Author: Cyrus

Just talking to mere mortals around town and hearing all kinds of stories is so refreshing. When you get to dig the details a little bit, you get some details which you didn’t know existed. When I was in form one at Onjiko Secondary School in Nyando, I always wanted to be a journalist. I developed deep love for journalism but my dad wanted me to be an accountant because my elder brother, RIP bro, was doing well in his accounting after his CPA. My dad also knew that I was an A student in sciences and maths so he…

SkyVision Global Networks Ltd., one of the leading global provider of IP connectivity over satellite and fibre optic networks throughout Africa – has announced the launch of its new iDirect VSAT HUB service for South Africa. This offering will be operated by  SkyVision Networks South Africa (Pty)Ltd., SkyVision Global Network’s local subsidiary. The establishment of SkyVision Networks South Africa (pty) Ltd. and the teleport and local VSAT HUB it operates is the latest strategic move SkyVision has taken in order to expand its African footprint. This offering will enable the company to respond to Africa’s need for high quality communication services over…

yuMobile  has opened its first upcountry Relationship Centre in Kisumu city. The outlet located at Swan Centre along Oginga Odinga Street will offer a range of services such as internet/data settings, postpaid activation, bill payments, selling of prepaid lines, airtime, modems and handset sales. Speaking at the launch event, Country Manager Madhur Taneja said, “We are delighted to open our first upcountry customer relationship centre here in Kisumu City. yuMobile commitment is to have a presence in every major town across the country to ensure that all our customers enjoy that unequivocal service they have come to expect from us.”…

According to an article appearing on Reuters Africa site, Tanzania’s mobile phone subscribers grew by an estimated 22% to 25.6 million in the last year. The development is said to have been helped by the low tariff introduced in the country. Tanzania’s Communications Minister, Makame Mbarawa, said that phone tariffs were halved in Tanzania over the past 10 years due to increased competition. “There are now eight licensed mobile phone subscribers, with seven in service. Besides increasing consumer choice, the increase in the number of service providers has led to a 50 percent fall in mobile tariffs,” the minister said…

Two Kenyan tech start-ups, MedAfrica and Kommunity Bora, have been selected as a finalist for the Ericsson Application Awards 2012. The challenge themed “Apps for the Networked Society” , aims to promote innovations from a variety of environments, places and situation as well as by connecting people, things and places to empower individuals and society. MedAfrica is an e-Health focused app while Kommunity Bora submitted an app which seeks to help reduce road accidents. The app is funnily called Nduru. MedAfrica Mobile App Nduru Mobile App httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoXi6R9cL0Y MedAfrica’s main challengers are NabdaCare from Egypt with the Health Book app. The two will…

Samsung Electronics East Africa has unveiled a two-year warranty support for its range of products and appliances in East Africa. The program dubbed Samsung Smart Care 24 Month Warranty, will see Samsung Electronics provide comprehensive service support across all its products for customers purchasing Samsung products from authorised dealers. Samsung is surely spreading its roots in East Africa and winning the confidence of many of its clients in the region through such after-sale-services. Just last week, the electronics giant saw the first class of its Kshs 70million Engineering Academy start. The new extended warranty by Samsung Electronics will guarantee improved loyalty on…

Multi-Choice network has today announced that the value-added services previously available to subscribers watching Big Brother StarGame (BBA) will resume today, Friday May 18, 2012. Through their decoders, subscribers can access the Big Brother StarGame data service by pressing ‘OK’ on their DStv remote from 14:00 CAT today (15pm East African Time – EAT). This data service includes updated news, Housemate profiles and voting information. Multi-Choice has also announced a second live  Big Brother Africa video channel which is now available on DStv Channel 197, also starting today at 3pm EAT. Previously, Big Brother was available 24/7 on Channel 198…

Leading Kenyan car sales website www.cheki.co.ke has announced the launch of a Kiswahili version of its East African online car marketplace. Cheki was launched in Kenya in September 2010 and has rapidly grown to become the favourite car classifieds website in Kenya with over 21,000 cars listed from the majority of Kenyan used cars and Japanese car dealers in all of Kenya’s major cities. The classifieds site has a Nigeria version which ranks in the Top 20 Nigerian content websites. Cheki Africa Managing Director Carey Eaton said “Offering East African car buyers an easy way to connect to sellers in our…

The East African Marine System (TEAMS) consortium has entered into an MOU with France Telecom Marine to carry out the repair on the cable system. The cable which has suffered 2 cuts in less than 2 months will be restored in a record 4 days after the agreement. France Telecom Marine, a division of France Telecom – Orange, specialises in the laying and maintenance of sub-marine cables globally and owns 15 per cent of cable ship fleet worldwide and has operations across the world, as well more than 40,000 kilometres of submarine cable, making it one of the largest players…

One of US mobile operators, Sprint, said Wednesday that it was delaying the launch of the HTC EVO 4G LTE smartphone after the devices were blocked by US customs. The US authorities appear to be enforcing the win by Apple on trade compliance by Android devices. Apple claimed that Android devices infringed on its one-tap screen commands. Sprint confirmed this in a statement and stated that “HTC is working to resolve this issue.” HTC is reported to be in the process of tweaking its future phones to comply by the new requirement. Sprint further said , “We can’t provide specific…

Orange Kenya has today launched a month long 3G data promotion targeting the youth in target universities and colleges. The campaign dubbed 3G Campus Offer, will see students from target universities enjoy one month’s free unlimited internet with the purchase of an Orange Internet Everywhere 3G Modem. Orange mobile customers currently enjoy unlimited internet for as low as KSh 39 daily, KSh 249 weekly and KSh 990 monthly while the Orange Internet Everywhere 3G modem customers access unlimited internet for KSh 990 and KSh 2,990 on a weekly and monthly basis respectively The 3G Campus Offer also seeks to increase…

Regulators in Nigeria have fined four mobile phone carriers a total of $7.3 million over poor service in a nation that depends on cellular phones for communications, a spokesman said. The Nigeria Communications Commission’s penalties hit Bharti Airtel Ltd. of India, Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat, local firm Globacom Ltd. and South Africa-based MTN Group Ltd., some of the dominant carriers in Africa’s most populous nation. Etisalat and MTN must pay $2.25 million apiece, while Airtel faces a penalty of $1.68 million and Globacom faces a $1.125 million fine, said Reuben Muoka, a commission spokesman, on Sunday. The fines come for poor…

So today we have just heard from the media that the celebrated Kenyan investigative journalist Mohammed Ali of the Jicho Pevu fame has been charged theft of a mobile phone worth Sh100,000. The KTN journalist is said to have been charged at Nairobi’s Milimani Law Courts for handling a stolen Nokia 8800 “worth Ksh 100,000”. It is not clear if this phone is the same one lost by Najib Balala as reported in The Star newspaper. Mohammed denied the charges before Chief Magistrate Esther Maina and was freed on a Sh50,000 cash bail, according to media reports. The charge sheet…

ZiNG has partnered with AVUSA to deliver ten new content Zones. The Zones deliver live news feeds from ten of the most popular AVUSA online news and information sources, including the massively popular Sowetan Live. Readers are able to share news stories with one another in real-time to start conversations, and discuss common points of interest, one of the key features of the rapidly growing Instant Messenger. The Zones that have been integrated into the ZiNG experience are specifically suited to diverse interests of local audiences, covering a wide range of topics, from local news and entertainment to sport and lifestyle.…

You have a reliable internet connection and you use Chrome or Firefox. Since you are outside the USA, you cannot watch your favourite shows and series just because of your location. Now worry no more. There is an extension for you for any of the two browsers. ProxTube is just what I have been waiting for. Now I can watch any of the shows I want after having this plugin installed on my computer. The plugin will unblock all US-only videos for anyone to watch ProxTube automatically routes your YouTube traffic through a proxy server in the US, so YouTube…