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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 430 iVeri’s implementation of e-commerce by debit card looks set to widen the user baseThere was a period a few years back when African Governments seemed to devote an enormous amount of energy to putting in place legal frameworks for e-commerce. Despite all this effort, once the legal hurdles were cleared, the practical difficulties of implementation remained formidable. And once those were overcome….well, there were just not a lot of credit card holders. So iVeri’s Barry Coetzee decided to try and sort out online ordering for debit card holders, of whom there are a larger number than credit card holders. Russell Southwood spoke to him recently about how he’s done it. Even in pretty well developed market like South Africa, only 21% of people have personal Internet access and only 3-4% have credit cards. So in 2007, there were 6.1 million credit cards against a whopping 21.8 million debit cards. But if you take a mid-range market like Kenya for the same year, there only a (projected) 100,000 credit cards as against over 1 million debit cards. The barrier that iVeri’s Coetzee needed to overcome was that debit cards were not accepted for online transactions in South Africa: “The rules around PIN numbers meant that the device where the PIN was entered must meet Visa and Mastercard requirements. Something like an ATM doesn’t hold the PIN number when you’ve entered it.” After two years work and a lot of discussions, a South African bank has signed up to accepting debit cards through a national chain of cyber-cafes (called 3@1) with 52 sites. Each of these sites will install a standard banking terminal attached to a PC. From the merchant perspective, it means that those who want to accept this category of customers will have to install a software update as will the PC that is used to make the transaction. The software enables the merchant’s site to sense the terminal and change the payment method accordingly. Once the terminal is sensed, the website shows instructions asking the user to swipe their card in the terminal and enter their pin. At the end of doing that, the user is instructed to look back at the screen. Coetzee had already noticed that cyber-cafes were being used for this kind of transaction. Someone would take a friend with a credit card to the cyber-café, get them to make the transaction and pay the friend in cash. The use of debit cards opens this type of transaction to a much wider group of people. Coetzee is looking at going into the free Inter cafes in universities because a lot of parents give their children debit cards. There are four merchants in the pilot phase (including Mango Airlines), two of whom have already implemented: “We’re saying to the merchants: do you want access to this retail footprint? Once the merchants say yes, they will market it to their customers. But the big target once the implementation moves out of the pilot phase is e-Government for payment of things like car licences and electricity bills. Or paying bills to the municipalities.” Not surprisingly, the airlines and the mobile operators (selling airtime) like it. In Kenya, one of the energy companies is very interested. Coetzee believes that it’s ideal for what he calls “rich data merchants”: these are companies like hotels, car hire and airlines where it’s complicated to do a booking and the product is data:”You can’t do that kind of thing on a mobile phone. But not all transactions will be ideal for this kind of approach.” The challenge has been to get the credit card companies comfortable:”They’ve dealt with Card Present and Card Not Present but they had no rules or framework for Merchant Not Present”. Since, in effect, the approach shares the payment terminal amongst several merchants, the costs of delivery for the scheme are kept low. The cost per terminal is between US$100-120. With the potential user base in a country like Kenya being over a million, this kind of e-commerce suddenly begins to make a lot of sense, particularly if the kind of thing you’re paying for usually involves a lot of queuing.
Uganda’s Telecoms operators Told to Share MastsUganda’s ICT ministry will compel telecom companies to share transmission masts, Dr. David Turahi, the Director of ICT Management Services said last week. Turahi said the measure was aimed at reducing the increasing number of masts being constructed in the country. He said the ICT ministry would partner with the National Environmental Management Authority and the Uganda Communications Commission to ensure the companies comply. Four telecom companies are operating in the country. These are WARID Telecom, MTN, Zain, and uganda telecom. The fifth company, Hits Telecom (recently bought by Orange) has yet to launch its services. Turahi said the measure follows complaints from the public over the mushrooming mobile phone transmission masts. The public, he said, expressed concern over human and environmental health hazards that might result from electric and magnetic field (EMF) emissions from the ever-increasing masts. "We shall ensure the erection of masts is reduced, especially on hill tops," Turahi promised. (Source: New Vision) Egypt’s Mobinil says interconnect rates unfairMobinil, one of Egypt’s three mobile operators, said it could accept a drop in interconnection rates but that levels suggested by the regulator were “not reasonable.” The firm said on Monday a change in interconnection rates between it and state-owned fixed-line monopoly Telecom Egypt should be part of a broader package of changes. The latter includes lower rates for leases lines and service level agreements from Telecom Egypt. “We are in very serious discussions and I dare say disagreements on points of view with the regulator on a drop they are suggesting for interconnection between the fixed and the mobile networks,” Mobinil Chairman Alex Shalaby told a conference call on the firm’s third-quarter results. “The regulator wants to bring this interconnection rate to a level that we feel is not reasonable,” he added. Mobinil said on Sunday that it would take legal action after the National Telecoms Regulatory Authority ruled on a dispute in favor of Telecom Egypt by changing interconnect prices between fixed and mobile networks. Mobinil, whose main shareholders are France Telecom and Orascom Telecom, said it hoped to get resolution on the matter “before too long.” It gave no further details on the NTRA decision. Shalaby said that Telecom Egypt had wanted Mobinil to drop the interconnectivity rates to below LE 0.15 ($0.0269) to terminate on Mobinil’s network and LE 0.10 to terminate on the fixed-line network. “They are looking for something below that. And this is where we felt that we would like to draw the line because as I said it was part of a package that included other stuff,” Shalaby said. Shalaby said that Mobinil could accept a drop “in principle” but wanted it to come in a package that would also address what he described as “aberrations” on leased lines, which he said were priced higher than international norms. “We are looking for a better revenue sharing regime between us and Telecom Egypt. And also the quality of service or service level agreements,” he said. Telecom Egypt officials could not be immediately reached for comment. (Source: Daily News) ETC Launches Bandwidth Upgrading Project to enrol 6.5 Million More Customers in EthiopiaThe Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation (ETC) announced last Wednesday a bandwidth upgrading project that will allow it to take on 6.5 million more customers. While conferring with local media on the corporation's performance assessment report at ETC's head office, Amare Amsalu, CEO of the Corporation, Zelalem Bekele, Chief Technical Director, and Abdurahim Ahmed, Communication Affairs Division Manager, divulged the finalization of imports of varied facilities that can enable customers nationwide to utilize them from any locality which are cost effective at the same time. The CEO said that in addition to the existing 4000 km fibre network, an additional 2000 kms will be installed. He said this should avoid Internet outages due to vandalism in certain areas. Complementary wireless installations in all the service areas have also been operational and now are undergoing pilot-testing, according to Amare. About 670 weredas (provinces) will now have access to broadband services. He also said lack of mobile capacity, which has long plagued ETC, will be addressed. To alleviate the problems related to the broadband Internet network connections, Amare and his colleagues informed the press that 155 mega bits of international capacity have been created through links with Sudan and Djibouti and an NGN network has been installed. Updating ETC's poor call centre services has also been imperative, admitted Amare besides to contending that, in order to escalate ETC's present call centre to international standards and enable it to give appropriate services, a vast 750-seat modern call centre has already been built which is believed to entertain 16 million users at a time. 15,000 E-cards have also been imported to serve those who cannot always purchase a 25 birr voucher card which is the minimum price needed to make a call with a mobile phone. With the provision of services for the previous year's 800,000 customers and this year's 639,074 new customers, the corporation has procured 3.38 billion financial revenue with a 1.065 billion net profit during the past fiscal year, added the CEO. (Source: The Daily Monitor) Natcoms Demands Compensation From Starcomms on Validity period in NigeriaThe National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has called on Starcomms to pay compensation charges to its subscribers for a deliberate delay in implementing the 90 days validity for subscribers. In a communique on the update of consumers score sheet for telecom operators, NATCOM observed that Starcomms has over the years, deliberately deprived its customers the opportunity of enjoying 90 days validity as practiced by other telecom operators. Starcomms, according to NATCOMS, flouted the orders of the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which had since April this year mandated Starcomms to increase its validity period from 15 days to 90 days. He said in September this year, NATCOMS threatened to take Starcomms to court, should they continue to flout NCC directives and deprive subscribers of their benefits. However Starcomms decided to comply with the 90 days validity period, few weeks ago, when it became clear to them that NATCOM was pushing for the court over the issue. Apart from Starcomms, the subscriber score sheet reflected on Multilinks-Telkom's network, where its subscribers could not recharge / load credit on their phones for some time now. NATCOMS went to lodge a complaint at Multilinks-Telkom's office on Adeola Odeku Street in Lagos, but that no proper attention was given to them. He said NATCOMS took the complaint further to the Consumer Affairs Bureau of NCC where immediate action was on the matter, and that early resolution was promised. (Source: Daily Independent) In brief:- The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has warned the operators laying their optic fiber transmission infrastructure to remember that they would in future share such infrastructures with new entrants into the business, adding that the Commission would come heavily against operators who do not adhere to the infrastructure sharing option. - Ghana Telecom's dwindling fortunes have started to turn around according to Major Albert B. Don-Chebe, (Rtd) Head of Corporate Communications and customer care. GT had registered a six percent net percent growth in customer base while revenue from its international inbound revenues has also increased to 161 percent within the period. Major added that broadband for customers had also tripled and 30 percent additional customers had joined the network. He disclosed that the southern ring of the national optic fibre network has been completed while the company’s fault clearance has improved. This is the second Corporate Communications announcement designed to keep up a flow of good news about the company. - Nigeria’s largest mobile operator by subscribers MTN has had a ban on advertising its services lifted by the sector regulator in recognition of improvements made to its network capacity and coverage. - Algeria’s Trade Ministry has offered help to regulate the sale of mobile phone chips in an effort to eradicate the phenomenon of unidentified chips, Minister El Hachemi Djaaboub spoke about "the availability of his department to lend the necessary support by mobilizing its control agents to regulate chips sale." - Ericsson reports that it has successfully rolled out a new GSM network in Guinea for the Cellcom Group. The GSM network covers the capital Conakry and the country's main rural areas. Hanoch Dombek, the CEO of Cellcom said that the company has reached more than six hundred thousand subscribers. - Zain’s country manager for Ghana, Philip Sowah has announced that the company will launch its mobile operations by the end of this year. - Nokia has introduced affordable mobile devices and services to make the Internet available for emerging markets. Estimated retail prices of the new devices range from 25 to 90 EUR, with several models expected to begin shipping in 2008. Nokia's suite of Internet services for emerging markets will be available beginning in 2009. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- MTN Rwanda announced that its mobile subscription base has reached one million. The result comes days after the South African based MTN Group announced that its Group's subscriber base across its 21 operations in Africa and the Middle East had increased to 80,736,000 as of 30 September 2008. - Nigeria’s CDMA operator, Starcomms Plc, has announced that the aggregate number of its subscribers has exceeded two million as at Friday 24th October' 2008, outperforming all growth projections and confirming it as Nigeria's 4th largest telecommunications operator. - Cellphone operator MTC has celebrated 1 million Namibians being connected to its network, highlighting the achievement as one of the most significant milestones in its 13-year history. - Mobile operator Vodacom Tanzania has teamed up with Research In Motion (RIM) to launch the BlackBerry solution to its subscribers across the country.
Cheaper, Faster Internet Gets Closer as Seacom Cable LaidThe promise of cheaper and faster international bandwidth for Africa moved significantly closer last week, with the official groundbreaking of a landing station where the undersea Seacom cable will dock in Mozambique. The $600m cable originally promised to slash SA's bandwidth costs by 80%, but the mere threat of its arrival has prompted incumbent operators such as Telkom to drop data prices by up to 80%. Even so, Seacom would charge at least 50% less for its bandwidth when it goes live on June 27 next year, said its president, Brian Herlihy. The landing station in Maputo is unimpressive, based on concrete slabs a few hundred metres inland and raised a metre above the potential flood line. The shrinking size of technology means the amount of equipment needed for the station has shrunk considerably over the years, Herlihy said. Work on SA's landing station in Mtunzini will begin in December. Those facilities will be run by Neotel, which is investing R20m in the project. But its bandwidth will be sold to any other operator at wholesale prices, offering cheaper international connectivity for all cellular networks and internet service providers. The complexity of the project is magnified by delivering the cable to 11 different countries, each with their own regulatory foibles. In Maputo, a flower shop and a main road lie between the landing station and the beach, but the cable will be laid underground at a depth of 1.5m. Cable will then be rolled out 2km offshore, with the work conducted by hand to reduce the environmental impact. Then a cable-laying ship will take over, splicing the cables from several coastal points into the main 14000km-long cable sunk onto the ocean bed, linking Africa to Europe and India. Universities in SA will benefit, with Seacom pledging 50 times more bandwidth for 2% of the fee they pay now. Seacom estimates there are 1-million broadband users in SA, and if they all accessed the internet simultaneously that would require one terabit of international bandwidth. Yet SA has only about 10 gigabits, so users may never get the access speeds they pay for."A lack of international capacity has been choking the data market in Africa for years," Herlihy said. "Data markets are springing up in every country, but ... the exploitation of the Internet really hasn't started in Africa." (Source: Business Day) Brazil renews commitment to train Africa TLD managersBrazil has renewed its commitment to training Africa's TLD (top-level domain) managers after successful training in Angola, Kenya, Mozambique and Tanzania. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sudan, Togo, and Uganda have all expressed interest in the training, said Hartmut Glaser, who founded the training program. The software required for the training is open source and easy to maintain, making for inexpensive deployment, Glaser said. Moreover, he said, Brazil is exploring ways to conduct training in Africa by bringing 10 countries together in one location on the continent and sending a trainer there, rather than requiring African TLD managers to travel to Brazil. Most of Africa's country code TLDs are run from Europe and North America, but it is very easy to set up infrastructure in African countries, noted Michuki Mwangi, who was the first beneficiary of the training program and the former manager for the .ke domain name. "The technical part is not hard; the people part is the challenge," Michuki said. "It is very hard to get government or university officials to approve some of these issues." "It took the Tanzanian team three months to get approval for their travel," Glaser added. "Decision making can take long, but Brazil is always open. Because of perceived lack of technical ability, some of Africa's country code TLD management has been outsourced to companies like Afilias and Verisign, but that can be avoided, Michuki said. "For instance, if the domain is managed externally, there is no skills transfer through training of engineers, and the percentage of the fees is paid to the external managers," he argued. While Glaser admitted that he is not an expert in African affairs, he argued that Africa is suffering from a lack of competitiveness in paying for employed technical experts, an issue that affected Brazil years back. "There is need to attract the people living in diaspora so that they can repatriate the skills," said Glaser. "Brazil is willing to work with Africa because we understand the challenges faced." Apart from encouraging technical expertise, Glaser underscored the need to market the domains to the population as a way to promote patriotism and loyalty. There are 1.5 million .br domains in Brazil; 92 percent of those are using .com.br, and the others are universities, government agencies and other entities, Glaser revealed. Brazil now has the sixth-highest number of domains after China, Germany, the U.K., Holland and the U.S., he said. "The domain has to be marketed as a country identity," Glaser said, "the way one carries a flag or sings the national anthem with pride." (Source: IDG News Service) Altech’s court “hat-trick” in South AfricaAllied Technologies Limited (Altech) announced last week that The Minister of Communications’ urgent application to the Johannesburg High Court for a declarator, that its Notice of Application for Leave to Appeal suspended Altech’s entitlement to an I-ECNS licence, together with an interdict prohibiting the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) from issuing Altech with the licence, was dismissed by Judge Blieden. Despite having lost the application for leave to appeal on Friday 7th of November at the Pretoria High Court, the Minister of Communications proceeded with the urgent application. In handing down judgment, Judge Blieden stated that the existence of a live ‘Notice of Leave to Appeal’ was an essential aspect of the application that the application was doomed without it. It was therefore dismissed with costs. Altech’s counter-application requesting the court to order that ICASA issue Altech with its I-ECNS and I-ECS licences was however upheld. Judge Blieden ordered ICASA to deliver the licences to Altech and ordered that the Minister of Communications pay the costs of both applications. Altech’s Chief Executive Officer, Craig Venter commented “This is now the third court decision in a row, in two separate High Court jurisdictions, that have all emphatically supported the self provision principle.” ‘ Venter added “We sincerely hope that the Minister of Communications is advised not to carry out this fight any further, and allows the industry and its regulator to get on with the business of lowering the South African consumer’s telecommunications tariffs”. The Minister of Communications, however, still has the right to petition the Supreme Court of Appeals to grant Leave to Appeal the original judgment, although legal sources now believe that she has little chance in prevailing in this matter. In the meantime Altech has called on ICASA to issue it with the licences, in accordance with the court order. Earlier last week, telecoms companies were celebrating when the bid by Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri to challenge a high court verdict allowing them to build their own networks was rejected. In brief:- The interim government of Somalia has applied to the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) seeking to regain control of the .so domain. The government approached the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for help in regaining control of the domain. As the ITU does not run the registries, the organization has enlisted Jim Reid, founder of RTFM, to help Somalia transfer control of the domain to its Telecommunications Ministry. - The Nigerian Communications Satellite (NigComSat) Limited, has developed a solution to check the incidence of ghost workers widespread in organizations and assist human resources managers to strengthen their staff performance. The solution is a web based clocking machine that has the capacity to help organisations manage their human resources online. -Two experts from the James Mintz Group (JMG) have arrived in Liberia to help the committee investigating Willis Knuckles, former minister of state for presidential affairs, for alleged bribery, which was exposed by an e-mail exchange. The chain of e-mails, branded as Knucklesgate, was obtained and published by Liberian Web magazine FrontPageAfrica in August. The e-mails suggested corrupt practices at the highest level of the Liberian government. - The choice of financial instruments available to South African investors continues to grow, with the Bond Exchange of SA (Besa) announcing a joint venture with Market Tech to roll out Africa's first online binary options exchange, Justtrade.com. A binary option is a financial bet which pays out a finite amount. - The Council of Government of Algeria endorsed a draft bill on the specific rules for the prevention and fight against infringements relating to information and communication technologies (ICTs), and providing for the creation of a body in charge of countering cyber-criminality. - The campaign to demand that the South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission makes its website available to all Internet users gained momentum today with the launch of the No Firefox! No Vote!” campaign. The campaign, launched by well-known open source advocate Karl Fischer, is urging Internet users to email or fax IEC chief information officer Libisi Maphanga, to demand that the organisation make its website available to all users. The website currently denies access to users of non-Internet Explorer browsers. - Microsoft and Google announced that they were adopting and integrating OpenID, the open standard single sign-on system for Internet websites. Microsoft was adopting the OpenID framework for its Windows Live project and that soon all Windows Live users would be able to use their Live ID to login to OpenID-enabled sites.
Calls for National ICT Council in South AfricaThe wave of change ushered in by Barack Obama's victory in the US reached SA last night, as calls of “yes we can” echoed the Montecasino Ballroom at the beginning of the 2008 IT Personality of the Year Award ceremony. In his address, Adrian Schofield, president of the Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA), emphasised the change that needs to happen in the ICT industry, saying: “South Africa does need a council – not the Built Environment Professions council, not an advisory council, but a national ICT council, bringing together all the stakeholders in a mandated environment – at the level of the state president.” Schofield believes this council could provide unity and end confrontation in what he notes is a fragmented environment, saying: “It would make the industry adopt a more unified approach to grow the sector and would persuade the government to adopt a holistic approach to the creation, adoption and implementation of ICT.” But, emphasised Schofield, like political change, people need to demand and participate in change for it to happen. “The Computer Society must change to contribute to this unified approach. It must become what it set out to be 50 years ago, but in a guise relevant to 21st Century SA. The society must find a way to represent the interests of all IT professionals, it must continue to foster best practice standards, and it must fuel the education, training, coaching and mentoring of young aspirants in the industry.” While the evening was meant as a celebration of 50 years of the CSSA and 30 years of the IT Personality awards, Schofield warned the failures of the society could lead to disaster in the industry. “We are failing ourselves; we are failing our country because we, as an industry, are wasting time and resources on the petty issues, instead of working together to improve education, to raise standards and capacity to promote exports.” The structures for participation are in place, he noted, but without any involvement, these structures cannot become agents of change for the industry. “We have most of the tools to do this in place. Your computer society offers a range of ways in which you can enhance your career, network with your peers and recognise exceptional achievement. But the society cannot achieve this just by existing.” He called for the increased engagement and involvement of IT professionals, saying: “Most of all, let's change. Change ourselves, change our society and change our world.” (Source: ITWeb) Rwanda Joins International Technology Transfer NetworkThe government of Rwanda through the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology's (KIST), Technology and Business Incubation Facility (TBIF), becomes the first member of Shanghai International Technology Transfer Network (SITTNet). SITTNet is initiated and organised by the National Technology Transfer Centre of Shanghai, Jiao Tong University, Shanghai Technology Innovation Centre, Shanghai Co-way International Technology Transfer Centre Co. Ltd, Shanghai Small Enterprises Service Centre and the Technology Transfer Centre of Shanghai Academy of Science and Technology, with the Secretariat located in Shanghai Co-way ITT centre in China. It aims at integrating resources of companies dealing with international technology transfer, strengthening the link of Universities, institutions and enterprises, promoting the effective flow of science & technology information and resources, accelerating the business co-operation and high tech product trade between Rwanda and China. Shanghai International Technology Transfer platform is one important part of SITTNet, which is an open information platform providing international technology transfer supply and demand. Rajeev Aggarwal, the director of TBIF explained that by joining the above network, KIST can assist Rwandan Entrepreneurs to expand their business contacts to other organisations or enterprises in China, to get in touch with Chinese SITTNet members and other local Technology transfer providers in China. The admission to SITTNet came during the International workshop on Planning, Building, and Management of Science Parks and Incubation in Shanghai, China from October 10 to 26, 2008. Rwanda, Kenya, Lesotho, Botswana, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Mauritius, Zimbabwe and delegates from the African Union attended. "There is strong need to set a national policy on innovation, science and technology development through establishment of Science parks and a business incubators," said the in-charge of training, James Kayinamura, who also attended the workshop in China. The conference objective was to provide opportunities for government officials, experts and managers in the filed of Science and Technology Parks from African countries to develop beneficial relationships and to exchange knowledge and ideas. "Rwanda can not stand as an island in this global development move. Joining SITTNet will help Rwanda to learn a lot from China and all the network members," said KIST Rector, Professor Abraham Ogwu, last week on the phone. Kenya, Nigeria and Botswana were the other countries admitted to the network due to the incubation development in their respective countries. According to KIST Vice Rector, Rajav Aggarwal,, who also signed on behalf of the country, Rwanda has got one incubation facility that has trained 250 technology entrepreneurs with 15 already working. The TBIF provides a micro-environment for accelerating start-up business and maximising their growth potential by conserving entrepreneurs' most scarce resources, time and money, through cost sharing, access to capital, work space, support services and equipment in a flexible and timely manner. (Source: The New Times) Nigeria’s Cosmos computer manufacturer gets Windows Vista certificationBarely three months after its formal launch into the Nigerian market, the Cosmos brand of desktop computers from Coscharis Technologies Limited has passed the Windows Vista Logo Test conducted by the Microsoft Corporation under its Windows Hardware Quality Laboratory (WHQL) certification programme. By passing this test, Cosmos has joined the league of computer brands that have been certified to be compatible with the Windows Vista Operating System. Cosmos is also among the few Nigerian brands that have passed the test under Windows Vista, which is the latest operating system from Microsoft. The certification qualifies the product to use the "Certified for Windows Vista" logo from Microsoft. According to Mr Seun Olofinjana, the Cosmos plant manager, "the testing involved in the certification process guarantees a reliable and trouble free installation and usage of the Ultimate, Enterprise, Business, Home Premium and Home Basic editions of Microsoft Windows Vista. Our customers can buy Cosmos with the full assurance that it runs perfectly on the Windows Vista OS. This further validates our standards from an external body" Noting that the achievement was a record_breaking one, the Chief Operating officer of Cosmos, Mr Banji Hammed, stated that it was a further demonstration of the brand's commitment to international quality standards and focus on the customer. "We are committed to giving Nigerians the best”. (Source: Vanguard) In Brief:- A total of 952 students graduated today from the Eritrean Institute of Technology in Mai-Nefhi. This first batch of graduates would play major role in the national development drive of Eritrea. - Hewlett Packard (HP) has made Nairobi the regional hub for East and Southern Africa for its Personal Systems Group (PSG). With the cost of PCs a major determinant in market penetration, HP PSG is in the process of partnering with banks and ISP and software firms to target the mass market. - The Information Technology (Industry) Association of Nigeria (ITAN) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with its Malaysian counterpart, the Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (PIKOM). The two industry organisations shall organise the exchange of information for the benefit of the ICT communities in the two countries; facilitate contacts and cooperation between members of the two organisations and coordinate business meetings among the two groups. - IBM and Sun Microsystems, Inc. announced the launch of the OpenDocument Format (ODF) Toolkit Union, a new open-source software community project organised to make document software more innovative, versatile and useful for business. The ODF Toolkit will use an initial software code contribution from Sun to provide developers with an easy-to-use Application Programming Interface (API) for reading, writing and manipulating ODF documents while accelerating additional application development.
R22.5bn Vodacom deal signed in South AfricaUK cellular network operator Vodafone is due to sign the R22.5 billion deal to purchase an additional 15% of Vodacom from Telkom. According to a Telkom statement, Vodacom will be listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The 15% stake will be sold to Vodafone for R22.5 billion in cash, less Vodacom's attributable net debt of R1.55 billion, as of 30 September 2008. Telkom will distribute 50% of the after tax proceeds from the sale transaction to Telkom shareholders, by way of a special dividend, net of any tax levied thereon. This dividend will be paid upon closing of the transaction, which is expected to take place in the first half of 2009. This transaction will also result in Vodacom being converted to a public company, listed on the main board of the JSE. Telkom will distribute its remaining 35% stake in Vodacom to Telkom shareholders by way of an unbundling and investors, for the first time, will have direct equity in SA's largest mobile phone operator. Before the deal, Vodafone and Telkom each owned 50% of Vodacom, leaving the group without a majority shareholder. Once the deal is completed, government and other Telkom shareholders will see their stakes in Vodacom reduced substantially. These shareholdings in Vodacom are by virtue of government, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and the Elephant Consortium having the largest direct stakes in Telkom. Government currently owns 39.42% of Telkom, with the PIC holding 15.23%, the Elephant Consortium 5.8%, Liberty Group with 2.97%, Sanlam 2.17%, and two Telkom treasury stock companies with a combined 4.07%. Once the deal is finalised, the direct shareholdings of some of those shareholders in Vodacom will be reduced. This will leave government with a 13.8% stake in Vodacom, down from 19.9%; the PIC will see its stake drop to 5.3%, from 7.6%; the Elephant Consortium will have its stake reduced to 2%, from 3.9%; and the other shareholders that include Sanlam, Liberty Group and others will see their combined stakes fall from 17.6% to 13.8%. Government wanted seven conditions to be met before it gave the deal its blessing. However, it is not yet known to what extent these conditions were actually met. The first is that Vodacom Group's CEO should be a black person; the second is that the CEO of the operating entity should be a South African. Thirdly, government also wanted assurances that no retrenchments would occur and that Vodafone sign a deal with organised labour. Another condition is that Telkom does not use this opportunity to outsource its core labour force. The fifth condition was that Vodacom has exclusivity over Vodafone's sub-Saharan markets. The sixth condition was that government shares in Vodacom will be locked up for only one year and, finally, that Vodacom retains its South African tax residency and that, if listed, Vodacom's primary listing will be on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Sources say the ruling African National Congress was initially against the deal because it was seen to be benefiting the same set of people who managed to get fairly large Telkom stakes after the Tintana Consortium sold its 15% stake in 2006. Among those was the Elephant Consortium, which is made up of two other investment consortiums – Lion and Buffalo. Key people involved there were Andile Ngcaba, a former director-general of the Department of Communications, and currently chairman of Dimension Data SA, and former presidential spokesperson Smuts Ngonyama, who helped facilitate that deal. (Source: ITWeb) Maroc Telecom’s nine-month results out; domestic competition heats upMaroc Telecom’s domestic fixed line, wireless and internet operations in the first nine months of 2008 generated net revenues of MAD19.28 billion (USD2.24 billion), up 7.7% on the same period of 2007. Fixed line and internet gross revenues in Morocco increased by 1.2% year-on-year to MAD7.19 billion, mainly driven by data and internet business. Fixed lines in service stood at 1.314 million at the end of September, down by 0.8% compared to a year earlier, whilst the internet customer base (almost exclusively broadband) reached nearly 482,000, up 7.3% compared to September 2007. Moroccan mobile subscribers reached 14.628 million at the end of the three-quarters, up 14% year-on-year. Blended mobile ARPU showed a slight quarter-on-quarter increase in 3Q08 to MAD100, although the figure was down by 8.7% from a year earlier. The company reported that it had 18,000 mobile ‘3G+’ broadband subscribers by the end of September. Mauritel, Maroc Telecom’s Mauritanian subsidiary, saw nine-month net revenues drop by 1.7% year-on-year, due to the contraction of fixed line revenues that were partially offset by mobile activities. Mobile users increased by 31% year-on-year to 1.1 million customers. Another of the Moroccan group’s foreign subsidiaries, Onatel in Burkina Faso, ended September 2008 with 877,000 mobile subscribers, a 91% year-on-year increase, whilst Gabon Telecom recorded significant annual subscriber growth of 42% for mobile, 35% for fixed and 33% for internet services, although the Gabonese incumbent (bought by Maroc Telecom in February 2007) posted nine-month net revenues down 4.2% y-o-y to MAD852 million. The Moroccan regulator L’Agence Nationale de Reglementation de Telecom (ANRT) says that at the end of September 2008 national mobile penetration reached 72%. Maroc Telecom’s user base of 14.628 million at that date was just over double the size of its nearest rival Medi Telecom (Meditel) with 7.404 million GSM subscribers. In the third quarter the ANRT began counting mobile subscribers of the newest market entrant Wana for the first time, having previously classified all its CDMA-based network users as fixed line or limited mobility; the domestically owned operator was credited with 261,000 mobile customers at the end of September. Wana now controls 53.4% of the fixed line (including limited mobility) market, according to the regulator, with 1.514 million active connections at the end of September compared to Maroc Telecom's 1.314 million lines in service. The residential sector is now the chief focus of Wana, owned by the ONA conglomerate, and in this market its share of 'fixed' customers reached 65.6% at the end of the third quarter. (Source: Telegeography) Western Union, Orascom ally to pilot mobile money transfersThe Western Union Company has created an alliance with Orascom Telecom Holding, one of the largest mobile operators in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Orascom and Western Union plan to work together to introduce mobile remittance services in select markets. The services aim to make low-principal, high-frequency remittances more convenient to the millions of consumers who send money every day. Orascom Telecom, which was established in 1998, operates six mobile networks with a combined total of 77 million subscribers, including Djezzy in Algeria, Mobilink in Pakistan, Mobinil in Egypt, Tunisiana in Tunisia, Banglalink in Bangladesh, and Telecel Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe. In addition, in early 2008, Orascom Telecom acquired a licence in North Korea to operate mobile services. Several of the countries where Orascom Telecom operates are among the top receivers of remittances in the world. For example, according to the World Bank, Bangladesh received US$6.6 billion in remittances in 2007, Pakistan received US$6.1 billion, and Egypt received US$5.9 billion. "Orascom Telecom mobile networks are in areas with high populations of people who have limited access to financial services," said Naguib Sawiris, Orascom Telecom Chairman and CEO. "We believe this alliance, supported by our current mobile subscribers throughout the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, presents an effortless method to bring financial services to many of the world's families for the first time." Western Union, together with its affiliates Orlandi Valuta and Vigo, maintains the industry's largest global money transfer agent network with more than 355,000 locations in over 200 countries and territories. "As the need for remittances continues to grow, so does the desire for new channels to conduct quick, convenient and affordable money transfers," said Gail Galuppo, Western Union Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer. "Western Union is already offering this convenience with mobile money transfers from select locations, and we look forward to working with Orascom Telecom to offer this option to their subscribers in the future." The mobile money transfer service connects mobile operators to Western Union's trusted global "hub" for processing cross-border remittances. Once connected to Western Union's service, mobile operators use their own "mobile wallet" software to enable person-to-person mobile money transfers over Western Union's global remittance network. The Mobile Money Transfer service enables consumers to transfer money to or from mobile wallets and is being introduced into the global network of Western Union Agent locations for cash-to-mobile and mobile-to-cash transactions. The agreement with Orascom Telecom is part of the pilot programme of Western Union and the GSM Association, the global trade association representing over 750 GSM mobile phone operators, to facilitate the development of cross-border mobile money transfer services. (Source: Developing Telecoms) Nigerian Communications Commission gives multi-million Naira contract to Galaxy BackboneThe Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has given a multi-million naira Internet project to be installed at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja to Galaxy Backbone Plc to manage and sustain the service which the Commission conceived and funded to provide Internet services to all civil servants located at the secretariat. Executive Vice Chairman of the Commission, Engr. Ernest Ndukwe, who handed over the infrastructure to the Chief Executive Officer of Galaxy Backbone, Gerald Ilukwe, during a visit to the company's operations office in Abuja, said he was impressed with what the company was doing and was confident that the services were in good hands for the benefit of the civil servants. He said the Commission had initiated the project in line with its mandate to facilitate and promote the use of ICT in Nigeria, and had obtained the approval of government to deploy Internet services to facilitate governance and the operations of the civil servants that work at the secretariat. Engr. Ndukwe also said the Internet service for the Federal Secretariat was conceived in 2006 before Galaxy Backbone came into existence, and that the Board of the Commission approved the handover of the facility in line with the mandate of Galaxy Backbone to coordinate the provision of ICT facilities for government agencies. Ilukwe also said Galaxy Backbone was building its capacity to provide services to both public and private sectors and would continue to improve on what NCC had transferred to it. He noted that more than N85 billion had been invested by several organs and agencies of government and that Galaxy Backbone was in the position to coordinate this entire infrastructure to deliver value from the potentials of these deployments. In brief:- The UK telco BT has announced plans to sell off a 30% stake in its South African operations to comply with Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) legislation. The stake is being acquired by Sekunjalo Investments, a black-controlled company, for ZAR27 million (USD2.8 million). BT Group, believes its broad-based black economic empowerment deal with Sekunjalo Investments will give it access to multinational clients. - Zain plans to make four to five acquisitions worth up to $4 billion before 2010 with the global credit crisis depressing asset prices for telecom firms, its chief executive said. - South Africa’s hi-tech company Altech said it would fight MTN Takeover of Verizon in South Africa. Objections to MTN's planned R1,4bn takeover of Verizon SA will be heard by the Competition Tribunal on Friday as a precursor to the main event. The proposed deal has already been unconditionally approved by the Competition Commission despite objections from several industry players. Now the tribunal will hear arguments from Altech, which wants to intervene to block the move. - In Kenya, mobile phone operator, Safaricom has said that it will soon announce new value addition features on its money transfer service, M-Pesa. - JSE-listed African Cellular Towers (ACTowers) has informed shareholders it expects earnings and headline earnings per share, for the six months ended 31 August, to increase by between 25% and 35% over that of the previous corresponding period.
The British High Commission gets Online Visa Application for NigeriaWith online visa application process becoming popular among embassies across the globe, the British High Commission, Abuja has assured prospective Nigerian visa applicants of robust IT infrastructure for effective online visa process which will be deployed very soon. With online payment system being the major challenge affecting UK online visa application process in Nigeria, the Operations Manager, UKBA of Visa Section, the British High Commission, Abuja, Jason Ivory, disclosed last week during a tour of its visa facilities in Lagos that a robust system is being deployed world wide to ensure an efficient online visa application system as is done by the American Embassy and other consulates across the globe According to Ivory who warned on fake fraudulent applications among visa applicants, the major challenge affecting online visa application process in Nigeria is online payment system. While assuring Nigerians that the British High Commission runs a transparent visa application process, Ivory said the British High Commission does not have the facility to take payments online, adding that , "What we will like to do is to enable people fully submit their application online just like the Americans do. We do not have that facility at the moment because we cannot take online payment bookings. The facility is there. At the moment, there is very little we can do to change how the system works. "It is not something specifically designed for Nigeria. It is a worldwide online visa application facility. But because of the way infrastructure is set up here, we are not in a position to do here as much as in other countries where we run visa operations. We are trying to make it as easy as possible very small number of people use our online visa application system. That is why are encouraging people to use it. "A very small percentage of our customers currently apply on line. We would like to encourage more to do so as booking an appointment using the online facility speeds up the application process at the Visa Application Center. The inability to pay the fee on-line is not just specific to Nigeria and we do have other markets where it is not possible" he explained. With optimism , he assured that the UKBA was working hard to deploy a robust IT infrastructure that supports online visa application not only in Nigeria, but across the globe. Although the time frame as to when a robust IT infrastructure for the online visa service would be deployed was not ascertained as at press time, he said that they will come out with a payment system that will make the online payment facility work." We are promoting a system that enables people book their appointment with VFS online. We are promoting that. It is not something the High Commission in Nigeria are developing. It is a world wide affair. It is a system being developed by our team in the UK. "It will have to be robust. We have to get it right. If we do not get it right and the system collapses, then the Nigerian government will complain, and the Nigerian public will complain too. It is something we have to get right before we roll it out eventually" the Operations Manager, UKBA who has been preaching a transparent visa process noted. Explaining further to newsmen on how the visa applications submitted to VFS work (not through online method), he said that "the applications submitted in Ibadan are processed by my staff at the High Commission in Abuja, adding that the applications that are submitted either in Ikeja or Victoria Island are dealt with by colleagues at the Deputy High Commission in Lagos. "So we've split it down the middle but its not actually a 50-50 split. I would say that the Lagos operation deals with probably 65% of the total number of applications and colleagues in Abuja deal with 35%. Just to give you an idea of numbers, at the end of last year 2007, we took in a total of just under 200,000 applications from Nigerians wishing to travel to the UK. "In Abuja we dealt with 60,000 of those with Lagos dealing with 120,000 - that's roughly the split that we've got. So the applications are then forwarded to us at the High Commission and we then have some administrative processes before the application is actually gone through by one of our Entry Clearance Officers. As part of the application process we would have seen the biometric process where we take some of the fingerprints and then the photograph" he said. According to Ivory who spoke out against fraudulent application, what happens to that data is that as soon as it is taken, it is sent down via an internet cable back to the UK and the fingerprints and facial recognition are checked against a number of databases in the UK. "So we can now identify against those databases whether we have taken the fingerprints of that person before or whether they have applied for a visa before or whether they have come to the attention of the UK authorities previously before for a particular reason. There a number of databases we check. "The main reason that we wanted to roll out biometrics and it is now a worldwide programme is because we are looking to know that we are able to protect these identities. One of the big problems we face in the past is rather that people are able to change their identities and its quite easier for Nigerians to submit more than one passport just by changing their identity slightly. Before we were able to take their fingerprints, it was harder for us to know the people who changed their identities but now its easier because we are now able to identify immediately whether or not somebody has submitted their applications previously or against the database to see if they've been known to the UK authorities previously. " So it helps us to take an important decision as to whether or not that applicant has submitted a genuine application. The applications coming to us we run various applications against databases, we also check the information has been given as fully as possible., so the more information we can get makes it easier for our officers to make a decision when deciding whether to refuse the visa or issue the visa. So we do have all these checks and it is on day three of the application processes that one of our officers look at the application process. "They would look at the documents, they would assess the documents that have been submitted by the applicants and they would make a decision whether or not that person qualify for a UK visa.. Now some people say that we refuse too many and that therefore suggests that our success rate at appeal should be very low" he said. At the moment, he said that their success rate at appeal is anything between 67% and 76% depending on whether it's a Lagos application or Abuja. "In Abuja its about 75-76% and in Lagos its about 65-67% - now that shows that majority of the decisions we are taking, when it's been looked out by independent body - that body agrees with our original position. There is a small percentage whereby the decision goes in favour of that person who is making the appeal, but predominantly at the moment, the process is more robust and enhances the quality more than hitherto," Ivory said. (Source: Vanguard) Waspa Tightens Cellphone Rules in South AfricaAn association governing the provision of content and advertisements to cellphones has beefed up its code of conduct to enforce ethical behaviour and to protect consumers better. The Wireless Application Providers' Service Association (Waspa) had tightened up its advertising rules because ethical behaviour was in the interests of consumers and the industry, Waspa chairman Leon Perlman said this week. "Our rules seek to protect consumers from misleading and objectionable advertising content from (service providers) so that they can have confidence in marketing messages from our members." Its code of conduct governs all of SA's major providers of mobile applications and content, such as subscription services, competitions, ring tones, news alerts and bulk SMS messages delivered on behalf of corporate customers. One of the most important changes creates a standard format for advertising their services on TV to ensure all mandatory information is present and easy to read. This should help viewers easily see information, including the total price and type of service before they subscribe to it. The rules also aim to ensure adverts do not contain objectionable material, especially if it may be seen by children. (Source: Business Day)
People- The Executive Director of Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), Patrick Masambu, has been elected the chairman of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) Council. - Chris Scoble, the former managing director of Nashua Office Automation, has been appointed as the managing director of Nashua Mobile. He replaces Mark Taylor, who resigned to join Vodacom. - Ayman Abouseif, VP of Sales for SAP MENA, has resigned from the company less than one year after joining from Oracle. - The new Chief Marketing Officer for MTN Congo-Brazzaville is Gande Dagba. H was formerly Marketing Director with Zain in Gabon. Events* MIGRATION TOWARDS ALL-IP CONFERENCE 10-12 November 2008, Fun Valley Conference Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa The conference has been organized by the Communications Regulators’ Association of Southern Africa (CRASA) in partnership with Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA). The key objectives of this conference are to deepen the understanding of NGNs in CRASA members, operators and other ICT stakeholders in SADC region. Bridget Linzie and Judith Simukanga are our contacts at CRASA Secretariat, Telephone: +267 3158468315846831584683158468 EMAIL: crasa@it.bw or blinzie@it.bw * 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
* South Africa, communications services and 2010 - e-readiness or e-rockiness?’ 17 November 2008, Classroom F, Mwalimu House, School of Public and Development Management, 2 St David’s Place, Parktown, South Africa The LINK Centre, Graduate School of Public Policy & Management, Wits University, and the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering cordially invite you to a free public seminar by Will Hahn, Gartner Principal Analyst, Carrier Operations and Strategies Worldwide, who has been tracking the South African ICT sector for many years. For RSVP: lauren.aca2k@gmail.com (preferably) (or 084-582-0422) * CUSTOMER SERVICE & CONTACT CENTRE 19 – 20 November 2008, Nairobi, Kenya For further information visit www.aitecafrica.com * THE MOZAMBIQUE ICT CONVENTION 2008 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 * ngNOG 16 – 26 November 2008, Lagos, Nigeria For further information on the 3rd Edition of the Nigerian Network Operators Group Workshops and Meetings, visit http://www.forum.org.ng/ * AFRINIC 9 22 – 28 November 2008, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia For further information on the 9th AfriNIC Open Policy Meeting, visit http://www.afrinic.net/ * TELECOMS COST ALLOCATION AND PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS CONFERENCE 1st – 5th December 2008 Hesperia Hotel, London - UK Over the five day conference delegates will learn & develop techniques to over come the latest developments in European regulatory and management accounting, address vital issues such as NGNs, IP-interconnection, regulatory evolution, convergent services, customer profitability analysis and cost control functions. Learning through a wide range of different formats you will learn how to increase your understanding and benchmark activities through; keynotes, panels, roundtables, workshops, seminars, interviews and open discussion. The formats are tailored to the subject and change the pace each day, helping you to maintain concentration and boost memory of the event. For further information visit www.iir-conferences.com/costprof Jobs and Opportunities* EAC Secretariat ICT Systems Assessment, Security Strategy and Policy Paper The objective of this assignment is to carry out the security and confidentiality assessment and develop a routine to oversee, monitor and update security measures of EAC Secretariat IT networks and services, based on internationally recommended security frameworks, -standards and best practices. It is expected that this study will provide practical recommendations and a guiding strategy and policy-paper for internal ICT security in the EAC Secretariat and overall organisation and its IT support services and networks. The application deadline is 12 November 2008 For further information or to receive the ToR contact Jane Moeller Larsen at Danish ICT Management on +45 26847817 * Translate.org.za calls for volunteers Translate.org.za is part of the emerging African Network for Localisation (ANLoc). The network covers a number of sub-projects, each one addressing a specific issue with technology and language in Africa. The main requirements for a volunteer are: literate in the target language; comfortable using computers; can volunteer about 1 or 2 hours; finishes what they start If you are willing and able to help, please look through the list of languages, and contact locales@africanlocalization.net for us to set you up for your language/ country combination. * eLearning Africa 2009: Call for Proposals The 4th eLearning Africa conference, which will take place from May 27th - 29th, 2009 in the Senegalese capital Dakar, has opened its call for proposals. Suggestions for sessions, presentations, workshops and discussions can be submitted until December 5th via an online form at http://www.elearning-africa.com/proposals.php. Detailed information on the topics and the call can be found at www.elearning-africa.com Contracts* Uganda Telecom and Huawei - Uganda Uganda telecom has signed an agreement with Huawei technologies to expand its existing Next Generation Network (NGN) - an investment of over US$10 million by Uganda's second national operator. The agreement stipulates that Huawei will replace 33 Remote Line Units (RLUs) spread all over Uganda with brand new state of the art soft switches that will provision services through the NGN. Currently, Uganda Telecom uses RLUs that are analogue switching units to connect telephone calls. * Tunisiana and Nokia Siemens - Tunisia Tunisian cellco Orascom Telecom Tunisie, which operates under the brand name Tunisiana, has announced the modernisation of its GPRS core network through the integration of Nokia Siemens Networks’ (NSN’s) Flexi Intelligent Service Node (ISN). The Flexi ISN, which performs GPRS Gateway Service Node (GGSN) and data charging functionalities, is fully integrated with the existing NSN charge@once pre-paid solution to enable flexible charging of data services. * MTN and Bharti Telesoft - Africa Bharti Telesoft and MTN Group have signed a value-added services (VAS) deal. This will see the integrated VAS solutions provider supply all 21 MTN operations with multimedia messaging centre (MMSC), short message service centre (SMSC) and wireless application protocol (WAP) gateway solutions.
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