December 2010 - KICTANet

applicants new gTLDs
by Alice Munyua 22 Dec '10

22 Dec '10

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Season's Greetings
by waudo siganga 22 Dec '10

22 Dec '10

HappyHolidays.gif

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Fwd: CSTD Working Group on IGF Improvements Now to Include Stakeholders
by waudo siganga 22 Dec '10

22 Dec '10

----- Original message ----- From: "Anders Halvorsen" <ahalvorsen(a)witsa.org> To: "Jim Poisant" <jpoisant(a)witsa.org> Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:36:36 -0500 Subject: CSTD Working Group on IGF Improvements Now to Include Stakeholders December 21, 2010 TO: Members of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance FR: Anders Halvorsen, Public Policy Director RE: CSTD Working Group on IGF Improvements Now to Include Stakeholders _________________________________________________________________ ___ Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to report that the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) late last Friday changed course and will allow participation by stakeholders, including from business, civil society, the technical and academic community, and intergovernmental organizations. Even though the stakeholder groups will be limited to five rather than the originally anticipated twelve representatives each, this can be seen as a clear victory for the multistakeholder approach. We would like to thank all members who filled out the online petition and/or forwarded the WITSA letter circulated on December 13^th (ref. below) to their government representatives for follow up. Many government delegates in Geneva were fully supportive of opening the working group to all stakeholders, and in particular EU, Chile, UK, Mexico, Portugal, Canada, US, France, Germany, Belgium and Greece. We also had some great support from industry at the December 17^th open consultation through the participation of Ms. Marilyn Cade (mCADE, LLC) and Jonathan Zuck of the Association for Competitive Technologies) The working group will meet physically at least twice in Geneva, Switzerland; in February and May 2011, following which they will then produce a consensus report to the CSTD. To date, the Internet has grown in a largely unregulated environment, and has shown an ability to thrive in a wide variety of market environments under competitive conditions. This freedom from centralized and heavy regulations has produced impressive results over a relatively short period of time, delivering innovation, productivity and opportunity to a growing numbers of users in all parts of the world. Notably, the Internet has grown fastest in markets where there is competition for the provision of underlying telecommunications facilities, as well as for access and related services. Today, policy makers at both national and global levels are considering a wide number of regulatory approaches to dealing with the issues of Internet governance, including cyber security, access, management of spam and malware, protection of intellectual property and other issues. We therefore find ourselves at a critical point in time. With the recent renewal of the mandate for the IGF (but with an uncertain outlook for how the new IGF will function), coupled with the United Nations’ new focus on the enhanced cooperation clauses (dating back to the 2005 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Tunis Agenda) and the movement towards independence of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) through last year’s Affirmation of Commitments (AOC), industry must remain vigilant in defending the multistakeholder approach to Internet governance. In that regard, WITSA will continue to appeal to governments and international institutions to make their Internet policy related and decision-making activities more open and inclusive of all stakeholders. Governments, regional and international organizations that have been more open, and that have shown a commitment to cooperation have proven to be more effective in their work. As industry, we not only welcome but demand opportunities to participate in the policy development process at all levels. For your information, please find below the language that was agreed late last Friday: ----------------------------------------------------------------- --- Language agreed (CSTD Chapeau Statement): The Chair of the CSTD establishes a Working Group of 15 member states, plus the five member states which hosted the IGF meetings plus the two member states which hosted WSIS. This Working group will seek, compile, and review inputs from all member states and all other stakeholders on improvement of the Internet Governance Forum, in an open and inclusive manner throughout the process. The Chair invites the following stakeholders to interactively participate in the Working Group, bearing in mind the established rules of procedure of the ECOSOC, who will remain fully engaged throughout the process. [this means that the Stakeholders will remain fully engaged]. · 5 business community · 5 civil society · 5 technical and academic community · 5 Intergovernmental organizations Pursuant to the ECOSOC decisions 2010/226; 2010/227, and 2010/228, maximum possible assistance, the diversity of ideas and the equal representation of stakeholders from developing and developed countries in the Working Group should be ensured, in consultation with the stakeholders. The Report of this Working Group will be adopted by consensus. ----------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------- December 13, 2010 TO: Members of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance (WITSA) FR: Anders Halvorsen, Public Policy Director RE: Concern over Composition of CSTD Working Group on IGF Improvements – Call to Action _________________________________________________________________ _________________ Dear Colleagues. WITSA Public Policy Chairman John Higgins today sent a letter to the Vice Chair of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) today, expressing disappointment over its recent decision to exclude industry and other stakeholders from participating in the new Working Group on Improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (ref. [1]http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=5755& lang=1). The letter can be viewed at [2]http://www.witsa.org/IGF/CSTD_ltr.pdf. WITSA believes the decision goes against the mandate for establishing the working group, as provided by the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) last May. The mandate calls for the establishment of a “a working group to seek, compile and review inputs from all Member States and all other stakeholders on improvements to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF), in line with the mandate set out in the Tunis Agenda". It should also be noted that WITSA has been seeking member representation on the said working group. ACTION REQUESTED The CSTD will launch an open consultation of the Working Group in Geneva on December 17. Members are encouraged to sign the petition at [3]http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/igf/ which already has a number of signatures and to send this letter to the appropriate national government contacts with a request that they send this letter to their Geneva mission urgently. Best regards, Anders References 1. http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=5755&lang=1 2. http://www.witsa.org/IGF/CSTD_ltr.pdf 3. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/igf/

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Orange intensifies war against cable vandalism
by Lucy Kimani 21 Dec '10

21 Dec '10

Thanks Harry! Harry Hare #Orange intensifies war against #cable #vandalism http://bit.ly/h7uJWP “We are fed up, enough of cable cuts and vandalism, we have to do something,” a statement issued by Orange Chief Executive Officer Mickael Ghossein, while addressing the media today. He notes that cases of cable vandalism and sabotage are increasing at an alarming rate. In the year 2010, the integrated telecommunication service provider has experienced 342 cable cuts - 117 copper cuts and 225 optic fibre cable cuts. http://www.cio.co.ke/Main-Stories/orange-intensifies-war-against-cable-vand…

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eGov 2011 Conference | KENYA
by John K. Njoroge 21 Dec '10

21 Dec '10

Dear Listers: As you go for the Christmas break, your attention is drawn to the first Kenya e-Government Conference, whose theme is “Delivering Services through e-Government” which will be held on March 8th – 10th, 2011 at KICC, Nairobi - Kenya. The Conference with give Kenya Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies the platform to present practitioner papers and showcase e-Government achievements so far. It will also feature foreign Government Institutions as well as local and internationally recognized e-Government experts and IT gurus. The Conference programme has been designed to provide participants an opportunity to explore the many facets of ICT application in Government, with sessions covering the key thematic areas (More information is available at www.egovconference.go.ke) The Call for Papers is available on the Conference Website as well as a Sponsorship and Exhibition Guide. You can also register for the conference online as well as submit any relevant papers. Your are most welcome and invited indeed. Kind regards John K. Njoroge

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Number Portability question...
by Collins Areba 21 Dec '10

21 Dec '10

Could anyone confirm this to me.. Does number portability work across platforms? say have CDMA lines on my 0722 line....

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Extension of Public Comment Period on New gTLD Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook and Economic Study Phase II Report
by Alice Munyua 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Dear all, For those interested in the new gTLD. best Alice ------------------------------------------------- Extension of Public Comment Period on New gTLD Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook and Economic Study Phase II Report 17 December 2010 Taking into account public comment and decisions made during ICANN’s Cartagena meeting, the public comment period for the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook and supporting documentation have been extended to 15 January 2011 (1200 UTC). Below are the links to comment fora for the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook: English - http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-en.htm العربية - http://www.icann.org/ar/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-ar.htm 中文 (简体) - http://www.icann.org/zh/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-zh.htm Français - http://www.icann.org/fr/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-fr.htm Русский - http://www.icann.org/ru/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-ru.htm Español - http://www.icann.org/es/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-es.htm Additionally, the Economic Study Phase II Report is extended to 15 January 2011: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-en.htm How to Participate The Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook is available here in its entirety, as well as in its six individual modules. You can either comment on the overall guidebook or comment per module, by area of interest. A red-lined, annotated version of the documents is provided to show what changes were made in progressing from Draft Applicant Guidebook, Version 4 to the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook. As the materials become available in additional languages there will be an opportunity to comment. You may also view the Summaries & Analyses <http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/comments-analysis-en.htm> from recently closed public fora.

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Fw: [aisi-media-l] Announcement: 2011 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards / Prix TIGA 2011 pour l’utilisation de la Technologie dans l’Administration en Afrique - Deadline for Applications: 28 February 2011
by Michael Ouma 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Michael Ouma Journalist Kenya Tel:+254-725-537823 "Do not go where the path may lead, but go instead where there is no path and leave a trail," - Ralph Waldo Emerson --- On Wed, 12/1/10, Afework Temtime <atemtime(a)uneca.org> wrote: From: Afework Temtime <atemtime(a)uneca.org> Subject: [aisi-media-l] Announcement: 2011 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards / Prix TIGA 2011 pour l’utilisation de la Technologie dans l’Administration en Afrique - Deadline for Applications: 28 February 2011 To: "Discussion List for African Media and Information Society" <aisi-media-l(a)dgroups.org> Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 1:46 AM Announcement: 2011 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards Deadline for Applications: 28 February 2011 The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Finland are pleased to announce the SecondTechnology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards. Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards recognise African Governments’ effective use of ICTs for public service delivery as part of fulfilling ECA’s African Information Society Initiative (AISI) and the Government of Finland’s Development Cooperation Strategy on ICTs for development in Africa. The Awards goes to African Governments and institutions based on the continent that are engaged in initiating, developing, and implementing ICTs for public service contributing to the development of the Information Society in Africa. The aims are to: • Create greater awareness on the role of ICTs in the public services and the development process within the framework of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI); • Encourage African Governments and institutions to use ICTs for development in general and improved public/citizen’s services in particular; and • Motivate other African stakeholders in effective utilization of ICTs for citizen’s services. Started in 2007, this pioneering African programme will publicly recognise the innovation, excellence, and leadership in Africa’s public sector e-government development and its deployment. It is currently recognised as an honour to be nominated for the TIGA Awards, and a significant career achievement for the team members to be selected as an Award Winner. The first TIGA Awards recognised twelve innovative projects from nine countries, and the second,, which was organised in 2009 considered innovative projects from ten countries in recognition of achievements that led to changes in the use of ICTs in Government service delivery. The TIGA Award is intended to be a biennial event to honour African Governments and institutions. More information is available at: http://www.uneca.org/tiga XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Annonce : Prix TIGA 2011 pour l’utilisation de la Technologie dans l’Administration en Afrique Date limite de candidature : le 28 février 2011 La Commission Economique pour l’Afrique et le Gouvernement de la Finlande ont le plaisir d’annoncer le troisième prix pour l’utilisation de la technologie dans l’administration en Afrique. Les prix pour l’utilisation de la Technologie dans l’Administration en Afrique visent à récompenser le travail des Etats Africains dans l’utilisation effective des Technologies de l’ Information et de la Communication (TIC) dans la délivrance des services publics mis en œuvre dans le cadre de l’Initiative pour la Société de l’Information en Afrique (AISI) de la CEA et de la Stratégie de la Coopération pour le Développement du Gouvernement de la Finlande. Les prix sont destinés aux Etats Africains et aux institutions basées en Afrique qui sont engagés dans la conception, le développement, et la mise en œuvre des programmes TIC pour les services publics et contribuant à la mise en œuvre de la Société de l’Information dans le continent. Les objectifs sont : • de susciter une plus grande conscience sur le rôle des TICs dans les services publics et le processus de développement dans le cadre de l’Initiative pour la Société de l’Information en Afrique (AISI) ; • d’encourager les Etats et les Institutions africaines à utiliser les TICs pour le développement en général et pour améliorer les services publics en particulier ; • d’influencer les autres acteurs africains à utiliser effectivement les TICs au service des citoyens. Initié en 2007 ce programme pionnier africain récompensera publiquement l’innovation, l’excellence et le leadership dans le développement du e-gouvernement (administration électronique) dans le secteur public en Afrique. La nomination aux Prix TIGA devrait être perçue comme un honneur et une réussite de carrière dans le secteur public pour les membres des équipes qui seront sélectionnées. Le Prix TIGA sera un événement qui se passera tous le deux ans pour honorer les Gouvernements et institutions africains . Pour plus d'information : http://www.uneca.org/tiga Visit web site | Reply to sender | Click here to unsubscribe The email is intended only for the recipients. The owners of the Dgroups cannot be held responsible for the contents of the email message.

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Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] BPO and ITES a wider view of the opportunity
by Paul Kukubo ICT Board 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Bernard Great comment. Not in any way put of sync with my conclusion. In fact a useful addition. Both free and open source as well as packaged license software approaches are important. The benefit of the big firms dependency is that our firms and individuals can get into the culture of operating on the basis of established and standardized business process. I acknowledge that this is a not and open source or closed source issue. However, it is beneficial to developers when they are structured and backed in deploying solutions. some local Venture capitalists suggest to us that if technology firms build solutions on top of more established global platforms like oracle, Microsoft, SAP etc they stand a better chance of demonstrating reduced risk profile, and therefore can be more attractive in getting funding. On the other hand we have successful open source IT development firms locally that have received investment from venture capitalists. The Kenya ICT Board interest is in developing a greater pool of businesses in ICT in order to create more jobs. Thanks for the feedback. Sent from my iPad On 20 Dec 2010, at 13:45, Bernard Owuor <bowuor(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > I came across this when perusing through my archived emails. > > I must confess that it's a joy to read such updates from a govt officials now and then. However, I am slightly alarmed at the drift of this particular brief. > > My questions are: > > - Since Open Source platform is not fronted by one specific vendor, how is it factored into this report, and how will it factor into govt thinking/strategy? > - Could it be that some of the "big" vendors became big by acquiring open-source competitors: eg Oracle acquiring Java & MySQL? > - Since such acquisitions will continue into the foreseeable future, it might be instructive to focus capacity building efforts upon specific generic technologies, as opposed to vendor products. > - What's the proportion of the value of Package applications to Web/Internet/Mobile Applications - and is this ratio substantive? The report focuses on package applications. > - Is it the best strategy to go head-on-head with India? Would such a strategy reflect an appreciation of our local "terrain" with regard to formulating a response to global software demand? > - > > There is no doubt that there is benefit in raising the population of Oracle DBAs, CCNAs etc. But even as we do so, we should not lose sight of the biggest prize of all - which is profitable innovation. Innovation is fostered by open standards and open-systems and unencumbered by (or overcomes?) vendor limitations. A population trained to think broadly, to translate technical innovations to useful products (or vice-versa) would be priceless. > > Christmas cheers. > > Bernard > > > > From: pkukubo(a)ict.go.ke > Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:42:56 +0300 > To: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke; ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net > CC: > Subject: [ke-internetusers] BPO and ITES a wider view of the opportunity > > Listers > > Just leafing through an extract of the IDC's World Wide Software Forecast 2010-14 Summary report. www.idc.com > > The Worldwide Packaged Software Market was USD 273 Billiion in 2009. Made up of > Application development and deployment 64,575 Million USD > Applications 129,838 Million USD > Systems Infrastructure software 78,068 Million USD > Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, SAP, Symantec, HP, CA. EMC Adobe and Fujistu are the leading vendors. > > Conclusion from our reading this report: > Certain global company technologies dominate and the ability to develop and deploy solutions on top of these technologies can greatly enhance a country's overall ICT competitiveness. > Most global enterprises run some of their critical operations on the back of these. Indeed the biggest ICT projects in the private sector here relate to deployment of solutions. e.g in CRM at Safaricom and Kenya Airways, in ERP at EABL, BIDCO, SHELL, and indeed in Financial Management in Government. > The consultancy, project management and deployment of these platforms is a huge business opportunity. Indeed many shared services and outsourcing functions include supporting or using these platforms as part of wider business operation or process. Many successful ICT firms in Kenya are in this space. Some of the venture capitalists / and private equity managers in Kenya have asked us to encourage more ICT entrepreneurs to operate their businesses around established platforms.They would be willing to fund more Oracle or Cisco certified firms. > > As an example, Infosys the large technology services and outsourcing provider has 20,000 certified oracle consultants on their payroll according to their CEO speaking at this year's Oracle World in California. > > Part of any effort to develop a country's ICT sector includes aligning capacity building efforts to global demand. > > asante and Happy Jamhuri weekend. > > > Paul Kukubo > Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board > PO Box 27150 - 00100 > Nairobi, Kenya > > 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street > > Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 > Fax: +254 20 2211962 > website: www.ict.go.ke > local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya > twitter:@tandaaKENYA > BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke > Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke > > > personal contacts > _______________ > > Cell: + 254 717 180001 > > > skype: kukubopaul > googletalk: pkukubo > personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke > personal twitter: @pkukubo > > > ____________________ > Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub > > Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment > > _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade
by Betty Mwangi 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Yes good point - in the road map we plan to offer a statement solution off the phone which you can then e mail or print off Thanks for the feedback Rgds BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: muriuki mureithi To: Betty Mwangi Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Mon Dec 20 15:46:00 2010 Subject: RE: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Thanks Betty When I pay for a service using mpesa , I would like to get something that shows payment – our accountants need a paper print out It is not possible to be it from mpesa system cheers Muriuki Mureithi What can u do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. -Mother Teresa From: Betty Mwangi [mailto:bmwangi1@Safaricom.co.ke] Sent: 20 December 2010 13:39 To: mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Please qualify what you mean by transaction print outs? Thanks and rgds BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: muriuki mureithi To: Betty Mwangi Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Mon Dec 20 11:08:41 2010 Subject: RE: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Betty Can you give us a sense of when print-out of transactions can be possible - lack of printouts reduce the aura of mpesa to informality yet the direction you are heading is increasingly formal transactions. we need a trail cheers Muriuki Mureithi What can u do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. -Mother Teresa From: kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Betty Mwangi Sent: 19 December 2010 17:25 To: mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Preston Thanks for your mail. There was a technical fault on Tuesday and Wednesday last week that resulted in delays with SMS confirmations and in some cases no confirmation at all. However, there was a process initiated to ensure completion of all such cases and customers and agents were advised of the completion so that transactions could be processed successfully. The fault is now resolved. We apologise for the inconvenience and assure customers that their funds are safe. Indeed we are under close oversight by CBK which we welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you experience any further problems. As safaricom we are committed to ensuring that we meet and respond to customer needs - indeed the platform upgrade that we performed was of huge magnitude and you shall see the benefits as we continue to respond to more of your feedback. Today you will see that we have increased the bands so that you can now send up to 140000 ksh per day (max 70000ksh per transaction) and you can now hold up to 100000ksh in your MPESA e value account - doubled from previous. We have also enabled a minimum deposit, transfer and withdrawal amount of Ksh 50 ...more to come. Thank you for your feedback and thank you for staying with the better option. Best rgds Betty Mwangi-Thuo Chief Officer - New Products Safaricom ltd BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: kictanet-bounces+bmwangi1=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke To: Betty Mwangi Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Sent: Sat Dec 18 09:38:26 2010 Subject: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade The current challenges consumers are going thru on the M-Pesa after upgrade seem not to have been shared with the consumers. Can the CEO of Safaricom explain what is going on. There are delays on money sent. I sent money and only received the message after six hours. The recepient never received any message. There are cases where the recipient does not receive a message although the money is there they cannot withdraw. Can Safaricom explain how many cases of this nature have been experienced and what are the security implications? Preston Odera Executive Director K-Ninety East Africa Limited Tel +254 20 3544352 Note: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricoms Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=954> to read the policy. ________________________________ Note: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricoms Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=954> to read the policy. ________________________________ ##################################################################################### NOTE: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom�s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy. #####################################################################################

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