Author: Cyrus

Uganda is reportedly looking to build its terrestrial cable link through Tanzania. According to reports appearing on CEO magazine, the country is trying to fight losses which they incur as they suffer frequent cuts on the Mombasa – Kampala cable route. Quoting Peter Kahiigi, the Director Technical Services at NITA-U, the reports indicate that the National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) is already working on the alternative routes to Kampala. Speaking at the annual International Conference on Computing and Research, Mr Kahiigi is quoted as saying: “An alternative route through Tanzania has been planned by NITA-U and the government, and we expect to start…

The new pay-TV provider, StarTimes is spreading its tentacles beating even DSTV and Signet in the process. Now the company has switched on digital TV signal live in Kisumu just weeks after DSTV launched its signal in the same town. StarTimes is aggressively marketing its services in the country and introducing new products including the mobile devices similar to DSTV’s Drifta and Walka. The company has its services cost between Ksh 400 to Ksh 3,000 per month depending on the bouquet choice. StarTimes offer connection to its services at an introductory price of sh2, 999 which includes a plug and…

We started hearing about rumours of sale of Essar Kenya in 2010, just one year after the entry of the group in Kenya. We then revealed in June 2011 that yuMobile was shopping for a buyer. Everyone denied it but the cat was already out of the bag. yuMobile approached all those they saw as potential buyers, locally regionally and even abroad. In fact the former CEO who is now at Kenya Data Networks, Atul Chatulverdi, hawked the company from door to door after running it down. You must however give it to Madhur Taneja who has done great in increasing the…

Daily Nation is reporting that the PS in the Ministry of Information and Communications, Dr Bitange Ndemo, is under investigations for flouting procurement rules in the purchase of the Konza City land. The daily reports that the anti-corruption commission is investigating the PS and his Ministry’s chief procurement officer for allegedly flouting procurement regulations during the purchase of the Konza ICT park land. Dr Ndemo is alleged to have single sourced the seller of the 5,000-acre property and not going through the recommended open tender. The property was bought from the Machakos based, Malili Ranch Limited at a fee of…

Looking to deliver more value to its clients, Africa’s first Triple Play service provider, Zuku has today launched three new bouquet of packages of services in Kenya. The new packages are dubbed Basic TV/R1 Internet (70 channels/1Mbps), Premium/R8 (87 channels/8Mbps) and Premium/R20 (87 channels/20Mbps). Zuku Triple Play Managing Director Kamande Muiruri said that the introduction of the new packages have been informed by the company’s quest to provide more value even more affordably. “Following a marketing survey, we realized most of our customers wanted faster internet connections at an affordable price. We therefore decided to discount the Premium/R8 package to make affordable to…

App developers in Tanzania have a reason to smile as Vodacom looks to better their lives even before Safaricom employ the same in Kenya. It is jusst not clear if Vodacom will be promoting the iOS and Android platforms without looking into creating a loyality on the network. “The Vodacom AppStar Challenge has been designed to motivate and reward contestants who develop innovative, creative, functional and original mobile applications,” according to a statement from the operator.  The apps to be submitted in the challenge must aim to solve common problems and challenges facing the public. Vodacom Tanzania app challenge winners will…

Nokia has confirmed the availability of its much touted 41 megapixel 808 PureView phone in Kenya. The PureView technology is marketed by the dying former mobile giant as “the highest level smartphone imaging experience, bringing together high-performance sensors and exclusive Carl Zeiss optics.” It is however very hard to see more uptake of the devices locally considering the strong competition from Samsung, Huawei, HTC and Sony in the same cadre. It is telling considering that the much touted “superior phone” is retailing at Ksh 52,900 way below Samsung Galaxy S3 which goes for Ksh 59,999 and HTC One X also…

You must have noticed the unfortunate tweets which came from Kenya Power and Barclays Kenya Twitter accounts responding to my respective requests regarding my accounts with the same. The people handling the accounts, coincidentally became only careless when I requested for information and not anyone else did. The first was the unfortunate tweets from Barclays Bank twitter account when I requested for more information on an account I previously held with the bank. I wanted to re-activate the account and turn it into a business account and so I thought that the best way to get my issue sorted was through the…

Orange has today launched its 42Mbps HSPA+ link in Nairobi. With this, the subscribers can get faster speeds. The sad bit in all this is that no one will get to enjoy the speeds. Less than 800 Kenyans would get to experience anything above 3Mbps because of lack of devices but also majorly because of the discriminatory policies of the telcos. Safaricom launched its 42Mbs network in April and I raise the issue of preference which even Orange proved that is not backed by any analysis but just narrow discriminatory mindset which sees Runda, Parklands, Kileleshwa, Lavington, CBD and other…

Kenya Airways seems to be in deeper problems from than we know of. With the many complains of passenger mistreatment and theft of stuff from luggage of the same. Travelling on KQ three times, I have had my luggage broken into and the airline has repeatedly claimed in the instances that they don’t pay more than $15 for luggage breakage, the cost of the loss notwithstanding. But again let us deal with the facts at hand. KQ is the Kenyan people’s airline (National Carrier) which should market Kenyan culture and virtues just like SA, BA, Delta, Ethiopian Air and others…

28 Kenyan judges were yesterday given iPads and BlackBerry smartphones to help them in their work. Each of the judges was given the new iPad and a BlackBerry torch all of which are loaded with relevant software and materials relevant to their judicial work including the Kenya Law Reports, Holy Books, and the Law Dictionary among others. Assistant High Court registrar, Lucy Njora, said that the devices are meant to help the judges work on the go. The Kenyan judiciary has also embarked on an aggressive computerization led by the Chief Justice who is a common figure on social media and a great user…

Kenyan only remaining housemate in the Big Brother house has received strong support from Kenyan politicians. Led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga who launched a #VoteforPrezzo campaign today, the campaign seek to have the controversial rapper win the $300,000 prize money. I would like to encourage Kenyans to come together in large numbers & vote for Prezzo on @bigbroafrica. #TeamPrezzo — Raila Amollo Odinga (@RailaOdinga) July 30, 2012 Raila launched a campaign through Facebook and Twitter which was later joined by other lobby groups supporting the PM’s candidature in the next general elections. The campaign was joined by Kenyans…

MTN South Africa has with reduced its data rates as the country’s operators fight for a piece of the piece of the data market in the country. With immediate effect 500MB data bundle will retail at at R49 from a previous high of R189 (Ksh 1,900) monthly in a two year contract. The offer is bundled with a 14.4Mbps MTN F@stlink E352 modem. This is competitive considering that the same bundle of 500 meg goes for R 149(Ksh 1,500) and R69 (Ksh 700) at Cell C while 8ta has only a 650MB data bundle which retails at R150 (1,500) per month. South…

Bharti Airtel (‘Airtel’) has announced a partnership with The Learning Resources Management Group  to provide an extensive e-learning program for Airtel employees across 17 African countries. Commenting on the development, David Ssegawa who is Airrtel Africa Chief of HR, said: “Our people are our main source of competitive advantage. We are committed in investing and providing our employees with opportunities to learn and grow within the organization. In addition to the practical benefits it offers, the program will also build a culture of learning and community amongst Airtel employees by facilitating and sharing knowledge and expertise between peers. In the long…

Two organisations that support entrepreneurship have partnered to launch a project to transform young technology enthusiasts into successful entrepreneurs. The initiative, launched by Enablis Entrepreneurial Network and NetHope on June. 14 this year, targets 100 tech savvy youth from universities, technical institutions and technological incubation centres among others. Overall, it will support 100 innovative technology ideas from Kenya, Rwanda and Ghana. Speaking during the sign-off event, Fredrick Kariuki, Regional Director for Enablis East Africa said IT skills are currently in high demand and are generating opportunities for youth to participate in core segments of the economy. “If they can get the…