News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 271 on 26 August 2005
Top Story
Enablis gives ICT entrepreneurs much needed early-stage finance and support
Since the creation of the Digital Opportunity Task Force (DOT Force) at the G8 Summit in 2000, many programmes and initiatives have emerged to address the digital divide and offer enormous opportunities to narrow social and economic inequities and support sustainable wealth creation through the use of ICT. One such development was the creation of the Canada Fund for Africa in 2002 to support new initiatives that have a major impact on sustainable development. The Canada Fund for Africa would provide the critical USD10 million in seed funding for the creation of a ground breaking private sector-led Non-Profit Organization that…
Telecoms
MAURITIUS TELECOM WANTS TO DROP SAFE PRICES BY 15%
Mauritius Telecom has asked the Mauritian regulator ICTA whether it can drop its leased line prices on the SAFE international cable by 15%. The regulator is examining the impact on…
Telecoms
CAMEROON: CAMTEL LAUNCHES CDMA NETWORK TO COMPETE WITH EXISTING NETWORKS
CAMTEL has started to operate CDMA-based elements within its mobile network. It believes that the much-vaunted cost savings and additional functionality will help it compete with Cameroon's other GSM-based operators.…
Telecoms
EASSY FIBRE PROJECT HOLDS CRUCIAL FINANCE MEETING IN TANZANIA
EASSY consortium members met last week in Dar es Salaam to discuss how the project will be financed and the progress the project has made so far. According to one…
Telecoms
RASCOM PUSHES NEARER LAUNCH DATE AND SIGNS UP EQUATORIAL GUINEA
Africa is only 10 months away from launching its own communication satellite. Barring any hiccups, RASCOMstar will become operational June 2006 to provide footprint for the entire region and usher…
Telecoms
TELKOM PULLS FINANCIAL PLUG ON ZIMBABWE'S TELEONE
Telkom South Africa's decision to pull the financial plug on Zimbabwe's TeleOne look like leaving MD Wellington Makamure's turnaround plans in tatters. The company owes Telkom South Africa a staggering…
Telecoms
S.AFRICA'S CELL C EXPECTS VIRGIN VENTURE DEAL SOON
South Africa's third-ranked mobile operator Cell C expects to unveil a joint venture with British entrepreneur Richard Branson's Virgin Group before the end of the month, Cell C said on…
Telecoms
NCC SAYS GSM CELLCOS MUST REAPPLY FOR UNIFIED LICENCES
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has further angered the country’s GSM operators with its unified licensing scheme by suggesting that they will not automatically have their concessions renewed when the…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- Ethiopia is preparing to launch a ETB270 million project aimed at providing information communication technology (ICT) services to rural communities. The project will last five years and the government…
Telecoms
TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE
* Moroccan incumbent Maroc Télécom on Thursday announced cuts to all of its fixed line call tariffs, including a 5% reduction in the price of fixed-to-mobile calls. It also abolished…
Internet
CÔTE D'IVOIRE TELECOM GOES LARGE WITH ADSL OFFER - EXTRA LARGE IS "2 MÉGA"
"Côte d'Ivoire Telecom wants to make the Internet accessible to everyone. The objective of our latest action is to allow the internet user to connect without fear. Whatever time they…
Internet
RADIO BOTSWANA JOINS THE INTERNET AGE
Radio Botswana has joined the digital age all thanks to the University of Botswana computer science staff, who are using modern technology to record Radio Botswana's daily programmes and then…
Internet
NAMIBIA: DISTANCE LEARNING CAN REACH ALL
Open Distance Learning (ODL) has the inherent potential to ensure that all people have access to life-long learning. This was said by Deputy Minister of Education, Dr Becky Ndjoze-Ojo, at…
Internet
ANTI-MUBARAK CAMPAIGN GOES TO INTERNET
Baheyya is Egyptian, pillories President Hosni Mubarak and heaps scorn on his regime daily. But this fiery dissident who says aloud what others don't dare to think has no face:…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- Ethiopian cellco, the Ethiopia Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) has revealed plans to launch an ADSL services in October. The service will be the first of its kind in the country.…
Computing
WITFOR ATTRACTS 800 PARTICIPANTS TO DISCUSS HOW ICT CAN IMPROVE LIVES
The new Information Age has provided Africa with an opportunity to increase and accelerate development for the benefit of its people. Addressing a World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) conference on…
Computing
FIRM LAUNCHES SINGLE SOURCE DATA SOFTWARE IN UGANDA
Consumer Insight, a market research agency, has launched Target Group Index (TGI), a single source database on products, brand and media usage, lifestyles and attitudes across sections of consumers. Under…
Computing
NIGERIA: SYMANTEC NAMES BI-TRAXAXXENT PARTNER
Bi-TraxAxxent Company Limited, a leader in Information Technology solutions and services has been appointed an enterprise security partner by Symantec Corporation. This unique achievement is one in which no other…
Computing
NETWORK SECURITY THINK-TANK LAUNCHED IN SA
A Think-tank to improve network security was launched in SA last week to conduct research and share knowledge for the benefit of all computer users. The forum was devised by…
digtool
SA'S EASYPAY AIMS TO KNOCK A HOLE IN THE MOBILE PRE-PAID CARD MARKET
Easypay could revolutionise the way cellular airtime is sold by recruiting thousands of roaming entrepreneurs armed with a kit to transfer talk time instantly to end users. The entrepreneurs will…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
ECONET BUYS S.AFRICA'S ALTECH OUT OF JOINT VENTURE
Econet Wireless Group has agreed to buy South African IT firm Allied Technologies out of the companies' joint venture for $87.5 million, Altech said on Wednesday. Altech said the two…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
On The Money - In Brief
- Intelsat has revealed it will buy PanAmSat for USD3.2 billion in cash, creating the world’s largest satellite broadcaster. The pair announced the merger on Monday after receiving approval from…
Digital Content
ZENITH BANK'S WEB SITE RATED BEST IN NIGERIA
Zenith Bank has been adjudged the overall winner of the web jurist award, an annual rating of bank sites in Nigeria, conducted by Phillips Consulting. The bank achieved the feat…
Digital Content
Web And Mobile Data News - In Brief
- A new Internet site in South Africa offers HIV singles the chance to share secrets and become a couple again. Johannesburg has the greater percentage of members on Positive…
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PEOPLE
KAI WULFF, CEO OF KDN ON ITS PLANS AS A "CARRIERS' CARRIER" AND ITS INVOLVEMENT IN THE EASSY FIBRE PROJECT What is KDN’s strategy? We want to be a “carriers’…
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EVENTS
OPEN SOCIETY INITIATIVE FOR WEST AFRICA ACHIEVING AFFORDABLE BANDWIDTH: A WORKSHOP ON THE DEVELOPMENT AND OPENING UP OF ICT INFRASTRUCTURE IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA 26-28 October 2005, Dakar, Senegal…
