News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 259 on 6 May 2005
Top Story
Benin's OPT appoints two companies to sell ADSL and VOIP
Beninoise telco incumbent OPT has given the right to sell its broadband service to two companies, Pharaon Telecom and one other. The deal is significant for two reasons. Firstly both companies are selling bandwidth on behalf of the incumbent. This is another sign of how incumbents are seeking to “unbundle” services and infrastructure as they enter the new era of competition. Secondly, the resellers have the right to sell VoIP calling and see this as the main driver of a high level of potential broadband subscribers. The deal has been in place for only a month but Pharoan Telecom has…
Telecoms
MAURITANIA BEGINS SECOND STAGE OF LIBERALISATION WITH INTERNATIONAL GATEWAY LICENCES
Mauritania is getting ready for next step towards greater competition. The Government has already sold 51% of Mauritel to Maroc Telecom (owned by France’s Vivendi). It operates a 20 mbps…
Telecoms
LACK OF TELECOMS HINDERS DEVELOPMENT OF ZAMBIA'S EASTERN PROVINCE
Lack of inadequate telecommunication facilities in the Eastern Province of Zambia is hindering the full realization of the province's economic development potential according to the Export Board of Zambia, writes…
Telecoms
SA VANS LICENCE APPLICATION PROCESS IS NOW LAW BUT OBLIGATIONS UNCLEAR
Minister of Communications Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri has signed into law the value-added network service (VANS) licence fee application process, but the industry is waiting to see what terms and obligations will…
Telecoms
NIGERIAN MOBILE MARKET SET TO GROW TO OVER 32M SUBSCRIBERS, SAYS BMI-T
According to ICT market research analyst, BMI-TechKnowledge (BMI-T), Nigeria is set to become one of the major mobile cellular markets in Africa, as the country's gross mobile subscriber base grew…
Telecoms
GHANA TELECOM LOOKS TO E-COMMERCE AND RENEWABLE ENERGY TO KICK-START RURAL COMMUNICATIONS
A model communication centre developed for rural and peri-urban communities, called eCARE is seen by Ghana Telecom as a way of revolutionising communication in rural areas. eCARE is an acronym…
Telecoms
ECONET SUES KENYAN MINISTER RAPHAEL TUJU FOR SH79B
Econet Wireless has sued Kenyan Information Minister Raphael Tuju for Sh79 billion for alleged defamation.The mobile phone provider has sued the minister together with three of its partners, Econet Wireless…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has less efficient fixed line operations and poorer quality service than its counterparts in neighbouring countries, according to a study by the Botswana Institute for…
Telecoms
TELECOM RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE
- BulkSMS.com claims to have taken a lead in the South African mobile market by providing discounted bulk SMS services for community services. The service is called Community.BulkSMS.com and aims…
Internet
TELENOR'S TAIDE OPENS INTERNATIONAL GATEWAY IN KENYA
Taide, a subsidiary of Telenor Satellite Services, last Monday announced the opening a new international telecommunications gateway in Nairobi, Kenya. The new gateway, a joint project with local service provider…
Internet
FNB LOOKS INTO ONLINE FRAUD CLAIM
First National Bank (FNB) has confirmed it is investigating a case in which an online banking client's accounts were apparently “cleaned out”. The Sandton-based client – who does not want…
Internet
INTERNET SOLUTIONS PARTNERS WITH BROADSOFT AND DIMENSION DATA
BroadSoft(R), Inc., a provider of VoIP application software, on Tuesday last week announced that Internet Solutions (IS) chose Dimension Data as their systems integrator to deploy advanced VoIP enterprise services…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- The long-awaited Ghana Internet Exchange Point has finally got under way. Currently Network Computer Systems Ltd and GT-Net, Ghana Telecom's ISP are the two ISPs exchanging traffic. It will…
Computing
BRIDGES.ORG STUDY COMPARES USE OF FOSS vs PROPRIETARY SOFTWARE IN AFRICAN COMPUTER LABS
Bridges.org's "Comparison Study of Free/Open Source and Proprietary Software in an African Context: Implementation and Policy-Making to Optimise Public-Access to ICT" was published last week to provide needed background information…
Computing
ZAMBIA'S ICT PROFESSION NEEDS STANDARDIZED QUALIFICATIONS, SAYS TRAINING BOSS
Zambia needs a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) so that Qualifications are standardized, writes Balancing Act's Zambian Correspondent Timothy Kasolo. Speaking at the Computer Society of Zambia (CSZ) organized seminar on…
Computing
TARSUS ANNOUNCES SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA EXPANSION
Tarsus Technologies has announced the expansion of its operation into the sub-Saharan Africa region, with the establishment of a dedicated product management and sales team that will focus on the…
Computing
SA SNAPS UP APPLES - UP TO 10,000 MACHINES SOLD THIS YEAR
South Africans are expected to buy between 9,500 and 10,000 Apple computers and between 40,000 and 50,000 iPods this year, says distributor Apple IMC executive director Rutger-Jan van Spaandonk. Van…
Computing
DJIBOUTI: POLICE NATIONALE COMPUTERISEs ITS CENTRAL FILING SYSTEM
The new management at Djibouti's police Nationale is leading a modernisation campaign throughout the organisation. The computerisation of its central records system and its network are one of the most…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- The Durban Institution of Technology (DIT) Translate-a-thon kicked off on Saturday, with the second annual mass event to translate up to 30,000 computer software words into Zulu. Forty people,…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
SHORTLIST FOR NITEL PRIVATIZATION ANNOUNCED
Nigeria's Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) hopes to release a short-list of potential buyers for the controlling stake in Nitel, the state-owned fixed and mobile telecoms operator in that country,…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
CELL C CLEARS FIRST HURDLE IN SAUDI DEAL
A proposed deal for Cell C to sell 15% of its business to Lanum Securities of Saudi Arabia has been approved by the Competition Commission. The commission's decision, however, is…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
EGYPTIAN BUSINESSMAN BUYS ITALY'S ENEL TELECOM UNIT
Enel S.p.A. (Enel) and Weather Investments S.A.R.L. (Weather), a company controlled by Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris, have signed the agreement to sell Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. (Wind) to Weather. The total…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
On The Money - In Brief
- Orascom Telecom added over three million new customers to its ranks in the three months ended 31 March 2005, to take its total to 17.5 million in nine countries.…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
CORRECTIONS
ITU PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP FORUM Thank you for the article on Balancing Act News Update web pages concerning the Maputo Public and Private Partnership Forum. I would like to make one…
Digital Content
MOBILE PHONES TO BRING BOLLYWOOD TO SOUTH AFRICA
A boom in Bollywood content on South African mobile phones appears likely with local network operators evincing a keen interest in making such content available. Ali Hoosein, business development manager…
Digital Content
NASFAT PARTNERS WITH MTECH TO LAUNCH DAILY AYAAT SERVICE ON MTN NETWORK
Nasrul-Lahi-il-Fathi Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) has partnered with MTech, the nation’s leading mobile Value Added Services (VAS) provider, to provide Muslim brethren with the Daily Ayaat Mobile Download Service available…
Digital Content
SMS TECHNOLOGY AIMS TO CUT HEALTH COSTS
The Healthcare industry, like most industries, is beginning to realise the benefits that SMS technology can bring in terms of reducing costs, increasing productivity and simplifying management burden. “Presently, the…
Digital Content
Web And Mobile Data News - In Brief
- Funnel has launched a search engine: http://www.funnel.co.za, and claims by using it, local Internet users will be able to get faster, more accurate and more relevant results, as the…
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PEOPLE
Senegal's President Wade addressed OPTIC's conference last week on ICT in West Africa. After a series of rather predictable introductory speeches, Wade held the floor while he gently lectured delegates…
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EVENTS
WINTER SCHOOL IN LINUX AS A TOOL FOR SCIENCE The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences is hosting a fully sponsored course (travel, board and lodging included) in the use of…
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JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
ICT ADVOCACY AND CAMPAIGNS COORDINATOR - FAHAMU Are you enthusiastic, energetic and capable of innovative and creative thinking around the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs)? Fahamu is looking…
