If, like me, you often find yourself staring imploringly at the progress bar at the bottom of your web
browser, you’ll be glad to hear that things are about to change. Or at least that’s what those in the
know say.

The landing of the Seacom and TEAMs undersea cables are expected on the shores of Africa later
this year and hopefully, along with them, cheaper and faster internet access. According to some experts, subscribers can expect drastic price reductions and vastly improved speed. And it’s not going to stop there, as other projects, due for completion over the next few years, will further bolster this progress.

While the growing submarine cable infrastructure will play a fundamental role in improving – and in many cases linking – several countries for the first time, it is the on-the-ground infrastructure of the various networks that will determine the ultimate success of these projects. Arthur Goldstuck wraps his head around this conundrum in his Radar column on page 17.

While many countries in Africa display a relatively high level of ICT infrastructure and take for granted such things as secure, stable and relatively affordable broadband access, well-regulated telecoms and a high level of PC penetration, there are many countries where this is not the case.

Take Sierra Leone for example. This war-ravaged country is slowly but surely pulling itself to its feet and
ICT is playing a pivotal role in these efforts. Many of the projects aimed at developing the country are making use of ICT to engage and connect the youth, providing the opportunity to earn an income, share experiences, develop skills and hopefully contribute to improving the social and economic situation of this post-conflict country. You can read more about this in Kerry Dimmer’s article on page 44.

When talking about the transformation and development of ICT in Africa one cannot help but consider the role of free and open source software (FOSS). While the developed world may regard FOSS as a demon from the deep, on this continent it could very well be the answer to a myriad problems, one of which is the scandalously high costs of most proprietary software.

But it’s not just computer geeks who are interested in fiddling about with the inner workings of FOSS applications. Governments, academic institutions and even large corporates (from banks to global shipping companies) are investing heavily in this type of software, transforming both their network and desktop environments. Some of these organi-sations have also used the foundations of this software to create new applications specific to their needs. True African ingenuity at work! More on this topic can be found in David le Page’s article “Free for all’ on page 28.

While Africa continues to stun the world when it comes to the uptake and spread of mobile technology (the continent now boasts more mobile connections than North America), vast areas of rural Africa fall outside the range of both wired and mobile telecoms. But it seems as though the all-but-forgotten satellite phone may have an important role to play as a modern-day payphone – providing not only invaluable connections for friends and family, but also business opportunities for rural entrepreneurs. Read more on page 50.

JAMES RETIEF

Like most people, I’m pretty reliant on technology to get me through the day. From my clock radio, electric toothbrush and my car’s on-board computer telling me when it next needs a service to my trusty desktop computer bringing me the latest market prices and world news, there’s not much I do that isn’t somehow affected or influenced by technology.

These items all display varying types and degrees of technology. My reliance on them also varies:
dead battery – no problem, I’ll just brush my teeth the old-fashioned way. Glitch in my car’s on-board computer: not so great as I could find myself stranded on the highway in the middle of the night. But my biggest reliance, I’m loathe to admit, is probably on my mobile phone. And I know it’s an awful cliché,
but how I managed before having one I just don’t know.

But it’s not just about the convenience of being able to make calls any time, any where, or being contactable any time, any where. Many of us carry smartphones and we increase our levels of reliance on these small gizmos by using them to store valuable and important information including detailed address books, documents and most importantly to some, diary information.

So when they start malfunctioning or, heaven forbid, die, the consequences are dire. If you’re conscientious you’ll have been syncing your phone with your desktop or making backups to the removable memory card. But if you’re not and you haven’t been doing so, you might find yourself with a really big problem when your phone unexpectedly throws in the towel.

My slinky little Finnish handset has been plagued by a mysterious problem since I switched it on for the very first time. It’s been sent away for repairs, I’ve updated the operating software at least twice and, on occasion and usually accompanied by a severe sense of humour failure, actually given it a smack. Trawling the net for solutions has provided no joy – just the rantings of a bunch of other hapless saps suffering from the same strange glitch in this particular model’s matrix. So now, after years of unwavering brand loyalty, it’s time to send my Nordic friend to wherever it is those that don’t make it to Valhalla go.

For those with fully functional mobile phones read Rodney Weidemann’s article on the world of mobile e-banking. With far more people in Africa having access to mobile phones than bank accounts, the move to using this technology for financial transactions is set to revolutionise the continent’s banking sector.

The importance of the role of ICT in the development of Africa cannot be disputed. Recent studies have shown, however, that the continent is suffering a severe shortage of ICT-skilled professionals. Lance Harris investigates the steps being taken by both business and governments to develop and retain these all too important skills.

We also look at the state of affairs around satellite communication in Africa, the developments taking place and who the main players are.

So while the world is racing to bigger and better things, I’ll be starting the process of finding a bigger (in terms of data naturally) and better handset – compiling spreadsheets to compare battery life, megapixels, and data capacity. In the meantime I’ll leave you with this piece of sage advice – backup, backup, backup. Oh, and don’t forget to charge the battery.

James Retief

IN THIS EDITION:

Gizmos & gadgets – The latest hot technology

Sound bytes – News and developments from the industry

Radar – Arthur Goldstuck on Africa’s undersea cables

Evolutionary leader – Telkom CEO, Reuben September

Mobile security – How vulnerable is your phone?

Satcom for Africa – Where to next?

Where information is king – The state of ICT in Ghana

Green revolution – Environmentally conscious IT

Back to school – ICT skills development

Delivering results – Adding value through outsourcing

E-banking – Mobile financial services

What’s on – Conferences and exhibitions

Is it too much to ask that when trying to contact a company they actually answer the phone? I’m not talking about a direct office number. I mean contacting the company’s central switchboard. Often these numbers just ring and ring – sometimes for so long that by the time someone answers, you can’t remember the purpose of the call.

This recently happened to me. But I wasn’t trying to contact just any old company – I was trying to contact one of South Africa’s major telcos. And it wasn’t an off-chance occurrence – this went on for about three days. When I finally managed to reach them they were completely unapologetic and offered no explanation for their complete lack of availability. If this sounds familiar to you, you’ll enjoy Rodney Weidemann’s feature on the future of telephony. He discusses some of the current and expected developments in the field, particularly in relation to contact centres. One of the technologies he discusses is word-spotting and emotion detection which is designed to alert supervisors to the use of certain words and phrases by callers. This creates the opportunity to escalate the call to a supervisor or manager with the aim of averting problems.

I certainly hope that the call centre industry is prepared for the upsurge in the number of calls that are going to be escalated to the powers that be. If not that, they’re going to have to figure out how to adjust the sensitivity of the technology.

The growth of the mobile market in Africa continues to outpace that of the rest of the world two-fold. The fact that well in excess of 21% of the African population use mobile phones has lead to this technology being utilised to its maximum potential, as many subscribers use their phones for much more than just making calls and sending text messages. Gavin Smith considers these and other ICT developments on the continent, including the new undersea fibre-optic cables. The completion of the fibre-optic ring will make a vast difference to the lives of many Africans by making affordable broadband available to the entire continent.
Smart card technology has been around for quite some time now with most of us carrying them around in the form of mobile phone sim cards. This technology has many other uses though and Africa seems to be poised to make full use of them – from healthcare and identification to storing virtual cash and credit. Lance Harris expounds on this technology and its uses, particularly in the developing world, in his article ‘Swipe here’ on page 40.

The staff at African Communications trust that you have found the last four editions of this publication to be useful and interesting. The coming year looks set to be exciting with the rate of ICT infrastructure development on our continent progressing apace. Look out for the first edition of 2009 in your postbox at the beginning of February in which we will continue to keep you informed of the technological, infrastructural and policy developments on the continent.

In the last edition of African Communications the article on page 56 titled ‘Who’s chopping your dollars online?’ was erroneously credited to David Le Page. The article should have been credited to Ted Currie. We apologise for any confusion this may have caused.

James Retief

Keeping abreast of technological developments, changes in regulations, software updates and bug fixes is almost a full-time job nowadays. This is made all the more difficult by having to differentiate which of these developments are essential and truly new, from those that are the product of clever marketing and public relations engineering.

In this edition of African Communications both the author of our Radar column, Arthur Goldstuck, and tech writer Brian Bakker, consider the much-hyped 4G technology. Is this really a brand new technology or just a ruse to get operators to upgrade their vast and very expensive infrastructure and subscribers to purchase the latest handset?

Gavin Barfield examines the issue of whether to buy or rent IT equipment. While some types of business machinery have traditionally been subject to rental agreements the trend has changed to include all manner of IT equipment, from desktop computers and printers to servers and even software in some cases.

We also look at cybersecurity and what the latest threats are, where they are coming from and what we can do to combat them … or at the very least, minimise the risk. And don’t be fooled into thinking that these threats are only aimed at individuals – big businesses are also victims of this scourge.

While not everyone will be familiar with the buzzwords bandied about in ICT circles, most people are aware of the popular catchphrases governments like to tout – the main among them being ‘service delivery’. Gavin Smith looks at the steps being taken by governments across Africa, but more particularly in South Africa, to improve service delivery by promoting the adoption of e-government technology and strategies. Smith presents some interesting models and considers their practicality and effectiveness in addressing this important issue on the continent.

Kim Gurney investigates the latest developments and trends in the field of managed telecoms – from systems designed to filter out personal calls to technology developed to ensure that calls are routed using the most cost-effective means possible.

When you mention Botswana to most Africans the first association made will be that of a country famed for its diamonds. But Botswana is more than a world-class diamond producer and has recently placed a lot of emphasis on developing its ICT infrastructure. This will help to connect those in the rural areas of the country with the urban areas and even the rest of the world, at the same time playing an invaluable role in education.

Information – access to it and the speed at which it travels – is a powerful resource for improving people’s lives, both on a micro and macro level. Although it’s been a slow process, the importance of ICT in Africa is finally being recognised. These are exciting times and there is much to look forward to and debate.

James Retief