WEEKLY NEWS ROUND UP-AFRICA (WEEK 46)

Cellphone operators need to get savvy to thrive in Africa

11^th November 2009

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

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

Regional integration to lower infrastructure costs –World Bank

12^th November 2009

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

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

Nigerian Federal Government equips 474 schools with Internet facilities

10^th November 2009

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

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

Somali mobile phone firms thrive despite chaos

3^rd November 2009

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

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

War Torn Burundi Sees Future in IT Outsourcing

4^th November 2009

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

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