As I wrote this the news was breaking about the PlayStation Network hacking. The first details were basic but disturbing: up to 77 million people’s personal details, including credit card information, may have been stolen by hackers. Playstation’s Network, its online marketplace, was launched in 2006 and allows users to buy and play games, music and films on their PlayStation consoles. The numbers of people affected are frightening (although this hasn’t been the biggest hacking in history) and no doubt in time, details will emerge on how it happened and who did it. This is just another example of the tit-for-tat race isn’t it? Report breaks: Company XYZ hacked. Company builds better software. Hackers get better… At stake is the gold mine called intellectual property. It’s a symptom of the rise of cybercrime that has moved from ATMs to social networking mediums. Rest assured – it’s going to get more prevalent. We investigate the issue on page 66.

The need to cut down on crime is the subject of another of our features. This time we look at Rica, the South African act to prevent mobile phones being used by criminals. Read the article on page 73 to see the latest update.

The way the mobile phone market has exploded in Africa has been excellent for a variety of reasons. In previous years Africa wasn’t considered a target for the mobile phone marketers, with poverty and a lack of infrastructure cited as some of the problems. The continent has proved all that wrong. By the end of last year mobile phone subscriber numbers amounted to half a billion – and it’s mostly all down to prepaid, which seems perfect for low-income subscribers in particular. The perfection comes with some drawbacks too and we tackle those on page 30.

Phones are the first step on the ICT road but what about education? There are several projects ranging from cheap laptops to television learning programmes. Read our article on page 46 to get the full picture of the situation and how some clever schemes are paying dividends.

On the infrastructure front we reveal on page 60 that although the continent is fast catching up with the rest of the world it’s still between five to 10 years from being fully connected. When that happens the corresponding rise in social upliftment will be breathtaking.

One country that is experiencing that sort of ICT boom right now is Namibia, long renowned for its wide open spaces, wildlife and deserts. Our feature on page 52 details exactly how the Namibians are benefiting from their exposure to the West Africa Cable System, along with some innovative thinking on the part of government and business.

Partnerships have also reaped great rewards in other countries as telcos have linked up in creative collaborations in response to competitive forces. Read all about it on page 40.

Patrick Farrell

Gizmos & gadgets – The latest hot technology

Sound bytes – News and developments from the industry

Radar – Arthur Goldstuck on mobile’s potential

Destination future – Telkom Group CEO Nombulelo ‘Pinky’ Moholi

Pay it forward – Africa’s prepaid mobile market is booming

Allied forces – Telco partnerships

Connecting the dots – How ICT solutions can improve rural education

Desert rose – Namibia’s sterling ICT reputation

Cable ties – Undersea fibre infrastructure

Lock IT down – Cybercrime’s new platforms

First name basis – Looking at Rica

What’s on – Conferences and exhibitions