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- Top state court tells judge to cancel hearing on 30-day term for ex-teacher who admitted teen rape
Criminal Procedure
Top state court tells judge to cancel hearing on 30-day term for ex-teacher who admitted teen rape
Posted Sep 6, 2013 4:00 PM CDT
By Martha Neil
In the latest twist in the controversial case of a former Montana high school teacher who admitted raping one of his 14-year-old students, yet had all but 30 days of a 15-year sentence suspended, the judge in the case was ordered to cancel a Friday hearing at which he reportedly planned to reconsider the sentence.
As the prosecution, the defense and the state's highest court all agreed, the trial judge is not authorized to take further action concerning his sentence in a case that is now under appeal, CNN reports.
"We conclude that the stated intent of the District Court to alter the initially imposed oral sentence in today's scheduled hearing is unlawful and that the proceeding should be arrested," said the Montana Supreme Court in a Friday order vacating the planned hearing by Judge G. Todd Baugh. "We take no position on the legality of the imposed sentence and will address the parties' arguments in that regard on appeal."
In a Thursday filing, defense lawyer Jay Lansing agreed with prosecutors' argument in an emergency motion to the supreme court that statutory and case law empowers only the state's top court, not the trial judge, to alter the sentence that has already been imposed in the Yellowstone County Court criminal case.
In addition to requiring defendant Stacey Dean Rambold, 54, to serve only 30 days, Baugh elicited outrage by saying last month that the teen victim, who later committed suicide when she was 16 years old, "seemed older than her chronological age."
The judge subsequently apologized, and said it appears that he was mistaken in imposing less than the mandatory minimum two-year prison term he now believes was required.
The state attorney general's office filed a notice of appeal earlier this week.
But it appears that the convoluted plot concerning Rambold's sentencing last month has already thickened.
On Friday afternoon, holding what effectively was a press conference from the bench, Baugh said he had decided Thursday to cancel the hearing and also went ahead yesterday and issued a new sentencing order, which suspends all but two years of Rambold's 15-year term, reports the Billings Gazette (reg. req.).
Then, when he heard today about the state supreme court ruling vacating his scheduled hearing, Baugh told reporters, he withdrew his amended sentencing order so that the appeal could proceed.
It's not clear what effect, if any, Baugh's resentencing of Rambold on Thursday, and withdrawal of that order on Friday, will have on Rambold's sentence and/or the appeal of that sentence by the government.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: "Ex-teacher gets 30 days for rape of girl, 14; judge says she was 'older than her chronological age'"
ABAJournal.com: "Judge orders new hearing for man given 30 days in controversial teen rape case"
Associated Press: "Billings judge will try to revise teacher's rape sentence"
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Red, White and Blue Pita Pockets for Two Recipe
Completely packed with delicious fillings, these pockets get their patriotic name from red peppers, white sour cream and tangy blue cheese. But don't wait for the Fourth of July to serve them; they're fantastic any night of the year! Charlene Chambers — Ormond Beach, Florida
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 pound beef top sirloin steak, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup fat-free sour cream
- 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese
- 2 whole wheat pita pocket halves
- 1 cup torn red leaf lettuce
- 1/4 cup roasted sweet red peppers, drained and cut into strips
- 2 tablespoons sliced red onion
- In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the vinegar, oil and garlic; add the beef. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- In a small bowl, combine sour cream and blue cheese; set aside. Drain and discard marinade.
- In a large nonstick skillet or wok coated with cooking spray, stir-fry beef for 2-3 minutes or until no longer pink. Line pita halves with lettuce, red peppers and onion; fill each with 1/3 cup beef. Serve with sour cream mixture. Yield: 2 servings.
Originally published as Red, White and Blue Pita Pockets for Two in Healthy Cooking
Full-Bodied Red Wine
Enjoy this recipe with a full-bodied red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Syrah.
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ARCADIA, Calif. (Feb. 15, 2010) – Sidney's Candy regained a huge measure of the high expectations he had generated following a dazzling maiden victory last summer at Del Mar with a comparable triumph on Monday in Santa Anita's 69th running of the Grade II, $150,000 San Vicente Stakes for 3-year-olds.
Following a disappointing comeback performance in an allowance event on Dec. 30 at Santa Anita, Sidney's Candy simply ran away from his opposition in the seven-furlong stakes race that has served as a proving ground for nine Kentucky Derby champions.
With Joe Talamo sitting confidently in the saddle, Sidney's Candy matched strides early with trainer Bob Baffert's Tiny Woods, who had beaten him twice, before leaving his rival 4 ¼ lengths in arrears when crossing the wire in 1:20.91, making it the second fasted running in the San Vicente's long, rich history.
"I was confident he'd bounce back with a good effort today," Talamo said of the homebred son of the brilliant Candy Ride trained by John Sadler for the Sid and Jenny Craig Trust. "John (Sadler) told me to just get a good start and go from there. At the three-eighths, I just kind of clucked to him and he got right into the bridle.
"They've done a great job with this horse. I just basically sat on him today, and I couldn't believe that final time. That's awesome. It's very exciting to have a horse of this caliber."
Tiny Woods, after chasing Sidney's Candy through fractions of 22.77, 45.50 and 1:08.62, held second by 1 ¾ lengths over Classical Slew in the field of seven. Baffert's other entrant, 5-2 second choice Quiet Invader, finished fifth.
Sidney's Candy paid $6.20, $3.60 and $2.40. Tiny Woods, ridden by Victor Espinoza, returned $3.80 and $2.60. The show price on Classical Slew, with Rafael Bejarano aboard, was $4.
Sadler dismissed the previous race by Sidney's Candy when he wound up fourth in a five-horse field at odds of 3-5 following four months on the sidelines while sore shins healed.
"In his last start, he had been off four or five months," said Sadler. "He was a little heavy and he didn't break. He's kind of a free-running horse, so when he got out of his game the other day, it didn't surprise me that he didn't run well.
"We want him to do what he does, which is kind of bouncing around a little bit with some natural speed. Once I saw him get rhythmic today, I knew we were going to be fine. The plan today was to get him back on the lead."
Sadler commented that he wasn't sure what would be next for Sidney's Candy, but said, "The reason I didn't want to go into an allowance race is because of the graded earnings for the big stuff (Kentucky Derby). He'll be going around two turns next time, that's for sure. Which one of those races it is, we don't know yet."
The victory in the San Vicente was worth $90,000 to Sidney's Candy, which lifted his total to $133,560 from a 2-1-0 mark in four starts. Tiny Woods had beaten him by a head in his first start on July 25 at Del Mar and again when victorious in the comeback effort.
If Sidney's Candy has dealt with some inconsistencies during the start of his career, so had Tuscan Evening. But that all changed for the 5-year-old Irish-bred mare once she joined Jerry Hollendorfer's barn some 14 months ago.
Tuscan Evening captured her eighth victory in 12 U.S. starts in Monday's co-feature, the Grade II, $150,000 Buena Vista Handicap, while defeating 35-1 longshot Eissoai by 2 ¼ lengths and covering one mile on turf in stakes record time of 1:33.47.
With leading rider Bejarano at the controls, Tuscan Evening tracked Czechers in the field of 11, took command in early stretch and gradually drew clear while getting one left handed crack of the whip from her rider.
Eissoai, ridden by Michael Baze, passed Czechers to gain the place with the latter finishing another one-half length back in third under Kent Desormeaux. The final clocking edged the previous stakes record of 1:33.48 shared by Dance Parade, 1998, and Gold Fleece, 1992.
"It was a perfect ride by Rafael," said Hollendorfer, who trains Tuscan Evening for William de Burgh. "He didn't chase after a real fast pace, and that's what allowed him to win."
"I knew the number four (Czechers) had speed and that he (Desormeaux) could send her or try to put pressure on me. He sent her, so I wanted to stay behind him and let my horse stay more relaxed. From the three-eighths, my horse has a good turn of foot, she can really fly. She came running, and I didn't have to worry about anybody else coming late. I was on the best horse."
Quite remarkably, Tuscan Evening had been winless in 11 races in Europe during the early stages of her career even though she had been competitive against some of the leading fillies in the British Empire.
She broke her maiden by five lengths in her U.S. debut on Jan. 22 of last year at Santa Anita, and Tuscan Evening has been on a roll ever since. Her record in the States on Monday became 8-1-2 in 12 starts for earnings of $626,555 including the Buena Vista's winning share of $90,000. She had arrived with $92,851 in the bank while still a maiden.
Monday's triumph was her fifth in seven starts over Santa Anita's grass course and her fifth in six pairings with Bejarano, who scored a riding triple on the holiday program to extend his meet lead over runner-up Espinoza to 47-31.
Following the three-day holiday weekend, Santa Anita will be dark on Tuesday and Wednesday before racing resumes on Thursday with an eight-race program beginning at 1 p.m.


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With fashion popping at the seams in NYC, it's not wonder Christal Young has plenty of footage that didn't make the final cut of her weekly segment, 'Where'd You Get That?"
Check out the 'lost footage.'
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- Marson improving at plate with regular play
- Acta: Rookie Phelps is handling himself well
- Quote to note
- Smoke signals
CLEVELAND -- While taking a water break in the Indians' dugout during a hot Wednesday afternoon workout, Orlando Cabrera smirked. The veteran infielder had just been asked how third base had been treating him.
"Not well," Cabrera said with a smile. "Hey, I'm too old to be a liar."
The 36-year-old Cabrera may have been joking about his pregame infield session at the hot corner, but the Indians know he is more than capable of handling the position. For Wednesday's game against Colorado, Cabrera was in the lineup as the Tribe's third baseman for the second time in three games.
Those were also the only starts at third base in Cabrera's 15-year Major League career.
This season, Cabrera has served primarily as Cleveland's starting second baseman. With rookie second baseman Cord Phelps now on the roster, and first baseman Matt LaPorta on the disabled list, Cabrera has been asked to spend some time at third base as well.
Indians manager Manny Acta has full confidence in Cabrera at the challenging position.
"He felt comfortable over there," said Acta referring to Cabrera's previous start at third base on Monday. "He keeps getting his work over there. ... I don't see any issues with him. A ground ball is a ground ball to him and he's got good hands.
"It gives us some flexibility and more opportunities for him to be in there and for Phelps to get some more at-bats."
Marson improving at plate with regular play
CLEVELAND -- Baseball is a game of opportunity. For Indians catcher Lou Marson, his opportunity to show something to the ballclub came after a freak injury to first baseman Matt LaPorta happened during a unique part in the season's schedule.
Cleveland lost LaPorta to a right ankle injury on Friday, forcing the Tribe to rely more on regular catcher Carlos Santana as a first baseman. Now, with no designated hitter available during the club's upcoming nine-game swing through National League ballparks, Santana is set to continue to see a bulk of his playing time in the field.
Marson will be left to handle the majority of the action behind the plate.
"This is a good opportunity for us to play Lou more often," Indians manager Manny Acta said on Wednesday. "Lou's a guy who we all think has a chance to be an everyday catcher at the big league level. We don't see Lou as just a backup guy."
- 131 wins
- 121 wins
Entering Wednesday's home game against the Rockies, Marson was hitting just .235 with no home runs and seven RBIs over 26 games for Cleveland this season. A funny thing has happened recently, though. As Marson's playing time has increased, so has his offensive production.
Marson had recorded at least one hit in seven of his last eight games, entering Wednesday. During that span, the catcher had hit at a .333 (9-for-27) clip for the Tribe. In the process, his season average has climbed steadily since June 8, when it stood at only .185 on the year.
"I think that's the case for just about everybody," Acta said. "It does help to be out there more often."
The Indians feel that Marson's offense is the main area in need of improvement.
Defensively, Marson has proved sound in calling games and throwing out runners. Entering Wednesday, he ranked first in the Majors with a caught-stealing rate of 52 percent (13 runners thrown out in 27 chances). His 33.8 caught-stealing percentage led all AL catchers in 2010.
"He's got good hands," Acta said. "He's very good calling a ballgame and he's got a very quick release. He proved that last year. He's caught his whole life. He's still developing as a hitter -- we knew that -- but he's got a chance to be a good one."
The Indians view LaPorta as their everyday first baseman, when healthy. Acta was asked, however, if offensive improvement from Marson might convince the team to play him more often behind the plate, keeping Santana at first on a more regular basis.
"It's just like every one of the guys in the Minor Leagues," Acta said. "Those guys make the decisions for us. We can sit and talk about all that stuff here, but at the end of the day, we all know that Lou is going to have to develop as a hitter to be an everyday catcher in the American League."
Acta: Rookie Phelps is handling himself well
CLEVELAND -- Rookie Cord Phelps has not been with the Indians long enough for manager Manny Acta to evaluate the type of player he could become in the big leagues. Acta wants more time to start discussing Phelps' part in Cleveland's future.
"It would be unfair to him," Acta said, "for me to just give you a flat-out evaluation of him yet. He's shown some good bat-to-ball ability and is able to handle a fastball. ... Defensively, I haven't seen him long enough to make an assessment. But he has handled himself well."
Entering Wednesday, Phelps was hitting .207 with one home run, one double, one triple and five RBIs through nine games for the Indians. He was promoted from Triple-A Columbus on June 8 to take over as the Tribe's primary second baseman against right-handed pitching.
The 24-year-old Phelps got off to a slow start, hitting just .063 (1-for-16) over his first six games with the Indians. Since then, though, the switch-hitting infielder has hit .357 (5-for-14) in his past three games. On Sunday, Phelps belted a three-run, walk-off homer in the 11th inning of a 5-2 win over Pittsburgh.
In the field, Phelps has made two errors in 32 chances.
"He's in a good groove right now," Acta said. "He's been squaring the ball up very good. Hopefully, his confidence continues to grow. I was very happy to see him hit the ball the other way [on Monday] because I hadn't seen that yet."
Quote to note
"Can you pitch any better out of the closer role? He's been fantastic. I know that a lot of our guys don't have big names, and some of them have been recognized more because of how well they have played this year as a team, but if you look at his numbers, he can help the American League club." Indians manager Manny Acta, asked if closer Chris Perez should receive All-Star consideration
Smoke signals
Indians right-hander Alex White is scheduled to begin a throwing program with light catch on Friday at the team's complex in Goodyear, Ariz. Cleveland's medical staff will get a first-hand look at White's progress when the team is in Phoenix for an Interleague series against the D-backs next week. White has been on the disabled list since May 21 with a right middle finger injury.
Indians first baseman Matt LaPorta is scheduled to be out of his walking boot this weekend, according to head athletic trainer Lonnie Soloff. LaPorta, who suffered a mild high right ankle sprain on Friday and is on the 15-day disabled list, will then begin a progression to baseball activities.
Indians manager Manny Acta refuted a newspaper report on Wednesday claiming that moving starter Fausto Carmona to the bullpen was a possibility if the right-hander's struggles continue. Cleveland has not considered that option. Over his past eight starts, Carmona is 1-6 with an 8.87 ERA.
Indians outfielder Michael Brantley had a scheduled day off from the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Rockies. The two-day break (Cleveland has a team off-day on Thursday) might be coming at a good time, considering Brantley has hit .180 (9-for-50) over his past 12 games.
Jordan Bastian is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his blog, Major League Bastian, and follow him on Twitter @MLBastian. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.


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Rental Quick Search
Long Term Rentals
Park City Events
Guided Historical Hike
|Enjoy the beauty of Deer Valley Resort with a free guided hike of the area. The hike will last three to four hours, cover moderately strenuous terrain, is less than six miles long and will highlight the area's mining history.
Participants meet near the base of the Sterling Express Chairlift, located mid-mountain at Silver Lake Lodge. Hikes depart at 9:30 a.m. Reservations are not required, however, group size may be limited. Participants should be in good shape, wear sturdy footwear, bring proper sun protection and carry plenty of water and snacks. For the safety of others who share the mountain, no dogs please.


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Bromsgrove youngsters enjoy medieval quest (From Bromsgrove Advertiser)
Get involved! Send your photos, video, news & views by texting BA NEWS to 80360 or e-mail us
Bromsgrove youngsters enjoy medieval quest
5:00pm Sunday 10th February 2013 in Local
BROMSGROVE youngsters took part in a medieval quest during a visit to Warwick Castle.
Year two pupils at Bromsgrove Pre-Preparatory School visited the castle at the end of January, as part of their recent turrets and toaras project.
The children received a ransom note from an evil knight asking for 50 golden groats in return for the safe release of Princess Arabella, who was locked in a tower at Warwick Castle.
The children worked to assure the knight the ransom would be paid, and were greeted by another knight who promised to deliver the ransom on their behalf.
To the children's delight, when they visited the castle's Princess Tower, they discovered that Princess Arabella had been freed - just in time for her wedding.
The pupils also had the chance to learn how knights prepared for battle, at a special kingmaker exhibition.
Anna Stead, from the school, said that the day ended on another exciting note for the youngsters when they discovered a golden egg.
The pupils are taking care of the egg, until it hatches at their Hanbury Road-based school.
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ABC Condor 4s Stroller. Seat unit from 6 month, from birth if used with Carrycot or Car Seat (available separately). Adjustable comfort foam handle. Quick release wheels. Dimensions: Unfolded: 102 x 74 x 67 cm. Folded: 82.5 x 68 x 37.5 cm. Chassis weight: 9.6 kg. Complete weight: 12.9 kg.Colour: Black/White, Safari.
The rigid carry cot boasts one of the deepest mattresses of any on the market today and on top of this the circulation and breathability are superb. The retractable padded carry handle makes it easy for mum and dad to move the carry cot from A to B and with it only weighing 4.6kg you will not find this a strenuous task. It sports a hood and apron for excellent protection from the elements, with SPF 50. The hood and apron can be removed easily with poppers on the apron and a zip on the hood, this makes washing them a doddle. With such high levels of comfort parents can allow their child to sleep peacefully and safety at home or on the move.Colours: Black/White, Safari.
The apron designed to keep your little ones toes and legs warm whilst travelling in their favourite ABC design pushchair.
ABC Design Cobra 3 Wheeler Pushchair With Carry Cot
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The cobra has everything a stroller should have and more. The 3 wheel chassis is beautifully simple in its design with sleek, smooth lines and superb quality engineering. In creating this magnificently stable chassis, it's designers have not compromised on style. Parents are always left feeling more than satisfied with the look and feel of the Cobra as they glide through town. The easy click seat unit has the capability of facing either parent or forwards. The quality comes from the manufacturers, they are recognised as the best in product manufacturing around the world. That's right, the Germans. With one of the easiest folds in the business you will avoid those embarrassing car park moments as you won't be wrestling with.Colours: Black/white, Safari.


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Faking the Cloud in API Management
The CEO of competitor API management provider Mashery recently mentioned a post I wrote discussing tradeoffs of infrastructure-based versus service-based solutions when it comes to API management. Unintentionally, my original post has apparently hit a nerve.
Oren suggests that a "true" Cloud solution can only be SaaS-based. While Amazon Web Services, among others, may take umbrage at that definition, I am also a little confused by Oren's statement since, by most definitions Mashery, is not a SaaS. Typically, a SaaS provides self-enrollment and self-service aspects. Mashery may let you manage your APIs in the Cloud like Layer 7 or Apigee but it doesn't do this without help from engagement consultants. In that way, they are more akin to IBM than Salesforce.
In the end, our customers don't get too caught up in Cloud semantics. Some of our customers want to own a solution, others "rent". Some want a solution in a data-center, others in a public Cloud. We understand that different deployment models are needed to accommodate different needs. If a Cloud deployment is what you are after, try several vendors, verify what you get and compare each solution's strengths.
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WOW Ocean View in Every Room - The Creciente in Fort Myers Beach
- bedrooms 2
- baths 2
- sleeps 6
- pool yes
- hot tub no
- pets allowed no
- type Condo
- community
rates (USD)
/ week
$ 4,000 - $ 4,900 / month
vacation rental description
Fully furnished – this beautiful 4th floor unit offers 2 bedrooms – one king bed – one queen bed, two full baths. Washer & dryer in your unit - underground assigned parking. Walking distance to shopping, restaurants and live entertainment. Miles of white sand to suntan and just relax. A perfect spot for daily dolphin sightings. Walk to family fun rentals - jet ski's and parasailing. Beach volleyball and swimming at your leisure. Breathtaking sunsets right from your own balcony. All you need are your cloths and a toothbrush!
This is a NO smoking unit – Tenants must be 25 years and older. NO PETS!
condo rental amenities
Internet (wireless)
Refrigerator with icemaker
2 TVS DVD players
Exceptionally clean – newly renovated
BBQ grill
Tennis Court
Heated Olympic size Pool
Workout Room w/ pool table & TV
Immediate beach access
$75 cleaning fee
activities and attractions in Fort Myers Beach Gulf Coast South
I have a ford f150 that I rent out also. By the week or by the month! I will pick you up at the airport and take you back! This is a great location near Bonita springs and Naples.Expect results and never settle. Live music and dinning,boat rentals,shopping and more right next to you for your enjoyment! See you soon! Be the best! See you soon! Mike
vacation rental rates
Jan - April $4,900 monthly / Jan - April $1,225 weekly
May - June $4,000monthly / May - June $1,000weekly
July - Aug - Sept $ 4,000monthly / July - Aug - Sept: $1,000 weekly
Oct - Nov - Dec $4,000monthly / Oct - Nov - Dec $1,000weekly


text: I have three daughters. The oldest of the three is a tween and loves horses, reading books (not Twilight) and can't stand Justin Bieber or any tween heartthrob like him. Most tweens her age are too busy texting, Tweeting, or surfing the web for pictures of the latest teen plasticine fresh face, but she would … Continue reading


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News from UCLA football including notes on offensive line coach Bob Palcic's successful recruiting efforts.
Do you dream of bathing in an unending wave of college football goodness? Do you ever feel like you just see too much of your girlfriend, the sun or your Jack Russell, Bo? If so, do we have...
Taniela Maka, a linebacker from Long Beach Jordan High School, said he has been cleared by the NCAA and will sign a grant-in-aid to attend UCLA.Linebacker Taniela Maka says he's cleared to join Bruins (LAT) HT (BlueReign) & +1 to Tydides
Spaulding Roundup: Pac-10 Media Day, Freshmen Speed & Injury Notes
Spaulding Roundup: Roster Management & Other UCLA Football News/Notes
Signing day is here. Finally. We have been discussing last few months how there has been a definite change in the way UCLA football coaches now approach recruiting - with relentless tenacity....
Highlight video of recent UCLA commit Taniela Maka
UCLA Coach Rick Neuheisel receives commitment from 4 key football recruits to keep his torrid recruiting pace down the stretch.
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3g begins to stir in africa by Ken Wieland
With 2G growth slowing down in Africa, 3G network rollout is starting to pick up pace in many urban areas across the continent
Mobile growth in Africa has been spectacular during the last decade. From pretty much a standing start, the continent now boasts an average mobile penetration of over 40%. In some countries, such as Ghana, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa, mobile penetration is much higher. Yet the overall pace of annual African mobile growth is on the decline, and has been for a few years. Informa Telecoms & Media, a research firm, calculates that annual mobile subscriber growth in Africa was 26% during 2009, compared to a 35% growth rate in 2008 and a 42% jump in 2007. With 2G growth weaker than before, 3G is creeping up the agenda of many African operators as a potential way to bolster revenue growth through mobile data and internet access services, particularly in urban areas where fixed-line broadband is patchy and expensive. But it is still early days for African 3G. According to Informa, GSM represented 93% of the continent's mobile subscriptions as of Q1 2010, with 3G/WCDMA and 3G/EV-DO accounting for market shares of only around 3.4% and 0.5% respectively. Moreover, of the 3.4% of WCDMA users (which represent 16 million subscriptions), Informa calculates that fewer than five million actively use the 3G data services. The remaining WCDMA subscribers in Africa use their 3G service only for voice. Despite the low 3G subscriber take-up so far, figures supplied by both the GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association) and the CDG (CDMA Development Group) indicate that 3G network rollouts for both WCDMA and EV-DO are gathering pace in many parts of Africa, and not just in the comparatively more developed economies, such as Egypt and South Africa (see 'HSPA brings faster 3G to Africa' and 'CDMA growth in Africa'). "In many African markets, the main revenue driver for 3G is still internet access rather than internet-enabled applications," adds Said Irfan, a research manager at IDC who covers the African markets. "In Africa, there is a clear opportunity to give people their first experience of accessing the internet over a mobile network rather than through fixed, given the lack of a proper fixed infrastructure in many parts of the continent." Irfan highlights the rapid headway that mobile broadband is making in Morocco, where the total number of mobile broadband subscribers has surpassed the number signed up to fixed broadband services. "Mobile broadband in Morocco has even caused a significant drop in fixed broadband growth," adds Irfan. Greater enthusiasm for 3G in Africa cannot only be explained as a response to lower growth prospects from 2G. "Some regulators are only getting around to releasing 3G spectrum now," says Robert Schumann, a lead consultant at Analysys Mason. "The prices for 3G equipment are also coming down, which, in some cases, means that 3G can be added at little extra cost in the course of normal equipment replacement cycles."
The arrival of India's Bharti on the African continent, following its US$10.7 billion purchase of the majority of Zain Africa's mobile assets in March 2010, may well drive down 3G kit prices even further. Deep-pocketed Bharti, which is eyeing up large-scale 3G rollout in India, would have the purchasing muscle to drive better deals with 3G suppliers through greater economies of scale. "Although Bharti's strategy has mainly been about keeping a low cost operation, I don't think they would be averse towards rolling out 3G in the continent, judging from their current bid for an Indian 3G licence," says Irfan. "Nonetheless, the pace of the rollout depends on how high the license prices are initially set. Given that 3G spectrum is considered a scarce resource, governments in Africa tend to set a price that in the end could prove harmful for operators' business case in a low- ARPU market." Thecla Mbongue, a senior research analyst and African markets specialist at Informa, points out that Bharti runs 3G networks in all of its other international operations: Guernsey, Jersey, Sri Lanka and Seychelles. But out of the 15 Zain operations sold to Bharti, 3G is only available in Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania. So, one might reasonably conclude that 3G expansion in Africa is on Bharti's agenda. "Bharti's focus does lie in running more efficient networks, but we don't think that it will refrain from following 3G opportunities if the market environment is favourable," says Mbongue. But Schumann warns that 3G is unlikely to revolutionise mobile operations in Africa in the near to mid-term, and that some markets will have a much better chance of 3G success than others. "Mobile data still accounts for a small part of mobile revenue, and rollouts are concentrated in urban areas," he says. "A key success factor for any mobile data proposition is revenue density, which makes Egypt [due to population concentration] and South Africa [due to urban income levels] more likely markets for 3G success, and, indeed, they are at the front of the pack now." In Egypt, observes Schumann, Vodafone is already the leading broadband provider (ahead of Telecom Egypt in terms of subscriber numbers). In South Africa, Vodacom took the broadband subscriber lead from Telkom, the country's fixed-line incumbent, in Q2 2009.
Although licence terms and conditions, as well as the high-value contract wins for suppliers, invariably grab all the 3G headlines, there is a less glamorous but equally important side to the 3G business case. The ability to reduce network operating costs, particularly in highly competitive markets, will be necessary if operators are to provide attractively-priced retail mobile data packages without wreaking havoc on their profit margins. And for many mobile operators in Africa, particular in East Africa, the availability of more international and national bandwidth capacity – at cheaper prices – should increase their chances of achieving that. In July 2009, a second submarine fibre-optic cable connecting South Africa to the rest of the world went live. The 17,000- km cable, built by Seacom—a Mauritius-based private-sector vehicle—at a cost of US$600 million, runs from Mtunzini in KwaZulu-Natal to India and Europe, via landing stations in Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya (and so connects East Africa to the global fibre-optic cable network for the first time). With a capacity of 1,280Gbps, Seacom is far larger than the existing SAT3 cable (120Gbps) that runs up the west coast of Africa, which is operated by South Africa's state-owned Telkom. EASSY, another privately-held international submarine cable connecting East Africa, is due to be completed in June 2010, and will bring an additional 1,400Gbps capacity. Despite the availability of cheaper wholesale submarine cable prices, which reportedly undercut pre-Seacom prices by ten times or more, Schumann is cautious they will have a dramatic and positive impact on every mobile operator – and not simply because some operators are still tied into paying pre-Seacom prices on long-term contracts. "This is partly because there remain constraints on the radio capacity, on the backhaul from base stations to a switching centre, and on end-user devices that remain limited in their ability to consume large amounts of data," he says. "Laptops also remain stubbornly above US$200, compared with US$20 for a 2G handset and approximately US$40-50 for a 3G handset. Inelasticity of customers' demand, and marginal utility they derive from new technologies, will limit the uptake of mobile data." Even so, some mobile operators, such as South Africa's MTN, are making concerted efforts to boost network capacity by investing in terrestrial fibre-optical cables, which will also connect to the undersea cable systems. By investing heavily now in network capacity, MTN hopes to reduce operating costs in the long term. In partnership with Neotel, South Africa's second national operator – and Seacom's main anchor tenant – MTN is rolling out a 5,000-km internal fibre-optic cable network. During 2009, MTN reports that 245km of the fibre-optic cable was completed along the Gauteng-Durban route. The southern and northern rings of the Gauteng fibre projects are expected to be completed by July 2010. "We have been fairly active in the submarine cable area, not as a speculator but primarily to provide capacity for our own operations and hopefully, in the process, reduce the costs," said Phuthuma Nhleko, president and CEO of the MTN Group, in a March 2010 analyst conference call to present the group's 2009 financial results. "To date [we have invested] almost $85m and we've most probably got commitments close to $200m over the next few years." MTN fibre-optic investment is running in parallel with 3G network rollout in Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa. In South Africa, MTN's 3G capacity increased 22% during 2009 compared with a 12% increase in 2G capacity. Moreover, MTN's 3G population coverage increased in South Africa from 35% in December 2008 to 48% in December 2009. "Operators that have a stake in cross-continent data networks, such as MTN's UUNet and Vodacom's Gateway, would certainly benefit in more ways from the availability of extra capacity than pure mobile operators by way of their ability to offer more services to clients," adds IDC's Irfan. "Also to benefit early are mobile operators with IRUs [indefeasible rights of use] on the subsea cables, as they would be able to gain a first advantage in accessing the extra capacity."
Moving forward, Schumann expects more 2.6GHz spectrum to become available in Africa in the near future, which fits well with 802.16e mobile standards). It is likely, however, that 802.16e – due to considerations of cost and regulatory restrictions – will be used more for fixed and nomadic broadband services rather than as a true mobile service (and a direct competitor to cellular 3G). UHF (TV) spectrum will also become available on the continent once the digital switchover gets moving – there is a regional deadline of 2015 for Africa to complete the transition from analogue to digital TV. Again, that should provide more opportunity for 3G growth across the continent. The availability of more spectrum does, of course, throw the spotlight on regulators as to how they allocate it. As in other regions of the world, Africa has not been immune to spectrum disputes. In Kenya, for example, operators aiming to break the 3G monopoly held by Safaricom have complained to the regulator that the US$25 million licence fee is too high and will jeopardise the 3G business case. "Some governments do indeed auction 2.1GHz spectrum at a high price, since it is a sought after spectrum band by GSM operators in need of upgrading to WCDMA," says Informa's Mbongue. "So far, the most expensive 3G spectrum fees [in the 2.1GHz band] were recorded in Egypt where the frequencies were sold for over US$700 million to Vodafone and Mobinil in 2002. Nigeria has recorded the second highest fees as four operators each paid US$165 million for 10MHz in the 2.1GHz band in 2007. Usually the price per population has been around US$1 [US$1.24 in Nigeria], but in Egypt it was around US$9." Yet Africa, on the whole, appears to have learned some 3G licensing lessons from developed economies – at least according to Schumann. "Many regulators are now avoiding the temptation to consider 3G to be a cash cow," says Schumann. "Mozambique and Botswana, for example, have not attached large price tags to 3G or WiMAX spectrum. This is both for pragmatic reasons. Governments recognise that the hype around Europe's 3G licence awards was not replicable and because, in simple terms, the spectrum is only valuable when it is being used productively. Demanding exorbitant fees simply leads to delays, court battles, investor uncertainty and substantial fees paid to banks and financial advisors who help to raise new capital." If governments can refrain from charging exorbitant licence fees, and mobile operators can reduce their network operational costs – and the price of devices continues to fall – 3G has every chance of success in Africa.
Sidebar 1: 3G TECHNOLOGY SNAPSHOT HSPA AND HSPA+
Suppliers of 3G equipment, based on WCDMA technology, talk enthusiastically about software upgrades that will allow operators to achieve peak downlink speeds of up to 14.4Mbps. The technology, known as HSPA (high-speed packet access), is available in three flavours: peak downlink speeds of 3.6Mbps, 7.2MBps or 14.4Mbps. The first two are becoming more and more popular in Africa, but no mobile operator on the continent has yet to adopt the 14.4Mbps version (see HSPA brings faster 3G to Africa). Beyond HSPA there is HSPA+, which uses higher order modulation schemes (from 16QAM up to 64QAM) and more advanced antenna technology (known as MIMO). The first HSPA+ step is to deliver peak downlink speeds of 21Mbps, but Germany, Italy, Singapore and Switzerland – according to survey information published by the Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) in April 2010 – already boast commercial HSPA+ networks that deliver up to 28Mbps on the downlink. Orange, which has invested heavily in HSPA networks in Africa, has gone one better. In Austria, Orange now offers a commercial 42Mbps peak downlink service in the town of Weiner Neustadt. Ericsson, the world's largest supplier of mobile equipment in terms of sales, anticipates that the combination of multicarrier MIMO and 64QAM modulation will enable peak HSPA+ bit-rates of 84Mbps and, eventually, 168Mbps.
Sidebar 2: HSPA BRINGS FASTER 3G TO AFRICA
The overwhelming majority of WCDMA-based 3G operators are turning to HSPA (high-speed packet access) to boost downlink and uplink speeds. Africa is no exception. According to data supplied by the GSA (Global mobile Suppliers Association), 38 countries in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) had either commercial HSPA networks up and running by April 2010, or had operator commitments to do so. MEA, according to the GSA, accounts for 25% of countries in the world who either have HSPA commercial services or network rollout commitment. Europe (36%), Americas (20%) and APAC (19%) account for the remaining distribution of countries around the world that have commercial HSPA. The list of commercial HSPA rollouts in Africa is growing fast. According to the GSA, there are commercial HSPA operators in Angola, Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Of the 186 commercial HSPA networks around the world, just over half (54.5%) support a peak downlink of 7.2Mbps or above, says the GSA. The majority of HSPA operators in Africa, however, only deliver peak rates of 3.6Mbps or under. Even so, there is a growing list of HSPA operators on the continent that go beyond 3.6Mbps. Mobinil and Vodafone (Egypt); Safaricom (Kenya); Orange (Mauritius, Réunion and Senegal); Méditel (Morocco); MTC (Namibia); Vodacom and Telkom (South Africa); Sudatel, Zain and MTN (Sudan); and Vodacom and Zain (Tanzania) each offer peak downlink rates of 7.2Mbps. There are no African mobile operators, however, that offer HSPA at peak rates of 14.4Mbps, or any that has opted for HSPA+ that can reach to 21Mps, 28Mbps or 42Mbps. Of the 341 commercial HSPA operators around the world, GSA says that 52 have launched HSPA+ (across 32 countries). Although the majority of HSPA+ launches are in developed economies, there are exceptions: Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece and Turkey each have HSPA+ operators, which might suggest that HSPA+ will also have a place in some of Africa's markets. CDMA GRO WTH IN AFRIC A Africa accounted for only 5.4% of all CDMA subscribers in the world as of December 2009, which translates into nearly 30 million, according to figures provided by the CDG (CDMA Development Group). However, the rate of CDMA subscriber growth in Africa between December 1997 and December 2009, at 31%, is faster than any other geographical region in the world. Although the CDMA subscriber statistics provided by the CDG include 2G CDMA2000, CDMA WLL (wireless local loop) systems – as well as 3G – it shows that Africa has a fairly large and strongly growing base from which to evolve CDMA networks to their faster and higher-capacity 3G versions, such as 1xEV-DO Rel. 0 (peak downlink speeds of 2.4Mbps) and 1xEV-DO Rev. A (3.1Mbps peak downlink rates). Yet of the EV-DO subscriber total worldwide as of December 2009 (142.1 million), Africa still only accounts for 3% (4.2 million). North America and the Asia-Pacific make up the bulk of the world's 1xEV-DO subscribers with 54.3% and 34.3% market shares respectively. With nearly a doubling of 1xEV-DO subscribers during 2009, however, Africa is showing stronger CDMA-based 3G momentum than other regions in the world. According to the CDG database (as of April 2010), commercial 1xEV-DO Rel. 0 cellular networks are up and running in Angola, Cameroon, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco and Namibia. Commercial 1xEV-DO Rev. A cellular networks are available in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Tanzania. The CDG also reports that Wana, a privately-held telco in Morocco – and which already operates commercial Rev. A and Rel. A networks – is planning to launch a 1xEV-DO Rev. B network. Rev. B networks can offer peak downlink speeds of up to 9.3Mbps (or up to 14.7Mbps with a hardware upgrade). A key driver for CDMA growth in Africa is Huawei and ZTE. Both Chinese vendors have invested heavily on the continent and have historically managed to undercut many of their western supplier counterparts on price. Again, referring to the CDG database, Huawei accounted for 64 of the publicallydisclosed CDMA contracts (2G, 3G and WLL) in Africa as of April 2010, while ZTE accounted for 37. Motorola, Nortel and Star Solutions are the only publicly-disclosed western suppliers with a CDMA presence in Africa, but they can only claim a handful of African CDMA contracts in total among them.
guest editorial by Spiwe Chireka from Frost & Sullivan
Smart phone outlook in Sub Saharan Africa: 2010 marked the beginning of change
Broadband penetration remains dismally low in Sub Saharan Africa. According to Frost & Sullivan, broadband penetration in Sub Saharan Africa was less than 4%. DSL access stalled before it could actually accelerate and while fibre deployment is growing, albeit slowly, widespread access is not expected to take off for another 10 years. In comes wireless access. Most countries in Africa have mobile network geographic coverage of over 70% and licences for alternative technologies such as CDMA and WiMAX have become more affordable and readily available in the region. Major mobile operators in the region such as MTN, Safaricom and Orange have invested in WiMAX as an alternative to drive wireless broadband access, while fixed line operators are using CDMA to expand their existing copper infrastructure. Wireless access is therefore well positioned to be the next growth driver for broadband access in Sub Saharan Africa. However, despite expansive wireless network deployments in the region, the cost of devices, especially smart phones, to facilitate access to broadband services has been prohibitively expensive. Until recently, the average selling price for a smart phone – or high tier phone – was on average US$250- US$350. This created high cost barriers for African users – both consumer and business including the middle and high end users. Of the 168 million mobile handsets shipped to Sub Saharan Africa in 2009, only 9% (15.1 million) were smart phones. In August 2010, Chinese manufacturer ZTE released its Racer model smart phone which began retailing at US$100. In the US, Dell released a US$99 smart phone. Huawei also launched its Ideos smart phone in South Africa – its point of entry into the rest of Africa – at US$100-US$150. This is a welcome development for the Sub Saharan African market in addressing price issues. In addition to facilitating affordable internet access, cheaper smart phones will be critical to grow services such as m-commerce, m-health, m-education and even m-governance. Other major vendors such as Samsung, Nokia, Motorola and LG are expected to follow suit with low cost smart handsets targeted at emerging markets. This would be in line with these vendors' strategies to drive penetration into Africa – their main frontier for growth. It is therefore a matter of time before we see smart phones in the sub US$50 range in Sub Saharan Africa. With the issues of access and devices well on their way to being addressed in Africa, the main question is: What should be done next to ensure that these developments amount to sound wireless broadband access across the region? The deployment of 3G networks will need to gain momentum, in order to support some of the advanced functionality on these low cost smart devices, including in rural areas. This is likely to happen as more devices find their way into the underserved or rural population; operators will have no choice but to start expanding coverage into those areas. Furthermore, relevant local content will be critical in generating interest in use of the devices and broadband access in general. Operators should also consider handset distribution as part of their strategies in order to synchronise network deployment and usage.
2010 a year in review by lesley stones
The past 12 months can be written off as a dull kind of year for the telecoms industry, with economic turbulence making many players happy to survive rather than thrive. The chief development for Africa was undoubtedly the belated entry of the Indians, as Bharti Airtel took over the bulk of Zain's African activities. Other than that there were a few price skirmishes, the axing of the telecoms minister in South Africa and the surprisingly low-key landing of the Eassy cable. Here's a brief reminder of a few or the more interesting moments in a year that most of us have probably forgotten already. Let's hope the industry regains its usual energy and joie de vivre in 2011.
The year began badly for Vodacom's subsidiary in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A bitter clash with its 49% shareholder Congolese Wireless Network (CWN) saw CWN file papers in a Kinshasa court accusing Vodacom of "plundering" the company. CWN claims Vodacom illegally took up to US$180 million out of the DRC and repatriated the profits instead of reinvesting in the operations. Vodacom denied the allegations and initiated arbitration through the International Chamber of Commerce, which could take years to be resolved. Both parties agreed to keep discussions open to keep Vodacom DRC running, although Vodacom may decide to pull out of the country if arbitration looks likely to take too long, or if the relationship deteriorates further. South Africa's third cellular operator Cell C had a better start to the year and awarded a US$378m contract to China's ZTE Corporation to supply equipment and managed services to roll out a national 3G network. While ZTE was welcoming more open communications with the west, the Chinese government was less keen to embrace decadent western ways. Cyber attacks on Google and other companies led to escalated tensions between the US and China, although the government claimed it wasn't to blame. US secretary of state Hillary Clinton called on the communist country to end online censorship, but Chinese officials said they would not tone down the way they censor the internet. The internet also went down for parts of Africa, although by error rather than design. A planned interruption on the Sat-3 cable connecting South Africa to Europe caused chaos with users unable to access international websites. Traffic was routed over a different cable to Asia, emphasising the need for multiple cables.
Nigeria's government made yet another attempt to sell off its ailing incumbent operator Nitel. MTN Nigeria and Globacom were among six shortlisted bidders for a 75% stake, or to bid for stakes in some of its subsidiaries, including mobile arm M-Tel and its international gateway. The government went on to approve a US$2.5bn bid for Nitel, which was five times the US$500m that industry experts considered its maximum value. The deal went to the New Generation Telecommunications, a consortium of local and foreign investors including a Dubai investment house, Minerva Group. But by November, sources were saying some of the backers were getting cold feet and wanted an extension on the payment deadline. GiCell, a Nigerian company in the consortium, blamed the government for taking almost eight months to give final approval, making the foreign investors jittery about what exactly they were getting into. Further afield, the first images were transmitted back to Earth from South Africa's Sumbandila satellite, a project that cost more than ZAR20 million to build and ZAR12 million to launch. The satellite is designed to strengthen the country's technological capabilities, space resources and satellite engineering skills. Sumbandila can also collect imaging data during a national emergency such as floods. While the government can organise a presence in space, it's struggling with the more mundane concept of TV. Plans to migrate from analogue to digital transmissions were delayed until April 2013 at the earliest, at least 18 months later than originally envisaged. The regulatory authority partly blamed anticipated delays in the availability of the set-top boxes needed to receive the new digital signals. It forgot to say that the delays were being caused by the government prevaricating over which technology standard to adopt.
After two aborted efforts to merge with MTN, the Indian operator Bharti Airtel finally began its African adventure by acquiring Zain's African activities. The US$10.7 billion deals saw Bharti take over operations in 15 countries, and excluded Zain's operations in Morocco and Sudan. Bharti is handing over a tidy sum of US$9 billion in cash and discounting US$1.7 billion of debt. Hopefully it still likes what it got, because the remaining US$700 million is due this March. Zain had been trying to sell its African networks for more than a year, despite initially denying that any such plans were afoot. Bharti now has 163 million subscribers, with Zain Africa's 41.9 million looking rather paltry compared to Bharti's home-grown user base of 121 million. So at least the feisty Indians should teach Zain a thing or two about economies of scale and serving low-income consumers. Bharti is expected to be a more formidable operator than Zain was, and is now a rival to MTN instead of the potential partner it tried to be. Yet MTN CEO Phuthuma Nhleko described suggestions that Bharti posed a serious threat and could trigger potential price wars as "exaggeration and oversimplification." His comments were based on the opinion that a business model that works in India may not transport easily to a totally different environment. How well Bharti will manage to replicate its operations is still playing out, with a business model designed to serve millions of people in densely crowded areas now having to adapt to sparsely populated regions lacking basic facilities. Zain has rebranded as Airtel and has already slashed prices in Kenya to steal market share from Safaricom, Kenya's dominant player.
After two aborted efforts to merge with MTN, the Indian operator Bharti Airtel finally began its African adventure by acquiring Zain's African activities. The US$10.7 billion deals saw Bharti take over operations in 15 countries, and excluded Zain's operations in Morocco and Sudan. Bharti is handing over a tidy sum of US$9 billion in cash and discounting US$1.7 billion of debt. Hopefully it still likes what it got, because the remaining US$700 million is due this March. Plans for Egypt's Orascom Telecom to sell all or some of its African assets suffered a setback when the Algerian government said it would block the sale of Orascom's subsidiary in that country. Orascom is the majority owner of Algeria's Djezzy network, which is a key part of its operations and contributes 47% of its revenue. Algeria's government would rather buy Djezzy using its pre-emptive rights as a minority shareholder than see it sold to a foreign entity. Analysts warned that the inability to sell Djezzy could scupper the sale of Orascom's assets to potential buyers including MTN. That proved true, with MTN walking away from the deal. By November Russia's Vimpelcom had agreed to buy a controlling stake in Orascom for US$6.6 billion. But as the year drew to a close those plans began to look increasingly shaky as Algeria remained a hurdle and regulatory issues also emerged in other countries. Orascom operates GSM networks in Algeria, Tunisia, North Korea, Canada, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Burundi and Namibia. As usual, Africa's elite got looked after a whole lot better than its poor, when wellheeled consumers welcomed Apple's new iPad device. The first models arrived via the grey market without the official support of Apple. The tablet computer is a multifunctional device with a 9.7-inch high-resolution screen, making it perfect for watching podcasts, videos, browsing the web, checking e-mail, reading magazines, watching movies and listening to music. It also runs close to 200,000 applications.
Network operator MTN said it had invested nearly ZAR450 million specifically for the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa. It rolled out infrastructure to all the stadiums so fans could make calls and connect to the internet without sucking up all the bandwidth from businesses and consumers in the neighbourhood. At Soccer City in Soweto alone it erected 22 base stations. May also saw two of those occasions where something we already know is finally admitted in public. Firstly, the outgoing chairman of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) admitted that the regulatory authority had failed the sector. "I concede we have failed you," Paris Mashile told his stakeholders. In reply to complaints about how long Icasa took to deal with industry issues, Mashile said its performance had been "inexcusable and unacceptable" and had affected the telecoms companies in very serious ways. Mashile complained that the industry poached Icasa's best staff and that it was beholden to the government for its budget. "We are not serving the sector well and it requires a turnaround strategy," he said. The mea culpa was welcome, but there was little clue as to when or how a turnaround strategy may begin. The second "yes, we already knew that" came when a study by Ookla confirmed that Africa is poorly served for broadband. Ookla's Net Index, based on millions of tests, ranks South Africa 93rd in the world for broadband download speeds. Uganda fares just a fraction better in 92nd place. The index found the average global consumer download speed is 7.7MB per second. The average in South Africa is 2.2Mbps. The worst countries in which to attempt a data download include Mali and Sudan.
June was a month in which plans went awry for several companies. MTN formally ended negotiations to buy the African assets of Orascom Telecom. The deal probably fell through because the Algerian government blocked the sale of the Djezzy network, which was perhaps the asset MTN most wanted to get its hands on. MTN instantly bounced back by declaring that growth in Nigeria is far from over, and announcing that it had raised another ZAR16 billion to expand its network there. The new infrastructure investment follows heavy investments in 2008 and 2009, which now lets MTN cover 83% of Nigeria's land and 84% of its people. While MTN was raising money, Neotel was losing it in vast amounts. The operator licensed to rival Telkom in South Africa suffered a net loss of nearly ZAR1.6 billion in the 2010 financial year. It was the first time its majority stakeholder, India's Tata Communications, had revealed the extent of the losses being clocked up by its subsidiary. Neotel was initially seen as a much-needed, much-delayed alternative to Telkom, so businesses and consumers had high hopes of enjoying decent competition at last. But Neotel has failed to set the market alight. Plans at Telkom also went wonky when the company announced that CEO Reuben September was resigning – in other words, his contract wasn't renewed. Politics turned out to be the chief reason, with September and his chairman:
– government appointed Jeff Molobela
– repeatedly clashing.
He was replaced by Jeffrey Hedberg as acting CEO, with no news yet of who will become the permanent head.
The East African Submarine System (Eassy) undersea cable started commercial operations on July 30, remarkably ahead of schedule and about 10% below its US$300- million budget. Not bad for a project that's literally been in the pipeline for seven years. The 10,000km fibre optic cable on Africa's east coast links South Africa, Mozambique, Madagascar, Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan with other submarine cables from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the US. One change of plan was unexpectedly caused by pirates, as the consortium has chosen not to build a landing point in Mogadishu in Somalia yet because of pirate activities. About 25 telecoms operators are buying its bandwidth so far, and its investors include international bandwidth prices, as Eassy, Seacom and Sat-3 cables all charge roughly the same. Hay said Eassy simply wasn't big enough to make a large impact, but it was a valuable redundancy option for telecoms operators and internet service providers, which still have vivid memories of the lengthy breakdown of Seacom. South Africa's MTN, Vodacom, Telkom and Neotel, as well as Dalkom Somalia, Comoros Telecom and Mauritius Telecom. Chairman Trevor Martins said the cable had been launched with an initial 60Gb per second of capacity, which would be increased as demand grew. He expects to see a broadband capacity explosion in Africa between 2012 and 2014. Although Martins said the cable would provoke another sharp reduction in wholesale international bandwidth prices and cheaper broadband for consumers, that hasn't been particularly noticeable. South African internet service providers say the cable has had little impact on the price of bandwidth so far. Neotel's Angus Hay agreed that Eassy's arrival hadn't had a big impact on international bandwidth prices, as Eassy, Seacom and Sat-3 cables all charge roughly the same. Hay said Eassy simply wasn't big enough to make a large impact, but it was a valuable redundancy option for telecoms operators and internet service providers, which still have vivid memories of the lengthy breakdown of Seacom.
South Africa's largest cellular network Vodacom teamed up with Nedbank to launch the M-Pesa money transfer service. M-Pesa is already enormously popular in Kenya, where it's operated by Safaricom and used by 10 million people. It's also available from Vodacom in Tanzania. The technology was developed by the Vodafone Group to let cellphone users transfer money quickly, easily and securely from person to person. Vodacom CEO Pieter Uys said: "The beauty of this service is the ease and speed with which people can send money to each other anywhere in the country. As anyone can receive M-Pesa without having to be an M-Pesa customer or even a Vodacom subscriber, it has the power to reach all cellphone users." Only Vodacom customers can send M-Pesa, but anyone on any cellphone network can receive it. Nedbank chief executive Mike Brown said cellphone penetration was extremely high in South Africa, but banking was far less widespread, with more than 13 million economically active South Africans not having a bank account. M-Pesa would make basic financial services accessible to all and help bring marginalised individuals into the economic mainstream, he said. Customers can register for the service and deposit money into their M-Pesa account at outlets including shops, spazas and all Nedbank branches. Once they have money in their account, they can send it to any other cellphone user in South Africa, and the receiver can collect the cash at any M-Pesa outlet or a Nedbank ATM. Customers access their accounts using a four-digit PIN code and as long as that PIN remains secret their transactions are secure.
Price war skirmishes have become a regular feature in East Africa, and bubbled up again as Kenya made some drastic cuts in mobile call fees. Analysts said that posed a huge competitiveness challenge to its regional counterparts following the launch of the East African Common Market. High cross-network call rates force many subscribers to buy multiple Sim cards to call cheaply on one network then swap cards to call another network. Kenyans had been making crossnetwork calls at the equivalent of Ushs 300 a minute, with Uganda charging Ushs 340. But the price difference changed dramatically after the Communications "South Africa's largest cellular network Vodacom teamed up with Nedbank to launch the M-Pesa money transfer service." Commission of Kenya halved the interconnection rate. Kenyans now call for an equivalent of Ushs 75 a minute across all networks. In Rwanda, the rate is about Ushs 270 a minute, while Tanzanians pay about Ushs 7.5 per second, and MTN Uganda charges Ushs 9 per second. When the Uganda Communications Commission tried to force down interconnection rates from USh180 to Ushs 131 last year it was immediately sued by MTN, which claimed that was well below the actual cost of the service and the fee should not drop below Ushs 151. Then Warid Telecom instigated a price war by slashing cross-network calls to Ushs 5 per second, making it the cheapest in the market. Warid said the new rate was half its previous fee, and was designed to make cellphone services affordable to more people. Next Bharti Airtel led a price war in Kenya by cutting call rates by up to 45%. Bharti said usage soared by 50% after the cuts, and within eight weeks its revenue was back to normal as higher usage offset the lower call fees.
Few tears were shed when a shake-up in South Africa's cabinet saw Communications Minister Siphiwe Nyanda unceremoniously axed. Nyanda was replaced by the former deputy communications minister Roy Padayachie, seeing the return of a man who once showed far greater promise than the late minister he served under, Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri. Nyanda had allowed the department to totter from crisis to crisis. First he bought two extravagant BMWs then racked up massive hotel bills at the taxpayer's expense. He never shook off allegations that he benefited from dodgy tenders. Then a spectacular clash saw him fire director-general Mamodupi Mohlala, who wanted to change the tendering processes. As internal wrangling absorbed much of the minister's time, the state-owned signal distributor Sentech and the SABC were allowed to keep spiralling downwards through mismanagement, corruption, boardroom spats and failure to deliver on business plans. Analysts agree that Padayachie is a great choice, but given the department's appalling track record for more than a decade, anyone with a touch of common sense and motivation ought to be an improvement. October also saw South Africa's fixed line monopoly Telkom launch its new mobile services. The mobile offerings, dubbed 8ta, include a full range of prepaid and contract packages for consumers and corporate customers. Its "ultra-competitive contract offers" starting at R90 a month were designed to encourage more usage of mobile voice and data services, said 8ta's Managing Executive Amith Maharaj. "We will provide more minutes for your money than any other network." Telkom has erected 800 base stations of its own and has a roaming agreement with MTN to cover areas it has not yet reached. The initiative has already cost ZAR205m in operating expenditure and a further 3,200 of its own base stations are planned.
The long-awaited switch from analogue to digital broadcasting in SADC countries by 2015 looked set to be delayed by another five years as countries argued over which technology to adopt. The prediction of long delays came from Mgqibelo Gasela, head of regulatory affairs for MultiChoice Africa. He advised SADC leaders not to bow to pressure from Japan and Brazil to adopt a technology that is cheaper but less robust than the one they initially supported. Engineers in the Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association strongly recommend the adoption of DVB-T over the Brazilian and Japanese ISDB system, but politicians were being swayed by political pressure from those countries. "SADC should choose a standard that is the best standard worldwide and the latest," Gasela said. And that meant DVB-T. He urged ministers to vote in the best interests of the region and not for political expediency. In January 2011, everyone breathed a sign of relief when South Africa's Communications Ministry announced that SA would adopt DVB-T2, the latest version of the European standard. The Southern African Digital Broadcasting Association called the decision "visionary. Meanwhile, research by Informa Telecom declared that Africa now has 506 million active cellphone subscribers. Africa accounts for 10% of the world's mobile subscriptions as user numbers in the continent rose 18% from last year due to demand for new services such as mobile internet access. In Ghana, a change of ownership took place as Kasapa Network was sold to Dubaibased Expresso Telecom. Kasapa serves 400,000 customers as the fourth operator behind MTN, Tigo and Vodafone. Expresso operates the Intercellular network in Nigeria and holds new licences in Mauritania and Senegal. CEO Isham Ayub said his company would upgrade the network across Ghana to enhance coverage, attract more users and offer a more customer-oriented service.
As the year limped to a close, MTN finally declared that outgoing CEO Phuthuma Nhleko would be replaced by Sifiso Dabengwa on Apri 1. Nhleko will stay on as non-executive deputy chairman. Dabengwa is currently the chief operating officer (COO) and was seen as the obvious choice, since he worked closely with Nhleko in driving MTN's growth strategy. The COO position will be scrapped and a new position, CEO of MTN International, will be created to focus intensely on opportunities abroad. No candidate has been name for that yet. Christmas was grim for employees at South Africa's fixed and mobile operator Neotel with retrenchments looming. Neotel has more than 1,000 staff, which cynics would say almost outnumbers its customers. The company's debt providers have apparently brought in independent management consultants to assess the situation. Neotel will consult staff in January and February, with retrenchments expected in April. Neotel says it is evaluating its business strategy, operational performance, efficiency and competitiveness with a view to achieving long-term sustainability. Staying in South Africa, the government pledged to build 18 information and communications technology centres in 2011 to take technology to the rural poor. The ZAR180 million scheme will provide broadband internet access and computing resources in underserviced areas to help raise the country's appalling low broadband penetration rate of 4% to double digits. Bringing us full circle, we end back in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where Vodacom and its minority shareholder Congolese Wireless Network (CWN) have agreed to appoint investment bank NM Rothschild & Sons to explore options to settle their acrimonious dispute and keep their network viable.
And a quick look at what's brewing for 2011:
Bharti should make a big impact in the countries where it aquired the networks of Zain. Expect more price wars, more innovative offerings and a general slashing of any flabby bits in the operating expenses. In South Africa the mobile interconnection fees finally fell, but the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) didn't really get its way against wily operators Vodacom and MTN. It will try again in 2011 with plans to cut call termination rates in March. Consumers are advised not to hold their breath.
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WEAR - Search Results
Parts of Sacred Heart Hospital evacuated due to fire
ESCAMBIA COUNTY -- It was a scary morning at Sacred Heart hospital. Parts of the facility was evacuated Monday morning because of a fire.
Firefighters say the fire started on the second floor in a hallway that connects the main hospital to the new building under construction. They say that one of the construction workers was using a blow torch and accidentally set a stack of papers on fire.
All of the construction workers were evacuated along with some hospital staff and people in waiting rooms. Eric Gilson was doing cabinet work when he realized something was wrong. He said, "It was crazy actually. We were in there, doing cabinet work, like usual, just smoke in every place.
He immediately started telling everyone to get out. He said, "I got a little scared. I grabbed a hold of him and said 'come on, let's go'. They were like what's going on, its a fire its a fire!"
The fire was quickly put out by a sprinkler on the ceiling but there was a ton of smoke. Firefighters had work quickly to make sure it didn't spread to other parts of the hospital. David Allen with the Pensacola Fire department said, "We use multiple fans to shuttle smoke to the stairwell. And then we open the top of the stairwell. So it's somewhat like a chimney in a house, but much larger."
Fortunately no one was hurt and the fire didn't impact too many patients. A few had to change rooms, but the emergency room was still able to operate.
The new construction is set to be finished this summer. They don't think the fire will slow them down too much.


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Gone, Gone, Gone
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Love stories.
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I didn't think, from the description, it'd be such a great book. The author writes so earnestly and it's funny yet heartbreaking at the same time. Beautiful. Craig and Lio make me so jealous!
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Linux in the dawn of the virtual era
Virtualization can save you time, money, and effort, but you'll need to find the right tool for the task.
Of course, you can use CPU cycles to search for extraterrestrial life forms, as the SETI@Home project demonstrates, but that's not all. When one computer is incapable of exploiting the full potential of a modern CPU, you can let multiple computers do so. Multiple virtual servers on a small number of physical hosts put the hardware resources to better use while at the same time consolidating the system landscape. This month's cover story looks at virtualization in Linux. We'll show you the popular Xen virtual machine monitor, and we'll look at the alternative VServer virtualization tool. We'll also bring you a glimpse of virtualization in the real world with VMware's ESX Server.
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Tool Predicts Which Websites Will be Compromised
Carnegie Mellon researchers say 3 million pages could fall down the phishing hole in the next year.
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The US government rolls new best-practice rules for protecting SSH.
Knoppix 7.4 Released
Klaus Knopper announces the latest version of his iconic Live Linux system.
PHP Attack Puts WordPress and Drupal at Risk
All websites that use these popular CMS tools could be vulnerable to denial of service attacks if users don't install the updates.
Heartbleed Bleeds On
According to a report, many potential victims of the Heartbleed attack have patched their systems, but few have cleaned up the crime scene to protect themselves from the effects of a previous intrusion.
Drone Brain Goes Open Source
DARPA and NICTA release the code for the ultra-secure microkernel system used in aerial drones.
Password Management Services Vulnerable to Attack
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New B+ board lets you build cool things without the complication of a powered USB hub.
Microsoft Grabs No-IP.com Domains
Redmond rushes in to root out alleged malware haven.
Firefox Steps into 3D
New initiative will bring futuristic virtual reality effects to the web surfing experience.


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DOLPHINS down ECU 3-2 in pitchers duel at Sessions Stadium
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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Going pitch for pitch with one of the most highly touted pitchers in the NCAA, Chris Anderson (Lino Lakes, Minn.) led the Dolphins to an exciting 3-2 win over the East Carolina Pirates at John Sessions stadium Friday night.
The JU Dolphins used excellent pitching, solid fielding and timely hitting to take game one of the three game series against the ECU Pirates (9-8).
The Dolphins struck early off ECU starter Jeff Hoffman (2-2). Zachary Houck (Orange Park, Fla./Eagles View Academy) led of the first inning with a walk. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Drew Luther (Fullerton, Calif./Fullerton College). Nathan Koslowski (Jacksonville, Fla./Episcopal) grounded to second advancing Howck to third. Howck then scored on a wild pitch by Hoffman.
ECU wasted no time answering back. The Pirates scored an earned run on two hits in the top half of the second inning to knot the game at 1-1.
The game then turned to a pitchers duel as neither team could push a run across until the Dolphins half of the seventh inning.
Ethan Loosen (Uniondale, N.Y./FSCJ) coaxed a one out walk and advanced to second on a balk. Howck was then intentionally walked. Luther then followed with a walk to load the bases. Koslowski then ripped a towering double to straight away center scoring two Dolphins and putting them up 3-1.
That was all that the Dolphins pitching staff would need. Anderson pitched 7 2/3 innings allowing two earned runs, striking out five and walking only two. Anderson ran into trouble in the top half of the eighth and was replaced by Will Flor (Bloomington, Minn./Jefferson) who struck out the only batter he faced limiting the Pirates to only one run in the eighth. Adam Maxon (Oviedo, Fla./Oviedo) came in and pitched a scoreless ninth for his first save of the 2013 season.
Jake Huxtable (Winter Springs, Fla./Santa Fe College) in his first game back since a leg injury went 2-4 and Josh Baker (Sussez, Wis./University School) added a bunt single in the fourth.
Anderson entered the game tied for second nationally in strikeouts with 45. He now has 50 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings pitched on the season.
Game two of the series will be at 2:00 pm. tomorrow afternoon from John Sessions Stadium and can be heard live on FM 92.5 or followed live by clicking on the LIVE SCORING link on www.judolphins.com


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service provider
<communications> An organisation that provides a service by telephone, such as an 0800 (toll free) number. The service provider buys the services of a telecom supplier (e.g. BT) but advertises the service and deals with the calls itself. Increasingly, service providers are now also managing their advanced call-routing.
Last updated: 1996-08-27
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Nearby terms:Service Advertising Protocol « Service Discovery Protocol « service-oriented architecture « service provider » Service Set Identifier » servlet » session


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FYI: September 2002 Page 2
|FYI — September 2002
|By Brad Dunn
a Mint
When the Euro became the official currency of the European Union earlier this year, millions of national coins were taken out of circulation. Since then scrap metal smelter Elmet, based in Bilbao, Spain, has been breathing new life into the old money by recycling coins into basic industrial equipment, including propellers, computer chips, copper tubing, and electrical cables.
Apparently there's plenty of profit in flipping coins into something more useful. Elmet picked up tons of business--35,290 tons, to be exact--last spring by melting down and extracting the copper from millions of Irish pennies.
Scrap coins are not only easy to find in the newly minted Europe, they also promise to yield a pretty good profit, with copper prices hovering around $1,700 per ton. Other smelters are vying to secure deals to purchase old coins in France and Portugal, where millions of tons of retired money are available.
Though the coin-recycled propellers have not yet hit the recreational boating market, there's no telling how far this trend will go. The boat you buy in a few years may be literally propelled by money.
Underscoring the marine industry's support of the event, a dinner dance was held the night before in a section of the covered shed at Broward Marine. According to benefit director John Weller of the Allied Richard Bertram Marine Group, the dinner helped boost interest in the tournament.
Online Poll
In June more than 300 Zodiac dealers across the country received a letter from the manufacturer informing them that the FBI was concerned that terrorists may try to use inflatable boats to transport weapons of mass destruction.
"Zodiac has been mentioned, specifically and by name, in intelligence reports supplied to U.S. security agencies," says Ed Washburn, Zodiac's vice president of leisure sales, in the letter sent to dealers. "The FBI has requested that we contact our dealer network with this information and ask that you be on the alert regarding any requests that might be suspicious in nature."
letter also states that the FBI has reason to believe terrorists were
planning to attack areas of the marine environment in the United States,
with bridges, barges, and ships as possible targets. The agency says RIBs
are attractive to terrorists because they can carry heavy payloads, have
a low profile, and are easy to hide and launch.
Previous page > Paying the Price for Murder, and more > Page 1, 2
This article originally appeared in the January 2003 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.


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Sep 19, 2011, 12:57 #1
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PHP mailing list system suddenly renders nothing but blank pages
I've inherited a website with a problem! Basically the site runs pommo mailing list, which has worked fine for years. Recently though the website domain changed. Since then - or at least at a similar time - pommo has just stopped working completely. It does nothing but outputs blank pages.
I've never done any php development so I've no idea where to start in terms of debugging this. I've checked that the files etc all exist on the server: they do. I've uploaded a test html page which works. I've uploaded a test php page containing: <?php phpinfo( ); ?> and it works. But when I visit any pommo php page, the browser just renders a totally empty white page - no source HTML at all, just nothing!
Can anyone suggest how to debug this? Even an error message would be somewhere to start.
Thanks all!
Sep 19, 2011, 18:32 #2
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The first place I would check would be the PHP error logs. If you don't know where those are, look at your phpinfo() page and it will tell you. Most likely the error logs will point you in the right direction. Without an error, there's not much we can tell you. If you need help once you find those, post back.TAKE A WALK OUTSIDE YOUR MIND.


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Coming into tonight's matchup, the Hornets needed one of those generational miracles to pull out a victory. Three of our best six players were sidelined: Anthony Davis (shoulder), Eric Gordon (no back to backs) and Jason Smith (shoulder). In addition, the Thunder are fantastic at home, losing only 4 times in 30 games.
Welp, it didn't happen. Although the Hornets did manage to hang around until about 4 minutes into the 2nd quarter, the Thunder thumped the Hornets the rest of the way, outscoring New Orleans 81-44. The game became so uncompetitive that Kevin Durant had himself a triple double at the 5:08 mark of the 3rd quarter!
Instead of attempting to discern any positives and not overwhelm with negatives, we'll just stick to a few random notes and thoughts:
- Through the first 18 minutes of the game, the Hornets had a total of 5 rebounds: Al-Farouq Aminu (3) and Greivis Vasquez (2). Robin Lopez didn't garner his first until the second half and ended up with a measly 2 in over 31 minutes of court time. His starting front court mate, Ryan Anderson, failed to grab even 1 in 24 minutes! That's right, our starting center and power forward combined for 2 rebounds on the night.
- Speaking of Mr. Anderson, at least his offense looked good early. Through the first 15 minutes of the game, he had himself 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting. However, the rest of the game, he failed to add anything to that total as he went 0-5.
- Austin Rivers had a pretty crossover on Russell Westbrook that led to a bucket, drilled a three and made both his foul shots. Quite a few would probably say that's a good night, but when the team is seriously undermanned, it would have been nice to see Rivers press the issue. 8 shot attempts in 38 minutes? Not enough. Since Monty Williams is directly responsible for killing Austin's scoring mentality, he should have goaded the youngster for more.
- Aminu continued to play within himself as he led the Hornets in rebounding (7) and made another couple of excellent defensive plays. Most of his perimeter jumpers still displayed their typical awkward arc, but he did shoot a smooth one at the end of the 3rd quarter. It didn't count as time had expired; however, in that brief moment, we witnessed Aminu has more ability than he lets on. Somehow, someway, he needs to stop being so mechanical about technique and allow his instincts to take over.
- Darius Miller had 15 minutes of playing time. In a blowout. Even Xavier Henry, who I can't imagine returning next season, had over 23 minutes of run.
Up next, the Hornets face the Pistons on Friday. Hopefully we'll be able to pick up a much needed victory against a below average team from the East. Geaux Hornets!


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If nothing else, consider "The Call" an educational experience. What happens when you call 911? Here's Halle Berry as LAPD operator Jordan Turner explaining it all to us and a handful of onscreen recruits: The airy call center known as the Hive, the codes and procedures, the tricks of the trade (don't make promises, keep your emotional distance, expect to hear from people asking directions to Starbucks).
We know Jordan's a battle-scarred veteran because we've seen her lose a kidnapped girl (Evie Louise Thompson) to a heavy-breathing psychopath (Michael Eklund) in the harrowing opening minutes of "The Call." Additional tip: If you lose the connection, don't call the caller back. The killer will hear the phone ring. Oops.


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Eagles still tall order in CVAC volleyball
Editor's Note: Coaching forms were not received from Saranac or Saranac Lake in time for the preview.
Beekmantown, AuSable Valley and Northern Adirondack all return a significant number of impact players from last year's championship teams.
The three powerhouse programs, who finished a combined 39-9 in league play a season ago, claimed titles in Class B, C and D, respectively.
After a 12-4 regular season, Plattsburgh High looks to avenge its 3-1 Class C final loss to the Patriots. Peru graduated over half of its players, but seeks revenge from its 3-0 defeat to the Eagles in Class B.
Saranac and Saranac Lake look to improve from five-win seasons.
The only direction Northeastern Clinton and Lake Placid can go is up after combining to win five matches in 2012.
AuSable Valley
The Patriots have a hard-working group, who are supportive of one another on and off the court, according to coach Sandra Hoey.
"Our girls are very dedicated and love the sport of volleyball," Hoey said. "They have worked hard in the offseason and are ready to compete. We will not take any team lightly, but expect to be pretty competitive."
AuSable Valley finished 15-3 last fall with a Section VII Class C championship.
The squad, which graduated one player and returns 12, understands that teams win championships, not individuals.
Hoey hopes to utilize speed and strength as positives moving forward.
However, the team is lacking height, which could be disadvantageous down the stretch.
AuSable Valley
Players lost
Belle O'Toole.
Players returning
Alexis Joy, Noelle Miller, Lindsay Brown, Miranda Sheffer, Shelby Bourgeois, Alexandra Lincoln, Miranda O'Neill, Jocelyn Racette, Lizzie Maloney, Kylee Brunnell, Mirissa O'Neill, Lindsay Christian.
Kate Gallagher.
One year removed from a 17-1 season and a Section VII Class B championship, the expectations for Shana Hileman's Eagles couldn't be any higher.
The team, however, graduated Kristi Blow and First-Team CVAC libero Kendra Lafountain.
"The biggest weakness is finding a rotation that gels together," Hileman said. "Only half of our players play volleyball in the offseason, which makes it difficult to form a true starting lineup. The first few weeks, we will experiment with various lineups."
Hileman made some key position switches during the preseason.
Jordynne Alex has moved to libero, while Grace Kelly will see time at middle hitter and Emily Anderson will navigate the right side.
Players lost
Kristi Blow, Kendra Lafountain.
Player roster
Molly King, Amanda Frederick, Jordynne Ales, Michaela Lafountain, Lydia Bailey, Hunter Gates, Natasha Manor, Victoria Reid, Grace Kelly, Mikaela Frechette, Evelyn Vicenio, Arianna Hicks, Shannon Ryan, Chelsea Bjelko, Emily Anderson.
Lake Placid
After a winless 2012 season that saw Donna Moody's Blue Bombers finish 0-16, Lake Placid has a new mentality moving forward.
"We need to use each of our player's strengths to our advantage and not count on one or two players to carry the team," Moody said. "The key to our team's success will be to play together as one."
Moody returns Taylor Maiorca, Brenna Garrett, Ally Wallace, Alexis Megliore, Jordyn Santana and Matoaka Riedle from a season ago.
"Beekmantown will be the toughest team again this year," Moody said. "After that, I think there is a great deal of parity amongst most of the other schools. We need to be at our very best every game."
Lake Placid
Players lost
Serina Hayes, Mackenzee Bruce, Ally Wallace, Alexis Megliore, Jordyn Santana and Matoaka Riedle.
Players returning
Taylor Maiorca, Brenna Garrett, Ally Wallace, Alexis Megliore, Jordyn Santana, Matoaka Riedle.
Melissa Rath, Emily Eaton, Georgia O'Leary, Kiana Fell, Kayla Hudson, Hanna Potter.
Northeastern Clinton
After a 4-13 campaign, the Cougars return seven players — Ellen Reid, Gabrielle Vasquez, Brianna McCoy, Amanda Tallon, Ashley McCoy, Oriana LaFlesh, and Patricia Marie LaPan — from a season ago.
"The starting six have experience and play the game well," Northeastern Clinton coach Brent Baker said. "The new players are athletic and should be able to contribute to the team's success this season."
Baker, now in his 22nd season as a coach on the varsity level, is hopeful his veteran team can play on a consistent basis.
"We could be very competitive if we bring our "A" game every match," Baker said. "We should be able to compete with most of the teams this season."
Northeastern Clinton
Players lost
Emily Boyer, Caroline Perrea, Elizabeth Timmons, Stephanie LaValley, Emily Norris.
Players returning
Ellen Reid, Gabrielle Vasquez, Brianna McCoy, Amanda Tallon, Ashley McCoy, Oriana LaFlesh, Patricia Marie LaPan.
Aryana Kellison, Paige Rabideau, Dakota Morrison, Ashley LaVenture, Nicole Khater.
Northern Adirondack
In her fourth year of coaching, Katrina Castine might have her most dangerous and talented team to date.
The Bobcats return an experienced group and welcome one new player to the lineup.
"These girls know each other and communicate well," Castine said.
Emma Trombley was a setter last year, but has been moved over to the middle hitter position. Her height and power will be utilized in this spot, according to Castine.
Castine also praised Zoey Varin throughout the course of the preseason.
"Zoey Varin is comfortable and her consistency has improved as an outside hitter," Castine said. "She is able to place her attacks. This can be very beneficial. Setting can be a difficult job, and I have a lot of confidence in our setters. They know where to set the ball for each hitter so that we can be successful."
Northern Adirondack
Players lost
Hannah Charland, Shonni Velasquez, Whitney Mesec.
Players returning
Emma Trombley, Zoey Varin, Olivia Barnaby, MacKenzie Fountain, Katelyn Snide, Amber Collins, Taylor Pitts, Kailey Brunell.
Aubrey Kerr.
The Indians graduated over half of their players last year and only have one returning starter, but Mary Anne Lake expects new faces to contribute.
"Madeline Kaplan and Taylor Higgins will play significant roles this year," Lake said.
What the second-year coach does return, though, is three-year starter Lea Perry, who Lake said will be the key to Peru's success this fall.
"With enough work, I think we can do well and make some of the teams look a little harder at us."
Lexi Miner, Karlee Stephney, Allison St. Louis and Megan Sears also return.
Players lost
Brittany Kelso, Becky Tenbuuren, Brooke Wyand, Linzee Wright, Alexis McKee, Anna Sardella, Karley Goddeau-Stephaniak.
Players returning
Lea Perry, Lexi Miner, Karlee Stephney, Allison St. Louis, Madeline Kaplan, Megan Sears.
Hadley Houck, Anna Hagberg, Louie Dayton, Megan Kelso, Gwen Eamer, Taylor Higgins.
Plattsburgh High
The Hornets will rely heavily on returning players and their experience.
Shae LaPorte has two seniors, who have been on the team for three and four years, respectively.
"We will look to them for leadership," LaPorte said. "Also, the talent that is coming is promising, and we will utilize their talents. We will be one of the top contenders in our conference."
Plattsburgh High, though, lacks height at the net, which is tough against teams that have heavy hitters.
Plattsburgh High
Players lost
Taylor Witkiewicz, Katie Stetz, Kayla Boise, Rachel Rebideau, Dee Brown, Katie Dwyer, Jaevanna Bucci.
Players returning
Amanda McMahon, Sam Martin, Kianna Dragoon, Maddie Bushey, Victoria Herkalo, Jamie Bedard, Rachel Bedard, Deanna LaBarge.
Maya Browne, Shannon Bracale, Olivia Fleming, Lida Jivitski, Lauren Stanley.
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The Buccaneers made the first signing of a drafted rookie on Tuesday, coming to terms on a four-year deal with LB Mason Foster.
GM Mark Dominik said the team also agreed to a four-year deal with seventh-round TE Daniel Hardy.
"I am excited to announce that I just got off the phone with Mason Foster's agent and he has just agreed to a four-year contract with our (third-round) draft pick," Dominik said, according to The Pewter Report. "We just need to get his signature on the contract, but that's a big element because he's a big part of our future plans here. So getting him under contract and letting him be in the building tonight already and starting to learn is the most important thing we can do."
Buccaneers MLB Barrett Ruud is an unrestricted free agent, and Dominik said that went into the thought process of drafting Foster.
"I knew that Barrett had played six years in Tampa and he would be an unrestricted free agent regardless of whether free agency was four years or six years. At that point, you have to start preparing in case you don't have Barrett Ruud," he said. "The draft came and fell to us in a way that we liked Mason Foster where we got him. We are happy to have him on this football team."