All Blog Posts Tagged 'south africa' (6)

As the rest of Africa dithers, South Africa has moved fast to embrace information communication technology as part of its political processes. And as a result of the revolutionary move, thousands of eligible voters have already cast their ballots away from home and a whole week ahead of their home-based compatriots. On Wednesday, an estimated 16,000 South African voters cast their ballots in various world cities. New York, Washington, London, Brussels, Geneva, Harare and Nairobi, to mention but… Continue

This story first featured on the East African Business Week on 28th February 2009 The long awaited SEACOM fibre-optic cable arrives at Mombasa today. The arrival of the cable at Mombasa signals the onset of a whole new era in the telecommunications industry, especially the data services in the East African region. The project cost is estimated at US$ 700m upon completion. Over-reliance on satellite based data solutions is blamed for the high cost of communication in the region. Local companie… Continue

'Mobile health' campaign launched 17th February, 2009 Three foundations have announced their intention to join in a "mobile health" effort to use mobile technology to provide better healthcare worldwide. The UN, Vodafone, and the Rockefeller Foundation's mHealth Alliance aims to unite existing projects to improve healthcare using mobile technology. The alliance will guide governments, NGOs, and mobile firms on how they can save lives in the developing world. The partnership is… Continue

Nigeria leads Africa in terms of people who access the internet. According to statistics released in the Internet Governance Forum held from 3-6 December 2008 at Hyderabad, India, the number of Nigerian Internet Users had reached 10 million placing it way ahead of other countries like South Africa and Egypt. The west African country which is also Africa's most populus country with a population of over 140 million is followed by Egypt and Morocco with 8.6 and 7.3 million users respectively. Sout… Continue

South African Technology company Internet Solutions is putting its brains behind a new social website designed to let South African parents, teachers and pupils communicate online. The company's recently formed spin-off, IS Labs, was created to seek out and develop ideas to boost internet use in SA. It is now backing Obami, a social site being developed for schools in southern Africa to help people keep up to date with school activities. Its features include instant chat, photos, blogs, calendar… Continue

Tino Kreutzer, formerly with the UNDP in the Central African Republic, is now doing an MA at the Centre for Film and Media Studies at the University of Cape Town. He's now working with a research project that aims to assess mobile access to media and the Internet among low-income South African youth. From his blog: Growing mobile access to media and the Internet is often considered a… Continue