Issue no 209
Top Story
NITEL’S CEO ZWOLSMAN; "30-40% REVENUES LOST TO INTERNAL FRAUD" BUT COMPANY IS NOW INVESTING
Nitel’s CEO Rein Zwolsman has been in the job for just over a year. In the first year, there have been two main tasks: getting to grips with the company’s financial position and changing the culture within the company to be customer-focused. Russell Southwood interviewed the man with one of the toughest jobs on the continent about his future plans and the state of the company. How is Pentascope’s contract with NITEL structured? The contract has two components. Under the first, we have a management contract with NITEL/Mtel where we supply a CEO, CFO and CEO. Under the second component…
Telecoms
CELTEL WINS THE RACE TO BUY KENYA’S SECOND MOBILE OPERATOR KENCELL
Pan-continental mobile operator Celtel has beaten South Africa’s MTN in the race to acquire a 60% stake in Kencell. The USD250 million (Sh18 billion) deal was announced last week at…
Telecoms
GHANA’S VOLTA RIVER AUTHORITY INSTALLS 600KMS FIBRE
The Volta River Authority has installed a 600 kilometre stretch of fibre optic cable on its high voltage transmission lines. Discussions are going on between Ghana Telecom and the Volta…
Telecoms
GLOBACOM CRITICISED BY NCRA FOR PUTTING MASTS NEAR AIRPORT APPROACHES
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority summoned telecom providers including Globacom, MTN, Vodacom, the Nigerian Communications Commission and others to a meeting last week to talk about air safety violations through…
Telecoms
MTN GROUP SIGNS TWO FIVE YEAR AGREEMENTS WITH ERICSSON WORTH USD1.5 BN
Ericsson has signed two five-year agreements with South African operator MTN Group for mobile network equipment and services. The agreements are valued at more than USD 1.5 billion. The agreement…
Telecoms
MAURITIUS: PROPHONY AND CRM CENTRE MERGE THEIR CALL CENTRE OPERATIONS
Prophony and CRM Center have merged their call-centre operations in Mauritius. Both are players in the international call centre market and the new operation will take over the Prophony name.…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- More than 20 000 people have subscribed to SA Vodacom’s cellphone tracking service, Look4me, since it was launched on 29 February 2004. Look4me users are discovering numerous applications for…
Telecoms
TELECOM RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE
- Abla Awitty, General Manageress of Ghana Telecom in-charge of Product Management and Development, last week advised the public to avoid buying fake Ghana Telecom pre-paid telephone cards. Miss Awitty…
Internet
AFRICAN LAKES SELLS EGYPTIAN ISP MENANET BACK TO ITS ORIGINAL OWNER
In a negotiated deal, African Lakes sold 100% of its ownership of the Egyptian internet company to the former owner and existing MenaNet Chief Executive Officer, Gamal Marwan earlier this…
Internet
AFNOG MAKES PROGRESS ON SEVERAL FRONTS - ISPAS, IXPS AND REGIONAL CARRIERS
Meetings were held at last week’s AFNOG meeting in Dakar with a number of West African ISPs and Telcos about peering, IXPs and the formation of ISPAs, their countries at…
Internet
WATCH OUT FOR DOMAIN OPPORTUNISTS, WARNS SA LAW FIRM
Law firm Bowman Gilfillan John and Kernick last week announced that a UK-based company, Solus Online, has recently been approaching SA companies under the pretext that their company names and…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- Andrew Weldrick, Telkom’s senior manager for media relations said last week that the so-called ‘Shilowa Express’ ­ the high-speed Gautrain project that will operate between Pretoria and Johannesburg ­…
Computing
ALGERIA’S BADR LAUNCHES COMPUTERISATION PROJECTS
Automatic bill payments and "bancassurance" are among the computerisation projects to be undertaken by Algerian bank, Banque Algérienne de Développement Rural (BADR), said Farouk Bouyacoub, the company’s D-G last week.…
Computing
WESTERN CAPE’S SOCIAL SERVICES DEVELOP CHILD-TRACKING SYSTEM
Time Quantum has announced that the ICT department of social services of the Provincial Administration of the Western Cape (PAWC), has developed and implemented a street child tracking system, using…
Computing
SA’S BLACK EMPOWERMENT CLAUSE HOLDING UP ICT CHARTER
DeadlocK between multinational computer giants and their local counterparts could delay the long-awaited information technology and computer (ICT) charter beyond its June deadline. The third draft charter stipulates that technology…
Computing
"KENYA’S DRAFT ICT POLICY AND STRATEGY NEGATES DEVELOPMENT GOALS"
Kenya recently held a national ICT convention aimed at bringing together a wide group of stakeholders to discuss Kenya’s information and communications technology (ICT) policy and most importantly work towards…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- Telkom, Vodacom and Absa have entered into a strategic alliance aimed at the development and marketing of communications and banking solutions between the three. The agreement will not be…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
ECOBANK PACKAGES USD53M DEAL FOR ORASCOM, ACCESS TELECOM AND ATLANTIC TELECOM
Ecobank Development Corporation, the investment banking arm of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated has packaged a telecom transaction in excess of USD53 million. Described as the largest private sector telecom transaction in…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
SWEDISH INVESTORS SELL BACK THEIR STAKE TO NAMIBIA POST & TELECOMS HOLDINGS
Namibia Post & Telecom Holdings Ltd. (NPTH) last successfully concluded a purchase transaction of MTC shares, in which NPTH is acquiring the total share capital of 49% held by two…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
On The Money - In Brief
- Vodacom, one of the leading mobile telephone groups in Africa, made a profit of USD278 million last year to justify its continental market leadership. The money was made in…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
READERS RESPONSES
Issue 180: Africa’s digital divide initiatives - time for a reality check A colleague pointed out the following paragraph from Balancing Act 180. "The key is always does the information…
Digital Content
PINK AVIATION’S WEBSITE STILL PUTTING ITS CASE DESPITE MUCH PUFFING FROM GHANAIAN GOVT
www.ghanairforce.com According the the Ghanaian Chronicle the Deputy Information Minister promised the nation that the Government would immediately use all means including the courts to disable the website. However this…
Digital Content
African Web News - In Brief
- To access the Uganda National ICT for Development Directory online version, use the following URL http://www.ugabytes.org/ug_ict4d_directory.html
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EVENTS
AITEC WEST AFRICA 2004 (1-3 JUNE 2004) Accra International Conference Centre, Accra, Ghana The Eighth Annual West African Information and Communications Technologies Conference and Exhibition (AITEC 2004) is jointly organized…
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JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
* A company in Algeria is looking for an Ericsson IN Engineer with at least 3 years experience. Your main responsibilty will be to offer expert knowledge concerning system problems…
