Seychelles Media Association forms

After nearly a ten year absence, the Seychelles Media Association (SMA) has been given a new lease of life. The move was made possible with the support of the Reporters sans Frontières, which is based in the French capital Paris.

A similar association regrouping all Seychellois media professionals had existed in the past, but was short-lived.

However, the formation of the new body is attracting its own controversy. Its inaugural chairperson is the newly appointed Managing Director of the Seychelles Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Antoine Onezime. As his appointment is made by the President, many feel this is a calculated attempt by the executive to influence this independent NGO.

The appointment of two members of parliament on the executive committee, although both are former journalists of the SBC have also raised a few eyebrows, about political meddling.

An independent media landscape is still in its infancy with the government controlling both the national broadcaster and the daily newspaper and limiting the liberalisation of the airwaves, whilst the ‘independent press’ is controlled by the political powers.

Embracing new technologies

Advances in information and communications technologies (ICTs) are changing the local media dynamic. Representatives of several NGOs gathered for a two day training workshop this week, to learn new ways to interact with their audiences. The workshop organised by the Seychelles Gender and Media Association, GEMPLUS was conducted by three local media professionals.

Participants learned the art of blogging, how to use their mobile phones to gather news and other online devices such as chatting and e-news letter to bring their content to their customers. They can now use their new found skills and rely less on the traditional media to disseminate their information.

The workshop was sponsored by UNDP, in its effort to promote media freedom and access to information.

Turning on the meter

If you are a Cable & Wireless Internet customer in Seychelles, you can no longer expect to download as much as you like and don’t pay for it.

The company says about 5% of its customers use up to 50% of the bandwidth available.

At the core of this issue is the use of the Internet to download material, which can be text, photos, songs and videos, including full length feature films. Cable & Wireless argues that the use of broadband has increased dramatically as both the number of Internet users and the amount they download have increased.

This situation is not only unsustainable, but threatening to slow down the speed of Internet on the Cable & Wireless network. The solution, the company argues is makes those who use a lot pay more.

Cable & Wireless Internet customers have been informed that they are being placed on different packages according to their customary usages. Besides the basic fee for the package, customers will be charged for additional usage above the allowance in the package.

But this move has raised many protests. Some customers have accused the company of simply using the scheme to increase prices, making them pay more for a service they were getting.

Cable & Wireless says the majority of its customers will not see any increase in their monthly payments if their usage pattern remains the same.

United connect with Airtel

Airtel customers in Seychelles will soon get exclusive access to rich and exclusive Manchester United content on their mobile phones. This follows the signing of a five-year partnership between Bharti Airtel and United.

Bharti Airtel, is Asia's leading telecom services provider and operates in India, Sri Lanka and the Seychelles.

This partnership will give Airtel customers across the Seychelles, India and Sri Lanka the opportunities to participate in training sessions with Manchester United Soccer Schools coaches, to attend matches at Old Trafford and travel into Europe with United to UEFA Champions League games.

The announcement was made at Old Trafford earlier this week by Sanjay Kapoor, Deputy CEO, Bharti Airtel in the presence of United's David Gill (CEO), Richard Arnold (Director of Commercial), Sir Alex Ferguson (Manager) and players Darren Fletcher, Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez.

With the English Premiere League and the UEFA Champions League becoming more popular amongst the young population of Seychelles, this partnership will ensure Manchester United popularity locally.

Seychelles far from underwater cable

The Seychelles government says plan to build a fibre-optic link across the Indian Ocean, will depend entirely on the private sector.

Answering a question I put to the Minister for National Development in the National Assembly, on how far his ministry had arrived in the project to install an underwater cable to connect Seychelles with the rest of the world, Mr Jacquelin Dugasse says the government is seriously considering two options.

The first option is to connect with the Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION) at a cost of $30 million and the second is to connect with the ESSAy project from Dar-es-Salaam at the cost of $50-60 million.

As for the financing option, the minister says the cost would have to be met by the private sector. Already a local cable company has been formed to raise funds for the project.

A feasibility study costing $500 thousand, with the African Development Bank footing the lion share is being carried out to decide which of the two options is best for Seychelles.

Although I support this project and appreciate the fact that Seychelles will eventually be well connected to economic hot spots in the Middle East as well as South Africa, India and Europe, I see the danger of the few telecommunication companies we have here monopolising its benefits - which keeps prices high and so out of reach of many.

Currently, Seychelles relies solely on satellite connections for internet and telephone calls.

Whilst Africa has ten cables, Seychelles failed to embrace the technology when it was first introduced in the region several years ago, when it would have cost us merely $3 million.

But the most important question of all - when is expected to be ready? Minister Dugasse simply refused to be taken to task later by the Assembly's Government Assurances Committee.