Issue no 550 15th April 2011
Top Story
Moving pictures – the next step for Africa’s mobile Internet users
The speed with which Facebook has taken off on the African continent in the countries that are a bell-weather for early take-up has been impressive. Twitter is trotting behind but with much smaller number but it’s only a matter of time. MXit has impressive up-take in South Africa. What has been missed in this social media explosion is the significance of moving pictures through things like You Tube and Vimeo. Russell Southwood argues that this surge will happen on mobiles and is not far around the corner.Alexa.com does web site rankings by use for 14 African countries. The listing below…
Telecoms
Nigerian Communications Commission May Issue More Licences
The Executive Vice Chairman of the telecom regulatory authority, the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) Dr Eugene Juawah in Lagos said that the Commission may issue more licenses if existing telecoms…
Telecoms
Tigo Rwanda Licensed to Offer Mobile Money
Tigo Rwanda the country's second largest telecom operator by market share, has been offered a license to operate mobile money transfer services. The company said on Wednesday that the National…
Telecoms
Kenya: Airtel And Safaricom Clash Over Portability
Mobile phone operators, Safaricom and Airtel have opened a new battle front but this time over Mobile Number Portability, less than a fortnight after it was launched. The rivals who…
Telecoms
Govt Seeks Court Order to Liquidate Rwandatel
The Government through the registrar of companies has instituted insolvency proceedings in commercial courts against Rwandatel which is shrouded in controversy, officials said. Registrar General, Louise Kanyonga, told Business Times…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- Freetown: Bharti Airtel has been ranked amongst the top five firms in Corporate Reputation in India. The current ranking of companies is based on Nielsen Corporate Image Monitor, an…
Internet
Brics nations back R3bn Brazil-SA mega cable
The governments of Brazil, China, Russia, India and South Africa have agreed to support a new, R3bn undersea cable that will connect Brazil with South Africa and Angola, and provide…
Internet
New Company Joins Competition to Host Prestigious .africa Domain in East Africa
Competition among firms seeking to brand Africa on the Internet has heightened over the past few months. Africa Top Level Domains Organisation (AfTLD) is the latest entrant into the fray…
Internet
Uganda Makes Advances in Optical Network Technology Set Up
Recent developments in optical network technology, plus the extension of well-known Local Area Network (LAN)/( Wide Area Networks- WAN) architecture from the desktop to the neighbourhood and beyond, are allowing…
Internet
Sudanese Govt Rejects U.S. Accusations On Curbing Internet Freedoms
The US government has designated north Sudan as one of the countries which impose restrictions on access to the internet and monitor e-mail communication. In its 21 country reports on…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- The high capacity submarine fibre-optic cable Glo 1 has gone live in Accra, Ghana, connecting the West African nation to Europe. The 9,800km long subsea cable network is the…
Computing
Nairobi Wi-Fi Hotspots Fail to Impress Users
As Wi-Fi usage records impressive growth in developed countries with restaurants, train stations, and public places continuing being high-growth areas, Kenya is struggling to play catch-up.Wi-Fi, the technology that allows…
Computing
New Software to Aid Farmers Resolve Marketing Woes in Tanzania
He left Tanzania in 1965 at the age of 18 and headed to Russia to pursue a degree course in telecommunications engineering. This was to lead to a Master of…
Computing
Outsource Technology Management to Systems Integrators - CWG
The need to outsource the aspect of technology management to Systems Integrators (SI), to enable organisations concentrate on core businesses has been stressed by Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), a foremost…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- Lagos — Westgate Technologies Ltd, an emerging information and communications technology company in Nigeria will on Thursday this week officially open its ICT mall in Abuja, with other indigenous…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Telecoms Rates, Offers and Coverage
- Vodacom unveiled their 2GB + 2GB mobile data bundles on Sunday, 10 April 2011, offering subscribers up to 4GB of monthly data & a 7.2Mbps modem for R149 per…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Econet in Special Bargain
Foreign investors exchanged a block of 625, 000 Econet shares valued at US$3,1 million on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange on Tuesday, in a special bargain deal, one of the biggest…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Sentech needs R250m more for broadband
Sentech says its national broadband network will cost between R1.1bn and R1.2bn over the next three years, leaving the company short of R250m in financing to build the infrastructure.The state-owned…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
GSMA Predicts N862 Billion GDP Growth in Broadband
GSMA, the umbrella body for mobile operators worldwide has challenged Nigerian government to support broadband rollout and penetration across the country, insisting that broadband capabilities could generate over N862 billion…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Accesskenya Shares Surge After Slump
AccessKenya shares climbed above the initial public offering price of Sh10 per share, helped by a sustained one-week rally that saw the stock gain 47 per cent after touching an…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Money – In Brief
- Profit margins at IT group Business Connexion have crashed in the six months to 28 February, making it look highly unlikely it will meet an earlier target management set…
Digital Content
E-Confessions On M-Church, the Gods Must Be Crazy
Nairobi — Why go to church when you can carry it in your pocket? In the amazing world of technology, devotions, sermons, blessings, rosaries, Bibles, and numerous faith-based phone applications…
Digital Content
Phones to Drive KCB's Agency Banking
KCB will rely on its mobile system to roll out agency banking services launched on Wednesday, deepening telecommunication companies' linkages with financial institutions in joint ventures to reach out to…
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People
- Within a few weeks, the meetings of the Togo Cabinet may look like Apple conventions; only Faure Gnassingbe will lead instead of Steve Jobs. Indeed, each member of the…
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Events
Ghana ICT and Telecom Summit28-29 April 2011, Ghana-India Kofi Annan ICT Centre Accra, GhanaThe summit will bring together over 200 decision-makers from Ghanaian operators and international stakeholders with an interest…
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Jobs & Opportunities
Senior Web Development Engineer Bluewater Staffing Solutions Cape Town, SA The client, who is at the international forefront of creating the next major computing platform, is looking for a Senior…
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Contracts
Netone Cancels Decade- Long Contract wit ZellcoMOBILE phone company NetOne has, with immediate effect, cancelled its decade-long contract with Zellco Cellular over non-remittance of some fees collected by the agent.Zellco…
