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WEEKLY PUBLICATION DEADLINE: 12 pm GMT Sunday. ISSUE NO 397 Ghana Telecom joins operators offering “almost” triple-play offers, by introducing IP-TVAfrica’s incumbent telco operators are sidling towards offering their customers triple play. This week Ghana Telecom announced the introduction of IP-TV and Mozambique’s cable operator has approached the Mozambique regulator for a voice licence. Coming from the other side of the convergence divide, Nigerian broadcaster AIT is going through an IPO which it says will see it deliver triple play. Russell Southwood looks at the new entrants as they line up at the start gate. Incumbent Ghana Telecom’s Broadband4U customers will be able to get access to IP-TV channels in April. Broadband Manager Johnny Nettey said the broadband users would have a bouquet of video programmes from which they could subscribe to when the IP-TV service becomes operational. Programmes to be offered will include sports, entertainment, movies, fashion shows, local and foreign news, children's channels and FM radio Channels. Currently Ghana Telecom has about 14,000 broadband subscribers with a target of 18,000 customers by the end of 2008. It is currently the cheapest service in the market and this has led to charges that is attempting to squeeze other operators out of the market, as it both supplies both wholesale connectivity and competes with its own wholesale customers. However, despite being the lowest priced in the market, Nettey said that there were still many customers who had not transferred from a dial-up account. Unfortunately it will not be able to offer full triple play as it has been one of the most vociferous opponents of legalising VoIP in the country. The same issue also bedevils those places where triple play might start elsewhere: for example, in Orange’s francophone territories. Sceptics are doubtful about how serious Ghana Telecom is about this latest venture. It also announced that it would launch a mobile TV service last September but has not gone ahead. Rumours say that a local investor pulled out. Furthermore, Ghana Telecom is on the point of being sold to a new owner if the Ghanaian government can persuade somebody to take it off their hands at a price they find acceptable. The Government was looking for US$1-1.5 billion but bidders only offered around US$800 million. The Government is currently trying to persuade Vodacom and/or Telkom to up their bids on the basis of the value of its mobile operation. As one local quipped:”I should get these guys to sell my car.” However, no progress will be made on the legalisation of VoIP until the sale is complete. Also in the field is Africa’s lusophone cable operator, Visabeira-owned TV Cabo has asked the Mozambique regulator for a voice licence: the Mozambique operation offers various TV bouquets and Internet access. It has around 20,000 subscribers, mainly in the capital Maputo. Although it also has a cable operation in Angola with over 7,500 subscribers, VoIP is still illegal there, making triple play illegal. Its network in the capital Luanda has passed 30,000 houses. Another contender from the other side of the convergence divide is Nigerian broadcaster AIT. It has recently been granted a licence to provide national Free-To-Air coverage and has just opened the IPO process to raise funds from the Nigeria Stock Exchange. Chairman Raymond Dokpesi said the new funds would allow the company to explore “new vast opportunities offered by the dynamics of technology and the changing trends in the industry to meet the rising sophistication of viewers within and outside Nigeria.” Included in his list of opportunities were mobile TV and triple play. With characteristic Nigerian optimist, Dokpesi spoke of there being a market of around 15 million news, entertainment and sport. There are two drawbacks for Africa’s incumbent telcos who seem to be blindly following market trends elsewhere. Buying content rights to fill channels that Africans will want to watch is not a cheap business. Interestingly Ghana Telecom did not announce the content on its new IP-TV. Without content, IP-TV is simply a delivery mechanism and one for which the hype is currently greater than the subscriber base. Furthermore, both the broadband and fixed line subscriber bases in Africa are about as modest and not always as healthy. The second drawback is that it requires a telephone network that is in good condition if subscribers are to be able to get good picture quality. How many African incumbent telcos can boast networks that fit this description? Discuss. Issue 396: Infrastructure sharing to speed roll-outI want to commend you on "Infrastructure sharing to speed roll out" story issue 396 with a focus of national and international fibre optic backbone networks following the recent ITU's regulator conference. Even though you did not cite our MaIN OnE submarine cable project (which will connect countries on the western seaboard of the continent), the model you advocated of credible third party funding of private sector projects deployed on a shared infrastructure basis is exactly what we are implementing. It is indeed a mixed bag because it appears that in Africa where the infrastructure is most lacking, there is the least openness towards sharing in order to protect markets or inflated profits. However, there is also starting to appear sufficient understanding and we have had some tremendous early successes in generating support for our project. The support has come from financiers who see the opportunity that such infrastructure services bring, some of the more progressive regulators who are working to introduce licensing policies that favour the deployment of open access systems and indeed some operators who are willing to commit to shared infrastructure solutions in areas where they have not already made the investment. We are delighted by your advocacy of these progressive policies for Africa and hope it encourages more operators and countries to get on board. Funke Opeke
Etisalat unveils fifth mobile phone network in NigeriaEtisalat unveiled its new network last week, making it Nigeria's fifth mobile phone operator. Hakeem Bello-Osagie, chairman of Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services, or EMTS, owners of the license operated by Etisalat, said at the ceremony last Friday that Etisalat is expected to use a marketing strategy of reduced tariffs to take market share from established operators in Nigeria. Other operators are likely to follow suit, bringing the overall level of tariffs down. EMTS, a Nigerian firm, entered into partnership with Mubadala Development Co. of the United Arab Emirates following Mubadala`s acquisition of a Unified Access License that includes a mobile phone license from the Nigerian government in January 2007 for $400 million. Etisalat has acquired a 40% stake in EMTS and operates the license in Nigeria. Saoud Al Shamsi, Etisalat`s chief executive officer, said the company has built a network that spans the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Nigeria has more than 40 million mobile phone subscribers. Operators include MTN, Globacom, Celtel and Visafone. (Source: Dow Jones Newswires) MTN Ups Stake in RwandaThe MTN Group has announced that it has concluded an agreement to purchase a further interest in MTN Rwanda, increasing its shareholding from 40% to 55%. According to a press statement posted on the company's website last week,it said the South Africa-based company will buy some 15% of 50% stake from a Rwandan company, Tristar Investments SARL which has been the majority shareholder in MTN Rwanda. Tristar Investments SARL will remain with significant 35% shares after the transaction which will be effected through MTN's wholly-owned subsidiary, MTN International (Mauritius) Limited. "This acquisition demonstrates MTN's confidence in the Rwandan economy and our resolve to consolidate our position in the region. We are pleased that this transaction has the endorsement of all shareholders," the MTN group President and CEO Phuthuma Nhleko was quoted in a press release as saying. The director general of Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency (RURA), a government agency that regulates the telecom sector among others, Mr. Diogène Mugabo said in a phone interview in Kigali on Friday last week that he had not seen an official written statement from MTN. "Any positive investment is welcome. If they want to increase their shares and show the need they can increase," Mugabo said. MTN was awarded a national GSM licence in Rwanda in April 1998, launching MTN's expansion on the continent. Since then, the company has achieved a mobile phone penetration of 7.2%. For the quarter ended September 2007, the company had registered 576,000 subscribers. MTN Rwanda has expanded its network coverage across the country by setting up new base stations. In addition, the company, which has operated like a near monopoly for a greater part of the last five years last year built 59 base stations and has plans to expand its network. Recently MTN Rwanda announced a reduction in all tariffs by more than half. Local and international call tariffs were slashed to 35% and 60% respectively. This will allow the company to grow its subscriber base by 30% this year. MTN Rwanda promised to invest more $30 million in the sector compared to $20million last year. In 2007, the company launched a seamless roaming services with MTN Uganda, Safaricom Kenya and Vodacom Tanzania. Seamless roaming allows subscribers free roaming between the four networks. The operation has also rolled out fibre optic backbone infrastructure within Kigali and from Kigali up to the border of Uganda. WiMAX, which has been rolled out in Kigali, is also being implemented in 12 towns across the country. The MTN Rwanda introduced GPRS roaming and achieved blackberry roaming. The company is also working on the second stage of blackberry services to its customers. However, the company is currently experiencing a technical hitch with this service, which has downed its network. The officials have informed their customers that a team of experts has been hired to solve the problem and the situation will soon return to normal. (Source: East African Business Week) MTN Nigeria Rakes in N70bn ProfitTelecom giant MTN recorded an operational profit of N78 billion in the financial year ended December 31, 2007, its Chief Executive Officer Mr. Ahmad Farroukh said. “MTN paid N60 billion in taxes in 2007, while it has so far paid taxes in excess of N211 billion to government at different levels since it began operations in Nigeria in 2001.” He also said MTN had 16.5 million active subscribers as at December 2007. During the period under review, MTN had 3,422 base stations and 58 mobile switching centres across the country, he added. The company, said Mr. Farroukh, plans to install over 1,000 base stations and 20 switches in the course of 2008. It has a 61 million subscribers base around the world, he also said. A statement released by MTN also said a significant part of the levies paid was the $150 million paid for the 3G license. Mr. Farroukh reiterated the company's unwavering commitment to connecting people and making telecommunication services accessible to Nigerians, regardless of where they live. Farroukh, who spoke in Lagos as the MTN Group announced its 2007 trading results, added: "The combination of a strategic dedication to meeting the needs of the country for cutting edge telecommunications services and our commitment to ethical business practice, has seen consistent performance by MTN Nigeria and a really positive impact on millions of people and the country at large." The effect of this performance, he said, is two fold: "On one hand, it encourages our shareholders and investors to continue to invest in MTN Nigeria and provide the business with the financial resources to spread services to more Nigerian locations and increase our capacity to service our customers." He said MTN Nigeria's Private Placement which started in 2007, raised USD 1Billion, and was the largest Private Placement ever undertaken in the Nigerian market. Secondly, he said, "it demonstrates the potential inherent in Nigeria to the international investor community. I dare say that MTN's success story is a reference point for Nigeria's vibrant potential and suitability for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)." It will be recalled that in 2007, MTN Nigeria raised a USD 2billion loan, arranged by IBTC Standard Bank. "It is on record that the loan is the largest local financing arrangement ever raised by any Telecoms operator in sub-Saharan Africa." He added that this is in addition to the commencement of the next phase of the fibre optic superhighway, which was originally launched in 2006. So far more than 3,800km, has been built, with further expansion covering 1,393km planned for 2008. Commenting on the fibre optics project which is the largest private transmission backbone in Africa, Mr. Farroukh said, "The transmission network traverses more than 10,000 different towns, cities and communities. We will build Metropolitan Fibre Rings around important commercial cities. To date, we have completed Lagos, while Abuja, Ibadan, Port Harcourt, Kano, Aba and Warri are nearing completion. " These city-wide fibre optic rings, said Mr. Farroukh, will help provide for anticipated increases in voice and data traffic in these cities in due course and improve quality. In addition to the country-wide transmission rings being erected and fortified, MTN is redoubling its efforts at increasing base stations across the country. "Our overwhelming objective", said Farroukh "is to ensure that despite surging demand and the infrastructural constraints, we continue to provide consistently improving telephony services to meet the expectation of our customers." In the same vein, Mr. Farroukh said MTN had demonstrated its willingness to partner with the Nigerian Government and to play its part in driving socio-economic development in Nigeria. "We are proud to have redefined the concept of corporate social responsibility in Nigeria and to partner with Government in the development of this great country." For MTN, he said, "CSR is key to our business strategy to 'give back' to the communities that we operate in. In building their capacity, we create a viable economy." (Source: Daily Trust) Four Sierratel Senior Staff SuspendedA recent case of fraud at Sierra Leone’s incumbent Sierratel gives further ammunition if it were needed of the case against reviving incumbents lost to civil wars. Four senior staff of Sierratel were suspended last Friday for allegedly defrauding the company millions of Leones. The quartet includes Information and Technology Officer Isatu Kamara; Pay Roll Officer Gershon Allen; Deputy Finance Officer Moses Johnson and one Simeon. The suspects were suspended for allegedly filling the corporation's payroll with ghost workers. Sources close to Sierratel stated that the syndicate has been in existence for years. "All those involved in that syndicate are senior staff particularly dealing with the company's finances." A senior staff at the company told Concord Times that a national investigation has been ordered. Another Sierratel staff who preferred anonymity for security reasons said she observed such fraudulent activity in the company some years ago but "When I tried to render some advice, they threatened to fire me." (Source: Concord Times)
In brief:- In South Africa, Vodacom network is experiencing problems, causing difficulties for some subscribers to receive calls. Numerous Vodacom contract subscribers are experiencing problems receiving calls. The problem seems to be country-wide, with numbers in various locations, including Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town being inaccessible. - According to local newspaper, The Sunday Nation, Safaricom and Celtel, together with the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), may underwrite a Sh6 billion new police communications system. - South Africa’s telecoms regulator, ICASA is considering a ‘use it or lose it’ policy as some operators which have been allocated spectrum may simply ‘sit’ on spectrum and therefore not pass the benefits of this resource on to South Africans. - According to local paper “l’Expression” Algeria’s oil and gas companies Sonatrach and Sonelgaz have ambitions to break into the telecoms sector via their spin-off the Algerian Energy Telecoms Company (Aetc). The latter has been set up to sell excess fibre capacity of the two utilities but so far the project has be hampered by the regulator’s refusal to issue a licence that would allow Aetc to do so. - The lead United Nations agency for information and communication technology (ICT) is deploying satellite phones and terminals to help restore vital communication links in Zambia, where some 400,000 people have been affected by severe flooding. - Côte d’Ivoire’s telecoms operators and its representative associations are battling for the introduction of new Telecoms Act. They argue that the existing legal framework is out of date and doesn’t cover areas like interconnections and converged services available on 3G networks. Telecoms, Rates, Offers and Coverage- The 150,000 fishermen that work on Lake Victoria will soon be able to use mobile phones to call for help if they get into trouble. Pan-Africa mobile operator Celtel and Ericsson have committed to extend the mobile networks across the Lake Victoria region by building an additional 21 radio sites to provide mobile coverage 20 kilometers into the lake. This will ensure mobile coverage over 90% of the fishing zones, where at least 5,000 people die each year from accidents and piracy. - MultiLinks Nigeria which was acquired last year by Telkom South Africa has announced that it has to broaden its network footprint. By this week, Kaduna has been added and shortly, Kano, Katsina and Zaria would also be added.
Telkom South Africa introduces 600 Mbps Metro LAN serviceTelkom will be introducing Metro LAN in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town during March. Announcing the service, Godfrey Ntoele, Group Executive for National Sales and Marketing Operations, said that Metro LAN is hosted on Telkom’s Metro Ethernet network. Metro LAN will provide high-speed connectivity between customer sites or branches in a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). The service will serve the metropolitan areas at speed from 4Mbps up to 600Mbps. He said that bandwidth is scalable in small increments and when a bandwidth upgrade is required, the increase can be easily and cost effectively provisioned without the need to replace or upgrade equipment. Explained Ntoele: “Point-to-point and point-to-multipoint connectivity will initially only be offered within metropolitan areas (intra-metro). This will in future be extended to also include connectivity between the various metropolitan area networks (inter-metro).” Customers will have a single virtual connection or Layer 2 Virtual Private Network (VPN) between customer sites to differentiate traffic from other customers’ traffic. “A Layer 2 VPN provides transparent connectivity between customer endpoints and enables privacy and security of data.” “New sites are simply connected to the existing Layer 2 VPN, making the provisioning of Metro LAN services to new sites less complex. It makes the Metro Ethernet Network look like an extension of the customer LAN,” continued Ntoele. He added that Telkom will supply and manage the Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) at each site. “The CPE is directly connected to the Metro Ethernet Network via fibre and is a Layer 2 switch with the capability to convert the fibre input to Ethernet output and vice versa.” (Source: MyBroadband) Medical Treatment By the Internet in TanzaniaHospitals in rural Tanzania have designed ways to communicate with doctors in referral hospitals using the Internet. The Bugando Referral Hospital in Mwanza has a telemedicine unit that connects Rubya and Kibondo hospitals. The remote hospitals are supplied with a computer, a scanner and a digital camera. Although this equipment is relatively simple, the teams at the hospitals have still made giant strides towards making healthcare more accessible. Ms Halima Nyindo, a nurse at Bugando hospital, said telemedicine is changing how people receive medical attention. "There are no boundaries now; doctors can access expert opinions from the region and beyond. Medical challenges can be shared the world over, and responses can come with the click of a button," Ms Nyindo said. Dr Adam Jonathan from Kibondo hospital mentions one case where a patient had a problem with his finger and could not use his hand for two years. "After initial diagnosis, the medication given did not help, the patient was still in pain and unable to work. His finger would not straighten up and we were all puzzled," Dr Jonathan said. With the equipment at the hospital, Dr Jonathan took a picture of the patient, wrote the patient's medical history and sent it all to Ms Nyindo at the referral hospital. Ms Nyindo, who has been a nurse at Bugando since 1973, consulted a specialist doctor at the referral hospital and sent an e-mail reply with a detailed diagnosis that helped the doctors at Kibondo operate on the patient and correct the problem. What started as a simple finger discomfort for the patient had deepened to a medical challenge for local doctors in Kibondo. With rising poverty levels, many people in rural areas fail to seek medical attention because of the costs involved. For example; given the distance to Bugando Hospital from Rubya Hospital in Bukoba region, transport and accommodation costs would amount to Tsh70,000 ($50), which is unaffordable for people living on less than a dollar a day. This means that many patients are unable to seek specialised treatment; but now telemedicine can help them access this treatment. Ms Nyindo says that the telemedicine project, supported by Africa Medical Research Foundation (Amref) and Computer Aid is helping the poor access health care and specialised treatment, which they would have struggled to access or failed to get in ordinary circumstances. "It may not be sophisticated telemedicine and video conferencing, but we are getting there. These are the first steps and we will continue reaching out," she said. According to Gladys Muhunyo, Africa programme officer at Computer Aid, connectivity and training remain the biggest challenges to successful telemedicine in Africa. In more remote areas, she said, residents have had to be more innovative to overcome the many challenges to using information technology, including intermittent power supplies, unreliable phone lines and maintenance. Muhunyo gave the example of Rubya Hospital, which has had to open a cyber café to supplement the high costs of connectivity. The cyber café is the only one in Rubya, and is used by residents for a fee. While Computer Aid specialises in providing computers, Muhunyo said the charity has had to diversify and offer training to healthcare workers in remote areas in how to follow simple photographic and email procedures. In case where the doctors at Bugando are unable to give proper diagnosis from the X-ray or photograph, it is usually sent to the Amref office in Nairobi or to a doctor abroad. This means that a patient at Rubya can access medical opinion from a doctor at a hospital in, say, Chicago. Apart from telemedicine, the computers and Internet are used to deliver e-learning to doctors in remote areas. According to Frank Odhiambo, an officer at Amref, many doctors decline posting to remote areas because the chances of accessing continuous learning are not as good as in urban areas. "Workers in rural health care, who serve most of the population, are isolated from specialist support and up to date information by poor roads, scarce and expensive telephones and a lack of library facilities. Information technology can offer solutions," Odhiambo said. With Internet connectivity, doctors and nurses in rural hospitals can access free online resources including journals, research databases, and training courses. (Source: The East African) Gamtel blocks Gambian online newspaper over bankruptcy storyFor the past two weeks, Gambians have been unable to access the Freedom Newspaper, an online Gambia newspaper based in United States of America, which has been very critical of the administration of President Yahya Jammeh. The Freedom Newspaper, which can be accessed outside the boundaries of The Gambia, is accusing the country’s telecommunication company, Gamtel, of blocking the websites’ IP-address, following a story it carried about the company. The newspaper on March 9, 2008 reported that due to mismanagement, the state-run Gamtel was at the brink of total bankruptcy. This is not the first time that the Freedom Newspaper has been attacked by the Gambian authorities. On May 22, 2006, the Freedom Newspaper and All Gambian, another online newspaper were blocked for their criticism of the regime, following the hacking of the Freedom website. After this, the pro-government, Daily Observer newspaper published personal details including names and phones numbers of a number of Gambians who had allegedly been sending damaging information to the online newspaper. Five journalists were arrested and detained for several days without trial before being released. Omar Bah, then news editor of the Daily Observer, escaped into exile, when he was declared wanted for his contributions to the website. Under the regime of President Yahya Jammeh, the Gambian media has suffered great oppression. Critics of the authorities are systematically pressured into withholding their views, and journalists criticizing the government are often forced into exile. In addition, a reporter, Chief Ebrima Manneh, has been ‘missing’ since July 11, 2006, and on December 16, 2004, the Editor in Chief of The Point, Deyda Hydara, was gunned down by unknown assailants. (Source: MFWA) In brief:- Nigerian telco Globacom has announced the launch the Onitsha-Awka-Enugu route of its nationwide Optic Fibre Cable backbone. - Trinity Telecomms has announced the launch of an independent wireless division, Trinity Wireless Solutions, that will offer turnkey wireless solutions and services to the corporate market. - Togo’s Post Office is planning to launch cybercafes across the country. The Post Office which already sells Internet connections wants to offer Internet and computer access in its outlets. - Tunisia’s Government has launched a website dedicated to the youth. At www.pactejeunesse.tn young Tunisians are invited to give their views on online forums.
East African PC sector 'inconsequential' compared to mature marketsComputer vendors and channel suppliers targeting the East African region from the Middle East are addressing a market worth barely $200m a year and where mobile systems have only had a limited impact on the PC sector. PC shipments in Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia and Uganda grew 24% to just 262,000 units last year, representing a market worth $210m according to research house IDC. Although shipments are expected to double to more than 500,000 units within the next three years, IDC brands the East African PC sector as "completely inconsequential" compared to the world's developed markets. Desktops continue to be the dominant form factor in the East African market, accounting for an overwhelming 80% of PC purchases and two thirds of revenue. IDC predicts market size to double, but says East Africa PC market is currently still in early adoption phase Notebook consumption remains lower, although growing adoption in the enterprise segment is starting to make a dent in desk-based share. Despite its modest size, the leading global PC manufacturers - many of which continue to serve the East African geography from the Middle East - appear to be undeterred. HP, Dell, Acer, Lenovo and Toshiba occupy the top five positions, and are collectively responsible for almost half of all PC shipments. Joyce Nyamu, research analyst at IDC East Africa, projects that government-sponsored projects in the region will boost internet usage and drive demand for ICT products, but concedes that the market still has a long way to go before volumes are on a par with other territories in the region. "The East African market is still in the early phases of IT adoption," she explained. "Although the region is expected to exhibit high growth rates over the coming years, most markets will remain small compared to the developing markets of the EMEA region, and completely inconsequential compared to the mature markets of Western Europe, North America and Japan." Meanwhile, IDC has also confirmed that the overall Middle East and Africa PC market expanded 18% last year, and predicts further growth of 20% in 2008. (Source: ITP) Malawi to Have Booming ICT Services in Rural Areas, says MinisterMalawi Information and Civic Education Minister Patricia Kaliati on Friday said that the country will have a booming information and communication technology services after successfully piloting ICT telecentres in some districts of the country. To be regulated by the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), the telecentres will be run by women as a way of involving them in ICT activities, the minister said. "We would like to involve more rural women in the ICT services so that they too should have knowledge in the services," she said. The telecentres fall under a government initiative called Universal Access Policy, which aims at addressing access to telecommunication issues in rural and under-served communities. MACRA Public Relations Officer Clara Mulonya said the establishment of ICT telecentres in rural areas will go a long way in assisting the rural mass to have access to the services. The services that the telecentres will have include, internet services, photo studio, video services, ID processing, computer lessons, fax, phone services, lamination, photocopying and others. "Government through MACRA established these telecentres which started operating in March last year to address problems of telecommunication services to the rural people which has proven to be a huge success," she said. The districts which have been identified for the location of the main telecentres with material assistance from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) are Karonga in the north, Kasungu in the central and Mwanza in southern Malawi. (Source: Cellular News) SAP’s investment in Meraka Institute generates high-level ICT studentsSAP's R50 million investment in skills in SA is showing dividends, says the company's ambassador Les Hayman. “We have invested, for the last few years, quite heavily in the Meraka Institute,” he says. SAP and Meraka, a division of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, last October set up the SAP Meraka Unit for Technology Development. Hayman adds that government matched SAP's investment, “so it is a total of R100 million into this research centre”. The unit offers masters students a two-year contract and doctoral students a three-year deal. “Last year, we brought in four PhDs and seven Masters students,” Hayman says. “Over the next 12 months, that will double.” Hayman was speaking ahead of the weekend's meeting of the Presidential International Advisory Council on the Information Society and Development, which focused on progress with skills development. The SAP ambassador adds that the Meraka facility is tied into the global SAP research network. He says the investment will otherwise “ultimately [have] very little value”. SAP has research facilities in the US, Europe, Australia and Japan, and “our investment is to make the Meraka Institute part of that global group”. “That means you create opportunities for young people here to go spend time in this global organisation. It also means the results of their research feeds into the global SAP community. We are not trying to do something that just gets us ‘a tick-in-the-box'. Our expectation is that they will do research into areas that will ultimately benefit SAP and our customer base. I think that's critical…” SAP Africa University Alliance Programme (UAP) manager Max Fuzani adds that, in addition to the Meraka high-level skills development programme, several local universities have now signed up for this project. They include the universities of Cape Town, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and further away, Mauritius. Under the UAP, “lecturers at the various universities are teaching students SAP systems that are accessed from Magdeburg and Munich universities [in Germany] and some in the USA. It is the kind of curriculum students elsewhere in the world would be exposed to,” Fuzani adds. “SAP is a global company, so when the students graduate from the universities, they stand a better chance of getting a job in SA and elsewhere in the world. They are globally competitive,” he says. (Source: ITWeb) In brief:- The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) will provide 500,000 computers for the Least Developed Countries (LDC) to help enhance their technological development, the Executive Secretary of the Digital Solitary Fund (DIF), Alain Clerc. - Ghana’s Ministry of Communications is facilitating the organisation of the 2nd Ghana Information and Communications Technologies Excellence Awards 2008 in partnership with industry players in the private sector. The ceremony will take place in Accra on March 20th. - Cisco has launched a multi-million shilling facility dubbed Global Talent Acceleration Programme. Based in Johannesburg, the centre will train network engineers. The South African facility, which will initially host 16 students is Cisco's latest addition to its 80 networking academies on the continent. - The fourth international Euro-Mediterranean conference on computer science and telemedicine took place in Tripoli last week. More than 30 studies on telemedicine teaching, the use of Internet in the medical area as well as the promotion of health systems for electronic medical teaching and the harmonisation of the programmes on telemedicine will be discussed during this meeting. The studies also cover electronic filing of the patients’ conditions, electronic care cards, clinical and epidemiological databases, the use of fingerprints in health records and the digital gap in telemedicine in Africa. - The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Hewlett Packard (HP), have established an information technology training centre for skill acquisition and entrepreneurial development. - In a bid to make science and technology central to the Nigerian economy, the Federal Government is to set up a council for the co-ordination of research and development results in the country.
Safaricom IPO Confirmed for Next WeekThe floatation of Kenya's Safaricom has resumed following the calming down of the political turmoil over the past few months. The floatation of a 25% stake held by the government will now occur on March 28th, with share trading starting on the Nairobi stock exchange in June. The government has reserved 35% of the issue for foreign investors. The sale will be set at KSh5 a share for Kenyan investors - although that then forms the lower limit for a block sale to foreign investors. The government aims to raise KSh50 billion (US$790 million) from the sale, which values the whole company at some US$3.16 billion. Safaricom has however been subject to some controversy over the past year over who its current shareholders are. What is not in question is that the Kenyan government owns 60% of the company - it is the remaining 40%, nominally attributed to Vodafone which contains the mystery. As we understand it, when Vodafone took its 40% stake in Safaricom back in 2000 - via a local subsidiary, Vodafone Kenya Ltd (VKL) - the company granted an option to a company known as Mobitelea Ventures Ltd. for 25% of VKL. Mobitelea exercised the option the following year, giving the company an effective 10% stake in Safaricom, and reducing Vodafone's effective stake to 30%. It then seems that Vodafone brought back half of Mobitelea's stake at the beginning of 2003, giving Mobitelea an effective 5% stake in the company - and Vodafone 35% of Safaricom. Mobitelea is registered in the offshore tax haven of Guernsey. The mystery is - who owns Mobitelea and why was the company granted the option to buy a stake in Vodafone Kenya? (The answer most commonly given by Nairobi gossips is the son of a well-known politician.) Kenya's investment watchdog was trying last year to find out who is behind Mobitelea, and the UK's serious fraud office also sent its own people to Kenya last year to investigate the issue. Vodafone wont comment due to an apparent confidentiality agreement and the investment watchdog is said to be having difficulty identifying the beneficiary owner of Mobitelea. The matter has been further confused by the apparent disappearance of paperwork from the offices of the Registrar of Companies, which could verify the nominated directors and shareholdings in Safaricom and Vodafone Kenya Ltd. Vodafone PLC claims a 35% "economic interest" in Safaricom, though its 87.5% stake in Vodafone Kenya - which in turn owns 40% of Safaricom. It's the 12.5% stake in Vodafone Kenya, owned by Mobitelea which is the mystery. Tracing the percentage shareholding through Vodafone's own financial statements simply shows blanks on the key years. In their results for the year ending March 2001, Vodafone said "The Group sold its investment in Celtel (Uganda) for a profit during the period and acquired a 40% stake in Safaricom in Kenya." However, reading the release issued by Vodafone on the 30th May 2000, while it also confirms the 40% stake - states quite explicitly that Vodafone Kenya Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary, and no mention is made of the apparent call option issued to Mobitelea. From a purely technical perspective, it should be noted that it was Vodafone AirTouch which set up the Kenyan subsidiary. In 2002, the Vodafone annual reports made no comment about their Kenyan investments. However, in the annual report for the year ended March 2003 - Vodafone noted that "On 10 January 2003, under an agreement with Mobitelea Ventures Limited, the Group completed the purchase of an additional 5% equity stake in the Group's Kenyan associated undertaking Safaricom for approximately $10 million, increasing the Group's effective interest to 35%." Since then, there have been no comments about the percentage shareholding in Safaricom - until this year, when the annual results for the year ended March 2006 again confirmed the 35% shareholding. Whomever it is that sold their 5% stake in Vodafone Kenya in 2003, presumably put a valuation of US$10 million on their remaining holding. Based on the IPO details, that stake is now worth at least US$158 million. Someone has done well - we just don't know who he or she is. (Source: Cellular News) South Africa Vodacom denies political pressure over BEE dealVodacom is not under political pressure and will ensure its multibillion-rand black economic empowerment (BEE) deal is truly broad-based. This is according to Vodacom group CEO Alan Knott-Craig, who says: “It is important to stress that the majority of the participants in the Vodacom BEE transaction will be Vodacom staff and ordinary black South African citizens, not simply a few prominent individuals.” Knott-Craig's assurance comes in the wake of fears that the long-delayed BEE deal is being plagued by political tensions related to the former director of public prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka. Ngcuka's Amandla Amoya consortium is believed to be one of the preferred bidders for the R7.5 billion deal, with ANC insiders saying this does not sit well with the ruling party. However, Knott-Craig says: “There has been no political pressure brought to bear upon Vodacom at all and Vodacom in turn has not placed any such pressure on any potential parties to the Vodacom BEE transaction.” He states that, despite what anyone else may be saying, no preferred group or bidders have been identified as yet. However, he emphasises that one of Vodacom's main objectives with the proposed BEE deal is “to achieve broad-based economic empowerment ownership among previously-disadvantaged South Africans, particularly black citizens. The meaningful role of our staff, as well as the proposed public offer, will ensure Vodacom meets this objective. “In addition, we have embarked on a robust and objective partner selection process, managed together with RMB, to identify credible strategic partners, who will assist Vodacom in furthering Vodacom's transformation, skills and capacity-building programmes.” Knott-Craig would not comment on any specific bidders in the tendering process, quoting confidentiality agreements. However, he says once preferred strategic partners have been identified, they will be disclosed to the market. (Source: ITWeb) Kenya: Govt in Dilemma Over Transfer of TEAMS Shares to Private InvestorsThe Kenya government is in a dilemma over how to transfer billions of shillings' worth of shares in the state-funded fibre-optic operator TEAMS Ltd to private companies when the multimillion-dollar cable comes into commercial operation in June next year. TEAMS Ltd is a government-owned special purpose vehicle created to develop a fibre-optic sea cable connecting the East African region through Mombasa to the world's fibre-optic communications backbone via Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. The shares of the company are to be sold to users of the cable when it commences commercial operation in July next year. The EastAfrican has learnt that the Ministry of Information and Communications (which, together with the Communications Commission of Kenya, is managing the project on the government's behalf), has sought direction from the Treasury on whether to subject the sale of shares of the SPV to the new and lengthy but more transparent Privatisation Act, or to transfer the shares to private companies under the old privatisation regime. On the surface, this would appear to be a mundane issue. But in reality, it is pertinent because of the need to close loopholes that insiders may employ to transfer the shares of this potentially highly profitable company - operating what may become Kenya's first high-capacity data connection to the rest of the world - to politically connected operatives. The history of the opening up of the telecommunications sector is littered with cases of manipulation of privatisation to allow insiders and connected operatives to acquire shares they have not paid for. (see first story in On the Money above that covers Mobitelea Ventures Ltd. In the case of Teams, the government last year procured 12 investors who will be allotted shares when the cable goes into operation. Although most of the companies allotted shares are well-known telecommunication companies, a number are nevertheless names that don't resonate. The lion's share of the company has been allocated to Safaricom Ltd - a 20 per cent stake. In the second category are Econet Wireless Kenya Ltd (10 per cent), France Telecom, owners of Telkom Kenya (10 per cent), Kenya Data Networks (10 per cent), Wananchi Telecom Ltd (10 per cent), Telkom Kenya (10 per cent), Jamii Telecom (3.75 per cent) and Gilat Satcom (1.25 per cent). The last category are names that are not too well-known, including an entity by the name Equip Ltd (1.25 per cent), Internet Research (1.25 per cent) and Inhand Ltd (1.25 per cent). The government will retain a 20 per cent stake in the company. Under the present arrangement, the chosen investors must pay 5 per cent of the project's funding requirement of $110 million, which will be put in an escrow account at Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya Ltd. The balance of what they are expected to pay is to be remitted when the parties consummate both a share-subscription agreement and a shareholders' agreement in April. Contrary to the general impression, Etisalat of the UAE has no direct shareholding in TEAMS. What it has signed with the government is a construction and maintenance agreement and a supply contract. (Source: The East African) Zimbabwe’s new nationalisation law: the end of private ICT sector or a BEE-style programme?Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe's signature on the country's new nationalisation law has international business in a panic. However, South African companies with a Zimbabwean presence are staying on how they will be affected. The new nationalisation law stipulates that at least 51% of a foreign company's shareholding should be locally-owned. While South African IT companies only have a small presence in the neighbouring country, they too will have re-negotiate local investments. According to Dobek Pater, managing member of Africa Analysis Team, mining firms have more of a vested interest in Zimbabwe's new empowerment policy. However, companies such as MWeb and MultiChoice may be forced to hand over a percentage of their shares to local investors. MultiChoice in Africa runs on a franchise model and says its African branches are all owned by locals living in those areas. The company says “should the need arise, the South African government will act to protect its citizens and its interests in any country where these are threatened”. Pater says South African companies should have already made provision for identifying potential local investors. “However, the nationalism law amounts to daylight robbery and has been largely proved to fail the world over, as with the farm reclamations seen a few years ago.” The impact to companies like MWeb and MultiChoice with African operations may be less harmful than expected. “In the greater scheme of their African – or global – operations it is going to have very little impact. It depends entirely on the operational business model they follow,” he says. “They may be operating through partners and distributors without de facto direct presence in Zimbabwe.” According to Econometrix Treasury Management economist Russell Lamberti, there is no way to tell whether the legislation is a good or bad thing. “It is, however, coming from a devastating context: a ruined economy, a practically defunct monetary system and a virtually non-existent telecommunications infrastructure.” He says this policy can hardly make the situation in the struggling country any worse. “For foreign investment perspective, the law is coming from a government that has previously proved itself incompetent, that can't be a good thing.” Several economic and business analysts have stopped watching the situation, saying it is no longer an area worth looking at. ITWeb tried to interview companies that appear to have Zimbabwean operations; however, several denied the fact and would not disclose when or why they left the country. Others, such as MWeb, with confirmed operations, did not respond by the time of publication. A large organisation, with an IT presence in Zimbabwe, agreed to comment, provided it remained anonymous for various reasons. “I understand why many companies are not discussing the issue – it is particularly sensitive,” says a spokesman from the firm. However, the company says the legislation is being taken well by the man-on-the-ground. “I don't see the nationalisation law as a bad thing. It is in effect another empowerment policy. The panic stirred in many of the international companies and the media is definitely fuelled by the fact that it is coming from Robert Mugabe.” According to the spokesperson, Zimbabwe has a mass of underutilised ICT skills that could be used to the benefit of the country. “They are the ones building software in international companies and being innovative, why not allow them to have an opportunity locally?” After a general media frenzy lambasting the law, Zimbabwean government responded saying it will not force black partners on foreign companies and not all these firms would be forced to sell a majority stake to black Zimbabweans. The Zimbabwean minister for indigenisation and empowerment is expected to prescribe the levels of employment and investment capital that needs to be met by international organisations. (Source: ITWeb) In brief:- The National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), the highest rated bank in the Middle East, has been assigned by Zain Mobile Telecommunications Company to manage the Group's 75 percent capital increase valued at K.D 1,2 billion, ($4.4 billion). - Two projects in East Africa have won accolades from the world-famous Euromoney Project Finance Magazine as Africa's best deals of 2007 with Seacom being crowned as African Communications Deal of the Year for 2007. - David Kuwana, managing director Rwanda Commercial Bank (BCR) says by the end of this year, 100 ATMs will be available in the country. Currently there are less than seventeen ATMs in the country, which are also said to be under utilised, partly because they were unreliable as customers could go to withdraw but leave without cash.
New technology podcast launched in South AfricaA new local technology podcast, hosted by a group of high profile tech journalists, was launched recently. A group of well-known technology journalists have started what they believe will become the country’s pre-eminent podcast about developments in the local and international technology industry. Known as ZA Tech Show, the podcast is recorded weekly and is available at www.zatechshow.co.za or through Apple’s iTunes Store. The show’s format is an informal discussion about the latest developments in the world of technology. Topics that have been discussed in the first three shows include everything from the gaming console wars to the politics around undersea cables. The show hopes to draw in listeners through its irreverent approach to the subject matter. “We hope that people will enjoy listening to the show in their cars, or wherever they happen to be,” says Brett Haggard, who came up with the idea of launching ZA Tech Show. “We want people to participate in the discussions and we welcome anyone to post their views at the website.” The show’s regular contributors are Haggard and host Simon Dingle, both of whom work for Hypertext Media, as well as Ben Kelly from Finweek, Duncan McLeod from the Financial Mail and www.fmtech.co.za, and Jon Tullett from TechTarget SA. The show will also feature special guests from time to time. “Because it’s a relatively informal show, we get to talk about the stories we didn’t cover in the past week and the stories behind some of the stories we did cover. And, of course, we get to provide our opinions on some of the more controversial happenings in the market,” says Dingle. McLeod agrees. He says the show’s informal nature should help it attract a loyal listenership. “You’ve got five guys around a table who are absolutely passionate about technology. I think that passion flows through into the podcast.” Each Friday’s recording is generally available for download by the following Tuesday. (Source: MyBroadband) Tour guide of Table Mountain and more… on your mobile phoneVisitors to South Africa, or those of trying to re-acquaint themselves with historical highlights, could find the newly launched Mobiguide particularly helpful: short video tour guides that can be downloaded to your mobile phone. Mobiguide regional guides can also be previewed online. At this point the company has ten major areas covered: Kirstenbosch, Robben Island, Table Mountain, Stellenbosch Wine Route, the Apartheid museum, parts of Soweto, the Newtown Precinct, Cape Point, Constitutional Hill and the Waterfront in Cape Town. Mobiguides can either be downloaded directly using a mobile phone or downloaded using a computer and loaded onto a player such as an iPod, MS Zune or Creative Zen. Each guide is charged at R30 (US$4). Formats available include mpeg4, avi and 3gp and currently support English, French, German, and Mandarin Chinese. (Source: Tectonic)
People* Azdine El Moutassir Billah has been appointed as General Director of the ANRT, the Moroccan Telecoms regulator. * René Serge Blanchard Oba, the general administrator of the massively loss-making incumbent Sotelgo in Congo has been dismissed. * The Online Publishers Association (OPA) of South Africa elected a new chair in Habari Media’s Adrian Hewlett with Ananzi MD Mark Buwalda taking up the deputy chairmanship Events* 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.aitecafricac.com * SATCOM AFRICA 2008 7-10 April 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa For further information visit their website at http://www.terrapinn.com/2008/satcomza/ * ICT IN AFRICA: NEW TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES IN AN EMERGING MARKET A Breakfast Briefing by Russell Southwood 11 April 2008, Time: 7.30am for 8am, Sandton Sun Hotel, South Africa Attendance is free of charge, by invitation. If you would like to attend, please email: info@aitecafrica.com * EURO-AFRICA ICT AWARENESS WORKSHOP Supporting sub-Saharan African organisations in FP7/ICT 16-17 April 2008, Peacock Hotel, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania For further information visiter their website at http://www.euroafrica-ict.org/awareness_workshops.html * 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/ * VoIP WORLD AFRICA 12-15 May 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa The world of VoIP is rapidly changing - costs are coming down; more applications are coming into play and new forms of revenue generation are being exploited. For further information visit the website http://www.terrapinn.com/2008/voipza/ * ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2008 12 - 15 May, Cairo, Egypt, Cairo International Convention and Exhibition Centre (CICC) Comprising a high-calibre Exhibition, a Forum and a whole lot more, ITU TELECOM AFRICA 2008 will provide a major networking platform for Africa's top ICT names to come together to focus on the core issues relating to ICT expansion across the region. For further information visit http://www.itu.int/AFRICA2008/?050707 * TELECOMS FRAUD AFRICA 2008 26-29 May 2008, Cape Town, South Africa IIR's Telecoms Fraud Africa conference 2008 brings you case studies, networking, advice and analysis from expects in detecting and managing telecoms fraud. With special attention to roaming frauds and internal frauds, operational issues and the impact of new technologies. For more information please visit, http://www.iir-events.com/IIR-Conf/page.aspx?id=11306 * 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 * FRAUD PREVENTION AND REVENUE ASSURANCE MEA 1-2 July 2008,Dubai UAE ViB events’ Fraud Prevention and Revenue Assurance MENA will bring together telecoms operators and industry experts to discuss the critical issues, which are faced by revenue assurance and fraud personnel today. For further information visit website http://www.revenueassurance.info/mena2008/index.html * UNLOCKING THE POTENTIAL OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY FOR SOCIAL IMPAC August 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa he fourth annual SANGONeT “ICTs for Civil Society” conference and exhibition will be held in August 2008 in Johannesburg. This year’s event will be co-hosted with MobileActive.org and branded as “MobileActive08”. For further information visit www.sangonet.org.za Jobs and Opportunities* PROGRAM MANAGER – WEST AFRICA The company is looking to find an experience Program Manager for a 2 years contract. You will be responsible to execute the contract ensuring the services profitability against pre defined project baseline, achieving customer satisfaction, best in class efficiency in service delivery including service sourcing to attain NSN’s market share targets. Program Manager is assigned to a Customer team For further information contact advertising@balancingact-africa.com Contracts* Cell One and TelePassport - Namibia Mobile operator Cell One and TelePassport signed a least cost routing (LCR) distribution agreement. The agreement allows Cell One to use the LCR technology through which fixed or landline calls made to a mobile phone can be converted into a cell-to-cell call, guaranteeing monetary savings of up to 40 percent for corporate companies.
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