[UgaBYTES] WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP-AFRICA (WEEK 41)

[Mwathi Francis]

*ICT is transforming Africa says President Kagame*

8th October 2009

Despite being a ‘late-comer’ in embracing the use of Information
Communication Technology, Africa has embraced ICT tools that have put the
continent on the right development path.

“Being late-comers in embracing, and indeed starting from a low base in
creating information and communication technology sectors, ICT is
nonetheless fundamentally transforming our nations and continent,” Kagame
told the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) 2009 Summit which
opened in Geneva, Switzerland yesterday.  Kagame said that since the October
2007 Connect Africa summit held in Kigali, investments in communications
infrastructure across the continent have exceeded $ 8 billion.

http://www.newtimes.co.rw/index.php?issue=14040&article=20811



*High costs blamed for low Internet uptake in Africa*

7th October 2009

The high cost of ICT services and limited access to high-speed Internet in
Africa has been blamed for the sector’s sluggish growth. The continent has
only one fixed broadband subscriber for every 1,000 people compared with
Europe, which has 200 providers for every 1,000, according to a new report
by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).  “The relative price for
ICT services (especially broadband) is highest in Africa, the region with
the lowest income levels,” says The World in 2009: ICT fact and figures
released yesterday. It adds that the cost of the ICT price basket represents
41 per cent of Africa’s monthly average income. The director of
Telecommunication Development Bureau, Mr Sami Al Basheer, said heads of
State and industry leaders would team up at the ITU Telecom World meeting
next month to identify the right policies and regulations to support and
encourage ICT growth worldwide.

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/-/539550/668992/-/u6gpahz/-/index.html



*Smart phones to better Africa’s economy*

2nd October 2009

While the newspaper business continues to search for an answer to its
economic problems in America, a clearer pathway is developing in Africa. The
answer, very simply, is the mobile phone. For the past four months, Google
and a host of other businesses have been experimenting with a mobile phone
business that offers African farmers instantaneous information on crop
pricing, weather and even advice on how to deal with tough agricultural
questions. Reuters, the British wire service, is trying a similar model in
India, and is also charging farmers for its menu of information. Elsewhere,
mobile phone technology is being used by fishermen to find prices for their
catch at various ports within a day’s sail.

http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/-/440808/666870/-/4ofpxk/-/index.html



*Nokia set for mobile money services in East Africa*

5th October 2009

Mobile Phone Company Nokia is expected to roll out its money transfer
services in the East African region next year according to the firm’s
regional spokesperson.  The global mobile phone giant recently unveiled
Nokia Money which is similar to MTN Uganda’s Mobile Money and Zain’s Zap.
The service is meant to extend affordable, accessible and user friendly
money transfer services to billions of un-banked people around the world. Ms
Dorothy Ooko, Nokia communications manager, Eastern and Southern Africa,
told Business Power in an interview last week, that the Nokia Money service
will be rolled out gradually to selected markets including the East African
region in 2010.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/business_power/Nokia_set_for_mobile_money_services_in_East_Africa_92425.shtml



*Glo set to push competition to highest level…as its fiber optic cable
berths in Ghana*

1st October 2009

The era of poor telecommunication services, high tariffs, expensive call
rates, low internet services, and interrupted services, would soon be a
thing of the past, as Globacom, one of Africa’s leading telecommunications
provider, berthed its fiber optic cable in Ghana on Tuesday. The arrival of
the 9,800 kilometer fiber optic cable, affectionately called the Glo 1
Submarine Cable, signaled the Nigerian telecom’s preparedness to push the
competition in the telecommunication industry to its highest level.

This would give consumers in Ghana and other African countries (Nigeria and
Benin) value for their money, as they will now enjoy low call rates, high
speed and reliable data transfer, voice, video and data communication
services.

http://www.ghanaian-chronicle.com/thestory.asp?id=14194&title=Glo%20set%20to%20push%20competition%20to%20highest%20level


-- 

Francis Mwathi
Support Community Facilitator
UgaBYTES Initiatives (www.ugabytes.org)
Telecentr.org (www.telecentrecommunity.ning.com)
Tel: +256 414 370163
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Skype: francis.mwathi
E-Mail: mfrancis at ugabytes.org