Miscellaneous stories from the past 5 days:

• On 9/5, University World News published an article on Ethiopia’s higher education massification:

Some Ethiopian universities have received World Bank funds to develop distance and open learning enabled by ICT. Unfortunately, extreme unreliability of the electricity supply and of the ICT network, a lack of understanding how best to use it to support learning, and the problem of providing face-to-face backup in a predominantly rural country make development very difficult just now.”

• On 9/1, Deutsche-Welle examined potential price drops as a result of East African high speed Internet cables.

Now, analysts say, the pressure is on for national telecom regulators to ensure that proper de-monopolization and free and fair competition is, in fact, occurring. Otherwise, that could slow down the effects of the data cable, as has been the case on the other side of the continent, in West Africa, with the SAT-3 cable, which came online in 2001.”

• On 9/1, CNN, as part of their African Voices coverage, published an opinion piece by the Microsoft Chairman for Africa.

Resources must be matched with resourcefulness — combined with initiatives by local leaders, educators and entrepreneurs to achieve individual and institutional objectives.”

• On 9/2, Tech.Blorge.com ran a story on American broadband costs versus per capita income. ITU statistics, including those for African nations, were cited:

The most expensive country in relative terms was the Central African Republic where the cheapest broadband costs 3891% of average income. Put another way, a month’s broadband service costs more than three years’ average wages in the country, compared with less than two hours’ earnings in Macau. The rest of the five relatively most expensive countries were all in Africa: Ethiopia, Malawi, Guinea and Niger.”

• On 9/2, 234Next reported the Ondo State (Nigeria) governor, Olusegun Mimiko directed the state Head of Service to immediately start compiling a list of workers who are not computer literate for retirement.
• G-Uganda (Google Uganda conference) took place on 9/1 and 9/2.