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Technology SMEs
by Dorcas Muthoni 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

You may have heard of the action taken by the Copyright board on software piracy in cyber cafe businesses. This article on Business Daily: http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4522&Item… captures it. We all acknowledge the role of cyber cafe businesses in driving Internet penetration. When small and medium enterprises business owners take decisions to start the Internet shops, they are basically supporting what we all want to see; an e-Kenya. Picking from a recent post on the list regarding the challenges being faced by local computer assembly firms, there is truly an issue with regard to the sustainability of Technology SMEs. These local firms have enabled many Kenyans have affordable computers/clones and Internet access respectively. On average, a cyber cafe with 30 computers requires up to about KES. 1.8million to have genuine copies commodity software frequently used by their customers. Open Source is an approach that can make these commodity software affordable and available to such SME businesses in a way that satisfies customers effectively. We all need to support local technology SMEs because they are really a driver for the this industry. OPENWORLD (www.openworld.co.ke) will conduct an Open Source workshop at the Grand Regency Hotel on, Friday, 14th December 2007 starting 9.00am. The purpose of the workshop is to inform Cyber Café Owners and Operators on how they can benefit from Open Source Software in order to sustain their businesses. It will be interesting to hear from others how we can support technology SMEs since they are a key driver in the growth of the industry. -- Muthoni My Blog: http://rugongo.blogspot.com/ -------------------------------------------- Mahatma Gandhi once said:- First they ignore you, Then they laugh at you, Then they fight you, AND THEN YOU WIN!!!

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Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting
by robert yawe 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

Hi Brian, As you rightfully indicate in your post you are coming in late on this discussion, this is the problem with a mailing list unlike a blog or forum the history of a discussion is not maintained. Thus just to get us on the same page your arguments are actually in support of my position, which is that we need to develop local content and hosting capacity as well are reliable country wide connectivity before the arrival of the fiber optic marine cable. The road analogy was to explain my point that the cable is a highway which needs to arrive when we have already created linkages to the rest of the country and not what we seem to be doing which is waiting for the marine cable as the panaceas to all our slow internet issues. You do bring an interested issue in your point on the objective of the roads as a means to cart off our resources, could the fiber optic cable be a modern approach to the same? Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: brian <brian(a)caret.net> To: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>; info(a)mediacorp.co.ke Sent: Tuesday, 11 December, 2007 1:44:53 AM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting I am coming late to this debate .... more follows: On Wed, 5 Dec 2007 06:03:46 +0000 (GMT), robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > > Your analogy of a Road from Mwea to Kericho is an interesting one, if you > have noticed all roads have led to Nairobi for many years it is only after > those satellite locations have grown sufficient traffic through Nairobi > that we have developed direct linkages. A case in point is the road > connecting from Machakos to Thika, Kitengela to Rongai, and the now being > constructed Njambini Road. > > Why didn't we develop this roads at independence? I differ strongly on this. Most roads in Africa were built to support the largely extractive industrial practices of colonial masters and the post-independence regimes which turned a blind eye to the economic pillage of our countries. Most of these roads are what we continue to re-carpet, repair and depend on for our basic transport. Same applies to telecommunications and other major infrastructure. Any new infrastructure in an African country, be it a road, an airline route or an optic fibre cable needs to be thought out from a fresh standpoint and a mindset that leans towards building internal capacity or providing the platform/environment/atmosphere for local/internal capacity to be built. I have elaborated on this in an AfrISPA position paper - "One Voice - A VOIP Position Paper" while Mucheru has highlighted the market structure and regulatory regimes to support African country's emergent and blossoming ICT sectors in another AfrISPA position paper entitled "The Rules of Engagement" Copies of these papers can be availed freely upon request. Mblayo ___________________________________________________________ Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/

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Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting
by robert yawe 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

Dear Mr. Mucheru, I hear you but we are missing out on a vital point, never go to the negotiating table from a position of weakness. What is the likelihood of getting a mortgage from the bank if you have no savings, no job and no business? As I have said before, the fiber is going to land whether I like it or not, but that does not stop me from airing my views. You raise the issue of India have you looked at how much local content they have and their utilisation of local connectivity? If you follow the issue of India closely you will note that they first developed local capacity. India used the so called slow satellite connections to reach the outside world and because of the capacity they had developed the locally Microsoft, Motorola and other large American companies saw the need to increase the speed of connectivity to India. Safaricom should be a case in point for us, how many minutes of International calls do you think is the contribution to their 17 Billion profit. Imagine if they had setup shop & concentrated their efforts on International calling where would they be today? Your analogy of a Road from Mwea to Kericho is an interesting one, if you have noticed all roads have led to Nairobi for many years it is only after those satellite locations have grown sufficient traffic through Nairobi that we have developed direct linkages. A case in point is the road connecting from Machakos to Thika, Kitengela to Rongai, and the now being constructed Njambini Road. Why didn't we develop this roads at independence? What most of you are suggesting is that we put up a Kes. 500,000/- toilet with jacuzzi for a one roomed iron sheet house in Kibera so that the occupant can enjoy themselves for 20 minutes every day. Instead of us continuing to discus the pros and cons of landing the fiber in 2009, lets concentrate our efforts, skills and resources in preparing for its arrival. I do not pretend to have all the answers but together I believe we can better prepare this country for the marine cable than the West African countries did. PS. KAY System designs and implements appropriate local and wide area networks and we are currently working on an online payment system that will make e-commerce a reality to the majority of Kenyans. Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: Joseph Mucheru <jmucheru(a)google.com> To: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>; info(a)mediacorp.co.ke Sent: Friday, 30 November, 2007 5:15:20 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting Robert, I trust this email finds you well. Some important facts I, we are not alone, and neither is Kenya. We need to as a country remain competitive and further more we need to do so efficiently and quickly. Right now our competition in the digital is from all corners of the globe. As we speak bandwidth costs in Kenya are on average US$6,000 per MB while the same bandwidth costs US$ 400 in India, they are able to transact faster and further more hae the ability to have many other services on the same cable compared to our satellite only capacity. We need a highway to the rest of the world for two reason, one is a significant part of our economy is connected to the outside world, be it tourism, importation of medicines, education etc... We cannot ignore that part of the equation. This does not mean we ignore the local needs, the PS took time to outline the current projects gong on to provide national fiber connectivity and he further outlined the time lines for it's deployment. I simple way to look at this is even from a local perspective. We have the various towns in the country each with differing comparative advantages. For example, you get tea from Kericho, rice from mwea etc. It would be very unwise to say that Kericho does not need a road to Mwea because it has not completed building it's own local streets, or Mwea does not need a road or communication to other towns or regions. Kenya has it's own comparative advantages and so do other countries. We need to ensure we have as good if not better linkages the rest of the world not only for the world to access Kenya, but also for Kenya to access the world. I am very sure none of this new to you and it would be a big shame to pour cold water on a project that will be life changing for all of us. For instance, I will have better access to my sisters abroad, I will be able to do Video conferencing with them at an affordable rate. I will be able to watch the International stock markets and other financial markets in the same way. The fact I can do it today with Analogue (Marram road) does not mean Tarmac is bad and should be ignored. By the way Robert what is primary business of KAY System Technologies Ltd Joe Mucheru On Nov 30, 2007 5:33 AM, robert yawe < robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: Kagai, Like all the rest we are misplacing the importance of the marine cable and it is unfortunate that Dr. Ndemo is also unable to provide us with the logical reason for why we need to land this fiber cable. Your issue of digital TV has nothing to do with whether we have the marine cable or not as our transmission is local and thus what we need is a fiber network within the country. I have been listening to that story of digital TV being echoed by many a so called IT gurus. All that the fiber will do is create so much competition for our local stations before they have enough time to adopt or recoup their investments which will result in massive layoffs. If we can negotiate for the delay in opening our markets to sugar maybe we need the same team to look at the pros and cons of the fiber cable landing. Note that the signal sent out by MNet and other satellite channels is digital yet I can watch it on my Greatwall TV which is as analogue as you can get, even come 2010 all that will happen is that set top boxes will be so cheap that there will be no need to replace our TV's. Alternatively look behind your DVD player and tell me how many analogue and digital inputs you have? Just for information purposes do you know that Telkom Kenya has fiber optic cable laid to most high rise building in the city but only 2 or so locations have actually had the fiber terminated onto equipment? I ask anyone to challenge me on this point this includes Eng. Waweru and Mr. Kirui all of who have been party to this wasteful actions. We are being totally wasteful with our resources what makes us think that the landing of the fiber optic cable will change our habits. Kagai, I ask again why do we need to land the fiber optic cable and how will it change your life, leave alone mine? Have an analogue weekend Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: Bill Kagai <billkagai(a)gmail.com> To: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> Cc: info(a)mediacorp.co.ke; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, 29 November, 2007 10:19:51 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Faith in local web hosting On Nov 28, 2007 8:24 AM, robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > End user ---> Telkom ---> ISP ---> KDN --> ISP --> Telkom --> end user > > Do the math Yawe, you probably need to look at this cable beyond internet. The kind of technology we use today for broadcasting TV is being phased out in Europe by August 2008. TV is now being broadcast on cable or ADSL specifically for beyond quality purposes. You need to ensure that commercial components reach the right people. For instance, that is why CNBC opted to pull out its channel from DSTV bouquet to local stations like KBC with a wider reach. 'Measurement of reach' is capable through adsl/cable connected to the international fibre network. ADSL via optic fibre reinforces the copper that we are not about to do away with anyway in the near future. Copper is not obsolete yet. Optic fibre allows u freeview channels where internet becomes secondary to primary data and voice transmission...and most of all...things we have learned to leave with..such as attenuation distortion...become an old way of life for us in the Africa north of the limpopo but south of of the sahara. Another way of looking at it...when they tell you that computers are down in a bank..most of the times they mean the link to the server is unsteady since they need to ensure that you don't withdraw twice or thrice on the same transaction..satellite does not give you redundancy [read back-up] channels as cable would. With cable, you are able to re-wind live tv instead of having a local disk imersed in your decorder...thanks to the cable. In essence, if u look at the submarine cable minus the copper telephone system and electricity grid then u will not see much. If u look at it in terms of how it adds value to the existing infrastructure, then you will see...how significant albeit small....the hole the international link plus the terrestrial cable needs to fill to sort out our big problems. Bill... Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! for Good _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: mucheru(a)google.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mucheru%40google.com -- Joe Mucheru Office Lead, East Africa Google Kenya 7th Floor, Purshottam Place Westlands Road P O Box 66217 - 00800 Westlands Nairobi, KENYA +254 20 360 1701 Office +254 20 360 1100 Fax +254 20 360 1000 Switch Board (Regus) +254 722522135 Mobile http://www.google.com This email may be confidential or privileged. If you received this communication by mistake, please don't forward it to anyone else, please erase all copies and attachments, and please let me know that it went to the wrong person. Thanks. ___________________________________________________________ Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/

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Re: [kictanet] Projections
by robert yawe 11 Dec '07

11 Dec '07

Dr. Ndemo, It is interesting what you have said about how the Koreans used their high speed links initially for pornography, my take would then be why don't we concentrate on providing local pornographic content so that we can get more people online. This will allow us to exist this unproductive use of bandwidth so that we will have higher utilisation of the fiber when it lands. I know the concept here is that the reasons for the initial uptake of a technology is not necessarily what it was designed to do. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: "bitange(a)jambo.co.ke" <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> To: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, 6 December, 2007 1:03:44 PM Subject: Re: [kictanet] Projections Dear Walubengo, Studies have shown that if you constantly think that you will fail, indeed you fail eventually. I gather that you have already decided to be too pessimistic about the future of ICTs in this country. When the Koreans built their broadband networks, virtually all men were into pornography. After overcoming the spiteful start, they have built wonderful local content and search engines that rival google. You can now project how we shall use the ICTs to remove poverty from our midst. Regards Ndemo. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/robertyawe%40yahoo.co.… ___________________________________________________________ Support the World Aids Awareness campaign this month with Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/

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Computer parts and peripherals
by Nieri, Diana MainaX 10 Dec '07

10 Dec '07

Hi all, Please check out today's story from PS. Dr. Ndemo on taxes on computer components http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4777&I temid=5847 <http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4777& Itemid=5847> Computer parts and peripherals attract Import Duty and VAT whereas fully assembled systems imported from outside the country attract neither Duty nor VAT .This move has affected Locally assembled Systems adversely, as the very components used in integrating these systems now attracts VAT and Duty thus making them not competitive with International brands. We need to support our own local people to ensure faster access of affordable computers Regards Diana Maina --------------------------------------------------------------------- Branch office of Intel South Africa Corporation 2nd Floor, South Wing, Building 14, The Woodlands Western Service Road, Woodmead, 2148 Johannesburg, South Africa The above is a branch office of: Intel South Africa Corporation A Corporation registered in Delaware, USA Registered Office: 1209 Orange Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801, USA Registered No: 2501764 This e-mail and any attachments may contain confidential material for the sole use of the intended recipient(s). Any review or distribution by others is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender and delete all copies.

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latest domain name brief attached DEC 07]
by alice 07 Dec '07

07 Dec '07

Dear all Domain name industry brief by Verisign attached. best alice _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Re: [kictanet] Fibre Optic & Cyber Security, March 2009
by Pauline Muthigani 07 Dec '07

07 Dec '07

Walu, True, Kenya and the whole region have become the preferred destination for executing cyber crimes . Top on the agenda for the ICT fraternity, and the board should be to see to it that the e-legislation bill is passed and enacted much sooner than 2009. My experience with ICT investors especially in eCommerce and eBusiness, confirms that unless the Cyber Security issues are dealt with( investigations and prosecutions etc), Broadband or no Broadband , Kenya still is not a competitive destination as we would wish her to be.Even for the really great digital village initiatives, the risk is high there..I hope the owners are being made aware. What we need is a 'conducive environment and security assured infrastructure' the rest will fit in. The Dubai model is worth borrowing a leaf from. First things first. rgds, Pauline > Security is going to be a mega-issue once the submarine > fiber lands in Mombasa. At the moment Kenya is spared the > full-scale exposure from international cyber crooks simply > because our slow satellite links don't lend themselves to > modern tools of cyber-attacks. > > Here is my macro-projection of what will occur on the > internet-security landscape in March 2009 or thereabout > when the submarine cable is launched. > > 1. Continued delay of national and regional legislation > makes Kenya and E.Africa a safe-haven for cyber-crooks. > > {following the delayed debate and enactment of the > pre-requisite Cyber-legislations (e-Transaction Act, > Cyber-crime Act, Data-protection Act, etc) Kenya has become > the preferred destination for executing cyber crimes and > getting away with it. The crooks are taking advantage of > the lack of legislation as well as the incapacity for the > authorities to investigate, collect, preserve digital > evidence as well as prosecute cyber-crime. > > The newly launched submarine cables seem to have provided a > conducive superhighway for the crooks to deploy there tools > from the comfort of their Chinese, Eastern Europe and other > territories. The Kenya Government seems to have been > caught off-guard and the Internal Security Minister could > not be reached for comment because he was holed up in a > crisis-meeting....} > > 2. Local domains hosting critical national infrastructure > get hit (Banking, KRA, Immigration, Medical Data) > > {....In particular, the successful deployment of > eGovernment initiatives such as KRA, KPA, Banking, Medical > and other data have become a soft-target for the criminals. > They

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Re: [kictanet] kictanet Digest, Vol 5, Issue 22
by A.K. Mahan 07 Dec '07

07 Dec '07

Dear all, I am new to this list and have been lurking. In addition to the Latin American and Caribbean study noted by Alice, the World Dialogue on Regulation also conducted a similar survey of Africa in 2003 - for which the Kenyan regulatory website was observed to be a best practice website. http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/213/65/ As mentioned by Alice, there is a Consumer Center on the CCK website - which is an extremely useful feature. In addition to what kind of information is made available, we also need to think about how it is organised and presented. At the CCK site, the information on the Consumer Center page seems overly formal. The tone and language of that section could be a bit more user friendly with examples of complaints and the kind of documentation that would be required. For example, I bought a prepaid card last month that was supposed to have 20 minutes of time on it. And after carefully monitoring my time so that I have enough for two months, more than 30 days after I bought the card I find out that I could only make 15 minutes of calls. What do I do? Your site tells me that I have to exhaust all possibilities with the provider. Is that the person I bought the card from? If I call the number on the card and they take the complaint but say they can't help me, can I complain to the regulator? Or, I have subscribed to a broadband (yeah!!) service. But from noon until about 6pm it is really slow. I've called my service provider, but they say everything is fine. Can I measure this? How do I show it is too slow for what I am paying? Some websites post the complaints that are being reviewed by the regulator; other websites post yearly consumer complaint indicators. Also, an online feature to submit questions could be useful. In a recent study of the Uruguayan regulator, we found that attention to consumer affairs was lacking on all levels (by the regulators, consumers and the private sector) simply because there is no historical tradition of a consumer movement in the country. One of the reports recommendations was for the regulator to work with the local consumer advocacy groups to strengthen them and make them a better resource for consumers. Developing a strong relationship with the consumer advocacy groups would also serve to lessen the burden on regulators in terms of improving communication and disseminating information to consumers via these groups. Thanks for the great discussion thus far. Very useful. - Amy Mahan _______________________________________________ Amy Mahan, LIRNE.NET Coordinator Montevideo, Uruguay www.lirne.net www.regulateonline.org ________________________________________________ > The CCK recently unveiled the CCK service chatter that sets public > expectations Re: dealing with the Commission and its staff > interchangeably called the "The Customer Service Charter " it outlines > rights and responsibilities and the procedure to follow if CCK service > standards are not met. available at www.cck.go.ke > > Then there is a consumer center on the website, which includes some > useful links e.g how to make a complaint, what you need to know about > telecoms services, but is this enough? > I think the following benchmarks > (http://www.regulateonline.org/content/view/354/69/ ) for Latin American > and Caribbean Regulatory Authority Websites are rather useful > > best > alice > > above comments are personal and do not reflect any position of the organizations I am affiliated with > > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > >

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Kenyans executing Identy Theft in the US!
by John Walubengo 07 Dec '07

07 Dec '07

Looks like the internet security challenge is already being practiced by Kenyans in the diaspora... check this out... Two Convergys employees arrested on ID fraud charges DAILY HERALD Two Convergys employees were arrested and charged with ordering thousands of dollars worth of cell phones and accessories using the identities of AT&T customers. Kechi Ezem, 24, of Provo, was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count each of identity fraud and theft, and 24-year-old Philista Oniango, of Orem, was arrested Wednesday and charged with one count each of theft and identity theft. Oniango is also being held at the Utah County Jail on an immigration hold. Both women are employees of Convergys, which handles calls for AT&T. According to court documents, Orem police went to Convergys after AT&T learned that a cell phone billed to one of its customers had been ordered by Ezem. Ezem told police that Oniango had her computer password, and a search of company records showed that she had confirmed the order of more than $50,000 worth of phones and accessories using AT&T customer accounts, court documents said. Most of the phones were sent to Oniango's home in Orem. the story continues at http://www.heraldextra.com/content/view/245669/ walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

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nGOmobile competition
by alice 06 Dec '07

06 Dec '07

Hi All this may be interesting for some.... best alice -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [Apc.africa] nGOmobile competition Date: Thu, 6 Dec 2007 11:25:24 +0000 From: Abi Jagun <abi(a)apc.org> Reply-To: APC Africa list <apc.africa(a)lists.apc.org> To: apc.africa(a)lists.apc.org Dear APC Africa members and Team (Please see http://www.ngomobile.org/ for more information.) I recently came across this website and announcement and thought it might be of interest to those organisations interested in using mobile phones in their work. "nGOmobile is a text message-based competition aimed exclusively and unashamedly at grassroots non-profit organisations working for positive social and environmental change throughout the developing world ... The competition wants to encourage NGOs to think more about how mobile technology could be applied in their work ... NGOs from developing countries are invited to submit a short proposal outlining how text messaging could make their job easier ... What we are looking for is impact - a clear indication that winning an amazing prize, and gaining access to mobile technology, would revolutionise your work and turn mission impossible into mission accomplished." The prize includes the following: A brand new HP Pavilion laptop computer - To help you run your messaging campaign from anywhere you choose A GSM modem - Send messages through the mobile network without the need for the Internet Office software - Word processing, spreadsheets, email - everything to help you run your project more efficiently A top-of-the-range Nokia mobile phone (or two) - A couple of cool Nokia phones to help you take photos and videos (and talk!) FrontlineSMS - Software to run your text-messaging campaign. A little cash - One thousand dollars to help get your new project off to the best possible start! There will be FOUR winners and the deadline for proposals is 14th December. Please see http://www.ngomobile.org/ for more information. _______________________________________________ Apc.africa mailing list Apc.africa(a)lists.apc.org http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/apc.africa

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