According to a Tuesday discussion on Kenya’s online tech forum, Kictanet, the hacker is part of an online Indonesian security forum known as Forum Code Security and says he took down the websites following tutorials from the forum.

The news of the hacking was first exposed on the site code-security.net/archives/114, a forum on code security.

The title on the website read: “Joint Discussion — Forum on Code Security”.

“Such tutorials usually exploit programming errors in code, known as bugs, which have not been fixed. The hacker appears to have a website at http://www.direxer.com/ though this has not been updated to reflect the hacking.

In a message in the forum, the hacker says:

show off by me…

thanks for tutorial in www.code-security.com all…

i have exploit from cs web, and i attacking to server Goverment Kenya,,,, and then,,, success full… this is deface in this night…

The government has reportedly moved fast to take the affected websites offline through a Cyber Incidence Response Team (CIRT) based at the Communications Commission of Kenya.
The CIRT was formed to handle such situations and ensures Kenya’s security in cyber space. In a comment, Vincent Ngundi who heads CIRT said: “We’re on it. Thanks for the heads-up and comments” in Kenya’s Security Forum where the news first broke.

The government normally hosts several websites in one server at The Treasury thus compromising the server may expose several websites to a hacker.

The Administration Police website has been hacked several times in the recent past. At the same time, most of the websites hacked appear to have been running the Joomla Content Management system:

http://www.administrationpolice.go.ke/index.html
http://www.aideffectiveness.go.ke/index.html
http://www.bungomacounty.go.ke/index.html
http://www.businesslicense.go.ke/index.html
http://www.cak.go.ke/index.html
http://www.commstaskforce.go.ke/index.html
http://www.cooperative.go.ke/index.html
http://www.crd.go.ke/index.html
http://www.crisisrcentre.go.ke/index.html
http://www.ditkenya.go.ke/index.html
http://www.doshs.go.ke/index.html
http://www.economicstimulus.go.ke/index.html
http://www.eldoretmunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.emu.go.ke/index.html
http://www.education.go.ke/index.html
http://www.environment.go.ke/index.html
http://www.filmservices.go.ke/index.html
http://www.fisheries.go.ke/index.html
http://www.forestryandwildlife.go.ke/index.html
http://www.gender.go.ke/index.html
http://www.governmentpress.go.ke/index.html
http://www.greenenergy.go.ke/index.html
http://www.housing.go.ke/index.html
http://www.ifmis.go.ke/index.html
http://www.immigration.go.ke/index.html
http://www.industrialization.go.ke/index.html
http://www.isc.go.ke/index.html
http://www.iprs.go.ke/index.html
http://www.itentambachtowncouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.itmis.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kenao.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kapsabetmunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kenyayearbook.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kerugoyakutusmunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kesi.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kipi.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kisumucountycouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kirinyagacountycouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kitalemunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kituimunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kkv.go.ke/index.html
http://www.knfparms.go.ke/index.html
http://www.knsdi.go.ke/index.html
http://www.kntc.go.ke/index.html
http://www.laikipiacountycouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.lands.go.ke/index.html
http://www.leatherdevelopmentcouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.limurumunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.livestock.go.ke/index.html
http://www.lodwarmunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.maraguacountycouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.mariakanitown.go.ke/index.html
http://www.maurestoration.go.ke/index.html
http://www.migoricountycouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.minesgeology.go.ke/index.html
http://www.mirp.go.ke/index.html
http://www.monitoring.go.ke/index.html
http://www.moyalecountycouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.murangacounty.go.ke/index.html
http://www.murangamunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.nairobicity.go.ke/index.html
http://www.naivashamunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.nakurucounty.go.ke/index.html
http://www.nationaldisaster.go.ke/index.html
http://www.nationalheritage.go.ke/index.html
http://www.nccs.go.ke/index.html
http://www.nec.go.ke/index.html
http://www.northernkenya.go.ke/index.html
http://www.nyandaruacountycouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.othayatowncouncil.go.ke/index.html
http://www.pec.go.ke/index.html
http://www.pfmr.go.ke/index.html
http://www.pghnyeri.go.ke/index.html
http://www.pharmacy.go.ke/index.html
http://www.prisons.go.ke/index.html
http://www.psrpc.go.ke/index.html
http://www.publichealth.go.ke/index.html
http://www.publicservice.go.ke/index.html
http://www.publicworks.go.ke/index.html
http://www.reformskenya.go.ke/index.html
http://www.refugees.go.ke/index.html
http://www.regional-dev.go.ke/index.html
http://www.roads.go.ke/index.html
http://www.rprlgsp.go.ke/index.html
http://www.scat.go.ke/index.html
http://www.scienceandtechnology.go.ke/index.html
http://www.singlewindow.go.ke/index.html
http://www.sprogrammes.go.ke/index.html
http://www.tabakatown.go.ke/index.html
http://www.tanathi.go.ke/index.html
http://www.tfdg.go.ke/index.html
http://www.technologycentre.ac.ke/index.html
http://www.theenergytribunal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.thekenyawewant.go.ke/index.html
http://www.thikamunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.transformingkenya.go.ke/index.html
http://www.treasury.go.ke/index.html
http://www.ugunjatown.go.ke/index.html
http://www.ukwalatown.go.ke/index.html
http://www.westernkenya.go.ke/index.html
http://www.vihigamunicipal.go.ke/index.html
http://www.works.go.ke/index.html
http://www.youthaffairs.go.ke/index.html

Filmmakers from Commonwealth Countries are invited by the Commonwealth foundation to submit an idea for a short film about relationships.

Individual filmmakers or collectives should submit a proposal which explores the theme of love in its broadest sense, whether inter-racial, inter-generational or within and between the sexes.
The theme should be relevant to the filmmaker and their community.

The Foundation is looking for original, bold and authentic films in any genre which entertain as well as stimulate and encourage debate both locally and globally.

Eligibility

Open to Commonwealth citizens
Applicants must be aged 18 or over
Open to new and emerging film makers working in appropriate media (film, video, new media)
Applications must be made via the online application form
Please note applications can only be made by individual filmmakers or groups of individuals (i.e. collectives). The Foundation is not accepting applications from registered organisations.

Deadline for applications is 31 January 2012 (5pm GMT)

for more information visit the link below.

http://www.commonwealthfoundation.com/Howwedeliver/Prizes/CommonwealthShorts

According to George Mudhune, LG’s Head of Communication and Marketing, East and Central Africa, the highly anticipated handset is the third phone to come from the collaboration and represents a key design venture for both companies.

The PRADA phone by LG 3.0 combines PRADA’s distinctive style with LG’s innovative technology, including one of the biggest and brightest screens in the world with 4.3inch and 800-nit screen.

Styled with PRADA’s clean and sharp design philosophy, the handset features a full glossy touch-screen to the front and PRADA’s signature Saffiano pattern to the back, all finished in classic black.

Mudhune also said the phone had a unique user interface experience that can be enjoyed on the device’s 800-nit, 4.3inch NOVA High Brightness Display, allowing users to view all their favorite photos and content even in direct sunlight.

Plus with an 8MP camera and up to 8GB of user memory, all Life’s Good moments can be captured and enjoyed in high quality

With every detail designed for chic simplicity, this handset also boasts LG’s signature Floating Mass Technology, optically enhancing the thinness of its already impressive 8.5mm depth, with minimal hard-keys completing the sleek simple finish.

As effective as it is striking, the PRADA phone by LG 3.0 boasts a 1.0GHz Dual-Core/Dual-Channel architecture for high-speed performance, and dual-band wi-fi for high-speed surfing on the go.

The smartphone’s sleek design is also reflected once switched on. The PRADA phone by LG 3.0 offers a specially created user interface featuring a unique black, grey and white menu and icons.

To complement the handset, users will have access to a full line of PRADA phone accessories such as a PRADA branded cradle and Bluetooth ear set. Users can also carry their PRADA phone by LG 3.0 in a range of stylish pouches.

History of PRADA-LG Collaboration

The collaboration between PRADA and LG, which began in 2006 and resulted in two premium phones being introduced in 2007 and 2008, focuses on key elements within the smartphone, including software and user interface down to its design and packaging.

The PRADA phone by LG 1.0, a pioneer in the fashion-house mobile phone space, was an unqualified success, selling over one million units. This premium handset combined high-end technology with a design embodying superior style.

As evidence of its place in design history, the PRADA phone by LG 1.0 is part of the permanent collection in New York City’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Shanghai.

The PRADA phones by LG were revolutionary in the technology they offered to users. The PRADA phone by LG 1.0 was the world’s first touchscreen mobile phone, and the 2.0 provided an innovative mobile experience through its unique watch with Link technology, which allowed for easy access to caller ID, SMS text messages, call history, call block and two-way alarm notification.

According to George Mudhune,LG’s Head of marketing and Communications, East and Central Africa, Intel WiDi will be embedded into next year’s LG CINEMA 3D Smart TVs, making them the first in the TV industry to feature Intel WiDi technology.

And therefore through the strategic alliance, CINEMA 3D Smart TV users will be able to access a wider variety of content in a more convenient manner:

”Intel WiDi will be one of several features that will enhance the user convenience of our CINEMA 3D Smart TVs, further differentiating our products from the competition,” said Mudhune.

Intel WiDi is a wireless connectivity inter-face which allows for instant, high-definition viewing of content stored in notebooks and other external mobile devices on large screen TVs, projectors or monitors.

It not only enables sharing of stored content, it also transfers onto CINEMA 3D Smart TVs, projectors and monitors a spectrum of online contents – such as YouTube videos and streaming TV shows from broadcast websites – that are accessible through notebooks and other mobile devices. Users can view such contents through the expansive and immersive high-definition CINEMA 3D display.

Like wired connectivity standards, such as HDMI and USB cables, Intel WiDi does not require an active wireless internet or WiFi connection to transfer content between exter-nal mobile devices and CINEMA 3D Smart TVs. Intel WiDi establishes a direct connection between the WiFi chips embedded in the external mobile devices and the CINEMA 3D Smart TVs.

Furthermore, Intel WiDi does not tie down the mobile device during real-time content sharing. Users may perform other tasks on their notebooks and tablet PCs while simultaneously streaming content to a CINEMA 3D Smart TV, projector or monitor

.

At the same time, Intel is also planning to expand Intel WiDi technology to various devices to provide consumers the seamless, smarter usage experience and through the partnership LG CINEMA 3D Smart TV users will be able to benefit from Intel WiDi without the need to purchase an ex-ternal adapter.

LG and Intel would undertake co-marketing activities and Intel WiDi-enabled LG CINEMA 3D products will be on display at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next month in Las Vegas.

Kenya should release more spectrum for use by the mobile telephony industry for GDP growth.
The latest report by GSMA indicates that the stimulus to GDP by 2020 amounts to 1.79 per cent which is equivalent to over Sh80.6 billion.

The ongoing analogue to digital broadcasting shift would aid in the release of the much needed spectrum commonly referred to as digital dividend.

Shift to digital broadcasting means much of the current spectrum utilized by the broadcast industry shall be freed for use by the mobile operators.

“The mobile industry in Africa is booming and a catalyst for immense growth, but there is scope for far greater development…the analysis suggests that Kenya could have a total of 13.5 million broadband subscribers in 2020 and 17.4 million broadband subscribers in 2025, if additional spectrum is made available,” Peter Lyons, Director of Spectrum Policy, Africa and Middle East, GSMA said.

Dubbed Wireless Intelligence, the report indicates that if the spectrum release is delayed by 5 years, there will be no GDP stimulus until 2020, and the unrealised additional GDP as a result of the delay will rise from Sh1.8 billion in 2015 to Sh53.9 billion in 2019.
Similarly, the loss of general tax revenues due to the forgone GDP will rise from sh376 million in 2015 to sh11.3 billion in 2019.

“We forecast that the number of effective mobile broadband subscribers (MBB) subscribers in urban and rural areas will be 12.7 million by 2020, assuming additional spectrum is released. By contrast, if no additional spectrum is made available, the number will only be 6.3 million,” reads the report on Kenya in part.

Of the 6.4 million uplift in subscriber numbers, 2.1 million will be in rural areas and 4.3 million will come from urban areas. In 2025, the forecast number of subscribers is 16.1 million, assuming extra spectrum becomes available in 2015, compared to 7.8 million if no additional spectrum is issued. Of the base of additional subscribers, 5.4 million subscribers will be urban and 3.0 million will be rural.

There is more capacity than demand throughout the forecast period, in terms of the number of effective MBB subscribers, because Kenya has a relatively large rural population (nearly 80 per cent of the total population).

We assume that the service will be within the financial reach of a maximum of 70% of the urban population. This puts an affordability limit of 9.3 million effective mobile broadband subscribers on urban areas in 2020. Meanwhile, the enhanced urban capacity of network can accommodate up to 15.3 million subscribers.

In Kenya, around 78 per cent of the total population lives in rural areas. Although the vast majority of Kenya’s rural population relies on agriculture and is poor, urbanisation is gradually rising and will help to increase the overall population’s average income and disposable income. Data from the IMF suggests that by 2015, GDP per capita (at 2010 constant prices) will grow by around 17 per cent from the level in 2010.

CIO East Africa officially unveiled the top 100 organizations in this year’s CIO 100 awards, in a colourful gala dinner hosted at Safari Park hotel & Casino.

The event that was attended by over 400 delegates saw KENET emerge the overall winner in this year’s awards.

Other overall winners included Eatout in the second place and Nakumatt came third.

The infrastructure award went to Safaricom Business, green edge award to waste electrical and electronic centre, Security award went to Sarova hotels and Networking award to Royal media services.

Isaac Hassan of IIEC bagged the leadership award and Cisco systems the Technology partner award.
The PlusOne awards for different sectors were as follows:

• Financial Sector-Mobicash
• Energy sector-Nuru East Africa Limited
• Transport sector-Kenya airways
• Public Sector-Directorate of egovernment
• Real Estate sector-propertyzone.com
• Education sector-USIU
• Media sector-vision group
• Health sector-Pedigree
• Agriculturl sector-Kephis
• NGO sector-world vision
• Region sector-Interconsumer products
• Hospitality-Sarova hotels
• Automotive sector-CFAO motors Tanzania Ltd

Country Awards
Uganda –Vision group
Tanzania-Sumaria group
Rwanda-Rwandair
The gala dinner was the climax of a 2 day conference where top CIOs in East Africa converged to network, share experiences, knowledge and new trends.

The event was opened by Dr. Bitange Ndemo and Dr. Katherine Getao who shared the government’s strategy for IT infrastructure development and automation of government services.

The CIO 100 awards are the only awards in Africa that recognize excellence in the IT industry as well as the organizations and the people within them that have embraced the use of IT in service delivery.

KENET received the top award for its project that seeks to provide Internet connectivity to educational institutions.

CIO East Africa director Harry Hare (left) and the firm's Business Development manager Nicholle Myle address a media briefing on November 10, 2010 in Nairobi.

The company, through several partners has invested more than Sh10 million on the project and is already getting return on investment in less than three years.

KENET has six Internet points of presence (POPs) connecting over 61 learning institutions across Kenya with a solution that allows members from one institution to roam on Internet networks of other institutions at no fee.
The first runners up at the awards was Eat Out Kenya, founded by WebSimba in 2009 to “revolutionise the eating experience for both diners and restaurants”.
Eat Out was recognised for their project that has seen many restaurants having an online presence where diners can browse through menus and make restaurant bookings.
With over 250 listed restaurants, the site’s traffic has grown from under 5,000 visitors per month in January 2010 to more than 50,000 visitors at the moment. Eat Out was deployed in about 12 months with an aim to achieve return on investment in six months. The project has already achieved its return on investment.
Started in 1987 and offering 75,000 products to over 200,000 customers a day, Nakumatt Holdings scooped second runners up award.
Started in July 2005, Nakumatt’s winning project was titled “IT enabled miscellaneous products and services”.
The project offers services such as: electronic airtime distribution and dispensing from Tills; Utility bill collection for services such as Safaricom’s Post Paid and Nairobi Water; Cash back (bank withdrawal) at tills for Equity Customers.
The projected was deployed over a six month duration and has been able to achieve return on investment.
See below a list of the top 100 firms recognised at the CIO 100 awards for their innovative use of ICT is as below.
1 Kenya Education Network (KENET)
2 Eat Out Kenya
3 Nakumatt Holdings Limited
4 MobiKash Afrika Lmited
5 Usalama Innovative Systems
6 Nuru East Africa Ltd
7 Shimba Technologies Ltd
8 Kenya Airways
9 Safaricom Limited
10 Equity Bank Limited
11 Directorate of e-Government
12 Royal Media
13 Virtual City Ltd
14 Propertyzote.com
15 United States International University
16 Kenya Revenue Authority
17 Airtel Africa
18 Technology Associates EA Limited
19 Seven Seas Technologies
20 Vision Group
21 mPedigree Network Kenya
22 Compulynx Limited
23 Waste Electrical & Eectronic Equipment Centre
24 Ethiopix Technology Lab
25 British American Insurance Company (K) Limited
26 SISDO organization
27 Kenya Forestry Service
28 KEPHIS (Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate)
29 World Vision Kenya
30 Kickstart
31 Directorate of e-Government
32 Arid Lands Information Network (ALIN)
33 Kenya Institute Of Education
34 Zege Technologies Limited
35 AskADoc
36 Juja St Peters School
37 Kenya Airports Parking services
38 Interconsumer Products Limited (Nice & Lovely)
39 Makini School Limited
40 Sarova Hotels Limited (e-commerce)
41 BTI Milmann Limited
42 CFAO Motors Tanzania Limited
43 Crystalint Media
44 Britania Allied Industries Ltd
45 Uganda Baati Ltd
46 Directorate of e-Government
47 Pluspeople Kenya ltd.
48 Public Complaints Standing Committee
49 Rafiki Deposit Taking Microfinance
50 IFMIS Department – Ministry Of Finance
51 National ICT Innovation and Integration Centre
52 Webmasters Africa Limited
53 PZ Cussons EA Ltd
54 Bavaria Auto
55 SalesIn4
56 Enterprise Information Management Solutions Limited
57 Sumaria Group
58 Somesha Limited
59 Craft Silicon Foundation
60 Postal Corporation of Kenya
61 Makerere University – Luo Translation Team (Uganda) COCIS
62 AccessKenya Group
63 Techno Brain BPO ITES Ltd.
64 MTN Business Kenya Limited
65 Africa Broadcasting (U) Ltd
66 CWRC-Community Wireless Research Center
67 Kabarak University
68 University of Nairobi
69 CIC Insurance Ggroup Limited
70 Wasp Africa Ltd
71 Kulture Store
72 Nairobi Stock Exchange
73 Attain Enterprise Solutions Ltd
74 Globetrack Intertional Limited
75 Simba Corporation
76 Kenya Methodist University
77 GESTALT GILD
78 REAL Insurance Co Ltd
79 Paradise Safari Park Hotel
80 Chase Bank (K) Ltd
81 National Housing and Construction Company
82 Billionare Fund Ltd
83 Greenbell Communications Ltd
84 African Council for Distance Education
85 Belladonn Pharmacy Ltd
86 Kenya Institute of Management
87 Silafrica Limted
88 Uganda Revenue Authority
89 Best Tech System
90 Farm Engineering Industries Ltd
91 Farmers Choice Limited
92 Alliance High School
93 Family Bank Ltd
94 Sameer Africa Limited
95 DHL Express
96 Dutch Quality systems
97 ESBC Ltd
98 Jimcab Services Ltd
99 Scangroup Ltd
100 Shumuk Aluminium Industries Ltd

Both projects were motivated by the childbirth-related deaths of important women in the lives of the African-based project innovators.

Although Kenyan Sam Agutu and Nigerian Aminu Gamawa come from different countries and backgrounds, they share a common passionate commitment – to save the lives of women giving birth and guarantee infants a healthy start.
Agutu’s sister died in childbirth on the way to the hospital. Gamawa’s mother died in childbirth too. Both men say the deaths were avoidable if better care had been available. They’ve channeled that devastating loss into powerful motivation to improve the odds for women and their babies.

Sam Agutu’s Kenyan group, Changamka Microhealth based in Nairobi, is proposing e-vouchers delivered through cell phones to encourage women to seek care during their pregnancy and at birth. In remote areas health care costs and distance to clinics are barriers for women. The e-vouchers can be used to pay for pre-natal care and transportation.

“Research shows that not receiving adequate care is a leading cause of maternal mortality in the developing world. Mothers who attend their required ante-natal visits and who deliver in hospital stand an infinitely greater chance of surviving than those who do not” said Mr. Agutu. “We will use Saving Lives at Birth’s support to validate the effectiveness of e-vouchers, an SMS informational campaign and a transport subsidy in encouraging pregnant women to seek health care.”

The Development Research and Projects Centre in Nigeria is relying on persuasion and experience to change attitudes of some Islamic opinion leaders in the country’s Muslim northern states. The project will leverage the persuasive powers of progressive Islamic leaders to change opinions of more traditional leaders.

“The Development Research and Project Centre’s proposal is aimed directly at those religious leaders to change their negative messages about maternity and newborn care,” said Aminu Gamawa, Leadership Development Mechanism Fellow at the Development Research and Projects Centre. “We want to improve the survival of women and children in Northern Nigeria, which has the highest maternal and neonatal death rate in the country as well as one of the highest in the world.

Each program will receive a $250,000 seed grant from the Saving Lives at Birth partnership, which includes Grand Challenges Canada, USAID, the Government of Norway, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Bank.

“These two bold ideas with big impact are testimonials to the loved ones these innovators lost in childbirth,” said Peter A. Singer, CEO of Grand Challenges Canada, a member of the partnership. “Their loved ones did not have to die, and these innovations aim to prevent other women from dying unnecessarily in childbirth.”

“With the support and leadership of the Government of Canada, this innovative initiative from Grand Challenges Canada is contributing to our overall maternal and child health efforts. I commend the Saving Lives at Birth partners for their dedication,” said the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation.

“To deliver dramatic health results for women and children who may never step foot inside a hospital, we must harness the creativity of innovators and partners across the globe.” Said Rajiv Shah, USAID Administrator. “By doing so, we can increase the efficiency, sustainability and effectiveness of our work.”

“Grand Challenges Canada is proud to be working with our consortium partners, Canada’s International Research Centre (IDRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to support this very important work in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Joseph L. Rotman, Chair of Grand Challenges Canada, “It takes bold innovation of all types to make substantial changes in the health and well-being of women and infants.”

Industry recognises the key role of innovative partnerships to improve African services 10 November 2011 –SEACOM and Main One, the only two privately funded and open-access based African submarine fibre optic cable systems, were awarded “Best Pan African Initiative” at the AfricaCom Awards 2011 ceremony held in Cape Town, South Africa, on Wednesday 9 November 2011.

The award, which was also won by SEACOM in 2009, recognises an initiative taken by an organisation or a group of organisations to improve telecommunications services at a regional or continental level.

Commenting on the award, Mark Simpson, SEACOM CEO, said: “We are honoured to be recognised once again for our efforts in continuously extending pan-African connectivity by investing in infrastructure, products and services that meet the continent’s insatiable demand for bandwidth.

“This partnership shows our determination to find viable ways to extend our system with partners who share our vision of building the African Internet on an open and equitable basis.”Main One and SEACOM announced in May 2011 that they had interconnected their west and east African cable systems to launch capacity services from PoP to PoP, from a STM-1 level and above.

This partnership extends the Main One and SEACOM networks to create a system that offers connection between any SEACOM and Main One PoPs all around Africa.

Funke Opeke, Main One CEO, explained: “Through this partnership, SEACOM and MainOne have extended their individual cable systems to the opposite coasts of Africa without the efforts required to construct brand new routes.

“The ability to connect the east and west coast of the continent directly results in improved throughput but also provides a system around most of the continent which provides improved redundancy for telecommunications operators.”Now in its fourth year, the awards are a serious recognition of the commitment and professionalism of these finalists to their core business and to changing the landscape of the continent, for the better.

The ceremony forms part of the AfricaCom conference, a pan-African communications event now in its 14th year, which is attended by leading African operators, service providers, ministries, regulators and equipment and solutions providers in Africa. For more information on the awards, please visit http://www.africacomawards.com.

Africa’s mobile app developers have a chance to shine in the global arena in a competition that will see the winner pocket over Sh1.5 million (15,000 euros) cash prize.

Ericsson and Sony Ericsson have partnered with Google to run the competition for application developers in sub-Saharan Africa where local developers have been invited to submit innovative ideas and mobile applications on the Android platform.

Titled ‘Apps for Africa’ the competition is to run under the aegis of the 2012 Ericsson Application Awards (EAA 2012) – an ongoing annual competition for application developers worldwide organized by Ericsson Research.

‘Apps for Africa’ is designed to promote the development of innovative ideas and mobile applications from a variety of environments and situations peculiar to the region.

These are expected to enable new opportunities for people to collaborate, innovate, learn, care and participate in more efficient ways that positively impact environment.

Members of the winning teams in each region (East, Central, Southern and West africa) will each receive a Sony Ericsson Xperia phone, while teams in second place will receive Business Experience Packs (including Sony Ericsson MW600, office pro, McAfee, and a micro USB cable).

“Our objective for Sony Ericsson is to be the preferred choice for Android devices and we’re thrilled that to help reach this objective we’re able to get under the skin of the very platform our handsets perform on by way of an Android Application competition,” said Colin Williamson, Marketing Manager for Sony Ericsson on Tuesday when the competition was unveiled in South Africa.

Similar competition shall be unveiled for Eastern, Western and Central Africa before end of this month.
“As the usage of mobile phones has a direct impact on the way of life in Africa this is a prime example of how technology and innovation are elevating us to new levels of sophistication.
We are anxious to see all of the creative submissions and would like to wish everyone good luck as they take on this challenge,” said Lars Linden, Head of Ericsson, Sub Saharan Africa.

Interested developers are required to register teams of two to four people online at ericssonapplicationawards.com/apps-for-africa before February 01, 2012 and submit either a video of idea or an Android based application that addresses the theme and makes use of at least one Ericsson Labs API (like Mobile Location or Text To Speech) before February 28, 2012.

All application submissions will be automatically entered into the global competition – EAA 2012 – ‘Apps for the Networked Society’, for the chance to win the €15,000 cash prize.

In Ericsson’s latest Traffic and Market Data report, which provides insights into current trends, it forecasts that mobile broadband subscriptions is expected to grow from 900 million in 2011 to almost 5 billion in 2016.
That would represent 60 percent year-on-year growth, at the same time as the data consumed by smartphone users is surging. Total smartphone traffic is expected to triple during 2011.
In an Interview with the Nation Media Group in Cape Town, South Africa ahead of Wednesday’s Africom conference, Ericsson Vice President and Head of Communications Mwambu Wanendeya said the report is based on measurements the company recorded over several years in live networks covering all regions of the world.
The report shows there is a strong momentum for smartphone uptake in all regions and expects traffic generated by advanced smartphones to increase 12-fold to roughly equal mobile PC-generated traffic by 2016.
Head of Mobile, Google South Africa, Mr Brett St Clair called upon Africa’s innovators to concentrate on localized mobile applications to solve African problems.
“There is a huge amount of untapped talent in Africa. Universities are training talents but no one is tapping them. The mobile applications’ industry offers a great opportunity for these talents,” said Mr Brett.
Mr Brett argued that mobile broadband, new smartphone launches and applications uptake will continue to drive data consumption.
He said so far the android app market has over 250,000 applications globally and in 26 countries users are now able to buy the apps either in US dollars or in their local currencies, which is a great boost to mobile app developers.
Mr Mwambu said Ericsson’s presence in more than 180 countries, where it supports more than 1,000 networks, enables it to measure mobile voice and data volumes. The result is a representative base for calculating world total mobile traffic in 2G, 3G, and 4G networks.

Summary:
The competition is open to students and to small and medium sized enterprises based in Easter, Southern, Central and Westen AfricaAfrica; it has been split into four sub competitions based on location as follows:
Southern Africa for countries – Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Saint Helena, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe
Eastern Africa for countries – Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Réunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda
Central Africa; Central Africa – Burkina Faso, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Côte D’ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Togo
Western Africa – Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
The EAA 2012 awards themed ‘Apps for the Networked Society’, will run till May 2012, the competition provides a unique opportunity for developers to gain exposure within the telecommunications world and a chance to reach out to customers via Ericsson’s distribution channels in addition to the opportunity to win the latest top of the range Sony Ericsson phones and €15,000 in prize money.

Kenya’s leading telecom, Safaricom, has won two AfricaCom 2011 awards for innovative technology and life changing solutions in Africa.

The company bagged Changing Lives Awards, for the successful Kenyans for Kenya fundraising initiative and Best ICT Solution Provider for Enterprise Markets in Africa for its tele-presence technology in Kenyan courts.
Receiving the awards on Wednesday night in Cape Town South Africa, Safaricom’s Communications Director, Nzioka Waitta expressed his joy to the Nation saying the company bagged the Changing Lives Awards for the very successful drought fighting initiative that was Kenyans use MPESA’s pay bill service to fundraise for the drought stricken in northern Kenya.

The Kenyans for Kenya project aimed at raising Sh500m in four weeks to feed approximately four million Kenyans facing starvation.

Using MPESA, Kenyans were able to make donations, starting at Sh10 to raise funds that w2ould go towards the Kenya Red Cross Appeal. Transaction fees were waived. Withing four weeks, the amount raised was three times more thatn wahat Kenya Red cross Society had been able to raise in six months through their initial global appeal.

Safaricom has been approached by OXFAM’s regional office to spearhead an Africa for African’s initiative.
Safaricom’s tele justice, a two way interactive video for conducting judicial proceedings, allows judges to monitor behaviour individuals on probation, permits crime victims to testify at parole hearings without travelling to a meeting where an inmate is present, and provides an alternative to inmates’ travelling to court for parole hearings.

The solution is based on the Cisco Tele-presence technology which Safaricom proposed and was commissioned to deploy on a pilot basis for the Kenya appellate Court between Nairobi and Mombasa.

The Appellate court is a circuit Court that has historically experienced huge backlogs due to the constraints of Appeal Court judges having to travel between the cities to hear cases.

The Tele justice project enables Appeal Court Judges seated in Nairobi to hear and rule on cases filede at the court of appeal in Mombasa, which is around 500km away, in real time over high resolution video conferencing.

Over 500 cases that formed a large backlog of cases have been heard at the Mombasa Court of appeal. This is due to increased availability of judges to hear cases over the tele-presence technology.

Orange crowned for best new service: Surf and Pay. Surf and Pay is a 3G Wi-Fi router with embedded billing software which allows businesses to charge end users for connecting to the Internet at their cyber cafe, hotel or restaurant.

With this solution, one gets an administrator’s account for managing all the features through a user friendly interface. It allows one to create user names and passwords, create own pricelist, choose way to charge end users, limit down load speed or volume per user, print vouchers, monitor online and active Internet users in real time and obtain daily, weekly or monthly reports.

Ericsson bagged the rural telecoms award for increasing accessibility of services in rural and under-served Africa with MTN South Africa crowned for best network improvement.