AfICTA e-Newsletter (February 27th, 2020)

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AfICTA e-NEWSLETTER 

27/February/2020 Vol 83

The Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) will be hosted by the Government of Poland in Katowice from 2 - 6 November 2020 under the overarching theme: Internet United...  read more

Dr. Jimson Olufuye presented the Pan - African Leadership Prize For Excellence

Dr Jimson Olufuye CEO Kontemporay Konsulting Lt. and Immediate Past Chairman AfICTA was presented with the Pan - African Leadership Prize For Excellence by the Pan African Student Movement (PASM) on the 17th February 2020. 

The award was a recognition award commending Dr Jimson on his work so far in the African ICT Space and his relentless effort at bringing light and the promise of the digital age to Africa. Amongst the 5-man delegate team from the Pan African Student who presented the award were: Hon. Kobehi Kossa, President of PASM; Ms Rita Okoro, Mr. Daniel Gozie, Njouku Obioma and  Mr. Igwe Franklin Ikechukwu ...  read more

COVID-19: ICANN to Hold First-Ever Remote Public Meeting

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today announced that its ICANN67 Public Meeting, which was to be held in Cancún, Mexico, will now be held via remote participation-only. This decision was made as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, considered a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization.

The meeting, scheduled for 7-12 March 2020, marks the first time in ICANN's history that it will hold a Public Meeting solely with remote participation.

Each ICANN Public Meeting attracts...  read more

Tackling Cybersecurity: Coronavirus Outbreak as a Challenge to Internet Safety

As the world battles to contain the novel coronavirus, which has so far affected 78,994 persons in 33 countries with a death toll of 2,470 as at February 23, 2020, internet fraudsters are also exploiting the desperation for information as a potential for cyber attack using social engineering and many other gimmicks. Due to the nature of the disease code-named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, WHO, there is so much anxiety over its spread and mode of infection.

As the world awaits a possible cure, every online information with an appendage of “coronavirus” tends to attract fast attention of internet...  read more

Rural Broadband Policy Framework: Connecting the Unconnected

Today, half of the global population still remains offline. The reality of the geographic divide is bleak: most of those offline are from low and middle income countries, and only 14% of rural areas have access compared to 42% in urban areas in countries of the Global South.

In order to achieve the universal goals for reducing inequality and achieving universal access by 2030, clear frameworks that can guide and speed up progress are crucial. The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI), in partnership with APC, CIPESA, DEF and Facebook, developed the Rural Broadband Policy Framework (RBPF) to provide guidance to help address the persistent ‘Digital Divide’ faced by people living in rural areas. Unique characteristics of rural areas for digital development... read more

Ethiopia Enacts Strict Social Media and Fake News Law

The Ethiopian government has enacted a new law, the Hate Speech and Disinformation Proclamation, which outlaws messages posted online "that could instigate violence or disturbance of public order." 

Critics have branded the legislation harsh and believe it could undermine free speech and digital rights. 

Online rights advocacy group Paradigm Initiative released a statement which reads in part: "The history of Ethiopia has always had the government keeping an upper hand on the citizens through oppressive laws and internet censorship... read more

Nigeria: AfICTA Partners EDTECH Summit 2020 for Sustainable Educational Technology

AfICTA - Africa ICT Alliance as a strategic partner of EDTECH Summit (Nigeria Largest Educational Summit) 2020 holding @ the Exhibition Pavilion by ICC, Abuja, Nigeria from 3rd - 4th March cordially invites the participation of stakeholders from academic to the 4in1 event featuring Conference, Awards, Exhibition and Sponsorship opportunities.

To obtain your free pass to attend the conference kindly register here​ Educational Technology (EdTech Summit) is the Nigerian leading annual professional development conference and exhibition focusing on technology integration strategies engaging... read more

Cameroon to Launch Digital Economy Development Centre

Cameroon plans to create a digital economy development centre, according to the country's Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Minette Libom Li Likeng.

Speaking at an event to celebrate the winners of the National Competition for Best Digital Innovation Prize of the Year 2019, the Minister said the Centre will be launched in 2020.

Techies behind Agrix Tech (AI app for detection of plant diseases), Smartscope (app to diagnose malaria) and Transport Intelligent... read more

Nigeria Targets 70% Broadband Penetration by 2025

The Nigerian government is collaborating with the UK government on a fresh national broadband policy and aims to increase broadband penetration to 70% by 2025. 

This was revealed by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, while receiving the draft report of the National Broadband Plan Committee 2020-2025. 

Committee members developed a new plan to replace the 2013-2018 National Broadband Plan. The new document will serve as a guiding template for further development of the telecommunications... read more

Vandalism Cost may be Passed to Phone Users

The rising cases of vandalism on telecoms infrastructure in the country would impact negatively quality of telephony services and slow fresh investments into the sector, the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has warned. 

Speaking on the recent attacks on telecoms infrastructure belonging to MTN and Airtel in Damaturu, Yobe state on Monday by the Boko Haram sect, the Chairman, ATCON, Olusola Teniola, said persistent cases of vandalism in the telecoms sector must be stopped now if the country really wants to ... read more

We'll do to money what emails did to physical letters – Patricia founder

A Nigerian technology and fintech company Patricia has reaffirmed its commitment to making business and physical transactions truly cashless in a few years’ time through bitcoins and cryptocurrency.

The company said they are in business to usher Africa into the digital age. “We are here to usher Africa into the digital age.

Imagine what email did to sending letters, we believe that money is going to be largely digital in a few years and when that time comes, Patricia is going to be at the forefront of the evolution,” the company noted in a recent interview ... read more

Kenya's Startups Dominate Mastercard EdTech Challenge in Africa

The Mastercard Foundation has selected 12 fellows for its inaugural EdTech challenge that will benefit from the Centre's support to expand their operations and improve secondary teaching and learning across the continent. 

Firms selected include Rwanda's O'Genius Priority, iCog Labs from Ethiopia, M-Shule, Kytabu Limited and Litemore from Kenya. Others are Chalkboard Education from Ghana, HITCH from Nigeria, Siyavula Education and Instill Education from South Africa.

The Fellows were selected after Africa-wide proposal...  read more

Phishing still a top cybersecurity risk in Africa: Study

Kenyans (75%) and South Africans (74%) are among the African countries most concerned about the risk of cyber crime, according to new research released by KnowBe4.

The study, which sampled eight economic power houses in the region including Kenya, South Africa Nigeria, Ghana, Egypt, Morocco, Mauritius and Botswana, found that the continent is ill prepared to deal with cyber crime.

The study found that at least 65% of Internet users in Africa are concerned about cyber crime, but that the majority still fall victim to phishing emails and malware infections ... read more

Uber Launches PIN Verification in South Africa

Uber has launched a new safety verification feature for South African users which allows them to use a PIN to verify their driver’s identity.

“Once enabled, the user will receive a four-digit PIN code in their app while the driver is en-route to the pickup location,” Uber said.

The user must then provide this PIN verbally to the Uber driver, who types it into their app. If the correct PIN is given, the trip can begin.

“This added layer of verification can help ensure users get in the right car and drivers are picking... read more

Egyptian House Approves Draft Law to Protect Personal Data

CAIRO – 24 February 2020: The Egyptian House of Representatives on Monday gave a final approval to a draft law proposed by the Cabinet that seeks to protect personal data by a two-thirds majority.

The law prohibits gathering or processing individuals’ personal data or spreading them by any means without the permission of the concerned individuals, except in cases authorized legally.

The law will be imposed on Egyptians inside the country and expatriates alike. It will be also enforced on non-Egyptians inside and outside Egypt as long as the data in question belong to Egyptian citizens or foreigners staying inside Egypt...  read more

Chargeable WiFi Zones Spotted in Nairobi

Safaricom is allegedly testing wireless internet access points in Nairobi, Kenya. According to a report by TechWeez, the mobile network provider could be using these designated WiFi zones to increase their consumer base.

“The operator is yet to clarify the operational model of the new Wi-Fi zones. All we can gather is that the routers are placed in key spots such as the KENCOM bus stop. The zone looks fairly new, so it is likely that other areas of interest will follow.”

These access points provide access to browsing and online content for as little as KES 10... read more

MTN Zambia Makes Non-expiry Mobile Data Bundles Available

MTN Zambia announced that it has launched a new range of non-expiry mobile data bundles – dubbed ‘Freedom bundles’. The Freedom bundles are added to existing mobile data bundles to offer customers more choice and to contribute to digital inclusion in Zambia. 

This introduction, the first of its kind in Zambia, means that MTN data customers can now load and use mobile data bundles that do not expire before they are exhausted.

MTN Zambia CEO, Bart Hofker says, “Zambia’s number 1 network has taken the lead in the industry by introducing the Freedom bundles. We know having this choice will delight many and we believe that it will also contribute to better data adoption and digital inclusion in Zambia”. .. read more

Is Kenya Ready for 5G Internet?

The 3G mobile network specifications were done in early 2000 but the commercial implementations hit Kenya around 2007. The 4G specifications were completed in 2010 and the commercial deployment introduced in Kenya around 2014.

The 5G technical specification was completed last year and its commercial deployment around the world is expected this year in 2020.

Kenya is likely to be one of the early adopters of the 5G technologies – but is Kenya ready for this new technology? And when we talk about readiness, we don’t mean in terms of deployment since mobile... read more

Is Kenya Tapping Its Vast Big Data Opportunities?

The term “Big Data” today attracts huge attention, mainly because of its power to help humans make informed decisions, turning it into an industry competition tool as new waves of business development sweep across Kenya’s corporate world.

It is helping startups, SMEs, corporates, government agencies, non-profits and individuals work more efficiently through the analysis of huge chunks of both structured and unstructured data to achieve higher operational mileage and predict future market demands. 

In a period of Industry 4.0 automation and business intelligence, Kenya’s quest...  read more

Africa's Datacentre Development Hinges on Engineering Skills

Pan-African Internet Exchange (PAIX) will launch and operate a new datacentre in Nairobi at the tail-end of 2020 in a move the company suggests will empower East African enterprises with more data management options.

The datacentre will have approximately 240 cabinets and provide 1 megawatt of power to customers. 

Construction is scheduled to begin in February 2020. 

Wouter Van Hulten, PAIX chief executive officer and founder said Nairobi is an ideal place to. ..  read more

Internet Price Thwarts Zambia's Progress with Access

According to the Digital 2020 Global Overview, published by We Are Social and Hootsuite, the number of internet users in Zambia increased by 595, 000 (16%) between January 2019 and January 2020, while the number of mobile connections increased by 861, 000 in the same period.

Statistics sourced through the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) shows that the number of mobile internet users stands at 9, 140, 666, representing 52.59% penetration rate.

Mobile subscription is pegged at 17, 220, 607, out of a population of 17.9 million, representing a 99.08% penetration rate. ..   read more

Liquid Telecom Announces First Fibre Service in South Sudan

Strive Masiyiwa, Group Executive Chairman of Econet Global, said the company's subsidiary Liquid Telecom has laid fibre in South Sudan's capital Juba - the first time this network infrastructure is available in the country.

A message posted by Masiyiwa on his Facebook page on Thursday 20 February 2020 read: "Liquid began its service South Sudan this morning at 8 am. I plan to do Juba's first Town Hall meeting beamed live by broadband before the end of next month." South 

Sudan will link to Liquid Telecom's network across the East Africa region including Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, and the Republic of Uganda...  read more

Safaricom to Bid for Ethiopia Telco License in April 2020

Kenya's dominant telecom operator Safaricom plans to officially make an offer to the Ethiopian government for one of two available telecommunications operating licenses in April 2020.

In November 2019, ITWeb Africa reported that Safaricom and Vodacom planned to submit a joint bid to enter Ethiopia.

At the presentation of Safaricom's financial performance for the six months ended 30 September 2019, interim chief executive officer Michael Joseph said Ethiopia has a market entry fee. ..  read more

Zimbabwe Plans US$6-million ICT Infrastructure Development Project

Zimbabwe's Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) has embarked on a US$6-million infrastructure development project to provide under-serviced and marginalised regions with access to ICT and telecommunications services.

The Passive Telecommunications Infrastructure Project, supported by the Universal Services Fund (USF), will enable the construction of 20 shared base stations to support connectivity to these regions. 

Passive infrastructure refers to non. ..  read more

Ramaphosa Negotiates Data Price Cuts with SA Networks

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted key issues facing the country during his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday, 13 February 2020. According to the Daily Maverick, it was “one of the most important State of the Nation Addresses in several years”.

Despite the obvious obstacles – Eskom failing to keep the lights on, Crippling unemployment rates and SAA running out of funding – Ramaphosa took the time to address another challenge – digital inclusion. 

He says that big data price cuts and free daily data allocation for users are being negotiated thanks to talks between the competition authority and SA’s largest network providers... read more