News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 265 on 1 July 2005
Top Story
The strange case of Somalia and the lessons of war-induced anarchy
A country without any telecoms regulation with one of the highest percentage of people who have used a phone where there is no telco incumbent. A place where you do not need to show your passport when you arrive or leave and you pay no import duties on computing and network equipment. Sounds like paradise compared to what you're experiencing? Well not quite. This is Somalia as it emerges from civil war and takes its latest step towards peace with the repatriation of its Government, joining Sudan and many others as countries emerging from long civil wars. The emerging peace…
Telecoms
NIGERIA SATELLITE PROJECT SUFFERS CASH SETBACK
Nigeria’s communication satellite (NIGCOMSAT-I) slated for launch December 2006 may suffer delay. The reason is cash. The Chinese are picking up 80% of the bill for the USD311 million satellite…
Telecoms
TANZANIAN GOVERNMENT AND CELTEL INTERNATIONAL TO INVEST USD53M TO STRENGTHEN TELECOMMUNICATIONS SECTOR
The Government of Tanzania and Celtel International, the pan African mobile operator, have announced an agreement to make a total investment of US$53 million in both TTCL (Tanzania Telecommunications Company…
Telecoms
MTN DEPLOYS GLENAYRE VERSERA VIDEO MAIL AS PART OF 3G ROLLOUT IN SOUTH AFRICA
Glenayre Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: GEMS), a global leader in providing next-generation messaging solutions and enhanced services, announced on Tuesday that mobile operator MTN has gone live with Glenayre's Versera Video…
Telecoms
LIBERIA's LTC GETS INTERNATIONAL BLESSING, RESUMES FULL SKILL OPERATION
The Liberia Telecommunication Corporation, which has been inactive for months since the departure of its former managing director Joe Gbala, is said to be waking up from its slumber, preparing…
Telecoms
GSM ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES NEW PHASE FOR EMERGING MARKETS INITIATIVE
With the success of the GSM Association's (GSMA) initial drive to make affordable mobile communications a reality in emerging markets, the GSMA on Monday announced a new phase for the…
Telecoms
NIGERIA'S VMOBILE TO INVEST USD2BN ON NETWORK EXPANSION
Vmobile Nigeria has said that it would invest a minimum of USD2 billion in its network infrastructure within the next 24 months for its quality and coverage expansion initiative code-named…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- MTN Nigeria is confident of launching the country’s first 3G mobile service, possibly as early as the first half of next year. The cellco’s South African parent, MTN Group,…
Telecoms
TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE
* Telecom Namibia has announced the substantial lowering of international call tariffs with effect from 1 July 2005 in order to make it more affordable to telecommunication users. The decrease…
Internet
BOTSWANA'S FONES 4 U OPENS FRANCHISE IN BOBONONG OFFERING INTERNET AND PHONE
This is one of the company's initiatives to embark on an information, communication, technology (ICT) project to be implemented in urban and rural villages to bridge the communication gap.…
Internet
KENYA PICKS TEAM FOR SCHOOLS INTERNET ROLL-OUT
A team was launched last Tuesday to spearhead an ambitious programme to connect all primary and secondary schools to the Internet in 10 years. Education permanent secretary Karega Mutahi introduced…
Internet
UGANDA'S UTL LAUNCHES FREE TRIAL OF WI-FI HOT SPOTS
Uganda Telecom (utl) has introduced a high-speed wireless Internet service. The service, the first of its kind in Uganda, enables clients easily access Internet using mobile devices like laptops and…
Internet
AFRICA ONLINE PROVIDES GALILEO WITH ENHANCED IP SERVICES IN TANZANIA
Galileo Tanzania the national distributor of the GALILEO electronic distribution services to the travel industry in Tanzania has signed up a US$1M deal with Africa Online to connect all Galileo…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- Internet security solutions provider Check Point Software Technologies has launched its Connectra NGX product in SA, an enhanced version of its SSL VPN solution.
Computing
ENABLIS ROLLS OUT VC ICT INVESTMENT SERVICE TO SOUTHERN AFRICA
The Enablis global entrepreneurial network is set to expand further into Africa following a further R27,6m donation promised over the next five years from Accenture and Telesystem. Conceived at the…
Computing
BANQUE SÉNÉGALO-TUNISIENNE LAUNCHES E-CASH CARD CALLED KALPÉ
Banque Sénégalo-Tunisienne (BST) announced the launch last Thursday of a banking card that can carry cash for Senegal named Kalpé. It can be used to pay bills and to access…
Computing
CITY LODGE AWARDS R1,4M SOFTWARE CONTRACT
City Lodge Hotels has awarded a R1,4m contract to business and financial software reseller and solutions provider Lorge, to install and implement Accpac Advantage Series Enterprise Edition accounting software. The…
Computing
SHUTTLEWORTH, CANONICAL LAUNCH USD10M UBUNTU FOUNDATION
Mark Shuttleworth and Canonical, founders of the popular Ubuntu Linux-based operating system, today announced the creation of The Ubuntu Foundation with an initial investment of USD10m. The Ubuntu Foundation will…
digtool
VODACOM TANZANIA ROLLS OUT SOLAR-POWERED BASE STATIONS
In an empowerment initiative aimed at rural and other areas of Tanzania where electricity supplies are scarce or absent, Vodacom Tanzania has announced that they are rolling out Vodadukas powered…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
MTN ON BUYING SPREE: COMPLETES IVORY COAST ACQUISITION, ACQUIRES FULL OWNERSHIP OF MTN NETWORK SOLUTIONS AND STAKES CLAIM ON TELECEL ZAMBIA
South African telecom giant MTN has acquired a 51 percent stake in Loteny Telecom, trading as Telecel Cote d'Ivoire, in West Africa's Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, the group announced on Tuesday.…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
NIGERIA: IILL LOSES BID TO RECOVER USD131M DEPOSIT ON NITEL
Investors International (London) Limited (IILL) has lost its bid to recover the USD131.7 million paid to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) as 10% of the bid price for the…
Digital Content
BLUEPRINT BUSINESS TECHNOLOGIES CHOOSES C3 LTD FOR VALUE-ADDED MOBILE SERVICES IN NIGERIA
Blueprint Business Technologies in Lagos has chosen the Communicate Kit from C3 Ltd to run its new value-added mobile services across all of the Nigerian mobile phone networks. The system…
Digital Content
HI-TECH CELL PHONES HELP AFRICANS TRADE CROPS
Daniel Mashva heaves his sack of cabbages and sweet potatoes into a rickety shared taxi and travels nine hours under the scorching sun to the market in Johannesburg. By the…
Digital Content
Web And Mobile Data News - In Brief
- More than 26.4 million people from around the world sent text messages on Saturday in support of the Live 8 campaign to cancel the debts of the poorest countries,…
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PEOPLE
* Paris Mashile has been appointed as the new Chairperson of Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (ICASA) to succeed Mr Mandla Langa. The appointment is with immediate effect. In…
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JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
- The Panos Institute West Africa is offering grants to individuals working in the Internet and Communication Technologies (ICT) field in West and Central Africa to support their participation in…
