January 2022 - KICTANet

Software for improved governance and reproducible science
by Benson Muite 11 Feb '22

11 Feb '22

FOSDEM'22 is an online conference this coming weekend. Some talks that may be interesting to listers are: The public code devroom: https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/public_code/ includes a talk on an open source governance platform, https://decidim.org/ which is used by the city of Barcelona. A similar platform https://consulproject.org/en originally developed for Madrid is also used in Mogadishu.' The legal and policies devroom https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/legal_and_policy_issues/ includes a talk on the proposed European Digital markets act. A related talk on Digital sovereignty https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/misc_europe/ The community devroom includes a talk on OpenScienceKE: https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/community_open_science/

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Safaricom battling pricing power with CA
by Mwendwa Kivuva 01 Feb '22

01 Feb '22

Safaricom has a huge pricing power in voice services, making it difficult for rivals Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya to compete with it, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) has said. The regulator made the disclosure in its response to a case filed by Safaricom at the Communications And Multimedia Appeals Tribunal seeking to stop CA from cutting the mobile termination rate (MTR) per minute to Sh0.12 from Sh0.99. MTRs are the charges levied by a mobile service provider on other telecommunications service providers for terminating calls on its network. Safaricom argues that the reduction of the charge, which was to take effect at the start of this year, ignores the cost of doing business in the telecommunications industry. The regulator responded by stating that the leading telco has the lowest cost of operations, allowing it to run promotions at prices below the MTR and which its rivals are not in a position to match. Safaricom’s leading market share has seen it charge its rivals more than it pays out to them, leaving it in a net profitable position. More ... https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/companies/safaricom-pricin…

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Software, policy and actions for improved governance and reproducible science
by Benson Muite 31 Jan '22

31 Jan '22

FOSDEM'22 is an online conference this coming weekend. Some talks that may be interesting to listers are: The public code devroom: https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/public_code/ includes a talk on an open source governance platform, https://decidim.org/ which is used by the city of Barcelona. A similar platform https://consulproject.org/en originally developed for Madrid is also used in Mogadishu.' The legal and policies devroom https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/track/legal_and_policy_issues/ includes a talk on the proposed European Digital markets act. A related talk on Digital sovereignty https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/misc_europe/ The community devroom includes a talk on OpenScienceKE: https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/community_open_science/

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Safaricom, Airtel spared paying customers for network outages
by Mwendwa Kivuva 29 Jan '22

29 Jan '22

Telecommunications operators have been left off the hook. The Kenya Information and Communication (Amendment) Bill required the telcos, including Safaricom, Airtel Kenya and Telkom Kenya, to compensate their callers Sh10 for every dropped call. Customers were to be compensated for a maximum of three dropped calls per day for up to Sh30. The Bill which was introduced in Parliament in 2020 lapsed this week. It was to compel mobile telephony firms to improve the quality and availability of calls on their networks. The proposed law aimed at shielding millions of mobile phone clients from poor services related to network outages, including lack of Internet connections. A Bill expires or lapses when MPs fail to debate it and it is not reviewed by a parliamentary committee one year after being tabled in the House. Callers are currently not compensated for call outages, a legal gap that has shielded telcos grappling with network hitches in different parts of the country. Read more ... https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/corporate/indus…

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Data Privacy Day: Reflections on Kenya’s Data Protection Laws
by nzambi kakusu 29 Jan '22

29 Jan '22

Today, 28 January marks the Data Privacy Day, which is of great significance for Kenya, coming almost three years since the enactment of the Data Protection Act, 2019. The day commemorates the right to data privacy and provides an opportunity to create awareness of the universal right to data privacy. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on the developments that have occurred locally in the past year, and consider what more could be done to realise the right. The journey <https://www.kictanet.or.ke/?mdocs-file=43918> to put in place a legal framework for the protection of the right to privacy traces back to 2009, when the first Data Protection Bill was published. The right to privacy was subsequently embedded in the Bill of Rights under article 31 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010. Notably, the constitution grants every person the right to privacy, which includes the right not to have: their person, home or property searched; their possessions seized; information relating to their family or private affairs unnecessarily required or revealed; or the privacy of their communications infringed. It took a decade after the first Data Protection Bill was published, for Kenya to enact the Data Protection Act in November 2019. The law provides an elaborate legal and institutional framework for the protection of the right to privacy and regulates the processing of personal data. More….. https://www.kictanet.or.ke/data-privacy-day-reflections-on-kenyas-data-prot… Regards, Nzambi -- *jNzambiKakusu*

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Re: [kictanet] KICTANet Digest, Vol 164, Issue 18
by Adrian Teri 22 Jan '22

22 Jan '22

Good day all, It's time to revisit the topic of net neutrality which in my opinion hasn't been quite fleshed out. ISPs in the early days, circa the '90s, had assumptions that today no longer hold true. From my reading, users were expected to do light tasks like check their email, surf the web and occasionally download some files. Well these assumptions have taken ~30 years to validate and they are being broken down! Reality today is that innovations have further pushed and strained the net. The "inter networks" is just a collection of networks and computers communicating with each other. In the early days, large orgs or corporations had mutual and voluntary agreements of peering into each other's networks where the value of the traffic was assumed at the end of day/month etc would be balanced between what a peer pushed through you and what you pushed through them. Fast forward to today, Content companies are the ones pushing all the bandwidth down and there is no reciprocity. What happens to switches and their buffers at the ISPs? They start to drop packets as they are being saturated/bogged down by the spikes. What happens to all other traffic like people doing a web search, scrolling through emails, reading blogs etc? They will all be affected by packet loss, slower pings(higher RTTs) and increased jitter(packet delay). The other ISP's customers will simply be given priority! Yes, it was a failure on the ISPs when they were building their business models but at the end of day something has to give. And yes, there is prioritization in traffic like for voice and video. VOIP packets have priority tags(are moved up the queue) and ever wonder why in networks(mobile or WI-FI) you are defaulted to a lower quality compared to the speeds? Well ISPs are forcing you down these selections at the start as they don't want you hitting their networks as much. See bandwidth or traffic shaping. The notion of "net neutrality" inaugurating "speed" lanes is simply untrue; they have existed but of concern here is *paid prioritization* or in some instances large ISPs having conglomerates favouring their own content provider(s). There are generally two solutions from the ISPs perspective: (1). Make the end users have variable pricing for their "WI-FI" bills just like you pay for what you consume with electricity & water, *which we(as consumers) highly dislike* *for the internet* or, (2). Have a fixed charge for your fixed data customers and make the content and whoever will innovate high bandwidth products pay for the spikes/elevated/bursts. They already have a relationship with their customer and they can easily track their usages. They collect from their customers and pay the ISPs who are presumed to have aggregates of bandwidth overages for each content/high bandwidth pushing company. No. 2 is what happens in bills for colocations and some hosting provider's bandwidth/fibre. There is a committed and burstable data rate. This is the classic 95th(95-5) percentile billing model. An interesting read by Steven Levy: In the Plex HOW GOOGLE THINKS, WORKS AND SHAPES OUR LIVES, PART FOUR: GOOGLE'S CLOUD chapter 2: "My Job was to get in the car, get on a plane, go find data centers." accounts how #Google in their earlier days squeezed terabytes of indexed data from west to east coast colocation facilities in ~15 - 18 hour bursts per month. They then literally turned off their router ports for 28-29 days per month and their bandwidth costs would be zero! I haven't touched on #Netflix's Open Connect, a caching solution installed at an ISP's large router(s), as only *5% *of traffic is delivered through it. However, the reporting is ~ 10 yrs old and would be happy to see newer numbers. Also, there was a notable unfairness where #Netflix was paying and setting up infrastructure at #Comcast but expected the opposite from small ISPs. Finally, I don't see how 5G will cool this problem as it occurs at the exchanges and peering points. Yours Kindly, Adrian On Tue, 12 Oct 2021 at 11:15, <kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > Send KICTANet mailing list submissions to > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > You can reach the person managing the list at > kictanet-owner(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of KICTANet digest..." > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Should streaming services pay ISPs for increased traffic? > (Josiah Mugambi) > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Josiah Mugambi <josiah.mugambi(a)gmail.com> > To: "Kenya's premier ICT Policy engagement platform" < > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Tue, 12 Oct 2021 11:13:57 +0300 > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Should streaming services pay ISPs for increased > traffic? > Almost certain that Netflix content is mirrored in Korea given that: > - Netflix hosts on AWS > - AWS has availability zones > <https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/regions_az/> in > Seoul > > This > <https://techcrunch.com/2021/09/30/south-korean-isp-sk-broadband-counterclai…> > is also interesting: > > "Meanwhile, another global streaming giant, Disney Plus, is set to launch > in South Korea in November. Disney Plus reportedly plans to use third-party > content delivery networks (CDNs) instead of using ISP’s networks to avoid > the bandwidth usage fees." > > > > On Mon, Oct 11, 2021 at 1:27 PM Kathy Mwai via KICTANet < > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > >> I don't think that YouTube presents the same traffic problem to ISPs that >> Netflix does. (By the way I'm an on and off Netflix subscriber so I haven't >> particularly experienced any issues watching any big hyped shows like the >> game of thrones or the Squid games at the moment) The nature of Netflix >> content is similar to the movie theatres. When it's a blockbuster being >> premiered like with the Bond movie this last week, the traffic to the movie >> theaters is more as I experienced last weekend: But not when it's just >> kawaida movies, and YouTube never churns out content in this fashion, so we >> could remove them from the notorious list for now. >> >> That being said, if anything I think it should only be Netflix >> incentivising a rounded up figure not the content providers and if it means >> Netflix deducts a cost from the content providers to forward to the ISPs, >> so be it I suppose? At the end of the day, content gets broadcast as that >> is the intention. Perhaps I'm being naive in imagining a perfect world >> where such good business practices exist, but what if really? Or maybe once >> 5G becomes ubiquitous the conversation will change... >> >> On Mon, 11 Oct 2021 at 13:09, Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo(a)gmail.com> >> wrote: >> >>> So, if Netflix, YT, and all the other content providers decide to >>> incentivise, how will they measure how much the incentive has worked? And >>> how much value do they get from their funds? >>> Will the ISPs be incentivised based on the traffic volumes to the >>> content providers or just a rounded up figure? >>> Perhaps the best way out of this is for the ISPs to come together and >>> ask the content providers to put their content infrastructure locally >>> (mirror the content) so that their int'l bandwidth is left >>> untouched??? >>> >>> >>> On Mon, Oct 11, 2021 at 12:58 PM Kathy Mwai via KICTANet < >>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>> >>>> This seems to me to be a Business Sustainability Strategy for Netflix, >>>> because if users don't have a good experience with its content as a result >>>> of slow speeds, will people want to keep subscribing for a service they >>>> feel they may not get the full experience of? And I suppose envisaging this >>>> situation could be the reason why they have different packages based on >>>> your pipe output. Netflix and content providers obviously majorly depend on >>>> ISPs for the success of their undertaking, and so I feel that it is good >>>> business practice for Netflix to incentivise ISPs to enable them >>>> upgrade their services. And that they should probably do that especially in >>>> geographies where they have high subscriptions and not just in the US, and >>>> to be proactive about it. This way everyone stays in business... >>>> >>>> On Sat, 9 Oct 2021 at 09:53, Ali Hussein via KICTANet < >>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>> >>>>> @Mwendwa Kivuva <kivuva(a)kictanet.or.ke> and all >>>>> >>>>> I think ISPs are not being realistic. On one hand they squeeze us on >>>>> 'fair usage' on the other hand they are squeezing content providers for >>>>> 'over using' their pipes. If content creation is so lucrative why not get >>>>> into it? >>>>> >>>>> Let me remind everyone the principles of Net Neutrality - >>>>> >>>>> *Net neutrality is the concept that states that organizations, such as >>>>> Internet service providers, should treat all data on the internet equally. >>>>> It promotes a free and open internet, where users can access content >>>>> without restriction, provided the content does not violate any laws.* >>>>> >>>>> If we allow this loop hole you suggest where does it end? Let's take a >>>>> look at our local scenario in Kenya. >>>>> >>>>> Safaricom is already in the content business. If we allow this liberal >>>>> interpretation of Net Neutrality it won't be long before they demand >>>>> gatekeeping charges from Viusasa and other local content providers...Which >>>>> will create a clear conflict of interest. >>>>> >>>>> Let's be careful. I have ALWAYS advocated for a clear Policy and >>>>> Regulatory interpretation of Net Neutrality Rules in this country. We are >>>>> yet to see any. MOICT and CA wako wapi? >>>>> >>>>> Regards >>>>> >>>>> *Ali Hussein* >>>>> >>>>> Fintech | Digital Transformation >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Tel: +254 713 601113 >>>>> >>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim >>>>> >>>>> Skype: abu-jomo >>>>> >>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim >>>>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are >>>>> purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the >>>>> organizations that I work with. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Fri, Oct 8, 2021 at 1:25 PM Mwendwa Kivuva via KICTANet < >>>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Interesting angle Washington. It is indeed a chicken and egg >>>>>> situation. >>>>>> >>>>>> As a network engineer, you know the implication of the international >>>>>> transit data on the cost of running an ISP. Profitability of an ISP is >>>>>> based on the assumption that on average, the users will not consume more >>>>>> than fair quota, and if they do, other users using limited services but >>>>>> paying the same amount per package will compensate and balance out the >>>>>> cost, leaving some margin for profitability. If streaming services squeeze >>>>>> out this advantage from ISPs, which is very easy because you just leave the >>>>>> service running, and it consumes all bandwidth, what recourse does ISPs >>>>>> have? Increase the cost to consumers? Share the burden with commercial >>>>>> content providers? Degrade service offered by content providers? Where >>>>>> should the balance be? >>>>>> >>>>>> On Fri, 8 Oct 2021, 12:51 Odhiambo Washington via KICTANet, < >>>>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On Fri, Oct 8, 2021 at 12:38 PM Mwendwa Kivuva via KICTANet < >>>>>>> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> In the United States, Netflix has been paying a fee to broadband >>>>>>>> provider Comcast Corp for faster streaming speeds. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> South Korea's ISP SK Broadband has sued Netflix to pay for costs >>>>>>>> from increased network traffic and maintenance work because of a surge of >>>>>>>> viewers to the U.S. firm's content. >>>>>>>> Seoul court said Netflix should "reasonably" give something in >>>>>>>> return to the internet service provider for network usage, and multiple >>>>>>>> South Korean lawmakers have spoken out against content providers who do not >>>>>>>> pay for network usage despite generating explosive traffic. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> other content providers such as Amazon, Apple and Facebook are >>>>>>>> paying SK Broadband for usage of the network. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Should content providers compensate network providers for increased >>>>>>>> traffic to their network? Is this a net neutrality issue where all content >>>>>>>> should be treated equally?se or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, >>>>>>>> do not market your wares or qualifications. >>>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> How is my usage of my services I am paying my ISP for being >>>>>>> interpreted as "usage by my content provider"? >>>>>>> Is this the chicken-and-egg situation I have been hearing about? >>>>>>> I am already paying my ISP. If I didn't, they'd not even see the >>>>>>> traffic to Netflix, YT, etc. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Content providers compensating network providers for increased >>>>>>> traffic to their network seems like stealing for me. The content providers >>>>>>> are not using the ISP network. It's the client who pays for the link who >>>>>>> does. Do ISPs want to give FREE connections to me so that I can use >>>>>>> Netflix, YT, HBOMax and have these content providers pay them for my own >>>>>>> traffic? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> Best regards, >>>>>>> Odhiambo WASHINGTON, >>>>>>> Nairobi,KE >>>>>>> +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 >>>>>>> "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' :-) >>>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>>> KICTANet mailing list >>>>>>> KICTANet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>>>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kivuva%40transworldaf… >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and >>>>>>> institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet >>>>>>> is a catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology >>>>>>> sector. Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity >>>>>>> Building, Research, and Stakeholder Engagement. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy >>>>>>> engagement platform. >>>>>>> >>>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>>> KICTANet mailing list >>>>>> KICTANet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>>>> >>>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/info%40alyhussein.com >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and >>>>>> institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet >>>>>> is a catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology >>>>>> sector. Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity >>>>>> Building, Research, and Stakeholder Engagement. >>>>>> >>>>>> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy >>>>>> engagement platform. >>>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> KICTANet mailing list >>>>> KICTANet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>>> >>>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kathymwai%40gmail.com >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions >>>>> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a >>>>> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector. >>>>> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building, >>>>> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement. >>>>> >>>>> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy >>>>> engagement platform. >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> *Dream and Your Dreams Will Fall Short <kathymwai(a)gmail.com>...* >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> KICTANet mailing list >>>> KICTANet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >>>> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >>>> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >>>> >>>> Unsubscribe or change your options at >>>> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/odhiambo%40gmail.com >>>> >>>> >>>> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions >>>> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a >>>> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector. >>>> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building, >>>> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement. >>>> >>>> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy >>>> engagement platform. >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Best regards, >>> Odhiambo WASHINGTON, >>> Nairobi,KE >>> +254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223 >>> "Oh, the cruft.", egrep -v '^$|^.*#' :-) >>> >> >> >> -- >> *Dream and Your Dreams Will Fall Short <kathymwai(a)gmail.com>...* >> >> _______________________________________________ >> KICTANet mailing list >> KICTANet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >> Twitter: http://twitter.com/kictanet >> Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KICTANet/ >> >> Unsubscribe or change your options at >> https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/josiah.mugambi%40gmai… >> >> >> KICTANet is a multi-stakeholder Think Tank for people and institutions >> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. KICTANet is a >> catalyst for reform in the Information and Communication Technology sector. >> Its work is guided by four pillars of Policy Advocacy, Capacity Building, >> Research, and Stakeholder Engagement. >> >> 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 - The Power of Communities, is Kenya's premier ICT policy >> engagement platform. >> > > > -- > Josiah Mugambi > _______________________________________________ > KICTANet mailing list > KICTANet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet >

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New Research Paper - What really impedes the scaling out of digital services for agriculture?
by John Kieti 21 Jan '22

21 Jan '22

Hello Listers, Allow me to bring to your attention our new research paper, peer reviewed and published in the new Smart Agricultural Technologies journal. The title is: *What really impedes the scaling out of digital services for agriculture? A Kenyan users’ perspective <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2772375522000016>. *The paper, attached, can be shared freely on CC BY basis. In summary, the study sought conceptual clarity on barriers to the success of digital services for agriculture as deployed by Startups, NGOs, Government etc. We examined the latent structure and patterns of association among such impediments as mentioned in the literature and perceived by end users. Quantitatively and qualitatively, we ascertained a three-factor structure comprising *(1) Technology Accessibility* *- digital skills, internet, devices, electricity ...* *(2) Service Discoverability - awareness, collaboration, one-stop-shop ..., * and* (3) Service Value Proposition **- usability, relevance, service affordability... *According to the study, the success of digital services for agriculture in Kenya (and similar services or similar settings) boils down to how practitioners and policy makers optimize interventions around these three dimensions. Discoverability and Value proposition co-varied more than with technology accessibility as they are more in the purview of the digital service provider (than technology accessibility). We also proposed a scale for measuring the impediments. We argued that public policy, one of our qualitatively generated themes, was indirectly covered in the three dimensions of the structure (that it is not necessarily a fourth dimension). Confirming or disconfirming this bit about public policy may be a topic for further research. Curious to know what KICTANET listers think of this ... My co-authors were Prof. Waema, Dr. Baumüller, Prof. Ndemo, & Dr. Omwansa Kind regards -- John Kieti Whatsapp: +254-735-764242 Twitter: @johnKieti <https://twitter.com/johnkieti> // LinkedIn: https://ke.linkedin.com/in/*kieti* <https://ke.linkedin.com/in/kieti> Blog: https://kieti.org The ordinary just won't do

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Invitation to participate in a Community Network Summit
by Barrack Otieno 20 Jan '22

20 Jan '22

Hi Listers, For Community Network enthusiasts the following event might be of interest to you: https://www.internetsociety.org/events/summit-community-networks-africa/202… To register use the following link Registration link is here https://isoc.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsfuurpj0iGNXEK6_D8YVDsx4YXtuxzcVu Best Regards -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] Fwd: [DC] IGF 2022 Call for Thematic Inputs: Open Now
by Barrack Otieno 20 Jan '22

20 Jan '22

Listers, Might be of interest to those following the IGF. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Olivier MJ Crépin-Leblond via InternetPolicy < internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> Date: Sun, Jan 16, 2022 at 11:35 PM Subject: [Internet Policy] Fwd: [DC] IGF 2022 Call for Thematic Inputs: Open Now To: internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> FYI -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: [DC] IGF 2022 Call for Thematic Inputs: Open Now Date: Fri, 14 Jan 2022 18:30:43 +0000 From: IGF Secretariat <igf(a)un.org> <igf(a)un.org> To: dc(a)intgovforum.org <dc(a)intgovforum.org> <dc(a)intgovforum.org> Dear IGF Stakeholders, We are pleased to inform that the IGF 2022 Call for Thematic Inputs is now published. Contributing to this process means contributing to a key first step in determining the thematic structure of the IGF programme in 2022 and the direction of its work. We invite everyone to fill out the short inputs form and to share this widely through your networks: https://www.intgovforum.org/en/content/igf-2022-call-for-thematic-inputs The deadline is 14 February 2022. Thanks for your participation. Best regards, IGF Secretariat _ _______________________________________________ To manage your Internet Society subscriptions or unsubscribe, log into the Member Portal at https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login and go to the Preferences tab within your profile. - View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/ -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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Fwd: [Internet Policy] Multi-stakeholder models used to favor corporate capture
by Barrack Otieno 20 Jan '22

20 Jan '22

Listers, Interesting perspective on Multistakeholderism. Regards ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Richard Hill via InternetPolicy <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> Date: Wed, Jan 19, 2022 at 4:09 PM Subject: [Internet Policy] Multi-stakeholder models used to favor corporate capture To: ISOC Internet Policy <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> A recent book documents how multi-stakeholder models have been used in many areas in order to favor greater corporate influence, see: https://www.tni.org/en/publication/the-great-takeover I cite from that web page: "From health, to food and agriculture, from education to internet, from environment to public services and human rights, the research shows that decisions made in these Multistakeholderism mechanisms as well as in captured multilateral institutions, have direct impact on on people's health, children's education, digital rights, access to basic public services and human rights in the territories, including the right to a healthy environment. "By dislocating the locus of key policy decisions from the multilateral system into mixed mechanisms where the private sector rules-with the support of some states, international institutions, and big philanthropists-the phenomenon of "multistakeholderization" of the global governance has become systemic." The book includes a chapter on Internet governance (full disclosure: I contributed to that chapter). Best, Richard _______________________________________________ To manage your Internet Society subscriptions or unsubscribe, log into the Member Portal at https://admin.internetsociety.org/622619/User/Login and go to the Preferences tab within your profile. - View the Internet Society Code of Conduct: https://www.internetsociety.org/become-a-member/code-of-conduct/ -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254733206359 Skype: barrack.otieno PGP ID: 0x2611D86A

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