Back issues of News Update can be accessed below. News Update came out of a Balancing Act trip to Africa. Issue 4.1 was simply a description of what we found during the visit. From that point information was sent to us about other countries in Africa and News Update was born. Issues 1-3 were internal news bulletins to Balancing Act's Advisory Group.

Our contact address is info@balancingact-africa.com. If our correspondents are "off the mark" or you have factual amendments, mail them to us and we will include them in subsequent News Updates. If you'd like to contribute, write and let us know. If you need information about a particular place or issue, just send your questions in. We are always happy to follow up on readers concerns.

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2008

News Update 402 Second Africa ICT Best Practice conference in Ouaga – Closing the gap between words and action (18 April 2008)
News Update 401 The battle for mindspace – Africa’s mobile operators get serious about branding (18 April 2008)
News Update 400 M- money services – The rise and rise of Africa’ s “killer-app” for 2008 (11 April 2008)
News Update 399 Mauritius’ Nomad: Voice and Internet combine in the coming Wi-MAX business model (4 April 2008)
News Update 398 SAT3 to get a competitor – Infinity set to finalise $865 million financing (28 March 2008)
News Update 397 Ghana Telecom joins operators offering “almost” triple-play offers, by introducing IP-TV (21 March 2008)
News Update 396 Sharing infrastructure to speed up roll-out – reaching the parts you can’t reach by yourselves (14 March 2008)
News Update 395 Altech and Sameer to spend US$115 million on KDN regional expansion plans (7 March 2008)
News Update 394 Convergence – Getting to grips with the contours of the new media landscape with real data (29 February 2008)
News Update 393 Vodacom set to take over Lap Green’s Rwanda and Uganda operations (22 February 2008)
News Update 392 Indian Ocean islands agree a scheme to connect themselves by fibre (15 February 2008)
News Update 391 Tomorrow’s Internet users today – African universities play catch-up with online content (8 February 2008)
News Update 390 African countries’ ICT policy– going from the blah, blah, blah cycle to getting something done (1 February 2008)
News Update 389 Nigeria’s Galaxy Backbone gears up to meet the needs of 1 million civil servants (25 January 2008)
News Update 388 Africa’s mobile newcomers target off-centre country markets (18 January 2008)
News Update 387 North Africa: Morocco to get full local loop unbundling in July 2008 and pressures to unbundle grow in Tunisia (11 January 2008)
News Update 386 SMS – Africa’s coming media generates millions of responses and revenues (4 January 2008)

2007

News Update 384 Living with confusion – African operators find themselves pulled in new directions (14 December 2007)
News Update 383 Algerie Telecom becomes first operator to pioneer Fibre-To-The-Home strategy (7 December 2007)
News Update 382 Africa’s competition laboratory Kenya is the one to watch (30 November 2007)
News Update 381 France Telecom scores two in a row – will it make it a hat trick with Ghana? (23 November 2007)
News Update 380 West Africa: The great mobile pricing mystery – who’s cheap and who’s expensive (16 November 2007)
News Update 379 Marching to a different drum – Africa enters the age of mobile content (9 November 2007)
News Update 378 Rules of the game changing as DSL subs head for 1 million and international fibre prices fall to all-time low (2 November 2007)
News Update 377 Congo-Brazzaville’s incumbent Sotelco on the verge of bankruptcy (26 October 2007)
News Update 376 Continued high Internet and telecoms growth in West Africa, says new report (19 October 2007)
News Update 375 Low-cost voice operators: Technology without a business model yet in sight (12 October 2007)
News Update 374 Just as the power of the incumbent fades, the vertical integrators are on the march again (5 October 2007)
News Update 373 Ghana’s Soft Tribe carves itself a niche in the Nigerian ERP software market (28 September 2007)
News Update 372 West African licence tendering processes – a case to answer (21 September 2007)
News Update 371 Nigeria’s Mainstreet Technologies to build new international west coast fibre (14 September 2007)
News Update 370 The end of the beginning: DRC plans ambitious infrastructure development (7 September 2007)
News Update 369 Senegal – As competition starts, enter the new service providers (31 August 2007)
News Update 368 Tourist destinations the latest places to join Egypt’s hot-spot roll-out (24 August 2007)
Tourist destinations the latest places to join Egypt’s hot-spot roll-out News Update 367 The Nigerians are coming – investing in Benin and Ghana (10 August 2007)
News Update 366 Portugal Telecom to create separate African subsidiary to up its profile (3 August 2007)
News Update 365 Buyer beware: Maroc Telecom mired in fall-out from Gabon Telecom purchase (27 July 2007)
News Update 364 Mali: Mobile service helps bring down infant mortality (20 July 2007)
News Update 363 Benin: Regulator plays poker with Moov and MTN by cutting networks over increased licence fees (15 July 2007)
News Update 362 Kenya’s economy held back by lack of online payment authorisation systems (8 July 2007)
News Update 361 Power to the base stations – a modest proposition (1 July 2007)
News Update 360 Vyke introduces VoIP retail calls to Africa at near to wholesale rates
News Update 359 One laptop per child starting pilots in South Africa and Nigeria
News Update 358 Google appoints Wananchi’s Mucheru to head up its new operation
News Update 357 Two new fibre contenders – this time it’s Southern Africa
News Update 356 Transcorp looks at new carriers carrier strategy for“car wreck” Nitel
News Update 355 IATA e-ticketing deadline creeping up fast on Africa’s unprepared airlines
News Update 354 Kenya special: market gets ready for cheaper bandwidth
News Update 353 Second edition of BA voice and bandwidth projections forecast large increase in wireless broadband
News Update 352 Liberia: four mobile companies bring lowest prices in West Africa
News Update 350 ANGOLA – OIL REVENUES FUEL RAPID GROWTH IN TELECOMS
News Update 349 Outsider east coast fibre project comes in from the cold – Seacom goes public
News Update 348 Telkom Kenya on the block – mobile licence sweetens the package
News Update 347 African satellite prices rise in the wake of NSS8 burn-out
News Update 346 It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that Fring – VoIP  nightmare for mobile operators
News Update 345 Somalia’s civil war hides steady growth of internet services
News Update 344 The convergence moment – Gateway launches pan-African pay-TV service
News Update 343 The African Lakes sale – questions begin to pile up
News Update 342 African VoIP report reveals steady uptake of ip among carriers and grey market persisting despite price falls
News Update 341 Tradenet launches market intel platform for buying and selling agricultural goods
News Update 340 Four African countries try to turn back the clock by creating monopoly international gateways again
News Update 339 Jobs SMS services might offer mobile companies the killer app
News Update 338 Two new deals signal wider investor interest in African telecoms and internet
News Update 337 Vivendi goes into Sub-Saharan Africa with Onatel purchase

2006

News Update 336 MTC Namibia signs push-to-talk trial with police
News Update 335 Blame the foreigner - Ghana Telecom’s Norwegian management kicked out
News Update 334 Battle for the cheap education computer hots up
News Update 333 Raid on Siemens throws new light on seamy side of buying and selling telco equipment
News Update 332 Kenya begins the countdown to cheap international fibre
News Update 331 Tunisie Telecom: Foley bought in to transform company’s culture
News Update 330 Satellite dominates cellular backhaul, says new study
News Update 329 South Africa’s coming convergence may hold lessons for rest of the continent
News Update 328 GSM>3G Africa 06: masters of the universe face a tougher climb
News Update 327 Walls come tumbling down: Uganda licences VoIP service provider
News Update 326 One for the money, two for the show…Cabo Verde Telecom launches IP-TV
News Update 325 Industry’s dirty little secret - cross-country transit prices keep SAT3 international bandwidth prices high
News Update 324 Mauritania: arrival of third operator will shake up cosy duopoly
News Update 323 EASSy parties in disconnect over end of the beginning– negotiations continue
News Update 322 Spectrum conflicts threaten existing services and new technology take-up
News Update 321 Nigeria: the beginning of the end for Africa’s international grey market?
News Update 320 Hitting the spot – African Wi-Fi hot spots come of age
News Update 319 Burundi’s Onatel seeks South African govt help to retrieve scam payment
News Update 318 Africa's transition to fibre likely to be slower than expected, says new report
News Update 317 Revealed: The SAT3 Consortium's shareholder agreement they don't want you to see
News Update 316 Cameroon’s Matrix Telecom looks to VOIP as MTN set to provide nationwide internet service by November 2006
News Update 315 EASSY members agree to hybrid SPV and KDN still going ahead
News Update 314 Powerline deployed in SA and Uganda– IP-TV trial this autumn
News Update 313 Show me the money - English judge on Econet: “serious non-disclosure or misrepresentation of true position”
News Update 312 Cable theft – the cancer eating at the heart of the fixed network
News Update 311 KDN pips EASSy at the post in $115m deal with Flag – cost of bandwidth? Around $150 per mbps per month
News Update 310 The African ISP is dead! Long live the African ISP!
News Update 309 Rwanda – the small country with a strong desire to succeed
News Update 308 Two Kenyan companies get to grips with the new business model
News Update 307 Two major North African markets look set to become legal VoIP pioneers, says new report
News Update 306 EASSy project enters the final lap with critics on all sides
News Update 305 Most common complaints about phone service are price, quality and access, says new report
News Update 304 MTN’s purchase of Cameroonian ISP may spell the end of independent ISPs
News Update 303 The new scramble for Africa – acquisitions reshaping the communications landscape
News Update 302 Benin –DIY wireless enthusiasts launch Wi-Fi broadband and IP-to-IP calling
News Update 301 DRC heads towards peace with launch of 3G licence process
News Update 300 Algeria opens up its voice market to VOIP but sets the bar high
News Update 299 African mobile roaming charges – one of the last forms of legal daylight robbery
News Update 298 A new breed of wireless VOIP providers– mobile operators’ nightmare may be just around the corner
News Update 297 Kenya – legal VOIP begins to shake up the market and bring prices down
News Update 296 Interconnect Special: lower interconnect rates in Africa have not led to lower prices for customers, says new report
News Update 295 Sudan special – oil fuels rapid growth in telecoms and internet sectors
News Update 294 Cameroon’s Douala1.com launches T-CDMA wireless broadband service
News Update 293 EASSY consortium reaches crunch point for choices about pricing, access and governance – interview with project co-ordinator, John Sihra
News Update 292 Gambia special – new telecoms bill is the starter’s gun for liberalisation
News Update 291 Sonatel and Gamtel heading towards "triple-play implementation"
News Update 290 Sudan archiving project turns dry-as-dust documents into bits for easy access
News Update 289 Southern Africa leads the way with new trends, says just-published report
News Update 288 Imagining the future: Africa looking forward five years from now
News Update 287 Apple makes a comeback in Africa with the halo effect of the iPod

2005

News Update 286 Thank you for your purchase – a mobile phone turns into a credit card terminal
News Update 285 Kenya special: The opening of the market kickstarts a stagnant internet sector
News Update 284 SA's USALs get off to a slow start by reselling mobile minutes
News Update 283 Mauritius special report - A status check on progress to the "cyber island" dream
News Update 282 WSIS special: World Bank offers East African fibre consortium EASSy funding
News Update 281 Twenty African countries have introduced broadband and more set to follow, says new report
News Update 280 Knysna - Africa's first municipal wi-fi broadband network offers VOIP and internet access
News Update 279 Zantel's new CEO Noel Herrity on expansion plans, IP networks and its investment in EASSY
News Update 278 Uganda's Bwindi telecentre collects data on gorillas and targets tourists and locals
News Update 277 New wave of African VOIP operators emerge from the shadows of the grey market
News Update 276 South Africa's Business Connexion finds new business growth from across the continent
News Update 275 Bottom-of-the pyramid markets - the sub-USD100 laptop and the search for the holy grail
News Update 274 African telecoms skills levels on the rise but still gaps in revenue assurance and logistics
News Update 273 MWEB Nigeria uses non line-of-sight wireless to pitch broadband and VOIP services
News Update 272 Ethiopia puts off privatising ETC but rolls out nationwide fibre network
News Update 271 Enablis gives ICT entrepreneurs much needed early-stage finance and support
News Update 270 Digital television introduced to Africa - Mauritius and Senegal early adopters
News Update 269 African utility companies seeking to provide fibre infrastructure competition
News Update 268 Infinity Worldwide plans new West African fibre cable to rival SAT-3
News Update 267 Blogging and podcasting start to take off in Africa: first mobile phone podcast from Accra ?
News Update 266 Ghanaian powerline test - exclusive report on performance and cost
News Update 265 The strange case of Somalia and the lessons of war-induced anarchy
News Update 264 Kenya Telkom's new MD Sammy Kirui promises explosive growth and action on revenue leakage
News Update 263 Cheaper mobile phone-based POS could make African credit card sales easier
News Update 262 Heavy blow to COMTEL fibre project as Ericsson says it will not be an investor
News Update 261 Kenyan supermarket chain uses its ERP System to turn its fortunes around
News Update 260 WSIS host Tunisia guilty of denying access to information by filtering internet
News Update 259 Benin's OPT appoints two companies to sell ADSL and VOIP
News Update 258 MVNOs to come to Africa with Virgin Mobile setting its sights on Nigeria and SA
News Update 257 Power in the palm of your hand - Freeplay to launch self-powered mobile charger in Africa
News Update 256 Mobile fraud in Africa: the scams that are pulled by wily dodgers
News Update 255 Zimbabwe: TeleOne's 'turnaround agent MD Wellington Makamure on "living on the edge"
News Update 254 Africa’s mobile operators – are they the new incumbents?
News Update 253 Africa Online and Transtel selected as regional carriers by AfrISPA
News Update 252 Nigerians experience interactive TV using SMS: Happy birthday and I love messages on screen
News Update 251 And they're off: Africa's first legal VOIP services set a cracking pace
News Update 250 Zambia’s first wireless ISP offers high speed broadband solution
News Update 249 Accelon to launch international VOIP service in Nigeria in 4-6 weeks time
News Update 248 CDMA special - cost and tech advantages but can it break into Africa's GSM markets?
News Update 247 The SAT3 fibre - a monopoly that stands in the way of cheaper international bandwidth
News Update 246 VOIP wars - Skype hits Africa and Telkom Kenya disconnects Sema cards
News Update 245 African international bandwidth set to grow by 81% to 2008 driven by mobile and broadband
News Update 244 The sun's rays power up laptops for primary schools in Rwanda
News Update 243 Botswana liberalisation special - Re-arranging the deckchairs or the real thing?
News Update 242 The great African telecoms equipment giveaway - who stands to benefit?
News Update 241 Mobile data special - Africa's mobile users soon to go text-mad
News Update 240 South Africa leads the way in music download revolution but held back by broadband costs
News Update 239 Technology put to the test as parts of East Africa reel from effects of Asian tsunamis