[kictanet] KDN

[Kai Wulff]

Copy Paste!

The story is getting bigger and bigger .. As mentioned, no offer given or 
received!

Kai
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
To: <kai.wulff at kdn.co.ke>
Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 12:03
Subject: [kictanet] KDN


> SA Media is awash with KDN.  See below.
>
> Ndemo.
>
>
> New SA undersea cable operator
>
> Sep 28 2007 09:07 AM
>
> Belinda Anderson
>
> Johannesburg - JSE-listed Altech, the IT, multimedia and aspirant telco in
> the Altron stable, will soon own a stake in the prospective East African
> Submarine System (EASSy), through its acquisition of a controlling stake
> of Kenya Data Networks (KDN), a lead player in the cable consortium.
> Altech CEO Craig Venter said this was one of the reasons the acquisition
> of the Sameer ICT Group in Kenya - which includes 51% of KDN, Swift Global
> and Infocom - made sense for Altech. He said it believed undersea cables
> were a critical part of the development of the continent's telecoms
> infrastructure.
>
> Although Venter would not be drawn into the controversial discussion
> around whether or not EASSy will be allowed to land on South African
> shores, Altech's potential participation as an additional South African
> shareholder should further increase the cable's local ownership stakes.
>
> The Department of Communications has yet to release official rules for the
> landing of foreign owned cables on South African shores, but has said that
> cables should be majority South African owned. EASSy was, up until now,
> around a quarter South African owned, with other shareholders including
> Neotel, Telkom and MTN.
>
> Venter said the Sameer ICT deal; worth more than R500m, would position
> Altech as a pre-eminent data network operator and internet service
> provider (ISP) in East Africa.
>
> Broadband player in Central Africa
>
> This, coupled with Altech being granted a license to deliver broadband
> internet services in Rwanda using both WiMax and WiFi technologies,
> further positions it as a player in this space in the east and central
> African region.
>
> Altech got the license in Rwanda is just six weeks, illustrating that
> African regulators are moving quickly to facilitate the adoption of new
> technologies.
>
> KDN's network infrastructure includes fibre from Mombasa to Nairobi and to
> the border of Uganda, 300km of fibre within Nairobi and 150 WiFi hotspots
> as well as an international gateway license and a stake in the prospective
> EASSy cable. It also plans to further extend its network to countries
> including Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
>
> Swift Global, meanwhile, is an ISP and provider of corporate virtual
> private network (VPN) solutions and voice over internet networks (VoIP) in
> Kenya and Tanzania.
>
> Infocom is an ISP and supplier of broadband services in Uganda.
>
> The three companies made more than R60m in after tax profits last year.
>
> Test WiMax license
>
> Back home, Altech also has a test WiMax license, and has been trialling
> the technology from five sites in Gauteng, in partnership with Samsung
> Electronics and CityNet Wireless.
>
> Venter said WiMax was eight times faster than HSDPA (the upgrade on 3G),
> and would be a technology of major significance going forward.
>
> When regulator Icasa converts existing telecoms licenses into the new
> ones, in terms of the Electronic Communications Act, it will have to
> determine which Value Added Network Service Provider (Vans) operators
> should be granted licenses entitling them to roll out their own
> infrastructure. These would then be allowed to apply for spectrum (space
> in the radio waves).
>
> Venter said Altech was confident that it would get the spectrum it needed.
> He said Altech was an independent player that could bring pricing down to
> the right kind of levels.
>
> Although Icasa often comes under criticism, Venter said he believed the
> regulator was doing a good job, even though it would naturally like to see
> things move faster. But, Altech had managed to get its test WiMax license
> quickly, something that he commended Icasa for.
>
> Altech generates a significant amount of cash - R341m in the six months to
> August - and had nearly R1.2bn at the end of the half-year to fund its
> expansion plans. The group turned over nearly R4bn and made after tax
> profits of R178m in the six months.
>
> The market is waiting in anticipation to see the outcome of what Fin24
> sister publication Finweek termed its "treble cautionary tale" (See:
> What's in the centre Mr Venter?, Finweek August 23 2007), with both parent
> Altron and fellow subsidiary Bytes also trading under simultaneous,
> unspecific cautionary announcements.  These were renewed recently.
>
> belindaa at finweek.co.za
>
>
>
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