December 2010 - KICTANet

Google CR-48 trials
by robert yawe 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

Hi, I am sure we have staff from Google in this list, how can I participate in the Google notebook trials? Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Liberia creates Special Purpose Vehicle for landing station and national fibre backbone
by Eric M.K Osiakwan 11 Dec '10

11 Dec '10

Liberia probably has one of the smallest bandwidth markets in Africa but it has recently created a Special Purpose Vehicle consortium that has signed up as a member of the France Telecom-driven ACE cable. Russell Southwood spoke to Angelique Weeks, the Chairperson of the Board of Commissioners of the regulator, the Liberian Telecommunications Authority about how it was possible to do this. The Special Purpose Vehicle consortium currently has four shareholders: the Government of Liberia (60%); Libtelco, formerly LTC, the Government incumbent (20%); Lonestar, the MTN subsidiary (10%); and Cellcom, the Israeli-owned mobile operator (10%). The Government and Libtelco shareholdings have been paid for by the World Bank. Currently, this leaves the other two mobile operators (Comium and Libercell, now owned by HITS) out in the cold but according to Chairperson Angelique Weeks, the Government will sell part of its shareholding to them:”Comium and Libercell were not in a position financially to come in (when we started the SPV). But both have expressed interest and we plan to bring them in very soon, some time in 2011. We have consultants to help us sort through the various models and they don’t start until January so some after their work is complete.” In terms of governance, any shareholder needs at least 10% to have a seat on the Board. According to Weeks:”We’re trying to decide whether to have a co-operative, a private entity or a hybrid of the two.” By co-operative she means that the SPV will have no staff but devolve operational tasks to its shareholder parties. By private entity, she means that the SPV would contract a management partner or employ its own staff. The aim is to recycle the money put in by the World Bank into the task of building a national fibre backbone in the country. So the shareholdings sold to the new parties (Comium and Libercell) will generate money that will go into this task. The aim is to take this money with further contributions from the World Bank and to start a fibre roll-out. This is ambitious in a country that has only a modest electricity grid but offers a number of economic benefits for the country. What has not been settled is whether this task will be managed by a separate Private-Public Partnership (PPP) or simply run through the cable landing station SPV. So what will be the extent of the network?:”Ideally it will provide a loop that covers the limits of the country and connects up its major community centres. Then we can use microwave to extend beyond the fibre backbone.” Will it create cross-border links?:”We talked to Guinea and Sierra Leone at the ACE signing and suggested a loop to them connecting the three of us. Arguably, Cote d’Ivoire could be part of the same network. It would provide some redundancy as we might be vulnerable with a single landing station. It’s a good idea but it will come further down the road.” But how will a country with as small an economy as Liberia absorb all this new bandwidth?:” I think there are two areas that we have to focus on to create growth. The operators need to create content that will encourage users to use more bandwidth. For example, in Ghana they were able to watch the World Cup on their mobile handsets. We need to implement e-Government, e-health and e-schools and all of these things will be facilitated by better bandwidth”. “Potentially shareholders can sell capacity across borders. This is allowed within the scope of the ACE agreement but it places some restrictions on doing this. I think currently we could only sell to other ACE consortium members but this may change in the long run. We hope the future’s bright and we understand the economic growth and development that will be spin-offs from the cable. We can’t afford not to have the cable. Open access is the way we should go. We need to protect consumers and investors. Credit: Balancing Act NB: Sorry for crossposting. Eric M.K Osiakwan Director Internet Research www.internetresearch.com.gh emko(a)internetresearch.com.gh 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Tel: +233.30.2258800 ext 7031 Fax: +233.30.2258811 Cell: +233.24.4386792

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How to Test COTS Applications
by Roland Omoresemi 11 Dec '10

11 Dec '10

Just a quick invitation to those of you that are interested in learning how to Test Commercial Off-The-Shelf COTS applications; if you know anyone that can benefit from these courses, please send them our way: Attached please find our 2011 Course Catalog plus the brochures for our upcoming courses in January: January 17 - 19 | 830 AM - 500 PM: Software Quality Assurance & Testing Boot camp (ISTQB Certification class) January 20 - 21 | 830 AM - 500 PM: How to Test Commercial Off-The-Shelf Applications We also have Testers who can assist you during your next project implementation - we offer Staff Augmentation services (either for UAT, System or Integration Testing or Test Automation and do System Integration work as well. Thank you, ----------------------------------------------- Roland Omoresemi | CEO tezza business solutions Ltd KENYA OFFICE PLOT 87 RHAPTA ROAD P.O. BOX 14068 - 00800 WESTLANDS, NAIROBI M: +254 719.616.900 | 0: +254 20 816 4341 | 0: +254 20 816 4340 ------------------------- UGANDA Plot 9 Martyrs Road P.O. Box 5871 Ntinda P: +256 312 108 322 | M: +256 772 583 788 ------------------------ TANZANIA Learnit Institute of Business and Technology 1st Floor, Lumumba Complex, P.O.Box 20032, Dar es Salaam ------------- USA OFFICE 9530 Oswald Lane Charlotte NC 28277 M: 704.604.4668 p: 913.961.2234 e: roland(a)tezzasolutions.com w: http://www.softwaretestingafrica.com w: http://www.tezzasolutions.com/technology.php ------------------------------------------------- UPCOMING TRAINING: January 10-14: In-House Training - KENYA AIRWAYS - Kenya January 17-19: Software QA & Testing Boot Camp - Kenya January 20-21: Testing Commercial Off-The-Shelf Applications - Kenya

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Insurance Software Expert - 10 years experience - Kenya
by Matunda Nyanchama 11 Dec '10

11 Dec '10

A friend is looking for a Kenyan resource as per spec below. If you know anyone, please let me know. ------------------------------- Please get me a senior IT expert (Kenyan) with the following skills: * A postgraduate degree in an area relevant to the assignment such as Information Technology, Business Processes Re engineering or relevant ICT Certification; * Hands on experience in design and implementation of software for insurance firm/s especially trade and political risk insurance; * At least 10 years experience in the relevant areas suitable for the assignment as outlined above * Knowledge of accounting will be an added advantage * Project management knowledge * Fluency in English ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama, mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; www.aganoconsulting.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.”- George Bernard Shaw ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail, including attachments, may be privileged and may contain confidential or proprietary information intended only for the addressee(s). Any other distribution, copying, use, or disclosure is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and permanently delete the message, including any attachments, without making a copy. Thank you.

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A stand for WikiLeaks is a stand for freedom of information online
by alice＠apc.org 10 Dec '10

10 Dec '10

APC says, A stand for WikiLeaks is a stand for freedom of information online JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA TUESDAY DECEMBER 7 The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) is deeply concerned about recent attempts by governments to limit access to online content recently published by whistleblower website WikiLeaks. APC is also troubled by actions taken by private companies such as EveryDNS.net which disabled the domain name system services for WikiLeaks.org, Amazon which repealed web hosting services and Paypal which restricted access to WikiLeaks' account to prevent supporters from donating money. APC believes that the ability to share information and communicate freely using the internet is vital to the realisation of human rights and to efforts to use the internet to contribute more accountable and transparent governance at global and national levels. A site like WikiLeaks can also play a vital role in aiding the fight against corruption in governments and corporations. The APC Internet Rights Charter clearly states that: *The internet must be protected from all attempts to silence critical voices and to censor social and political content or debate. *Organisations, communities and individuals should be free to use the internet to organise and engage in protest. *All information, including scientific and social research, that is produced with the support of public funds should be freely available to all. As the world's longest-running online progressive network founded in 1990, APC has been troubled by trends over the last decade that show that such rights are increasingly violated and believes that the recent attempts to censor WikiLeaks provide additional reasons for concern. The US government has been unable to provide evidence that lives have been put at risk by WikiLeaks disclosures. APC appeals to all governments and the internet community to explicitly reject any form of online content control that limits freedom of expression and information, particularly information that contributes to more transparent governance, and that empowers citizens to hold their governments accountable. We urge them to assure the uninterrupted online presence of the WikiLeaks website. A stand for WikiLeaks is a stand for freedom of information on the internet. END

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BPO and ITES a wider view of the opportunity
by Paul Kukubo 10 Dec '10

10 Dec '10

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 1. Application development and deployment 64,575 Million USD 2. Applications 129,838 Million USD 3. 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

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Fw: CRM-Software Engineer needed
by Walubengo J 10 Dec '10

10 Dec '10

been asked to float this, plse forward to whoever... walu. --- On Fri, 12/10/10, Benson Mbugua <benmbugz(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Benson Mbugua <benmbugz(a)gmail.com> Subject: CRM-Software Engineer needed To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com Date: Friday, December 10, 2010, 2:14 PM Hey Walu, Could you urgently please post this job-ad on kictanet ? Regards, B. Mbugua

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How (NOT) to use UA Funds
by McTim 09 Dec '10

09 Dec '10

FYI, an audacious proposal: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/news/InsidePage.php?id=2000024188&cid=159&st… or http://tinyurl.com/24ka4pa -- Cheers, McTim "A name indicates what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A route indicates how we get there." Jon Postel

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Kenic seems to be down
by robert yawe 09 Dec '10

09 Dec '10

Hi, Any body know why those of us on Orange cannot reach Kenic. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Re: [kictanet] [i-network] Internet IP Addresses running out?
by Walubengo J 08 Dec '10

08 Dec '10

Am glad that Uganda has picked this up. Indeed the current IPv4 numbers are so depleted that estimates show that the last bunch (slash /8s of IPv4) numbers from IANA (or ICANN) will be distributed some time in Q1, 2011. You can check this some of these Statistics on the AfriNIC or other sites below: http://www.afrinic.net/statistics http://ipv6.he.net/statistics/ @Ronald, Yes we have no reason to panic in as far as what to do next is concerned i.e. adopt IPv6 the next generation internet protocol. BUT we have EVERY REASON to worry because the adoption in Africa is extremely poor. What these means is that as the developed economies adopt IPv6, at time will come when they may opt to run IPv6 ONLY services and then African Users will begin to wonder why they are unable to access services (e.g. youtube, cnn.com, twitter etc) @ Wire, IPv4 depletion and assosciated challenges are as real as u and me. This is no Y2k hype - even though I trust that the Y2k hype did help stimulate some action that historians are left to judge whether that indeed is what saved the world ;-) walu. --- On Sun, 12/5/10, Ronald Kato <katoronald(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Ronald Kato <katoronald(a)gmail.com> Subject: [i-network] Internet IP Addresses running out? To: "I-Network Uganda" <i-network(a)dgroups.org> Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010, 1:44 PM Yes it it is true that IPv4 addresses are getting depleted so fast but steps are being taken to embrace IPv6 and this is through emerging technologies being able to support IPv6. Right from new new laptops and other network devices to new versions of applications and operating systems, they are all now built to support IPv6. It is up to the ISP,government and all relevant bodies to inform the public about the need to adopt IPv6. Many are still are still unaware about the existence of IPv6 let alone how it is used and assigned. Lastly, with IPv4 to IPv6 tunneling, we will have both addressing schemes able to communicate with one another. Ronald, you shouldn't worry as steps have already been taken to cover the IPv4 depletion. R Ronald On Sun, Dec 5, 2010 at 10:18 AM, Fred Bbaale <bbaale(a)gmail.com> wrote: James, Augment yr reasoning. It would be self defeating for you to just wish away the problem. Fred. On 12/5/10, James Wire <lunghabo(a)gmail.com> wrote: > Ronald > > I consider that FUD (Fear Uncertainty and Doubt). It is the same scare > tactics that were used by large IT corporates to make money when the > countdown to the year 2000 started in the last decade. Alot was blown > out of proportion and when the Y2k arrived, everything passed incident > free. I am sure Eng Elisha who has the head of the Ugandan Y2k task > force can agree with me on this. > > Wire > > > On Sun, 2010-12-05 at 07:41 +0100, Ronald Wejuli wrote: > >> Hi Folks >> >> ARIN has stated that Internet IP addresses are at critical levels. The >> numbers are shockingly low and ARIN has stated that there is only >> 2.73% left out of the millions of IP addresses currently in use. >> >> http://www.potaroo.net/tools/ipv4/index.html >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv4_address_exhaustion >> >> With so little IPv4 address space left in the global free pool, ARIN >> continues to emphasize the need for all Internet stakeholders to adopt >> the next generation of Internet Protocol, IPv6. However, with slow >> IPv6 adoption rates amongst ISPs and private industries, we may run >> into a serious problem next year if the remaining IP addresses are >> depleted. >> >> >> RW >> >> >> >> Visit the I-Network website - www.i-network.or.ug Follow I-Network on >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/inetwork The I-Network Dgroup is a >> platform for ICT Knowledge Sharing >> >> >> ______________________________________________________________________ >> >> Visit web site >> 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. >> > > **************************** > Wire James > ICT Consultant and Strategist - Specialist on African ICT & FOSS > Blog: http://www.computerworlduganda.com/blogs/wire-james > Making IT work for you > > > > > > ________________________ > Visit the I-Network website - www.i-network.or.ug > Follow I-Network on Twitter: http://twitter.com/inetwork > The I-Network Dgroup is a platform for ICT Knowledge Sharing > > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit [web site]( http://d2.dgroups.org/iicd/i-network/ ) > Click [here]( mailto:leave.i-network@dgroups.org ) 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. > > > > > > -- Sent from my mobile device Fred Bbaale eLAAB Limited +256772499474 bbaale(a)elaab-systems.com http://www.elaab-systems.com http://solutions.oracle.com/partners/elaab ________________________ Visit the I-Network website - www.i-network.or.ug Follow I-Network on Twitter: http://twitter.com/inetwork The I-Network Dgroup is a platform for ICT Knowledge Sharing --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Visit [web site]( http://d2.dgroups.org/iicd/i-network/ ) Click [here]( mailto:leave.i-network@dgroups.org ) 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. Visit the I-Network website - www.i-network.or.ug Follow I-Network on Twitter: http://twitter.com/inetwork The I-Network Dgroup is a platform for ICT Knowledge Sharing Visit web site 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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