Questions over Ghana journalists’ laptops

The Ghana Journalists’ Association is in the news again and unfortunately this time, it is for the wrong reasons. The Association is to respond to a charge brought against it by the Media Foundation of West Africa, on how it distributed one hundred laptops purchased with funds from the Government Media Development Fund.

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) is accusing the journalists group in the country of misappropriating funds set up by the government to assist the development of Ghanaian journalists, thereby leading a campaign to locate the whereabouts of the Funds.

A little bit of survey conducted by Biztechafrica among journalists working in both radio and the print media in Accra reveals that not a single journalist who belong to the journalists association has received a lap top computer as claimed by the president of the Ghana Journalists' Association.

On Wednesday legislatures on the floor parliament questioned the Minister of Information and Media Relations, Mahama Ayariga on the use of funds pledged by the government in 2011 to help the Ghanaian media; they wanted to know how the funds were disbursed.

But the Minister in answering a question said the government was still liaising with the various stakeholders to find the right modalities to disburse the fund. He then disclosed that the leadership of GJA met the government and requested for the laptops as one of their pressing needs.

source: www.biztechafrica.com

Africa well positioned for leap to 4G LTE

With its capacity for innovation, Africa’s mobile network sector is well positioned to drive the explosion in service offerings on the back of 4G LTE implementations.  This is the view of Sherry Zameer, Africa and Middle East Head of telecommunication solutions for Gemalto, world leader in digital security.   Zameer’s comments follow the AfricaCom conference held in Cape Town last week, which was attended by some 8000 delegates from over 100 different countries.

“Africa is largely unrestricted by legacy platforms and onerous regulations, and so has the capacity to leapfrog standard 3G migrations, to embrace LTE and all the benefits of better quality service and content possibilities that the next generation platform provides,” Zameer continued.

While LTE penetration stands at less than 0.003 percent of the market in Africa, Rwanda, for example, is poised to implement LTE from the get go.

“Successful LTE implementations in Africa will depend on how well the issue of spectrum is addressed and how well wireless services (radio) work with LTE to deliver the quality of service required,” Zameer added.

“Africa has a track record of innovation and being first to market in many instances (e.g. M-Pesa and dynamic tariffing) and I expect that the implementation of 4G LTE will be no different,” he said.

While the continent is poised to take telecoms growth to a whole new level, questions among attendees at the conference remain as to how generate profits on new service options, once LTE is deployed

source: www.biztechafrica.com

addiis ababa eagerly awaits for 4G rollout

A high speed 4G network, scheduled to be implemented by Huawei, forms a crucial part of the joint venture to expand mobile phone infrastructure nationally.

Abdurahim Ahmed, head of communications at Ethio Telecom, has been quoted as saying, “In terms of allocation, Huawei will be responsible for the expansion of 4G in Addis Ababa, including other mobile services the 2G, 3G, IP and the like.”

Among the expected outcomes of the project are that some 400,000 subscribers stand to benefit, that the country will increase the total number of subscribers and there will be an enhancement of existing 3G services.

In August the acting CEO of Ethio Telecom, Andualem Admassie, was quoted by Ethiopian Radio and Television Agency as saying the Project is important in contributing to efforts to increase telecommunications service access and coverage nationally.

source: www.itnewsafrica.com

Africa: airtel partners with radio express on branded radio shows in 35 radio stations accross Africa

Airtel with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, announced today that it has partnered with Radio Express, a leading international branded audio company, to launch two newly created shows on local radio stations across 17 African countries.

The weekly countdown shows, Airtel Music Express (in English) and Airtel Musique Express (in French) are produced by Radio Express and feature the hottest Hip-Hop, R&B, and pop artists on the African airwaves, connecting people to performers from Africa and beyond. Both shows feature global hits, as well as local hits in each country. The charts are based on airplay reports from dominant mainstream music radio stations throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Airtel Music Express is an English language program hosted by African superstar IK ("I.K."), and features music from artists including Wyre (Kenya), Tiwa Savage (Nigeria), Magic System (Côte d'Ivoire), Bebe Cool (Uganda), and Lady Jaydee (Tanzania). Airtel Music Express airs weekly in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Seychelles, on six stations in Ghana and on 13 stations across Nigeria, including Lagos, Abuja, Pt. Harcourt, Jos, Benin, Awka, Nsukka, Ibadan, Kaduna, Kano, Oraifite and Effurun.

The second radio show, Airtel Musique Express is a French language program hosted by African personality, Jed, and features music from French-speaking artists like Alain Ramanisum (Mauritius), Constance (Senegal), DJ Arafat (Côte d'Ivoire) and Fally Ipupa (Dem. Rep. of Congo). Airtel Musique Express airs weekly in Burkina Faso, Madagascar, Niger, Chad, Rep. of Congo, Dem. Rep. of Congo and in Gabon.

Andre Beyers, Chief Marketing Officer at Airtel Africa, said: "Our objective is to raise brand and product awareness for Airtel among consumers in Africa. Radio is the world's most accessible and personally engaging mass medium, and it was a natural choice to work with Radio Express and these popular radio stations to bring Airtel Music Express and Airtel Musique Express to music lovers across these 17 countries. We think listeners will love the mix of world music and local music hits in the shows' engaging countdown format."

He added: "Airtel Music Express helps communicate our commitment to supporting up and coming performers and their music."

source :allafrica.com