NZEYIMANA Emery Fabrice

Tomorrow will see the world’s first commercial 4G mobile network here in Stockholm. In the beginning, it is expected that speeds will be around 50MBps and grow  to around 80MBps. TELIA is currently the only operator offering it ( http://www.telia.se/4g )

With 4G, users will be able to watch live HD videos using their mobile broadband.

In my view, less connected countries like those in Sub-Saharan Africa might gain by investing in 4G wireless networks instead of spending their limited resources on outdated wired networks that come with other challenges especially when trying to expand them.

By building 4th Generation networks, African countries would be able to combine services like TV, Phone and Internet and all this using an easy to deploy wireless system. Being a new technology makes it expensive but I sure am that, with time, it will become affordable.

Ubu noneho hari uburyo buhendutse bwo kwohereza ibigendajuru by’igerageza mu kirere (Satellites). Nizere ko abanyarwanda cyane cyane abiga muri KIST na UNR Butare batazacikanwa. Aha ndatekereza nk’abanyeshuri bashobora gufatanya barangiza amasomo ya BSc cyangwa MSc bakwohereza ikigendajuru.

Igiciro ngo ni US$ 8000 (harimo ikigendajuru ndetse no kucyohereza). Iki kigendajuru ngo kikaba gipima 13 cm (Santimetero 13) ndetse na 0.75 Kg (amagarama 750).
Iki kigendajuru kiri mu bwoko bwa LEO kikajya kuri 310 Km uvuye ku isi hanyuma ntabwo kimara igihe kirekire mu kirere kuko nyuma y’ibyumweru bike kigaruka kigashya kigakongoka kikimara kwinjira mu mwuka w’isi.

Ntekereza ko n’ibigo nka IRST bishobora guheraho byiga uko ibigendajuru byakoreshwa mu guteza u Rwanda imbere (Biramutse bibaye “made in Rwanda” ubanza atari njye gusa byatera akanyamuneza).

Inkuru irambuye iri kuri http://www.interorbital.com/TubeSat_1.htm

After reading the 2007 ITU report on ICT Development Index, I simply realize how deep the coma of Sub-saharan Africa is. When are we going to wake up???

Nordic countries, as in many other great things, come first with Sweden taking the number-one-sit. Out of 154, Rwanda comes at an unacceptable place of 143 (falling back from 136 [year 2002] even though the index improved). It has taken the Ugandan sit which improved its rank by 3 positions. Maybe the new Ugandan Minister for Development will help improve the index even better (On a side note, when I heard the news about the Ugandan President’s wife becoming a Government Minister, I thought it was a joke but by re-checking the calendar, it was not yet April 1st).

This is not about Ranks. But these numbers should awaken people and remind us that there are other important things than Genocide and mass-killing each other.

Almost all the shameful ranks are occupied by Black-inhabited countries. Behind Rwanda comes such countries as Tanzania, Mali, DR Congo, Chad and Niger. There is probably something wrong with us and until we have unearthed it, we will continue to lag far behind.

I read a few days ago that the SEACOM fibre was landing on the shores of Kenya. Let me hope that it will not only increase bandwidth for the East African region, but also interest in the use of ICTs. But, I believe that without local content, the backbones will dry up quickly and the local population will never see the benefit of having invested so much money into it.

The New Times of Rwanda has a very interesting news article informing us that finally the methane gas from Lake Kivu has produced electricity. I say finally because the first time I heard about this gas was when I was still doing my primary school. At the time a teacher told us that it was a terrible gas that sucks in those who approach it and kill them making it even impossible to recover their bodies because nobody would venture to go down in the lake to bring them back.

Now, that gas is no longer a killer-only monster but has been a useful ingredient to the production of electricity: my congratulations to the team that made this dream come true. They made history.

Like the skinny kid with a funny name , I will say Yes We Can.

I hope the full scale production will not take as many years as it took since I heard about the existence of this gas. I am sure this might be a great export product.

I hope this guy gets enough funding to spread his products all over Africa. Yes, only home-made items will increase the bargaining power of African countries.

[code]Mubarak Muhammad Abdullahi, a 24-year-old physics undergraduate in northern Nigeria, takes old cars and motorbikes to pieces in the back yard at home and builds his own helicopters from the parts.

"It took me eight months to build this one," he said, sweat pouring from his forehead as he filled the radiator of the banana yellow four-seater which he now parks in the grounds of his university.

The chopper, which has flown briefly on six occasions, is made from scrap aluminium that Abdullahi bought with the money he makes from computer and mobile phone repairs, and a donation from his father, who teaches at Kano's Bayero university.

It is powered by a second-hand 133 horsepower Honda Civic car engine and kitted out with seats from an old Toyota saloon car. Its other parts come from the carcass of a Boeing 747 which crashed near Kano some years ago.[/code]

I am sure those neo-cons will start saying negative things like “no one will be allowed to use something made locally” , “we need to have it certified by European engineers” and other “empty words” that are common from African politicians. They should help him reach good levels of reliability instead of discouraging him at the beginning.

And those who gain (mostly through bribes) by importing will make sure that those corrupt politicians halt this guy.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hV0rzEDq7TWnlm7tMmr2zeQmiRig
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20071021/od_afp/nigeriahelicopteroffbeat

RwandaTel, the Rwanda government owned telecoms company is to be sold again. This time, not to a “virtual” american company, but to LAP Green Network, a Libyan based (or rooted) company.

It’s true that I am not a big fan of selling strategic companies to non-rwandans, but I will congratulate LAP Green Network for this new expansion. I also hope that it will treat Rwandans as brothers and sisters and thus bring them more development and funds.

By the way, I have tried to locate websites that are owned by this company without success. I will continue and possibly post what I find here.

It’s good news Mobile phone companies are scrapping Roaming charges. I even wonder if they had many customers paying roaming fees as most people I have seen had SIM cards for every country they visit. As cars moved to the left when crossing the Gatuna (Katuna in ruganda) border, phones users switched their SIM cards.

I remember that the MTN Uganda SIM card received signal up to around 5 kilometers inside Rwanda (from the Gatuna border) but the MTN Rwanda signal was not strong enough to be used after crossing the border.

Let’s hope other business institutions such as Banks will follow the example set by MTN. And the Internet providers should realize the benefits of interconnection without waiting for EASSY and/or other super-regional initiatives that may end up dying before their birth certificate is signed.

By the way, when will Ugandans start driving on the RIGHT ? (Should I say the right side not the wrong one? )

Maze kumenya ko Rwandatel ubu iri gutegekwa n’umunyarwanda ukiri muto nashimishijwe n’icyo gikorwa. U Rwanda ruzazamurwa n’amaboko y’abana barwo.

Hari impamvu nyinshi zituma numva iki ari igikorwa cy’ingenzi:

• Ni umunyarwanda: ntabwo tugomba kujya duhora twisuzugura ngo nta mupfumu iwabo. Kubera iki se umuntu adashobora kuba umupfumu iwabo igihe abibashije?
• Ni muto: amaraso y’ubuto atuma umuntu ashakisha ibyinshi byagirira akamaro ibyo akoramo. Aba ashobora gukora ijoro n’amanywa adakorera cyane cyane “supelemanteri (mu kirundi)” ahubwo nawe ubwe ari kwiyubaka mu bumenyi bushya kuko ibya tekinoloji bihinduka buri munsi utabikurikiye byagusiga. Hari umugani witwa uw’Abidishyi mbona waranditswe mu rwego rwo gutesha agaciro abakiri bato werekana ko iyo abakiri bato bategetse byose bihita byangirika. Ariko njye nywushyira mu rwego rwa poropagande yo kwimira abakiri bato.
• Yigeze kwikorera (business owner): iyi ni ingingo y’ingenzi nayo kuko umuntu wigeze kwikorera n’iyo akoreye undi (n’iyo yaba Leta) akora nk’uwikorera agakora uko ashoboye kwose. Umuco wo kwikorera utuma umuntu adahora ategereje gushimwa gusa.

Icyo nakwifuza muri ibi byose ni uko n’ibindi bigo bya Leta byakwegurirwa abakiri bato maze tukareba niba batari bugire icyo barusha abagiye babitegeka kera wasangaga akenshi bari hafi kujya mu kiruhuko cy’iza-bukuru.

Hari umwarimu wigeze kunyigisha agakunda kuvuga ngo [code]Experience is somehow a very bad thing, because those who count only on experience are less innovative. They keep saying: we have been doing things this way and we have never had problems, why should we change?[/code]

Ibi simbivugiye kwemeza ko uburambe ku kazi bugomba gutuma ugakora yirukanwa, ahubwo ni uko nibwira ko biba ngombwa kugerageza ibintu bishya naho ubundi wasigara inyuma burundu. Aha rero ba njennyeri bakiri bato bagira akamaro maze bagakorana n’abo bafite uburambe bateza ibigo byabo imbere.

Iyi nkuru ivuye ku rubanza rwaciwe muri Amerika (USA) (Ikirego | Kwemera icyaha). Cyokora sindamenya uwo mukozi bavuga uwo ari we. Nizere ko abashinjacyaha b’i Kigali bari bugire icyo babitubwiraho mu minsi iri imbere.

Ibi bikurikira biri ku ipaji ya munani.

[code]
B. Bribes in Rwanda
25. At the direction of defendants Ott and Young, Amoako negotiated with an employee of Rwandatel in February 2002 to obtain a carrier agreement between ITXC and Rwandatel. With the full knowledge and approval of Ott and Young, Amoako promised to compensate the Rwandatel employee as an agent of ITXC if he would influence Rwandatel to agree to favorable terms for the exchange of telecommunications traffic with ITXC. The Rwandatel employee agreed and became ITXC's agent (hereinafter "the Rwandatel Agent").
26. On February 28,2002, Rwandatel and ITXC entered an agreement to exchange telecommunications traffic (hereinafter the "Rwandatel Carrier Agreement"), which the Rwandatel Agent signed as an employee of Rwandatel.
27. On July 2,2002, ITXC entered into a formal agent agreement with the Rwandatel Agent, which defendant Ott signed on behalf of ITXC. The agreement entitled the Rwandatel Agent to $0.01 for each minute of telephone traffic that ITXC was
able to complete to telephone subscribers in Rwanda (as well as in Burundi and Uganda where Rwandatel had the right to complete telephone calls) under the Rwandatel Carrier Agreement. Pursuant to the agent agreement, Ott and Young approved a payment to the Rwandatel Agent of $26,155.1 1 on September 1 1,2002. ITXC made this payment
through a wire transfer from its account at PNC Bank in New Jersey to the account of the Rwandatel Agent at Standard Chartered Bank in Dubai.
28. Ott and Young caused ITXC improperly to record the foregoing payment to the Rwandatel Agent as a legitimate expense on ITXC's books and records.
29. At all relevant times, Ott and Young knew that the Rwandatel Agent was an employee of the foreign government-owned Rwandatel. The sole purpose of the payment was to influence the Rwandatel Agent, a foreign official, to steer the Rwandatel Carrier Agreement to ITXC and thereby enable it to obtain and retain business with Rwandatel.
30. There was no legitimate purpose for the payment. In fact, as a result of the agreement with the Rwandatel Agent, ITXC earned profits of $217,418 from selling telephone service to customers calling Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. ITXC could not have made such sales without having the Rwandatel Carrier Agreement that resulted from the bribes paid to the Rwandatel Agent.[/code]

Nahoze ndi gusoma ilisiti y’abantu bakize kurusha abandi ku isi ariko nsanze nta munyafurika wirabura uri muri 200 ba mbere. Nyamara uwakora ibarura ry’abica bene wabo kurusha abandi sinzi ko Afurika yabona umwanya uri kure cyane !!!

Cyokora hari aho nsomye ko cya gisambo Mobutu ngo yari atunze ibya mirenge nawe da. Kandi uwo mutungo we ukaba ungana n’imyenda Zaïre (Congo) yari ifitiye ibihugu by’amahanga.

Ntabwo namenya neza igituma nta banyafurika birabura bari ku ilisiti y’abantu bakize ariko nakwemeza ntashidikanya ko kuba “nta mupfumu iwabo” bishobora kuba bifite uruhare (n’ubwo rwaba ruto) muri ibi. Mu gihe umuntu atangiye kuzamuka bene wabo bashaka uburyo bamugusha.

Oprah Winfrey niwe mwirabura ukize kurusha abandi (Forbes magazine) akaba ari umunyamerika (cyane cyane mu mpapuro kimwe na Jackson). Ariko rero birashoboka ko hari ibindi bisambo biri ku butegetsi muri Afurika bifite menshi kurusha Oprah nubwo bitavugwa kubera ko aba ahishe hirya no hino kuko bitatinyuka gusobanura aho byayakuye mu gihe abaturage bicira isazi mu jisho.