Balancing Act News Update z  | | | | | Last week, Moussa Benhamadi, the Minister of Post and ICT announced that 3G services will be launched in Algeria in 2011. This announcement follows several other recent announcements by sub-Sahara African countries about their intentions to offer 3G licences. Gabon's government for example launched a tender last July inviting operators to build and operate a 3G mobile network. Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire are also aiming in this same direction. In many sub-Saharan African countries, 3G licences have yet to be allocated. Isabelle Gross looks at the prices of 3G licences already issued on the continent and how these examples can provide some guidance to regulators and ICT ministries in the process or thinking about offering 3G licences.
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3G licence prices in Africa: how are they set?
Last week, Moussa Benhamadi, the Minister of Post and ICT announced that 3G services will be launched in Algeria in 2011. This announcement follows several other recent announcements by sub-Sahara African countries about their intentions to offer 3G licences. Gabon's government for example launched a tender last July inviting operators to build and operate a 3G mobile network. Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire are also aiming in this same direction. In many sub-Saharan African countries, 3G licences have yet to be allocated. Isabelle Gross looks at the prices of 3G licences already issued on the continent and how these examples can provide some guidance to regulators and ICT ministries in the process or thinking about offering 3G licences.
The Tunisian government has just awarded a 3G licence to the incumbent operator Tunisie Telecom for an amount of US$80 million. As of June 2010, the country had roughly 11.5 million mobile subscribers with a market share of 49% for Tunisie Telecom. Therefore, the cost of the 3G licence reported to Tunisie Telecom's subscriber base equates to an acquisition cost of US$14.2 per subscriber. In the event that the take up of 3G services would only reach 10% of Tunisie Telecom's current subscribers base, the acquisition cost would go up to US$142 per data subscriber, an amount that the operator can still hope to recoup in a couple of years.
In 2006, Morocco issued 3G licences to Maroc Telecom, Meditel and Maroc Connect (rebranded today as Wana) for an amount of US$40 million each. At the time, the total number of mobile subscribers stood at about 16 million. When the total cost of the 3G licences (US$120 million) is reported to the mobile subscriber base, the acquisition cost of the 3G licence translates into about US$7.5 per subscriber.
In March 2007, the big three mobile phone companies in Nigeria, MTN Nigeria Communications Limited, Celtel Nigeria Limited (now rebranded Zain Nigeria and soon to be rebranded by Bharti-Airtel, the current owner) and Globacom Limited alongside little-known Alheri Engineering were each issued 3G licences at US$150 million each raking some US$600 million into the government's coffers. At that time the mobile subscriber base stood at 32 million in Nigeria and the cost of acquisition of the licence was then around US$19 per subscriber.
Kenya issued the first 3G licence to mobile operator Safaricom in 2007 at a price of US$25 million. Following pressures from the other mobile operators, the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has recently reviewed downward the price of a 3G licence. According to Charles Njoroge, CCK Director General, "in line with our policy where we have from time to time adjusted license fees for various services to attract more players for the benefit of consumers, CCK recently reduced the initial fee for access to additional broadband spectrum form USD 25million to USD 10 million". With four mobile operators in the market, CCK can expect to collect US$40 million for the issuance of 3G licences. Kenya which counts about 20 million mobile subscribers has now the lowest acquisition cost per subscriber for a 3G licence with a cost that stands at US$2 per subscriber.
When Egypt decided to issue 3G licences, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) set the bar much higher. The value of a 3G licence (for the incumbents Mobinil and Vodafone Egypt) was set at 20% of the price of the 2G/3G licence awarded to the third operator in 2006. Since the winning bid was reportedly worth EGP16.7 billion (US$2.89 billion), the cost of a 3G licence upgrade went up to around USD578 million for Mobinil. With around 8 million subscribers, the cost of acquisition of the 3G licence for Mobinil was around US$73 per subscriber. With only 10% of the subscriber base buying into 3G services, the acquisition cost could have potentially jumped as high as US$730 per subscriber for Mobinil.
The examples above show quite some disparities in terms of 3G licence prices. The acquisition cost per subscriber is nearly 37 times higher in Egypt than in Kenya while Nigerian mobile operators paid nearly ten times more than Kenyan operators. What were the criteria used to define these prices? – the potential size of the market for data service or the relative wealth of the overall population? Nigeria with a population of around 160 million inhabitants is four times bigger than Kenya (with a population of around 39 million) but Egypt's population (80 million) is only half that of Nigeria. If we look at the GDP per capita (PPP method), Egypt stands at US$6,123 followed by Nigeria at US$2,249 and Kenya at US$1,730 (IMF figures for 2009). Although Egypt is not the biggest country per inhabitants in this group (to evaluate the size of the potential market of data subscribers), it has the highest GDP per capita and therefore potentially more disposable revenue to spend on data services than Nigeria and Kenya. On the basis of the above criteria, small and not well-off sub-Saharan African countries will need to think carefully at the price tag that they have in mind for their 3G licences. If they were to set the bar too high, there will be likely delays or worse not interest from the telecoms operators' side.
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RURA to Review Interconnection Fees in Rwanda Rwanda Utility Regulatory Agency (RURA) is planning to review the current interconnection fees among telecommunication operators, a move that might lead to a reduction in industry charges.
Currently, the interconnection fee stands at Rwf40 per call, a fee that operators with a smaller market in the telecom industry view as exorbitant.
According to Régis Gatarayiha, RURA's acting Director General, a study is being commissioned through an international tender to select a professional consulting firm that will conduct a consultative review of the current interconnection costing regime.
"We estimate that the review will take between three to six months from the time of commissioning of the consultancy," Gatarayiha told Business Times on Monday.
However, the industry regulator emphasised that the fee will be revised downwards only after the study findings have confirmed that the current charge is certainly expensive.
"If the current interconnection charge between operators is indeed proven to be higher than the actual cost-based charge, RURA will then exercise its regulatory mandate to set a lower interconnection charge than the current one," Gatarayiha said.
Without divulging details about the magnitude of the reduction, he mentioned that the decision would lower prices in the telecom industry.
"Operators will then have more flexibility to set lower retail prices to be paid by the consumers without having to worry about the off-net interconnection bottleneck," he observed.
According to RURA, MTN Rwanda is still the market leader, claiming 66.99 percent of the market share with 2.2 million subscribers, as of June this year.
This makes MTN Rwanda the prime beneficiary of interconnection fees when compared to the other telecom operators, Rwandatel and Tigo, with minority market share.
As of June, Tigo's market share had jumped to 16.05 percent with 529,114 subscribers, surpassing Rwandatel that accounts for 13.4 percent with 443,534 subscribers.
Commenting on RURA's plans, Andrew Rugege, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of MTN Rwanda said that interconnection fees are based on the investment made and the cost incurred in the transfer of calls from one network to another.
According to a source in MTN who spoke to Business Times on condition of anonymity, being unauthorised to speak on behalf of the company, currently Rwandatel owes approximately $3.4 million in interconnection outstanding bills to MTN Rwanda.
Last year, the two telecom operators were at loggerheads over the unpaid fees with MTN Rwanda threatening to seek redress from courts of law.
However, the industry regulator says the interconnection fee "has nothing to with any arrears" that may have been incurred between any of the operators.
"It is just one of the regulatory measures to stimulate fair, service-based competition, irrespective of who was first, second or last in the market. The issue of interconnection bills between operators is being handled through the appropriate channels and it should therefore not be linked to this interconnection charge review initiative." Gatarayiha noted.
Meanwhile government is seriously considering having mobile subscribers register their simcards, a move that Gatarayiha backs saying that simcard registration has become a common global trend and it has been adopted regionally as a prerequisite for effective fight against criminals.
"The practical modalities though which this will be done are still being discussed between all stakeholders and will be communicated to the public when concluded."
(Source: The New Times)
Mozambique: Red Tape to Register Sim Cards All mobile phone owners in Mozambique (and there are more than six million of them) are expected to fill out registration forms by 15 November, under a government decree passed last week.
Each and every person who has a mobile phone will have to go to an establishment run by the mobile phone operators (the publicly-owned M-Cel or the South African company Vodacom) with some form of identity document and complete a form.
The form asks for the user's name, ID number, date, place of issue and validity, phone number, series number of the pre-paid sim card, address, and signature (or fingerprints in the case of illiterate users). Those who do not have any identity document (a common situation in the Mozambican countryside) will have to find somebody to vouch for their identity.
All new users of pre-paid sim cards will be registered at the moment of purchase. This means an end to the convenient practice of itinerant vendors selling sim cards. Instead, new users will have to buy the cards at an M-cel or Vodacom shop - which do not exist across large swathes of the countryside. Indeed, the M-Cel website lists just 19 M-Cel shops in the entire country.
A further restriction is that nobody under the age of 14 will be able to buy a sim card. No individual user can have more than three numbers from the same operator.
The decree justifies these measures on the grounds that registration will protect citizens against criminal acts perpetrated via the use of cell phones, and will promote the "responsible use" of phones, "contributing to the maintenance of order and public tranquility" (an oblique reference to the riots against price rises in Maputo on 1-2 September, which were coordinated via mobile phone text message).
Assuming that they started on Monday, the two operators have 50 days (including Saturdays and Sundays) to register their clients. That is an average of about 120,000 registrations per day. The task looks quite impossible.
Interviewed in Wednesday's issue of the independent daily "O Pais", the general manager of the telecommunications regulatory body, the INCM (Mozambique National Telecommunications Institute), Americo Muchanga, admitted that "if the time is not enough, the decision-making body (i.e. the government) could extend the deadline".
He claimed that in other countries where registration was spread over a much longer period, most users did not register their sim cards until the last few weeks. "In countries which gave a deadline of two years, in the first 18 months very little happened", he said. "Most activity was in the last six months or even the last two weeks".
He thought that giving a short deadline "is an advantage because it will force the greatest number of people to register within this time. The two month period is also useful for the operators, in that extending the period for two years is much more expensive than doing it in six, three or two months".
He denied that the riots dictated the government decision to register sim cards - designing a registration scheme was included in the 2006 Telecommunications Strategic Plan. Although the riots might have precipitated the government decision, the INCM had been talking to the operators about registration since 2007.
Muchanga denied that registration threatens confidentiality. The data base constructed from the registration will only put names to phone numbers. No content of any phone call will be registered. But if anyone has received an anonymous call, the data base will allow them to find out who owns the number.
According to the television station STV, some users have already gone to M-Cel or Vodacom shops in Maputo to register - although neither operator has made any attempt to publicise the registration procedures. Neither company has yet put anything about compulsory registration on its website.
(Source: AIM)
Liberia: LTA Gives WAT a 15-year WiMAX licence
The Liberia Telecommunications Authority has granted a 15-year license to the West Africa Telecommunications Incorporated (WAT) to install, maintain and operate a public telecommunications network for the purposes of providing wireless voice and data services using Wireless Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) technology.
WAT is the second company to be granted a WiMAX license in Liberia since the standardization of the industry, according to the LTA. The company will deploy a national WiMAX network to provide voice and internet services as well as second and third generation data services. According to the license agreement, WAT will build transmission links to carry fixed wireless and related data traffic within the national boundaries of Liberia.
The company is also authorized to connect the system and network to any telecommunications system and apparatus belonging to service providers for the purpose of interconnection, an LTA release noted. Speaking at the signing ceremony recently, the Chairperson of the LTA, Angelique Weeks, said the ceremony marks the beginning of a new opportunity for constructive engagement in the expansion of the telecommunications sector in Liberia.
She thanked the management team at WAT for the confidence in the investment climate and challenged them to remain creative and innovative in attracting customers through effective customer service. She said one of the LTA key priorities is customer delight, noting that the LTA will ensure that the interests of subscribers are protected.
(Source: The Informer)
Wind to Power MTC Reception in Namibia
MTC, Namibia's biggest cellphone operator, has resorted to wind power to give its reception a boost.
Apart from the wind turbine at Sossusvlei Mountain, the company inaugurated a wind generation project at Erindi Mountain on Friday.
Although MTC has a number of base transmitter stations which are powered only by solar energy, Erindi has now become "the first solar/wind solution fully installed by MTC".
The company's corporate communications officer, Abelene Heuer, said because there is less sunlight available during the rainy season, power outages are experienced on some of their sites.
As a result, it was decided to erect towers which are powered by wind. Heuer said: "To prevent these failures, MTC investigated the option of adding a wind generator to the solar system to have a stable power supply all year round."
Wind generators are bought, installed and commissioned at a cost of N$230 000.
Also on the cards is a wind turbine for the base transmitter station at Mile 108, Heuer said.
The turbine launched at Erindi is said to provide cellphone reception covering a radius of about 40 km. Heuer said: "The immediate benefit for MTC is an increase in 'up time', and that means less failures and therefore an improved service to our customers. In future, MTC could feed excess power generated by these systems back into the national power grid."
(Source: The Namibian)
 | telecoms briefs - The Angolan minister of Telecommunication and Information Technology, José Carvalho da Rocha said that it is necessary to establish clearly, the limits, conduct, rights, obligations and duties of the diverse actors of the sector. The government official who was speaking at the seminar about the White Book of Telecommunications and the normative scenery adopted by the Executive, said that "through this policy tool there will be created conditions for establishing and developing mobile service market".
- Telecel Zimbabwe board chairperson Dr Jane Mutasa has filed a High Court application challenging Telecel International over her continued suspension as chairperson and director of the mobile phone operator. According to papers she filed at the High Court, Dr Mutasa is contending that the meeting called by Telecel Zimbabwe directors on March 19 this year in London to discuss her suspension and withdraw of her benefits was unlawful as it did not have a quorum.
- Egypt's telecommunications minister Tarek Kamel as said that the country is unlikely to offer any new operating licenses, be they for mobile or fixed services, before 2013, Reuters reports. 'Offering a second fixed line licence in the local market in the coming period has lost its economic merit in light of the drop in the number of fixed line users currently,' Mr Kamel said.
- The Kenyan government has softened its stance on the controversial communications regulations it issued early in the year to the chagrin of smaller mobile phone operators. This is a big win for Safaricom, which felt targeted for curbs because of its success in an industry where it controls 78 per cent of the market.
- Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Dr. Eugene Juwah, has identified counterfeit handsets as a major issue that affects the quality of service in the telecommunications sector. Speaking at a one-day roundtable on counterfeit devices organised by Nokia Nigeria, Dr. Juwah said one of the findings by a task force set up by the commission to look into the issue of quality of service recently, was that a lot of the phones in use in the country are counterfeited, therefore of low quality.
- Egypt's fixed line incumbent Telecom Egypt (TE) is reportedly mulling the option of setting up a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), according to Reuters, citing local press reports. While TE already holds a 45% stake in the country's second largest cellco by subscribers, Vodafone Egypt, it is believed that it is considering the MVNO venture as a way to become more involved in the country's mobile sector, prompted in part by continued fixed to mobile substitution.
- Vodacom South Africa has conceded that it intends to bid for spectrum in the 2.6GHz range when it is made available.
 | | INTERNET NEWS | | Back to top AccessKenya to Feel Price War Heat on Internet services
Listed internet service provider AccessKenya is set to feel the pressure of mobile phone companies' increasing forays into the home internet market, analysts said, citing last week's move by Telkom Kenya to halve its charges on its internet modems.
AccessKenya has over the years focused on a niche' of providing internet through corporate leased lines and the high-end residential market.
But as mobile phone companies step up their game by providing cheaper, high speed and more reliable home internet connections, analysts say AccessKenya may be forced to lower its charges to match the competition--further eroding its income.
"The move to provide significant bandwidth by telcos presents a challenge to AccessKenya residential internet business especially for home office operators who may consider cost implication critical in lowering their operation overheads," said Eric Musau, a research analyst at African Alliance.
Mr Musau, however, said AccessKenya's reputation as a provider of reliable internet connections may play to its advantage, giving the Nairobi Stock Exchange time to prepare for the ongoing onslaught by mobile phone companies whose main selling point now is cheaper prices.
He added that the low level of internet penetration provides large room for growth by all service providers, but could limit AccessKenya's expansion if it is perceived to be providing relatively more expensive services to the mobile phone firms.
Telkom Kenya last week announced a decision to double bandwidth capacity at the existing charges, and rivals Safaricom and Zain are expected to announce similar moves going by past retaliatory trends by the telcos.
In the first half of the current financial year, AccessKenya's turnover dropped by 17.5 per cent to Sh876 million after increasing bandwidth capacity to its customers at existing prices.
The group managing director said in a statement after announcing the results that growth of the firm's revenues would depend on "strong growth in both the corporate and residentail customer base driven by higher speeds and lower costs offered to customers."
"Sustained growth in the residential market will be a challenge given the fast rate of penetration by mobile and wireless internet access to this market segment," says a research note by African Alliance.
Currently, the corporate leased line segment is AccessKenya's core source of income, accounting for 92 per cent of the firm's top line.
With increased competition following the landing of three fibre optic cables, Access Kenya has had to increase its bandwidth to its consumers rather than lower the unit charge.
(Source: Business Daily)
Mobile Internet Search to become 'a Marketing Opportunity' in South Africa
The use of cellphones for internet searches is growing as a trend in SA, with an estimated 25% of all search queries on Google SA coming from them, says ad sales agency Acceleration Media.
Diane Charton, MD of Acceleration Media, said on Friday the growth of mobile searches in SA is a major opportunity for marketers, provided they tailor their approach to suit the medium.
"Mobile and traditional PC (personal computer) searches show peaks at different times on any given day," she said.
"Most PC-targeted pay-per-click campaigns peak at lunchtime in query volume and then taper off until the end of the working day. By contrast, mobile search queries rise throughout the day and peak during TV prime time in the evening.
"The effect is particularly pronounced when a mobile search campaign is linked to a television advertising campaign. We call this the couch search trend - people who don't have PCs at home or who don't want to leave their lounge to go to the computer in the study and use their cellphones instead."
The growth in mobile searches can be linked to the number of smartphones in use. Ms Charton estimates they account for about 15% of all cellphones in use.
Ms Charton said Acceleration Media is seeing more consistent volumes through mobile searches than through desktop searches. "What this means is mobile search allows you to reach users at times of the day when they are not at their PCs," she says.
Users also use the two media differently. "A user in front of a desktop computer might be considering a big purchase and take the time out to do some in-depth research. A mobile user usually wants to get a hit of relevant information straight away."
She uses the example of an executive who arrives early in Sandton for a meeting. He may use his phone to find a convenient coffee shop with internet access or look up directions
Ms Charton said mobile campaigns deliver great value for money because there are fewer competitors bidding for popular key words on searches via mobile. "This could change as more people get on the bandwagon, but for now, return on investment from the mobile search is very attractive," she said.
A study by World Wide Worx released in February found that three-quarters of South African companies supplied smartphones in their organisations, compared with almost none two years before.
The study, also backed by First National Bank and BlackBerry developer Research In Motion, found that saturation point had almost been reached at large South African companies in fixed-line and ordinary cellphone use.
About 94% of large companies were using 3G cards.
(Source: Business Day)
Multimedia Approach Generates Higher Incomes for Women Shea Butter Producers in Mali
Shea butter producers in southern Mali incraesed their income by using technology. Through photos, slides, videos, radio and the internet, shea butter producers learn how to improve the quality of their shea butter, making it easier to sell on national and international markets.
The cooperative COPROKAZAN in Zantiébougou sends trainers to villages to show local producers how they can make shea butter that meets national and international quality standards. They use photos to show good and bad practices. The photos are shown in a PowerPoint presentation that is completely in Bambara, a local language spoken by many shea producers. COPRAKAZAN also airs an informative radio show that reaches producers in 42 villages.
"The presentation really helped me change," says shea butter producer Rokia Diakité. "Without it, most of my shea would have been rejected." Producer Korotoumou Mariko agrees: "Thanks to the presentations, we better understood what the cooperative was saying; forecasting, production techniques and other useful information."
COPROKAZAN is supported by IICD since 2006. The shea butter organisation asked IICD's help in developing and deploying a strategy on the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for their cooperative. Computers with an internet connection were installed and a group of 15 women were trained to use them.
Also, the women were taught how to update a digital database. The database is used internally for storing data on the amount of shea butter sold and member details. COPROKAZAN also set up a website that is mainly used to promote shea butter to buyers.
The shea butter producers are featured in a series of videos produced and filmed by COPROKAZAN. Advertisements on COPROKAZAN's activities are also being broadcasted on radio and television. Approximately 350 women benefit directly from this project.
More information about the project and how it benefits villagers in the Zantiébougou community can be read at COPROKAZAN's website and on the national ICT4D website www.mali-ntic.com (in French).
(Source: ICT4D)
| Internet briefs - Google has released its second transparency report. Google's Transparency Reports provide details of traffic and censorship demands by country and across specific services such as YouTube, Google Earth, Gmail, Maps, Search and Google News. The reports also provide graphics showing which countries resort to the sledgehammer approach and simply block all Google-based services in their entirety. For further information visit google's website
- The Consumer Advocacy Forum Nigeria (CAFON) has announced that next edition of its Lagos Monthly Forum will refocus service quality and consumer exploitation issues in the Internet market. The eleventh edition of the forum, which also marks CAFON's 10th anniversary took place on September 28, 2010 at Lagos Television (LTV) Hall in Ikeja, Lagos.  | | COMPUTER NEWS | | Back to top Rwanda: ICT Stakeholders Meet to Discuss Challenges
Top stakeholders in the country's ICT sector, yesterday met at the Kigali Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to share experiences and devise a joint strategy to address various challenges facing the sector.
The meeting, which attracted over 20 local ICT entrepreneurs, was addressed by Javier Ewing, the Managing Director of Excelsior, a company which was contracted by the World Bank to carry out a survey on ICT entrepreneurship across East Africa.
Ewing noted that their preliminary observation showed that that Rwanda's ICT entrepreneurs were actively involved in taking advantage of the existing political will to make great strides.
David Gakwerere, one of the entrepreneurs at the meeting, said that one of the biggest challenges hindering ICT entrepreneurship is lack of technical and business skills.
He also cited inadequate financial resources especially the long-term projects, as well as market access.
Participants were advised how to effectively and efficiently use the limited resources at their disposal. They were also encouraged to constantly share information amongst themselves.
(Source: The New Times)
Gijima Drops as Contract Woes Drag On in South Africa
IT firm Gijima Group is negotiating a settlement with the Department of Home Affairs to resolve the dispute over a R2,5bn contract that has knocked the company's share price and full-year revenues.
The department announced in April that it had cancelled the R2,5bn information technology contract awarded to Gijima in 2008, saying that it was invalid.
It was alleged that Gijima did not deliver on what it had promised. Yet it was paid about R1,2bn for the services that it had provided until the termination of the contract.
Jonas Bogoshi, Gijima's CEO, said yesterday there had been no formal written response from the department to support its view as to why the agreement was deemed to be invalid and unenforceable . However, he said the discussions, which could be finalised in the next few weeks depending on whether the government agrees to Gijima's proposed offer, focused on the outstanding amount of R1,3bn and the work that still needs to be done.
Mr Bogoshi would not comment on whether Gijima will settle for less than the outstanding amount. But in the event of failure to settle, Gijima will litigate.
"We have two legal opinions that said our contract is valid. Based on that we believe we have a leg to stand on," he said.
The contract is aimed at integrating the department's operating systems and eliminating the manual and paper-based systems for visas, passports and identity document applications.
Yesterday, Gijima reported a 2,4% decline in revenue for the year to June to R2,9bn, hit by the slow spending by clients and the cancellation of the contract.
The professional services division, which provides technology systems integration, saw a R93m drop in revenue to R1,45bn because of the home affairs debacle. The managed services business grew revenue to R1,5bn from R1,48bn. Headline earnings per share rose 43% to 16,44c.
Mr Bogoshi said there had been little growth in the information and communications technology industry last year, with the public sector still depressed after the downturn, and private sector growth recovery slower than expected. However, he said Gijima was once again shielded from adverse market conditions by its focus on higher-margin services and by the bulk of its revenue being annuity income from multiyear contracts.
Research firm Frost & Sullivan's analyst, Protea Hirschel, said Gijima will continue to benefit from the recovery of IT expenditure by companies with customers looking to managed services to reduce their IT expenditure. In its upcoming report, Frost & Sullivan says it expects SA's market in managed services to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12,7% to 2016, to reach R25bn in revenues.
(Source: Business Day)
Uganda: Indian Software Vendor to Set Up E-Govt Kiosks
India's largest software vendor, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has announced plans to set up franchise internet kiosk, a new IT model, to link rural areas in Uganda.
The group, that has just completed setting up the e-tax system for Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), said it would either work with the existing network infrastructure or build a wider one for itself.
The e-tax system is an online service for URA customers with functionalities that cover taxpayer registration tax returns and payment modules. The new system enables the customers to access services anytime and anywhere thereby reducing costs of doing business with the tax body.
The TCS vice-president, Tanmoy Chakrabarty, said the kiosk would go a long way in aiding the e-delivery of government services.
The model, which is to be set up across the country, is similar to the one in which telecommunication companies employ locals as their agents.
The kiosks will provide a wide range of IT services from data, voice and act as out-sourcing centres for companies and banks.
(Source: New Vision)
 | Computer briefs - South Africa's IT firm, Internet Solutions (IS) has announced that the upgrade and expansion of their Bryanston data center has been completed, with Parklands due to be complete in mid October. The updated data center in Bryanston went live in September, with an additional 700 m² added to the facility's existing 2000 m² capacity. The upgraded IS Parklands data center goes live on 15th October, with 400 m² added to the existing 1000 m² capacity.
- The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has commissioned its Integrated Learning Management System (ILMS) programme in Lagos. The ILMS is a software designed for the National Open University by TTC Technologies, a high tech solution development firm. The software is meant to handle the e-learning needs of the University's students while the School Management System (SMS) is to handle the administrative needs of the university.
- The Zimbabwe Farmers Union is in the process of establishing information centres in different farming provinces to ensure farmers get vital information on production. The project will also introduce electronic media facilities so that farmers can access information.
- The University of Ado Ekiti (UNAD), Ekiti State, has become the newest beneficiary of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) centre built by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) as part of its intervention in the education sector.
- A new teaching software known as smart board has been launched for easy learning among students. The software was launched at Bishop Cipriano Kihangire Senior Secondary School Binna in Luzira in Uganda. The smart board is operated using a computer which is fed with data that is displayed on a smart board using a touch screen. Fr. John Scalabrini, the school's director, said the software keeps records of previous lessons and helps keep track of pupil and teacher attendance.
- ITU Secretary-General Hamadoun Touré and Mr Paolo Campos, Vice-Minister for Public Works, Transport and Communications of Portugal, signed an agreement that Portugal, through its eSchool International programme, will provide comprehensive technological solutions for schools in a number of interested countries as part of ITU's Connect a School, Connect a Community initiative.
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| ON THE MONEY | | Back to top Slow Growth Likely in Telecoms Sector in South Africa
The reduction in how much cellphone operators pay to connect calls on each other's networks, together with increased competition, will slow down growth in the telecommunications sector, according to the latest report by research firm BMI- TechKnowledge.
Slow growth in the telecommunications sector is expected to continue until the end of the year, in tandem with the economy's slow recovery from the first recession since the early 1990s.
Revenue from business customers will continue to be negative, despite growth in the mobile data and internet markets, and increased competition in the sector. Growth in the sector is estimated at only 5% over the next five years, a dip from several years of double-digit figures, according to Tertia Smit, an analyst with the group.
Most of the growth will come from internet and other data services. Both sectors are estimated to have good growth rates of about 10%, BMI-TechKnowledge said.
An analyst, who did not want to be named, said telecommunications operators have said lower cellphone termination rates will have a negative impact on consumers and shareholders, but "that is not true".
"If the reduction is passed on to consumers, the voice calls volumes (especially in prepaid) will increase, making up for any income operators say they will lose," he said.
BMI-TechKnowledge estimates that the total telecommunications services market, excluding interconnection fees and expenditure on wholesale services and equipment, was worth R103bn last year, of which R45bn came from businesses and the rest from consumers.
The research firm expects a 4% fall in fixed-line connections, mainly on the residential side where consumers continue to substitute land lines with cellphones. This is expected to lead to flat revenue growth in the fixed-line voice market.
Growth in the fixed-line voice market, as opposed to internet and data services, will be "somewhat improved" if Telkom and Neotel take advantage of the dip in how much cellphone operators are paying to connect calls on each other's networks, and instead pick up traffic on fixed-to-mobile routings previously dominated by the least-cost routing market.
(Source: Business Day)
Kenya: Safaricom Share Price to Remain Volatile
Safaricom's share price will remain volatile until investors get a clear picture of how the ongoing price wars among mobile phone companies will impact on the company's revenue, market analysts said.
The share price hit its lowest point in the year when it touched Sh4.05 in Monday's trading at the Nairobi Stock Exchange, before crawling up to Sh4.35 in Tuesday's trading.
The price has been on a downward spiral since August when the firm was forced to cut its calling charges by 62.5 per cent in retaliation to a move by Zain Kenya, which had halved its tariff to Sh3 per minute.
Investors, mostly foreign and institutional, have given the share a cautious look, fearing that a reduction of revenue from voice calls, which contribute 80 per cent of the firm's income, would affect the market leader's profitability.
But without a clear picture of what the company intends to do they have been shying away from the stock, according to analysts from CFC Stanbic Financial Services.
"Safaricom has only come up with promotions which are not long-term," the analysts said.
The company cut its charges to as low as Sh2, from Sh8, for callers within the network. But the promotional offer ends on November 22.
Chief executive Michael Joseph has termed the rate as "unsustainable," but he has not given an indication what the long term tariff will be.
The price wars have also moved to the short service message (SMS) after the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) nudged operators to lower prices by reducing inter-connection charges.
Zain Kenya, Safaricom's main competitor, and Yu have also reduced prices on international calls.
Analysts at CFC Stanbic Financial Services said the move has "complicated matters."
If Zain can hold the rock bottom rates for a year or more, the analysts said, there is a possibility that Safaricom's revenues will fall significantly since it will be difficult for the firm to raise prices to previous levels.
Johnson Nderi, a research analyst at Suntra Investment Bank, said investors were likely to shy away from buying the stock until data on how the lower call charges have impacted the company emerges.
"It is extremely difficult to price the share of the company," said Mr Nderi.
While lower prices on calls may reduce revenue in the short-term, they can spur an increase in the length and volume of calls and act to cushion the firm's revenues, said Renaldo De-Souza, a research analyst with Genghis Capital.
Safaricom's income is also likely to get a boost from money transfer service M-Pesa, and data services which are emerging as the next battlegrounds, Mr De-Souza said.
But investment banks such as HSBC and Kestrel Capital have revised their rating of the company, while foreign investors who have been bullish on the stock have reduced their demand for the stock.
(Source: Business Daily)
South Africa: Digital Delay Holds Up Altech BEE Initiative
Altech said last year it would sell shares to black investors in its subsidiaries, including Altech UEC, which manufactures decoders.
ALLIED Technologies (Altech) has put on hold its plan to sell shares to black investors in its decoder manufacturer business because of the government's delay in deciding on the technology standards for digital broadcasting.
Altech said last year it would sell shares to black investors in its subsidiaries, including Altech UEC, which manufactures decoders. Since its announcement late last year, it has sold shares in Altech Netstar and will be announcing the empowerment deal of its Altech Fleetcall subsidiary in the next few weeks.
"The Altech UEC's empowerment deal is aligned to the outcome of the digital technology standards. If the government hasn't announced anything, I don't need to announce the BEE (black economic empowerment) transaction right now," said Altech CEO Craig Venter.
"We are ready to announce it but since we made commitments to work with about 2000 small to medium companies we will wait for the government's decision so that we can align our objectives accordingly." He said the announcement had been delayed by six months.
Altech has threatened to sue the government if it adopts Japanese digital broadcasting standards and not European standards, which the industry has been testing for the past two years based on a Cabinet decision four years ago.
Mr Venter said although Altech UEC's infrastructure was capable of also manufacturing decoders to the Japanese standard, the industry had invested R700m. It would also delay the deadline of 2015 by another three to five years.
"This thing (the review of the technology standards) is wrong. It does not make sense. This is not an Altech issue, the whole industry is up in arms. But we will be at the forefront of a legal action," he said.
Altech is already manufacturing the European standards decoders for Australia, Kenya and Nigeria, where it recently set up a factory that is due to start operating soon.
Yesterday, Altech reported flat revenue of R4,78bn for the six months to August, from R4,73bn last year. Operating profit declined 25% to R361m from R479m. Profit after tax was R232m from R322m. The company blamed the performance on, among other things, the postponement of key contracts at its East African telecom s subsidiary.
"Despite the performance, our businesses are doing well," said Mr Venter. He expects the performance for the second six months to improve as certain factors that affected earnings are not expected to recur.
The telecom s division, which consists of Altech Autopage Cellular, Altech Technology Concepts and Altech Netstar, marginally increased revenue to R3,3bn from R3,2bn.
Protea Hirschel, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said many Altech customers, both retail and corporate, still feel the effects of last year's poor economic conditions, and this is reflected in Altech's results. "Falling margins on submarine bandwidth have also weighed on its profitability in East Africa as this market has become more competitive."
(Source: Business Day)
Zambian SEC rejects Bharti's bid for publicly listed stake in Zain Zambia
Zambia's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected Indian operator Bharti Airtel's latest bid for the publicly listed stake of its majority-owned mobile subsidiary Zain Zambia, The Post reports. According to the local newspaper, the SEC turned down a bid by Bharti Airtel of ZMK710 (USD0.144) per share for the 22% stake, with the offer refused on the basis that it was too far below market estimations.
This is the second time that Bharti has had an offer for the stake rejected; last month it put forward a ZMK675 per share proposal. It is believed that most commissioners at the SEC believe that the lowest acceptable price for Bharti to proceed with a mandatory offer would be ZWK1,126 per share.
(Source: Telegeography)
| On the Money briefs - Pan-African cellular communications company Vodacom Group has sold its last 24.9% stake in South Africa-based WiMAX service provider Wireless Business Solutions (WBS), which operates under the iBurst brand name. The stake has been sold to the company's other shareholders, although WBS has not yet disclosed what its new shareholding structure looks like. According to TeleGeography's GlobalComms Database, the largest shareholder prior to the disposal was Blue Label Investments, which owned 40% of the company.
- Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) says that it has received another tax bill from the Algerian government - this time for US$230 million. The bill is a reassessment carried out by the Algerian Direction des Grandes Enterprises (Tax Department for Large-Scale Companies) (DGE) in respect of the years 2008 and 2009. The Reassessment is considered an initial notification. Orascom Telecom Algeria (OTA) has 40 days to respond to the preliminary notification before receiving the final reassessment. This Reassessment comes despite the fact that OTA had already paid the taxes due for the same years.
- Qualcomm has opened an office in Lagos, Nigeria though its QCOM Wireless Technologies subsidiary, to serve as the Company's hub for West Africa business operations. The office will provide support to mobile operators and device manufacturers serving countries throughout the region, including Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal and Cameroon.
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Telecoms Rates, Offers and Coverage - In Kenya, the ongoing battle for control of mobile telephony market has moved across the borders as the operators cut international tariffs in the race to attract and retain subscribers. Zain Kenya threw the first salvo by reducing its international tariffs by 70 per cent to three shillings per minute. Essar Yu followed suit with a 98 per cent drop to Sh2.50 a minute. These rates apply to calls to the US, China, Canada and India - which accounts for the largest international traffic. Orange and Safaricom have also signalled their intentions to make similar cuts.
- Determined to ensure that more Nigerians enjoy Blackberry services, national telecommunications operator Glo, has reduced the retail prices of top-rated Blackberry devices in its shops nationwide. Details of the reduction shows that the Blackberry Gemini, which used to cost N54, 000 in Glo's retail shops, Gloworld, will now go for N49,000, giving a saving of N5,000. The Blackberry Bold, which used to sell at N100, 000 in Gloworld, now costs N95, 000, also a saving of N5, 000. The biggest saving is for those who decide to go for the trendy Bold 2, which sells for N85,000 from the original N100,000, giving the subscriber a saving of N15,000.
- There is a new hope for the 17-plus million Tanzanians with mobile handsets to benefit from the deeply reduced inter- and intra networks connection rates. Two cellphone service providers, Zain and Vodacom had last week announced to cut down by half from Tshs 6 (US cents 0.003) Tshs 3 (UScents 0.001) per second for calling other networks. The newly introduced rates are not subject to any terms or conditions.
Already the country's cellphone giants; Zain, Vodacom, TIGO and Zantel, have cut their intra-network calling rates to Tshs 1 per second while other phone providers compete to charge even less for same network calls.
- TradeArabia News Service reports that Etisalat Nigeria has announced that it has signed up its five millionth subscriber, a remarkable achievement given it has been in operation less than two years. 'We are very proud of Etisalat Nigeria, as it has made a significant achievement netting five million subscribers in less than two years of commercial operations in a highly competitive telecom market like Nigeria,' said Ahmed bin Ali, Etisalat Group senior vice president.
- South African wireless operator Cell C has confirmed that it has launched its 900MHz HSPA+ network in a third city – East London; the network has already been launched in Port Elizabeth and Bloemfontein. The first phase of the rollout in East London will see 81% of the city's population covered by the network. A second phase, which will ensure 100% coverage for the city and surrounding areas, should be completed by the end of this year. Subscribers in East London can expect data speeds of between 4Mbps and 7Mbps, although Cell C has claimed that customers elsewhere will be able to achieve speeds of 10Mbps.
- Zain Kenya will commence its re-branding exercise on 15 October, taking up the identity of its new owner, Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel. Zain has said that unlike previous re-branding exercises, when its predecessors entered the market using expensive above-the-line (ATL) strategies, Bharti Airtel will adopt corporate social responsibility (CSR) as its entry strategy, prioritising community empowerment as a key part of its branding drive. Zain has reportedly enlisted the assistance of vendors and street traders in rural markets to increase brand awareness.
- Sierra Leone's largest mobile network operator by customers, Africell SL, has announced that it has crossed the one million active subscriber mark. The GSM operator, registered as Lintel SL, is a subsidiary of African holding company Africell, itself owned by Lebanon-based telco Lintel Holding, and launched 900MHz services in February 2005, before passing half a million users in early 2008, according to TeleGeography's GlobalComms Database. In November 2009 Africell acquired rival GSM operator Tigo Sierra Leone from Millicom International Cellular. A merger of the two operations has not yet been officially confirmed, although the local Tigo website has been taken offline. Excluding its new acquisition, by mid-2010 Africell had a market share of around 38% of mobile customers in the country, whilst the former Tigo accounted for around 7%.
- Bharti Airtel's recently purchased mobile operator Zain in Malawi has launched commercial 3G services. The Nyasa Times reports that the cellco is offering users of its UMTS network free video calling and free access to websites including Facebook, Twitter and BBC for a promotional 30-day period, whilst it is also running an Apple iPad promotion.
Web and Mobile Data News
Uganda wins Global Mobile Communications Award
Mr Alex Nyika, a Ugandan software developer based in Kenya, on Monday scooped the top prize at one of Europe's most prestigious mobile communication innovation awards.
Mr Nyika, the chief executive Xrystalgenius , a Nairobi-based mobile startup, won the Base of the Pyramid award at the 2010 Mobile Monday Peer Awards that took place in Helsinki, Finland. Five finalists including United States-based Super Technologies, which emerged runner up in the category competed for the award.
The award recognises young and outstanding mobile companies that are making a difference in mobile health, education, payments, employment trade and entertainment. Software developers from 37 countries across the world participated in the awards.
Mr Nyika, 26, was recognised for developing iCheki, a mobile phone software solution designed to help users of public transport in Kenya to track taxis coming their way. iCheki is a Swahili-English (Sheng) word for "I see". In an interview, Mr Nyika who represented Kenya, said the awards had opened doors for his products and company. "It has exposed me to a bigger market, given me a chance to pitch my idea and confidence to create more products," he told Daily Monitor on the sidelines of the awards ceremony.
Also competing for the same award was Mr Revence Kalibwani the founder Scyfy Technologies, an Entebbe-based start up, alongside three other firms from Brazil, Pakistan and Kenya.
(Source: The Monitor)
South Africa: Mobile TV Gets Licence to Test Technology
Black-owned consortium Mobile TV, which took the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) to court over the mobile TV licence selection process, has been awarded a trial broadcast service licence in Gauteng to test a different technology to that being used by mobile TV licence holders MultiChoice and e.tv.
On September 16, Icasa awarded Mobile TV a year's trial licence that gives it the right to test the Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) technology, using Sentech as its distributor. The test area stretches from Johannesburg to Garankuwa, Krugersdrop, in the west and Kempton Park in the east, with the transmitter situated in Pretoria.
MultiChoice uses Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld technology.
Mobile TV, which was disqualified by Icasa from applying for the first mobile TV licence because it was not an existing licence holder, put up a spirited fight during the process.
The consortium took Icasa to court unsuccessfully to stop the licence process, arguing that three weeks was not sufficient time to lodge an application. It then threatened to lodge a complaint with the public protector if Icasa allowed MultiChoice's late entry - which Icasa rejected - leaving e.tv the only applicant in the first round.
Mothobi Mutloatse, founder of Mobile TV consortium member company Narevest, said last week the consortium hoped to have the trial up and running by the end of next month, and was considering holding competitions to select about 1000 participants for the study.
"It's a technical trial, so participants will fill in questionnaires on reception, not content," he said.
"Icasa will evaluate the data and we will then apply for a permanent licence. We are hoping by then Icasa will have the National Frequency Plan."
The new mobile TV company will be called TV4U and will carry international, local and community news and entertainment, as well as interactive applications such as music downloads and games.
Mr Mutloatse said DMB technology was selected because it allowed for mobile TV and radio, as well as interactive services, to be broadcast simultaneously on the same multiplex, and offered good reception and digital sound "of CD quality".
A private trial was carried out on DMB by the consortium, and results submitted to Icasa.
South Korea, which uses DMB, became the first country to launch a consumer mobile TV service, in December 2005. Germany then launched DMB mobile TV services to coincide with the 2006 Fifa World Cup and it is now available in 14 European countries. Nine more countries have carried out trials.
(Source: Business Day)
People
- Google has appointed its new country manager for South Africa after going five months without a top executive to run local operations. Luke Mckend will join Google SA as country manager on 1 November, says the company. Confirming speculation that a South African will take the reins, the company adds that Mckend is originally from SA and has been with Google since 2006, working as an industry head in Google's London office. In the UK, he was responsible for managing a wide variety of businesses across the classified, property, restaurant, education, dating and job sectors, according to the company.
- Orascom Telecom Algeria's CEO, Tamer al-Mahdy has been called in by the local police to answer questions about allegations that his company has violated the rules of the Algerian stock market, Orascom Telecom confirmed in a statement.
Events
Unix System Administration Workshop For Eastern and Central Africa Women Engineers,
11th - 15th October, 2010 Nairobi, Kenya
The African Network Operators Group (AfNOG ‚ http://www.afnog.org ) invites women engineers from Eastern and Central Africa to participate in an intensive Unix System Administration workshop.
For more information: Email: afnogchix2010@afnog.org
Mobile Roaming World Summit
25-27th October 2010, Hyatt Regency London, United Kingdom
Maximising Roaming Revenues Through LTE, Data & Hubbing.
This year we are delighted to bring you two days packed full of opportunities to learn, question and discuss the current burning issues of the day. Join our regulation focus day to hear about the latest EU regulations and what is still to come; learn from TeliaSonera's experiences about LTE implementation; join your peers in working groups
to discuss innovative tariff restructuring; debate methods of improving QoS, including GSMA's Global Roaming Quality Initiative; and discover ways to improve revenue assurance in Syniverse's post-event workshop.
Visit www.roamingconference.com or email ITMevents@informa.com for more
information. Furthermore we're offering FREE OPERATOR PASSES - email
Mubenah.khan@informa.com for further information.
North Africa COM
26-27 October 2010, Cairo, Egypt
The 5th annual North Africa Com is the ONLY event focused on the whole of North Africa. Incorporating 35+ speakers including 20 operators, attendees will learn from and network with the who's who of North African telecoms. Join 600+ telco professionals from around North Africa in the brand new, more central location The Semiramis Intercontinental - for 2 days of congress sessions & networking. What 's more, you can view & try all the latest technologies and products at the 40+ stand exhibition located alongside the conference. Attendance is FREE for all regional operators! For further information visit www.comworldseries.com/nafrica G- South Africa
8-9 November 2010, Cape Town, South Africa
Google is inviting Computer Science students, developers and entrepreneurs to G-South Africa. Some of Google's best engineers, product managers, business managers and leadership will be speaking about Google's open web and mobile technologies.
For further information visit http://sitescontent.google.com/gsouthafrica/
ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN 2010 - Learning for All
1-3 December, Berlin, Germany
Under the banner of Learning for All, ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN 2010 will dig deep into 4 themes that form the pillars of innovation: Learning Content, Learning About Learning, Learning Ecosystems and Learning Environments, which will contribute to successful learning outcomes in the three learning domains: Institutional Learning, Workplace Learning and Lifelong Learning.
For further information visit www.online-educa.com 2010 Euro-Africa Week on ICT Research & e-Infrastructures
7-8 December 2010. 7-8, Helsinki, Finland
The "3rd Euro-Africa Cooperation Forum on ICT Research" will be an event filled with discussions and debates, networking opportunities and knowledge sharing among key stakeholders in the field and policymakers coming from all over Europe and Africa. This Conference represents definitely a unique opportunity for all parties interested in the ICT domain to increase the visibility and impact of their activities, to network and expand their knowledge.
For further information click here.
ICT For Development in Africa – Sustaining The Momentum, Extending The Reach
23-26 March 2011, Ota, Nigeria
The conference will initiate research and practice agenda where ICTs will aid the academia, organizations - public and private and non-governmental to improve socio-economic conditions and directly benefit the disadvantaged in some manner.
For further information visit http://www.ictforafrica.org/ eLearning Africa 2011 - Spotlight on Youth, Skills and Employability
25-27 May 2011, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
The 6th event in the series of pan-African conferences and exhibitions will focus on Africa's youth. Africa has the highest percentage of young people anywhere in the world. How can it unlock the vast reservoir of talent? How can technology support education and training?
For further information visit www.elearning-africa.com
Jobs and Opportunities
Ericsson Customer Project Manager (RAN) – West Africa
We are currently seeking an Ericsson Project Manager which strong experience of running a 3G Rollout (RAN).Must be familiar with PROPS-C methodology.
Further information click on the following link
Contracts
Glo and Ceragon - Nigeria
Globacom Nigeria (Glo) has signed a contract with wireless backhaul network equipment and services provider Ceragon Networks, for its FibeAir IP-10 solution. Glo will utilise the backhauling voice and data services as part of its broadband access solutions portfolio for enterprise users.
Vodafone and Rackspace Hosting - Africa
Rackspace Hosting says that it has been chosen by Vodafone to host and support the M-PESA mobile banking platform. As part of the deal, Rackspace utilises satellite streaming technology to send and receive real time transaction data using clustered database servers. It also provides managed back-up and dedicated hosting of all application and web servers.The system will handle three million transactions per day.
TO CONTACT US: If anything you have read in this newsletter is "off the mark" or you have factual amendments, mail them to us and we will include them in subsequent issues. If you'd like to contribute, write and let us know. If you need information about a particular place or issue, just send your questions in. We are always happy to follow up on readers concerns. Balancing Act, 54 Walnut Tree Walk, London SE11 6DN Tel/fax: + 44 207 582 5220 Cell: + 44 7973 561987 E-mail: editorial@balancingact-africa.com ADVERTISING OPPORTUNITIES: To see a copy of our rates card for 2010, e-mail a request to advertising@balancingact-africa.com. Don't get left behind. Be seen and known through advertising in our e-letter and on our web-site. TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE: If you want to subscribe to News Update, either in English or French, go to http://www.balancingact-africa.com/mailing_list/subscribe.php If you want to unsubscribe to the English or French edition of the telecoms newsletter, send a blank e-mail to info@balancingact-africa.com DISCLAIMER: All material printed in Balancing Act's News Update e-letter is subject to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the express permission of the publisher. 
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