AFRICA DOMAINS ON SALE SOON

The general public can apply for Africa domain names from 4 July. This follows the delegation by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) of the geographic top-level domain to the ZA Central Registry (ZACR) after a protracted legal dispute.

The launch phases of “sunrise” and “land rush” will now take place, allowing early registrations, followed by “general availability”.

The tentative date for the first two phases is 4 April. The sunrise phase will provide an opportunity for intellectual property rights holders to register domains, while the land rush phase will see premium name applicants applying for .africa domains from this date.

“General availability should commence on 4 July, and this is when the general public can apply for their .africa domain names,” said ZACR CEO Lucky Masilela in a statement.

“Website names ending in .africa are set to become hot property in cyberspace as the continent’s most loved brands snap up their digital presence.”

Icann should have handed over control of the .africa domain years ago to ZACR, but the process was delayed following a series of legal challenges by Kenyan-based DotConnectAfrica, which wanted to be the registry operator.

In December, DotConnectAfrica lost a second motion in a Californian court for a preliminary injunction to stop Icann’s delegation of the domain to ZACR, effectively ending the legal process.

“All attempts to stall the public availability of the .africa geographic top-level domain have failed and it’s now time to create the next chapter in the .africa story,” said Masilela.

Source: NewsCentral Media (Via Tech Central)

EAST AFRICA: MICROSOFT, LIQUID TELECOM TO BOOST CLOUD ADOPTION IN AFRICA

Microsoft East Africa and Liquid Telecom have joined forces to improve and accelerate the use of cloud services across Africa. The companies said the joint project will help boost the continent’s access to world-class software. Microsoft has a long-term strategic vision to enable affordable broadband access to its customers to empower business and increase productivity. To move this objective forward, Microsoft will collaborate with Liquid Telecom, a pan-African telecommunications provider that operates the region’s largest independent fibre network, which spans over 40,000km across twelve countries.

The joint effort will focus on the delivery of cloud services, small-and-medium business development and the enablement of a television white space technology and partner ecosystem to provide further connectivity across the continent.

Businesses across Africa have traditionally been slower adopters of cloud services, particularly in areas with limited ICT infrastructure. The partnership will address this by combining Liquid Telecom’s extensive network reach with Microsoft’s innovative business solutions that bring the cloud closer to the end user. Through fast and more affordable connectivity, Microsoft’s extensive cloud-based software offerings, such as Azure and Office 365, will become more accessible through Liquid Telecom. This will enhance business potential and enable startups and home-grown operations to be more productive and efficient.

As part of the project, Microsoft and Liquid Telecom will also be creating ‘Business in a Box’, which will offer small-and-medium businesses a cloud-based toolkit of relevant applications, cloud services and connectivity. The project, with the scope to influence and improve the capabilities of cloud computing in Africa, will accelerate the economic growth and competitiveness of Africa.

Source: Telecompaper.com

SOUTH AFRICA: CELL C URGES ICASA TO TAKE BACK SPECTRUM FROM VODACOM, MTN

South African operator,Cell C has asked industry regulator Icasa to take back the spectrum mobile operators are not using, or are using outside of the purposes the spectrum was assigned for, reports Mybroadband. Cell C referred to the 2,100MHz band -where it believes there is a risk its competitors will “squat” on spectrum- and the 2,300MHz band. Vodacom and MTN were assigned spectrum in 2,100MHz for fixed usage, and there is incentive for them to wait for those frequencies to be designated for mobile usage, said Cell C.

South Africa’s four major mobile operators have spectrum in the 2,100MHz band, assigned for mobile usage and deployed in a frequency-division duplex configuration. However, Vodacom and MTN have additional assignments, which may be used in a configuration called time-division duplex (TDD).

In addition to addressing the spectrum “squatting”, Cell C wants Icasa o implement limits on what spectrum assigned for fixed usage may be used for. It was implied this will affect the 2,100MHz and 2,300MHz bands, where Telkom was assigned a large chunk of bandwidth for fixed usage in the latter. Telkom now uses this for its LTE and 4G network. Cell C does not want Vodacom and MTN to “refarm” their fixed assignments in 2,100MHz for mobile usage. If they don’t want to use the spectrum for fixed links, it must be returned, said Cell C.

Cell C also implied that Telkom should not have been allowed to roll out its LTE network using its 2,300MHz assignment. Vodacom, in its presentation to Icasa, said it wants the designation of its TDD assignment in the 2,100MHz band amended. The company said the regulations which recommend the application of the assignment for fixed usage should be scrapped.

Source: Telecompaper.com

FOREX CHALLENGE THWARTS NIGERIA’S TELECOM EXPANSION PLANS

Access to foreign exchange remains the single biggest challenge for telecommunications operators in Nigeria, representing an obstacle to business reach and service delivery – particularly within remote regions.

While officials have confirmed the government’s intention to extend telecoms access to a further 40 million people, the industry is characterised by a reduction in the number of new base transceiver stations or base stations built by telecoms companies and tower operators.

Industry players revealed that with the exception of broadband companies, there are fewer requests for tower services as telecoms operators are no longer keen to expand their operations to previously unreached regions choosing, instead, to optimise their current infrastructure to deliver 4G LTE particularly in densely populated and commercially viable areas.

David Venn, CEO of ISP Spectranet, said operators are finding it difficult to access foreign exchange, which they need for the equipment required for network expansion.

“Operators need equipment to build towers. In the last one year it has been difficult for us to access dollars to import equipment for network expansion as well as adding capacity… the ones we are doing is from the equipment we imported before the new policy on foreign exchange, for big operators it has been very difficult for them to import equipment which has affected their efforts in adding capacity.”

Beyond the need to expand service reach, Nigeria’s geographical area of 910, 768 square kilometers requires over 182,000 base stations to shore up service quality, according to the recommended 5 kilometres radius between each base transmission station.

However, Nigeria only has approximately 26,000 base stations.

“Effective coverage of geographical area requires deployment of base transceiver station (BTS) also known base station within the standard 5 kilometers radius,” said Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON).

Source: IT Web Africa

MTN TO REPORT A FULL-YEAR LOSS

Telecommunications group MTN warned on Wednesday that it will report a loss for the 2016 financial year due in large part to the regulatory fine imposed on it in its biggest market, Nigeria.

It said it expects to report a loss in both basic headline earnings per share (Heps) and basic earnings per share (EPS) for the year ended 31 December 2016. In 2015, Heps was R12,04 and R7,46 respectively.

It said the Nigerian regulatory fine — imposed after MTN failed to disconnect more than 5m unregistered Sim cards — is expected to have a negative impact of about R4,74 on both Heps and EPS.

But it’s not only the Nigerian fine that’s to blame for the poor performance.

Other contributing factors to the negative numbers include foreign exchange losses in several operations; losses from joint ventures and associates; additional depreciation resulting from prior hyperinflation adjustments in MTN Irancell; Zakhele Futhi black economic empowerment scheme tax and share-based payment charges; and professional fees incurred in respect of the settlement of the Nigerian regulatory fine and planned listing.

The 2016 numbers will also be “negatively impacted by the underperformance of MTN Nigeria and MTN South Africa in the first half of 2016”.

MTN Nigeria’s first half performance was impacted by the disconnection of 4,5m subscribers in February 2016 in compliance with subscriber registration requirements of the Nigerian Communications Commission.

A withdrawal of regulatory services, which was resolved in May 2016, the weak economy and the depreciation of the naira against the US dollar also negatively impacted MTN Nigeria’s performance, it said. Meanwhile, consolidated results in rand terms from Nigeria were affected by the weaker naira in the second half of the year.

MTN said a further trading statement will be issued once the group has a “reasonable degree of certainty as to the likely range within which the Heps and EPS are expected to be finalised”.

The group will publish its annual results on 2 March.

Source: IT Web Africa

Innovation Africa Digital (IAD) April 2017

ICT is an important enabler of growth and development. This is true in the context of socio-economic development with the well-worn correlation between broadband development and GDP growth. It is also true in the area of business improvement where ICT supports innovation, engagement, service improvement and client retention. Technology for the sake of it is a poor investment and Top down solutions designed for perceived problems are often ill received and unused leaving a disconnect between vendors/ service providers and consumers/ citizens.

‘Smarter Thinking’ can be applied to the development of Smart Cities, Smart Infrastructures, Smart Services and Smarter Organisations. ‘Smart’ is a generic term which conjures up a variety of images depending on individual experience but when we talk of ‘Smarter Thinking’, in the context of IAD 2017, we talk of connected thinking. We talk of Engagement, Collaboration, Innovation and Feedback loops. We talk in terms of co-created solutions to actual needs and we talk of feedback mechanisms to ensure we adjust technologies to evolve alongside solution needs. Three themes will prevail throughout the IAD summit:

Innovation

Innovation is a critical element of ‘Smarter Thinking’ and leads directly to ‘Smart’ solution development. We will look at how governments are or could be, improving engagement in the development and implementation of solutions supporting Smart Cities, Smart Government and Smart Utilities, developing solutions to address real life, localized challenges or improved quality of life. We will also assess how the private and third sector are doing the same to engage clients and their own solution partners in order to offer smarter services with increased efficiency, effectiveness and reliability.

· Crowd Sourced information, Innovative Marketing Strategies, Data Analytics, Open Data strategies etc. combine to provide effective insights into solution needs.

· Web portals, Collaborative Partnerships and Alliances, Innovation Hubs and User Groups provide the opportunity for collaborative solution development and co-creation of localized solutions.

· IoT, M2M, PPP, Cloud, Open Data, Open Access Infrastructures, Outsourcing of non-core services and infrastructures are just some of the approaches to improving affordability, efficiency and reliability.

Reliability

Robust infrastructures are essential to ensure the reliability of services. IoT, M2M, OTT services, Value Added Services, Video on Demand and Data Services are putting pressure on existing infrastructures and reliability is essential to attract continued inward investment.

· Network Monitoring, Backhaul and Redundancy, Fibre, Satellite, 3G, 4G, WiFi, LTE etc. are essential to ensure the delivery of services.

· Power, Data management, High speed networks, International connectivity, and Security are challenges that must be addressed to ensure continuity of service.

· CRM, Billing, ERP, Supply Chain Management, Central Control Centres, Call Centres etc, are essential components to enable Smarter integration and improved services.

Efficiency

Efficiency savings from Smarter thinking, justify investments in technology, training and engagement.

· Hybrid power, Colocation datacenters, Shared infrastructures, Asset Management, Heterogeneous networks, Open access networks and other collaborative strategies can share resources and costs to prevent under-utilization of resources and over exposure to prime time costs.

The carefully planned, multi-format IAD summit will optimize exposure of projects and opportunities while highlighting technology developments:

Day One – EXPOSE, will incorporate sessions designed to expose African best practices and case studies across a range of ‘Smarter Thinking’ themes including Smart Policy, Smart Infrastructure, Smart Data, Smart Connectivity and Smart Security. 3 case studies will be invited for each theme and audience members will be encouraged to vote for their favorite case study in each category with the winner of each category receiving an ‘IAD Smarter Thinking’ award.

Day Two – ENGAGE, will employ session formats which will encourage and enable peer to peer connections, solution sourcing and direct engagement between solution providers and those sourcing solutions.

Day Three – EVALUATE, will provide an opportunity to evaluate differing perspectives on key and contentious issues such as the value, opportunities and risks of employing Open Data strategies? Where are the risks and threats in Data Security? How can Public Private Partnerships accelerate growth? And how important is the development of a national Innovation strategy?

Attendees will leave the summit with a clear vision of how ‘Smarter Thinking’ will result in increased efficiency, improved service and happier citizens and customers and improved social development.

The IAD summit will be attended by a unique blend of around 350 high level decision makers from across Africa, including those people responsible for the development and implementation of Smart public sector projects e.g Smart Cities, Smart Government, Smart Healthcare, Smart Education. These CIOs, Project leaders, State Governors, City Mayors etc. will be joined by Policy Makers and Regulators from across Africa who are responsible for creating the facilitating environment. Communication Service Providers, Financial Institutions, UN Agencies and NGOs who are looking to Smarter Thinking as a way of improving services, profitability and efficiency will represent Civil Society and the Private Sectors and we are also inviting the best in class, global Consultants, Vendors, Solution Providers and Investors who will represent an effective solutions community who can facilitate Smart transformations.

Consumers’ Plight And Regulatory Confusion Over Value Added Services

It comes in form of a beast that seems to respect no one. Both the rich and the poor in the country suffer from its pangs, yet the menace of unsolicited text messages has refused to be tamed, as series of regulatory efforts fail to end the suffering. And as those behind the messages rejected the regulator’s attempt to bring them under control, there seems to be no hope that this suffering by the mass of telecom customers will go away anytime soon. SAMSON AKINTARO reports.

When it comes to stories of achievements, Nigeria has a shining one in the story of its telecommunications, which jumped from zero to become the hero of telecoms revolution in Africa. The tremendous growth that saw the country moving from less than half a million connected lines in year 2000 to now over 150 million, had made the country become a reference point for telecommunications development in sub-Saharan Africa.

Of course, the story of the successful telecom revolution is ever sweet to savour, more so, when it has indeed affected lives of the people and the nation’s economy positively. Aside making communications easier and cheaper than ever before, millions of jobs have been created through the telecom sector. And this is capped by robust and increasing contributions to the country’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) every year.

These achievements become more profound, when placed side by side with the realities of the pre liberalisation Nigeria. This was a country where international mobile operators were afraid to do business mainly based on the reports commissioned to telecom research agencies and the global financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which had forecasted that in the Nigerian telecom sector, the average Nigerian cannot afford to own a mobile phone as the per capita income of the citizens was below the internationally recognized average and the daily income was below $100 mark.

Based on this reports, the telecom researches agencies had forecasted that it would take a 12 months for any operator to reach 100,000 subscribers, 3 years to connect 300,000 lines and 5 years to hit the half a million mark subscription. This conservative report peddled to mobile operators about the market in Nigeria and other emerging markets put off many operators that would entered the GSM auction.

GSMA Appoints Wale Goodluck Head Of Africa Operations

The GSM Association has announced the appointment of Mr. Akinwale Goodluck as Head of its sub-Saharan Africa operations beginning this February, according to authoritative sources familiar with the GSMA at its headquarters in London.

Mr. Goodluck, a Nigerian and a respected and influential figure in the African mobile telecommunications industry’s regulatory sector, is well known for his role as Corporate Services Executive at MTN Nigeria, a role he resigned from in December 2015 following a long career in MTN Nigeria.

Mr. Goodluck’s appointment by GSMA clearly further accentuates Nigeria’s leading influence in the continent’s telecommunications industry as Mr. Goodluck is well regarded in Nigeria and Africa as a leading light in telecommunications and regulatory affairs for the continent.

This point was well emphasised by GSMA’s Chief Regulatory Officer, Mr. John Guisti, who, in announcing Mr. Goodluck’s appointment in an internal communication leaked to sources, was quoted to have said:

“I wanted to formally announce that we have a new GSMA Head of Sub-Saharan Africa. I am very excited that Wale Goodluck has decided to join us, starting 6 February (2017).”

According to sources, Guisti, in the internal communication, stated that Mr. Goodluck “brings to the GSMA 15 years of experience in the telecoms sector” as “he has worked at the highest level within our industry – working at MTN managing reputation, regulatory and commercial risks, including two years playing a group wide role advising other country operations.”

Guisti was quoted to have stated further: “Through the MTN footprint covering more than 20 countries across the continent, Wale has built a strong network of contacts in the industry and with senior government officials.

“Wale already has a great knowledge of the GSMA and its activities through his previous role as Chair of the CPROG (Chief Policy & Regulatory Officers Group) Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Contacted, Mr. Goodluck said he would speak about the development “very soon and at the appropriate time.”

When he formally assumes office, Mr. Goodluck will operate from the GSMA Sub-Saharan Africa headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, from where he will oversee the association’s operations in the entire sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria and South Africa, two of the region’s leading countries in mobile telecommunications subscriptions.

Kenya:Govt to Monitor Social Media During Elections

Kenya will not shut down the Internet during the election period unless the situation gets out of hand, officials said Thursday.

The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) chairman, Mr Ben Gituku said that the government would only take action if it deemed it as a necessary step to secure the country.

“We hope we will not get there, unless it gets out of hand. We do not see Internet shutdown happening,” Mr Gituku said during a press conference in Nairobi to issue guidelines on the conduct of electronic media during the elections on Thursday.

Kenyans are increasingly concerned, especially with rising political temperatures ahead of the August polls, that the government would shut down the Internet as witnessed in other regional countries.

In neighbouring Uganda, the government ordered the shutdown of popular social media platforms over “security concerns,” an action political observers said was aimed at stifling media scrutiny of the elections as well as clamping down on freedom of expression.

Similar actions were taken by the governments of Burundi, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A recent report by social enterprise, Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, said eastern Africa countries are among the top violators of freedom of expression online with some ordering an Internet shutdown while others like Kenya use punitive laws to intimidate citizens.

NCC to fine TELCOs N5m for unsolicited text messages

Henceforth, any network provider that sends unsolicited text messages (SMS) to subscribers would pay a fine of N5million.
The Vice-Chairman of the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta, disclosed this yesterday at the 46th convocation of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
He spoke on: “The Role of ICT in Tertiary Education in Nigeria-NCC interventions.”
Danbatta explained that the commission has contributed over 1.4 trillion naira to the country’s economy since its inception.
The chairman urged policy makers to adopt information communication technology (ICT) to grow the economy.
He canvassed the use of ICT in addressing the challenges in agriculture, health, energy and education sectors.
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“It is in the interest of the country to harness the potentials in the information-driven age to facilitate the socio-economic development.
“The commission will continue to facilitate the improvement of the content delivery and capacity development of tertiary institutions,” he said.
He emphasized that NCC’s commitment to improving learning in tertiary institutions to reduce time wastage in accessing teaching and learning materials.
According to him: “Functional SAT 3, Main-One, Glo 1 and WACS and In-Country Fibre Optic Cables Distribution and Last Mile, were other viable investment opportunities for business people.”

Source: Business/telecom