News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 346 on 16 February 2007
Top Story
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that Fring – VoIP nightmare for mobile operators
An early adopting reader alerted us last week to the existence of Fring. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s free Skype-style client specifically designed for mobile phones. This South African reader had been making use of it to phone friends and business contacts. If the Fring thing catches on – particularly in those African countries with reasonable broadband capacity – then it looks set to put a hole in the revenues of the mobile operators. It does both voice and SMS for the cost of the data use from the mobile provider that is much cheaper…
Telecoms
PORTUGAL TELECOM CONSIDERS PLAN FOR MVNO BASED IN ANGOLA
The CEO of Portugal Telecom (PT), Henrique Granadeiro, says that his company is examining the possibility of establishing a pan-African mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) based in Angola. ‘The big…
Telecoms
AFRICAN SNOs – LAST YEAR’S MODEL STRUGGLES AT THE START GATE
Africa’s Second National Operator licence processes run the danger of becoming the beached whale of regulatory liberalisation. The latter usually runs through the following stages: single monopoly operator, same plus…
Telecoms
BTC LAUNCH US$32.3 MILLION TRANS-KALAHARI FIBRE PROJECT IN BOTSWANA
The Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has launched the Trans Kalahari fibre optic and SDH project which will cost government about US$32.3 million. The project which will cover approximately 2000 kilometers…
Telecoms
CELTEL MALAWI OPERATIONS CRIPPLED BY HQ FIRE
A fire at the headquarters of Celtel Malawi has crippled the network, and lead to a mass exodus of customers to rival operator, Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM) - who are…
Telecoms
LIBERIA: GOVERNMENT AND REGULATOR ARGUE OVER LICENSING
Just a month ago whereas the executive branch of the Liberian government had decided to review licensing agreements between GSM operators and the Liberian Telecommunications Authority - LTA (the independent…
Telecoms
SAFARICOM DEAL UNDER PROBE IN KENYA
Two British fraud busters are investigating a possible kickback worth billions of shillings by Vodafone (UK) in its acquisition of more shares in mobile service provider, Safaricom. Last week, the…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- Police had to use teargas to disperse hundreds of retrenched Telkom Kenya employees protesting over unpaid allowances in their terminal benefits. - After nearly 40 years of outsourcing, the…
Internet
NIGERIAN GLOBACOM TO INVEST IN SUBMARINE INTERNATIONAL FIBRE CABLE COMPETITOR TO SAT3
Globacom Limited, Nigeria's second national carrier has concluded arrangements to launch its submarine cable, Glo-1, which will link 16 African countries. It will start from Lagos to London and through…
Internet
EASSY CONSORTIUM SIGN SUPPLY CONTRACT
The EASSy cable project took a step forward with the official signing of a turnkey Supply Contract. This follows the finalisation of the Supply Contract in Pretoria, South Africa, by…
Internet
MWEB LAUNCHES OWN SATELLITE LINK IN ZIMBABWE BECAUSE OF TELONE OUTAGES
MWEB Zimbabwe has introduced a satellite link for outgoing communications, to complement is existing TelOne link, in a bid to eliminate frequent disruptions in communications. The company has until now…
Internet
TELKOM’S 2011 BROADBAND PLANS FOR SOUTH AFRICA
Telkom laid out is broadband plans for 2011 at a recent analyst meeting, but consumers looking for drastic price cuts and far higher speeds may be disappointed. Telkom has come…
Internet
ACCESSKENYA EXPANDS TO NAIVASHA
The AccessKenya Group has expanded its network coverage to Naivasha. Through its public data network provider - BLUE, the Group has installed two base stations in Naivasha which will provide…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- Retail broadband prices are set to decrease in Benin. According to local IT professionals lower new offers will increase competition and drive prices down. The OTI and other local…
Computing
PINNACLE SAYS SETA’S TENDER FOR CARDS EXCLUDES IT
Computer manufacturer Pinnacle has taken umbrage with a government tender that specifically calls for foreign models, preventing local technology developers from bidding. The tender issued by the Services Seta (sector…
Computing
OUTSOURCING TO THE WORLD FROM EGYPT
Raya Contact Centre finalised deals earlier this month with EMAAR Misr, the Egyptian branch of the Dubai-based EMAAR Properties real estate company and Piraeus bank, a retail bank headquartered in…
Computing
FSF WANTS TO PARTNER WITH HARDWARE MAKERS
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) yesterday released a paper entitled, "The road to hardware free from restrictions", detailing ways major hardware manufacturers with power in the market can work with…
Computing
UN LAUNCHES CONSORTIUM TO TACKLE E-WASTE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
The UN is to set up an initiative to extend the life of computers and electronic equipment and tackle the growing problem of 'e-waste' in the developing world. Discarded electronic…
Computing
LIBYA INTRODUCES COMPUTER SCIENCE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL
Libya is to build about 100 schools equipped with laboratories and computer hardware and provide this specialisation to more than 50,000 male and female schoolteachers this year in computer technology,…
Computing
TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY OPENS THIS YEAR IN ANGOLA
The Technologies and Sciences private university (UTEC), whose classes are set to start in the second quarter of 2007, is opening with 480 vacancies in eight courses of a four…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- The first e-learning platform, DZCampus, has been launched in Algeria. Initiated by the national library in cooperation with two Algerian companies specialised in interactive training and communication, this solution…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE
- Management of Transnational Corporations(Transcorp), owners NITEL, may have brought back to life its Mobile Telecommunications (MTel) arm, following the completion of the first phase of its re-engineering processes with…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
LIBYAN COMPANY BUYS UTL IN UGANDA
Libya Africa Portfolio's (LAP) Green Com has acquired majority shares in Uganda Telecom (utl). Sources revealed that the company, the investment arm of the Libyan government, acquired 51% shareholding in…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
MAROC TÉLÉCOM PROFIT CLIMBS 16% ON MOBILE PERFORMANCE
Moroccan incumbent fixed line operator Maroc Télécom has reported a 16% rise in 2006 net income to EUR607 million (USD800 million), compared to EUR523 million in 2005, with the improvement…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
COMPUTER GROUP MUSTEK'S SALES DROP IN A GROWING MARKET
Computer company Mustek has probably suffered a slight loss of market share as well as a dip in profit in the past six months of trading. Mustek manufactures SA's best-selling…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
SAFARICOM UNVEILS MONEY SERVICE IN KENYA
Safaricom last week launched a mobile payment service, that allows its customers to transfer money, and deposit or withdraw funds using their cell phones Known as M-Pesa, it will also…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
On The Money - In Brief
- AccessKenya Group, the holding company which owns AccessKenya, Kenya’s leading corporate ISP, and BLUE, one of Kenya’s largest Public Data Network Operators, has applied to the Capital Markets Authority…
Digital Content
ONLINE TENDER SERVICE IN TANZANIA
www.tender.co.tz is a service launched by ALTECH (Alternative Technologies) in Tanzania. The service was launched in October, 2006, and has since attracted over 450 registered users. www.tender.co.tz is essentially a…
Digital Content
CELLPHONES AS AN EDUCATIONAL TOOL
The Meraka Institute, the Helsinki University of Art and Design in Finland and the University of Pretoria have, over the past 18 months, been working on a project dubbed MobilED,…
Digital Content
STRUGGLE HISTORY NOW ON NAMIBIAN WEBSITE
Extensive documentation of Namibian history can be accessed on the Internet through the recently launched Aluka project, an international online digital library of scholarly resources from and about Africa. This…
Digital Content
ZENITH PLANS NIGERIA'S FIRST ONLINE SHOPPING CARD FOR THE USA
Zenith Bank Plc in partnership with MasterCard International and PUSA Systems Nigeria Limited has concluded arrangement for the introduction of an on-line shopping card that will allow Nigerians buy products…
Digital Content
Web And Mobile Data News - In Brief
- In a bid to promote public awareness on issues relating to environment, the National Environment Agency of Gambia has launched its website. One can get access to the website…
Web and Mobile Data_old
DSTV READY FOR COMPETITION IN UGANDA
The television industry has recently taken on a competitive dimension. In a bid to attract more viewers, television stations have come up with new and more entertaining programmes. Godwin Muhwezi-Bonge…
Web and Mobile Data_old
HITV SEALS $28M PREMIERSHIP DEAL AND BEGINS TRANSMISSION IN NIGERIA
Nigerian followers of English Premiership clubs who are anxious to have a feel of their idols may not wait much longer, as the country's newly liscensed PayTV channel, HiTV plans…
Web and Mobile Data_old
NEW WEBSITE TO BOOST AFRICAN AUDIOVISUAL CONTENT
MyVideo.co.za is a new South African video portal that hopes to give local film makers, musicians and designers a chance to expose their work to the public. MyVideo CEO, Rowan…
Web and Mobile Data_old
VIEWAFRICA, AND VIEWASIA NETWORK SELECT INTELSAT
Intelsat has announced that the U.K.-based ViewAfrica and ViewAsia Networks have launched two regional platforms on the Intelsat system, expanding their programme offering in Africa and Asia. In a press…
Web and Mobile Data_old
Convergence News - In Brief
- Btv in Botswana reported that it broadcasts a total of 18 hours 45 minutes of local content a week, out of which five hours was outsourced. The outsourced component…
More
EVENTS
- THE AFRICAN E-GOV FORUM'07 27th - 29th March 2007, Accra, Ghana The forum in Accra, Ghana, will discuss pan-African issues and methodologies within E-Governance.The event will provide a unique…
More
JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
* GLOBAL ONLINE COURSE IN ICT JOURNALISM The International Institute for Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Journalism - Penplusbytes is pleased to announce a three month (April 20th - July…
More
CONTRACTS: WHO'S SELLING WHAT TO WHOM?
* SOTELMA AND SIEMENS – MALI The Malian operator Sotelma has commissioned Siemens Networks to expand its nationwide GSM network. Siemens will manage the development and implementation of the network…
