SA behind other African states in Internet access

Internet penetration in South Africa, the continent's economic powerhouse, is low compared to other leading economies in Africa due to high broadband cost and a lack of infrastructure, a study has said.

According to the study commissioned by Google South Africa, the country had 8.5 million internet users in 2011, compared to 6.8 million people in 2010.

"This growth brings internet penetration in South Africa to approximately 17 percent," said the report.

"Despite rapid growth, however, it lags significantly behind the biggest internet user bases in Africa".

Oil-rich Nigeria, which is also Africa's most populous nation, has the highest internet penetration at 29 percent, followed by Egypt, Morocco and Kenya.

Growth in South Africa, the continent's largest economy was attributed to the propagation of smartphones to access the internet, which took off in 2008.

"It should also be borne in mind that access and cost remains the biggest obstacle to internet connectivity, particularly in less developed areas," said Luke Mckend, Google SA country manager.

This year's arrival of an undersea fibre-optic cable, which connects large parts of Africa with the world was expected to improve broadband connectivity across the continent.

The cable has landing points in 10 other countries along Africa's western coast and its arrival promises an Internet boost for Africa, where only 9.6 percent of people are web users, compared to 65 percent of Europeans.

By AFP

Payment platform to boost online buys

Paysure Ltd has unveiled a payment platform that could see increased options for online shopping, as it cuts down on time retailers have to wait to access payments made by buyers.

The firm in partnership with Kenswitch and Chase Bank has launched the first locally administered online payments platform.

The new platform will allow merchants to access funds within a span of two days after the initial online transaction.

According to the Kenya Bank Association (KBA), online transactions usually take up to a week to conclude.
"With many of the products in the market, merchants have to wait up to a week to access their money… Reducing this time to a day is a positive development," said KBA CEO, Mr Habil Olaka.

The week delays normally translate to extra costs for retailers as they need more money to finance restocking.

The platform will cater to Kenswitch member bank card holders making online purchases using their debit or prepaid cards. Chase Bank will process the payments.

Kenswitch has a network of 30 financial institutions including 26 banks. Merchants using the platform will have to open accounts with Chase Bank.

Through Paysure's structure, merchants without websites will also be able to use the payment platform for online transactions.

Large merchants

The charges for using the platform will be Sh5,000 to Sh15,000 for  large merchants, a maximum of five per cent of the transaction for small merchants and free of charge for individual users.

Speaking in Nairobi during the launch of the service, Kenswitch MD, George Wainaina, said the model will provide an opportunity for businesses to receive payment for their goods and services from anywhere across the country.

Website for voters to check status unveiled

An online platform for voters to check their registration status with political parties has been established by the Registrar of Political Parties.

Voters can now confirm the party they are registered with by visiting http://www.iebc.or.ke/rpp/ and entering their ID numbers.

Plans are underway to provide an SMS query channel for the convenience of voters.

The move follows complaints by people of having been registered without their consent into the different parties.

The Registrar of Political Parties, Ms Lucy Ndung'u, said it is an offence punishable by law for any political party to register a member without his or her knowledge. Any party doing so could be de-registered and penalised.

In a letter to the parties, Ms Ndung'u, warned those who may have registered members in a fraudulent manner or have falsified information presented to her to remedy the breach immediately or be de-registered and fined not less than Sh1 million.

"We urge anybody with complaints regarding their registration status to write to the political party they have been registered with and forward a copy to the RPP on registrar@iebc.or.ke," said Ms Ndung'u.

"We had some complaints that some parties enlisted members from mobile money transfer records and various other sources, RPP only checked if all names submitted were indeed those of registered voters, our mandate was not to check whether they were registered with their consent," said the registrar.

By NATION REPORTER

Strathmore MBA classes go virtual with tablets

The student who diligently cleans the chalkboard at Nairobi's Strathmore Business School's lecture theatre is looking forward to a future without this daily task.

Once more technology has come to the rescue.

Kenya's top ranked business school has signed a deal with Samsung Electronics that enables the university's executive MBA students to attend lectures through their Samsung Galaxy 10.1 tablets.

Under the partnership agreement signed mid last month, the Korean electronics giant is to supply every executive MBA student with a tablet that is loaded with e-books and lecture time schedules.

The tablets also give students access to an online portal where they can access live videos of lecture sessions they may have missed.

The videos are transmitted from an electronic board to the tablets through a Wi-Fi connection – creating virtual lecture halls that can be accessed from any corner of the world.

Paul Ouma, the director of MBA programmes at Strathmore Business School says use of technology to deliver quality education is one of the many actions that the university is taking as it deepens its leadership position in Kenya.

Strathmore is convinced that use of electronic platforms to deliver knowledge will free its students from the burden of dealing with huge amounts of paperwork during the lectures, increase interactivity among them as well as revisit lecture sessions they may have missed.

Ability to retrieve and attend live sessions of missed lectures is particularly critical for many of Strathmore Business School's part time students who juggle between classes and strenuous work demands that often make it difficult for them to attend all classes.

"The tablets enable one to enjoy flexibility in terms of when and where you have access to class material," says Ms Vivian Ogutu, the president of the first year MBA students who started their classes in January.

"Students in these courses usually do not have so much time in their hands so on-demand access to lectures is very critical," she says.

Besides, the e-learning platform enables the students to have their semester notes in advance meaning they attend classes with some good understanding of the subject matter.

To deepen use of technology in its teaching, Strathmore is training its lecturers on use of Classroom Management (CRM) functionality that enables them to send what's on the e-board to students' tablets and its use.

The e-learning platform designed by Samsung also comes with a Mobile Learning Management System (m-LMS) that is backed by multiple learning features such as facilitation of resource sharing among students and an application that facilitates remote submission of assignments.

"Our aim is to raise coursework delivery efficiencies for better use of learning time," said Robert Ngeru, the Samsung Electronics East Africa Business Leader.

Samsung's plan is to offer Strathmore Business School students the tablets and digital learning materials at a discounted price.

All these costs are included in the MBA fees structure – meaning everyone who gets admission to the MBA programme will own a Samsung tablet.

Strathmore has picked on technology as one of the pillars that will set it apart from its rivals in the higher education market.

MBA courses have become exceptionally popular with working Kenyans partly because of the premium that many corporations have placed on especially in the hiring of new top managers as well as in promotions.

Executive MBAs have been a preserve of foreign universities with local branches but Kenyan schools have recently jumped onto the bandwagon opening a new front in the battle for control of the booming market.

"E-learning should also give us regional reach as well as support our drive to transform leadership in Africa through a world class learning environment," Mr Ouma, said adding that Strathmore intends to extend the module to other business courses.

Samsung is looking at selling the idea to other universities as it seeks to grow the sales of its tablet computers in the Kenyan market where Apple — through its iPad brand — and Huawei are also fighting to grow market share.

Kenyan universities including JKUAT, KCA and Moi have been growing their MBA programmes, opening huge opportunity for the global e-device companies to compete.

Thousands of Kenyans in active employment have gone back to school in the past decade to sharpen their knowledge and skills with business courses as the most popular.

Over the past three years, they have been churning out an average of 2,500 MBA graduates annually up from an average of 400 in 2003, statistics from the institutions show.

With corporate governance issues facing many companies, the executive MBA emphasises integrity among these business leaders.

By MUGAMBI MUTEGI

Kenya leads Africa in mobile pay technology: report

Kenya leads the developing world in readiness to adopt mobile payment technology, according to a survey conducted by MasterCard.

The country's standing in the index published on Monday will enhance Kenya's global reputation as a leader in technological innovation.

"The success of M-Pesa has created an alternative payment network in Kenya, making it, in terms of sheer usage, one of the most advanced markets in the world," says a report accompanying the MasterCard index.

"The success of mobile payments in Kenya is remarkable and can serve as a blueprint for payments adoption in the rest of the emerging world."

Overall, Kenya ranks fourth among 34 countries surveyed.

It is "in the company of big, developed and integrated markets like the United States and Canada, and city-state powerhouses like Singapore," the report says.

Kenya finishes ahead of such tech-focused countries as South Korea, Japan, China and India.

Ironically, the MasterCard report observes, Kenya's success with mobile money transfers is attributable in part to "a lack of traditional infrastructure and alternative conventional payment media."

"Mobile suggested itself as a solution to a population deeply in need of a fast and secure method of payment," MasterCard says.

Noting that "M-Pesa is a closed loop," the report adds that there is considerable room for expansion of mobile payment technology in Kenya.

"They've shown the way globally, but the country itself is also ripe for a more flexible and accessible payments structure that leverages all types of payments and permits multilateral entry into a broader-based financial services and telecommunications infrastructure," the report says.

By KEVIN J KELLEY, NATION CORRESPONDENT

Shoe technology to charge cell phones

You can now charge your mobile phone from the sole of your shoe.

This will be good news for herdsmen, joggers and gym enthusiasts, since the more you walk or run, the more electricity your shoe will generate.

On Tuesday, this technology was among the innovations on show at the Science and Innovation Week taking place at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi.

Mr Anthony Mutua, 24, has developed an ultra-thin chip of crystals that generate electricity when put under pressure.

Through a process he has patented with the Kenya Industrial Property Institute, he is able to harvest this energy and turn it into electricity as one walks.

Mr Mutua, a graduate of Mombasa Polytechnic University College, explains that the chip is inserted inside the sole of any shoe, apart from bathroom slippers.

"The electricity is generated by the act of walking and running, and can be harvested in two ways."

One way is to charge the phone while still in motion through a thin extension cable that runs from the shoe to the pocket. 

"The other alternative, is to charge the phone immediately after a walk because the crystals have the capacity to store the electric energy," Mr Mutua explained.

The second option through a technology that is just about to go into mass production, he says, is likely to prove quite popular with people who want to charge a mobile phone for others as a commercial activity, since it can service several phones simultaneously.

To have your shoe fitted by Mr Mutua who operates within Nairobi's Central Business District, costs Sh3,800 and the technology comes with a two and a half year guarantee — but not if the shoe is stolen or lost.

"In case the shoe is worn out you can always transfer it to the new one."

Mr Mutua says the National Council of Science and Technology is in the process of funding his project for mass production of the chips.

"This and the possibility of a bigger market could eventually bring down the purchase price."

The development of Mr Mutua's prototype was funded to the tune of Sh500,000 by the science council.

According to Mr David Ngigi, a senior science secretary with the National Council for Science and Technology, the council is now planning to finance Mr Mutua so that he can commercialise his product.

"We have been financing the development of ideas to prototype levels, but because most innovators lack funds for commercialisation, this innovations never reach the market. So we are changing this," says Mr Ngigi.

By GATONYE GATHURA

Internet security system introduced

Access Kenya has introduced an authentication system to boost security of emails.

The firm's MD Kris Senanu said the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Authentication is intended to address rising internet security concerns.

"Email hacking is a global problem and this technology protects our clients and other users on our network," he said.

Email account holders will be provided with unique usernames and passwords to access servers through the authentication system.

By Nation Media

Kenyan app that helps you confess to paying a bribe

Would you publicly come clean that you paid a bribe to get a service? Probably not. But a phone application customised for Kenya is making it easier for citizens to report bribery incidences across the country, anonymously.

I Paid a Bribe (IPaB) is a desktop, mobile web and SMS app that gives Kenyans a platform to share their experiences with bribery. Through a user-friendly interface, a user can post an incident where they had to pay a bribe because a public officer expressly asked for it or a situation where the officer asked for it but they refused to pay the bribe.

The app also allows users to report an incidence where no bribe was asked, and the service was delivered on time.

Since the launch of the website in December 2011, 630 bribery incidences worth Sh20 million have been posted on the website.

The police, municipal services, immigration and registration of persons and lands departments are the leading bribery hotspots as reported by citizens.

Interestingly, there are quite a high number of witness reports showing high bribery prevalence in the private sector, according to IPaB.

"Once a user files a bribe report on the site, the system takes it up automatically and edits out any names. IPaB does not target individuals but seeks to expose weaknesses in the system and advocate for them to be rectified," says Anthony Ragui, developer of IPaB.

After users send their experience, either through the IPaB website, mobile site or SMS, the story is published on the website after a 10 minute lag. Specific data from the story (county, amount paid and department) is logged in and added to the analytics.

"I paid a Bribe Kenya as a platform aims to get Kenyans to report and talk about the problem of corruption," says Ragui, who came up with idea after seeing a similar initiative in India.

A Transparency International (TI) report on East African Bribery Index revealed while a vast majority of Kenyans perceived Kenya as a corrupt county, only seven percent reported corruption incidences, probably for fear of victimisation.

Written by Ken Macharia for Capital Business

Mobile phones to be used to buy bonds

Kenyans will soon be able to buy government debt including Treasury Bills and bonds using their mobile phones, according to a project dubbed, 'Treasury Mobile Direct', launched by the World Bank and Central Bank.

The scheme aims to capitalise on the popularity and success of mobile money transfer services in the country.

According to data released by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the number of mobile money subscribers in the country stood at 18.9 million by April 2012, with money deposited through mobile phones amounting to Sh177 billion.

The project, still at pilot phase, will require potential investors to be registered as mobile money subscribers with the various operators in the country, who will open Central Depository System accounts for them.

"Today, any Kenyan can pay their electricity bill with the phone, and so will they be able to pay for bonds bought," said Mr Yira Mascaro, who leads the World Bank's financial and private sector development group in Nairobi, which is behind the initiative.

The scheme will help individuals cultivate a culture of savings and increase participation in the bond market, which is currently less than 3 per cent. 

The first phase will be rolled out to bank holders before being integrated with the unbanked.

By NATION CORRESPONDENT

Safaricom cuts sale of unlimited Internet

Safaricom has cut unlimited mobile data services to the detriment of heavy Internet users on its network.

The mobile service provider on Monday announced that it will discontinue the sale of unlimited mobile data bundles. However, the firm announced that it may focus its energies on fixed data.

"It has always been our position that unlimited Internet offerings are better suited for a fixed broadband service," said Safaricom CEO Mr Bob Collymore in a press statement.

Unlimited data bundles allow users of 3G-enabled handsets and modems to access the Internet for a set duration of time at a fixed price.

Safaricom has seen the service turn into a loss-making venture as subscribers download heavy volumes of data degrading services across the network. Service degradation is not as evident on fixed network.

Telecoms are positioning themselves to take advantage of the data market as voice revenues begin to decline. In February, Telkom Orange launched unlimited data while Airtel reintroduced its unlimited monthly data package.

Analysts say that users may move from Safaricom into these networks or look into cheaper offerings in fixed data.

"We might see movement of heavy data users to companies that offer fixed data services," said telecom market analyst Mr Eric Musau.

By offering high customers high volume packages, Safaricom will be countering this migration. Data released by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) indicates fixed Internet subscriptions grew by 67 per cent in the second quarter 2011/2012.

By NATION CORRESPONDENT

From analogue to digital television broadcasting

Television viewers are tuning to digital signals purveyed by DVB-T2 technology.

The implementation of the new system will radically change the broadcast media landscape, from the sources of the signal to the recipients.

As we scale this migration from analogue to digital, let us have a look at the new DVB-T2 technology.

What is DVB-T2?

Let us start with the basics. The main difference between digital TV and analogue is the way the signal is carried from the transmitters to a television set.

The analogue signal is in the form of waves. Digital broadcasting involves discrete bits of information which can be encoded and compressed to allow more channels to be relayed.

DVB-T2 is the second generation of digital video broadcasting terrestrial. The superior standard has the capability of increasing the capacity using existing antennas and spectrum, hence making it possible to sustain new broadcast services that require intensive frequency capacity.

In essence, the development of DVB-T2 has been associated mainly with the broadcast industry's need to offer more content and new services on the digital terrestrial TV.

Digital broadcast technology comes with spectrum efficiency and flexibility, therefore allowing the compression of several programme transmissions, as opposed to analogue, which heavily depends on individual frequencies.

DVB-T2 technology has an improved forward error correction and an increase in the number of bits carried per data cell, which in the end increases overall system capacity and further enhances better spectrum efficiency.

The standard has an optimised performance, with improved signal robustness. 

This implies that the picture quality on a DVB-T2 might not be affected by external influences like weather, buildings, or geographical location.

This brings out the better side of digital TV, namely quality sound, crystal clear picture, and large data broadcast.

Benefits

As a matter of fact, the switch over from analogue to digital broadcast has opportunities and benefits for broadcasters and TV viewers as well.

Notably, viewers will have a wide variety of television content. To broadcast companies and country at large, this transition creates digital dividend.

It will free up spectrum and enhance an optimal utility of existing frequencies. Spectrum is a valuable commodity in today's digital world.

Broadcasters will also be able to transmit more TV content with fewer spectrum. The digital systems can be a good avenue for content improvement and provision of a wide range of services to television viewers.

Depending on market demands, the digital platform is good for services that include pay-TV, video-on-demand, 3D TV, and SDTV.

DVB-T2 can deliver 4-HD (high definition) channels in a single 8MHz multiplex. There are more channels in SD (standard definition) on this platform with the MPEG-4 compression.

Set-Top Boxes

In order to access DVB-T2, consumers are advised to switch to digital TVs or alternatively purchase compatible gadgets from vendors with valid authorisation from the Communications Commission of Kenya.

Speaking of set-top boxes, it is in such times of transition that consumers should be wary of unscrupulous traders.

Technically, the set-top box is a receiver that decodes the digital signal into a format that can be displayed on the analogue TV.

The digital switch in Kenya comes at a time when several other African nations are also fine-tuning to the new DVB-T2 platform. 

Member states of the SADC (Southern African Development Group) have chosen the deployment of DVB-T2 at the expense of DVB-T.

The bloc comprises 15 countries that include Tanzania and the inhabitants of the entire lower portion of the African continent.

For member states, the ambitious plan is to switch to DVB-T2 by December 2013. South Africa has so far performed some successful trials in DVB-T2 digital broadcasting.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has set 17 June 2015 as the deadline for migration from analogue to digital terrestrial television.

A self-set deadline by Kenya was June this year. The DVB-T2 signal is currently available in parts of Nairobi, with gradual roll-out expected to eventually cover the rest of the country.

The television signal currently available to most TV viewers in the country is analogue. Viewers will have to tune to something new as DVB-T2 takes over the air waves.

The government recently announced that by July this year, the DVB-T2 digital broadcast signal will be available in 70 per cent of the country.

By ESMOND SHAHONYA

Locally-developed software cuts accounting costs for SMEs

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can now eliminate the cost of buying computer servers and employing ICT personnel by tapping into a locally developed web-based business management system — Biashara Cloud.

Biashara Cloud is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) software developed for SMEs.

It can be accessed remotely through cloud computing technology through laptops, personal computers, and mobile phones.

The system offers applications that support everyday company activities such as sales, stock management, banking, and purchasing — meaning a business owner who subscribes to Biashara Cloud only needs to enter business transactions into the software to automatically generate a balance sheet or profit and loss account.

It costs SMEs between Sh800,000 and Sh2 million to acquire computer servers.

This has made it difficult for most businesses to leverage on technology, cut costs, and improve efficiency.

Tony Mutonga, the commercial director of Biashara Cloud Ltd, said that at a monthly fee of Sh1,500 per user, SMEs can access the system from wherever they are so long as the area has Internet connectivity.

"The system is able to manage and co-ordinate all business transactions.

Therefore one can keep track of all their records from anywhere, and since it does not require one to buy physical servers it reduces the number of IT support," said Mr Mutonga.

Through the system, business records can be shared in real time between the office and field officers. Since its launch two months ago, Biashara Cloud has attracted 21,000 users.

Mr Mutonga said that they were working with financial institutions, such as Family Bank, who have roped in their SME clients to enable them conduct their businesses efficiently. Biashara Cloud has joined a number of firms such as Safaricom, Kenya Data Networks, and Flexus which are battling it out to offer cloud computing technology to corporates, government departments, and SMEs.
To secure data, Mr Mutonga said, the firm has encrypted information. Encryption is the process of transforming information (referred to as plaintext) using an algorithm (called a cipher) to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key.

Cloud computing involves using multiple server computers via a digital network to store data and allow clients secure access to a variety of applications and data from any network device.

It also provides an easy to use, cost efficient, flexible, dynamic, and secure environment for modern business transactions.

Gaining traction

The practice is gaining traction among corporate organisations that want to cut down on capital and operational expenses.
Other than Biashara Cloud, other firms targeting SMEs with similar services include Flexus Technology.

Mr Oscar Ahere, a product development manager at Flexus Technology, said that while some Saccos had started embracing the use of money transfer services such as M-pesa, Zap, Orange Money, and YuCash, they were yet to link them with their back office financial databases.
"With technology such as cloud computing, Saccos can cut their operation costs by embracing the latest technologies which will help them trim the number of their field officers, reduce fraud, and increase efficiency," said Mr Ahere.
Flexus Technology's Kopesha web-based application aims at helping microfinance field officers to minimise errors associated with manual entries.

Sacco field officers can use Kopesha to register members, manage savings, make loan applications, disburse loans, and receive loan repayments.

The software can be used on simple mobile phones that cost as low as Sh4,000.
As a result, Saccos may no longer require data entry clerks to update and reconcile information that field officers or their members submit.

National Co-operative Housing Union chairman Francis Kamande said most co-operative societies use internal servers which are not only expensive to buy, but also mean that they must employ ICT staff.

This not only adds to their operational costs, but also makes it hard to retain the professionals making the investment not fully utilised.
However, by adopting new technologies such as cloud computing they would be able to cut such costs.

It costs a co-operative society about Sh200,000 to buy a server, while the cost of maintaining cloud computing could be as low as Sh30,000.

"This is a new method of storing huge amounts of data using the Internet and outside the physical premises of the parties involved, the server is no longer necessary," Mr Kamande said.

"Cost saving in harsh economic times rationalises the need for cloud computing by eliminating the need for costly infrastructure purchases every year," he added.

Kenya has 14,000 co-operative societies with 10 million members who have mobilised about Sh230 billion or 30 per cent of national savings.

By Okuttah Mark

Recruiters cast net online to catch tech-savvy talent

For jobseekers, social media has become the place to cast the net as it is where recruiters post opportunities while friends spread the word.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are becoming important tools for job seekers looking for opportunities as well as for recruiters searching for talent.

With a critical mass of job seekers and organisations now using these platforms, searching for jobs and talent online has become a global trend, with more Kenyan companies catching on.

"It is an effective way to reach people, especially younger people," said Sheila Mwihia, the Pedersen & Partners country manager.

"You create awareness about the job without having to take out advert space."

Deloitte East Africa is the latest recruiter to run a social media campaign behind this year's graduate recruitment drive.

Through the campaign launched last month, the auditing firm is using Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to reach young graduates looking to join the firm.

"We thought to use social media to reach out to as many graduates as possible," said Ann Muraya, the Talent and Audit partner.

"We will not be going to the universities this year, but will send a letter notifying them and mainly use social media."

To raise awareness on its social media efforts, the company held an open day at the University of Nairobi, the first of three to be held in the region as part of attracting talent.

The company has also put out a video on YouTube with staff members talking about the company, the environment, the opportunities available and why one would want to launch their career at Deloitte.

The three minute video, launched late March, is part of the company's strategy to reach the modern job seeker.

Deloitte is also using two twitter accounts as well as its official Facebook page. "It is part of attracting top talent in the region and using technology to do so," Ms Muraya said.

The social networking scene is growing with different websites offering different options. Some are viewed to work best for younger talent while others are more suitable for executives.

Facebook and Twitter are viewed as ideal for spreading the word about an opportunity but not necessarily for recruiting.

Ms Mwihia, who mainly recruits executives, said Facebook and Twitter are not ideal for some job positions; however LinkedIn is gaining popularity as a talent search site.

"For executive positions sometimes social media is not an effective way, it's more effective with younger people," she said. "LinkedIn has been accepted as a professional network."

LinkedIn is a social networking site mainly used for professional networking.

With more than 150 million registered users, according to the site, recruiters are able to read the professional profiles, recommendations and even see their network.

Recruiters use the website to research, engage and eventually hire people.

Companies are using the professional Website to advertise jobs and users can save jobs they are interested in as well as follow different companies to get notifications on any opportunities.

It also allows people to join different communities, mainly professional, linking one to people with similar professional interests.

Google+, the social networking site by Google, makes it easy for an individual to distinguish contacts into discreet groups like friends, family and professional contacts.

Initially social media was frowned upon with companies blocking the sites for their staff. Ms Mwihia said this is "gradually" changing.

"Social media is now seen as an opportunity to get information. Companies can't run away from social media," she said, adducing that the sites have also become reference checking points for recruiters.

A survey carried last year in the US by Jobvite, a leading recruiting platform for the social Web, showed that there has been a steady increase by employers in the use of social media.

The survey showed that at least 90 per cent, of the more than 800 US-based human resources and recruitment professionals polled, planned to use social networks to find job candidates, while 64 per cent of those surveyed hired through social medial last year, compared to 58 per cent in 2010.

Visual Unity targets Africa in deal with Nairobi firm

Visual Unity system integrator and multi-screen platform provider has entered into a joint venture with Telemedia Africa to establish Visual Unity Africa.

The company, based in Nairobi, offers system integration and professional services to the local broadcast, information technology and telecommunications industry, along with specialist research and development to develop innovative mobile applications.

Visual Unity Africa is headed by Baiju Shah, Ali Hussein and Ken Kariuki, all of whom have extensive management experience in the broadcast and technology sectors.

Mr Hussein and Mr Kariuki will be based at the company's Nairobi offices from where they will initially develop the east and central African market, with a view to expanding into other areas in the future.

The firm is eyeing the growing middle-class in Kenya and Africa in general.

The region is recognised as a hub of innovation in the broadcast and mobile applications, thanks to the high penetration of mobile devices and cheap tablet computers.

As countries switch from analogue to digital broadcasting, it is expected that a price war between main providers would result in low Internet costs.

Visual Unity managing director Tomas Petru said that Africa is ripe for expansion of broadcast and there are significant changes with a proliferation of new television stations to meet demand for local content.

"With our rich set of video and broadcast products, our extensive research and development expertise and knowledge of the linear and multi-screen systems integration, Visual Unity Africa is well placed to bridge this gap by providing high quality services and products to the emerging market," said Mr Petru.

However, he said that what the market lacks are specialist systems integration and professional services organisations that could help broadcasters in their choice of equipment as they switch to digital television and enable them to monetising content as they embrace the growing multi-screen environment.

Mr Hussein adds that Visual Unity Africa's combination of local links and business development expertise will give the firm an enviable lead in the market.

"Visual Unity Africa's view of integration, along with its acquired mobile applications capability, will enable us to sell products and services to media, Telco and broadcaster organisations," he said.

"Visual Unity Africa also has an important role to play in influencing regulatory issues and setting new regional standards."

By OKUTTAH MARK

Safaricom tariff rise reduced industry's voice traffic

Mobile operator Safaricom's move to increase call tariffs in October led to an 18 per cent drop in voice traffic within its network in the three months to December, contributing to a significant decline in the industry's traffic.

Data from the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) show that mobile traffic declined to 6.70 billion minutes in the quarter to December compared to 7.09 billion minutes in the same period a year earlier.

This emerged despite a six per cent growth in the mobile phone subscriptions in the country to 20.08 million—pushing the penetration rate to 71.2 per cent from 67.2 per cent in the same quarter in 2010.

"This was as a result of increase in tariffs by a key mobile operator that led to the reduction in local mobile traffic," said CCK in response to the drop in voice traffic.

Safaricom lost share of the voice traffic market by 10 percentage points to 77 per cent, giving room to its subscribers whose calling rates are lower to grow their stakes.

Airtel gained 6.24 percentage points to record 12.79 per cent market share from 6.55 per cent recorded during the previous period.

Essar Telecom (yuMobile) grew its share to 8.53 per cent market from 4.58 per cent while Orange gained 0.22 percentage points to record 0.82 per cent market share from 0.60 per cent

Orange currently charges Sh2 for calls within its network and Sh4 to its rivals. Both Airtel and Yu are charging Sh3 within and out of their network.
Safaricom charges sh4 within its network and Sh5 to other networks—and it revised its charges by about 25 per cent in October after it reported a 47.4 per cent drop in profits in the six months to September.

Safaricom's market share of subscribers dropped to 66.6 per cent down from 67.7 per cent recorded during the previous period. Airtel's stood at 15.2 per cent down from 15.7 while Orange recorded 10.3 per cent from 10.4 per cent. Essar's increased to 7.9 per cent from 6.2 per cent.

During the quarter under review, the four mobile operators experienced gains in subscriptions with Safaricom recording the highest gains with 741,560 new subscriptions from 593,177 recorded in the previous period.

Essar Telecom (yuMobile) followed with 600,285 new subscriptions up from 46,742 recorded during the previous period.

Mobile money transfer subscriptions rose by 3.08 per cent from 18.4 million in the previous period to 18.9 million.

Meanwhile, Internet service continued to rise steadily during the quarter to stand at 6,152,687 Internet subscriptions from 5,422,009 during the previous period, representing a 13.48 per cent increase.
The estimated number of Internet users rose by 21.55 per cent from 14.30 million users in the previous period to 17.38 million during the period under review.
By MUTAHI BASSE

Airtel promotes Bhargava to Kenya MD

Bharti Airtel has announced the appointment of Shivan Bhargava as Managing Director for its Kenyan operation. Shivan was earlier the Chief Operating Officer and in his new role he will be responsible for leading Airtel's aggressive growth plans in the country.

Jayant Khosla, the Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Africa Anglophone Region, said: "Kenya has always been a key market with great potential for growth within the region. Our leadership and management team in Kenya is made up of exceptionally talented, experienced, passionate and committed individuals. Shivan's experience and qualifications will add value to the team and Airtel's future plans to deliver innovative and best-in-class mobile services. I wish him success in his new assignment."

Shivan has been with Bharti Airtel since 2003 and has significantly contributed to growth of the business.

Shivan has experience in both technical and marketing and has an Engineering degree specializing in Telecommunications. Shivan also has a post graduate qualification in Business Management, specialized in Marketing and has a proven track record in commercial operations for more than 16 years with Coca-Cola and Airtel.

East Africa Com tech conference opens in Nairobi

The 7th annual technology conference, East Africa Com, opens in Nairobi on Tuesday, 17th April.

The Information Technology summit runs from 17- 18 of April in Nairobi where the Exhibition aims to give delegates an overview of all the latest "need to know" topics on the world's foremost technology and solution providers.

About 600 decision makers from across the entire Digital Ecosystem such as service providers, social media players, apps developers, content providers, digital media brands and mobile advertisers have confirmed participation.

"The East Africa Com conference agenda addresses the hottest topics facing the Digital ecosystem in East Africa.

"Each session is about stimulating discussion using a series of C-Level roundtables, interviews, presentations, case studies and question and answer panel sessions," reads the conference agenda sheet at a glance.

The meeting comes at a time when Africa is increasingly drawing global attention for its rapid growth in mobile telephony and associated sectors.

Across Africa, mobile technology is becoming a cornerstone for industries like health care and agriculture and for millions it is making banking truly accessible for the first time.

According to a GSMA report of 2011 "nearly 90 per cent of all phones in Africa are mobile phones" and by end of 2012 there would be 735 million mobile subscribers in Africa.

Latest statistics form Communication Commission of Kenya indicates that close to 18 million Kenyans use mobile phones as a bank account, depositing and transferring money remotely to avoid excessive travel and wait times.

By James Ratemo

Telkom’s LION2 lands in Kenya

Kenya has now gotten a fourth submarine fibre optic connection to the world, when the Lower Indian Ocean Network cable (LION2) operated by Telkom Kenya went live.

Telkom Kenya Chief Executive Officer Mickhael Ghossein said LION2, whose laying cost over Sh5.7 billion (57 million Euros), is now operational and will significantly boost Kenya's bandwidth capacity.
The cable lands in Kenya after The Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy), The East African Marine System (TEAMS) and SEACOM. It is a 2,700 kilometers long extension of the initial Lower Indian Ocean Network that connects Madagascar to the rest of the world, providing alternate onward connectivity from Kenya to Asia and Europe.

"Besides improving our services, LION2 will also play a great role in addressing redundancy, especially during outages like the ones experienced in March that impacted both TEAMs and EASSy, while in turn reassure the firm's customers of business continuity, network stability and reliability," said Ghossein.

LION2 extends from Mayotte, an island off the Indian Ocean Coast to Mombasa. It links East Africa to Madagascar, Mayotte and the Reunion Island, providing an opportunity for increased international traffic through Kenya which further strengthens the country's positioning as a regional communication hub.

LION2 uses advanced technology for submarine cables – wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) and it will currently offer a maximum capacity of 1.28 terabytes per second (tbps) in future, this capacity can be increased without additional submarine work.

The construction of the LION2 cable represents a total investment of around Sh5.7 billion of which Sh3.8 billion comes from France Telecom and its subsidiaries.

The laying of LION2 cable began in the fourth quarter of 2010. Apart from LION2, Telkom Kenya has also invested heavily in other joint broadband infrastructure projects including TEAMS and EASSy submarine cables and terrestrial backbone and is currently expanding its high quality wireless network for both GSM and CDMA across the country.

by NDERITU NDEGWA

Govt to put up new data centre

The government is mulling putting up an upgraded National Data Center (NDC) to boost its internal efficiencies and compliment the current centre which is already operating at full capacity.

Information Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo said the government is seeking input from the private sector for the country's second data centre that will expand the current capacity of 30 terabytes.

"To do a good Level 4 National Data Center it's anything between $200 million and $250 million. We are looking at another one year before we can see a virtual environment," he said.

The NDC is part of the government's strategy to centralise the management of data from ministries and government agencies to cut operational costs, through the launch of three data centres.

Efforts to digitise various ministries have made headway although hitches at the Lands Ministry have slowed the process.

The PS said it will take almost $1 billion to fully digitise the ministry, but funding has been difficult to come by.

"If Lands (Ministry) were willing that we do their data, their revenue would move from Sh7 billion to almost Sh40 billion. When we went there, there were files all over, then we created the banking hall and revenue jumped to Sh7 billion from Sh3 billion," he said.

Making the move to e-procurement, Ndemo added, would save the government $1 billion annually.

The PS was speaking during an event hosted by storage and data management solutions company NetApp that explored opportunities for storage and data management in Kenya's IT industry.

NetApp is making an aggressive attempt to solidify its lead position as a storage and data management provider in the region, looking at setting up an office in another four to five months to complement its reseller network.

"Our model going forward is indirect. We started off with people coming in from other countries to support the East Africa region, but now we have local partners. The people that are delivering the solutions for NetApp are locally based," NetApp Channel Lead Prem Pather said.

In efforts to improve end-user support and service delivery NetApp partnered with Business Connexion to distribute NetApp products in the country.

Moving forward Pather said the company is looking to expand its offerings to the government as it continues to digitize ministry records and other solutions.

by VICTORIA RUBADIRI

Safaricom, Qualcomm set for a ‘3G Experiential Tour’

Safaricom and Qualcomm have announced the launch of an 'experiential tour' for 3G products and services in Kenya which will take place from April 14 to June 31.

The roadshow will allow consumers to test-drive 3G devices and experience rich content and faster internet access enabled by 3G-enabled mobile smartphones, PCs and laptops.

"We are passionate about growing our data services, especially with 3G.

The Safaricom 3G Experiential Tour showcases the latest generation of Safaricom's mobile services and the most advanced smartphones based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors," said Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore.
The tour will take place throughout Nairobi, Mombasa, Thika, Nakuru and Kisumu and will visit areas with heavy human traffic including malls, sporting events and universities.

The roadshow will take the form of two vans custom-built as 'Mobile Experience Centres.'

The roadshow vans have been fitted with 32-inch screens and laptops with dongles for users to try out 3G services. There will also be a number of live demonstrations of smartphones using Qualcomm's 'Snapdragon' processors, enabling users to do everything from social networking, HD video, speedy Web browsing and run the latest apps seamlessly.

"About 95 percent of Kenya's Internet users access the Internet on mobile networks. Qualcomm's Snapdragon processors sharpen this experience by enabling users to do more and recharge less, so they can spend more time watching videos, downloading music, playing games and interacting with friends via social networks," said Qualcomm's East Africa operations director Billy Owino.

During the RoadShow, consumers will be able to experience mobile computing with smartphones based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor which combines elements of a PC, TV and gaming console to provide a quick and smooth mobile computing experience.

The 3G tour is aimed to leverage on the strengths of the two firms, with Safaricom having what is billed as Kenya's widest 3G network while 25-year-old Qualcomm is recognized as a leader in 3G and next-generation mobile technologies worldwide. 

By James Ratemo