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Business Daily - Kenya edges into open source software
by Bill Kagai 05 Apr '07

05 Apr '07

Kenyan companies have been slow to warm to open source software – the free software built by boffins who believe the world's software knowledge should be a free resource. http://bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=498&Itemid=27…

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Africa joins thousand voices at ICANN
by Rebecca Wanjiku 05 Apr '07

05 Apr '07

Thousands of Voices Get Direct Say At ICANN 29 March 2007 Internet users from three of ICANN's five global regions will now have direct input to the organization thanks to the creation of three Regional At-Large Organisations (RALOs). Memorandums of Understanding creating RALOs for Africa and Europe were signed today by ICANN and member groups of the RALOs in a special ceremony at ICANN's 28th Public Meeting in Lisbon. The third RALO — Asia-Australia-Pacific — was announced and will be formally signed at the 30th Public Meeting to be held later this year. “This is a fantastic day for Internet users in Africa, in Europe, and in the Asia-Australia-Pacific region. The creation of RALOs gives average Internet users the chance to influence decisions that shape the security and stability of the Internet,” said Dr Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN. The At-Large Advisory Committee (ALAC) of ICANN represents Internet users in ICANN. "ICANN deals with issues that are technical but hugely important to Internet users. At-Large is the place to be if you want to participate — and RALOs provide direct input to us," said Jacqueline Morris, ALAC Chair from Trinidad and Tobago. The first RALO, the Latin America - Caribbean Regional At-Large Organization was created at the 27th ICANN public meeting held in São Paulo in December 2006. Today's announcement means four of ICANN's five global regions have RALOs. The people who RALOs represent are incredibly diverse. For example, groups from Africa taking part in today include a network of journalists based in Tanzania reporting on Internet issues (JUSTA-AFRICA), and Internet Society chapters from countries as diverse as Mali, Benin, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. European user groups participating include Internet Society chapters throughout Eastern and Western Europe, a network of science and Information and Communications Technology professionals in Germany, and academic professionals. More information on the creation of RALOs is available at http://alac.icann.org/applications/ Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/

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spanish IDN update
by Rebecca Wanjiku 05 Apr '07

05 Apr '07

Spanish .ORG IDNs Registrations Available March 3rdFeb 21, 2007 | Inside: IndustryBy PIRPrint | Email As part of its ongoing efforts to improve the Internet and ensure access for users worldwide, Public Interest Registry (PIR), the .ORG registry, will make available Spanish Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) on 03 March 2007. The Domain Name System originally was limited largely to the characters used in English and the ASCII character set. Technical standards will now enable the registration of Spanish IDNs that use specific characters (e.g., á, é, í, ñ, ó). These characters are created using Punycode, a simple and efficient way to translate non-ASCII characters into a string of characters allowed in host name labels (ASCII letters, digits and hyphens) and back again. Spanish .ORG IDN registrations will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. Spanish IDNs registered during the first 30 days of operation—specifically between 19:00 UTC, 03 March 2007 and 19:00 UTC, 02 April 2007—will be placed on Server Delete Prohibited, Server Transfer Prohibited, Server Update Prohibited, Server Renew Prohibited and Server Hold. These statuses will remain in effect until 02 May 2007 to allow intellectual property interests to file dispute resolution actions, if warranted. “With more than 100 million Spanish-speaking Internet users in Latin America, enabling IDNs in Spanish will bring .ORG and the power of the Internet to a significant population, especially to the civil sector, that may not have had adequate access before,” says Erick Iriarte Ahon, director of Alfa-Redi and a .ORG Advisory Council member. In addition to Spanish IDNs, PIR allows IDN registrations in several other scripts, including Danish, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean (Hangul), Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish and Swedish. See PIR’s Web site for more information on IDNs and to see the list of .ORG registrars that offer IDN registration. The latest copy of Public Interest Registry’s (PIR) newsletter, “The World of .ORG” and free subscription form is available online. Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/

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Internet Market Study -where is it?
by John Walubengo 04 Apr '07

04 Apr '07

The DG (CCK) promised that the above study that was launched last week would be uploaded on the CCK website (www.cck.go.ke) by yesterday. I have looked hard on their site but I am not seeing it. Could someone share an advanced copy with list? We want to start 'hacking' this report ;-) walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos. http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html

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[Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Fwd: World Bank Approves US$164.5 Million for Connectivity...]
by alice 03 Apr '07

03 Apr '07

fyi... -Steve ----------------------------------- World Bank Approves US$164.5 Million for Connectivity to Make Kenya, Burundi and Madagascar More Competitive Up to 25 countries in East and Southern Africa could benefit from the broader US$424 million Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (RCIP) -------------------------------------- WASHINGTON, D.C., April 2, 2007 ¡ª The World Bank Board of Directors approved on March 29, an International Development Association (IDA) financing package of US$164.5 million for Kenya, Burundi and Madagascar as the first tranche of the US$424 million Regional Communications Infrastructure Program (RCIP) for high-speed connectivity in East and Southern Africa. The region is being held back by the prohibitive costs of international connectivity. Businesses are unable to compete in the global economy; university students suffer because they cannot access the Internet; and Government agencies cannot communicate effectively with each other and their citizens because they are not connected. East and Southern Africa is the only region in the world that is not connected to the global broadband infrastructure and accounts for less than one percent of the world¡¯s international bandwidth capacity. Asa result of this ¡®missing link¡¯, the region relies on satellite connectivity, with costs amongst the highest in the world. One Kenyan call-center entrepreneur told the World Bank Board of Directors the region simply cannot compete. ¡°To put 25 agents on the phone, it will cost us close to US$17,000 a month. Elsewhere, it will only cost US$600-900 a month¡± said Nicholas Nesbitt, CEO of KenCall. ¡°It is absolutely imperative that something be done right now to make bandwidth affordable. Otherwise, we¡¯re going to miss a huge opportunity and people are simply going to say that Africa is not ready for these kinds of jobs, is not ready for business.¡± The Board of Directors responded to the appeal and Governments¡¯ requests for assistance by unanimously endorsing RCIP, which will bring affordable high speed connectivity to as many as 25 countries1 in East and Southern Africa. The US$164.5 million first tranche of funding consists of IDA credits in the amount of US$114.4 million to Kenya and US$30 million to Madagascar, and an IDA grant in the amount of US$20.1 million to Burundi. RCIP is an innovative example of the emphasis on regional integration, which accounts for more than 10% of total World Bank support to Africa. ¡°Improving broadband connectivity will add tremendous public value for Africa. Low cost, high quality communications is essential for economic competitiveness¡± said Paul Wolfowitz, President of the World Bank Group. ¡°Africa is becoming more plugged in - this is very encouraging for the continent. Our partner countries are sending a strong signal to the world that they are open for business and ready to leap into the information age.¡± RCIP financing of terrestrial networks will be a catalyst to attract and maximize private sector investment in telecommunications infrastructure. RCIP complements regional undersea cable initiatives, such as the Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) developed by telecommunications operators with support from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and other development partners. By the end of the Program, it is expected that all capitals and major cities in East and Southern Africa would be linked to competitively priced high-bandwidth connectivity. This will equip Africa to trade on a level playing field, extend education beyond the classrooms, and accelerate good governance. ### To watch the RCIP video presented to the World Bank Board of Directors, visit www.worldbank.org/rcip/video <http://www.worldbank.org/rcip/video> For information on the Africa Regional Communications Infrastructure Program, visit www.worldbank.org/rcip <http://www.worldbank.org/rcip> For more information on the World Bank in Africa, visit www.worldbank.org/africa <http://www.worldbank.org/africa> Background Information The World Bank Group¡¯s Work on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) The World Bank RCIP initiative to leverage private sector investment in terrestrial networks and the IFC support to the private sector-led EASSy submarine cable are part of a broader joint World Bank/IFC effort to address connectivity issues and promote private sector participation in Africa. For the past decade, the World Bank has focused on partnering with Governments to deepen reforms and improve the investment climate for private sector participation in the telecommunications sector. The World Bank endorses private competition in a level playing field environment, and is currently partnering with 30 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa in this area. The IFC is an early financier and investor in Africa-based telecommunications private sector operators who have now become regional leaders. The IFC is currently a direct or indirect financier for private sector telecommunications operators in 25 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa and has in the recent years mobilized close to US$1 billion for the sector. These efforts have played a role in creatinga demonstration effect, which, coupled with positive changes in the investment environment, has contributed to changing the perception of investors towards Africa, who are now attempting to replicate this success in other infrastructure and business areas. *** NO LONGER INTERESTED IN RECEIVING THESE UPDATES? *** Please reply to this message with 'unsubscribe' in the subject line to be removed from this distribution list. -- Steve Song <ssong(a)idrc.ca> Manager ICT4D Africa Programs http://www.connectivityafrica.org http://www.idrc.ca/acacia International Development Research Centre Tel. +1 613 236 6163 x2268 Mobile: +1 613 302 8233 Skype: steve_l_song _______________________________________________ Fibre-for-africa mailing list Fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fibre-for-africa

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[Fwd: Re: [governance] ICANN Board Vote Signals Era of Censorship in Domain Names]
by alice 03 Apr '07

03 Apr '07

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [governance] ICANN Board Vote Signals Era of Censorship in Domain Names Date: Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:14:03 -0400 From: Lee McKnight <LMcKnigh(a)syr.edu> Reply-To: governance(a)lists.cpsr.org, "Lee McKnight" <LMcKnigh(a)syr.edu> To: <expression(a)ipjustice.org>, <governance(a)lists.cpsr.org>, <NCUC-DISCUSS(a)LISTSERV.SYR.EDU>, "Milton Mueller" <Mueller(a)syr.edu>, <goldstein_david(a)yahoo.com.au> As to 'what does this decision say ICANN is becoming?' - um, well, it looks and acts like an industry self-regulatory body, right? So, it is an industry regulator. Is anyone shocked? No, didn't think so. Some regulatory decisions are made on technical grounds, others on economic, process, and some yes for reasons of policy, which may reflect more or less community including political input. And affect speech on the Internet, free or otherwise. What is still lacking is an 'Administrative Procedures Act' for the Internet, in partidular to guide ICANN on how it should go about and what it may or may not consider in its decisionmaking, whether for gtld's or anything else. Lee Prof. Lee W. McKnight School of Information Studies Syracuse University +1-315-443-6891office +1-315-278-4392 mobile >>> Mueller(a)syr.edu 4/3/2007 10:59 AM >>> David: I was at the ICANN meeting and have been carefully following the .xxx controversy since the US government intervened in August 2005. Robin is correct that the .xxx rejection is fundamentally about ICANN trying to avoid, or actively discourage, controversial top level domain names. This was evident from the many conversations and comments at the meeting, especially among governments. No one familiar with the facts of this case can deny that there are free expression issues. You also ignore the broader context -- this rejection happened at the same time as a new TLD approval process is being proposed that would openly and explicitly veto any proposals that generate opposition. Take a look at the transcripts of the public forum discussion, in which the Chair of the GNSO admits that objections from the Catholic church would have to be taken seriously if a TLD that mentioned "abortion" was proposed. You speak of "community support." ICM had 77,000 advance registrations, which exceed by a factor of 10-20 the number of hostile comments. That shows that it was viable economically and would be used. Of course there are adult online sites whose interests were threatened by a .xxx, and they opposed it. But any domain name proposal might generate opposition from someone in the world, for some reason. If ICANN turns TLD approval into a popularity contest then it is, de facto, a massive restriction of freedom of expression. Do you need community support to start a newspaper or a web site? You shouldn't need "community support" to be able to speak on the Internet. Whether .xxx would in fact "protect children" or uses a "Western" concept of porn are fankly silly arguments that people grab at to rationalize their opposition. How does it "protect children" to continue the status quo in .com, which is full of easily accessible porn sites, some of it misleadingly labeled? How can any effort to identify and label porn avoid embodying a specific culture? These kids of arguments are simply rationalizations. --MM >>> goldstein_david(a)yahoo.com.au 4/2/2007 10:43 PM >>> Robin, I strongly disagree with your comments Robin. First, one prerequisite is for applicants for a TLD to have community support. There was no community support from the adult/porn industry. ICM claimed there was but never showed it. My contacts in the adult industry cannot find anyone in the industry who has supported the creation of this TLD. The opposition of religious groups should have been inconsequential, but as subscribers to my news will have seen, they're crowing about their input into the rejection. I would have thought the lack of community support was reason enough to not approve the proposed TLD. Second, I have major reservations about the role ICANN may be forced to play in content regulation should problems eventuate with ICM. In addition, the creation of such a TLD should never have got off the ground. It does nothing to protect children unless there is enforced registrations of adult content in this field. It also uses a western concept on what is adult content. You could easily argue that it is all about western, and mostly American, views about protecting children. Further, those voting against the resolution put forward at the meeting only voted against supporting the resolution. They did not necessarily vote in favour of the creation of a .xxx TLD. To call this censorship is plain wrong. Cheers David ____________________________________________________________ You received this message as a subscriber on the list: governance(a)lists.cpsr.org To be removed from the list, send any message to: governance-unsubscribe(a)lists.cpsr.org For all list information and functions, see: http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance ____________________________________________________________ You received this message as a subscriber on the list: governance(a)lists.cpsr.org To be removed from the list, send any message to: governance-unsubscribe(a)lists.cpsr.org For all list information and functions, see: http://lists.cpsr.org/lists/info/governance

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Re: [kictanet] .xxx rejected
by alice 03 Apr '07

03 Apr '07

John Walubengo wrote: > Long Live SUSAN CRAWFORD! > > She articulated it exactltly the way I always thought. If > the guys want .XXX give them .XXX and more. Don't get me > wrong - i happen to be the religious type and don't support > porn (adult or otherwise). > > However, i find it a very clever way to 'controlling' porn. > Give them one ID (domain name) so that it becomes > technically easier to 'Block' them off. Technically it is > easier to issue one single command against 'XXX' and the > whole country is 'DENIED' access to XXX (porn) than it is > to try and search millions of domains for porn content in > order to block them (the current solutions against porn). > > In security terms it is known as the 'Honey-Pot' syndrome. > If you want to trap all the flies, create a single point of > attraction (e.g. XXX) and then 'Zap' them right in there. > And this zapping (Blocking) can be done at Country, > District and Local(organisational) Level. So give them > their damn 'XXX', it becomes easier to control porn that > way. > > walu. > > karenb(a)gn.apc.org > --- "A. Wanjira Munyua" <alice(a)apc.org> wrote: > > >> Hi all >> >> Today the ICANN board rejected the .XXX proposal >> The board votes were: >> >> 9 votes against >> 5 votes in favor >> 1 abstention >> >> >> >> Below some excerpts of the discussions from the ICANN >> ALAC list but entire >> discussion can be accessed online. >> >> >> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > >> SUSAN CRAWFORD: As a board, we cannot speak as elected >> representatives >> of the global Internet community because we have not >> allowed elections >> for board members. This application does not present any >> difficult >> technical questions, and even if it did, we do not, as a >> group, claim to >> have special technical expertise. ... >> >> >>JOICHI ITO: I vote no against the resolution, and I >> would like to >> comment briefly. I think Peter, Susan and David have >> articulated most of >> the points. I would also like to point out that the >> discussions and >> arguments about how we would end up by default becoming >> entangled in the >> content aspect of this is not sufficient reason for me to >> vote in favor >> of this resolution. It is a reason to look at again, as >> Susan says, the >> whole process of gTLDs but maybe even at a higher level >> the raison >> d'etre and the existence of ICANN and how it should >> progress. >> >> Susan's full statement is worth reading, so I've >> reproduced it below. >> >> --Wendy >> >> SUSAN CRAWFORD: I must dissent from this resolution, >> which is not only >> weak but unprincipled. I'm troubled by the path the board >> has followed >> on this issue since I joined the board in December of >> 2005. I'd like to >> make two points. >> >> First, ICANN only creates problems for itself when it >> acts in an ad hoc >> fashion in response to political pressures. Second, ICANN >> should take >> itself seriously, as a private governanced institution >> with a limited >> mandate and should resist efforts by governments to veto >> what it does. >> >> I'd like to talk about the role of the board. >> >> This decision whether to admit a particular non-confusing >> legal string >> into the root is put before the ICANN board because, >> first, we purport >> to speak on behalf of the global Internet community. And >> second, the >> U.S. Department of Commerce defers to the judgments of >> that community >> when deciding what to tell its contractor to add to the >> authoritative >> root zone file. >> >> As a board, we cannot speak as elected representatives of >> the global >> Internet community because we have not allowed elections >> for board >> members. This application does not present any difficult >> technical >> questions, and even if it did, we do not, as a group, >> claim to have >> special technical expertise. >> >> So this is not a technical stability and security >> question. >> >> It seems to me that the only plausible basis on which the >> board can >> answer the question in the negative -- so could say a >> group of people >> may not operate and use a lawful string of letters as a >> top-level domain >> -- is to say that the people affected by this decision >> have a >> broadly-shared agreement that the admission of this >> string to the root >> would amount to unjustifiable wrongdoing. >> >> Otherwise, in the absence of technical considerations, >> the board has no >> basis for rejecting this application. >> >> Let me explain. >> >> The most fundamental value of the global Internet >> community is that >> people who propose to use the Internet protocols and >> infrastructures for >> otherwise lawful purposes, without threatening the >> operational stability >> or security of the Internet, should be presumed to be >> entitled to do so. >> In a nutshell, everything not prohibited is permitted. >> >> This understanding, this value, has led directly to the >> striking success >> of the Internet around the world. >> >> ICANN's role in gTLD policy development is to seek to >> assess and >> articulate the broadly-shared values of the Internet >> community. We have >> very limited authority. And we can only speak on behalf >> of that >> community. I am personally not aware that any global >> consensus against >> the creation of a triple X domain exists. >> >> In the absence of such a prohibition, and given our >> mandate to create >> TLD competition, we have no authority to block the >> addition of this TLD >> to the root. It is very clear that we do not have a >> global shared set of >> values about content on-line, save for the global norm >> against child >> pornography. But the global Internet community clearly >> does share the >> core value that no centralized authority should set >> itself up as the >> arbiter of what people may do together on line, absent a >> demonstration >> that most of those affected by the proposed activity >> agree that it >> should be banned. >> >> I'd like to speak about the process of this application. >> >> More than three years ago, before I joined the board, >> ICANN began a >> process for new sponsored top-level domains. As I've said >> on many >> occasions, I think the idea of sponsorship is an empty >> one. All generic >> TLDs should be considered sponsored, in that they should >> be able to >> create policies for themselves that are not dictated by >> ICANN. The only >> exceptions to this freedom for every TLD should be, of >> course, the very >> few global consensus policies that are created through >> the ICANN forum. >> This freedom is shared by the country code TLDs. >> >> Notwithstanding my personal views on the vacuity of the >> sponsorship >> idea, the fact is that ICANN evaluated the strength of >> the sponsorship >> of triple X, the relationship between the applicant and >> the community >> behind the TLD, and, in my personal view, concluded that >> this criteria >> had been met as of June 2005. ICANN then went on to >> negotiate specific >> contractual terms with the applicant. >> >> Since then, real and AstroTurf comments -- that's an >> Americanism meaning >> filed comments claiming to be grass-roots opposition that >> have actually >> been generated by organized campaigns -- have come into >> ICANN that >> reflect opposition to this application. >> >> I do not find these recent comments sufficient to warrant >> revisiting the >> question of the sponsorship strength of this TLD, which I >> personally >> believe to be closed. >> >> No applicant for any sponsored TLD could ever demonstrate >> unanimous, >> cheering approval for its application. We have no metric >> against which >> >> > === message truncated === > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. > Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta. > http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html > >

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[Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Ex-Africa One Honcho bringing Optical Fibre to East Africa in another project]
by alice 02 Apr '07

02 Apr '07

from Brian Longwe: Fibre for Africa mailing list: Interesting to note that the former top gun at Africa One - the failed "fibre necklace for Africa" - is spearheading this initiative. One more piece of evidence that Africa holds the key to the future of the global telecoms business. OUTSIDER EAST COAST FIBRE PROJECT COMES IN FROM THE COLD – SEACOM GOES PUBLIC (From Russell Southwood's Balancing Act) There are four projects to build an international fibre cable to connect the east coast of Africa. There’s EASSy, the Kenyan Government’s TEAMS, Flag Telecom…and the fourth project? Sithe’s SEACOM has been working quietly on the fringes to put together a privately funded “carriers’ carrier” project. News has been filtering out about it but Sithe’s Brian Herlihy made his first public presentation of the project at a United Stated Trade Development Agency Africa conference ten days ago in San Francisco. Russell Southwood spoke to him about what SEACOM will be and how it will work. The new cable follows the same route as the EASSy cable down the eastern seaboard but it will either connect internationally directly into Italy or India via VNSL. The latter is important because the total cost of international fibre transit will include any second leg beyond the point where the cable lands. Brian Herlihy is a veteran of Africa One who has learned the lessons of that over-ambitious project. Sithe is owned by venture capital company Blackstone but is raising private equity to complete the cable which will be called SEACOM. It wants to become a carriers’ carrier for what it sees as an “underserved” market. Thus far, it has raised money from the following sources: American funding from an African infrastructure fund, an Africa and Middle East Fund based in Europe and two private equity groups in Africa. At the conference presentation, Herlihy told delegates that “50% of the shareholders are African.” In order to act as a “carriers’ carrier”, it will outsource day-to- day operations and is currently in discussions with an internationally reputable carrier. It will either invest in terrestrial backhaul directly or buy it from others. It has excess funding targeted at inland backhaul. It is talking to ISPs and carriers about Capacity Purchase Agreements. In effect, it is selling IRUs where the purchaser will put 5% of the price down by an agreed date and make the final 95% contribution at the start of operations. One of the current obstacles the project has overcome is that the South African Government will not allow it to land the cable in that country itself. Therefore it will make a commercial agreement with an existing carrier (Neotel) and transfer the operation of the landing station to it. Under the ECA Act, it will make sure that the fibre offers open and fair access to all operators and allows co-location of other POPs. By contrast, in Tanzania it will obtain its own licence and build its own landing station and a large co-location centre and put a large ICT park alongside if it proves to be feasible. It will follow the same licensing and operating route in Kenya and also build a co- location centre there. It is currently talking to the Kenyan utility companies about obtaining terrestrial backhaul. A factor that will affect all four East African fibre projects is the tightening market for optic fibre cable and build capacity. Having been in the doldrums for a number of years, the two main international submarine cable-laying companies are believed to be both short of fibre optic cable and ships over the next three years. There are now a large number of new fibre projects, particularly in the Pacific. EASSy has chosen Alcatel Lucent as its contractor and we understand that it also bid for the TEAMS project. The Kenyan Government chose Tyco as its contractor. Neither Flag nor SEACOM has appointed contractors although Herlihy says it will do so this month (April 2007). On pricing, Herlihy told delegates”We have lowered expected pricing twice to unlock pent-up demand.” He said that the company would act as a wholesaler and that it expected that a reseller market would develop for bandwidth in much the same way as already operated in the satellite market. On pricing, he was coy about starting prices but expected prices to drop to US$91 per mbps per month in ten years time. He noted that the price of bandwidth was “killing more business cases (in Africa) than other factor”. Asked whether his company would be interested in building a competitive alternative to SAT3, he replied that there was already interest in Guinea (where it was involved in an aluminium smelting project) and several groups had already approached it. It is interesting to note that the countries with more competitive markets like Kenya and Tanzania are attracting new operator interest, whilst South Africa is not really open for business in quite the same way. _______________________________________________ Fibre-for-africa mailing list Fibre-for-africa(a)lists.apc.org http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/fibre-for-africa

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general internet news - 2 April
by Rebecca Wanjiku 02 Apr '07

02 Apr '07

cut and paste the links........ *************** DIGITAL DIVIDE *************** in: Wi-fi buses drive rural web use Buses equipped with wi-fi are being used to deliver web content to remote rural villages in the developing world. In rural India and parts of Rwanda, Cambodia and Paraguay, the vehicles offer web content to computers with no internet connection. The buses and a fleet of motorcycles update their pages in cities before visiting the hard-to-reach communities. As well as offering popular pages, the United Villages project also allows users to request specific information. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6506193.stm *************** RESEARCH PAPERS *************** Life online: The Web in 2020: A study by the Social Issues Research Centre The Life online report, looking as it does toward a vision of the Web in the year 2020, aims to provide an outline and analysis not only of projected technological developments but also their social, political and economic implications. What will the Web look like in 2020? What will it do? Where will it be? How will we use it? SIRC’s starting point has been the notion that the Web in 2020 will meet human needs more fully than it does at present, with many resulting social and political implications. It will have come to provide a renewed forum for social cohesion and democracy as well as continuing as a platform for information, entertainment, communication, shopping, etc. But will it, as some predict, provide a digital alternative to ‘real life’, with the distinction between Human and machine becoming ever-more blurred? Or will it, as we believe, be not so indistinguishable from the Web we know today. http://sirc.org/publik/web2020.shtml http://sirc.org/publik/web2020.pdf *********** CENSORSHIP *********** China bans mucky text messages Chinese police are warning mobile users to think again before sending pornographic pictures or text messages from their phones. Anyone caught sending explicit messages could face a fine of 3,000 yuan ($388) and up to two weeks in prison. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/29/china_bans_mucky_messages/ Viet Nam: Internet activist priest imprisoned Father Nguyen Van Ly, a 60-year-old Catholic priest who helped set up an internet petition calling for democratic change, was today sentenced to eight years imprisonment for "conducting propaganda" against the state. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA410032007 ************************************************ CHILD PROTECTION, FILTERING & CONTENT REGULATION ************************************************ au: Your sons and daughters 'at same risk' from online predators Parents are being warned their sons are just as likely to be targeted by internet predators as their daughters, with a survey revealing boys are less hesitant to reveal personal information online. The survey was conducted by Australian federal government body NetAlert and ninemsn. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10432101 http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21476332-662,00.html au: Parents warned to watch boys while online Parents are being warned their sons are just as likely to be targeted by internet predators as their daughters, with a new survey revealing boys are less hesitant to reveal personal information online. http://stuff.co.nz/4011368a19716.html au: Girls beat boys at Internet safety (news release) Two independent surveys recently conducted by ninemsn and NetAlert have found that girls are more responsible online than boys. The results of the online surveys, undertaken by parents and children separately, also show that while parents say they know what their children are up to when online; the kids are telling a different story. http://netalert.net.au/03857-Girls-beat-boys-at-Internet-safety.asp Swedish queen urges more action to fight child porn Japan's law enforcement bodies must collaborate with the private sector, including Internet service providers, to combat the sexual exploitation of children online, Queen Silvia of Sweden told a Thursday symposium in Tokyo against child pornography. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070330a8.html us: A shameful surrender to pornographers Another federal judge has struck down the Child Online Protection Act. Had it taken effect, the 1998 law would have done one simple thing: require Internet pornographers to verify the age of customers through the use of adult-access codes or credit cards. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0402/p09s01-coop.html ie: Increase in reports of child porn on Internet A report from the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland has indicated an increase in the number of reports of illegal child pornography found on the internet. The association operates an online service to which 2,677 complaints were made last year. http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0329/porn.html http://www.electricnews.net/frontpage/news-10019402.html uk: Police probe ‘web torture’ at top school One of Britain’s top independent schools is under police investigation over allegations of pupil bullying involving the use of internet images of torture, murder and child pornography. Officers are examining computers taken from the school, in southeast England, for any evidence of such extreme websites being viewed. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article1596698.ece *************************************** CYBERCRIME, CYBERSECURITY AND PRIVACY *************************************** us: Adult site's legal battle could aid Web hosting services A federal appeals court ruling in a case involving an adult publisher appears to have delivered broader legal protections for online service providers against lawsuits claiming privacy violations and other illicit behavior by their users. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9595_22-6172184.html ca: The Clinton Ad and Fair Dealing by Michael Geist The hot video of the week is the remarkable mash-up of the Apple 1984 advertisement, which in its new incarnation stars Hillary Clinton and promotes Barack Obama. The video has been viewed more than two million times and received considerable mainstream media news coverage. An Associated Press story caught my attention as it discussed the prospect of Apple suing the creator of the Clinton version. The article concludes that a suit is unlikely, given the strong fair use protection for political speech. That may be true from a U.S. perspective, but would the same analysis apply in Canada? http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/1825/125/ Sports organizations' new event: Guarding online revenue When the Pan American Games start in Brazil in July, thousands of top athletes will run, wrestle and leap, but they will not be able to indulge in one popular daily exercise: blogging. Neither will their physicians, coaches or massage therapists, in a blanket ban affecting some 7,000 people during two weeks of competition ending July 29 in Rio de Janeiro. That rule may make some participants wince in virtual pain, but it reflects a spreading trend among international sports institutions to impose vigorous controls over the online use of game information and photographs. http://iht.com/articles/2007/04/01/news/sports.php fr: Briton sacked for writing Paris blog wins tribunal case A British woman sacked for writing a personal blog has won a tribunal against the company that fired her. Catherine Sanderson, 34, was dismissed from her job as a secretary with the Paris branch of British accountancy firm Dixon Wilson last summer after bosses discovered her popular blog. http://www.guardian.co.uk/france/story/0,,2046398,00.html Indian Web site defacing on the rise As many as 1,190 Indian websites have been defaced by hackers in the first two months of 2007, reflecting a more than three-fold rise in such crimes compared to the corresponding period of last year. http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/mar/30deface.htm uk: Chatroom users face charges over suicide Dozens of internet users who allegedly goaded a depressed father to hang himself could face criminal charges. Kevin Whitrick, 42, killed himself live on the internet after being incited by chatroom users who initially believed he was play-acting. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2047502,00.html uk: Internet suicide inquest opens The inquest into a man’s apparent suicide, which was broadcast live on the internet, will open today. The body of Kevin Whitrick was found at his home in Telford, Shropshire, on March 21 after a chat room user contacted police to report that the father-of-two had “self-harmed” while online. http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article15… us: N.Y., N.J. Hit Internet Gambling Rings New York and New Jersey law enforcement officials busted two Internet bookmaking operations today that allegedly handled more than half a billion dollars in sports wagers over the last 16 months. Authorities said the arrests targeted "traditional mob-run" bookie operations. http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3668526 Betonsports founder arrested in Dominican Republic (Reuters) The founder of the U.K.-based online gambling operation Betonsports.com, Gary Stephen Kaplan, was arrested late Wednesday in the Dominican Republic, a U.S. attorney in Missouri said. http://news.com.com/2100-1030_3-6172352.html us: Who's guarding your data in the cybervault? In a remarkable turnaround, ChoicePoint, the giant data broker excoriated two years ago for its lack of precautions as it went about gathering and selling personal data, has recast itself as a model corporate citizen. California's milestone data-theft disclosure law forced ChoicePoint in February 2005 to reveal that it had sold sensitive information for at least 166,000 people to a Nigerian con artist posing as a debt collector. The Federal Trade Commission hit ChoicePoint with a record $10 million fine and ordered it to set aside $5 million to aid data breach victims. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/infotheft/2007-04-01-cho… ************************** GOVERNMENT & PUBLIC POLICY ************************** kh: Ban on texts during elections Text messaging has been banned in Cambodia this weekend, amid fears of political unrest as the country votes for local government administrators. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article1593741.ece http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6513027.stm WTO Rules Against US Net Gambling Ban The WTO said the U.S. ban on Internet gambling is out of line with international trade policy. This ruling gives hope to Web gambling firms that have been battered by U.S. regulatory and law enforcement activity in recent months. The WTO ruled in favor of the Caribbean nations of Antigua and Barbuda, which had filed a complaint in May of 2004 and had already won preliminary judgment against the U.S., including possible trade sanctions. That ruling said the U.S. had failed to live up to an earlier agreement to open up Internet gambling after it had put adequate regulations in place. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/56626.html http://iht.com/articles/2007/03/30/business/gamble.php http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1175245440129 Grass Roots Planted In Cyberspace John Edwards's Campaign Leads the Field In Political Use of Social Networking Sites: If there's a social networking site that John Edwards is not a part of, we'd like to know what it is, pronto. No one's sure exactly what role these sites -- a.k.a. socnets -- will play in the upcoming election. But whatever it is, Edwards isn't taking any chances. The man's flooding the zone. He's on the big ones: Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, et al., where supporters and well-wishers are sending their best to his wife, Elizabeth. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/29/AR200703290… ***** SPAM ***** Comment and Trackback Spam Pollutes Blogs Blog spammers have found ways to automate inserting their unwanted messages into online conversations, but the few tools available to block them lag woefully behind. http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130297-c,spam/article.html Spam experts at MIT lift curtain on search If there is a solution to search engine spam, no one's going to reveal it, according to experts at the MIT Spam Conference 2007 on Friday. http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6172199.html ***************************** INTERNET & NEW TECHNOLOGY USE ***************************** ICT drives 50% of EU growth, says Commission's annual report on the digital economy Public and private investment in information and communication technology is bearing fruit, finds the Commission's annual progress report on i2010 - the digitally-led strategy for growth and jobs. Technology is fuelling innovation and productivity, and there are signs of fundamental change in markets and user behaviour, as Europe moves towards a knowledge-based economy. http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/newsroom/cf/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=… The race to preserve the third space There are few public spaces on the net, says Bill Thompson, and we need lots more of them: Tila Tequila has more than 1.5 million contacts on MySpace and a profile filled with pages of her scantily-clad form draped over chairs, cars and poles. Visit her page and you get some audio bubblegum to entertain you - apparently a track from her eagerly awaited debut album, for the multi-skilled Ms Tequila is a singer as well as a model. Now she has become the latest online celebrity to come into conflict with a social network site. http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6496351.stm IBM helps blind 'see' web video IBM has developed a multimedia browser to make content accessible to vision impaired people http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6507189.stm http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,130300-c,browsers/article.html Web news readers have greater attention span: study (Reuters) People who use the Internet to read the news have a greater attention span than print readers, according to a U.S. study that refutes the idea that Web surfers jump around and don't read much. http://uk.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUKL292443320070331 uk: Web ad spend overtakes newspapers Spending on UK internet advertising surged in 2006, overtaking newspaper ads for the first time, a report says. Online advertising expenditure jumped 41.2% to £2.01bn during the year, the report by the Internet Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers said. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6502773.stm It may start as innocent flirtation, but be warned, you too could become a lonely MySpace addict by Peaches Geldof (daughter of Bob!) MySpace is ruining my social life. I have become a serial blogger. It started as a flirtation, something innocent, like a fleeting summer romance. My little sister Pixie was on the computer. As is the custom, I moaned at her to get off (feigning non-existent A-level work I had to do "before it's too late"), then noticed a page full of pictures of her. "Hah! Ego-surfing again, are we?" I cried jubilantly. "No, Peaches, you're the only one who does that," she said. "I'm just uploading some photos on to my MySpace, actually." http://www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,2046136,00.html Brazil to offer free Internet access to Amazon tribes Brazil's government said it will provide free Internet access to native Indian tribes in the Amazon in an effort to help protect the world's biggest rain forest. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/03/30/1174761713574.html uk: Report predicts new digital divide A report by a British think tank has made several predictions about how we will live in the year 2020. One prediction is by that time, a new 'digital divide' will have opened, between those who use the internet and computers by choice, and those who 'drop out' in a movement to break away from technology. http://www.computeractive.co.uk/computeractive/news/2186784/report-predicts… ************ FILE SHARING ************ Beatles and iTunes talk growing EMI and Apple arrange a media event, prompting speculation that Beatles songs will finally go online. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6516189.stm No Beatles in Apple/EMI deal: source Speculation swirls around Apple and music label EMI's "exciting new digital offering". http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/04/02/1175366120017.html YouTube May Have Met Its Match With friends like News Corp., who needs YouTube? Not NBC Universal, apparently. Ditto for AOL, Microsoft, and a who's who of other Internet giants throwing their weight behind a News Corp.-NBC video-sharing service that could prove to be a potent alternative to Google's YouTube. http://businessweek.com/technology/content/mar2007/tc20070323_690765.htm ********************************* COMMENT, MICROSOFT & DEVELOPMENTS ********************************* uk: I'm yours for £12,000! A wannabe Cambridge University student has joined the weird and wacky items for sale on eBay in a bid to secure the £12,000 he needs to study in the city. ... But while he's got the brains, he lacks funds to make the course a reality and has come up with a novel way to raise the £12,000 fees - selling himself on auction site eBay. http://cambridge-news.co.uk/news/city/2007/03/31/a4a24230-962d-4d98-8d81-e3… Share my life on the internet, 24 hours a day In the era of CCTV, The Truman Show, Big Brother, blogging and YouTube, the only question left is how far can you go. Now we have the answer. Justin Kan has strapped a camera to the side of his head and invited the world to log on and share his entire life, 24/7. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,2047486,00.html Google Fools: Web Service Through Toilet Presiding over a company with a market value of $143 billion apparently gives Silicon Valley's most famous billionaires a good sense of humour _ and a case of corporate potty mouth. Senior executives at Google Inc. launched their annual April Fools' Day prank Sunday, posting a link on the company's home page to a site offering consumers free high-speed wireless Internet through their home plumbing systems. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/04/02/1175366111024.html http://www.ioltechnology.co.za/article_page.php?iSectionId=2883&iArticleId=… http://businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8O869EG0.htm Is Google Too Powerful? As the Web giant tears through media, software, and telecom, rivals fear its growing influence. Now they're fighting back: It's the year 2014, and Googlezon, a fearsomely powerful combination of search engine Google and online store Amazon.com, has crushed traditional media to bits. Taking its place is the computer-generated Evolving Personalized Information Construct—an online package of news, entertainment, blogs, and services drawn from all the world's up-to-the-minute knowledge and customized to match your preferences. And it's all collected, packaged, and controlled by Googlezon. http://businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_15/b4029001.htm ******************* TELECOMMUNICATIONS ******************* eu: Telecommunications Competition Must Increase -Report Competition among Europe's telecommunications operators must increase in order for the sector to prosper, the European Commission said Thursday in its annual report on the state of the European telecom market. http://nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20070329%5cACQDJON200703… Telecoms in the developing world: At your service The idea of “universal service” is being extended from voice to broadband: The rapid growth of India's telecoms industry is visible not just in the subscriber numbers—over 6m Indians now sign up for a mobile phone every month—but in other ways, too. This week the government was to have announced the winners of an auction of the rights to create and run networks in remote rural areas. Around the world, such networks are often subsidised by a “universal service fund” (USF) paid for by taxes on existing telecoms services. Auctions are held, and the network operators that demand the smallest subsidies win. They must then provide a certain number of public payphones, as well as signing up subscribers. http://economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8931851 Bush and Clinton cameo at wireless show Former U.S. Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton on Thursday told wireless executives at an industry event here how important their work is in shaping democracies and economies around the world. http://www.zdnetindia.com/news/communication/stories/173662.html ***** VoIP ***** uk: Net phone service rules announced Net phone service providers must be upfront about limitations of their services, regulator Ofcom says. It said suppliers in the fast-growing Voice over IP (VoIP) sector must explain when selling services whether they include emergency services access. Providers, including Skype, must also spell out other limits, including where directory listings are unavailable. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6507587.stm http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/03/29/ofcom_voip/ http://out-law.com/page-7917 http://publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&s… nl: Dutch consumer VoIP market reaches 1.8 mln subscribers The number of VoIP subscriptions sold in the Dutch consumer market segment reached almost 1.8 million at the end of 2006, giving digital telephony a market share of almost 30 percent, according to the latest research from Telecompaper. http://telecompaper.com/news/article.aspx?id=162996 VoIP and the Emerging-Market Call Center Many call centers in emerging markets are making the migration from legacy voice and data communications to VoIP platforms as a means of obtaining a much wider range of features that can increase productivity, reduce costs and lead to more efficient and effective management. http://ecommercetimes.com/story/56575.html us: Study reveals need for apt VoIP tools Despite widespread adoption of VoIP in businesses across the United States, a study released by Network Instruments found that network engineers often lack the appropriate tools to manage and troubleshoot VoIP performance problems. According to the study, nearly half of the organizations surveyed have implemented the technology, and 32 percent of these organizations lacked the ability to monitor VoIP performance. http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800458761_499488_8f4091b520070329_no.HTM ____________________________________________________________________________________ It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/

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Forget ICT Bill. The law is there....
by Alex Gakuru 02 Apr '07

02 Apr '07

<snip> Long awaited ICT bill is already law calming sector anxieties and disquiet over threateningly envisaged sluggish legislative processes is a special issue of the Kenya Gazette notice number 2431, of The Kenya COmmunications Act (No.2 of 1998), dated 31 March 2006 in a move that caught industry players, lobbyists and consumers alike by surprise. Using the Ministers discretionary authority provided for by sections 5(4) (a) of law, Mutahi Kagwe-minister for Information and Communications, effectively fast tracked legislation of hitherto the Kenya Information and Communications Bill-2006 by publishing the changes as policy guidelines amendment to existing law. Created new-look Communications Commission of Kenya -a converged Regulator for the entire ICT sector, including broadcasting under a new framework regulation framework in the converging and competitive environment, and also to manage a universal service fund established to finance ICTs in rural areas and under-served segments..... <snip> http://ictconsumer.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Looking for earth-friendly autos? Browse Top Cars by "Green Rating" at Yahoo! Autos' Green Center.

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