Telecoms24

ECONET to increase subscriber base by 2.5million

2008-11-14T08:40:00.000+02:00

SOUTH African based network services provider Econet Wireless International is targeting a subscriber base of 2,5 million mobile subscribers in 2009, starting with 1,2 million in February.

The company, founded by Zimbabwean-born businessman Strive Masiyiwa is confident of meeting its target.

“Econet is targeting a subscriber base of 1,2m by February 2009 and at least 2,5 million thereafter. Econet is definitely set to beat expectations in the case of an economic turnaround given the large market share that they command as well as its positive growth orientation,” said the company.

“Despite the dismal financial performance, the company exhibits very strong recovery and growth potential. Management is bullish about company prospects.”

The company said it will also focus more on innovation and move towards 3rd Generation (3G) services.

The company recently released its half year result where revenue was down significantly by 30,2 percent to US$7,0m in Zimbabwe, where it has its largest base, as a result of sub-economic tariffs.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1723. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Partner with Google, don’t compete- Gartner

2008-11-14T08:33:00.001+02:00

Google’s influence and market power with key telecommunications industry stakeholders is having a significant impact on the industry, according to Gartner, Inc.

“The communications industry ‘ecosystem’ ‹ encompassing regulators, Internet service providers, advertising, and media customers and service providers ‹ finds itself in Google’s crosshairs, not because Google necessarily wants to compete with telecom service providers or content developers, but because it finds their business process to be an impediment to innovation and change,” said Alex Winogradoff, research vice president at Gartner.

Mr Winogradoff said Google will continue to be a market disruptor and disintermediator, especially in the communications market. “Carriers should selectively partner with Google rather than trying to compete, especially in areas where they don’t have differentiated and core assets,” he said.
“However, carriers should also find common ground with Google (for example, on network neutrality) and, if necessary, look for creative ways to oppose Google on issues critical to their survival.”

Gartner said that coming late to the operating-system and mobile markets has not been a problem for Google and that its Android and Open Handset Alliance (OHA) activities have already had a profound effect on the mobile industry. In addition to disrupting the traditional telecom ecosystem, Google’s
actions are diluting the market potential and the service providers’ ability to profitably monetise their investments in new markets (such as entertainment and software as a service (SaaS) applications).

Gartner has highlighted six critical actions by Google that have already had, or will have, the greatest impact on the telecom industry. These include:

700MHz Auctions ‹ Google pressured the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to set aside the “C” Block (22MHz to 11MHz in the uplink and 11MHz in the downlink within the U.S. 700MHz spectrum auctions) as an open-access spectrum. All winning “C” Block bidders would be required to provide open
access to applications (which cannot be blocked) and devices (which cannot be locked). Google’s primary motivation was to encourage the development of open broadband network platforms to ensure they will be able to deliver bandwidth-intense over-the-air services and applications.

Formation of OHA and the Android Open Mobile-Device Platform ‹ On 5 November 2007, several technology and wireless companies jointly announced the formation of the OHA and the development of Android, a new software platform for mobile devices that includes an operating system (OS), middleware and key applications based on the Linux OS and open-source principles. This was
quickly followed on 12 November 2007 with a preliminary release of the Android SDK, as part of Google’s $10 million developer challenge.
This will help ensure that application and access openness is maintained on the mobile Internet as effectively as on the wired network to enable Google’s ad model to spread as successfully as it has on the wired Internet; to open up the “closed” mobile industry ecosystem to Google’s applications; and to enable Google to exert a strong influence over the development of the next-generation mobile OS.

Fuelling the Network Neutrality Debate ‹ Since the US regulator (FCC) adopted four network neutrality principles designed “to encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public internet,” Google and other web-centric companies have been
lobbying the US Congress to codify these rules in favour of something called nondiscrimination in network design between the public and private internet.
In short, Google wants regulation to ensure that the public internet remains free from potential discrimination and content blocking but also wants equality between the public and private internet at no cost to customers or web companies (in essence, no quality of service).

Looking to Own Both Static and Dynamic Location Information ‹ Google has been investing heavily to develop the world’s most complete storehouse of geographic and mapping data supported by innovative applications that can detect mobile devices. Google wants to be “the most-trusted source” and the best at matching up unique geographic location-based data so it can take
advantage of just-in-time advertising opportunities derived from location-aware applications and bypass device manufacturers and carriers as the gatekeepers of location data.

Promoting “White Space” Spectrum Development ‹ Known as “white space” in the US and “interleaved spectrum” in the UK, this is the underutilised 800MHz spectrum that can be used to broadcast TV through the airwaves but also has highly favourable propagation characteristics for wireless broadband. A powerful industry lobby backed by Google, Microsoft, Philips, Dell, HP,
Skype and others (known as the Wireless Innovation Alliance) has been urging the FCC to develop rules to unlock the potential of TV white spaces.
Google’s interest in white spaces is another effort to ensure that there are viable broadband options available for their services. The spectrum, which will likely be released as an open spectrum in 2010, would become another means for bypassing the carrier access network.

Engaging in Business via Google’s “Cloud” and SaaS Offerings ‹ Google is looking to engage organisations by getting them hooked on using Google’s applications and cloud computing infrastructure. Making it easy for users to download Google applications and giving them free space on Google’s cloud infrastructure will give Google great marketing insight to help it develop a
presence within the small-and- midsize business (SMB) market initially, with eventual migration to larger organisations where organisations will come to Google for all their back-office SaaS needs. The impact on carriers looking to generate revenue from the SaaS business model within the SMB market will require carriers to clearly differentiate their applications from Google or partner with it.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1728. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

MTN partners with ITNewsAfrica.com for corporate news

2008-11-14T08:29:00.001+02:00

ITNewsAfrica.com, Africa’s leading ICT news and information website, is proud to announce the imminent launch of MTN’s new home online.

MTN’s press office on ITNewsAfrica.com will carry news from all of its operations throughout Africa and the Middle East, making it one of the most comprehensive sources of news and information about the telecom giant.

The new virtual press office will contain MTN news, group contacts, multimedia and regular competitions.

Samuel Mungadze, online editor of ITNewsAfrica.com, said interest in Africa’s most comprehensive news portal by global brands like RIM (producer of the Blackberry), Dell and MTN Group, is growing and is a very positive development. “Our online platform continues to be seen as a credible source for African ICT news. This status allows us to provide our clients with unrivaled exposure to a quality African audience.”

The Virtual Press office is expected to go live in mid November 2008 on ITNewsAfrica.com.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1730. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Vodacom launches multi-million data centre

2008-11-14T08:23:00.000+02:00

VODACOM has launched a new R100-million data centre, which has the capacity to host about 20 000 dedicated client servers or 650 000 virtual machines.

The Johannesburg-based 1000 square metre centre will allow companies to do away with their own costly data centres.

According to Wally Beelders, the Executive Director of Vodacom Business, the company has developed a world-class hosting facility that will allow its clients to focus on their core business.

“IT operations are a crucial aspect of any company’s operations. One of the main concerns is business continuity; companies rely on their information systems to run their operations,” said Beelders.

“If a system becomes unavailable, company operations may be impaired or stopped completely. Our new data centre will ensure that a company can continue to run without having to worry about their IT infrastructure,” added the company executive.

Beelders added that all companies will be able to benefit from the range of hosting services now available due to the new data centre, regardless of their size.

“The Vodacom Business Data Centre caters for large corporates with vast IT infrastructure needs, to small businesses, including Small Medium Micro Enterprises (SMME) and Small Office Home Office (SoHo) businesses which need cost-effective hosting services.”

The cost of setting up and running your own data centre infrastructure with back-up generators, UPS, air cooling, building management systems and the associated services is prohibitive.

“By making use of our data centre, clients will benefit from a safe and cost-effective data centre environment including back-up services that ensure the highest level of availability and network performance.”

Vodacom Business says its data centre will operate at any time of the day, seven days a week.

ITNewsAfrica.com
Mxolisi Ncube , Johannesburg

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1729. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Undersea cable connection to link up Africa with World

2008-11-13T09:08:00.000+02:00

ALTHOUGH cable connections across many African countries are in a poor state of repair or non-existent, the continent is slowly being connected to the global community through five undersea cable projects, three of which are due for completion in 2009.

The African cell-phone sector is the fastest growing in the world, with subscription growth between 2007 and 2008 at 41% annually. Cell phones currently account for 90% of telephone subscribers in Africa. At the beginning of 2008, there were 300 million mobile subscribers on the continent.

Mobile subscribers in Africa are also now more evenly distributed. In 2000, South Africa accounted for more than half of all Africa’s mobile subscribers. By 2007, however, almost 85 per cent were in other countries.
“One of the reasons for the high growth rate of mobile subscribers is the lack of an affordable, efficient fixed line infrastructure. Wireless is thus the solution of choice and is making fixed line upgrade projects largely redundant. “Mobile network operators have stepped in, providing not only voice communication but, with the launch of third generation (3G) services in a number of mobile phone markets, playing a considerable role in internet service provision,” said Brian Paxton of Mbendi Information services.
While a number of satellite based services are already in operation above the continent, in September 2008 Google announced the successful launch of its new satellite, which can capture images from 423 miles above the Earth and travel at about 4.5 miles per second. Also in 2008, Google and a number of partners announced a Linux-based open development software platform for mobile phones which they expect will pry the telecom industry open and merge it with the Internet.
Broadband penetration has traditionally been low across the continent, with access being limited to urban areas. Access is, however, becoming more widely available, with the number of fixed broadband subscriptions passing the 2 million mark in early 2008.
“On the regulatory front, governments still own monopoly fixed line operators in most countries. However, for the most part there is
competition in the cell-phone sector, mostly with international network operators in partnership with local investors and entrepreneurs.
International players with major investment on the African continent include MTN, Vodacom, MTC (Zain), Vodafone, Orascom, France Telecom, MIC, Etisalat and Portugal Telecom,” Paxton said.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1702. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

South Africa: Information, computer industry loses 25% skilled personnel

2008-11-13T09:05:00.000+02:00

Analysts project that the Information and Computer Technology industry may suffer in 2009 due to a skills shortage, which is predicted to be as large as 25 percent.

The forecast setback is attributed in part to the fact that domestic supply is far below demand while deep skills are even scarcer than entry level skills. Players in the industry are thus taking measures to resist the problem.

Leading ICT company AdaptIT Holdings said it had taken steps to ensure that staff are highly valued, attracting the best in the industry to its fold and keeping them.
“The company values its staff and strives to ensure that each employee has a strong sense of purpose, identity and belonging in shaping our success as a company of the future,” chief executive officer Sbu Shabalala said.

Particularly in South Africa, 2008 has been a difficult year for most industries and the ICT industry has not been spared. “We needed to look inwards at our operational efficiency and internal alignment. Also, the effects of what is now a diversified service offering has come to our aid as far as coping under the difficult economic climate is concerned.

“Our strategy will always be to maintain relationships with our existing clients and this is definitely reflected in our results,” Shabalala said.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1707. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Mobile marketing & Broadcasting ahead of 2010 World Cup

2008-11-13T09:03:00.000+02:00

THE importance of mobile marketing and broadcasting ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will feature prominently in the upcoming Soccerex 2008 that South Africa will host later this month.

FIFA and Soccerex have assembled a panel of industry leaders to highlight the importance of this during a panel entitled ‘Mobile Communications in Africa and Beyond: The Key to Reaching Fans at the 2010 FIFA World Cup’.

This will feature senior figures from FIFA, mobile phone giant Ericsson and Perform.

Heading up this panel will be Niclas Ericson (Director, TV Division, FIFA), who will outline the importance of fan communication via this media platform and the opportunities this poses ahead of 2010.

The next FIFA World Cup is expected to push forward interaction via many different communication technologies, including full match broadcasts on mobiles.

As a relatively new broadcasting medium, Niclas Ericson will reveal the world governing body of football’s stance on the activation of event mobile broadcasting rights.

Robin Berglund (Business Development Manager, Ericsson) will reveal how companies such as Ericsson remain innovative in this highly competitive market and where he feels mobile services and handsets can take fan interaction to new levels.

With Ericsson currently operating in over 1,000 networks in more than 140 countries, Berglund is highly knowledgeable on mobile global deployments in markets such as Africa.

He will divulge where he feels mobile services and handsets can provide the greatest influence on media and sports consumption and the related mobile marketing strategy.

Completing this panel of communication experts is Andrew Croker (Executive Chairman, Perform). Perform is a world leader in monetising sport and entertainment rights in digital media, they provide content to clients such as Orange, Nokia, Vodafone and T-Mobile. Recently, Perform were also awarded internet rights for over 500 2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier Matches.

This conference panel will provide Soccerex delegates an expert consultation session on mobile marketing strategies, focusing on South Africa’s rapidly developing telecommunications market.

The three-day Soccerex, the world’s biggest football exhibition kicks off in Johannesburg on November 23.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1708. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

419 Scammers target Facebook users

2008-11-11T09:00:00.001+02:00

Facebook has been infiltrated by scammers who use compromised accounts to con users out of cash.

Now that even non-tech savvy internet users know not to respond to, or click on links in, emails from strangers, online thieves have turned to social networks and are finding it is easier to trick people when posing as their friends.

On Friday, Sydneysider Karina Wells received a Facebook message from one of her friends, Adrian, saying he was stranded in Lagos, Nigeria, and needed her to lend him $500 for a ticket home.

Adrian used relatively good English but, after chatting further, words such as “cell” instead of “mobile phone” tipped Wells off that she was not talking to her friend but someone who had taken over his account.

Using sites such as Facebook allows scammers to research and target victims more effectively and avoid having their messages blocked by spam filters, said Paul Ducklin, head of technology at Sophos Asia Pacific.

It is likely the scammer obtained Adrian’s Facebook login details after he was infected with a virus delivered by email or in an infected web page.

There are a number of viruses which, once installed on a computer, send back to the hacker a detailed log of everything entered using the keyboard, including online banking details and passwords for services such as Facebook.

Wells played along with the scammer, who asked her to transfer the money into a Western Union account.

“Naturally I was concerned as, to all intents and purposes, this seemed to be legitimate,” she said.

“I pretended that I would help, obtained all the details of where he was and forwarded them to both Facebook and the relevant authorities.”

But while the Nigerian scammer used the compromised Facebook account coupled with social engineering tactics to try to convince Wells to hand over money, many are using compromised accounts to spread malware.

Typically, the victim receives a Facebook message from a friend with a subject such as “LOL. You’ve been catched on hidden cam, yo” or “Nice dancing! Shouldn’t you be ashamed?”

The body of the message contains a video clip link that appears to go to a legitimate site such as Facebook or YouTube but, when clicked on, it takes the user to a bogus web page.

Before the users can play the video they are told they need to download a video player upgrade, which is in fact a password-stealing virus.

The next time the victim logs into Facebook the malware-laden message is sent to all of their friends and the infected link is automatically added in comments on friends’ pages.

Other less sophisticated attacks on Facebook members use spam emails, some appearing to come from Facebook itself, to spread viruses.

In September security firm WebSense reported on spam emails, purportedly sent from an @facebookmail.com address, that tell the victim they have received an invitation from Facebook to add a friend.

“The spammers included a zip attachment that purports to contain a picture in order to entice the recipient to double-click on it. The attached file is actually a Trojan horse,” WebSense said.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1688. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Vodafone job cuts may impact negatively on South Africa

2008-11-11T08:59:00.000+02:00

British firm, Vodafone, which last week announced that it was purchasing an additional 15 percent of South Africa’s Vodacom, is expected to announce job cuts that are aimed at saving its operational costs.

The company, which now controls 65 per cent of South Africa’s leading cellular network, seeks to implement various cost cuts, as it bids to generate savings of £1 billion (R16billion) a year.

While fears abound that the new measure could lead to substantial job cuts in Vodafone’s European workforce, it is still not clear how the South Africa subsidiary will fit into the announcement.

Sales for the company have apparently been very low for the communications company in the UK and Spanish markets, leading to the new plan.

On Tuesday (11 November 2008) the company is expected to post a half-year operating profit of £5.7 billion on sales of £19.8 billion.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1679. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

DSL subscriptions dropping drastically

2008-11-11T08:54:00.000+02:00

WORLD DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) subscriptions are dropping, while speeds lines are simultaneously increasing, giving subscribers value for their money, a market research survey revealed last week.

With a drop rate of 20 per cent during the first three quarters of this year, DSL has the largest average worldwide price drop.

Broadband users are said to have paid $66.75 on average for a subscription during the first quarter and $53.32 during the third.

In comparison the average subscription prices for cable Internet was down ja little over 12 percent and for different versions of fiber access to the home, usually dubbed FTTx, was down by 6.5 percent.

Point Topic CEO, Oliver Johnsons, attributed the drop to to competitive pressure, and the current world economic climate.

Middle East and African subscribers are said to be paying paying over $46 per megabit for DSL access, compared to Western Europe where subscribers are paying only $6.23 per megabit.

The average price per megabit using DSL in the North America and Asia Pacific is $16.10 and $3.80, respectively.

Fiber is by far the cheapest access technology if prices per megabit are compared, it was four times cheaper than cable and ten times cheaper than DSL in the third quarter. When average monthly subscription prices are compared cable Internet is the cheapest option.
The future of broadband will increasingly be about fiber.

When fiber has been put in place it becomes the dominant broadband access technology in four to five years, at the cost of cable and DSL.

“DSL is going to have a really hard time, and we will see a gradual erosion of its market share,” said Johnson

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1684. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Vodafone buys stake in Vodacom

2008-11-07T08:47:00.001+02:00

Vodafone has finally released details of its anticipated plan to acquire an additional 15 per cent stake in South Africa’s Vodacom from Telkom SA, in a plan which was first announced last month.

The deal, which is estimated at R22.5 billion (US$2.47 billion), is set to increase Vodafone’s shareholding in Vodacom Group from the current 50 to 65 per cent.

The deal will also see Vodacom, South Africa’s largest cellular network, being registered in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, while the remaining 35 per cent will be demerged by Telkom to its shareholders.

The Government of South Africa has also agreed that it will retain a minimum shareholding of 10 per cent in Vodacom Group for a period of 12 months after the listing on the JSE.

Vodafone has also committed to maintain the Vodacom brand-name and that Vodacom will be the exclusive investment vehicle through which it will make acquisitions in sub-Saharan Africa (excluding Ghana and Kenya where Vodafone is already present) - which will ensure that the South African government can benefit from any gains.
The transaction will be financed through existing cash resources and committed debt facilities.

The acquisition is subject to, among other conditions, approval by 75% of Telkom’s shareholders and is conditional upon Vodacom Group being listed on the JSE and Telkom demerging the remaining 35% of Vodacom Group to Telkom’s shareholders.

Telkom’s two largest shareholders, the Government of South Africa and the Public Investment Corporation Limited, owning a combined 58%, have irrevocably committed to vote in favour of the transaction and will become significant shareholders in Vodacom Group following the completion of the transaction.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1666. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Discontinues The Post-paid package.

2008-11-06T17:48:00.001+02:00

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe says it will next week discontinue all contract lines (post-paid packages), in yet another sign of Zimbabwe’s economic freefall.

"Econet Wireless would like to advise its valued Business Partna subscribers that the current postpaid billing system has long gone past its life span and the implementation of a new billing system has not be possible due to foreign currency constraints.

"To avoid shutting down, we regret to advise that Business Partna customers will be migrated to the prepaid platform with effect from Monday 10th November 2008," said Econet in a statement to its contract customers.

Officials who spoke to RadioVOP on condition of anonymity, said the discontinuation of contract lines is only a temporary measure aimed at cushioning the company from the harsh economic climate.

"Once a new billing system is in place, due notice will be given to our valued customers. The prepaid system is however, characterized by congestion," said Econet.

This article was extracted from http://www.radiovop.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4329&Itemid=756. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Who Killed the VoIP Revolution?

2008-11-06T12:46:00.000+02:00

“VoIP is dead,” Skype General Manager of Voice and Video Jonathan Christensen declared at an industry conference a few weeks ago. He spoke figuratively, of course, but he may well have been right. While Voice-Over-Internet Protocol proponents had long promised a decade of creative destruction, they themselves appear to have become the victims.

The full potential of a technology is not always realized once it converges with market forces. In this case, the gravitational pull of the incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) has always proven difficult to resist. Most of the VoIP industry, while loudly proclaiming the SIP era as the beginning of the end for monopoly communications, secretly courted the incumbents in hopes of profiting from replacing their long-amortized investments in the fixed-line business. By tying their fortunes to the whimsy of the ILECs, many of the upstarts suffered, destroying billions of dollars in shareholder value in the process.

Recently PulverMedia, which spurred the VoIP crowd and rode its financial crest, shut its doors amid a swirl of controversy. As of this writing, Sonus Networks, once a high flier at $95 per share in 2000, trades at about $2.29. Even Cisco has thrown in the towel, discontinuing its BTS series of softswitches (which provide the routing logic for VoIP networks). These dismal stories perfectly mirror the ride of the VoIP industry in general.

The outlook was once a lot better. In 1999, with the ratification of the SIP protocol specification by the IETF, advocates who wanted to tear apart the monopolies that dominated telecom started to beat their war drums. Following conventional wisdom that the Internet democratizes and deleverages any market into which it enters, it was easy to convince investors to pour billions into VoIP products and companies. Regulators seemed to support that theory, too, sealing the deal with the FCC’s so-called “Pulver Order,” which defended the VoIP industry from over-reaching regulation and tarifing.

The anticipated period of “creative destruction” came, all right. It began in 2001 with the smiting of the competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs) and long-distance competitors, who had not yet even had time to embrace VoIP, by predatory pricing from the incumbents. It continued with the shift from fixed voice lines to wireless phones, as evidenced by the drop in landlines . More recently, the guns have been turned toward the VoIP equipment vendors that begat the revolution in the first place.

So what happened? What clipped the wings of so many VoIP hopefuls can be boiled down to five things:

Death by Deliberation: The incumbents and cablecos were identified as early targets for the equipment vendors, however their engineers quibbled about curbside protocols and QOS and fiddled with VoIP in the labs, delaying launches by years — far outside of the fundraising cycle of most of the VoIP startups.
Competition Attrition: The implosion and autopsy of WorldCom signaled to most of the industry that being a competitor in telecom is not a healthy business. Those high prices were largely arbitrary, and as soon as the market pressured incumbents to reduce them, they did.
Evolution vs. Revolution: Companies like Nortel, Siemens and Ericsson rank among the top VoIP equipment vendors today, not startups. Technologists completely underestimated the sway and leverage that the traditional vendors held over their customers.
SIP in a Box: SIP might be an open protocol, but networks were built proprietarily and have not been bridged together. Most telecom services still communicate with each other via public switching, meaning that the wonderful possibilities that SIP might enable are limited by the capabilities of the plain old telephone system.
Landline Decline: Even as networks were evolving, the number of landlines around the globe was shrinking. People found more convenient ways to communicate via wireless, SMS, instant messaging or pervasive email.
VoIP technology has clearly been successful in making inroads into traditional telecom networks, but in doing so, the revolution that SIP in particular, and VoIP in general, enables has been largely cast aside and the entire industry has coalesced in a race to the bottom. With this revolution went the volume of equipment and software sales that could have revitalized the supplier business and stimulated more innovation.

Of course, while the telecom industry was eating itself alive, a plucky little company from Luxembourg called Skype delivered on VoIP’s promise by almost completely ignoring the Public Switched Telephone Network, not to mention the pundits and experts that cling desperately to SIP’s potential. The point of Christensen’s superpoke at what’s left of the telecom business is that Skype has been successful because it threw away the playbook, ignoring the obsessions of so-called telecom experts and focusing instead on solving the practical needs of everyday users.

Tens of millions of people use Skype’s network today for text messaging, file-sharing, videoconferencing — and, yes, voice calling. All of these services are made decidedly more convenient because of presence — you can see who’s there before you contact them and use that information to choose what the most appropriate means of communication should be. And with less than a $40 million investment (prior to eBay’s rather more substantial buy-in), Skype’s user growth has outpaced the entire rest of the consumer VoIP business combined.

The bottleneck for innovation appears to have been Alexander Graham Bell’s (no relation) PTSN — the plain old telephone system. By going after low-hanging fruit and forcing their innovations to be defined within the walls of the PSTN, the vast majority of VoIP companies voluntarily muzzled their own revolution and ultimately cost their investors billions.

By Ian Andrew Bell
Ian Andrew Bell is a reformed telecom executive, and creator of the team management service rosterbot.com

This article was extracted from http://gigaom.com/2008/11/02/who-killed-the-voip-revolution/. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

'Dial-up is dead'

2008-11-06T12:42:00.001+02:00

iBurst is again aggressively targeting the dial-up market; this time with a competition aimed at convincing South Africans to build an advertising campaign.

The company is asking South Africans to build an original television, radio or print advert with the central theme of dial-up being passé. “The idea is to delve into the minds of South Africans and find out how they think about broadband versus dial-up,” says Callia Doucas, iBurst's marketing head.

“The adverts should focus on the advantages of iBurst broadband over dial-up connectivity,” she says.

Participants must register and submit their entries on the iBurst competition Web site, www.iburstcompetition.co.za, by 31 December.

According to Doucas, the best adverts will be selected according to the number of views and ratings on the Web site. The winning ads may be broadcast nationally in March 2009. Winners will also receive a Macbook Pro, valued at R50 000, and iBurst connectivity for two years.

“This is an opportunity for all South Africans with creative flair to get their ideas seen nationally. The adverts need not be professionally created. Just a quick video taken on a cellphone, or a sketched print advert would suffice,” adds Doucas.

Target market

iBurst has been targeting the dial-up user directly over the last few months. The company's latest campaign offers to replace dial-up modems for R200. The company also disposes of the dial-up technology.

World Wide Worx strategy MD Steven Ambrose says dial-up is definitely a dying connectivity option. By December 2007, Internet service providers reported there were 908 000 dial-up users in the country.

“We predict that by the end of December 2008, there will be 800 000,” adds Ambrose.

World Wide Worx is completing this year's research on connectivity and will soon release more recent figures.

iBurst has a subscriber base of around 50 000 users, making the dial-up fraternity a lucrative opportunity for the company. “iBurst is targeting the dial-up market and the company's offering does make sense for them,” adds Ambrose.

He says the objective consensus is that broadband is cheaper than dial-up, even if users are only online for an hour a week. “It doesn't mean that broadband is cheap, it just means that dial-up isn't cheaper.”

Ambrose notes that broadband has been fraught with confusing contract options and upfront costs, whereas dial-up is a more controlled connectivity option. “While it is a dying option, dial-up does have utility. Especially for those who just check mail and do Internet banking. This is a good marketing space for iBurst.”

BY CANDICE JONES

This article was extracted from http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2008/0811041036.asp?S=Innovations&A=INV&O=FRGN. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Fifa happy with 2010 broadcast plan

2008-11-06T12:40:00.001+02:00

Television viewers of the 2010 Soccer World Cup are expected to outnumber physical spectators by a ratio of 1:10 000, but tournament organiser Fifa is confident the broadcasting infrastructure will be in place.

Scheduled for July 2010, the country is expecting three million visitors during the four weeks of the World Cup. While there are still concerns over transport infrastructure and accommodation, Fifa says the broadcasting system is all but sown up.

Niclas Ericson, director of Fifa's TV division, says Fifa, along with the Local Organising Committee, Telkom and the Department of Communications, meet regularly on the telecommunications committee to discuss progress.

“We bring our experts, and they bring theirs and there is a good working relationship between all parties.”

Ericson says the upgrade of Telkom's core infrastructure, to meet the broadcasting requirements, would be finished by March next year. He also believes increasing the capacity of the Telkom SAT-3 undersea cable would enhance international connectivity for transmitting the signal out of the country.

Crucial capacity

The international capacity will be crucial during the scheduled three kick-off times of 1.30pm, 4pm and 8.30pm daily.

“We are also pleased to see there is progress in the completion of other undersea cable projects and that the second [Sentech] satellite station will also be completed,” he says.

The requirements for fibre-optic lines with a 20GBps capacity from the 10 stadiums where the matches will be played to the international broadcasting centre, in Johannesburg, will also be in place once the venues are completed.

“All the venues are on track for completion within the required time period,” he notes.

Each venue will have a minimum of 24 high-definition TV cameras and a number of extra cameras, such as “spider cameras”, and 3D tracking, all of which makes for demanding editing requirements, Ericson says.

Free-to-air

Speaking during an event hosted by communications equipment group Ericsson, in Cape Town yesterday, Ericson said Fifa was ahead of schedule in tying up its free-to-air contracts, with the last country, Nigeria, expected to sign a contract shortly.

Fifa wants a minimum of 22 of the 64 matches to be free-to-air. Pay-TV packages will include pre-match interviews and real-time information statistics, such as how many kilometres a player has run on the field.

“We need the pay-TV broadcasters' participation, because free-to-air stations don't necessarily have the capacity to devote as much time to match interviews,” Ericson says.

Fifa also plans to make as much use as possible of non-linear broadcasting – broadcasting media outside of traditional radio and TV. This will include extensive use of the Internet and digital video broadcast – handheld – the receiving of images on a mobile phone.

Ericson says Fifa has held discussions with the African Union of Broadcasters that will result in this coming World Cup being used as a training event to improve the standard of sports journalism.

BY PAUL VECCHIATTO

This article was extracted from http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2008/0811041042.asp?S=Broadcasting&A=BRC&O=FRGN. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Virgin comes out swinging

2008-11-06T12:36:00.001+02:00

Consumers can expect to see a new telecommunications battle from Virgin Mobile, which will be spearheaded by the company's new CEO, Steve Bailey.

Bailey, a 50% shareholder of the company, takes over as Virgin Mobile SA's CEO from Peter Boyd, who led the company since December 2006.

In an interview with ITWeb this morning, Boyd explained the company will become more visible over the next few months as it prepares to fight the incumbent interconnect fees, which he said keeps Virgin Mobile's prices higher than it would like.

“This month we launched the 99c Virgin to Virgin call. It really speaks to the unfair interconnect regime we face as a virtual provider in this country,” he said. Boyd added that the company plans to lobby the Independent Communications Authority of SA on the matter.

Virgin Mobile has been relatively quiet over the last few months. Boyd says the company has “not held everything in front of the house”, but has been preparing to take up the interconnect trouble.

He says Virgin has already made its case to the Competition Commission and will follow through with other regulatory aspects, as well as the 99c campaign.

Boyd says the company also hopes to see a flood of new entrants in the market that will encourage more virtual operators and drop costs for consumers. “What we really need in this market now is some good competition. This will happen soon.”

Taking the reins

Boyd is convinced incoming CEO Steve Bailey will follow through with his vision for the company. “He brings seven years of experience in the industry from Cell C, which will only strengthen Virgin's ties with the third mobile operator.”

Virgin's chairman and Cell C CEO, Jeffery Hedberg, says Bailey played a large role in Cell C's turnaround.

Hedberg thanked Boyd for his contribution to Virgin SA over the past two years, saying: “Boyd has championed many of the initiatives that have helped change the South African mobile market, such as real per-second billing; clarity on the true cost of handsets; giving customers unlimited SMSes; and recently launching the lowest all day rate in SA with 99c Virgin 2 Virgin calling."

Boyd will take up a position in the UK with Virgin Mobile to develop the company in new markets. “The train is starting to move, and it will be a very exciting time for Virgin SA.”

Bailey was not available for comment.

BY CANDICE JONES

This article was extracted from http://www.itweb.co.za/sections/telecoms/2008/0811041040.asp?S=Career%20Moves&A=MOV&O=FRGN. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Technology brings in effective business solutions to South Africa

2008-11-04T14:09:00.000+02:00

2Cana Solutions’ long and excellent reputation for providing high quality and cost-effective business solutions to customers worldwide has been honored with the Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA) 2008 KwaZulu-Natal ICT Company of the Year Award.

“As a Proudly South African company, 2Cana is thrilled to receive this award, which clearly recognizes our achievements in the industry and in the community this is made possible by the passion, enthusiasm and commitment and especially the hard-work of our people.

“While we have much to be proud and happy about at 2Cana, the CSSA’s KZN ICT Company of the
Year Award is a wonderful feather in our cap,” said the company’s Financial Director, Shirley Singh.

The Kwazulu-Natal company’s solutions are based on Oracle and Microsoft technologies and the company has achieved Oracle Advantage Partner and Microsoft Gold statuses, the highest accreditation levels with both these partners.

2Cana have an impressive client portfolio, which includes: Mr Price, MiWay, Momentum, Medscheme, Toyota, Ethekwini Municipality, Sappi, Smith & Nephew among other.

Singh said that 2Cana has a number of quality solution offerings, including TIA, an insurance industry solution that is customer-centric, function rich, and supports multiple on-line sales channels with 24/7/365 processing availability, providing unprecedented flexibility and scalability.

“As a TIA implementation partner that specialises in accelerated implementations, integration, maintenance and support, 2Cana Solutions is ideally positioned to leverage its position as KZN ICT Company of the Year
to deliver this solution to our country’s strong insurance sector,” she said.

Singh also stated that the company, which received an ‘AA’ rating from EmpowerDEX as a Level 3 contributor this year, believed in redressing the social and economic disparities through Black Economic Empowerment (BEE).

“Our focus takes in all aspects of BEE, including shareholding, recruitment and procurement policies, as well as skills development and training,” she explains.

2Cana has partnered with the Ethekwini Municipality and Phumulela NGO in running a shelter in Cato Manor, providing feeding schemes and material support.

“In addition to addressing the immediate primary needs, we also run programmes like skills development and counselling, which are aimed at uplifting people. The objective is to provide people with food, tools and hope to make them self sustainable and able to take control of their own destiny,” she said

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1628. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

South Africa’s first Mobile Carbon Footprint calculator launched

2008-11-04T14:07:00.000+02:00

LEADING worldwide conservation organisation and South African firm, BulkSms have launched a first for South Africa-MyCO2Print, the country’s first Mobile Carbon Footprint calculator.

According to WWF communications official, Carolyn Cramer, among the unique aspects of this ‘awareness’ tool is its environmental friendliness and user friendliness.

“MyCO2Print is primarily an awareness tool. It is far simpler than the carbon footprint calculators available on the web and this is intentional.

We wanted a tool which would enable South Africans to measure their carbon footprint in terms of travel and energy use and to try to improve it on a monthly basis,” she said.

MyCO2Print provides users with an approximate rand value of the carbon emissions that they are producing. This calculation is based on figures derived from the Stern Report, a 700-page report released on October 30,
2006 by economist Lord Stern of Brentford for the British government.

The report discusses the effect of climate change and global warming on the world economy. In addition, the mobile carbon footprint calculator records users’ data and allows for a comparison of results on a monthly
basis.

The young generation is WFF’s and BulkSms.com’s target market for their latest product, Cramer said.

“While the MyCO2Print will be useful to everyone, we are particularly hoping that it will be relevant to the younger generation. We envisage school teachers using it as an innovative tool in the classroom to educate
on climate change and the environment,” she said.

Available across all networks in South Africa, the mobile carbon footprint calculator can be tried out by SMSing “CO2? to 34017 using a wap-enabled phone, with SMSs charged at R2.00

Mthulisi Sibanda

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1629. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Chris Scoble takes the reins at Nashua Mobile

2008-11-04T14:06:00.000+02:00

Chris Scoble, the former managing director of Nashua Office Automation, has been appointed as the managing director of Nashua Mobile. He replaces Mark Taylor, who resigned to join Vodacom.

Scoble has been with Nashua for more than 23 years and has sat on Nashua Mobile’s board since its inception. He played a central role in the merger of NedTel Cellular and Nashua Cellular, which created Nashua Mobile in 2000.

Says Chris Scoble: “I am excited to join Nashua Mobile as its managing director. I have been involved in this company from the very beginning, so this business is very close to my heart. My aim will be to grow the Nashua Mobile business by focusing on the customer service experience and to consolidate the company’s position as one of the country’s leading independent communications services provider.”

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1626. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

The U.S. election may be decided by the power of the web

2008-11-03T14:47:00.001+02:00

The 2008 US election promises freshness and change. It’s the first time in more than 50 years that neither candidate has already been president or vice president. And, when the votes are counted next week, either the first African-American will be elected president or the first woman will be elected vice-president. But will it also be the first election decided on the strength of a candidate’s online campaign?

It’s possible. Both candidates are putting serious effort into reaching out to internet users via social networks, YouTube and Second Life. The smear campaigns have, predictably, found a supportive habitat online, but there are some more surprising election-related initiatives. Go to John McCain’s website and you can play Pork Invaders, a version of Space Invaders with a message about wasteful government spending. Alternatively, play Guitar Hero 3 or The Incredible Hulk online and you’ll see in-game ads for Barack Obama.

Whether all this will have any bearing on the eventual result is debatable. After all, as Julie Barko Germany, deputy director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet at George Washington University, says: “All the gadgets, widgets, web pages, and videos in the world really don’t matter if you can’t turn out voters.”

Both parties are trying to harness the internet for one purpose - to attract and influence new and floating voters. In the most expensive presidential battle in US history, much has been made of candidates raising money via the internet. But the cash raised online is simply reinvested in the quest to win votes, quite often using traditional media.

“Campaigns seem most interested in using new tools to do old tactics faster, more efficiently, and for less money,” says Germany. “A lot of us hope that the internet will open up the political process, make it more accessible for ordinary people to run for office. But this election has shown almost the opposite. It’s shown that campaigns can use the guise of openness and tech-savviness to raise insane amounts of money that they re-invest in television advertising.”

Democratic campaign advertisements ridicule the 72-year-old McCain’s admission that he is just learning to go online and has no idea how to email. But, historically, it’s the people who can identify with this that actually vote.

The crude truth is that the people who are most likely to vote appear the least likely to use the internet and vice versa. The social networking generation who have almost grown up online are, as Dutton says, “notoriously poor in turning out for elections”.

But this is a close election and there is a feeling that the edge a successful online campaign can provide - however slight - could bre vital, even if it doesn’t mobilise whole armies of new voters. Early indications are promising. Young voter turnout tripled in the Iowa caucus, says Andrew Chadwick, a professor at the University of London.

If this is the case and a successful online campaign tips the balance in a close election, then which party is proving most effective online? The popular perception is that it’s the Democrats, with Barack Obama a more natural poster boy for the digital generation. Armed with his own social network (mybarackobama.com), Obama has the endorsement of Google’s chief executive Eric Schmidt; is advised by Craig Newmark, the founder of Craigslist; and has hired a co-founder of Facebook, Chris Hughes, as his campaign’s online co-ordinator. On average, Obama’s website attracts three times as many visitors as McCain’s.

“This time around the Democrats do seem more effective,” suggests Chadwick. “They have been much more innovative in making use of the social networking tools of web 2.0, online video and mobile content.”

If the election was won on how many Facebook friends you have, then Obama (with more than two million to just over 600,000 for McCain) would have it by a landslide. But the election isn’t simply a social networking popularity poll.

“Both parties have the same tricks up their sleeves,” says Germany. “The Democrats get points for style and flash, but the Republicans get points for …?using the internet to enhance their [campaign message].”

And, while McCain is laughed at for his supposed technological illiteracy, MySpace political director Lee Brenner points out that “McCain was the first and only major Republican candidate to participate in our series of Presidential Dialogues before the primaries began”, arguing that he realises the importance of reaching “independent-minded voters that spend so much of their time online”.

But in what ways are these independent-minded voters being influenced? If you look at where the election and internet intersect, it’s viral videos that attract the most attention. Paris Hilton’s tongue-in-cheek response to a McCain campaign advert that featured the celebrity heiress has received more than seven million views on YouTube, while Gina Gershon’s parody of Palin has a million and counting. Impressive audience figures, but it’s worth thinking about whether those watching are eligible to vote. A lot of the audience is international. The more relevant battle may be going on behind the scenes.

“What most people don’t see are the complex backend systems that both campaigns have been using to collect information about supporters, likely supporters, and undecided voters,” says Germany. This sort of behavioural targeted advertising, which both parties are employing, proved significant in the last election.

“Bush’s team did innovate,” says Chadwick. “They focused on a highly targeted, top-down mobilisation approach based on software called Voter Vault which made extensive use of tailored databases, some of which were extremely sensitive to local electoral dynamics.”

Whether this will have an actual effect on the final result is still unclear. What is clear is that the internet is now an unquestionable part of the election process, involved at every level.

“The internet is now firmly embedded in the US electoral process and it isn’t going to go away,” says Chadwick.

“Any politician who thinks they can win an election without effective use of the internet is sorely mistaken.”

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1622. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Vodacom SA intensifies mobile preparations ahead of 2010 World Cup

2008-11-03T14:45:00.000+02:00

DESPITE South Africa boasting of exceptional infrastructure in the region, huge concerns have been raised over its capacity to meet the technological advances on mobile communications, especially with the country hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

However, Vodacom South Africa, the largest mobile network operator in the country, is convinced that it can live to the expectation, saying several measures have been put in place to match international standards and the anticipated influx of foreigners for the soccer extravaganza.

Vodacom chief communications officer, Dot Field, said 2010 visitors would be able to use the Vodacom network to access the internet via 3G and HSDPA from their cellphones or laptops.

“Visitors top the 2010 World Cup will be able to use the Vodacom network to access the internet via 3G and HSDPA from their cellphones or laptops, as well as upload content that includes pictures with Vodacom’s HSUPA service,” said Field.

He said Vodacom, especially with its partnership with Vodafone, now offers the latest voice and data communications technologies to customers in South Africa.

Vodacom is working closely with various parties to ensure that the required communication infrastructure is in place, nationally, including at stadiums.

Thanks to Vodacom’s partnership with Vodafone, customers and visitors are also part of the Vodafone World of predictable and transparent international roaming costs and seamless roaming.

Previous World Cup hosts, which are mainly developed countries like Japan, Italy, and France, have lived to the expectations as they boast of sophisticated mobile phones and networks in the world.

Nevertheless, the South African mobile market has shown exceptional growth since inception and is the fourth fastest growing GSM market in the world.

There are currently three mobile communication network operators in SA, namely Vodacom SA, MTN and Cell C.

Vodacom has approximately 55 percent market share, while MTN has about 34 percent and Cell C 11 percent.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1607. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Africa’s biggest mobile cellular company records US$1. 887 billion profit

2008-11-03T14:42:00.000+02:00

ZAIN Group, a leading mobile telecommunications operator doing business in 22 African countries and the Middle East, has recorded a 25 percent growth in revenue in the third quarter of 2008, compared to the same period last year.
The Group realised consolidated revenues of US$1.887 billion in the quarter under review.

The company’s consolidated EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) increased by 20 percent for the same period to reach U$763.6 million.
ZAIN’S consolidated net profits reached US$326.6 million, an increase of 7 percent on the 2007 comparable period profits. Year-on-year customer growth across the two continents where the Group operates, was 54 percent.

ZAIN was serving 56.3 million managed active customers as at 30 September this year. Commenting on the period under review and financial results, ZAIN chief executive officer, Saad Al-Barrak, said: “This quarter has been both the most challenging and most rewarding in ZAIN’S corporate history since the launch of our profitable expansion strategy in 2003, laying the foundation for our 2011 targets of being a top-ten global telecommunications company,” he said.
The ZAIN brand has been warmly received across the African continent since its launch on August 1, 2008, Al-Barrak added. “Our Nigerian operation is witnessing exponential customer growth based on the heavy investment in network upgrades and expansion. We are extremely excited by the future potential in all facets of this operation.

“In East Africa, our Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda operations focus on customer acquisition is paying off, all three recording impressive results. “We expect our revamped Kenyan operation to follow suit as the new management team is now totally geared for the challenges ahead with concerted ZAIN Group support on all fronts. Our Ghana operation will commence mobile services by the end of 2008,” he said.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1612. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Kenya positions itself as Africa’s outsourcing hub

2008-11-03T14:39:00.000+02:00

Kenya is positioning itself as the business processing and outsourcing hub in readiness for the merger of Africa’s regional trading blocs.

Businesses in Kenya are preparing for an expanded market of more than 600 million people in 26 countries when Africa’s largest trading bloc— the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa) merges with the Southern Africa Development Community (Sadc) and the East African Community (EAC).

Leaders of the 26 countries met in Kampala two weeks ago and approved plans to integrate the blocs to offer the continent an expanded free trade area and customs union.

According to President Mwai Kibaki, the ongoing laying of the fibre optic cable and the improvement and expansion of major roads will open Kenya as a centre for business processing and outsourcing (BPO) when the regional trading blocs open up the continent for trade.

Offshore businesses have turned to BPO—contracting out production processes to manufacturers in other regions— in a move aimed at cutting costs.
American firms such as Adidas and Nike produce their sports goods in China where labour costs are considered low.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1621. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Safaricom nominated for inaugural AfriCom awards

2008-11-03T14:36:00.001+02:00

Mobile telephony Safaricom has been nominated for three awards at the inaugural AfricaCom Awards 2008, to be held on November 18, 2008 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in South Africa.

The company’s money transfer M-PESA has been entered for two awards; Rural Services Award and Changing Lives Award while its exhilarating Kwachua Milioni Promotion has been nominated for Best Marketing Campaign Award.

The inaugural AfricaCom Awards 2008 is a unique celebration of the outstanding achievements of the African telecommunications market.

The Awards aim at recognizing the achievements and successes within the African communications market during the last 12 months and will be independently judged by a panel of Global Industry-wide experts.

“It is great to be nominated for the esteemed AfricaCom Awards 2008. We are proud to be nominated for three different awards,” Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Mr Michael Joseph said.

Joseph attributed the nomination to the firm’s innovative products and services, positive contribution to the society, role in transforming perceptions of Africa in global markets and displaying high standards of good corporate citizenship.

M-PESA was launched nationwide in March 2007, in partnership with Vodafone.

The value of person to person transfer of funds in the month of August 2008 exceeded Kshs 8 billion. The service currently has over 4,000 agents countrywide.

In July this year, Safaricom was nominated for the prestigious CBC-African Business Awards 2008 in association with the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC).

Other Awards won by Safaricom include PWC Most Respected Company - East Africa’s Most Respected Company 2007 and Global Mobile Awards 2008 - Winner in the Best Broadcast Commercial Category for The M-PESA ‘Send Money Home’ TVC.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1617. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Motorola expected to announce “Google Phone” plans this week

2008-10-31T09:15:00.000+02:00

The new head of Motorola’s mobile phone division, Sanjay Jha has decided that the company should focus the bulk of its efforts on developing phones based on the Google backed Android system. Spurces close to the issue told The Wall Street Journal that the plans will be formally announced on Thursday and could result in thousands of job cuts.

Motorola declined to comment on the news report.

The move could result in scrapping existing handsets under development which would rely on Linux or Nokia backed Symbian, and there are concerns that this could position the company with few new handsets in the critical Christmas holiday shopping season. Mr. Jha told Motorola employees late last month that the firm would base its future handsets on Windows Mobile, its own in house OS and a third unnamed platform.

There have been analyst comments in the past though that the company’s diversified OS portfolio had spread its development teams too thinly and helped the general decline of handset sales at the company.

The company was recently reported to have 50 staff working on Android phones already and is ramping up its team to 350 people.

A recent report from Gartner, Symbian commanded 57 per cent of the global sales to end users in the second quarter of 2008 compared with 66 per cent in the same period last year. Symbian’s performance was affected by a 26 per cent drop in unit sales in Japan and Symbian’s licensee Mitsubishi exiting the market. Overall, Symbian’s share declined as a result of a more competitive and fragmented mobile operating system market.

Sales of Microsoft Windows Mobile devices increased 20.6 per cent year over year, with Microsoft’s share remaining flat at 12 per cent in the second quarter of 2008. Microsoft’s strongest region in unit terms was North America, followed by Western Europe. Both regions combined accounted for 74 per cent of global Windows Mobile sales.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1592. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Mobile device demand increases as PCs are dumped- IBM

2008-10-31T09:10:00.001+02:00

IBM has released new survey results which reveal that over 50 percent of consumers would substitute their Internet usage on a PC for a mobile device.

Expanding on the May “Go Mobile, Grow” study produced by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, the survey identifies new findings that validate previous conclusions on how consumers will be open to full adoption of the mobile device as the hub for Internet activity.

IBM surveyed 600 consumers in the United States, China and the United Kingdom on their preferences regarding the mobile Internet. The survey found that communication, travel and navigation applications, as well as news and information services, are expected to increase in usage over the mobile Internet. With the world’s population of mobile-phone users expected to increase from the current 50 percent to 80 percent in 2013, which translates to a staggering 5.8 billion people, the availability of IP wireless broadband and more affordable devices will change the way companies around the world operate and relate to their customers, employees and partners.

“Worldwide adoption of the mobile phone as the preferred device for accessing the Internet is just around the corner,” said Dr. Sungyoul Lee, Global Consulting Leader, Electronics Industry, IBM. “With 70 percent of consumers worldwide who believe that the mobile Internet has the potential to add significant to moderate value to their day-to-day lives, the time is now for companies to develop intuitive applications and services that allow people of all ages to effortlessly access and use the Internet while on the go — anytime, and anywhere.”

By 2011, 39 percent of respondents said they expect to increase Internet use on their mobile device by at least 40 percent. The Chinese consumers polled lead the world as the fastest adopting society of the mobile web. This finding is in synch with IBM’s previous hypothesis that within emerging markets, the mobile platform will be the primary way of interacting with businesses and institutions. These countries have in many cases leapfrogged the PC era and are routinely using their mobile devices for a variety of consumer services.

71 percent of respondents acknowledged that they expect to increase their usage of communication services such as obtaining maps and directions, instant messaging, social networking, emailing and reading the news from their mobile device. Growth markets like China and India are leading this adoption at a rapid pace and are proving to be the most open towards mobile internet than the mature markets. The survey found that consumers still prefer to execute services such as banking, stock trading, shopping and general search on the PC rather than a mobile device.

The mobile Internet is the most popular among Generation X and Generation Y, as they tend to be more technology savvy and have a greater exposure and acceptance of emerging technologies. Over 50 percent of respondents who chose “Strong to Full substitution” of accessing the PC versus a mobile device were 15-30 years old and believe the industry is doing its best to advance the mobile Web, although most are still unsatisfied with the price and services offered by carriers and handset manufacturers.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1595. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Business Connexion Joins Google Enterprise Professional Program

2008-10-31T09:08:00.000+02:00

Business Connexion today announced that it has joined the Google Enterprise Professional program, which extends the power of Google across the enterprise and helps customers get more value out of their Google enterprise deployments.

“The Google Enterprise Professional program will help us provide Google search to the South African market, inclusive of both the public and private sectors. It is widely known that organisations generally face a common challenge around retrieving and accessing information stored in multiple formats and different locations. We can now offer our clients the Google Enterprise Search interface, which will allow information to be accessed with greater speed and efficacy, thereby enhancing productivity and decision-making,” said Jaco Moolman, Regional Executive at Business Connexion.

“Our 28 year track record in the South African IT industry with solutions that are designed to deliver business imperative solutions affords us the credibility to take this partnership to our existing client base that spans most of the Top 200 JSE listed companies, as well as the public sector as an extension of our extensive solutions portfolio,” says Moolman

“Google is excited to have Business Connexion as a partner in the Google Enterprise Professional program. We’re looking forward to Business Connexion extending the power of Google search by providing Enterprise Search to customers,” said Jesper Frederiksen, Head of Enterprise EMEA Sales. The Google Enterprise Professional program includes developers, consultants and independent software vendors that provide value-added services for Google enterprise products.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1599. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Online media seen as Kenya’s next advertising frontier

2008-10-31T09:00:00.000+02:00

The Kenyan media landscape is no longer what it was in the 1990s; holding a television screen in your palm is now a reality; Internet continuously keeps online readers updated with breaking news, everywhere we turn, there is news. The digital era has led to renewed competition, as consumers look for comfort and speed.

Business Daily Africa reported that after many years of trailblazing modern media, television globally seems threatened; especially the free-to-air that heavily relies on advertising to survive.

Despite having not felt the heat of changing fortunes in the global TV industry, media houses in Kenya are pondering on what to do when the alternative media finally makes its impact in Africa.

Last month, more than 200 African broadcasters and filmmakers met in Nairobi to discuss their fate in the imminent digital shift.
One of the hottest issues was adspend in the digital era.

Even though David Campbell, the producer of television drama Makutano/Junction is convinced that advertising on TV makes more sense— in comparison to the other Kenyan media— global statistics on where advertisers are spending more of their money seem to indicate otherwise. Globally, the big money has shifted to online media.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1596. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Pressure to be available 24×7 creates e-mail addiction

2008-10-30T08:55:00.001+02:00

Employees today are under enormous pressure to be “online” 24 hours a day, which is driving them to risky behaviors and underscoring the importance of e-mail reliability and availability for businesses, according to a new study conducted by Osterman Research and commissioned by Neverfail. The report finds that worry over being available during non-work hours has led employees to e-mail addiction, causing them to take unnecessary risks with their health, their relationships, and even the welfare of others.

“The study uncovered a constant pressure for employees to be available at all times through their mobile devices. This will only worsen with the economic downturn as employees take on more responsibility because of budget and headcount reductions,” said Michael Osterman, president of Osterman Research. “The resulting addiction to e-mail is driving people to unnecessary and sometimes dangerous risks.”

E-mail Addiction and Unnecessary Risks

Underscoring the reliance on 24×7 e-mail reliability and the intense addiction employees have developed, mobile device users admit to engaging in risky or inappropriate behavior to access and respond to e-mail during off hours. This behavior is greatly affecting employees’ work-life balance, potentially leading to problems with their health and general well-being. A staggering 94 percent of end user respondents use their phones to send e-mail or text messages during work nights or on the weekends, and nearly 80 percent never leave their phones at home when they go on vacation.

Employees are also taking risks with their relationships to remain connected, with 11 percent admitting to sending e-mail messages while engaged in “intimate behavior.” Nearly 80% of respondents also admitted to checking their emails while in the bathroom.

E-mail Reliability Affects Productivity

Osterman Research also surveyed IT directors, managers and CIOs across a broad range of industries to explore what’s at stake for companies with an increasing mobile workforce relying on mobile devices to conduct business. The prevalence of mobile device usage has created an unprecedented need for e-mail reliability because unexpected downtime has major business implications. Eighty percent of respondents believe their senior manager’s ability to make critical, time-sensitive decisions would be affected without access to mobile e-mail. Forty-eight percent indicate that backing up mobile data is important or very important, yet only 39 percent are confident that their mobile messaging platform is fully protected against downtime.

“The study shows that while IT is aware of the possible risks associated with mobile devices, not all companies are taking the proper precautions to protect their businesses and employees,” said Andrew Barnes, senior vice president of corporate development at Neverfail. “Email downtime puts further pressure on employees as they try to catch up with lost hours. It’s important that organizations make every effort to avoid email downtime for the sake of their business, and the health of their employees. Having a predictive, business continuity solution in place puts companies on the right path to avoiding downtime and maintaining business operations in the event it does happen.”

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1569. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Telenity ready to conquer African telecoms market

2008-10-30T08:52:00.000+02:00

Telenity (www.telenity.com), a leading provider of next generation converged services platforms and applications for communications networks and CIS Group, a leading consulting and system integration provider, announced today that they have joined forces and signed a partnership agreement to mutually serve the Middle East & African market.

Acting as a single company, Telenity and CIS, vow to bring the operational excellence and innovative mobile value added services to the market. According to industry analysts, the region is forecasted to see the highest mobile growth worldwide. Africa will be the main driver of subscription growth of 70% reaching 318 million by year 2011.
The result of an ongoing cooperation, this partnership will provide African carriers with access to Telenity’s converged value added services (VAS) solutions with experienced localized system integration, project management, consulting and support services from CIS Group. Telenity and CIS already have mutual successful deployments with leading mobile operators in the region and many more are expected to materialize in the coming months.

“Joining Telenity’s global market experience and leading converged services solutions, and CIS Group’s over 25 years of advanced local experience in providing solutions integration to the telecommunications sector, this strategic partnership makes next generation VAS that much closer to mobile operators in Africa,” said Antoine Kareh, CEO at CIS Group.

“African mobile market represents strong demand for mobile communications services and a healthy growth rate,” said Dilip Singh, CEO at Telenity. “We are very excited to work with CIS Group in this in this region where the market is yet to boom. Our partnership is sure to benefit both the African mobile operators and subscribers where new innovative and revenue generating VAS will be offered in a matter of weeks with best practices and capabilities to reduce the total cost of ownership to the operators and enhance the communication life styles of end users.”

“CIS Group has an excellent track record in supporting network operators in over 20 countries in Africa,” said Onur Ozdemir, Sales Director for Middle East and Africa at Telenity. “The combination of Telenity’s innovative converged service delivery, messaging and voice enhanced VAS solutions to CIS Group’s localized integration and support services will reduce the time-to-market and ensure our customers remain competitive and lead the growth in the African telecommunications industry.”

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1560. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

50% of new subscribers in Kenya choose Zain

2008-10-30T08:51:00.002+02:00

Five out of every ten new mobile phone subscribers in Kenya during the months of August and September selected Zain as their preferred mobile service provider, a research study carried out by a local Research firm AC Nielsen Kenya has shown. According to the study conducted randomly, customers are selecting Zain owing to the mobile phone company’s superior network quality and affordable on-net and cross network calling rates.

“The strong showing by the Zain brand has been largely driven by the successful Vuka tariff campaign. Zain moved ahead of other operators in the country by resonating with consumers and understanding that the vast population is very conscious about ability to talk across networks at all times at affordable rates, with no complications and penalties,” the report notes.

Commenting on the research study, Managing Director Rene Meza welcomed the findings saying the new Vuka tariff had recorded tremendous success since it was launched in the market a month ago. “The tariff has grown in popularity because this is not a limited offer. Subscribers are interested in consistency,” said Mr. Meza.

He expressed confidence that the new products being introduced by Zain will turnaround the local mobile telephony landscape. “We still have some more propositions that we intend to roll out in addition to the much anticipated revolutionary mobile banking services,” he said.

The country wide research was done in September among respondents who were selected randomly. The researchers carried out face to face interviews with subscribers who had bought or acquired a new SIM card or mobile phone in the past three months.
The new Vuka tariff is available to both prepaid and postpaid subscribers. Prepaid subscribers can switch to the new Vuka Tariff, free of charge, by dialing *123*8# while postpaid subscribers can migrate by dialing*128*8#.

The new Vuka Tariff has also been successful due to the Choose Your Number service which enables existing and new prepaid customers to select and reserve numbers of their choice on any prefix soon after they activate their lines. Last week Zain launched a low cost Motorola handset in the market retailing at KES1,200 for customers connecting to the Vuka tariff.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1570. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

African broadband market positioned to quadruple by 2012

2008-10-29T08:26:00.000+02:00

Africa’s high-speed internet market is set to experience dramatic growth over the next few years, according to AfricaNext Investment Research, which expects the number of subscribers to more than quadruple from 3 million in 2007 to 13 million in 2012.

The report seeks to dispel long-standing pessimism about broadband in Africa, where PC penetration is low and the cost of service is high.

“From the deployment of new submarine cables to improvements in radio spectral efficiency, there is a confluence of catalysts that suggest that African broadband growth is on the verge of truly taking off,” according to AfricaNext Research Principal and report author, Guy Zibi. “We believe this is the most significant opportunity for investment returns in the African TMT sector since the mobile voice boom.”

The report goes on to predict that 3G mobile internet services will constitute the majority of African broadband growth in the coming years.

“Mobile broadband will account for more than half of the continent’s broadband subscriber base by 2012,” Zibi says.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1573. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Neotel challenges Telkom

2008-10-29T08:22:00.001+02:00

Neotel has launched a home phone service for consumers with local peak rates to all landlines at almost half the price consumers are currently paying. The service uses Neotel’s state of the art CDMA network, with crystal-clear voice quality.

“We believe that we have hit the nail on the head with this product, particularly in light of the current economic conditions,” says Mukul Sharma, Executive Head of the Consumer Business Unit at Neotel. “Consumers are feeling the pinch of global and local economic pressures and are continuously looking to save costs, but still stay in touch.”

Neotel’s home phone is available in two packages. The first allows the consumer to purchase the phone upfront for R599 (incl. VAT @ 14%) with a monthly service fee of R99. “During the course of 24 months, a usage discount, of up to R25, will be given back to the consumer, every month, This effectively means that consumers could be reimbursed for the full purchase price of the phone” Sharma says. The second package does not require upfront payment for the phone and is charged at R199 per month. “On this package users receive 1000 free Neotel-to-Neotel minutes and 200 free sms within Neotel’s coverage area. The free minutes are applicable for local, regional and national calls. In essence, calls between Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban, will effectively be free.” In addition, all packages operate on true per second billing, for all calls, from the first second onwards. These packages are pending ICASA approval.

A key differentiator of Neotel’s home phone is the call rates. “At 34 cents per minute for local peak landline calls, and 17 cents per minute for local off peak landline calls communicating will become more affordable for the consumer,” he adds. There is no differentiation between Neotel-to-Neotel peak and off peak rates, which are charged at 17 cents per minute for local calls at all times.

“Neotel’s home phone is a home phone that offers impeccable voice quality, delivery within 48 hours of successful order completion and no installation required,” says Sharma. Consumers can order the product via the Neotel Contact Centre (0800 333 636), or from partner outlets. A further benefit of the home phone is that the service is delivered via a fixed-wireless product. “This eliminates the risk of losing your service due to copper theft,” he smiles.

This home phone provides consumers, who require a home phone, a competitive alternative. “While the product focuses on providing consumers with high quality voice, they also have the option of utilising data, sms and email, which is provided as part of the service,” Sharma concludes.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1542. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Google’s Presence in Nigeria - What It Could Mean for Economy, Entrepreneurs and Enterprises

2008-10-29T08:16:00.001+02:00

It is no longer news that Google has been making its way across Africa, starting with South Africa and Kenya and now spreading to all sub-Saharan African countries including Nigeria.

Google has since opened offices and hired people in both South Africa and Kenya and has recently announced openings for Office Lead roles in Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania. This indicates Google’s strong investment interests in Africa, the fastest growing mobile market in the world with mobile penetration ranging from 30% to 100% from country to country (with Nigeria as the largest telecoms market in Africa).

What It Could Mean for The Economy

Google’s presence will have a positive impact on Nigeria’s economy via the introduction of new products, services and innovations for both companies and consumers. These products and services will drive the Nigerian market towards competition and thereby make for price reductions on specific technology-related solutions. Possible products will include Google Enterprise Search, Google Apps Security, Compliance and a variety of free software services.

Thus, Nigeria’s economy will improve tremendously as it will encourage technology investments and partnerships between local and foreign companies (especially those that have been skeptical about
investing in the Nigerian market).

What It Could Mean for The Entrepreneurs

If you take a look at Google’s investment in Kenya’s Mobile Planet you will realise that the Internet search giant is giving African web entrepreneurs a hint that they should step up with the development of mobile/tech applications and startups. Mobile Planet specializes in the development of wireless voice & data applications for mobile devices in Kenya, with a special focus on SMS-based products and
services. Nigerian web entrepreneurs will be more focused on web apps, services and technologies that could get the attention of Google and other potential investors. These could be in the areas of mobile technology, video sharing, online advertising, instant messaging, social networking and more.

What It Could Mean for The Enterprises

With Google’s arrival in Nigeria, IT, software and tech enterprises will be butting heads to partner with Google in order to drive sales and market growth within the industry and further open up opportunities
for expansion.

An example of this kind of enterprise partnership is Faritec, a South African IT services company which was was one of Google’s first partners in South Africa. Faritec anticipates the growth from the
Google partnership to be exponential, with conservative sales estimates of R20 million within the first year of trading.

On the Google front, we can expect to see more investments in the Nigerian IT and software industry, which will drive the local IT market and local software developers to becoming more resourceful in
their field and thus build a stronger IT industry for Nigeria.

About Loy Okezie

With a background in Business Management & Strategy, Loy Okezie runs
his own technology and media publishing site (www.startupsnigeria.com), where he reviews and analyses tech startups and web applications from Nigeria.

Previously, Loy worked as a career consultant with Careers Nigeria, the leading jobs and recruitment portal in Nigeria.
As a speech delivery expert, he has trained hundreds of people in public speaking while working with the Guild of Orators - a professional organisation that encourages professional speaking in Nigeria.

This article was extracted from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1572. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Netone subscribers cry foul

2008-10-26T13:06:00.004+02:00

CELLULAR phone network provider, NetOne and its agents – Zellco Cellular and Firstel, last week shocked its customers when it announced the suspension of cheque payment to settle phone bills, insisting on cash only, it has been learnt.

Some of the three companies subscribers expressed dismay and anger following the decision to scrap off the use of cheques when making payments for the contract lines.

The companies sent the announcement via its sms facility informing clients that it would now require payments to be made strictly in cash and it threatened to terminate the lines of those who would fail to comply with the directive by the 23rd of October 2008.

Some angry clients called the Sunday News offices to complain about this arrangement arguing that the companies were being “unreasonable and insensitive” to its clients.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is allowing individuals to withdraw only $50 000 per day to cater for daily chores, while some phone bills were running into millions of dollars.

A Mr Sibanda from Magwegwe North alleged that the network’s motives were suspect and the reasons they had forwarded were “flimsy.”
A notice posted at Firstel advised subscribers to pay in cash as cheques would not be accepted.

According to the notice, the decision was made in order to avoid the inconvenience of receiving invalid RD (refer to the drawer) cheques, high bank charges as well as to supposedly cope with high administrative costs.

Another customer who requested to remain anonymous claimed that he had confronted the Firstel manager to get a proper explanation why they had scrapped off cheque payments but was referred to the Head office in Harare.

After requesting that the network write him a note explaining their position so as to enable him to apply for funds from the RBZ as the daily limit of $50 000 would not suffice, he was again referred to the Head office in Harare.

“It is very frustrating because these people know how much the daily cash limit is. Where do they think we will get the money from?” he quipped.
Most clients refuted the claims of cheques bouncing as they said that was very unlikely since people had now taken to “burning” money and made most payments using cheques. Other networks are still accepting cheques and it appears NetOne is the only network facing challenges in this regard.

Efforts to get comments from the relevant network authorities were in vain as they could not be reached on their mobiles.
Zellco Cellular has also barred all clients that once had cheques referred to drawer not to pay using cheques.

This article is from http://www.sundaynews.co.zw/inside.aspx?sectid=2071&cat=1. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Nigel Chanakira booted out of the Econet Board

2008-10-24T14:51:00.005+02:00

HARARE - THE battle between tycoon Nigel Chanakira of Kingdom Meikles Africa Limited (KMAL) and his business partner Strive Masiyiwa of Econet Wireless International (EWI) seems to be heating up as Chanakira is no longer on the board.

Chanakira's name was missing from the recent line up when Econet Holdings Zimbabwe Limited (Econet) EWI's sister firm, released its results.
Econet said only company directors were on its board now.

In Zimbabwe Econet is led by Douglas Mboweni but it was founded by Masiyiwa before he left to settle in South Africa.

Chanakira has confirmed to Radio VOP that things were not well between him and his buddy.

He said he could not be continuosly told what to do at his own firm Kingdom which he also founded in 1996.

But Econet has thrown its weight behind Chanakira in his fight with Kingdom Meikles Africa Limited (KMAL) Chairman, John Moxon as they blocked the expected Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) scheduled for month end.

This article is from http://www.radiovop.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4218&Itemid=756. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Econet externalising lines?

2008-10-23T08:41:00.001+02:00

It has been a norm since the beginning of the GSM industry in Zimbabwe that purchasing lines has been the most difficult thing. This is because of the shortage of foreign currency in the country that is torn by the highest level of inflation in the world.
GSM operators, Econet (the biggest by subscriber base and market share), Net*one and Telecel have therefore come up with other means to generate the much needed foreign currency for their operations. Most of the means that have been applied by these companies are not known to the public and they remain unknown.

However, it has been observed of late that Econet Wireless, a purely African company that is run under the control of the visionary business tycoon Strive Masiyiwa, has started selling lines in countries like the United Kingdom and neighboring South Africa.
Who ever thought Econet GSM lines that are meant to be used only in areas with Econet network coverage, unless activated for Roaming, could be exported? Yes, they are indeed being exported from Zimbabwe to other countries. How are they being used in those countries? Well, it is not about being used in those countries, these lines are expected to be channeled back to their roots, Zimbabwe, as soon as they are purchased in those countries. So why are they not just being sold in Zimbabwe if they are meant for Zimbabweans? This is where the catchy is!

Below are the three scenarios that are taking place:

1. Lines are produced in Zimbabwe where the market rate is ZWD225
2. They are not sold in Zimbabwe, but exported (or simply put, brought to South Africa), where they are sold by “dealers” for anything between R500 and R650 depending on quantity.
3. As soon as they are bought, they are taken back to Zimbabwe where they are flooded on the parallel market and sold for anything between R1,000 and R1,400 per line.

In South Africa, GSM lines for Vodacom, MTN and Cell-C cost less than R2. So what is the difference in manufacturing costs between Econet lines and other players in the same industry?

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, Dr. Gideon Gono, who is notoriously known for clamping down on foreign currency externalisers is very silent about this development. Is it because Econet is remitting back the money to Zimbabwe or the Central Intelligence Officers, well known as the CIOs, have been caught off-guard on this issue. Or the RBZ, as it has been previously involved in scandalous cases of protecting other “special citizens” is again protecting Econet in this case?

Mobile phones could cause skin-rash

2008-10-22T08:49:00.001+02:00

The British Association of Dermatologists has warned that some mobile phones - if used for long periods - could cause skin rashes on the ears of face cheeks. The unidentified rash or itchy skin, nicknamed “mobile phone dermatitis,” can occur if people develop an allergic reaction to the nickel in mobile phone cases, the dermatologists trade body warned doctors in an advisory notice.

“In mobile phone dermatitis, the rash would typically occur on the cheek or ear, depending on where the metal part of the phone comes into contact with the skin. In theory it could even occur on the fingers if you spend a lot of time texting on metal menu buttons,” said Dr. Graham Lowe, from the British Association of Dermatologists.

“It is worth doctors bearing this condition in mind if they see a patient with a rash on the cheek or ear that cannot otherwise be explained,” he added in a statement.

The notice advised that the problem may occur more often in women who have been sensitized to metal after an allergic reaction to nickel-coated jewelry

Earlier this year, Lionel Bercovitch of USA based, Brown University tested 22 mobile phones from eight different manufacturers and found nickel in 10 of the cases.

“Nearly half of the phones we spot-tested contained some free nickel,” Bercovitch said in the report. “The menu buttons, decorative logos on the headsets and the metallic frames around the liquid crystal display (LCD) screens were the most common sites.”

According to the results of Bercovitch’s tests, the Motorola L2, Motorola Rzr, Motorola SLVR and Motorola Q all had nickel in brand-logo, while the following had nickel elsewhere on the casing: BlackBerry 8700c (speakerphone); Samsung e150 (metal around the screen and menu button); Samsung d807 (menu button); SonyEricsson W600i (menu button); SonyEricsson W810i (menu button); and the Sony Ericsson T610 (only if the paint is chipped).

This article is from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1483. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Lack of HR development hamper telecom industry in Africa

2008-10-22T08:46:00.001+02:00

African nations are pushing for human resource development in the telecom sector to enhance growth, according to speakers at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) workshop in Zambia this week.

The African telecom sector is lacking rapid growth due to the lack of human resource development resulting from insufficient training and capacity building in ICT, said Richard Mwanza, acting CEO of the Communications Authority of Zambia.
There is need to promote an environment that supports organizational changes and improves workers performance, as human resources are critical to the telecom sector’s development, he added.

Many developing countries are shifting their resources into telecommunications to increase efficiency and develop their economies. However, infrastructure alone is not an efficient means for economic growth, Mwanza said. Countries must, therefore, focus on human and capital resources in order to obtain greater benefits from investment in the telecommunications sector.

Human resource expert Mike Nxele agreed that human capacity building is necessary for the sector’s growth, and he expressed appreciation that the issue is now receiving attention in most developing nations.

The ITU workshop hosted representatives from countries across eastern and southern Africa, including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Namibia and Tanzania.

This article is from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1497. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Telecoms billionaire honours Botswana ex-president with $5 million

2008-10-22T08:45:00.000+02:00

Festus Mogae, the former president of Botswana has been honoured with a $5 million prize for good governance in Africa by Sudanese-born telecoms billionare Mo Ibrahim.
Mogae, who led Botswana from 1998 to 2008, got the recognition today as the winner of the 2008 Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership.

It is the largest annually awarded prize in the world. Mogae will receive $5 million over 10 years and $200,000 annually for life thereafter.

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation will consider granting $200,000 more annually for 10 years to causes Mogae supports.

The foundation was created by Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-born billionaire who founded the African telecommunications company Celtel International.

Mogae has been praised for his leadership on health and economic issues.

This article is from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1508. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Essar buys 49% of Econet, will fund Kenyan launch and international expansion

2008-10-22T08:38:00.000+02:00

Econet Wireless International (aka Econet Wireless Group), the telecoms group founded by Zimbabwean entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa, has sold 49% of its shares to Essar Communication Holdings, a subsidiary of Indian conglomerate Essar Group, reports Business Daily Africa.

The price for the stake was not disclosed, but according to law firm Anjarwalla & Khanna Advocates, who advised on the deal, Essar will provide close to USD500 million to fund Econet’s long-awaited rollout of mobile services in Kenya as well as other international projects. Econet owns 70% in the third mobile licensee in Kenya but, despite receiving its operating concession in 2003, has not been able to roll out a commercial network due to protracted court battles, and even since the Kenyan regulator cleared it in September 2007, the group and its local partners have lacked the funds to launch services.

In India, Essar is a partner in joint venture cellco Vodafone Essar with the UK’s Vodafone Group, which also has a 40% stake in Kenyan mobile operator Safaricom. However, a source at Anjarwalla & Khanna Advocates added that in Kenya, Essar was acting completely independently of Vodafone, and that there are no issues of cross-ownership or conflicts of interest. The source also stressed that the investment in Econet Wireless International was not limited to the Kenyan market but encompassed other countries in Africa and worldwide that Econet was interested in. Econet is headquartered in South Africa and has telecoms interests in Zimbabwe, Kenya, Botswana, Lesotho, Burundi, Malawi, Nigeria, New Zealand and the UK.

This article is from http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=21233. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

2008-10-21T21:14:00.000+02:00

One of the reasons that call centres have shifted their operations overseas is because of the difficulty of retaining staff, especially part time staff. Travelling across a city to a call centre for 3 or 4 hours work at peak call times is simply often not viable for employees. Now Inclarity, a leader in the hosted VoIP market, claims to have ...

One of the reasons that call centres have shifted their operations overseas is because of the difficulty of retaining staff, especially part time staff.

Travelling across a city to a call centre for 3 or 4 hours work at peak call times is simply often not viable for employees.

Now Inclarity, a leader in the hosted VoIP market, claims to have the solution to call centre staff problems by enabling them to work from home.

Surveys reveal that nearly half of all companies now allow for staff working from home, and that trend is definitely set to rise over the next few years.

A big advantage for companies is not having to support a large building and other financially draining problems associated with running a big office full of people.

The big advantage for staff is that they can often spend the time they would have used in unpaid travelling, in paid work.

There are also advantages for many other groups such as the disabled who may only be able to work from home, and there are situations that could be avoided that cause staff shortages for companies and loss of income for employees.

For example a working mum finds her child is sick, nothing serious but the child can’t go to school, which means she has to take three days off work to look after the child.

By working from home she can settle the child to sleep on the sofa and get back to work.

The problem for call centres is that they have no way of monitoring their employees’ work if they allow them to work from home.

But Inclarity claims that their new Virtual Call Centre is the answer to those problems.

The Virtual Call Centre acts as if the employee were in the office. A supervisor can watch all the call statistics in real time to be sure that the employee is working.

They can listen in on calls for quality assurance, and can speak directly to the employee to offer advice and assistance. Basically it’s just as if the staff are in the office.

This seems like a win-win situation for both company and employee, offering both what they need in terms of flexibility.

From : http://www.voip-news.co.uk/2008/10/20/call-centre%e2%80%99s-move-into-the-home/

Ever thought of paying your ISP with sugar?

2008-10-20T21:11:00.000+02:00

By Samuel Mungadze

Ever thought of paying for your internet services with sugar? It’s possible but only in Zimbabwe.

South Africa’s 702 talk Radio reported that a leading internet service provider in the troubled African country, Zimbabwe Online, announced today that it will be accepting groceries as payment for services.

The country’s unstable currency has led many businesses to decline the local currency and opt instead for forex or other commodities of value.

This article is from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1363. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

Fire disrupts telecoms in Zimbabwe

2008-10-20T21:05:00.000+02:00

Zimbabwe’s telecommunications industry has be severely disturbed after a fire gutted a telephone exchange in the capital.

The damage has also affected internet service.

African Press Agency reported today that he fire extensively damaged the exchange in central Harare, switching off some telephone users with numbers from the station.
The damage has also crippled Internet traffic for subscribers using the state-owned service provider, ComOne.
The affected subscribers have not had Internet access since last week when the damage occurred.
Officials at ComOne’s parent company, TelOne, suspected that the fire was caused by defective temperature regulation at the exchange.

This article is from http://www.itnewsafrica.com/?p=1505. Should you require further clarification, please visit the respective website.

VoIP now legal in Zimbabwe?

2008-10-20T15:33:00.001+02:00

By Robert Ndlovu
HAS the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) finally seen the light?

If developments at Econet Wireless are anything to go by, VoIP is now legal in Zimbabwe. Or is it?

VoIP – Voice Over Internet Protocol -- is the sending of voice calls over Internet Protocol as opposed to GSM or traditional switched network like PSTN that are relatively expensive.

Zimbabwe allows only local VoIP traffic. Which means a person in Bulawayo can call someone in Harare over the internet. But up to now it was illegal for anyone in Zimbabwe to make or receive international calls over the internet.

The Chronicle newspaper reported recently that Econet was granted a “go ahead” by POTRAZ to operate an international calling card platform in Zimbabwe. This so called ICC runs on VoIP using session initiation platform (SIP) as the signaling protocol.
“… the mobile telecommunications provider was last week granted authority to sell the cards in foreign currency under its new International Calling Card (ICC) platform.

POTRAZ finally gave the nod more than a year after Econet submitted an application to implement the system.”
[www.chronicle.co.zw – September 19, 2008]

“The ICC system is one of our innovative products, developed in partnership with a United Kingdom-based provider where subscribers can purchase recharge cards in foreign currency and use the system to make international calls,” Econet CEO Douglas Mboweni told the paper.

For what we know, Econet is a GSM wireless, 3G operator and an internet service provider via Ecoweb in Zimbabwe based on the licenses it was granted by POTRAZ.
The three IAPs — Telecontract, TelOne and Ecoweb — hold the IAP Class B licence, which is an internet licence that allows them to only transmit data using the internet and not voice. Has Econet now been granted IAP license class A which allows for VoIP ?

The recent announcement by Econet on their new calling card platform implies that VoIP has been legalised in Zimbabwe. That would be great news indeed.
But is that the case? Is that official? Or it’s only for Econet?
VoIP Lawsuit - Econet vs Easi-E-Connect – July 2007

Sometime last year Econet took Easi-E-Connect directors Herbert Rinashe and Irfaan Valera based in Harare to court saying that they had defrauded Econet up to US$77,000. Econet claimed that this company was defrauding them by terminating VoIP traffic using the internet and Econet SIM cards.

Apparently this company beat Econet in implementing International Calling Card platform and the poor fellows were arrested for being innovative. Easi-E connect did not defraud Econet but were innovative enough to reduce the cost of calling from outside Zimbabwe using intuitive and smart VoIP /GSM technologies.
[Source www.thezimbabwean.co.uk – July 7, 2007]

Let me explain what this company was accused and charged of.
Easi-E-Connect used the internet to receive telephone calls from around the world onto a GSM modem located in Harare. This GSM modem contained multiple SIM cards from Econet.

This is how it works. An overseas caller dials a certain access number in the UK, for instance, that will prompt the user to enter a PIN. After a correct PIN has been entered, the system will then prompt the caller to enter a destination number e.g. 0912 444 666, then the call will be routed over IP (internet) directly to a GSM modem connected to the internet in Harare.

Bear in mind this GSM modem in Harare has several SIM cards, legally sourced by the company from Econet. Then after receiving that call over IP the SIM then calls the desired number and the call is connected and people start talking.
This means the call from the SIM card in the GSM modem to any number in Zimbabwe is literally a local call. The time used by these SIM cards was prepaid or post paid for.

“This caused prejudice of US$77 000 to Econet in unlawful converted international incoming calls terminated minutes for the month of June 2007 alone... and nothing yet has been recovered," a Harare Magistrates’ Court heard.

CALL SYNOPSIS - 3 LEGS
Leg 1: Caller in UK calling a local access number, entering PIN, and then entering destination number (the caller has paid local telephone service that he/she pays for monthly).
Leg 2: Call travels over the internet from UK and hits GSM modem in Zimbabwe (The calling service provider is connected to the Internet via an ISP and pays for the bandwidth it uses).
Leg 3: SIM card in GSM modem then calls the destination number. (The GSM modem owner in Harare pays for his internet service with his/her ISP and also pays for his/her airtime to the SIM card provider).

ILLEGALITY OF VoIP
Which of the call legs illustrated above is illegal?
Let’s say Zimbabwe imports diesel from Saudi Arabia via the National Oil Company of Zimbabwe. In order to reduce the cost of diesel to the end user, NOCZIM will add ethanol to the fuel. This is called blending. Jatropha or ethanol is used for this. This helps cut the cost of the fuel by 20 % and is indeed a great innovative use of technology to reduce fuel costs and also use bio-friendly green fuels.
Now, how would you react if BP or Shell in Saudi Arabia takes you to court for diluting their fuel with jatropha or ethanol to produce blend?

I don’t see anything illegal when a company such as Easi-Connect routes voice calls over an IP network in order to cut down origination and termination costs.
Hopefully Econet now understands this. By embracing a technology that they took someone to court for, Econet and POTRAZ have sent a good signal to all VoIP practitioners to leverage on the VoIP platform.

This is good news for Zimbabwe as it encourages technology companies based in and outside Zimbabwe to aggressively deploy VoIP based services which include but are not limited to calling card services, call centers, virtual telephone numbers, internet fax and call conferencing.

We live in an extremely dynamic and competitive global village where regulations and fear of competition have been noted as clear obstacles to ICT development and progress in Africa.

POTRAZ must come clear about VoIP because if they don’t, people will still use it. If POTRAZ tries to force ISP to block VoIP traffic on their networks, people can always install VSAT dishes. Restrictions are no longer an alternative.

CALL CENTRES
Blind restrictions on part of POTRAZ are seriously stifling progress and employment creation opportunities in this fast moving telecoms lane. In Africa, countries like South Africa and Kenya are now new targets for US-based companies to provide customer services over the phone by using VoIP.

Availability of a call centers is going to play a pivotal role for the tourism industry come the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. To be able to handle millions of calls before and during the soccer show case, VoIP enables operators to access cheap and reliable calling plans to contact their potential customers in Europe, Americas and the like.

Zimbabwe is an ideal destination for customer support service centers over the phone as the country has a high literacy rate and people in Zimbabwe have a very high command of the English language. Call center software is available in free open source versions and can be downloaded for free from thousands of websites like www.asterisk.org.

Advances in ICT in Zimbabwe cannot remain a domain of a special few because of protective and restrictive conditions imposed by a body which has little understanding that restricting VoIP will not work. VoIP runs on open protocols like (IP/UDP/SIP/RTP) and trying to restrict their use will be tantamount to trying to ban technological progress and development in Zimbabwe.

PROHIBITIVE LICENCE FEES
This discussion would be incomplete if no mention is made to the prohibitive licenses that POTRAZ is demanding for data licenses and ISP licenses.
POTRAZ is demanding millions of USD $ for one to secure a data licence. Surely this is a clear message to prospective telecommunications providers to look elsewhere. And indeed people are looking elsewhere by erecting satellites for use for both voice and data. The size of some VSAT is about the same size as the TV satellites that have been deployed all over Zimbabwe to access outside TV broadcasts like SABC and BBC.

If POTRAZ continues to make entry into data and voice business prohibitive, the mushrooming of data and voice satellites, which cost about US$2000, will continue unabated. All one needs is a satellite dish installed on site pointing the right direction into the sky and then activating the data and voice with the service provider.

Flow of information is fundamental to any country but in Africa, it appears authorities put all measures they can muster to stifle technological innovation.
Zimbabwe is set to witness some very interesting scenarios when returning residents from the Diaspora, used to high speed access abroad, will be faced with communication challenges on their return. It must be remembered that some of these returning residents have been away from Zimbabwe for more than 10 years and in that period, they have moved in sync with global telecommunications trends.

ICT PENETRATION INDICATORS (July 2007 Figures)
Population 12 .2 million (est.)
Fixed telephone lines 343,200
Fixed line density 2.81 %
Mobile lines 1,001,000
Mobile line density 8.2 %
Internet users 1,200,750
Internet penetration 9.84 %

It is clear from the statistics above that fixed line development has not progressed as fast as mobile wireless and internet growth. So there is NO rocket science needed to figure out that any work to increase tele-density in Zimbabwe will revolve around wireless and internet based technologies.

Progress is already being made in that direction with Econet being granted a 3G license. TelOne has also made moves to increase phone line delivery by use of CDMA wireless solutions as the last mile to connect end users to the TelOne telephone network. For now, this service is restricted to Harare and Chitungwiza only.

CONCLUSION
Is VoIP now legal in Zimbabwe? By giving a go ahead to the SIP-based International Calling Center to Econet; POTRAZ has sent strong messages to businesses – that yes its OK to implement VoIP in Zimbabwe.

POTRAZ needs to explain the criteria used to allow Econet to use VoIP because I don’t see any reason why ZOL, Mweb, Telconet, Africaonline and other ISPs cannot do VoIP. I used to think that Telco was the one awarded the IAD license A?
The deregulation of VoIP is long overdue and inevitable. The sooner this is done, the better. Otherwise the high costs of making calls will force business and organisations alike to adopt other alternatives that authorities might deem illegal. Of course this is already happening. Don’t ask me who and where!
We talk about indigenising our economy .We cannot promote this process of indigenisation on one hand and prosecute those who come up with creative solutions on the other.

People do not stop planning because the country is facing unprecedented economic challenges highlighted by six figure inflation and near zero productivity levels. The onus is upon us come up with solutions that relate to our unique position. Only we can help ourselves.

This article was written by Robert Ndlovu and adapted from www.newzimbabwe.com. Robert Ndlovu is a Zimbabwean IT & Telecoms Consultant based in New York, United States. Contact him: ndlovu@ifoni.net

2008-10-18T23:10:00.001+02:00

Telecoms in Zimbabwe

We will be doing a series of posts on the current situation in the Zimbabwean Telecoms space. A lot of events are unfolding and it takes a risky and politically "connected" one to take advantage of whats happening.

Telecoms 24/7 Unleashed

2008-10-18T21:36:00.001+02:00

Hi, we are from Telecoms24 - the source for your upto date telecoms news. We will be sharing telecoms news with you on a daily basis. We will focus on latest developments in WiFi, WiMax, 3G,4G,messaging platforms,etc.

We will try to give you an insight into telecoms in emerging African countries - starting with countries in SADC.