[UgaBYTES] WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP-AFRICA (WEEK 46)

[Mwathi Francis]

*Cellphone operators need to get savvy to thrive in Africa*

11th November 2009

 African cellular network operators need to sharpen up their acts to make a
profit in countries where already poor consumers are trying to cut back
their spending even further.  Operators must begin sharing infrastructure to
cut costs, lobby governments for relief from arbitrary taxes, argue against
politically imposed rate cuts and offer locally developed data content to
keep consumers interested. That list of crucial steps was cited at the
AfricaCom conference in Cape Town this week as the only way for operators to
survive the economic gloom in highly competitive markets. Although analysts
and operators still view Africa as having a huge growth potential, the main
message of the conference is that the easy times are over

http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=86984



*Regional integration to lower infrastructure costs –World Bank*

12th November 2009

 African countries will have to continue pursuing regional integration if
they are to cut costs across all aspects of infrastructure, the World Bank
said in a latest report on Africa’s Infrastructure.  The bank says that
through regional collaboration African states can minimize costs of putting
up ICT, power, ports and airport projects leading to economies of scale as a
result of a reduction in the cost of service.  The  report dubbed “Africa’s
Infrastructure: A Time for Transformation” from a study conducted in 24
African economies including Rwanda, indicates that  the high cost of
infrastructure services in the region is partly attributable to disconnected
national boundaries. “Most African countries are simply too small to develop
infrastructure cost-effectively on their own. In ICTs, regional
collaboration in continental fiber-optic submarine cables can reduce
Internet and international call charges by half, relative to national
reliance on satellite communications,” the report to be launched today in
Johannesburg, South Africa reads in part.

http://newtimes.co.rw/print.php?issue=14077&print&article=22415



*Nigerian Federal Government equips 474 schools with Internet facilities*

10th November 2009

 About 474 schools spread across the six geopolitical zones of the country,
have so far benefitted from complete set of Internet tools and facilities
provided by the Universal Service Provision Fund, USPF. USPF is a special
fund set up by the Federal Government under the National Communications Act
2003, designed to provide telecommunications and ICT services to unserved,
underserved and deprived groups and communities in the country. Minister of
State for Information and Communications, Alhaji Aliyu Ikra Bilbis, who
commissioned some of the projects in the North Western States of Kaduna and
Katsina at the weekend, said Federal Government is committed to providing
information communication technology facilities through the installation of
network services in all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2009/11/10/fg-equips-474-schools-with-internet-facilities-2/



*Somali mobile phone firms thrive despite chaos*

3rd November 2009

Somalia’s mobile phone business is booming despite the almost daily
artillery fire that flies over expensive satellite dishes and the violence
that has brought misery to the population of the Horn of Africa nation. The
three largest firms, Hormuud Telecom, Nation Link and Telecom Somalia, have
a combined 1.8 million mobile users who enjoy some of the world’s cheapest
calling rates, allowing them to stay in touch with their loved ones amidst
the conflict. “This business is very important during this time of conflict
when everybody wants to know what is happening at every moment. It is a way
of survival in every conflict zone,” Mr Ali Ahmed Nur, managing director of
Nation Link, told Reuters.

http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE5A20DB20091103



*War Torn Burundi Sees Future in IT Outsourcing*

4th November 2009

 One of the world's poorest countries is following offer African nations in
looking to IT offshore services and crowd-sourcing. The effects of a twelve
year civil war may still be very much in evidence in the African Republic of
Burundi but aid-workers and educators believe the Internet could offer a
brighter future for the country. Neighboring Rwanda has invested heavily in
broadband and IT infrastructure in the years since the country was rocked by
genocide in the mid-90s and Burundi appears to be following a similar
strategy. UK charity World Emergency Relief issued a statement this week
explaining its decision to fund a computer lab in a school in Burundi's
capital city Bujumbura.

http://www.eweekeurope.co.uk/news/war-torn-burundi-sees-future-in-it-outsourcing-2338










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Francis Mwathi
Support Community Facilitator
UgaBYTES Initiatives (www.ugabytes.org)
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