The results of the test, called World IPv6 Day, may help encourage others to make the IPv6 upgrades. As part of the experiment, a number of organisations broadcast that their servers were available on IPv6. That meant anybody who had an IPv6 internet connection would get that version of the server rather than the usual IPv4 one.

"There is a great sense of relief that nothing bad happened," said Alain Durand, director of software engineering at network equipment Juniper Networks and a former IPv6 leader at Comcast and Sun . "It's a big sense now that IPv6 is a mature technology that is ready to be deployed."

Internet Protocol version 6 solves what has become a significant limitation of the present IPv4 technology: a dearth of new IP addresses that devices need to exchange information over the internet.

From: ZNET News

The Uganda Communications Commission withdrew a declaration it made last week in respect of new charges it has adopted for voice telephony services in Uganda.

At a press conference yesterday, Tuesday, Mr David Ogong, the director, competition and corporate affairs said; “UCC had not issued a directive to telecommunication operators in form of retail tariff guidelines as reported in the press.” “The commission is concluding the process of consultation with industry players and other stakeholders,” he said at the press conference in Kampala. The process started in January this year.

But in a public notice issued by the same Commission on page 20 of the New Vision newspaper on Friday, it indicated that the consultation process had come to an end and new rules and tariffs would apply to the telecommunications industry.

“Following a consultation process involving relevant stakeholders from the communications industry, the UCC hereby announces the new tariff guidelines for retail voice telephony services in Uganda,” the notice reads in part.

Mr Fred Otunnu, the communications and consumer affairs manager at UCC told Daily Monitor that the Commission now stands by the new position. “The clarification we gave you today is the right one. There must have been a mistake in that statement down there,” Mr Otunnu said.

The ICT fraternity in Uganda was all smiles with the appointment of Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda as the new Minister for ICT.

Various industry practitioners analyze him as a sober, balanced and articulate person with height integrity and one who tends to rise above pettiness in the way he deals with issues.

Dr. Ruhakana has represented Uganda and the United Nations in various capacities. All through his political career, his soft spoken nature has been outstanding. The selection of Dr. Ruhakana by President Museveni is a sign of the government’s focus on the importance of ICT in the coming years.

According to ICT ministerial appointee Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, the government wants to use the ministry as a facilitator and catalyst to ensure that the communication’s sector grows from its current status.

Addressing journalists, last week, shortly after appearing before the vetting committee, Rugunda said that the ministry has already made significant gains, citing an increase in the use of mobile telephones in the country from the previous 50000 to now over four million.

He attributed the improvement to the current government policy of liberalization where the private sector has played a crucial role in improving on this sector which he says has enabled reduction of prices for mobile phones.

These good sentiments following his selection have led to a discussion on the online I-Network Uganda community about the need to have a formally recognized and functional Computer Society in the country. Efforts have been made in the recent past to revive the now defunct Uganda Computer Society (UCS) but with not much progress registered.

Industry members agree that to have meaningful interaction with the Government the ICT community needs to emulate what has been done by the lawyers through the Uganda Law Society and the Engineers through the Uganda Institute of Professional Engineers (UIPE).

All in all, the newly nominated Minister for ICT already has the goodwill of a community ready to help in shaping the future of the ICT industry in Uganda.

Government has initiated the establishment of an innovation centre that would promote export-oriented Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products and services industry, as well as generate employment.

The ICT Park to be built in Tema is one of several initiatives being implemented by government under an enabling environment for the take-off of a knowledge-based economy.
The project is collaboration between the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), and Ministries of Trade and Industry and Communication.

It seeks to stimulate the private sector to invest in provision of technology parks and other ICT infrastructure that provide the fuel for the building of wealth and job opportunities.

At a stakeholders’ workshop on the proposed draft drawings and designs of the ICT Parks master-plan in Accra, Communications Minister, Mr Haruna Idrissu, said ICT parks worldwide played a critical role as intermediaries that supported knowledge-based economies.

They also nurtured innovation and market-focused technological development, he said, citing the Smart Village in Egypt, Innovation hub in South Africa, Software Technology in India and Technology Park in Malaysia.

The workshop is expected to facilitate consensus-building on the way forward in the development of the technology park to promote ICT research and development.

The ICT industry, Mr Iddrisu said, had been identified as one of the sectors that could enhance economic growth by creating opportunities of employment to absorb the abundant talent pool and generate new and thriving entrepreneurship.

“It is in pursuit of this that the ministry has established the IT Enabled services (ITES) Secretariats under the eGhana project tasked to create a vibrant private sector,” he said adding that it was expected to create more than the proposed 7,300 jobs.

Mr Iddrisu said the 10-billion-dollar project would be a legacy for the country, and charged Ghanaian experts to put the draft to strict scrutiny and start as soon as possible procurement procedures.

According to him, Ghana had the potential to emerge as a major ICT hub in the West African Sub-region and called for a more mature technology industry.

The Minister said that one of the best ways to achieve this was to grow and enhance technology skills and knowledge in the country.

Mr Iddrisu said government was also seeking funding for a proposed ICT park in Cape Coast in the Central Region, which would be replicated in other Regions to enhance industrial growth.

In his presentation on the project, Mr Caimin Jones of Garland Ormond International Consultants, said Phase One of the project would be the construction of three advance units with each unit having 2,000 square metres administration and training unit, and a common services unit, while Phase Two would constitute an ICT Park Management Team to facilitate the provision of land for development, rent and lease of space for entities.

The benefits of the park include technology development and diffusion, stimulation of the formation of new technology-based firms and the growth of existing technology-based firms and facilitating the growth of SMEs

He added that it would also spin off firms started by academics thereby helping commercialized academic researches and strengthen university association with the park.
GNA.
From Ghana News Agency