October 2012 - KICTANet

Abuse of KICTANET forum by Biz.Daily journalist
by Ory Okolloh 12 Oct '12

12 Oct '12

Dear listers, A friend in Nairobi just emailed me this print article (attached) in the Biz Daily paper where my comments on the ETNO proposal last week are featured as the "blog of the week" and my personal email address included as the "title of the blog" This is an outrageous abuse of this forum where the discussion is often open and insightful - do people now have to worry that their comments on Kictanet will be passed off as an article somewhere? *vexed* Ory *I try to keep my emails short and to the point: http://emailcharter.org/*

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Re: [kictanet] Making Sense of our development
by Paul Roy Owino 11 Oct '12

11 Oct '12

Thank you daktari for raising this concern...indeed its an eye sore when flying over the lake and little of the lake is actually visible. Infact some tourist recently commented on a beautiful golf course... I wonder who to blame in this scenario ...should it be our leaders who are trigger happy to sing the donor tunes or the citizens who vote them in. Regardless of which one, something needs to be done to save our livelihood and protect our environment. We do not need donor aid for this, just a change of mindset and goodwill from the government. Paul Roy Sent from my Windows Phone From: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke Sent: 10/11/2012 8:42 PM To: Paul Roy Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Making Sense of our development Listers, I very much know that my post today is not directly ICT but its implications have a great bearing on the decisions we make about our future development in ICT. Page 19 of the Star of Thursday, October 11th, carried a story on Water Hyacinth titled Water hyacinth project threatened by court order. This is apparently a donor funded project in its phase two under Lake Victoria Environmental Management Project (LVEMP). LVEMP II is an eight-year US$254 million (Ksh. 2.1 billion) old regional project being implemented in the five East African Community partner states says the article. Objectives of the project include: improving collaborative management of trans-boundary natural resources of Lake Victoria basin as well as reduce environmental stress in the targeted pollution hotspots and selected degraded sub-catchment areas as a way of improving the livelihoods of communities who depend on the lake basins resources. One will hope that the project is supposed to physically remove water hyacinth from the lake to enable the people access the resources from the lake. However, in the past eight years the spread of this water menace has more than tripled and this is what prompted me we to re-examine the objectives as stated. If these objectives were to be re-stated in simplified English, the real meaning could be to help citizens of East Africa understand how to collaborate and manage their resources as well as reduce their stress. The project therefore has nothing to do with water hyacinth and hence the reason why the people are fighting over it. If the donor language were to be simpler, they would have thought about project sustainability in which case we did not need all the resources that is at the disposal of the fighting citizens. In my view we needed only US$50 (US$10 million for each country) to set up an organic fertilizer factory. Hyacinth has been found to be a good ingredient for organic fertilizer. Just recently I wrote a blog how soil nutrients have been depleted in densely populated districts with excessive land sub-divisions. Studies also show productivity levels dropping significantly that our food security and safety is at its worst threat. Further, chemical fertilizer may be poisoning our ground water and may be likely the cause of increased cancer cases in the region. There is greater urgency than ever before that we exploit every opportunity for developing organic fertilizer like hyacinth that would improve on productivity, ensure sustainable development and reduce its impact on our water resources. Our problems would only be solved by us and as such foreign interventions will not always be a universal remedy to our predicament. Ndemo. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/roykoikai%40gmail.com The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

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Fw: [Itu2012chapters] ETNO Twitter Storm with Hamadoun Toure on October 10
by otieno.barrack＠gmail.com 11 Oct '12

11 Oct '12

Sent from my BlackBerry® -----Original Message----- From: "peter(a)hellmonds.net" <peter(a)hellmonds.net> Sender: itu2012chapters-bounces(a)elists.isoc.org Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2012 09:59:15 To: Sally Wentworth<wentworth(a)isoc.org> Cc: itu2012chapters(a)elists.isoc.org<itu2012chapters(a)elists.isoc.org> Subject: Re: [Itu2012chapters] ETNO Twitter Storm with Hamadoun Toure on October 10 Hi Sally, You could be right in your assessment that some of the pieces of the ETNO proposal could survive. I find troublesome only this section from the African Union meeting: "Regulatory measures may be imposed in case that this cannot be achieved through commercial arrangements and to the extent that such measures do not hinder competition." However, this is merely stating the obvious, i.e. that regulators may impose regulations. Let us recall the key points of the ETNO proposal and see how they fare: a) Sending Party Network Pays: * No chance for survival b) Prevent national governments from mandating network neutrality * governments will not accede to an international treaty limiting their choices in this respect c) allow commercial agreements on QoS based charging * no need to put this into an international treaty as the right to conclude commercial agreements already exists and nothing in the existing ITRs prevents anyone from doing so today d) help telco operators with their broadband investment issues * this issue needs to be addresses to national and regional regulators and does not need to be in an international treaty. Did I miss anything? Do I misinterpret the situation? Best regards, Peter H. Hellmonds Public & International Affairs Phone: +49 (160) 360-2852 E-Mail: peter.hellmonds(a)hellmonds.eu On 09.10.2012, at 01:07, "Sally Wentworth" <wentworth(a)isoc.org> wrote: > competition. _______________________________________________ To manage your ISOC subscriptions or unsubscribe, please log into the ISOC Member Portal: https://portal.isoc.org/ Then choose Interests & Subscriptions from the My Account menu.

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Re: [kictanet] Abuse of KICTANET forum by Biz.Daily journalist
by Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) 11 Oct '12

11 Oct '12

Ory, Steve, There is usually a line at the bottom of the columnette stating that those are personal views... etc. In light of the fact that the owners may not be aware that their stories/blogs have been published, then there should be better attribution. I hope someone from Nation Media Group/Business Daily is reading this thread.... On 11/10/2012, Steve Muchai <smuchai(a)gmail.com> wrote: > On Thu, Oct 11, 2012 at 12:22 PM, Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) > <nmutungu(a)gmail.com> wrote: > [....] > >> Seems like a collection of stories from the public domain.... > > Then it should be attributed as such, the way it's been done it looks > like Ory contributed it. I haven't seen the print version but from the > online version there's nothing to put Ory's sentiments into context. > In my opinion this piece, without the rest of the information to > complete the picture, is as useless as the "ay" in okay. > > I agree with Ory. > > Regards, > Steve > -- Grace L.N. Mutung'u (Bomu) Kenya Skype: gracebomu Twitter: @Bomu Website: http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu

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Fwd: [Itu2012chapters] ENDitorial: The ETNO's WCIT proposals are not as bad as some say
by Barrack Otieno 11 Oct '12

11 Oct '12

Listers, And the plot thickens i would be keen to hear the perspective of various stakeholders, Ali, Walu, Alice, Omo, Dr Ndemo is it really that bad? i understand that we support it in some quarters :-) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Veni Markovski <veni(a)veni.com> Date: Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 11:50 PM Subject: [Itu2012chapters] ENDitorial: The ETNO's WCIT proposals are not as bad as some say To: "itu2012chapters(a)elists.isoc.org" <itu2012chapters(a)elists.isoc.org> ENDitorial: The ETNO's WCIT proposals are not as bad as some say http://www.edri.org/edrigram/number10.19/wcit-etno-proposals-not-so-bad best, veni _______________________________________________ To manage your ISOC subscriptions or unsubscribe, please log into the ISOC Member Portal: https://portal.isoc.org/ Then choose Interests & Subscriptions from the My Account menu. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/

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Kenya elected to top UN positition
by Wambua, Christopher 11 Oct '12

11 Oct '12

Listers, KENYAN WINS TOP UN POSITION A Kenyan was today elected Director General of the Universal Postal Union, a United Nations body responsible for the development of postal business in the world. Amb. Bishir Hussein becomes the highest placed Kenyan in the UN system. He is the first Kenyan to head a United Nations body. He will serve for a period of four years. In an election held in Doha, Qatar, Amb. Hussein beat his sole challenger for the post, Dr. Serrena Bassini Casco, from Uruguay, by 87 votes to her 72 to claim the coveted post. The position of Deputy Director General went to Mr. Pascal-Thierry Clivers of Switzerland, who beat Mr. Denis Delehanty of the United States of America. Amb. Hussein is a former Postmaster General of the Postal Corporation of Kenya. He has also served as Kenya's ambassador to Abu Dhabi. Before his election today, Amb. Hussein had been serving as chairman of the Council of Administration of the UPU. He was elected to the post in 2008. Kenya's high powered delegation to the 25th UPU Congress that culminated into the election was led by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka. It included Information and Communications Minister Samuel Poghisio, CCK Chairman, Mr. Ben Gituku, CCK Director General, Mr. Francis Wangusi, Postal Corporation of Kenya Chairman Cyrus Maina and PCK Postmaster General, Dr. Enock Kinara, among others. At the same time Kenya was also elected to serve in the Postal Operations Council of the UPU for a period of four years. Christopher Wambua Manager/Communications Consumer and Public Affairs Division Communications Commission of Kenya P.O. Box 14448, NAIROBI 00800 KENYA

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Re: [kictanet] CCK issues press statement on Mobile Termination Rates
by wambua＠cck.go.ke 10 Oct '12

10 Oct '12

Emmanuel We are still at KES 2.21. Sent from my BlackBerry® -----Original Message----- From: Emmanuel Khisa <oloo.khisa(a)googlemail.com> Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:05:12 To: Wambua, Christopher<Wambua(a)cck.go.ke> Cc: <oloo.khisa(a)gmail.com>; Consumer and Public Affairs<CPA(a)cck.go.ke>; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>; kictanet<kictanet-bounces+otieno.barrack=gmail.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] CCK issues press statement on Mobile Termination Rates Thanks Charles for your release and the openness expressed. Considering the glide path mentioned, is it possible to help us appreciate whether the July 2012 MTR rates of 1.44 are already applicable or whether you have continued with the freeze from July 2011 at 2.21? Regards On Wed, Oct 10, 2012 at 5:49 PM, Wambua, Christopher <Wambua(a)cck.go.ke>wrote: > Barrack > > You are most welcome. > > Best regards > > -----Original Message----- > From: otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com [mailto:otieno.barrack@gmail.com] > Sent: Wednesday, October 10, 2012 5:30 PM > To: Wambua, Christopher; kictanet > Cc: Consumer and Public Affairs; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions > Subject: Re: [kictanet] CCK issues press statement on Mobile Termination > Rates > > Thank you Wambua it is refreshing to see the regulator on his toes , > exciting times indeed seems like vision 2030 is not far should we > maintain this spirit , proudly Kenyan :-) > Sent from my BlackBerry(r) > > -----Original Message----- > From: "Wambua, Christopher" <Wambua(a)cck.go.ke> > Sender: "kictanet" > <kictanet-bounces+otieno.barrack=gmail.com(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>Date: > Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:52:41 > To: <otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com> > Cc: Consumer and Public Affairs<CPA(a)cck.go.ke>; KICTAnet ICT Policy > Discussions<kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Subject: [kictanet] CCK issues press statement on Mobile Termination > Rates > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/otieno.barrack%40g > mail.com<https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/otieno.barrack%40gmai…> > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and > development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and > bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect > privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/oloo.khisa%40gmail.com > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > -- ‎"Service to Mankind is the greatest form of service"... * Oloo Khisa P.O. Box 24324-00100 Nairobi 0721321086/0731849128 http://ke.linkedin.com/in/olookhisa*

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Intermediary Liability Study - Great demonstration of leadership
by Barrack Otieno 10 Oct '12

10 Oct '12

Listers, I attended the above mentioned meeting and was humbled by the passion demonstrated by Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Paul Kukubo and the new CCK Director General Francis Wangusi given time and space Kenya will certainly be a model on the continent i am sure those present will attest to this many thanks to Alice, GG and Fiona for making it happen it certainly was a stimulating discussion that emphasised on the need for Multistakeholderism in moving the ICT sector forwad, looking forwad to a record of the proceedings from the organisers. Best Regards -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/

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CCK issues press statement on Mobile Termination Rates
by Wambua, Christopher 10 Oct '12

10 Oct '12

Listers, PRESS STATEMENT 10th October 2012 NEWS EDITOR RE: PRESS STATEMENT ON MOBILE TERMINATION RATES The attention of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has been drawn to reports and commentaries in some sections of the media appearing to suggest that the CCK Board has been unable to make a decision on the way forward on the implementation of the glide path on the Mobile Termination Rates (MTRs). The said reports further suggest that the CCK is hostage and beholden to certain political and business interests, thus casting aspersions on the ability of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), as presently constituted, to effectively regulate the fast-growing ICT sector. The reports have elicited disquiet in the local ICT market, and therefore merit a response. Contrary to the said reports, the CCK Board and management are, and have always been committed to promoting a conducive regulatory environment for effective competition in the ICT industry in Kenya. This commitment explains why there is hardly any market segment in the entire communications sector today where competition does not exist. We appreciate that one of the key drivers of competition in any mobile telecommunications market is the regulation of interconnection. Interconnection serves as a critical public policy tool for the proper functioning of a competitive communications market. It is out of this understanding that the CCK commenced regulation of interconnection in 1999 following the licensing of two additional mobile operators - namely Essar Telecoms Kenya and Orange Telecoms. Indeed, the local communications market witnessed significant market developments in the period between 2007 and 2010. Over and above the entry of two new operators, other notable developments that took place in this period included the introduction of the Unified Licensing Framework (ULF), landing of three undersea cables and the roll out of terrestrial optic cables, and tremendous growth in both subscriber numbers and call and data volumes. In order to capture these developments and also include new and up-to-date data in the network cost modeling, CCK undertook a detailed and consultative review of the Network Cost Study in 2010 with the objective of developing a new interconnection framework that promotes competition, operational efficiency of the firms and further growth of the sector through continued investments and innovations. Following the review, CCK issued the Determination No.2 on Interconnection Rates for Fixed and Mobile Telecommunications Networks; Infrastructure Sharing and Co-location; and Broadband Interconnection Services on 16th August 2010. The Determination was to operate from 1st July 2010 to 30th June 2013. Furthermore, the Determination was updated on 30th December 2010 to include Short Message Service (SMS) Termination Rates effective from 1st January 2011 to 30th June 2013. According to this determination, the glide path for Mobile Termination Rates was to proceed as follows: 1. Call Mobile Termination Prices Nominal KES. 1st July 2010 1st July 2011 1st July 2012 1st July 2013 Mobile Termination 2.21 1.44 1.15 0.99 Following the issuance of the Determination No.2 of 2010, retail price competition in the mobile voice services intensified with actual retail off-net call prices falling from a high of KES 12 per Minute in August 2010 to between KES 5 and 3 per Minute currently. In addition, on-net call retail tariffs dropped significantly from a high of KES 8 per Minute to KES 3 per Minute over the same period. The industry also witnessed a significant growth in the number of promotions and special offers as the operators sought to attract and retain subscribers. Moreover, mobile operators also intensified efforts to generate new revenue streams from non-traditional services such as SMS based applications, Internet offerings and mobile money transfer services through cutting edge innovations. In addition, important industry demographics such as mobile subscription and penetration levels improved significantly during the period. Despite these positive signals in the market, some sections of the mobile telecoms industry and some government agencies raised concerns that the ensuing retail price competition arising from the reduction in mobile termination (wholesale) prices was detrimental to the continued growth of the sector and the economy. In particular, concern was raised that the retail price competition in the mobile voice market would adversely affect Government Tax Revenues, stability of the stock market, the Government's macro economic agenda on employment and investments; and the profitability and viability of telecommunication enterprises. The CCK Board considered these issues and at its Meeting held on 20th May 2011 decided to freeze the mobile and fixed termination rate for year 2010/2011 for a further one year as the Commission evaluated the veracity of the issues raised by stakeholders. Consequently, on 8th June 2011, the Commission issued Addendum No.2 to the Determination No.2 of 2010 revising the mobile and fixed termination rates and the attendant glide path as follows: 1. Call Mobile Termination Prices Nominal KES. 1st July 2010 1st July 2011 1st July 2012 1st July 2013 1st July 2014 Mobile Termination 2.21 2.21 1.44 1.15 0.99 CCK has since contracted the services of a consultant to undertake a study on the impact of the ensuing competition in the retail mobile voice market on the Government Tax Revenues, stability of the stock market, Government macro-economic agenda on employment and investments; and the profitability and viability of telecommunication enterprises. The consultant has submitted an inception report and is due to present the interim report to the CCK Management and Board soon. I wish to assure the mobile telecoms industry, consumers of ICT services and other stakeholders that CCK shall make a decision on the MTR as soon as we receive the final report from the contracted consultant. Our decision shall be fair and in the wider interest of consumers and mobile telecoms industry, and without influence from any quarter. I also wish to take note of the ongoing discussions on the need to align our current legal framework - that is the Kenya Information and Communications Act, CAP 411A - with the requirements of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. The overriding goal of the alignment is to further insulate CCK from commercial and political interests. We appreciate that the rule and law-making responsibility in the sector falls within the remit of the Office of the Minister for Information and Communications. CCK, as an important stakeholder in this process, has already given its input on this ongoing process. CCK is fully in support of this process, and it is our hope that the debate shall be healthy and balanced and in the wider good of the ICT sector. We are confident that the Ministry of Information and Communications shall midwife this process successfully. Issued by: Francis W. Wangusi DIRECTOR-GENERAL

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Move Toward New Pan-African IP Organisation Alarms Observers
by Du Toit, Jaco 10 Oct '12

10 Oct '12

A seemingly remote African Union proposal to create a Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization appears to have gained momentum and will come before African science and technology ministers for review in early November, according to sources. A copy of the final draft statutes shows how the new body would operate, and for some observers, how it would elevate African IP standards well above current levels, with "disastrous consequences" for access, development, and human rights. This might be of interest to Kictanet members, see http://www.ip-watch.org/2012/09/27/move-toward-new-pan-african-ip-organi sation-alarms-observers/?utm_source=weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign =alerts ------------------------------------------------- Jaco DU TOIT Adviser for Communication & Information UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa United Nations Avenue, UNON, Gigiri (Room C-104) P.O. Box 30592-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 (0)20 762 2346/2566 Fax +254 (0)20 762 2750 Mobile: +254 (0)728 610 912 Email:j.dutoit@unesco.org, Website: http://www.unesco-nairobi.org

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