Issue no 634 7th December 2012
Top Story
Smile Telecoms offers a real insurgent data challenge by delivering LTE – first in Tanzania and Uganda and then in Nigeria and DRC
Africa seems strangely unprepared for its next technology leapfrog, the implementation of LTE. But it’s happening already and it’s not just the small number of mobile operator LTE implementations (see MTN South Africa in telecoms news below). Formerly a WiMAX operator, Smile Communications has quietly launched in Tanzania and Uganda. Russell Southwood spoke to its Group CCO Thibaud Weick about how it’s been so far and roll-out plans for the DRC and Nigeria.Smile Communications was founded by ex-MTN director Irene Charnley in 2007 as an insurgent challenger for data and bottom of the pyramid voice using WiMAX technology. The technology…
Telecoms
BTC backbone separation to cost P100m
The termination of Botswana Telecommunications Corporation's (BTC) monopoly on voice and data network provision is set to level the playing field and significantly reduce tariffs, a government ICT official has…
Telecoms
MTN launches LTE in SA
MTN SA has gone live with its LTE network in the Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban regions. As of 1 December 2012, South African consumers will be able to purchase LTE…
Telecoms
Orange telecoms firm officially launches operations in DRC
French-owned integrated telecommunications services provider Telecom-Orange has today officially launched its operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) under the Orange brand, giving a new dynamism to its…
Telecoms
Kenya: Mobile users to be assigned IP addresses
Mobile operators have been ordered to allocate unique numbers, internet protocol (IP) addresses, to all phones using their network to curb spread of abusive, inciting and fraudulent messages.This will go…
Telecoms
Telecoms - In Brief
- The Judge of the Tax Court at the Temple of Justice in Monrovia has given the Management of Atlantic Wireless Incorporated or Libercell GSM a 15-day ultimatum to settle…
Internet
Kenyans in Diaspora to vote online in 2017
Although Kenyans in the Diaspora have been ruled out from voting in Kenya’s general elections in March next year due to “time and resource constraints,” they could cast their votes…
Internet
Thumbs Up Africa blog 9: Ethiopia's internet explorer
Neda Boin (22), Sierd van der Bij (23) and Christiaan Triebert (21) are the lucky Dutch trio who began on 1 October a three-month-long hitchhiking trip from Groningen in the…
Internet
African high-speed data network open to researchers
A high-speed network that allows faster data transmission both among researchers in southern and eastern Africa and with scientists in Europe and other parts of the world has been launched.The…
Internet
ICT empowering disabled in Ghana, South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania
According to the UN, around 10 per cent of the world’s population, or 650 million people, live with a disability. They are the world’s largest minority. Children and adults with…
Internet
South Africa: Young, black, poor and online
A majority of South African Internet users are young and black, two-thirds speak an African language at home, and four in 10 live on less than R1 500/month.These are some…
Internet
Internet - In Brief
- Madagascar is to receive a boost to its satellite Internet services after Gulfsat Madagascar inked a long-term deal with the satellite provider O3b Networks for a new service aimed…
Computing
South Africa: Education without the textbook crisis
As the Limpopo textbook crisis began unfolding this year, three entrepreneurs began thinking. What if textbooks no longer had to be delivered by road, but could be uploaded onto a…
Computing
Tanzania: Govt Instals Computerised System to Monitor Veld Fires
THE government has put in place a computerized system that can spot veld fires and, via satellite, notify responsible authorities on daily basis.Presenting a paper during the on-going workshop on…
Computing
Tech ‘can help’ in Eastern Cape education crisis
Technology would go "a long way" to reduce the challenges in the Eastern Cape’s rural schools, Cofimvaba’s acting district director Malizole Skama said at the launch this week of the…
Computing
Computer News - In Brief
- MTN Business, a unit of MTN Group, has launched cloud computing services that will be targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in six countries in Africa, including South…
Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage
Orange launches Christmas goody specials
Telkom Kenya - Orange has launched a new sales promotion that will see buyers purchase various products at discounted prices during the Christmas season.The promotion, dubbed "Kamata Goody Goody" that…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
New instant cash transfer from SA to Zimbabwe
Standard Bank and Stanbic Zimbabwe have teamed up with OK Zimbabwe Limited to offer person-to-person money transfers in real time from South Africa to Zimbabwe.This means people residing in South…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Kenya: State to Force Mobile Money Systems Audits
Financial institutions and mobile money providers are set to come under closer scrutiny to make sure they audit their technology systems.This comes as cases of Cyber crime targeting the financial…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Zimbabwe: Ecocash Spreads to CBZ Bank
Econet Wireless has partnered with CBZ Bank in the provision of mobile phone-based banking services through EcoCash, a development that will further enhance convenience for customers of the two leading…
Mergers, Acquisitions and Financial Results
Money News - In Brief
- International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts that Kenya's ICT market size will be worth USD 2 billion in 2015. Multinationals are investing in the country because it is a spring…
Digital Content
Uganda: Makerere University Students Win Microsoft Grant
An application called 'Winsenga' that performs ultrasounds on pregnant women and detects problems such as ectopic pregnancies or abnormal fetal heart beats has earned three students from Makerere University's College…
Digital Content
New generation of economy apps arrives in SA
Following in the footstep's of programs like WhatsApp is a new generation of apps aimed at South African's wanting to save money. For instance, DialMedia refunds users when they make…
Digital Content
South Africa: 16 Voices - Blogging Against Abuse
In a bid to raise awareness about the negative impact of abuse and empower young people to tackle the scourge, loveLife - an HIV prevention programme for young South Africans…
Digital Content
Libya Telecoms & Technology did not intentionally shut down Facebook
When Facebook stopped working in large parts of Libya on Wednesday evening, rumours quickly abounded that the state internet service provider had intentionally shut down what is arguably the most…
Digital Content
Google Street View causes stir in Botswana
Opposition paper in Botswana, the second African nation to get Street View, says images of military bases compromise securityIn cities around the world it has provoked grumbles about invasion of…
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Jobs & Opportunities
Arabic Infographic Competition promoted by GoogleWith the Arabic Web Days program, the company wants to increase the amount of online content in ArabicAnother great news for those involved with infographic…
