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Balancing Act's News Update 278 (23rd October 2005)
_______________________________________________________________________ IN THIS ISSUE: _______________________________________________________________________ Computer News _______________________________________________________________________ - CAMEROON: CUSTOMS OPERATIONS COMPUTERISED TO CUT COST - FAILURE RATES LOWER ON LOCALLY ASSEMBLED HP DESKTOPS - SWEDEN TO BACK OPEN SOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN ZAMBIA - THE NALEDI3D FACTORY DEVELOPS THE "INTERACTIVE 3D LEARNING OBJECT"
Top Story
- UGANDA'S BWINDI TELECENTRE COLLECTS DATA ON GORILLAS AND TARGETS
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- NIGERIAN GOVT TO SELL NITEL WITHOUT SAT-3 ASSET
- TV CABO LAUNCHES ANGOLAN CABLE OP IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ANGOLA TELECOM - MILLICOM LAUNCHES CHAD NETWORK WITH GPRS/EDGE CAPABILITY - NIGERIA'S SUBURBAN PICKS ATC AND HUAWEI TO BUILD 3500 KMS FIBRE NETWORK - TOGO CELLULAIRE TO INVEST 13M EUROS IN GPRS/EDGE NETWORK - SOUTH AFRICA'S ITEC TELECOMS SIGNS UP WITH TRANSTEL
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- GHANA INTERNET EXCHANGE FORMALLY LAUNCHED WITH PROMISE OF LOWER LATENCY - TELKOM SA'S ADSL TAKEN TO ICASA AGAIN - FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT SIGNS PREPAID CARD AGREEMENT WITH GHANA POST - UUNET LAUNCHES FOUR NEW POPS IN NAMIBIA
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- SOUTH AFRICA MTN SAYS TO AGREES $2 BLN IRAN DEAL - GOVERNMENT HANDS OVER RWANDATEL TO TERRACOM - WILL MTN SPEND ITS SPARE US$2,6BN ALL IN ONE PLACE?
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- UGANDA'S TRUE AFRICAN LAUNCHES MUSIC DOWNLOADS FOR US$1.2 PER SONG - MTN LAUNCHES BIGGEST FOOTBALL SITE EVER ADVERTISEMENT: Q-KON - Your wireless & satellite IP connectivity provider for Africa Q-KON is a 1st tier provider of IP access solutions and services for the African market. We provide "best-of-breed" solutions and services for Cyber Cafe's, ISP's, Regional Telco's, Private Industries and Government. Our solutions and services includes: 1) Infrastructure Networks:
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- Web Site: www.ipplanet.com All too often telecentres have seemed like a solution in search of a problem. But Bwindi telecentre is being used to collect conservation information on local gorillas in the dense tropical forest and is targeting its services at both tourists and locals. Balancing Act's Uganda correspondent Esther Nakkazi last week interviewed Lawrence Zikusoka, the Founder and Director ICT for Development Conservation Through Public Health (CTPH)about how it works. He opened the telecentre to tourists going to Bwindi Impenetrable National Park and the community surrounding it. Qn: This is something new in Uganda. Why did you think of opening a telecentre near Bwindi impenetrable forest? There is a great need for communication in protected areas. The telecentre was needed for our work in conservation. We needed to send information using the Internet and we also wanted to build capacity in computer applications and use among the local communities around the protected areas. Qn: What kind of data do you collect from the gorillas and where do you send it? We collect conservation data from gorillas- compile data on clinical signs of gorillas, on the dung state and then use the internet to transmit the data to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).This is time series data, which enables us to monitor the health of the gorillas. We can mitigate disease out breaks among the animals and the public by collecting, analysing, exchanging ideas for diseases from animals to people and people to animals. We intend to compile this data and build a database so that when a disease occurs there is a long-term database system that can offer a long-term solution for diseases that reoccur both among animals and the communities. Qn: How do you describe this solution of linking conservation and technology? This model is called the afromontane forest model where the Bwindi Gorilla clinic and the telecentre will be used for conservation of wildlife using Information Communications Technologies (ICTs) in the telecenter. Another model that could be used is the Savannah park model where data for different animal species is collected and exchanged between conservationists using ICTs. We have created the first model in Uganda. Qn: What does the whole package contain? The telecenter offers basic computer training, high-speed wireless Internet access and voice telephony via satellite communication and public health awareness campaigns to improve primary health care to people and animals in and around protected areas while enhancing the conservation of wildlife, natural resources and biodiversity. Qn: Do you think this is sustainable? It is and we shall replicate it in other protected areas. It allows for revenue generation through e-business, the local communities can send emails and market their artcraft materials through the Internet. And although the issue of sustainability runs high for telecenters established in rural areas of Africa, with Bwindi telecenter it is not a problem. We run computer lessons for communities around here and the students pay Shs.100,000 for the six weeks course training containing six packages of computer programmes. The courses are certified by Makerere University and they award the certificates. We have so far graduated 30 students from the community here. Furthermore, tourists who come to use the telecenter pay Shs.500 per minute, five times the amount that the local community pays in a way subsidizing for the locals who pay only Shs.100 per minute. The telecenter is also a multipurpose facility where Non Government Organizations (NGOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) can come and do printing, typing and use the Internet. Qn: Are the rates affordable even if you say the locals are subsidised? We are trying to make it affordable and sustainable, the speed is quite fast with a broadband of 128 KB per second, which I believe is fast enough to keep the customer inflow steady and constant.The local community has a bit of money since they benefit from tourists as some are involved in odd jobs at the Bwindi camp and others from Community Based Organisations that get a percentage portion from UWA from the tourist fees. Qn: Where will you replicate this model? Is it in your vision? We are going to replicate the model in other national parks in Uganda and later in Africa. It is a successful, sustainable model strategy started by local people and it has the potential to spread out and benefit the local communities, tourists, and institutions. Our vision is to prevent and control disease transmission where wildlife, people and their animals meet while cultivating a winning attitude to wildlife conservation and public health in local communities. Qn: What challenges are you facing? We have technology problems and power limitations. There is no electricity here. We use solar power, which requires constant supply of sunlight, and the climate here as you see near the impenetrable forest does not allow that. For a telecenter like this to be run we need a lot of solar panels to run the infrastructure, which we do not have. We also rely on satellite communications.Another challenge is the community, the poorest people in Uganda live next to remote protected areas and they are mostly illiterate and poor. Most of the software and information on the Internet is in English and people cannot speak the language. 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Web Site: www.gatewaycomms.com; * NIGERIAN GOVT TO SELL NITEL WITHOUT SAT-3 ASSET Controversy surrounding the ownership of SAT-3 has been put to rest as federal government has resolved to separate SAT-3 from Nigerian Telecommunication Limited (NITEL). Communication Minister, Chief Cornelus Adebayo said federal government has started the process of selling the national asset.SAT 3 submarine cable project The SAT 3 cable project connects Africa with Europe and is a major revenue earner for NITEL NITEL spent some $45 million about N5.9 billion in 2002 to co-own the facility which runs through the Atlantic Ocean linking countries along the route. He said this became necessary in view of the privatization of NITEL which according to him could be bought by anybody, and that as SAT-3 is crucial tool for Information and Communication Technology development government believe it should be held in the hand which can guarantee competitive cost. The Minister stated this over the weekend in Lagos during the launch of Omatek Computers Desktop and Notebook using Intel mother Boards and Citrix banking solution. Chief Adebayo noted that the decision to sale SAT-3 outside NITEL is in cognizance of the need to make the facility available. "It is also in protection of the interest of Nigeria that we are doing this, because as NITEL is been sold in open market, it can be bought by anybody," he said.On the fear that the separation of SAT-3 from NITEL could discourage bidders for the First National Carrier, Chief Adebayo said there is more in NITEL than SAT-3. (SOURCE: Daily Champion) ADVERTISEMENT: Want a Leading Provider of Solutions and Services, Visit www.sky2net.net * TV CABO LAUNCHES ANGOLAN CABLE OP IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ANGOLA TELECOM AND VISABEIRA GROUP TV Cabo, the joint venture between fixed-line incumbent Angola Telecom and the Visabeira group, has announced that it will launch a new digital cable television (CATV) service in October 2005, according to the Xinhua news agency. Angola Telecom launched a CATV service in late 2003 and has some 500 subscribers. The new service will offer some 85 television channels and 25 music channels, mostly broadcasting Lusophone Portuguese and Brazilian content. The digital CATV service will also offer a broadband internet service, according to TV Cabo, providing alternative broadband to the ADSL and fixed wireless available in Luanda (the capital). In Mozambique, another former Portuguese colony, fixed-line operator Telecomunicações de Moçambique (TdM) also launched cable television and broadband internet services in Maputo in October 2001 through its joint venture, also called TV Cabo.
* MILLICOM LAUNCHES CHAD NETWORK WITH GPRS/EDGE CAPABILITY
According to MIC helmsman Marc Beuls, despite widespread poverty in the country, Chad has the demographics to make an appealing market. ‘Chad has a fast-growing population of 8.3 million people with almost 67% of the population below the age of 25 and a mobile penetration of less than 2%. Millicom Chad will compete with Celtel Chad, the country’s only other wireless operator following the July 2004 closure of Tchad Mobile’s network. The country's oil wealth is likely to become a draw for external investors, * NIGERIA'S SUBURBAN PICKS ATC AND HUAWEI TO BUILD 3500 KMS FIBRE NETWORK Suburban Telecom Limited, a provider of telecommunications carrier services in Nigeria has signed a multi-million dollar contract with Huawei Technologies of China for the supply of Suburban's national optic backbone networking solutions, equipment and services.Suburban has also appointed ATC Pty Limited of South Africa to supply it with 3,500 kilometres of optic fibre cable and accessories. The corrugated steel tape armoured optical fibre cable is designed for long haul direct burial applications and is meant to protect the optical fibres from any harmful environmental effects. A statement by Ms. Ijeoma Nwogwugwu, General Manager Communications Suburban Telecom Limited also pointed out that the company is in the process of constructing and deploying a nationwide fibre optic network under a three-phased approach that will see priority links connecting major cities, secondary population centres in between and extensions to include other cities. Under the first phase of the project to be executed by Huawei the cities to be covered are Lagos, Ibadan, Abuja, Kano, Kaduna, Benin, Makurdi, Enugu, Onitsha and Port Harcourt.Huawei will be required to implement a backbone networking solution that will enhance Suburban's existing network infrastructure, increase its services portfolio and integrate the services and capabilities offered by the DWDM and SDH systems. The multi-service optical network will enable Suburban provide enhanced transmission capacity capable of carrying voice, video and data services for GSM operators, fixed line and wireless operators, large corporate businesses with multiple branch networks and other enterprises. Suburban intends to integrate the fibre backbone with its Network Management System (NMS), which will include a customer interface. The NMS will also monitor, configure and operate the network and each of the network elements. Huawei was selected following a competitive tender that saw the Chinese firm emerge with the best backbone optical networking solution for the deployment of Suburban's nationwide fibre optic network in the country. The Chinese firm has established itself as a global player in the telecommunications industry and is renowned for developing innovative customised solutions for telecom companies in developing environments. Since the introduction of GSM telephony in the Nigerian market, Huawei has won and successfully implemented several and diverse telecommunication projects for operators in the sector.Suburban Telecom selected Huawei for the execution of its fibre optic network, not only for its track record, but also for its speed in deployment and cost effectiveness. Suburban was licensed as long distance national carrier by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in 2001. Ever since the firm commenced operations, it has constructed a highly regarded satellite-based transmission network providing wholesale transport services to telecom operators in the country. Its clientele base includes all the GSM operators in Nigeria, fixed wireless carriers and PTOs. * TOGO CELLULAIRE TO INVEST 13M EUROS IN GPRS/EDGE NETWORK Last week Togo Cellulaire announced that it would spend 13 million euros to expand and upgrade its GSM network across the country. The contract went to Alcatel Shanghai Bell. Under the terms of the contract, Alcatel will provide Togo Cellulaire with its GSM/GPRS/EDGE solution, including Base Transceiver Station (BTS), Base Station Controller (BSC), Mobile Services Switching Center (MSC) as well as Microwave Transmission equipments. The solution will enable Togo Cellulaire to meet the growing demand by increasing the network capacity from 400,000 to 500,000 subscribers and extending the network coverage to remote areas of the country. In addition, Togo Cellulaire will be able to offer users additional services such as Internet access and Personal Ring Back Tone by upgrading the network with GPRS. The project is expected to be completed by mid 2006. Togo Cellulaire, established in 1998, is the state owned mobile operator in Togo, Africa. It covers 90% mobile network of the country with 300 000 subscribers capacity. * SOUTH AFRICA'S ITEC TELECOMS SIGNS UP WITH TRANSTEL Recently launched Itec Telecoms is to provide its customers with corporate telecommunication solutions thanks to a commercial relationship with Transtel, the company says.The relationship will empower Itec with a range of enterprise telephony solutions catering for IP systems, call centre, least-cost routing and digital handset functionality and requirements, Itec Telecoms says. “This means we will be offering companies a scale-up solution, where we will be scaling up their private branch exchange solution as the company grows, instead of them throwing out their solutions every time they expand,” says Itec Telecoms COO Shaka Sisulu.Using Transtel's procurement influence, Itec Telecoms is able to obtain products at a competitive price, while customers save on voice and data services over corporate networks, he says. SOURCE * IN BRIEF - Kenya Data Networks (KDN) has contracted Siemens to supply fibre optic equipment for its planned 1,140km network. The new network is expected to be the largest of its kind in the country, and KDN hopes to have completed it by the end of 2006. KDN launched services in July 2003, offering leased line, frame relay and IP data services. - Harris Corporation, wireless equipment and services, last week announced that it has been selected by MTN Nigeria to provide microwave radios that will increase the capacity of the existing network—Y’hello Bahn—by 75 percent. Orders of $4.1 million have been received for MegaStar® 155 PX microwave radios that will augment what is already the largest wireless network backbone in Nigeria. Harris was tapped by MTN in 2004 to supply, design and implement the original Y’hello Bahn high-capacity GSM backbone, which today spans more than 4,500 kilometers and traverses more than 120 towns and villages. Under the new expansion, Harris Microwave Communications Division will supply its MegaStar 155 PX radios to augment the Harris MegaStar radios already in use for the Y'hello Bahn backbone. A key requirement of the new agreement is to counteract the difficult propagation conditions in various regions of Nigeria, such as wide variability related to temperature,humidity, geography and vegetation. - Mobile services provider Vodacom and electronics group Reunert (RLO) on Thursday confirmed that a long-term and far-reaching agreement has been signed whereby Reunert's wholly-owned subsidiary, Nashua Mobile, will be a preferred Independent Service Provider to the Vodacom network for at least the next five years - with an option of a further 5 years - at "highly satisfactory" terms for both parties. The signing of this agreement follows the recent announcement by Vodacom and Altech of a similar agreement with Autopage cellular, a move which clearly signals Vodacom's intended strategy with regards to Independent Service Provision on its network. - The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and Programme Against Trafficking in West Africa (PATWA) have donated V-SAT and equipment worth N3.9 million to the National Agency for the prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) to boost its activities in Nigeria. ADVERTISEMENT: IBASIS, THE GLOBAL VOIP COMPANY For each of the last four years, carriers have ranked iBasis as the best international wholesale carrier in the Atlantic-ACM survey. iBasis offers high quality of service and competitive rates for worldwide VoIP: … Leverage low rates for your origination traffic via The iBasis Network … Increase revenue with access to high volume of traffic 20 million minutes per day!
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card business - Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom has launched an automated airtime top-up service enabling debit and credit card users to top up their accounts from their handsets. The new service has been developed in partnership with global mobile commerce solutions company PAYM8, and Safaricom hopes to expand the service to enable users to pay for utility bills directly over their mobiles. - LiberCell, the biggest mobile phone in area coverage in Liberia, has expanded its services to the City of Robertsport in Grand Cape Mount County. Robertsport is now the 12th major city and headquarters linked through mobile phone by LiberCell since beginning its operations nearly two years. LiberCell has linked Montserrado, LAC and Buchanan in Grand Bassa County; Kakata, Totota, Robertfield, and Harbel in Margibi, Gbarnga and Bong counties respectively, as well as Voinjama in Lofa County and Tubmanburg in Bomi County. - Last Saturday Ghana Telecom increased its telephone tariffs. It reduced its landline to mobile charges to ¢1,400, with calls to UK and Germany coming down to ¢2,800 per minute. It is offering free midnight calls as a promotional offer. The new rates for local and trunk calls were however given without an indication whether they had been reduced or increased. But clearly, in reality, GT had increased its local and trunk call charges from ¢150 and ¢200 respectively to ¢500, constituting increases of 233% and 150% respectively! - Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency (RURA) is set to regulate charges to enable the less privileged members of society to access the communication services. According to the Director General of RURA Dr. Faustin Ntezilyayo, the initiative, to be supported by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will set modalities where economic and interconnection of the telecommunication network would be rational.During a presentation to the gathering at the Kigali Institute of Science, Techno logy and Management (KIST), ITU Consultant and Telecommunication Manager, Abosee Akue-Kpakpo, noted that traffic sales for Telecommunication in urban areas are exclusively for the network of the operator."There must be proper coordination between regulatory agencies and telecommunication sole proprietors to set charges that are convenient to the local majority whose income and access to such a service are limited," Akue-Kpakpo noted. - Ghana’s largest cellco Spacefon Areeba (formerly Scancom) boasts of now offering the lowest call rates in the country after upping its pre-paid card call time by 20%. Areeba’s lowest call rates now work out at around GHC1,000 (USD0.11) per minute off peak and GHC1,500 (USD0.17) at peak times, with tariffs as low as GHC500 (USD0.6) for ‘friends and family’ numbers. The cellco also increased the validity period on all cards by between 30 and 70 days. - Telkom Kenya yesterday raised cost of local telephone calls by 16 per cent. In the new tariff structure that comes into effect on November 1, local calls will cost Sh10 per three minutes up from Sh8.60 In a bid to promote trade and communication within the East African Community, the cost of calls to Uganda and Tanzania went down by 25 per cent. Callers to the two countries will now pay Sh30 per minute down from the previous Sh40. Managing Director Sammy Kirui said the high cost of local calls had been justified by current charges that had been subsidised by high cost of international and regional calls. Charges on international calls remained unchanged though the company introduced new service; VoIP calling that offers an alternative calling option that is cheaper. Also unchanged were installation charges that remained Sh2,300 for post-paid and prepaid accounts.The monthly access charge remained at Sh500 for post-paid accounts, while deposit remained at Sh2,300 for post-paid accounts with no deposit required for prepaid accounts. However, pre-paid service users will be required to spend at least Sh500 per month in an effort to encourage them to recharge their accounts. "The tariffs have therefore been maintained at 90 US cents (Sh66) at peak time and 64 US cents (Sh47) to any part of the world though for prepaid accounts, 16 per cent VAT will be added on these charges," he said. "The Introduced international VoIP tariffs range from as low as Sh15 per minute to Sh30. - Some value-added network services (Vans) have received their 087 voice over Internet Protocol (Voip) numbers from the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa), but they are not sure if it solves the interconnect question. According to an Icasa source, about 10 Vans were given approval late last week to use various number ranges within the 087 national dialling code. Among those given approval were UUNet, Internet Solutions and DataPro."The packages of numbers ranged in blocks of 1 000 and 10 000," the Icasa source says. Elia Tsouros, UUNet executive for business development, says his company was awarded three blocks of 10 000 numbers in the 087 740, 741 and 742 ranges. 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- Web Site:www.sky-vision.net * GHANA INTERNET EXCHANGE FORMALLY LAUNCHED WITH PROMISE OF LOWER LATENCY As Ghana Internet Exchange formall started operations it promised to create lower costs and latency times through local exchange of traffic. In Ghana, the cost of Internet bandwidth and connectivity is high compared to the rest of the competitive world. In one sense, the cost of sending a local destined email is equal to the cost of sending an internationally destined email. To overcome this anomaly, the GISPA Director, Leslie Tamakloe said connecting to a local or national exchange, in this case GIX, ensures that the cost of sending a locally destined email is at a lower cost. He disclosed that with the offsetting of the local traffic to the exchange point, the upgrading of International links of operators could be postponed for an additional period, thereby translating to savings on the International link capacity. "These savings can further be extended to the operators' customers." With the GIX being operational, he estimated that web servers and mail servers would be the first value-added services to take off within Ghana. "ISPs will be able to offer web hosting with more reliability and greater connection speeds, and will also be able to offer "Ghanaian" email accounts". Tamakloie noted that GIX would create an opening for entrepreneurial co-location facilities to pop up. It is feasible that these facilities could not only host local, Ghanaian content in their premises, but could also offer competitive rates for West Africa in general. Ghana can become the "hub" of West African Internet content. During the launch of the exchange, the Minister of Communications, Hon. Albert Kan Dapaah, announced government's robust network infrastructure, the national fibre backbone, saying that the first phase consists of closing the southern fibre optic loop covering Tema, Takoradi, Obuasi and Kumasi.The second phase however, consists of linking the southern loop with the north with the support of Cisco.He said e-government programme was being built to link all ministries, departments and agencies. The GIX is run and operated by the Ghana Internet exchange Association (GIXA), an independent non-profit corporation establish by the Ghana Internet Service Providers Association (GISPA) and other stakeholders interested in joining and growing the GIX. While the GIX is a facility (router and switch) housed at the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence, the GIXA comprises the community of operators (ISPs and Network Operators) who are connected and owners. (SOURCE: The Ghanaian Chronicle) ADVERTISEMENT: See Our Vision at www.sky2net.net - for services using state of the art technology. * TELKOM SA'S ADSL TAKEN TO ICASA AGAIN Cape-based Internet service provider (ISP) DOTCO has petitioned the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) to stop Telkom from implementing its new ADSL pricing structure from 1 November. DOTCO claims it was the first ISP in the country to offer unlimited ADSL bandwidth in February, which Telkom asked it to change to a maximum of 30GB in March. A Telkom spokesperson has denied that it has allowed any ISP to offer a 30GB service. “It appears as if Telkom is intent on using this per-gigabyte-based billing model as an instrument to pass on a radical cost increase to its resellers while bypassing the regulatory approval procedures for increases,” says Johan Ferreira, DOTCO MD.Ferreira also complains that Telkom's new pricing structure, which includes ‘hard caps', would prejudice ADSL resellers, while its own retail operation can continue to offer ‘soft cap' services. A hard cap is when a service is cut off immediately once the bandwidth limit is reached. A soft cap means that only international roaming is stopped once the limit is reached. Telkom's new pricing is based on per-gigabyte usage for those ISP wholesalers that do their own provisioning and authentication, as opposed to the current fixed amount for a “fixed cap” or an agreed maximum usage over a month.Ferreira says the move effectively marginalises smaller, independent ISPs that have been promoting, marketing, selling and self-regulating or authenticating Telkom's 30GB ADSL service. “The new structure forces self-authenticating ISPs to ‘hard cap' or strictly limit usage to clients.” He says Telkom has made no such assertion on its own resale operations, creating a significant advantage for the organisation and an incentive for end-users to switch to the Telkom Internet service or services provided by Telkom-authenticated service providers.Victor Strydom, Telkom product specialist for product development, says: “I categorically deny that we have ever signed a contract with any ISP to resell a 30GB ADSL service.” Strydom reports to Telkom executive for product development Steven White. He says Telkom only offered two, three and four gigabyte options for resale, with the two and four options being unshaped hard cap services, while the 3GB service was optimised for Internet roaming and had a soft cap.
“On the 3GB service a user could use up to 30GB, before being stopped. That is how I think the ISPs packaged it,” Strydom says.
SOURCE * FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT SIGNS PREPAID CARD AGREEMENT WITH GHANA POST Ghanaian ISP Fruit of the Spirit has signed a distribution agreement for its pre-paid cards with local newspaper, the Ghana Post. The cards, which would be available in all post offices in the country, would have 10 hours internet access for the web browsing at a low cost of ¢85,000.The card comes with a username, a password and a dialup 1504 access number from Ghana Telecom but all that a customer must do is to have a modem and a telephone line. The 1504 access number was sponsored by GT for all users of Web4Africa Internet prepaid cards. Customers will be charged 50% off their regular phone bill.Internet Prepaid cards have come about as a result of most people not getting access to internet services. The cards are targeted at travelers, people without credit, moderate users of the internet and for privacy. (SOURCE: Ghanaian Chronicle) * UUNET LAUNCHES FOUR NEW POPS IN NAMIBIA Internet Services Provider (ISP) UUNET is planning to increase its presence in Namibia. In 1996, UUNET sold its dial-up service to Africa Online and remained with the lease-line business. Today, UUNET says its has captured 50% of the corporate market and recently installed four new Points of Presence (PoPs) in the country. Dirk de Jongh, sales manager for UUNET Africa, told the Economist in an interview that with deregulation in Namibia and South Africa, the ISP is "sharpening its pencil" in an effort to operate smoothly in a deregulated environmental. De Jongh said Namibian customers using UUNET infrastructure have the advantage being serviced by UUNET's modern infrastructure in South Africa as well as those of its global parent company MCI. According to de Jongh, UUNET has the most expensive and fastest Internet Protocol (IP) in the world. UUNET says its has built a rigorously engineered network to ensure information is moved effectively and securely throughout South Africa and around the world. The ISP says its advanced Network Management Systems and Network Operation Centres (NOCs) pro-actively monitor and maintain its network. With PoP networks already in existence in Oshakati, Tsumeb, Otjiwarongo, Windhoek, Walvis Bay, Lüderitz and Keetmanshoop, new PoP's have now been installed in the regions of Swakopmund, Rundu, Katima Mulilo and Rosh Pinah. "We are also currently evaluating the establishment of additional PoPs in Gobabis, Mariental, Okahandja and Ondangwa", said de Jongh. He said the network services will provide customers with greater savings within the areas where the PoP networks have been installed because customers will now connect to the closest UUNET PoP, which reduces the local loop charges that are distance dependant. With the Namibian communication market expected to be deregulated soon, de Jongh said UUNET wants to make a difference in Namibia. He was referring to plans by the ISP to have a new equity structure at UUNET Namibia whereby black empowerment partners will be brought on board. At the moment, UUNET is waiting for the finalisation of the new communications law in the country. The ISP has already brought in black partners in South Africa. De Jongh praised Namibia's telecommunications as being well developed and of a standard that is not available in most African countries. He said the deregulation of the Namibian market will reduce pricing and allow ISP's like UUNET to offer services which are currently monopolised by Telecom Namibia. UUNET is interested in entering the satellite market once that market is liberalised. De Jongh said deregulation is good but added that it should not be done just for the sake of it. Commenting on the image of UUNET whose former mother company WorldCom went bust a few years ago, he said the new company, MCI, was doing fine and said the merger with Horizon this week showed the confidence that investors have in the company. According to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) latest figures, Internet usage in Namibia has increased by 150% to 75000 users since 2000. De Jongh said the growth in Internet usage provided opportunities for ISP's like UUNET. (SOURCE: The Namibia Economist) ADVERTISEMENT: AFRICA ONLINE – CONNECTING AFRICA Africa Online is the largest Pan-African Internet Service Provider in Africa. We have offices in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. We are also able to provide you with services through our partners and affiliates in Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia. As a premium Internet Service Provider, we specialize in Internet and Internet related services, electronic transaction switching services and corporate IT solutions and services.
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* CAMEROON: CUSTOMS OPERATIONS COMPUTERISED TO CUT COST A trial computerised system known as Automated System for Customs Data, ASYCUDA, which aims to speed up customs clearance operations and reduce cost to the benefit of both businesspeople and the state, was launched on Monday, October 17, at the Southwest Customs head office in Bota and the SONARA Customs Unit. The evaluation of goods either for export or import in order to determine the amount of duties by businesspeople, has since 1984 been handled manually following a system known as PAGODE."Most of our clearance procedures have been manual, often subjected to various errors, hence very unreliable," the Director of Customs, Antoine Manga Mesina, said during the launching ceremony of the new system. He added that the old system had become obsolete and could no longer meet up with the technological demands of the time. "ASYCUDA is directed at reforming the customs clearance process. It aims at speeding up clearance procedures through the introduction of computerisation and simplification of procedures...thus minimising cost to the business community and the Cameroon economy." Unlike the old system, ASYCUDA is such that all entries during the evaluation of goods go through a networked computerised system from start to finish.The Director said businesspeople would spend less time to have their merchandised assessed through this system. This will go a long way to save cost, increase customs revenue and accelerate the entire economic life of the country. He, however, said this system was only on trial in six customs units across the country, with two sites in the Southwest.The customs units at the Nsimalen Airport, Youpwe in Douala, Garoua, Ngaoundere and Kouseri in the Far North were named as the other trial units. The Director said an evaluation of these six trial sites will be done by the end of the year, and any positive results would guarantee the extension of the system to the rest of the customs service across the country. As to the choice of the Southwest, the Director said the Southwest accounts for six percent of the total national customs revenue, and that SONARA unit alone accounts for 95 percent of the total customs receipts from the Southwest. (SOURCE: The Post) * FAILURE RATES LOWER ON LOCALLY ASSEMBLED HP DESKTOPS With confidence returning to the South African IT market, driven to a huge degree by the strengthening of the Rand against the Dollar in the first quarter of this year, the mantra of 'local is lekker' is finding credence again. "Despite that change in sentiment however, the South African market is still heavily centered on the importation of internationally-assembled hardware and packaged software solutions," says Sophia Evans, PSG product manager at Tarsus Technologies. "Most corporates would be surprised to hear, however, that local assembly plants and HP's in particular, are producing more reliable products than those that are imported," she says."This means that apart from offering valuable cost reductions to users, the units originating from this local assembly plant are less prone to the reliability issues that similarly kitted-out and assembled imported units are. These facts offer a strong incentive for local buyers to support local skills and efforts," Evans says. Thibault Dousson, category country manager for HP South Africa concurs with Evans's sentiments. "I can confirm that the locally assembled HP DX6100 and DX2000 desktop computers produced at our local assembly plant have a failure rate that is between one and two percentage points lower than that of imported units," he says. What contributes to this reliability, Dousson says, is the fact that the locally assembled PCs are not subjected to the same type of handling that imported units undergo in the shipping process. " "Combine this with the lower price of these locally assembled units, and customers have a stronger than ever incentive to invest in locally produced solutions," he says.Dousson adds that while this information still needs proliferation into the market, a fair amount of this good news has already made its way into the minds of decision makers. "Our local assembly operation was started in 2002 and since then, has experienced in the region of a 25% year-on-year growth, producing 57 000 units in 2003, 72 000 units in 2004 and showing a strong indication that we may exceed 100 000 units by the end of 2005."He says that the local assembly plant is currently geared up to produce anywhere between 8 000 and 10 000 units per month, a feat already achieved in April 2004, when the facility successfully produced 11 000 units. "We're currently moving in the region of 8 000 locally assembled machines into the South African channel, a figure which places us in a comfortable enough position to gear up to our maximum load of 10 000, should a large order be placed," Dousson says.Besides the lower price points and higher level of reliability, Dousson says that one of the biggest benefits brought to the South African market by the local assembly facility is the fact that it is able to 'build to order'. "Because the computers leaving the facility are built to specification, customers have the ability to state exactly which components they require. As this does not entail importing those models and then re-tooling them, we can deliver and cater to the exact needs of any customer and deliver within 72 hours," he concludes. * SWEDEN TO BACK OPEN SOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN ZAMBIA The Swedish government has pledged to support the development of Open Source software through training and capacity building programmes writes News Update's Zambian correspondent Timothy Kasolo. This was said at an Open Source Conference organized by International Technology in Africa Business (ITAB) conference that was held in Lusaka last week. Swedish Ambassador to Zambia, Irene Hinrichsen explained that the Swedish government was keen to support the development of Open Sourece in Zambia. She explained that said principles such as open standards and the spirit of spreading information which are embodied in movements such as open source software can reinforce a virtuous circle of learning and sharing information. And Transport and Communications Minister Abel Chambeshi explained that the Open Source Software (OSS) is materializing in developing countries like Zambia and it should a recommended alternative to proprietary software for use in community access projects. He added that OSS technology is not being fully utilised in the Southern African region although it offers a number of opportunities that could easily be adopted by market players. He explained that the popularity of OSS technology is based on it cost reduction, because it is available without license costs. Chambeshi noted that the implementation of OSS technology will contribute to the growth of the economy in Zambia.The Open Source Movement is an offshoot of the Free Software movement that advocates open source software as an alternative label for free software. * THE NALEDI3D FACTORY DEVELOPS THE "INTERACTIVE 3D LEARNING OBJECT" The Naledi3d Factory, based at the new Innovation Hub in Pretoria, is working on a new education and training paradigm. They have combined the concepts of Virtual Reality (VR) and Learning Objects to create the unique “Interactive 3D Learning Object”, writes Naledi's David Lockwood. Learning Objects are a powerful way to build learning material that can be adapted or re-used in many ways; VR is an interactive visual way of showing learning concepts – and in a way that is much closer to how the human brain works. When combined, the two form a powerful way of building learning material that is not only engaging, but also, because the material is visual in nature, totally overcomes two traditional barriers to learning in Africa – literacy and language. Interactive 3D Learning Objects convey a specific item of knowledge which can be reused in different ways and learning contexts. One of the most interesting and important features of the evolving Interactive 3d learning object is the ability for end-users to swap the language elements (text, audio and video) to suit local conditions – what is termed “localisation”. The Naledi3d Factory has devised a way of changing these elements without the need for the original VR authoring tool. The Naledi3d Factory is hosting a workshop at the end of November to transfer the “localisation” skills to educational specialists from Ethiopia, Mozambique Senegal, Sudan, Uganda and Zimbabwe; in what will become an informal pan-African network through which future Interactive 3d Learning Objects can be localised and distributed continent wide. This work was recently recognised by the African ICT Achievers Awards process, where the Naledi3d Factory is one of three finalists in the category “Most Innovative ICT Company in Africa * IN BRIEF - EAHP in Tanzania are developing a new educational software for use by teachers / people in education in Tanzania. Details will soon be available at http://www.mwalimu.co.tz
- The Federal Government said last week that about N1billion ($2.95 million) has been spent on the procurement of software and accessories for the ASSYCUDA machine which would be used to facilitate clearing and trade at the nation's ports as part of the on-going reforms.Making this disclosure last week in Abuja at the Stakeholders' Sensitisation Workshop on ASSYCUDA and Destination Inspection, Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Jacob Gyang Buba said the software was developed and sold by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) which will carry the training programme for the officers of the NCS.
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* SOUTH AFRICA MTN SAYS TO AGREES US$2 BLN IRAN DEAL African cell phone operator MTN has agreed to take a stake in a $2 billion project to run Iran's second mobile firm which would give it a long-awaited foothold in the Middle East, it said on Thursday. But Iran said the hotly-contested deal had not been finalised and that only a court ruling would determine for sure whether MTN had muscled out rival Turkcell. Analysts say Iran is a make-or-break deal for MTN, which has been scouring Africa and the Middle East for opportunities to expand its customer base beyond its key markets of South Africa and Nigeria, which are maturing fast. Shares in MTN shot up as much as 6 percent, outperforming a firmer Johannesburg top-40 index, and were still trading up 2.7 percent by 1007 GMT. Shares in Turkcell gained 3 percent."On the face of it Iran is an awesome opportunity that will diversify their portfolio," said one South African fund manager, who manages a significant stake in MTN. "But we need clarity on the terms of the deal and on whether it is definitely going ahead -- and these issues should temper enthusiasm."MTN said in a statement it had concluded agreements with Irancell shareholders to take a 49 percent stake in the Iranian company, and had provided a 300 million euro ($358.4 million) payment guarantee towards a GSM licence. The contract to act as foreign operator in the Irancell consortium for Iran's second mobile licence was originally awarded to Turkcell but Iran's telecommunications ministry and the domestic Irancell partners fell out with the Turkish firm over payment of a licence fee and started talks with MTN.Turkcell began court action on Oct. 16 to try to regain its Irancell stake and the outcome is viewed by foreign investors as a litmus test of investment risk in the Islamic republic.Iran's telecommunications ministry said a final announcement would not be made until the court rules on Turkcell's complaint."The ministry has not announced it yet. The court procedure with Turkcell is still going on," a ministry spokesman, who declined to be named, said in Tehran. Turkcell said the MTN statement carried "no news.""They've been saying this for some time... The key thing is the court decision," said Irfan Unver, Turkcell's representative in Iran.Unver said he expected the court to rule in around 10 days on Turkcell's complaint that the ministry had broken the terms of the original tender by allowing Irancell to be formed without specifying the foreign operator and then negotiating with MTN. Analysts say winning the Iran deal would give MTN access to a market with major growth potential and position it well for future expansion in the Middle East. But failure to clinch to licence may force it to scale back its global ambitions and return some of its growing cash pile to shareholders. One analyst said last week a deal in Iran would prompt some brokers to raise their ratings on the stock, which some say is starting to look pricey compared to sector peers.But investors warned that even if MTN did win, the terms of the deal were still unclear and the investment case depended on what percentage of revenue MTN agreed to pay the government, and what portion of capital expenditure it would have to provide."Simplistically it is a positive deal, but we need more details on the revenue terms and on who is responsible for capex," said Gavin Joubert, portfolio manager at Coronation Fund Managers.
SOURCE: * GOVERNMENT HANDS OVER RWANDATEL TO TERRACOM The Rwandan government on October 14th 2005, officially signed the transfer of her 99% Rwandatel shares to TERRACOM, an American based IT and communications provider that bought the former state-owned telecommunications giant for US$ 20 million in a privatization transaction June 16th, this year.During the official handover ceremony organized by the Privatization Secretariat, the government Portfolio Manager Mrs. Nina Uwabera Ntwali handed over the 99% shares certificate to TERRACOM's Managing Director, Garry Clark. The function took place at the boardroom of the Ministry of Economic Planning (ex-MINIPLAN Building). (SOURCE: The New Times) * WILL MTN SPEND ITS SPARE US$2,6BN ALL IN ONE PLACE? A report from Merrill Lynch saying that MTN could muster about $2,6bn to invest in growth opportunities is quite staggering. But what is even more staggering is exactly how much each acquisition or new cellular licence actually costs these days. Recent deals have seen operators in developed countries pay $1683 for each subscriber obtained through acquisitions. In emerging markets, the figure is $490 a subscriber, but that is still a lot of money for a customer who may spend only a few dollars a month on phone calls.What has fuelled the spiralling prices is the success of the cellular networks in Africa. That has kindled the interest of Middle Eastern operators with deep pockets and access to capital at far more reasonable rates than their South African counterparts. "The presence of these operators as bidders for scarce telecoms assets in Africa has resulted in higher multiples being paid," says Merrill Lynch. That saw MTN outbid for the pan-African operator Celtel by Kuwait's MTC. The Kuwaitis paid $3,4bn for Celtel, massively outstripping MTN's bid of $2,6bn. Since that inadequate $2,6bn is exactly how much Merrill Lynch says MTN can afford to invest in new opportunities, it may struggle to acquire a ready-made network spanning several countries. MTN's $2,94bn bid for a licence in Saudi Arabia was also dwarfed by cash-flush Arabs, with Etisalat offering $3,25bn. So how can MTN keep growing revenue and profit? Its executives believe they can achieve them through single acquisitions, rather than buying a pan-African player. That led to acquisitions in Côte d'Ivoire and Zambia, which Merrill Lynch estimates to have cost $140m. The subscriber numbers it acquired are not exciting, but there are opportunities to grow the networks in both countries and tap into many more potential customers. Merrill Lynch believes there may be a chance to buy into pan-African players Millicom or Investcom. Those would be exciting multicountry moves, but if they do come up for grabs, the Middle Eastern players will also jump at the chance. MTN could also bid for a third licence in Egypt, where it would again face Arabian rivals. Failing that, it could make a play for Westel, which operates in Ghana. Whether MTN will grow piecemeal or through one big-bang acquisition is impossible to predict, but it must not allow the increased rivalry to derail it from its strategy of refusing to overpay for its assets. (SOURCE: Business Day) * IN BRIEF - Shares in South African investment firm Venfin shot up by more than two percentage points on the back of rumours that the company was planning to sell its 15% stake in mobile group Vodacom to fellow shareholder Vodafone of the UK. Vodafone currently holds 35% of Vodacom, whilst SA’s Telkom has a majority 50% investment. Vodafone and Venfin declined to comment on the speculation.
- Mobile phone maker Ericsson plans major investments in East Africa due to an emerging market in the region. “We have fully recovered from the telecommunication crisis. Our focus is on emerging markets like East Africa, which has become exciting after Nigeria in sub-Saharan Africa. The region has a fairly good investment climate and social stability,” Edvard Gavefalk, the company’s East African vice-president, told East African journalists in Stockholm this week. Gavefalk said the group was shifting emphasis to production of mobile phone technology, which is sold to other companies. However, he said poor infrastructure, low Gross Domestic Product and high poverty levels were a challenge to doing business in the region. Gavefalk called upon the East African governments to work with companies and improve infrastructure to ease transmission, communication and service delivery.
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* Issue 275: Bottom-of-the pyramid markets - the sub-USD100 laptop and the search for the holy grail Never trust a man who invents Swatch Internet Time. Negroponte is a notorious bandwagon jumper, whose "ideas" usually melt with the snow. The real story, in my opinion, can be found here: http://www.ndiyo.org/systems where an open source group are making a genuine, and well thought out, attempt to make a sub $100 thin client. They actually have a prototype, unlike Negroponte who has a press conference. This seems to me like it might a) happen and b) be reasonably important when it does. They are based in Cambridge, so you might care to check them out. Owen Kelly
Finland
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* UGANDA'S TRUE AFRICAN LAUNCHES MUSIC DOWNLOADS FOR US$1.2 PER SONG Ugandan producers will have one more avenue to make money from their efforts following the launch of Internet sales of their music. "We have compiled various artistes' songs on our website's music store which will sell for $1.2 (sh2238) each. The artistes will earn 30% of the gross sales upon purchase," Eric Kamau True African's managing director said. The kick-off of the campaign was also marked by the launch of True African's new and improved website with links to mobile, Internet banking and automated media monitoring. * MTN LAUNCHES BIGGEST FOOTBALL SITE EVER Africa's biggest football website, MTNfootball.com, went live on Friday, heralding yet another innovation for the continent's most popular sport from the largest mobile telecommunications company on the African continent. The website is dedicated to widespread coverage of the game on the continent, particularly the MTN Africa Cup of Nations and the MTN CAF African Champions League. It is the only Pan-African website of its kind and offers extensive coverage for fervent followers of the game. ADVERTISEMENT: Sky 2 Net LTD providing A-Z solution for Internet & VOIP via satellite (C-Band) that covers all Africa and Asia. The solutions including end-to-end Equipment of V-sat, wireless, VOIP, Bandwidth Management and Anti-Spam (outgoing). Sky 2 Net provide Internet and International call termination and generation for prepaid cards and regular operators.
- Web Site: www.sky2net.net
A list of all jury members and their countries of origin can be found at: The Domain Name System is divided up into a number of Top-Level Domains (TLDs), including generic domains like .com, .org, and .edu, and Country Code Top-Level Domains (ccTLDs) like .za for South Africa, .cm for Cameroon, and .ug for Uganda. ICANN designates who operates a particular ccTLD and sets general technical policies regarding ccTLDs. However, beyond the act of recognition, the ICANN role ends and decisions are made at the country level; ICANN does not have authority over the local policies or distribution of domain names within the ccTLD space. ICANN (or its predecessors in the early years of the Domain Name System) has assigned the responsibility to administer a particular ccTLD to a company, university, government agency or individual in the country that is technically competent to manage the system. (The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority maintains "Root-Zone Whois Information" that lists the sponsoring organization for the ccTLD of each country, including the administrative and technical contacts and URL for registration services; see http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld-whois.htm) Many experts make a strong case for why building an effective ccTLD registry should be a high priority for African countries that want to grow their Internet industry. If implemented effectively, a ccTLD is a valuable national resource that can give a local identity to websites on the Internet. And a well-run ccTLD institution that is sustained as part of a local market can also bring other benefits, such as providing a home for the local technical community to get trained and build businesses. However, there are a number of questions around the selection of the ccTLD managers, what should happen if things go wrong at the country level, and who decides when something has "gone wrong" that requires intervention. The bottom line is that capable and reliable institutions are needed to run the ccTLDs, and there must be mechanisms in place for dealing with disputes when they arise. This is the kind of scenario that can lead to problems... A ccTLD manager may have been picked long ago, for what seemed like good reasons at the time. But now the system has outgrown their capacity, and other capable actors apply to take their place (sometimes more than one). A dispute arises between the designated manager and the new applicants, and no one has the clear authority to resolve the matter because many governments have no rules about the management of the ccTLD resource. Because ICANN endeavors to work by consensus, this can mean the discussion goes on and on with no clear decision-making. Eventually ICANN faces numerous requests to reallocate the ccTLD registry. Everyone involved has a different view. The situation stalls and nothing happens. Even where governments do have policies for dealing with their ccTLD, some commentators worry that divergent national agendas could fracture the global network, so they call for agreed principles to help harmonize the system across countries. In Africa, the management of ccTLDs varies widely, from the highly-structured .za system in South Africa, to the .so domain of Somalia that at present is not operational. ICANN currently lacks the institutional competence to handle these kinds of issues. Setting up an international treaty organization to handle these kinds of matters has been proposed, but even if that goes forward it can be expected to take a long time to realize. In the meantime, ICANN needs sensible policies that can be followed that will lead to implementable decisions. And to be good at this ICANN must have local representation on its staff and in its committees to develop and review such policies and processes.
(SOURCE: CIPESA)
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* Kelvin Reynolds has resigned after just over two years as managing director and just under five months as vice-president within the organisation. * Greg Wyler, the American proprietor of TERRACOM (formerly incumbent telco Rwandatel) becomes the new Chairman of the Board of Directors, taking over from Prof. Silas Lwakabamba. Prof. Lwakabamba is the Rector of the Kigali Institute of Science, Technology and Management(KIST). * Mark James Lamberti (55), Deputy Chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of Massmart Holdings Limited and Norbert Claussen(45),Chief Executive Officer of Power Technologies Limited (Powertech are nominated at the Board of Altron.
* Congratulations to BusyInternet's Managing Director Estelle Akofio-Sowah who gave birth to a girl last week.
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- WSA Gala, 16 November 2005, Tunis, Tunisia The best 40 products selected by the WSA Jury are in eight categories and showcase the richness and diversity of new media production from around the world using all technical platforms from Internet to DVD.
A list of all jury members and their countries of origin can be found at: - 4th Nigeria Telecom Summit, 7-8 November 2005, Abuja, Nigeria Hosted Nigerian Communications Commission and the theme is "Consolidating growth in the telecom industry. The Summit is an annual event established as a forum for all stakeholders to reflect on the state of the industry and collectively chart a way forward for the achievement of the government’s objective of providing qualitative and affordable telecoms services to the Nigerian people. For further information contact galadima@ncc.gov.ng - APC-Africa-Women : Announcing Women's Electronic Network Training (WENT) Africa 2005 WENT Africa training workshops aim to build the capacities of women and their organisations in Africa to utilise new Information and Communication Technologies in social development work and policy advocacy. APC-Africa-Women held the first WENT Africa workshop in 2003 with a focus on the strategic use of ICTs . For further information see http://www.apcafricawomen.org - Workshop on Information and Knowledge Management, Arusha, Tanzania: 28th November – 2nd December 2005 The Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF)/ Tanzania Development Gateway (TzDG) and Advancing ICT Knowledge in Africa (AITEC) are organizing a regional training workshop on Information and Knowledge Management.
For further information email ikm@esrf.or.tz
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- STOCKHOLM CHALLENGE AWARD 2006 invites excellent ICT projects from all over the world to compete for the prestigious Challenge trophies. The Challenge is searching for the best initiatives that accelerate the use of information technology for the social and economic benefit of citizens and communities. The objective is to help local entrepreneurs, who work to close the digital divide, by bringing in research communities, development organisations and strong corporate initiatives.
THE AWARD IS OPEN FOR ENTRIES until December 31st 2005. The application
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