August 2009 - KICTANet

Fibre and Security
by Evans Kahuthu 04 Aug '09

04 Aug '09

Dear Listers, Now that we are finally wired to the rest of the world the perimeter for cybercrime has just increased thus living us more vulnerable than before. In the interest of mitigating security risks, ICT security awareness is paramount and thus I would like to invite all those tasked with protecting personal or confidential information in this rapidly changing technological environment to our Information Communication Technology & Netwotk Security Conference to be held at the Laico Regency Hotel on Sept 8-9, 2009. For more information regarding the conference Agenda, registration and Keynote Speakers profiles, please visit http://secureict.co.ke Regards, Evans Kahuthu

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Re: [kictanet] Seacom goes live- wait for TEAMS
by Michael Joseph 04 Aug '09

04 Aug '09

I think the allegations and language used on this list really discourage real informative comment. For information the shareholders of the Teams cable, who are most of the telecom operators in Kenya, will own and manage the cable and will sell their capacity both wholesale and retail as they see fit. The GOK owns 20%. The Seacom cable is owned by a separate set of shareholders and this info is publically available. The Eassy cable will be owned by another group of shareholders including a number of African telecom operators. This info is also publically available. Not one shareholder will want to price themselves out of the market and, as another commentator mentioned earlier, the first to market with competitive prices will gain the most. I broke my silence on this subject a few days ago and I regret it now as mostly the comments have been somewhat impolite, to put it mildly. I will refrain in future. Regards Michael Joseph CEO Safaricom Limited BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ----- Original Message ----- From: kictanet-bounces+mjoseph=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <kictanet-bounces+mjoseph=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> To: Michael Joseph Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Sat Aug 01 19:16:51 2009 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Seacom goes live- wait for TEAMS Competition? 3 cables does NOT = competition. As Waudo mentioned elsewhere in his posts, the big boys and girls sitting on TEAMs board are the same ones on SEACOM, EASSy and most likely anything else likely to land in Mombasa in the near future. Basically you are looking at a conducive\cartel environment for fixing prices - think of our oil industry. Yes you have competition in the name of Agip, Total, Caltex, etc but has that brought down prices for gas? Probably am being paranoid but I am waiting for the case study where public good won over private profits...maybe it will happen in another 4 months as the PS said. And when it happens it should should not be the misleading by 1-5% price drops. Ideally for the TEAMs (tax-payers) cable you should be asking for the less than 100USD per MB prices that have been floated around over the recent years. And that should be per month rates NOT the punitive per byte of download rates. walu. --- On Sat, 8/1/09, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> wrote: > From: Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists(a)gmail.com> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Seacom goes live- wait for TEAMS > To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > Date: Saturday, August 1, 2009, 12:54 PM > Competition!! Yes indeed is consumers > best friend. > > In fact, instead of staying out all night pinging, pinging, > and > pinging.. and nothing much changes...then burning ourselves > out > arguing on Seacom pricing, we should now strategise how to > fuel more > competition, confront next connectivity frontier-rural. > > Skunkworks are pleased to inform you that PS Ndemo will be > talking to > us about the one million laptops stimulus, technology > innovation and > entrepreneurship- On Tuesday next week (4th August). > > I intend to ask him "what would be the government's plans > regards > hooking Kenya up with http://www.o3bnetworks.com/?" > > See the attached image. > > Regards, > > Alex > > On Sat, Aug 1, 2009 at 3:41 AM, Joseph Mucheru<mucheru(a)google.com> > wrote: > > Walu, > > > > I personally think it is a bit simpler than that. Over > the many years we > > have lobbied for better services and/or prices in the > country, the one sure > > thing that always worked was competition. In the case > of the cables, I think > > the competitive pressures are much more for the > operators as the investment > > (stakes) are much higher. By various calculations both > Seacom and Teams have > > more than three times the current bandwidth demand. > That means the wiser > > operators will not only be the ones that are first to > market, but those that > > give the right price to attract the economies of scale > they need to ever get > > back their investment. Any operator that delays this > process will only have > > much more future cost to convincing consumers to get > onto their network. > > > > I am convinced right now it is a consumers market and > what will be > > interesting is which operators are able to see things > from a long-term > > perspective and win the market. The fact that some > operators have a much > > broader and wider local loop infrastructure only makes > this more interesting > > and does not give outright victory to one. > > > > In summary, investment in the cables is a sunk cost > and the game now is who > > can get the user numbers on their network. Any > short-term gains by an > > operator through higer prices will cost them > significantly more in the > > long-run. > > > > my 2cts worth > > > > Joe Mucheru > > > > On Sat, Aug 1, 2009 at 1:14 AM, Walubengo J <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> > wrote: > >> > >> Waudo, > >> > >> Difference -at least on paper- is that TEAMS was > put up with Tax payers > >> money by close to 40% (i think). So you and me > have a 40% say or demand > >> that they sell the bandwidth commodity at cost. > But you and me (tax payers) > >> have 0% (zero%) shares in SEACOM. > >> > >> SEACOM was put up with 100% private money - only > the individual > >> shareholders can decide on pricing (remember the > famous SAT3 cable on the > >> west-african cost that had little impact on > pricing? the individual > >> shareholders decided to keep the prices just 1-5% > below satellite in order > >> to recoup investment with the shortest timeframes. > 15 years later, the > >> prcing was still the same at 1-5% satellite costs. > That is called Business- > >> increasing shareholders value and yes nobody > should apologies for that) > >> > >> In short, SEACOM can go the SAT3 way and you and > CCK can shout as much as > >> they want and they have every right not to care. > BUT with TEAMS you and i > >> do have a say - however small it is or it maybe. > >> > >> And its pretty grey area how say like Safcom with > shares on both cables > >> can be compelled to reduce prices because if push > comes to shove Safcom can > >> say their data is strictly running on the > (private) SEACOM cable which is > >> exempt from all the regulatory pressures. It can > chose to say TEAMS is > >> simply it back-up route. > >> > >> Thats why I think we are breaking new ground here > and its going to be very > >> interesting... > >> > >> walu. > >> > > -----Inline Attachment Follows----- > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com > _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: mjoseph(a)safaricom.co.ke Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mjoseph%40safaricom.co… ##################################################################################### NOTE: The information in this email and any attachments is confidential and may be legally privileged. It is intended only for the use of the named addressee. Emails are susceptible to alteration and their integrity cannot be guaranteed. Safaricom Limited does not accept legal responsibility for the contents of this email if the same is found to have been altered or manipulated. The contents and opinions expressed in this email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Safaricom Limited. Safaricom Limited disclaims any liability to the fullest extent permissible by law for any consequences that may arise from the contents of this email including but not limited to personal opinions, malicious and/or defamatory information and data/codes that may compromise or damage the integrity of the recipient�s information technology systems. If you are not the intended recipient please notify the sender and immediately delete this email from your system.Unless expressly stated by a duly authorised officer of Safaricom Limited nothing contained in this email message may be construed as being an offer to contract or an acceptance of an offer capable of constituting a contract between Safaricom Limited and any recipient(s) of this email. #####################################################################################

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Seacom goes live?
by Walubengo J 03 Aug '09

03 Aug '09

http://twitter.com/SeacomLive/ Jst reading from Twitter that Seacom has gone live. Not sure if its only in .TZ though. Any impact in .KE? Ama we are still waiting for our very own TEAMS? Tunajivunia? walu.

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Looking for a Savvy Web Project Manager.
by Moses Kemibaro 02 Aug '09

02 Aug '09

The Web Project Manager will lead all phases of projects including requirements analysis, planning, design, web development, quality assurance, and deployment of revenue supporting products and services: · Manage the timeline and project plan for all content, programming, design, and web development · Collaborate closely with the Technical Team for managing system dependencies · Collaborate closely with the Business Development and Production Team to ensure requirements are sufficiently outlined and executed · Engage with cross-functional teams to help identify and execute the company's strategic vision and business objectives related to the co-brand · Communicate ongoing status for projects · Escalate and lead the resolution of issues impacting an on-time, successful launch · Manage appropriate dependencies with partners and other third- parties to ensure timely completion · Manage and raise appropriate awareness to risks impacting the timeline or the quality of deliverables · Lead the creation of and adherence to the production workflows for the maintenance of products · Oversee and lead the planning for the implementation of all phases of products · Facilitate appropriate ongoing product and functionality updates Key Measurements: · On-time delivery of projects · Alignment of products at launch with PRDs · Number of website with quality assurance issues past and present discovered after launch · Escalation and coordination of issues and key decisions when appropriate · Effective utilization of resources Skills: · Ability to excel in a constantly evolving environment · Ability to quickly grasp the objectives and direction of the products · Ability to operate in a product management capacity when needed · Interest in creating, supporting and executing the operational guidelines necessary for ensuring the utmost efficiency of all resources · Ability to develop and implement processes and procedures · Capable of multi-tasking in a fast-paced environment · Ability to collaborate with executive management and help execute the company's strategic vision · Ability to be responsible, accountable and result driven · Excellent communication skills · Excellent organization and documentation skills · Strong people skills with a relationship-building, problem- solving approach Experience: · At least 5 years of related work experience · International Project Management experience a plus · Strong familiarity with the Web and comfort level working in the technical medium · Experience working in a fast-paced Web environment · At least a basic understanding of Internet technical protocols such as HTML, Javascript, XML, web publishing, and database structure NOTE: Applicants must have a proven track record in delivering projects from the requirements analysis phase through the implementation cycle and be able to provide performance measures of success Education: 4-year Bachelors degree in a related field Where you will work: We have a great office in one of Nairobi's quieter suburbs near the city centre with lots of windows and a very open floor plan. We dress down most of the time, but are always at our best in front of clients. We are professional and the management team is very hands on and engaged with the work that is done. We try very hard not to require more hours that are required of anyone and we strive to work 8.30 to 5.00 pm every day with a one hour lunch break. That said, we're flexible and recognize that we all have lives outside of the office - and we also know that sometimes, especially when deadlines demand it, normal working hours just won't get the job done. When it doesn't, we act accordingly - and we show our appreciation when people step-up. We use our leave days and so will you, for your sanity and ours. If think that your that special talent we may be looking for, kindly send us your CV on jobs(a)dotsavvyafrica.com by the 10th August 2009. ---

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Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] RE: Seacom goes live?
by Gakuru Alex 02 Aug '09

02 Aug '09

--forwarded message-- On Fri, Jul 31, 2009 at 10:12 AM, Mwaura S. N.<MwauraSN(a)centralbank.go.ke> wrote: > Hi, > > > > We should be excited whenever infrastructure is put in place since it > expands the horizon for doing business.. Before we forget let us commend > those including Dr. Ndemo who have worked tirelessly to get the > infrastructure in place. If there are gaps that need to be filled we hope > that this is done fast to avoid a situation where the product is available > via media but in reality it is nowhere. > > > > I guess the common man will begin to celebrate once efficiency is obtained. > This efficiency should translate to lower transaction costs that are felt by > users. > > Increased volumes should enable investors to improve on ROIs. > > > > Bravo to those who have facilitated implementation. > > > > Stephen Mwaura Nduati > > > > From: ke-internetusers-bounces(a)bdix.net

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Fibre vs 4G
by S.Murigi Muraya 01 Aug '09

01 Aug '09

Orange has been laying fibre in some parts of Nairobi. If like Celtel, Orange (France Telecom) is not generous enough to win market share now .... not good! An interesting read: http://www.francetelecom.com/fr_FR/finance/investisseurs/reu-thematiques-co… Safaricom 'data services' pricing has not been bad compared to other parts of the World which do not rely on expensive satellite connectivity. It in fact almost matched their pricing in some cases. Who are 'others' - those using (non Wimax) mobile internet technologies ... GSM was originally designed to carry voice not data. Engineers have been adding (expensive) layers to GSM to enable it to carry data such as EDGE and UMTS (3G). Telecom network engineers can explain if 4G / LTE will solve the 'expense' problem.

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Shock threat to shut Skype
by alice munyua 01 Aug '09

01 Aug '09

Shock threat to shut Skype by Asher Moses July 31, 2009 - 1:38PM eBay says it may have to shut down Skype due to a licensing dispute with the founders of the internet telephony service.The surprise admission puts a cloud over the 40 million active daily users around the world who use Skype for business or to keep in touch with friends and far-flung relatives.A recent study by market researcher TeleGeography found Skype carried about 8 per cent of all international voice traffic, making it the world�s largest provider of cross-border voice communications.The online auction powerhouse bought Skype from entrepreneurs Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis for $US2.6 billion in 2005, but this did not include a core piece of peer-to-peer communications technology that powers the software. <..> http://www.smh.com.au/technology/biz-tech/shock-threat-to-shut-skype-200907… --

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Skunkworks Meeting; Tuesday 4th August 2009
by Phares Kariuki 01 Aug '09

01 Aug '09

Hi, There will be a Skunkworks Meeting, this Tuesday, 4th August at Teleposta Towers, 4th Floor, MMU. The we are honored to have the Information and Communication PS, Bitange Ndemo, giving the talk. The talk will cover the following topics: - ICT Entrepreneurship in Kenya - Fibre; What it can do for Kenya - The one million laptop's project. Meeting starts at 6pm. Refreshments will be served. Thanks -- With Regards, Phares Kariuki | T: +254 734 810 802 | E: pkariuki(a)gmail.com | Twitter: kaboro | Skype: kariukiphares |

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