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ISSUE NO 30 SNIPPETS

AFRICAN LAKES HITS THE HEADLINES AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE QUITS

Chris Foy, Chief Executive of African Lakes Corporation, the owners of one
of the continent's leading ISP's Africa Online has quit to join the Royal
Shakespeare Company as its Managing Director. Its Chair Bob Cleminson has also recently announced his intention to step down. A new appointment is imminent. Last year it reported a first half profit of £600,000 but this year it posted a pre-tax loss of £504,000 for the six months to March. (source: London's Independent newspaper 2/10/00)

E-TRADING IN SOUTH AFRICA

E*Trade Group has announced the launch of E*Trade SA, brining E*Trade's personalised online investing tools to the largest investor market in Africa. The new site, located at www.etrade.co.za, offers online trading of stocks and warrants listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange as well as comprehensive market information provided by Reuters, BigCharts and local news vendors. The launch of E*Trade SA marks the eleventh E*Trade retail-branded web site in the world. <source: http://www.barney.co.za/news/oct00/etrade2.htm>

But if you make money on your e-trading, watch out for the taxman. For the first time the SA Revenue Service's 1999 tax returns will require the disclosure of "revenue generated from e-commerce transactions". This includes the reporting of all "sales and purchases made via the internet and their source". As reported by BussinessDay on Thursday, this is in an attempt by the SARS to "close e-commerce tax loopholes". While the Democratic Alliance supports the SARS's intention they warn the receiver to "tread carefully". <source: http://www.boot.co.za/news/sep00/ecommercetax29.htm>

NIGERIA'S BDT CHIEF CALLS FOR GREATER COMPETITION OVER INTERNET PROVISION

For internet and e-commerce to be a reality and to reach the populations of Africa, the various governments on the continent have to work hand-in-hand and focus on efforts towards being part of the world's technological developments.The Director of Bureau for Telecommunications Development (BDT) of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Mr. Hammoud Toure who made this call said that Nigeria in particular should give Africa a lead as the continent leaps forward in a bold attempt to "bridge the so-called digital divide" in the world.

Toure, in a statement at the second Africa Internet Summit and Exhibition (AFRINET) held in Abuja last week said African governments should make universal access a reality by giving top priority attention to the extension of Information/Communication Technology (ICTs) to the rural areas where a majority of Africa's population still lives. The ITU Director said that it was now evident that the decision makers were prepared to liberalise the telecoms sector and to induce competition in order to bring about increased investment and faster growth in the sector."Policies need to be adopted to encourage competition in the provision of internet services; access to the internet should be considered a fundamental right not just to the big business but also to all citizens", he said.

The Director was of the view that internet was currently the most dynamic and fastest growing services in the telecommunications sector, and offers challenges and opportunities to users and operators alike. The major challenge to operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) was to provide sufficient carrier capacity in a network which was originally architectured primarily for telephony traffic.

According to him: "the opportunity for ISPs and operators is the hyperbolically growing internet traffic and the attendant revenues. Internet traffic is expected to catch up with and overtake telephony traffic in the next few years. And IP is turning the tables in that telephony can now be on routes designed for the internet". "After a rather timid start, the ITU has now risen to the occasion as evidenced by the buzz of activity in all the ITU sectors', Toure said. Warming words. We now must await the evidence of action.

SOLAR-POWERED INTERNET CONNECTION IN INDIA

Greenstar has gone live with a connection to a small rural village in India called Parvatapur. Greenstar went live on the internet, and simultaneously began recording music for a digital culture program. It uses a high-speed portable satellite terminal from Inmarsat, to connect to the Internet through space, powered solely by a portable solar power panel. Greenstar India announced today that it will build 50 solar-powered community and ecommerce centres in remote villages throughout India over the next three years. As part of the celebration of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, the first site is being dedicated today in Parvatapur village, about 150 km from the Andhra Pradesh capital of Hyderabad in southern India.

To generate income through ecommerce, Greenstar villages focus on India's vivid traditional culture -- authentic art, music, legends, literature, history and sacred way of life, long a source of fascination by people everywhere in the world. Greenstar is employing a team of artists and teachers to record elements of rural Indian culture, working closely with the people of each village. This original concept is already working in the Palestinian Authority and Jamaica. The result will be a powerful, unique collection of "digital culture" -- a gallery of music, artwork, photographs, video, poetry and other arts, which can be distributed in high-resolution digital form throughout the world, instantly and efficiently.

The revenues from digital culture will be used to fund basic needs of each village for its future, as decided by the people themselves -- deploying tools that include clean solar power, telemedicine and vaccination resources, basic education, micro-credit, community organizing, and a high-speed, two-way connection to the world through the Internet. You can order a copy of "The Sacred Voice of India", the multimedia and audio CD produced in Parvatapur, by clicking here: http://www.e-greenstar.com/India/launch/buymain.htm

The company behind these investments is Greenstar India, a new consortium of companies from India and the United States. Stakeholders include Capital Fortunes, a Hyderabad-based financial and business advisory consultancy, the Jindal Organization based in Delhi with operations throughout India and America, and Greenstar USA, which has pioneered the solar-powered ecommerce and digital culture concept. The participating companies are providing capital, technology and resources. Other key players are Indian government agencies and private participants including the Ekalavya Vidayalya Foundation, Ikisan, Kinera Object Connect, and the Renewable Energy Office at the Centre for Scientific Research of Auroville. Major support for Greenstar India comes from The Sterling Group, a company that has led the way in providing high- speed Internet access in India. Through its subsidiary, Dishnet/DSL (http://www.dishnetdsl.com/), Sterling will provide all the internet connections for Greenstar villages, including free Web hosting, and will sponsor a village demonstration in the Chennai region in the near future. For further information, contact: Dr. Charles F. Gay of Greenstar by email: cgay@e-greenstar.com

AMERICAN COMPANY SEEKS TO CONTROL .AFRICA DOMAIN

It's been some five years in the making, but we finally might have some new top-level domain names. ICANN has released a list of people who have applied for namespaces like .web and .biz. Note the overlaps: Three companies are vying to register .xxx, three want .web, and two want .air. An ICANN source tells Cluebot that the board of directors will choose winners by the end of the year. (for full list see: http://www.icann.org/tlds/tld-applications-lodged-02oct00.htm ) Of particular interest to News Update readers is the news that Rathbawn Computers Limited Of Colorado USA is seeking to gain control of the .africa domain. If you would like more information contact Edward Sweeney on ed@totalnic.com . (source: http://www.cluebot.com/ )

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