The week in review

At home

COMMUNICATIONS Minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri says she had received the long-awaited final report on an investigation into the board activities in the South African Post Office, and would analyse it before she considered releasing it to the public. – Business Day

CELLPHONE company Vodacom said its South African staff would buy a quarter of a stake worth R7.5 billion that it would set aside for sale to black investors. Vodacom`s 4 300 permanent employees would probably buy a stake before year-end. – Bloomberg

JSE-LISTED EOH Holdings, a consultancy services, technology and outsourcing company, reported that its profit after tax increased 26% to R21.5 million for the six months to January. The group said that its revenue increased 27% to R301 million for the same period. EOH executive director Rob Sporen said the company, with a market capitalisation of about R500 million, had set itself the target of being a R2 billion company by 2012. – Business Day

MORE NEEDS to be done to educate South Africans on the benefits of using their cellphones to bank to bring more people into formal banking, according to a study by FinMark Trust funded by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor, the United National Foundation and the Vodafone Group Foundation. – Business Day

ESQUIRE Technologies, a distributor of computer hardware, peripherals and lifestyle products, has begun construction of its R29 million Midrand head office. Rapid expansion over the last two years prompted the project, which is scheduled for completion in September.

Into Africa

BOTSWANA: Telcomms regulator, the Botswana Telecommunications Authority says it is ready to receive applications for service neutral licences after a policy sanction last year. The new licensing follows the announcement of further liberalisation of the telecoms market by the Minister of Communications, Science and Technology last year. The three existing operators - Mascom Wireless Botswana, Orange Botswana and Botswana Telecommunication Corporation - have the option to apply for new public telecoms operator licences. – Mmegi/The Reporter

BOTSWANA: After suffering initial setbacks, the privatisation of the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation is back on course, Communications, Science and Technology Minister has told Parliament. Penolomi Venson-Moitoi said that the evaluation of bidders for the transaction advisor has been complete and a team of experts is expected in place by April. – Mmegi/The Reporter

EAST AFRICA: With the recent signing of the supply agreement in SA, the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation has become part of the Eastern African Submarine Systems (EASSy) consortium. The signing ceremony was hosted by SA`s Telkom, which also joined the consortium. – Mmegi/The Reporter

ETHIOPIA will host the World Information Technology Forum in August, the Ethiopian Information and Communication Technology Development Agency announced last week. – The Daily Monitor

GHANA: The three year long bidding war for the second national telecoms operator, Western Telesystems (Westel), came to a nail-biting close last Friday when Kinz Telecom was advised that it was the winner out of the four shortlisted bidders. Not only did Kinz beat the asking price of $65 million asked for by the transactional advisers, it also pledged to absorb the c40 billion plus debts in the books of Westel, and also proposed to invest $500 million in cash and equipment and replicate a social responsibility agenda on women, education, youth, sports development and technology transfer. – Ghanaian Chronicle

KENYA: The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) cancelled a tender for the second national operator licence that it had awarded Reliance Communications, after the consortium failed to pay its fees. This is the second cancellation, after CCK annulled the licence it had given a consortium led by Dubai-based Vtel Holdings in January, for failing to pay the $169 million licence fee it had bid. Reliance, which was the second highest bidder at $111 million, was allowed to apply for the licence, but on condition that it matched Vtel`s bid. – The Nation

NAMIBIA: Cell One, the second mobile operator in Namibia, officially launched its services last Friday, offering Namibians a choice in the cellular communications market. This will provide competition to cellphone operator MTC and Telecom`s Switch service. – The Namibian

NIGERIA: The federal government awarded 3G telecoms licenses to the nation`s three major GSM companies and a relatively unknown operator, Alheri Engineering Co., to enable them expand their scope of operation. Alheri and the other companies, MTN Nigeria Communications, Celtel Nigeria and Globacom Nigeria, are expected to each pay the $150 million fee within 14 business days of award of the provisional licence, industry sources said. – This Day

UGANDA: Telkom could still be in the running for a stake in Uganda Telecom, after press reports emerged that the Liberian government had not sewn up the deal, say analysts. Earlier this month, Ugandan publication NewVision reported Libya Africa Portfolio`s (LAP`s) Green Com had acquired majority shares in Uganda Telecom. However, it has since emerged the Ugandan telecoms firm has not been acquired, either by LAP or any other company. Mark Kaheru, the company`s marketing communications officer, said negotiations were still under way. – ITWeb

UGANDA: Uganda telecom has beaten bullish competitor MTN Uganda to the Uganda Revenue Authority`s lucrative ICT deal. The $2.514 million contract, funded by Britain`s Department for International Development, will provide voice and data communication services to connect over 60 stations at the tax body. – East African Business Week

Abroad

A CALIFORNIA judge dismissed charges against Patricia Dunn, the former chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard, in a corporate spying case that gained national attention and prompted Congressional hearings on the protection of personal telephone records. The ruling came just hours before shareholders met at their annual meeting to assess the state of HP after one of the most tumultuous years in its history. – New York Times and Reuters

COMPANIES that provide television over Internet technology (IPTV) joined forces last week to set a single global standard, so that all systems would work together. The Open IPTV Forum is backed by Ericsson, Matsushita`s Panasonic, Philips, Samsung Electronics, Siemens, Sony, AT&T, Telecom Italia and France Telecom. Not on the starting list are Alcatel-Lucent and Microsoft, the market leaders and alliance partners in IPTV networks and software. The founding companies said they will hammer out technology requirements by September and a first set of technology specifications by year-end. – Reuters

CISCO Systems has agreed to acquire the online meeting company WebEx Communications for about $3.2 billion in cash, furthering its push beyond its core market for networking gear and into business communications. – New York Times

VODAFONE has clinched a deal with Essar to secure operational control of India`s fourth-largest cellphone group, Hutchison Essar, expanding into the world`s fastest-growing major cellphone market. The deal gives Essar an option to sell its 35% stake in the Indian operator to Britain`s Vodafone for $5 billion between the third and fourth anniversaries of the deal`s completion, expected in a few weeks. Alternatively, Essar could sell shares worth $1 billion - $5 billion in the renamed Vodafone Essar to Vodafone at an independently appraised valuation. – Reuters

THE INDIAN President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam inaugurated the Commonwealth Connects International e-Partnership Summit in New Delhi, India on March 23, to highlight the growing importance of electronic communications in global commerce and development. The forum is a high-profile launch event for the Commonwealth Connects Programme, which will bring together ICT ministers from around the Commonwealth, regulatory officials, CEOs of ICT enterprises, senior government officials, and representatives of international agencies and civil society.