News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 333 on 3 November 2006
Top Story
Raid on Siemens throws new light on seamy side of buying and selling telco equipment
This week saw a police raid on telecoms equipment manufacturer Siemens at its fixed line telecoms unit in Munich. The investigation is in its early stages but according to a report in the German weekly Focus it could involve sums in excess of US$128 million being used for bribes to win company contracts. Russell Southwood looks at whether this is just the tip of the iceberg in a sector where cut-throat competition seems to go hand-in-hand with “marketing costs”. According to Spiegel Online, two board members of Siemens COM, the fixed line communications division of the company are under investigation…
Telecoms
NITEL ANNOUNCES SERVICE DISRUPTION AS IT UPGRADES SAT3 TO 10 GIG
Last Wednesday incumbent Nitel warned its international customers that there would be service disruption for those using IP wholesale, international calls and International Private Leased Circuits (IPLC). In a statement…
Telecoms
SOUTHERN SUDAN LOBBIES FOR TELECOM GATEWAY
The Southern Sudan government has stepped up its campaign to secure rights to manage the telephone gateway to the Sudan. A delegation from the telecommunications and postal services ministry is…
Telecoms
GHANA RETAINS SEAT AT WORLD TELECOM CONFERENCE IN TURKEY
The climax of the Plenipotentiary Conference of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on-going in Turkey was reached on 15th November 2006 with the election of 46 Member States to sit…
Telecoms
IT`S EASSY FOR MAURITIUS, BUT NOT SO FOR MOST OF AFRICA
Mauritius has agreed to join the East African Submarine Cable System initiative, hoping thereby to turn an EASSy landing station into a gateway through which to becoming key Indian Ocean…
Telecoms
COMESA FOR SINGLE INTERCONNECTION EXCHANGE
As interconnection issues get more complex, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is lobbying for a single and separate clearing house to manage service providers. The development…
Telecoms
NIGER’S SONITEL OPENS FIBRE RING AND WILL CONNECT TO SAT3
The first section of a high speed fibre-optic network has been opened in the Nigerien capital Niamey, as part of incumbent telco Sonitel’s project to update its network. Ultimately the…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- In Nigieria, President Olusegun Obasanjo has commissioned the head office complex of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
Internet
NEW REGULATIONS TO MANAGE DOMAIN NAME DISPUTES IN SOUTH AFRICA
The Department of Communications has published regulations to deal with disputes regarding the .za domain name, in the Government Gazette. The Alternative Dispute Resolution Regulations that have been signed by…
Internet
CYBER CAFE CLIENTS DECRY EFCC DIRECTIVE IN NIGERIA
Cyber café clients have decried the EFCC's latest directive, that operators of cyber cafes in Abuja must register their clients to check cyber crimes in the country. The clients feel…
Internet
WAPA COMMENCES WITH A CENSUS OF THE WISP INDUSTRY
The Wireless Access Providers Association (WAPA) has been formed and currently represents 15 operators in the Western Cape. The Association aims to represent the interests of the rapidly growing industry…
Internet
BANK OF UGANDA TO ROLL OUT ONLINE BIDDING
BANK of Uganda (BOU) will rollout the online bidding and trading of government securities next year. Stephen Kaboyo said on Wednesday that the upgrade of the Central Depository System (CDS)…
Internet
BATTLE OVER MOBILE BROADBAND SUBSCRIBER NUMBER IN SOUTH AFRICA
At Vodacom’s recent interim results presentation the CEO, Alan Knott-Craig said that Vodacom has a 100,700 3G-HSDPA customer base. In the JSE report a figure of 87,674 active Vodafone Mobile…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- Djaweb, Algeria-Telecom's Internet subsidiary will launch before the end of December, a platform of access to broadband internet totalling more than 100,000 lines . In a separate note it…
Computing
GLOBAL COMPUTER GRID LINKS FAR-FLUNG AFRICAN SCIENTISTS
African scientists will be able to connect up with fellow researchers who have moved overseas through a 'grid computing' project. Launched by UNESCO this week (20 November) and co-sponsored by…
Computing
KENYA’S FIRST E TOURISM CONFERENCE STRESSES THE NEED TO STAY COMPETITIVE ONLINE
Nairobi… Kenya’s first ever E-Tourism Conference, hosted by the Tourism Trust Fund, was held today, attracting over 150 delegates from the ICT and tourism sectors. Safaricom, Accesskenya and Kenya Airways…
Computing
AFRICA BUILDS OVERSEAS IT INDUSTRY
Most of us have heard the estimated statistics on piracy and how much is 'lost' through people using pirated software as opposed to buying it. Translate.org.za says that 254 copies…
Computing
NEW RULES FOR SAFE DATA ON CREDIT CARD NUMBERS
Anyone who accepts and stores credit card numbers — and that includes small and medium enterprises — must comply with strict new security regulations by December 31 or face…
Computing
OBSIDIAN AND ZEND PARTNER FOR PHP
Local Linux and open source solution provider, Obsidian Systems, has announced a partnership with PHP company, Zend. "There are three major programming languages in wide use on the…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- In preparation for its privatisation and to increase operational efficiency, Cameroon Airlines has announced the change of its legacy communications system to SITA's Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE
- South Africa’s third mobile operator, Cell C says that it has deployed a next-generation-network using Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), and expects to reap benefits within a year. Initially…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
ACCESSKENYA RAISES $1.4 MILLION TO EXPAND ITS INTERNET SERVICE
Corporate Internet service provider AccessKenya has raised over Ksh100 million ($1.4 million) through a private placement of its shares and those of its sister company, Broadband Access Ltd. Managing director…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
HEAVY WEATHER AHEAD FOR BUSINESS CONNEXION
IT group Business Connexion is fed up with the time it’s taking for the competition authorities to make a final decision on Telkom’s offer to buy it out. “This…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
TWO NAMIBIAN IT GIANTS MERGE
In a move intended to enhance capacity-building and to keep pace with global changes, two IT giants merged last week Wednesday. The merger involving GijimaAst and Information Technology Department which…
Digital Content
MORE TRANSACTIONAL FUNCTIONNALITIES ON MOBILES
Kineto Mobile offers mobile commerce solutions, enabling transactional functionality of business through the use of mobile technology. Kineto Mobile Pre-paid is one of our new products focused on bringing mobile…
Web and Mobile Data_old
TRANSMEDIA IN ZIMBABWE SEEKS $64 MILLION FOR EQUIPMENT
Zimbabwe's signal carrier, Transmedia, is seeking US$64 million to buy transmission equipment from China, South Africa and Europe for its National Transmission Grand Plan. The plan is aimed at achieving…
Web and Mobile Data_old
SENTECH TO BE SIGNAL DISTRIBUTOR FOR CNBC AFRICA
Sentech has announced that it will be the signal distributor for CNBC Africa, the first international business news channel in Africa, which will begin broadcasting from Sandton in Johannesburg in…
Web and Mobile Data_old
NO CHEAPER PAY TV FOR BOTSWANA
Locals who were hoping for a cheaper pay- TV channel should not expect any good news anytime soon. Black Entertainment Satellite Television (BEStv) under Black Earth Communications (BEC), which had…
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PEOPLE
* Virgin Mobile CEO Sajeed Sacranie is leaving the company. Sacranie's replacement, current vice president of marketing for Virgin Mobile in the USA, Peter Boyd, takes over from the beginning…
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EVENTS
- WIRELESS BROADBAND AFRICA –EAST AFRICA 29 November –1 December 2006, Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, Kenya AITEC Africa is hosting the first Wireless Broadband Forums in Nairobi. Leading developers and suppliers…
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JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
* CALL FOR RESEARCHERS: "SAT-3/WASC CABLE RESEARCH PROJECT: COUNTRY CASE STUDIES" The Association for Progressive Communications is currently looking to engage four ICT policy researchers to conduct detailed country studies…
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CONTRACTS: WHO'S SELLING WHAT TO WHOM?
* QUANTUMNET AND VAN HESSEN NV - GAMBIA QuantumNET, a provider of information technology related services and solutions have entered into a partnership with Belgian company Van Hessen NV. The…
