ITC, Internet and Telecom

News : ITC, Internet and Telecom

Uganda: Internet Restored After Museveni's Electoral Victory

[DW] Social media platforms in Uganda played a crucial role in the mobilization of opposition leader Bobi Wine's followers. Shutting down the internet on the eve of polls added to doubts about how fair the elections were. (AllAfrica)


Tanzania: NGO's Course Equips 20 Girls With ICT Skills

[Daily News] TWENTY girls from Temeke Secondary School in Temeke Municipality- Dar es Salaam Region have completed a one year Information and Communication Technology (ICT) course dubbed 'Skills for their Future' aimed at equipping them for the fourth industrial revolution. (AllAfrica)


Rwanda: Kigali-Based Varsities Opt for Digital Learning Amid Lockdown

[New Times] Higher learning institutions in Kigali have resorted to digital learning in order to prevent students from lagging behind their counterparts in other parts of the country, The New Times has learnt. (AllAfrica)


Kenya: UNDP Donates Robots to Help Kenya's Covid-19 Fight

[Nation] Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe on Friday received three pilot smart "anti-epidemic" robots from the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP) Kenya to support the government's mitigation measures against the Covid-19 pandemic. (AllAfrica)


Rwanda: Rwanda to Secure Technology for Testing Covid-19 Variants

[New Times] The Ministry of Health will soon put in place capabilities to test for Covid-19 variants that are being reported in various parts of the world, Dr. Daniel Ngamije, the Minister of Health has said. (AllAfrica)


Zimbabwe: Research Body Warns Govt e-Learning Not Working

[New Zimbabwe] GOVERNMENT's electronic learning facilities have been a challenge for learners without access to technology, with unstable home environments and those bearing the brunt of Zimbabwe's economic woes, the Research and Advocacy Unit (RAU) has said. (AllAfrica)


Kenya: Africa CDC Lauds Kenya's Use of Tech to Tame Covid-19

[Nation] Kenya's adoption of technology to boost its efforts to contain the spread of Covid-19 has been lauded by the African Union (AU), through its health agency, Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). (AllAfrica)


Kenya: Slum Dwellers Battle Covid-19 Downturn With Virtual Currency

[Thomson Reuters Foundation] The blockchain-based technology helps struggling families afford the essentials and avoid becoming victims of loan sharks (AllAfrica)


South Africa: Aerobotics Startup Raises $17m to Scale Its Ai-for-Agriculture Platform

[TechCrunch] As the global agricultural industry stretches to meet expected population growth and food demand, and food security becomes more of a pressing issue with global warming, a startup out of South Africa is using artificial intelligence to help farmers manage their farms, trees and fruits. (AllAfrica)


Kenya: How Kenya's New Personal Data Protection Law Could Affect Researchers

[The Conversation Africa] The risk of infringing on privacy is growing by the day given the increased frequency and granularity of the data being collected, and advances in the technology for processing them. This has, inevitably, led to the need for laws to secure personal data privacy. (AllAfrica)


Africa: Beem's Founder Looks to Bring Together SMS and New Digital Channels With a Pan-African Reach - Smartphones Still Under-Used in Tanzania

[Balancing Act] London -- This week Tanzania's digital marketer Bongo Live! changed its name to Beem. A name change is nothing remarkable but it provided a good moment to check out the state of the transition from SMS to more digital channels. Russell Southwood spoke to Taha Jiwaji, Beem's CEO and Founder about the state of the business. (AllAfrica)


Kenya: Consumers Feel Pinch of Digital Services Tax

[Nation] Few weeks ago, Judy Ochieng was watching Selina, her favourite TV show on GOtv when a message flashed on her screen, followed by a similar one in her phone. (AllAfrica)


Africa: Kenya Tops Continent By a Mile in Internet Penetration

[Nation] Kenya recorded the highest internet penetration rate in Africa in the year 2020. This is according to a ranking by Internet World Stats (IWS), showing that 87.2 percent of the country's population was connected to the internet. (AllAfrica)


Kenya: Why Uhuru's Facebook Message to Museveni Was Flagged

[Monitor] Facebook on Thursday said that it was in talks with State House over a flagged post by President Uhuru Kenyatta whose content the social media platform incorrectly termed as "false information". (AllAfrica)


Kenya: Facebook Apologises for Flagging Kenyatta's Message to Museveni

[East African] Social media giant Facebook on Thursday apologised to Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta after it erroneously flagged his congratulatory message to his Ugandan counterpart Yoweri Museveni. (AllAfrica)


Namibia: MTC Records N$2.7 Billion in Revenue During 2019/20 Financial Year

[Namibia Economist] Digital enabler, Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) has maintained its leadership position and track record of consistent growth, despite economic contraction amidst a global pandemic. (AllAfrica)


Kenya: Facebook Says AI Misled It, Apologises to President Kenyatta

[Nation] If you torture your data too much it will confess to anything, and most often, your algorithms will make an undesired decision. (AllAfrica)


Kenya: Kenyans Top in Global Tech Contest

[Nation] Three Kenyan innovation teams that excelled at the Huawei ICT Competition Global Finals were feted at an event held at the Serena Hotel, Nairobi, on Tuesday. (AllAfrica)


Kenya: Teachers' Union Unveils Soma Na Bonga for Its Members

[Nation] Some 45,000 female teachers in Kenya will now be able to learn out-of-classroom skills using redeemable points aggregated from use of mobile phone airtime. (AllAfrica)


Rwanda: Rwanda to Host World Class Tech Support Centre

[New Times] Rwanda's technology landscape could experience a major shift, especially for the under-utilized talent as the country joins forces with TEK Experts to establish a know-how support centre in Kigali this year. (AllAfrica)


Kenya: Kenya Joins Tanzania and Uganda in Taxing Digital Transactions

[East African] Kenya has joined Tanzania and Uganda in taxing digital transactions to support its depleted public coffers in an economy weighed down by slowing private sector activities, shrinking revenue collections, growing public debt and increasing expenditure pressures. (AllAfrica)


Uganda: 100 Hours in the Dark - How an Election Internet Blackout Hit Poor Ugandans

[Thomson Reuters Foundation] Nairobi/Kampala -- Internet freedom monitor Netblocks calculates that the almost five-day shutdown would have cost the Ugandan economy around $9 billion (AllAfrica)


Uganda: Multichoice Brings New Promo to Attract More Clients

[Observer] MultiChoice Uganda recently announced a new year's sales offer that will see customers acquire Dstv decoder packages and hardware at a special price offer. (AllAfrica)


Nigeria: African Messaging App Assures Users of Privacy, Security

[This Day] The promoters of 'Ayoba,' an instant messaging app have assured users of privacy and security on the platform. (AllAfrica)


Nigeria: 'Despite Cyber Threats, IT Adoption Increased in 2020'

[This Day] The adoption of Information Technology (IT) in Nigeria has continued to surge, despite cyber threats that hit the IT space in 2020, according to the President of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN), Mr. Remi Afon. (AllAfrica)


Nigeria: How We Improved Broadband Service - NCC

[Vanguard] The Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, says it has increased third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) base transceiver stations (BTS) deployment in Nigeria from 30,000 to 53,460 through an effective regulatory framework. (AllAfrica)


Morocco: Head of Govt. Calls for Speeding Up Implementation of Digital Transformation Programs in Social Sectors

[MAP] Rabat -- Head of Government, Saad Dine El Otmani, called, Wednesday in Rabat, for speeding up the pace of implementation of digital transformation programs particularly those related to social sectors, in accordance with the general guidelines for digital development in Morocco for 2020-2025. (AllAfrica)


Africa: WhatsApp Has Been Mining Your Data All Along

[New Frame] The messaging application's updated privacy policy has users crying foul and jumping ship. But they are just telling you what they have already been doing. (AllAfrica)


Rwanda: Immigration Services Go Online Amid Covid-19 Lockdown

[New Times] Following the two-week lockdown imposed on Kigali city, the Directorate General of Immigration and Emigration (DGIE) has urged the public that all its services will be available online. (AllAfrica)


Nigeria: Cryan - Affordable Broadband Access Will Bridge Digital Divide

[This Day] Country Manager, Ericsson Nigeria, Mr. Sean Cryan, speaks about the opportunities around mobile broadband subscriptions in sub-Saharan Africa and the need for affordable broadband access. that will bridge the digital divide. Excerpts: (AllAfrica)


Africa: Why Covid Makes Internet Access More Urgent Than Ever

[Thomson Reuters Foundation] Progress on making the internet accessible has been far too slow, with just over half the world connected today (AllAfrica)