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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 392 Indian Ocean islands agree a scheme to connect themselves by fibreA meeting of the members of the Indian Ocean Commission in Addis Ababa last week decided to give the go-ahead to connect their island-members by fibre to each other and the rest of the world. The connecting cable would be available on non-discriminatory terms and under a low-cost, high volume regime. The project has its origins in a consultants’ study started in mid 2007 and completed at the end of last year. The study looked at the likely demand from the different island members and the technical and financial feasibility of the project. The Commission has six island members: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion (a French region) and Seychelles. Mauritius and Reunion are both connected to the SAT3/SAFE cable and in both places there has been Government and regulatory action to lower the price of access to the cable. Although an early routing for the EASSy project involved a route to India via Seychelles, this was later dropped. However, Comoros has also been mentioned as places that might be connected by the EASSy cable. The fibre project has two clear purposes: firstly, to connect all of the unconnected islands and secondly, to provide a level of redundancy to potential users. On occasion, the SAFE cable has been broken during bad weather. The timing of the build is particularly critical for the island members if they are to be able to join up with the EASSy and SEACOM cables that are being built down the eastern seaboard of the continent. Demand for such a cable varies enormously between the different islands. Although both Mauritius and Reunion have small populations, they are significantly more developed than the other islands. For example, there is island-wide Wi-Max coverage provided by a company called Nomad. Clearly, cheaper international wholesale bandwidth would lower retail prices and increase both the overall number of users and levels of usage. However, the biggest potential long-term demand is probably likely to come from Madagascar that has alongside its fellow island members, a comparatively large population. The smaller islands are more problematic but under the status quo of satellite provision, prices are unlikely to fall much and therefore demand would stay much lower. But even on the basis of increased demand, the project would make little or no financial sense for a private operator. Therefore the project’s initiators are looking towards donor funding as their main source of financing. The intention is to create under the IoC umbrella a cable system that would be made available on non-discriminatory terms and with a low-cost, high-volume regime in place. The wider strategic aim of the project would be drive development not only of the telecom sector in the islands but also the downstream user industries.
GSM Operators Face Regulatory Crackdown On Advertising in NigeriaThe Nigerian regulator NCC has told mobile operators to stop advertising new promotions while they sort out quality of service issues on the network. As the sector comes to grip with this new regulatory crackdown, senior industry sources confirmed receiving fresh NCC directive stopping not just product advertisements but all forms of campaigns that may "project" the activities of players in the GSM sector. Media planners say it is also a development that may further deal a huge blow on the Nigerian media industry that earns a huge chunk of revenue from the mobile telephony sector. As elsewhere in Africa, the mobile companies are the single biggest group of advertising spenders. According to the NCC directive, GSM operators have been told to cut advertising, particularly promotions offering additional minutes to their subscribers on their networks. Hitherto, only two players, MTN and Celtel Nigeria were restricted from placing advertisements that may add more subscribers or result in additional airtime usage on their networks. But no ban was issued on campaigns that may "project their activities in the public eye", a source told Leadership last week Glo mobile, the mobile business of second national operator (SNO), may have to suspend an ongoing promotion kicked off in the last quarter of 2007 under which it plans to give away 500 cars in a periodic raffle draws for airtime purchases by its subscribers. A company source said last week that the legal department of the business is studying the NCC directive and will respond appropriately, "As we obtained their clearance before embarking on the promotions." (Source: Leadership) Celtel’s Uganda licence extended while new licences under scrutinyCeltel Uganda can now firmly proceed with its future business plans for the telecom market following the approval of the extension of its operation license by the Ugandan Communications Commission, on February 8. Patrick Masambu, the executive director of Ugandan Communications Commission (UCC), a body in charge of licensing and regulating telecommunication companies in Uganda, endorsed the license's extension at a public hearing of the performance of Celtel in Uganda, in Kampala, last week. The endorsement followed a presentation of a report on Celtel's performance under its 1993 and 2001 License regimes, by UCC. Celtel is seeking to renew its 1993 Cellular telecommunication's license which was reviewed in 2001, before it expires on September 17 this year. The 2001 Licence gave the company the mandate to provide Cellular services on similar terms as other operators and imposed obligations that it was required to be fulfilled in accordance with the sector development objectives. These requirements included; roll out expansion to cover 99.9 per cent of the population, improve the quality of services, maintenance of confidentiality of all communications over its network, payment of a one per cent levy on its Gross Annual Revenue and customer care by July 2005. Masambu said that Celtel has met all these obligations in its 15 years of operations by almost 100 per cent. "The commission intends to recommend to the Minister of Information and Communication Technology to grant an extension of Celtel's license to operate under the new licensing regime unless there are valid and substantial objections to the proposed extension," Masambu told a gathering at Hotel African. As Warid Telecom was in the final stages for the commercial launch of its services in Uganda last week, questions on how it acquired the operational license hang in the air. Members of Parliament on the Parliamentary Committee on ICT say that the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) should not have allowed new entrants, Warid Telecom and Hits Telecominto the telecom industry. The MPs argue that they should not have been allowed to operate without paying the required license fees and other operational charges or even the guarantee money amounting to about US$2 million. The committee's chairperson Edward Baliddawa opened a can of worms on the issue when he told members that a section of the public was concerned that the new entrants in the telecom sector were given a leeway to start operations in Uganda contrary to the Telecommunications Act 1993. He said that some unnamed group of people is preparing to petition Parliament against this action by the regulator, UCC to exempt the new players from paying the license fees and the guarantee money. "The committee as the overseer of the sector was not informed about the rationale of exempting these new companies from paying license fees which is not in order," he said. (Source: The Monitor and the East African Business Week) Key Witness in Corruption Case Spills the Beans in NamibiaA key figure in the Telecom Namibia copper corruption trial now under way in the High Court in Windhoek yesterday started spilling the beans on his own and three suspected accomplices' claimed involvement in an alleged scheme to manipulate the sale of scrap copper by Telecom Namibia for their own gain. The alleged corrupt scrap copper sales scheme that has led to the prosecution of former Telecom Namibia General Manager James Camm and businessmen Ettienne Weakley and Heinz Dresselhaus on 30 charges of corruption, fraud and theft, was hatched one evening in 1997 by the side of the swimming pool of Dresselhaus's Heja Game Lodge outside Windhoek, former Telecom Namibia Procurement Manager Ivan Ganes told Judge Collins Parker yesterday. Ganes gave his testimony in the same courtroom where he was sentenced to an effective two-year jail term. Ganes was also sentenced to a fine of N$100 000 on June 15 2005, after he had pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud in connection with his role in the alleged scrap copper sales scam over which Dresselhaus, Weakley and Camm are now on trial. The latter three have all pleaded not guilty to the 30 charges that they are facing. The charges all date from the period between October 1998 and February 2001. Ganes was still Telecom Namibia's Manager: Procurement in that period, while Camm was a General Manager at the telecommunications parastatal and Dresselhaus Scrap CC, a scrap dealership owned by Dresselhaus and Weakley, was doing business with Telecom after it had clinched a contract with Telecom for the sale of scrap copper. That contract was signed on October 8 and 9 1997. At some stage during 1997, after the contract had been concluded, he was approached by Camm to discuss how they could themselves also benefit by manipulating the sale of scrap copper to Dresselhaus Scrap, Ganes told the Judge. He said Camm first called him and asked if they could have a talk in connection with the copper sales, and Camm then came to his office to discuss the matter. Camm told him there were huge quantities of copper wire that had to be removed from old Telecom Namibia phone lines across the country as a result of the introduction of new phone systems, Ganes said. Camm also said some of these lines were very old - dating back more than 30 years - and no-one would really be missing them if they disappeared, Ganes testified. He said Camm asked him if he wanted to buy into such a scheme, and he answered that he was interested. Camm then told him that he would arrange a meeting with Dresselhaus and Weakley, Ganes added. He said a meeting was arranged one evening at Heja Game Lodge outside Windhoek. There he met Dresselhaus, who owns the lodge, and Weakley, and they first had a few drinks at the lodge's bar before they were joined by Camm. He said the first part of it related to the manipulation of labour costs connected to the dismantling and removal of old phone lines from where copper had to be collected. The plan was that they would find a way in which the job of removing this copper wire would be given to Dresselhaus Scrap. They also talked about getting copper to just 'disappear' on some routes where old phone lines had to be dismantled, and about manipulating the price that Dresselhaus Scrap would be required to pay Telecom Namibia for the copper it bought from the company, Ganes said. He said it was agreed that Dresselhaus Scrap would be allowed to charge Telecom at a rate of N$2,200 per ton of copper for its labour and removal costs where the scrap dealer dismantled old phone lines itself. This job however was expected to cost Dresselhaus only around N$1,500 per ton of copper collected, and the result was that the difference of N$700 a ton of copper was to be shared equally between himself, Camm, Weakley and Dresselhaus, Ganes said. The real benefits that the four expected to be reaping from their scheme was with some routes where old phone lines were to be removed and Dresselhaus Scrap would simply not be asked to pay for any of the copper collected on these routes, Ganes indicated. (Source: The Namibian) World Bank Frees Funds to Support Call Centres industry in KenyaCall centres will start drawing financial support from the Government next month as part of a Sh78 million project supported by the World Bank. The bank has released the money under the Transparency Communication and Infrastructure Programme (TCIP), which will also support the e-government projects, meant to take public sector services to the grassroots through ICT. The subsidies to the business process outsourcing centres would start on March 15, said ICT board deputy chief executive officer Victor Kyalo. The ICT board is implementing the programme. The ration is the second part of a Sh114.4 million World Bank Transparency Communication and Infrastructure Programme (TCIP). Mr Kyalo said the board was evaluating how operators would benefit from the subsidy. "The purpose of offering subsidy to the BPO sector is to make them competitive in the global market, the World Bank has made the money available now" said Mr Kyalo. The operators are now shackled with high interconnection charges. With the subsidy, however, they will pay $500 per megabyte per month leaving the government to pay an extra $1,200 to broadband bandwidth service providers. Initial indications are that the subsidy will benefit BPOs that have been in operation for at least three months and have ongoing contracts with bandwidth providers, clients and employees. Kenya's reliance on the satellite links for communication has made BPO services costly paying as much as $1,700 in monthly bandwidth unit costs compared to $250 per unit in competing nations like India and Philippines. The BPO operators will benefit from the subsidy until the undersea cable is available in the region. (Source: Business Daily)
In brief:-Prysmian Cables & Systems which has been contracted by the Libyan General Post and Telecommunications Company (GPTC) to lay cables has announced that it is nearing completion of a contract for the delivery of more than 6000km of optical cable into the Libyan national network. A second contract with a value 35 million euro has just been signed for further cabling work. - African mobile operators are likely to join the action to fight the spread of child pornography on cellphones. Following the initiative, launched by European operators this week, Africa's largest operator, MTN has already joined the group, and Vodacom has also committed to support the campaign. - Third mobile phone operator, Econet Wireless International has a June deadline to roll out its services or have its licence cancelled according to the Communications Commission of Kenya - Worried by a decision of the Federal government to blacklist it from further patronage in Nigeria, the management of Siemens AG of Germany visited President Umaru Yar'Adua, assuring him that it will fully cooperate with Federal law enforcement agencies to bring to justice all the public officials involved in the recent Siemens bribery scandal. - According a report from El Khabar, Algeria’s Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, Haichour is promising to remove any barriers to competition and resolve problems which are preventing Lacom from doing business. Telecom Egypt and Orascom have both said that they will exit the Algerian market if the regulatory situation does not improve. - In South Africa, the funds that licensed telecommunications providers and broadcasters pay to the Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF) will come under review between 12 and 14 March, when the Independent Communications Authority of SA (ICASA) holds public hearings. - Celtel Nigeria, is set to change its brand name from Celtel to Zain in June this year, in line with the desire of its parent company to operate under one global brand name. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage- Rwanda’s mobile operator MTN has cut its local and international tariffs by 35% and 60% respectively. Local mobile calls using MTN Per second Billing and PayGo packages have been reduced from Rwf3.30 ($0.006) to Rwf2.17 ($0.004) per second and Rwf147($0.3) to Rwf100($0.18) per unit during peak hours. - The Managing Director of Celtel Nigeria, Bayo Ligali has disclosed plans by the company to invest one billion US dollars on its network to improve its quality of service. He also disclosed that Celtel which has built 3100 base stations in 2007 is planning to build 1000 more base stations in 2008. - Nigerian cellco Glo Mobile, the wireless arm of second national operator Globacom, has successfully launched commercial 3G services in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt. The infrastructure, supplied by French-US vendor Alcatel-Lucent, features UMTS/HSPA radio access and core networking equipment, and IMS-ready next-generation architecture, and is the first operational 3G network in the country.
Sentech to Provide Wireless Internet in South AfricaReducing the cost of doing business in South Africa received a leg up on Friday, with President Thabo Mbeki's announcement that state-owned broadband supplier, Sentech, will become a wireless internet provider following an injection of funds. "Accordingly, we will this year complete the licensing and operationalisation of InfraCo," President Mbeki said during his State of the Nation Address on Friday. "Already, money has been allocated for Sentech to become a wireless internet wholesaler as well as finance its digitisation," said President Thabo Mbeki delivering his State of the Nation Address in Parliament on Friday. InfraCo is a company which aims to stimulate greater private investment in African and Asian infrastructure development by acting as a principal project developer, focusing on lower income countries. The President highlighted that government and the private sector has been working to complete the process to launch the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) - a 9 9000km-long submarine cable between Duran and Port Sudan. (Source: BuaNews) MTC Pledges N$20 000 to Xnet in NamibiaMobile Telecommunications Ltd (MTC) last week pledged N$20 000 and 500,000 Mbps towards the Xnet Development Alliance for International Communication Technology (ICT) projects. Officially handing over the donation, MTC's General Manager: Corporate Affairs, Albertus Aochamub, said the 500,000 Mbps will allow Xnet to connect 41 institutions, each with a 1Mbps 3G package similar to that of MTC's 3G 1000 lite product. In addition, Xnet will be able to offer the package at N$200, half the commercial price, to its beneficiaries. In return, Xnet will earn an additional income per month, which it can use to offset its overheads. "Therefore, the effect of this contribution will be twofold in a way that it will enable beneficiary institutions access to affordable connectivity, while Xnet will generate an additional source of income," said Aochamub. He said additional income from beneficiary institutions would ensure that Xnet is a self-sustaining entity. To ensure self-sustainability, the general manager believes that the number of institutions connected will have to be increased. As a result, Xnet will target small institutions that would benefit from 3G coverage as well as subsidized pricing. "At this point, these institutions still have to be identified." Xnet is currently working with the Ministry of Education by providing connectivity to their educational institutions nationwide. He is confident that other initiatives such as Health Net would also be pursued before the end of the year. The Xnet Development Alliance Trust (Xnet) was established in 2003 with the aim to provide affordable connectivity solutions to various under-served commercially unfeasible public sectors and institutions in the country. (Source: New Era) Internet Operators Lament Lack of Access in GambiaInternet Café operators and users have been complaining recently that they cannot access Internet services. They complained that it sometimes takes them two to three hours before they can access the Internet. Internet operators stated that they are having difficulties with their customers due to difficulties in accessing their email accounts. Most customers who this reporter spoke to said that they cannot understand the slow process of browsing the Internet. They said they buy time which would be exhausted without accessing their emails. Some customers stated that they would buy two to three hours without accessing their mails which is a loss to them. The Internet café operators within the Kanifing Municipality pinpointed the same problems they have been having since last week. They said it is very difficult for their clients to understand the delay in accessing the internet. They said they have to explain to their customers that the problem emanates from the main service providers. They said customers often ask them to refund them their monies as they cannot access the Internet. They indicated that they are encountering financial losses due to a drop in the number of customers; that they do refund some customers who insist on getting their monies back because of inaccessibility to the internet. However, Foroyaa investigated the problem and found out that the Internet cable linking Gamtel and Sonatel, in Senegal has been faulty. According to our sources, The Gambia internet traffic passes through Senegal; that their main supply is the Senegalese telco Sonatel. Yaya Manneh, of the Gamtel Internet Service unit, confirmed their problems pointing out that it was a cable problem emanating from their underground fibre connection with Senegal, which has been cut. But he was quick to add that they are tirelessly working on the problem. He indicated that, at first, they thought the fibre problem emanated from the Senegalese side but it was later discovered that it was from The Gambian side. He also confirmed that Gambia is not yet connected to World Wide Web due to lack of "Marine Cable," which Senegal have for easy access to the World Wide Web. He noted that their main back bone is Senegal. During his interview with the Foryaa newspaper, Manneh received another call saying the problem had been resolved. (Source: Foroyaa Newspaper) In brief:- Services on two of three broken undersea cables providing Internet services to parts of the Middle East and Asia have been restored after both cables were repaired, an Indian-owned cable operator said, reported Reuters. FLAG Telecom, a subsidiary of India's No. 2 mobile operator Reliance Communications said in a statement the breaks in its FLAG Europe-Asia (FEA) and FALCON cables had been repaired and services routed back through these cables. Repair work on SEA-ME-WE 4, the second cable cut near Egypt, was also expected to be completed within the week. - Vodacom South Africa is preparing to launch its first WiMAX wireless broadband services in several major cities within the next few weeks. - A group of academics and researchers from various Arab universities in North Africa and the Middle East launched lately the Arab portal for media and communication studies, "an academic area specialized in information and communication studies and researches." The main goal of the portal (www.arabmediastudies.net) is to "contribute in the creation of an active Arab research society" in the field of information and communication. The initiative is open to the researchers who "believe in scientific research's societal role and bank on the importance of research in achieving Arab information development." - Telecom Egypt has agreed to sell its minority stakes in two Internet service providers to wireless network operator Etisalat Egypt. Etisalat Egypt, a unit of the UAE-based Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat), will buy 27.3% of Nile Online and 16.5% of the Egyptian Company for Networks (EgyNet). - A web portal encompassing a wide range of information on Algeria destination will be launched next March in Algiers by Touring voyages Algeria (TVA). This website is to offer information, notably on the welcoming facilities across the country, following what is done for the world’s prestigious destinations, officials of TVA, subsidiary of Touring Club Algeria (TCA) indicated.
School Computers Rot in Store in NamibiaThe bulk of a N$9 million consignment of computer equipment bought by the Ministry of Education early last year for distribution to 40 schools has not yet reached its intended destinations. The computers have been kept in storage at the Ministry's recently established National Education Technology Service and Support Centre (Netts) in Windhoek. The reason for the delay appears to be a lack of proper infrastructure at most of the schools identified. Many of the schools, according to Ministry officials, do not have the necessary power points. There is also concern about a lack of security at some of the schools. Sources in the Ministry are worried that the warranty on the computers could lapse before they are installed. But the Deputy Director at the Ministry, Johan van Wyk, yesterday said that the warranty would only take effect once the computers were installed. "We knew that the computers would be with us for a while, because some of the schools were just not ready yet," he said. Van Wyk said about a third of the computers had been deployed since the arrival of the last consignment in July last year. This equipment, he said, was sent mostly to Windhoek schools and various colleges of education and vocational training centres across the country. Van Wyk said the Ministry was waiting on its regional directors to confirm that the identified schools were ready for the installation. "I would rather have them rot here right now than send them to a school where I have no guarantee that they will be safe", added Jens Viëter, Director of the Netts centre. Both officials rejected claims that the Ministry had been dragging its feet on the matter. "The last batch of the computers only reached us in July, and shortly after that was the start of the exams," Van Wyk said, adding that the Ministry had received a directive from Minister Nangolo Mbumba last year that no other activities were to be undertaken at schools during examinations. He said schools in the Erongo and Karas regions had recently confirmed that they were ready for the computers, and the installation should be done next week. (Source: The Namibian) International Computer Driving Licence Programme Shows Positive Results in South AfricaAn International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) programme at the St Mary's Diocesan School for Girls which started two years ago has shown positive results. The ICDL in South Africa is a non-profit organisation established to promote digital literacy to all and to administer the global quality standard in end user computing. This is the same programme which has been used to skill prisoners, through the Department of Correctional Services rehabilitation efforts. The Western Cape Education Department has also enrolled about 100 Education Management and Development Centre staff on the programme. The Department of Communications has also showed an interest in the ICDL qualification by sponsoring 2 000 unemployed candidates to participate in the programme through Further Education and Training Colleges. Regarding the uptake by learners, over 300 learners at the DSG school in Kloof, West of Durban are involved in the programme which has equipped them with computer skills to face the corporate world. "Since the programme started, the school has received a positive response from pupils and this is showed by last year's 90 percent overall pass rate achieved," said Grade 12 schools' Head of Department and ICDL teacher, Sheryl Gordon. (Source: BuaNews) Business Software Alliance wants to reduce Africa’s 60% piracy rate by 10%Reducing Africa's average of 60 percent software piracy by a rate of 10 percent would have a multiplier effect and increase economic benefits, suggested a new study released by the Business Software Alliance (BSA). The study said the economic benefits could be in the form of as many as 24,000 additional jobs generated, U.S.$600 million in tax revenues, and U.S.$3.4 billion in spending in the local IT sector over the next four years. The study further suggested that a reduction in software piracy on personal computers (PCs) over the next four years in Africa and the Middle East could create a stronger local information technology sector, generate new high-paying jobs and contribute significantly to ongoing tax revenue. "When countries take steps to reduce software piracy, everyone stands to benefit," said Alistair de Wet, compliancy manager for Adobe South Africa and spokesperson for the BSA in Africa. "With more and better job opportunities, a stronger, more secure business environment, and greater economic contributions from the already robust IT sector, reducing software piracy delivers tangible benefits for governments and local economies." The study found that for every U.S.$1 spent on legitimate packaged software, an additional U.S.$1.25 is spent on related services such as installing the software, training personnel and providing maintenance services. Most of these benefits, it said, are accrued to locally-based software services and channel firms. PC software piracy is said to be as high as 91 percent in Zimbabwe, and generally above 80 percent in Africa. "Reducing PC software piracy is important for business owners and SMEs in order to reduce the legal and business risks of using unlicensed software," said Thomas Hansen, General Manager for Microsoft West, East and Central Africa, which is a BSA member company. (Source: New Era) READERS COMMENT:Issue 391: Nigeria: Much scepticism about OPLC project I have been enjoying reading your news updates very much. They are usually well researched and give great insights into the African point of view. While the latter is still true about Efem Nkanga's article, it is singularly badly researched. The title says it all! Efem Nkanga seems to have taken as much care in investigating the OLPC project and Intel's pull out from it as he does in copy-reading important parts of his work. Further, the real plight of the children in decaying schools - and we have plenty right here in the Eastern Cape - is that their imagination and thirst for knowledge is not heeded. While educators worry about desks and seats to sit on, children in these schools desperately need water, food and knowledge - in that order. Desks and school uniforms - while traditionally important in schools here as much as in Nigeria - are really only crucial for learning in as far as the educators (the absolutely crucial part of the learning process) require them. In the future, thinking hardware will be much more important than these traditional trappings. Ron Wertlin
In brief:- The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Foundation says it plans seeks a legal removal of an injunction in a suit underway that restrains the supply of its XO laptops in for pilot programme underway in Galadima School, Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory. Nigerian-owned Lagos Analysis Corp. (Lancor) makers of multilingual keyboard featuring various Nigerian languages filed the suit at the Federal High Court Lagos saying OLPC had allegedly infringed its patent in the use of multilingual keyboard on OLPC’s XO laptop. - South African Linux and open source specialists, Obsidian, will from March be offering official training for the Ubuntu Certified Professional programme. - Korean government is to build an information and communication technology (ICT) centre at the National University of Rwanda (NUR). Last year, the Korean government trained 23 Rwandans in different fields; including IT development, e-business, economic development strategy, trade and investment promotion. - Technology company AccessKenya has broadened its presence in the coastal region with the launch of two new operating points in Mombasa's South coast. - Technology Distributions has formally launched a partnership with Toshiba with a promise from both company to lower the cost of laptop computers in Nigeria. - In South Africa, memory specialist Axiz has remained mum on whether it is to step in as HP's new print solutions distributor, following the company's break-up with consumer electronics distributor Rectron. -In South Africa, the Department of Home Affairs is reviewing all its IT projects and wants smart ID cards by end 2009.
Kenya’s Safaricom IPO Stalls As State Awaits the Go-AheadRegulators have not approved a Government plan to sell a portion of its stake in Safaricom, signalling that the offer is unlikely to be in the market by the end of this month as earlier planned. People familiar with the matter said this and the drop in investor confidence following the recent outbreak of post-election violence has stopped the transaction on its tracks, throwing the advisors back to the drawing board. Treasury officials, transaction advisors and Safaricom executives have since last week indicated that not much had been done on the planned sale since the year began. "Nothing much has happened, we are still where we were in December - waiting for approvals," said Mohammed Hassan, the joint chief executive officer at Dyer and Blair Investment Bank, which is part of a consortium that is advising the Government on the deal. He said the release of the IPO timetable would depend on how fast the approvals were granted and investor confidence. The IPO requires approvals from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE) and the two shareholders - the Government and the British telecom giant Vodafone. Treasury plans to sell 25 per cent of its 60 per cent stake in Safaricom to the public through the NSE. Vodafone holds the remaining 40 per cent. Since political violence broke out over the tallying of the presidential vote a month ago, the stock market has taken a beating with most shares trading below their true value mainly because retail investors, who happen to be the main target of the movers of the Safaricom offer, exited the bourse for fear of taking huge losses. Safaricom chief executive, Michael Joseph, had earlier indicated that the IPO would happen in mid-February, arguing that investor interest on the offer was high despite the political violence. He has, however, climbed down, saying the IPO timetable was unknown. "I am sorry I do not have any new information for you," he told the Business Daily when asked for an update on Monday. (Source: Business Daily) Federal Government Seeks New Investors for Nitel/Mtel in NigeriaThe Federal Government has embarked on a search for new investors in Nitel and Mtel to improve its dwindling fortunes. In a meeting with Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) last December, government made clear its position that it wants to get another investor to salvage the telecoms company. The Government said this was to redress the worsening condition of the company, a year after Transcorp took its operations. This decision was contained in a resolution at the end of the meeting made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday. The resolution indicated that both parties agreed to divest a percentage of their equity in the company for a new investor. "There is the need for a new core investor who is an industry player with a focus, technical expertise, managerial experience and financial capacity to turn NITEL/Mtel around" it stated. The Federal Government currently owns 49 per cent shares in the telecoms company, while Transcorp controls 51 per cent after paying N63 billion (US 500 million dollars) in November 2006. With this resolution, the government is to relinquish 24 per cent of its holding to the new investor and retain the remaining 25 per cent . "Transcorp is to relinquish a maximum of 27 per cent out of its 51 per cent holding to the new operator/investor in order to make up the 51 per cent needed to give the core investor majority ownership," the resolution said. The officials said the memo to the president entitled "Re: Unmerited Six Months Tolerance of Transcorp's sloppy Management of NITEL/MTel" catalogued about 32 areas that Transcorp did not meet. The officials said Transcorp had failed to meet up its Post Acquisition Plan of NITEL/ Mtel, which envisaged an infusion of N8.9 billion working capital loan to turn around the company. They said Transcorp had also not met the repayment of N15 billion interconnection debt to local and international network operators. Transcorp had also not been able to pay four months salary to Nitel workers who had all been on probation for over a year, without promotion or increment. It identified "Incessant changes and disagreements between board members and top management in Transcorp as a major factor leading to instability in strategy and programme implementation" the officials said. (Source: This Day) MTN dumps Telkom, eyes Verizon in South AfricaMTN has decided to withdraw from discussions aimed at re-entering the bidding war for SA's fixed-line operator, Telkom. The latter is already in preliminary discussions with Oger Telecom, Cell C's part shareholder. Last month, ITWeb revealed that MTN and Telkom's investment bankers were already involved in early talks to re-enter their bids. The expression of interest from Oger was expected to result in MTN instituting firm moves on the telco. However, a source close to the companies says MTN has decided to turn its back on a Telkom acquisition. This is based on the difficulties such a deal would encounter with competition authorities, he explains. “MTN would have to break down the structure of Telkom significantly to get it past the Competition Commission and Tribunal. This would strip the deal of almost all the value MTN hoped to get from the deal. At the end of the day it just didn't make sense,” he reveals. Market watchers have long contended that the proposed acquisition would be very difficult, if not impossible, to get past competition authorities Meanwhile, ITWeb has established that MTN has turned its eye to Verizon's local operations. An insider at the communications provider has confirmed that Verizon has received acquisitive interest from MTN, but added that in the last year the company had received around 20 such propositions. MTN competitor Vodacom is believed to be one of the companies that have tried to acquire the local operation. However, to date, none of the bids have been successful. At this stage, it is unknown whether MTN would look to buy the South African operations alone or include Verizon's other operations on the African continent. Verizon has offices in Kenya, Namibia, Zambia and Botswana. Both MTN and Verizon have declined to comment. (Source: ITWeb) President Bush announces new US$100 million fund for Telecoms, Media and TechnologyPresident George W. Bush announced today that the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) would support five new private equity investment funds, with a combined target capitalization of $875 million, one of which will invest US$100 million in Telecoms, Media and Technology. “Last year, we launched the Africa Financial Sector Initiative. As part of this effort, OPIC mobilized $750 million in investment capital for African businesses,” President Bush said in a speech on the eve of his February 15-21 trip to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia. “Today, I'm announcing that OPIC will support five new investment funds that will mobilize an additional $875 million, for a total of more than $1.6 billion in new capital.” OPIC will contribute US$50 million to the new Africa Telecoms, Media and Technology Fund, with the remaining US$50 million coming from private sources. The fund will invest in technology, media and communications companies, primarily in Kenya and Tanzania, and potentially in Malawi, Rwanda and Uganda. By building a state-of-the art broadband network in eastern Africa, the fund will offer improved telecommunications products and services to consumers for lower prices. To do so, it will implement advanced technologies, such as fiber optic cable and wireless networks. Consequently, the fund will have strong multiplier and economic diversification effects, by providing local SMEs with lower telecommunications costs, better IT infrastructure, and new services that will improve their efficiency. The fund also plans to provide broadband service to rural communities that have poor coverage for phone, internet and TV services. OPIC selected as fund manager East Africa Capital Partners, a US company whose principals have participated in some of the largest telecommunications and media transactions in Europe over the past ten years. In brief:- Saudi Telecom Company (STC) is getting a foot into South Africa’s telecom market with the completion of the purchase of a 35% interest in Oger Telecom for a net price of US$ 2.56 billion. Oger Telecom owns 75% of Cell C, South Africa’s third mobile operator. - At a presentation of Côte d’Ivoire Telecom’s plans for 2008, Koné Bruno, the General Director has hinted that while the company is aiming at offering converged services, it will also look at a closer integration with its mobile arm, Orange. - Mobinil, Egypt's largest mobile phone operator by subscribers, has agreed a deal with banks for a LE2.2bn ($398.9m) long-term loan, the stock exchange said, reported Reuters. The stock exchange said Mobinil would sign a contract for the loan with Banque Misr, Commercial International Bank COMI, National Societe Generale Bank and HSBC Bank Egypt. - A budding expansion plan, product diversification and operational restructuring have seen regional cable manufacturing giant East African Cables increase its pre-tax profits by 41 per cent to Sh3.5 billion for the year ended December 31. East African Cables (EAC) has over the last year embarked on the manufacture of fibre optic cables, a product it hopes will significantly add to its revenue streams as the region migrates from the use of satellite based internet connectivity to use of fibre optic cables. - South African mobile firm MTN has reduced its stake in MTN Nigeria to 76.08%, to broaden the ownership of its Nigerian unit. Nigerian individuals and key institutions acquired a 9.45% interest in MTN Nigeria. MTN realised USD594.5 million from selling 5.96% of its own stake in the Nigerian business, according to an MTN press release. The remaining shares were sold by other minority stakeholders. - Orascom Telecom's CEO, Naguib Sawiris has not ruled out the possibility that the company could merge with another operator in the future - although he has ruled out a complete sale of the company. In an interview with the Financial Times, Sawiris also said some western telecoms companies were "doomed" to lose their places among the 10 largest by market capitalisation unless they increased their emerging markets presence.
Mobile Phones to Be Used in Aids Fight in UgandaAn innovative programme that uses cell phone text messages as an interactive tool in improving HIV/Aids sensitisation and education has been introduced in Uganda. The programme is a joint effort of Text to Change (TTC), the Aids Information Centre (AIC) and Celtel Uganda. Text to Change is a non profit organisation which is devoted to improving HIV/Aids education in sub-Saharan Africa. A joint press statement issued by TTC and AIC on Saturday said the pilot programme would officially be launched by the three partners in Mbarara on Valentines Day (February, 14). According to the statement, the TTC came up with the idea after it realised that by utilising cell phones, HIV/Aids knowledge could reach more people especially the youth who are ignorant of the disease. "The first thing that came to my mind when I learnt about telephones was: if so many people are accessing mobile telephones in Sub Saharan Africa, why not use them for health education?" Text to Change's founder and Marketing Manager Bas Hoefman said. (source: The Monitor) South Africa blog awards open for nominationsThe annual SA blog awards yesterday opened nominations for the 2008 awards. This year, following the fallout from last year’s awards, the judges have put in place a new set of rules for the competition. There are a range of categories including those for best post, best original writing, best politics blog, best new blog, best technology blog and, of course, the best SA blog. So, if you’re a regular blog reader (maybe even a regular Tectonic reader?) then head on over to the nominations page to put forward your favourite blogs. Readers can nominate up to three blogs in each category and four in the South African Weblog of the Year category. The nominations close on February 22. One of the significant changes this year is that 70 percent of the final score will be provided by the reading public and the remaining 30 percent divided between a local and international judging panel. So get nominating. (Source: Tectonic)
People* The Board of Namibia Post Limited (NamPost) yesterday announced the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer, Sakaria Nghikembua. * The Chief Executive Officer of Celtel Nigeria, Adebayo Ligali, has been appointed to the board of the Company. * The Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) has appointed Sharon Horton, a former Telkom senior legal specialist, as its new Head of Corporate Affairs. Events* AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST NEXT GENERATION NETWORKS SUMMIT 2008 18th - 19th February 2008, Indaba Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa The conference revolves B2B, B2G, G2G Next Generation Networks business opportunities and challenges, convergence challenges, security, quality of service, pricing and billing, operator strategy, mobile content and applications, interoperability, network and infrastructure etc. Attendance is by invitation only. For further information Abas Patahul at abas.p@kl.unistrategic.com * 2nd ANNUAL CALL CENTRE CONFERENCE 20-21 February 2008, Birchwood Executive Hotel & Conference Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa This annual conference twill give you the ideas and insights you need to achieve outstanding service in South Africa’s most challenging work environment. For more info contact Neliswa Duma on +27 11 880 8540 or by email at neliswa@knowres.co.za * CAPACITY MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA 2008 25th – 26th February 2008, Dubai Now in its 3rd successful year Capacity Middle East & North Africa 2008 provides the leading high-level, important meeting point for executives from international telecommunications companies and companies in the GCC and North Africa to discuss strategic domestic and international wholesale telecommunications market opportunities. Capacity Middle East & North Africa 2008 provides attendees with the optimum networking forum to forge business partnerships and execute business deals. Offering high-level content in the form of interactive panel discussions and presentations, this event is not to be missed! To register please contact Clare Heath on Tel: +44 208 481 3460 or Email: clare.heath@capacitymedia.com or for more information please visit www.capacitymedia.com/conferences-events.asp * THE AFRICAN BANKING TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE – “New dates” 28th March – 4th April 2008, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya The conference theme is “sharing knowledge and best practices in banking across Africa”. For further information click on www.aitecafrica.com * MED-IT@ALGER 2008 22- 23 April 2008, Algier, Algeria The fifth edition of this B2B exhibition will provide plenty of opportunities to develop contacts and relationship with local companies in the IT and Telecoms sectors. The exhibition main topics are: new mobile services, call centre solutions and equipment, VoIP, IT security, banking software, CRM, ERP and storage solutions. For further information please http://www.medit.eu.org/2008/algerie/presentation.htm * AFRICA MOBILE MARKETING FORUM 23-24th April 2008, Lagos, Nigeria Up until recently the only mechanism for delivering advertising messages to mobile devices was via SMS and WAP Push. However, now that 3G phones, with their multimedia capabilities, are reaching critical mass, the opportunities for advertising and brand extension, primarily via mobile video, are greatly increased. For further information visit http://www.mobilemarketingafrica.com/ * E-LEARNING AFRICA 29-30 May 2008, Accra, Ghana eLearning Africa 2008 is a conference organised by ICWE GmbH and Hoffmann & Reif that focuses on ICT for development, education and training in Africa. The event establishes and links a Pan-African network of decision makers from governments and administrations with universities, schools, governmental and private training providers, industry, and important partners in development cooperation. For further visit www.eLearning-Africa.com * SEMINAR ON E-GOVERNMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT: STRATEGIES AND POLICIES 13-27 June 2008, Washington DC, USA This intensive face-to-face seminar includes lectures, panel discussions, and interactive workshops presented by leading e-Government experts from USAID, USTTI Board member corporations, private sector firms, universities, NGOs, and multinational organizations. For additional information about the content of the course, how to apply, as well as funding, visit the USTTI website at http://ustti.org Jobs and Opportunities* Ethiopian ICT Private sector assessment / investment incentives schemes to ICT Sector The Danish Management A/S is presently searching for individual experts to study the mechanisms to support the ICT private sector development and to facilitate ICT business sector activities by developing a Strategic document / Investment Incentives Scheme that will help to promote local and foreign direct investment and promote Ethiopia's ICT sector as an attractive investment destination. To examine the current state of the ICT private sector and identify areas for appropriate government intervention. Application deadline: 20 February 2008 For further information or to send in your application contact ictjobs@danishmanagement.dk The Danish Management A/S also announced that they are still looking for a qualified candidate to assist the Ministry of Post, Telephone and Telecommunications of Congo DRC to draft a comprehensive ICT Bill. * Candidate looking for a job opportunity in Project Management or O&M Experience: - July 2003 up to now: Manager of Operational Risks in a major telecom operator in Eastern Africa - 1999 to June 2003: Pre-paid project Manager then Quality Control Manager for GSM Networks, (13 countries) based in Southern Africa. - April 1998 to January 99: GSM Switching Project Manager for an International operator in Southern Africa - December 1996 to April 1998: Based in West Africa as part of international team in introducing GSM network. - 1988 to December 1996: Switching manager Technical analyst, Switching chief engineer, Commercial and operations director and then Planning and Projects Manager for an incumbent Telco. Education: European MBA (2005-2007) and Engineer in Electronic (1982-1987) This candidate with 20 years experience is seeking a job in Project management or O&M for a major operator or emerging telco with growth opportunity. For further information contact assistant@satconsult.eu * Candidate seeking a job opportunity in the telecom/IT sector in Africa Experience: - July 2006-Present: Senior IT consultant in a Western African country responsible for technical implementation, customers relationship, training, implementation and support (IBM Systems, Oracle Database, Application server, Unix systems, VAS platforms for GSM operators) - Aug 2000-Jun 2006: Technical Consultant and Pre-sales Engineer in major technical and logistics house based in West Africa: design, configuration and installation of all major products (Oracle, TSM, HACMP) for customers’ environments on IBM AIX, Linux and Windows platforms. Education: Computer Engineer, 2000, IBM and ORACLE Certified specialist The candidate is looking for a job in IT systems within an African Telecom Operator’s platform environment For further information contact assistant@satconsult.eu Contracts* Rwandatel and Huawei - Rwanda Rwandatel has signing a USD 35 million partnership agreement with Huawei technologies.This contract will realize the nationwide rollout of new infrastructure that will support Rwandatel’s GSM and 3G UMTS network services. Also included in the deal is the revamping of the landline network and replacing the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) with an NGN (New Generation Network). GSM will cover most of the populated areas and roads, with the 3G UMTS covering most of the urban centres. * Unitel and Alcatel-Lucent – Angola Alcatel-Lucent announced that it has been selected by Angolan operator Unitel to expand and upgrade its mobile network with GSM/EDGE radio equipment. The contract, valued at approximately EUR20 million (USD29 million), covers the expansion of GSM capacity and deployment of EDGE technology in all regions covered by Unitel’s network. * Areeba/MTN and Sicap - Guinea Areeba Guinea s.a MTN Group and Sicap have released details of their recent deal to provision Areeba customers with GPRS service settings directly from the Sicap Device Management Center. The rapidity of the launch was the obvious first consideration for the operator, eager to reach its target of active GPRS usage among twenty five percent of its customers.
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