Issue no 145
Top Story
DESPERATE GHANA TELECOM SHUTS OFF OUTGOING ISP LINES, BLAMES VOIP BUT...
Ten days ago Ghana Telecom put all the country’s ISPs on one-way circuits so that they could only receive incoming calls. In a move uncannily reminiscent of Kenya Telkom’s ISP shutdown before Christmas, Ghana Telecom is seeking to blame the loss of its international call revenue on ISPs doing VOIP. Eric Osiakwan and Russell Southwood seek to untangle the truth in this second high-profile, African clash over VOIP. One of the first signs that something was wrong came from a participant in a local mail-list who wrote:"Is Ghana Telecom cutting off ISPs??????????? Dial up to your ISP and u get…
Telecoms
MADAGASCAR’S TELMA LAUNCHES GSM SERVICE
Despite the approaching privatisation, TELMA is continuing to give priority to putting in place new technologies, according to a report in midi-Madigaskari. It has launched ADSL and is now rolling…
Telecoms
MTN GETS 1M NIGERIAN SUBSCRIBERS, MOVES TO INVEST US$60M
MTN last week announced that it had crossed the one million subscribers mark to make history as the first telecom operator in the country to achieve that feat. The MTN…
Telecoms
TELEKOM MALAYSIA GOES TO ARBITRATION OVER STAKE IN GHANA TELECOM
In protecting its investment in Ghana, Telekom Malaysia ™ has sent a Notice of Arbitration to the Government of Ghana (GoG) for the commencement of arbitration proceedings under the UNICITRAL…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- MTN has turned down the offer of a licence to operate in Tanzania and would not attempt any more foreign expansion until it has completely conquered its Nigerian operations,…
Internet
TANZANIA’S RECENTLY OPENED DATA HUB SAVES DAR A ‘DOUBLE HOP’
Communication data from Tanzania will no longer have to be routed through a another country following the establishment of a satellite hub by SatCom Africa Networks, a local data communications…
Internet
SA INTERNET USERS PREFER TO RECEIVE THEIR BILLS ONLINE SAYS SURVEY
Nine out of 10 internet users who took part in a survey on electronic billing would prefer to receive their bills online rather than via traditional snail mail. Of the…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- A project for the launch of Electronic Governance (E-Gov) in Angola is being prepared at the National Commission for Information Technologies. E-Gov will be a generalised use of information…
Computing
SOUTH AFRICA: REPORT SAYS CITI SUCCESS SETS EXAMPLE FOR ICT CLUSTER
The success of the Cape Information Technology Initiative’s (CITI) efforts to foster cluster development in the Western Cape is setting a precedent for ICT development in South Africa, an Infonomics…
Computing
RWANDA LAUNCHES SECONDARY SCHOOLS COMPUTERISATION PROGRAMME LAUNCHED
Rwanda has launched a national programme to provide computer laboratories, Internet access and computer training for teachers in secondary schools. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the government said the…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- Datacentrix has almost completed the implementation of its Microsoft Great Plains business solution at SA National Parks. The project is scheduled to go live on 1st April 2003.
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
ECONET WIRELESS NIGERIA’s DECISION TO FIND NEW OPERATOR SPLITS BOARD
CORRECTION: Due to an attack of the gremlins the above story appeared when it should not have. It is one of our company archive stories and is well over a…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
On The Money - In Brief
- The Angolan Government has approved the new privitisation law which aims to simplify and speed up procedures for foreign investment. Good news for those who might be interested in…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
CORRECTION
ISSUE 132: IT’S BEHR, NOT BEER David Behr, former owner of Zimbabwe Online wrote in to correct the spelling of his name in the People column in issue 132.
Digital Content
AFRICA_NET: NEW FRENCH LANGUAGE DISCUSSION FORUM ON ICT
Africa_net is a unique discussion list aimed at those in francophone countries interested in ICT in Africa last week it launched a web presence. Operating since last year, it is…
Digital Content
AFRICA LOXO: NEW WEB SITE FOR AFRICAN ARTISTS AND DESIGNERS
Africa Loxo wants to spread African art works across the world. It Senegalese, Beninois and Sierre Leonian are amongst those on this new site promoting their work in forms as…
Digital Content
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PEOPLE
According to The Monitor, President Yoweri Museveni has warned that the Internet could promote moral decadence if not properly used."Don’t sacrifice Africa to moral decadence, choose only the useful information,"…
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EVENTS
6TH INTERNATIONAL DESIGN INDABA (26-28 FEBRUARY 2003, ARTSCAPE, CAPE TOWN) The 6th International Design Indaba is just around the corner! Next month Cape Town will be brimming with the cream…
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Jobs, People, Events - In Brief
enigeria@gbengasesan.com If our correspondent is "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…