[UgaBYTES] Fwd: Issue 480: World Bank financing approved for Central African Backbone and completion date set for 2011

[Ndaula Sulah]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Russell Southwood <englishlist at balancingact-africa.com>
Date: Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 8:19 PM
Subject: Issue 480: World Bank financing approved for Central African
Backbone and completion date set for 2011
To: Sulaiman Ndaula <ndaulasula at ugabytes.org>


   [image: Balancing Act News Update]    Issue no 480
13th Nov 2009 Top Story <#124ef7732fe4af3f_topstory> Telecoms
News<#124ef7732fe4af3f_tel> Internet
News <#124ef7732fe4af3f_int> Computer News <#124ef7732fe4af3f_comp> On the
Money <#124ef7732fe4af3f_money> More <#124ef7732fe4af3f_others>

World Bank financing approved for Central African Backbone and completion
date set for 2011 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_topstory>

With the arrival of the Glo One cable in Ghana and Nigeria, the two biggest
bandwidth markets in West Africa, both countries will have two landing
stations and by the end of 2011, a staggering 5 landing stations each.This
plethora of landing stations and the bandwidth they bring will remain
under-utilised and only be able to serve the coastal areas (including the
majority of African capital cities in West Africa). The construction and
strengthening of national and cross-border networks is the order of day of
this massive amount of bandwidth is to be used. The recent decision of the
World Bank to finance a network to connect Central Africa is an important
step in this direction. Isabelle Gross spoke to Yann Burtin, Senior
Operations Officer, Information and Communication Technologies Department of
the World Bank about the proposed Central African Backbone.

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telecoms
news Globacom gets mobile licence in Côte d'Ivoire
 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_tel01> Telkom Kenya Gets Nod to Resume Portable 'Fixed'
Line Service
 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_tel02> MACRA awards ZAIN Malawi 3G licence
 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_tel03> MTN Nigeria cuts off transmission of FIFA U-17
matches because of unpaid bills <#124ef7732fe4af3f_tel04>
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 Internet NEWS
 Nigerian State and Zinox Disagree Over Internet Contract
<#124ef7732fe4af3f_int01> Kenya’s AccessKenya and UUNet Secure international
routes for redundancy
 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_int02> East Africa’s Health Sector Goes Digital, With
Next Epidemic Alert a Click Away
 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_int03> Computer news Nigeria’s House of Representatives
Shelves Electronic Voting
 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_comp01> Milestone for Stop-Start Gauteng School Computer
Lab Project
 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_comp02> First Taste of Success for a Young Software
Developer in Rwanda <#124ef7732fe4af3f_comp03> On the Money Cellcom Goes
Public in Liberia
 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_money01> Zain Pours Sh2 Billion Into Tanzania’s
Government Coffers but forecasts flat revenue for 2009
 <#124ef7732fe4af3f_money02> Tower sharing offers opportunities for emerging
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<http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/6233/241592/53/0/>   World Bank
financing approved for Central African Backbone and completion date set for
2011

With the arrival of the Glo One cable in Ghana and Nigeria, the two biggest
bandwidth markets in West Africa, both countries will have two landing
stations and by the end of 2011, a staggering 5 landing stations each.This
plethora of landing stations and the bandwidth they bring will remain
under-utilised and only be able to serve the coastal areas (including the
majority of African capital cities in West Africa). The construction and
strengthening of national and cross-border networks is the order of day of
this massive amount of bandwidth is to be used. The recent decision of the
World Bank to finance a network to connect Central Africa is an important
step in this direction. Isabelle Gross spoke to Yann Burtin, Senior
Operations Officer, Information and Communication Technologies Department of
the World Bank about the proposed Central African Backbone.

According to Yann Burtin, the project was born out of a request from the
Chadian Government about using an existing fibre route along the length of
the Komé-Kribi oil pipeline and of building extensions to their capital,
N’Djamena and to the Central African Republic’s capital of Bangui. The
existing fibre route is 1,000 kilometres with 18 fibre optic pairs, the use
of which is shared between Chad and Cameroon.

With the extension of the route to N’Djamena and Bangui, the network will be
lengthened to somewhere between 1,800 to 2,000 kilometres. The project will
also finance redundant routes and other extensions to Nigeria and Gabon. In
other words, the project will allow both Chad and the Central African
Republic access to international fibre bandwidth rather than being solely
reliant on relatively expensive and not always reliable satellite bandwidth.
It will also allow each country to maximise the use of the existing cable
which thus far has not been widely used.

The Board of the World Bank has approved total project funding of US$215
million, of which US$26.2 million will go towards the first phase of
developing each country’s national backbones to give them access to the
international landing station in Cameroon. The total cost of this part of
the project will be US$40 million with the balance being financed by the two
Governments, la Banque Africaine de développement (BAD), la Communauté
économique et monétaire de l’Afrique Centrale (CEMAC) and l’Union Africaine
(UA).

It is envisaged that an investment vehicle will be set up with a legal
existence with the objectives of getting the infrastructure built and
maximising private investment. In this way it is hoped to be able to balance
the interests of the two Governments (and their telco incumbents) and the
promotion of the principle of open access to the new fibre.

In parallel with the creation of the structure to build the infrastructure,
it will be necessary to put in place a regulatory framework in the three
countries in question. New directives covering this aspect will be adopted
by the regional body CEMAC and put into national law to give legal standing
to the regional network between Chad, Central African Republic and Cameroon.

This new access to international fibre will allow both Chad and Central
African Republic to get cheaper wholesale prices and as a consequence be
able to offer cheaper Internet prices to customers in each country. For Yann
Burtin, the new fibre network will need several routes to different landing
stations to ensure competitive prices, hence routes to landing stations in
Gabon and Nigeria are part of the project.

If project keeps to its implementation timetable, the completion milestones
will be as follows : the financing transactions will be completed by
mid-2010 and the installation of the routes and supporting equipment by
2011. If the timetable is met, the new route will be ready to connect to
with the WACS and ACE landing stations in the same year. With abundant
international fibre capacity, competition will at last be able play its part
in lowering bandwidth prices in Central Africa.


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    TELECOMS NEWS

Back to top <#124ef7732fe4af3f_top>

Globacom gets mobile licence in Côte d'Ivoire

Nigerian operator, Globacom has taken another major step towards its vision
to be the biggest and best telecoms operator in Africa by obtaining an
operating licence in Cote d'Ivoire. The approval was conveyed to Globacom by
the Agence des Telecommunications de Cote d'Ivoire, the telecommunications
regulatory authorities of the Francophone country.

The licence will enable Globacom take advantage of its gigantic
trans-Atlantic submarine cable, Glo 1, which will branch off to Cote
d'Ivoire. Commenting on the new licence, Globacom's Group Executive
Director, Paddy Adenuga, said it had given impetus to the network's desire
to provide the needed opportunity for West African countries and the whole
of Africa to leap forward economically through an excellent communication
network and a cost-effective voice, data, video and e-commerce services.

"In line with our vision, we are building a network that will provide the
most comprehensive international communication services on the continent to
bridge the digital divide between Africa and the rest of the world," Adenuga
stated.

With the new licence, Glo will provide international carrier services for
telecoms operators in Cote d'Ivoire, aggregate and carry voice and data
traffic into and out of the country. Globacom is in Nigeria and Benin
Republic as well as Ghana where it is geared to commercially launch its
operations very soon. The telecoms giant is also in the process of securing
more licences across the continent.

The company which started operations in Nigeria in August, 2003 and in Benin
Republic in June 2008 has connected over 28 million subscribers in both
countries.
(Source: This Day)
   Telkom Kenya Gets Nod to Resume Portable 'Fixed' Line Service

The telecoms regulator has given Telkom Kenya the go-ahead to reintroduce
its portable "fixed" line service on a national scale, a move that is
expected to breathe new life into the firm's CDMA platform.

The lifting of the ban on a national CDMA service came after intense
lobbying by Telkom. The move is of strategic importance to Telkom in terms
of securing its current fixed line subscribers, consisting mainly of the
corporate world and government offices. In addition, the move was likely to
make the CDMA service more palatable to individual subscribers.

"We are excited about our reintroduction of the nationwide CDMA service. We
expect that people who had abandoned their CDMA mobiles will reactivate them
since they can now access our network in any part of the country," said the
company's Head of Corporate Communications, Angela Mumo.

The service was launched in 2006, then called Telkom Wireless, to protect
its client base that came under threat from the revolution of mobile
telephony ushered into the country by the first two GSM service providers.
Telkom Wireless offered lower mobile tariffs than its GSM rivals since it
did not attract the 26 per cent tax that was charged on mobile calls.

The move generated a lot of controversy, with the government being accused
of favouring Telkom. The company at that time defended itself, saying Telkom
Wireless was essentially a fixed line service that could not be interpreted
as a mobile service. But the criticism mounted and last year Telkom launched
its own GSM service while keeping the CDMA service.

Analysts say despite rolling out its own GSM services, Telkom has retained
its portable fixed line service with the express purpose of protecting its
subscribers already using it. Currently, the firm has a total of 500,000
subscribers on both the dedicated fixed line and its portable version that
is hinged on the CDMA mobile subscription. Tariff charges are the same for
the fixed line and the mobile version. Top-up charges for the two platforms
are integrated as well.

Telkom's move to join its rivals on the GSM platform was still not good
enough for its rivals who continued to pile pressure on the communications
commission of Kenya (CCK), the industry's regulator, arguing that Telkom was
running two mobile services under one licence.

About a year ago, CCK directed the company to henceforth stop the nationwide
CDMA service and instead implement a system whereby subscribers would only
access the company's network within pre-specified geographical zones.
Following the new rule, for instance, a subscriber in Nairobi was issued
with a number having the prefix 020. Once out of Nairobi and its environs,
the mobile went dead. The geographical capping of the service eroded their
attraction, making users to shelve handsets and pick from the array of GSM
offerings.
(Source: Business Daily)
  MACRA awards ZAIN Malawi 3G licence

MACRA has awarded a 3G licence to Zain Malawi, which is expected to enhance
high-speed wireless Internet access. Zain marketing director, Enwell Kadango
confirmed that discussions that started between the company and MACRA since
2006 has finally borne fruit as its licence conditions have now been
changed.

“3G is the telecommunication hardware standard and general technology for
the mobile networking superseding 2.5G system which will now allow speed in
data processing,” said Kadango who added that Malawi is taking after most
developing countries that are using this technology.

Currently Zain Malawi is about to finish its equipment installation across
the country which will be compatible with the new system which offers fast
downloading speeds of between 2-8mbps.

Malawi's Zain CEO Fayaz King said 3G would also allow users to watch mobile
TV besides connecting to the Internet and making video calls. TNM Limited
Zain's competitor in the market got the licence sometime back but it is only
now that the company has been testing it.
(Source: Biz Community)
  MTN Nigeria cuts off transmission of FIFA U-17 matches because of unpaid
bills

A major crisis has hit the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup when MTN cut off the
fibre connection which transmits television signals from the producers to
the rest of the world. This was because of debt being owed to MTN by the
Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the services it had provided since the
championship started. It simply means that all the countries that receive
signals through MTN's optic fibre will not receive TV signals from Nigeria
and Fifa sees this as a scandal.

It cannot link Nigeria to take signal of the semi-final matches and final
billed for Sunday. MTN is being owed over N800m for their services since the
championship started.

This is among billions of naira debt the LOC is owing in spite of the N12
billion already released to them. FIFA were making frantic efforts to see
how they could get MTN to restore services.
(Source: Vanguard)



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telecoms briefs

- Zimbabwe’s telecoms operator, TelOne, has warned customers with
outstanding bills that they risk losing their lines to those on the waiting
list if they fail to settle their debts with the country's sole fixed
telephone operator. All those who have not yet cleared their debts were
given up to end of this month to pay up. In parallel TelOne announced that
it is ‘at an advanced stage’ in its plans to expand its coverage of
CDMA-based wireless in the local loop (WiLL) services countrywide, but can
only proceed when the necessary funds become available.

- Nigeria’s Information and Communications Minister Dora Akunyili has said
the ministry will make recommendations to the Federal Executive Council to
merge the two regulatory bodies of the Nigerian Communications Commission
(NCC) and the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC), by the end of
December. The minister said the move was designed to prevent overlap in the
area of spectrum licensing.

- The United Nations telecommunications agency has announced that it has
signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to build a new museum that
will focus on the impact of information communications technology (ICT) on
people's lives. The new museum will be known as the ICT Exploratorium and
will be housed at the headquarters of the International Telecommunications
Union (ITU) in Geneva when it opens next year, the agency said in a press
release.



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   INTERNET
NEWS

Back to top <#124ef7732fe4af3f_top>
 Nigerian State and Zinox Disagree Over Internet Contract

Enugu State Government and Zinox Technologies Limited have disagreed over
the city wi-fi wireless Internet service for Enugu, the capital city. While
the government has commenced court action against Zinox on allegation that
the company failed to deliver, Zinox maintains that it did not fail
according to the contract terms.

Secretary to the State Government, Martin Ilo, according to a statement from
the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Dan Nwomeh, accused the company
of a shoddy job, saying it did not deliver what it promised after the sum of
N200m was paid. But the Chief Operating Officer of Zinox, Theophilus Nweke
said the company never received N200m from Enugu State Government .

Ilo said instead of the cloud Internet coverage of four kilometres radius
from the city centre involving the installation of many base stations as
specified in the contract agreement, what the company implemented was merely
hot spots which work only around the few available base stations.

"There are two major issues. First, the range of the base stations is too
short and very susceptible to obstacles, such that even where the mast
exists, it works only within a limited range, best outside", he further
explained.

Nwomeh also said that the internet service is not uniformly available, a
situation that has security implications as many youths now cluster around
the few functioning masts with their laptops, causing anxiety in some
peaceful neighbourhoods.

"The venture has clearly failed, and that being the situation, we must have
the money paid back into the state treasury. We can't tell our people, the
people of Enugu State, that we expended such an amount of their money on a
failed project, and are keeping quiet about it. We are not known for that",
he said.

However, Zinox in a statement made available to This Day last week said as
far as their records show, the government paid only N157,000,000 as part of
its 80% equity in a joint venture. The telecom company said that it
contributed its 20% to the joint venture. "It was not a contract awarded by
Enugu state government to Zinox Telecomm”.

“This was paid after the devaluation of the Naira for a partnership signed
and sealed before the devaluation. Also, as at today, we are not in court
with Enugu state government and have not been served any court summons for
whatever reason. Enugu state government drafted the joint venture agreement
and we believe they ought to know the process to follow", Nweke said in the
statement.

He continued, "What we implemented is Super Wifi and not hotspots and the
network covers 4km radius and these can be confirmed but like is the global
standard you need a subscriber unit to connect to the network. We
recommended 500millwatts wifi USB adapters or 14dbi 400watts flat panels
subscriber radios to connect. We felt violated with that publication and
advise the government to investigate who received the difference".

According to him, the partnership was not profit motivated but rather to add
impetus to the lofty programmes of Governor Sullivan Chime by turning Enugu
state into a technology driven state with the provision of cost effective
internet connectivity at about N10,000 per year .

He added, " As I speak the network is working and fully optimized and the
government is using over 95% of the capacity and has not paid a kobo for the
usage of this facility as defined by our partnership agreement. It is
impossible to connect over 100,000 users in Enugu city on 2.5Meg bandwidth
as expected by the SSG, this will freeze the network ".

The company added that other challenges it had include electricity supply to
the over 20 base stations deployed which is not part of our obligation. "We
provided power backups like inverters and UPS as agreed. We had few
political issues with location of mast to host our base stations and
antennas etc."
(Source: This Day)
  Kenya’s AccessKenya and UUNet Secure international routes for redundancy

AccessKenya and UUNet have secured five international routes to guard
against downtime due to fibre connectivity disruptions. Providing multiple
paths for redundancy purposes means that their clients' links with the
outside world will not be affected even if one of the cables is cut.

The undersea cables are prone to shark attacks which may lead to losses if
there are no other alternative routes to connect them to other parts of the
world. While AccessKenya has secured three such alternative routes, UUNET on
the other hand has secured two.

Both companies offer internet services mostly to corporate organisations
with either branches spread across the globe or doing business with partners
all over. Before contracting any of these Internet service providers, most
organisation usually demand a service level agreement which, among other
things, outlines the uptimes.

Failure to meet these agreed uptimes means that the ISPs will have to
compensate for any business lost due to downtimes which may amount to
millions of shillings. With the anticipated battle in the data segment due
to the entry of big telecommunication players like Safaricom and Telkom's
Kenya Orange, assurance of quality of service to customers thus becomes a
key differentiating factor.

AccessKenya managing director Jonathan Somen said their customers are now
assured of international redundancy on fibre. AccessKenya has capacity in
both the Seacom cable and Teams cables and has provided alternatives routes
for both cables.

"We believe this is a significant value proposition to the market and
redundant service through these two fibre connections are now connected for
all our clients, whether they connect to us via local fibre, wireless,
copper or any other local technology," said Somen. This comes shortly after
AccessKenya's announced they had been chosen by Tata to host their Tier 1
Point of Presence (PoP) in Kenya.

With the commissioning of our TEAMS cable, AccessKenya now have three
diverse paths to the public internet - it has capacity on Seacom landing in
London, capacity on Seacom landing in Mumbai and capacity on TEAMS landing
in Fujairah.

By landing part of their capacity in Mumbai and interconnecting with Tata's
global network there, AccessKenya has removed the issue of both Seacom and
TEAMS using the SMW4 fibre cable to London. In the event that SMW4 has a
problem, AccessKenya's customers will be operational through their
connection in Mumbai.

Last week, UUNET Kenya acquired a second international Point of Presence
(POP) in London. The other international Point of Presence (PoP) that the
company has had since 2005 is located in Fuchsstadt, Germany.

The Managing Director, Tom Omariba, said the POP will reduce the number of
hops (time loss) its corporate clients take to access the internet and their
global corporate data networks. "In addition to our customers accessing the
Internet faster, we will be able to offer additional new solutions like the
international Private Line Circuits (IPLC) private network," said Omariba.

The company recently migrated all its corporate customers from satellite
powered internet to fibre optic cable, doubling their bandwidth and
increasing internet speeds in the process. The migration of UUNET's clients
to fibre came after the installation of an equipment purchased from US based
Juniper Networks as part of its Sh750 million ($10 million) investment in
system upgrading.
(Source: Business Daily)
  East Africa’s Health Sector Goes Digital, With Next Epidemic Alert a Click
Away

East African Community member states are closer to having an integrated
e-health regional information network to identify, confirm and respond
rapidly to outbreaks of international ramifications.

Following the Bujumbura Ministerial discussion in September to discuss the
establishment of the network, the use of ICT in the health sector has been
intensified to disseminate information on the outbreak of communicable
diseases such as cholera, Rift Valley Fever and H1N1.

Donald Charwe, acting Commissioner for Social Welfare in Tanzania's Ministry
of Health and Social Welfare, said the country was now talking with other
partner states of the Community about integrating of their respective
national disease-information communications networks to ease the exchange of
knowledge on deadly diseases with far reaching life and business
implications.

Charwe said that an electronic network, the "EAC Regional Integrated eHealth
Management System" is being formulated as an outcome of the Bujumbura
Ministerial discussion. "Partner states have been urged to develop and
harmonise electronic early warning and rapid response systems for
communicable disease outbreaks and fast-track the regional e-health system,"
he said. E-health is a relatively recent term for healthcare best practices,
that are supported by electronic processes and communication.

Dr Grace Saguti, a World Health Organisation official in Tanzania, said it
is possible to interconnect the available national e-health networks in the
region. Dr Saguti said the ministry responsible for health and livestock in
the country already have operational e-health informatics networks that can
be modified to become regional.

According to Dr Saguti, the country's Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
uses the Zain network to communicate locally available information on infant
mortality and pregnancy-related deaths and disorders from far flung areas to
head offices in Dar es Salaam.

"Receivers and senders of the information include district health officials,
regional health officials and the head offices at Dar es Salaam.The network
will use e-health experts to keep governments and the public in the region
constantly alert to the threat of outbreaks and ready to respond. It will
contribute towards regional health security by combating the cross-border
spread of outbreaks, ensuring that appropriate technical assistance reaches
affected areas rapidly, and contributing to long-term epidemic preparedness
and capacity building.
(Source: The East African)
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  Internet briefs

- Telkom Kenya has raised the competitive stakes in the home Internet market
with a new service that allows access through existing landlines, saving
users substantial money in installation costs. The Telkom Fixed Bundle
priced at a most attractive and affordable cost of Sh2,000 which translates
to Sh1 per minute, will enable customers make calls and browse the net from
the comfort of their homes.

- The roll out of wireless broadband (WiBro) that will ensure seamless
internet access around Rwanda’s capital Kigali city is heading for
completion, according to a new report. The Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) Sector Performance Report 2008-2009 that was released last
month revealed that detailed design and specification for the national
backbone project is complete despite some challenges in getting enough
machines and experienced engineers to conduct civil works on timely basis.

- A new report that reveals how vulnerable the Internet as we know it is,
has just been published by two global civil society organisations. The
annual report, called Global Information Society Watch (GISWatch), was
released by the Association for Progressive Communications and Dutch-funder
Hivos. GISWatch 2009 is entitled Access to online information and knowledge
– advancing human rights and democracy. 48 country reports –ten more than
last year's report- analyse the status of access to online information and
knowledge in countries as diverse as the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt Mexico, Switzerland and Kazakhstan. The
report will be launched at the Internet Goverance Forum in Egypt on
Monday November 16.



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COMPUTER
NEWS

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 Nigeria’s House of Representatives Shelves Electronic Voting

The House of Representatives said Nigeria cannot afford to adopt the
electronic voting system now because of the high level of illiteracy amongst
the electorate, the challenge of epileptic power as well as the huge cost
implications inherent in the project. The House urged INEC to discard the
use of ad-hoc staff in future elections as well as to employ not less than
3,000 graduates to man its polling units

Chairman, House Committee on Electoral Matters, Musa Adar, disclosed this at
the weekly media interaction with the parliamentary press corps. Adar, who
acknowledged that the electronic voting system could enhance transparency in
the country's electoral system, however, said the idea should be deferred
till the next ten years when a reasonable percentage of the voting
population would have acquired basic education and computer knowledge.

Adar said that rather than jumping into electronic voting system, INEC
should discard the use of ad-hoc staff in future elections and employ not
less than 3,000 graduates to ensure that every polling unit was fully manned
by competent and dedicated staff of the electoral body.

According to Adar, adopting electronic voting system cannot be a priority
for Nigeria now as even some advanced democracies were still conducting
their election using the manual voting system.

"Let us be honest to ourselves. We are not yet literate enough for
electronic voting. You cannot expect to take it (voting machine) to my
village where all the graduates are not more than 10 and expect it to be
used for election.

"Our committee believes that it is going to gulp too much money at this
material time when we need constant power supply, abundant food production
and good healthcare delivery. We believe that the issue of electronic voting
should be differed until other time when we have solved these problems in
the next five or 10 years," he said.

Adar advised that before Nigeria could adopt the electronic voting system,
the Independent National Electoral Commission must also build the capacity
of its personnel in information technology for a number of years and conduct
pilot schemes to ascertain the level of success in the proposed system.
(Source: This Day)
  Milestone for Stop-Start Gauteng School Computer Lab Project

An eight-year-old project to install computer labs in all Gauteng schools
has finally reached 1300 classrooms, after an initial R500m scheme was
abandoned and a fresh R2bn tender issued.

Gauteng Online is now being run by SMMT Online, which has ripped out much of
the equipment installed by six consortiums that won parts of the original
tender. Some equipment had been reused but most was no longer seen as
appropriate, Chief Technology Officer James Ainslie said last week.

As the overall project manager SMMT needed to correct past mistakes, he
said, as the tactic of appointing several suppliers had failed. When Gauteng
Online was revived, SMMT found fewer than 10% of 1200 computer labs were
functionally intact, and only 61 had proper Internet access.

"We have refreshed all those facilities," Ainslie said. "Over time hardware
depreciates, so in all the classrooms where there were Gauteng Online labs
we have replaced the old technology." The original tender wasted vast
amounts of taxpayers' money and squandered the efforts of companies
including Sun Microsystems, Acer, IBM, Mustek and Sahara. They each created
labs in two dozen schools for their technologies to be evaluated. Then the
contract was split among six consortiums, which installed labs in hundreds
of schools.

The project floundered under a lack of leadership from the Gauteng education
department and many labs were vandalised or fell into disuse. As momentum
faded, technical support dwindled and equipment was stolen . No
content-filtering was imposed in schools with internet access, so access to
pornography was rife. The project was then transferred to the Gauteng Shared
Services Centre, and the initiative was rewritten, retendered and won by the
relatively unknown SMMT.

Mustek CEO David Kan said his consortium had equipped about 300 schools.
Although it had been paid , Mustek did not want the reworked tender as it
was designed for project managers, not technology suppliers.

Of the 2042 schools involved in Gauteng Online, SMMT has installed computer
labs in 1375. About 470 need to have prefab classrooms installed to house a
laboratory, and 157 need structural repairs before they will be fit to
receive the computers.

Each lab has 24 workstations for pupils, a computer for the teacher,
internet access and a printer. Up to 25 teachers will be trained in each
school to use the computers in their lessons.
(Source: Business Day)
  First Taste of Success for a Young Software Developer in Rwanda

 A senior-six student in Essa Nyarungunga, has made a name for himself by
creating computer software that is already being used by some companies.

Yves Kamanzi does not just study computer sciences, it is a passion which
does not leave him when he gets out of the classroom. As a result, he has
developed several administrative computer applications and despite fierce
competition in the sector, he has been able to win over several companies.
One program, which calculates employees' net salaries, has proven especially
popular.

"It helps accountants since they can monitor an employee's payment process
without necessary going through files," Kamanzi explains.

His success may in part due to the fact that the young entrepreneur does not
simply develop and sell software, he also follows up on his clients with
maintenance and can customize his programs according to a company's specific
need.

And the business-savvy youngster sees other opportunities - he is currently
working on a program for hospital management. According to Kamanzi, health
services have been undermined by poor management of patients and treatment
facilities. "So the program will deal with key issues such as recording the
patients' medical background, which will make it easier for doctors to find
the required information."

Another field is music - which also happens to be Kamanzi's hobby. He has
already developed a program called Ray player which helps producers to
record music and manage the studio business, yet he intends to expand it and
turn it into a more effective tool that can be used by music makers
throughout the whole recording and mixing process.

When asked how he managed to do it, Kamanzi modestly replies that it is
mainly due to one of his teachers, who in his spare time has helped him in
developing his programming skills. And that relationship is unlikely to end
when he finishes his studies. "We have plans to set up a software company
together early next year," the student says.

To make that come true, however, there is one last hurdle remaining: he must
pass his exams. So at the moment, he has put his programming on the back
burner. "I am currently fully concentrated on passing my exams, and only do
software design in what little spare time I have," Kamanzi explains.

Considering the young man's determination, there is little doubt that he
will succeed and then be able to achieve his dream of opening his workshop -
so far, he has been working from home. And he intends to offer a more
complete service. "I will not only make software but also do computer repair
and maintenance," he says.

It seems that, once they set up the company, Kamanzi and his teacher will
not be idle for long. Already, they are working on a computer program to
help banks managing accounts. That will come in handy, especially to keep
tag on Kamanzi's own rapidly growing bank account.
(Source: Focus Media)

[image: BA banner]<http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/6233/241592/454/0/>
Computer briefs

- Kebbi state in Nigeria will introduce e-payment system in order to fish
out ghost workers in the government payroll. To achieve the set objective of
the e-payment system, a five-man committee of retired and trusted civil
servants were assigned by the Ministry to over look the computerisation of
names, thumbprints and pictures of genuine serving staff.


  [image: advert]
  ON THE MONEY

Back to top <#124ef7732fe4af3f_top>
 Cellcom Goes Public in Liberia

Cellcom Telecommunication Incorporated, the privately-owned American cell
phone and Internet Company in Liberia is offering opportunities to
Liberians, other residents and business houses to participate in
profit-sharing rights of the company. This is the first time a profitable
and privately-owned company is offering shares to the Liberian public.

Cellcom is widely known for being first in the provision of upgraded
services and promotions to its growing subscribers. The company's first-rate
technology enables conference calls, voice messaging, email-to-phone,
international roaming and no-rounding of minutes.

According to T. Max Jlateh, Public Relations Officer of the Company, Cellcom
will officially launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on today, Monday,
November 9, at 6pm, at the Royal Hotel. PRO Jlateh explained that the IPO is
a convertible debenture whose minimum price is US$10.00. Up to 500,000
debentures are being offered with a minimum of ten percent interest which
will be payable semiannually.

It can be recalled that exactly five years ago to the day, Cellcom broke the
back of a monopoly in the telecommunication industry. Under the monopolized
system, prices for SIM cards were as high as USD65.00 while the cost of
local and international calls ranged from fifty cents to USD1.25. The
minimum cost of cell phone was USD300.00. Coverage was restricted to
Monrovia and its immediate environs.

Today, all of Liberia can be reached by a click of the cell phone whose
price is as low as USD19.00. The price per call is fifteen cents across the
networks while the rate for international calls using the Cellcom service is
ten cents per minute. Cellcom has also introduced office solutions to
improve the work environment and enhance efficiency in the work place.
(Source: The Analyst)
  Zain Pours Sh2 Billion Into Tanzania’s Government Coffers but forecasts
flat revenue for 2009

Mobile phone network operator Zain Tanzania has paid over Sh2 billion as its
dividend to the Government for 2007.

Speaking at a brief function where a symbolic cheque for Sh2.4 billion was
presented to Finance and Economic Affairs Mustafa Mkulo in Dar es Salaam,
Zain Tanzania managing director Khaled Muhtadi said this was a result of the
approval of the company's 2008 accounts by its board of directors.

"It is no surprise that the board approved Zain's accounts since we abide by
principles of good corporate governance.

"We have also contributed Sh96 billion to the Government's revenue in terms
of corporate tax, VAT, Excise Duty, PAYE, Skills and Development Levy and
Withholding tax in 2008," he said.

Mkulo commended the company for paying their dividends, and encouraged other
blue chip companies to follow suit.

"When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two
uses, it can either be re-invested in the business (called retained
earnings), or it can be paid to the shareholders as a dividend. Paying
dividends gives the Government the assurance that things are running
smoothly," he said.

Zain Tanzania is a pioneer in innovation in the country and it recently
launched an m-commerce service Zap which allows Zain customers to receive
incoming transfers from abroad directly to their mobile phones over Zap.
"Now remittances from abroad can be sent from any financial institution to
mobile phones in Tanzania. Remittance receivers can cash the received amount
at a Zain shop or any of the 1800 Zap agents across the country," Mutahdi
said.

"In the very near future, we will introduce the integration with major banks
which allows customers to use their phones to transfer funds from their bank
accounts to their phones and vice versa."

In a separate news, Zain’s Tanzanian mobile venture expects full-year
turnover to be flat for 2009 on the back of a cut in consumer spending
caused by the wider economic slowdown, although it also reports it hopes to
continue to see strong gains in terms of subscribers for the rest of the
year. The unit’s managing director Khaled Muhtadi told Reuters he expected
customer numbers to keep growing but anticipates ‘flat revenue growth’ in
2009. ‘We see 5.2 million customers by the end of this year, up from 4.8
million currently, and aim to reach six million at the end of next year,’
Muhtadi said in an interview.
(Source: The Citizen)
  Tower sharing offers opportunities for emerging markets

While the large operators in Western Europe like Telefonica or Vodafone have
instigated advanced active infrastructure sharing and outsourcing, telecom
operators in developing markets are now beginning to look into alliances
that would help relieve them of heavy costs and speed their expansion into
rural areas.

Network infrastructure sharing and outsourcing is finding strong acceptance
with mobile operators around the world as an effective way to cut down
coverage costs, while reducing the time-to-market. These initiatives have
already seen significant traction in India, and are poised to make their
impact felt in the Middle East and Africa (MEA).

Operators across the world, especially those in developing markets, face
challenges in sustaining margins with declining ARPU. Population
distribution patterns in developing markets complicate the situation since
access to telecom services varies significantly between urban and rural
areas leaving operators in these countries to balance the cost of operations
in congested and saturated urban setups with the costs of new network
rollouts in other areas. In this context, tower sharing offers a compelling
proposition.

In a whitepaper entitled Mobile Tower Sharing and Outsourcing: Benefits and
Challenges for Developing Market Operators, Romain Delavenne, director of
Capgemini’s telecoms, media and entertainment consulting practice in the
Middle East, reveals that towers constitute almost 50 per cent of the total
capital expenditure (CAPEX) for an operator. Yet while many operators in
developed markets have moved on to sharing both active and passive network
elements to save costs, in emerging markets with low penetration levels,
operators are faced with the dual challenge of maintaining margins, while
ensuring rapid rollout to keep pace with the growth in subscriber numbers.

Capgemini’s estimates indicate that tower sharing could help operators in
India and the Middle East achieve total savings of $4bn and $8b respectively
in the next five years, with such savings resulting from the benefits of
having reduced CAPEX and operating expenditure (OPEX).

Tower sharing has largely been an operator-led initiative in most developing
markets, however regulators have also played a significant part in ensuring
uptake of tower sharing initiatives. Tower sharing prevents the
proliferation of masts thereby reducing the environmental and visual impact
of operator networks especially in urban and ecologically sensitive areas.
Tower sharing also helps in spurring competition due to a reduction of entry
barrier for new operators. More importantly, from a regulatory perspective
the pooling of tower infrastructure helps operators expand into rural
markets achieving the objectives of universal coverage, while ensuring that
operators do not incur significant CAPEX in doing so.

Operating costs associated with the running and maintenance of tower
infrastructure, like diesel generators, air-conditioning equipment, and
security and site rentals, form a significant portion (nearly 60 per cent)
of operator OPEX. These costs are compounded in rural areas due to limited
infrastructure facilities such as roads and a steady supply of electricity.
For instance, in India the operational costs per tower have been estimated
by analysts to increase by up to 20 per cent in remote inaccessible terrain.

For incumbent operators, sharing their existing tower assets helps in
reducing the cost of network operations significantly. For instance, in the
MEA region, it is estimated that tower sharing with a tenancy ratio of two
would enable operators to achieve an annual tower OPEX reduction of 12-15
per cent resulting in savings of $1bn.

In most developing markets, incumbents continue to expand their networks to
reach out to rural areas and improve coverage in dense urban pockets. Tower
sharing benefits operators in achieving cost effective market coverage by
helping reduce cost duplication. For example, in MEA, it has been estimated
that an additional 100,000 towers would be required to extend reach in the
next five years, a growth of over 50 per cent from current figures. Tower
sharing could achieve potential savings of $8bn in that period.

Establishing a separate tower company helps incumbents to unlock the
inherent value of their physical infrastructure. Forming independent tower
companies that attract additional tenants can aid operators to generate
additional revenues, thereby creating value from an otherwise depreciating
asset. With incremental operating costs being low, additional tenants on
towers lead to very high margins. In developing markets the tenancy ratio
per tower ranges between 1.1 and 1.3 compared to 2.2 -3.0 in developed
markets such as the US12. Capgemini’s estimates indicate that a typical
breakeven tenancy ratio per tower site in developing markets of Asia, Middle
East and Africa is 1.5.

For new entrants the installation of cell sites is an expensive, complicated
and labour-intensive process as there are a number of municipal clearances
and government approvals required. For greenfield operators, partnerships in
the form of joint ventures and sharing agreements with incumbent operators
and tower companies are particularly attractive as they help reduce time to
market significantly. For a mobile operator, more than 60 per cent of the
total network rollout cost is accounted for by towers and accompanying
infrastructure. For a new entrant, this translates into a significant
financial burden which tower sharing and outsourcing helps to alleviate.
According to analyst estimates, tower sharing can reduce overall cost of
ownership after accounting for the tower lease costs, by 16 to 23 per cent.

Capgemini concludes that tower sharing and outsourcing have a significant
role to play in developing markets in order to promote universal
telecommunication access and especially so, given the background of the
global economic turmoil which has affected investment pipelines. For
incumbents, new entrants and regulators in developing markets, tower sharing
and outsourcing models offer growth paths to service expansion and enhanced
subscriber penetration. However, tower sharing brings in its wake numerous
challenges. Operators and independent tower companies need to clearly
identify the path most suitable to their needs to avoid the pitfalls and
realize the potential benefits.
(Source: Total Telecom)

Vodacom hurt by Gateway acquisition

Since becoming a subsidiary of the Vodafone group in May this year, Vodacom
has undertaken a number of initiatives to boost profitability. Through
leveraging Vodafone's international presence and experience, the group
secured solid revenue growth despite tougher operating conditions.

Vodacom released results for the six months to 30 September today, revealing
a 9.9% growth in revenue over the comparable period in 2008. Group EBITDA
increased by 8.0%, but earnings per share fell by 94.4% to 4 cents. This was
mainly due to impairment charges of R3.2 billion, most of which related to
Gateway in Nigeria. The group's operating profit decreased by 45.0% to
R3,535 million due to a combination of the impairment charges and a 16.8%
increase in depreciation and amortisation.

During the period, Vodacom did however solidify its position as the market
leader in South Africa's broadband market, increasing its customer base by
53.5% to just over 964 000. The group's mobile data revenue grew by 30.1%.

Vodacom also noted that while South African mobile operators are under
considerable pressure to reduce tariffs, the group is working with the
authorities to ensure that the reduction in the termination rate is dealt
with "responsibly" and will not impact too severely on profitability.

In its international operations, Vodacom has introduced price reductions in
both Tanzania and the DRC due to falling revenues in those regions. This has
been due to fierce competition, weak economic conditions and higher excise
duties.
(Source: Frost & Sullivan)


[image: BA report
banner]<http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/6233/241592/288/0/>
On the Money briefs

- The debt of ailing Nigerian incumbent operator Nitel will be shared
between the telco’s new buyer and the federal government according to the
chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications, Senator Sylvester
Anyanwu. The chairman also revealed that the winning bidder of a 75% stake
in Nitel will be declared by the end of November, and that interested
parties have already been shortlisted. 14 companies have reportedly
expressed an interest in Nitel, including Etisalat Nigeria, MTNL of India,
Globacom, MTN Nigeria, Telefonica of Spain and MetroPCS Communications.

- Huge Group is pleased to announce that its dispute with the JSE has ended
after the JSE announced it had imposed a public censure on the company
relating to the purchase of derivatives contracts in October 2008. Huge
Group is also pleased that no fine was imposed on the company. There will be
no costs to the company relating to the fines imposed on directors Anton
Potgieter and James Herbst in their personal capacities, nor will there be
any costs to the company should Potgieter and Herbst take these penalties on
appeal.

- EppixComm, an end-to-end customer care and billing solution provider, last
week announced a partnership with Business Logic Systems, a specialist in
customer intelligence, marketing automation and customer loyalty solutions
for mobile network operators. Working together the two companies will help
African mobile operators turn their prepaid customer data into a powerful
marketing tool that can help increase retention and loyalty.

- A new World Bank report says that regional integration will help lower
infrastructure costs. 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. To
download a copy of the report visit Infrastructure Africa’s
website<http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/6233/241592/871/0/>
.

- BCX released results for the past 15 months having moved its financial
year end from 31 May to 31 August. Normalised operating profit margins were
at 4.0% for the period, up from 3,6% for the year to May 2008, and gross
profit was marginally higher at 26,6% of revenue. Headline earnings per
share however dropped to 37.5 cents. "Customers have become increasingly
price sensitive due to the economic slowdown," says Frost & Sullivan ICT
analyst Mpho Moyo. "IT infrastructure spend has declined and investment
decisions have been deferred, which has impacted on the local ICT market."
      MORE

   - Telecoms, Rates, Offers And Coverage <#124ef7732fe4af3f_troc>
   - Web and Mobile Data news <#124ef7732fe4af3f_wmd>
   - People <#124ef7732fe4af3f_people>
   - Events <#124ef7732fe4af3f_events>
   - Jobs and opportunities <#124ef7732fe4af3f_jobs>
   - Contracts <#124ef7732fe4af3f_contracts>

Back to top <#124ef7732fe4af3f_top>

 Telecoms Rates, Offers and Coverage

- The fifth Global System for Mobile communications operator in Nigeria,
Etisalat Nigeria in collaboration with the Research In Motion (RIM), have
launched the BlackBerry solution into the nation's market.

- MTN Ghana has launched its 3.5G technology in Takoradi and its environs.
The mobile operator’s 3.5G services are now available to over seven million
valued customers in Accra, Tema, Kumasi and now Takoradi and Cape Coast.

- Tanzania’s telecom operator Zantel has  launched a free SMS service on its
mobile network. Customers who buy Sh15,000 airtime will instantly get 1,000
free SMSs. They will get more free SMSs with every call they make on the
Zantel network or other networks.

- Telecom Namibia announced that it has extended its 3G CDMA2000 1xEV-DO
mobile data service to six additional localities: Katima Mulilo, Oshikango,
Ondangwa, Okahandja, Henties Bay and Long Beach (near Swakopmund).
Meanwhile, the company reports that it is currently installing new EV-DO
base stations in Windhoek to complement the existing eleven base stations in
the capital city.

- Sudan Telecom (Sudatel) has officially inaugurated a HSDPA network under
the Sudani One banner, local daily Sudan Vision reports. The company’s
executive manager, Emanuel Hams, noted that current investment in Sudan has
exceeded USD200 million, adding that Sudatel’s wireless subscriber base
exceeds four million.

- FNB eMoney Product House CEO Yolande van Wyk today announced the launch of
Send Money - an instant solution for FNB customers to transfer money to
anyone with a South African cellphone. According to FinScope, 3.8 million
people send money to family and friends living within South Africa annually.


  Web and Mobile Data News

South African Government Using SMS to Distribute Free Electricity Vouchers

Sybase 365 says that it is providing the messaging platform for an SMS based
electricity voucher scheme being rolled out in South Africa.

The initial service provides real-time electricity pre-pay meter recharge
for Eskom (the South African electricity public utility) and various
municipalities using a mobile wallet developed by MoPay. A key element of
the service is to facilitate the distribution of Free Basic Electricity
tokens (tokens distributed by the government to low-income households), sent
by SMS to registered meter owners.

"It is very rewarding to be at the forefront of a project which can really
make a profound difference to the lives of people in South Africa. So many
people are faced with a half day round trip to reach services that they can
now access using a network independent, ubiquitous mCommerce service. It
would be difficult for a farmer to give up a day tending his farm to go to
visit his bank," said Cobus Potgieter, CEO, MoPay. "Our partnership with
Sybase 365 enables us to extend mobile-based service offerings to many more
diverse, under-privileged and remote communities."

As well as providing this payment mechanism, MoPay also facilitates other
services vital to thriving villages and communities, such as free
communications, free SMS between schools and parents and free content for
schools and students.
(Source: Cellular News)


Google Earth Comes to Uganda

Google Earth, a software application that enables people and organisations
to map their own surroundings and to beam to the world issues that affect
them has been launched in Uganda.

The software application was invented by several engineers at Silicon
Valley, the world's top technology hub. The application provides a parallel
way of searching the earth instead of typing in text online, you fly
virtually into that place.

Rebecca Moore, the manager of Google Earth Outreach explained to Business
Vision that the product is the most realistic virtual global search
available today. The application is a high resolution satellite energy that
provides map data images like roads and other salient features on earth.

"Organisations are now using Google Earth to raise awareness. One of the
features is that anybody can contribute to Google earth by posting images,"
said Moore.

The most realistic application that Uganda can adapt is the use of Google
Earth to promote her tourism as it is done in New Zealand and Egypt where
the application is used to beam tourist sites. It can also be used to raise
awareness about endangered habitats and species.

The United Nations Environment Programme has for instance posted an atlas on
Google earth tours of the social and political pressures on Mabira forest,
one of the few surviving natural forests in central Uganda.

Google Earth was launched in Uganda recently at the Speke Resort Munyonyo at
the premier Africa Geographic Information Systems, a premier mapping
conference for Africa.
(Source: New Vision)
  People

Haresh Haricharun, 41, joined The Innovation Hub Management Company (Pty)
Ltd (TIH) as CEO. The Innovation Hub – Africa's first internationally
accredited Science Park – as an important contributor to the fast-changing,
dynamic and challenging innovation landscape, locally and abroad.”
   Events **

***CUSTOMER SERVICE & CONTACT CENTRE WEST AFRICA *
*24-25 November 2009, Oriental Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria*
This year’s theme is “Achieving excellence in Customer Service & Increasing
Market Share during an Economic Downturn”, it is aimed at organisations in
the region with established contact centres – and those planning to set up
centres – to learn about world trends and latest developments in contact
centre technologies and management strategies. Telecom operators, banks and
other financial service companies, outsourcing operators, oil companies,
public utilities and government departments will be the key target sectors.
For the full programme visit Aitec Africa’s
website<http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/6233/241592/32/0/>
*
*

*ONLINE EDUCA BERLIN 2009*
*2-4 December 2009, Berlin, Germany*
Innovate, Share, Succeed – is the theme of OEB 2009. This year’s agenda will
be about your learning innovations, your expertise and the great ideas that
will lead your organisation, company or school to success.
For the full programme visit the organiser’s
website<http://www.online-educa.com>

*TANCon AFRICA 2009*
*4-6 December 2009, Taia Resort, Freetown, Sierra Leone*
This years conference will explore the theme "Virgin Territories: A New
Market for Innovative Investment" through the use of case studies on Sierra
Leone and other liberalizing African markets.
TANCon Africa is hosted by TAN a global non-profit organization that fosters
entrepreneurship and technology among people of African descent. TAN was
founded in Silicon Valley, California in 2004 to provide a support structure
and network for entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, and community leaders
worldwide. This year, the TAN Africa conference is held in collaboration
with the Internet Society of Sierra Leone and supported by the Ministry of
Trade & Industry and Sierra Leone Import Export Promotion Agency (SLIEPA).
TANCon Africa 2009 will attract over 250 local and international attendees
from the United States of America, South Africa, the United Kingdom,
Nigeria, Ghana and the rest of the world. Conference participants will range
from industry leaders and key decision makers of global financial
institutions, fortune 500 companies in ICT, Finance, Agriculture, Tourism,
Infrastructure, Social Entrepreneurship and Renewable Energy.
For more information on the conference, see the conference Web
page<http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/6233/241592/807/0/>

TELECOMFINANCE 2010
26th – 27th January 2010, Renaissance Chancery Court Hotel, London, United
Kingdom
TelecomFinance 2010 will bring together the key individuals and companies
that will shape the telecoms industry in what is set to be another
challenging year ahead.
After a subdued year of deal activity the panel sessions will explore the
changing focus in global M&A, the hottest regions for deals and fresh ideas
on operational efficiency and maximising new technologies.
Don't miss this opportunity to network, share knowledge and do business with
operators, financiers and dealmakers from across the global telecom finance
community.
For further information please visit
www.telecomfinance.com/2010<http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/6233/241592/872/0/>
    Jobs and Opportunities

Tender for long-distance trenches for nationwide fibre cable project -
Zimbabwe
Aquiva Wireless (Private) Limited, a newly licensed telecoms services
provider in Zimbabwe, has invited companies to tender for the construction
of long-distance trenches for its nationwide fibre-optic transmission cable
project. Aquiva’s chief operating officer, Artwell Mataranyika, added that
the newcomer is set to roll out its services ‘soon’; interested parties can
contact the COO at artwellmt at gmail.com (+263(0)4 2916973).

Pre-incubation phase pogramme to assist early stage entrepreneurs – South
Africa
CITI and the Bandwidth Barn will be running a new pre-incubation phase
programme called Velociti Y with the aim of assisting early stage
entrepreneurs to evaluate the viability/feasibility of their existing
business concepts, ideas, products, services, technologies, etc. from
November 2009 through March 2010.

We will consider the first 40 applications of which 20 will be selected to
receive professional consulting regarding the further development and
commercialisation of their business ideas/concepts.

Selection criteria - preference will be given to the following:

   1. Pre-revenue/early-stage start-ups
   2. Existing business concept/idea/product/service/technology
   3. The capacity to execute business plan once completed (background
qualifications, knowledge, skills, etc.)

For further information visit the Bandwidth Barn’s
website<http://lists.balancingact-africa.com/t/6233/241592/873/0/>
   Contracts

BTC and Ceragon Networks - Botswana
Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) has selected wireless backhaul
solutions provider Ceragon Networks to upgrade its nationwide wireless
backbone and the backhaul network of mobile unit beMobile. Ceragon’s FibeAir
solutions will enable the operator to meet its service expansion plans and
support rapid subscriber growth. The deployments will help BTC work towards
completing the Botswana Telecommunications Authority’s (BTA’s) Rural
Services Improvement and Expansion project, network deployments for which
are expected to be finished by year-end.

TNM and Aircom - Malawi
Network planning and optimization firm AIRCOM International, has been
selected by TNM (Telekom Networks Malawi) to provide network performance,
optimisation and management services for its multi-vendor network. The
vendor will deploy three solutions – ASSET to plan and design its 2G radio
network, CONNECT for microwave backhaul planning, and OPTIMA for performance
management – within two months.

Bechtel and Alcatel-Lucent - Angola
Alcatel-Lucent has secured a USD12 million contract with engineering firm
Bechtel for the deployment of integrated telecoms infrastructure to support
a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Angola. Under the contract, the
French-US supplier will design and implement a fibre-optic cable network,
satellite communications, data and voice LAN supporting VoIP telephony, UHF
radio and VHF marine radio systems for the onshore and offshore operations
of Angola LNG Limited’s new plant, scheduled for launch in early 2012.

Leo and Nokia  Siemens Networks - Namibia
Namibian mobile operator Leo, part of Orascom Telecom's subsidiary group
Telecel Globe and previously known as Cell One, has selected Nokia Siemens
Networks (NSN) to upgrade its 2G and 3G networks.
   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.

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-- 
Executive Director
UgaBYTES Initiative
Tel: +256414370163
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