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TELEVISION audience measurement firm AGB Nielsen yesterday said it was not ideal for state-owned entities to handle technology related to broadcasting, because their structures were not equipped to keep up with global trends.

Rivers State Government is to extend its Information Communication Technology (ICT) programme for Model Primary and Secondary Schools run by the Nigerian Navy in the state.

When some few years ago, the telecommunication industry was liberalized and some telecommunication service providers barged into our conscience and got the license to operate telecommunication services in the country, lots of Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief that thank God, the fraud and extortion that the people have been subjected to for so long by the Government monopolized NITEL has at last been broken and we all looked forward to a 21st century telecommunication services. But alas within just about a decade of operation, this communications outfits have deviated from the principle for which they were licensed and one has watched with disdain and disbelief how the Nigerian geographical territory has been turned into one big theatre where anything is possible. (Apology to Gen. Salihu Ibrahim, fmr chief of army staff)

Tunisia will soon put into service, a network of economic intelligence, to improve the quality of economic information offered to businesses, so as to achieve greater efficiency and enhance competitiveness.

The Tunisian website "www.leaders.com.tn" recently launched a new service of electronic news via mobile phones. The new version is expected to offer easier access to the website.

A major landmark achievement had been made in the nation's e-payment system, following the completion of the Nigeria Central Switch (NCS) project by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), a body set up in 1993 by the Bankers Committee. With this development, all payment cards issued by banks in Nigeria will be accepted on all acceptable devices deployed in the country.

Early this year, a new application software was introduced in Uganda and the whole of East Africa as part of the technological innovations.

New mobile communication businesses now have a platform to globally show case their innovative products, following the launch of Mobile Monday Kampala (MoMoKla) in Uganda. MoMo, a global network of mobile industry professionals and startups has a presence in 100 cities globally. The Kampala chapter was officially unveiled by Mr Igeme Nabeta, the chairman of Parliament's ICT Committee on Monday in Munyonyo. It is now the second African chapter after Mobile Monday South Africa.

In a campaign to promote social responsibility, Rwandatel the country's second largest operator by market share is set to announce the winner of the 'Umusaruro' promotion.

NETONE intends to triple its subscriber base from the current 500 000 to 1,5 million by May this year.

Sega in Ugenya District is a typical dusty village with a reputation for tidit, a potent local brew. But that is changing fast and it is now transforming itself into a hub of information technology.

After a lot of security concerns and re-assurance from the local Internet community that Nairobi is safe enough for the 1000 plus guests expected to attend the 37th Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) meeting, things seem to have settled down and the summit is underway at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre until Friday.

An insurance product that caters for farmers' inputs like fertilizers and certified seeds is being delivered through the use of mobile phone.

Telkom has resorted to deploying armed guards to hide in bushes overnight to try to stop gangs from stripping phone lines in the Western Cape.

As the world continues to develop at a faster pace in the 21st century, access information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) has become a critical tool in human advancement. Knowing this potential very well, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament said the use of ICT is unavoidable in the developmental agenda of the West African sub-region, especially, in the area of education.

The Education Minister, Mr. Alex Tetteh Enyo has said the one laptop per child (OLPC) concept is a good one, but issues of sustainability and security needs to be properly addressed before the programme can be continued.

European Union (EU) under the aegis of EU SRIP, has donated Information Technology equipment and accessories worth N196 million to the Cross River state government.

Secretaries of State Scholarship Boards have been urged to be ICT acquiescent and create awareness among their candidates, aimed at making them to take full advantage of the newly introduced schemes by the Federal Government.

A cross section of staff of the Nigeria Telecommunication Limited (NITEL) yesterday reacted with mixed feeling to the suspension of the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Dr Christopher Anyanwu by the federal government. They wondered why the federal government went ahead to give an indefinite suspension to him when NITEL was on the verge of being privatised under his tutelage.

The short message (SMS) system of getting results from the Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB) has left many teachers, especially those in private schools, sad and blue.