News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 144 on 14 March 2003
Top Story
WITH THE WAR NEARLY OVER, THE TELECOMS BOOM BEGINS...
With the slow ending of one of Africa’s largest conflicts, large parts of the DRC are beginning to get back to something more like a normal life. There are bound to be further upsets along the way but the growing peace clears the way for the economy to function more normally again. This change in business climate has opened up a considerable boom in telecoms and as elsewhere in Africa, largely of the mobile variety. Not so long ago Vodacom had only 33,000 subscribers in the country. Now it has 200,000. Nico Tshintu identifies the main players. The first phase…
Telecoms
TELECOM EGYPT TO LAUNCH 3RD GSM OPERATOR IN LAST QUARTER 03
Egypt’s state fixed-line operator Telecom Egypt plans to launch the country’s third GSM mobile telephone network together with a foreign partner in the last quarter of this year, a Telecom…
Telecoms
NIGERIA’S NCC TO RESOLVE GSM INTERCONNECTION DISPUTE
In a determined move to break the continued deadlock of the interconnectivity talks among Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) operators and NITEL, the Nigerian government has mandated the Nigerian…
Telecoms
MOROCCO’S SECOND GSM OPERATOR, MÉDITÉLÉCOM PICKS UP SPEED
Morocco’s communications market is the first market in the region to undergo a very clear ³fixed to mobile substitution² phenomenon. The voice services (fixed and Mobile) still constitute the biggest…
Telecoms
SA GOVT APPOINTS TOP OFFICIAL TO OVERSEE SNO BIDDING PROCESS
The SA Communications Department has appointed a top official to oversee the second bidding process to find a suitable investor for a 51 percent equity stake in the Second National…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- South Africa’s Vodacom says that it now has over 8 million customers on the African continent. There are 7.5 million Vodacom customers in South Africa, 200,000 in the Democratic…
Internet
NIGERIA’S NITDA PLANS OFFENSIVE AGAINST 419 SCAMMERS
Disturbed by the negative impact of the increasing wave of cyber crime on the image of the country, the Nigerian Government says it will put legislation in place to deter…
Internet
DURBANITES COME OUT ON TOP OF INTERNET USE SURVEY
The preliminary results of a UUNet survey on Internet usage by the small, micro and medium enterprise (SMME) sector in Cape Town, Durban and Gauteng show that Durbanites are the…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- Investec is to offer an online foreign exchange product to individuals, allowing them to trade commission-free and at interbank rates, in real-time, according to the bank’s treasury division. Investec…
Computing
STMICROELECTRONICS OPENS CHIP DESIGN CENTRE IN MOROCCO
Expanding its presence in Morocco, STMicroelectronics last week announced the inauguration of its new IC design and software development centre in Rabat. The ceremony, held Wednesday, was attended by the…
Computing
CENTRAL BANK OF UGANDA REVAMPS INFORMATION SYSTEMS TO SUPPORT GROWTH
Uganda’s Central Bank has chosen Oracle to help the growth of its operations. With the growth of the Banks activities, it found itself with several isolated legacy information systems, which…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- The SA Post Office has paid a damages settlement of R711000 to stave off threatened legal action for software piracy. The out-of-court settlement is the largest victory to be…
digtool
AFRICA’S DIGERATI: IDN’S FRANCIS QUARTEY ON GT CONTRACT AND MUCH ELSE
IDN’s Francis Quartey is one of the leading players in the Ghanaian ISP market and is looking to expand regionally. News Update interviews him about his future plans and the…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
GHANA TELECOM LOSING US$1MILLION A WEEK
Ghana Telecom is losing about US$1 million a week, according to a report in the Ghanaian Chronicle. According to the paper the company has gone from earning US$42 million a…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
EGYPT’S MOBINIL REPORTS US$76.4 MILLION PROFIT
The Egyptian Company for Mobile Services (MobiNil) recorded 422 million Egyptian pounds ($76.4 million) in consolidated net profits for 2002, a 23.8 percent increase compares to last year’s figures. Fourth…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
NEW EMERGING AFRICA FUND WILL TARGET TELECOMS
Following a successful competitive tender the UK’s DFID has selected a consortium led by the Standard Bank Group, together with Barclays PLC, the Netherlands Development Finance Company (FMO) and Emerging…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
On The Money - In Brief
- African Lakes will delist from the London and Nairobi stock exchanges as a further cost-cutting move by 3 March. The company will then seek an Alternative Investment Market (AIM)…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
RESPONSES
ISSUE 143: ONLINE PAYMENT - THE AFRICAN ECOMMERCE NIGHTMARE POST 9-11 http://www.ftpiicd.org/iconnect/dox/chege1.doc Mike Chege MASTER INTERNET MERCHANT ACCOUNTS THE WAY TO GO rufaa.com with the collaboration of a US based…
Digital Content
SA’S MEDIA24 SEEKS TO WRESTLE DOMAIN NAME FROM HOST24.COM
South African ISP host24.com finds itself in a position where its name could be outlawed. The Naspers-owned Media24 Group is in the process of registering "24.com" as a trade mark…
Digital Content
SA’S MAIL AND GUARDIAN AND ANANZI FORM ONLINE ALLIANCE
The Mail & Guardian Online and Ananzi have formed a strategic online content and advertising alliance. M&G Online will provide Ananzi with a breaking news and feature news feed for…
Digital Content
NEW ZIMBABWEAN ONLINE PUBLICATION LAUNCHES THIS WEEK
The Zimbabwe Online Messenger (zim-messenger.com )will launch this coming week on Thursday. According to Kotsanai Mangwana, one of those behind the launch:"Zimbabwe Messenger On-line is comprised of voluntary employees that…
Digital Content
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PEOPLE
* A change of guard has been announced at the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL). Following the voluntary retirement of Adegbuji from the services of the company as managing director/chief executive…
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EVENTS
AFNOG MEETING TO BE HELD IN KAMPALA (JUNE 2003) http://hotelafricana.com NETWORKING AFRICA’S FUTURE: LESSONS OF EMPOWERMENT FROM COMMUNITIES 13-16 APRIL KWA MARITANE, SOUTH AFRICA info@acacia.org.za IN BRIEF www.col.org/copyright If our…
