Internet Protocol Version 4 exhausts, Version 6 in the offing

In the recent past, Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) was reported by many sources to be on a rapid depletion. The exhaustion of the IPv4 addresses will in turn lead to deployment of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6). Internet protocol is a set of rules and conventions that govern communication of computing devices over the internet whereas an IP address is a unique number assigned to a computing device such as a computer that is interconnected with other computing devices in a network.  The Internet Protocol (IP) space is managed by Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), the Regional Internet Registry (RIR) and local Internet Service Providers (ISPs). The fundamental advantage of IPv6 over IPv4 is that the former offers more addresses than the latter.  Should IPv4 addresses exhaust before implementation of IPv6, end to end connectivity that is required by certain applications will not be universally available on the IPv4 Internet. In East Africa, internet usage has been on the increase due to price reductions on voice and data service providers in a battle for supremacy. News about exhaustion of IPv4 addresses has been on the rise on the internet and foreign press but not much of this publicity can be seen or heard on local media. One wonders whether Internet Service Providers and the governments in East Africa have put in place mechanisms for the transition from IPv4 to IPv6. Some of the mechanisms suggested for transition from IPv4 to IPv6 were; Dual IP stack and IPv6 over IPv4 tunneling.

Rwanda completes construction of fiber optic network

Rwanda has completed construction of a 2,300 kilometre fibre optic telecommunications network across the country to link it to the undersea cables running on the East African coast. This was revealed by Ignace Gatare, the Rwanda Information and Communication Technology minister. The minister said that the fibre optic project will initially be operated by an independently-managed government entity on an open access model to accommodate infrastructure sharing with the private ICT service providers. He added that the goal was to progressively transfer the business to a private business. The project, which began in October 2009 at a cost of $95 million, was set up to boost access to various broadband services, boost electronic commerce and attract foreign direct investment through business process outsourcing. The ICT minister revealed that Internet access in Rwanda was estimated to be at 12% of the population and revenues from the information and communication industry amounted to 87 Billion Rwandan francs in 2009. "Initiatives to activate the links have been launched and discussions between Rwanda telecommunication operators that include MTN Rwanda, Tigo Rwanda and Rwandatel and regional cable operators are ongoing," the minister said. With an economic growth rate that accelerated from 6.1% in 2009 to 7.5% in 2010, the completion of the fiber optic network only paints a bright future for Rwanda.

Google launches free web to mobile sms service for Uganda

Google launches the Gmail to SMS, Uganda’s first PC-chat-to-mobile-text service which allows Gmail users in the country to send and receive chat messages for free in the form of text messages. Elijah Kitaka, Google's Business Development Manager said that the launch of the service in Uganda followed successful launches in Senegal, Ghana and Kenya. Mr. Kitaka also added that Google's launch of the service in Uganda was to make the internet more useful to Ugandans on a daily basis due to the vibrancy of the country's ICT sector. With the Gmail to SMS chat, a Gmail user sends a text from the desktop interface directly to a mobile phone via SMS. The recipient of the text message then responds to the text message and the response will appear in the Gmail interface of the PC chat sender. The service is currently available for subscribers of MTN, UTL and Orange but will eventually support all cellular networks and standard network charges will apply for any communication from the phone to desktop, but SMS in Gmail chat is free from desktop to phone. By default, SMS in chat is enabled for Gmail users depending on their settings, but in the event that it isn’t active in your account, you can activate it for free by going to Settings, Labs, then enabling the SMS options and saving changes.

MTN signs up the first Android powered mobile phone in Uganda

MTN has signed up the first Android powered mobile phone in Uganda. At the launch of the IDEOS U8150 Android Smart Phone, the MTN Uganda Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Themba Khumalo said that this was aimed at giving Ugandans an opportunity to own and use a smartphone and to harness the power of reliable, high speed internet services off MTN’s 3G+ network. Android is an open source software for mobile devices with an operating system based upon a modified version of the Linux kernel. Google Inc purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc in 2005 and it was reported in 2010 that the Android operating system was the world's best selling smart phone platform. The  IDEOS U8150 Android Phone has a 528MHz Processor, and is compatible with High-Speed 3G + networks and wireless networks. The phone has a touch screen display, high resolution screen, a 3.2 Mega Pixel Camera and supports functions such as voice dialing, voice navigation, social networking and the ability to run applications off the SD card.