- KICTANet - KICTANet

Africa's first communications satellite fails
by Robert Alai 17 Nov '08

17 Nov '08

Africa's first communications satellite fails Adole Hassan 17 November 2008 | EN The satellite was expected to boost telecommunications in Nigeria and the rest of Africa Flickr/DavidDennisPhotos.com [ABUJA] Africa's first communications satellite has suffered an energy failure just 18 months after its launch. The solar panels have malfunctioned on the Chinese-manufactured satellite according to Alhassan Zaku, Nigeria's minister of state for science and technology. The NIGCOMSAT-1 satellite was launched from China in 2007 (see Satellite launches boost African communications) amidst optimism that it would aid development by linking up rural communities and progressing telemedicine and long-distance learning. There were also ambitious commercial goals. But these are now dashed, say commentators. Ahmed Rufai, managing director of Nigeria Communication, which runs the satellite management company, said the satellite was powered down on Sunday night (9 November) after it was discovered that the batteries were failing faster than expected. But Nigeria's ThisDay newspaper (12 November) claims that the satellite has already fallen out of its orbit and been destroyed in order to prevent it from harming others. The paper quotes unnamed sources who allege that the Chinese manufacturers of the satellite used poor-quality materials. Akin Soyinka, chair of non-governmental organisation Nigeria Internet Watch, told SciDev.Net that the loss of the satellite would damage the country's efforts to bridge the digital divide -- see African action plan pushes satellites for development). "The federal government invested a lot of resources in building the satellite — to the detriment of education and health in the last four years — with the hope of bridging the digital divide and accelerating the country's development," Soyinka said. "But now all that is gone down the drain." The 40 billion Nigerian Naira (US$240 million) satellite was entirely government-owned but was "fully insured," said Rufai. A geostationary satellite, it was supposed to work for 15 years, and is officially monitored by a ground control station in Abuja, Nigeria, with backup stations in China, Italy, northern Nigeria and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) satellite applications centre in Hartebeesthoek, South Africa. Zaku told SciDev.Net that Internet service providers in Nigeria and telecommunications companies who were using the satellite would be moved to other satellites if engineers confirm that it is unfixable. --- End forwarded message ---

1 0

[Fwd: The November 17th Leadership Forum - at The Hilton Hotel, Tsavo Room]
by alice 17 Nov '08

17 Nov '08

Please note that the November 17^th Leadership Forum will take place at the* Hilton Hotel,* Tsavo room and not the Stanley. Details below: *LEADERSHIP FORUM* *‘Implications of the current global financial crisis’ – Rt Hon. David Blunkett (prominent member of the UK parliament’* *Hon. Blunkett* has served as Home Secretary and Education Secretary of the United Kingdom. Blind since birth and from a poor family in one of Sheffield's most deprived districts he has strived against all odds to become one of UK's most respected citizens. Be there to listen to him. Date: November 17th 2008 (Monday) Venue: Hilton Nairobi – Tsavo room Time: 6.00 pm Leadership Forum members: Free Non-Forum members Ksh 1,000 Confirm your attendance by email to. _Leadership.forum(a)britishcouncil.or.ke_ <mailto:Leadership.forum@britishcouncil.or.ke> Attached is Rt. Hon Blunkett’s biography. <<DB biography.doc>> Best Regards, Linet Otibine Projects and Communications Officer British Council, Nairobi P.O. Box 40751-00100 Upper Hill Road T: +254 283 6000 F: +254 283 6500 _Linet.otibine(a)britishcouncil.or.ke_ <mailto:Linet.otibine@britishcouncil.or.ke> *Creating Opportunity for people worldwide* *_www.britishcouncil.org_* <file://www.britishcouncil.org> The British Council is the United Kingdom's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. We are a registered charity; 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland). We build engagement and trust for the UK through the exchange of knowledge and ideas between people worldwide. This message is for the use of the intended recipient(s) only. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender and delete it. The British Council accepts no liability for loss or damage caused by software viruses and you are advised to carry out a virus check on any attachments contained in this message.

1 0

Cheaper international fibre prices in 2009 will put the squeeze on national backbone prices
by alice 17 Nov '08

17 Nov '08

(From Balancing Act) Cheaper international fibre prices in 2009 will put the squeeze on national backbone prices Africa’s operators say they cost their national backbone prices based on distance. The basis is that the further you want your traffic carried, the more it costs. However, this logic will soon be challenged by new, cheaper international bandwidth costs. If it costs more to send traffic from Johannesburg to Cape Town or from Lagos to Abuja than it does from any of these places to Europe, then national arbitrage will have well and truly arrived. Russell Southwood looks at what is likely to happen. Currently SAT3 prices vary from US$1,300-8,200 per mbps per month. Volume prices in South Africa fit into the bottom end of this range. Prices have recently come down in Angola to the lower end of this range, leaving Cameroon and Gabon as the high price pirates on the route. SEACOM and TEAMS are both saying that their cables will start operating in Kenya by Q2, 2009 and are offering prices that will probably translate into US$500-1,000 if operators pass along the savings made. On the west coast, Main One looks like being the first competitor cable to land in Q2, 2010 and will offer prices that will probably translate into prices for customers in the same range as on the east coast. And this where the problem begins for operators. About half of Africa’s operators are offering the same bandwidth (usually up to 500 kms) for US$2,000 or more. Only a very few are below US$1,000 and some are as high as US$4,000. These prices do not take into account a series of add-ons like access charges that actually take the global prices higher. The intelligent customers might at this point be asking themselves: why are operators able to go half way round the globe for the same price they’re charging me for going from the capital city to another city? One telco in the southern African region with a monopoly gateway gets 65% of its revenues from international traffic. The impact of lower rates will rob even competitive incumbents of significant parts of their revenue. No wonder the Zambian Communications Minister (see Telecoms News below) is trying to retain Zamtel’s monopoly gateway status because the company is already loss-making with that financial advantage. But the bad news cannot be held at bay… For the operators, pressure from customers on national backbone will become irresistible because on the basis of distance charging things will not make sense. So what can the forward-looking incumbent do? * They need to invest in IP networks where according to Huawei and Nokia Siemens Network speakers at last week’s CRASA event (Migration Towards All-IP) IP core networks are 30-50% cheaper in CAPEX terms and 30% in OPEX terms. As vendors, they would say that, wouldn’t they? But these figures seem to accord with those of operators we’ve spoken to who have made all or part of this transition. Companies with all IP networks (like South Africa’s Neotel) or who have made a real beginning with this transition possess a potent advantage over those who will have to replace their core network over the next five years. * Most incumbents are very over-staffed and the political pressure to avoid redundancies has been too great for them to avoid this core issue. Not only do they have too many staff but they have too few with the IP skills required in the future. None have any strategy for addressing this “elephant in the room”. For many IP and analogue reside in separate departments and the former is small and not influential in corporate strategy. One possible solution? Outsource the core network functions in the way that a small number of mobile carriers (for example Kasapa in Ghana) already have. You can insert focused management and higher levels of skills and control your cost levels. But for Government-owned incumbents this will require decisiveness and a clear understanding that your asset will slip through your hands if you don’t. Bankrupt companies don’t employ people for long. For customers the prospects are more cheery. Infrastructure competition will in the medium term begin to deliver real savings if they are savvy and more demanding. There are two reasons: * Vertically integrated mobile operators want to get into the business of providing core network. All of those we have spoken to – both those planning and those already doing it – agree that there are savings to be made in the 30-50% range. Countries as diverse as South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana already have several core network (or infrastructure) providers. Some claim even higher savings as much depends on how protected the monopoly provider is. The challenge for customers is to point out the national arbitrage and demand better value. • The second factor that favours customers is the arrival of alternative infrastructure providers. Power utilities already posses fibre over transmission pylons and adding more is considerably cheaper than trenching the same capacity. Over half a dozen power utilities have been either licensed directly to sell the capacity or given permission to tender to licence-holders. One of the more recent ones was Escom in Malawi which will in the not too distant future have fibre links to Mozambique. Where this has not happened, incumbents are trying to argue that this alternative capacity should be in their hands but they are probably fighting a losing battle. In order to speed up competition in the core network at the national level, operators’s customers will have to ask two questions: what is your new international fibre costing you and how much of that saving are you passing on to me? And why is it cheaper to get my traffic to Europe than it is to transfer it around the country I live in? Best to start asking now as the excuses are bound to convoluted and lengthy.

1 0

[Fwd: [APC Forum] how to bypass internet censorship]
by alice 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

Interesting...... best alice ------------------------ Just to let you know we put out a new manual "How to Bypass Internet Censorship" http://en.flossmanuals.net/CircumventionTools You can also download a free pdf here or buy the book : http://www.lulu.com/content/4904448 Its focused on bypassing internet censorship with free software. We wrote the manual in 5 days using the Book Sprint model intially developed by Tomas Krag and the FLOSS Manuals toolset. So thats zero -> Book in 5 days. For those that will be at the Aspiration Dev summit, I'll be there doing two sessions : http://devsummit08.aspirationtech.org/index.php/FLOSS_Manuals_Tools http://devsummit08.aspirationtech.org/index.php/How_to_Run_a_Book_Sprint adam -- Adam Hyde Founder FLOSS Manuals http://www.flossmanuals.net ======================================= APC Forum is a meeting place for the APC community - people and institutions who are or have been involved in collaboration with APC, and share the APC vision - a world in which all people have easy, equal and affordable access to the creative potential of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to improve their lives and create more democratic and egalitarian societies. _______________________________________________ apc.forum mailing list apc.forum(a)lists.apc.org http://lists.apc.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/apc.forum

1 0

Sega Silicon Valley - help with contact info?
by Gakuru Alex 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

Hi, Anybody knows how I could contact any of three Kenyan delegates at <http://www.wireless-africa.org/events/workshop_0811/participants> I tried googling with limited luck. Thanks, Alex

1 0

Lecture by Nicholas Negroponte on "One Laptop per Child", 7 PM, November 20
by John Maina 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/events/3776/one_laptop_per_child.html

1 0

Google Policy Fellowship
by John Maina 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

Google is looking for students who are passionate about technology, and want to spend the summer diving headfirst into Internet policy. Students from all majors and degree programs who possess the following qualities are encouraged to apply: * Demonstrated or stated commitment to Internet and technology policy * Excellent academic record, professional/ extracurricular/ volunteer activities, subject matter expertise * First-rate analytical, communications, research, and writing skills * Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and efficiently, and to work smartly and resourcefully in a fast-paced environment * General “googliness” (kidding!) Fellows will receive a stipend of $7,000 for 10 weeks during the summer of 2009 (June-August) . Exact dates of the fellowship will be worked out by the fellow and host organization. Applications are due by Friday, December 12, 2008. Students who are accepted into the program will be notified by Friday, February 13th, 2009. To learn about our application process, click here. http://www.google. com/policyfellow ship/ Mary (Molly) Uzoh, CEO/Principal Consultant Learning Right Technologies, LLC P. O. Box 51616 San Jose, CA 95151 Phone: 408-649-5872, Cell: 408-826-2167 http://www.learning right.com

1 0

BBC E-mail: European debut for '$100 laptop'
by John Maina 16 Nov '08

16 Nov '08

Paul E Fegan saw this story on the BBC News website and thought you should see it. ** European debut for '$100 laptop' ** The One Laptop Per Child organisation will start selling its XO laptop in Europe on 17 November. < http://news. bbc.co.uk/ go/em/fr/ -/2/hi/technolog y/7728881. stm > ** BBC Daily E-mail ** Choose the news and sport headlines you want - when you want them, all in one daily e-mail < http://www.bbc. co.uk/email > ** Disclaimer ** The BBC is not responsible for the content of this e-mail, and anything written in this e-mail does not necessarily reflect the BBC's views or opinions. Please note that neither the e-mail address nor name of the sender have been verified. If you do not wish to receive such e-mails in the future or want to know more about the BBC's Email a Friend service, please read our frequently asked questions. http://news. bbc.co.uk/ 1/hi/help/ 4162471.stm

1 0

Hannah Mutuku - An Employee whom Safaricom Can do without
by John Maina 14 Nov '08

14 Nov '08

Guys The worst experience ever. The date is 13th November and the place is Safaricom Moi Avenue. My problem, lost data card which I wanted blocked since I dont have money to buy a new 3g modem to replace the stolen modem plus data card. The retort from Hannah Mutuku, she cant do anything, I have lost the card, I will have to pay every month even if the card is not working. I thought that in case of a card getting lost and you suspend it, you pay a standing account maintenance charge until when the account is terminated or restored. Ooh My God. Safaricom is a fraud and with the arrogance and boisterous manner of Hannah Mutuku, you can do nothing about it. She was not listening. And she was not ready to reveal her true identity and tag and kept hiding it until when I called the Administration Police that I was getting irritated and infact I was causing a scene. Hannah told me to my face that I can do nothing about it. I left saddened. I have a post paid account with Safaricom and two prepaid lines. I threw the pre paid lines away already with lots anger in me. I was mistreated in Safaricom. I was molested. I was insulted. In safaricom, employees boasts of cronysm and what connections they have from above. Ooh God help me. I really suffered and am ready to move on. What I need is Safaricom to block my post paid line since, to my word, I wont pay a cent in that line and I am ready to face the consequences. fraud is not a good way of making business. We must stop frauds pretending to make profit. I need my account terminated and know that I wont pay a single cent. I know that our media fear loosing lots of advertising fees and thats why anything which portrays the cellphone companies in bad light wont see a day in any of the three big media houses. None of them will dare question. But the fact that this is the third problem I am having with Safaricom centre twice at Moi Avenue and once at I&M proves to me something, something is terribly wrong with the Safaricom customer care and people like Hannah Mutuku just proved that. One arrogant lady who seems to be well connected. I dont know how, but surely she seemed so. And she is a supervisor. I need a blockage on my line since I wont pay for a stolen line. I wont Kenyansregards mikeoketch(a)gmail.com

2 1

East African Intrenet Governance Forum (EAIGF)...way forward and thank you
by alice 13 Nov '08

13 Nov '08

(Apologies for cross posting) The EAIGF was convened, organized and coordinated by the Kenya ICT Action Network with the following partners, KENIC, Kenya ICT Board, Communications Commission of Kenya, Kenya College of Communication Technology, Strathmore University, Center for Global Communication, East AfricanICT4DNetwork who also formed the EAIGF planning group. KICTANet will from here collate the issues that arose out of the discussion for the last two and a half days into a comprehensive report titled “*Internet Governance East African Perspective”* based on the regional forum Output and issues. This paper will be 1. Uploaded the EAIGF on the website www.eaigf.or.ke <http://www.eaigf.or.ke> 2. Subject the regional priority issues to research 3. Submitted to the global IGF taking place in India from 3-6^th December 2008 4. Be used to develop the capacity building scholar programme that will be hosted by the Kenya Communications College of Technology (KCCT) and Strathmore College. 5. Next EAIGF will be held in Tanzania. Thank you Tanzania *Vote of thanks * The EAIGF planning team takes this opportunity to thank · The government of Kenya specifically the P.S’s information and Communication Dr. Bitange Ndemo for Launching the Kenya IGF and the EAIGF. · Mr. Philip Okundi, CCK Board Chairman · Mr. Kariithi Njogu, CCK board member · The CCK Director-General Mr. Charles Njoroge and acting on his Behalf Mr. S. Kibe · Mr. Paul Kukubo, CEO KICTB · Dr. Juma Okecth, E-government Directorate Our international Partners, · The United Nations Internet Governance Forum Mr. Markus Kummer · International Telecommunication Union, Ms. Ali Drissa · International Development and Research Centre (IDRC) Ms. Edith Adera · Internet Society (ISOC) Mr. Bill Graham · Adam Peake Centre for Global Communication GLOCOM · Willie Currie, Association for Progressive Communications. Our regional partners from the three East African Countries (RURA, RITA, SWOPNET, CIPESA I-network Uganda, Women of Uganda Network, Tanzania communication regulatory authority, Rwanda development gateway, · All speakers and moderators · All participants for your contributions and the energy · Thank you Mr. Jonathan Somen CEO Access Kenya and chair of TESPOK for providing last minute internet access after one of the EAIGF partners failed to connect the EAIGF .... · Special Thanks to Vincent and Evelyne for playing key roles in the organization of both the Kenya IGF and the EAIGF against all odds. To Mwende, Walu, Joe and Adam thank you for developing an initial draft for the capacity building programme · Thanks also to all the interns who worked with the organizing Committee to ensure the success of the EAIGF meeting. · Thank you too to all the forum secretary and the note takers and especially to Rebecca Wanjiku for the very lively live blog. · Big and special thanks to Harry Hare for managing the 2 and a half days as master of ceremony

3 2