African ICT news headlines for the first half of February: 114 stories from 29 countries.

Algeria

• Four Months in Jail and Counting for Algerian Blogger Who Criticized President {Global Voices}

Botswana

• Botswana calls for SADC IXPs {ITWeb Africa}

Cameroon

• MTN Cameroon CEO: “We are Limited by the Regulatory Environment in Cameroon” {Cameroon-Info.net}

Central African Republic

• Why conflict-torn Central African Republic has big telecoms potential {ITWeb Africa}

Chad

• Announcement of Intention to Privatize and Invitation to Express Interest… {PR Newswire}

Congo

• Le Congo veut une matérialisation effective du projet Central African Backbone en 2014 {Ecofin}

Cote D’Ivoire

• Une tablette éducative made in Côte d’Ivoire bientôt dévoilée à Barcelone {AfriqueITNews.com}
• Bruno Nabagné Koné a dévoilé les grands chantiers TIC de la Côte d’Ivoire pour 2014 {Ecofin}
• Ivory Coast’s mobile market becomes overcrowded {ITWeb Africa}

Djibouti

• Djibouti Data Center (DDC) Launches Internet Exchange Point in East Africa {PRWeb}

DR Congo

• Tigo DRC extends 3G coverage to cities in North Kivu, South Kivu {TeleGeography}

East Africa

• East Africa: M-Lab Launches Pivot East 2014 Competitio {AllAfrica.com}
• East Africa telecoms infrastructure sharing debate emerges {ITWeb Africa}

Egypt

• Guess who! Only two MENA countries have answered the call to liberalise their telecom sectors {Al Bawaba}
• Report: Internet users reached 35.95 million in 2013 {Egypt Independent}
• PieRide offers Egypt’s commuters an Uber for carpooling {Wamda.com}

Ethiopia

• Ethiopia: Network Blackout Hits Addis As Parliament Slams Ethio Telecom {AllAfrica.com}

Ghana

• Ghana: E-Payslip Innovation Successful {AllAfrica.com}
• Ghana QoS reshapes market share {BiztechAfrica}
• Youth urged to place premium on ICT {GhanaWeb}

Guinea

• Révélation : comment le RPG tisse la toile sur internet à travers les forums de diffusion {Guinee58}

Kenya

• ▶ Nanyuki power project that provides low cost internet {YouTube}
• Building LakeHub {AfriLabs}
• Kenya: “Sillicon Savannah” Set to Take Much Longer Time {AllAfrica.com}
• Online shopping puts Kenyan fashion at your fingertips {CNN.com}
• It’s Not Easy MacGyvering a Backup Internet in Kenya {Motherboard}
• State House, Nakuru County in free Wi-Fi project {Capital FM}
• Savannah Fund looking for ‘the winners’ among Africa’s tech startups {How We Made It}
• Safaricom M-Pesa book to be sold on Amazon {ITWeb Africa}
• Zuku TV has fibre expansion plans for Mombasa {ITWeb Africa}
• Cyber bullies target Kenyan women {Radio Netherlands Worldwide}
• This is how award winning Kenyan IT college and software development firm was born {Standard Media}
• Kenyan IT sector to be worth KES 85 bln in 2 years {Telecompaper}

Libya

• Alcatel-Lucent déploie 1000 km de fibre optique de Tripoli à Benghazi {Ecofin}

Morocco

• In the Information Age, the End of Status Quo for Morrocan Media {Global Voices}
• Moroccans denounce new information draft law {Al-Monitor}
• Meditel to invest USD482m in network upgrades {TeleGeography}
• ANRT to start SIM registration process in April 2014 {TeleGeography}

Mozambique

• Movitel subscriber base passed three million in 2013 {TeleGeography}

Namibia

• Namibia: E-Justice Debuts in Namibia {AllAfrica.com}
• Stricter cyber policing coming {New Era}

Nigeria

• Nigeria: Diamond ICT Training Guns for Women’s Computer Literacy {AllAfrica.com}
• Nigerian Blogger Blossom Nnodim Talks ‘Social Media for Social Good’ {Global Voices}
• Nigerian Governor Reportedly Pays Bloggers for Meet-Up {Global Voices}
• Meet the 7 TechCabal Battlefield finalists! {VC4Africa}
• Facebook growing fast in Nigeria {DW}
• Lenovo enters Nigerian market, debuts 7 smartphone models {HumanIPO}
• IBM opens innovation centre in Lagos {HumanIPO}
• Nigeria is next for Mxit – CEO {HumanIPO}
• NCC expresses readiness to implement National Broadband Policy {HumanIPO}
• Technology must drive Nigeria’s development, says Omobola Johnson {ITWeb Africa}
• 57.8m telecoms subscribers use internet data, says NCC {Punch NG}
• Smile Communications runs Lagos pilot of ‘fastest Internet in Nigeria’ {Technology Times}
• $50m Technology City Takes off in Osun, Articles {ThisDay}

Rwanda

• Rwandan youth urged to take advantage of ICT opportunities {BiztechAfrica}
• MTN Rwanda to invest USD20m in 2014 {TeleGeography}
• Online selling window still unopened in Rwanda {The East African}

Senegal

• Sénégal : Tigo propose le Wi-Fi gratuit dans les bus Dakar Dem Dik {Ecofin}

Somalia

• Somalia: Hormud Telecommunication Stays Offline for the Second Day Remaining in the Juba Regions {AllAfrica.com}
• Somalia’s Information Minister – the Government Has Not Ordered the Closure of Any Telecommunication Compan {AllAfrica.com}
• Al-Shabaab internet blackout disrupts lives, provokes outrage in southern Somalia {Sabahionline.com}

South Africa

• Southern Africa Archbishop Launches Africa E-Reader Project {AllAfrica.com}
• South Africa: Will Social Media Campaigns Manage to Cure Young-Voter Apathy? {AllAfrica.com}
• South Africa: Young Man Behind Limpopo Computer Training Centre {AllAfrica.com}
• Wealth created through the Internet: Zuma {BusinessTech}
• Best mobile broadband service in South Africa {MyBroadband.co.za}
• Surprising SA browser stats {MyBroadband.co.za}
• Celebrating Safer Internet Day {Bizcommunity}
• Bandwidth Barn inducted into AfriLabs {HumanIPO}
• Will social media campaigns manage to cure young-voter apathy? {ISS Africa}
• South Africa: Call for submissions on National Integrated ICT Policy {IT News Africa}
• SA political parties flunk online {TechCentral}
• Wi-Fi start-up helps plug SA’s Internet divide {TechCentral}
• Study in South Africa looks at reality and myths of cyberbullying {UNICEF}

Sudan

• Tech Wizard Launches New Sudan in TED World {VOA News}

Swaziland

• Swaziland takes part in AU internet exchange summit {The Swazi Observer}

Tanzania

• Number of Internet users still low in Tanzania, says global report {IPPMedia}
• The revolution of Internet access in Tanzania {The Citizen}

Uganda

• Uganda: The Traffic APP to Tackle Corruption {AllAfrica.com}
• What the future of African broadband could look like – testing real-life LTE in Kampala {balancingact-africa.com}
• Old drums power Uganda’s digital leap {eNCA}
• Jumia extends services to Uganda {HumanIPO}
• Internet efficiency up despite vandalism of cables {New Vision}
• Law governing Mobile Money in the offing {New Vision}

Zambia

• Two Million Mobile SIM Cards Deactivated in Zambia {Global Voices Advocacy}
• Zambia: Presidential Facebook Page Can Promote Good Governance {AllAfrica.com}
• Zambian Library Aims to Become Literacy Tech Hub {Beyond Access}
• Zambia to boost ICT access with own PC assembly plant {BiztechAfrica}
• Zambia ups its technology profile {IT News Africa}

Zimbabwe

• Zimbabwe: Technology Not So Friendly to the Aged {AllAfrica.com}

General Africa

• Africa: The ABCs of E-Waste {AllAfrica.com}
• Young Africans leading the way in tech {World Bank Blog}
• 8 Irrresistable Food Blogs From Sub-Saharan Africa {Global Voices}
• Meet 3 Talented African Lady Geeks Involved in New Media {Global Voices}
• Vodacom sees surge in Africa mobile data usage {Yahoo News}
• Foodpanda Gobbles Up $20M In Fresh Funding To Fatten Its Global Pawprint {TechCrunch}
• 10 (Really) Worst African Government Official Websites {Techloy}
• Is one of Africa’s startups the “Best Startup in the World”? {VC4Africa}
• Africa E-Learning Market Infographic {Docebo}
• Liquid Telecom builds Africa’s largest fibre network {The Financial Gazette}
• Kenya, SA strongly represented in Africa Connected semi-final {HumanIPO}
• Twitter tracks Sochi discussions, Ghana leads in Africa {HumanIPO}
• Q&A: Mobile Market Experts Talk Challenges And Trends In Africa {IBTimes}
• The African Union Commission Selects the Internet Society for the Regional Internet Exchange Points and Regional Internet Carrier Workshops of the African Internet Exchange System (AXIS) Project {Internet Society}
• 5 African start-ups receive Microsoft funding {IT News Africa}
• Africa boosts Millicom’s revenues {ITWeb Africa}
• Technology in Rural African Classrooms {PR.com}
• With Ushahidi’s global innovation engine, Africa has joined the tech revolution {TechRepublic}
• IBM opens access to SaaS portfolio for African Universities {Telecompaper}
• Africa: iPads versus locally made tablets {The Africa Report}
• Half of Africa to have LTE in four years {Total Telecom}
• Mobile Money: Africa’s New Way to Pay {VOA News}
• Learning to share: Could tower-sharing be the solution to rural networks’ problems? {ZDNet}
• Leveraging Mobile Phones: A Custom E-Learning App For Africa by Darlo Ogz {Kickstarter}