Software to enhance learning of maths & science

Junior High School Students now have the opportunity to learn science and math, as well as basic computer skills by themselves following the launch of a self-teaching software. The software: Soft Science Volume 1, Soft clips Volume 1 & 2 and a book on how to study effectively and become successful were developed by Mr Justice Annan, Project Officer of the Creator's Computer Clinic, an Information Communication Technology (ICT) based organization. The software is in consonance with the Ghana Education Service syllabus.
The programme, which is in a form of an interactive workbook, is expected to aid the teaching and learning of mathematics, Science, basic computer skills at a student's own pace. It entails some 38 computer animations.
Mrs Aurore Selormey, a Chartered Accountant, who launched the programmes, asked parents, teachers and students to accept them. "The ICT industry is a very dynamic one, growing by leaps and bounds daily. The industry in Ghana is no exception as it is also developing at a very fast pace in many sectors of the economy and has thus become a vital part of our daily lives." Mrs Selormey noted that although computer education in Ghana was growing, the level of integration of ICT into the teaching and learning process was very low because many schools lacked modern laboratories and instruction tools based on the Ghana Education Service's approved syllabus.
Mr Annan said he developed the programmes because the working environment in Ghana was fast becoming ICT dominated and there was the need to prepare students in that capacity before they entered the job market.
"E-Learning, that is teaching and learning enhanced by the computer has been identified as having the potential to expand quality educational opportunities to students," he said. Commenting on some advantages of the programmes, he said because of their interactive nature, they enhanced students' interest and confidence, thus facilitating their understanding of their courses. Professor Jophus Anamuah-Mensah, Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba, expressed concern about the lack of ICT programmes in most schools in Ghana. He noted that education and knowledge was what drove the development countries and called on Ghanaians to take education, especially ICT serious.
"Countries with poor educational facilities perform poorly academically," Prof. Anamuah-Mensah said.

Source: GNA

A two-day West Africa ICT Road Map to Opportunities Conference

A two-day West Africa ICT Road Map to Opportunities Conference, is underway in Accra to discuss regional market creation and cross border co-operation on wireless technologies. The conference on the theme: "West Africa ICT Road Map to Opportunities," which attracted participants from West Africa and other global partners would examine the application of ICT in the areas of e-commerce and e-Government within the Sub-Region. Government, US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the US Department of State, organised the conference, which was opened by Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama.

Vice President Mahama observed that the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG's), in West Africa, would be a mirage if ICT do not play an integral part. He said the MDG's are time-bound and there were challenges associated with the objectives, hence the need for stakeholders in ICT in the Sub-Region to shy away from mere rhetoric's and be proactive to achieve results. "The quest for rapid socio-economic development in our part of the world does not allow us the luxury of conference talk with little action."

Vice President Mahama said the promotion of the Information Society would require substantial investments in terms of financial, technological and human resources. He noted that although West Africa possesses enormous investment potential for the deployment of ICT for development, there is minimal cross-border ICT infrastructure that would provide the expected impact for development.

"In fact, we are still confronted with the phenomenon of passing our telephone and Internet traffic through the developed countries of Europe and America to the West African Sub-Region." Vice President Mahama called for global assistance to enable Ghana to pursue the Digital Freedom Initiative to facilitate services such as Internet connectivity.

He said Ghana and other West Africa countries lacked financial resources to improve on problems like ICT capacity building programmes and specialised training for policy makers and regulators, connectivity for ICT services and applications in remote areas. Dr. Benjamin Aggrey Ntim, Minister of Communications expressed the need for the expansion of access to ICT in West Africa in order to facilitate economic competitiveness.

Mr. David Gross, US Co-ordinator for ICT Policy, noted that, the US had exceeded its financial commitment to Africa and also shown the way to boost the economic growth of the Continent. Dr. Hamadoun Toure, Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union said Africa was leading the way in embracing ICT which he described as positive news that deviated from the negative news of wars and conflicts.

He expressed the need for concerted efforts to confront cyber crime, which is undermining public confidence in ICT. Ms. Leocadia Zak, Deputy Director of USTDA said her outfit had committed 745,000 dollars in support of ICT projects in Liberia and Niger.

The first grant will fund an assessment for the Liberian Telecommunications Corporation for the technical and financial viability of the proposed metropolitan fibre optic ring around Liberia. The second grant will support a separate study for Seaquest Info Tel of Niger on the National ICT backbone.

Source: GNA

Explore the privileges of ICT – Tema MCE

The Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mr David Quaye Annang, on Monday, entreated Ghanaians to explore the privileges of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in every aspect of their lives.
Mr Annang said ICT should not be limited to only specialized services, such as banking, as individuals could benefit greatly from it when well utilized.
He made the call at the launch of Busyinternet Tema, the first branch of the company, an Internet Service Provider (ISP).
The MCE said, to reap the full benefits of ICT in all aspect of the country's economy, the government was promoting the study of ICT in the educational sector, starting with the basic schools.
He explained that when students are exposed to the benefits of ICT at an early age, they impart the knowledge to their peers and the elderly as well as appreciate its importance to their existence in the future.
Touching on the benefits of the new branch to the metropolis, Mr Annang said schools in the metropolis without ICT facilities could patronize the services of the Centre, adding that, it would also help expand business activities in the industrial hub.
Miss Estelle Akofio-Sowah, Managing Director of Busyinternet, in a welcome statement said, the company, which has operated in the country for the past seven years would provide services and ICT teachings to 30 schools in the Tema metropolis, indicating that, it has already started with students from Naylor SDA School.
Urging Ghanaian establishments to concentrate on developing the talents of their employees in addition to making profits, Ms Akofio-Sowah observed that Ghana would not develop when companies limit their operations to profit making.
Mr Mark Davies, Founder of Busyinternet on his part said the opening of the branch was a step towards achieving the company's aim of providing Africans access to the social and economic opportunities of ICT.
Mr Davies noted that the ISP sought to blend technology with service, to challenge Africans to see the impact of ICT in their lives and the continent.
Representatives of Fidelity Capital Partners and Stanbic Bank, partners of the company pledged their support to Busyinternet and congratulated its management for winning the Best ISP and Life Time Achievement awards.


http://www.modernghana.com/news/169074/1/explore-the-privileges-of-ict-tema-mce.html

Government establishes 230 CICs in Districts

The government is to establish 230 Community Information Centres (CIC) in the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country. The programme, which falls within the government's development framework for the Information Communication Technology (ICT) for accelerated development aims at spreading the use of ICTs to improve the country's economic base and accelerate growth by transforming Ghana into information enabled society.

Dr. Benjamin Aggrey Ntim, Minister of Communications announced this at the inauguration of a CIC in Bimbilla in the Nanumba North District of the Northern Region at the weekend. The government spent GH¢ 70,000 to build and equip the Centre, while the Bimbilla District Assembly used 50 million cedis to furnish it.

Other districts in the Northern Region to benefit from CICs include Damongo in the West Gonja District, Salaga in the East Gonja District, Yendi District, Walewale in the West Mamprusi District, Gushiegu District and Saboba in the Saboba/Chereponi District. Dr. Ntim said the CIC programme was aimed at bridging the digital divide between the rural and the urban centres and also forms part of government's efforts to reduce the incidence of poverty.

Dr. Ntim said, as an interface between the citizens and government, the CICs would help disseminate information from the government to the people and simultaneously cumulate data and opinions of the people for input into governments planning machinery. "The CICs serving as model tools of ICT would help integrate and coordinate development planning at all levels and sectors, thus establishing an effective national development planning system," Dr. Ntim said.

He said government policies would be easily accessible by the local people and thus leading to an effective roll-out and implementation on the local front while also providing a platform for the training in ICT for school kids, market women, farmers, teachers' and staff of decentralised departments.

Dr. Ntim warned the management of the CICs not to turn them into "cyber-cafe or internet caf=E9 type facility" but to remain focused on their core mission of providing access to ICTs, creating awareness for ITC and providing support for the local business community. Mr. Salifu Sa-eed, the Nanumba North District Chief Executive (DCE) urged teachers, educational authorities and parents to encourage their students or children to make maximum use of the facility. He said reasonable user fees would be charged at the Centre to help defray user cost to ensure the sustainability of the facility. 15 June 08

Source: GNA

Ghana loses number one position of internet services in West Africa

Inadequate and high cost of communications infrastructure, lack of consistent and sustained efforts in the implementation of the national ICT policy and ineffective regulatory body have been identified as some of the problems impeding the development of the telecom sector in the country.

These impediments have caused the country to lose its position as number one in the provision of internet services in the West African sub-region to Senegal. Ghana is now ranked third after Senegal and Nigeria.

The 2006 communication policy and advocacy report launched on Thursday by the Ghana Internet Services Providers Association (GISPA) said the early start made by the country in implementing the telecom sector reforms yielded some positive results, including the attraction of foreign invertors such as Scancom Ghana and Millicom International.

Throwing more light on some of the problems in the telecom sector, the report mentioned the National Communications Authority's (NCA) delay in responding to Internet Services Providers' (ISP) complaints, lack of transparent licensing procedures and the long delay in appointing NCA's Director-General and Board as some problems.

The report conducted by Comconsult Limited, a communication and marketing firm, said the unclear role for the private sector regarding the implementation of the Information Technology policy, the non-existence of an ICT policy unit at the Ministry of Communications and the inadequacy of resources for fixed network expansion were also some of the problems.

On the way forward, the report called for an urgent elimination of impediments to ICT strategy implementation, the strengthening of the capacity of the NCA and greater public and private sector cooperation for ICT policy formulation and implementation.

The report also recommended a faster approach in the privatization of Ghana Telecom and Westel to create room for the needed private sector investment required for their expansion.

The introduction of tariff reduction strategies in consultation with stakeholders, the strengthening of GISPA capacity to become active in ICT policy formulation and the elimination of regulatory challenges to facilitate increased investments by ISPs were mentioned as some of the means by which the sector could be improved.

On the contributions of ISPs to the nation's economy, the report talked about internet connectivity for public and private sector entities such as schools and other organizations.

The report also mentioned the creation of jobs and the facilitation of the establishment of a networked economy and the creation of internet dependent enterprises such as banks, academic research networks and online payment facility (e-cash).
Mr Desmond Boateng, the representative from the Ministry of Communications, promised government's preparedness to help develop the telecom sector and look into the report.
GNA

First Phase of broadband Fibre optic completed

The first phase of the broadband fibre optic infrastructure has been completed and is undergoing testing before full operation, Dr Benjamin Aggrey Ntim, Minister of Communication said on Monday.

Speaking at the official opening of the International Telecommunication Union's Africa Standardisation Development Forum and Preparatory Meeting being held in Accra, Dr. Ntim said the broadband infrastructure was expected to provide seamless, integrated multimedia services anytime, anywhere with lower fee to broadband internet by the year 2012.

The construction of the fibre optic transmission network is being undertaken in two phases covering over 4,000 kilometres. It is being supported by the Chinese government, with a concessionary loan facility of 30 million dollars. Government is also in negotiating for an additional 70 million dollars for the second phase.

The plan is being complemented by the building of 230 community information centres as access points for ICT in the rural communities in the country.

Already 90 of such centres have been completed.

"With the provision of ICT access points all over the country the provision of new services will become possible, and the government's vision realizable," he said.

Dr Ntim said since the development of the national ICT vision, the country had witnessed appreciable growth in the sector. For example, telephone subscription has hit the eight million mark, giving a tele-density of nearly 40 per cent.

However, Dr Ntim said there was need for increased public and private sectors investment to enable the goal of using ICT to accelerate economic development became a reality and to also bridge the digital divide.

"If the programmes and projects outlined in the national ICT roadmap are adequately pursued, there is every assurance for Ghana to break out of the poverty cycle and into the middle-income bracket in the not-too-distant future," he said.

Dr Ntim said the country will continue to participate in the International Telecommunication union activities to ensure accelerated deployment of new networks and services and also bringing connectivity to cities and towns as well as to the remote areas.

"Standardisation should contribute to the lowering of capital and operational expenditure in the deployment and expansion of core network," he added.

Mr Malcom Johnson, Director, ITU Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau, said standards are important to enhance international communications and global trade.

Besides they are essential aid to developing countries in building their infrastructure and encouraging economic development as well as help reduce costs for all manufacturers, operators and consumers through economies of scale.

"Global standards avoid costly market battles over preferred technologies, and for companies from emerging markets, they create a level playing field which provides access to new markets," Mr Johnson said.

He therefore urged the African Region to participate actively in the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly to be held in Johannesburg in South Africa in October to enable them influence the future direction of standardization and to ensure that standards meet the specific requirements of the region.

Dr Akossi Akossi, Secretary-General of the African Telecommunications Union, said accelerated infrastructure was key to bridge the digital divide between the developed and developing countries. He pledged ATU's support in the area of resources to advance the course of ICT development on the continent.

The five-day meeting is being held on the theme: "Bridging the ICT standardization gap in developing countries for the Africa Region." The Africa meeting precedes this year's WTSA's Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa from October 21 to 30 2008 that would adopt working methods and approve the ITU-T work programme as well as appoint chairs and vice chairs of Study Groups. The Accra meeting is to deliberate on world standardisation issues of common concern to the continent and adopt common proposals for presentation to the WTSA

Source: GNA

International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL) launch in Accra

An international computing forum opened in Accra on Monday with a call on the public, especially students, to patronize a programme dubbed; "International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL)", which provides an equal platform and standard training for all people irrespective of their location.
The ICDL programme is internationally recognized as the global standard for end-users computer skills and has been widely adopted by governments and international organizations in Europe and Africa.
Mrs Jenny Van Neikerk, Chief Executive Officer for ICDL Africa, said the programme delivered quality certification to everyone who patronized it throughout the world.
She said the ICDL, which took students through programmes like Concepts of Information Technology, File Management, Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Databases, Presentations and Internet and Emails, was skills-based and not specific to an inventor like Microsoft.
Mrs. Niekerk said the programme also focused on developing infrastructure with a special attention to schools including polytechnics and universities.
Mr. Anthony Harper, Development Coordinator for ICDL, Africa, who stressed the quality of the programme, noted that they adopted the same standards in terms of testing process and testing environment, and it was accessible to everyone.
Ms. Dorothy Gordon, Director-General of the Ghana-India Kofi Annan Centre of Excellence in ICT, urged ICT professionals especially in Ghana to make use of free software available on the Internet.
Commenting on the ICDL programme in Ghana, she said the programme made people who patronized it to be competitive and called for collaboration in terms of knowledge sharing on ICT.
"The IDCL programme offers skills that can be transferred to any platform," she said, and noted that the programme could help government achieve her vision of transforming the Ghanaian economy into a knowledge-based one using ICT.
Participants from Kenya, Uganda, Sierra Leone and Rwanda shared their experiences in the use of the ICDL.
Mr Ibrahim Bah, coordinator for the programme in French-speaking countries, said the programme which offered a common ICT standard was gradually succeeding in the elimination of barriers between French and English speaking countries in Africa.
http://www.modernghana.com/news/167105/1/computing-forum-opens.html

Spio-Garbrah to deliver lecture

The Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth Telecom Organisation, Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah would deliver a public lecture at the British Council on Tuesday, according to a statement released in Accra on Friday. The topic of his lecture is; "The Future of Ghana's Development Process". The statement said the theme for the occasion was an e-Agenda for Human Resource Development with focus on education and health. It is being supported by the Ghana Renewal Institute, Centre for e-Governance and African Cancer Organisation.

Source: GNA

FON TV LAUNCHED IN GHANA

Emily Aggrey, IDG News Service




With a partnership between Black Star TV and South Korean company 2ii Tech, Ghana has become home to the first service in West Africa for mobile-phone-enabled TV content viewing. Employing Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (T-DMB) technology, the new service allows users to view movies, sports, music videos, 24-hour news and current affairs.


Accessories and the handset necessary for viewing, known as FonTV, cost GHC350 (US$345.66) and include free service for the first three months, after which time subscribers pay GHC4 per month. The battery lifespan of the phone is three hours of viewing time on a single charge.

Ghana Telecommunication Company (GT), operator of Onetouch mobile phone service, is currently the only mobile network to operate FonTV, but South Africa's MTN and DSTV have plans to launch another mobile TV with different technology. The launch of the service comes after three months of a successful pilot program.

Ibrahim Adjei, corporate affairs manager of Black Star TV, said in an interview that Ghana's main attraction for the service is its "strong, stable economy [and] the conducive political atmosphere, underscored by a strong market of mobile penetration with the current seven million subscribers."

"Ghana also has a well-developed and innovative media, which facilitates our operations. The country also boasts of a good human resource capacity, with high enrolment in institutions offering Information Technology and Information and Communication Technology courses. All the above factors are buttressed by the professionalism and capabilities of the Ghanaian business partners that form Black Star TV."

Although Ghana is the first to embrace the T-DMB technology, countries like Nigeria, Uganda and South Africa also have access to Mobile TV, but rely on analog technology.

The new service, which covers the Greater Accra Region, will be extended to the Ashanti Region in the next three weeks, followed by the Northern, Western and Central regions, in that order. Managers of the mobile TV hope to cover all of the 10 regions by early 2009. The two companies will ensure the service reaches parts of Ghana where there is no television signal, he said.

In the future, the partnership plans to introduce e-commerce services to allow consumers to use the digital mobile television platform to trade goods and services, as well as a traffic watch service, with a dedicated channel on which viewers can observe (via networks linked to CCTV cameras) road networks that are free from congestion.

Beyond the delivery of digital mobile television, 2ii Tech and Black Star TV hope to establish a manufacturing plant in Ghana.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/146267/ghana_is_now_home_for_digital_mobile_tv.html

Accra hosts World Telecom Standardisation Assembly

Officials of the Telecommunication Standardisation Bureau (TSB) of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) will meet next week in Accra to participate in the Africa Region's Preparatory Meeting for the World Telecommunication Standardisation Assembly (WTSA).

The meeting precedes this year's WTSA's Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa from October 21 to 30 2008 that would adopt working methods and approve the ITU-T work programme as well as appoint chairs and vice chairs of Study Groups.

Ghana's host slated May 26 to 30, 2008, is to offer African countries the platform to deliberate on world standardisation issues of common concern to the continent and adopt common proposals for presentation to the WTSA.

Standardisation is a universally agreed set of guidelines for interoperability, and the ITU -T is the body responsible for setting globally accepted standards for ICT. The WTSA is convened every four years by the ITU.

The Accra meeting would organise a forum on the theme: "Bridging the ICT Standardisation Gap in Developing Countries" in recognition of the continued shortage of human resources in the standardization field of developing countries.

The Standardisation Gap is defined as disparities in the ability of developing countries, relative to the developed ones, to access, implement, contribute to and influence international ICT standards, specifically ITU recommendations.

The Ministry of Communications and the National Regulatory Agencies have in the past involved in ITU standardization activities to help in the standards requirements for new technologies and technological convergence in ICT that are creating major standardization challenges. 21 May 08

Source: GNA

Role Of Community Information Centres In Accelerating Development

In this new knowledge-based society, access to information and knowledge have become essential resources for development.

As a continent, our future and survival depends upon our willingness to harness the new information and communication technologies. A nation unable to join this new economic order, unable to harness the power of ICT, is effectively locked out of the new global economy, and forced to remain a marginal player on the world economic stage. .

In Africa and other parts of the developing world, development agencies, non-governmental organisations and the private sector are searching for new and better ways to harness the power of information technology (IT) to meet economic, social, educational and development objectives.

Community information centres (CICs) are shared information and communication facilities for people in rural and isolated areas.

CICs range from a one room facility providing a narrow range of services to facilities that provide training and a wide range of development-oriented services. Generally, CICs can be classified into two broad categories - those with a purely commercial orientation, and those with a community/education service orientation.

Commercial oriented CICs are those established with a profit motive. They provide basic communication services such as telephones, fax and photocopying. A sizable percentage provide secretarial as well as computer-based services.

Community/education-oriented communication centres provide basic services to address the needs of a given community. Among other things the centres aim to

a) tap the untapped potential of the people they serve,

b) organise resources and expertise nationwide,

c) foster the emergence of local capability, and

d) promote a unique and comprehensive approach to servicing the multiple needs of people they serve through the innovative use IT.

While they are not profit-oriented, almost all of them charge basic fees for their services. Web-browsing at some non-commercial centres with donor support is priced usually at the same level as web-browsing at the commercial centres.

The Ghana Investment Fund for Telecommunications (GIFTEL) – a unit under the Ministry of Communications- provides a hybrid model of for-profit and non-profit CICs in selected locations in Ghana.

The primary focus of GIFTEL's CICs is to create rural access to information communication services. This is where the majority of the population live and face a number of economic, social, cultural and legal barriers to their advancement.

CICs in such environments provides opportunities for users to have access to electronic connectivity. Such access provides rural people with instantaneous information on what their counterparts in other countries are doing.

CICs are needed in such an environment because the transition to an information society usually brings growing inequality, since not all people are able to take advantage of new opportunities. CICs are innovative ways of addressing the multiple challenges confronting rural populations under a single roof, providing simple, single-point access to information and services to rural people.

Challenges Confronting CICs

Due to poor connectivity, inadequate infrastructure and human resource limitations, most of the centres provide very limited services. Low level of communication infrastructure in the rural areas make it difficult for such areas to be linked electronically. Rural communities, it is said, represent the 'last mile of connectivity'.

Currently, CICs operate in isolation. There is no centralization of standards, infrastructure, and services. There is the need for a coordinating body to bring some level of standardization and to determine the needs of existing CICs to enable them function better.

Such a centralised body could address issues such as equity of access; connectivity challenges confronted by some CICs, and human resource capacity building.

A national policy to drive the development and evolution of CICs will be a step in the right direction. Ghana, for example, has adopted an ICT for Accelerated Development Policy (ICT4D) to represent the ICT vision for the country.

POLICY

The policy statement sets out the road map for the development of Ghana's information society and economy. The document acknowledges the role that ICT can play in moving Ghana from where it is today to a knowledge-based society.

It addresses Ghana's development challenges and how the development, deployment and exploitation of ICTs could accelerate the nation's socio-economic development.

It also acknowledges the role being played by various organisations in moving the country's ICT agenda forward.

The need for champions advocating the development of CICs cannot be overemphasized. Generally, rural people are less aggressive in shaping new public policies and taking advantage of existing rules to enhance their prospects for connection. Without CIC champions, the evolution and roll out of the model will not be rapid.

Also, the time has come for African governments to begin exploring the possibility of creating a Rural Information Technology Administration (RITA) under the Ministry of Local Government. The failure of the market to deliver information services to rural people necessitates an aggressive initiative to ensure that rural people are no longer comparatively disadvantaged when it comes to reaping the benefits of the information revolution.

Alternatively, RITA could be subsumed under a larger body, the Rural Utilities Services (RUS). Such a body should be charged with the responsibility of bringing utilities (such as electricity, telephones, the Internet, etc.) to rural areas.

Today we truly live in a global village, but it is a village with privileged 'information haves' and many 'information have-nots'. With the new technologies available to us, we have an opportunity to change this.

I believe it is possible to achieve the goal of what has now come to be known as universal access, that is, community access to basic telecommunications at reasonable distance through the establishment of CICs across the African continent.

modern ghana

Mobile phone penetration in Ghana is estimated to hit 50 percent by the end of 2010.

According to Joshua Peprah, Director in charge of Regulations and Licensing at the National Communications Authority (NCA), the country, which currently has over 8 million mobile phone subscribers, has already seen 36 percent penetration since the end of 2007.

Mr. Peprah disclosed this on Wednesday at the launch of Fon TV, a collaboration between Black Star TV and GT Onetouch that will give Onetouch subscribers the opportunity to view television on their mobile phones.

The new product comes with GPRS compatibility as well as call conference and internet provisions.

All over Africa especially Ghana, mobile phone usage has seen explosive growth since 2004 and there are more opportunities ahead as the NCA will soon license a sixth operator, Mr. Peprah hinted.

As at December 2007, MTN, the largest mobile service provider has seen its subscriber base hitting 3.9 million followed by Tigo with over 2 million subscribers. Onetouch had over 1.5 million while Kasapa had 248,000 subscriber base.

In addition to the boom in the mobile service provision, there had been a 2.7 percent penetration in the internet sector with 34 operational internet service providers (ISP) licenses, he added.

Ghana signed GE'O6 agreement to complete the transition from analog to digital TV by June 17, 2015 and according to the NCA it will provide spectrum efficiency-1 channel for 4-8 programmes, new licensing models and potential increased revenue from digital dividend.

This innovation will mean a TV station like TV3 network could broadcast about seven channels such as kiddie and sports programmes, he explained.

On the way forward, Mr. Peprah emphasized that the NCA will continue to adopt and maintain principles and policies that foster development through private sector as well as ensure a pro-business and competitive regulatory regime.

In addition, he explained, investment opportunities in telecommunication, data and BPO spaces will be expanded.

Source: Daily Guide

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ICT equipment gift to Western Heritage Home

Ghana Together, a US-based charity organisation, on Saturday donated ICT equipment and other teaching and learning materials to the Western Heritage Home, an orphanage at Axim in the Western Region.

The gifts, which were a collection from individual members of the organisation and valued at more than 10 million Ghana Cedis, included 12 laptop and four desktop computers, 35 chess sets, children's books and other educational materials.

Mr. and Mrs Richard and Maryanne Ward, Directors of Ghana Together who presented the items at a ceremony at Axim, said the aim of the organisation was to support the needy and vulnerable children in Ghana. Mrs Maryanne Ward said since children were the most valuable assets of every nation they must be given care, protection and encouragement to become useful leaders in the future.

Nana Kaku Bulu II, Nkosuohene of Lower Axim who was instrumental in the establishment of the Home in 2007, received the items on behalf of the community and expressed gratitude to the donors.

Nana Kaku Bulu, a Takoradi-based businessman, said an ICT centre attached to the Home would soon be completed and opened to the public particularly students.

He appealed to individuals, public and private institutions, religious organisations and the district assembly to help to provide the Home with materials and facilities.

Madam Hanna Esi Biney, Manager of the Home, appealed to citizens and institutions to help the Home to procure basic items such as refrigerators, cooking utensil among others to enable it to admit more children.

Source: GNA

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Omatek Boosts Ghana ICT Density

Aimed at bridging the digital divide across the length and the breath of the continent, Omatek Computers, a foremost computer brand and the first indigenous computer manufacturing company in Africa, has successfully berthed in Ghana.

With this new development, Omatek has become the first local OEM to be established in the country.

The Managing Director and chief executive officer of the company revealed in her speech at the commissioning exercise that Omatek is the first indigenous completely knocked down factory in Ghana.

Omatek, founded 21 years ago, started by training executives on one-on-one basis. By 1991, Omatek had become premium partners with the major foreign brands at the time and it launched its first locally assembled Omatek Computer Brand from Semi Knocked Down (SKD) assembly in Nigeria.

By 2003, Omatek established its first locally assembled (CKD) factory in Africa. Today, these factories are sited in Nigeria and Ghana.

Stating the benefits of citing the factory in the country, Mrs Seriki said, "Omatek will among other things pioneer youth recruitment and empowerment in IT, create several derived SMEs and generate massive employment in the country's ICT sector."

She further disclosed that Omatek now produces for i-Advance, a government scheme designed to make for easy acquisition of personal computers by all Ghanaians, especially those in the civil service.

"Omatek factory produces for i-Advance and delivers via resellers, especially via the project managers. They pick systems up from the factory and coordinate smooth distribution to the beneficiaries."

She hinted that the scheme has further been enhanced through Omatek partnership with the banks, stating also that millions of dollars have been set aside by the banks to ensure the success of the scheme.

"Beneficiaries will be able to pick up Omatek computers under the i-Advance scheme and pay over 12 months by installments."

The event also witnessed the launch of Omatek smallest notebooks for educational institutions.

She revealed that through partnerships with key manufacturers in Asia and the privilege of research and development with them, Omatek had come up with a new Omatek 8-inch notebook for the education sector.

The 8-inch notebook comes with 60GB hardisk, 256MB memory and is equipped with WIFI while the 10-inch one is specially designed for executives.

The Minister of Communications was happy with the presence of Omatek in the country and encouraged the company to make computer available to the people of Ghana at affordable prices so as to encourage computer ownership by the citizenry.

The commissioning of Omatek Computers Ghana was attended by top personalities, and more than seven ministers of various sectors.

Suame Magazine goes ICT

The government of Ghana, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation and the Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organisation are working out a programme to obtain Indian government sponsorship to enable artisans from the magazine go for further studies in advance internet technology in order to add value to their business.

The SMIDO has a similar partnership agreement with the Kofi Anan ICT resource centre to provide light industrial technological machines at the Magazine premises to promote efficiency in their businesses and also equip them with computers to offer basic IT education.

 The move by the SMIDO and its development partners is to ensure that the artisans are abreast with the current technological approach to repairing modern vehicles instead of relying on their old methods which is gradually killing the industry.

 The President of SMIDO, George Asamoah Amankwa who said disclosed this at the official launching of the "Suame Magazine goes ICT road show" yesterday said the Magazine which has over the years employed large percentage of the youth in Ghana stand at a possible risk of collapse due to the introduction of highly sophisticated vehicles and their parts on the market which artisans have no knowledge of.

 "It is to arrest this situation that we have taken this bold initiative to have both SMIDO as our development organization and ICT project to encourage ourselves to start with the basic computing as part of the process of establishing the Suame Tech Automatics Engineering Institute where vehicles diagnostics would be learnt using the computer"

 Mr. Amankwa said to further improve upon the skills of artisans SMIDO is negotiating with the Ministry of Trade and Industry to support the establishment of the Suame Tech Automatics Engineering Institute which is estimated to cost GH¢550,000.

 He also said the Organisation was working out a special financial product with UNIBANK for its members and artisans at the magazine. Through this initiative, he said they will guarantee for members to access credits from the bank to expand their businesses.

The Director General of the Kofi Anan ICT Centre, Mrs. Dorothy Gordon disclosed that the training of artisans and other workers at the Magazine is a first step towards making the Suame magazine an ICT industrial hub in the West African sub-region.

She said the establishment of the Suame Tech Automatics Engineering Institute which is in collaboration with her outfit is to ensure that artisans who enroll in the institution come out well equipped with adequate knowledge in IT and also certificates which would enable them work in other industries in the country.

 She assured that the Kofi Anan ICT training centre will continue to support members of SMIDO to be abreast with the IT in order to meet the challenges of the modern technological in the execution of their businesses to safe it from total collapse.

Member of Parliament of Suame and also Minister of State in-charge of Parliamentary Affairs Kyei Mensah Bonsu expressed the need for artisans in the country to let formal education be a priority to them, noting that "there are some artisans here who are doing relatively well in their area of operations but due to limited formal education they do not realize the need to bring improvement into their busineses", calling on masters to put in place criteria for selecting apprentices for job training, saying that such criteria must first consider the educational background of apprentices before admmitting them.

credit :statesman

Govt Poised To Attract Investments

� Dr Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim, Minister of Communications

Ghana has made significant strides towards developing information, communications and technology (ICT) infrastructure to attract business into the sector, especially business process outsourcing.

Apart from the development of the national ICT backbone, currently ongoing, the Ministry of Communications is also developing standards and curricular for software development and training, an important ingredient in establishing the country as a viable Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) destination.

Ghana is seeking to put her house in order to be able to generate about $750 million in the next five years.

The Director of the Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES) Secretariat, a body under the Ministry of Communications, Mr Kwesi Adu Gyan, said in Accra at an executive breakfast meeting of the Ghana Association of Software and IT Services Companies (GASSCOM) that in a matter of weeks, the contract would be awarded for the development of the curricular and accreditation scheme for skills training in the ITES sector.

The event was organised by AITEC Ghana, an ICT events management company, in collaboration with GASSCOM, as a prelude to a two-day seminar on BPOs, and call and contact centres.

Mr Gyan said ITES had also charged the Ghana Standards Board (GSB) to develop standards for software development and the ICT industry as a whole to move it to international standards.

He pointed out that ITES had been charged with the responsibility for nurturing the private sector to participate effectively in the IT-enabled services sector, formulate policies and create the enabling environment to advance the industry.

As part of its goals, he said the Ghana Multimedia Incubator Centre (GMIC) was set up in 2005 to develop the ICT sector through incubation as well as promote the development of the BPOs, and call and contact centres.

The director of the ITES Secretariat said to develop the sector, the country needed a cost-effective and suitable infrastructure to support the smooth evolution of the sector.

A South African consultant and founder of C3Africa, Mr Rod Jones, who has done extensive work in the IT-enabled services area in many African countries, urged the country to conduct an extensive in-country study into the sector so as to identify strengths, weaknesses, what could work for the country and what could not.

�A formal countrywide research to understand the matrices and nature of existing industry in Ghana should be conducted, after which comes a clear domestic and international development strategy to make the industry work,� Mr Jones stated.

He said it was also important for Ghana to ensure that its services offered were between 30 and 40 per cent cost-savings so as to compete with the more advanced BPO countries such as India, Malaysia and The Philippines.

According to Mr Jones, who referred extensively to the South African experience, it was also important to improve the skills of the personnel, get people to appreciate the area as career-driven and not stepping stones to look for �better opportunities�.

He said language proficiency and accent could be a drawback, but could be worked on with elaborate training and coaching.

The Minister of Communications, Dr Benjamin Aggrey-Ntim, said the sector was dear to the heart of the government and it was taking pragmatic steps to develop it.

Dr Aggrey-Ntim advised private sector operators to consider extending their services to other parts of the country, adding that the policy of the government to downsize the public sector would offer more business opportunities to the private sector BPOs, and call and contact centres.

GASSCOM hopes to play a leading role in the ICT industry of Ghana through advocacy and practical interventions, both at the private and public sector levels as a way of contributing to the growth of the multi-billion dollar industry.

Story by Samuel Doe Ablordeppey

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ICTs open up more avenues for development

The Principal of the Ghana Telecom University College, Dr. Osei Darkwa says the introduction of Information, and Communications Technologies, has led to the emergence of open and distance learning as a supplement to the traditional educational system. 

He said, this is helping to address the growing demand for higher and continuing education. 

Dr. Darkwa said this last night in Accra at the first Anniversary Public Lecture of the University. 
His topic was "The Changing Role of Universities in the 21st Century". 

The Principal noted that it has taken five years for ICT to reach 50 million people while, Radio has taken 32 years and television, 13 years to reach the same number of people. 

He said, this points to the fact that ICT can be harnessed for the total development of a country.  Dr Darkwa said most open universities are demonstrating that quality teaching and learning can go on without physical structures, books and presence of lecturers.

Ghana Telecom University, is now operating on electronic library, which he said has improved library service at a low cost. 

He said, issues of cost of computers, connectivity and their related challenges must be addressed if Africa is to benefit from ICTs.  The former Vice Chancellor of the University of Education, Prof. Jophus Anamoah-Mensah said universities must be the centre of development and the mindset of society. 

 
He asked universities to create a learning society for continuous learning process to improve on ways of doing things.

http://gbcghana.com/news/16733detail.html

Tigo hits 2 million subscribers

 Millicom Ghana Limited, operators of Tigo GMS network, on Wednesday announced that its subscriber levels had crossed the two million mark from 1.2 million at the beginning of 2007. The over 800,000 increase in the number of subscribers recorded in 2007 alone, represented 66 per cent increase.

Mr. Ransford Nyarko, Marketing Manager of Tigo told journalists that the quick rise in subscriber levels was attributable to the up-to the scratch network value and quality delivered by the company over the period. "Besides everything else, we have always focused on our network to ensure that the services we offer supports the values we proclaim," he said. "We are committed to ensuring that our subscribers do not just own phones but are able to make calls any time they need to without any interruption."

He noted that products such as Extreme Value, Free Night Calls and Double your credit, which the company offered to customers in 2007, were all novelties designed to uphold the company's belief that the customer was "the king".

Mr. Nyarko assured existing and prospective Tigo subscribers of more reward and innovative products in 2008.

Ms. Patricia Obodai, Chief Technical Officer of the company noted that to ensure that subscribers were able to make calls without interruptions at any time, Tigo had added an extra 313 Base Transmitter Stations (BTS) to its 390 BTS in 2007 alone, saying that the company would add 518 BTSs in 2008.

She said the network had also been designed in a way to ensure that calls made from areas where there were faulty BTSs were re-routed through other BTS and thereby prevent call drops or congestion. "Currently we have an average of 95 per cent successful call rate and even during the peak Christmas festive period we had 99 per cent success call rate throughout," she said.

Ms. Anita Erskine, Corporate Communications Executive said regarding the Talk Tax proposed by the government, the company was still waiting for directives from the government and would be willing to follow those directives.

Source: GNA

Chief Justice plans 300 laptops for judiciary

The Chief Justice, Mrs. Justice Georgina Theodora Wood on Friday announced plans to provide laptop computers to the three hundred members of the judiciary within the shortest possible time.

She said the plans were in line with her vision to strengthen the capacity of the judiciary to carry out its work of administering and delivering justice more efficiently.

Mrs. Justice Georgina Wood announced this when she received thirteen laptop computers valued at GH¢14,352 from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Accra.

The Laptops are to be used by the thirteen Justices of the Supreme Court as part of the Judicial Service's Automation Programme to enhance efficiency and the quick delivery of justice.

She commended the UNDP for their timely support, which she said, would go a long way to assist the justices in the efficient discharge of their duties.

She said in this modern era where the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal rely more on written advocacy than oral arguments, courtroom hearings are no longer really time consuming or tasking.

She said the real task of judges commences after court hearings, studying the court record and doing the necessary research that judges must begin to translate into their judgments.

Mr Shigheki Komatsubara, Deputy UNDP Representative in Ghana who made the presentation said the Judicial Service (JS) had a constitutional responsibility of interpreting the law and protecting the rights of citizens.

He said however, the realization of this mandate is challenged by capacity constraints that the service faces resulting notably in congestion in the courts and its associated delays and access to legal remedies.

He said in line with the GPRS II and the United Nations Development Assistance Framework agreed upon with the Government of Ghana, the UNDP through its Country Programme Action Plan had supported the Judicial Service, Ministry of Justice and Office of the Attorney General, Legal Aid Scheme, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) and Civil Society Organizations to ensure effective delivery of justice and the upholding of the rule of law in Ghana.