L I R N E . N E T

For World Telecommunications Day, Research ICT Africa! (RIA!) released a South Africa Policy Brief based on the preliminary findings of RIA’s 2008 nationally representative household survey on e-access and usage. The brief details covers issues mitigating access and cost, and summarises findings in a number of figures; and concludes with a set of specific recommendations for moving South Africa towards conditions that are more conducive to investment in the sector.

Click here to download the policy brief (in .pdf format).
Click here to go to the Research ICT Africa! website.

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The African Copyright & Access to Knowledge network (ACA2K network) will be launched on 26 April, as the global community marks World Intellectual Property Day 2008. The network comprises a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Senegal, South Africa and Uganda, supported by a team of international advisors, and is charged with the mandate to investigate the relationship between copyright and education in African countries.

Click here to go to the ACA2K website.

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Research ICT Africa! (RIA!) will host a roundtable discussion with African policy makers and regulators on the results of a series of research projects known as Towards an African e-Index. This project seeks to provide the data and analysis necessary to move the continent towards evidence based policy formulation in this sector.

For more information, contact RIA! Network Coordinator,
Beki Nkala: Beki.Nkala [at] wits.ac.za

Click here to go to the RIA! website.

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The Certificate in Telecommunications Policy, Regulation and Management is offered by the LINK Centre, School of Public and Development Management, University of the Witwatersrand. The course provides essential background for understanding the regulatory and policy issues and challenges in the rapidly changing telecommunications and broadcasting sector. Spread over three week-long sessions between May and July 2008, skilled and experienced staff at the LINK Centre, supported by an extensive panel of guest lecturers, each an expert in their field, will help you map the telecommunications landscape.

Click here to go to the course web page.

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In his Many Possibilities blog, Steve Song has been writing about emerging manifestations of village telcos, which he envisions as “easy-to-use connectivity solution that provides extensible local telephony with the possibility of upstream voice and/or data connectivity via POTS, mobile, or other IP services.” A particular initiative described is Dabba Telecom, which uses Open Source software and commodity wireless devices - and hence provides free local calls for those within wireless range and inexpensive voice and data services further afield.

Read Steve Song’s post Theory of Change: The Village Telco.
See also posts on Dabba Telecom and the Dabba Open Source components.

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