Category: Technology

Xlinks Launches Tender for Technical Studies for UK-Morocco Submarine Cable

The UK-based renewable energy solutions company Xlinks has launched a tender to execute a technical study along the route of the 3,800-kilometre undersea power cable connecting Morocco and the UK.

At the request of Xlinks, the study aims to provide more data on the geophysical and geotechnical features of the submarine electrical cable which is set to last for 12 months, the study will also cover a magnetometer scan of the seabed to detect possible “unexploded ordnance,” reports Spanish news agency EFE.

The company, which includes among its board members Paddy Padmanathan, the president and CEO of Saudi energy giant ACWA Power, is planning to deploy the project, which would consist of 7 GW of solar capacity and 3.5 GW of wind in Morocco. “Xlinks is in discussions with Moroccan community leaders and government regarding the exact sites of the solar farm and working on permitting with the relevant departments,” the company’s CEO, Simon Morrish, told PV magazine.

Furthermore, Morrish affirmed that the project is expected to generate 7.5% of the UK’s electricity demand and significantly contribute to net-zero targets,”
Xlinks has set February 22 as the deadline to receive offers for the tenders. As this project is regarded as the first of a kind, the purpose of this is to generate 10.5 GW of zero-carbon electricity from the sun and wind to deliver 3.6 GW of reliable energy for an average of 20+ hours a day. According to Xlinks, this is enough to provide low-cost, clean power to over seven million British homes by 2030.

The agreement has been reached with National Grid for two 1.8GW connections at Alverdiscott in Devon. Voltage source converters will enable the Xlinks project to secure high-value balancing contracts with National Grid, and an HVDC technical feasibility study has been completed to validate reliability and cost.

What about Submarine cables in Nigeria

According to submarine networks, there are now five international submarine cables in Nigeria, with over 40 Tbps of capacity, including SAT3 cable, MainOne cable, Glo1 cable, ACE cable, and WACS cable, landed by Natcom, MainOne, Glo 1, Dolphin Telecom and MTN respectively.

There is also a submarine cable connecting Kribi in Cameroon to Lagos in Nigeria, the Nigeria-Cameroon Submarine Cable System (NCSCS). The NCSCS is owned by Cameroon Telecommunications (CAMTEL), in a partnership with MainOne to land the NCSCS cable at MainOne’s Lagos Cable Landing Station.

Moreover, according to the study conducted by ASCON (Association of Submarine Cable Operators of Nigeria, Nigeria has used less than 10% of its five submarine cables capacity as of early 2019. Therefore there might not be a need for a new transatlantic cable in Nigeria.

February 14, 2022
Vodacom to contest the ‘please call me’ judgment

The high court, sitting in Pretoria, has sided with Vodacom’s former employer, Nkosana Makate, regarding the “please call me” idea. The constitutional court recently decided this long-running legal battle in favour of Makate as the inventor of this idea, thereby entitled to a settlement. The judgement found that Vodacom underpaid him and must decide on a suitable figure.

According to Vodacom, “Please Call Me” is a free SMS service that allows you to send “Please Call Me” messages to other subscribers. A subscriber can send 10 such messages a day to other subscribers requesting them to call back.

According to IOL News, Vodacom’s CEO Shameel Joosub was given a month to determine the overall amount due to Makate based on the court’s issued guideline. With this judgement, it is expected that Vodacom will spend more than the previously offered R47million. This is based on the ruling by Justice Wendy Hughes that Makate is entitled to 5 per cent of the total revenue from the “please call me” over 20 years.

Nkosana Makate (source: Jacques Naude/African News Agency)

Initially, Makate has requested at least R10billion in compensation from the telecommunication company. However, Vodacom has decided to appeal the judgement. In a statement from a company’s spokesperson to TechCentral, the company has resolved to appeal based on what was viewed as an offer of good faith premised on the April 26, 2016 court order.

Makate and Vodacom

Makate is a typical town boy that grew up in Katlehong, east of Johannesburg. He started working for Vodacom in 1995 through a government effort initiative requiring telecommunications businesses to teach employees in accounting

Makate had the “please call Me” concept in November 2020 and presented it to his manager, who forwarded it on to Vodacom’s director of product development, Philip Geissler. Makate claims there was a verbal agreement with Geissler to be compensated for the idea.

The concept was launched in March 2001 as about 140 000 users took up the service on the first day. Vodacom refused to compensate Makate until he left them in 2003. However, the case reached the High court in 2014.

February 10, 2022
Female developers rising as push for STEM courses get attention

The interest of Nigerians, especially the female folks in technology development is on the rise as the push for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) courses are getting huge attention.

Findings by TechCabal in the Nigerian Women in Tech Report, powered by the UK-Nigeria Tech Hub, which confirmed this, informed that more than 65 percent of the female STEM university students surveyed applied for those courses as a result of their passion and interests as against being pressured by their parents to do so or because it was the only available option.

The report, which examined the distribution and level of involvement of women in Nigeria’s technology and STEM fields, noted that 59 percent of the survey respondents admit to facing challenges in their course of study, however, over 75 percent of the same respondents said that the challenges are not gender-related. However, despite the challenges faced, 54 percent of them are happily studying the course.

Read Also : Nigerian Startup AltSchool raises $1 million pre-seed round to help Young Africa’s get into tech

Furthermore, the majority of the founders surveyed, about 55.6 percent said that the challenges they faced were gender-based while many of the developers surveyed didn’t feel this way. 83 percent of the latter felt that their challenges weren’t gender-based.

According to the report, the number and percentage of female developers in the tech companies we surveyed are increasing with each passing year, which shows that there is a growing interest in women’s participation in the tech field.

It also disclosed that less than 50 percent of the female students surveyed see themselves having a STEM-related career in the next five to 10 years. The report, which is available for free download, looks at the gaps that exist in women’s participation, challenges and highlights recommendations for improvement. It also puts the spotlight on 21 women entrepreneurs, c-suite executives, and seven women developers working in the Nigerian technology industry.

According to the Chief Executive Officer at Big Cabal Media, the parent company of TechCabal, Tomiwa Aladekomo, said: “Notwithstanding decades of progress towards workplace equality, women remain underrepresented in Nigeria’s technology workforce. We’ve embarked on this report to showcase the arena where women in technology play across Nigeria, and the contribution to the big picture when we look at it through the lens of STEM.”

February 10, 2022
Africa’s Critical Need For Internet Speed
Over the past few years, internet availability has become a way to measure a country’s Tech-Sector’s development. And a yardstick for measuring a country’s economic development.

We require the internet for a plethora of economic activities, one of which is carrying out daily business transactions.

From basic business transactions through online banking to more technical aspects of running a business, a fast internet connection gives each business an edge over its competitors hence, its importance in business growth.

Fast internet has over the years, become a key factor in determining how well a country is developing. Circulation of data is as important now as circulation of money to Africa’s economic development. The need for Internet speed is critical.

In a 2021 report from Speedtest Global Index (owned by Ookla, a US-based internet analytics company), a list of countries in Africa that are leading in terms of internet speed was published.

Read Also : 5G Network in Africa

And according to the report, the global average for internet download speed is 53.38 Mbps(megabits per second).

Best Internet Speed In Africa

Rank Country Average Mbps
1. South Africa 19.94
2. Madagascar 16.28
3. Republic of the Congo 12.07
4. Seychelles 12.04
5. Kenya 11.27
6. Burkina Faso 10.73
7. Morocco 10.33
8. Cote D’Ivoire 9.54
9. Ghana 9.23
10. Nigeria 8.68

Factors Affecting Internet Speed In Africa

The Connection Speed in Mobile Networks
This depends on the network technologies available in the area and the features of the
- - user’s terminal device:
  - 4G network enables a high-speed connection in suitable circumstances
  - 3G network can be used in a wider area but the maximum speed is lower
  - GSM network is the most extensive network but the data transfer speeds are very limited.
The Connection Speed in Fixed Network

In fixed networks, the main factor affecting broadband speed is the technology used for data transfer. Fiber-optic and cable networks enable high-speed connections, whereas traditional xDSL connections provided over a telephone network have limited maximum transfer speeds.

Read Also : The Race To Conquer Space in Africa

Also, the speed of the internet connection depends on the distance between the terminal device and the network centralizer. Distance from the operator’s broadband centralizer affects the speed of the internet connection.

Conclusion

Africa’s best network providers deliver at a speedway below 53.38 Mbps. This amplifies the need for Network providers in Africa to rise up to the task and deliver world-class internet service to all the countries in Africa where they operate.
February 8, 2022
Ghana To Develop Regulation On Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence and its Development In Africa

In Africa, many governments are building up Artificial Intelligence ecosystems. Artificial Intelligence holds promise in countries where governments have made technological development a national priority.

Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Ethiopia, and Nigeria are the African countries in which the push for technological advancement is most aggressive. These governments are taking concerted measures to stimulate innovation and to improve data protection, research, and development.

Artificial Intelligence is supported by national strategies to capitalize on a 10-year global boom. As a result, African nations are taking steps to commercialize Artificial Intelligence research and development.

The Future Of Artificial Intelligence In Africa

The success of mobile technologies across Africa is prompting speculation among Tech investors about whether Artificial Intelligence applications will take root in Africa.

Read Also: 5G Network in Africa

Artificial intelligence systems filter emails, recommend items for purchase, provide legal advice and drive cars. Carrying out these basic everyday tasks, Artificial Intelligence is bound to be wildly accepted by the African populace.

Ghana And Artificial Intelligence Development

In 2019, 300 Ghanian youths were trained in Artificial Intelligence through the Ghana Tech Lab initiative to upskill, develop and grow viable start-ups that solve pertinent problems in the country. This development has improved the pace of Ghana’s Tech Sector growth hence, the need for regulatory action.

Read Also: The Race To Conquer Space in Africa

The Deputy Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ama Pomaah Boateng, in a speech at the Data Protection Week Celebration in Accra, Ghana, explained the need for the regulation of Ghana’s Artificial Intelligence.

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence works because a lot of personal data is fed into it, and with that comes privacy concerns over what happens to the data. The move to create regulatory guidelines on the use of Artificial Intelligence is in anticipation of Ghana’s technological advancement.

February 8, 2022
Technologies That Power Football

As the EPL, AFCON, and other leagues continue to generate immense nostalgia, some technologies power the good old game called football. We will highlight five of these technologies.

Video Assistant Referee (VAR)

The VAR could make a referee change their decision once every 3.29 games. During the 2018-19 season, in La Liga, VAR interfered in 27% of its games, or other words, in 1 out of 4 games.

Typically, it should only interfere once. According to the data provided by FIFA, during the 2018 World Cup, referees’ sensible decisions increased from 95% to 99.32%, thanks to VAR. Referees’ bias towards those better-ranked teams is still a fact.

Extra time in games is higher when the best teams are losing than when the score is in their favour. The distance covered by players above 21 km/h has not altered. However, the distance covered by teams did decrease very slightly when comparing games in which VAR did not interfere.

Vanishing Spray

Vanishing spray, also known as vanishing foam, is applied to an association football pitch to provide a temporary visual marker. The referee often uses it to indicate the minimum distance the defending team may position themselves from the ball during a direct free-kick. It shows the spot from where the kick occurs.

The spray appears similar to white paint or watered-down shaving foam when applied. It completely disappears within a minute, leaving no visible residue behind. It is used mainly at the highest levels of competition. Vanishing spray is said to help prevent unnecessary delays by preventing the defensive team from encroaching closer than the mandated 10 yards (9.15 meters) from the ball during a free-kick. It can prevent the attacking team from illegally moving the ball from the spot where the referee awarded the kick.

Goal Line Technology (GLT)

Goal-line technology (sometimes referred to as a Goal Decision System) uses electronic aid to determine if a goal has been scored or not. In detail, it is a method used to determine when the ball has completely crossed the goal line in between the goal-posts and underneath the crossbar with the assistance of electronic devices and at the same time assisting the referee in awarding a goal or not.

The objective of goal-line technology (GLT) is not to replace the role of the officials but rather to support them in their decision-making.

The GLT must provide a clear indication as to whether the ball has fully crossed the line, and this information will serve to assist the referee in making his final decision.

Referee Assistant Communication

In the current Laws, the term “Assistant Referee” technically refers only to the two officials who generally patrol the touchlines, with the wider range of assistants to the referee given other titles.

The assistant referees’ duties consist of judging when the ball has left the field of play. It also includes which team is entitled to return the ball to play.

They judge when an offside offense has occurred and advise the referee when an infringement of the Laws has happened. These two officials are positioned on opposite touchlines and each stays beside different halves of the pitch.

Electronic Performance and Tracking System (EPTS)

Electronic Performance and Tracking Systems (EPTS), which include camera-based and wearable technologies, control and improve player and team performance.

EPTS primarily track player (and ball) positions. It can be used in combination with microelectromechanical devices (accelerometers, gyroscopes, etc.) It is also used as a heart-rate monitor and to measure load or physiological parameters.

However, they can be used not only on match days by lower league clubs who may not have the budgets for other options. It helps top teams during training sessions to keep a keen eye on players’ speed.

January 29, 2022
5G Network In Africa

Buried deep in every individual is the fear of being left behind by society. We see this in the way people run after trends. People keep running to meet up societal standards of perfection in various aspects of life. This constant need to improve and do more has moved us from the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th generations of technology to the computer age that is now called, 5G. Calendar

What is 5G Technology

5G network is based on parallel processing hardware and AI (Artificial Intelligence) software. All the high-level languages like C and C++, Java, .Net etc., are used in this generation. 5G wireless technology is meant to deliver higher multi-Gbps(gigabytes per second) peak data speed, ultra-low latency, more reliability, massive network capacity, increased availability, and a more uniform user experience.

It was gathered in a study conducted by Viavi Solutions in February of 2021 that the 5G network is no longer a myth as many countries have already gone past the testing phase and that the 5th generation of computers is forcefully advancing.

Commercial 5G is now available in 1.336 cities in 61 countries across the world, equal to an increase of 350% on 2020 data, which listed just 376 cities possessing this technology. The growth of 5G has reached 30% of the world population with China, America, Asia, Europe, and Africa as groundbreakers in this astonishing age of fifth-generation technology.

List of African countries with 5G network

According to GSMA (Global System for Mobile Communications- an organization representing mobile network operators worldwide), Safaricom launched 5G network in Kenya in February 2021. This makes Kenya the second country in Africa to launch 5G after South Africa’s 5G roll out in 2020.

In South Africa, Vodacom launched its commercial 5G network in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Pretoria in May 2020. In June 2020, MTN launched the 5G technology in 100 sites across
Johannesburg, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, and Port Elizabeth.

5G Network in Nigeria

In Nigeria, NCC (Nigeria communication commission) surpassed the price it sold GSM licenses over 20 years ago in the auction of its 2 available lots of 100 MHz TDD slots of 3.5GHz band ranging from 3500-3600 MHz and 3700-3800 MHz.

The bid for 3.5GHz license spectrum at Transcorp Hilton where Professor Danbata, the vice-chairman of NCC announced that after 11 rounds of bidding which lasted for 8 hours, Mafab Communications Ltd and MTN Nigeria Plc, emerged the two successful winners of the 3.5 gigahertz (GHz) spectrum auction for the deployment of Fifth Generation (5G) technology to support the delivery of Ubiquitous broadband services in Nigeria.

The winners of the auction of the 3.5 GHz license spectrum MTN Nigeria and MAFAB Communications Ltd, would pay the sum of $273.6 million as full payment of the license fee before February 24, 2022, and roll out 5G network across Nigeria.

In this fifth generation, VLSI (Very large scale Integration) technology has become ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration) technology, resulting in the production of microprocessor chips having ten million electronic components.

In Conclusion

There are several technology corporations like Qualcomm, (a multinational technology corporation that has over the years, spearheaded ground-breaking research especially in Al (Artificial Intelligence), wireless technology and mobile communication standards) who, building on their 3G and 4G technology leadership, continue to spearhead research for the 5G evolution.

Their efforts are leading to the invention of technologies that will unlock the full potential of 5G and enable an even more intelligently connected future for humanity.

January 29, 2022
The Race to Conquer Space in Africa

Earth and Space

As an intelligent species with a population of 7.9 billion as of January 2022, the need to establish globally effective means of communication is what fueled the launching of the first satellite into space.
Satellite communication is the use of man-made earth satellites as relay stations to transmit radio waves, so as to achieve communication between two or more earth stations.

The Sputnik 1 spacecraft was the first artificial satellite successfully placed in orbit around the Earth and was launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome at Tyuratam (370 km southwest of the small town of Baikonur) in Kazakhstan, then part of the former Soviet Union.

According to the records maintained by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, 11,139 satellites have been launched into space from Earth.
The record also shows that 7,389 satellites are still in Space, while the rest have either been burnt up in the atmosphere or have returned to Earth in form of debris (an example is the Chinese Long March 5C rocket, which dived into the Indian Ocean).

At the end of 2021 there were 7,389 individual satellites in Space; an increase of 27.97% compared to 2020.

The top 10 entities which are dominating the satellite industry are USA, China, Russia, UK, Japan, India, European Space Agency, Canada, Germany and Luxembourgh.

Africa Space Program Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

In Africa, 44 satellites have been launched into space since 1998 till date.
These include nanosatellites, such as the CubeSat – which are smaller, lighter, and easier to design.

Nile Sat 101 was the very first satellite to go into space in Africa. It was made by Italy for Egypt and was launched by an Ariane rocket from the French station Kourou in French Guiana.
South Africa followed in 1999 with the launch of Sunsat. It is worthy of note that African governments spent $490m on space programmes in 2020, as against $250m spent in 2019.

“In the hours after Hurricane Katrina slammed into America in 2005, destroying large parts of New Orleans, the people co-ordinating the disaster response urgently needed satellite pictures to show them what they were facing. The first images to come in were not from the constellations launched by nasa or the space agencies of other rich countries. They were beamed to Earth by a small Nigerian spacecraft that had been launched from Russia just two years earlier.”
The report above from The Economist, June 19, 2021 Issue, is proof that Africa really is in the race to conquer space not as spectators but actively.

Africa Space Policy

One of the principal goals of the Africa space policy stands on developing space-derived products and services used for decision-making and addressing economic, political, social, and environmental challenges.

Another goal of the Africa space policy involves creating An indigenous space capability, in both the private and the public sectors, for a coordinated, effective and innovative African-led space program.

Image Credit: Space in Africa

A 2021 report by the World Economic Forum estimates that data collected from space could unlock $2 billion a year for the benefit of Africa.

What The Future Holds For Space Technology In Africa

Since developing countries have severe resource constraints which have been aggravated by the global recession and the Covid-19 pandemic, the future of Africa’s space program clearly needs to involve bilateral and multilateral partnerships,

South Africa has negotiated with Algeria, Kenya, and Nigeria, the African Resource Management constellation, to pool imagery and other remote sensing data from all their microsats.

Although some African governments argue that they have more pressing matters of survival and economic development to focus on, research on data analytics and data storage is ongoing and Africa anticipates the launch of 20 more satellites as these projects are underway.

African Nations recognize that satellite is a valuable tool that is not only used in meteorology, telecommunications, education and technology, navigation, and natural resource management, but also for economic development, military surveillance, and espionage.

Africa’s race to conquer space with the rest of the world fits right into Africa’s development agenda, Agenda 2063 – “The Africa We Want”, as proposed by African Union. The goal of Agenda 2063 is to transform Africa into the powerhouse of the future and improved satellite communication is sure to take her there.

January 29, 2022
Kenya Telecom Giant Safaricom Takes A Shot At Spotify With Baze Music
Kenya telecom giant Safaricom, which accounts for 63.6% market share of the mobile telecom operator in Kenya, takes a shot at Spotify after announcing the expansion of its Baze platform to include music, enabling its customers to enjoy a mobile-first, ad-free, music streaming experience from as little as KES 10 per day.

Baze was initially launched as a subscription-based mobile-first, video-on-demand service more like TikTok, YouTube, and Netflix all-in-one platform and offering a wide selection of local and regional short-form videos in entertainment, music, news, and sports, placing entertainment Kenyans longed for at their fingertips. The platform also provides a medium for Kenyan local content creators to share their original video works and earn revenue.

As of November 2021, Safaricom CEO Peter Ndegwa announced introducing streaming to the Baze platform.

“Our goal is to provide Kenyans freedom, choice and control over the content they consume, and I am delighted that our customers have enjoyed a variety of content on Baze since the platform was launched in May 2021. To further enhance their experience, we are introducing Baze Music, which will also provide Kenyan artists with a new avenue for monetizing their music in addition to the Skiza platform,” said Peter Ndegwa.

He further accounted on his official Twitter account that –

“Adding music will increase the popularity of Baze and enable Kenyan musicians to earn from their talent courtesy of a revenue share model that sees 60% going to the artists. Baze now joins Skiza as a key earning platform for content creators. #MoveToBaze”

Should Spotify be worried at this shot? Finger crossed.

While we anticipate what the future holds for Safaricom move with Baze music, let’s not neglect that similar action has been made before. Back in 2018, Safaricom introduced Songa music streaming app. It was massively launched in Kenya with adverts nearly everywhere and signed huge deals with different artists to make the platform widely accepted. It, however, failed to take off and slowly faded away.

Perhaps, could this be the resurrection of Songa reborn as Baze music? Or perhaps, this a signal to show that the Baze platform seems to be working amazingly? Does Safaricom have high faith for the music streaming to sort of work in Baze music? We wait and see.

Here Are Things You Can Do With The App (For Kenyans)
- You get a one-week pass (unlimited streaming) if you use the app for the first time. This includes 500 MB for free. You can still stream for free even if you exhaust the free allocation.
- Signing up is easy. All you need is your Safaricom number to create an account.
- The platform has 4 million songs, a couple of videos, albums and curated playlists.
- The app can create unique daily mixes akin to what Spotify does.
- You can create your playlists too.
- You can set songs as Skiza tunes.
- You can save songs for offline streaming.
- There are no ads on the Baze music platform, unlike Spotify.
- The screenshot below shows the cost of its different packages
As shown above, Safaricom is not only giving you access to their library of music at an affordable rate, they’re also looking to solve a hindrance to music streaming in the country, which remains data. So with the pass, you also get to have data to help you pour the music.

Spotify currently has the largest pie of the streaming music market in the country, followed by Apple Music, Deezer, and others. Spotify has a Freemium subscription model – accommodating both free and paid users, so it will be interesting to see which models have a magical outcome and who gets the big numbers in the end.

We wait to see what the users prefer – Spotify or Baze Music model:
- The freemium Spotify model with ads and a great set of apps for mobile, tablet, tv, cars, etc. OR
- Safaricom’s Baze music sub-premium daily pass with no downloadable apps – just web apps – and offering data to use for the streaming.
As a way of promoting and supporting Kenyan talent, Safaricom says Baze Music will feature a vast collection of local music genres, including gospel, gengetone, urban local, reggae and Bongo Flava, with over 45,000 local songs and 1.1 million international tracks available.

Among the key artists whose content is on Baze Music include Two-time Afrima Award Winner Nikita Kering, Gospel artists Daddy Owen & Guardian Angel, Trio Mio, Jua Cali, Bahati, Mejja, Nviiri The Storyteller, Femi One and Ohangla maestro Prince Indah among others.

Safaricom explains that the launch of Baze Music is a continuation of its commitment to growing Kenya’s creative and music industry.

Looking at this, I anticipate what this Kenya giant telecom makes of Baze music as the year progress.
January 29, 2022