The Infrastructure Trust Fund for Africa created to Fund 4 Fiber Projects

Funding for all the Africa Fiber Projects appears to have been consolidated into one new organizations called The Infrastructure Trust Fund for Africa. It includes all four fiber projects.

I wonder if the fund will be used to try and control how and where it comes in first. It will be interesting to see if the African Monolpolies had a hand in this.

-Lee


Kenya's telecommunication sector will receive a boost as a result of Sh32 billion (347 million euros) financing mobilised for infrastructure development in Africa.

The European Commission, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and nine European countries have set up a fund to finance the continent's telecommunication infrastructure.

The Infrastructure Trust Fund for Africa will back New Partnership for Africa's Development (Nepad) projects as such as the East Africa Submarine Cable System (known as Eassy).
Financing for each project and when the money will be released has not been decided.


The Rest @All Africa. com

Telekom Offers Bundled DSL & Phone

Telkom has recently launched a new all-in-one bundled ADSL option through www.do.co.za.With this bundled package customers receive a single bill for their ADSL line and their Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Although punted as offering just one bill, a noteworthy exclusion in the "all-in-one" bundle is the copper line rental for voice, which is still charged for separately.

• These offerrings have been seen as a threat to ISPs, who do not have the same competitive advantage as Telkom and are being undercut.
• Speaking to someone from a leading ISP who asked not to be named, it appears that Telkom have approached certain ISPs and invited them to be a part of this bundle.
• Details on this have not yet been made public and the exact timeframe is still unclear, however.
• In addition to the ADSL bundles, Telkom is also offering the "Closer" series of options which bundle the Internet connection with allocations of free telephone minutes.
• At the time of publishing, no Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) providers could be contacted for comment, but the inclusion of free minutes on the "Closer" bundles appears to be an answer to the challenge presented by these cost effective services.

The Telkom offerings:-

• do Broadband Level 1, for R279, offers DSL up to 384 Kbps with a TelkomInternet account and 1 Gig cap.-
• do Broadband Level 2, for R364, offers DSL up to 384 Kbps with a TelkomInternet account and 2 Gig cap.
• - do Broadband Level 3, for R675, offers DSL up to 4 Mbps with a TelkomInternet account and 3 Gig cap.

Huawei and ZTE: Beijing’s "command-capitalism"?

-From December , 2006:

Huawei, the biggest Chinese telephone-equipment maker, and rival ZTE, could be in joint control of more than half the Nigerian cellphone equipment market by 2007, four years after they started operating in the most-populous African nation, Ndukwe said in an interview this month. Their prices in Nigeria are 40 percent lower than those of companies like Ericsson and Alcatel- Lucent, he said.

The Rest @ International Tribune

Looks Like Huawei and ZTE are implementing Beijing’s "command-capitalism",
-Lee

ZTE Alegedly Over-bidding unsolicited Telecom Contracts World Wide

A Journalist in the Philippines has been tracking Chinese State Owned ZTE Telecom. He is alleging that the have come to the governments of several countries around the world, sending in over-priced bids, and pre-agreeing to pay bribes. We will have to watch this.

France Telecom's Orange

France Telecom's Orange

• France Telecom said its Orange unit has obtained a mobile and internet licence for operating in the Central African Republic, with plans to launch services before the end of the year.
• Last month, France Telecom said its Senegalese division Sonatel acquired mobile phone operator licences for the West African countries of Guinea and Guinea Bissau.
• In sub-Saharan Africa, Orange is already present in Botswana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali and Senegal, France Telecom added in its press release.

The Rest @ Mobil Africa

Celtel Uses Ceragon to for Wireless Infrastructure in DRC

Ceragon Networks, a provider of high-capacity wireless backhaul solutions, has announced that Celtel International has selected its FibeAir 1500HP equipment for deployment on its network in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Ceragon’s solution will enable Celtel to cover large distances with fewer installations, significantly reducing infrastructure costs. The value of the contract is USD3 million. ‘Celtel faced the challenge of finding a cost-effective solution that would reduce infrastructure costs while facilitating remote management for each area of service,’ said Thibeault De La Barre De Nanteuil, Chief Technical Officer at Celtel Congo.

‘Ceragon Networks is meeting the challenge with their FibeAir 1500HP, a long-haul solution covering distances greater than 43 miles, which is mission-critical in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa’s third largest country.

Orascom Telecom Holding SAE: Profile

The First Egyption Multi-National Corporation. in 2006 had sales of over 26 Billion

The Group's principal activity is the provision of telecommunications services in the region of the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan.
The Group operates GSM networks in

• Algeria
• Egypt
• Pakistan
• Iraq
• Bangladesh
• Tunisia
• Zimbabwe via it's subsidiaries.

Their other activities include provision of internet services and telecommunication services which involves the trading and distribution of IT and telecom equipment in Egypt.

Some of their clients include

• Microsoft
• Hewlett Packard
• Compaq
• IBM
• Lucent Technologies

During the fiscal year the Group sold its subsidiary Libertis Telecom in Congo.

The Rest @ The Wright Report

"One Lap Top Per child" Beta Shows up in Capetown

The much talked about One Laptop Per Child (OLPC), a low-cost laptop computer for the developing world, was finally on show at the Digital Freedom Expo in Cape Town this week. The project is the brainchild of MIT media professor Nicholas Negroponte.

The laptop, a beta version of the final product, sports a green casing, a liquid-proof keyboard, a couple of dust covers for the ports and the Sugar operating system which is based on Fedora Core 6. While the design on show looks a little fragile the plastic used for the casing is in fact thicker than that used in most other notebooks.

There is also a plan to include a rubberised design in the near future. The final OLPC is expected to cost around R750 (the exchange rate for US$100) when it is launched.

The Rest @ Tectonic

An African Speaks on Maintenance from Telecom to Roads

My uncle travels widely in Africa, having been involved in the planning of many mobile telecoms installations on the continent, and he always has a story about how governments fail to maintain what they have.

His favourite story is of an airport he once landed at in East Africa. His take on the tale is that rather than maintaining the old airport, a new one was simply built next to the old one, leaving the old one to become a ruin of some-or-other previous era. Similarly, my uncle tells me of tarred roads, which – almost organically – became gravel roads before retuning to thick forests. How true any of this is I can’t say, but what I can say, knowing that I drive specific lines to miss potholes on my way to work everyday, is that public servants maybe aren’t as enthusiastic about maintenance as they should be.

I remember when I was in New York last year. The Mayor got quite upset that a pothole he drove through yesterday wasn’t fixed today. Perhaps then the enthusiasm needs to come from ‘the top’.Zambia’s massive road rebuilding plan was nipped in the bud by a European Union donor community, which said that Zambia should look at a programme of road maintenance rather than building new roads unnecessarily.


The Rest @ African Blog Wars

Hand Held PC & Phone Web pages

Mobile-friendly versions of big web sites are becoming a lot more common. Most news sites have them, as do the portals. Edelman too has one that's on a dot-mobi URL (one of our clients). Still, lots of sites don't have a mini companions.

Enter Mowser. The site, which is run by mobile guru Russ Beattie, is a great home page for your your phone. You can enter any URL and it will shrink it down for you. Even better, if the site you want to view has a feed it will auto-detect it and present it in a very clean, efficient way that's perfect for phones. For example, here's Lifehacker as viewed through Mowser. A list of popular feeds can be found here. There's also a directory of mobile sites

The Rest @ Micro Persuasion

South Africa Neotel Aquires Transtel Teleocoms

South African operator Neotel has agreed to acquire Transtel Telecoms for ZAR 230 million. Transtel Telecoms is a spin-off from Transnet, South Africa's national transport company, offering national telecom services, including to customers outside the Trasnet group of companies.

Transtel employs around 500 people, generates around ZAR 400 million in annual revenues and is profitable. The acquisition gives newcomer Neotel expertise in carrier and voice and data services, as well as additional infrastructure and a national presence.

Pending regulatory approvals, the takeover is expected to close in 12-16 weeks. Transnet, which sees the divestment as part of its focus on core activities, will retain certain communications operations key to rail and harbour facilities.

The Rest @ Telecompaper

US Starcom, ATT Guatemala Expanding to other South American Countries

US Starcom today announced that it has signed a carrier agreement with AT&T (Guatemala) for service to several countries in Central and South America.

In a press statement US Starcom said that revenues from the agreement are expected to ramp up beginning in the second quarter, with major contributions to quarterly revenue beginning sometime in the second half of 2007.

The Rest @ Telegeogrpahy

Celtel Malawi Offers New Wirless Plan

In keeping with its tradition of pioneering ground-breaking innovative mobile services, Celtel Malawi Limited recently launched a new and most affordable tariff plan in Malawi called ‘Macheza’.

As a discounted tariff, Macheza will allow prepaid customers to pay less and talk for more in line with the tariff’s name, which means “chat”.

The new plan targets prepaid social callers and is the cheapest call rate available in Malawi.
With Macheza tariff, consumers get a discount of 41 percent on Celtel-to-Celtel calls and 37 percent on calls terminating to other networks.

Macheza tariff will applies during off-peak hours from 6 PM to 6 AM and is running on a Per Second Billing platform.

The Rest @ Mobil Africa

East African Wireless Telcoms to Lower or Remove Excise Taxes

Tanzania Uganda and Kenya are looking to lower or remove excise duty levied on mobile phone airtime.

A study carried out last year by consultancy Delloitte for the association of mobile telephone operators, GSMA has indicated removal or reduction of excise would result in increases in tax receipts in the long term.

The decision to lower excise, if adopted, will be contained either in the next budget reading (2007/2008) or the financial year after (2008/2009).

In Uganda, discussions in that direction are ongoing between the ministry of finance, planning and economic development, the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) and the new ministry of ICT and communication.

"We are optimistic that the three governments will announce decreases in excise duty," Mr. Gabriel Solomon, director, government & regulatory affairs at the GSM Association told Business Week in a telephone interview last week.

Read the Rest from All Africa.com, and East Africa Business Week

New VOIP Service in South Africa

Aiming at becoming the Skype of the mobile VoIP arena, Yeigo is a mobile Voice over IP (VoIP) software solution built and offered by three Cape Town graduates.

The software can be freely downloaded onto many higher end cellphones. After registering, Yeigo account holders can make worldwide VoIP calls free of charge to anyone with a Yeigo account.

All that is paid for is the necessary internet connection costs.Outside of the Yeigo network, the company claims discounts of up to 80 percent on calls to landlines and international destinations. For SMS, discounts of up to 90% are claimed. (see rates) Managing director Rapelang Rabana said that a small margin on the outgoing calls is the only revenue source.

The Rest @ Tectonic

MTN Largest UGanda TaxPayer

MTN Uganda made it into the top 500 biggest African companies this year in the latest rankings drawn up by the respected “The Africa Report” magazine. MTN entered the third edition of the rankings for the first time at 380 on the basis of its $137m turnover.

MTN was the only local company that made the list. “We are very happy to be listed. The company’s good results are testament to its excellent management methods and explains why we are Uganda’s highest taxpayer,” said MTN chairman, Charles Mbire.

Read the Rest from New Vision

Telstra plans to invest in a 9,000-kilometer undersea cable to Hawaii to improve telecommunications links between Australia and the US, the company said.Telstra COO Greg Winn said the cable would allow increased data transmission capability to the US while significantly reducing Australia's reliance on foreign-owned companies in order to compete globally.
Telstra will pay Alcatel Submarine Networks, a specialist in such cabling, will build and lay the cable, and the project is expected to be finished by mid-2008. Telstra did not say how much the new cable would cost."Telstra has an aggressive international connectivity strategy, and this is just the first step in bringing that strategy to life," Winn said in a statement.

The submarine cable will provide transmission capacity to Hawaii where it will interconnect with other cables providing direct access to the US mainland.

Read the Rest from The Telkom Blog

Malawi Telcom Limited (MTL) Buys Majority Shares In Telkom Networks Malawi (TNM)

The privatised Malawi Telecommunications Limited (MTL) has bought majority shares of 60 percent in Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM), hence becoming the major controller of communication airwaves in the country.Dean Lungu, chairman of Press Corporations Limited (PCL)—the main shareholder in Telkom Holdings Limited (THL) which is a consortium that bought the lone ground phone operator MTL—confirmed the developments in an interview yesterday.“Yes it’s true, MTL has taken over TNM.

The deal was signed and handovers should be done within the next two to three weeks,” said Lungu.He said Telekom Malaysia officials are expected to grace the handover ceremony.Asked whether Detecon International, THL’s technical partner, would also be managing TNM, Lungu said the MTL board will meet and decide.

Former MTL acting board chairman Ken Msonda who fought the MTL sale, said it was unfortunate that a private company was in control of the national airwaves.Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra) public relations officer Clara Mulonya could not be reached for comment on what would happen to other telephone companies such as Celtel who depend on MTL’s network for interconnectivity.

Read the Rest @ The Nation Online

CATIA Ending in April 2007

The Catalysing Access to ICT in Africa (CATIA) programme aimed to enable poor people in Africa to gain maximum benefit from the opportunities offered by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and to act as a strong catalyst for reform. It supported a package of strategic activities to improve affordable access to the full range of ICTs, from Internet to community radio. This programme focussed on the need for ICTs to address social and economic development issues. It worked to help build capacity across Africa to achieve sustainable change.

CATIA was a three-year programme of the Department for International Development (DFID) in close collaboration with other donors and role players (e.g. Sida, IDRC, CIDA and USAID). It was implemented in close coordination with the Canadian government’s Connectivity Africa initiative. CATIA was managed by Atos Consulting from a programme office in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The programme ended in August 2006 although OKN and the Pro-Poor Broadcasting component are continuing until April 2007.

The CATIA programme consisted of nine distinct component projects. These are:
Catalysing informed ICT policy and regulatory reform:

1a - Low-cost VSAT: Facilitating low-cost satellite Internet access across Africa (Component 1a)
1b - ISPAs and IXPs: Robust African Internet backbone with exchange points (IXPs) at the core and strong African ISP associations (Component 1b)

1c - ICT Policy Advocacy: Well-informed, lively and inclusive policy debates across Africa, shaping the local policy environment (Component 1c)

1d - Pro-Poor Broadcasting Policy: Positive policy environments for radio broadcasting across Africa (Component 1d)

1e - Policy and regulatory capacity building: An African-led network of institutions actively strengthening African expertise involved in setting ICT related policy (Component 1e)

1f - International ICT decision-making: Increased capacity for African developing countries to participate in international ICT decision-making (Component 1f)

Here is their website with more information

SA Govt.-Driven Telkom tries to Find Its Place in Africa's Coming Telecom Gold Rush

Government will use its board voting power to make Telkom toe the line in participating in the East African Submarine Cable System (Eassy), says Lyndall Shope-Mafole. It will force the company to join the SPV rather than the overall consortium.

The Department of Communications director-general made this statement after delivering her department's 2007-2010 strategy to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications last week.

She also attacked the Eassy supplier contract signed on 9 March between Telkom, the network operators and equipment supplier Alcatel Lucent. She said it was outside the policy framework. The South African Government seems to believe that it will run and control the cable consortium. The private sector takes a different view and NEPAD seems to have taken the view that it can impose both its view and the rather heavy-handed governmental structure it envisages.

The Rest: Ballancing Act

Four Fiber Cable Projects are Coming Into Africa

There are four projects to build an international fibre cable to connect the east coast of Africa. There’s EASSy, the Kenyan Government’s TEAMS, Flag Telecom…and the fourth project? Sithe’s SEACOM has been working quietly on the fringes to put together a privately funded “carriers’ carrier” project. News has been filtering out about it but Sithe’s Brian Herlihy made his first public presentation of the project at a United Stated Trade Development Agency Africa conference ten days ago in San Francisco. Russell Southwood spoke to him about what SEACOM will be and how it will work.

There is much more here from Ballancing Act

The Race for Malawi's 3rd Telecom is on.

MALAWI EYES THIRD MOBILE FIRM

Malawi is expected to have a third mobile telecommunications company operational by the end of the year, says Alex Makhwatha, director of finance and administration at the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (Macra). The communications regulator last year invited applications for a mobile telecoms operating licence. The initiative was a directive from the Malawian Ministry of Information and Tourism.

Of the 11 operators that received bidding documents, only five submitted applications, says a Macra statement. The companies that submitted their applications and met the appropriate standards are South African-based Econet Wireless, Malawian-based Malcom, Globally Advanced Integrated Networks, Megatel Communications and US-based Millennium Global Telecom, says Makhwatha. With the exception of Econet, none of the bidders have an existing presence in Africa. Of the big three, Celtel is already an operator but neither MTN or Vodacom have bid.

Read the Rest from Telecoms News

African Country Telecom Profiles

Ballancing Act Has done a ton of Telecom Research on each African Country. Click on the links below:

• ALGERIA
• ANGOLA
• BENIN
• BOTSWANA
• BURKINA FASO
• BURUNDI
• CAMEROON
• CAPE VERDE
• CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
• CHAD
• COMOROS
• CONGO
• COTE D'IVOIRE
• DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
• DJIBOUTI
• EGYPT
• EQUATORIAL GUINEA
• ERITREA
• ETHIOPIA
• GABON GAMBIA
• GHANA
• GUINEA
• GUINEA-BISSAU
• KENYA
• LESOTHO
• LIBERIA
• LIBYAN ARAB JAMAHIRIYA
• MADAGASCAR
• MALAWI
• MALI
• MAURITANIA
• MAURITIUS
• MOROCCO
• MOZAMBIQUE
• NAMIBIA
• NIGER
• NIGERIA
• REUNION
• RWANDA
• SAO TOME & PRINCIPE
• SENEGAL
• SEYCHELLES
• SIERRA LEONE
• SOMALIA
• SOUTH AFRICA
• SUDAN
• SWAZILAND
• TOGO
• TUNISIA
• UGANDA
• UNITED REP OF TANZANIA
• ZAMBIA
• ZIMBABWE

Telkom CEO Papi Molotsane leaves after 18 Months

5 April, 2007

Telkom CEO Papi Molotsane has left the company after just 18 months. In a Stock Exchange News Service (SENS) announcement today Telkom said Molotsane would leave the company with immediate effect. The announcement gave no idication of wether Molotsane had been fired or had elected to resign. "Telkom wishes to announce that Mr. LRR (Papi) Molotsane, the Chief Executive Officer, has left it`s employ with effect from 5 April 2007.

The company wishes to thank Mr Molotsane for the services he rendered in the last eighteen months and wish him well in his future endeavors."Chief operating officer Reuben September has been appointed as the acting chief executive officer. Molotsane is the third senior executive to leave Telkom in the past month, following Wally Beelders (sales and marketing) and chief technical officer Thami Msimango

Read the Rest from Tectonic


Reuben September is in Charge

Reuben September was appointed chief operating officer in September 2005. Prior to this appointment, he served as chief technical officer from May 2002 and as managing executive of technology and network services from March 2000. He has worked in various engineering and commercial positions in Telkom since 1977. He is a member of the Professional Institute of Engineers of South Africa (ECSA) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Cape Town. Mr September is also a director of Vodacom

from the Telkom Website

Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has sold its entire shareholding in Telekom Networks Malawi Ltd to MTL Mobile Ltd for US$16 million (RM55.2 million) cash.

In a statement on April 5, Telekom said the sale was part of a broader re-orientation of its international investment strategy to focus on geographic regions closer to home.

Telekom Malawi was set up in March 1995 pursuant to a joint-venture agreement between Malawi Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (now known as Malawi Telecommunications Ltd) and TM.

Telekom Malawi is a cellular telephone operator in Malawi with about 300,000 subscribers


Read the Rest in the Edge Daily

Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) has sold its entire shareholding in Telekom Networks Malawi Ltd to MTL Mobile Ltd for US$16 million (RM55.2 million) cash.

In a statement on April 5, Telekom said the sale was part of a broader re-orientation of its international investment strategy to focus on geographic regions closer to home.

Telekom Malawi was set up in March 1995 pursuant to a joint-venture agreement between Malawi Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (now known as Malawi Telecommunications Ltd) and TM.

Telekom Malawi is a cellular telephone operator in Malawi with about 300,000 subscribers


Read the Rest in the Edge Daily

Tanzania Uganda and Kenya to Lower Cell Phone Excise Tax

Tanzania Uganda and Kenya are looking to lower or remove excise duty levied on mobile phone airtime.

A study carried out last year by consultancy Delloitte for the association of mobile telephone operators, GSMA has indicated removal or reduction of excise would result in increases in tax receipts in the long term.

The decision to lower excise, if adopted, will be contained either in the next budget reading (2007/2008) or the financial year after (2008/2009).

Read the Rest from East African Business Week and All Africa.com

Uganda Telcom Exhibition Targets Small to Medium Entrepreneurs

Business expo starts today KAMPALA-The uganda telecom-sponsored exhibition for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is scheduled to start today.

The exposition will be held at Mulwana Hall at the Uganda Manufacturers Association’s showgrounds. The three-day interactive exhibition will have guest speakers offering advice and solutions for key concerns for the SMEs.

The exhibition will also benefit students and prospective entrepreneurs. Uganda Telecom’s chief commercial officer Hans Paulsen, said: “Small and medium businesses are the fastest growing segment in Uganda. We realise the importance of this group and have designed products tailored to their specific needs.”

Read the Rest from New Vision

IDirect and VSAT Terminals to Be installed in Libya

Phoenicia Group Libya LLC, (http://www.phoenicia-group.net), a leading U.S-Libyan diversified business and consultancy group, announced today its intention to deploy iDirect VSAT terminals in Libya for the first time, to support clients across Libya with more reliable, efficient and cost-effective satellite communications technology.

Al-Waha IT & Telecommunications, a subsidiary of the Phoenicia Group, provides DVB-RCS based turn-key integrated VSAT solutions; comprising systems and hardware procurement, installation, servicing and secure high-bandwidth dedicated Internet connectivity packages.

Read the rest from Only Punjab

China ZTE to Profide free WyFI internet Access to Mexico City

Mexico City's 8 million residents will get citywide free Wi-Fi access, along with some 4,000 closed-circuit security cameras, according to Mayor Mercelo Ebrard.The mayor signed an agreement with China telecommunications company ZTE Corp. this week to established a Wi-Fi network connecting schools and government offices. The agreement is expected to provide numerous jobs for Mexican residents, according to press reports."We hope in the coming months, throughout this government, we will have more Chinese and Mexican engineers working together to solve our technological problems," the mayor was reported to have said. The broadband wireless network is scheduled to be completed by 2008.
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The most populous city in the Western Hemisphere also will deploy some 4,000 security cameras, also to be connected via Wi-Fi. "The capital government is giving top priority to this project," Mayor Ebrard said.

Read the Rest from ITNews Australia

Wednesday 4 April 2007 09:41 AM CET

The World Bank Board of Directors approved an International Development Association (IDA) financing package of USD 164.5 million for Kenya, Burundi and Madagascar as the first tranche of the USD 424 million Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (RCIP) for high-speed internet connectivity in East and Southern Africa.

The region is being held back by the prohibitive costs of international connectivity. Businesses are unable to compete in the global economy; university students suffer because they cannot access the Internet; and Government agencies cannot communicate effectively with each other and their citizens because they are not connected.

The Board of Directors responded to the appeal and governments' requests for assistance by unanimously endorsing RCIP, which will bring affordable high speed connectivity to as many as 25 countries in East and Southern Africa. The USD 164.5 million first tranche of funding consists of IDA credits in the amount of USD 114.4 million to Kenya and USD 30 million to Madagascar, and an IDA grant in the amount of USD 20.1 million to Burundi.

Read the Rest from TelecomPaper

Tomasi Vakatora New FINTEL CEO

AMALGAMATED Telecom Holdings Limited's new acting chief executive is its company secretary, Tomasi Vakatora.

An ATH statement said the appointment was made by its board of directors at its meeting last Wednesday.The appointment took effect on Sunday.

Group chairman Kanti Tappoo said Mr Vakatora deserved the opportunity to serve at the helm of the company, having played key roles in the acquisition of ATH by the Fiji National Provident Fund in late 1998, developed the company into fully operational mode in early 1999 through to the public offer of ATH shares and the company's public listing in early 2002 and addressed numerous issues and challenges that ATH faced to date.

Read the Rest from Fiji Times

KIDANET ISP New Services

From March 7th Article
-Lee


Fiji's newest Internet Service Provider KIDANET has one big advantage. It has direct links to the Southern Cross Cable Network (SCCN) via its parent company, Fiji International Telecommunications Ltd (FINEL).

FINTEL... providing a choice for consumers.This, it says, will give it the edge over other ISPs in the market as it means-for those who buy its services-a direct link to the outside world without having to go through a local intermediary. So it has its money on this factor and not so much the pricing, although consumers are promised competitive prices-F$35 a month for a 128 kbps connection and unlimited download for instance, according to Jone Wesele, FINTEL's Commercial & Business Development Manager.

"It will be fast, affordable, good quality and with good customer service," he said. The company will, however, monitor downloads, as a lookout for abusers, mainly in the form of bypass operations considered illegal in Fiji.Scheduled for roll out this month, KIDANET's service will be delivered to its customers via BreezeMAX, a WiMAX certified product of Tel Aviv-based Alvarion Ltd, which means that consumers would be connecting to KIDANET via a wireless network that allows them to move around within the ISP's coverage area and stay connected.

KIDANET, a name that Wesele said has roots in the Fijian word "Kida", which means "to dawn", will offer high speed to broadband Internet connection to its customers.

The Rest from Island Business