TIME: If you’re reading this in Africa, you’re one of a few who can. With just 50 million Web users across the continent, as few as 5% of Africans access the Internet, a percentage far lower than in Asia, Europe or the Americas. In only a handful of African countries do more than 1% of the population use broadband services. (Among OECD countries, broadband penetration averages 18%.) And the services that exist don’t come cheap. Broadband costs more in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else in the world: consumers in the region spent an average of $366 each month for speedier Internet access in 2006, according to the World Bank. Users in India, meanwhile, paid just $44. (more…)

By Sydney Kawadza and Victoria Ruzvidzo (The Herald)

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, police and the Anti-Corruption Commission have launched a joint blitz on illegal foreign currency dealers abusing the e-banking system at Internet cafes.

At least 20 dealers who have been netted in the crackdown are expected to appear in court soon. (more…)

The Public Interest Registry (PIR), the registering that manages the .org highest rank level domain, have announced that there are now 7 million .org domain names registered worldwide.

Driven by trends such as friendly networking, issue awareness, online political organizing, and community sites the .org top level domain is now the third largest generic domain (after .com and .net). Alexa Raad, CEO, PIR, commented: “This is a significant milestone for .ORG, considered in the state of it has consistently grown 20% percent year over year since its management by Public Interest Registry”. (more…)

As the blogging phenomenon rips across the global web, a Zimbabwean online media group has set up a new blog that is set to add a whole new dimension to blogging in Zimbabwe.

The blog- www.zimbablog.com, will bring together thousands of Zimbabwean bloggers around the world and enable them to share their experiences, opinions and ideas on a single platform. (more…)

Every year, more than 500 ICT professionals, students, lecturers and enthusiasts from all over the world gather at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa to showcase and discuss ICT innovations, developments and policies that relate to Internet governance and media for democracy.

The event is called Highway Africa and it has been running for the last eleven years. (more…)

Do you have half a million US dollars to spare? Well, if you do, you could be the proud owner of the domain Zimbabwe.com which goes on auction tomorrow (28 August 2008). While you’re at it you, may as well buy Zimbabwe.net, Zimbabwe.org or perhaps Zimbabwe.us Which are also on sale.

You may wonder, who on earth is selling these domains? How do they come to own them in the first place? (more…)

Online gurus from some of the biggest names in etourism and Internet marketing are lined up to present at the first ever etourism conference in Southern Africa which will be held in Johannesburg in September.

Google, Microsoft, WAYN, Expedia, Nightsbridge and Eye For Travel are some of the global Internet giants that will make presentations at the conference that is aimed to help businesses in Southern Africa gear up for the 2010 World Cup and the boom in tourism that is expected in the region leading up to, during and after the event. (more…)

The technology is supposed to be very simple. Someone somewhere in the world sends you some money via their closest Western Union office and in ten minutes time you can collect it from your local Western Union office.

That’s what Namatai Hamandishe was told by her husband who recently moved to the United Kingdom to look for work, as many Zimbabweans have done. So when he informed her after two months that he had sent her some Pounds from his first salary she got very excited and made plans to travel to the nearest Western Union office- 20km away in Harare. She and her five month old baby got onto a bus from the town of Chitungwiza very early one morning to go and collect the money. (more…)