September 2007 - KICTANet

from Highway Africa Conference
by Rebecca Wanjiku 09 Sep '07

09 Sep '07

Rural stories remain untold By Rebecca Wanjiku Africas best stories remain untold, because journalists and bloggers have concentrated in urban areas and neglected rural areas, said Tanzanian journalist Ansbert Ngurumo. Presenting at the Digital Citizens Indaba, Ngurumo indicted journalists and bloggers for the insufficient content of African stories on the internet. The stories have to cover the feelings and aspirations of people. Most of the stories cultural, social and political are in the rural areas. These rural people are isolated because they have no access to the technology and if they do, they may not be able to blog or publish their stories, Ngurumo added. With journalists, he said they concentrate in town centres because that is where there is technology to transmit the stories meaning that most stories told are from the urban centres and occasionally from the rural areas. In developing local content, Ngurumo argued Africans have to develop the civic will to blog more because it does not take political will to start and maintain a blog. Ngurumo told the Indaba that Africa has to villagize the internet and make sure that people in the rural areas blog, podcast and tell their stories to the world. Speaking about lack of a critical mass of African languages on the internet, Ngurumo said he chose to blog in Swahili because that is the language he knows best and is spoken by about 100 million people in east, central and parts of southern Africa. Why would I want to blog in English yet 100 million Africans communicate in Swahili? asked Through his blog- www.ngurumo.blogspot.com , he was able to reach several people mostly from Tanzania where Swahili is the national language. The comments on the blog, he says, have been used to gauge the political and social temperatures. For instance, he said he had been forced to delete certain posts after readers complained about them. Ends Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today!

1 0

Undersea cable plan tangled in acrimony in South Africa
by Eric Osiakwan 09 Sep '07

09 Sep '07

The sole active supporter of the NEPAD-backed Broadband Infrastructure Project that will never be built, the South African Government is trying to arm-twist EASSy because the project has slipped free of NEPAD control. This is the arrogant display of naked political power that those who have not signed the NEPAD political protocol feared would occur if the larger African brother failed to get its way. The 10,000km Eassy cable will be 27% owned by Telkom, Neotel and MTN, and is designed to provide desperately needed cheap bandwidth to 21 African countries. But SA's communications department has taken umbrage at what it sees as the commercial nature of the enterprise, and intends to withhold landing rights. Instead, the government will use taxpayers' money to roll out two rival cables heading east and west, jointly known as the Nepad Broadband Infrastructure Network. Denying landing rights to EASSy will be detrimental to the three local companies, which, they say, have had the foresight to invest in the project to slash bandwidth prices. It will also be anticompetitive if EASSy members are not allowed to sell bandwidth to other operators in SA, says Mohsen Khalil, a director with the International Finance Corporation (IFC). He also says the government's hostility shows it has not understood a new commitment the consortium has made to open access. The IFC is part of the World Bank, and is investing $32,5m to help about 15 small operators participate in Eassy. Yet the director- general of the communications department, Lyndall Shope Mafole, remains vehemently opposed to the project. "Eassy is bad news for developing countries that are not at the level of SA," she says. "We have many problems with it. The fact that you work for the World Bank makes you think you know what's good for Africa even when you don't live in Africa. I find that quite insulting." Because Eassy's biggest shareholders are giants like MTN and Telkom, their bulk buying power gives them an advantage over smaller operators also trying to buy and resell capacity to customers in each country, she says. "South African companies could use their dominance to compete unfairly in other countries. We have a responsibility as the government to ensure there is fair competition. We are not willing to look at something that is clearly discriminatory. We couldn't rest with a clear conscience." If the South African Government has this responsibility, why has it not exercised it over Telkom's SAT3 prices? The Department of Communications talks the talk but does not walk the walk. A bigger issue threatening not only Eassy but also other foreign- backed cables is a demand that any cable landing in SA is partly owned by local companies. The minimum percentage of local ownership will be determined by Communications Minister Ivy Matsepe Casaburri. The instant reaction is to question whether SA has the right to do that. It has, under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, Shope-Mafole says. The second reaction is to assume that foreign investors will be deterred. The government's belligerent stance in an effort to promote local industries may backfire and deprive consumers of cheaper bandwidth if foreigners opt to bypass SA's coastline. Nonsense, Shope-Mafole says. "There are millions of people who want to enter into arrangements and land in SA. We welcome anybody who wants to invest in submarine cables that land on South African soil, but we need South African companies to invest." Although Eassy boasts 27% local ownership, that may not be enough. Seacom, another private cable already under construction, must also recruit local investors for the plans on its map to match reality. Seacom has signed a deal for SA's second network operator, Neotel, to operate the local landing station, which does not impress the government. Shope-Mafole said the demand for local ownership in the entire cable linking India to Europe via SA was discussed with Seacom's mostly US investors over a cup of coffee. "I don't think they thought it was unreasonable. I wouldn't say they loved it, but they didn't throw their cups at us," she says. (Source: Business Day) Eric M.K Osiakwan Executive Secretary AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) Tel: + 233.21.258800 ext 2031 Fax: + 233.21.258811 Cell: + 233.244.386792 Handle: eosiakwan Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North Office: BusyInternet - 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/eric/ Slang: "Tomorrow Now"

2 1

Clear Directions to sega Silicon Valley
by Jose' 08 Sep '07

08 Sep '07

Dear Members, I appoloise for cross posting. I hereby give the correct directions. The best is to take an Akamba bus and drop of at Sega Township bus stop. This is a direct connection rather than dropping off at Kisumu, alternatively with Easy Coach one can drop at Maseno or Kisumu and take a PSV/Matatu to Busia Town and not Siaya town.As stated earlier. Hope to see you all there. Best Regards, Jose' Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri || +254 722 336754 || --------------------------------- Need a vacation? Get great deals to amazing places on Yahoo! Travel.

1 0

New debate in US & UK on two-tier Internet - is this a good idea for Africa?
by Marcel Werner 08 Sep '07

08 Sep '07

Two tier Internet *The US Justice Department has said that internet service providers should be allowed to charge for priority traffic. *The Justice Department said imposing net neutrality regulations could hinder development of the internet and prevent ISPs from upgrading networks.The agency's stance is contrary to much of the internet community that believes in an open model for the internet. Net neutrality advocates argue that a two-tier internet would allow broadband providers to become gatekeepers to the web's content. Providers that can pay will be able to get a commercial advantage over those that cannot, they say. In particular, there is a fear that institutions like universities and charities would suffer. Last year, Sir Tim Berners-Lee the inventor of the web rallied against the idea of a two-tier internet. What are your ideas? Marcel Werner

4 3

Engineering Students Exhibition 14-15 September, Sarit Centre (Nairobi)
by Marcel Werner 08 Sep '07

08 Sep '07

The 10th annual Engineering Students Exhibition will be held on 14 and 15 September at the Nairobi Sarit Centre (opening hours 10-6). Over a 100 innovative prototype projects will be shown by students from Kenyan universities and universities from seven more countries. The Exhibition theme this year is ICT for Rural Development (electronics, mobile computing, software). The event is held under the auspices of the global engineering society IEEE and Kenya Private Sector Alliance and has attracted wide support and endorsement from Kenyan and multinational companies, government, academia and development partners. The event demonstrates a huge capacity and drive to realise innovation for our market. Do come and see how ICT is being put in practice! Information: info(a)centurionsystemsltd.com Marcel Werner

1 0

Directions to Sega Silicon Valley Initiative.
by Jose' 07 Sep '07

07 Sep '07

Here are the directions. From Nairobi take EASY COACH bus services to Kisumu,Then take another PSV going to Siaya and request the driver to drop you at Sega Township Primary School. IT's going to be the bomb yawa!! dont miss this chance to see how communities are being impacted through ICT. Best Regards, Jose' Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri || +254 722 336754 || ____________________________________________________________________________________ Take the Internet to Go: Yahoo!Go puts the Internet in your pocket: mail, news, photos & more. http://mobile.yahoo.com/go?refer=1GNXIC

1 0

FOIA: Petition to the National Assembly
by Alex Gakuru 07 Sep '07

07 Sep '07

attached ____________________________________________________________________________________ Shape Yahoo! in your own image. Join our Network Research Panel today! http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7

3 3

The 411...
by Michael Kipsang Bullut 06 Sep '07

06 Sep '07

Guys, Information is vital and sometimes can be unavailable, therefore, I want to welcome/introduce you all to my first blog <http://kipsang.wordpress.com/>dedicated entirely to matters concerning Information Technology. As an Information Technologist in the making, sharing information is vital to surviving in this competitive industry and with the advent of blogs, distributing this information will be quick and easy. By all means, feel free to comment on the articles I post and if you have anything you want posted, drop me a line. Enjoy! Kind regards, Michael. -- "To see a world in a grain of sand, and a heaven in a wildflower...hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour..." ~ William Blakeg. --

1 0

Africa: The race to liberalise broadcast markets is just beginning
by alice 05 Sep '07

05 Sep '07

(From Balancing Act) Africa: The race to liberalise broadcast markets is just beginning The 1990s saw the phenomenal growth of the mobile sector in Africa turning millions of people into the proud owners of a phone. This growth was made possible by opening Africa's telecoms market to new investment and competition, lowering prices and increasing choice. Broadcasting is about to go through the same cycle only twenty years later, writes Russell Southwood, and Africa's broadcast industry may see the same kind of growth. This issue of African Broadcast, Film and Convergence sees new pay-TV entrant GTV going into more countries and a third entrant announcing its presence in the Ugandan market. Cameroon has announced four new broadcast licences for private operators. Togo has announced the arrival of a sports channel. Two new broadcast stations appear to be on the cards, one in the capital Abuja and the other in Kogi State. As elsewhere in Africa, these last two stations have been prompted by local politicians, anxious to have access to the means of communication to promote themselves. It will take a breed of tough, brave regulators to police issues around fairness and access. The state broadcasting sector is largely under-funded and will find it difficult to keep up with the pace of this race. Africa has not often seen public broadcasting in the purer sense (of the kind best represented by the BBC) as too many broadcasters have become the captive of Government, for whom they rely on their funding. At its worst, African state broadcasting is sadly amongst the dullest viewing on the planet. More private broadcasters create new talent and new voices and spread the power to communicate into more hands. Africa's state broadcasters will need to create a clear role for themselves if they are to survive this onslaught. Simply repeating what the Government wants will not play well if there are alternatives. Why watch the President opening yet another something when you can watch a local football match or the Barclays Premier League? A staggering fifty organisations were shortlisted to operate private radio or TV licences in Cameroon. Only four received licences - Spectrum TV, Canal 2 International, Sweet FM and TV+ - but according to Cameroon's Minister of Communications Professor Ebénézer Njoh Mouelle:" Amongst the 50 audio-visual stations only 4 of them have today received licences to operate. It means that 46 others should also be ready to come forth for their licences. The delay depends on them. They need to follow the example of those who have received an authorization to operate a private audio-visual media in Cameroon". In other words, show you can do it and we will give you a licence. The process has been presented as a regularisation of the existing market as many stations already operate without a licence. According to the Minister:" The licence enables those who are already operating in the field to be formal rather than informal. Those who received the licence to operate have become more opened, recognised and can freely negotiate financial deals with foreign operators". The main obstacle for more clearing the requirements for a licence are money. The sum paid depends on whether the station is a local or a national one. All applicants have cleared the technical requirements hurdles but the remaining 46 have found difficulty thus far in finding the money required to pay their licence fees. A lively and healthy media market in broadcasting will doubtless help with the process of raising the money. The first four entrants have a more or less clear run at it and should produce clear evidence of both listener/viewer interest and advertising revenues. Meanwhile in Togo, a new TV channel - Télé Sport has launched that will concentrate on meeting the thirst for sport among its Togolese viewers. It will devote 90% of its content tosport, 5% to culture and 5% to science. It wants to provide coverage of local Togolese sporting events as well as global events. Télé Sport broadcasts on Channel 29 that will start by covering the whole of the north of Lome but will eventually cover the whole region around the capital. It will employ a dozen people band its launch brings to six, the number of TV channels available to Togolese viewers. There are sixty radio stations, one of which is Sport FM.

1 0

Internet Server Set Up at IGAD Secretariat. Expressions of interest
by alice 05 Sep '07

05 Sep '07

We are looking for Experts to undertake the task below in this month of September. If interested please email proposal/quote/ enquirie on bessie.nyirenda(a)igad.org. Thanks Bessie Nyirenda ICT Coordinator - IGAD ____________________________________________________________________________ INTERGOVERNMENTAL AUTHORITY FOR DEVELOPMENT (IGAD) REGIONAL INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGIES SUPPORT PROGRAMME (RICTSP) TERMS OF REFERENCE SETTING UP SERVERS AT IGAD SECRETARIAT AUGUST 2007 Terms for Server Set Up at IT Section for IGAD Secretariat 1. Background Information The regional integration organization of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is implementing a Regional ICT Support Programme. The overall objective of the RICTSP is to contribute to the ESA region's integration agenda through an effective and efficient Information and Communications Technologies (lCT) environment, which will reduce the costs of trade and investment and thereby stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty. The purpose of the RICTSP is to achieve a reduction in the digital divide by removing some of the constraints to the efficient use of ICT. Currently, more efficient use of ICT by entrepreneurs and policy makers is inhibited by a combination of a restrictive regulatory environment; poor connectivity; poor access to commercially valuable information; and a lack of ICT skills. The Programme contains various sets of activities aimed at achieving the following results: 1) The development, and monitoring of implementation, of ICT policy guidelines and strategies and monitoring of e-readiness status; 2) The provision of high speed internet connectivity to regional key stakeholders to reduce costs of doing business in the region and promote migration to Asycuda++ in selected countries; 3) Improved and more efficient access to economic, commercial and policy information of practical use and the establishment of incubator projects to demonstrate the viability of the internet, including e-commerce. Improved capacity for entrepreneurs to exploit ICT opportunities and e-commerce techniques. As part of improved and more efficient access to information, servers have been purchased to host the regional web portal and email services. The first step to ensuring improved access to information is to properly set up the servers to provide an environment for storing information. The set up of the servers of the IT section at IGAD Secretariat will be undertaken with funding under the Regional Information and Communications Technologies Support Programme (RICTSP), funded under the 9th EDF. 2. Objectives of the Assignment The objectives of the assignment are to elaborate: i) Set up secure local hosting services for Email and Web Services for IGAD Region at its Secretariat Offices. Currently these services are being outsourced to an outside hosting Company in the USA. ii) To build capacity of IGAD staff members to take charge of their information and information provision services. 3. Regional Integration Organisation The assignment under these terms of reference will cover the IGAD Secretariat in Djibouti which serves countries of: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan. 4. Scope of Services In order to meet the objectives of the assignment, the consultant will be required to carry out the following activities: i) Carry out a situational analysis of the IT section to assess available hardware and available internet connections ii) Design the network, security system and internet services. iii) Set up the network, security system and Internet services : ? Router configuration for the DMZ, firewall, and NAT ? DNS, outbound Web proxy, and outbound e-mail ? Primary and Secondary Servers ? Name servers ? Security ? set up DMZ ? All software in use on this work must be 100% open source. ? The internal file and email server ? A secure auditing workstation will sit between the DMZ switch and the DMZ Ethernet port on the router. ? Set up Web services with Content Management System (Joomla) ix) Train Systems Administrator and Webmaster is setting up the Servers. 4. Expected Results The results to be delivered under this assignment are - A well functioning Email Service with webmail access to all staff. - A Web Server with content management system - An easy to update antivirus and antispam filtering system for email server; - A Secure network with well functioning DMZ with intrusion detection and network management facility; 5. Duration and Reporting The consultant will be expected to commence the assignment immediately upon signing the contract, and complete the assignment not later than 9 days after commencement date. The short-term expert will work under the supervision of the RICTSP Coordinator and the Supervisor (the IGAD Director of Economic Cooperation and Social Development Division (ECSD)). The consultant will produce a draft assessment report and a final report providing documentation of all work done. Soft and hard copies of the final report and final should be presented in MS Word and MS Excel (Office 2003 compatible) and will be written in English. 5. Profile of Short-term Expert/s The consultant will meet the following requirements: Qualifications and Experience: ? A University degree in Computer Science, Engineering or Equivalent qualification; ? At least 5 years experience of progressively setting up Internet Servers; ? Experience in designing and producing documentation; Record of working collaboratively and successfully with country officials, private sector and the public in the ESA region will be an added advantage. Language: The short-term expert will have an excellent command of English with good report writing skills. Knowledge of French will be an added advantage. _______________________________________________ AAW-Network mailing list AAW-Network(a)lists.apcwomen.org http://lists.apcwomen.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/aaw-network

1 0