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Ten African countries sign alliance for e-commerce
by alice 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Balancing Act Ten countries sign alliance for e-commerce Ten African countries have signed up to the "Pan African Alliance for E-Commerce," a new ICT based program launched by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA). The Alliance hopes to establish and encourage the use of “Single Window” across the continent, which is an electronic platform where traders undertake transactions online. The system is believed to reduce the need for paperwork. The main aim of the alliance is said will intensify cooperation and initiate common projects of interest to African countries and sub-regions. Senegal, Tunisia and Mauritius have such platforms, dramatically reducing the time it takes to clear customs in those countries. So far 10 African countries have signed with the alliance while a number of other countries are expected to join the alliance in the next few months Ibrahim Nour Eddine Diane, president of executive committee of the alliance, told journalists at the launching ceremony this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Cameron, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, DR Congo, Ghana, Morocco, Gabon, Libya, Togo and Kenya were listed as the 10 countries that have signed with the alliance. It is the first of its kind on the continent, and the signatories hope to encourage more countries to create their own single windows platforms that would become part of the wider network. The Pan-African Alliance on e-Commerce seeks to set up a framework for exchange of Single Window experiences in Africa and establish a mechanism to assist countries in the development of Single Windows. It also plans to ensure Africa’s representation in international forums and contribute to the development of the concept at a global level. Putting in place a platform of resources for facilitating the establishment of regional Single Windows and improving existing projects and facilitating cooperation with other regions of the world, notably through the establishment of pilot paperless projects with countries of Asia, Europe and America is also mentioned as main target of the alliance. In addition, the alliance also acts as focal point for development partners and international institutions active in the promotion of Single Windows in Africa. (Source: Africa News)

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POLE SIGANGA
by charles nduati 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

hi Brother Waudo, I saw a funeral mesage in the nation lats week, and I believe it concerns your family, so pole sana and may God sooth your souls. Kindly let us know of the arrangements Charles CHARLES N. NDUATI GENERAL MANAGER JKUAT ENTERPRISES LTD JOMO KENYATTA UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE AND TECHNOLOGY JUJA MAIN CAMPUS, THIKA P. O. BOX 79324-00200 NAIROBI, KENYA TEL: 254-067-52420 OR 254-067-52711 FAX: 254-067-52438 MOBILE:254-722728815 EMIAL:charlesnduati2002@yahoo.co.uk,cnduati@gmail.com,bm@jkuates.jkuat.ac.ke www.jkuat.ac.ke

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Food for thought : ICANN should be reformed before 'privatization']
by alice 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Dear All, This has just been released and is worth reading. Now, where do we, in Africa, stand in this debate? And how best could we promote the voices (if any?) of African business & Industry sectors and the Governments ? Pierre Dandjinou ICANN Should be Reformed Before "Privatization", Says New Study <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090317_study_icann_reform_before_privatizat…> http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090317_study_icann_reform_before_privatizat… * Mar 17, 2009 4:33 PM PDT * Comments: 1 <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090317_study_icann_reform_before_privatizat…> * Views: 568 Print <http://www.circleid.com/posts/print/20090317_study_icann_reform_before_priv…> Comment <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090317_study_icann_reform_before_privatizat…> By *CircleID Reporter* <http://www.circleid.com/members/501/> The Technology Policy Institute (TPI), an IT and communications policy think tank, has just released a paper proposing that "ICANN's governance structure should be dramatically reformed to make it more accountable before the current tie with the U.S. Department of Commerce is allowed to expire." The paper titled /"ICANN At a Crossroads: a Proposal for Better Governance and Performance"/ is written by Thomas M. Lenard, President and Senior Fellow at TPI, along with Lawrence J. White, Professor of Economics at the NYU Stern School of Business. The 52-page study also asserts that ICANN must have a clear focus on encouraging competition with minimal role as a regulator with respect to the creation of new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs). * * * *Executive Summary* The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)—the non-profit company that is at the center of the Internet—has operated under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) since 1998. The MOU was replaced in September 2006 by the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) between ICANN and the DOC, which expires in August 2009. At that time, a decision needs to be made about ICANN's future. Should the JPA tie with the U.S. Government be retained? Or should the link be wholly severed, as ICANN advocates? And, in either case, what governance structure would best promote Internet efficiency and innovation? This paper evaluates the structure and governance of ICANN to help inform the upcoming decision. In particular, it reviews ICANN's structure and functions, and also the structures of a number of other organizations that perform a roughly comparable range of private-sector and quasi-governmental coordination and standard-setting functions, to explore what might be applicable to ICANN. We find that although ICANN has control over extremely important aspects of the Internet, it is largely accountable to no one. No organization with ICANN's level of responsibility operates with the independence that ICANN enjoys, even under the current arrangement of nominal oversight by the U.S. Department of Commerce. ICANN's proposal for complete privatization and termination of the DOC's oversight would make the accountability problem worse. Virtually all of the organizations that we reviewed are governed by their direct users, and we believe that this would be a good model for ICANN as well; it would also be consistent with the reduced regulatory role that we envision for ICANN. Governance by its direct users—the registries and the registrars—would provide the external accountability that could allow for eventually ending ICANN's ties with the U.S. Government. However, we recommend that the new structure be permitted to operate for a while, to allow time for evaluation, before severing those ties. We also address the issue of ICANN's status as a de facto regulator. ICANN's recent proposal to expand the number of generic top-level domains (gTLDs) highlights a distinct choice between alternative regulatory approaches: On the one hand, ICANN could proceed under the assumption that the market for gTLDs is not (and perhaps cannot be) at least workably competitive (as the U.S. Government apparently believes). ICANN would then assume greater public-utility type regulatory responsibilities. Alternatively, ICANN could allow relatively free entry into the domain space, in order to bring the benefits of a competitive gTLD market to consumers. We favor the latter approach, which is consistent with our proposal concerning governance reform. For free entry to work well, however, ICANN needs a less costly mechanism for protecting the intellectual property associated with domain names in order to address the problems of defensive registrations and cybersquatting. Our specific recommendations are as follows: * The JPA should be extended beyond its current expiration date. In the absence of changes in governance along the lines that we recommend, the JPA is particularly important. If our recommended changes are adopted, they should be permitted to become established before allowing the JPA to expire. * ICANN should remain as a nonprofit organization, but its governance should be restructured, so that it is governed by and directly accountable to its direct users: the registries and the registrars. Seats on ICANN's board of directors could be rotated among the major operators in a manner that would reflect the diversity of viewpoints among registries and registrars. * ICANN should have a clear mission of encouraging competition. This implies a minimal role as a regulator with respect to the creation of new gTLDs. Instead, ICANN should adopt a relatively automatic way of introducing gTLDs, whereby any entity that meets a set of minimum technical and financial qualifications for being a registry should be able to be certified to become a registry for any gTLD that is not already taken. * For this "open entry" policy to be workable and beneficial, ICANN must also strengthen the protections for incumbent domain name holders, so that they are not subject to "nuisance" or "ransom" demands from new registries; adopting an IP registry and strengthening ICANN's "uniform dispute resolution policy" (UDRP) could be part of these improved protections. These four recommendations are complementary, and combined they would significantly further the goals of Internet efficiency and innovation. * * * *Related Links:* Lenard-White Study [PDF]: ICANN at a Crossroads: A Proposal for Better Governance and Performance <http://www.techpolicyinstitute.org/files/icann%20at%20a%20crossroads1.pdf> Press Release: ICANN Should be Reformed Before "Privatization" - Lenard-White Study Proposes New Governance Structure <http://www.techpolicyinstitute.org/news/show/23120.html> ITU Website: The Technology Policy Institute <http://www.techpolicyinstitute.org/> *Other sources:* UPDATED Mar 19, 2009 12:50 PM PDT ICANN at a Crossroads: Please Choose Carefully <http://blog.pff.org/archives/2009/03/icann_at_a_crossroads_please_choose_ca…> Mike Plage, PFF, Mar.19.2009 *Related topics:* DNS <http://www.circleid.com/topics/dns>, Domain Names <http://www.circleid.com/topics/domain_names>, Internet Governance <http://www.circleid.com/topics/internet_governance>, Policy & Regulation <http://www.circleid.com/topics/policy_regulation>, Top-Level Domains <http://www.circleid.com/topics/top_level_domains>

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The latest on Cybersquatting from WIPO
by alice 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

Latest Cybersquatting Stats from WIPO <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090316_latest_cybersquatting_stats_wipo/> http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090316_latest_cybersquatting_stats_wipo/ * Mar 16, 2009 12:23 PM PDT * Comments: 2 <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090316_latest_cybersquatting_stats_wipo/#co…> * Views: 686 Print <http://www.circleid.com/posts/print/20090316_latest_cybersquatting_stats_wi…> Comment <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090316_latest_cybersquatting_stats_wipo/#ad…> By *CircleID Reporter* <http://www.circleid.com/members/501/> Latest Cybersquatting Stats from WIPO According to latest reports from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO <http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/>), allegations of cybersquatting by trademark holders continued to rise in 2008, with a record 2,329 complaints filed under the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP <http://www.icann.org/en/udrp/udrp-policy-24oct99.htm>). This represented an 8% increase over 2007 in the number of generic and country code Top Level Domain (gTLDs and ccTLDs) disputes handled and brings the total number of WIPO cases filed under the UDRP since it was launched ten years ago to over 14,000. To improve efficiency and respond to growing demand, WIPO has proposed an "eUDRP Initiative <http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/amc/en/docs/icann301208.pdf>” [PDF] to render the UDRP paperless. *Countries Involved* Since the launch of the UDRP in December 1999 through December 2008, the WIPO Center has received 14,663 UDRP or UDRP-based cases—both gTLDs <http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/gtld/> and ccTLDs <http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/cctld/>—covering 26,262 separate domain names. US, France, UK, Germany, Switzerland and Spain were the most frequent bases for complainants, while the US, the UK, China, Spain, Canada, and France were the most represented countries by named respondent party. English was the most common language for WIPO case proceedings (86%) in 2008 as the majority of domain names involved were registered with US-based registrars. Cases were also processed in 12 other languages, including (in order of frequency) Spanish, French, Dutch, German, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Romanian, Russian, Hebrew and Portuguese. The character set of the disputed domain names themselves remained overwhelmingly ASCII (English alphabet), with a small number of names in Chinese, French, Hebrew, Spanish, and Swedish. *Generic TLDs Involved* The .com gTLD remained the solid leader in terms of the number of domain names included by complainants in cases filed with WIPO (79%). *Sectors Involved* According to data from WIPO, in 2008 cases covered a wide variety of sectors, reflecting prevailing public interest, business activity and upcoming events (e.g., Singapore Flyer observation wheel, Madrid 2016 Olympic bid, Montreal Jazz Festival, Golden Globes); transportation (e.g., Air France, Austrian Airlines, BMW, Lufthansa, Southwest Airlines, Subaru); hotels (e.g., Taj Hotels, InterContinental Hotels, The Sheraton/Westin Hotels); media and publishing (e.g., the BBC, Edmonton Journal, National Geographic, Harvard University Press); educational institutions (e.g., The John Hopkins University, Sydney University, Yale University, TOEFL); computers and electronics (e.g., Research in Motion's BlackBerry, computer manufacturer Gateway, Samsung); sports teams, leagues and personalities (e.g., English Premier League, the Arsenal Football Club, as well as its player Cesc Fàbregas, yachting's Volvo Ocean Race, former basketball star Dennis Rodman, Adidas); actors and personalities past (e.g., Ian Fleming, Gene Kelly) and present (e.g., Scarlett Johansson); fashion (e.g., Christian Dior, Lancôme); popular culture (e.g., Barbapapa, Bob the Builder, Marvel Comics' Xmen); numerical identifiers (e.g., 4711); and other familiar enterprises and groups such as Breitling, Canada Post, Coca-Cola, Ebay, Ghirardelli Chocolate, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Google, Hard Rock Café, LEGO, Nestlé, Ticketmaster, and Western Union. A case was also filed by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in relation to the Monticello estate. The top five sectors for complainant business activity were biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, banking and finance, Internet and IT, retail, and food, beverages and restaurants. WIPO's complete announcement can be found here <http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articles/2009/article_0005.html#3>. *Other sources:* UPDATED Mar 18, 2009 11:16 AM PDT WIPO Cybersquatting Report Ignores Real UDRP Trends <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090318_wipo_cybersquatting_report_ignores_r…> Antony Van Couvering, Mar.18.2009 WIPO's Misleading Release <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090317_wipo_misleading_release_domain_dispu…> Michael Geist, Mar.17.2009 Record Cybersquatting Cases As WIPO Seeks New Trademark Protections <http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/2009/03/16/record-cybersquatting-cases-as-wi…> IP Watch, Mar.16.2009 Record cases of 'cybersquatting' in 2008: UN <http://www.circleid.com/posts/20090316_latest_cybersquatting_stats_wipo/Cyb…> Reuters, Mar.16.2009 UN warns on new web domains <http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/15710d0e-1172-11de-87b1-0000779fd2ac.html> FT, Mar.16.2009 *Related topics:* Cybersquatting <http://www.circleid.com/topics/cybersquatting>, Domain Names <http://www.circleid.com/topics/domain_names>, Domain Registries <http://www.circleid.com/topics/domain_registries>, Law <http://www.circleid.com/topics/law>, Top-Level Domains <http://www.circleid.com/topics/top_level_domains>

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Re: [kictanet] Disturbing Advert or appropriate local content?
by Marie-Anne Kinyanjui 23 Mar '09

23 Mar '09

It is quite a disturbing ad... Walu, I think it would be prudent to alert the Advertising Practitioners Association - they have the power to remove controversial ads. I don't have their exact contacts but annette(a)accessleoburnett.co.ke and rmukoma(a)ibea.co.ke should be able to help. -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+mkinyanjui=nation.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+mkinyanjui=nation.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Pamela Sent: Friday, March 20, 2009 12:56 PM To: Marie-Anne Kinyanjui Cc: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions' Subject: Re: [kictanet] Disturbing Advert or appropriate local content? Dear Walu, You may also want to send your concern to the Chairman PSK (Pharmaceutical Society of Kenya) for some guidance, as there are regulations governing advertising of medicinal products. The email: pskkenya(a)yahoo.com, to the attention of Dr. Karanja, Chairman PSK pamela -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+pamela=cardiacimplants.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+pamela=cardiacimplants.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke ] On Behalf Of alice Sent: 20 March 2009 11:38 To: pamela(a)cardiacimplants.com Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Disturbing Advert or appropriate local content? I guess within the scramble for customers this is one example. This is a complex issue and people are likely to respond differently to this kind of content( indeed content generally). And it also depends on whether it is on television or radio, in a cinema film, on the Internet, in the press etc. So while you may find it offensive, I may find it very informative and educative. So what harm is this advert likely to cause our youth against any benefits? difficult to know/measure and again quite complex. So important to balance "harm and offence". Re: complaints process etc both institutions are responsible at various levels. best alice (Views expressed are personal and not a reflection of any of the institutions I am affiliated with) John Walubengo wrote: > By the way Alice, your post reminds me...there's this little Advert running on FM Radio stations about "the emergency pill". I must confess that I personally find it disturbing - particular when put in the context of our listening youth. > > I have a whole thesis on why it should be pulled off air and just wondering where to submit the same. Is it to CCK or Media Council? Either way, could someone share the email contact for receiving customer complaints against Media? > > walu. > > --- On Thu, 3/19/09, alice <alice(a)apc.org> wrote: > > >> From: alice <alice(a)apc.org> >> Subject: [kictanet] African media fragmentation piles the pressure on radio and TV stations as they scramble for audiences >> To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com >> Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> >> Date: Thursday, March 19, 2009, 10:12 PM >> (From Balancing Act) >> >> African media fragmentation piles the pressure on radio and >> TV stations as they scramble for audiences >> >> Once upon a time everyone knew what television and radio >> were and they played a key role in people's lives. >> Particularly for urban Africans they were the soundtrack to >> life, the sports match in the bar and the common >> conversations about television programmes. Nowadays in the >> more liberalised of African countries there are more >> television and radio stations than you can remember the >> names of and for the smaller group of the more well-off, >> there are pay TV channels, time-shifting and DVDs. And all >> that's before you take into account SMS information >> services and the Internet which are eating away at the edges >> of the audiences. Russell Southwood looks at the >> fault-lines. >> >> Dakar will shortly have 7 television stations, not >> including the three Pay-TV channels you can get if you can >> afford them or can pirate a service. Lagos has 13 television >> stations and perhaps three main Pay-TV channels. Kinshasa >> has over 40 television stations, many of which simply show >> pirated television content. In this circumstance, no channel >> will get more than 20-30% of audience share on a regular >> basis. >> >> Pay-TV may seem a very modest presence in most countries >> but because it is widely watched in public places, it >> audience reach is understated by its subscriber numbers. >> Furthermore, piracy means that a large number of additional >> subscribers (sometimes double the number) are watching >> without paying for content. >> >> Vernacular radio has exploded and the number of radio >> stations is exponentially larger than for television >> stations as many of them are much more local. Uganda has 150 >> stations and Kenya over 90. But whilst radio might have a >> wider and deeper audience reach than television, the >> fragmentation makes it difficult for advertisers to reach >> their audiences. >> >> The standard broadcasting formats that seemed to serve so >> well in less competitive times are now being taken apart and >> put back together by the viewers and listeners themselves. >> Legitimate and pirated DVDs provide a steady stream of >> relatively cheap entertainment, particularly of films. >> Recent releases may command a better price but three >> relatively old action action movies (Bruce Lee, Stephen >> Seagal, that kind of thing) can be bought for around US$2. >> PVRs, streaming and catch-up downloads will all become a >> reality as part of the dividend of cheaper bandwidth in >> 2009. >> >> Middle class Africans are using a growing array of devices. >> Laptop use is growing as sales of this kind of computer >> begin to equal those of desktop PCs. High-end smart phones >> like Blackberries and iPhones are increasingly visible. One >> African carrier has 800,000 high-end phones on its network. >> >> These devices are not just for doing work or making phone >> calls. They have become media in their own right. Recent >> surveys show that in North Africa 3-7% of the population >> cited SMS as one of their most used daily information >> sources. Likewise the Internet is set to have a much greater >> impact with the spread of broadband subscriptions. >> >> According to Alexa.com, Facebook and You Tube are already >> amongst the Top 10 sites in the African countries that it >> analyses. Again based on survey work, between 1-8% of the >> population used the Internet daily across a range of very >> different countries. With cheaper international bandwidth, >> these figures will increase slowly but surely. Mobile >> Internet will become cheaper and play an increasingly large >> role in people's lives. >> >> Current ad spend on the Internet and SMS is tiny but ad >> money will migrate as it gets larger. This is money that >> will most likely be lost to newspapers which seem the most >> vulnerable as the media landscape's tectonic plates begin >> to shift. >> >> So what can the African broadcaster do faced with all of >> this? There are two ways to stay in the game: by using new >> media to extend the appeal of interesting content across all >> platforms and by stealing new media's best ideas and using >> them to survive. Unfortunately too few TV stations have >> invested in convincingly local TV content that might well >> provide the adhesive that would keep viewers eyeballs glued >> to the their channel. >> >> This article is a summary of a more detailed analysis in >> the recently published African Film and TV Yearbook. A list >> of contents can be found by clicking on the following link: >> http://www.balancingact-africa.com/yearbook.html >> >> The second part of the Yearbook contains a full listing of >> African film and television companies broken down by country >> as well as a section with useful international addresses for >> anyone in the sector in Africa. There is also two specially >> focused listings: one looks at Film Location Agencies and >> Screen Commissions across the continent and the other lists >> companies and education institutions providing film and >> television training. >> >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> kictanet mailing list >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> >> This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com >> > > > > > _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: pamela(a)cardiacimplants.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/pamela%40cardiacimp lants.com _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: mkinyanjui(a)nation.co.ke Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mkinyanjui%40nation .co.ke DISCLAIMER: The information contained in or accompanying this e-mail is intended for the use of the stated recipient only. It may contain confidential, proprietary or legally privileged information. No confidentiality or privilege is waived or lost by any mistransmission. If you receive this message in error, please immediately delete it and all copies of it from your system, destroy any hard copies of it and notify the sender. You must not, directly or indirectly, use, disclose, distribute, print, or copy any part of this message if you are not the intended recipient. Any views or opinions presented herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Nation Media Group. �To get all breaking news alerts send the word BREAK to 6667 or visit http://mobile.nation.co.ke to read news on your mobile phone.�

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Book your Exhibition stand now
by Joseph Ochola 22 Mar '09

22 Mar '09

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Short-Term ICT Consultancies in Southern Sudan
by Shem Ochuodho 21 Mar '09

21 Mar '09

Opportunity has arisen for 2 short-term experts on Video-Conferencing and Government E-Mail System Development in Southern Sudan. Any communication should be addressed to the contacts given on the attachments. Shem J. Ochuodho, MSc (Eng), PhD, LLD (Hon) Senior Advisor Ministry of Telecom & Postal Services Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS), Juba Cell: +249-955-021-040/+256-477-232025/+254-734-137371 Skype: shem.ochuodho

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FW: 13th Executive Course on Telecom Reform, 20 - 24 April 2009, Cape Town, South Africa
by Edith Adera 21 Mar '09

21 Mar '09

FYI - for those interested in this course supported by IDRC. Edith adera ________________________________ From: CPRsouth [info(a)cprsouth.org] Sent: March 20, 2009 7:22 AM To: Khaled Fourati Subject: 13th Executive Course on Telecom Reform, 20 - 24 April 2009, Cape Town, South Africa Please forward this call to those interested in Telecom Reform in your organisation --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 13th Executive Course on Telecom Reform will be held from 20 - 24 April, 2009, in Cape Town, South Africa. It is being offered by the Edge Institute and the University of Cape Town Business School. Themed, ‘Connectivity and Convergence: Alternative Regulatory Strategies for Telecommunications’, the course is designed to enhance the strategic thinking of a select group of senior decision-makers in telecom and related sectors in Africa and elsewhere. After having been offered in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America, this executive programme is now being offered in Africa to meet the challenges it faces in this sector. Target delegate profiles include decision-makers in telecommunications and related sectors in Africa including government; regulatory agencies; operators; unions, ICT journalists, consumer groups and NGOs active in the sector Confirmed faculty members include Rohan Samarajiva, CEO of LIRNEasia, Alison Gillwald, Associate Director, the Edge Institute and Tracy Cohen, former Councillor on the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. Further details, including registration information, are available at http://www.gsb.uct.ac.za/gsbwebb/EMEBrochure.asp?intpagenr=583. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you and regards CPRsouth

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Nathan and the Mobile Operators
by Alex Gakuru 20 Mar '09

20 Mar '09

Interesting article...http://manypossibilities.net/2009/03/nathan-and-the-mobile-operat…

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African media fragmentation piles the pressure on radio and TV stations as they scramble for audiences
by alice 20 Mar '09

20 Mar '09

(From Balancing Act) African media fragmentation piles the pressure on radio and TV stations as they scramble for audiences Once upon a time everyone knew what television and radio were and they played a key role in people’s lives. Particularly for urban Africans they were the soundtrack to life, the sports match in the bar and the common conversations about television programmes. Nowadays in the more liberalised of African countries there are more television and radio stations than you can remember the names of and for the smaller group of the more well-off, there are pay TV channels, time-shifting and DVDs. And all that’s before you take into account SMS information services and the Internet which are eating away at the edges of the audiences. Russell Southwood looks at the fault-lines. Dakar will shortly have 7 television stations, not including the three Pay-TV channels you can get if you can afford them or can pirate a service. Lagos has 13 television stations and perhaps three main Pay-TV channels. Kinshasa has over 40 television stations, many of which simply show pirated television content. In this circumstance, no channel will get more than 20-30% of audience share on a regular basis. Pay-TV may seem a very modest presence in most countries but because it is widely watched in public places, it audience reach is understated by its subscriber numbers. Furthermore, piracy means that a large number of additional subscribers (sometimes double the number) are watching without paying for content. Vernacular radio has exploded and the number of radio stations is exponentially larger than for television stations as many of them are much more local. Uganda has 150 stations and Kenya over 90. But whilst radio might have a wider and deeper audience reach than television, the fragmentation makes it difficult for advertisers to reach their audiences. The standard broadcasting formats that seemed to serve so well in less competitive times are now being taken apart and put back together by the viewers and listeners themselves. Legitimate and pirated DVDs provide a steady stream of relatively cheap entertainment, particularly of films. Recent releases may command a better price but three relatively old action action movies (Bruce Lee, Stephen Seagal, that kind of thing) can be bought for around US$2. PVRs, streaming and catch-up downloads will all become a reality as part of the dividend of cheaper bandwidth in 2009. Middle class Africans are using a growing array of devices. Laptop use is growing as sales of this kind of computer begin to equal those of desktop PCs. High-end smart phones like Blackberries and iPhones are increasingly visible. One African carrier has 800,000 high-end phones on its network. These devices are not just for doing work or making phone calls. They have become media in their own right. Recent surveys show that in North Africa 3-7% of the population cited SMS as one of their most used daily information sources. Likewise the Internet is set to have a much greater impact with the spread of broadband subscriptions. According to Alexa.com, Facebook and You Tube are already amongst the Top 10 sites in the African countries that it analyses. Again based on survey work, between 1-8% of the population used the Internet daily across a range of very different countries. With cheaper international bandwidth, these figures will increase slowly but surely. Mobile Internet will become cheaper and play an increasingly large role in people’s lives. Current ad spend on the Internet and SMS is tiny but ad money will migrate as it gets larger. This is money that will most likely be lost to newspapers which seem the most vulnerable as the media landscape’s tectonic plates begin to shift. So what can the African broadcaster do faced with all of this? There are two ways to stay in the game: by using new media to extend the appeal of interesting content across all platforms and by stealing new media’s best ideas and using them to survive. Unfortunately too few TV stations have invested in convincingly local TV content that might well provide the adhesive that would keep viewers eyeballs glued to the their channel. This article is a summary of a more detailed analysis in the recently published African Film and TV Yearbook. A list of contents can be found by clicking on the following link: http://www.balancingact-africa.com/yearbook.html The second part of the Yearbook contains a full listing of African film and television companies broken down by country as well as a section with useful international addresses for anyone in the sector in Africa. There is also two specially focused listings: one looks at Film Location Agencies and Screen Commissions across the continent and the other lists companies and education institutions providing film and television training.

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