This week’s top information and communications technology news comes from 23+ nations.

Benin

• In September 2012, 3G is expected to launch in Benin. Initially, MTN will cover Cotonou, Porto-Novo, and several other major cities of Benin. Then we will cover the roads and some strategic areas of the country:
  MTN Bénin: «Avec la 3G plus rien ne sera comme avant» {Ecofin}

Cameroon

• On 29 May 2012, nearly 150 people took part in the Forum on Internet Governance Forum (IGF) in Central Africa in Douala, Cameroon:
  Que gagneront les citoyens du Forum sur la gouvernance de l’internet en Afrique centrale? {APC}
• Internet Society Cameroon Chapter To Participate In Central Africa … {ISOC}

Central African Republic

• 4G services are planned for parts of CAR. The current Internet penetration rate is estimated at 2%:
  Millennium Selects Airspan 4G Network for Central African Republic {Marketwire}

Congo

• Rural areas of the Republic of the Congo will get voice and Internet access at a relatively affordable price-point:
  ip.access small cells powering deployments in remote Congo communities with … {Your Story}
• An overview of the Congo-Brazzaville telecoms market. There are four operators, mobile coverage is solid, legal framework is getting updated, and e-government has been launched. A digital divide between rural and urban areas is extreme, however:
  Cap sur le développement de l’Internet {Ecofin}

DRC

• Airtel to pump USD615 more into DRC {BiztechAfrica}
• Huawei also plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the University of Kinshasa, as part of Huawei’s global ‘Telecom Seed for the Future’ knowledge transfer programme to promote local talent and enhance innovation:
  Huawei Opens an ICT training centre in DRC Congo {CIO East Africa}

Egypt

• African Internet Governance Forum in Cairo Soon {MCIT}

Ethiopia

• Ethiopian Telecommunication Corporation has deployed or begun testing Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) of all Internet traffic. The news (from Tor) comes as little surprise:
  Ethiopia Introduces Deep Packet Inspection {The Tor Blog}

Gabon

• The National Centre for University (CNOU) of Gabon has signed an agreement with the International NGO Katchi for the development of virtual campuses in the university:
  Des campus numériques dans les cités universitaires {Ecofin}

Ghana

• Huawei Hands Over ICT Lab To UG {Government of Ghana}

Kenya

• Cybercafe operators in the East African nation are turning to Skype services to change fortunes of their businesses, which have dwindled because of wide-spread adoption of internet-enabled mobile phones and modems:
  ‘Skype’ offers local cybercafes operators a new lifeline … {Balancing Act}

Libya

• LTT Wimax Now Available For Sale {TechnoLibya}

Malawi

• False rumors spread quickly, students waste time online, Malawian women are underrepresented, and most schools lack Internet access:
  Can the Internet transform the lives of poor Malawians? {Nyasa Times}

Mali

• Since Islamist rebels and Tuaregs took over northern Mali, the internet has provided a place for the youth to congregate:
  ‘Til Death!’ Say North Youth {AllAfrica}

Mauritius

• The internet segment saw revenues climb 14 percent:
  Mauritius Telecom 2011 profit rises {Telecompaper}
• Since the introduction of the E-Register program, the absenteeism rate has decreased by 80% in schools:
  L’informatique réduit de 80% l’absentéisme à l’école {Ecofin}

Morocco

• Quicker domain registration is in store for Morocco:
  Moroccan Web Host Genious Uses LogicBoxes to Become ICANN … {The Whir}
• Morocco’s strategy to build digital trust {Magharebia}
• A Morocco site maps incidents of bribery:
  Hoping to Help Curb Corruption in Morocco by Mapping It Online {Tech President}

Namibia

• The new product is enabled through the official commissioning of the West Africa Cable System (WACS):
  Faster Internet Link Unveiled {AllAfrica}

Nigeria

• Nigerian Internet scams were once again in the news this past week:
  Kidnapped American regains freedom {The Nation}
• DealDey’s success is highlighted:
  In Nigeria, Rising Dreams of Web Commerce {WSJ}
• NITDA begins establishment of Internet points to deepen ICT penetration {The Nation}
• Epileptic Power Supply is Greatest Threat to Telecoms Growth {ThisDay}
• President of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), Mr. Lanre Ajayi, has called on the Federal Government to set a broadband penetration goal, alongside computer penetration goal for Nigeria, achievable in 5 years time:
  ATCON Sets 5 year Agenda on Broadband, Computer {ThisDay}
• Internet retailing recorded 25 percent growth during the period:
  Nigeria’s non-store shopping up 25% to N62bn in 2011 {BusinessDay}
• The International Federation of Women Lawyer (FIDA), Nigeria has charged children to de-emphasise long hours on internet and cultivate reading culture to guarantee their future:
  FIDA Charges Children To De-emphasise Internet – Nigerian … {The Nigerian Observer}
• The most popular Nigerian WordPress blogs based on Alexa data:
  Top 10 Nigerian Websites And Blogs Built With WordPress Blogging … {NairaCow}

North Africa

• Trends in User-Generated Arabic Content: A Look at d1g’s 2012 Shift {Wamda}
• The computer virus has also targeted Egypt and Sudan:
  New cyberweapon discovered; Iran computers hit {USA Today}

Rwanda

• Gov’t Banks On Broadband to Increase Internet Access {AllAfrica}
• Nearly 400 people attended the ICT Awareness Campaign conducted in 4 different Universities and a Teachers’ training center:
  Internet Society Rwanda Chapter Takes Part In ICT Awareness … {ISOC}

South Africa

• RIM says that their ability to offer connectivity and attractive value propositions has fuelled BlackBerry growth in South Africa:
  Why BlackBerry is “cool” in South Africa? {MyBroadband}
• More than 100 kilometres of fibre is being laid in the region that includes Mthata and East London:
  Dark Fibre Africa invests R72-million in Eastern Cape infrastructure {IT News Africa}
• Research In Motion (RIM), makers of BlackBerry, has launched the Blackberry Apps Laboratory at the University of Pretoria:
  App lab opened to support local developers {IT News Africa}
• The Wireless Access Providers’ Association (WAPA) has released its latest census results, revealing that its 125 members provide wireless broadband to an estimated 80,000 customers:
  Wireless broadband numbers in SA revealed {MyBroadband}
• The company is also planning to reach 70 percent 3G broadband coverage by population by the end of the year and 85 percent coverage ‘later’ in 2013:
  MTN South Africa wants 85% broadband coverage in 2013 {Telecompaper}
• Mobile gaming and Internet gaming are rapidly growing in terms of players and revenue:
  3,5m gamers in SA {Gadget}
• iPad 3 name change in SA {MyBroadband}
• Extracts from the entrepreneur’s new book Alan Knott-Craig Jr: How I nearly missed out on buying Africa’s largest social … {Memeburn}
• Proof that entertainment is usually more popular than politics:
  Kwaito star trumps Zuma in Google search {IOL}
• Multiple partners launched a campaign to protect children from unsafe internet usage and online access to adult material:
  Safe internet surfing for children {The New Age}
• South Africa’s MWeb to Close Last Remnant of Old WiMAX Network {Cellular News}
• Under a decade-old law, President Jacob Zuma can make online images of The Spear go away with a simple request – at least on South African websites. But preventing South Africans from seeing such images is a different matter:
  Zuma could spearhead an online assault {Mail & Guardian}
• South Africa’s youth choose BlackBerry as ‘Coolest Brand’ for second year running {4-traders}

South Sudan

• A new citizen journalism project, Eyes & Ears Nuba, plans to give voice to the people affected by the ongoing violence in southern Sudan:
  Citizen journalism project becomes the world’s eyes & ears in Sudan {Storyful}

Tanzania

• The Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (Costech) plans to establish an information and communication technology (ICT) village to ensure it contributes greatly to the country’s economy:
  Costech plans to set up ICT village {IPP Media}
• The Tanzanian president plans on thoroughly discussing the potential of technology:
  President Kiketwe launches 2013 international dialogue {The Swazi Observer}
• Activists using the Internet had called for the protest for Saturday on the city’s main thoroughfare:
  Tunisian officials ban weekend demo against extremism {The Daily Star}

Uganda

• Uganda internet users seen up 1520 pct in 2012 {Yahoo! News}

West Africa

• Sonatel subsidiaries in Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau achieved a 15% increase in their combined broadband internet subscriber base to reach a total of 106,811 by December 2011:
  Sonatel Reports 15% Increase to Reach 106811 Internet {IHS}

Zimbabwe

• Zimbabwean opinion from The Herald on e-agriculture:
  ICTs Can Improve Life in Rural Settlements {AllAfrica}
• ipaidabribe.org.zw allows Zimbabweans to report corruption online:
  Instant way to report a bribe in Zimbabwe {ZimEye}

General

• Copying old ideas in new markets often means quick profits, but what happens when the market becomes saturated?
  Venture capital in emerging markets: VC clone home {The Economist}
• Mobile Internet spurs African growth, integration {Deutsche Welle}
• Media Urged to Embrace ICT {AllAfrica}
• Huawei receives award for ‘Best Cloud Platform for Africa … {AfricaBrains}
• A study of young people in Ghana, Morocco, Uganda and Maharashtra aims to encourage networks to improve education through mobile technology:
  Mobile phone boom in developing world could boost e-learning {The Guardian}
• At the Open Innovation Africa Summit this week in Nairobi, Kenya, the Mimiboard (virtual community board) was voted the one of best devices on display by participants at the event:
  Join the board of Africa {Times Live}
• The Wasace cable will offer high-speed global connectivity to South Africa, Angola and Nigeria:
  Firm’s super cable goes live 2014 {The Nation}
• infodev’s program manager says the group is studying various incubation centers in Kenya with a view of replicating the same in other countries in Africa:
  World Bank to roll out ICT incubators in other parts of Africa {Kenya Engineer}
• Mesh networks that turn end-user computers into data relays could be the future of the Internet structure:
  When governments pull the plug, the people build a new Internet … {Macleans.ca}
• SOS Children’s award-winning ‘Our Africa’ video website has been visited by people throughout the world since it went live in the spring. For example, there have been nearly 700 visits in Ethiopia, nearly 500 in Morocco and just over 300 in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Uganda:
  ‘Our Africa’ website reaches across the continents {SOS Children}
• Growth through digitisation requires more than faster broadband connections:
  Free exchange {The Economist}
• eLearning Africa 2012 attracted 1,483 participants from Africa and beyond with a total of 66 countries represented:
  eLearning Africa 2012 closes on a high note {OEB}
• The second Open Innovation Africa Summit concluded with an inspiring, vibrant group of Africa’s top innovators committing to a firm path forward for innovation across the continent:
  Open Innovation Africa Summit helps plot path for Africa’s innovators {IT News Africa}
• Great quotes about the Ushahidi platform and cyber activism:
  A Movement of Hundreds of Small Movements {The Ushahidi Blog}
• A recap of events around Francophone Africa African Tech News Tidbits: Week of May 30th {The Technological African’s Blog}
• High level descriptive findings on Internet usage in 8 African countries:
  Understanding Broadband demand in Africa: Internet going Mobile {Research ICT Africa}
• More than sixty international high-powered speakers are set to address hundreds of delegates from around the world at Africa’s inaugural ICT conference that will formulate an African Agenda to promote the ICT sector to spur economic and social development throughout the continent:
  Bridging The Digital Divide: Africa’s First ICT Indaba Kicks Off In June {Ventures Africa}
• African nations don’t have to worry quite so much about the upcoming IPv4 shortage, but a full switchover is only a couple of years away:
  6 Reasons Why Businesses Should Deploy IPv6 Now {Forbes}
• Online distribution for African ilms is growing, but still is mostly-targeted to the diaspora:
  Sites reel in auds for African pics {Variety}
• Innovative technologies can transform the way African cities manage critical functions like traffic, water, taxes, electricity, waste, security and social services:
  Experts highlight role of technology in future African cities {Afrique en Ligne}
• The CEO of Airtel explains the company’s objectives for Africa, which include mobile broadband and rural coverage:
  Tiémoko Coulibaly : «Les similitudes entre l’Inde et l’Afrique sont bien plus grandes que les disparités» {Ecofin}