April 2011 - KICTANet

Poll - Whose DNS Server do you use?
by Michuki Mwangi 07 Apr '11

07 Apr '11

Hi Lister, <Apologies for cross posting.> Am interested to see whose DNS Servers (caching resolvers) most users in Kenya use. If you have a spare minute (dont have to give your full names/etc) i would like to do this poll and results will be posted here for further discussions. Please poll here. http://www.doodle.com/bhths656kvkanfwk Note: you can only give one Answer its less likely that one uses both at the same time. If you do, list the primary one. Thanks and regards, Michuki.

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Georgian woman cuts off web access to whole of Armenia
by Michuki Mwangi 07 Apr '11

07 Apr '11

Not only in Kenya ... http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/06/georgian-woman-cuts-web-access Regards, Michuki.

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Re: [kictanet] [i-network] Kenya Oyeeeeeeee- Number Portability
by Walubengo J 07 Apr '11

07 Apr '11

@ Wire, yes, Kenya made the move to number portability on 1st april 2011 (fools day?). Unfortunately the uptake has been poor (only about 400 users have ported accross to other networks todate - 6days later). I had argued earlier in Kenyan lists that Number portability was needed 5yrs ago - when mobile providers only had more or else a single service -voice service on their networks. Today moving away from say Safcom means leaving behind multiple services - most notably MPESA. Ofcourse every provider has their MPESA equivalent but it just is not as widely available (limited agents across the country) and they lack the '1st mover' advantages enjoyed by the bigger player. So in short, number portably is good - But ONLY when you effect it at the right time. Which for Kenya this was about 5yrs ago - before mobile operators became what they are today - a mixture of a bank, an ISP, a payment geteway amongst others things. walu. --- On Wed, 4/6/11, Gwoke Joachim <jowor2002(a)yahoo.com> wrote: From: Gwoke Joachim <jowor2002(a)yahoo.com> Subject: [i-network] Kenya Oyeeeeeeee- Number Portability To: "I-Network Uganda" <i-network(a)dgroups.org> Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2011, 10:00 AM --- On Tue, 4/5/11, James Wire <lunghabo(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: James Wire <lunghabo(a)gmail.com> Subject: [i-network] Kenya Oyeeeeeeee- Number Portability To: "I-Network Uganda" <i-network(a)dgroups.org> Date: Tuesday, April 5, 2011, 1:16 AM Kenya has the led the way and they deserve a pat on the back. That sets the bar or our local telecoms industry too and I am certain that it is just a matter of time before we follow suit in .ug. As the saying goes ' If you dont change, change will change you'. Wire There is always a way to convince the powers that be about the 'security' angle of number portability. Isn't it easier to peg an individual to a number when there is number portability? regards Joachim ________________________ 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.

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Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Business Support - Frustrations
by Odhiambo Washington 07 Apr '11

07 Apr '11

@Terry, Someone from Safaricom has called me to inform me that they are having problems with Fiber links from JTL ... like all of them. I wonder what that has to do with calls to 2222 not being answered, and are directed to their IVR - telling me about data access using my phone, when I have problems with WiMAX. Safaricom know how to send me Invoices for my WiMAX links via e-mail, and even to call me regarding the same, but cannot notify me by mail/sms about outages. Then they go ahead to direct support calls to IVR! It's a shame for a company that boasts the largest profits in this country of a few millionaires and millions of beggars. On Thu, Apr 7, 2011 at 09:42, <terry(a)tealictafrica.com> wrote: > > Second this. (VENT!!!!) > > Frustration!!! not even their landlines are being answered... been trying > since Tuesday they've all gone unanswered. > > > > > > On Thu, 7 Apr 2011 09:15:48 +0300, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo(a)gmail.com> > wrote: > >> This company called Safaricom - I wonder where it is headed. >> >> More often than not, calling Safaricom Business Support number - 0722 >> 002222 - ends up on the Safaricom IVR, which plays to you one message >> over and over, like it is doing now! >> >> More often than not, M-Pesa service always experiences delays. >> >> Who will save us from the claws of this tiger? >> >> Maybe I should record all this and send it to CCK. >> > > -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Damn!!

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Safaricom Business Support - Frustrations
by Odhiambo Washington 07 Apr '11

07 Apr '11

<Vent> This company called Safaricom - I wonder where it is headed. More often than not, calling Safaricom Business Support number - 0722 002222 - ends up on the Safaricom IVR, which plays to you one message over and over, like it is doing now! More often than not, M-Pesa service always experiences delays. Who will save us from the claws of this tiger? Maybe I should record all this and send it to CCK. </Vent> -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Damn!!

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Local hosting - Universities
by robert yawe 07 Apr '11

07 Apr '11

Hi, For some strange reason yesterday I decided to check where the web site for University of Nairobi was was being hosted and shock off all shocks I traced its home to somewhere in the State of Columbia in the US of A. (http://whatismyipaddress.com/ip/207.58.152.134) Our institutions of higher learning such as the universities especially when they are offering advanced degrees in ICTs should at the least be able to host their websites. This is a very concerning issue as it now becomes clear why we are producing graduates who are out of touch with the real world. My beer my Country, my website not in my country. Regards C:\>tracert uonbi.ac.ke Tracing route to uonbi.ac.ke [207.58.152.134] over a maximum of 30 hops: 1 * * * Request timed out. 2 * * * Request timed out. 3 290 ms 91 ms 725 ms 10.1.5.1 4 886 ms 185 ms 544 ms ge-3-3-0-core-as12455.orange.co.ke [62.24.98.201 ] 5 560 ms 53 ms 31 ms g-3-3-0-core-as12455.telkom.co.ke [62.24.96.22] 6 112 ms 159 ms 211 ms g-3-3-0-core-as12455.telkom.co.ke [62.24.96.17] 7 642 ms 1079 ms 241 ms 81.52.179.53 8 1207 ms 1520 ms 595 ms tengige1-0-0-1.pastr1.Paris.opentransit.net [193 .251.132.122] 9 1007 ms 570 ms 202 ms te3-3.parse1.Paris.opentransit.net [193.251.128. 78] 10 1364 ms 1651 ms 1704 ms ge-11-2-3.mpr1.cdg11.fr.above.net [64.125.12.201 ] 11 288 ms 235 ms 363 ms xe-3-1-0.mpr1.lhr2.uk.above.net [64.125.24.1] 12 365 ms 287 ms 285 ms so-0-1-0.mpr1.dca2.us.above.net [64.125.27.57] 13 287 ms 287 ms 286 ms xe-1-3-0.cr1.dca2.us.above.net [64.125.29.21] 14 363 ms 386 ms 373 ms xe-0-0-0.cr2.dca2.us.above.net [64.125.28.242] 15 355 ms 355 ms 352 ms xe-1-1-0.er2.dca2.us.above.net [64.125.26.178] 16 357 ms 358 ms 352 ms 64.125.195.222.t00883-02.above.net [64.125.195.2 22] 17 297 ms 296 ms 295 ms sc-smv2950.servint.net [216.22.28.30] 18 295 ms 296 ms 293 ms vps.bongoafrika.com [207.58.152.134] Trace complete. 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] Digital Villages - F2F with Ndemo
by eonchari＠lynxbits.com 06 Apr '11

06 Apr '11

Hi Yawe, I needed clarifications on the following:. How sustainable is this project? Are there plans for government to outsource some work to the DVs, and how is this going to work? is there a continuous training program for the DVs to keep abreast with technology changes? Edwin ----- Original Message ----- From: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.ukTo: eonchari(a)lynxbits.com Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: 3/31/11 8:29 AM Subject: [kictanet] Digital Villages - F2F with Ndemo Hi All, Know that the heat has cooled down on the issue of who will be attending the session on the 6th of April with the PS Dr. Ndemo we need to move forward. To make sure that we have a fruitful interaction I would to request all those who confirmed their attendance and any other listers to send me a list of issues they would like discussed with the PS. The main agenda for the meeting will be to get a presentation by the PS on the digital village project and then to come up with a strategy on how we can provide our input to the project. We shall also need to have a volunteer for repertoire to capture the discussions and produce a report that can be shared with the larger membership. 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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Africa banking on mobile to be first post-PC continent
by alice＠apc.org 06 Apr '11

06 Apr '11

Africa banking on mobile to be first post-PC continent Projects driving online penetration are focused more on mobile devices than on PCs Rebecca Wanjiku 06 April, 2011 02:13 A convergence of historical circumstance and an increase in innovative mobile applications may make Africa the first post-PC continent. Low investment in wired telecommunication infrastructure has driven increased mobile penetration, creating a user base that supports a rise in mobile innovation and increased interest in content development, according to observers. Meanwhile, as global tech giants such as Intel, Nokia, Samsung, Google and Microsoft work on projects that aim to bring more people online, their focus is more on mobile devices and less on PC-based access to the Internet. Poor telecoms infrastructure to homes and rural areas has meant that many people access PCs in their offices and use mobile handsets at home. Improved battery power has also allowed people to access resources that they would normally access on PC. "Most African countries are haunted by poor network infrastructure, which makes fixed line communication extremely unreliable (in the few places where it's actually available); this gave rise to vast and rapid adoption of mobile handsets on the continent," said Pieter Kok, Research Manager for Software and IT Services at IDC South Africa. IDC projects that the number of PC shipment to the region will rise, but not as quickly as smartphones and tablets, which are expected to experience steady growth. IDC estimates that in South Africa, 800,000 PCs were shipped in 2010 and the number is expected to decline by about four percent annually to reach 650,000 by 2015. Meanwhile, 1.3 million handsets were shipped in 2010 and that rate is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nine percent to reach 2 million annually by 2015. In the rest of Africa, prospects are brighter for PCs. IDC estimates that 3.7 million PCs were shipped in 2010 and annual shipments will rise to 6.9 million 2015 -- a 13 percent CAGR. Still, the number of smartphones shipped is expected to rise at a higher rate. In Nigeria, IDC projections show that 1.5 million smartphones and 17.2 million feature phones will be shipped in 2011. By 2015, both markets are expected to grow, reaching, respectively, 3.2 million and 21.3 million units shipped. For smartphones, that's a CAGR of 21.7 percent. Nigeria is Africa's largest mobile market, after recently overtaking South Africa. Considering the lack of legacy infrastructure, more companies are now demanding innovation around mobile phones, because they are considered more accessible by consumers in the mass market. Businesses are now starting to take advantage of mobile growth, while the informal sector is also growing and providing services enabled by mobile technology. "In a region where micro-entrepreneurship is a massive phenomenon, covering 90 percent of the employment base and 65 percent of the continental GDP, increased use of the mobile phone and services is fast becoming critical for development of African economies. Research indicates that in a typical sub-Saharan African country, a 10 percent increase in mobile penetration results to a corresponding 0.8 percent GDP growth," said Woon Peng, Nokia Head of Services in Middle East and Africa, speaking at the Innovation Africa Digital Summit in Mombasa two weeks ago. Nokia is already working with developers in several African countries and Peng feels that Nokia's next big growth opportunity is to go beyond bringing affordable voice and SMS to delivering affordable web and applications. "Rural populations live their lives largely outside of the reach of high quality services; through solutions like Nokia Data Gathering, we are already supporting field workers to collect, send and receive information quickly and securely via a mobile phone helping circumvent infrastructural challenges and speed up data collections needs in sectors such as health, agriculture, environmental conservation, population census and emergency services," added Peng, in a press release sent after her speech. According to a study released last week by TNS RMS research, a higher percentage of residents in East Africa use mobile handsets than PCs to access the Internet, listen to music, play games, download content and engage with social networks. "In Kenya, 64 percent of users listen to digital music via mobile phones while 24 percent access via PCs, 45 percent prefer to chat via mobile and 25 percent use PCs; in Uganda, 48 percent listen to music via mobile while 26 percent use PCs and 40 percent chat via mobile compared to 23 percent who prefer PC," said Melissa Baker, CEO of TNS RMS East Africa. While the cost of mobile handsets has fallen over the years, the cost of tablets is still considered high, even though manufacturers such as Samsung are partnering with governments to provide educational content via tablets. "The secondary school curriculum digitalization process is about 70 percent complete; Form 1 and 2 curricula and part of form 3, are already done and available to teachers on DVD for the 11 subjects taught," said Patricia King'ori, Samsung East Africa General Manager. Teachers and students are expected to use Samsung tablets, which retail for $570 but are likely to be subsidized for the education sector. The project is part of Samsung's research and development efforts. While tablets are considered attractive because of the bigger screen and high battery capability, they are still considered too expensive for most users. http://www.techworld.com.au/article/382234/africa_banking_mobile_first_post…

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FW: Article airing concerns over content aired by FM Radio stations
by Edith Adera 04 Apr '11

04 Apr '11

Listers, This article - see attached - was sent my way and I thought I should share it in this forum as it touches on Content regulation. CCK is challenged in the article - not sure if anything by CCK or the media council is being done. What happened with Content regulation? I heard Dr Ndemo being mentioned on radio over content regulation this weekend, but note sure how far implementation has gone. Edith

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Re: [kictanet] Number Portability - Baptism of fire
by eonchari＠lynxbits.com 04 Apr '11

04 Apr '11

..or it could be that Kenyans are just smart ----- Original Message ----- From: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.ukTo: eonchari(a)lynxbits.com Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: 4/4/11 1:30 AM Subject: [kictanet] Number Portability - Baptism of fire On the 1st of April when number portability became active I expected to see long lines at various providers customer service centres but shockingly there where none, at least not in the Nairobi CBD. We expected that there would be huge full and double page advertisements in the newspapers and scantily dressed girls and over dressed boys shoving fliers down our throats, so why hasn't it happened? Some of the offers made no sense and others might have had a negative effect, for example, Orange had a half page advertisement on a postpay offer yet when I called the listed number it went unanswered I then send an email to the address shown, it is 3 days later and I have had no response. The mistake Orange keep making is assuming that they are competing with the rest, they need to acknowledge that they are the underdog and behave accordingly. Safaricom can have a policy not to sell dual SIM phones but Orange do not have the luxury, they objective should be cannibalism. On Sunday I passed by Orange's new customer service centre at the Sarit Centre and was received with the usual cold reception, after spending a minutes working round the very small shop I walked over to talk to a staff member who was seated at a desk "texting" away on a phone oblivious to her surrounding to ask about the new postpay advert that was in the paper. As expected she had absolutely no clue of the advert or even the offer. So why is it that organisations have e-mail and intranets if information from the ivory tower is sent to the branches and floors below using Postal Mail (postive for PMG)? That is the problem with Orange and we do not really expect much better from them, but Safaricom needs to find its footing afresh as their product offerings and customer service is quickly becoming wanting. There reaction to the number portability issue seems to have missed the mark, they are concentrating on attracting new subscribers instead of trying to retain the existing ones. An associate of mine saw the N8 on offer and dragged me along as he applied for the new service, he is an existing postpay customer but because the offer is not available to existing postpay customers he had to cancel his existing contract to take up a new one so as to enjoy the phone offer.. I hope the exception report will be tabled at their Monday management meeting so that they can rethink the strategy. I was tempted to do the same but realised it was actually easier to just apply afresh which will resulting in Safaricom making the mistake of thinking that the offer had brought in a new subscriber yet it the the existing ones who are taking additional lines. Safcom will realise this when my bill next month for my main line drops by 90% and the difference in usage moves to the new number. Well as is confirmed yet again, Kenyans are peculiar. 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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