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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 446 20th March 2009 DRC: Work now under way to link the country by fibre to its neighbours and the worldOne of Africa’s largest countries, DRC, has taken the first towards creating a fibre link to its neighbours and the outside world. A little-noticed announcement was made at the end of last month by the Vice-First Minister for Reconstruction that gave the green light to start construction work on a fibre optic link from the capital Kinshasa to the coastal town of Muanda. Russell Southwood looks at the potential impact on the country’s connectivity. The Vice First-Minister for Reconstruction Emile Bongeli announced at the end of February the first phase of construction of a national fibre backbone with the building of a Muanda-Kinshasa link in partnership with China. The project is scheduled to last nine months and will cost US$31 million. The link will be 651 kilometres long and have a capacity of 10 Gbps. The project is being managed by the incumbent l'Office congolais des postes et télécommunications (OCPT). Its Administrateur Directeur Technique (ADT) Placide Mbatika said that it would allow the cost of telephone calls to be reduced “sensibly” and that all operators would be able to connect the proposed national network. He said that telecommunications was among five important public works for the country. To illustrate his point, he cited the case of the country’s universities which could be connected properly to the Internet and the use of surveillance cameras on roads and other locations. Because of its impact on other sectors of national life, telecommunications was one of the key indicators for economic growth because it helped generate wealth, created employed and was key factor for the integration of different groups within the country. It was also the initiator of a range of new “value-added” services:”OCPT will make this backbone the national reference network.” The second phase would see the deployment of fibre from Kinshasa to Kenge in Bandundu province west of Kinshasa. From this province, the cable would go to the mining province of Katanga via Kasaï. No details were announced for the routing but the path to Kolwezi passes not too far away from Mbuji-Mayi. After Kolwezi, it would go north to Bukavu (Sud-Kivu province), Goma (Nord-Kivu province), Kisangani (Orientale province), Mbandaka (Equateur province) before having come in a huge circle back to Kenge. It was noted that the cable through Katanga province will pass through Kasumbalesa which will allow a connection to be made southwards down into Zambia. This is a huge civil works project in a country that has few roads beyond the capital Kinshasa. The link to Muanda will be the easiest to build and with Chinese contractors is likely to be completed close to the proposed schedule. However, the scale of the proposed nation-wide ring is enormous and is likely to take 3-5 years to complete. Meanwhile it is likely that other fibre operators may connect up to Lubumbashi from Zambia. But when the link to Mudanda is made, it is a under 100 kilometres to Pointe Noire, the Capital of Congo-Brazzaville, Angola’s Cabinda enclave and Angola itself. It will then become relatively easy to connect into the festoon cable Angola is currently laying and to on-connect to Pointe Noire.
MTN reports strong subscriber growthFor the year ended 31 December 2008 MTN Group reports that revenue increased by 40% to ZAR102.5 billion (USD10.02 billion) from ZAR73.1 billion in 2007. The increase was driven by strong growth in subscribers, and was further enhanced by the relative appreciation of operating currencies to the Rand. The group’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was up 36% to ZAR43.2 billion, although EBITDA margin declined by 1.4 percentage points to 42.1% due to increased network maintenance costs, higher fuel costs and regulatory levies. Net profit rose 43.8% to ZAR17.1 billion. MTN reported customer additions of 48% year-on-year, equating to almost 30 million subscribers to end 2008 with a total of 90.7 million customers. The majority of additions came from MTN Irancell with an increase of 10 million, and MTN Nigeria which added 6.6 million customers to raise its total from 16.5 million at 31 December 2007 to 23.1 million a year later. MTN Irancell’s market share increased to 37% from 23% as it increased its subscriber base to 16 million. In its home market of South Africa, subscribers increased by 16% year-on-year to 17.2 million. Post-paid subscribers grew by 10% to 2.8 million, mainly driven by the launch of the MTN Anytime package in September 2008, which attracted more than 259,000 subscribers. Pre-paid subscribers increased by 17% to 14.4 million thanks to the success of MTN Zone, which attracted 6.6 million subscribers in the eleven months after launch in February 2008. Pre-paid average revenue per user (ARPU) increased by 5% to ZAR97 a month, while post-paid ARPU increased by 2%. However, the blended ARPU was negatively impacted by the changing mix between post-paid and pre-paid subscribers. Looking forward, MTN says it is ‘cautiously optimistic about its prospects for 2009.’ The operator said it will look to maximise ‘infrastructure sharing,’ having already embarked on a long-distance fibre network rollout, together with Neotel and Vodacom in South Africa. MTN Group incurred expenditure of ZAR28.3 billion on CAPEX in 2008, an 84% increase over 2007. MTN also invested approximately ZAR250 million in 2008 to gain access to significant submarine cable capacity through the SAT-3, WASC, EASSy and EIG initiatives. The company also said it will continue to seek out acquisition and consolidation opportunities. 2009 to date, MTN says its South Africa operation has added 80,000 net new subscribers, Nigeria 2.2 million, Iran 1.5 million, Ghana 300,000, Cameroon, 200,000, Cote d`Ivoire 200,000 and Uganda 300,000. (Source: www.telegeography.com) New telecom billing system for EthiopiaThe Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) has begun installing another new Customer Care and Billing System (CCB). This investment is an attempt to prevent a repeat of the 2006 incident when ETC lost more than 70 million birr ($6.3 m) due to a total breakdown in its then one year old billing system. The former billing system that ETC procured for 23 million birr was installed by an Indian IT firm, Ushacom. However, errors were present in the system from the first day of its application. On top of the malfunction, there was also mismanagement. Experts assigned to scrutinize the project were not thorough in performing their job. They approved the system as it initially worked well and allowed payment instalments to be made to the Indian firm. Meanwhile, a data copying safeguard, purchased to back up the customer information, was not utilized while the company transferred the data from the old billing system to the new one. Regardless of the errors in the installation, procurement of the machine was not as per the specifications, which finally led to the crash of the entire billing system in July 2006. Despite all these serious problems, the terms of the contract made it very difficult for ETC to terminate Ushacom's involvement in the project. Instead, the state-owned corporation turned its face on its own top management, dismissing five individuals who had direct involvement with the procurement and installation of the system. Subsequently, ETC was forced to revert to its old billing system, which resulted in over-charging of customers. After dealing with all these problems, ETC used the old system for just over two and a half years, but has now decided to spend the extra millions on another new billing system called V-Smart. According to sources, V-Smart is expected to keep records of calls made by registering them, recording the length of each phone conversation and converting this recorded time into an amount to be printed on bills every month. It is said that the failed billing system was expected to perform the same function. The Chinese IT firm ZTE is currently undertaking all ETC billing system projects. ETC and ZTE signed a vendor financing agreement in 2006 in which the latter is responsible for finding finance for ETC's projects that ZTE would perform. (Source: Africa News) Ghana Telecom Cuts 850 JobsStaff at Ghana Telecom who have taken advantage of the firms recent offer for voluntary redundancy are to benefit from a customized Transition Support Programme which has been developed to help them to manage the change effectively as they seek different jobs after they leave the firm. Around 850 jobs, out of a total workforce of 4,000 are to be cut in the voluntary program. Last August, Vodafone completed the acquisition of a 70% stake in state-controlled fixed-line and mobile operator Ghana Telecom for US$900 million on a debt-free, cash-free basis. The Ghanaian parliament approved the sale, despite criticism from the opposition party who believe the shares are undervalued and said that the deal isn't in the national interest. The programme, which will take the form of counselling and training is designed to help the staff to obtain a deeper appreciation of the change to enable them make a smooth transition to a new life. In a statement, Vodafone said that it is concerned that the staff are equipped with basic skills to plan and manage their personal finances better, with particular reference to their disengagement packages. Those desirous of setting up their own businesses will be taken through basic entrepreneurship training, while those seeking regular employment contracts elsewhere will be helped to prepare themselves for a job search to enhance their chances of securing interviews in the organisations they wish to work for. According to estimates from the Mobile World subscriber tracker, the mobile network ended last year with just over 1.6 million subscribers - equating to a market share of around 27%. (Source Ghana Web) Kenya: Qualcomm, Telcos Implement Wireless Health Care With CDMA 2000 TechnologyQualcomm has a scheme to empower rural communities in Africa in the area of health care, through the use of its 3G wireless technologies initiative that was launched in 2005. In collaboration with the Provincial Medical Office of Nairobi, Communications Commission of Kenya, Telkom Kenya, Axesstel, and RTI International, it has announced their plan to implement a wireless health care project in Kenya that will improve HIV/AIDS treatment at the Kasarani Health Centre in Nairobi. The project harnesses the benefits of advanced 3G wireless event technology to make the supply of antiretroviral medicines (ARVs) more efficient. HIV/AIDS is one of Kenya's most pressing health concerns and offering antiretroviral treatment (ART) is a key component of the government's strategy to reduce HIV/AIDS-related morbidity and mortality. Nairobi currently has more than 20 ART sites under the supervision of the Provincial Medical Office (PMO). The initial project coverage is focused on 16 sites that receive their antiretroviral medicines exclusively from the Kenya Medical Supplies Agency (KEMSA). Information and telecommunications capabilities at the ART centers are limited to VHF radios with no official telephone line connections. "A reliable, uninterrupted supply of ARVs is crucial to the success of antiretroviral therapy," said Dr. Samuel Ochola, provincial director of public health and sanitation, Nairobi. "Our current supply management system is characterized by tedious and time consuming manual maintenance of records, which is a heavy burden considering the shortage of human resources. Automating the process will enhance the record keeping and reporting processes and help us provide more efficient care to those affected by HIV/AIDS." Through its Wireless Reach initiative, Qualcomm says it is working together with project participants to equip the ART centers with computers, software and wireless broadband connectivity based on CDMA2000 revolution, a technology to facilitate the online communication and transmission of reports. The project is also providing technical support, training and capacity building to ensure long-term sustainability and promote scalability, Qualcomm said in a statement. Describing the process to achieving the feat, Qualcomm said health centers will receive computers and support equipment needed for wireless connectivity. The computers, it added, will be connected to Telkom Kenya's Orange Broadband network, based on CDMA2000 revolution. The upgrade will facilitate online reporting to KEMSA and improve coordination between the health care centers, the districts and the PMO, the statement said. "In countries like Kenya, with the challenges implied in the expansion of fixed-line broadband networks, 3G wireless technology allows us to overcome these constraints," said Dominque Saint Jean, chief executive officer of Telkom Kenya. "We serve emerging markets and are committed to the goal of universal connectivity," said Clark Hickock, chief executive officer of Axesstel. "We are excited to be able to provide assistance for such a worthy cause and work with Telkom Kenya to supply an innovative communications solution for this project. Axesstel's next-generation, feature-rich fixed wireless voice and broadband data devices have proven value to advanced wireless network operators throughout the world. We look forward to being a part of this Wireless Reach program and delivering our valuable service to this region." The project implementation is being managed by RTI along with the PMO and will make use of open source software designed by RTI, which is derived from the manual recording system for managing antiretrovirals throughout Kenya. The new system will be adapted for use in the health centers. Capacity building will also be provided for trainers who will be responsible for teaching PC skills and the new software to health care workers at the ART sites. The long-term goal is to produce a software and communication system that is locally sustainable and scalable to other health centers within Nairobi and other provinces. Ultimately, the same system could be extended to manage all pharmaceuticals. (Source: Independent Lagos) In brief:- Zimbabwe has paid part of its arrears for international telecommunications links, ending a week-long disruption to internet traffic that had hurt business and personal communications. Sources said here Saturday that TelOne, the government-run firm responsible for telecommunications gateway to the rest of the world, had accrued arrears of more than US$1 million on fees to service providers for internet connection, resulting in the country being switched off. TelOne made a partial payment of US$200,000 to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) after the intervention of Information, Communication and Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa on Friday. - Warid Telecom has laid off 35 employees as it moves into the second phase of its operations in Uganda. Two senior expatriate officials, Tushar Maheshwari, the chief commercial officer, and Islam Shoukati, the head of sales, have also left.
Kenya: TEAMS Alarmed By Arrival of SeacomWith the arrival of the private undersea cable Seacom on the East African coast, the Kenyan government has moved to reassure stakeholders that The East Africa Marine Systems Cable (TEAMS) is still on course. After months of a lull and seemingly no activity in the laying of the government fronted cable, news that the privately owned SEACOM cable had landed at the coastal town of Mombasa appear to have sent jitters in government circles prompting the reassurance. Government last Tuesday issued an assurance that installation TEAMS fibre-optic cable by June was still on course. The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Information and Communications Dr. Bitange Ndemo said the project's technical and financial aspects were still intact. He however expressed fears the cable laying costs could shoot up with the increasing piracy threat along the coast. Ndemo spoke during a signing ceremony with shareholders and of a loan agreement in Nairobi. He said the Kenyan government had already submitted their funds for the cable just as Kenyan based mobile phone service provider Safaricom which holds a 20 percent stake in the cable also submitted their funds. Most other firms that had applied for a stake in the project are yet to honour their financing obligations and the government called upon them to move with speed. "The government has already paid Shs1.6 billion for its portion of shares. All shareholders will contribute a total of Shs10.4 billion," Ndemo said. Ndemo said the TEAMS cable was expected on the East African coast by mid June given that the laying process will begin March 24. The public-private partnership is 20 percent owned by the government of Kenya, Safaricom and Telkom Kenya take a 20 percent stake each, while Kenya Data Networks and Econet Wireless Kenya own 10 percent each. Ndemo sought to allay fears that three cables landing in the country would provide more capacity than the country could handle."We have capacity for up to 10 cables because our intention is to make this country a regional communication hub," he said. Meanwhile the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Finance Joseph Kinyua has said the Attorney General has given all the necessary approval for the project. "All the sub-systems have been fully manufactured and assembled. In effect, TEAMS is now a fully fledged company," Kinyua said. (Source Africa Business Week) Phishing attacks are on the rise and an increasing number of customers are falling prey to fraudsters, say local banks.While the big-name banks declined to release specific statistics on phishing attempts, they have confirmed online banking customers face increased attacks from fraudsters. Phishing is a scam where clients receive e-mails which claim to come from a financial institution. It requests a client to confirm his or her login credentials by redirecting them to a “phishing” Web site, which is designed to look like the official Web site of the institution. All details entered on these Web sites are immediately passed on to the fraudsters and used to gain access to banking accounts. First National Bank (FNB) recently released a statement to its online banking customers warning that phishing is on the rise, saying: “There has been a significant increase in the number of phishing attempts whereby fraudsters attempt to obtain customers' personal banking and other confidential information.” Absa, Nedbank and Standard Bank have also confirmed increases in phishing attempts on online banking customers. Lee Albertyn, head of Virtual Networks at Nedbank, states: “Online identity theft relating to phishing and keystroke logging remains a real threat. There has been an increase of such phishing schemes online through spam e-mail or pop-up windows.” Ross Linstrom, personal and business banking media relations officer at Standard Bank, notes: “We can confirm there has been an increase in the number of phishing attempts, and we urge customers to remain vigilant.” All the big-name banks state the biggest reason for the increase is customers' failure to heed warnings, saying they would never send out e-mails requesting them to enter personal details online. According to Steve Higgins, head of corporate communications at FNB, the increase is “cyclical”. He says the increase could be as a result of a resurgence of crime syndicates. Higgins explains that banks often experience a period in the year when phishing incidents decrease as police crackdown efforts on syndicates increase. Following the quiet period, the number of fraud incidents surge again as syndicates re-organise, he adds. For Absa, the increase in attacks is directly related to increases in the number of online banking users. “Millions of South Africans are now enjoying the convenience of banking online and as the channel has grown in popularity, so have the number of identity theft attempts by fraudsters trying to trick clients into divulging sensitive information like PIN numbers and passwords.” Christo Vrey, managing executive of Absa digital channels, says successful phishing attempts are not a reflection of poor security measures by banks. “It is important to remember that no bank will ever send you an e-mail asking you to click on a hyperlink to confirm or update your login details. Typically, Internet banking systems are secure. The only way for online fraudsters to operate is to convince customers to divulge personal information.” Higgins notes that customers continue to fall prey to phishing attempts - despite repeated warnings from banks. Vrey points out that customers need to adopt a tough, vigilant approach to phishing attempts, saying: “In the same way in which one is responsible for their physical security, like locking one's front door for instance, it is the customers' responsibility to ensure their online security by not divulging sensitive personal and banking information.” (Source IT Web) Ten countries sign alliance for e-commerceTen African countries have signed up to the "Pan African Alliance for E-Commerce," a new ICT based program launched by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The Alliance hopes to establish and encourage the use of “Single Window” across the continent, which is an electronic platform where traders undertake transactions online. The system is believed to reduce the need for paperwork. The main aim of the alliance is said will intensify cooperation and initiate common projects of interest to African countries and sub-regions. Senegal, Tunisia and Mauritius have such platforms, dramatically reducing the time it takes to clear customs in those countries. So far 10 African countries have signed with the alliance while a number of other countries are expected to join the alliance in the next few months Ibrahim Nour Eddine Diane, president of executive committee of the alliance, told journalists at the launching ceremony this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Cameron, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Ghana, Morocco, Gabon, Libya, Togo and Kenya were listed as the 10 countries that have signed with the alliance. It is the first of its kind on the continent, and the signatories hope to encourage more countries to create their own single windows platforms that would become part of the wider network. The Pan-African Alliance on e-Commerce seeks to set up a framework for exchange of Single Window experiences in Africa and establish a mechanism to assist countries in the development of Single Windows. It also plans to ensure Africa’s representation in international forums and contribute to the development of the concept at a global level. Putting in place a platform of resources for facilitating the establishment of regional Single Windows and improving existing projects and facilitating cooperation with other regions of the world, notably through the establishment of pilot paperless projects with countries of Asia, Europe and America is also mentioned as main target of the alliance. In addition, the alliance also acts as focal point for development partners and international institutions active in the promotion of Single Windows in Africa. (Source: Africa News) Briefs-There is a new Kenyan Portal for Kenya’s three million Internet users, organised by top Kenyan Journalists and researchers, see www.home.co.ke for further information.
South Africans should not expect online voting until the system proves successful internationally, says the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).The electoral body re-iterates it will not introduce online voting for the 22 April elections, or the 2011 local government elections - but that it will “get there one day”. It adds that, while the increasing adoption of technology in election processes is encouraging, online voting will not be successful locally until more established electoral systems get it right. According to the IEC, electronic voting is too costly and the absence of paper records in voting and verification systems would result in a complete loss of hundreds or thousands of votes. It says that until it could be verified that e-voting machines are recording votes as intended, and election officials could conduct recounts, SA could not implement electronic voting. While the IEC will spend R200 million on technology for the general elections next month, it has no plans to introduce online voting. The budget will go towards the purchasing of 30 000 voter registration scanners and ICT solutions. According to Arthur Goldstuck, MD of World Wide Worx, e-voting systems have not yet gained global acceptance as part of electoral systems and, until they do, SA should not be in a hurry to implement the technology. Goldstuck says SA has to begin by solving security and access issues. The country is noted for its low Internet penetration rates, with only 9.5% of the population having access to the Internet. Goldstuck says that, until those issues are solved, Internet ballots as a primary form of voting will not benefit the country. He notes that if the system were to be implemented now, it would prove chaotic due to the high potential for voter fraud and the work required with safeguards, which would need to be built into hardware. E-voting is used for party primaries in the US and there are instances of hybrid solutions where touch-screens are used in voting booths - but it needs to be a standard which is approved in major electoral systems, says Goldstuck. He adds that, over time, “Internet voting will allow for freer elections” - where the rights to privacy and protection from coercion are successfully upheld. Internet voting takes the voter away from the activity which happens in the vicinity of booths, says Goldstuck. He adds that, in cases where voters experience high levels of intimidation, online voting can provide great value. (Source IT web) Sun to deploy South Africa's largest supercomputer at the Centre for High Performance ComputingSun Microsystems has initiated the rollout of South Africa's largest high performance computing solution at the Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC) in Cape Town, with local partners Eclipse Networks and Breakpoint Solutions. This follows from the award of the CHPC second phase tender to Sun Microsystems and its partners to provide the infrastructure for Phase II of this world-class high performance computing facility in South Africa. The CHPC is funded by the South African Department of Science and Technology, and managed by the Meraka Institute of the CSIR. Says Stefan Jacobs, South and Eastern Europe (SEE) systems practice solution architect for Sun, “The deployment of the infrastructure for Phase II at the CHPC, forms part of fulfilling the government’s goal to position South Africa as a beacon of research on the continent and meeting CHPC's mission to enable South Africa to become globally competitive through the effective use of high-end IS infrastructure. In doing so, the needs for the development of high-end IT skills in the region have been identified and Sun is working towards supporting these goals with its local partners.” The proposed end-to-end solution is based on a hybrid architecture that provides an estimated 27 teraFLOPS of peak computing power. At the core of this computing power, is a Sun SPARC Enterprise® M9000 server with 64 SPARC64® VII quad-core processors, and a cluster of four Sun Blade™ 6048 Modular Systems, to be delivered in two stages. Stage one consists of one Sun Blade 6048 Modular System with 48 blades based on Intel® Xeon® E5450 processors, and stage two consists of three Sun Blade 6048 Modular Systems that house 144 blades based on the next-generation Intel® Xeon® processor. (code named Nehalem). At the front-end, Sun will be providing the CHPC with the Sun™ Visualization system which allows for users to assemble and view 3D models of their data. The Open Storage solution is based on ten AMD Opteron™-powered Sun Fire™ X4540 Open Storage servers, providing 480 Terabytes of data with the Lustre™ parallel file system for extreme I/O performance and reliability. Rounding the hardware part of the solution out, all of the components will be connected via a Voltaire Infiniband switch. Software for the solution consists of Sun's HPC software, Linux Edition, Sun™ xVM Ops Center and software from Totalview. Hardware for the CHPC is being assembled in Scotland and the USA and will then be shipped to South Africa for installation and integration by Eclipse Networks and Breakpoint Solutions. “Part of the project is the skills transfer that will take place to CHPC resources. This will start during the actual build process and will be followed with a formal training programme in 2009 designed to provide local skills that will be critical to the success of the centre,” explains Jacobs. The CHPC is an invaluable resource for research in Africa, bolstering work being done in energy alternatives, weather prediction, healthcare and other key areas of research. “For example, research is being conducted at the University of Limpopo in South Africa relating to Lithium crystals, used in high energy-density solid-state lithium-ion batteries,” says Jacobs. “This research aims to improve battery technology to deliver cost effective and long-term power solutions. The research relies on computational modeling methods that benefit greatly from the incredible processing power available at the CHPC.” Nigeria: E-Waste - National Policy to Restrict Import UnderwayFollowing growing concern over the environmental problem posed by the indiscriminate dumping of electrical/electronic waste in the country, the Federal Government said last that it was about to formulate a national policy on e-waste management. The policy may restrict the importation of certain categories of second-hand electronic equipment into the country. Under the planned new import restriction regime, the Federal Government is considering a partial ban on the importation of certain electronic/electrical equipment that fall below specified age limits. Speaking at an emergency meeting with stakeholders in Abuja, Director-General of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), Dr. (Mrs.) Ngeri Benebo, said government had initiated a number of actions to combat the scourge including the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee on electrical and electronic waste management to proffer lasting solutions to the problem. The DG said as part of the process to develop a national policy framework for addressing the e-waste, a stakeholder sensitisation workshop was convened last year. The workshop identified, among others, that electronic waste had become the fastest growing waste stream in the world even as the general public remained unaware of its menace. She said under the Basel Convention, for which Nigeria is a signatory, any country can define hazardous waste nationally in ways that suits its peculiar situation, beyond the definitions contained in the convention. She added that "all imports of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEE) that qualify as WEE under the convention including those identified by the national definitions in Nigeria could be prohibited. She added that "Nigeria can impose additional requirements regarding age and packaging in order to ensure that the material sent into the country as second hand electrical/electronic goods are not hazardous wastes." Benebo said Nigeria may consider allowing the importation of fully functional used electrical equipment, if properly packaged and with a certain minimum age requirement. According to her, an investigation carried out by NESREA in the wake of the reported dumping of electronic waste at the Alaba International Market area of Lagos, traced the problem to the large influx of second hand electronic/electrical equipment into the country. The D-G described e-waste as an emerging hazardous waste issue in Nigeria and Africa with absence of national infrastructure to recycle the materials as well as a legislation to regulate the sector. (source: This Day) In Brief:- African ICT Ministers, regulators and operating company executives are expected to use ICTs to fight the global recession and to renew their commitments to more effective governance through better and faster deployment of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in their respective countries when they meet in Kigali, Rwanda, next week for their annual African e-Governance conference. They will be joined by a number of executives from ICT manufacturing companies, infrastructure and technology providers, as well as from international donor agencies, academics, consultants, non-governmental organisations and other key stakeholders to discuss e-governance best practices. The 3rd annual e-Governance Forum 2009 organised by the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO), and hosted by the Rwandan Ministry in charge of Science and Technology at the Office of the President, is scheduled to take place in Kigali, Rwanda from Tuesday 24th March through to Thursday 26th March at the Kigali Serena Hotel.
AfDB Supports Satellite Communication in Africa-A Senior Loan of US$ 25 million to finance the New Dawn Satellite ProjectThe Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group on Wednesday in Tunis approved a loan of US$ 25 million for the New Dawn Satellite Project. The project comprises the design, construction, launch and operation of a pan-African communications satellite system into the 33° East orbital location, ideally positioned to serve the African continent. The satellite, which will comprise 30 physical transponders operating in the C and Ku frequency bands, will provide services in Africa for cellular backhaul, Internet backbone, corporate networking, TV relay and broadcasting. The launch and commencement of commercial operations are expected in early 2011. The project sponsors are Intelsat, a world leader in fixed satellite operations, and South African investors, including Convergence Partners. The project was able to successfully raise the necessary funds, US$ 250 million, despite difficult market conditions thanks to close collaboration between Nedbank, the Industrial Development Corporation and the AfDB. The project responds to strong demand for satellite supply capacity, driven by efforts by mobile operators to expand their networks to underserved areas, support businesses and remote communities, and boost socioeconomic development. The project is in line with the AfDB’s Information and Communication Technology Strategy (ICT) which sets out regional and national infrastructure as its first priority. This includes international connectivity to the rest of the world, regional backhaul links that interconnect countries, national backbones that extend access beyond major cities, and last-mile connectivity to rural and underserved communities. Regional infrastructure is also the focus of NEPAD’s Medium-to-Long-term Strategic Framework, where the AfDB has been designated a lead agency. Prior to the New Dawn Satellite project, the AfDB had approved investments in three private sector ICT projects. The first was Euro 13 million partial guarantee to MTN Cameroon to cover the loan extended by local commercial banks in Cameroon and Gabon. MTN contributed to the rapid growth in GSM usage by both businesses and the public at large. This was followed by a US$ 50 million senior loan to the RASCOM Telecommunications Satellite Project, which involves the construction and launch of an earth-orbiting satellite system to provide point-to-multi-point telecommunications services throughout Africa with strong focus on intra-African connectivity and rural communications. This was followed by a US$ 14.5 million loan to the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy), which is an initiative to construct and operate a submarine fiber-optic cable along the east coast of Africa to connect 20 coastal and land-locked countries to one another and to the rest of the world. (Source ADFB News) AccessKenya FY revenues grow 75% to KES 1.6 blnAccessKenya Group posted a 75 percent increase in revenue to KES 1.57 billion for the full year 2008. Pretax profit before extraordinary items rose by 65 percent to KES 211 million. MD Jonathan Somen said the company exceeded its original minimum guidance for growth in both revenues and profits in 2008. For those shareholders who invested in AccessKenya's IPO back in June 2007, he said, they are now owners of a company with nearly triple the revenues and over quadruple the profits. The company is targeting a minimum turnover of KES 2 billion in 2009. Zain joint venture buys 31% stake in WanaKuwait’s Zain Group announced on Saturday it has agreed to buy a 31% stake in Moroccan fixed-wireless and mobile operator Wana via a newly established joint venture. Zain Al Ajial, a 50/50 joint vehicle with Morocco’s Al Ajial Investment Fund Holding, will pay MAD2.85 billion (USD324 million) for the stake in Wana (full name Wana Corporate, formerly Maroc Connect), a consolidated subsidiary of Omnium Nord Afrique (ONA), Morocco’s largest conglomerate. ONA owns 51% of Wana’s shares, with the remainder listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange. Alongside the equity investment Wana and Zain will enter into an operating framework agreement that will allow Wana to access Zain’s expertise, purchasing power, products and services, including the ‘One Network’ local rate international mobile roaming network. Wana last year overtook Maroc Telecom as Morocco’s largest provider of fixed telephony services in terms of subscriber lines. Using the Bayn brand name, it reached 1.685 million lines in service at the end of 2008, although its connections are mostly based on limited mobility and fixed-wireless CDMA technology compared to the former monopoly telco’s copper wireline local loops. Wana also competes with Maroc Telecom and Meditel in the cellular market, and had signed up 435,000 3G mobile subscribers by end-2008. It aims to gain a much bigger slice of the mobile segment after gaining a 2G operating licence in February 2009. It is also in second place behind Maroc Telecom in Morocco’s broadband internet market, with 147,000 subscribers by the end of September 2008. Wana is expected to announce a new investment strategy by the end of this quarter. Zain’s CEO Saad Al Barrak said in a statement on Saturday: ‘With 22.5 million mobile customers representing about 70% penetration, Morocco is an exciting new region for Zain to extend our footprint to 23 countries.’ The foreign investment will assist Wana in deploying a new GSM 1800MHz network with a target of launching commercial 2G mobile services in the second half of 2009. Karim Zaz, CEO of Wana, said: ‘We are extremely pleased to partner with Zain and Al Ajial in this new chapter of our business. Our new investors provide us with the right combination of long-term financial investment and operational resources to help us achieve our objective of making Wana a leading telecom operator in Morocco.’ Waleed Al Fehaid, Chairman of Zain Al Ajial, commented: ‘The new GSM licence along with the offerings Wana launched in the past year provided a very attractive long-term investment opportunity.’ Zain’s new partner Al Ajial Investment Fund Holding was established in Morocco in December 2006 and now manages funds worth MAD5 billion (USD600 million) in sectors including infrastructure, manufacturing, agribusiness, tourism and real estate. (Source: www.telegeography.com) In brief:- Telecom Egypt has released financial results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2008, revealing a 10% rise in net profits against the same period a year earlier to EGP2.79 billion (USD492.2 million). Revenue for the company also increased, rising 1.2% year-on-year to EGP10.12 billion. Revenue from internet and data services rose 26% y-o-y to EGP575 million, helping to offset a 5% annual decline in fixed line voice revenues. Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) meanwhile saw a 4% decline against fiscal 2007, with Telecom Egypt attributing the fall to an increase in employee costs in 2008. Despite the fall in fixed line voice income, by the end of 2008 Telecom Egypt had 11.7 million fixed line subscribers, 4% more than at the end of 2007. Customers taking the operator’s ADSL services surged 91% to reach 424,000. (Source: www.telegeography.com) Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- The Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC), has appointed Detecon International and PriceWaterHouseCoopers, as consultants and advisors to the commission for the review of current interconnection rates among the Nigerian telecom service providers. The two consulting firms are to conduct cost study as well as international benchmarking studies as a follow up to the one conducted in Nigeria in 2006, which led to the enactment of the existing fixed and mobile termination rates in the country. - Over the last few days many Vodacom subscribers in South Africa have complained about problems using the company's 3G/HSDPA service. One of the main complaints from users was that they could connect to the Vodacom network, but that no Internet browsing was possible. Vodacom said that it is aware of a problem that has been affecting some of its data customers, "specifically those who have not yet upgraded their Connection Software to the latest versions available on www.vodacom.co.za".
Lesotho: Women Farmers Get Mobile Phone Know-HowAccess to mobiles phones has transformed the lives of rural women farmers boosting income and expanding knowledge, a pilot study in Lesotho has found. Three years ago, Evodia Matobo, then 62, a small-scale poultry farmer in Lesotho's rural lowlands, was stacking plastic containers to feed her chickens. Now she talks about "feeders, agricultural shows, workshops, experts." The moment that set her on the road to change for the better was when she clasped a mobile phone for the very first time, and "felt like a teenager; going back to life". The phone was one of 10 distributed to three cooperative women's farming groups in different agro-ecological zones in Maseru district, western Lesotho, by the Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (RHVP), which builds evidence to help policy-makers working on food security and social protection. "The phone has transformed the women farmers' lives completely - they are able to market their produce, access information on prices, and it has made them so confident," said Gladys Faku, national chairman of the Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), a network of NGOs and civil society groups working with small-scale farmers in East, Central and Southern Africa. RHVP ran the project as part of a pilot programme to see how vulnerable people benefit from cellphones, to disprove arguments against the use of mobile phones for cash transfers, and to prove that illiterate people are able to embrace technology. "The pilot also took a step further to prove that not only are illiterate people able to handle technology, but also benefit from improved communications, both in terms of their farming activities and the reduced time and cost of staying in touch with each other," said Katharine Vincent of RHVP. The women managed to use the mobile phones as a tool to generate income by selling airtime on their phones, and extended their mobile network by using the money from selling airtime to purchase more phones. One of the groups also used the money to buy piglets, which were sold to generate more money. "However, doubts are regularly expressed over the ability of vulnerable, often illiterate groups to handle the technology, and the risk of increasing their vulnerability through providing them with a valuable asset," said an RHVP brief on the project. None of the mobile phones in the project were stolen. Mobile phones have been used to transfer cash to vulnerable people in Kenya, using a service call M-Pesa (mobile money). As it was beyond the Lesotho project's scope to provide regular cash transfers, each handset was preloaded with about US$50 of airtime. The intention was that the recipients would use about $10 of this for group communication and then sell the remaining $40 as airtime to other community members, so that the enterprise would become self-sustaining. A follow-up evaluation in January 2009 found that the biggest saving was in time and travel costs in mountainous Lesotho, which has enormous distances and a poor public transport system. In Maseru district in western Lesotho, where Matobo lives, the distance between cooperative groups can be up to 200km - a 16-hour round trip by taxi costing about $13, with an overnight stay. The evaluation team found that one of the cooperatives, a dairy farm, was planning to visit a Jersey cow farmer in Ladybrand, South Africa, with a view to buying breeding stock. "This is an opportunity that they would have been unlikely to hear about or organise beforehand," the report noted, and definitely a benefit of improved connectivity. The mobile phones have provided other time-saving benefits, such shorter waits at queues in health centres. "The women phone in advance to get people to queue for them," said Vincent. Mobiles phones and airtime are expensive and beyond the reach of most people in Lesotho; those used for the project were donated by Vodacom Lesotho. The communities involved in the project indicated that they would rather have a community phone. "But mobile phones are becoming cheaper, besides, there are several organizations in Europe willing to provide recycled phones for this service," said Vincent. Most of the communities lack access to electricity and many send their phones to town for recharging. RHVP recommends the use of solar powered chargers, but these cost about $30, putting them beyond the reach of many in Lesotho, where the average annual income is about $400. RHVP has used the project's findings to help the Swaziland government put out a tender for a private-sector partner to handle cash transfers for the government's Old Age Grant, according to RHVP. In Malawi it has undertaken a feasibility study for a potential social pension that included the design and costing for innovative delivery based on the use of mobile phones. In Mozambique, RHVP has worked with the Ministry for Women and Social Action to explore ways to expand its food subsidy programme, in the form of a cash transfer to vulnerable groups, and is considering the use of mobile phones for delivery. Matobo has also made good use of the other services provided by the phone: "It has a calendar and even an alarm - I now get up on time," she told IRIN. "I don't have to scream out to my friend who lives two kilometres away anymore. I just call now." Uganda: MTN Unveils Mobile Money Transfer ServiceHow much will it cost you to send UShs1 million (US$512) from Kampala to Arua in northern Uganda? Only UShs1, 500 ($0.76) on the new MTN money transfer service, unveiled last week. And it will get there in minutes with a touch of a button. That way, it's cheaper, faster and more convenient than what has been available: the buses or other local courier or transfer services. "I think the faster money can move and be exchanged for goods and services, the better the economy will run and this is the logic of this particular service," Isaac Nsereko, the chief marketing officer MTN Uganda said in an interview. Mobile money means that today, as soon as a plumber fixes a problem at your house, they don't have to come to your work place to wait for you to pay them. You can pay them off your phone; they will go buy food at the market or supermarket so goods and services will move more quickly. "That really is the business velocity the service will create because the faster money changes hands, the faster the economy moves," Nsereko said. The launch of the service according to Noel Meier, the MTN Uganda chief executive officer is a culmination of a comprehensive, rigorous planning and development process. The test process, which has been on since October 16, 2008 included extensive customer research, market planning, vendor selection, software development and careful hardware implementation. Meier said MTN had carried out all the necessary market tests required to ensure a reliable and secure service to MTN customers. "We know the market has eagerly waited for the mobile money service and we are proud to be the first to bring it to Uganda," Meier said at a press launch of the service last week. MTN mobile money is the first such service in Uganda. It is expected to revolutionalize money transfers and payments especially in rural areas where formal money services hardly penetrate and are deemed to be out of reach of especially the un-banked. (source: East African Business Week)
PeopleCell C CEO Jeffery Hedberg vehemently denied he has been approached by Telkom management, shareholders or its board over the possibility of taking up the leadership role at the fixed-line operator. Media speculation, earlier this week, linked Hedberg with a possible move to Telkom, to take over from CEO Reuben September, whose popularity has slipped in recent months. Reports suggested Hedberg, known as a turnaround specialist, could be poached by Telkom to either smooth the way for a takeover of Cell C, or to reposition the fixed-line company, which has come under increasing pressure with the liberalisation of the local telecoms market.In a statement issued this morning, Cell C executive head of corporate communications Shenanda Janse van Rensburg scuppered speculation that Hedberg was ever in talks with Telkom. She did confirm his contract will expire in November, and reports indicate he has decided not to renew it. The former Ghanaian Minister of Communications, Dr Aggrey Ntim has joined in the board of Omatek Ghana Events* 2009 3G CDMA MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA REGIONAL CONFERENCE 18-20 March 2009, Pavilion Centre, Cape Town, South Africa Under the theme “Empowering Communities with 3G CDMA", operators will be talking about their challenges and success. One will present a case study on enabling mobile payments, another on tapping into Africa's broadband backhaul network, one on ways to increase ARPU with EV-DO Rev. A broadband services and another on monetizing (the economics of) low-ARPU 1X subscribers, amongst other. On the Friday there is a course on Backhaul Dimensioning and one on Lessons learned from EV-DO deployments in the Middle East and Africa See the full agenda on www.3gafrica.org and register at http://www.3gafrica.org/graphical/CDMA-Evolution-in-Africa-Registration.asp * TELECOMS FRAUD AND RISK 23rd-26th March 2009 Hilton London Tower Bridge, London, UK Telecoms Fraud & Risk is the perfect place to learn about the developments in fraud prevention from the leading operators and solutions suppliers across Europe and beyond. Gain a greater understanding about how to manage the risks that the migration to NGNs is having, thereby securing your network and minimising fraud. Examine the enclosed brochure to see how attending Telecoms Fraud & Risk will enable you to cost-effectively enhance your fraud management strategy and make a measurable impact on your networks and service revenues. For further info http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=17135 * WiMAX East Africa conference and Exhibition 24-26 March 2009 at the Safari Park hotel, Nairobi; The event will serve as the launch for the East African WiMAX Network. This regional network is intended to stimulate interest and networking among the WIMAX market providers in the region as a whole. This interactive event will focus on WiMAX and its related markets, and will explore and clarify all aspects of what is likely to be the next significant advance in wireless technology. http://www.aitecafrica.com/event/view/35 * 3RD ANNUAL AFRICAN E-GOV FORUM 24-26 March 2009, Kigali, Rwanda The CTO is honoured that this year the Ministry of Science and Technology, Rwanda will be hosting the 3rd Annual African e-Gov Forum. Join key ICT stakeholders in the region, including Ministers of technology, heads of e-Gov projects, civil society leaders and representatives from IT organisations; mobile operators; infrastructure providers; foundations; development and donor agencies to discuss current issues and witness success stories on e-Gov in Africa. For further information visit www.cto.int * 1ST EURO-AFRICA COOPERATION FORUM ON ICT RESEARCH 25-26 March 2009, Brussels, Belgium For the first time in Europe, sub-Saharan African and European policy-makers and research organisations are being brought together to address the development of research collaborative projects in the ICT field. This 2-day event is co-organised by the European Commission (EC Directorate-General Information Society and Media) and the African Union Commission (AUC) with the support of the EuroAfriCa-ICT project, a FP7 coordination and support action aiming at enhancing ICT research cooperation between Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. More information visit http://euroafrica-ict.org/events/forum.php or email at forum@euroafrica-ict.org * East Africa Com; 1-2 April 2009 Promoting new models and services for the broadband era in East Africa: The only telecoms event to serve the East African region - promoting new models and services for the broadband era. 600+ attendees, 40 + speakers, 40+ exhibitors - the whole telecoms ecosystem represented. www.comworldseries.com/eafrica * THE WORLD WIDE WEB CONSORTIUM 1-2 April 2009, Maputo, Mozambique Africa Perspective on the Role of Mobile Technologies in Fostering Social Development. Hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Government of Mozambique. For further information please visit: http://www.w3.org/2008/10/MW4D_WS/ * ATU "International Expert seminar of Powerline communication" Public Conference under the sponsorship of the ATU - African Telecommunications Union & of City Power Johannesburg Misty Hills conference centre. 2-3 April 2009 PLC is being recognised as of strategic value for African players within telecoms. PLC has gained a high level of maturity and reliability, its versatility enables to design various business models in the broadband arena, but also related to innovative applications and smart grid. ATU wishes to address the various aspects of a PLC implementation within the African context, gathering significant players of the industry, showing successful commercial projects, identifiying current innovations and enabling to exchange directly with involved operators, utilities, regulators and integrators. AFTLD ANNUAL EVENT 13-17 April 2009, Arusha, Tanzania Under the theme "Securing Africa’s Internet Infrastructure”, the AfTLD annual African ccTLD event for 2009 will include a detailed three (3) day technical training workshop on Attack/Disaster Contingency and Recovery Planning(A/DCRP) for technical managers and staff of ccTLDs. AfTLD. The event is jointly organized and generously hosted by the Tanzania Communications Regulatory Authority (TCRA) and the Tanzania Network Information Centre (.tzNIC). For further information visit http://www.aftld.org Jobs and OpportunitiesApplications for fellowships at TEDGlobal 2009 have now opened! TED is excited to begin the search for the inaugural class of TEDGlobal Fellows to participate in the TEDGlobal Conference in Oxford, U.K. Following the successful Fellows program launch in Long Beach, CA, we are looking for the next eclectic group of 25 innovators from around the world. TED Fellows may apply or be nominated by another individual. Please follow this link to apply. To nominate a candidate, email fellows@ted.com. The program will accept applications for fellowships from March 6, 2009 through April 3, 2009. For more information the TED Fellows program, please visit http://www.ted.com/fellows. V MOBILEFEST 2009 - International Festival of Mobile Art and Creativity Call for Papers, Projects, Prototypes and Products. THEME: How can mobile technology contribute to democracy, culture, art, ecology, peace, education, health and the third-sector? KEY WORDS 3g, mobile applications, interactive architecture, electronic art, mobile activism, bluetooth, cyberculture, live cinema, mociology, culture, democracy, inclusion design, ecology, education, d-i-y, gprs, gps, LBS, innovation, mobile and wireless games, lbs, locative, geotagging, electronic music, mobile music, m-health, m-payment, m-gov, mobile narrative, peace, interactive net performances with mobile and wireless devices, interchange, video production and distribution, augmented reality, open wireless, mesh, social nets, rfid, expanded classroom, health, sms, mobile streaming, wearable technolgies, tendencies, third-sector, citizen video, video call, TV on mobile, wi-fi, wi-max, zigbee, etc. INTRODUCTION Brazil 2009: over 150 million mobile phones. Mobilefest - International Festival of Mobile Art and Creativity, an event that intends to question and discuss the coming of new mobile technologies in their relations with the most varied sectors of society, being the first international festival of its kind. Our main objective is to provide a multifaceted and heterogeneous environment of discussions, actions and creations that through the virtualities of the new mobile technologies, aim intelligent solutions to solve and discuss questions that afflict contemporary society. The efforts upon new communication technologies is based on the perception of its exponential growth - over 4 billion active mobile phones in the world nowadays - and its crescent use not only in communication between people but in activities related to education, social inclusion, varied artistic productions, entertainment, safety, content production and distribution, making of social nets, activist actions, health, commerce, advertising, etc. The I Mobilefest was launched in November, 2006, an international seminar and exhibition, that happened in Sao Paulo, at Sesc Paulista, with free and live transmission over the internet. The seminar counted with the participation of 36 artists and researchers, 16 of which from abroad, and 20 from Brazil. The II Mobilefest (2007) gathered 26 artists and researchers from abroad and 28 Brazilian artists and researchers. We held a 3 day seminar, 2 day boot camp - MobileActive at Mobilefest - and a 30 day international exhibition at Sesc Paulista Gallery. The event also counted with the launch of recognition awards for the best works and mobile applications, the 1st Mobilefest Awards, that granted best works in the categories of Photojournalism, SMS Writing (poetry and micro-story), videos, moblogs and videologs. Its objectives are to: * Popularise mobile technology so to contribute with social inclusion through generalisation of knowledge, its forms of usage and possibilities of interaction opened by these new communication medium. * Offer the first specialized awards in recognition of works that use mobile technology * Promote cultural interchange between national and international researchers of this field. * Incite creative thought and production on the new technologies aiming to expand possible hardware and software functions in the mobile technology segment. * Encourage content production in the mobile technology segment in Brazil be it in terms of industrial or independent production. * Make the participation of all those interested in producing and distributing content through mobile communication networks possible. The deadline for call for papers registration is 15th June 2009. Announcement of selected works will happen until 15th July 2009. Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, England, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Holland, India, Italy, Luxemburg, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Scotland, Serbia, South Korea, Spain, Uruguay, Sweden, USA, Zimbabwe. Mobilefest has created Mobilefest “Nodes” in Universities, Media Centres and Research Institutes around the world. If you wish to have your institution linked Mobilefest, please contact us at http://mobilefest.org/ ContractsFTS Selected as the Interconnect Billing Provider by Starcomms Nigeria’s largest 3G CDMA Mobile Network Upgrades to FTS’ Leap Interconnect Herzliya, Israel | March 17, 2009: FTS (LSE: FTS), a global provider of Billing, CRM and Business Control solutions for communications and content service providers, today announced that Starcomms Ltd., Nigeria’s largest 3G CDMA mobile network, has again selected FTS as its interconnect billing provider. Starcomms deployed FTS’ Leap™ Interconnect to support its rapidly growing subscriber base, and to ensure accounting accuracy of its growing interconnect revenues. The new implementation offers Starcomms a range of interconnect services, including retrieval of mediation records from the operator’s mobile switch, rating of these records as well as generating and printing bills for Starcomms’ interconnect partners. Leap Interconnect also provides Starcomms with innovative reporting and settlements capabilities as a result of its ability to flexibly integrate with other Starcomms applications. “Our focus on innovative solutions was the reason for selecting FTS’ interconnect billing solution a few years ago,” said Hashem Sallam, Starcomms’ Billing Manager. “As we expand the reach of our network and services, and our subscriber base continues to grow, our interconnect services have become a major revenue stream. Leap Interconnect provides us with all of the billing capabilities that we need as we continue to expand, and we are pleased to be working with a trusted vendor like FTS to ensure the accuracy of our interconnect accounting.” “This upgrade to Leap Interconnect is testimony to the strength of our relationship with Starcomms,” said Shamir Efrony, Africa Sales Director, FTS. “In addition to expanding our relationship with Starcomms, it also illustrates our ongoing commitment to the Nigerian market in particular and the African continent in general. FTS’ strategic focus on Africa means that we spare no effort in continuing to support our African customers with world class solutions.” Martin Smith | Sonus Public Relations | London - San Francisco - Singapore
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