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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 348 TOP STORY: Telkom Kenya on the block – mobile licence sweetens the packageTelkom Kenya looks set to receive bids to buy it on 14 September with a bid award being made on 25 September 2007, according to the Preliminary Information Memorandum that will be issued to bidders that Balancing Act has seen. This document describes in outline “the metrics” needed by potential bidders. According to the Memorandum, in December 2006 it had “slightly less than 300,000 landline subscribers, with blended ARPUs of $40 per month.” This slightly less is actually specified as “under 280,000” later in the document. Its 174,000 post-paid customers represent 70% of the total post-paid market, both fixed and mobile. In terms of existing Telkom Kenya capital plans, it says that a new service Telkom Wireless will be launched using a CDMA 2000 platform from Huawei at a cost of US$22.6 million. A fibre and microwave backbone based on IP is being rolled out and will cover all major commercial centres. The Mombasa-Nairobi fibre link is operational but the link to the Ugandan border is still being installed, supplied by Sagem at a cost of US$8.4 million. The carrier says its strategy is to be able to offer “a platform of converged fixed and mobile multimedia products.” Large-scale capital commitments already inked total US$40 million and stretch up to 2008, excluding EASSy commitments. Other fibre network commitments including EASSy ($5 million) total $27.5 million. Before the sale takes place, the Government will unbundled the current Telkom Kenya shareholding in Safaricom (60%) and take it back into Government ownership. As the memorandum says:”This is with a view to liberating Telkom Kenya to compete directly in the mobile sector.” In addition, nearly two thirds of Telkom Kenya’s workforce (17,000) has been retrenched and these costs will be met directly by the Government rather than any future buyer. The cost of this overstaffing represented 50% of revenue. The document notes that:”Further savings on staff costs are likely.” Indeed, the Government makes several clear commitments to “clean up” the balance sheet of historic liabilities, particularly on pensions. The final workforce will be 3,200. A 40% stake in Postal Directories Ltd, a yellow pages joint venture with Portugal Telecom will be retained. Telkom Kenya is closely involved as a member of the EASSy consortium but the document describes the Kenyan Government project TEAMS “as a contingency to guarantee Kenyan connectivity.” It also says that 85% of the funding for EASSy (US$170 million) will come from development funding institutions. It estimates that at least one of the several international fibre cable projects will be operational by Q1 2009. On the revenue side, “there is evidence of serious revenue leakage due to the inadequate capacity for Call Data Records (CDR) from older generation switches.”It identifies future potential revenues from co-location but these currently only amount to $100,000 annually. EBIDTA declined from a profit of $52 million in 2003 to a loss of $1 million in 2005. However, it claims that the unaudited accounts for 2006 show a $7 million profit, after a $24 million dividend payment to Safaricom to offset interconnect debt. However, the profit and loss figures show growing net losses between 2003 and 2005 with a reduction to US$6 million on the basis of the unaudited accounts for 2006. Bidders are invited under two categories that are covered by different criteria. Category A bidders must have 500,000 voice subscribers and experience in the deployment of broadband services with a turnover of $200 million. Category B would be a financial investor with a minimum value investment portfolio of $200 million. It would take a minimum of a 35% shareholding. According to sources close to the process, the ambition is to sell 51% of the company’s shareholding. The original plan was for the strategic partner to take 26% and the remaining 34% to be sold on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. But a listing requires 2 years profits on the balance sheet. But with only 26% sold, the company would remain subject to the State Corporations Act. Therefore the intention is to ask the Government to increase the amount sold to the strategic investor to 51%. Those interested in bidding should in the first instance contact the transaction adviser, Javier Calvo, Team Leader, Advisory Services, International Finance Corporation: jcalvo@ifc.org
MTN, CELTEL, GLO GET 3G LICENSES IN NIGERIAAt the weekend the Federal Government awarded 3G licenses to Nigeria’s three major GSM companies and a relatively unknown operator, Alheri Engineering Co. Ltd, to enable them expand their scope of operation in the industry. 17 companies originally expressed interest in the bid. With the award of the licenses, the four successful applicants are expected to each pay the $150 million fee, being the Reserve Price less, the Intention-to-Bid deposit of $15 million, within 14 business days of award of the Provisional Licence, industry sources said. The four applicants' submissions were evaluated with respect to the compliance details outlined in the Information Memorandum with which each applicant was found to have been fully complied with. Consequently, since the number of applicants matched the number of lots available, no further allocation process was used to award the license. (SOURCE: This Day) ETISALAT’S KINZ WINS WESTEL BID IN GHANAThe three year wait to see who would buy Ghana’s second national telecoms operator, Westel came to a nail biting close last Friday when, Kinz Telecom was advised by both the government appointed transactional advisers, NTHC and Databank and the sector Minister that they have emerged the winner out of the four short listed bidders. Not only did Kinz beat the asking price of US$65 million asked for by the transactional advisers, they also pledged to absorb the c40 billion plus debts on the books of Westel, and also proposed to invest US$500million in cash and equipment and offer social responsibility projects for women, education, youth, sports development and technology transfer. Because the Ghanaian Government has taken so long to complete the transaction, Kinz has been asked to move straight to implementation. Kinz will be using Chinese equipment manufacturer Huawei to roll out its network. Kinz’s backer is Etisalat, the national telecommunication operator of the United Arab Emirates. It is the sixth largest company in the entire Middle East with a market value of $88 billion that counts a global satellite company, Thuraya satellite, among its key assets, and provides services to 130 countries around the world. (SOURCE: Ghana Chronicle) BOTSWANA’S BTC GETS LICENSING ALL CLEAR TO GO INTO MOBILEBotswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) would soon be competing with Mascom and Orange in the mobile phone sector. The licence is the Government’s way of “fattening the goose” before privatisation. BTC was given a 15-year-service neutral license by the Botswana Telecommunications Authority (BTA) allowing it to operate both fixed and mobile telecommunications services. Chief Executive Officer of BTA, Thari Pheko, said the move was a milestone in the liberalisation of telecommunications as Botswana becomes the 12th country in the world to issue a service neutral license. Pheko said BTC was the first company to apply for a new license after the Minister of Communications, Science and Technology, Pelonomi Venson-Moitoi, announced the liberalisation of the telecommunications industry. He said BTC would add value to the economy as competition would benefit consumers as more choices translate into better services and low communications costs. Vincent Seretse, the chief executive officer of BTC, said though for a long time, his corporation enjoyed a monopoly, it knew that the industry would be liberalized. Thus, the BTC was prepared for the challenge. He promised to give the BTC competitors a run for their money. Seretse said the corporation had been engaged in tariff rebalancing and this has resulted in low tariffs. (SOURCE: BOPA) CELLULAR COMPETITION FINALLY ARRIVES IN NAMIBIANamibia wants to see more investment in the communication sector to ensure the country does not lag behind in the fast pace of evolution in the digital age, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has said. Speaking at the official launch of the country's second mobile phone company, Cell One, Nandi-Ndaitwah said training in Information Communication Technology and infrastructure development were essential to the growth of Namibia, and called for competition between the existing two mobile phone companies. "The Government wants to see true competition and that is why Cabinet has directed the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to monitor the service rendered in the communication sector. There must be a clear pricing regime that translates into value for money on the part of the end user," she said. Cell One entered the market this week and is currently available only in Windhoek, but CEO Mac Allman said the company is working on expanding its coverage "in some areas" in the North by the end of next month, and to the coast by end of the second quarter of 2007. (SOURCE: The Namibian) STIFF COMPETITION TO DRIVE TELECOM CHARGES DOWN IN UGANDAThe licensing of two more telecommunication firms is set to unleash unprecedented competition as the five companies look to mop potential subscribers. Some industry players are already grumbling about the low cost of a licence the new entrants are paying, signaling the extent of the expected competition. They claim Hits Telecom didn't pay for its licence. But the Uganda Communications Commission's corporate affairs manager, Fred Otunnu, said: "Licensing guidelines require that when applying for a public infrastructure provision licence, you are required to pay an application processing fee of $2,500 (sh4.4m), one time initial fee of US$100,000 (sh176m) and an annual licence fee of $10,000 (sh17.6m). Hits telecom paid all these fees." Last week, Saudi-based Hits Telecom announced it had been licensed to be a national telecom operator and was willing to splurge $150m (sh264b) in a roll-out that will see it running by November 2007. Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi group Warid Telecom is waiting in the wings and expects to win its licence by the end of this month. The licensing follows the opening up of the market after the duopoly of MTN and uganda telecom ended in July last year. The other player is Celtel. (SOURCE: New Vision)
IN BRIEF:- Maroc Telecom and Belgacom have signed an agreement to launch Mobisud in Belgium. The virtual mobile operator will offer communication services targeted at the North African community in Belgium. Maroc Telecom launched the concept of Mobisud in France where the service has implemented last year. - Camtel, the incumbent operator in Cameroon has been rescued by the Commercial Bank of Credit (CBC). In exchange for a loan of a value of 8 billion CFA francs, Camtel has issued to the bank, company’ bonds for a value of 25 billion CFA francs. This will enable the company to pay its debts that it owes to the tax office, mobile operators (MTN and Orange) and equipment manufacturers (Siemens). - TeleTech, a US call centre outsourcing company, is preparing to set up operations in South Africa. TeleTech most definitely has plans to become a significant employer and create between 5,000 and 10,000 jobs eventually. TELECOMS, RATES, OFFERS AND COVERAGE- Nigerian mobile operator, Starcomms has introduced a 'Pay As You Surf' Service. This service will cost a nominal N1,000 ($8) one-off activation fee payment. With options of N7.40 ($0.06) per minute during peak time and N5.00 ($0.04) per minute during off-peak, the customer surfs at his/her convenience and pays for the exact usage. There is no monthly subscription to this service. - Meditel, Morocco’s second mobile operator has launched its Blackberry service targeted at business customers. Two types of Blackberry are available, the Blackberry Pearl and Blackberry 8700. - Celtel Nigeria has taken a bold step aimed at eliminating tariff discrimination in Nigeria by launching a new tariff plan called Flat Unity Tariffs plan that eliminates price discrimination across networks by providing the same rates across all networks in the country.
TELECOM NAMIBIA’S ANGOLAN WIMAX VENTURE AIMS FOR JULY LAUNCHTelecom Namibia's start-up joint venture in Angola, MundoStartel (MST), says it is making ‘strong progress’ towards the deployment of a WiMAX wireless broadband network and is aiming to launch services in July this year. MST is planning to introduce WiMAX services initially in Luanda and Benguela, before expanding its network coverage to Huambo, Huila, Kwanza Sul, Cabinda and Namibia a year later, with further rollouts planned over the following two years. Telecom Namibia bought a 44% stake in MST in 2004, and says it sees ‘great potential’ in the ‘largely untapped market’. It gained Foreign Direct Investor (FDI) approval from Angola’s Council of Ministers in April 2005 and received an FDI certificate the following July. In addition to wireless broadband access, MST is planning to provide fixed line services over a next-generation network (NGN), and has sourced network infrastructure from Chinese vendor ZTE, via an open tender held in 2005. (SOURCE: Telegeography) IBURST TO LAUNCH NEW BROADBAND PACKAGES IN SOUTH AFRICAiBurst is set to launch five new packages, ranging between 200 MB and 2500 MB per month. The barrier to entry for iBurst will be lowered with the introduction of a new package called Play Intro offering 200 megabytes of data at R149 per month. The price inclusive of a USB or laptop modem takes the monthly subscription to R179 per month. iBurst has further introduced a 1200 MB package for R 369-00 per month and a 1500 MB package for R 419-00 per month. All these offerings are now called ‘Play’ packages where users will be hard capped when reaching their usage limit. iBurst will retain their soft-capped services where users are throttled after reaching their usage limits, and these services are now called ‘Pro’ packages. Here a new 2500 MB offering for R 529-00 is available to subscribers. Data Bonus was made available to all iBurst 24-month contract customers from 1 March, and will now be extended to all month-to-month customers as of 1 April 2007. This means all new and existing customers will receive an additional 500meg on ‘Play’ packages and 200meg for ‘Pro’ packages, at no additional cost. Amidst speculation about differential pricing on VoIP and messaging programs, iBurst pointed out that it offers unrestricted VoIP usage on their network. (SOURCE: MYADSL) GHANAIAN POLICE ON WARPATH AGAINST 419 FRAUDSTERSGhana’s Police has issued an alert to the general public about fraudsters (419 people), who are defrauding unsuspecting people, mainly foreigners via the Internet, using the Office of the Inspector General of Police and other public office holders. The Police Administration has received many e-mails sent by these fraudsters to their victims. A release issue by the Public Affairs Directorate of the Ghana Police Service said in the main, these mails are supposed to be letters written by the IGP to the victims confirming the genuiness of their business partners (the fraudsters) and giving them the assurance to go ahead and do business with them. Sometimes the fraudsters go to the extent of using a variance of the Police crown to design a fake letterhead and provide fake telephone numbers as IGP's contact number for verification of their genuiness. "However, the Police want to announce for the information of the general public and that of the international community that neither the IGP nor his administration is behind any such transaction and that the correspondents purported to have been authenticated by him are all fake. We are therefore calling on the pubic to be wary of these fraudsters. "Furthermore, the Police would want to inform the public that the Vetting and Criminal Intelligence Unit (VCIU) at the CID Headquarters is the unit charged with the responsibility of authenticating the identities of people. People who wish to verify the identities of their business partners can reach. Meanwhile, the Police are warning the perpetrators of these cyber crimes to refrain, as they have embarked on an intensive exercise to uncover them, added the release signed by DSP Kwesi Ofori, acting Deputy Director, Public Affairs. (SOURCE: Ghanaian Chronicle) HIV-AIDS ONLINE RESEARCH DATABASE SET UP IN NAMIBIAInstitutions of higher learning in Namibia have created a special database of research documents with regard to HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, which is freely accessible via the Internet. Launching the database on Friday, Professor Lazarus Hangula, Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia, said the virtual library, which is available on Unam's website, was supported by the Dutch government and the European Union. "Our working group, which includes officials from the Ministry of Health and the Polytechnic, agreed that the Polytechnic would administer the necessary funding to develop this database. It is user friendly and easily accessible." According to Professor Tjama Tjivikua, Rector of the Polytechnic, his institution was responsible for co-ordinating and implementing the activities and for setting up the database. "It will allow our students, professionals, donor agencies and Government to identify the gaps in the available literature and information about HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, thus creating opportunities for further support towards social science research in all spheres of health," Tjivikua added. The database (wwwisis.unam.na) is easily accessible via the Internet and will be updated regularly to reflect the latest research. Users can search for titles, subject terms, keywords, authors' names, organisations or journals. For some publications the link is provided to the actual document. In cases where the document cannot be accessed because of copyright restrictions, the user is linked to a physical library where the document can be accessed. (SOURCE: The Monitor) IN BRIEF:- In Nigeria, board members of the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN) have been appointed. IXPN is a public-private partnership where all ISPs and content providers are stakeholders; the company is a neutral, not-for-profit organisation. - An I-Direct C-band VSAT broadband solution capable of providing a complete internet solution to the remotest part of Africa has been introduced by Skyvision, a global provider of broadband internet connectivity solutions, which specialises in the internet over satellite and internet backbone connectivity.
MAURITIUS TO MAKE USE OF TRANSPORT MODELLING SOFTWAREIn order to make the software bought by the government useful, the officers will have to gather some data like for instance the percentage of cars, lorries and buses that make up peak hour traffic flow. Now that the bus lane and "light railway" projects have been shelved (temporarily, it seems), the government is banking high hopes on a traffic software purchased for the sum of Rs 2.3 million to find solutions to the problems on our roads. Yes, it looks like a good idea. But to get good information from the software, we have to give it good data. If not, as the saying goes, it will be garbage in, garbage out, and we shall not get the right information for managing our thorny traffic problem. To begin, we have to start that tedious - but vital! - process of data gathering. For example, we have to know the percentage of cars, buses, lorries and even motorcycles that make up peak hour traffic flow. We also have to know how the traffic volume fluctuates during the peak hours, what is the average bus stopping time at a bus stop, and so on. Then, after feeding this gathered data to the software, we have to check whether what comes out of the computer (the output, I mean) reflects what is observed in real life. For example, we can simulate a bus journey along Royal Road from Rose-Hill to Port-Louis and check whether the software gives a journey time that agrees with what usually takes place in real life. Thus, if the software indicates a journey time of 30 minutes, say, we would know for sure that there is something wrong with the input data. And we would have to make changes to the input data and re-submit them to the software until we get an acceptable simulated journey time. This is how the software might be calibrated. After the calibration, experiments can be done on the software. For example, we might halve the number of bus stops and see how it would affect bus journey time. Or, since cars are always brought to a halt by buses stopping at bus stops with no lay-bys, we might equip all bus-stops with lay-bys and see by how much this would reduce journey time by cars. Most probably, the software would show that - to reduce journey time - there should be fewer bus stops (which means that passengers would have to walk longer distances) and that all bus stops should have lay-bys (which means that some bus stops may even have to be re-located). It would also show that traffic lights should be synchronised, that flexi-time should be introduced (to spread the rush-hour traffic over more time) and that all buses should be equipped with two exit doors (to reduce the time that it takes to discharge and embark passengers) and so on. In sum, by doing clever experiments on the software we would know what should be done to improve traffic flow. But the big question is: would we have the courage to carry out all these changes? Well, to tone down the roar of protest from the public (who do not always know what is in its interest), the authorities might say "pa mwa sa, komputeur sa!" (not my fault, it's the computer) However, according to a software that has been developed at the University of Mauritius, one measure which could bring significant results, would be to relocate the population along the Port-Louis/Mahebourg corridor. This can be brought about by diminishing to a certain extent the lure of Port-Louis. For example, if Mahébourg were to become a second port, there would be lesser vehicles going towards the capital and this would greatly reduce journey time along the upper part of the Port-Louis/Mahébourg corridor. Unfortunately, even if this can be demonstrated by the Rs 2.3 million software, it is unlikely that this project would ever be brought into effect. You see, what is good for the interest of the collective may not be good for the interest of some! (SOURCE: L'Express) OMATEK COMPUTERS GETS FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA’S SUPPORTFirst Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Plc is staking N1 billion in Omatek Computers to finance ownership of computers by Nigerians. The bank has also formally adopted the Omatek brand as hardware of choice for its network of branches nationwide. The First Bank N1 billion stake would enable a credit facility for specific categories of Nigerians to purchase Omatek computers with payment stretched over several months. The bank's credit facility would help advance the key objectives of the Computer- for All Initiative (CANi) scheme. But it would cater for Nigerians who ordinarily are outside the CANi scope. The scheme would cater for employees of public and private establishments, including those of small and medium enterprises (SMES), and self employed individuals. According to First Bank's Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Jacobs Ajekigbe, the computer financing scheme is to allow Nigerians have the necessary financial capacity to acquire the basic ICT skills to drive their businesses and become more productive. While describing the facility as part of the bank's social responsibility aimed at uplifting the computer literacy quotient of the average Nigerian citizen, Ajekigbe assured Omatek of the bank's willingness to support initiatives that would promote economic growth and empowerment of the citizens. He enjoined those in the private and public to exploit the opportunity to own their computers and be computer literate. "First Bank has demonstrated its commitments to improving the national economy over the years as one of most reliable financial institutions. With this present commitment, we at Omatek believe that the bank has shown that it believes Nigeria's chances at leapfrogging its economy is through having citizens that are ICT enabled," said CEO of Omatek Florence Seriki in Lagos. First Bank is Nigeria's oldest bank and also the industry leader in terms of financial strength, national spread and stability. It is also one of the most respected business institutions noted for its huge investment in social services. Under the First Bank and Omatek deal, prospective employees of private or public establishments' only need to have employers sign on their behalf as guarantors and the money would be deducted from the employees' salary every month. According to the bank, only employed professionals who earn about N300, 000 and above per annum are eligible for the computer financing scheme. Also qualified are self-employed professionals with verifiable income. Institution and multinationals that are interested in arranging for loans for their employees could also benefit from the scheme.According to Seriki, part of the company's focus was to equip the younger generation from primary to tertiary institutions in order to establish an IT driven population that would create a knowledge-based economy stressing that with the bank facility, Omatek is more than ready to deliver computers to every home through the CAN initiative. (SOURCE: This Day) UBUNTU FEISTY BETA DELAYEDThe beta release of Ubuntu Feisty, the latest release of the popular Linux operating system, has been delayed for a day because of kernel issues. In an email to the Ubuntu developers list last week Tollef Fog Heen wrote: "The beta release [of Feisty] is delayed until Friday due to a kernel regression which caused problems booting on quite a large number of systems. "A new kernel has been uploaded and built, the same for a new debian-installer. New ISO images are being built and published as I write this mail. DVDs will be re-rolled tomorrow morning since they need new livefs-es built and due to the order we build the ISOs in, they aren't yet." Heen said final testing of the ISO images would be done on Thursday and the beta release would take place on Friday. (SOURCE: Tectonic) GOOGLE INKS SOFTWARE DEALS IN RWANDA AND KENYAGoogle will partner with Rwanda and Kenya to make Web communication tools such as e-mail and PC-to-PC voice calling more widely available in Africa, the company said on Monday. The deal is aimed at spreading the Internet and Web-based tools more broadly throughout developing countries. It is also the latest sign of Google's increased competition with Microsoft, which is also promoting its software heavily in developing countries. People in the two East African nations who have access to a PC will be able to use Google Apps, which includes Gmail, the Google Talk instant messaging and PC-to-PC voice calling software, Google Calendar, Google Page Creator and Google Docs & Spreadsheets. "In Africa and in the developing world, it also means doing our part to make sure that everyone has access to the same services wherever they live, whatever their language, and regardless of income," Francoise Brougher, of Google's Business Operations Team, said in the company's blog. Several other companies and projects are devoting resources to similar projects aimed at narrowing the digital divide. The worry is that millions of people around the world risk being left behind if they do not have access to computers and the Internet for education and communication. The Mountain View, California Internet company said 20,000 Rwandan students at the National University of Rwanda, the Kigali Institute for Education and the Kigali Institute for Science and Technology, as well as government officials, will have access to Google Apps for free. The tools will be extended to more users at a later, unspecified time. The applications will be offered under the institution's domain names, Google said in a statement, and will be hosted by Google. In Kenya, 50,000 students at the University of Nairobi will be offered Google Apps, with the services to be extended to 150,000 students at other universities in a broader rollout to come later. (SOURCE: Info World) IN BRIEF:- Local Senegalese ICT website, Cipago reported that the European Union has launched the EuroAfrica ICT programme to foster the development of communications and IT project between Europe and Africa. In Africa the project will be managed by West Africa PANOS and the Meraka Institute in South Africa. - At a meeting in Gaborone, Botswana earlier this month, the Telemedicine Task Force reviewed ICT for health in the region. Three pilot projects were proposed under the eHealth initiative, part of a European Union strategy to enhance interconnectivity in Africa through ICT. They cover continuing professional education via satellite to health workers in selected remote areas, establishing electronic communications between healthcare facilities in isolated areas with a high burden of diseases and promoting ICT for health in East Africa. - An African sub-regional forum on `best practice sharing` in the use of the New Information and Communication Technologies (NICTs) for development will convene on 7-9 June in Ouagadougou in Burkina-Faso. The forum is a follow up to the Microsoft leaders` forum held last July in South Africa, which was attended by many African heads of state and cabinet ministers. - Lagos State Government has endorsed the use of the electronic white board in both the public and private schools in the state. The white board, a large, touch -sensitive device connected to a digital projector and a computer will provide opportunities for students to participate effectively in class. - The Global Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) has launched the “Digital Solidarity Pact” through a “1% digital solidarity” contribution. At the 2nd DSF Foundation Board meeting, the new digital solidarity label, a symbol that represents an information society governed by principles of solidarity, was awarded to eight recipients.
TELKOM SOUTH AFRICA ACQUIRES MULTILINKS FOR $280MSouth African fixed-line operator Telkom has confirmed that it has bought 75 percent of Multilinks for $280 million to expand further outside its home base. This acquisition has already raised Telkom's shares to 1.3 per cent higher at 167.99 Rand in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Telkom Chief Executive Papi Molotsane was quoted as saying that "The size and nature of growth of the Nigerian telecoms market, its low teledensity of only 20 per cent and its pent up demand for Internet access demonstrates that there is immense potential for future growth, making this an ideal acquisition." Experts say Multi-links has basic technologies that would aid Telkom to achieve success in the deal. "What would be interesting to see on the mobile side was how Vodacom would get involved. There are lots of potential. It is a great acquisition and the price they (Telkom) paid seems not to be over the top," noted some South African experts. This, they believe will provide Telkom with good growth opportunities. Telkom also acquired Africa Online in February for $20.27 million in its quest to expand its market. Telkom has been trying for several years to break into new markets but in previous attempts, it had to scrap a plan to push into Nigeria through Vodacom. The change in ownership structure of Multilinks has received regulatory approval from the Nigerian Communic-ations Commission (NCC). Executive Director of Multilinks, Chief Ezekiel Fatoye, confirmed that NCC has granted an "anticipatory approval" for the sale. Based on licensing stipulations, operators have to obtain clearance from NCC when they plan to change ownership structure of their business. Telkom's acquisition of Multilinks is coming after MTN Nigeria acquired another PTO, VGC Communications Limited for $65 million. Speculations have been rife that Vodacom, South Africa's top mobile operator, has been in talks with some Nigerian operators including Multilinks. Multilinks, the first operator to introduce the CDMA 2000 1X technology supporting wireless telephony and internet services, said last year that it has recorded over 100,000 subscribers and projected to grow the number to over 500,000 by the end of 2006. This second acquisition by South Africa’s Telkom means that its largely unsuccessful acquisition strategy has begun to turn a corner. Other acquisitions will undoubtedly follow. (SOURCE: This Day) NIGERIAN TELCOS OBTAIN FREEDOM FROM MULTIPLE TAXATIONNew found boldness by the country's judiciary in delivering landmark judgments against other arms of government re-echoed last week when a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos declared null and void a law passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly to regulate telecom operations in the State. It was remarkable for the fact that it was another case that pitted the executive arm, which in this case was the Lagos State government and its agency, the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency (IMRA) against the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria (ALTON). IMRA was established and empowered inter alia, to "issue permits for the use of right of way to all telecommunication operators and other utility providers within the State; to dismantle and disconnect cables and other infrastructure laid or erected without obtaining the necessary permission from the agency; and authorize any officer of the agency to inspect any infrastructure for the purpose of determining whether it complies with the provisions of this law and the regulations made hereunder." The law extensively prescribes fees to be paid to the agency by any telecommunication company seeking to erect or construct towers, masts, or lay cables for telecommunication purposes within Lagos State. But not withstanding the fact that the case was one that involved an agency of the State government and a trade association, the High Court judge was able to muster the boldness to pronounce IMRA unconstitutional, null and void. Thus, bringing a halt to another executive lawlessness that has come to be associated with our present democratic experiment. In delivering his judgment, Justice Ibrahim Auta held that the law passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly to regulate telecommunication operators in the state was of no effect. According to him, no State government could legislate on telecom matters as the sector was under the exclusive legislative list of the National Assembly. The clear motive for establishing such laws, he said, was to generate more revenue for State governments. It is therefore based on the foregoing that the recent judgment of the Federal High Court should be hailed as a landmark judgment.This would remind the Lagos State government or any other State government for that matter to respect the laws of the land. (SOURCE: This Day) SIMBA TELECOM STARTS MONEY TRANSFER SERVICE IN UGANDASimba Telecom in association with USAID's Rural Savings Promotion & Enhancement of Enterprise Development have launched a local money transfer service, dubbed Simba Cash. The service will be accessible at over 60 Simba Telecom outlets across the country. Unveiling the service on Monday, Group Chairman Patrick Bitature said those transferring money will go to any Simba Telecom outlet, where they will deposit the cash and get a password. After depositing the cash, the sender will then notify the recipient who will go to the nearest outlet and on presenting the password and identification, will be handed the cash. Transactions will be charged at 4 per cent on average. Said Bitature: "Unlike the other bigger banks and money transfer services, we are trying to focus on the non-banked local populations, with a key focus on addressing affordability issues, that have kept many people from using conventional money transfer services." USAID Development Finance Specialist Jackie Wakweya said her organisation was keen on supporting private sector enterprises to develop innovative solutions that especially address increased access to financial services by those in need of them. She said Simba Cash was a step in the right direction. "We are looking at tapping ICT and especially the telecommunications sector to take financial services to rural areas," Ms Wakweya said. The new service is nearly similar to Safaricom's M-pesa in Kenya where money transfers are carried out using mobile phones. (SOURCE: The Monitor) IN BRIEF:- Morocco's second phone operator, Méditel, achieved a USD 54.5Mn net earning in 2006, i.e. a 266% increase compared to 2005. The turnover of the company, present in Morocco since 1999, moved from USD 500Mn in 2005 to USD 560Mn in 2006, i.e. a 9% increase. Méditel also injected some USD 180Mn in investments in 2006, i.e. a 46% increase compared to 2005. The company, which has invested some USD 2.5Bn over seven years, has extended its network all over the country to reach a 96.3% coverage rate. - After suffering initial setbacks, the privatisation of the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) drive is back on course. The evaluation of bidders for the transaction advisor has been complete and a team of experts is expected in place by next month. The expert will, amongst other duties, assist in identifying the strategic equity partners and it was their hope to complete the transaction within a year. - While an American company studies reforms for the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation, all large-scale purchases/contracts are frozen. This includes 1.4 billion dollars that the Chinese Zhongxing Telecom Equipment (ZTE) corporation proposed as a loan to ETC.
GHANA’S MINISTRY TO REGULATE ONLINE BUSINESSESThe Ministry of Communications is to introduce an Electronic Transaction Law to regulate the activities of Internet users. The Law would regulate electronic signatures, use of credit card and Internet communications and also fight Internet or cyber fraud. Issah Yahaya, Head of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, at the Ministry told the GNA on Monday that sections of the law would regulate electronic message; signature; certificates; automated transactions; dispatch of records and attribution of records from the sender to the receiver. Others are variation of agreement between parties; equal treatment of electronic signatures and secure electronic record. Yahaya noted that the law would also help the Government to also manage its e-government services by improving acceptance of electronic files, issuance of documents and records. It would also deal with cyber fraud and other unscrupulous activities such as stealing; dishonestly receiving; forgery; conspiracy; charlatanic advertisement and access to protected computers. Computer Misuse Act would effectively tackle child pornography; use of illegal devices and authorized disclosure of access code, he said, adding that cyber inspectors would also be strengthened under the law to effectively monitor and control users. Yahaya said the Ministry was working together with the Ghana Internet Providers Association to also control the situation and called on individuals, especially Internet operators, to report suspicious characters to the Police. (SOURCE: GNA) BLOG AGGREGATOR OUTED IN SOUTH AFRICAThe Mail and Guardian's latest online project, a South Africa-specific blog aggregator called Amatomu has gone live. Built to provide a platform to expose local bloggers to a more mainstream audience, the project has been in secret testing mode for the past week. A handful of local online publishers were asked to take part (secretly) in the testing phase , but, bloggers being bloggers, it wasn't long before someone blogged about it. And so, with that, Amatomu moved into public testing mode. Update: Tyler Reed contacted Tectonic following the publication of this article to offer the following clarity: "[The article] suggests that I leaked Amatomu and broke the trust of the Amatomu creators because I broke the news about Amatomu. This is far from true. I was not invited to test Amatomu so I had no knowledge that it was to be kept a secret," said Reed. On his own blog, developer Vincent Maher, announced the public alpha of Amatomu: "As about 35 of you already know, Amatomu was in a closed alpha testing phase for roughly a week until some clever people figured it out. ... Then Tyler Reed, one of SA's hottest upcoming bloggers, broke the story yesterday afternoon and the floodgates opened." "This project has been on my todo list since I joined the company [M&G] but it was originally scheduled for some time early next year and it was a single line item with no description of what it would be. The general idea was that we wanted to provide some sort of destination for our readers that would give them an organised perspective of the South Afrian blogosphere, and offer some useful services to bloggers without treading on the toes of existing services like Muti, which we support completely." "Matthew [Buckland] and I invited about 30 people we know to take part in the first phase of alpha testing and I would like to say thank you at this point to everyone who provided feedback and helped us to work on this site. We have over 50 comments and suggestions, all of them really constructive and everyone seemed genuinely enthusiastic. "In the original email we sent, we asked people not to blog about it and we were surprised to see that no-one actually did. It wasn't easy keeping quiet either." Amatomu allows bloggers to register their site(s) on the site and provides a feed-tracking service as well as a listing of top SA blogs by visitors. There has been some dicussion on the local 'blogosphere' regarding the process used to count which South African blogs are the most popular. Currently Tectonic is listed second for the month. Blog traffic to each site is counted using a javascript script on each site to log page views. (SOURCE: Tectonic) IN BRIEF:- Popular UAE-based expat blog Secret Dubai Diary has won the Middle East and Africa prize of this year’s Bloggies 2007 Weblog Awards.
TEAM NIGERIA GETS ALGIERS 2007 BROADCAST RIGHTSThe Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, (SCSA), owners of the All Africa Games, has ceded the broadcast rights for the 9th edition of the Games taking place in Algiers later this year, to Team Nigeria Trust Fund, the SCSA announced over the weekend. Following enquiries by prospective broadcast outfits to SCSA to acquire the broadcast rights for the Games, the Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, Sonstone Kashiba, directed them to liaise with the Managing Director of Team Nigeria, Suleiman Baba Ali, who has been saddled with the responsibility of dealing with the issue. Ali is the Chairman of the Marketing and Communications Commission of the SCSA. The Nigerian Government had late last year wrote to SCSA to award the broadcast rights for the Games to Team Nigeria in view of its mandate to generate funds that will compliment Government's subvention to the sports sector. (SOURCE: This Day) MULTICHOICE SELECTS INTELSAT TO SUPPORT MOBILE TV TRIALMultiChoice, a local direct-to-home (DTH) television provider, has selected Intelsat to support its mobile broadcast TV trial in the metropolitan areas of Johannesburg, Soweto, Pretoria and Cape Town. The trial seeks to refine the transmission of Digital Video Broadcasting to Handheld (DVB-H) technology, as well as to understand more about the viewing patterns and content preferences of subscribers for mobile TV. From its headquarters in Randburg, MultiChoice is uplinking 10 to 12 trial channels of sports, entertainment, news, music and specially developed ‘made for mobile’ content to Intelsat’s IS-902 satellite, which then distributes the content to multiple terrestrial transmitter sites throughout the trial region. “MultiChoice has always been at the forefront of technological developments, and though mobile broadcast TV is in its infancy, we believe that there will be a growing demand for it in SA in the near future; especially in light of the 2010 World Cup,” says Gerdus van Eeden, MultiChoice chief technology officer. Stephen Spengler, senior vice-president, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific sales, states: “This project represents Intelsat’s third mobile video application, as we are supporting systems that are in commercial deployment in Europe and in the USA.” (SOURCE: ICT World) GATEWAY COMMUNICATIONS CHOOSES NDS CONTENT PROTECTION FOR NEW AFRICAN DTH SERVICENDS, a provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, announced that it has been selected by Gateway Communications, a provider of communications services to telecommunications operators and corporations in Africa. Under the agreement NDS will deploy a full end-to-end security system featuring VideoGuard® conditional access (CA) for GTV, its newly created African-focused, subscription-based satellite TV service that will deliver digital pay-TV services across Sub-Saharan Africa. With a planned launch in mid-2007, GTV will target a previously severely underserved customer base who have been unable to afford the current subscription-based services available in the market, bringing direct-to-home (DTH) services within the reach of all middle income Africans. GTV will initially target rapid expansion across English-speaking countries. GTV’s service will employ the very latest in satellite and set-top box technologies, providing customers with high quality digital reception and content. Commenting on the news, David Nabozny, VP and General Manager EMEA for NDS, said: “We are very excited about being chosen by Gateway Communications to assist with the launch of their African DTH service. They are bringing an attractive new offering to the African market, which has huge potential for growth. Our CA solutions will help ensure that they can quickly, seamlessly and securely deploy their satellite TV service across target markets in the African subcontinent.” Julian McIntyre, President and Chief Treasurer of Gateway Communications, remarked: ““We are pleased to be working alongside NDS who share our vision and excitement in the growth potential of this exciting new market. We had many options when choosing the security solution for our new DTH service, and selected NDS based on their successful support of some of the world’s leading platforms as well as their expertise in systems integration. We look forward to a fruitful collaboration with NDS as we roll out the GTV television service across Sub-Saharan Africa.” BROADCASTERS TAKE AIM AT TELKOM IN SOUTH AFRICATelkom's monopoly on the local loop was an unfair advantage over broadcasters as it would prevent them from offering subscription television over the internet, Khetha Media said in papers filed with the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa). Icasa had invited interested companies to comment on subscription broadcasting licence applications by January. Khetha Media and Telkom Media are among 18 companies that have applied for licences to compete with MultiChoice. Telkom is the only company that owns fixed telephone lines linking homes and offices. Neotel, Telkom's only competitor, is yet to provide services and has no access to fixed lines. Telkom plans to offer internet protocol television (IPTV) over its high-speed asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL). It plans to invest more than R7 billion and offer channels including sports, reality programmes, soap operas and news for a minimum of R100 a month. Khetha said that given that local loop unbundling had not been prescribed, there was a risk that Telkom Media would have undue preference in providing IPTV over ADSL. Khetha questioned whether Telkom would give access to other broadcasters transparently and without discrimination in the absence of regulation. In an attempt to force Telkom to give other operators access to the last mile, the government has appointed a local loop unbundling working group. The government expects a report in the second half of the year. Icasa would then determine how best to achieve the unbundling, the ministry of communications said last month. (SOURCE: Business Report)
PEOPLEMobile operator MTN has appointed CEOs for its Rwanda and Swaziland operations. Themba Khumalo, currently CEO of MTN Swaziland, has been appointed as the new CEO of MTN Rwanda. Additionally, Tebogo Mogapi, who serves as acting executive of the consumer business unit at MTN SA, has been appointed CEO of MTN Swaziland. Khumalo and Mogapi's positions are effective from 1 April Romeo Kumalo is leaving his position as CEO of Vodacom Tanzania. He is leaving for Johannesburg at the end this month to serve as Vodacom South Africa`s Commercial Director. Irene Charnley, MTN VP for the Middle East and North and East Africa (MENEA), will leave the company at the beginning of July. EVENTS- THE AFRICAN E-GOV FORUM'07 27th - 29th March 2007, Accra, Ghana The forum in Accra, Ghana, will discuss pan-African issues and methodologies within E-Governance.The event will provide a unique platform for stakeholders in government, industry and the academic world. For further information contact Matthew Dawes on 0044 20 8834 1575 or m.dawes@cto.int - SMB ROADSHOW 2007 - MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA 26th March 2007, Nile Hilton, Cairo, Egypt. IDC's SMB Roadshow provides a comprehensive and trustworthy platform for discussing strategic IT issues directly impacting the SMB sector. Debate led by recognised experts and based on best practices and sound technology analysis provide objective and critical insights required by leaders in this sector. This event will target IT decision makers - by vertical industry sector - within SMBs across the region. For further information visit http://www.idc-cema.com/events/smbeg07 - REGULATION IN THE ERA OF CONVERGENCE 27-29 March 2007, Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt The National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt (NTRA) is bringing together regulators, policy makers, private sector managers, and media representatives from around the world. The conference’s main objective will be to tackle different regulatory challenges that emerge as a result of convergence and try to figure out possible solutions for these challenges. For further information visit http://www.tra.gov.eg/convergence/ - 1stWEST AFRICAN E-CONTENT SUMMIT 4-7 April 2007 – Cotonou, Benin This ICT symposium expects to launch the official discussions to establish the “Panafrican Agency for New Media, advocated to provide training courses in new media management for young people in Africa in to bridge the content gap. For further information visit http://www.icnm.net/ - E-LIBERIA: VISION 2010 23 April 2007, Morovia, Liberia Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, is delighted to host a national dialog on the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in Liberia’s post-conflict development. E-Liberia:Vision 2010 will take place in Monrovia the week of 23 April, 2007. The program will include the unveiling of the new National ICT Policy for Liberia; a high-level workshop (on the 26th and 27th of April) with participation from domestic, regional, and international experts; a gala dinner; and a private sector innovation fair. More information can be found at: http://www.mopt.gov.lr/ Or by contacting: Mr. Calvin Yu on calvin.yu@gatech.edu or +231 06683574. - FREE SOFTWARE AND MEDIA WORKERS WORKSHOP 23-27 April 2007, Accra , Ghana The Free Software & Open Source Foundation for Africa (FOSSFA) is to host a five-day workshop for African free software developers and media workers. The workshop is co-hosted by the Economic Commission for Africa, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Center for Excellence in ICT, L'Association de Presse Panafricaine, the Meraka Institute, the University of the Western Cape, IDC, and Panos London. For further information visit http://www.fossfa.net/fossfa/Members/nne75/media-foss-workshop - eLEARNING AFRICA 2007 28-30th May 2007, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya The subject is Building Infrastructures and Capacities to Reach out to the Whole of Africa, reflecting the significant efforts of African countries to set up their national and regional ICT infrastructures to create access to education, training and services for all. For further information visit www.icwe.net or call +49-30-327 6140 - ICTS FOR CIVIL SOCIETY CONFERENCE June 2007 – South Africa The conference and exhibition organised by SANGONeT will be aimed at increasing NGOs’ awareness of the strategic importance of their websites and the online environment in general. For further information visit http://sangonet.org.za - TELECOMS WORLD AFRICA 31st July - 2nd August 2007, Johannesburg, South Africa Key decision-makers in South Africa and leading international players will share their expertise and forge invaluable business relationships in a highly interactive environment. For further information visit www.terrapinn.com/2007/telecomza - WI-WORLD AFRICA 2007 27 – 30 August 2007, Michelangelo Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa. In Africa, fixed-line infrastructure is lacking and there is a major problem with copper wire theft. Wireless communication is therefore a great alternative. For further information visit www.terrapinn.com/2007/telecomza JOBS AND OPPORTUNITIESNOMINATION TO THE AFRINIC BOARD This year, two seats will be vacant on the AfriNIC board. They are for the Western Africa sub-region (Primary and alternate - Mandate: 2007 to 2010 and for the Northern Africa sub-region (Primary and Alternate- Mandate: 2007 to 2010) Nominations for these two seats are now open and for further information visit http://www.afrinic.net/ STUDENTS INVITED TO JOIN OPENMRS PROJECT The developers of OpenMRS, an open source medical records system aimed at medical informatics efforts in developing countries, have been accepted as a mentor organisation for the Google Summer of Code. They are inviting student developers to peruse their projects and, if interested, apply. Student applications must be made by March 26. As well as being an opportunity to improve one's coding skills, it is also a chance to help in the battle against HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria in developing countries. OpenMRS formed in 2004 as a open source medical record system framework for developing countries. OpenMRS is a multi-institution, nonprofit collaborative led by medical informatics research organisation, the Regenstrief Institute and Partners In Health, a Boston-based philanthropic organisation. AIMS WORKSHOP ON VOLUNTEER COMPUTING The AIMS workshop on Volunteer Computing for Africa will introduce participants to state-of-the-art open source software technologies behind distributed computing and cyber-volunteerism on the Internet. Participants will gain hands-on experience with these technologies, so that they can harness the power of volunteer computers worldwide for their own research or to support research of their colleagues in universities and research labs across Africa. Volunteer computing is a new and rapidly growing trend that can help in efforts to tackle some of the major humanitarian challenges faced by Africa, and can also bridge the digital divide by putting African researchers at the centre of international humanitarian projects. For further information visit http://africa-at-home.web.cern.ch/africa-at-home/workshop.html CONTRACTS: WHO'S SELLING WHAT TO WHOM?ALGERIE TELECOM AND SIEMENS - ALGERIA Siemens has won a EUR7 million (USD9.3 million) contract from Algérie Télécom for the supply of wireless broadband equipment, including 12,000 wireless LAN access points, plus Wi-Fi-enabled end-user devices and WiMAX base stations. GT BANK AND SAS INSTITUE - NIGERIA GT Bank has signed an agreement with SAS Institute (Pty) Ltd for anti-money laundering and detection solution. GT Bank will be able to minimize the number of false alerts, enforce compliance with government regulations and legislation and report all relevant information related to a suspicious case to the appropriate person for investigations. We look forward to working with the GT Bank team to deliver a world class solution to the bank." DJAWEB AND HUAWEI - ALGERIA Algeria Internet Telecom Djaweb concluded in Algiers, a partnership agreement with Huawei Telecom concerning the supply of equipments, global and network solutions of companies. This new agreement will allow Djaweb "to meet the needs of connection as well of companies, ministries, administrations, institutions, by proposing global and complete solutions," company's CEO Houria Atif told during the ceremony of agreement signing.
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