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Can Kenya (and Africa emulate the IIT (India Institutes of Technology) Strategy?
by Ali Hussein 23 Apr '13

23 Apr '13

Listers It seems like the new President heard our pleas of stopping the conversion of all mid-tier colleges and polytechnics to full blow universities. Or maybe our thoughts coincidentally aligned, http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Government-plans-technical-colleges-for-… How can we ensure the rhetoric moves from theory to practice and beyond? To actually strengthen the polytechnics and colleges to become world class reminiscent of the Indian Institutes of Technology? These should be engrained into an act of parliament and the Departments of Science & Technology should work in tandem with the ICT Ministry to make them a reality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Institutes_of_Technology THE IITs were a key pilar in making India the Technology Powerhouse it is today. I hope the incoming ICT Ministry senior team makes a deliberate and concerted effort to make this a reality. And I do hope that the rest of Africa follows suit. We must step on the shoulder of giants to realize our dreams. Ali Hussein CEO | 3mice interactive media Ltd Principal | Telemedia Africa Ltd +254 713 601113 "The future belongs to him who knows how to wait." - Russian Proverb Sent from my iPad

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FW: Growth in internet subscription outpaces voice.doc
by Wambua, Christopher 22 Apr '13

22 Apr '13

Listers, P R E S S R E L E A S E E [cid:[email protected]] 18th April 2013 Growth rate of internet/data surpasses voice The number of internet users in Kenya increased to 16.2 million in the period between October 1 and December 31 last year, representing a growth of 11.6 %. According to the CCK Sector Quarterly Statistical Report (2nd Quarter of 2012/13 FY) released today, the number of Internet subscribers in the country rose from 8.5million in the 1st quarter of this financial year to 9.4 million by the end of December 2012, posting an increase of 11.5%. The number of Internet subscribers increased by 75.1% compared to same period in the previous year. Mobile data/internet continued to dominate the Internet market contributing 99% of the total internet/data subscriptions in the country. Internet penetration went up by 4.3% to reach 41.1% up from 36.8% recorded during the previous period. However, the number of broadband subscribers declined to 1,002,701 from 1,006,071 posted during the previous period mainly due to a reduction in the number of fixed terrestrial broadband subscribers. The report attributes the growth in the Internet/data market segment to international internet connectivity (used) bandwidth that has continued to spiral upwards. During the quarter under review the international internet used bandwidth rose to 328,641 Mbps from 278,329 Mbps posted during the previous period, representing an increase of 18.1 percent. Meanwhile, the total number of mobile subscribers in Kenya rose to 30.7 million, representing a marginal growth of 1.0 percent from the previous quarter. As observed during the previous period, the rate of growth has slowed down as the market appears saturated and tending towards maturity. Pre-paid subscribers continued to dominate the mobile sub-sector contributing 99% of the total number of subscribers. Mobile penetration on the other hand increased to 78% during the same period up from 77.2% recorded during the first quarter. All mobile operators recorded positive growth in service subscription beside Telkom (Orange) which lost a total of 609,321 customers, representing a decline of 19.7% during the quarter under review. The number of letters sent locally declined by 2.0 percent to reach 17.3 million down from 17.7 million letters sent during the previous period. Compared to the same period of the previous year, a decline of 11.8 percent was recorded. The number of international incoming letters grew by 20.9 percent during the period to reach 191,672 letters from 158,549 received during the previous period. Similarly international outgoing letters reached 1.9 million from 1.6 million during the previous period, representing 18.1 percent increase. The full report is attached. Christopher Wambua Manager/Communications Consumer and Public Affairs Division Communications Commission of Kenya P.O. Box 14448, NAIROBI 00800 KENYA

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Re: [kictanet] Posta Kenya closes 56 outlets
by Paul Roy Owino 22 Apr '13

22 Apr '13

Worked on Botswana Post and I concur its a success story in the continent. Think we got weak leadership at Posta Kenya. Sent from my Windows Phone ------------------------------ From: Brian Munyao Longwe Sent: 4/22/2013 10:09 AM To: Paul Roy Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: Re: [kictanet] Posta Kenya closes 56 outlets Whata travesty and a lost opportunity. Two years ago I spent time working on a project to help Botswana Posts introduce their own mobile money product as a service. They had already (as part of their strategic plan) established partnership with Govt to handle payment of social grants (pensions, social security, welfare etc).... There are many other ways of being sustainable. Best regards, Brian On Mon, Apr 22, 2013 at 5:06 AM, Ali Hussein <ali(a)hussein.me.ke> wrote: > Listers > > Hidden among the statistics released by CCK is the state of Posta Kenya. > > > http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Postal-Kenya-closes-56-ou… > > Yet despite the dire straits the state corporation seems to be in it still > could reinvent itself. Posta is in dire need of re-inventing itself ala > Deutsche Post which reverse took-over DHL and benefited from its logistics > and savvy managerial skills. Is the semi-privatization of Posta Kenya > imminent? Is it the only thing that can save it? Should the > Government/Posta seriously look at this option? I dare say we must move > poste haste (pun intended) or be confined to the fate of the US Postal > Service which seems incapable of getting out of its morose state. > > The article below Wikipedia gives a good background to the Deutsche Post > story. > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Post > > > Ali Hussein > CEO | 3mice interactive media Ltd > Principal | Telemedia Africa Ltd > > +254 713 601113 > > "The future belongs to him who knows how to wait." - Russian Proverb > > Sent from my iPad > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/blongwe%40gmail.com > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. >

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Impact of the Internet in Africa: The Dalberg Report
by Gideon 22 Apr '13

22 Apr '13

The Dalberg Report : An Interesting report for policy makers http://www.impactoftheinternet.com/ The Internet is a tremendous, undisputed force for economic growth and social change. This report intends to help policymakers capture the potential of the Internet for social and economic development - to help them understand how their constituencies already use the Internet, where the opportunities lie, what future potential for social impact the Internet offers, and what their countries need to get there. Based on a survey of more than 1300 businesses, including nearly 1000 SMEs and extensive interviews with experts across Ghana, Kenya, Senegal and Nigeria this report arms policymakers with data on the social and economic benefits of broadband and Internet. It also uses extensive secondary research and qualitative and quantitative analysis to support policymakers in harnessing the Internet’s potential. Finally, it provides actionable recommendations across policy portfolios. Gideon Rop,

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Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA)
by ICT Researcher 21 Apr '13

21 Apr '13

Talk Begins of Online ‘Blackout’ in CISPA Protest Posted 2013-04-19 18:08:42 (NEW YORK) -- No sooner had the House of Representatives passed the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA), on Thursday, than word began spreading of an online protest. Some are suggesting the protest take the form of a “blackout” – going offline for 24 hours, displaying censorship bars over content or posting statements of opposition to Internet censorship — similar to last year’s opposition to the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). Supporters on Twitter have begun tweeting the hashtag #CISPABlackout to promote the proposed April 22 “blackout.” Though proponents see the bill as a strong measure to fight cyber threats and better protect citizens, organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union, The Internet Defense League and the Electronic Frontier Foundation oppose CISPA because of the jurisdiction it would provide for the federal government to procure personal information shared with private-sector entities such as Google or Facebook. ( Read more at: http://kticradio.com/news/business/?more=33414201 )

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Kenya’s ICANN Rep Dents Africa Union Relationship, Foreign Affairs to Intervene
by Grace Githaiga 19 Apr '13

19 Apr '13

Last week, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) held its meeting in Beijing. These meetings are held in every region, and discuss emerging technical and policy issues relating to the internet. ICANN has several bodies but one of the key one and probably the most controversial is the Government Advisory Committee. Controversial because private sector, internet manager types feel that governments have nothing to do with internet management while governments feel they should be at the center of it because of public policy concerns. For a long time, ICANN has worked hard to show that its international and that there are many other governments involved in decision making and it is not only the US. Well, the US has the “Kiwi” share, and we all know how that goes. http://www.wanjiku.co.ke/2013/04/kenyas-icann-rep-botches-up-africa-union-r…

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Kenya's position at ICANN embarrasses the African Union
by Rebecca Wanjiku 19 Apr '13

19 Apr '13

Just in case you follow matters at ICANN, here is the update http://www.wanjiku.co.ke/2013/04/kenyas-icann-rep-botches-up-africa-union-r… Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog: wanjiku.co.ke

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WHO NEEDS THE ITU WHEN WE HAVE THE GAC (Governmental Advisory Committee at ICANN) & KENYA'S SHENANIGANS AT ICANN 46
by Ali Hussein 18 Apr '13

18 Apr '13

Listers For those who followed the goings on at ICANN 46 in Beijing there seems to be a concerted effort from Governments worldwide to endanger the freedoms we have enjoyed on the internet. See GAC communique attached. While I applaud the GAC for having reached consensus to object to two applications, one of them dot Connect Africa, my personal opinion is that the same (in my opinion) retrogressive elements who derailed WCIT12 are at play again with some GAC members trying to introduce/recommend to ICANN a complete redesign of the underlying policies for approving new top level domains. To quote from the article below (see link) *'The GAC has interpreted the task of providing advice on public policy as a mandate to start from scratch and revisit every policy issue related to the use of domain names that has been debated since 1999. Six years of work by the Generic Names Supporting Organization, which is supposed to develop policy, has been ignored.' * http://www.internetgovernance.org/2013/04/11/who-needs-the-itu-when-you-hav… I understand though that various ICANN constituents requested that the GAC advice on safeguards be put under public comment and I think this will be a good thing in protecting the multistakeholder model of policy making at ICANN. But all the same, what should we make of this? Is the Multi-Stakeholder model under attack? As it was in Kenya during deliberations towards WCIT12 in Dubai? And what is Kenya's position on the safeguards? Can the new Kenya GAC Rep please enlighten us? Talking of the Kenya GAC Rep, we understand there have been some very embarrassing situations where he contradicted the Kenya Government Stand on the African Union Commission (AUC) .Africa gTLD application. He is purported to have supported a competing application from DotConnectAfrica (DCA) against the AUC application which is supported by African countries including Kenya. See attached letter from our former Minister of Information, Mr. S. Poghisio. By the way, how is the Kenya GAC Rep appointed? We had Alice Munyua and Michael Katundu and then now it seems there is Sammy Buruchara who was recently appointed to apparently replace Alice Munyua, whose term was ending after the Beijing meeting having been the vice chair of the GAC. This is a terrible mess that points us as amateurs without an inkling of where our heads are at.. The link below paints a sorry picture of a country at odds with itself. The gist of the matter is this:- http://tandaabiashara.com/icann-gac-ignores-kenya-advice-on-dotconnectafric… Who should we believe? Michael Katundu and Sammy Buruchara or the former minister of information who attended the African Union Ministerial summit in Abuja and other summits which clearly mandated AUC to initiate the process to acquire the dot AFrica TLD. The Minister had following these summits sent a clear message to ICANN regarding Kenya's support for the AUC application for .Africa (see letter attached) and there is also our former President who attended the African Union Heads of State summit that yet again mandated the African Union Commission to pursue and implement an Africa TLD. Listers, I invite you to make your own conclusions based on the evidence and documentation attached and linked to this posting. The link below is telling:- http://tandaabiashara.com/icann-gac-ignores-kenya-advice-on-dotconnectafric… Note that on this link DCA also claims to have an endorsement letter from the same minister. What a mess! [image: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/images/cleardot.gif]I make a personal appeal to Dr. Ndemo to right this situation quickly as we risk the good name of our country. This is serious as it paints the country in very bad light in the international community and needs to be put to a stop. Should Kenya's Representative be going against government positions? Were they briefed regarding the government position on the AUC dot Africa application? Lastly listers this also begs a question that has been burning me for a while:- Who is responsible for Policy Formulation in the ICT Space? Is the CCK or the Wider Government through the Ministry of Infocom? It is important that we interrogate this issue since we are seeing a slow creep of CCK Apparatchik in policy processes and engagement as opposed to regulation, enforcement and enablement. If this is the case then it needs to be very clearly mandated through new law. Or am I missing something? I stand corrected though if I am wrong in my assumptions. We are leader in Africa in this space and we must act the part. We shouldn't be seen to stumble and look like fumbling teenagers when it comes to our engagement in international fora. The Kenyan Private Sector, Non-Profits and Government must be seen to move in tandem like a well-oiled machine. We should strive to avoid another disaster like WCIT12 and now our GAC involvement in ICANN 46, Beijing. *Ali Hussein* *CEO, 3mice interactive media ltd* *Partner, Telemedia Africa Ltd * Tel: +254713601113 Twitter: @AliHKassim Skype: abu-jomo LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim> Blog: www.alyhussein.com Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the organizations that I work with.

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Elections tallying remains digital in Venezuelan elections
by robert yawe 18 Apr '13

18 Apr '13

Hi, Venezuelans went to the polls on 14th and by the morning of the 15th April they knew who their new president is, hope this can be what happens in 2017. The winner got 50.7% of the votes cast, does that number look familiar? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-22149202 http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/7177 Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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Laptops promise feasible if revenue collection goes digital
by Grace Githaiga 18 Apr '13

18 Apr '13

N SUMMARYPS says adopting electronic methods will seal existing loopholes so that all the cash goes to the TreasuryNdemo says converting to digital payments will lead to revenue going up by about 60pc http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Laptops-promise-feasible-if-revenue-c…

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