The days of counterfeit phones and other fake telecommunications devices are numbered if the industry regulator lives up to its latest threats.

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) on Tuesday said it will soon de-link fake phones from connecting to the existing mobile network.

Counterfeiting has become so pervasive in Uganda that it includes telecommunication devices, foodstuffs, medicines and even equipment spare parts. The situation is compounded by the lack of anti-counterfeit legislation that is still stuck in Parliament.

Fred Otunnu, the UCC communications and consumer affairs manager, explained that as a first step, the commission had initiated a process to curb the influx of counterfeit phones into the country.

He did not, however, elaborate on what steps UCC will take to curb counterfeit imports.

In a public statement to major vendors like ZTE and Huawei, Godfrey Mutabazi, the UCC executive director, said fake mobile phones that do not meet the stipulated international standard should not be imported into Uganda.

“The sudden influx of fake telecommunications devices in Uganda is a serious concern. These phones are low in quality and do not meet safety standards, and in some situation, the radiation from them is beyond the permissible limits and can cause serious damage to the health of Ugandans,” he said.

While the initiative by UCC and the vendors is viewed as a positive step, it faces serious challenges in enforcement as the standards watchdogs like UCC, NEMA and UNBS have failed to manage their various sector dockets.

For instance, unsolicited messages in the telecoms persist even amidst the high public outcry while environmental degradation is almost unabated.

Mutabazi acknowledged that in the past few years, there has been a rise in mobile users now at 17 million subscribers, which has pushed the demand of various types of mobiles. These phones are usually not subjected to any regulatory authority and thereby not made in conformity to relevant standards and specifications.

Mutabazi said the poor quality of service experienced by some mobile phone users may be due to the quality of their handsets.

The equipment vendors noted that even new models are being faked and sold in the markets as soon as a new original is released.

Mutabazi said UCC would work closely with other regulatory agencies like the Uganda National Bureau of Standards and the National Environment Regulatory Authority to fight.

From: New Vision

If you think you have seen it all in terms of TV size? Well think again because Sony's 84" BRAVIA 4K LCD TV is now the largest TV in the world.

The new 4K TV comes equipped with a 4K LCD panel comprising approximately 8.29 megapixels, which is 4 times the resolution of Full HD standard, and incorporates "4K X-Reality PRO", Sony's super-resolution high picture quality engine.

4K X-Reality PRO engine is capable of reproducing a variety of content with different resolutions, such as HD digital broadcasts or Blu-ray discs content, into stunningly crisp, high-quality images with 4K resolution.

This TV has "10 Unit Live Speaker" side speaker system, which is optimized for this large-size screen, with Sony's unique high-quality sound signal-processing technology achieves powerful three-dimensional sound that envelops the viewer in position-orienting tones, from deep bass to high notes.

84 inch Bravia features:-

• 4K LCD panel in the Industry's largest 84-inch class

• its engine“4K X-Reality PRO” is super-resolution high picture quality engine.

• Large-screen 3D images reminiscent of a movie theater.

• PlayMemories Studio

The Government will need about shs345b ($139m) over the next five years to implement an e-Government structure designed to improve efficiency in delivery of public services. This is contained in a report on an e-Government master plan released yesterday at the Imperial Royale hotel in Kampala.

E-government refers to the use of the internet to deliver government information and services to citizens.

If approved by the Government, implementation of the five year plan will start this year, with the help of experts from South Korea's National IT Promotion Agency (NIPA).

ICT minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda said the plan would help the Government to prioritize investment information communication technology (ICT) to address development challenges. "Uganda will take advantage of this well developed path and close relations with South Korea in ICT to fight unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment," he stated.

Rugunda hailed the Government of South Korea for supporting Uganda's ICT infrastructure and said the Government would adopt the Asian power's development path by investing in technology.

"The Government is encouraging innovators, software developers and entrepreneurs to emulate these great examples," he said. South Korea has the world's best e-governance structure, according to the 2012 United Nations e-Government survey.

Gae Lee, one of the NIPA consultants, noted that although Uganda established the necessary legal framework to develop ICTs, there was no specific action plan to implement e-governance.

Presenting an evaluation on the use of ICTs by Government institutions, Lee noted that only the Uganda Revenue Authority had attained the highest level because of the e-tax facility.

As computers and mobile phones are advancing to better, smaller and faster gadgets so are electric items. A Bluetooth Bulb has been innovated to just simplify your life with just help of your other favorite gadget either a phone or tablet.

Bluetooth Bulb is not only convenient, it also saves energy, therefore lowering the utility bills as well as promoting a sustainable environment. You can enjoy the benefits of automation wherever you live and work.

The team of Bluetooth Bulb created this wonderful product after months of experiments. They said "We've continuously run tests on the trial pieces, and finally achieved CE qualification. With Your support, we will be able to start mass-production of the Bluetooth Bulb. Once production starts in 2months and we'll be able to serve all customers with traditional as well as RGB bulbs."

The Bluetooth Bulb use low-power Bluetooth 4.0 chips with a range of 50 meters (164 feet) - this might change depending on the actual environment and this most modern Intelligent Ready technology currently only available for the iPad3, Mac Mini, Macbook Air, Samsung Galaxy S III and the Droid RAZR.

How does it work?

Just screw in the bulb into the socket, download the app and pair the bulb (or better yet: the bulbs) with your device, then lay back and enjoy it. You can pair unlimited number of devices with one bulb - just don't fight over it in the family... You will be able to control the brightness, the timing of turning the bulb on and off, and with the RGB model only your imagination is the limit of the number of colors you can create.

Come November, the construction of an alternative internet cable will start said NITA-U (National Information Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) director of technical services Mr. Peter Kahigi with funds from the government and other financiers. He reviewed this during the 8th international conference on computing and research.

The move will benefit internet users, and act as a safeguard against dependence on a single cable as well as riding internet speed, access and reliability.
Mr. Peter Kahigi added “This will help widen the broadband internet transmission throughout the country and ensure internet reliability. It is another step to achieving the 2015 global broadband target set by the International Telecommunication Union.”

In a speech read for him, Mr Eric Yang, the Huawei chief executive officer, highlighted the need for Africa to over come the challenge of the absence of a high-capacity backbone network that could spur faster broadband penetration. “Increasing broadband connectivity is emerging as a high priority for policy makers across the continent. However, the lack of high-capacity backbone network is still a major challenge,” Yang said.

“Although broadband connectivity is bound to spur growth in many African economies, there is still plenty of work that needs to be done in building the telecommunications infrastructures that will link the continent to the global village,” he added.

The two day conference was organised by the Makerere University College of Information Technology and Huawei Technologies.

From: The Monitor