News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 363 on 3 August 2007
Top Story
Benin: Regulator plays poker with Moov and MTN by cutting networks over increased licence fees
The new Beninois Government decided to review all telecoms licensing arrangements when it came into office and tasked its newly independent regulator to carry out the task. It argued that the previous Government had out previous licences in an irregular fashion and that it was simply regularising the position. The same issue is also affecting both Liberia and Sierra Leone although in a less dramatic fashion. For events took a turn for the worse this week as the Beninois Government decided to cut off two networks – Moov and MTN – to impose the new level of licence fee it…
Telecoms
Uganda’s MTN, UTL in Billing Disputes Over Calls to Sudan
MTN Uganda and rivals Uganda Telecom are locked in a bruising billing battle over telephone calls made to and from the Southern Sudan phone company, Gemtel. At the heart of…
Telecoms
Mobile companies complain that Telkom Kenya’s wireless service is really ‘mobile service’ for tax purposes
The reverberations of Telkom’s official launch of its wireless service last week has resurrected a growing dispute within the telecommunications industry. The war of words between telephone operators intensified this…
Telecoms
Mayor Orders Two Major Local Telephone Firms to Stop Operating in Mogadishu in Somalia
Mayor of Mogadishu, Mohammed Dheere, announced last Sunday that two major local telephone companies, Hormood and Telecom Somalia, branches in Heliwa district, north of the Somali capital, could not operate…
Telecoms
Top 10 mobile Markets in Mid-East and Africa: Kenya knocks out Tunisia
Tunisia has been in and out of the ranking of the top 10 MEA markets by customer base over the past year. It was pushed out by Iraq in Q2…
Telecoms
IN BRIEF:
- Djibouti Telecom has launched its new Evatis-Edge network which will enable the telco to offer MMS, internet mail browsing services. The new infrastructure can support 200,000 subscribers with expansion…
Internet
Kenya’s government won’t partner with Seacom on cable project
The Americans had proposed a 'co-build' arrangement that permits each party to own individual fibre pairs on the desired routes.Kenya has turned down a proposal by American company Seacom -…
Internet
Neotel expands it fibre network across South Africa
Neotel has quietly ramped up the deployment of optical fibre routes in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban. Neotel is quietly going about their business of expanding their network and…
Internet
NIXP CEO RUDMAN ANNOUNCES LANDMARK SAT3 DEAL AT US$2800 PER MEG
Speaking last week on progress so far, NIXP CEO Muhammed Rudman announced the lowest price thus far negotiated on SAT3 and that seven members were now connected to the exchange.Rudman…
Internet
CyberTrackers of the Kalahari take out their PDAs in Botswana
That indispensable electronic tool of every rising young executive, the personal digital assistant (PDA), has been matched to the traditional knowledge of the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert to give…
Internet
IN BRIEF:
- Algeria’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research assigned Continuing Education University (UFC) to post on the Internet 30% of universities pedagogical materiel to provide “a data bank for…
Computing
Piracy 'Blame Game' Puts Businesses at Risk in South Africa
When asked why their business is using unlicensed software, the number one excuse given by business managers is "it is someone else's fault", the Business Software Alliance (BSA) has revealed…
Computing
Teacher Gets US$400,000 to Establish ICT Centre At Damongo in Ghana
A National Business plan competition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme, Believe Begin Become has awarded a 32 year old teacher of Damongo Secondary School (DASS), Prince Yakubu Tahiru an amount of…
Computing
South Africa’s IQ to Recruit 150 Indian Software Developers
Privately owned IQ Business Group is planning to import 150 Indian software developers over the next 18 months and use them as mentors to train local recruits. The scheme will…
Computing
10,000 subscribe to Botswana’s First National Bank’s electronic service
Banking giant First National Bank (FNBB) is reaping the benefits of introducing the unique electronic banking service in the country. The bank says its electronic banking service is so far…
Computing
Uganda’s ICT Minister Nsambu promotes solar power for PCs
In an interview with eLearning Africa, ICT State Minister for Uganda John Chrysostom Alintuma Nsambu talked about how solar and battery power should be used for PCs in the African…
Computing
IN BRIEF:
- An early version of the Linux-based OpenMoko NEO 1973 has been released to allow developers to begin writing applications and device drivers. Although dubbed by some as an iPhone…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE
- Telecom Namibia announced that it had expanded its wireless CDMA infrastructure to nine more towns and settlements in Namibia including Rehoboth, Mariental, Opuwo, Grootfontein, Rundu, Katima Mulilo, Okakarara, Oshivelo…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
HBD Ventures US$5.1 million On Fundamo Growth in South Africa
HBD Venture Capital has invested US$5.1 million in technology developer Fundamo to help it tap into foreign markets with its mobile banking and payment software.HBD is the venture capital fund…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
South Africa’s Infraco to be open to private investment
The department of public enterprises has called on the public to comment on a new bill that will govern Infrastructure Company (Infraco), the state-owned broadband firm tasked with rolling out…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Nigeria: Nigcomsat-1 Market Projected a N128 Trillion by 2010
The Nigeria Communication Satellite (NigComSat-1) has been projected to reap benefits from the telecom market worth N128.2 trillion ($1.2 trillion) by the 2010.President Musa Yar'Adua made this observation over the…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
IN BRIEF:
- In a report entitled the Transformational Potential of M-Transactions, Vodafone argues for new rules to ease money transfers by mobile phones in Kenya. Kenya's Safaricom, in which Vodafone has…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
CORRECTIONS
Issue 361: Power to the base stations – a modest propositionThe data on unspent universal service access fees came from the GSM Association, not the World Bank. We should perhaps…
Digital Content
TSC Unveils Text Message Service for Teachers in Kenya
Teachers will no longer be required to travel to Nairobi over job-related matters.The Teachers Service Commission has unveiled a new mobile phone short text message (SMS) service, through which its…
Digital Content
Local Government Services to Go Online in Rwanda
The Ministry of Local Government has unveiled a plan to have all its documented information, service delivery and conference proceedings online. Minister Protais Musoni said the online facility of e-document,…
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EVENTS
- SATWIBB AFRICA: AFRICAN SATELLITE & WIRELESS BROADBAND CONFERENCE & VOIP FORUM West Africa: Muson Centre, Lagos, 21-23 August 2007Theme: ”Broadband bridges across Africa: First and last mile solutions”Local and…
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JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Field Switching Engineer – UgandaThe company is looking for a field switching engineer, who will participate in the installation and commissioning of BSCs in Uganda, BSC integration and commissioning, BSS…
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CONTRACTS: WHO'S SELLING WHAT TO WHOM?
The Post, Telecommunications & Information Technology Company and Alcatel-Lucent – LibyaFrench equipment supplier Alcatel-Lucent has been selected by the Libyan Post Telecommunications & Information Technology Company to supply a nationwide…
