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Telkom SA to slow African expansion
Posted: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 04:18:49 PDT
South African fixed-line phone operator Telkom will not be making any new investments in telecommunications in Africa in the near future. Furthermore, the group’s Nigerian arm, Multi-Links, will be sold off to reduce losses, Telkom’s chairman said on Thursday.
“We are in a very advanced stage at the moment,” Lazarus Zim said when asked about plans to sell Multi-Links. He declined to give a timeframe or potential price for the sale.
Telkom announced in November that its board had mandated management to review options for the exit of the code division multiple access (CDMA) business in Nigeria. Multi-Links’ operating revenue for the six months ended September 2010 decreased 9% to R744-million and operating expenses declined 15.4% to R1.008-billion. The loss from operating activities narrowed by 29.4% to R262-million, Telkom said.
“We need to take decisive action in Nigeria and we have already communicated that we are exiting the CDMA business. Multi-Links is less of a headache for us because decisive action is near,” said Telkom’s newly appointed CEO, Pinky Moholi, when asked about the impending sale.
Telkom reported that normalised headline earnings per share from continuing operations decreased by 5.3% to 265.7c for the six months ended September 2010.
Group revenue declined 5.4% to R17.604-billion, with profit from continuing operations down 9.3% to R1.4-billion.
“At some point we had ambitions in Africa, but that was before the economic meltdown, and of course Telkom was affected, putting the brakes on the expansion side. That is not to say that Africa is not the frontier of our ambitions in the future. But it is important that we fix what is broken before we venture further into Africa going forward,” Moholi said, alluding to .
By Angela Meadon
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Gmail SMS launched in Uganda, Tanzania & Malawi
Posted: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 03:07:35 PDT
Google has created a way for it’s users to continue chatting with friends via Gmail, even when they’re away from their computers. In the past few weeks Google have added functionality to Gmail that allows users worldwide to chat over SMS with phone subscribers in Uganda (using MTN, Uganda Telecom and Orange), Tanzania (Vodacom), and Malawi (Airtel, TNM).
These countries join other African countries for which this feature has been added in the past year – Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and Zambia.
As a Gmail user, you can send SMSes to your friends for free, and when your friends reply, they will be charged the same as a regular SMS.
(Technical note: if you do not see the SMS interface in your Gmail, go to Settings->Labs and enableboth labs that contain the word “SMS”)
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Facebook for BlackBerry v2.0
Posted: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 02:12:33 PDT
Today Research In Motion (RIM) announced that it has launched a new, limited beta version of Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones.
Currently, Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones v2.0, is only available to beta testers registered through the BlackBerry Beta Zone. However, RIM has released photographs on their blog which illustrate the new “look and feel”. The new version provides a more integrated, compelling mobile Facebook experience and makes it even easier for BlackBerry users to keep track of friends, book meetings and add content to their profiles.
Key features of the app include:
- “Always On” Facebook Chat Notifications
- Redesigned Navigation Grid
- New Notifications Bar
- Improved News Feed Scrolling
- Enhanced Profiles
- Added Publisher Functionality
- Updated User Interface
Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones is the easiest way for BlackBerry users to access their Facebook account and stay connected to their friends, family and peers while on the go. There are currently well over 30 million monthly active users on Facebook for BlackBerry and approximately 21 million active daily users on Facebook for BlackBerry.
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Dreampark gets first African deal in Egypt
Posted: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:44:17 PDT
Egyptian Advanced Multimedia Systems (EAMS) announced it had chosen Dreampark Dreamgallery Middleware as part of its efforts to push forward on IT technology in the country. It is part of Dreampark’s continued movement to enter emerging markets and is the first such agreement with any company in Africa.
EAMS is the Egyptian provider of IPTV services and, according to a press statement from the companies, will “showcase Dreampark’s position as the leading IPTV middleware provider in Europe.”
The deal was based on the coverage area of Nilesat Satellite, the Middle East’s leading satellite television provider.
The new project is expected to implement some 50 regional head ends annually for the first five years of the project.
“Dreamgallery maximizes flexibility for regionalized administration and customization for this type of operator,” it said in the statement. “Along with uncompromised speed and performance, by taking advantages of the powers of open standards, such as HTML and SVG, it means that EAMS can provide new features to their customer base while pushing revenue-generating opportunities,” it added.
“We are making a huge investment in IPTV and our choice of middleware provider is a vital part of making this project a success. Dreampark has a flexible enough solution to offer us exactly the right elements for our IPTV system,” said Tarek Malash, CEO of EAMS.
“The expertise they have gained through deployments all over Europe, has led us to choosing Dreampark as our IPTV middleware platform provider, giving us confidence that they can exceed our expectations,” added Mohamed Swidan, CTO of EAMS, in the company’s statement.
By Staff
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Orascom to get Algeria valuation by end of May
Posted: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:41:12 PDT
Naguib Sawaris, CEO, Orascom (Image: file photo) The Algerian government and Orascom Telecom of Egypt are eagerly awaiting a valuation report by consultants hired by the North African country to determine the future of a row between Orascom’s local Djezzy unit and the government.
According to the Algerian government, it plans to nationalize the Egyptian parent company’s assets after a battle over back taxes and the unit’s ownership left the two entities rattled earlier this year.
Algeria’s Communications Minister Moussa Benhamadi told Reuters that the valuation was to determine the course of action monetarily with the Egyptian company.
Uncertainty over how long the nationalization will take and how much Algeria will pay for the lucrative unit had hampered a multi-billion-dollar deal for Russia’s VimpelCom to buy Orascom Telecom assets.
On Thursday, shareholders in Amsterdam narrowly approved the merger, as reported on itnewsafrica.com.
By Jonathan Terry
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Egypt telecom merger with Russian carrier approved
Posted: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:37:37 PDT
A merger that appeared headed for the dumpster was approved on Thursday in the Netherlands by VimpelCom shareholders. The move means Egypt’s Orascom Telecom is set to merge with the Russian carrier’s eastern European operations, adding to the vast network established by Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris.
In Cairo, analysts said the move is likely to create more liquidity for Sawiris and Orascom as they battle the rising power of the country’s third mobile operator Etisalat, who announced this week it was looking to invest billions in increasing its footprint in Egypt and the region.
“For Sawiris, that was definitely a sign of a battle coming between his company and Etisalat, so to get the approval for the merger is going to help Orascom in Egypt and abroad to continue to grow,” said Hossam Mekki, a telecom and securities analyst with CT Securities in Cairo.
The merger of the two telecom titans was being watched with interest by Wind Mobile, a Canadian company financed by Orascom.
According to reports, the deal with VimpelCom and Orascom could mean financial security and an increase in operational strength for the startup telecom company.
By Staff
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Trends in cyber security for 2011
Posted: Fri, 18 Mar 2011 00:25:20 PDT
Fred Mitchell, Symantec Division manager at Drive Control Corporation (Image: file photo) As more and more people around the world become part of the global network that is the Internet, the number and variety of cyber threats increases correspondingly. And as cyber security evolves to meet the changing nature of these threats, so too do the threats themselves evolve and become ever more sophisticated, ready to claim their next victims.
The recently released MessageLabs Intelligence 2010 Annual Security report highlights the fact that the 2010 security landscape was “shaped by the technological advances made in more sophisticated forms of malware as the cyber criminals continued to find new and innovative ways to attack computers and businesses”. Some of the key findings of the report were that the global average spam rate increased in 2010 to account for 89.1% of all emails sent, and that there has been a marked increase in local language spam, with only 90% of spam messages now sent in English. In 2010 spammers also produced many messages relating to major newsworthy events, among them the FIFA World Cup, in an attempt to engage their victims’ interest.
The use of URL link shortening services has also been gaining prevalence in spam messages, as these shortened links can more easily conceal suspicious site names. As a result of their common use in social networking these links, such as bit.ly, TinyURL, and goo.gl, are more trusted than they should be and cyber criminals are beginning to take full advantage of the fact. The use of targeted email campaigns, known as spear phishing, has also grown, almost doubling in prevalence from 2009 to 2010.
On top of this the number of malicious websites has increased, with the report highlighting that the “average number of web sites blocked as malicious each day rose to 3,188 compared with 2,465 in 2009.” The sheer number of different malware strains has increased a hundredfold, according to the report, with more than 339 600 strains identified in blocked emails.
The statistics around the ever increasing and ever more sophisticated levels of cybercrime make one thing abundantly clear – protecting yourself and your machine from these threats is of the utmost importance, as the end goal of the majority of spam is to part victims from their hard earned cash. One of the most important ways for people to protect themselves and their businesses is to have a comprehensive security system in place on any and all machines that have access to the Internet as well as machines that can be accesed by USB or are connected to a network. This security needs to include anti-virus, anti-spam, firewalls, phishing protection, identity protection, protection from rootkits, worms and bots as well as continuously updated definitions in order to keep up with the constantly evolving nature of the threat.
The second aspect of cyber protection involves education around the threats themselves so that people are aware of what to protect themselves against, and the MessageLabs report forecasts a number of trends to be aware of for 2011.
The first of these is the fact that spam is predicted to become more culturally and linguistically diverse than ever before. With the increasing number of internet users in emerging economies we will see a decrease in the number of English language attacks and a rise in spam in other languages local to the regions where the spam is being directed. This means that it is no longer safe to assume that if a message is not in English it is not spam, and users need to be aware of this shift in order to protect themselves.
Secondly malware specialisation is a trend that is set to grow in 2011. In 2010 the range of targets broadened beyond PCs and servers with the Stuxnet Trojan, which attacked programmable logic controllers. Specialised malware that is designed to attack physical infrastructures is something to look out for this year, with attack targets predicted to include smart phones as well as less obvious but still critical systems such as power grid controls. As the report states: “any technology that can be exploited for financial gain or influence will become a potential target.” It has also become apparent that routers have serious vulnerabilities that allow hackers to re-route traffic to malicious sites, such as false online bank accounts. This makes it vital to ensure that not only PCs and servers are protected but also all peripheral devices that connect to the internet as well.
Malware attacks based on current events and hot internet topics will continue to rise, as cybercriminals are beginning to proactively identify websites that are likely to see higher than normal levels of traffic, and compromise these target sites to take advantage of this fact. This trend is already in evidence with a large number of malicious sites being linked to the earthquake and tsunami disaster in Japan, including a social networking driven scam where users are tricked into clicking on links which claim to be raw CNN footage of the Japanese tsunami.
Targeted attacks are set to increase, driven by increasing automation of the research required to create these attacks, and the range of industries hit by these attacks is predicted to diversify as attackers seek indirect entry into organisations by exploiting contractors and suppliers rather than directly targeting individuals within the organisation.
Another worrying trend that we can expect to see emerge, on the back of the anticipated roll out of social networks and online marketplaces introducing their own virtual currencies, will be attacks designed to exploit these new avenues for financial fraud. This will include specialised malware, rogue applications and phishing attacks. These virtual currencies may also be used as a means of laundering money across international boundaries.
In an increasingly connected and virtual world the likelihood of individuals falling victim to a wide range of malicious cyber activities increases. To avoid becoming one of these statistics it is important to have sophisticated security software coupled with a sharp awareness of the nature of the threats. The reality is that cybercrime will only continue to grow, as it has high profitability coupled with low prosecution rates, making it an attractive method for those with unscrupulous intent.
By Fred Mitchell, Symantec Division manager at Drive Control Corporation
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MTN shuffles executives in WECA region
Posted: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:01:32 PDT
Mr Ahmed Faroukh has been appointed as MTN Group’s Vice President (VP) of the West and Central Africa (WECA) region. This change in leadership was announced by the Group in a press statement issued in Accra this week.
Faroukh has served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MTN Nigeria for almost five years and acting VP for the WECA region. The WECA region is made up of Nigeria, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Liberia and Benin.
The statement issued by MTN group said that Brett Goschen, the CEO of MTN Ghana since 2006, had been appointed as Faroukh’s successor as the new CEO of MTN Nigeria. Before coming to Ghana, Goschen, a chartered accountant, served as Chief Financial Officer of MTN Nigeria from 2002 to 2006.
In Ghana, Goschen will be replaced by Michael Ikpoki, the Sales and Distribution Executive for MTN Nigeria. Mr Ikpoki joined MTN Nigeria as Regulatory Advisor in 2001 and was promoted to General Manager: Regulatory Affairs in 2004.
MTN Group President and CEO Phuthuma Nhleko congratulated the executives on their appointments.
“Faroukh’s contribution to MTN Nigeria as well as to the WECA region has been most valued and appreciated. Goschen’s wide experience and in-depth knowledge of MTN Group and MTN Nigeria makes him aptly equipped to lead MTN Nigeria.”
“Through his exposure to various facets of the business, Ikpoki has gained extensive experience in public policy, stakeholder engagement, as well as exposure to sales and distribution and commercial operations at a senior level,” Nhleko said.
By Angela Meadon
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Kenya: ZTE to install 3G network
Posted: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 05:22:30 PDT
Mickhael Ghossein, CEO, Telkom Kenya (Image: file photo) France Telecom SA’s Kenyan unit awarded a $47 million contract to ZTE Corp. to build a third-generation mobile-phone network that it expects to help double it’s subscriber base by the end of the year. France Telecom owns 51 percent of Telkom Kenya, which trades under the Orange brand name. The remaining shares are held by the Kenyan government.
Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, as well as Mombasa and Kisumu will benefit from the majority of the 1,500 3G base stations that ZTE will install, Telkom Kenya Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Mickael Ghossein told reporters today. These base stations will be installed during the next two months.
“We expect to double our subscribers from the current 2.3 million active customers by the end of 2011,” Ghossein said.
“We expect data services to be the main revenue drivers going forward and the 3G network will enhance our service delivery through faster downloads,” Ghossein said.
Recent regulatory changes, which forced the mobile telecoms operators to halve the interconnect charges (the rates that operators charge each other to connect voice calls across networks) have led to Kenyan mobile operators relying more on data for revenue. The regulatory changes also led to operators cutting call costs and, in some cases, offering free “off-peak” calls.
Telkom competes with Safaricom Ltd., East Africa’s biggest mobile operator, Airtel Kenya Ltd., a unit of New Delhi-based Bharti Airtel Ltd., and Essar Telecom Kenya Ltd., a subsidiary of Essar Group.
3G networks enable faster data transmission and allow mobile-phone users to download rich content, such as music and video, to their handsets. The system being installed by ZTE will provide download speeds of 21 megabytes per second, Ghossein said. Safaricom, the only other operator of a 3G network in Kenya, offers speeds of as much as 7.2 megabytes per second, according to the company’s website.
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Uganda stops MTN from blocking calls
Posted: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 03:09:05 PDT
Uganda has ended any visions MTN’s local unit had of blocking calls to competitor Uganda Telecom – owned by Libya – after the company last week had threatened to bar customers from phoning people with the other network.
It comes as the row between MTN and Uganda Telecom (UTL) continues. According to a statement last week by MTN, the Libyan-owned company owes MTN massive amounts of money after it was given a series of loans by Africa’s largest mobile operator.
The government said it has intervened in order to ensure there would be no disruption of services for citizens, a press release from Uganda’s ministry of communications said.
“The government has reached an agreed position with both parties to resolve the matter amicably as soon as possible,” Communications Minister Aggrey Awori told reporters.
The threats were obviously serious, after MTN announced last week it planned to cut the service.
“MTN customers will therefore be unable to place direct calls to UTL subscribers, and vice-versa,” the statement last week from MTN read. “This action has been necessitated by UTL continuously defaulting on the settlement of its interconnect payments, amounting to about Shs 20 billion accumulated over a period of three years.”
For now, at least, calls from mobiles to either network have not been affected.
By Staff
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US, Nigeria, Ghana top online fraud list
Posted: Thu, 17 Mar 2011 02:59:41 PDT
Nigeria, Ghana & United States rated highest in online fraud (Image: wylio.com) Nigeria, Ghana and the United States were the top online fraud perpetrators in attacking United Kingdom merchants, payment company CyberSource reported. They also added that fraud levels are at new high levels and have forced many orders from the three countries to be turned down by British enterprises.
The analysis of some 200 companies revealed that 55 percent of all UK companies refused to ship to Nigeria, 34 percent to Ghana and a shocking 25 percent to the United States.
The average fraud rate, the company said, was now 1.6 percent of orders, down from 1.8 percent in 2009, with digital retailers suffering the highest rates overall. Rejection rates for online sales are now 5 percent.
Even digital downloads were not being sent, with nearly half of all UK companies saying they would not do business with those located in Nigeria.
“The absence of physical products creates a different eCommerce environment for digital goods merchants and as a result, they experience their own set of fraud management challenges,” said report co-author, CyberSource’s Akif Khan.
“Their geographically diverse customer base requires the adoption of more sophisticated tools, like device fingerprinting, to help identify instances of cleaner fraud; ultimately detecting more fraud, first time,” he said.
By Jonathan Terry