OPINION: Kenya’s ICT sector shivers from delayed ICT master plan

It was supposed to be the document providing the details on how Africa’s Silicon Savannah was to kick off, as investors set their eyes on Kenya. Yet news on its launch, originally scheduled for late November but then postponed, has gone quiet. → Read more

Nigerian cybercrime expert calls for China-style identity cards to use Internet

An expert has recommended Nigeria create and deploy a national database and an identity card similar to an initiative been introduced in China to successfully tackle the cybercrime menace. → Read more

New “Smarter and Easy to use” Home Wireless products launched by Cisco Linksys

Cisco Linksys will expand its Linksys Smart Wi-Fi portfolio with products including a 802.11ac powered Smart Wi-Fi Router, a new compact 802.11ac USB adapter, new features and new Smart Wi-Fi Apps, but availability in Africa has not been confirmed. → Read more

Free forced to restore online advertisements

France-based telecom company Free has been forced by the government to restore online advertisements on the grounds that the telco lacked the right to dictate its audience’s content preference. → Read more

A Norton Cybercrime Report for 2012 forecasts cybercrime will increase in South Africa this year and a technology security expert warns of the increased threat of “business insider” crimes. → Read more

Millionaire 24-year-old Algerian Hacker wanted by the FBI arrested in Bangkok

Hamza Bendelladj, a 24-year-old alleged hacker has been arrested by police in Thailand and has been on the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) for three years. → Read more

Internet scammers arrested in Nigeria, exhibits recovered

Two Nigerian undergraduates and six others have been arrested by officers of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Lagos for defrauding unsuspecting Nigerians and foreigners for several years. → Read more

AfDB and Malawian Government launch HEST project

The government of Malawi and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have launched a UA 29.45 million investment project for Higher Education and Technology (HEST) in Ntchisi, Malawi. → Read more

ICT helps reduce university application fees in Tanzania

An online registration system installed by Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU) has helped reduce college application fees from about US$709 to US$40, according to the World Bank. → Read more

BIUST plans to become more e-driven and teams up with Israeli University

The Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) and the Ben-Gurion University, Israel, are teaming up on research and teaching of technology for deserts and drylands. → Read more

Wikipedia overload suffers under lack of editors

The free Internet encyclopaedia Wikipedia is struggling under mass uploading with too few editors to control the site quality under the new structure. → Read more

French Telecom company threatens global web advertising

A move by Free, a France-based telecommunications services provider, to upgrade all its users with ad blocking features is expected to cause outcry among companies providing free content as the move is likely to eat into their revenue. → Read more

Google is cleared of search result bias

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the United States has cleared Internet giant Google of search result bias after a two-year investigation. → Read more

SA Internet speeds may decrease with LTE rollout

Internet speeds in South Africa may slow as bandwidth sharing increases due to increased Internet usage and rollout of Long-Term Evolution (LTE) networks, according to David Belson, product line director, custom government engineering at Akamai. → Read more

Vodafone Ghana addresses complaints on latest Internet bundle plans

Vodafone Ghana has clarified the rationale behind its latest fixed broadband (FBB) bundles, which customers complain was introduced without prior notification. → Read more

Variety and use of cyber weapons on the increase, says Kaspersky Lab

2012 saw an increased number of countries targeted by cyber weapons, with African countries such as Egypt and Sudan hit for the first time. → Read more

Nigeria sees increases in telecommunications penetration

Omobola Johnson, Nigeria’s Minister for Communications Technology, has described the increase in the access to information and communications technology (ICT) as one of her ministry’s major achievements of 2012. → Read more

African Internet use “far greater than expected” – report

A survey of Africa’s big cities has concluded that urban dwellers on the continent are embracing the Internet to a significant extent, with social networking the number one online activity. → Read more

Microsoft acquires home and entertainment technology startup

Microsoft have acquired home and entertainment technology startup id8 Group R2 Studios Inc in a bid to strengthen and grow its portfolio of home and entertainment based solutions. → Read more

Megaupload says US government double-crossed it to obtain warrants

Lawyers representing Megaupload, known for its file hosting service megaupload.com, have told a US court that the company had failed to remove copies of infringing files after detectives warned that doing so could compromise the ongoing investigation. → Read more