Issue no 592 17th February 2012
Top Story
Shoden acquisition: Japanese giant Hitachi focuses on data centres to expand its IT footprint in Sub-Saharan Africa
All too often the news is about what China or India are doing to expand into Africa. This week saw a Japanese company Hitachi Data Systems buy South Africa based IT company Shoden Data Systems. Isabelle Gross spoke to Tony Read, COO of Hitachi Data System UK, Ireland and Sub-Sahara Africa about the acquisition of Shoden Data Systems and what it means for a Japanese global company to expand its footprint in Africa. Shoden Data Systems is a long-time South African provider of data centre technology both in its home country and into Sub-Saharan Africa and it has been working…
Telecoms
Etisalat eyes Libya telecom sector
Etisalat wants to acquire a licence in Libya or invest in one of the North African country's existing operators, its chairman told Reuters last week.Libya has two state mobile operators,…
Telecoms
Egypt Seeks Explanations on Orascom-France Telecom Deal
Orascom Telecom Media & Technology Holding SAE should explain to Mobinil shareholders why it may sell part of its stake to France Telecom SA after rejecting a higher bid in…
Telecoms
Nokia to set up global research hub in Nairobi
Nokia plans to make Nairobi its global hub for research and investment for the India, Middle East and Africa region.The move is a big win for the country which will…
Telecoms
Burkina Faso telecoms operators fined $5.4 million
Burkina Faso has slapped three telecoms operators with more than $5 million in penalties for poor service, a regulatory official said Friday."We decided to impose financial sanctions against the three…
Telecoms
Kenya: Foreign Tech Firm to Set Base in Nairobi
Global wireless technology company, Qualcomm, announced on Thursday that Nairobi will be its regional business centre within the Sub-Saharan region. Qualcomm, whose offices span 75 countries, made the decision in…
Telecoms
Ghana - NCA warns subscribers to register their SIM cards by March 3
Parliament has adopted the Subscriber Identity Module Registration Regulations, 2011 (L.I. 2006) to give backing to SIM card registration in the country. The Legislation provides that with effect from Saturday,…
Telecoms
South Africa's Telkom Faces Huge Competition Fine
Telkom will appear before the competition tribunal on Wednesday, in a case which may see the company go bust, SABC news reported on Tuesday.The Competition Commission has asked the tribunal…
Telecoms
ICT minister urges ‘joined at the hip’ MTN, SPTC to cease hostilities
Swaziland’s minister of ICT Winnie Magagula has publicly called for an end to the on-going hostilities between national telecoms regulator the Swaziland Posts and Telecommunication Corporation (which is also the…
Telecoms
Telecoms News - In Brief
- Responding to the 3rd category cyclone Giovanna which swept Madagascar Island on February 14th, Télécoms Sans Frontières is dispatching an emergency team from its international headquarters. TSF will arrive…
Telecoms
Young Malawian Entrepreneurs Launch New Search Engine, C-Finder
Four years ago, when Daniel Chiwinga and Kondwani Chimatiro met in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) lecture room at Mzuzu University, in the northern part of Malawi, they had…
Internet
Africa: Wikipedia to Be Free On Mobiles in Africa, Middle East
Nairobi — Millions of people in Africa and the Middle East will be able to benefit from free, unlimited access to the online encyclopaedia Wikipedia through their mobile phone, starting…
Internet
Tunisia: Trial Over Censorship of Pornographic Websites in Tunisia Postponed
The hearing of the case regarding censorship of pornographic websites in Tunisia has been postponed to February 22nd, confirmed Olivia Gré, director of the Tunisian chapter of Reporters Without Borders…
Internet
Kenya: Cargo Clearance to Go Online
The delays being experienced at Mombasa port and border points might end when an online cargo clearance system goes live later this year. The first phase of the National Single…
Internet
Internet News - In Brief
- Last week's State of the Nation (SONA) address by South African president Jacob Zuma garnered a nine-fold increase in mentions on Twitter, compared to those received in 2011. According…
Computing
biNu and Worldreader Partner to Bring Digital Books to Millions of Mobile Users
biNu, a content rich, social networking platform optimized for mobile feature phones and low-end smartphones, today announced a partnership with Worldreader to deliver digital books to biNu users. The partnership…
Computing
Africa: Report Warns of Dangers of Increasing E-Waste in West Africa
A newly-released United Nations report has revealed that West Africa is facing a significant increase in waste generated by electronic equipment which poses mounting health and environmental risks.About 85 per…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- South African IT firm Face Technologies which won the N$63,8 million contract to provide the elections body with mobile voter-registration units, has defended its winning bid, saying it takes…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Warid Congo launches Warid Mobicash
Warid Congo SA, the leading telecommunication operator in Congo, has announced the launch of Warid Mobicash across its network. This offer is based on the Mobile Money technology from Mobicash.Warid…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Airtel and FirstBank Sign MoU on Mobile Money Service
The landscape of e-banking services in Nigeria is set to witness a major shift as two leading companies in banking and telecom sectors of the economy, FirstBank of Nigeria Plc…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Local innovation to be major focus of AITEC Banking & Mobile Money Conference
The theme of this year’s AITEC Banking & Mobile Money Conference is “Showcasing the region’s banking and mobile payment innovation successes”. The intention is to use this the region’s leading…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
South Africa: Firm Up for Mobile Innovation Award
South African mobile services company Oltio has been nominated in the "best mobile money innovation" category at the annual GSMA Global Mobile Awards for its payD platform, which turns a…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Money News - In Brief
- Standard Bank Namibia this week published advertisements in local papers announcing the launch of its new internet banking interface. However, The Namibian has been inundated by SMS and e-mail…
Digital Content
Mozambique: Mobile helps migrant workers send food back home to family
Mariana Diouh, is a Mozambican migrant domestic worker in Johannesburg. She has just received a phone call from her elderly grandmother in a village close to Xai Xai, Mozambique. Their…
Digital Content
Monitoring software may help stabilise food prices
Price-monitoring computer software that will produce monthly updates of staple food prices is being developed for East and Central African countries. The tool is under development at the Association for…
Digital Content
Facebook on basic phones for Africa
While Facebook access has been the preserve of those with Internet access or a data plan, France Telecom Orange plans to bring a simple version of the social network to…
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Jobs & Opportunities
Orange Announces Community Innovations Awards for Young DevelopersOrange Uganda is providing a platform on which young student developers can exploit their talent and show case their innovations. Orange will support…
