News update Telecoms and ICT in Africa - Issue no 369 on 17 September 2004
Top Story
Senegal – As competition starts, enter the new service providers
In Senegal, everybody in the telecommunication and Internet sectors is focused on the outcome of the tender process for a third telecommunication licence. This new operator will at last give Orange (Sonatel) a run for its money and introduce some much needed competition. Isabelle Gross reports from Dakar on the steady growth of one of the country’s new service providers whose time has come. Two weeks ago, the Senegalese regulator ART launched a call for tenders for a global operator licence and speculation about the name of the winner has increased as the deadline for the bids is August 31st.…
Telecoms
Telkom SA to Invest US$1bn in Nigeria’s Multi-Links over five years
Telkom South Africa is to invest around US$1 billion in the expansion of the network of Multi-Links, its new Nigerian subsidiary, over the next five years. Telkom acquired Multi-Links Nigeria,…
Telecoms
Benin Government breaking national and international laws, says MTN
MTN is accusing the Benin Government of breaking its domestic laws, international law and the conditions of the licence under which the 14-year-old mobile provider operates in that country. MTN…
Telecoms
Mauritania’s SNO Chinguitel launches operations with 3G
Mauritania’s third operator Chinguitel has launched 3G services with coverage of 4,000 km of main routes throughout the desert nation on the western edge of the Sahara. Chinguitel is majority…
Telecoms
Nigeria’s regulator NCC planning Mobile Number Portability
Nigeria looks set to become the first Sub-Saharan country outside South Africa to introduce Moble Number Portability. According to a Reuters report, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) is working on…
Telecoms
IN BRIEF:
- Alcatel-Lucent has agreed a contract worth US$100 million with Uganda's Hits Telecom, a new regional operator, to deploy a new mobile network based on GSM technology.- Nitel’s owners’ Transcorp…
Internet
Botswana’s BTC inks 3 year deal with BT South Africa for more SAT3 capacity
Botswana incumbent BTC has signed a three year deal with BT South Africa to increase its SAT3 capacity.In 2004 BTC and BT established a relationship whereby BT negotiated a connection…
Internet
Zimbabwe: Service providers setting up spy equipment
Mobile and internet service providers (ISPs) have begun installing surveillance equipment, in compliance with the controversial Interception of Communications Act, the Zimbabwe Internet Access Providers (ZIAP) confirmed this week.ZIAP is…
Internet
SA’s Home Affairs tackles backlog with online “track and trace” system
One of the major problems of the Home Affairs Department will be tackled by what the government is calling the "Citizen Relations Portal" which will allow South Africans to make…
Internet
IN BRIEF
- Angus Hay, Neotel’s Head of Strategy, said that their CDMA trial is continuing, but that the company can not give specific feedback about the trial results yet. The company…
Computing
Nigeria: Banks Import N1bn Software Annually
A recent survey on software development and use in Nigeria, has revealed that about N1billion worth of software products are imported annually by banks, making the sector one of the…
Computing
Stolen Namibian hardware finds a market in Angola
Computers and hard drives stolen from various ministries and Government agencies are finding a ready market in neighbouring Angola. According to reliable sources, electronic equipment stolen in Namibia seems to…
Computing
SA fruit exporter Capespan uses software to track fruit shipments
Capespan, one of the world's leading marketers and distributors of fresh fruit, has implemented a leading in-memory business intelligence solution to help it manage its complex international business.The company has…
Computing
IN BRIEF
- Athi River town will host Kenya's first ever ICT hub, according to plans by the Government, an idea bolstered by the increasing numbers of foreign companies that want to…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE
- Tunisia’s national telecoms network now covers the Governorat of Tataouine, including the village of Borj El Khadhra on the border between Tunisia, Algeria and Libya. The village previously had…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Mali’s SOTELMA set for privatisation in 2008, delayed from 2006
The privatisation of Sotelma that was supposed to have happened in 2006 has now been scheduled for 2008. However as reported last week, the company lost FCFA12 billion to the…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
South Africa: No Stopping MTN As Revenue, Subscriber Numbers Rocket
MTN's US$5.5bn acquisition of the rival operator Investcom has given its figures a massive fillip, allowing Africa's most successful cellular network to report a staggering 90% rise in subscriber numbers…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Minister says Ghana Telecom privatisation on course, France Telecom interested
The Ghanaian Government says it is on course to privatize Ghana Telecom by the end of the year. Minister of Communication, Dr. Benjamin Aggrey Ntim says the transaction advisers have…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
AccessKenya to buy Openview Business Systems
AccessKenya Group, Kenya’s only publicly listed ICT company, today announced that it has reached agreement with the owners of Openview Business Systems, one of Kenya’s leading IT services providers, to…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
IN BRIEF:
- Ugandan businessman Charles Mbire has increased his stake in telecommunications company MTN to 5% from 2.5%. This increases his stake in the company, which is valued at about $1b…
Digital Content
African Scientific Database Will 'Tap Global Knowledge'
African researchers are developing a database of where to find scientific information on the Internet. Preparatory work has begun on the online information source, known as Access to Scientific Knowledge…
Digital Content
South African company launches Facebook for business people
What Facebook is to individuals, the Biznetwork Web site is aiming to become for entrepreneurs - a Web of like-minded profiles interacting online, with one goal in common: working for…
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PEOPLE
- Nikki Cockcroft has been appointed CEO of iafrica.com/365 business in Primedia Online. Nikki has been the CEO of 365 Digital Publishing for the past three years and has been…
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EVENTS
Developing & Implementing National ICT Policies in Africa3 - 7 September 2007, Digital Bridge Institute, Abuja, NigeriaThe workshop will offer a pragmatic approach to the evaluation and assessment of national…
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JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES
Danish ICT Management is presently looking for experts who have an interest in the following position:Project title: Development of a portal and clearinghouse for the Small Island Developing States (SIDS)Application…
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CONTRACTS: WHO'S SELLING WHAT TO WHO?
ZTE inks Tunisian network dealChinese vendor ZTE has signed a contract with Tunisie Telecom to deploy a national transmission network in Tunisia. Under the contract, ZTE will deploy infrastructure covering…
