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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 489 29th January 2010 National survey shows Kenyan Internet market heading towards “critical mass”The latest national survey from market research company Synovate shows Kenya’s Internet market is growing fast and on the basis of this growth will soon reach “critical mass”. The growth in users is coming from both urban and rural areas and is predominantly amongst the young and well educated. Russell Southwood pored over the results. The total sample for this random survey was 1,500 people, with 500 of those in a boost sample from across the major districts of Kenya. Therefore the coverage is nationally representative of adults 15 and above and has a sampling margin of error of + or – 3%. It makes comparisons with a similar survey it carried out in 2007. On the basis of this sample, Synovate estimates that there are now 3.5 million Internet users in Kenya. However, daily Internet use has grown from 2% of the respondents in 2007 to 5% in 2009 and weekly use from 5% to 12% over the same period. The daily use figure is the crucial one as it shows users who are finding that that they cannot do without Internet services. If the weekly Internet use is broken down on an urban vs rural basis, urban use grew from 22% of respondents in 2007 to 30% in 2009. Rural use grew from 4% to 9% over the same period. These results confirm a lot of anecdotal evidence that has been reaching us about young people using the Government’s new Internet centres and cyber cafes in rural areas. The lower income groups recorded a much more fast paced growth in internet access. However Internet penetration within middle class and below is still very low, making it the group with the highest growth potential. And following the expected drop in Internet costs LSM 4-10s should provide the highest growth in usage. At least half the non-users across all social categories said they would be interested in using the Internet if they had access. In terms of age, 50% of the respondents using Internet were aged 15-34 with 21% in the 18-24 age bracket. The upcoming generation of Kenyans will be regular users of the Internet and it will form as much part of their lives as mobile phones. Over 56% of the Internet using respondents were college or University educated. Therefore those countries with better education levels in Africa will show markedly higher Internet penetration levels. On average, the Internet users in the sample spent approximately 70 minutes on the Internet per visit. This level of media user is close to the average time spent on television on daily basis but does not challenge radio use which is much higher. This will inevitably impact on the media usage of key socio-demographic groups. Although the survey results did not include newspapers, it is likely to be them that suffer as younger generation make less use of the printed word in getting information. The big shift in where sample respondents accessed the Internet between 2007 and 2009 has been a significant fall in the number of those using Internet cafes and a commensurate rise in the number using mobile phones. Strikingly, this trend – of using mobile phones for access – is more pronounced amongst the rural part of the sample. This is bad news for cyber-cafes for despite rising numbers of users they are not coming their way. But this is good news for mobile operators if they can get their mobile Internet offers cheap and pre-paid. The five top uses of the Internet range between 40-50% of the sample users and were in descending order: entertainment; games and music; social networking and instant messaging; e-mails; general surfing; and job search. The pattern is very close to existing mobile usage (with the exception of job search) if you take SMS as the equivalent of e-mails. Users are starting with what they know but will inevitably become more adventurous as more content and services are put on offer. Not surprisingly it is the young who are disproportionately more likely to be members of social networking sites but membership is more likely to be male than female. Facebook was by far the most popular site although You Tube (which features in the Top 10 sites used in Kenya according to Alexa.com) does not feature. BBC, CNN and The Nation are the most used news sites. The significance of these findings is that Kenya is both one of Africa’s largest mid-scale markets and is a bell-weather in terms of technology adoption. Crudely, what happens in Kenya will start to happen elsewhere. And as the uptake of M-Money services shows, this is not simply an urban, well-educated, middle class phenomenon. Critical mass kicks in when the number of users starts to create networking effects. In other words, existing users start to draw in new users who don’t want to be left out. In Kenya, this is clearly already beginning starting to happen. And although the number of daily Internet users is smaller than the overall estimated total of 3.5 million, it is beginning to grow significant and will continue to do so as access prices fall and local content offers become more varied. For more details either e-mail Joe Otin of Synovate on Joe.Otin@synovate.com or phone him on +254 4450190-6.
Mobile Subscribers Reach 2.4 Million in RwandaRwanda's telecom industry registered a healthy growth in 2009 with the number of mobile subscribers hitting 2.4 million, according to Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Agency (RURA). RURA said the growth was driven by Tigo's entry which boosted the mobile space by some 123,897 active subscribers from 2 million subscribers towards the end of 2009. "With Tigo's launch, we are yet to see a rapid increase in subscriber numbers," Col. Diogene Mudenge, RURA's Director General told Business Times. Statistics by RURA show that as of January 16, 2010 MTN Rwanda's mobile subscribers had reached 1.8m, Rwandatel 487,250 and Tigo 123,897. "Rwandatel had a slowdown after a rapid start in acquiring more subscribers but now they have picked up again," Mudenge said. Mudenge also attributed the increase in the number of mobile subscribers to the introduction of new interesting promotions and other services by MTN Rwanda and Rwandatel. Rwanda expects to hit six million subscribers by 2015. RURA, which is the national telecom regulator, says that they are pushing for cheaper handsets from the operators. "We are working with the three operators to have a combine arrangement which will see handsets reduced from Rwf8,000 to Rwf2,000," Mudenge said. The regulator intends to make a contribution of 50 percent of the total cost of the handset while an operator contributes 30 percent and the end user 20 percent. "We are in negotiations with Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) to see if they can give loans to people who will buy these phones," Mudenge explained. He added that Rwanda is seeking to issue a fourth licence in the near future. "The third operator has to first acquire about 300,000 subscribers then we can issue out the bidding process for another operator," Mudenge said. (Source: The New Times) Egypt Considers a 4th Mobile LicenseEgypt may consider offering a fourth mobile operator license, reports the Reuters news agency, citing the local al-Mal newspaper. The tender for the license is being a Damoclean Sword being held over the incumbent operators if they do not adapt recent rulings on the tariffs they charge to customers. "There are no obstacles to issuing a fourth mobile licence in Egypt ... but offering the licence will mainly depend on market demand in the coming period," the paper quoted Amr Badawi, head of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA), as saying. The newspaper added that the operators have objected to recent pricing policies issued by the regulator. "Before setting these rules and regulations, we sent queries and surveys to the mobile operators but we received no replies from the companies ... (They) have the right to approach the administrative court to object about the authority's decisions," Al Mal quoted Badawi as saying. Egypt currently had three operators, and based on figures from the Mobile World analysts, their market shares are: Mobinil (45.2%), Vodafone (42.6%) and Etisalat Misr (12.2%). The country has a population penetration level of 62%. The regulator is already planning to issue two fixed line licenses aimed at triple-play operators outside the capital, Cairo. (Source: Reuters) Consumer agency to take Ghana mobile operators to court over SIM card registrationThe Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) has threatened to go to court to enforce government’s directive to mobile telecommunication operators to register SIM cards sold to their subscribers. The CPA, a consumer rights advocate, said refusal of the operators to comply with the directive constituted a national security threat because many people were using unidentified phone numbers to engage in dubious activities. These were contained in a petition to the Minister of Communications in Accra on Thursday and copied to the Office of the President. The CPA said if SIM cards were registered, it would be easy for the National Security to identify individuals who generated text messages to cause the earthquake scare among the public last Sunday, January 17. The petition said a CPA survey conducted late last year revealed that mobile telecommunication operators had been exploiting the Ghanaian consumer by charging high tariffs despite providing poor services. “Telecommunication service providers in Ghana are charging almost 450 per cent above prices being charged by some of these service providers in other European countries,” it said. The petition said it was expected that Vodafone’s entry into the industry would have led to increased competition resulting in provision of quality service at affordable rates but that was not the case. It said that instead, the cost of broad band service of all the operators in the country was twice more expensive compared to similar service in Europe. On emergency access lines, the statement said that the government failed to establish a centre which would handle such calls rendering the provision of such lines unproductive. (Source: GNA) Nigeria: Chilling messages sent by SMS before killingsChilling text messages urged both Christians and Muslims to commit violence during rioting that left more than 300 people dead, a human rights organization said Wednesday, with one message reading: "Kill them before they kill you." Shehu Sani, president of the Civil Rights Congress in Nigeria, said his group has collected about 150 text messages that were sent before and during the violence in Jos. Even as the military kept an uneasy calm in the central Nigerian town, another pastor said Wednesday that agitators are sending new text messages to those in surrounding communities to re-ignite the sectarian violence. The messages gave readers addresses to mosques and churches, suggesting that some structures be set ablaze, he said. The texts also offered instructions on what weapons to use and how to dispose of bodies, he said. "Slaughter them before they slaughter you. Kill them before they kill you," one message read, according to Sani. "Throw them in the pit before they throw you. Encircle and suppress them before they encircle and suppress you." The chance of prosecuting those sending the messages appears to be small. In Nigeria, the government does not require cellular phone owners to register their SIM cards — the portable memory chips that tell a phone what its number is and what carrier it uses. Sectarian violence in this region of Nigeria has left thousands dead over the past decade. The latest outbreak came despite the Nigerian government's efforts to quell religious extremism in the West African country. What started the killings in Jos remains unclear. A state police commissioner initially said the violence began after Muslim youths set a Christian church ablaze, but Muslim leaders denied that. Muslims say it began with an argument over the rebuilding of a Muslim home in a predominantly Christian neighborhood that had been destroyed in November 2008. The text messages inciting people to violence began as the unrest spread across Jos last week, Sani said. "The violence started at a low scale and in every measure the text messages played a role in spreading rumors and inciting people," Sani said. "They reacted violently based on the kind of information they received from their text messages." In a predominantly Muslim village south of Jos, searchers discovered the bodies of men, women and children shoved three-at-a-time into communal wells and sewage pits. Sani said the text messages suggested attackers take up locally made weapons like bows and arrows, machetes, scythes and axes. Many of the victims' bodies bore signs of being attacked with those weapons, he said. Even after the military brought the city under control, text messages circulating as far away as the Nigerian capital of Abuja still sought to restart the violence between the two faiths. The Rev. Joseph Hayab, an official with the Christian Association of Nigeria in the north, said text messages in northern Nigeria warned that the state government in Jos wanted to cut off water supplies to Muslims. Another warned Christians not to buy from Muslim street vendors as "those foods have been poisoned," Hayab said. Some text messages bore the names of low-level church and mosque officials, though Hayab said agitators likely used the names to sow discord. The reverend said he called Christian religious leaders across northern Nigeria about the hoax text messages and many warned people not to trust the fake messages. "The purpose was just to create chaos in the community," Hayab said. While the violence may not be new to the region, Sani said the killings appeared to be the first where text messages played such a large role in Nigeria. Sani said it would be impossible to trace the messages back, though he said police received many of the same messages during their investigation. Emmanuel Ojukwu, a national police spokesman, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. "Unfortunately with this kind of thing, it is not possible for anyone to pinpoint who is sending these kind of messages," Sani said. "They can buy it on the street, use it and throw it away." (Source: AP News) In brief:- The deadline for the submission of technical and financial proposals for the privatisation of Nitel and its mobile arm, M-tel, has been extended from Friday, January 22, 2010 to Friday, February 5, 2010. - Telkom Kenya will be sending 100 employees home this week, becoming the latest telecommunications firm to succumb to operational pressures as competition in the telecoms sectors hots up on all fronts. The latest round of retrenchments at the firm will affect middle management employees who Telkom Kenya says are "not compatible with the company's vision going forward". - South African second network operator (SNO) Neotel has announced plans to implement individual fixed line number portability in April 2010. Angus Hay, executive head of technology at Neotel, said: ‘The porting of numbers in blocks of 10,000 or 1,000 has been available for some months now. Unfortunately that excluded many businesses, as it is only relevant to very large corporations. We are already testing 100 block porting, and as of April will be able to do 100 block and individual porting for any customer.’ - One of the consumer rights groups in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector, the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has advocated for a consumer representative in the board of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). The national president of NATCOMS, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, made this call while evaluating 'A Decade of NCC's Telecommunications Consumerism,' just as he solicited voice call tariff reduction to N20.00. - Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that mobile payment system will take off in the country by middle of the year. The bank has received many applications for license to operate mobile payment schemes in the country. In preparation to the commencement of mobile payment in the country, CBN has set up a mobile payment policy and oversight unit with the mandate to ensure compliance and recommend approval for license.
IGG Clears Controversial national fibre backbone Project in UgandaThe Inspectorate of Government has cleared the controversial sh200b Government internet project. The project, which consists of three phases, involves building a 2,100km fibre optic cable network. Ultimately, it is meant to link Uganda to the submarine cable on the East African coast and provide faster and cheaper internet access. The Inspector General of Government (IGG), Raphael Baku, gave the go-ahead in a letter to ethics minister Nsaba Buturo earlier this month. Last August, President Yoweri Museveni had tasked Buturo to oversee the investigations into complaints raised about the project. Baku explained that the project was being implemented by the time the complaint was registered with his office. "The complaint which was raised was whether the second phase should go on," said Baku. "We saw no problem with it if the damages (on the first phase) could be repaired concurrently." The IGG argued that the Government would incur more costs if it cancelled the project. Baku also said the ICT minister did not have the capacity to monitor the implementation of the project, which led to the shoddy work. The IGG clearance comes after the parliamentary committee on ICT issued a directive to suspend the second phase of the project. The committee vice-chairperson, Paula Turyahikayo, said they had not seen the IGG report but would hold a joint meeting with the ICT ministry and the Auditor General on the way forward. The Auditor General in a December report found several anomalies in the implementation of the project and questioned if there was value for money. The national transmission backbone infrastructure and E-Government infrastructure is a $106m (sh201b) project, funded by a concessional loan from the export/import bank of China. The first phase was meant to provide connectivity to Government ministries and departments at a total cost of $30m (sh57b). The second and third phases were meant to connect all major towns, covering 1,900 kms at a cost of $61 million and $15 million respectively. However, investigations found that the selection of the contractor, Huwaei Technologies, was done without competitive bidding and no price comparisons were done to ensure value for money. "By not subjecting the proposal to proper evaluation, the ministry exposed itself to the risk of high pricing and unfavourable contract terms," read the Auditor General's report. The audit found that the cost of the project was inflated. The 24 core optic cable was quoted by the contractor at $3,200 (sh6m) per kilometer. However, in a technology brief to the board of the National Information Technology Authority of Uganda, the price of the cable was quoted as $1,400 (sh2.6m) per kilometer. In addition, the audit found that the 24 core cable is of lower capacity than what private companies such as MTN and the Government of Rwanda laid at a much cheaper rate. It also questioned the capacity of 24 core cables to meet the under-water bury standards. The audit further found that there was poor supervision of the project and that key implementation guidelines were not adhered to. According to the report, the cables were placed too close to the road. Also, the depth was less that the recommended 1.5 metre and the distance from the middle of the road was found to be less than the 15 metres recommended. There were also serious delays in the project, the Auditor General noted. Implementation of the three phases was supposed to be completed in 27 months, or by January 2009. "However, 38 months later, the first phase, originally to be implemented in six months, has not been fully completed." The delay is expected to lead to further administrative costs. Already, the company has claimed $2.2m in additional costs for repairs on the first phase. The permanent secretary of the ICT ministry argued that the damages occurred after the hand-over of the network and could therefore not be covered by the insurance. But the Auditor General observed that there was no independent assessment of the extent of the repairs, and there was no evidence that the contractor had actually obtained an insurance cover. Former ICT minister Ham Mulira, under whose tenure the deal was sealed, has defended the huge cost of the project. He said factors must be considered such as terrain, geographical coverage, fibre capacity to meet the potential demand based on the size of the population, and the cost of civil works. On the size and capacity of the 24 core cable, as compared to that of MTN of 48 core and Rwanda of 90 core, Mulira argued that once the fibre is laid, the traffic capacity can be increased by changing the devices that send the traffic. (Source: New Vision) South Africa: Sentech defends cable involvementSentech has defended its involvement in two separate undersea cables, but there are still major questions surrounding its capacity and mandate, which government will have to answer for, says BMI-TechKnowledge. Following questions raised by the Democratic Alliance, about state-owned entities' involvement in the Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) cable, Sentech responded saying it was following government instructions and beefing up its capacity. “Sentech received a directive from government to participate in the submarine cable initiative. As the world is moving towards convergence of infrastructure, services and products, the involvement of Sentech in a submarine cable initiative will assist the company in the delivery of international traffic,” says Polly Modiko, head of corporate communications at Sentech. Sentech has signed a non-exclusive landing party agreement with Baharicom Development Company (BDC). The company says it is not privy to any discussions and negotiations ongoing between BDC and third-parties, including the ACE consortium. The ACE was initially planned to stretch from France to Gabon; however, the France Telecom-led and Nepad-backed cable extended its reach in June last year. The cable joins the rush of international capacity to hit African shores, adding its 1.92Tb of bandwidth to a growing figure. However, Denis Smit, MD of BMI-T, says that, while the state-owned enterprise (SOE) was acting on government's instructions, it should be aware its uncoordinated projects could cause confusion. If government needed to increase access to broadband services, Broadband Infraco could have signed up for a bigger shareholding in the East Africa Submarine System (Eassy) cable project. “The National Broadband Policy, which is expected in March, will spell out the future mandate of Sentech. There are crucial questions surrounding the capacity of Sentech and the document will hopefully address these,” says Smit. While there has been no indication of where funding for future investments would be sourced, Sentech has hinted it does have funding available. Modiko notes that, in 2006, Sentech received R21 million to participate in the Eassy project. “Sentech has, to date, not utilised the R21 million allocated to it in any existing submarine cable initiative,” she explains. Sentech adds that it is legally operating within its mandate. In May 2002, Sentech was awarded two additional licences, allowing it to provide international voice-based telecommunications and multimedia services, as a commercially-operated SOE. “Having equity in a submarine cable initiative assists in negotiating prices with competitors who are also shareholders. In addition, Sentech's involvement in the submarine cable initiative will ensure it does not always rely on competitors who will determine its price on capacity on a wholesale or retail basis,” says Modiko. While Smit notes that Sentech's rationale for its involvement in the undersea cable project is a good one, he adds that government still has to answer for its uncoordinated approach to broadband offerings. He says there is confusion and there needs to be clarity on the roles of Broadband Infraco and Telkom, as the two other major telecommunications entities, which have government as the major shareholder. “The logic and economics of Sentech's rationale are fine, but the question is: Why do we need two different projects? Why the duplication and why the different state-owned entities?” (Source: ITWeb) Payment Portal Promises Major E-Commerce Shift in KenyaWhen Quentin Faulkner launched an online store for parents looking for good quality clothing for their children two years ago, his peers told him he would close shop in weeks. But the business - a baby clothing store that has no physical location and is solely marketed using social networking website Facebook - now handles up to 90 transactions a month. That growth has inspired him to launch a second e-commerce website – www.Bagalicious.co.ke, which sells handbags. We handle up to 155 orders a month on this website. January is shaping up to be our second best month in terms of orders and revenue," said Mr Faulkner. More recently, web commerce has become a key driver of the many online commercial portals that Kenya's restless technology entrepreneurs (also known as techpreneurs) have been trying to establish with the growth of internet use in the country. In this club of online commerce start-ups is Totallytoto.com launched at the beginning of the year to solely sell goods online. The firm joins a growing list of websites that are selling mostly foreign made goods to Kenyan consumers at competitive prices. Mystrawberrystore.com, pesapal.com, enrakenya.com, kalahari.co.ke and nsoko.co.ke, styleconnection.co.ke and intokenya.com are the vanguards of this budding internet economy.Growth of the internet sector is expected to create new opportunities for the development of e-commerce and m-commerce linking Kenya more closely to the global economy. This new push for e-commerce got an impetus mid last year with the landing at the Kenyan coast of two undersea fibre optic cables that linked the country to high-speed internet connectivity, laying the groundwork for a digital economy. E-commerce is expected to give rise to a digitally-enabled economy that runs on platforms such as e-government, e-health, e-education, social media and e-science. Because of its association with lower overhead costs, e-commerce has enabled retailers to charge lower prices besides offering consumers a more convenient shopping window. Globally, the e-commerce industry is now worth $500 billion, but Africa's many technological challenges, including the absence of local electronic payment portals, have ensured that the continent accounts for only a tiny fraction of it. With the arrival of broadband internet, Kenyan companies are now refocusing their strategies to tap on online commerce that is expected to grow at an annual average of 10 per cent in the next decade. Helped by the changing landscape in the travel industry, national flag carrier Kenya Airways is for example offering online ticketing and tens of small and medium-sized firms such as e-manamba.com are offering commuters the opportunity to purchase tickets online. Media companies such as the Nation Media Group have also gone online to sell digital editions of their publications. Nakumatt, the country's largest retail chain is planning to launch an online hyper-mart that offers for sale on-line all products available in its stores. It will work as a complementary sales tool that will serve customers in remote areas. And to ensure its success, we have enlisted the support of a leading logistics solutions provider to handle the delivery and logistics support elements," said Atul Shah, the Nakumatt managing director. Currently, MamaMikes.com - the oldest locally developed e-commerce portal - draws its customer base from Kenyans living in the diaspora but now hopes the availability of a local payment portal launched by I & M Bank last week will open the online shop to the domestic consumers. The website has been offering its customers a platform to buy gifts for relatives and friends in Kenya from abroad. The menu of items on sale includes mobile phone airtime, Nakumatt or Uchumi vouchers, or cakes and flowers during special occasions. The company now handles around 500 orders a month, a figure that had grown steadily until last year when a number of small enterprises offering the same service entered the market. We never realised growth last year, partly because of intense competition from new players offering the same services," said Segeni Ngethe, the company's founder. Analysts say last week's launch of the country's first electronic payments system may not have an immediate effect on the budding e-commerce industry citing the pricing structure that I&M Bank and Visa will offer the retailers. That pricing will determine profit margins for online sales - a key ingredient for e-commerce. For many Kenyan e-commerce retailers, card use translates to higher transaction charges and reduced profit margins. The larger the profit margins, the easier it is to accommodate Visa transaction fees. When an online company sells products with margins of 70 per cent, it is easy to justify paying a fee of 5 per cent of the sale price to visa to make the sale possible," said Mr Ngethe. But for smaller firms that generate lower sales margins, hefty payments to Visa may force them to hike prices in order to make profits. "This is an unnecessary expense for us. Our margins are small enough that this has a significant effect on our bottom line. It will also involves a much higher level of security and protection to safely use credit cards for online transactions and that administrative cost is too high for us," said Mr Faulkner. In Kenya, alternative payment systems have been gaining popularity as consumer demand for different payment avenues, other than credit cards, intensifies. Online retailers say Kenyan consumers have been shying away from credit cards in favour of cash on delivery or mobile money transfers.And as security concerns surrounding e-payments increase, some online retailers are turning to outsourced payment processing companies such as Pesapal to manage their e-payments. A poll of e-commerce outfits reveals that the most used payment system in Kenya is cash on delivery, which accounts for 70 per cent of on-line purchases. A growing number of payments (around 20 per cent are made using M-Pesa or Zap, a segment that many industry insiders believe will grow as more consumers get online using their mobile phones or computers. With eight million users already on the system, M-Pesa is gaining ground as the cashless currency of choice because they offer instant payments at rates lower than those charged by banks or credit card vendors. Only five per cent of online purchases are paid for using credit or debit cards which two million Kenyans have access to. The remaining five per cent of the payments made through intermediary payment sites such as Pesapal or Paypal. (Source: Business Daily) In brief:- Spacecom, the AMOS satellite fleet operator, today announced that the AMOS-5i satellite has reached its °17E orbital position and has begun commercial service. With clients from Africa, Europe and the Middle East already on board, the AMOS-5i satellite enables Spacecom to start serving the growing African market with C-band and Ku-band capacity. AMOS-5i is an interim satellite that will be seamlessly succeeded in its orbital position by AMOS-5 once it commences operations, scheduled for mid-2011. The AMOS-5i satellite’s 20 36MHz and 4 72MHz C-band transponders plus 9 54MHz Ku-band transponders, make it a powerful platform offering a pan-African C-band beam connecting Europe and the Middle East alongside two Ku-band regional beams. The AMOS-5 satellite will further expand Spacecom’s footprint in Africa thanks to its 14 72MHz and 4 36MHz C-band transponders and 18 72MHz Ku-band transponders. - New Artel Rwanda has said that it will deliver the high data rate Internet access from Seacom's undersea fibre-optic cable through the national backbone. The government-owned Internet Service Provider (ISP) had planed to land the submarine cable to Rwanda through Uganda Telecom's Point-of-Presence (POP), Rwandatel. Officials said that it was discovered that Rwandatel does not have the capability of delivering the 155 Mbs capacity, something that caused delays in the implementation of the project. - Following in the footsteps of American and European online marketing strategies, an African website has been set up to allow fans to support up and coming artistes of their choice. The strategy employed by www.africaunsigned.com is a first of its kind and might see a new music order in terms of circumventing piracy and exposing up and coming African artists internationally. Already there are three Zimbabwean acts in the project namely, Victor Kunonga, Bongo Love and Africa Destiny. Fans can log on to the website, find an artist of their liking, elect the amount with which they would like to support the artist. - Newtec has announced that its FlexACM technology – which on average doubles satellite link capacity – is the system behind Gateway Communications’ flagship continent-wide internet backbone service, Africa IPJetDirect. Gateway Communications, which has the largest pan-African communications network with customers in 40 countries, successfully launched IPJetDirect last year using C band and Ku band satellites to deliver IP services to mobile phone operators in Africa. Newtec’s DVB-S2 VCM and DVB-S2 FlexACM technologies have been deployed on several platforms across the African continent to ensure maximum bandwidth efficiency and allow Gateway to make best use of the scarce satellite capacity over Africa.
Chinese company to begin work on Ghana’s $30m e-governance projectWork on the 30 million-dollar E-governance backbone Project is expected to begin soon, Gideon Quarcoo, Deputy Minister of Communication said on Monday. The Management of China-based Huawei Telecom was awarded the contract to undertake government’s e-governance project in April 2006 to provide centralized information technology and e-services to Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies. The contract was renewed in 2008 and the first batch of materials is expected in April, 2010 for site construction work to begin in May. The project is expected to end in December 2010, Quarcoo said at a meeting with the experts on the project in Accra. He asked the team of information technology experts from Huawei Telecom and the National Information Technology Authority to solicit views from other sources for an efficient and effective implementation of the project. Quarcoo urged the team to ensure the project covered the entire country. Jackie Shen, Product Manager of Huawei, said it would be difficult to connect the entire country because most areas had no access to fibre, micro wave and connectivity. He explained that when the project was initiated in 2006, there were 138 metropolitan, municipal and districts but had been increased to 170. He said Wa and Bolgatanga might not be connected because there was no fibre, however, by August 2010 V-Sat would be connected to these areas in the absence of the fibre. (Source: GNA) South Africa: ICT spending: 2010 set to top 2009BMI-T says that “2009 was rocky but will 2010 be rolling” when it comes to government ICT spending Many South African citizens are on the edge of their seats waiting to see what will happen when the 2010 FIFA World Cup begins and when the influx of visitors stream into the country. From the very beginning the event has been deemed to significantly contribute to the social and economic opportunities not only in South Africa but for the whole African continent. Consulting firm BMI-TechKnowledge published a report on government ICT spending trends which revealed current trends and opportunities in this key market space. The report probed into technology usage by National and Provincial Government departments and spending on external ICT vendors and on SITA in each department. Key goals that Government set itself for the 2010 FIFA event were: to improve the countries public transport system, enhance telecommunication infrastructure and provide superior sporting facilities. The South African Government has stood firm during the economic recession and has already reached many of its 2010 ambitions which included to not only host a successful soccer event but to build and develop the country as a whole. Lesley-Anne Dos Santos, BMI-T Enterprise Research Business Manager, states that due to the global recession, 2009 was a rough year for many companies operating in South African vertical industries and ICT investors were extremely wary during this volatile time. Public sector companies lingered through the economic storm and the South African Government also had its fair share of challenges. However, there were positive signs during the downturn as seen in May 2009 when South Africa’s new Cabinet was announced and the number of ministries was increased to achieve Government’s goal of real and actual socio-economic development within the country. Linked to this Government’s aim was and still is to develop an information society and to provide solutions that are citizen-centric, transparent and efficient. In 2009, many Government ICT projects were prioritised due to budgets being slashed and decreasing tax revenues which have also taken its toll on government’s propensity to spend; however Government remained dedicated to using technology to improve service delivery and to achieve its 2010 goals. There are still major inhibitors of ICT adoption taking place within the public sector and these filter down to all three spheres of government. A major inhibitor is delayed decision-making regarding ICT budgets and, once decisions are made, budgets are usually extremely tight. Technology adoption is slow within the public sector and there is always a problem with IT and telecommunications skills shortages. However, the other side of the coin, there are attempts at stimulating ICT, including enhancing skills, enhancing the effectiveness of operations, and managing ICT better (again through human resource development). Because the public sector is large and is characterised by extensive ICT projects, this market is seen by most vendors as extremely attractive. According to BMI-T’s government research, the top three criteria or reasons for government departments choosing primary suppliers of ICT products and services are, in order of importance, BEE compliance, quality and reliability of vendors, and technical skills and the quality of service provided by vendors. Vendors providing end-to-end solutions and good customer service are also seen as important. (Source: Mybroadband) Kenyan outsourcing tech park faces challengesThe Kenya government is planning to go ahead with the construction of an ambitious US$1 billion technology outsourcing park, even though property owners of the site have filed a case with the high court in Nairobi. The case was filed after disagreements among the owners of the 5,000-acre site over government payments. Some of the shareholders allege that officials of the Malili Ranch sold the land without their consent. The government agreed to pay $10.5 million to a company that was negotiating with Malili Ranch, whose shareholders are small-scale farmers. The shares in the company determine the size of the piece of land each farmer gets. Farmers are now saying their shares in the company were bought cheap and not close to the figure that the government had offered. In the case, more than a half-dozen Malili Ranch shareholders allege their consent was not obtained when officials of the company sold the land. The government was issued the title deed in December, but the farmers want the high court to block the government from releasing $7 million until the dispute is heard and determined. The government, meanwhile, insists that the land was properly bought and the title deed issued in accordance with the law. Bitange Ndemo, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communications, addressed the ICT Industry Forum last week and said the government is hoping to start construction work by April. "The technology park will have high-speed Internet infrastructure, BPO park, science park, and a financial district," said Ndemo. The forum, which was convened by the ICT industry to share ideas on what the park should provide for, was preceded by online discussions on what government priorities should be. "The government has been in negotiations with major outsourcing companies in India and the government is willing to provide the space and cater for the office rent for a year," added Ndemo. Kenya is seeking to compete with South Africa, India, Mauritius, Malaysia and Philippines, the major outsourcing destinations. Lack of infrastructure, lack of tax breaks, lack of appropriate laws and the high cost of starting companies has made Kenya comparatively unattractive. (Source: Computerworld Kenya) In Brief:- Business Connexion Namibia was awarded the Acer reseller of Year 2009. - John Dramani Mahama, the Vice President, called on the developers of school curricular to consider mainstreaming Information and Communication Technology (ICT) into school curricular at all levels. This, he said, would enhance the technological knowledge of children who had no access to computers and technology in their homes. - In a bid to ensure responsible electronic waste disposal, CARE Computers for Developing Countries (CARE Ghana), recently shipped more than 300 computers and accessories back to the United Kingdom for recycling. The spoilt items included 296 computers and 16 printers and the reshipment was sponsored by UK-based Edwards Vacuum Limited Crawley (EVLC), a vacuum pump manufacturing company based in West Sussex County.
South Africa: Telecoms Growth Slowing as Voice Market MaturesInvestors in the telecommunications sector should exercise caution, according to a report by investment management firm Allan Gray that suggests the industry's operating profit pool peaked in 2006 in real terms and has since declined. Analyst Jan Silvis said this week that although the total revenue of Telkom, Vodacom and MTN had grown at a stable rate of 19% a year since 1992, "growth in industry profits has not kept up with growth in revenues". Silvis said this was partly because a large portion of each company's revenue derived from the interconnection fees paid by one operator to another. At the level of industry profits, this was a "zero-sum game". In November mobile operators succumbed to pressure to cut interconnection fees, with peak charges lowered from R1.25 to 89c a minute. Silvis said that the reduction would bring "secondary effects, such as retail price pressure and increased competition. These could well reduce the absolute size and distribution of profits ". A second reason for the recent below-trend growth in profits was the maturation of the voice market, with voice traffic on Telkom's fixed-line market down by about 25% over the past five years. Growth in mobile voice traffic was also slowing, with mobile SIM card penetration now exceeding 100% of the population. Silvis noted that telecommunication unit prices had tended to decrease over time, as operators passed on technological and scale cost savings to their customers. "Since 1993 the secular growth in mobile voice and data traffic volumes has more than offset the impact of declining real unit prices, resulting in increasing profits," he said. "However, in a mature and more competitive market, operators are likely to find it more difficult to manage the relationship between revenue and both operating and capital costs to their advantage. Telkom had the worst recent performance of the three companies analysed by Allan Gray. Its annual operating profit fell 34,5% in the two years to last March, falling from R9,8bn to R6,4bn. Telkom's revenue of R35,9bn for the year to last March was up 10,8% from the 2007 figure. MTN's annual results show a stronger performance by its South and East Africa division, with operating profit up 37,8% to R12,9bn in the two years to December 2008. However, this fell short of the 41,0% revenue growth in the same period. Vodacom's operating profit fell 3,9% to R12bn in the year to last March, after growing 15% in the previous year. Its revenue grew 34,1% to R55,2bn over the two- year period. Silvis concluded that although the telecoms industry "is currently attracting record levels of new capital investment", the returns were likely to be lower than those achieved in the past. "When we evaluate listed telecommunications operators and service providers as potential investment opportunities, we consider these lower return expectations in valuing their South African operations." Frost & Sullivan's information and communication technology analyst, Spiwe Chireka, said although Africa was still seen as a growth area, "the addressable market is shrinking". "The key urban areas are now sitting at more than 100% population coverage. So we're starting to see a move into the rural market", where acquiring customers was slower and customers tended not to spend much. Chireka said telecoms companies in SA would need to move beyond the voice service market to focus on "business-targeted offerings" for strong profit growth. (Source: Business Day) Telecommunications sector contributes 20 % to Tanzania’s GDPThe booming telecommunication sector contributes about 20 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP), the National Assembly was told in Dodoma. Communications, Science and Technology deputy minister Dr Maua Daftari said the government collected a lot of revenue from the sector, citing the year 2007/2008 when it collected more than 209bn/- in revenue. She was responding to a question from Suleiman Khalifa (Gando, CUF), who had wanted to know how the country benefited from the operations of telecommunications companies. She said for a period of seven years, from the year 2001/2002 to 2007/2008, the government collected revenues amounting to more than 660bn/- from the sector. Daftari said the collected amount was obtained in the form of tax through the Treasury. She said that according to February 2009 statistics, there were 12 telecommunications companies operating in the country. She said up to February 2009, a total of 13,006,793 SIM cards were in use, while the number of mobile and landline phone users increased to 13,130,602. Currently, there were 123,800 landline telephones in use countrywide, said the deputy minister. (Source: The Guardian) Zambia’s opposition: We will renationalise ZamtelZambia will witness national elections in 2011. Main opposition party-leader Michael Sata, who leads the country’s Patriotic Party, says he will reverse the privatisation of Zamtel, because he does not see that strategy as being in Zambia’s best interests. Zamtel has been headline news in recent days as three organisations, Libya's LAP Green Networks, India's BSNL and Angola's Unitel have all been bidding for anything between 51% and 75% of Zamtel. This has not deterred Michael Sata from raising the objections that new owners are likely to close down rural branches of Zamtel in order to concentrate on more lucrative urban areas. Mr Sata’s words were quite clear; as he said to Reuters, “Those bidding for Zamtel are doing so at owner's risk. The PF in government will reverse the decision to privatise Zamtel. Even if it is sold we will renationalise it." For him, Zambia’s parliament would decide the conditions for renationalisation. This year Zamtel’s revenue has been approximately US$100 million. For Michael Sata this was because it was owed money by the Zambian Government, "If the government paid all the Zamtel bills, Zamtel would be very viable. The government owes Zamtel trillions of kwacha and that is what has created problems." Other opinion has been expressed by opposition politicians and trade unions, who say Zambians should hold a bigger stake in the company, and also by independent analyst Oliver Saasa who informed Reuters that renationalising Zamtel would deter other investors and was not in Zambia’s best interest as the sale was legally binding. And we at Developing Telecoms could not help noticing another comment by Michael Sata, namely that Zamtel is Zambia's only licensed fixed-line provider of voice and data communications and that it had performed poorly despite its monopoly rights. Despite? Or because of? (Source: Developing Telecoms) Millicom Sells 750 Towers in GhanaMillicom Ghana (trading as Tigo) has agreed to sell approximately 750 towers to Helios Towers Ghana, a direct subsidiary of Helios Towers Africa. As a result of the transaction, Tigo Ghana will retain a minority interest in HTG. Additionally, Tigo Ghana and Helios Towers have entered into a long term leasing agreement where Helios Towers will provide Tigo Ghana with wireless communications towers, including a build-to-suit agreement to support the company's wireless networks. Helios Towers will seek similar agreements with other operators in Ghana. The transaction is expected to create savings in both capital and operating expenditure for Tigo Ghana. Mikael Grahne, President and CEO of Millicom, said: "This agreement marks our first substantial commitment to outsourcing passive infrastructure, and is entirely consistent with our strategy of improving both our capital and operating efficiency by focusing on our core activities. Operators around the world are increasingly recognising that owning and operating all of their own network infrastructure does not confer a competitive advantage. The new venture will allow Tigo Ghana to focus on areas of genuine differentiation: sales, marketing, distribution, service innovation and customer care." (Source: Cellular News) In brief:- Gulf African Bank, Kenya's first fully Shar'iah-compliant bank, has partnered with Safaricom for agent-to-agent transactions. This means M-Pesa agents now have a wider access and delivery channel through the bank, thereby reducing time lapse between deposits/withdrawals and actual update of agent electronic float. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage (briefs)- MTN Rwanda has made a soft launch of the Mobile Money service transfer, being the first operator to introduce the service in the country. The service is available to every MTN subscriber. The service will help our subscribers to send money to anyone in Rwanda, withdraw cash at any authorised MTN Mobile Money agent and also buy MTN airtime anytime. - According to a report by Reuters, which cites company CEO Mickael Ghossein, Telkom Kenya ended December 2009 with 1.2 million mobile subscribers, adding 428,000 net new customers in just three months. Despite impressive growth in the latter part of the year the operator still fell short of its target of two million registered users by year-end. Meanwhile the company ended 2009 with 250,000 customers on its ‘Orange fixed-plus’ fixed-wireless CDMA-450 network, up from 236,700 a year earlier.
Mobile Devices Help Monitor Access to Healthcare in GhanaSEND Ghana has launched a project to use mobile devices to collect data to assess if the poor are benefiting from the government’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). IICD will provide technical advisory service and training. The Ghanaian government instituted the NHIS in 2003 to remove the financial barriers to quality health care for the poor. SEND’s objective is to find out if the poor are actually benefiting from the scheme. Registration data suggests that this may not be the case. Only 2.3% taking part in the scheme are subsidized poor, while an estimated 28.5% of Ghana's population lives below the poverty line. SEND will develop an Open Source monitoring tool in cooperation with software developers to be used on handheld mobile devices to collect and share data. Due to the poor communication infrastructure, this will enable SEND to transmit data and share monitoring information with grassroots organisations and others. They are also developing and implementing a monitoring information management system that will help them track and analyze the data. IICD is providing technical advisory support in the development of the monitoring tool and information management system. IICD and SEND will collaborate to develop appropriate training materials. The Dutch organisation Cordaid will provide the direct project funding. The project launched in October 2009 will continue for two years. SEND is also sensitising women in the Upper West Region to the opportunities available to women and children in the NHIS and how they can take advantage of them. SEND - Ghana is an organization that tries to increase access of the poor and the marginalized in society to pro-poor policies and programmes of the government through research and advocacy. (Source: IICD. Org) Rwanda’s Lottery goes MobileRwanda Gaming Corporation (RGC), a charity business organisation is set to introduce mobile lottery, the company's CEO, Philippe Brizoua revealed. Mobile lottery will allow mobile telephony users play lottery games from their mobile phone, Brizoua said. "For the start, MTN and Rwandatel subscribers will enjoy the service and later Tigo. To register, a person will send a short text message "Lotto" to 8888 on any of the operators then that person will receive a confirmation message that he/she has successfully registered," Brizoua explained He also added that a text will cost Rwf300 for any client who intends to play for prizes of over Rwf30m. The CEO also explained that they are waiting for a government's decision that will determine taxes the company will be charged. "The only challenge is to know how much we will be charged on taxes because in other countries where the games operate they don't charge VAT but taxes are charged on the money won. If we get the confirmation this week we are ready to launch the services at the beginning of February," he explained. Last year, RGC managed to generate Rwf4 billion without taxes and the company posted Rwf1 billion net revenues after paying off winners and other costs. Brizoua explained that the company managed to make that money with only two products, the Casino and the Slot Machines and this year it is targeting Rwf22 billion. "With the introduction of more games we are ready to have a wide range of options for our clients which will help generate more revenues, we have CASINO (2 branches), the national Lottery 6/36, video slot machines, sport betting and live horse betting," he explained. RGC is also set to open-up branches upcountry in two weeks time. Brizoua said that they are ready to open offices in Cyangungu and Gisenyi so as to give an opportunity for the people outside Kigali to enjoy the games. Brizoua also explained that the company was very much affected by the credit crunch. He revealed that that company lost 30 percent of their projected revenues from the Casino because mostly the Casino targets foreigners who like the gambling games. "Since it was the Casino's first year of operation, we hope this year it will be a success because people are recovering from the credit crunch and tourist numbers will increase again," he added. (Source: The New Times)
People- Former Acer South Africa country manager, Graham Braum, has stepped up to the position of regional manager for the entire Africa and Levant (Jordan and Lebanon) region. - The Board of Commissioners of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) may have recommended the names of a former top shot of privately owned phone company, MTS First Wireless, Eugene Juwa and two other top officials of the influential telecoms regulatory agency to succeed its incumbent Executive Vice Chairman/ Chief Executive, Ernest Ndukwe. Events2010 EURO-AFRICA COOPERATION FORUM IN ICT RESEARCH 3rd February 2010, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 2010 Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum in ICT Research The event is being organised by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) funded EUROAFRICA-ICT project and is supported by the African Union Commission Human Resources and Science and Technology (AUC-HRST) department and the European Commission. The forum will bring together sub-Saharan Africa and European organisations for an interactive and participative event whose objectives include: - Reflecting on progress made and lessons learnt on ICT research and development in Africa and its contribution to economic growth, improved quality of life and efficient service delivery; - Enhancing the development of Euro-Africa collaborative ICT research projects and identifying potential partners; - Networking with key stakeholders in the field (private/public); - Highlighting opportunities for African participation in FP7 projects and results from successful EU-African FP7 cooperation projects and EU-African public-private partnerships For further information, please visit: http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/forum2.php 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 DIGITAL AFRICA SUMMIT 9-11 March 2010, Munyonyo Resort, Lake Victoria, Kampala,Uganda This year's 8th Annual Digital Africa Summit is set to be Africa’s premier ICT business summit, creating more opportunities for learning, partnerships and business, with ICT’s, telephony and broadband being globally recognized as a prerequisite for social and economic development the opportunity to engage positive change has never been greater. Africa’s ICT sector is the fastest growing globally with mobile and broadband penetration rates set to continue to rise and with lower cost high speed broadband now a reality companies must prepare and build solid foundations allowing them to take advantage of the opportunities, that this exciting industry and continent has to offer. Thus, the challenges to win in this new and dynamic environment are enormous making focus, speed, cooperation and ongoing innovation imperative to its many members. For further information visit http://www.be-excellent.com/dynamic.php?button=121§ion=25 SECOND GLOBAL CONFERENCE MICROFINANCE AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES 10-11 March 2010, Marrakech, Morocco New technology represents a key driver for the evolution of the microfinance sector: its use could result in doubling the number of microentrepreneurs, beneficiaries of microfinance, to 300 million worldwide. Moreover, in Morocco the microfinance market already appears promising for providers of technology solutions attracted to the sector. In this context, PlaNet Finance is co-organising with the Banque Populaire Group and Sogeti the 2nd international conference on the theme “Which models are best placed to increase access to financial services for the unbanked? For further information visit www.mfntsummit2010.com 4th ANNUAL E-GOV AFRICA FORUM 2010 23-25 March 2010, Maputo, Mozambique At a time when ICTs are defining the way the world lives and conducts business, it is important for African governments to evolve themselves to meet the demands of changing trends in order to deliver effective services and to improve the quality of life of their citizenry. This also requires the formation of Public Private Peoples Partnerships to be geared towards achieving developmental goals through the application of ICTs to governance (e-governance/e-government), electoral processes (e-democracy), food and nutrition (e-agriculture), health delivery (e-health/telemedicine), learning and capacity development (e-education) and trade (e-commerce), among others. For further information on the conference visit the CTO’s website http://www.cto.int AITEC BANKING & MOBILE MONEY WEST AFRICA 11-12 May 2010, Lagos, Nigeria 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 West Africa 2010 will therefore 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
Jobs and OpportunitiesISOC Next Generation Leaders (NGL) programme The Internet Society (ISOC) is happy to announce a new programme beginning in 2010: the ISOC Next Generation Leaders (NGL) programme. The NGL was officially launched 6 October 2009 at a youth forum lunch during the ITU Telecom World week in Geneva. The programme is aimed at emerging talents across the globe, between the ages of 20 and 40, and is a unique blend of coursework and practical experience to help prepare young professionals from around the world to become the next generation of Internet technology, policy, and business leaders. Programme entrants will complete a tailored eLearning course, covering the essential topics required for effective interactions and relationships within the Internet ecosystem, as well as key concepts and emerging issues in Internet governance. They will be encouraged to apply for the Internet Society’s representation programmes, such as ISOC Ambassadorships to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), the World Bank, and OECD, and the ISOC Fellowship to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). At the end of the programme, all Next Generation Leaders programme graduates will be invited to submit a proposal for a project focused on an Internet development issue within their own communities. Of those, three projects will be chosen and the respective project leaders will be invited to Geneva for a final, one-week course in Internet diplomacy. The three project leaders will be recognized as the Next Generation Leaders programme laureates, rewarded with special opportunities to network with some of the Internet’s most respected leaders and to participate in special leadership events, and they may be encouraged to start new Internet Society Chapters in their communities. More information on the programme can be found at www.InternetSociety.org/Leaders ContractsCell C and ZTE – South Africa Chinese equipment vendor ZTE has announced that it has entered into a network supply and a managed services contract with Cell C, South Africa’s third largest mobile operator by subscribers. Under the USD378 million contract ZTE will provide Cell C with GSM-based equipment while supporting the cellco’s ongoing network expansion. Cell C is planning to invest heavily in its networks over the next twelve months, spending a total of ZAR5 billion (USD659.98 million) on network upgrades, including the deployment of a 3.5G HSPA+ network. Togo Cellulaire and Alcatel-Lucent - Togo Alcatel-Lucent has announced that it has been awarded a Euro 22 million contract by Togo Cellulaire, the leading mobile operator in Togo to extend their network capacity in GSM and to build the first 3G wireless broadband network in the country. The new network, which will be deployed by the end of 2010, will enable Togo Cellulaire to offer advanced mobile broadband services to over 2.2 million subscribers and businesses throughout the country. University of Lagos and Cisco – Nigeria Cisco Nigeria has partnered with AMB Multiserve to deploy a Cisco Unified Wireless Network (CUWN) for staff and students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG). According to the Marketing Manager, Cisco Nigeria, Mrs. Owen Inyang the partnership will bring about the connection of over 40,000 staff and students at the University of Lagos across its three campuses.
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