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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 484 11th December 2009 South Africa’s Broadband Infraco to launch in Q1, 2010: Mission? Bringing national and international prices downIn various parts of Africa, Government has intervened to ensure lower prices and fairer access to national and international fibre infrastructure. In some countries like Kenya, the Government has actually taken a role in getting this infrastructure built. As ever, this intervention raises important and difficult questions about what the role of the state is in the market and how that role is exercised. Russell Southwood talks to the CEO of South Africa’s Broadband Infraco Dave Smith about how it’s going about tackling these questions. Q: How did you get involved with Broadband Infraco? I’d been on the Board from the beginning and I was leading the development from an Eskom perspective. We started building fibre infrastructure with the idea that the SNO would be licensed in 2002. Eskom and Transtel put the assets into mothballs because of the delays. Then the licence was finally granted and we started renegotiating the transfer of the assets to the SNO. The Government was looking at a number of ICT policy streams and one was about delivering the outcome of lowering bandwidth costs by leveraging national and international connectivity prices. So by the end of 2006 we bought the assets from Eskom and Transtel and spent a year completing and commissioning the infrastructure. We have the right of use but outsource management to Neotel. Q: So what is the extent of your infrastructure assets? We have nearly doubled our footprint and trebled our capacity. There’s 11,800 kilometres of optical transmission links between all major commercial centres and regional connections to all neighbouring countries. The only exception is the Beit Bridge link to Zimbabwe which is down and has to be re-lit. Q: What’s your licensing position? All of this was done pre-licence. It was always clear that an Electronic Communications Network Services Licence was going to be needed. The Broadband Infraco Act (which set the company up) outlined what we would do including electronic network and electronic services and we applied for both of these licences. During the (licence) hearings, many VANS and ISPs expressed concerns that we would be competing with them in the services space but it was never part of our mandate to be in the metro and access space. But part of our mandate was to secure bandwidth for things like the Square Kilometre Array (a radio telescope project that requires high levels of bandwidth). In terms of the Electronic Communications Act, anyone who is going to provide a service to the State must be the holder of an ECS (Electronic Communication Services) licence. There’s no desire on our part to go into the retail services market. The Electronic Communications Act is a very complex piece of legislation. But we need an ECS licence to provide managed bandwidth services. But there has been some resistance to our need for the ECS licence. Q: When will you start operations? We will have a contractual relationship with Neotel for a period but this contract covers our need for open access to the POPs. However, we will gear up our activities towards a commercial launch when the network is fully operational. Neotel will continue to operate capacity for the remaining part of their contract and we will staff for other customer needs. So you’re likely to see us launch in two months time. Q: What will your national pricing be like? It’s been turned on its head. An STMI from Johannesburg to Cape Town from Telkom without wholesale discounts (which were kept secret) was R1.5 million (US$198,531). That changed to R970,000 (US$128,383) in August 2009 and is now down to R300,000 (US$39,706). Our pricing model is built on a cost plus basis and therefore rates will be close to these current numbers. The development of Seacom has had the biggest impact on national rates. Our pricing will correspond to market rates and will be filed with ICASA (the regulator). The real challenge will be on larger capacity services above STM1 like an STM64. And there are obviously economies of scale as you light additional ways. Q: What’s you involvement with the WACS cable? We invested as an anchor part and there are 11 investors (Angola Telecom, Broadband Infraco, Cable & Wireless, MTN, Portugal Telecom, Sotelco, Tata Communications, Telecom Namibia, Telkom SA, Togo Telecom and Vodacom). We have approximately 11.5% of the capacity from London to South Africa. There will be landing stations in Namibia, Angola, DRC, Nigeria, Togo, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Q: And again what’s the pricing going to be like? I can’t give you a definitive answer. I haven’t looked at international pricing for some months and that’s too long in this game. I though Seacom pricing was much more cost-effective (than SAT3). The answer (to your question) is very dependent on volume. Seacom has 1.2 terabytes capacity whereas WACS has 5.1 terabytes therefore the economics are different but this doesn’t do anything for you until the lit volume traffic is sold. Q: The Government’s policy objective was lowering prices for the end-user. Will those prices fall? A lot of people were expecting a dramatic fall in prices with Seacom. But the end user hasn’t seen it because of continuing market blockages in the last mile. There are a number of things in play: Telkom’s reaction to the new licencees; Neotel’s entry into the market; and Vodacom and MTN’s self-builds. On the International side, cables used to be closed systems so the impact of Seacom and WACS as open access systems will be enormous. The economic principles (of open access) were included in WACS through our involvement. Q: So what will it look like in five years time? We have to be able to ensure that South Africa has capacity to support projects like the Single Kilometre Array. Even at the best international commercial rates these projects are not viable so we have to work through matters like that.
Deadline for Bidders for Nitel and Mtel is extended and employees are promised unpaid salary backlogThe Federal Government last week approved the extension in the privatisation timeline of Nitel and its mobile subsidiary, M- Tel. In the new arrangement, prospective bidders now have up till January 22, 2010, to submit their financial and technical bids for the two entities. The development is contained in a statement released last week by Joe Anichebe, Head of Public Communications of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the agency, which coordinates the government privatisation programme in Nigeria. He said the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has also approved that N3 billion be borrowed from the accounts of Nitel Pension Fund in Liquidation to pay five months salary of workers of the Nitel and rent for the offices of Nitel and its mobile arm, M-tel. The decision was taken at its meeting held on Monday, November 24, 2009 and chaired by Vice President Goodluck Jonathan. The approval announcement however, came on the day over 140 of the aggrieved Nitel /M-Tel staff from Kaduna, Kano and Abuja, marched to the BPE to protest the continued delay of their 18 month- old salaries and allowances. The staff who were protesting under the umbrella of concerned Nitel/M-Tel staff, said they had lost faith in the leadership of their union, accusing them of sell out. But the BPE explained in the statement that the payment of staff salaries would be for the backlog of unpaid wages and would be staggered into three tranches. Staff are expected to get first tranche this week and before Christmas they would receive two months salaries. In January 2010, the workers would receive the balance of two months. Nonetheless, the remaining arrears of 12 months would be paid from proceeds of sale of Nitel and M-Tel. Following this, the NCP also approved the extended timeline for Nitel transaction which now means that the deadline for submission of financial and technical bids is January 22, 2010. The advert for application for receipt of Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from prospective investors for the acquisition of at least 75 per cent equity in Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) was published in July 2009 both in local and international media. Fifteen EOIs were harvested. The consortia that are pre-qualified for the next stage are expected to pay a non-refundable fee of US$25, 000 for bidding documents and execute the confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), as part of the evaluation of the prospective bidders, is expected to conduct a 'fit and proper' test on each bidding consortium to participate in the bidding exercise. In the advertisement, prospective investors were invited to apply to acquire either at least 75 per cent equity in the entire Nitel conglomerate or a stake in one or several of its components, namely, SAT-3; domestic fixed line telephony; national fibre-optic transmission backbone; CDMA network; and MTel. It also noted that preference would be given to bidders who desire to acquire Nitel fixed lines, transmission backbone, MTel and SAT-3 components together while those bidding separately for MTel must be ready to make necessary investments to detach MTel from the NITel networks. Leading the pack of the protesting staff, William Anyanwu told newsmen that the BPE had sent a memo last month, conveying the approval of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) for the payment of five months' salary of staff. He said apart from not receiving the money before November ending as promised, they learnt the BPE is now bent on paying only one month. They expressed fear that the N3 billion approved for the salaries may have been lodged in fixed account by the BPE at the expense of dying staff. Some of the placards the apparently angry staff were carrying read: "Yar'adua will not die. Anyanwu will die before him 2009, Bureau for Public Embezzlement, we are demanding 18 months unpaid salaries, and N2.8 billion allowance, what have we done to deserve starvation," among others. (Source: The Guardian) BulkSMS wants interconnect charges for messaging in South AfricaSouth African networks should introduce interconnect charges for SMS without increasing the current pricing structure, says Pieter Streicher, Managing Director of BulkSMS.com, a leading messaging service provider in South Africa and worldwide. Streicher feels that South African networks should not only introduce interconnect charges between cellular operators, still a controversial national debate, but the same thing can be done for SMS, without increasing pricing in SMS messaging. His statement is based on consumer protection against spam originating outside home networks, plus a healthier competition in the messaging industry. “Currently, the SA network operators do not charge any interconnect fees for SMS locally and do not charge interconnect fees for SMS originating from many foreign networks. In the early days of GSM networks, no-one anticipated how popular SMS would become. The operators thought that messaging would only be used to notify cellphone users of voicemails”, argues Streicher, pleading for a formal interconnect agreement among operators. SMS interconnect fees were successfully introduced in 2003 in UK because of SMS span problems, forcing messaging services to send via official channels. “Whenever communication is available at a low cost for commercial purposes, there is a higher risk of abuse as has been seen with email. Cellphone users are even more vulnerable as it is much easier for scamsters to spam a sequential combination of numbers, rather than a combination of letters for an email address”, he claims. (Source: IT News Africa) Potraz Earmarks U.S.$5 Million for Expansion in ZimbabweFor the first time in more than 10 years, the Zimbawean regulator POTRAZ has unveiled a US$5 million from a pool of operators' contributions to be used for expansion programme. Operators have not been getting money from their contribution since the creation of the Universal Services Fund (USF) in 1998. Under the fund operators contribute two percent of their gross revenue and the money is supposed to be channelled towards expansion in underdeveloped areas. To date some operators have already received approval on their plans for expansion from the Ministry of Information Communication Technologies. Alfred Marisa, POTRAZ Acting Director General confirmed the availability of the money but said he would not comment on the amount made available saying it was "suffice to say that the available money is made up of amounts collected from licensed operators since the introduction of multi-currencies that is between February and October 2009". Marisa could also not shed light on when the money was made available saying that when contributions were made to the Universal Services Fund, they become available to operators. "Delays in accessing the money were mainly due to absence of an implementation plan which could not be done before under-serviced areas were defined by the Minister in terms of the Act. "The Authority consulted with operators as from May 2009 in identifying under-serviced areas and managed to get the required ministerial approval in early November 2009, declaring the identified areas as under-serviced," he said. Marisa said as required by the law the money had to be disbursed in accordance with an implementation plan drawn up by the POTRAZ in consultation with licensed operators adding that consultations were at an advanced stage. "USF projects are mainly targeted at under-serviced, unviable, remote and rural areas of the country," he said. ICT Minister Nelson Chamisa said the funds will target areas under-served or unserved "because it was either commercially unviable or too remote. We want to make sure that we connect the unconnected. ICTs constitute the last remaining bridge for the poor." In his 2010 budget, Finance Minister Tendai Biti said ICTs had the potential to transform the way government operates and provides impetus for economic growth and development. He said such a transformation would be possible if government provided enabling policies that allow for investments in appropriate ICT infrastructure. Biti allocated US$5 million through the Vote of Credit aimed at establishing a fibre optic link between Harare and Mutare and Harare to Beitbridge. The POTRAZ "windfall" comes at a time operators are on massive expansion programmes to boost their subscriber bases. In such programmes, expansion is targeted at areas hitherto ignored in the past 10 years due to the country's economic conditions. Econet, the country's largest mobile operator said on Thursday that it expects the subscriber base to hit three million mark by the end of the year and its network has a capacity of four million subscribers. (Source: The Standard) Econet Burundi goes solarEconet Burundi, the South African based Econet Wireless Group’s mobile operator in Burundi, hopes to increase its subscriber base to 800.000 with the new launch of a solar handset, writes Reuters. The new handset will be produced by China’s ZTE and available for sale at a price of only 39$. Darlington Mandivega, the CEO at Econet, believes the new innovation will be very well received in a country with frequent power shortages. So far, the company has invested 40 million dollars this year in its Burundi operations, double the amount spent last year. Econet Burundi claims a base of 80,000 subscribers since April this year and aims for 100.000 by the end of 2009. According to Burundi’s telecoms regulator forecast, Econet’s customers base is estimated to grow to 700,000 by 2012. Last year, the country reported a total subscriber base growth of 78% to 480,000 users in a country with 8 million people. The mobile market in Burundi is currently disputed by market leader U-com, owned by Egypt’s Orascom, state-owned ONAMOB, Africell, partly held by VTL Holdings of Dubai and Nepal’s Lacell SU. Ugandan-Arab Emirates joint venture HITS Telecom (now owned by France Telecom) is the newest player, but has not started operating yet. (Source: Reuters) In brief:- The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has fixed new interconnect rates for operators that goes into effect by year-end to drive down tariffs for voice and data services across the nation’s telecoms market. With the newly proposed regulatory review, NCC has pegged a new mobile termination rate of N8.2 that will go into effect by year end as against N11.40 enjoyed by mobile phone companies. - Telkom Kenya (Orange) has announced that it will conduct a series of 3G trials across its mobile network as it looks to enter Kenya’s fast-growing mobile data market, Business Daily Africa reports. Mickael Ghossein, Telkom Kenya CEO, said: ‘This is a major strategic shift in our revenue model. 3G presents the opportunity to achieve fast growth for our mobile business.’ - At the end of September 2009 Nigeria has been able to reach another milestone in the telecoms market having recorded over 70 million active subscribers. The market leader is MTN Nigeria which recorded 5.12 per cent growth. It finished with over 28 million lines, almost 13million ahead of its rival, Glo mobile, which has seized second place in the market and reached over 16 million lines to record 2.03 per cent increase. Zain Nigeria is retaining its third place at the end of Q3 with just over 14 million active lines. It increased by 1.98 percent from Q2 to Q3.
Zimbabwe Government Seeks Fibre Optic Infrastructure – Beit Bridge fibre link plannedGovernment is looking at the establishment of fibre optic infrastructure linking the Harare -Mutare and Harare-Beitbridge routes in efforts to improve local communication links in a world where Information and Communication Technology determines economic growth. Information Communication Technology Minister Nelson Chamisa said businesses should harness fibre optic communication links, as it has become one of the fastest economic drivers according to researches being carried out in some 40 developing countries. "An economic survey carried out in 40 developing countries has shown that every 10 percent increase in broadband (fibre optic) is equivalent to 1,3 percent economic growth. ICT is the only bridge that can enable Africa to realise economic growth as access to internet increases exports, while the market is defined by technology," said Minister Chamisa. He added that even though the project was initiated by Government, private businesses where also invited to get involved and harness fibre optic communication links and infrastructure in their businesses. "The establishment of optic fibre infrastructure linking the Harare -- Mutare and Harare -- Beitbridge routes is an immediate urgent project that has been initiated by Government. Government urges business players to terminate communication hindrances by using optic fibre communication links. (Source: The Herald) ISP MWeb set to challenge Telkom South Africa in voice marketSouth Africa’s largest ISP MWeb has revealed that as of 15 December 2009 it will offer national calls to enterprise customers at lower rates than incumbent operator Telkom, aiming to bring genuine competition to a PTO-dominated voice market. MWeb Business said in a press statement: ‘Targeted at businesses of all sizes that are hungry for real savings and an alternative to the incumbent telcos, the new offering will take effect from 15 December this year. MWEB will offer calls to national exchanges (011, 012, 021, 031 and 051) for less than the cost of a Telkom local call, during both peak and off-peak periods, a first for any telecoms provider… Using our IP-based interconnect agreements with all the major operators, we are able to offer real cost-saving as well as a full spectrum service to clients. For business customers we can offer every aspect of their voice requirements, from the PABX hardware, to the trunk links to the routing of calls, without the client having to deal with another provider.’ MWEB added that voice customers will also see additional savings on calls to mobile numbers when new mobile termination rates (MTRs) come into effect in early 2010. (Source: Telegeography) Poverty Reduction Website Launched in LiberiaThe Liberia Reconstruction and Development Committee (LDRC) on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 officially launched the "Lift Liberia" Website: www.liftliberia.gov.lr Speaking during the launch at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Coordinator and Minister of Planning & Economic Affairs, Amara Konneh, said information both on Liberia's development and challenges will be placed on the website. He added that the website will be equipped with the necessary tools to allow the public to follow the development program of the country. Konneh further disclosed that information on county development can be found on the website, followed by job link on which one can navigate. He said the radio component of the Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) can also be found on the website. According to Konneh, the PRS website will also afford Liberians in the Diaspora to follow activities in the country and make input on the way forward on development initiatives. For her part, Robtel Pailay, one of the presenters of the "Lift Liberia" radio program, said the importance of the website is to empower and inform the public on happening as it relate to reducing poverty in Liberia. She added that they have already contacted the Daily Talk Chalk Board, Front Page Africa (FPA) and the Daily Observer Newspaper to advertise the PRS programs. (Source: The Informer) In brief:- Rwanda's leading telecom company by market share, MTN, is in talks with TEAMS, the company which landed the fibre optic cable on the Kenyan port city of Mombasa on 12 June 2009. MTN's Senior Marketing Executive, Yvonne Makolo revealed that the negotiations are ongoing and that they are on a high level. - In Zambia, three universities have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Zesco to link the three institutions using the Zesco optic fiber network. The three universities are: Copperbelt University (CBU), Mulungushi University and the University of Zambia (UNZA) - Establishments to be used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup will need to register the details of their accommodation booking and listings at www.rooms4u.travel. South Africa’s Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said all establishments would be pre-registered on the booking portal and the Federated Hospitality Industry of South Africa (Fedhasa) would be undertaking a process to verify information on each provider during the course of this month and January. - N-Soko is a Kenyan online classifieds, which is in direct competition for the Kenyan classified market with the world champion Craiglist. It has been founded by the Kenyan media group, Nation Media Group, which gives it a lot of leverage. N-Soko has a great marketing platform, since they can tap into the media channels of its parent company. - SES ASTRA has announced that it is further expanding its successful satellite-based broadband service ASTRA2Connect, and will offer the service in the Middle East as of next year. As a result, the company has signed a second service distribution agreement with Intersat Africa, a leading provider of satellite-based internet services based in Kenya, Africa, for broadband services on SES ASTRA’s new satellite ASTRA 3B scheduled for launch in 2010. This agreement follows a recently signed contract with Intersat Africa for the distribution of ASTRA2Connect in ten countries in Eastern and Central Africa. - Pupils and students of the Senator Obama schools in Western Kenya have sent their first emails using solar energy to US President Barack Obama. They urge him to put his weight behind renewable energy in the run-up to Copenhagen which is just days away. A copy of the mail and a drawing was sent to the Greenpeace Solar Generation Youth delegation in Copenhagen who handed it over to the US ambassador in Denmark asking him to inform Obama when he will be his host.
Nigeria: HP, Dell in stiff battle over deal with Zinox-owned TDUS computer markers, HP and Dell are locked in a tough battle for Nigerian market stakes after the latter sealed a deal with major local reseller, Technology Distributions (TD). Technology Times sources confirmed that the Dell deal with TD, one of the subsidiaries of Zinox Technologies promoted by technology entrepreneur and major market maker is pitting both international brands in heads-on battle for a share of the Nigerian PC market. HP had in the last few years controlled the Nigerian PC market but has seen a refocused vigour by Dell which has also set up a local presence to drive its growth and hired one of the top hands in the market, Harold Anumihe, an ex-Oracle executive to head its Nigeria business. In its new bid, Dell had signed up with TD, owned by Ekeh, one of HP’s pioneer partners in Nigeria and a local market maker. The import of that move is not lost on HP which is taking step to minimise business loss to the competition in the wake of stiffer market competition. As a response, HP has also sealed a deal with Channel IT, one of the top local partners to Dell, a move seen by market watchers to mitigate the impact of splitting its business with TD with its arch rival, Dell. Computer Warehouse Group, Compuleb, among others are also local partners supporting the range of its consumer and enterprises business segments locally. TD is believe to be a major market maker and has been credited with driving the market for HP after both companies signed up in a major deal in the late 90s that subsequently saw the US technology company setting up a direct presence in Nigeria. (Source: Technology Time) Tanzania is working on Kiswahili Version of Windows 7Microsoft is working with Baraza la Kiswahili Tanzania (Bakita) and the University of Dar es Salaam to install a Kiswahili version of its operating system for personal computers, Windows 7. The project to process the Kiswahili interface in Windows 7 will also bring in professionals from Kenya and Uganda. In East, Central and Southern Africa, Kiswahili is one of the main official languages. Having MS Office in Kiswahili will help the adoption and use of Windows 7 in these countries. The application of local languages will be implemented in 18 to 24 months, when all the translation and localisation is completed. The localisation will increase content from Africa by allowing expression in local languages. Microsoft has developed a language interface pack that will serve more than 12 million Kiswahili language speakers in East, Central and Southern Africa. The Kiswahili interface will entrench the company's position in Africa, while the localisation will lead to development and preservation of African languages. Mark Matunga, education and citizenship programme manager for Microsoft East and Southern Africa, says Windows 7 will also be available in nine other African languages to increase usage, fight software piracy, increase use of local languages online and drive computer penetration beyond English and French. Matunga said that by 2011, Windows 7 will be available in languages such as Sesotho sa Leboa, Setswana, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Afrikaans, Hausa, Igbo, Yoruba, kiSwahili and Amharic. "This is about technology access in Africa in a familiar context and language that breaks down the barriers," said Matunga. (Source: The East African) Dimension Data Top ICT Company in AfricaDimension Data proves its leadership across the African continent by winning two key awards at the 2009 African ICT Achievers Awards. It once again proved its mettle across the African continent, winning the Top ICT Company in Africa Award at the 11th African ICT Achievers Awards ceremony held on 5 December 2009. Dimension Data walked away with two of the most significant awards, with a second award for the Top Businessman in Africa Award being awarded to Jason Goodall, Managing Director for Dimension Data Middle East & Africa. Dimension Data was also featured in the top 3 finalists for the Top ICT Workplace Provider in Africa Award. “The awards bear testament to our commitment and focus on executing against our strategy, and the work we do with Governments, clients, partners and communities across the continent” says Andile Ngcaba, Chairman for Dimension Data Middle East & Africa. The Top ICT Company in Africa Award goes to the best company within the ICT industry in Africa. Dimension Data was chosen out of the finest ICT companies and business people across the African Continent, and came out on top. Ngcaba further stated that it was through the commitment and passion of the 5000 Dimension Data people across the region that made this possible. The Top Businessman Award for Jason Goodall is also a very significant award for the company. This award honours a man in the ICT sector for his significant contribution to his organisation and society and for achievement in the field of ICT. Dimension Data has won this award for two consecutive years with Allan Cawood, CEO Dimension Data Middle East & Africa walking away with the award last year. Dimension Data is thrilled to have one of their people carry this honour once again as it highlights the company’s ability to develop true leaders that will continue to provide mentoring and development within the organisation. This stands them in good stead for remaining a leading enterprise amongst their peers. Since its inception in 1998, the African ICT Achievers Programme has built a strong foundation of recognition and reward for those ICT individuals and organisations that have made a difference to the ICT industry in Africa. The awards received by Dimension Data are an acknowledgement of their ability to achieve outstanding growth through operational excellence. Dimension Data has positioned themselves as a trusted advisor to all of their stakeholders and as a leading innovator winning the hearts and minds of all people. (Source: MyBroadband) In Brief:- The government of Angola has commissioned a complete ID management system, the contract for which has been awarded to DGM-Sistemas. The company, based in the Angolan capital Luanda, has partnered with LaserCard Corporation to supply 8 million optical memory cards for the new national citizen ID program. This initial batch of cards will be issued as the infrastructure for the project is being built; an additional 4 million cards may be issued subsequently. - A new monthly Information and Commucation Technology publication with focus on the coverage and analysis of developments, issues and application of information technology products and services within the African continent, has hit the newsstands. The magazine, named Africa Telecom & IT Business, is packaged in London. It made its debut with the October 2009 edition with circulation targeted at the African continent and major ICT hot spots around the world, including multilateral institutions and multinational companies.
Kenyan Firm loses bid to bar TEAMS from selling its stakeThe High Court has thrown out an application by Iquip seeking to block TEAMS from disposing of its shares to rivals. Lady Justice Martha Koome ordered Iquip to face arbitration proceedings to determine the validity of an agreement signed between it and Teams, saying courts could not complete contracts for parties or regulate their businesses. “Asking the court to go ahead and grant orders for the rights anticipated in agreements would be against the spirit and the letter of the principals for granting orders of injunction,” ruled Justice Koome. Iquip had sought an injunction blocking Teams from allotting 62 shares reserved to them under the Share Subscription and Loan Agreement (SSLA) pending the determination of the dispute before the arbitrator. The firm had also asked the court to order TEAMS to give it access to the undersea cable for an equivalent capacity of 1.25 per cent of the lit capacity and reservation of 1.25 per cent unit capacity upon payment of US$1,374,213 and the fulfilment of TEAMS obligation under the SSLA. Iquip asked Justice Koome to refer the dispute relating to the validity of the SSLA agreement to arbitration but she declined to grant the orders save for the issue regarding the contract to be arbitrated. “I am afraid the orders sought by the plaintiff cannot be granted to preserve a non-existing status quo.” Iquip’s lawyers argued during the hearing that the firm had been excluded from the connectivity and unless the dispute was heard and determined at the earliest, Iquip would be prejudiced. Iquip is among the 11 listed shareholders of the undersea fibre optics cable that is expected to connect the East African region to worldwide cable networks. Others include the Government of Kenya with 20 per cent, Telkom Kenya at 20 per cent and Safaricom at 20 per cent. Essar owns 10 per cent, Kenya Data Networks also has 10 per cent, Wananchi Telecom has 5 per cent, Broadband Access Ltd has 1.25 per cent, Africa Fibrenet 1.25 per cent, Flashcom 1.25 per cent, Jamii Telecommunications 3.75 per cent and Inhand 1.25 per cent. Brian Logwe is the director of both Iquip and Inhand companies. Iquip had claimed that it paid TEAMS its equity investment and was in the process of granting a loan of $1,374,213 as per the agreement but only after it had been issued with a shareholder agreement, loan agreement and a capacity agreement that guarantees them the rights to data on the TEAMS system. According to SSLA, Iquip was expected to increase the share capital in the company to Sh5 million divided into 5,000 shares of Sh1,000 each to permit the actual transfer of the shares to other parties. (Source: Business Daily) Financiers Give EASSy U.S.$70 Million LoanThe East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) fibre optic cable project has received a $70 million loan from its international financiers. The loan, announced during the West Indian Ocean Cable Company board meeting in Nairobi on November 30-December 1, was given by the International Finance Corporation, African Development Bank, KFW of Germany and AFD of France, is to be repaid over eight years. The undersea fibre optic cable, expected to go live in June 2010, will connect 21 East, Southern, and Central African countries to Europe, America, Asia and the rest of the world as well as provide cheap Internet connectivity to most of the landlocked countries in the continent. "We are currently expanding our shareholding structure to bring on board players and countries that were not part of the consortium initially like Seychelles and Zimbabwe," said Wood. He said there was a need for additional diverse routes to ensure redundancy and guard against downtime resulting from cable cuts. EASSy, designed as a developmental initiative to provide cheap Internet connectivity to parts of Africa with no existing cable project, aims to deliver its services on an open access, non-discriminatory model, to ensure competition and low cost bandwidth pricing. According to West Indian Ocean Cable Company chairman John Sirha, EASSy has led to over $4 billion of investments in the region, including Teams and Seacom, "a situation that can drive competition through multiple cables." Sirha said the EASSy project aims to bring Internet exchanges to Africa to handle local Internet traffic instead of the current situation where the traffic is routed via Europe, the US or Asia. The EASSY cable, according to Wood, will be the first eastern seaboard system to connect on a direct route to Europe, thereby making it the lowest latency system for traffic to key internet peering points in Europe and North America, unlike other cable systems which rely on a longer path to Europe via connections through either India or UAE. Joseph Sloan, who represents the IFC and other international financiers on the West Indian Ocean Cable Company board, said that the $263 million project is on schedule and within the agreed budget, adding that multiple cables will lead to competition and further drive down prices of bandwidth. (Source: The East African) Mobinil bonds to finance investment expansions in EgyptMobinil approved the issuance of local bonds in Egyptian pounds (second issuance) with a total amount of LE 1.5 billion to finance the capital and investment expansions required for the growth and development of the mobile network and its general usages, according to a statement. The issuance was approved by its extraordinary general assembly on Dec. 3 and the bonds are "endorsable and non-transferable to shares, ranking pari passu in payment with other loans and long term obligations for a period of five years, over one issue." Funds will also be used to diversify the financing resources through capital market and to use the excess in partly paying the short-term debts to the banks, officials said. Mobinil's current financing needs include the 3G license payments; the repayment of short-term debt to banks; the acquisition of LinkDotNet and LinkEgypt from Orascom Telecom (if the deal is finalized), as well as spending on its mobile network expansion, according to Beltone Financial. (Source: Daily News Egypt) South Africa’s Cell C to spend $660m on HSPA+South African mobile operator Cell C has decided to invest $660 million in 2010. It will launch high-speed broadband by using HSPA+ technologies, which is faster than standard 3G. This will enable the company to offer 4G technologies at very high speeds. The funds for the investment will come from existing investors, led by Saudi Oger. Cell C’s chairman is Simon Duffy, the former CFO of Orange who later headed UK cable operator NTL Telewest. Duffy is also a director of Oger Telecom. The fastest HSPA networks in South Africa operate at maximum speeds of 7.2 megabits a second, but Cell C says it wants to offer 21 megabits peak. Earlier, the company was not ready to invest in broadband because its target market wanted basic voice and text messaging. Now, prices have come down, better handsets are available and consumers have started using data services. Cell C is in negotiations with equipment manufacturers to build its HSPA+ and more detail would be made public early next year. Cell C’s main competitors for mobile in South Africa are Vodacom, controlled by Vodafone, and locally owned MTN. (Source: GTB) In brief:- Etisalat is looking at mobile licences in three Mediterranean countries, Libya, Syria and Lebanon. The move is in line with its strategy to expand business through overseas acquisitions. - The Commonwealth Telecom Development Fund (CTDF), a new initiative of the Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO) has been launched this week. Commenting on the Commonwealth Telecom Development Fund which proposes to raise some US$150-US200 million for ICT investments in emerging markets, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, CEO of the CTO, said: “Although considerable investment has already gone into the ICT sector of many emerging economies, the funds have tended to be concentrated on the mobile sector and more recently in broadband infrastructure and Internet connectivity. However, there are several additional niche markets in software development, rural communications, e-content development, e-applications, and various e-products and services that need medium-sized investments, ranging from US$1 million to US$10 million, some of which will enable some emerging markets to become better integrated with the global economy. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- Kenya Airways has entered an agreement with mobile telephone operator Safaricom to allow domestic travellers to book and pay for flights using the latter`s money transfer service M-Pesa, businessdailyafrica.com reports. In order to access the service, which is dubbed Safaricom Easy Travel, travellers need a web-enabled mobile that uses either GPRS, EDGE or 3G technology. Safaricom Easy Travel is an integration of airline ticketing software and M-Pesa which enables users to select an available flight and pay for it from their M-Pesa balance. Users can purchase tickets to a maximum value of Sh70,000 a day. - Glo Mobile has introduced a new telephone package to boost the revenue earning capacity of Commercial Telephone Operators (CTOs) across Nigeria. Called Glo Profit, the offer is a prepaid tariff package which charges a flat rate of 25k per second for calls to all GSM networks, once the call operator reaches a daily usage of N150 worth of calls. In addition to the reduced call tariff, which is the lowest in the market, the new package does not attract any daily rental fees. - Telkom's Orange has announced a 70 per cent drop in international call charges made from its network in Kenya. The offer has been divided into six global geographical zones with each zone having different call rate charges. In the new tariff structure, subscribers calling to the USA, UK (Fixed), India and China which is in zone one will make their calls at Sh10 representing a more than 70 discount. - Research In Motion has announced the launch of the new BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone for customers in South Africa. The new smartphone is now available from MTN and Vodacom countrywide.
Kenya to run SMS campaign to educate on Common MarketKenya is seeking the services of leading mobile phone companies in an ambitious campaign to market the East African Community Common Market. In an Obama-inspired campaign -- where ICT played a major role in galvanising public support -- the country plans to educate all the 17 million Kenyans who own mobile phones on how they stand to benefit from the Common Market, whose protocol was signed a month ago. It will do this through short text messages. Radio will also be used widely -- targeting mainly rural areas. The campaign is spearheaded by the Ministry of East African Community. It will also target specific groups that stand to benefit most from the Common Market. These groups include large firms with cross-border operations, institutions of higher learning, labour unions, federation of employers, bankers association and teachers unions. Under the Common Market, citizens of the EAC partner states will move freely across the region's borders. Companies that choose to set up operations in one or more member states will be treated equally with local ones; those who wish to work in another partner state will compete for jobs with local people on equal terms; and those who choose to permanently live in another member country will not be treated as a foreigners. However, Kenya's EAC Ministry fears that many Kenyans -- and East Africans by extension -- are still not aware of the benefits of the Common Market. "The Common Market protocol has far-reaching implications for the region in terms of free movement, investment, doing business, immigration rules and labour laws. Therefore, the people need to be sensitised. "We need to explain to them the reasoning behind the various articles in the protocol," said EAC Ministry Permanent Secretary David Nalo. On the evening of November 20 when the protocol was signed, the BBC was interviewed people crossing major border points like Namanga and Malaba to establish if they knew what the Common Market would mean for them. "Many of them were ignorant about it," Nalo said, adding that the ministry has developed a multipronged communication strategy to tackle this challenge. "We'll undertake a benchmarking exercise -- something like an opinion poll -- across the border posts (Malaba, Isbania, Busia, Namanga, Holili and Mt Elgon). This will help us design an appropriate communication programme for various people." (Source: The East African) Google Analysis Reveals South Africa's Internet FavouritesGoogle's analysis of South African internet users in the past year revealed that Julius Malema and former Springbok Joost van der Westhuizen were among the most popular searches, as were second-hand goods sites and social networks. The annual analysis shows some interesting facts about South African internet users and what was occupying their minds. In the top 10 most-searched-for list, only one bank made the grade and that was Absa in 10th place. In first place was Facebook, followed by Yahoo, then came games, searches for the lyrics of songs, second- hand goods site Gumtree, Google, Gmail and finally news searches. The most searched-for politicians were Nelson Mandela, followed by President Jacob Zuma , African National Congress Youth League president Julius Malema, Democratic Alliance head Helen Zille, followed by Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, former finance minister Trevor Manuel , the Congress of the People's parliamentary leader Mvume Dandala, former police chief Jackie Selebi, Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille and Botswana's President Ian Khama. An analysis of searches for Zuma and Malema showed that interest in both peaked in April before and during the general election. Searches for Zuma drop dramatically in June and stay steady until the end of the year. Searches for Malema drop off rapidly in June but pick up again in October, during the gender debate on world 800m woman's champion Caster Semenya, ending the year almost at the same level as Zuma. Stephen Newton, country manager, Google SA, said yesterday that the survey revealed what interested South Africans this year . "In SA, some of the fastest risers include Facebook and Twitter, indicating the importance of social media, as well as websites for second-hand goods such as Gumtree and Junkmail, which may indicate the impact of the recession on the economy," he said. In the fastest-growing search category, the South African Revenue Service would be interested to know that e-filing came third, behind Facebook and Gumtree. In fourth place was Absa internet banking, Yahoo mail, Gmail , searches for quotes, social site Twitter, Standard Bank and Junkmail in 10th place. The most searched-for celebrities were: radio disc jockey and television presenter DJ Sbu (real name Sbu Leope); socialite Khanyi Mbau; actress Charlize Theron; paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius; disc jockey and talk- show host Gareth Cliff; comedian Trevor Noah; former Springbok rugby player Joost van der Westhuizen, whose love life is believed to have contributed to his recently released book selling out on the first print run; cabaret artist Nataniel, singer Lira and pop star Danny K. The most searched-for sporting events were: Super 14 rugby tournament; Indian Premier League (cricket); Cape Argus cycle race; Fifa Confederations Cup; Comrades Marathon; Currie Cup (rugby); FA Cup (UK soccer ); British Lions rugby tour; Absa Premiership (soccer) and the Nedbank Golf Challenge. (Source: Business Day)
People- The Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) has a new chairman, but it is still not clear when it will appoint a CEO. Communications minister Siphiwe Nyanda has appointed Lebusho Louis Moahlodi to the chairman position, which became vacant at the end of November. He was also appointed as a non-executive director. Events:TELECOMFINANCE 2010 26th – 27th January 2010, Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel, London TelecomFinance 2010 will bring together the key individuals and companies that will shape the telecoms industry in what is set to be another challenging year ahead. After a subdued year of deal activity the panel sessions will explore the changing focus in global M&A, the hottest regions for deals and fresh ideas on operational efficiency and maximising new technologies. Don't miss this opportunity to network, share knowledge and do business with operators, financiers and dealmakers from across the global telecom finance community. For further information please visit www.telecomfinance.com/2010 MOBILE WEB EAST AFRICA: Harnessing the potential of the internet and applications on mobile devices 3rd & 4th February 2010, The Continental Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya Following the unrivalled success of Mobile Web Africa, the most progressive and innovative mobile focused event in Africa is now moving to East Africa. With contributions and support confirmed from a host of the leading individuals and organisations Mobile Web East Africa is promising to be a superb two day conference. If the evolution of one of the most important technological advances of the 21st century is of interest to you then attending this event, which features an interactive roundtable seating format, is a fantastic opportunity. For information visit the event website: www.mobileeastafrica.com or contact the organiser All Amber on: info@allamber.co.uk AITEC BANKING & MOBILE MONEY COMESA 24-25 February 2010, Kenya International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya Technology presents great opportunities for the financial sector to extend reach, improve service and reduce costs. However, in the drive to implement the very best that technology vendors have to offer, the focal point of the banking process is often forgotten – the customer. AITEC Banking & Mobile Money COMESA 2010 will focus on the customer experience in relation to all technology implementation and services, challenging suppliers and bankers alike to evaluate their systems in the light of customer needs and preferences. For further information on the conference visit AITEC’s website http://www.aitecafrica.com/event/view/45 Jobs and Opportunities* Individual Licence to Provide Public Mobile Radio Telecommunications Services – Malawi The Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA) would like to invite applications for an Individual Licence to Provide Public Mobile Radio Telecommunications Services in Malawi. A complete set of Invitation to Apply (ITA) and Application Forms which have been prepared in English may be purchased on the submission of written application to the address set out in paragraph 8(i) below upon payment of a non refundable fee of One Hundred Thousand Kwacha (MK100, 000.00) between 11th December, 2009 and 22nd January 2010 after which no more ITA and Application Forms shall be sold. The method of payment shall be cash or Bank Certified Cheque. The ITA and Application Forms may be sent to applicants based outside Malawi through courier services and upon payment of additional MK 15,000.00. All applications shall be submitted to MACRA in a sealed envelope or box or other similar facility clearly marked “Public Mobile Radio Telecommunications Service Operator Licence” and addressed to the Director General on the address referred to in paragraph 8(ii) below, on or before 14:00 hours (local time) on 19th March 2010. The applicants shall be required to submit one (1) bound original plus six (6) bound copies. Electronic submission is not permitted and any application(s) submitted after 14:00 hours on 19th March, 2010 shall be rejected. For further information contact Procurement Manager
Attention: Procurement Manager Tel: +265 1 883 611
* 3g (wran) Integrator – South Africa The company urgently requires the services of a 3G (WRAN) Integrator to be based in Southtern Africa. Minimum 3 years Ericsson experience. For further information or to apply click on the following link http://www.cellular-news.com/recruitment/list_job.php?uid=10751 ContractsMobinil and Comviva - Egypt Comviva, a provider of integrated VAS solutions for mobile operators in emerging markets, today announced that Mobinil, Egypt’s largest GSM operator with over 21 million subscribers, has selected its SMS Router solution to enhance SMS traffic delivery across its network. Huge Telecom and CMC Networks – South Africa Huge Telecom has announced that they have signed an agreement with CMC Networks to provide a comprehensive set of converged services to South African businesses. CMC Networks are one of only five Tier One ISP’s in South Africa and have been providing corporate South Africa with solutions for the last 20 years.
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