Rwanda schools wait for computers

The One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative in Rwanda is considering importing 100 000 computers to boost the programme's overall efficiency, reports IT News Africa.

The co-ordinator of the OLPC programme, Richard Niyonkuru, says they want to extend the programme to reach private schools. He adds that the government wanted to import only 10 000 computers, but President Paul Kagame ordered the ICT ministry to acquire 100 000 computers.

The government is adamant 50% of all the primary schools in Rwanda should have access to these computers by 2012.

A group of Nigerian IT and map experts in the UK have developed an online interactive street finder for Lagos, Nigeria, states The Punch.

The Web site allows users to search for any street in Lagos, in addition to the location of any business by name and address.

The developers say the innovation was aimed at bringing the benefits of digital technology to the doorsteps of Nigerians, adding that the Web site could be described as the Nigerian version of Google Maps.

Ethiopian Telecom has launched 3G services in the city of Addis Ababa, says Telegeography.

Ethiopia's sole mobile operator will offer commercial pre-paid services over a W-CDMA network, offering speeds of up to 384kbps.

The network infrastructure will initially be limited to 49 regions of the city, but coverage is expected to grow, although the operator has not announced any specific details of its expansion plans.