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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 451 23rd April 2009 Low-cost phone and voice operator bounces back with entrepreneur support from CiscoSouth African low-cost phone and voice operator Dabba had its equipment confiscated by ICASA (for non-compliance) in February 2009. But it has bounced back today with new equipment and support from both Cisco and the Shuttleworth Foundation for an entrepreneur programme that will take its service out in the townships. Russell Southwood spoke to its CEO Rael Lissoos about its plans. On 13 February 2009 an inspector from the South African regulator ICASA (D Makhubu) seized equipment from three sites and accused Dabba of contravening the ECA Sections 7, 31, 32(i) and 35(i), essentially claiming Dabba was providing service without a licence and using unapproved equipment. The cause of the seizures was a complaint of "interference" with a Telkom link. Telkom has followed its usual policy of “say nothing” since the seizure, allowing it to punch its rivals without being called to account. Whatever the rights and wrongs of the accusations, ICASA turned up and seized the equipment without a formal warrant and only subsequently came back and issued a post-dated receipt for it. According to Rael Lissoos, CEO of Dabba:”We’ve not had the equipment back and we’ve had no response (to our lawyer’s letter) to ICASA. So we’ve now reconnected using new equipment and are going to expand the service into new areas.” Cisco is putting up R100,000 to initiate an ICT entrepreneurs programme to help Dabba expand into two new townships. The work will also be underwritten by the Shuttleworth Foundation. The programme will start by selecting two entrepreneurs and training them and helping them to set up the service. Lissoos says:”If it works with the first two, then we will do it for eight more. The web site announcing the details will go up next week.” The service delivers low-cost voice and data using lightweight Ubiquiti equipment and pole antennas. The equipment spec is about the lowest cost you can get to deliver a cheaper than average service to localities that are not currently being served. Interconnects have already been put in place to deliver calls to all the main carriers, although have blocked calls in the past. The idea is to combine backhaul from the network using 5.8 ghz line of sight equipment (which can transmit 5-10 kms in good conditions) with local distribution (over 300 metres from the antenna) using 2.4 equipment. Power is supplied by a solar panel and battery power-pack attached with a locally-made anti-theft bracket. Once a single distribution “hot-spot” has been set up, users will talk to their neighbours about the services they’re getting and it will be extended locally. As the townships are densely populated, each of the “hot-spots” can cover several hundred people. All equipment uses open source software and has open source firmware installed. The IP phone service uses Asterisk and the billing is done using A2Billing. The voice service is delivered using analogue fixed phones with converters but could also be delivered using SIP phones when they become cheaper in the future. The cost of national and international bandwidth remains a key barrier that needs to be overcome: a 256 kbps leased line which covers both national and international connectivity costs around R9,000 (US$1,010) a month. Hopefully, Telkom’s prices after Q2, 2009 will reflect the availability of much cheaper international bandwidth. Some African countries have been slow to introduce higher levels of mobile competition and therefore are still in the first phase of roll-out to markets that pay back fairly quickly. But a number of African countries (including South Africa) have reached the end of this first phase and are entering a more difficult second phase. In this second phase the challenge is getting out to the 10-30% of the population not yet covered. The dilemma for the mobile operators and others with incumbent positions is whether to cede this seemingly less rewarding territory to micro-entrepreneurs like Dabba or to devise a new model that works at the edge of markets. Some like Zain in Nigeria are experimenting with devolving the management of base stations and sales to a local entrepreneur. The challenge for Government and other policy-makers is how to accelerate roll-out into these “edge-of-market” areas. Addressing this task perhaps starts by admitting that the Universal Service Fund/Agency model is not meeting this need in a timely fashion. In 2007 the GSM Association conducted a study on Universal Service Funds. It identified that 32 out of 92 developing nations had either set one up or were due to do so. The 15 already operational had by this date collected US$6 billion in revenues by levying operators, particularly the mobile operators. Up to 2010, the study estimated that the soon-to-be-set-up Universal Service Funds would collect a further US$53.8 billion from the industry. Of the funding collected by the time the study was published, only 27% had actually been spent on the purpose of extending coverage to the un-reached and this money that had been spent, only 5% had gone to mobile operators. From talking to a range of regulators, a little but not much has changed since then. For the newly elected South African government delivering communications services to those who do not have them must surely be a priority as it seeks to deliver on its election promises. Therefore it must choose between backing the same old established interests (Telkom, in particular) who have not found a business model to deliver to all low-income customers and those who seek to empower local entrepreneurs to do so.
Angola Telecom to invest $2.4 bln to boost networkState-owned Angola Telecom is preparing to invest $2.4 billion by 2013 to boost the fixed-line fibre network in Angola, Chief Executive Joao Manuel said on Tuesday. The investment will include the construction of a 7,000 km fibre-optic network and the installation of 500,000 telephone lines, which will cost $1.2 billion. "After that we have another investment package, of more or less the same value, to invest in developing the fixed-line network, by 2013," Manuel told journalists at a telecoms conference in Lisbon. Manuel added that Angola Telecom was interested in extending links with Portugal Telecom. The two companies currently have a joint venture in a small data transmission company in Angola called Multitel. (Source: Reuters) New Uganda interconnection rates could open marketThe Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) is set to regulate the interconnection fees that players in the mobile telecommunications sector pay when they carry traffic from other operators. A fixed interconnection rate is international practice, which the Ugandan market has yet to adopt. Today, every one of the five players in the Uganda market charges a high interconnection fee to maximize profit. Patrick Masambu, the executive director UCC, said sound interconnection conditions and pricing are a prerequisite for a healthy competitive market. "In order to effectively enter new markets and deliver high quality consumer driven services, network operators must be able to interconnect with incumbent networks at competitive and reasonable rates and without onerous regulatory burdens by the regulator," Masambu said. The move to regulate interconnection charges has been informed by a study of interconnection, retail costs and pricing that was undertaken by PricewaterhouseCoopers London on behalf of the UCC. However, before UCC implements the new changes, it has to amend its regulatory functions. "We are making changes to the regulation as a result of this study. On July 1, we should issue wholesale rates and address the price control issue and that is when we will announce the interconnection rates," Masambu said. New players coming into the Uganda market have in the past been critical of the existing policy of leaving interconnection to the players. The argument is that if interconnectivity is not regulated, it stifles competition, kills innovation, reduces penetration and users get cheated. Zul Javaid, the chief executive Warid Telecom, which is one of the new operators in the sector, said the industry needed regulation to ensure fairness among the players. "If UCC implements these recommendations, it will lead to a more competitive environment and a more attractive investment environment," Javaid said. "The man in the street will benefit from cheaper pricing and from a business perspective it will create consistency." The study also proposes the development of regional interconnection points to create a transit market. Today, all operators interconnect in the capital, Kampala. According to the study, the creation of a transit service market would open the door for regional players to enter parts of the country without needing their own transmission links between the capital city and the region where they operate. (Source: Computerworld Uganda) Nigerias’ Telecoms operators risk licence revocation over unapproved advertsThe Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) may revoke the operating licence of companies that fail to obtain the necessary approvals for their advertisements and promotional messages under new rules unveiled weekend by the regulator to protect consumers in the nation’s telecoms market. This is good news for Nigeria’s community of phone users where active subscription base has crossed 66 million active lines and growth outlooks are positive for internet services as the regulator has directed operators to publicly disclose the connection speeds of their internet services. “Licensees offering internet connections should state the internet connection speed available to end-users as well as specific upload and download speed. If the connection speed quoted is only obtainable under special circumstances, then these circumstances should be clearly stated”, stated the new guidelines unveiled on the NCC website. The new guidelines, “NCC Guidelines on Advertisements and Promotions”, were developed to set minimum requirements and standards for advertisements and promotions of products and services by telecoms operators in Nigeria to protect consumers and ensure ethical marketing and promotional standards, the regulator said. NCC said that based on the provisions of Regulation 15 of Nigerian Communications (Enforcement Processes etc., Regulations 2005, it will impose the following penalties for non-compliance: • Any violation of these guidelines - N1, 000,000 per violation; • Failure to provide information required or providing information which is false or misleading - N1, 000, 000 per violation; • Failure to obtain prior approval of the Commission for the promotion of goods and services - N2, 000, 000 per violation; • Failure or refusal to register any promotions with the Consumer Protection Council within the specified period - N5, 000,000.00 per violation; • Withdrawal, (revocation) or suspension of the Operators license; • Suspension of licensee from participating or embarking on further promotional activities for such duration and based on such terms and conditions as the Commission may specify. NCC said it is necessary that the telecoms operator provides a written notification of all advertisements for goods and services within a minimum of seven days of the proposed or planned publication of an advertisement. To seek approvals, the regulator expects operators’ adverts to meet standards and requirements that include attaching a detailed report of their advertisement, clearly specifying the goods and services and the target consumers; adhering to set standards for quality and grade of service set by NCC and adhering to set standards on telecoms products and equipment that are manufactured, imported or sold in Nigeria. As the telecoms regulator, NCC said it has substantial power to disapprove any advertisement proposal from telecoms operators on the following grounds: network congestion, poor performance of the network, consumer complaints, misrepresentation of offer by the operator and variation from submitted application content. Upon the disapproval of the proposal, the regulator directed that the affected operator must discontinue such sales with immediate effect, while adding that the discontinuation must be communicated to subscribers through SMS, website publication, newspaper and any other effective medium of communication. (Source: Technology Times) Botswana’s telecommunications market outlook is brightThe mobile market in Botswana has expanded, rising from zero in 1998 to 1.7 million subscribers as at the end of November 2008. A recently conducted market study into the Telecommunications and ICT Sector in Botswana has revealed that 57 percent of the population owns a mobile phone and that this is bound to rise to 61 percent by 2014 with increases in coverage, wealth and changes in social norms. The 61 percent mobile population penetration would translate into 107 percent SIM penetration once dual-SIMs is factored in. It is against this backdrop that the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) held a stakeholders' consultative workshop on Market Study of Telecommunications and ICT Sector in Botswana last week. The study was conducted by an independent team of consultants, Analysys Mason, from the United Kingdom (UK), in association with Project3 of Botswana. The study shows that Mascom Wireless reported 2007 annual churn out of 31 percent against Orange Botswana's 47 percent. Botswana's tariffs have decreased significantly in real terms since 1998 with the tariffs remaining constant despite high inflation. It indicates that the mobile number portability, PTOs, rollout and take-up of 3G services will have a significant impact on the future evolution of the mobile market. The study also indicates that the fixed line market in Botswana has stagnated since 2002 as mobile has become the preferred method of communication and that Botswana lies in a similar range to regional benchmarks, but is significantly lower than more developed East European benchmarks. The study says that BTC has now completed a tariff re-balancing project to bring tariffs in line with costs, adding that this is necessary to make BTC competitive in the newly liberalised market. "Local call rates and line rentals have increased dramatically by 500 percent and 750 per cent respectively. International call rates have decreased to almost the same extent. "Despite these increases, fixed line prices remain in line with benchmarks. Fixed line prices remain cheaper than mobile prices. "At the end of 2007, an estimated 20.8 percent households had a fixed line and this will increase to 21.5 percent in 2010 before decreasing slowly to 20.5 percent in 2014. "ADSL growth will provide some impetus to fixed line growth, although this will be tempered by the rapid growth of wireless Internet technologies. Business expansion in Botswana will give a slow increase in non-residential fixed lines as their higher business call volumes will continue to benefit from cheaper per-minute rates. Over all, this will translate to an increase from 140, 951 fixed lines in 2007 to 152, 314 in 2014," it says. The study also shows that the Botswana Internet market is still in its infancy, with low Internet penetration and extremely low broadband penetration due to high computer prices, high cost of services, low IT literacy, lack of local Internet content, power supply problems and perceived low quality service. The number of wireless broadband subscribers, using ISPs operating on unlicensed spectrum bands, has also increased. The study established that the international data gateway market in Botswana is not yet competitive. The ADSL access, leased lines, information data markets potentially need price regulation. The study, presented by Consultants Dr Michael Kende and James Gibb, critically examined the past performance of BTA with a view to charting the future of the industry it regulates. BTA board chairman Dr B.O. Tsheko said that over the past 12 years, Botswana has witnessed the transformation of the sector from a monopolistic telephony market into a more comprehensive and vibrant sector. BTA chief executive, Thari Pheko, said that through the study, BTA would be able to determine whether to open up the market. He advised the operators to keep their records properly so that whenever information is requested, it can be availed upon request."I appeal to all the industry players, especially the Value Added Network Service (VANS) providers to cooperate in the submission of data because we are going to start asking the VANS providers to submit quarterly returns as is the case with the PTOs. The study is important in our business plans." (Source: Mmegi) In brief:- The Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (LASIMRA), an agency of the Lagos State Government, empowered to regulate telecom masts and cable laying, has taken steps to put an end to underground cable destruction in the state. The agency said it has entered into discussions with contractors handling various road projects in the state, aimed at finding a lasting solution to the problem of cable destruction during earth excavation. - The Communications Authority of Zambia (CAZ) has given K330 million to Macha Linknet of Southern Province as part of the authority's programme to finance deployment of rural multi purpose telecentres. CAZ had set aside K1 billion under the universal access programme to finance the rural tele-centres in an effort to accord the rural populace affordable information communication technology (ICT) facilities. Tanzania's government has joined the growing trend for countries to require all PrePay SIM cards to be registered with the network operators, citing the usual reasons of crime and terrorism. The Minister for Communication, Science and Technology, Prof. Peter Msolla, said the government would soon table a bill in the National Assembly for the establishment of a Central Equipment Identification Register (CEIR).
TEAMs begins laying cable as deadline loomsLaying of the Sh10.4 billion ($130 million) undersea fibre optic cable -the East Africa Marine System (TEAMs)- started on Friday and is expected to take two months in a race to beat the June deadline. This follows inspection of the manufactured cables, trenching equipment and commissioning of the shore-end cable at the Fujairah port by board members of the TEAMs project in United Arab Emirates. But there have been security concerns following hijacking of ships by pirates along the Somalia coastline, which prompted the cable to be moved an extra 200 kilometres further into the sea and the government to seek security support from foreign marine navies to avoid delays as a result of a hijacking. “Yes, stringent security measures have been put in place. But because of the security of the cable ship , we cannot share the specific details of the same,” said Mr Michael Joseph, the chair, TEAMs cable. Mr Joseph said he expects the cable to land in Mombasa by mid June. He said there has been a minimal increase to the project cost on account of the security situation, but that this increase has been absorbed by the contingency provisions that were previously factored into the overall project value. The commissioning of the 5,000 kilometre cable comes after the laying of shore end cable by its other competitor, Seacom, at the Mombasa port and announcement by Eassy that it has started manufacturing its cables. Both Teams and Seacom have set their deadlines for this June. Seacom has given its price for wholesale bandwidth purchase as low as $100 while Mr Joseph says they are working on developing the wholesale costs for the sale of capacity from TEAMs to the shareholders. Currently, operators rely on satellite connectivity that charges them Sh399,360 ($ 5,000) per megabyte a month, but this is expected to reduce to Sh15,974 ($ 200) for the same capacity and put Kenya at par with countries like India and Philippines, which it hopes to compete with in the Business Process Outsourcing. The cable will be connected to amongst other terrestrial fibre optic cables, the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI) once it lands in Mombasa. The NOFBI has already connected Kenya’s major towns and border points, while connections to district headquarters is almost complete. TEAMS project shareholding ratio includes Safaricom, Telkom Kenya and the Government of Kenya all with 20 per cent of the shares, (KDN) Kenya Data Network with 10 per cent, Wananchi Online with 5 per cent; Jamii Telecom; 3.5 per cent and Access Kenya and Flashcom; 1.25 per cent. Others are Econet and Africa Fibre Net of Uganda. The Kenyan shareholders have pledged US$110 million (Sh8.6 billion) while the difference will be raised by United Arab Emirates Telecom Operator, Etisalat. (Source: Business Daily) NCC Calls for Joint Management of Sat3 in NigeriaExecutive Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Engr. Ernest Ndukwe has called for a joint management of the SAT3 optics fibre project to forestall frequent breakdown and improve its efficiency for international connectivity. Ndukwe who made the call at the weekend when he chaired the Communications Session of the 4th Business Law Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, which dwelt on the provision of fibre optics transmission infrastructure in Nigeria, said he will advise the owners to invite the operators to advance joint management arrangement. He stated this position with reference to a presentation by a NITEL representative, Mr. Jibrin on the SAT3, who related an unpalatable experience with regards to the maintenance of the system and the attendant delays that tend to frustrate the Nigerian subscribing operators. While Most of the operators present at the session called for a joint ownership as panacea to the problems but Ndukwe said that joint ownership may be difficult to achieve to resolve the issues and that a joint management will ensure that it is serviceable for the benefit of all. SAT3 project is an undersea optics fibre cable connecting Cape Town in South Africa to the rest of West Africa coasts linking them to Europe through Portugal . (Source: Daily Independent) Small wireless providers in limbo in South AfricaSmall wireless application providers still have to feel the direct benefits of the telecommunication industry's liberalisation, with frequency being the biggest question, says Wireless Application Providers' Association (WAPA) chairman Johann Botha. “Most wireless application providers are in a state of limbo at the moment, as they have to determine their next step with regard to frequency, and especially whether or not to go for shared or dedicated spectrum,” he says. Earlier this week, WAPA released its third annual membership survey, which shows strong consumer wireless subscriber growth for WAPA members, although this has not been at the expense of corporate interest. Out of 44 members the association had then, only 23 completed the survey; however, it believes this gives an accurate snapshot of the state of the industry. The survey's findings show its members have 12 841 fixed wireless subscribers, a rise of 57% over the previous year. This was split, with 62% of the subscribers being consumers and 38% being corporates. However, the explosive subscriber growth had not translated into revenue growth, with that rising at a miniscule 4% to about R55 million. Botha says there could be a number of factors that explain why the revenue numbers are not necessarily accurate, including that in most cases the survey was filled in by those who were in charge of consumer business at the companies. However, he points out that this also reflects a trend towards more cost-effective access for consumers. Other findings include a 10% increase in the number of “high sites” to 860; a 40% increase in staff employed; the number of connected schools and other social responsibility projects jumped by 71% to 329; and the BEE component of the companies surveyed stood at 44% of the sample, a jump of 76% over the previous year. The survey represents a tiny fragment of the industry, as WAPA estimates there are over 700 wireless providers operating in SA, the majority of which are not yet WAPA members. The association estimates the total number of fixed wireless subscribers to be in the order of 60 000. (Source: ITWeb) In brief:- MainOne Cable Company announced at the weekend that it has started the main route survey operations of its submarine cable project. Over the next two months, while en route, the vessel will survey the proposed route for the cable with multi beam scan and profiling tests of the seabed to ensure the optimal placement of the cable. The main route survey operation follows the completion of the 27 kilometres in-shore survey operation, near Portugal. - Powertel Communications, a subsidiary of the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority, has upgraded its optic fibre cable service from the Synchronous Transport Module Four (STM4) to the higher graded STM 16 (STM16). - Online South Africans have been urged to electronically sign an Internet petition calling for a more open telecoms market, to be handed to the incoming administration. The petition calls for broadband to be recognised as an essential right, in line with other basic infrastructure such as water, sewerage and electricity. It can be signed at www.broadband4africa.org.za <http://www.broadband4africa.org.za> , the site of the South African National Broadband Forum - The India funded project to link up African Union countries with Indian hospitals and universities through satellite will be expanded to Nigeria by June this year following a successful pilot project in Ethiopia. - O3b Networks Limited (O3b) the developer of a new fibre quality, satellite-based, global Internet backbone infrastructure announced today that they are opening their first regional headquarters in Dubai, UAE. The office will be located in Dubai’s Internet City. This office will serve as regional headquarters for the Middle East and African continent and will provide sales, technical support, an executive briefing center, and training facilities for the region. - Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has said that internet scams that would have left victims with losses running into N5billion have been thwarted during covert operations targeting cyber crimes activities in various parts of the country. In a particular instance, the anti-graft agency said that the covert operation codenamed, “Operation Cyber Storm” and carried out in collaboration with other international law enforcement authorities enabled EFCC to intercept scam cheques valued at N5billion. - Government will soon introduce Internet services in rural areas through a number of Zimpost outlets dotted around the country. Information Communication Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa said that "Internet cafes will be put up at every Zimpost depot in rural areas”. - Despite spending R3 million to upgrade the Web site's capacity and ensure it can handle any surges in usage, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) site has hit a speed bump. Following voting and the beginning of the counting and results processes late last night, many South Africans found themselves unable to rely on the IEC Web site for updates.
Italy Supports E-Government programme in MozambiqueThe Italian government has pledged to grant five million Euros (about 6.7 million US dollars) to finance the third phase of the Mozambican government's Electronic Network programme, that began in 2004. This extension phase will start this year, and should be completed by 2012. The funding was announced by Italian Ambassador Carlo do Cascio, speaking to reporters shortly after the opening session of a Maputo workshop held to draw up a balance sheet of the implementation of the second phase, which ended last month. "The Italian government has been financing this programme since 2004", said do Cascio. "We are very happy with the programme, because it has created a stronger link between the citizens and the public administration". Italy contributed 1.4 million Euros to the implementation of the e-government programme for three years between 2006 and March 2009 and, because of the good progress, the Italian government decided to continue its support. After a pilot phase in 2004-05, the second phase extended the electronic network to 130 government institutions, including ministries and provincial directorates. A report from the Technical Unit for the Implementation of Computer Policy (UTICT), the institution managing the "Electronic Government" programme, says that, despite some difficulties, the second phase of the initiative has surpassed expectations. Addressing the opening session, Science and Technology Minister Venancio Massingue commended the role played by the Electronic Network, saying that it is a fulcrum for improving the effectiveness of the services offered by the state. "I think it becomes ever clearer that the target of this initiative are the citizens, who will spend less time looking for a certain service, will spend less money, and will go to a single place to obtain, for instance, an ID, a driver's license, an academic qualification certificate, a criminal record certificate, a land tenure title, among other services offered by the state", he said. Massingue said that the government intends to take advantage of the Electronic Network to reduce the barriers faced by small and medium enterprises and improve services rendered to the private sector. UTICT signed on Thursday a contract with the publicly owned telecommunications company, TDM, under which TDM will service the Electronic Network between 2009 and 2012. (Source: AIM) Computer based Examination to be introduced in Nigerian universities for StudentsFive universities, six other institutions and independent bodies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Testing Company Limited, an electronic outfit that conduct eletronic test to conduct computer based tests and examinations for students. Speaking during the signing of the MoU, Mr. Tunde Oladipo the Managing Director of the Lagos-based company stated that the vision of his organisation was to relieve schools, examination bodies, corporate organisations and other institutions of the burden of conducting manual tests and examinations which involve lots of work, logistics and is more expensive in the long run. "My company is in the forefront of providing computer-based testing of candidates for all types of tests across the country. We employ a process whereby examinations are delivered, taken and scored electronically. It entails the deployment of questions onto computer workstations and candidates answering the questions on to the computer, thereby making the writing of exams completely paperless", he explained. Responding after signing the MOU, the Vice Chancellor of University of Ibadan, Professor Olufemi Bamiro expressed the appreciation of his institution for the eTC innovation. According to him, the eTC testing method would be more appropriate in the Distance Learning unit with large number of candidates and high logistics needs. According to Oladipo, since its take off in August last year, eTC has made inroads into over 30 higher institutions in the country with eleven of them already signing an MOU with his company. The universities include the University of Ilorin, Universitry of Ibadan, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, University of Maiduguri, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State, and the Federal University of Technology and other six organizations and firms. (Source: Vanguard) Can netbooks really cut it in Africa?The genesis of netbooks can be seen in machines such as the One Laptop per Child XO device, and its rival the Intel Classmate - both originally targeted at the developing world. However, design doesn't always translate to execution - so a year or so ago ZDNet.co.uk teamed up IT charity Computer Aid to test a range of low-power PCs including the OLPC, Classmate as well as more mainstream netbooks such as the Asus Eee to see whether they could really stand up to the riggers of day to day life in African schools. Computer Aid - which sends refurbished PCs to developing countries - wanted to find out whether netbooks and other low-power options such as thin clients would be a better solution for the patchy and relatively expensive electricity provision in Africa than a standard PC. The full report of the charity's findings - compiled from initial trials in ZDNet UK's labs as well as testing at three African Universities - are now live on Computer Aid's site: You can also find the initial ZDNet UK tests here: http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/hardware/0,1000000323,39363065,00.htm (Source: ZDNet UK) In Brief:- Nigeria’s National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) is to establish a software testing centre in Kano ICT park. - A cooperation agreement between Tunisian and Indian technological parks was signed on Friday between the El Ghazala technological park and the Society of Technological Poles of India (STPI). - The One Laptop per Child project's XO laptop will switch to a Via processor as part of a general hardware refresh. Generation 1.5 of the XO machine will have the same industrial design as the original model, but will use a Via C7-M processor, John Watlington, OLPC's vice president of hardware development, wrote in a post on Friday. Currently the XO, which is aimed at educational markets in developing countries, uses an AMD Geode processor.
Forex pushes Nigeria's Starcomms to 2008 net lossStarcomms Plc, one of Nigeria's biggest mobile telecoms operators, swung to an 8 billion naira ($60 million) net loss last year due in part to the depreciation of the naira currency, the company said on Friday. The company said it had recorded an unrealised foreign exchange loss of 3.64 billion naira on its dollar-denominated loans due to the naira's decline, helping drive it to a net loss from a 1.15 billion naira net profit in 2007. 'Demand for telecoms services in Nigeria in 2008 continued at very high levels,' Chief Executive Maher Qubain said. 'However, the second half of the year was characterised by worsening economic conditions, a declining exchange rate and declining average revenue per user (ARPU) across the industry.' The naira fell by more than 20 percent against the dollar between late November last year and late January 2009 as falling world energy prices clouded the economic outlook and ate into foreign revenues in Africa's biggest oil exporter. Starcomms, which operates on the CDMA platform and offers mobile, fixed, wireless voice and wireless broadband services, said new entrants to the CDMA sector had also embarked on aggressive sales campaigns with heavily subsidised handsets. The company said the increased competition had hit profitability in the short term, but said business was improving again. (Source: Reuters) South Africa’s Altec announced healthy revenue and profit increaseJSE-listed Allied Technologies played a solid game this year, with revenue up by 11% and operating profit up 32% in its final results. The company released its results for the year ended 28 February, the bulk of which trumps the global financial downturn. Revenue is up to R9.164 billion and operating profit is looking healthy at R874 million. The company also spiked on earnings per share, up 35% to 569c, and adjusted headline earnings up 15% to 592c. Altech CEO Craig Venter says: “The Altech Group's outstanding performance was mainly achieved by increasing annuity revenue to 79% of total revenue. Generally, it is perceived that annuity revenue businesses are better protected during difficult economic conditions.” Altech Autopage Cellular was one of the stronger performers in the group's stable. According to Altech's results, the unit reached a landmark one million connections in its subscriber base, up from 917 000 last year. Venter, who has been silent on the plans for Autopage's ECNS licence, says the company will now turn a good deal of focus to the opportunities the licence presents. “The revolutionised South African connectivity market, through the issuance of I-ECNS and ECS licences, will be a focus for the group, where opportunities will be unearthed in niche areas,” he adds. “To take full advantage of this licence, Altech will need to build additional infrastructure. This will require additional finance, and the cost of borrowing money has increased. This increases the potential risk,” she says. Altech's strides in East African broadband prove it has the capability to compete effectively in Internet services and infrastructure. The company's Kenya Data Networks (KDN) produced solid results for the period, which the company attributes to strong growth in the East African ICT sector and the expansion of its fibre network. KDN will be an 11% shareholder in the Kenyan government's Teams undersea fibre cable project. “This will provide additional landing points as well as redundancy,” notes Venter. Mc Donald adds that the acquisitions made in East Africa are paying off handsomely for Altech, with expectations that the region will continue to grow by 15% and 20% annually, for at least the next three years. “Altech is in key countries like Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, so it has the region well covered. There are signs that East Africa is growing more volatile, but there will still be growth, especially once the global crisis subsides. As more international companies look to Africa for growth, Altech is already well established to offer the services they will be looking for,” she notes. Mc Donald believes the group's next step could be to increase its presence in West Africa. “Although the business culture is quite different, it is still an emerging market and Altech will be able to leverage its existing expertise there.” (Source: ITWeb) Egypt Orascom Says France Telecom Deal Null And VoidEgyptian operator says acquisition of shares in Mobinil is off, local press reports. Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding considers the deal to sell part of its shares in Egyptian Co. for Mobile Services, or Mobinil, to France Telecom null and void after the French telco failed to meet the deadline, Saudi-based Al Riyadh daily reports Thursday. France Telecom didn't complete the transfer of the funds in time, making null and void the international arbitration court's ruling that ordered Orascom to transfer the stake to the French telco, the daily reports, citing Ibrahim Karam, Orascom's investment strategies manager. Orascom said there are no talks are under way with France Telecom to conclude the deal, the paper reports. An international arbitration court ordered Orascom in March to transfer its 28.75% stake in Mobinil to France Telecom. (Source: Total Telecom) South Africa’s Vox Telepreneur scheme pays R2millionTelepreneur initiative rings up R2m in payouts as Vox grows network Vox Telecom had paid R2 million in commissions to 3 000 entrepreneurs who had taken advantage of its Vox Telepreneur initiative, aimed at increasing sales for small businesses, the listed telecoms group said this week. Through Vox Telepreneur, entrepreneurs endorse Vox's products and services, such as voice over internet protocol (VoIP), through their own social networks, and in return save on their telephony costs. They also earn a commission on the sale of every Vox ADSL phone, as well as on the calls the customer makes. Each new customer increases the dealer's ongoing annuity revenue. The Vox ADSL phone is a VoIP-enabled handset that can cut a user's telephone bill by as much as half, according to Vox. "We decided to use a network marketing model for Vox Telepreneur because we wanted to help develop new entrepreneurs, so we're thrilled to see that it's working," said chief executive Douglas Reed. He said the dealers made an initial investment of R780 and Vox did not charge for training. Frank Marais, a Vox Telepreneur based in Bloemfontein, claims to have saved significantly on telephony and connectivity costs, and at the same time generated income from incoming calls. "Apart from the financial savings, having experienced technical problems with my previous telephony/connectivity supplier, where support was not part of their manifesto, I was pleasantly surprised with the support from Vox," he said. Marais, who owns publishing firm Passive Incomes, joined the Vox Telepreneur dealer in February and was quickly promoted to a super dealer, meaning that he assists dealers outside his own network to grow their Vox Telepreneur business through training, mentoring and advice. Marais has 39 dealers or entrepreneurs and 33 customers. He expected two large customers to come on board next month, both of which needed more than 100 ADSL phones for their branches. Reed noted that the top Vox Telepreneur dealers were earning about R10 000 a month. He added that the initiative had given many people a first taste of running their own business, and most dealers were choosing to start out part time. "We've started slowly, and we're very satisfied with the growth figures. We paid out just under R230 000 in February, and expect to see significant growth over the remainder of the year." (Source: MyBroadband) In brief:- MTC Namibia has announced that it will invest about N$113.8 million towards the West Africa Cable System a project worth about N$5.4 billion. Its contribution is equivalent to 50% of the cost to build the infrastructure to connect Namibia to the West Africa Cable System. MTC's investment translates to 2.1 % of the total investment in the project. - Bharti Telesoft, a provider of integrated VAS solutions for mobile operators in emerging markets, has announced the launch of its new name, ‘Comviva’, and its new company name-Comviva Technologies Limited-accompanied by a company-wide re-branding initiative to present a unified approach to the market. - According to the Financial Times, Vodafone’s plan to raise its stake in Vodacom has met an unexpected delay as the Communications Workers Union has announced its intentions to block any further sale of shares through the high court. The union is concerned that the UK-based group will use the global economic crisis as an excuse to cut jobs. - Zimbabwe mobile operator, Econet Wireless is throwing the gauntlet at Old Mutual, a insurance and pension giant and wants it to decide whether it wants to continue to be a key shareholder in Zimbabwe's largest telecommunications company. - Advertfarm, a mobile content network, has emerged from private beta. This start-up is privately funded and based in Lagos, Nigeria. Advertfarm, as a stand-alone company, focuses on delivering mobile contents to users across Africa through Short Message Services (SMS). Our services include but not limited to SMS marketing, SMS Recruitment, Events Broadcasting, Sponsored Mobile Services and Mobile Alerts. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- Uganda’s WARID Telecom customers base has hit 1.2 million, the chief executive officer (CEO), Zul Javaid, said, during the opening of a new switching centre. The mobile operator targets to have 6 million customers by the end of this year. - Tanzanian mobile operator MIC Tanzania (Tigo, the local operating unit of Millicom International Cellular (MIC), signed up around 372,000 new customers in the first three months of this year to take its total base to more than 2.66 million active subscribers. - Internet telephony specialist Vyke Communications has signed a distribution deal covering the Middle East and Africa with U2-Soft, an associate company of i2 Group, a mobile phone distributor. The deal covers the Vyke product suite, which will be sold over-the-counter or pre-installed on phone handsets distributed by U2-Soft. In 2008 i2 Group distributed more than 15m Nokia handsets in 22 countries in the Middle East and Africa region. - Ghana’s mobile telephony industry records over 3.8m subscribers in 2008. MTN had been continuing to dominate with its market share never falling below 50% and actually rising in the last three quarters.
South Africa campaigns adopt online social mediaSouth Africa made history as the first country in Africa to hold political debate on Twitter, Facebook and blogs, as well as on interactive Web sites that allowed improved interaction with voters. On a continent where political campaigns are overshadowed by regional and ethnic politics, empty rhetoric, intimidation of opponents, violence and vote rigging, South Africa is following in the steps of U.S. President Barack Obama's technology-driven campaign. Political-party interactive Web sites with donation links are common fronts for advancing party issues, but the main battleground has been moved to online social media such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook. The ruling Africa National Congress held a live debate on Twitter on April 17, discussing issues such as corruption, health care, power and sustainability, the criminal justice system and the economy. The Democratic Alliance party also uses Twitter to engage voters while Congress of the People (COPE), which broke away from the ANC, has used Facebook as the main space for engaging online users. While the ANC Twitter debate was applauded as a major development, it was also criticized for isolating the majority of the 16 million voters given that only 5 million of the 45 million South Africans have access to the Internet, according to Research ICT Africa. Ismail Dhorat felt that hosting the debate between noon and 1 p.m. was likely to exclude the Muslims who consider Friday a holy day. He notes in his blog that he received a response from the ANC Twitter debate organizers within a few minutes. Tash Chapman, a blogger from Cape Town, reproduced the issues debated by ANC on Twitter and sought comments from the blog visitors. (Source: Computerworld Kenya) Cyber criminals target newly launched eTranzact in GhanaThe electronic payment system which was only launched on Friday March 27, 2009 by market leaders eTrazanct to boost online commerce and money transfer through the mobile phone in Ghana is being targeted by scammers. The scammers are already sending emails with eTranzact email account, services@etranzact.com.gh to presumed customers and users of the online payment system warning them of ‘suspicious activity’ on their bank accounts. Mr. Kofi Owusu Jnr, an official of eTranzact, who sounded surprised at the swift attempt of the scammers, told ghanabusinessnews.com that “e-Tranzact has not sent any such emails to its customers” and asked that any customer who receives such email should ignore it. Adding that eTranzact would issue an official statement on the matter soon. One such email which was sent to us, even though we are not customers of the service was titled ‘Verify Your Membership’. Mr. Owusu Jnr says this is fake and should be treated as such. The activities of scammers have seen a rise in recent times in Ghana. According to the Communications Ministry, about 82 cyber crimes occur in Ghana every month, and that is nearly one thousand crimes yearly. Not long ago, there were reports that some United States and Canadian merchants have blocked over 70 percent of international online orders from Ghana and Nigeria due to fraud. While moving the motion for the budget allocation for the Ministry of Communications, the Minister, Mr. Haruna Idrissu said the issue of cyber crime and internet fraud, popularly known as “sakawa” would be given serious attention. (Source: Ghana Business News)
People- President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua has approved the renewal of the tenure of Director-General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Cleopas Angaye, for a second term as chief of the nation's IT agency. - The former boss of Cisco Systems South Africa is suing the technology company for R10m in damages for alleged defamation and damage to his reputation. Clive Fynn claims that statements made by his bosses to Business Day falsely blamed him for pulling out of president Thabo Mbeki's technology advisory council. - YouTube has appointed Aaron Ferstman as its first communications and public affairs manager for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. - Faritec financial director, Tshidi Nyembe will leave at the end of the month. Events* TELECOMFINANCE MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA 2009 28th - 29th April 2009, Park Hyatt Hotel, Dubai The third annual TelecomFinance Middle East & Africa Conference will offer true Middle Eastern & African coverage and will feature one full day on each region with overlapping themes throughout. Backed by years of high quality reporting on emerging markets telecom financing in its eponymous monthly magazine, TelecomFinance has the network and the know-how to provide the best insight into the developing Middle Eastern and ever more attractive African markets. For further information visit: http://www.telecomfinance.com/mea2009 * Elearning AFRICA 2009 4th International Conference on ICT for Development 27-29 May 2009, Dakar, Senegal eLearning Africa 2009 will welcome nearly 300 speakers from 50 countries to Dakar, Senegal. The programme, which is now available on the eLA website, will feature state-of-the-art presentations and interactive workshops, together with practical demonstrations and cutting-edge debates on key issues in the field of eLearning for the African continent. A range of new initiatives will also be presented. For further information visit http://www.elearning-africa.com/ * Mobile Banking & Financial Services Africa 20-22 July 2009, Southern Sun Grayston Hotel, Johannesburg Building on the highly successful inaugural event last year, the conference will again deliver timely insights into the key business, technical and security considerations that all players in the mobile banking and payments industry in Africa must address. For more information and to book your place now, call +44 (0)20 7017 7483 or e-mail your registration to us at registrations@iir-telecoms.com or book online at http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=19296 * MMT 09 - Mobile Money Transfer 26-27 October2009, Dubai. MMT 09 is a 'must attend' event for anyone who is serious about remittances. Over 350 mobile network operators, microfinance institutions, money transfer networks, banks and technology providers will converge at MMT 09 to discuss the best ways to make money from mobile money transfer. Nowhere else in the world will you find so many MMT project leaders all gathered in one place. For more information visit www.mobile-money-transfer.com or email harpreet.sohanpal@clarionevents.com Jobs and OpportunitiesABHA AHUJA AWARD 2009 - CALL FOR APPLICATIONS Since 2008, the generosity of an anonymous donor and the administration of the Internet Society, have allowed a person from Africa to participate in a regional operators meeting. The Abha Ahuja Bursary Committee, a group of volunteers who is maintaining this fund, cordially invites suitable applicants to apply for fellowship funding to participate in the RIPE Meeting, to be held in Lisbon, Portugal, 5 - 9 October 2009. Background information about Abha Ahuja and the call for applications can be found at:
ContractsGlobacom and Dangote Group - Nigeria Globacom has signed a business agreement with Dangote Group. The contract, which was bided for by other telecom companies in the country, allows the second national carrier to provide total communication solutions to Dangote Group, connectivity to all its facilities nationwide, as well as voice and data services to its over 22, 000 workforce.
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