October 2015 - KICTANet

Airtel’s Sh2.1bn licence renewal fee splits CA board
by Mwendwa Kivuva 07 Oct '15

07 Oct '15

http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Airtel-Sh2-1bn-licence-re… Matters came to a head during the CA’s board meetings held on Monday and Tuesday last week after the Treasury and a number of non-executive board members insisted that Airtel must pay the Sh2.1 billion fee for the licence. Telecommunications firm Airtel’s quest to get its frequency licence renewed without paying the required Sh2.1 billion fee has split the Communication Authority Kenya (CA) board, adding a new dimension to the seven months battle to get Kenya’s second-largest operator on a firm footing in the market. Francis Wangusi, the CA director-general, sparked the controversy with a letter he wrote to the authority’s board advising withdrawal of a demand notice the authority had sent to Airtel asking for payment of the Sh2.1 billion fee. The advisory marked an about-turn by Mr Wangusi, who had previously insisted that Airtel pays Sh2.1 billion for a 10-year frequency spectrum licence following the expiry in February of the one it was awarded in 2000. Airtel paid a $55 million (Sh4.7 billion) fee for its initial 15-year licence. Matters came to a head during the CA’s board meetings held on Monday and Tuesday last week after the Treasury and a number of non-executive board members insisted that Airtel must pay the Sh2.1 billion fee for the licence. Mr Wangusi’s position is supported by CA chairman Ben Gituku and Joseph Tiampati, the principal secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication. Mr Wangusi reckons that the authority’s pursuit of the frequency spectrum fee from Airtel may expose the agency to court battles it stands a high chance of losing. This, he says, is because the authority did not include the settling of initial frequency spectrum licence fees in the conditions it set for Airtel when the telecoms operator was acquiring Essar Telecom’s properties. “Management is of the view that considering the events that have taken place thus so far based on the legal analysis, it would be more prudent to withdraw the demand for $20,025,000 from Airtel,” Mr Wangusi said in his note to the board. If adopted, Mr Wangusi’s advisory would deny the Treasury the Sh2.1 billion it was expecting from the deal at a time when the government is in dire need of cash to meet the ever rising expenditure demands. Safaricom <http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/stocks/-/1322440/1394278/-/shkse6/-/inde…> last year paid Sh2.3 billion to have its licence renewed — an amount that was pegged on the Sh2.3 billion yuMobile paid in 2003 to enter Kenya as the fourth mobile operator.

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I&M suspends online card transactions
by Ali Hussein 07 Oct '15

07 Oct '15

Listers Interesting story about the pitfalls of ECommerce payments. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/I-M-Bank-suspends-online-… As one of the few acquirers (The others are Barclays and KCB, soon to be followed by Chase Bank) this doesn't auger well for online card payments in the country. Fortunately for us we have other payment gateways we can use. I'm curious to know what impact this will have on eCommerce in the country. Anyone can share insights? Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 / 0770906375 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim Blog: www.alyhussein.com "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought". ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi Sent from my iPad

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Re: [kictanet] I&M suspends online card transactions
by Mark Kipyegon 07 Oct '15

07 Oct '15

Fair enough we really can't tell what is going on without access to more information. However as a client, this would not be a vote of confidence in my service provider. -- keybase.io/kipyegonmark > > On 7 Oct 2015, at 10:44, "Bernard Kioko" <bkioko(a)bernsoft.com> wrote: > >> Mark, >> >> Although I am not defending the position I am going to try reason.... >> >> Imagine is you have a service that genates say KES5m a month....over 3 >> months that's 15m... but then on month 4 you are hit by fraud worth 20m..... >> Just as an example. I don't actually know the details around the suspension. >> >> The risk might just be too high....which is a really sad thing for Kenya's >> ecommerce space. >> >> Regards >> >> Bernard >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: kictanet >> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+bkioko=bernsoft.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf >> Of Mark Kipyegon via kictanet >> Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2015 10:38 AM >> To: bkioko(a)bernsoft.com >> Cc: Mark Kipyegon >> Subject: [kictanet] I&M suspends online card transactions >> >> Is it a viable solution to suspend the service to paying customers? The risk >> cited in the article is not a new thing in that particular industry. >> >> -- >> keybase.io/kipyegonmark >> >> On 7 Oct 2015, at 09:41, kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote: >> >>> >>> >>> Listers >>> >>> Interesting story about the pitfalls of ECommerce payments. >>> >>> >> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/I-M-Bank-suspends-online-c >> ard-payments/-/539550/2901814/-/k38ilvz/-/index.html >>> >>> As one of the few acquirers (The others are Barclays and KCB, soon to be >> followed by Chase Bank) this doesn't auger well for online card payments in >> the country. >>> >>> Fortunately for us we have other payment gateways we can use. >>> >>> I'm curious to know what impact this will have on eCommerce in the >> country. Anyone can share insights? >>> >>>>

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Public Interest Registry Appoints Dorcas Muthoni to Enset's Board of Directors
by Grace Githaiga 06 Oct '15

06 Oct '15

Public Interest Registry — the not-for-profit manager of .org, .ngo and .ong — today announced the appointment of Dorcas Muthoni to the board of directors of nonprofit domain registrar Enset, a subsidiary organization. Muthoni, a member of the Internet Hall of Fame and CEO and founder of OPENWORLD LTD, will begin a two-year term as director this month.Muthoni is an accomplished entrepreneur and computer scientist whose leadership and technology advocacy has been recognized by groups including the Anita Borg Institute for Women, Women's Forum and the World Economic Forum. In addition to serving as an Internet Society Fellow to the Internet Engineering Task Force and World Bank infoDev Global Forum, Muthoni is the founder of AfChix, a mentorship and capacity building initiative for women in computing across Africa. http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/public-interest-registry-appoints-d…

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Globe-trotting CA executives pocket Sh307m in one year
by Watila Alex 06 Oct '15

06 Oct '15

Senior managers went on a travelling spree in pursuit of allowances, the report says, culminating to some officials staying out of their workplace for a total of seven months. Globe-trotting CA executives pocket Sh307m in one year | | | | | | | | | | | Globe-trotting CA executives pocket Sh307m in one yearSenior executives pocketed Sh307.2 million in tax-free travelling allowances in the year ended June 2015, underlining continued wastage of public funds. | | | | View on www.businessdailyafri... | Preview by Yahoo | | | | |

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Call for Volunteers for Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review Team
by Barrack Otieno 06 Oct '15

06 Oct '15

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Bob Omondi <omondibob(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, 5 Oct 2015 18:33:21 +0300 Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] Call for Volunteers for Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice Review Team To: AfrICANN list <africann(a)afrinic.net> Dear listers, ICANN has published a call for volunteers for community members to apply to serve on the Competition, Consumer Trust and Consumer Choice (CCT) Review Team. Representatives of the various supporting organizations and advisory committees, as well as independent experts are invited to apply Please read the Call for Volunteers and Apply Now here: https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2-2015-10-01-en Regards Bob. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/

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2015 Internet Governance Forum Ambassadors - Congratulations Kivuva and Bomu
by Barrack Otieno 05 Oct '15

05 Oct '15

Listers, Join me in congratulating Mwendwa Kivuva and Grace Bomu for being nominated as the 2015 Internet Society IGF Ambassadors. http://www.internetsociety.org/what-we-do/education-and-leadership-programm…, seems like a month of good tidings. Best Regards -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] ICANN Remote Hubs "Host" Terms and Conditions,
by Bob Omondi 05 Oct '15

05 Oct '15

FYI... Bob. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Franck DOSSOU <fdossou(a)gmail.com> Date: Mon, Oct 5, 2015 at 6:47 PM Subject: Re: [AfrICANN-discuss] ICANN Remote Hubs "Host" Terms and Conditions, To: AfrICANN Community List <africann(a)afrinic.net> Bien reçu Franck 2015-10-03 8:23 GMT+01:00 Yaovi Atohoun <yaovi.atohoun(a)icann.org>: > Dear all / Bonjour a tous > > ENGLISH: Please visit https://meetings.icann.org/en/remote-hub-host-terms > if you are interested to host a remote HUB for ICANN 54. The > application form will close on October 14th, 2015 > FRANCAIS: Priere visiter > https://meetings.icann.org/en/remote-hub-host-terms si vous souhaiter > abriter un HUB distant pour la reunion publique ICANN 54. Les conditions > sont disponibles en Francais a travers un un lien sur > https://meetings.icann.org/en/remote-hub-host-terms. La cloture des > demandes est pour le 14 Octobre 2015 > > > Merci > > - > Yaovi Atohoun > Stakeholder Engagement and Operations Manager – Africa > ICANN – www.icann.org > Mobile : +229 66015649 / 97891228 > > *Interested in the IANA Stewardship Transition? * > LEARN MORE <https://www.icann.org/stewardship-accountability>. STAY > UPDATED <https://www.icann.org/stewardship-accountability#status>. FOLLOW > <https://twitter.com/icann>. ENGAGE > <https://www.icann.org/stewardship-accountability#involved>. > > > > _______________________________________________ > AfrICANN mailing list > AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann > > _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Call for participation: Workshop on Internationalized Domains Names (IDNs) and african languages
by Mwendwa Kivuva 05 Oct '15

05 Oct '15

FYI ______________________ Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya "There are some men who lift the age they inhabit, till all men walk on higher ground in that lifetime." - Maxwell Anderson ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Yaovi Atohoun <yaovi.atohoun(a)icann.org> Date: 5 October 2015 at 16:14 Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] Call for participation: Workshop on Internationalized Domains Names (IDNs) and african languages To: AfrICANN Community List <africann(a)afrinic.net> Dear all, In the implementation of the Africa Strategy and with the support of the Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN) IDN program, a workshop on IDNs specifically in the context of African languages and script will take place on *November 26-27, 2015* in Pointe-Noire (Congo) prior to the AFRINIC-23 meeting. The main expected result from this workshop is to organize participation of the African community to contribute in the relevant script based work currently being undertaken to further promote Internationalized Domain Names in indigenous African scripts (e.g. Ethiopic) and through the use of Latin script for African languages. The workshop will introduce the IDN Program at ICANN and the work undergoing through the script based Generation Panels. The participants are expected to actively contribute to the discussions during the workshop and are also expected to volunteer for script based Generation Panels for Latin and additional set up to support scripts from Africa. Language experts, ccTLD managers, computer specialist and other interested community members interested in lDNs are welcome to attend. People interested to participate and contribute are requested to send an email to yaovi.atohoun(a)icann.org (with cc to pierre.dandjinou(a)icann.org) no later than October 15, 2015. Candidates should indicate if they are able to fund their participation. There is limited logistic support available for participation from ICANN. The support will be based on the following criteria: · Relevant qualifications and experience, · Confirmation that you will volunteer for a script based Panel (specify Latin or other script), · Extent of support needed (travel or accommodation logistics, or both; candidates with at least partial support will be given preference). Thanks - Yaovi Atohoun Stakeholder Engagement and Operations Manager – Africa ICANN – www.icann.org Mobile : +229 66015649 / 97891228 *Interested in the IANA Stewardship Transition? * LEARN MORE <https://www.icann.org/stewardship-accountability>. STAY UPDATED <https://www.icann.org/stewardship-accountability#status>. FOLLOW <https://twitter.com/icann>. ENGAGE <https://www.icann.org/stewardship-accountability#involved>. _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo/africann

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Airtel removes M-Pesa branding from agent shops
by Ali Hussein 05 Oct '15

05 Oct '15

Listers Apologies for cross posting. Interesting developments in the mobile money. Safaricom moves to court to compel Airtel to remove M-Pesa branding from its agents shops. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Airtel-removes-M-Pesa-bra… I'm curious. 1. Does Airtel own these agent shops? Or are they exclusive Airtel shops? If they are independent shops why sue Airtel? 2. Is Safaricom acting anti-competitively? Compelling mobile money agents who deal with competitor products to stop dealing with them? In other words is exclusivity something that passes muster in our commercial laws? 3. Whilst I have absolutely no problem with Safaricom protecting its brands I'm curious how this helps them in the long term except to continue perpetuating their 'Green Monster' badge in the face of the public. Us Kenyans have a love-hate relationship with Safaricom. We love Safaricom and hate it at the same time. This is an interesting conundrum for any brand. How to harness the negative and positive energies from customers to grow their brand equity. I hope someone at Safaricom is listening. On a related matter on the issue of dominance and abuse of market position:- Why do we need a consultant to tell us what is already obvious in the Telco sector? I think the regulator is throwing too much bureaucracy at an issue which can be resolved over a cup of tea with the various protagonists in the industry. Just saying.. Ali Hussein Principal Hussein & Associates +254 0713 601113 / 0770906375 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim Blog: www.alyhussein.com "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no one else has thought". ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi Sent from my iPad

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