- KICTANet - KICTANet

you can lay your own cable.....
by Rebecca Wanjiku 23 Feb '07

23 Feb '07

Twenty years ago, countries in south Asia were faced with similar problems of connectivity that most of Africa faces today. That time, there was no government commitment, whether longsighted or myopic. Then, a group of individuals decided to lay the cable. They got minimal staff and divers to do the work and the connected most of the countries. For them, it was a question of meeting demand and providing it at an affordable cost. That time, no one had looked at issues their way but they knew of a future market. The story, was told by Brian Longwe- a reknowned ICT expert, and as he argued, the southern part of Asia is one of the most connected and has various cables, laid by individuals, companies and government consortia. Internet costs there as well as connectivity to other vital services have been considerably reduced. So what stops me and my friends from laying our own cable and selling it to willing buyers? Longwe asked Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Permanent Secretary at the ministry of Information and communication. Dr. Ndemo replied that there is nothing stopping any group from laying their own cable, provided they do not become a monopoly. There is no law blocking anybody from laying the cable. The government does not want to promote monopolies, he added. The debate took place at the workshop discussing the Optic Fibre Cable and the various models that the country may adopt to bridge the digital divide. The workshop was a conclusion of the two week-long online discussion on OFC. Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ We won't tell. Get more on shows you hate to love (and love to hate): Yahoo! TV's Guilty Pleasures list. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/265

2 1

Kai vs Dr. Ndemo
by Rebecca Wanjiku 23 Feb '07

23 Feb '07

SPICING UP THE DEBATE When Kai Wulff, CEO , KDN and PS Ndemo are in one room discussing issues of internet connectivity, you can be assured of fireworks, but the common denominator is that they are concerned about reducing internet connectivity charges. They hold varied opinions on ownership and financing, and discussions are frank and honest, no holding back. It is hard to get bored when discussions start, it can only leave participant more informed of the varied opinions. For instance at the OFC workshop, PS Ndemo says that anybody can lay the cable so long as they are not a monopoly, that is, they must talk to other players in the sector. The PS notes if Kai wants to do it alone, then thats selfish. And Kai answers, I have talked to all of you but for two years no one wants to listen! So one may wonder, what is this heated debate all about? Its about OFC financing, ownership and operations, who allowed and who is not. For Kai, its about the service, let the guys laying the cable do their work, and all we do is promise them capacity that when the service is in Mombasa, they will get the business. In this model, one buys the services at competitive prices just like anywhere else in the world. It is a question of who offers the cheapest reliable service. Kai draws an analogy from supermarket business. If we can have OFC supermarkets in Mombasa, they can advertise their prices and services and if another one opens shop and has a better deal, then we can move there. Kai is simply opposed to Kenya laying the infrastructure, he wants others to come looking for business here. They lay the cable at their own cost, ours is just to give them the capacity. Loyalty is a good party if it serves both parties and will be bad if one is locked in a marriage one cant get out of, Kai said. His contention is that governments should be consumers not competitors to private sector in this field. But the PS has an alternative view, he argues that the government has taken the lead because the private sector is taking long. He told the meeting that one company had promised to lay the cable by 2009 and the government insisted that that would be too long, it should be done in a year. Out of 20 companies, the PS said, only Kai was complaining about the government. Thought the companies were not divulged, Kai just shook his head when the comment was made. The PS agreed that the government should be a consumer mainly but added that there is need for rural connectivity. He said that in many cases, private sector would be driven by profits and most of these rural areas do not have the profits. On the question of Telkom representing the government in TEAMS, Dr. Ndemo said that only happened because proper mechanisms had not been put in place. At the end of it, the PS invited Kai to his office so that they can discuss more issues affecting the sector. Dr. Ndemo argues that Kenya is willing to turn down international banks willing to invest in TEAMS because it is convinced that the Kenyan private sector has the financial might to back the cable investment. Dont let us down! the PS concluded. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss an email again! Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/

1 0

Re: [kictanet] government to woo investors
by Jose' 23 Feb '07

23 Feb '07

We need more players in bandwidth provision considering more people are venturing into BPO business. The bandwith we are being offered now are throt cutting for small business who are trying to stay afloat. Kudus to the Ministry of Communications. Best Regards, Jose' Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri || +254 722 336754 || ----- Original Message ---- From: Rebecca Wanjiku <rebeccawanjiku(a)yahoo.com> To: ngunjirijnr(a)yahoo.com Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 4:22:45 PM Subject: [kictanet] government to woo investors In April/ May, the government will commence a spirited campaign aimed at wooing investors and maintaining the existing ICT investors by tendering for bandwidth supply from companies. Much of the bandwidth will be subsidized by the World Bank and will be provided to universities and Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) organizations. The exercise is expected to kick off in July this year. Speaking at the OFC workshop, Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Information and Communication Bitange Ndemo said he had put down mechanisms at the treasury to ensure the process goes smoothly. Rebecca Wanjiku, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ Food fight? Enjoy some healthy debate in the Yahoo! Answers Food & Drink Q&A. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngunjirijnr%40yahoo.com ____________________________________________________________________________________ Any questions? Get answers on any topic at www.Answers.yahoo.com. Try it now.

1 0

taxes to be slashed
by Rebecca Wanjiku 23 Feb '07

23 Feb '07

Good news to mobile phone campanies! The government is going to waive the excise duty and push connectivity to about 18 million subscribers. But dont hold your breadth! This was a proposal given by PS Ndemo to other arms of government that are concerned with collecting taxes. Ndemo said the government was committed to reducing taxes to ensure universal connectivity. The song about duty and other charges continues, but lets hope something is done soon. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html

1 0

government to woo investors
by Rebecca Wanjiku 23 Feb '07

23 Feb '07

In April/ May, the government will commence a spirited campaign aimed at wooing investors and maintaining the existing ICT investors by tendering for bandwidth supply from companies. Much of the bandwidth will be subsidized by the World Bank and will be provided to universities and Business Processing Outsourcing (BPO) organizations. The exercise is expected to kick off in July this year. Speaking at the OFC workshop, Permanent Secretary in the ministry of Information and Communication Bitange Ndemo said he had put down mechanisms at the treasury to ensure the process goes smoothly. Rebecca Wanjiku, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sucker-punch spam with award-winning protection. Try the free Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/features_spam.html

1 0

deletion of outdated domains
by Rebecca Wanjiku 23 Feb '07

23 Feb '07

ICANN U-turn over outdated domainsNick Wilsdon According to Cnews, plans by ICANN to delete some of the more ‘outdated’ domain extensions in their index have been derailed. They had opened a public discussion in San Paulo with a view to removing these extensions, which ended last month. Top of their list of their list for deletion was the Russian .su (Soviet Union) extension and the former Yogoslav Republic’s .yu. However the public proceedings have been dogged by protests and threats of legal action from domain owners, less than happy at the prospect of loosing their domain, marketing and branding expenses. ICANN finally agreed to leave the extensions alone. This is not the first time ICANN have deleted an extension, Great Britain’s .gb, was replaced by .uk, East Germany’s .dd and Zaire’s .zr after the country became the Democratic Republic of the Congo. However supporters of the .yu and .su domains have pointed out that these extensions are far from obsolete, they have a healthy number of subscribers. There are currently 7′000 .su domains in circulation, with an additional 250 being sold each month. The .su domain has remained popular in Russia, despite it’s higher cost, because so many valuable one-word phrases and brands remain available. This news will certainly breath new life into these extensions and their continued growth will make it even harder, if not impossible for ICANN to close them in the future. Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 8:00? 8:25? 8:40? Find a flick in no time with the Yahoo! Search movie showtime shortcut. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#news

1 0

IGF- is it more than talk??
by Rebecca Wanjiku 23 Feb '07

23 Feb '07

Internet Governance Forum: Is It More Than Talk? By Monika Ermert for Intellectual Property Watch Multi-stakeholder dynamic coalitions of the UN Internet Governance Forum (IGF) are pushing to have privacy, intellectual property, open standards and freedom of expression on the agenda of the second meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil next autumn. At a 13 February IGF stocktaking meeting in Geneva, several of the coalitions formed at the first IGF (in Athens in October-November 2006) presented short progress reports. Agenda-setting, the role of the coalitions, the IGF as a whole and the IGF output are still to be debated. IGF activists and organisers also look to New York where the new UN Secretary General has yet to make his first comments on Internet governance issues. The dynamic coalitions so far are the most visible and practical outcome of the IGF in preparation for the second IGF meeting in Rio. The 50-member IGF coalition on privacy sponsored by the governments of France, United Kingdom, companies like Microsoft and Cisco Systems, and data protection officials from various countries, met on Sunday before the meeting. According to Ralf Bendrath, expert in privacy policy at the University of Bremen, the Privacy Coalition will publish issue papers shortly on privacy and identity, privacy and development, and privacy and freedom of expression. An Italian government delegate announced a meeting for discussion on an Internet Bill of Rights this summer. The A2K@IGF Coalition, another large dynamic coalition, aims at coordinating participation and awareness of access to knowledge (A2K) activities at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), including proposals for a Development Agenda and an Access to Knowledge Treaty at WIPO. One focus of the coalition is setting methodologies or best practice norms for the implementation of laws dealing with technological protection measures (TPMs) and digital rights management (DRM) restrictions, which have been shown to present serious impediments to access to knowledge and the free flow of information, said Robin Gross, executive director of IP Justice, which is instrumental in the coalition. Gross said coalition member Franklin Pierce College Law Center was for example checking on the effects of free trade agreements. Strong interest in the issue which was nearly untouched at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was shown by the growing partner list of the coalition. Ghana has joined the coalition and I think more countries will follow, said Gross. Key deliverables for Rio, according to Gross statement, are development of best practice norms for DRM technologies and anti-circumvention laws. Nitin Desai, senior UN official and IGF chair selected by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, said with regard to IGFs role on intellectual property issues: We are very well designed in providing a space for discussion. The IGFs non-negotiating role might help to look for some common ground. Any resolution on a recommendation or official output naturally would have to be taken at the WIPO level, he said. IGF Executive Secretary Markus Kummer said, The IGF is a neutral environment to discuss these issues. Kummer also referred to another aspect of the IP problem that he said would stay with the IGF: the question of open and non-proprietary standards. The IGF was criticised during the stocktaking phase for relying only upon proprietary formats. There are no easy answers, said Kummer. The role of the IGF as a pure discussion forum - a neutral, non-binding and non-duplicative process as the EU presidency put it - was intensively discussed during the stocktaking meeting. While hailed as a liberation of the bounds of classical diplomacy by some, several governments and NGOs asked for a more formalised output. As for the results it is important to have some kind of written conclusion or concluding statement that could be a reference for the meeting, said the head of the Brazilian delegation. In fact, the mandate given to the IGF in paragraph 72 refers to the possibility to make recommendations. Without a more formal role accompanied by more dialogue between governments, we risk entering into a course whose result will be the lack of interest for the IGF process, he warned. Several civil society members as well as government delegates said they did not agree with Desais point of view that formal decisions or votes were made impossible by the non-member nature of the IGF. Ideas like rough consensus", messages from the IGF or other compromises were put on the table beside the recommendations mentioned in the 2005 Tunis WSIS agenda. But US business and many Western governments warn against a mission creep of the IGF. What the final agenda for Rio will look like had to be left very much open. Procedures for next steps still have to be cleared by the new UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. The future of the IGF Advisory Committee that was tasked with the preparations and programming of the first IGF still is not clear. While he would recommend keeping the advisory group, Desai said, the final decision lies with him. An update on another hot issue, the so-called enhanced cooperation process also had been delayed, said Desai, because of the change in New York. Several governments urgently asked about the outcome of bilateral consultations Desai held over the last month. Enhanced cooperation was agreed upon by the WSIS as a complementary process to the IGF. Its target was - at least as some interpret it - better cooperation between governments and relevant organisations on Internet governance. Whether or not the management of Internet infrastructure resources should be placed more prominently on the IGF agenda was a second issue of debate at the stocktaking meeting. A strong appeal to tackle it came from the non-governmental Third World Network. The issues of root servers, domain name servers and Internet Protocol are among the most important issues in Internet governance, Riaz Tayob urged participants. If they are absent from the agenda, the core issues are absent. Tayob complained that while the IGF was mainly established because these issues had not been resolved, it had been kept off the agenda. Supporters of the current governance model should not try to preclude discussion, and the IGF should not be a party to such censorship, he said. Brazils representative recommended to at least invite Internet governance organisations like the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) or UN International Telecommunication Union to give an update at every IGF session. Patrik Faltstrom, former member of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), said he personally would reject discussion on issues like root servers at the IGF as long as the questions to be answered were not more specified. While there might be aspects of the technical system that could be discussed at the IGF, so far questions had been very vague. In a way, Gross told Intellectual Property Watch, the infrastructure issue and the IP issue were related as both were facets of US attempts to have a certain control over the Internet. The IGF had to tackle both issues. The IGF should not, said Bendrath, shy away from the most controversial issues and be satisfied with simply being a multistakeholder-model accepted by everybody. Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started. http://mobile.yahoo.com/mail

1 0

quick test - 20070222 3.45p.m -plse ignore
by John Walubengo 22 Feb '07

22 Feb '07

testing, testing... walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html

1 0

Stakeholder Workshop on Submarine Cable Provisioning: Friday 23rd Feb 2007- Jacaranda hotel
by alice＠apc.org 22 Feb '07

22 Feb '07

Dear all Please see below programme for tomorrows meeting and apologies for cross posting. --------------------------------------------------------------- 8:00-8:30: Registration- 8.30-8:45am: Introductions - Walu 8:45-9:15am: Background Info on Models for Provisioning of OFC (Private, Consortium & Open Access) *Walu 9:15-10:30 a.m: Brainstorming on Private-Sector Provisioned OFC *Walu/All *Critical Success Factors/Requirements expected of Regulator, Govt, consumers *Projected Impact on Stakeholders 10:30-11:00a.m.T/Break 11:00-11:45a.m: Brainstorming on the Consortium Provisioned OFC Walu/-All *Critical Success Factors/Requirements expected of Regulator, Govt, consumers *Projected Impact on Stakeholders 11:45-12:30p.m: Brainstorming on the Open Access Provisioned OFC *Walu/ALL *Critical Success Factors/Requirements expected of Regulator, Govt, Consumers *Projected Impact on Stakeholders 12:30p.m-12:45p.m: Brief by PS on TEAMs/EASsy -PS Ndemo 12:45p.m-1:15p.m: Wrap-up & Way Forward (Rapporteur and Brian Longwe) 1:15pm-Lunch and then Guest leave at their pleasure. Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/

1 0

OFC program for tommorrow
by Rebecca Wanjiku 22 Feb '07

22 Feb '07

Stakeholder Workshop on Submarine Cable Provisioning Friday 23rd Feb 2007- Jacaranda Hotel, Programme 8:00-8:30: Registration- 8.30-8:45am: Introductions - Walu 8:45-9:15am: Background Info on Models for Provisioning of OFC (Private, Consortium & Open Access) Walu 9:15-10:30 a.m: Brainstorming on Private-Sector Provisioned OFC Walu/All *Critical Success Factors/Requirements expected of Regulator, Govt, consumers *Projected Impact on Stakeholders 10:30-11:00a.m. T/Break 11:00-11:45a.m: Brainstorming on the Consortium Provisioned OFC Walu/-All *Critical Success Factors/Requirements expected of regulator, Govt, consumers *Projected Impact on Stakeholders 11:45-12:30p.m: Brainstorming on the Open Access Provisioned OFC -Walu/ALL *Critical Success Factors/Requirements expected of Regulator, Govt, Consumers Projected Impact on Stakeholders 12:30p.m-12:45p.m: Brief by PS on TEAMs/EASsy -PS Ndemo 12:45p.m-1:15p.m: Wrap-up & Way Forward (Rapporteur and Brian Longwe) 1:15pm-Lunch and then Guest leave at their pleasure. Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Never miss an email again! Yahoo! Toolbar alerts you the instant new Mail arrives. http://tools.search.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/

1 0