Information

 Social networks: Activists move in...
06/03/2009 -- Facebook is not just a way to get back in touch with old classmates from school or see what your “friends” are up to. Activists around the world are taking advantage of this new virtual space to expand their reach and establish more immediate and interactive contact with individuals and organisations from an ever wider range of backgrounds. ITeM, an APC member in Uruguay, talked with APCNoticias about how it is using this web-based tool, and shared some practical advice for others who are experimenting with social networks and other Web 2.0 tools. |

 South Africa: Building rural legal capacity through ICTs
03/03/2009 -- APC members have been preaching the importance of bundling capacity building with technology projects for a long time. Last year, Ungana-Afrika demonstrated the value of this approach in their work in rural South Africa with under-resourced paralegal advice offices just getting connected to the internet for the first time. |

 Survey of e-learning in Africa
03/03/2009 -- According to this 10-page report, e-learning is in its infancy in Africa; but the evidence suggests that there is nevertheless considerable enthusiasm for the potential that it offers across the educational spectrum, not only for universities and schools, but also for vocational training, for lifelong learning, and for marginalised groups such as street children and those with disabilities. |

 South Africa: Life after Vodacom
03/03/2009 -- What does the future hold for Telkom once it sheds its stake in Vodacom? Business Day's Leslie Stones investigates. |

 Telkom competitors now have licences, but will they compete?
03/03/2009 -- After months of legal wrangling and delays, over 400 value added network service providers (VANS) now have electronic communications network service licences in hand. This means these companies have virtually the same rights as incumbent Telkom: they can build networks as they choose. The irony is that VANS effectively now have the same rights as Neotel, which paid R100m for its licence. But will they compete? |

 Extent of online threat to children disputed
16/01/2009 -- A task force created by 49 US state attorneys general to look into the problem of sexual solicitation of children online has concluded that there really is not a significant problem. The findings run counter to popular perceptions of online dangers as reinforced by depictions in the media. |

 How much impact do ICTs have?
12/01/2009 -- Almost everyone agrees that ICTs can make a substantial difference to the poor. However, the evidence base is still weak. A new study – carried out by key donor and NGO actors in the sector and summarised in this briefing – looks at the reasons why the evidence base is not as strong as in other development sectors and makes recommendations for firming things up. |

 Un-copyrighting education
26/12/2008 -- This working paper by Andrew Rens at the Shuttleworth Foundation argues that implementing the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Development Agenda requires a special focus on how intellectual property rights interact with education. It says that the Development Agenda presents the right opportunity to create globally applicable minimum exceptions to copyrights for educational purposes. |

 Kenya: Internet governance still on the back-burner
26/12/2008 -- Kenya has yet to fully address its legal, infrastructure, access, content and security issues. That's according to a report called "Online Deliberations on Internet Governance" released ahead of the up-coming global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meeting in Hyderabad. |

 Egypt: Getting women's crafts online
26/12/2008 -- Are there limits to how the internet can be used to improve the lives of women? A study by ArabDev in Egypt concluded that the internet is too competitive a marketplace to be a realistic showcase for women artisans, but it can be used to generate new handicraft ideas that can be marketed locally. |

 Global wireless boom
30/10/2008 -- The scope of wireless broadband connectivity is expanding globally, with several technologies vying for position in the market, and providing consumers and businesses with a greater number of choices. |

 Do mobiles take care of rural access?
30/10/2008 -- Following the initial rush of ICT for development projects in rural Africa, many did not yield the anticipated outcomes, and interest has been dying down. Now has mobile telephony won the race? While mobile phones certainly have had a great impact in rural areas, a new study, by Ian Howard and commissioned by APC, argues that the need for telecentres and affordable internet connections still exists. |

 Will Africa ever own her share of space?
20/10/2008 -- The stage is already set because not a single equatorial country in Africa has a satellite to its name, logically locking them out of the global outer space ownership debate, writes Othieno Joseph. |

 REPORT: Trends in NGO mobile use
19/10/2008 -- This report on mobile technology examines emerging trends in 'mobile activism' by looking at 11 case studies of groups active in the areas of public health, humanitarian assistance and environmental conservation. Countries considered include Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. |

 South Africa should follow in Africa's footsteps
19/10/2008 -- Technologically-neutral legislation is liberating Africa, experts argue. And South Africa needs to make sure it doesn't lag behind... |

 Equitable access: getting even
29/09/2008 -- Equitable access is about addressing social and economic imbalances when developing policy and rolling out ICTs, so that people from diverse backgrounds have more or less similar opportunities when it comes to accessing and using technology. APC has commissioned a series of papers and commentaries on equitable access. These include discussions on the themes of business models, policy and regulation, tools and technologies and people, networks and capabilities. |

 ACCESS: Race for bandwidth hots up
24/09/2008 -- Four international fibre projects are racing to complete ahead of each other on the west coast of Africa to give some much needed additional capacity and price competition to the SAT-3 fibre-optic cable. The drop in bandwidth prices could be spectacular. |

 Copyright and government information
18/09/2008 -- This paper, by Denise Nicholson and Dick Kawooya, looks at the impact of copyright on access to public information in Uganda and South Africa. |

 Satellite still king in Africa
09/09/2008 -- Africa still relies heavily on expensive satellite connections to gain access to the internet, according to a report just released by the South Africa-based telecommunications analysts BMI-TechKnowledge. It says over 80% of African internet use is routed through satellite connections. |

 Equitable access in education
24/07/2008 -- The debate is no longer whether to use ICTs in education in Africa, but how to do so, and how to ensure equitable access for teachers and learners, the authors of a new book argue. |