Group chief executive Euan Fannell during the launch said that the firm is taking advantage of the recently launched unified licensing scheme to roll out a product that enables consumers to enjoy three services from one cable. The product is a result of the group's expansion of its cable services that saw it acquire Mitsumi TV, a cable TV network. Through the Africa Telecom Media and Technology Fund, the company has also acquired a 10 per cent stake in the Teams fibre optic 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. This should be in place by early next year," said Mr Fannell. 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 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 90 channels at prices ranging from Sh800 to Sh3,000. The service will soon be available in Tanzania after the group recently acquired a broadband and VSAT provider in Dar es Salaam. "In more advanced economies such as Western Europe, North America and Southeast Asia, triple play tends to be the platform within which the fiercest battles are fought, and Kenya - with the launch of Zuku, is poised to deliver similar consumer benefits," said the chief executive. (Source: The Nation) In brief:- The South Africa-based firm Dark Fibre Africa says it is investing ZAR2 billion (USD238 million) in the deployment of a fibre-optic network by 2010. The firm has already rolled out more than 200km of fibre network in the country’s major metropolitan areas. It offers network capacity to third-party carriers which target end users with advanced broadband communications services, Telecompaper reports.
MPs, Minister Nsambu Clash Over Laptop Deal in UgandaThe ICT junior minister, John Alintuma Nsambu, has denied accusations that he used his position to do personal business with the government. "It's not true that I am using my position as a minister to avail laptop computers for public servants, for personal gain," Mr Nsambu's statement dated September 25 reads in part. "I did this before I became a minister and therefore, I don't need to be a minister to do what I am doing for public servants and students today." MPs had accused the minister of initiating a personal $150 million project called "Laptop Computers for Public Servants Programme" and claiming it was a government venture. Nsambu has been spearheading a drive for civil servants to acquire computers on lease arrangement and officials who acquire the laptops have their salaries deducted until they have paid the full sum. The laptops, are, however, said to be valued a little below market rates. But in his three-page release, Nsambu insists that the laptop programme under the ICT ministry largely aims at accelerating computer literacy skills among public servants. "My office didn't commit government to $150 million," Nsambu stated. "These funds were committed by our genuine friend (Douglas Tausik of Tropix Technology) to make sure that there are always enough funds at the factory to manufacture and supply affordable quality top-of-the-range computers for public servants and students," the statement adds. Last month Parliament requested a detailed explanation into allegations that Nsambu conspired with Tropix Technology, a US-based computer firm to accomplish personal business which has nothing to do with government. In his explanation, Nsambu said; "As you all know, it has almost become my hobby to help others in my private capacity so that they can have access to computers. This hobby for lack of a better word, started even before I became an MP in 2001 and a minister in 2006." In a direct response to the MPs' suspicions, Nsambu said in monetary value, the personal initiative has saved the government Shs3.2 billion which would have been required to install computer laboratories in the ICT needy schools. (Source: The Monitor) Zinox Launches Digital Knowledge Democracy campaign in NigeriaZinox Technologies has launched a new projects through its Computerise Nigeria Project, CNP. The project known as Digital Knowledge Democracy and described by officials as an Independence Anniversary gift was launched in Lagos, Abuja and Enugu. The Digital Knowledge Democracy solutions is packaged and designed to meet every Nigerian IT consumer at his/her point of need. Launching the first phase of the Project in Abuja, Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman of Zinox Computers said that the pace of change in technology is very fast and can be confusing to the consumer. He explained that the Digital Knowledge Democracy professionally analyses the needs of the consumer and makes sustainable prescriptions that are affordable with flexible payment terms. According to Ekeh the first phase of the Digital Knowledge Democracy, entitled e-School Project was a package designed to help schools to attain world-class standards without the usual financial stress. ICT infrastructure like computer laboratory, digital library, website domain, school portals and the Zinox wireless cloud are offered with tangible incentives that include free training, free website designs, free e-mail for Senior Staff and free internet access up to 1km radius. Ekeh explained that the e-School Project also offers a staff computerization scheme and a students' computer ownership scheme. He said that one of the novel additions to this offer was the Zinox Wireless Cloud which provides internet connectivity up to 1km radius. While launching the e-School Project in Lagos and Enugu, Mrs Vivian Abii, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Computerise Nigeria Project noted that no IT company has invested on marketing themes and schemes as much as the CNP, resulting in the provision of, most times, discounted and subsidized systems to consumers. She said that the e-School was a special anniversary gift for educational institutions. She urged schools to take advantage of the e-School bouquet of benefits. She singled out the ZX Portal which opens the way for a range of online student teacher interactions from admissions, to lectures, to school administration, to intra and inter campus connectivity. She revealed that the first point of contact for international and other assessor agencies is the school's website and the CNP would completely take the website design off the schools. Mrs. Abii emphasized that free training is a major benefit of the e-School Project. The Computerize Nigeria was set up in 2001 by the Board of Zinox Technologies Limited to catalyze the adoption of the computer as a major tool of work and play. Currently, the Computerize Nigeria Project is involved in the computer ownership scheme of 26 Federal universities. (Source: Daily Independent) Tunis Based 'Francophone Digital Campus' Plans to Launch Four Distance Learning Masters in ICTThe Tunis Francophone Distance Campus is planning to launch its own Distance training programs. Inaugurated in 2002, it has so far provided courses designed by European universities.The Campus Director, Mejdi Ayari , has recently announced that the first Masters course will be operational in 2008-2009. Entitled "E-Services International", it has been designed by the November 7 University, at Carthage. Three other MA courses will also be operational in 2009-2010, they will consist of a course dubbed "Quality and quality management in the sector of Health", by the University of Monastir, "Ecotourism", which has been designed by University of Jendouba and finally "Urban planning , governance and sustainable development of urban territories in the Maghreb" by the November 7 University at Carthage. These three Master courses which have all been approved by the Francophone University Agency, will be launched on line as soon as the agreement of the Tunisian Council of Universities is been given. The Tunis based "Francophone Digital Campus" is part of a network of 30 campuses run by the Francophone University Agency, based in Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and South East Asia. It organizes and promotes Distance or on campus training cycles using ICT. (Source: Tunisia Online) In brief:- In Zimbabwe, the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) has announced a review of ICT legislation. The organisation has circulated a questionnaire asking whether the Posts and Telecommunications Act, Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) and Broadcasting Services Act (BSA) have overlapping functions and whether it is possible to consolidate them into one Act. - Tunisia's positive international rankings have just been comforted with the latest ranking by the latest 2007-2008, World Economic Forum "Global Technology Report" which ranks the country 35th globally with an overall score of 4,33 and the 1st in Africa inso far as networked readiness in concerned. But be aware, the country still censured the Internet! - IBM has donated a $1.6 million supercomputer, Blue Gene/P to the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC), part of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research's (CSIR's) Meraka Institute. The aim of the donation is to enable Sub-Saharan Africa to extend its knowledge, skills base and research in science and technology. - Opera Software launched Opera 9.6, the newest version of its Web browser. Opera 9.6 includes improvements in the built-in email client as well as better browser synchronisation.
Telkom Kenya Sold Within the Law, Says MinisterThe Government is not involved in "mindless privatisation of strategic parastatals." Internal security assistant minister Simeon Lesirma said in Parliament on Wednesday that the Government off loaded its shares in Safaricom and in Telekom Kenya to local and foreign investors in line with the law. But Dr Boni Khalwale (Ikolomani, New Ford-K), accused the Government of compromising the country's security by selling its shares to foreigners in the telephony sector. Asked the Ikolomani MP, who is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Accounts Committee said: "This Government is involved in mindless privatisation. What was so difficult about amending the laws before privatising Telekom and selling its shares in Safaricom?" It was at that point that the cornered assistant minister requested the Speaker, Kenneth Marende, to have the question passed over to his Information and Communication counterpart saying they were best placed to deal with the controversial issue. The question was then differed to next week. Earlier, Lesirma had said he was aware the Government had sold 51 per cent of its shares in Telkom to France Telekom, a strategic partner. Said the assistant minister:"This was done with the understanding that the investor would offload 11 per cent of its shareholding through an initial public offering during the planned Phase II of the Telekom restructuring. Lesirma said that during the IPO, the Government would sell a further 19 per cent of its shareholding to the public and five per cent to Telekom Kenya employees. (Source: The Nation) Increase in market share bolsters South Africa’s Huge Group's resultsA rapid growth rate in the local managed telecommunications industry combined with a substantial increase in market share enabled AltX listed telecommunications company, the Huge Group, to post a strong set of interim results for the six months ended 31 August 2008. These interim results include the full six months trading results for both CentraCell and TelePassport, trading as the merged entity, Huge Telecom. They are therefore not directly comparable to those reported for the corresponding 6 month period last year, which consisted of the trading results of only TelePassport, for only one month after listing. However, comparing the latest six month interim results to the seven month period ending 28 February 2008, reveals that the company has grown revenue 27% from R243.5 million to R308.9 million. Attributable earnings increased 10% from R26.3 million to R28.8 million. The company generated cash flow from operations for the period under review of R19.5 million. The Huge Group's CEO, Anton Potgieter says the company's strong results are also testimony to the swift and effective completion of the merger of the two businesses which formed Huge Telecom, being TelePassport and CentraCell, and the fact that they already now form a dynamic and unified managed telecommunications company. According to Potgieter the market for cellular least cost routing (CLCR) services has increased by an annualised rate of 18% in the last 6 months from R3 billion in total revenue at the end of February 2008 to an estimated R3.28 billion at the end of August 2008. "This rapid growth rate is being fuelled by tougher economic conditions, which are forcing corporations to tighten their control over telephone and communications usage and effectiveness. This increased cost consciousness means that companies delivering managed telecommunications services are naturally well placed to benefit from the drive to reduce costs." Potgieter says that by achieving an annualised growth rate in total revenue for the six month period ending 31 August 2008 of 24%, Huge Telecom has managed to increase its market share by 2.5%, from 18% to 20.5%. "Provided the market and Huge Telecom continue to grow at the same respective rates, Huge Telecom could see its market share expand further." According to Potgieter, mobile to mobile telephone calls terminated in SA today using CLCR is around 2.8 billion minutes per annum. Taking into account that total fixed-line to mobile voice traffic originated by Telkom and terminated on the mobile networks is around 4.2 billion minutes per annum, the scope for organic growth in managed telecommunications is capable of exceeding the growth rates of the broader mobile telecommunications market. Earnings growth rates in excess of 20% should therefore be achievable for the foreseeable future. He says the advent of VoIP technology in the African telecommunications market, represents the latest trend towards an increase in telecommunication routing alternatives and this increases the growth opportunity for communications services companies involved in managing telecommunications, both domestically and abroad. The Huge Group also, in the period under review, acquired a 25% stake in Eyeballs Mobile Advertising for R6 million. Eyeballs is based in Cape Town, and has developed a unique media platform that delivers rich advertising content to GSM mobile subscriber handsets in an unobtrusive and non-invasive manner, providing an extremely attractive alternative to SMS and MMS advertising which are often seen as spam. The technology developed by Eyeballs currently has intellectual property protection that provides it with a significant window of opportunity in the mobile advertising and media arenas. "The future prospects of Eyeballs and the synergies that it offers with existing opportunities within Huge are significant," says Potgieter. "Mobile media is expected to grow exponentially making it an incredibly lucrative market in the very near future." Potgieter says the Huge Group will continue to focus on its stated objectives for the remainder of 2008, namely organic growth, leveraging efficiencies and operational and customer service excellence in Huge Telecom. The group will also focus on continued investment in and support of intellectual capital, acquisitive growth into allied industries and markets and the introduction of further strategic and BBBEE shareholders. Vodacom's YeboYethu raises R946mCellular giant Vodacom has described its YeboYethu share offer as a “resounding success”, attracting 102,531 valid applications and being almost three times over-subscribed. The share offer, open exclusively to the black public, black-controlled groups and the company's black business partners, raised R946 million, with 86% of valid funds received coming from individuals and 14% from black-controlled companies. In a SENS announcement to shareholders, Vodacom says 49% of valid individual applications were received from black women; and almost 60% of valid applicants were for the minimum subscription of 100 shares. “All eligible applicants will receive the minimum amount of 100 shares (R2 500), underscoring Vodacom's objective of achieving a truly broad-based empowerment transaction,” says the company. It explains that, to achieve a broad-based shareholding of YeboYethu, shares were allotted using a "bottom-up" approach so as to prioritise the acceptance, in whole or in part, of applications for smaller numbers of shares over those for larger numbers of shares. Preference was given to black business partners, black women, and black groups with a higher percentage of black women and black ownership and control. Business partners subscribed for approximately 566,000 shares, resulting in all Vodacom business partners receiving their full allocation, the company states. (Source: ITWeb) Payfast aims to provide PayPal like services in South AfricaA number of local online merchants have started using Payfast - a PayPal like service making secure online payments possible using Internet banking (EFT). While credit cards are still the main payment method used for online purchases in South Africa, this is starting to change as more people without credit cards go online and gain access to Internet banking. “Whilst with the implementation of the National Credit Act, credit cards have become more difficult to obtain, services like PayFast are making it easier for online merchants to accept payment via EFT,” said Jonathan Smit, Managing Director of PayFast. "Using PayFast's EFT solution is safer than using a credit card as there is no risk of charge backs. PayFast's Instant EFT still gives the benefit of immediate fulfilment of purchases for the buyer and, like credit cards, there is no manual bank reconciliation required for the online merchant." Payfast said that since it launched commercially services in September, there have been over one hundred sellers that have chosen to accept PayFast as a payment method. "The uptake of PayFast has been encouraging so far with very positive feedback. Many smaller merchants have however also requested a credit card service to complement the EFT solution, which we are currently working on and plan to launch during the course of Q4 2008,” says Smit. “Whilst credit cards are unlikely to be completely replaced with solutions like PayFast's anytime soon, Instant EFT does provide a viable alternative to online shoppers, especially those that do not have credit cards, whilst at the same time providing a safer and cheaper payment alternative for South Africa's growing number of online merchants,” Smit concluded. (Source: MyBroadband) In brief:The Kenyan government has announced plans to scrap a law which had required foreign firms to have local partners if investing in the telecoms industry. Under the current system, any investor has to allocate at least twenty percent of the company to a local partner, which has caused problems raising this level of local finance in the past. - Soulco Kenya officially took over the operations of Siemens Enterprise Communications (SEC) in East Africa. The enterprise solutions provider plans to spend 20 million Kenyan shillings (US$279,916) to upgrade the office, which will serve regional operations. SEC serviced mobile phone companies in the region, and Soulco is hoping to continue with SEC's contracts.
South Africa’s OSS news provider,Tectonic, goes mobileAlways on the move? Well now you can get Tectonic on your mobile phone (beta) so you’ve always got something to hand to read. The mobile site includes all the top stories of the day as well as the most popular articles. The good news is that you don’t need to remember any new addresses to get to the site. It is able to detect most mobile devices on the fly and you’ll be automatically re-directed to the mobile site when you visit on a mobile device. If you aren’t automatically redirected then hit the “Mobile Edition” link at the bottom of the page to get there (and let Tectonic know so it can improve the detection). Getting back to the regular edition is also a one-click operation at the bottom of the page. (Source: Tectonic) Internet Solutions launches new gaming portalIS Labs, an Internet Solutions (IS) initiative, has announced the launch of a new gaming portal for Internet Solutions. According to IS Labs gamers complained about the delay or lag when playing multiplayer games through international servers. The new version of IS Gaming (http://www.isgaming.co.za/) is hosted locally to provide South African gamers with a better gaming experience. “Our mandate is simple: improve the South African Internet. This project, the first to be launched out of IS Labs, will do just that by improving online play for South African gamers,” says Jeff Fletcher, product development manager for IS and a founder of IS Labs. “IS Labs continues to look for any ideas that will improve Internet access, the user experience, or provide cost savings to make the South African Internet a better place.” According to the PWC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2007-2011, the global video game market will be worth $48.9-billion by 2011. Although the size of the South African gaming market is much smaller than its US or European counterparts, hardware vendors and big game publishers see great potential in South Africa. Dell has sponsored brand new servers for the hosting of IS Gaming. Electronic Arts, one the world’s biggest game developers and publishers, which has an established local presence, is another key partner for the new IS Gaming site. “Building gaming server capacity in South Africa will grow the local gaming community, increase technical skills and make networked gaming more fun. The new site will give local gamers a world-class online gaming experience and help to keep Internet traffic local, in line with IS Labs’ mission,” says Fletcher. “The support we’ve secured from large players in the game industry, including Dell and EA, along with investment from parent company Internet Solutions, allows us to offer local gamers more without charging them a cent for subscription.” IS Gaming is built on a multiplayer gaming engine, featuring Dell servers with dual quad-core 2.5GHz processors and 16GB of memory. The site currently features six multiplayer games, including Counterstrike and Battlefield 2142 games, with more titles to follow depending on feedback from gamers. There is a strong community focus with rankings tables for individual games periodically uploaded to international game servers, enabling local gamers to compare their skills with each other and the best in the world. The site will also feature news, movies and demos of upcoming titles, and patches and updates for existing games. (Source: MyBroadband)
People* The shortlist of CEO candidates for the State IT Agency (SITA) was not presented to Cabinet, as was expected, and is being reviewed by public service and administration minister Richard Baloyi. Events* 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 *MANAGING INNOVATIVE DEVICES & SERVICES (MIDAS) 27-29 October 2008, London, UK This major new event organised by the Device Management Forum is a three-day conference and exhibition focusing on innovation in (and management of) devices, applications and services. Day 1 focuses on service provider issues, day 2 on enterprise issues and day 3 on future technologies and applications.For further information please visit www.devicemanagement.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* SAFIPA: Call for Proposals – South Africa SAFIPA (the South Africa - Finland Knowledge Partnership on ICT) has announced its first call for proposals. SAFIPA is a partnership programme between the Ministry for Foreign Affairs for Finland (MFA) and South Africa’s Department of Science and Technology (DST), and operates within the Meraka Institute of the CSIR. This three-year programme is jointly funded by the MFA and the DST to the tune of three million Euros and R9m respectively. These funds are earmarked to develop ways and means - via information and communications technology (ICT) - for ordinary South Africans to benefit from services in health and education, and other specialised services. Participation in this programme through the proposal process will be welcomed from South Africa’s ICT community, notably academia, industry, NGOs, small and medium enterprises, and the educational community. In this way, SAFIPA hopes to ensure that the research, development and innovation it funds, will contribute to local knowledge and expertise, and help to grow a sustainable information society in South Africa. By encouraging collaboration among various stakeholders in the South African ICT community, SAFIPA will ensure that the applications developed are suited to local conditions, such as rural communities or under-serviced urban and peri-urban communities. It is envisaged that this will also promote innovative social entrepreneurs who can develop new ICT services for commercialisation. Challenges to be addressed in the local context include a lack of connectivity, the need to increase computer literacy and provide access to self-learning, and ways to increase awareness of existing services. A steering committee has been set up, which will meet quarterly to decide on projects. As part of its activities, SAFIPA plans to host annual international conferences over the next three years, together with relevant programme stakeholders, such as universities, companies and communities. Each annual conference will assess progress on a year-on year-basis and will feed into a learning and knowledge system. Deadline: 24 October 2008 Entries should be send to klahde@csir.co.za and to apatel@csir.co.za For more information and to submit entries, visit http://www.safipa.com/4 Contracts* MTN and BT Telconsult - Nigeria BT Telconsult has announced a new consulting agreement with MTN Nigeria Communications Limited under which BT consultants will partner with the leading African mobile operator to design and deliver enterprise services and solutions across Nigeria. * Telecom 180 and CommProve – South Africa CommProve, a provider of Radio Access Network Quality of Service (QoS) monitoring for mobile networks has announced it will partner with Telecom 180 to deliver network monitoring services to an unnamed South African mobile operator. Telecom 180 will deliver professional services to the South African operator and support the deployment of CommProve’s Netledge monitoring system. Netledge captures every voice call and mobile data transaction in the network, highlights poor service and network quality, and enables rapid identification of problems.
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