News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 141 on 4 July 2000

AFRICAN LAKES IN THE PROFIT SPOTLIGHT AFTER COLLAPSE OF IFC DEAL

10 January 2003

African Lakes in its new technology incarnation is one of those businesses that could become emblematic of the whole African internet sector. If its dream of being a continent-wide service provider fails, then Africa’s internet sector may be destined to become a series of marginalised, local markets that will struggle to find future international investors. The collapse of its deal with IFC for further financing has meant it has had to turn a sharp spotlight on profits. Russell Southwood talked to its Executive Deputy Chair last week on where the company is headed. African Lakes is primarily an internet business:…

EX-KPN DUTCH CONSULTANCY PREFERRED BIDDER TO MANAGE NITEL

A Dutch telecoms group, formerly part of KPN, has become the preferred bidder to manage the troubled Nigerian state-run telecoms company Nitel. The Nigerian privatisation agency Bureau for Public Enterprises…

KENYA’S CCK PLANS BIDS FOR THIRD MOBILE PHONE OPERATOR

Plans for a third mobile telephone operator entered a decisive stage yesterday, when the board of Kenya’s telecommunications regulator approved its licensing. The Communications Commission of Kenya also decided to…

ZIM’S PHONE OPERATORS REQUEST MORE FREQUENCIES TO EASE CONGESTION

Zimbabwe’s mobile and fixed telephone operators have requested the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) to allow them more frequencies so that they can overcome congestion on their…

Telecoms News - In Brief

- Egypt’s Ranin Telecommunications is planning to establish the country’s first mobile telephone manufacturing facility in Giza. The factory is expected to produce 400,000 cell phones each year, at a…

FLAG ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF EGYPT’S NEW INTERNET EXCHANGE

Flag Telecom Group Limited last week announced that together with local partner National Telecom Company (NTC) it has completed the Cairo Regional Internet Exchange (CR-IX), the new Internet Exchange in…

TELEONE TOP LEVEL DOMAIN SHORTCOMINGS CAUSE ZIM E-MAIL FAILURE

According to ZW News, the technical problems which have been brewing in Zimbabwe’s e-mail system for months came to a head yesterday, with widespread failures affecting subscribers at almost all…

UGANDA TELECOM OFFERS ‘FREENET’

Local telecommunications company, Uganda Telecom, launched its new Freenet product last week. "Freenet is a service that enables every uganda telecom landline to immediately access the internet without a registration…

Internet Connectivity News - In Brief

- Concerns are being expressed over the reports that the International Telecommunications Union plans to propose at the WSIS summit in December 2003 the creation of an international cyberspace treaty…

TZ’S TECHNO BRAIN SIGNS DEAL WITH NEW HORIZONS ON LEARNING CENTRES

Dar es Salaam based Techno Brain Ltd has signed a contract with New Horizons Worldwide, Inc., the world’s largest IT training company, as their Master Franchisee for Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda,…

NEW STUDY WILL OFFER OPEN SOURCE VS PROPRIETARY COMPARISON

A study comparing the use of open source and proprietary software in an African context will bring what it claims is unbiased information to a polarised debate that is often…

Computer News - In Brief

http://www.ictworld.co.za/EditorialEdit.asp?EditorialID=1734 http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e57373847&e=6528

NEW SOFTWARE PROVIDES SECURE WORLDWIDE TRACKING AND DOCUMENTATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES

The Benetech Initiative, a Silicon Valley non-profit, last week announced the release of The Martus Human Rights Bulletin System, an open source technology tool designed to assist human rights organizations…

Digital Toolbox - In Brief

http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=780158 http://www.idg.net/go.cgi?id=780320

MTN FAVOURED TO TAKE OVER FORMER TRITEL FRANCHISE

MTN Uganda is engaged in talks with the Tanzania Telecommunications Commission (TTC) to buy the frequency vacated by Tritel following the failure by the Malaysian cellular phone company to fulfil…

On The Money - In Brief

- So few investors are willing to back telecommunications projects in the present economic climate that bidders trying to set up networks in rural areas could be doomed to fail…

FAHAMU PUBLISHES ONLINE TRAINING MANUAL FOR HONING WRITING SKILLS

A major training resource designed to help those working in the not-for-profit sector hone their writing skills has been just been published free of charge on the internet. It argues…

African Web Site News - In Brief

http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e57236193&e=6460 www.col.org/news/connections/html/0212.htm#focus http://africa.rights.apc.org http://www.dogon-lobi.ch http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=8 http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?e57287708&e=6460

PEOPLE

* NITEL’S MD and Chief Executive Engr. Ganiyu Adegbuyi is complaining loudly about the Nigerian Government’s privatisation plans for his company. Adegbuyi is quoted as saying: "Predicated on the strategic…