The countries below contain a historic archive of information on the state of the internet that is now three years old. For some countries, the information has remained largely the same whereas for others considerable change has occurred. However it can still be used to identify organisations involved in developing the internet and to understand the historic development of the Internet in Africa. For up-to-date (but "pay-for") information click here: There are special rates for students and universities. DOWNLOADS ZONE This is an area where you can download longer articles and reports of interest. These will be updated as new material becomes available. Download 1 (Word format, 875kb) This IDRC-supported research study looks at how complaints by African consumers in the telecoms and Internet sectors are dealt with and what input consumer organisations are able to make into policy for these sectors. It is based on a survey of 30 African countries and includes detailed case studies of Kenya, Senegal and South Africa. Download 2 Word document (255kb) This chapter from the ITU's Global Trends in Telecommunications Reform 2005 examines the market and regulatory implications of the shift to IP networks and outlines the different types of responses regulators are making to VoIP calling. Download 3 (pdf format, 310kb) Leslie Chan, Barbara Kirsop, Subbiah Arunachalam look at the use of Open Access archiving as a way of improving scientific capacity building. If you have updates or interesting material to add, please send it to info@balancingact-africa.com ALGERIA ANGOLA BENIN BOTSWANA BURKINA FASO BURUNDI CAMEROON CAPE VERDE CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CHAD COMOROS CONGO COTE D'IVOIRE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO DJIBOUTI EGYPT EQUATORIAL GUINEA ERITREA ETHIOPIA GABON GAMBIA GHANA GUINEA GUINEA-BISSAU KENYA LESOTHO LIBERIA LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA MADAGASCAR MALAWI MALI MAURITANIA MAURITIUS MOROCCO MOZAMBIQUE NAMIBIA NIGER NIGERIA REUNION RWANDA SAO TOME & PRINCIPE SENEGAL SEYCHELLES SIERRA LEONE SOMALIA SOUTH AFRICA SUDAN SWAZILAND TOGO TUNISIA UGANDA UNITED REP OF TANZANIA ZAMBIA ZIMBABWE

* The wireless application service provider, iTouch, says it has launched a Web-based messaging application called iMessenger Web. Says Greg Brophy, MD of iTouch SA: "iMessenger Web offers communication via SMS which is a cost-effective medium, and enhances communication, by enabling businesses to keep in touch with contacts at any time, anywhere." "For example, you can inform your customers what is owing on their account, by personalising each SMS like this: 'Dear John, please note that you owe R54,75. Kindly pay this by 4th July 2004. Regards ABC Inc.' The items shown in bold indicate which variables have been personalised for that recipient. These fields are automatically inserted into the SMS from the merged CSV spreadsheet. The mail merge capability enables bulk sending, where each SMS is personalised for more effective marketing," he says.

ISSUE NO 218 INTERNET NEWS

INDEX

GISPA NEGOTIATIONS: GHANA TELECOM RELUCTANTLY TRADES VERBAL BLOWS

Following last week's article on GISPA's negotiations, Ghana Telecom CEO Oysten Bjorge wrote to News Update to set the record straight on several matters. He felt reluctant to get involved in a battle of words with GISPA because its negotiations were still ongoing: "Unlike GISPA we have not in the past, and will not now or in the future negotiate with business partners through the media". Russell Southwood seeks to separate who's saying what in the arguments.

Bjorge was keen to provide the correct new prices for its Broadband 4U service which are as follows:

Broadband 4U Residential: USD95/month (256/64)
Broadband 4U Business: USD195/month (512/128)
Broadband 4U Business Plus: USD245 (1024/256)
Broadband 4U School: USD95 (1024/256)

According to Bjorge: "Internet Ghana has offered broadband (ADSL) services for the last 2 years. Their product offering and pricing is different from Broadband 4U. Please refer to their web site for further information. I believe your comparison will show that we are not undercutting the competition. When comparing product offerings you also need to distinguish between dial-up and ADSL".

As Bjorge observes, the Internet Ghana service does offer a different bandwidth. Generally lower:

DSL@Home: USD60/month (64 kbps burstable to 128 kbps)
DSL@Office: USD250 (Minimum 128 Kbps) Needs 2 year contract
DSL@School: Contact company for flexible payment plan.

Unless we're missing something, Ghana Telecom is offering more bandwidth at a lower price and that might reasonably be described as predatory pricing as it remains the sole supplier of international fibre capacity. In a country with a strong competition authority, this would surely be the basis for a review. If there is some misunderstanding here we are more than happy to correct it. (A broadly similar situation can be found in Kenya where Telkom is attempting to use broadband pricing to drive its ISP tormentors to the margins.)

On this issue Ghana Telecom says: "SAT3 is a consortium made up of some Telecommunications Companies in Africa, Asia and Europe. GT paid USD22m for its portion of the cables along the West African coast line.That portion therefore belongs to GT and not the Government of Ghana.GT would have to recoup this money and even pay for its quarterly maintenance".

"In Europe and USA, the over capacity in the transmission system has generated a price war. There are a lot of submarine cables which are not in use. It is therefore ridiculous for GISPA to use prices in that part of the world as a benchmark. The technology is now evolving in this part of our world with one cable spanning the countries that make up the consortium and ours. The same market forces can not therefore apply here. Europe and the USA have already recouped their investments and can afford to sell for a pittance (so called marginal pricing); we are yet to do so". The point about the Atlantic prices is well made but what does the absence of market forces mean?

Ghana Telecom has understandable fears about VoIP: "Their license linking them to the International Gateway is only for data. However some of the ISPs use the facility illegally for Voice Over Internet Protocol causing financial loss to GT. Since this is illegal, the service is not taxed allowing them to reduce the fees on the service they provide to their customers undercutting traffic from GT. This year alone GT has managed to block about 2000 of such illegal connections. We believe this is the sole basis, if any, of GISPAs frustrations." So why doesn't Ghana Telecom work with the NCA to provide wholesale VoIP services that can be regulated?

The company is absolutely on form ground when it points to the non-payment of bills by some of the companies involved: "The irony of this situation is that some members of GISPA are indebted to GT in billions of Cedis. GISPA is trying so hard to throw dust into the eyes of Ghanaians by insisting that GT uses the tax payers' money. In refusing to settle their indebtedness to GT, the GISPA members in question prevent GT from paying to the government, the right taxes. These taxes could be used by government for projects which will benefit the tax payer GISPA pretends to be protecting".There is no arguing with the fact that the African culture of non-payment of bills has to change if everyone is to prosper.

Ghana Telecom remains strangely silent about the "take-or-leave-it" pricing deal with a price that dares not speak its name until the ink is dry on the contract. To misqoute the American gangster movie, The Godfather, only in the telecommunications industry could someone make you an offer you can't understand.

KENYAN TRIBUNAL OVERTURNS INTERNATIONAL DATA MONOPOLY OPENING WAY FOR FASTLANE

The management of state-owned enterprises and regulatory bodies are run is likely to change following a precedent setting ruling by the Communications Appeals tribunal on Thursday. The tribunal chaired by retired Chief Justice Majid Cockar struck out the monopoly granted to Telkom Kenya to provide the Internet gateway to the country.

The Commission had argued that it was following guidelines set by the parent ministry, which gave Telkom Kenya exclusivity in the market but Cockar ruled that CCK was under no obligation to follow policy guidelines that go against the law.

The CCK, he said, has been acting against the provisions of the Kenya Communications Act 1998, which outlaws any form of monopoly or duopoly. The regulator had refused to licence Fast Lane Limited, a consortium of eight Internet Service Providers, which control about 90 per cent of the Kenyan market, from providing an alternative Internet backbone to compete with Telkom's Jambonet. The consortium had initially applied for a licence from the CCK on December 23, 2002 but CCK said in March this year that it was prohibited from doing so because the Internet Backbone Services was subject to an exclusivity clause granted to Telkom Kenya.

However, Fast Lane argued that there was no express provision in the Act for the granting of an exclusive licence to Telkom. In addition, Fast Lane argued that the CCK policy adopted the guidelines by the Minister for Transport and Communications contained in a Kenya Gazette notice, which ignored the statutory mandate of opening up the market. In the ruling, the tribunal said that the policy guidelines do not have any mandatory character. Theirs, Justice Cockar said, was only an advisory role.

"The directions given therein constituted strong recommendations but they did not constitute law. In that respect, any directions or recommendations made by it which contravened the law could have and ought to have been ignored."

Cockar said that there are other legal ways of keeping the national interest in sight without necessarily breaching the mandatory provisions of the Act. The ruling effectively means that CCK will have to issue licences to the ISPs. Should this happen in the near future, the cost of Internet services in the country is expected to come down. Meanwhile, Telkom has increased by up to 75 percent charges for Internet access effective this month.

(SOURCE: http://www.eastandard.net/intelligence/intel31070423.htm)

SA'S SENTECH STRUGGLES TO GET PRICE/BANDWIDTH USE RIGHT

Up to 30% of SA's internet users could eventually be surfing the web with Sentech if the state-owned signal carrier can overcome its technical hitches and relatively high prices to achieve that goal.

Its target to evolve from a tiddler into a major player in the internet industry poses serious challenges for Sentech, which is now introducing a range of measures to quell customer complaints about its MyWireless service.

MyWireless lets users connect a laptop or desktop computer to the internet by tapping into a wireless network that Sentech is rolling out across the country. MyWireless currently has about 2000 users, with a few thousand more waiting to sign up once wireless base stations are erected in their suburbs.

Since the entry-level MyWireless service costs R649 a month, its hopes of wooing 30% of SA's 3,5million internet users may prove unrealistic. Many internet users are price-sensitive, and many more are occasional surfers who do not need a fast or expensive connection.

A large proportion of SA users pay under R150 a month for internet access, plus the cost of their phone calls, while users of Telkom's high-speed service pay about R800 a month.

To cut its fees Sentech was exploring various ways to reduce its bandwidth costs, including juggling its use of cable and satellite transmissions, marketing executive Marcel Raath said.

MyWireless has had problems with sluggish performance statistics show that 6% of its 2000 users chew up 50% of its bandwidth. MyWireless works by sharing international bandwidth between its users, so the performance varies according to how many people are using the network simultaneously and what they are actually doing.

One user who downloaded music, movies and software while he worked online was eating up enough bandwidth for 10 people, said Raath.

Now Sentech is implementing better bandwidth management software, and will also crack down on the heaviest users. "We have to enforce a fair usage policy and we will ask people who are above the normal usage to bring it down because they are degrading the service for everyone," said Raath.

"If they don't want to go to a higher service that gives them more bandwidth we will have to cut them off," he said.

MyWireless users deny culpability for the sluggish service, and claim Sentech has created its own problems by its poor network management.

(SOURCE: Business Day)

GROUP SPECIALISING DOCUMENTATION VIA INTERNET PROSPECTING IN SENEGAL

The Groupe EBSCO Information Services based in France has been on a recent reconnaissance trip to Senegal to look at the possibility of opening an office there. This was revealed during a meeting at the Maison des Ecrivains «Keur Birago» held under the auspices of the Ministry of Education where EBSCO's Alain Pita met librarians, archivists and those responsible for communication. The group specialises in subscription-based electronic journals, the development of proprietary information databases and under licence, buying video and audio documents.

(SOURCE: Le Soleil)

LIRE EN FRANCAIS:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/french.html

SA TELKOM'S "ANTI-COMPETITIVE" BID FOR TISCALI CAUSES UPROAR

The Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA) - an industry body representing more than 82 local ISPs - has expressed its strong opposition to Telkom's bid to purchase Tiscali SA.

ISPA says it is joining a growing list of industry players voicing their concern on the potential impact on both the industry and consumers if Telkom's bid is accepted. The body says that the sale of Tiscali SA, rated as the fourth largest ISP in SA's dial-up market, with about 100 000 subscribers, is as a result of the Italian-owned group's re-focus on its core European markets.

Central to industry concerns, says ISPA, is the more than R400m which Telkom has allegedly bid for Tiscali. The body says that industry sources close to the bid believe that, if this is the case, Telkom could only have valued Tiscali at this inflated price by factoring future interconnect revenue into the valuation. It says that, in the absence of the SNO, Telkom's monopolistic position enables it to calculate the value of the revenue that it will derive from call minutes generated by Tiscali subscribers in the future.

Greg Massel, co-chairman, and Ant Brooks, management committee member for ISPA, say that this is potentially another anti-competitive ploy by Telkom, particularly against the background of the recent Competition Commission ruling, where Telkom was found to be engaging in prohibited practices. The impact of this, in the commission's own words, "has been to chill competition in the VANS market".

Says Massel: "It is no longer an industry secret that Telkom has been preparing for competition by consolidating its position in the fixed-line and VANS markets by entering into long-term contracts with its corporate customers. It is now targeting the residential market. The potential purchase of Tiscali would further cement its strategy by denying the SNO potential call minute and facility leasing revenue, thereby weakening the impact of much-needed competition in the fixed-line market." ISPA says globally, vertical integration by dominant players has had a detrimental effect on competition.

Brooks adds that the impact of Telkom owning multiple elements in the value chain was clearly seen in the way that Telkom rolled out ADSL. "It is worth noting that, in a report compiled for the Competition Commission by the UCT School of Economics, it is stated that 'the key position that Telkom holds as the only provider of lines to all these (VANS) operations, raises concerns over whether it is favouring its own companies in these markets.' "

"If Telkom does buy Tiscali, we will not be surprised if ISPA members start queuing at the doors of the Competition Tribunal. It is hoped that the authorities urgently take note of our grave concerns, and intervene while the opportunity exists," Brooks concludes.

(SOURCE: ICT World)

NEDBANK IN SWAZILAND LAUNCHES INTERNET BANKING SERVICES

Nedbank (Swaziland) Limited last week launched its Internet banking service, Netbank. This service allows Nedbank customers to make their transactions from the comfort and safety of their homes or offices.

Head of Retail and Marketing, Musa Ndabandaba, said all that is required to get clicking is to be a Nedbank account holder, and to visit any Nedbank branch, wherein customers will be required to complete a Netbank application form.

"Once the application form has been completed and duly signed by the authorised persons, it has to be submitted to the customers account relationship manager. A profile will then be allocated to the user or users. This process is applicable for both individual and corporate clients.

?We believe this is a major milestone for Nedbank and we want clients to take advantage of our special launch benefits such as free sign up, free balance enquiry, and free statements," he said.

Through signing up for Netbank, Nedbank clients can have access to among other things, Nedbank Inter Account Transfers on real time basis, local inter bank transfers, South African bank transfers, once off payment (pre-authorisation), investment/facility contract statements, statement and balance enquiry up to a year, statement downloads, customised accounts naming, maintaining beneficiaries and most importantly, 24 hours service.

(Source: The Times)

IN BRIEF

- eTranzact Zimbabwe, has launched what it claims is the first fully integrated and operational mobile phone and Internet payment system

- Auction site eBay has denied South African reports that a database of customer credit card numbers it maintains has been compromised by a Nigerian 419 syndicate.

- Tiscali has re-launched Tiscali Traveller, a global roaming service that provides Internet connectivity to South Africans travelling abroad at the cost of a local telephone call of the country the call is made in. The service will save globetrotters the hassle of using Internet cafés, which can prove to be time-consuming and expensive.

- The Postal Corporation of Kenya and SimbaNet/Africa 1 last week launched a partnership deal for the distribution of Africa 1 Internet cards through postal outlets. The Africa 1 roaming cards will enable clients to subscribe and renew their Internet service subscriptions without having to visit the ISP firm's offices. The cost of Internet access services have been gradually inching up. Last week, Africa 1 said its cards will be sold at a cost of Sh9,999, and will cover the whole year.

ADVERTISEMENT Need to know about the state of the internet in West Africa? The key issues in each country? Who are the ISP players? What number of subscriptions? The size and state of the international and domestic backbones? The number of cyber-cafes? The state of play with regulation? What content exists? The long awaited first part of Balancing Act's African Internet Country Market Profiles is now out and covers 22 countries in West Africa. It also contains a summary overview of the internet in these countries and a look at the coming legalisation of VoIP in West Africa: who will be the winners and losers? To see the contents: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profile1.html To order: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/publications.html You can now order direct from the web site by credit card.

ISSUE NO 218 COMPUTER NEWS

INDEX

ARIVIA.KOM WINS R4.8M BOTSWANA AGRICULTURE CONTRACT

Ariel Technologies Botswana, a subsidiary of arivia.kom, has extended its contract with the Botswana Ministry of Agriculture (MoA). The new project, the second phase of a successfully implemented contract, is worth R4.8 million and forms part of arivia.kom's drive to expand its business network in the rest of Africa.

In March 2003, the Botswana Ministry of Agriculture and Ariel Technologies Botswana signed off a R5.9 million contract. The project included the provision, design, supply, and implementation of infrastructure to 250 users in Gaborone and remote sites in southern and western parts of Botswana. This was achieved by mid-January 2003, six weeks ahead of schedule and well within the estimated cost. The infrastructure capability included cabling and networking services, remote services, e-mail facilities and the configuration of hardware and software.

In terms of the recent award of the business, the second phase of this project began on 6 July. During this phase, the 15 sites to be implemented will cover the northern sector of Botswana, starting in the central district and will cover remote sites as far north as Kasane, Maun and Shakawe on the borders of the Okavango delta 1 300km away from Gaborone.

MoA IT manager, Mande Mandevane has expressed his satisfaction with progress and notes that the second phase of the project will provide managers, even in remote sites, with ready access to e-mail, the Internet and data sharing, thus ensuring good management processes and improved service delivery.

The remoteness of these sites will provide a number of challenges, but Steve Oliver, Ariel Technologies Botswana CEO, is confident that the company will meet all stated objectives.

As with the previous contract, arivia.kom will make extensive use of local expertise where possible, and will assign the cabling work to Botswana-based companies while local trainers will once again undertake the IT related training of the Ministry of Agriculture staff.

Arivia.kom is in the process of strengthening its position in Botswana through Ariel Technologies Botswana.Bheki Nkomo, executive for the Africa division of arivia.kom, notes: "The strengthening and repositioning of the Botswana office is an important step in terms of our commitment to Botswana and the continent."

Arivia.kom is a leading South African IT company operating throughout Africa, with a proven ability to implement customised, integrated IT solutions and provide services at whichever global location clients may specify. Its end-to-end services and solutions generate significant business advantages for its clients. It has a thorough understanding of the market sectors on which it focuses and an impressive track record as proof of its capabilities.

ICT POLICY SET TO CHANGE ­ MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION BACKS CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

Kenya's new Minister of Information and Communication, Hon. Raphael Tuju, has announced his support for the liberalisation and advancement of ICT policy in Kenya following a week-long ICT policy advocacy workshop in Nairobi.

The multi-stakeholder workshop ­ which ran from 19­23 July ­ brought together some of the most influential ICT policy stakeholders from civil Society organisations (CSOs) the private sector and the media from nine African countries. These stakeholders worked together throughout the workshop to identify national ICT policy issues that affect them, and citizens in general.

The high cost of internet services and fixed line telephony was fore-grounded as one of the most important issues. Participants now feel they have the advocacy skills to lobby government for lower pricing and tariffs.

In Kenya, if the new Minister has his way, there may not be much lobbying to do. Invited to join the workshop, but unable to attend due to other commitments, the Minister joined participants for a closing cocktail event at which he announced the Ministry's support for lower tariffs and for ICT policy advancement in general.

Tuju noted that "In Kenya, I do realise that we have problems with our telephony connectivity and the snail's pace in connectivity, as well as the high costs of international calls", but assured participants and other guests that the Minister himself and the Ministry was dedicated to change and looking forward to action from all those involved in ICT policy.

The workshop, organised by the Association for Progressive Communications (APC), Included representatives from civil society organisations (CSOs), the private sector, government, and the media, from Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Ethiopia and Nigeria. They gathered in Nairobi to learn from each other's advocacy challenges and came away from the week with practical action plans to advocate for change in their national ICT sector. The different stakeholder groups developed a much better understanding of one another ­ an essential basis from which to begin collaborating in policy advocacy.

MOROCCO'S S2M AND SYRIAN SDS WIN A CONTRACT FOR ESTABLISHING VISA CARDS ISSUING CENTRE IN SYRIA

The Moroccan S2M for electronic and credit card payment solutions in collaboration with its Syrian Data systems (SDS) has won a contract for the establishment of an Electronic Fund Transfer and credit card issuing center from the largest bank in the country, the commercial Bank of Syria.

The USD1.5 million contract includes establishing and equipping an electronic fund transfer centre with state of the art solution, The contract also includes visa cards issuing system as well as 10 ATM outlets and 100 POS.

S2M, a highly specialized company in developing credit card and e-payment solutions was established in 1983. S2M's area of specialties also includes cash withdrawal management systems through ATM, payment through POS and issuing credit cards such as Visa, Master card, American Express.

The company has executed well known projects such as the Jordanian visa, the electronic Dinar in Tunisia and as well as many other projects in the Middle East, North Africa, India, China, Honk Kong, Cuba, Senegal, the Ivory Coast and the USA.

S2M is collaborating with SDS ­ the leading IT solutions provider in Syria which was established in 1994 as the first member of the Syrian Business Development Group, INANA GROUP.

SDS has executed numerous projects in Syria such as building an internet infrastructure, WANs, banking applications and wireless networking as well as e-security, monitoring and database systems in the public and private sectors.

This contract, according to the tender book released by the Commercial Bank of Syria is considered as the first phase of a large project leading to the deployment of hundreds of ATMs and thousands of POSs across the country.

This project is a turning point in using credit cards on a wide scale through the largest bank in Syria.

(SOURCE: AME Info)

ZIMBABWE'S CYBERPLEX ACQUIRES EXPORT PROCESSING ZONE STATUS

Zimbabwe could be making inroads in the export of Information Technology (IT) services following the attainment of Export Processing Zone (EPZ) status by a local IT company, Cyberplex Export.

Cyberplex Export, a subsidiary of Cyberplex Africa Zimbabwe, is one of the only two IT companies approved to access EPZ privileges and incentives obtainable within the export enclave.

EPZ is defined in Zimbabwe as an export enclave treated as being outside the customs territory of the host country where export oriented activities are undertaken in the manufacturing, processing, assembly and services sectors. Such activities benefit from an unfavourable tax regime and non-payment of duties.

The company, said Export Processing Zone Authority (EPZA) public relations officer, Phinius Mushoriwa, is among the latest four projects to be endorsed by the export trade promotion body after a significant nine other initiatives were incorporated into the export promotion circum-field over the first quarter of the year.

Cyberplex Africa Zimbabwe specialises in web site designs for online marketing, online databases for creation to build awareness, better service customers and targeting of the user's base as well as knowledge management systems.

"We are very grateful to the EPZA for including us under the EPZ scheme as that has gone a long way in enabling us to acquire equipment from abroad something that may become prohibitively expensive when one has to pay duty for imports.

"Although business has significantly gone down a bit for us, we hope things will return to normal patterns which at one time saw our export proceeds contributing roughly 50 percent of our total earnings," said Dr Roy Steiner, Cyberplex Africa Managing Director. Steiner said their export subsidiary has sizeable clientele mainly in Botswana and South Africa among other bases.

"Zimbabwe has a very rich base of entrepreneurial opportunities and sound human resources and our motive to enter the EPZ derived from the realisation of how much benefit could be derived from that through the harnessing and exportation of that knowledge," he said. He added that there is immense potential for the IT industry to meaningfully contribute to the domestic economy if sufficient commitment was cast towards IT infrastructural development, which opens floodgates to external markets in this era of the superhighway IT communication and e-commerce.

Cyberplex Africa Zimbabwe is part of a much larger company Cyberplex Africa Holdings, a certified Microsoft solutions provider, which is incorporated in Botswana and includes other subsidiaries namely Cyberplex South Africa, Cyberplex Botswana, Quick pay and AllZimbabwe.com.

(SOURCE: The Herald)

KENYA'S FIRST ICT BUSINESS PLAN COMPETION TO BE LAUNCHED

c4IDEA.com is proud to announce the launch of Kenya's First ICT Business Plan Competition. We invite aspiring and established entrepreneurs who wish to start-up a new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) business, or expand an existing ICT-driven business venture, to submit their business plans to the competition. The main sponsors of the competition are c4IDEA.com, Deloitte and NIC Bank.

Participation is open to all individuals and organizations especially for those with exciting and innovative ICT driven business ideas who are looking for venture capital and strategic partners. The business plan competition is divided into the following five categories: Start-up ICT Business, Existing ICT Business, Women-owned ICT Business, Rural-based ICT Business, and ICT Businesses for People with Special Needs.

Entry to the business plan competition is free for all participants. The only requirement is that they email their 25 to 40 page business plan in MS Word format to competition@ictpark.com between 1st August and 30th September 2004. We recommend that participants visit www.ICTpark.com to view the full guidelines and sample outline before submitting their entries.

The winners in each category will have the opportunity to meet and present their business ideas to investors. They will also receive 12 months of free business incubation services in the form of planning services, mentoring support, investment support, infrastructure support, administrative services, management support, strategic partnering, and marketing services.

According to Peter Kimacia, CEO of c4IDEA.com, "Business plans are essential documents required to ensure that start-up and existing businesses grow and improve themselves successfully. That is why this business plan competition is the ideal way to facilitate the rapid growth of productive and profitable ICT driven business ventures in Kenya."

Interested persons should email their business plans to competition@ictpark.com on or before the 30th of September 2004. Winners will be announced on the 4th of November. More information regarding the competition and submission guidelines as well as sample business plans can be found by visiting www.ICTpark.com

IN BRIEF

- Kenya's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) trust fund last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ten parastatal chiefs in an effort to increase ICT accessibility in schools in remote areas of Kenya. Currently, a small fraction of the existing 3,800 public schools have access to computers therefore necessitating private sector intervention in the matter.

- South African technology firm, Mecer Computers, is negotiating with Thika-based Kenya Vehicle Assembly (KVM) to manufacture computers for the Kenyan market under bond. Ms Ricarda McFalls, the company's managing director made the announcement shortly after confirming that Mecer (EPZ) has decided to leave Kenya.

- In a move to improve its success in the small and medium sector, Acer has appointed local ICT infrastructure distributor, Axiz, as a distributor for its notebooks, monitors and LCD projectors, with immediate effect.

- Esquire Technologies, distributor of PCs, components and peripherals, will distribute the range of Altec Lansing multimedia audio solutions for PCs in southern Africa.

ISSUE NO 218 ON THE MONEY

INDEX

SLIPPING GLOBAL STOCKS HURT SOUTH AFRICAN IT SHARES

The IT index, at the mercy of slipping global stock markets, has fallen to levels last seen in October last year. At 5 723.67 points last week, the index was 35% off its highest close of the year. On 20 January it ended the day at 8 836.52. The sector has lost 23% since the start of the year.

The telecommunication services index lost 6.95 to close at 637.5 yesterday, although this is still up on the 623.2 at which it opened at the start of the year. An analyst says the sector has been at the mercy of global markets, mainly the US's tech-heavy Nasdaq. "It's a pity it's like that, but it does track Nasdaq, and Nasdaq has been taking a bit of strain," he says.

Last week the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 10.07 points to end at 1 839.02, touching a new low for the year. Dealers say although there have been some strong corporate results, the mood is dominated by worries that profits in the second half will not meet expectations.

Other international markets have also not fared well. London's FTSE 100 lost 39.3 points to close at 4 287, the first time since last year that it ended lower than 4 300. The main losers there were cellular telephony group Vodafone and banking stock Abbey National.

Dealers say investors are also selling technology stocks and replacing them with less risky investments. Markets in the Far East were also hit by US tech stock jitters.

An analyst says one of the local IT index's main vulnerabilities is that there are not enough heavyweight stocks. "Dimension Data is still the biggest one. There are one or two others, but the rest are so small that they don't have much influence," he says.

However, the JSE overall has not been exciting this month, he notes. "The market in general has been seeing some pretty low volumes. There haven't been any significant results out and nothing major happening at all.

"In August we're going to see results from some large companies. Hopefully they will be good enough to breathe some life into the market."

However, he was not yet prepared to predict when the IT index would turn. "Datatec's chairman (Leslie Boyd) said in the annual report that there are signs that the market is recovering," he says. "But it's taking time to recover."

(SOURCE: All Africa)

IN BRIEF

Vodafone Egypt announced 1Q FY05 results ending June 2004, in which net income declined 7% to LE186 million compared to LE200 million realized in the comparable quarter last year. The bottom line drop essentially stemmed from the booking of a 40% effective tax provision, pertaining to LE125 million, following expiration of the company's 5 year tax exemption in March 2004. Net profit before tax meanwhile reported 56% growth to culminate at LE312 million in 1Q FY05 versus a previous LE200 million. Revenues were up 36.5% y-o-y at LE934 million compared to LE684 million in 1Q FY04, while EBITDA soared 33.6% to LE489 million, versus a comparable LE366 million, reflecting to an EBITDA margin of 52.4%, down from 53.5%.

(SOURCE: Prime Securities)

---

READERS' RESPONSES

ISSUE 211 - ENERGY SPECIAL - GENERATING ELECTRICITY FOR ICT IN REMOTE LOCATIONS

Greg Austin has sent a letter that challenges the success story outlined in this issue:

I have some issues with the details contained in the above article, and aim to not only correct them here but by writing to you hope to ensure that good governance and due diligence practises are applied as fervently to rural development projects as they are are to more 'visible' ones. By allowing a gap to remain between facts on the ground and the marketing of development projects, we all continue to do a disservice to our rural compatriots.

You contacted me around a year ago now to prepare an article on the energy for ICT application that was installed at Myeka High School, in Ndwedwe, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Before I left the employ of Solar Engineering Services (SES) in September 2002, the project developed to the point where the biogas was used both for cooking as well as for electricity generation using a modified diesel generator set. At that point in time, the project was a success. When you contacted me, however, the project was clearly showing signs of failing. The primary issue on the ground was that the 1,000 learners (pupils) were not using the toilets, thus completely compromising the overall objective of the project. A meeting was convened by the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) at the school in February 2003 to address the issues surrounding this and other project stumbling blocks. The meeting included representatives from DME, Eskom TSI, the eThekwini (Durban) Municipality, Myeka High School, Solar Engineering Services (SES), and myself (Biogas Technology Africa). Two things arose from that meeting: SES committed to modifying the toilets themselves, while eThekwini and Myeka would partner in developing a proposal with a view to eThekwini contracting directly with the DME in implementing a "second phase".

The toilets were duly modified, but in a way that compromised the digesters' design function, with too much water entering them resulting in much reduced biological activity i.e. less gas, more raw sewerage. The revised proposal that the school and the municipality representatives (Melusi Zwane and Frank Stevens, respectively) were supposed to have drawn up and presented to the Central Energy Fund and DME, never materialised. I also had a number of discussions with the Central Energy Fund, even up to December 2003, looking to garner financial support from them for the project, but with no success.

I am concerned that your article raises the conception that the gas from the digesters is being used daily, and that electricity is being generated and used in a telecentre. I went past the school on Monday 21st June to look for myself, and the two digesters were clearly not holding any gas which they should be first thing in the morning, especially after a weekend. As for the electricity, it has been a long time since the diesel generator was operational, and Will Cawood confirmed to me this past week that there is no telecentre and that he doesn't think that that will ever be implemented. Oh, do I regret the donation of funds to procure a purpose-built constant voltage transformer to ensure a smooth 230V AC supply from the diesel generator to the school computers! This R13,000 piece of equipment now sits behind a project marketing stand as seen in your photograph, unused.

So I ask myself the questions: what went wrong, and what to do? I think all of us involved in the project have to shoulder some responsibility for what happened there. Myself as system co-designer/implementer, Will Cawood as project proposer/finance manager, Melusi Zwane as then school principal, and project funders. Local government departments too have to shoulder some blame, since no mean efforts were employed to gain their support and involvement in the project. Also, the timing around Eskom's electrification of the school essentially put the last nail in the project's coffin, and I would be very interested to see what the school's monthly electricity bill is, who pays it and how it is paid!

At this point I think it would be far more useful and valuable, as we try to develop appropriate technologies for our rural energy needs in Southern Africa, to properly evaluate where errors were made with this project, rather than making out as if the project is successful with a view to procuring additional "funding for biogas digesters at additional rural schools". This approach can set back the uptake of the technology by many years, and result in policy makers/decision makers being overly cautious of an otherwise widely used technology internationally. Using the technology in a school environment clearly still requires addressing the concept at many levels, and in my opinion requires more of an extension approach. I firmly believe that this technology can be used successfully to provide energy, and more importantly energy services, in an appropriate way to rural institutions.

Lastly, my name is associated with this article since some of the technical details are credited to "Greg Austin, Solar Engineering Services". I left SES at the end of September 2002, and want to place on record that while I am proud of the innovation and successes achieved in this project, I do not want to be associated with misinformation around the project's alleged success.

Greg Austin
Biogas Technology Africa
biogas@saol.com

ADVERTISEMENT Reaching the Agents of Change The Big Change is the e-mail newsletter of venture capital, deal-making, and business strategy in the convergent economy. Our team of experts provide regular insights into technology and business trends and strategies. For your convenience, The Big Change compiles a weekly digest of links to news, research, advice, case studies and dealflow trends from around the world. Subscribe at no cost by sending a blank e-mail to: join-TheBigChange@elist.co.za

ISSUE NO 218 AFRICAN WEB NEWS

INDEX

COTE D'IVOIRE: REBELS' WEB SITE IS SUSPENDED

The web site of la coalition des mouvements armés ivoiriens, the rebels in the north of the country has been rendered inaccessible since 29 July 2003 in the run up to Accra III. When you might have expected the media of both sides to be on "maximum alert", the official site of the Forces Nouvelles (nouvelleci.org) returns the message "Impossible de trouver" or this page cannot be found.

There appears to be strong disagreements between the different rebel factions and the site has been replaced with supportmpci.org, the one and only officialvoice of Mouvement patriotique ivoirien (MPCI) on the net.

(SOURCE: Fraternité Matin)

LIRE EN FRANCAIS:
http://www.balancingact-africa.com/news/french.html

IN BRIEF

- Gauteng Province is to be the pilot site of the South African government's long-awaited electronic government portal, called the Batho Pele e-Government Gateway, in a R62-million initiative to be launched on August 3.

- South Africa's Old Mutual Properties says it has developed an Internet-enabled utilities management system, aiming to allow property managers and facilities managers to track energy and water usage in buildings, therefore effectively managing municipal utility accounts. Says Richard Murphy, head of the facilities management division of Old Mutual Properties: "Utilman, the internally designed energy, utilities and account management system, provides a secure user and password controlled environment."

- Self-paced distance learning modules on ICT4D can be found at: http://www.knowledgefordevelopment.com/ICT4D03SP/index.htm

ISSUE NO 214 DIGITAL TOOLBOX/IN SEARCH OF THE BUSINESS MODEL

INDEX

SOME WIRELESS INTERNET CONNECTIONS RISKY

All Internet connections are subject to security threats whether they are via fixed-lines or wireless modems. As the use of wireless mobile devices grows, users should be more aware of security issues. According to Winston Smith, Product Manager at Sentech, security breaches take the form of hacker attacks or viruses as well as the physical loss of mobile devices through carelessness or theft.

"Wireless Internet connections are seemingly more prone to attacks as the air interface is considered to be more vulnerable than that of wired connections," he says.

"Popular WiFi connections are considered to be even less secure and more prone to sniffing - a technique used to detect WiFi connections and gain unauthorised access to the devices or networks connected to them."

Once a network has been infiltrated, data is at risk - this can include a company's financials, employee information and other sensitive material. At best it's an inconvenience, at worst it can cripple an organisation.

Here are some tips on how you can ensure some security to you Internet connection:

If you are connecting to the Internet via a WiFi access point which is connected to the MyWireless modem (Ethernet interface) then ensure that at least the following is done:

* Enable the access security on the wireless access point Set a unique Service Set Identifier (SSID) - do not leave it as default.

* Create an access list on WiFi access point and include only the Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of the known users who have rights to access the network - a new security standard such as 802.1X will help to ensure only authorised users are on the network.

* Enable data encryption on the WiFi access point - however an existing encryption protocol called Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) is largely inadequate as most serious hackers can decode this. It is advisable to use access points are these that have either WPA (WiFi Protected Access) or the most secure currently AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) as standard features, which will provide sufficient protection across the air interface.

* Be aware that hacking attacks are most likely to come from internal sources than from unknown outside intruders.

So, how can people secure their Internet connections whether wired or unwired?

Says Smith: "The first thing to do is to install a software firewall. There are many freeware versions available as well as reliable commercial products. Another important step is to install an anti-virus package and ensure this is regularly updated via the vendor's Web site. Most of them have a scheduler that can be automatically set to check for the latest updates. Do not install software from unknown sources - there are many programs, known as spyware, written specifically to retrieve information from wireless devices."

"It is important to note that connecting to the Internet has the same dangers on a wireless connection as that of a wired connection," adds Smith.

Smith says Sentech's broadband wireless Internet connections are well protected. "MyWireless utilises a 3G technology called UMTS -TDD (Universal Mobile Technology System - Time Division Duplexing) standard. The wireless interface, which is usually vulnerable due to the large area across which the signal is transmitted (up to 6km from a base station) is secured against access from unknown sources.

"Each user is allocated a unique username and password on the radio access network as well as a unique username and password for the IP access. On the IP network the system offers a secure encrypted tunnel (L2TP) connection between the core network, base station and the MyWireless modem.

The radio network is also secure in that the service operates on the licensed and regulated 2.5GHz - 2.7GHz spectrum, which is monitored and maintained to ensure there is no interference from any outside source, unlike that of WiFi which operates on an open unlicensed 2.4Ghz spectrum," he says.

(SOURCE: IT Web)

'PER CITIZEN' JAVA PRICING FOR DEVELOPING NATIONS

More affordable software is within reach of developing nations, with the announcement that Sun Microsystems is making its Java Enterprise System (JES) available on a per-citizen pricing model, for federal, state and local governments. Already available on the Solaris Operating System (OS) for Sparc and x86-based systems, including Xeon and AMD Opteron-based systems, the latest release of JES aims to extend platform support to Linux, with plans to extend support to Windows and HP-UX in future releases.

"With our new per-citizen pricing model, governments of developing nations can re-allocate punitive software licensing fees to critical tasks, such as healthcare and education. And the expanded platform support allows these nations todeliver network services to citizens and customers on the architecture of their choice," says Lodewyk de Beer, systems engineer at Sun Microsystems SA.

JES is designed to reshape the way in which software is architected, acquired and managed for enterprises, including government entities. It aims to enable organisations to replace costly, unpredictable middleware components with a software system available on a predictable release schedule and affordable subscription basis.

The unique licensing model is available to government entities, such as countries, provinces, states and cities, in less developed and least developed countries and regions, and is based on pricing ranging from $0,33 to $1,95 per citizen per year. It is based on two factors: the number of citizens in the respective government entity, and the stage of development of the country, as defined by the UN's Department of Economic and Social Affairs classification.

De Beer explains: "By calculating the price on these factors, world-class software can be made available to nations that cannot afford to allocate large budgets to technology," he says. This is the first time that a company has offered governments around the world a complete network infrastructure software system that assists their populations in bridging the technological divide, along with a pricing model that allows for adjustment, according to the level of the country's development.

(SOURCE: ICT World)

ISSUE NO 218 PEOPLE, EVENTS, JOBS

INDEX

* According to the East African Standard, a year ago, no one took Eric Mwenda seriously. His company, Ericonet Limited, was seen as a one-man show with very slim chances of survival in the emerging wireless technology world. Today, Ericonet has grown into a leading wireless solutions provider in the East African region, with 30 unwired Internet portals to its credit. "People had written it off," said Eric Mwenda, 29, the firm's chief executive officer. "But I had the passion and confidence and soldiered on." Things changed on July 6, 2004, Ericonet debuted into the Kenyan market after it won a contract to install hotspots at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.Ericonet, working locally with Swift Global, is to roll out hotspots in major airports in the country, including the Moi International airports in Mombasa and Eldoret.

* Nigeria's Minister of State for Education Hajia Bintu Ibrahim Musa has expressed worry that African countries are lagging behind in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) when compared to other continents of the world. She said unless the continent addressed this issue its drive towards the attainment of Education for All (EFA) and the Millennium Development goals in Education will remain unrealistic. The minister expressed this view last week at the opening of the technical session of the Association for Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) Sub-Regional Ministerial Conference on Integration of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) in Education, in Abuja.

* On the Move: Selbin Ozsamsun has been appointed Marketing Director for Voiceware Systems in Turkey with responsibility for African markets.

The long awaited first part of Balancing Act's African Internet Country Market Profiles is now out and covers 22 countries in West Africa. It also contains a summary overview of the internet in these countries and a look at the coming legalisation of VoIP in West Africa: who will be the winners and losers? To see the contents: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/profile1.html To order: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/publications.html Order direct from the web site by credit card.

---

EVENTS

ICT ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THE ART OF MAKING THINGS HAPPEN

ACT 2004 delegates in Mauritius have the opportunity to attend thisworkshop and receive a free CD-ROM based on the experiences of African ICT entrepreneurs.

Presented by Russell Southwood, Balancing Act

This workshop is a guide to being an ICT entrepreneur aimed at those wanting to start a new business or those wanting to expand in a new direction.

It will cover the following:
* What does it mean to be an entrepreneur ­ drawing on the experience of others.
* Starting with a good idea ­ looking at where good ICT ideas can found in Africa.
* Planning a business idea ­ what questions need answers in your business plan.
* The skills needed to create a new business ­ an overview of the skills you will need to find.
* Finding finance and deciding when you need it ­ who funds new businesses and what are they looking for in return.
* Strategic alliances and partnerships ­ making friends and influencing people.
* Information sources ­ A review of the range of sources that will help you develop a new business.

Each person who signs up to this workshop will receive a free CD-ROM of learning materials worth USD50 to take away with them.

THETHA - THE SANGONeT ICT DISCUSSION FORUM

Sixth Provincial Thetha - KwaZulu-Natal Province 16th August 2004

In March 2003 the Southern African NGO Network (SANGONeT) launched Thetha: The SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forum. This initiative aims to provide civil society organisations (CSOs) with an opportunity to discuss information communication technology (ICT) issues of common concern and to learn from one another's experiences.

The forums focus specifically on the ICT challenges facing the CSO sector, highlighting and promoting practical benefits, opportunities and lessons learned to date.

Given the success and positive feedback received in response to previous Thetha forums, SANGONeT will be co-hosting its sixth provincial Thetha on Monday, 16 August 2004, in the KwaZulu-Natal province. The forum is organised in conjunction with the National Development Agency (NDA) and SANGOCO.

Participants will be introduced to various inputs from government, business and the CSO sector, highlighting various ICT policy and development issues.

Specific attention will also be given to the activities and initiatives of various CSOs involved in ICT issues.

SANGONeT has been providing networking, information and training services to Southern African CSOs since its inception in 1987.

SANGONeT's mission is to be a facilitator in the effective and empowering use of ICTs by development and social justice actors in Africa.

If you are interested in participating in the KwaZulu-Natal Thetha, please contact Refilwe Rakhibane at SANGONeT:

Tel: (011) 403-4935 / E-mail: thetha@sangonet.org.za

Participation in the Thetha is free of charge.

For more information on Thetha - The SANGONeT ICT Discussion Forum, please visit the SANGONeT website http://www.sangonet.org.za

CONFERENCE TO EXAMINE IMPACT OF ICT ON AFRICAN MEDIA

East African journalists are invited to attend a conference on the impact of information communication technologies (ICT) on journalism.

The conference, organized by the African IT Education Trust (AITEC), will take place October 20 to 22 in Arusha, Tanzania, and will feature discussions on ways to improve the media's use of ICT. Specific sessions will focus on the impact of ICT on local media content, networking and information sharing, rural information centers and the media's role in combating the digital divide.

Participants will also have the opportunity to develop a plan for Africa's input to the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS), scheduled for 2005 in Tunis.

Interested participants should contact conference facilitator, Harry Hare, at
http://in.f82.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=harry@aitecafrica.com&YY=39029&
order=down&sort=date&pos=0&view=a&head=b>harry@aitecafrica.com.

---

JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIES

* An Egyptian company is looking for a Billing Expert/Consultant for a rating, billing, services, tariff and provisioning project. Contact Robert Sigley of Resourcing Pasrtnership Ltd on +44 207 613 8843.

* The East and Southern Africa Centre on International ICT policy is looking for an Executive Director. A copy of this position vacancy can also be found http://www.bridges.org/vacancy and http://www.catia.ws. All applicants should send a curriculum vitae, including a full statement in support of their application), to:Email: application@bridges.org Postal address: PO Box 715, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa

Advertisement: Need to know how voice and data will grow in the next five years? Buy Balancing Act's "Future demand for international bandwidth in Africa ­ a projection model for the next five years" out in October 2004. For details and how to order direct by credit card from the web site: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/publications.html

INDEX

If our correspondent is "off the mark" or you have factual amendments, mail them to us and we will include them in subsequent News Updates. If you'd like to contribute, write and let us know.
If you need information about a particular place or issue, just send your questions in. We are always happy to follow up on readers concerns.

News Update is a free e-letter produced by Balancing Act that covers African internet content and infrastructure developments, It goes out to government, the private sector, education and NGOs. To subscribe, send a message saying "I want to subscribe" to info@balancingact-africa.com