- KICTANet - KICTANet

Fwd: EFF: Court Protects Email from Secret Government Searches
by Alex Gakuru 19 Jun '07

19 Jun '07

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: WWWhatsup <joly(a)punkcast.com> Date: Jun 19, 2007 3:36 AM Subject: [isoc-ny] EFF: Court Protects Email from Secret Government Searches To: isoc-ny(a)yahoogroups.com, discuss(a)isoc-ny.org Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release For Immediate Release: Monday, June 18, 2007 Contact: Kevin Bankston Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation bankston(a)eff.org +1 415 436-9333 x126 Court Protects Email from Secret Government Searches Landmark Ruling Gives Email Same Constitutional Protections as Phone Calls San Francisco - The government must have a search warrant before it can secretly seize and search emails stored by email service providers, according to a landmark ruling Monday in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court found that email users have the same reasonable expectation of privacy in their stored email as they do in their telephone calls -- the first circuit court ever to make that finding. Over the last 20 years, the government has routinely used the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA) to secretly obtain stored email from email service providers without a warrant. But today's ruling -- closely following the reasoning in an amicus brief filed the by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other civil liberties groups -- found that the SCA violates the Fourth Amendment. "Email users expect that their Hotmail and Gmail inboxes are just as private as their postal mail and their telephone calls," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "The government tried to get around this common-sense conclusion, but the Constitution applies online as well as offline, as the court correctly found. That means that the government can't secretly seize your emails without a warrant." Warshak v. United States was brought in the Southern District of Ohio federal court by Steven Warshak to stop the government's repeated secret searches and seizures of his stored email using the SCA. The district court ruled that the government cannot use the SCA to obtain stored email without a warrant or prior notice to the email account holder, but the government appealed that ruling to the 6th Circuit. EFF served as an amicus in the case, joined by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy & Technology. Law professors Susan Freiwald and Patricia Bellia also submitted an amicus brief, and the case was successfully argued at the 6th Circuit by Warshak's counsel Martin Weinberg. For the full ruling in Warshak v. United States: http://eff.org/legal/cases/warshak_v_usa/ 6th_circuit_decision_upholding_injunction.pdf For EFF's resources on the case, including its amicus brief: http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/warshak_v_usa/ For this release: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_06.php#005321 About EFF The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------- WWWhatsup NYC http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com ---------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------- Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. --------------------------------- It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar.

1 0

CCK Internet Study- Online Deliberation Week2&3 Summaries
by John Walubengo 18 Jun '07

18 Jun '07

Dear Listers, We are now concluding the report on the above previously held Online discussion. Plse go through the summarised comments and we welcome any corrections, modifications or additions before end of day Wed 20th June 2007. Below Week 2&3 Summaries. Theme-Hierarchy of Providers Joseph Mucheru felt that the Internet Market Structure had not been sufficiently regulated to ensure the players (ISP & IGO) kept to the terms and conditions of their licence. He pointed out that whereas the current licensing regime stipulates that IGO do not do direct retail to consumers, this was not the case in practice. ISPs were also not expected to build their infrastructure since they were expected to lease capacity from the PDNOs but this was not the case in practise. Mucheru said that the industry had deteriorated to a level where all players are doing everything and anything to for profit gain and it was costing the country in terms of failure to leverage on the economies of scale had the licensing terms and conditions been adopted. Basically, Trust between IGOs, PDNO & ISP has been lost, making it very difficult to build economically efficient Internet Networks. Eric Osiakwan agreed by adding that the duplication of effort by the players results in enormous costs that are eventually dropped onto the Consumers. Theme- Statistics on Affordability Mucheru said that the main obstacles towards affordable internet services included the costs of the equipment, namely Modems, Satellite dishes, the PC and Installation Costs. However, given more users, these costs are likely to come down. Kai Wulff felt that the key thing to bringing down internet costs lay in developing local content- thus reducing the need to rely on international (external) content which in turn implied buying international bandwidth. Joan Walumbe said that awareness of Internet benefits particularly for the rural communities was necessary to create demand. Fatma Bashir agreed with Joans observation and added that there was a need to build information centers in the rural sector that could informally train users on the Internet. She commended KDNs initiative to link secondary schools to the Internet, saying that it would create a virtuous cycle where parents, their children and entrepreneurs can simultaneously benefit from the Internet. However, James Rege cautioned that Fiber alone could not address the Access component and other technologies will need to adopted for the last mile, such as WiMax, Wifi, Satellite amongst others. Florence Etta said that last mile solutions had a complex web of actors, services and possibilities and should be well planned and provisioned preferably with support from cheap sources of funding such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) Njenga MP said that considering most rural families lacked significant disposable incomes, it would be better to serve them using the Universal Service Fund which would subsidise their communication costs. But Wainaina Mungai argued that the rural community is actually not so financially indisposed particularly if their uptake for mobile telephony was anything to go by. He said that given the right access that focused on value-adding activities for their rural lifestyles, their Internet uptake will easily exceed expectations - along the same lines as their uptake for mobile telephony has. Dr. Bitange Ndemo felt that one way of making services available was by government providing the infrastructure on Open Access basis. He cited the case of the domestic link between the two Cities of Nairobi and Mombasa saying that the cost of bandwidth on this route was exorbitant despite the existing competition. Kai Wulff argued that the cost of the service was a function of usage and prices would essentially go down once usage picks up. But Brian Longwe interjected by saying usage was also a function of price, thus presenting what Eric Osiakwan referred to as the classic chicken and egg problem. In such a case, Eric said, it is always better for the Private Sector to take the business risk of adopting what Dr. Ndemo referred to as the concept of low prices high volume business models. Michael Joseph reminded members that it was worth noting that pricing was not the only key factor but service delivery, reliability, availability need to be considered. In general, industry standard Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that would encourage Operators to lease more bandwidth capacity from the upstream providers were critical. As Operators, he said, they will be needing more and more transmission capacity both within and outside the country and were therefore looking seriously at all the various proposals that are evolving. In particular, he said, they were looking forward to reviewing the detailed plans for the Regional FiberOptic network, including dates or termination points, pricing etc so as make their plan accordingly. Theme Statistics on Dispersion. Kai felt that the recent push by Government with the World Bank assistance in building internet infrastructure was presenting unfair competition to the private sector. He gave the example of the obvious failure by Government in providing fixed line services to the citizens through their public utility company Telkom Kenya. He argued that using the same approach in building domestic optical fiber infrastructure may lead to similar experiences, namely, little or no access, expensive and unreliable services. He strongly felt that Government should let the Private sector drive the build-up of the domestic fiber and furthermore, he expected that Government should be the largest consumer of the Private Sector build infrastructure. Becky Wanjiku, wondered if the Government could work in partnership with the Private Sector, by way of having MOUs that enabled Government to fund the communications projects while the private sector implemented and operated them. But Wanaina Mungai preferred that World-Bank type of Funding would be best accorded to Community Based Organisations (CBOs) but if given to Private Sector, then there would be need to ensure that the Profit motive is moderated. Lucy Kimani felt that both Government and Private Sector had a role in developing infrastructure. She said that both may however have different but justifiable reasons for getting involved. Private Sector may be keen in focusing in the urban (quicker return) areas whereas the Government had an obligation to ensure communication services reached all areas including more often than not, the non-economic, rural areas. Fatma said that the Government should however take on the key role of building capacity by way of providing roaming-digital-kiosks that would enlighten the users and stimulate demand for the Internet Services. Alice Munyua said that there was nothing wrong in the Government taking the lead in providing or building domestic fiber backbones. She cited the case of the Malaysian Government which built the Malaysian Super Corridor (MSC) which is a national information superhighway at cost of USD40 Billion. She added that Private sector would still have a role to play, particularly at the content, application and tech-skill levels. Eric Osiakwan said that it would be wrong to outrightly discourage Government intervention in Infrastructure development because it has had different results in different countries. He cited Turkey where he said that the Government intervention through the Turkish public utility company lead to massive expansion of Internet Services, but acknowledged that the same could not be said in the case for Kenya. Dr. Bitange Ndemo said that the purpose of the World Bank Loan was to stimulate demand a head of cheap bandwidth from the fibre cable. Areas that needed this type of stimulation include Rural ICT Centres, the Government, Universities and Colleges and BPOs. He added that the procurement of subsidized bandwidth will be done openly where all operators would have a chance. This does not in anyway compromise any Private sector initiatives because they would be paid the market rate of bandwidth. He explained that the participation of Government in construction of Terrestrial fibre networks and the undersea cable was to fast track availability of cheap bandwidth that would in turn help the economy to grow faster. Secondly, he said that Kenya needed an Open Access model that would help SMEs in the country to compete with the big Operators, like Jamii Telecom, KDN and the rest.. He added that the Private sector had failed to provide the necessary infrastructure for economic development and no Private Operator had shown interest in rural Kenya until the Government made the business case for rural ICTs. He however assured the Private Sector that Government had no interest in competing with them. Government role was to facilitate development. Infrastructure in the ICT Sector had lagged behind and what the Government was doing was simply to facilitate its development and leave the Private Sector to compete in an Open Access platform. He reiterated that Government had the obligation to enable every Kenyan citizen to play a role in economic development especially the SMEs that constitute 95% of businesses in the country. He concluded by saying that there was absolutely nothing wrong with borrowing from the WB to stimulate demand for the investment Government was making in the ICT sector. Some of the funds would be used to develop capacity to utilize ICTs and development of local content. Essentially, Government was simply stimulating demand that would become consumers of Private Sector products. Alex Gakuru gave a general reaction that touched on both Affordability and Dispersion Issues. On local content, he suggested that all government departments should now be having web content while KENIC should be encouraged to bring down their domain registrations fees. On the demand issue, he urged Operators to think outside their traditional markets and start enlisting new communities such as Church Ministries amongst others. On Education, he said there maybe need to seek for trust funds to continuously educate Users while on Infrastructure, he commended the Government on their move to facilitate a national reach for communications. Harry Hare added that ICT Infrastructure development should actually be elevated to the same level as National Road or Power Infrastructure. Infact, he suggested, that all the three, ICT, Road and Power Infrastructure should be planned in sync to avoid duplication of effort where the ICT people are often seen digging up through roads that were constructed with little or no provision for Data-ducts. Theme - Impact of the Recommendations Alex Gakuru supported most of the recommendations but cautioned against any Government takeover of the KIXP. Eric wondered why the Regulator would be building the Infrastructure but Professor Meoli Kashorda corrected the misconception by saying that it was the Government that had been tasked with that exercise. He further elaborated what was meant by a National Information Infrastructure (NII). He said that a NII was actually an ICT strategy that was aligned to the national strategic economic plans (ref Singapore, Mauritius, China NII ). That is, NII aligns the national economic/development strategy with the national ICT strategy (rather than just policy). He added that, that was the only way to translate infrastructure to traffic and therefore revenue for the operators. Brain Longwe also supported most of the recommendations with cautions on a few. In particular, on the issue of dissolving the separation between ISPs and IGOs, he was of the idea that it would be better to start a fresh licensing regime subsequent to a stakeholders meeting that discussed what the future internet market would look like. The new licensing regime should then aim at structuring the critical areas within such a vision while being fairly open with the non-crtical areas On SLAs, he felt that it was easier to stipulate the Internet standard but it maybe quite a challenge to monitor the same for enforcement. ====Ends==== walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Luggage? GPS? Comic books? Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=graduation+gifts&cs=bz

1 0

Vacancy: Chief Executive Officer for UbuntuNet Alliance
by Tiwonge Msulira Banda 18 Jun '07

18 Jun '07

Dear Colleagues, ** *Vacancy: C**hief Executive Officer for UbutuNet Alliance* ** The UbuntuNet Alliance wishes to appoint an enthusiastic and self motivated person as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This is a full-time senior post, with a competitive salary package. The CEO will be based in Nairobi, Kenya. The Alliance is a registered non-profit association of African National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), established in the latter half of 2005 with the vision of delivering very high speed – gigabits (Gbps) connectivity between research and education institutions throughout sub-Saharan Africa. The CEO, who reports to the Management Board, will fulfill the vision of the Alliance by carrying out the following duties: - Develop and implement the UbuntuNet Alliance's strategy - Support governance processes - Manage operations - Develop and sustain relations with the research and education networking community throughout sub-Saharan Africa and worldwide - Sustain relations with donor foundations - Sustain and develop relations with suppliers - Establish the Alliance's head office and secretariat in Nairobi. The applicant should have the ability to work independently and as part of a team in building the African Research and Education Backbone. Applicants with strong academic credentials and 3 years experience in senior network management will have an added advantage. Full details about The Alliance and the post can be obtained from the website, *www.ubuntunet.net* or contact Margaret Ngwira, email: * mengwira(a)kcn.unima.mw.* If you are interested in applying for this position, send your CV and a covering letter to Margaret Ngwira, Secretary, Ubuntunet Alliance, email: * mengwira(a)kcn.unima.mw*. cc *ceo(a)tenet.ac.za* or fax +265 1 756 090. The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday 6 July 2006. Kind regards, Tiwonge -- Tiwonge Msulira Banda UbuntuNet Alliance Secretariat University of Malawi Private Bag 1, Lilongwe, Malawi. http://www.ubuntunet.net Cell: 265 9 340740 Fax: 265 1 756090

1 0

National e-Government Strategies: Designing for Success - 19 June 2007
by Harry Hare 18 Jun '07

18 Jun '07

Dear Colleagues, The World Bank office in Nairobi has kindly availed their facility for those interested in participating in a videoconference is titled "National e-Government Strategies: Designing for Success" which is to take place tomorrow June 19th at 9:00 - 11:30 am EST, which is 4pm here. This VC is organized in partnership with USAID/USTTI and Development Gateway Foundation. The event will feature several leading experts from India, Singapore, U.S., Kenya and World Bank who will engage in a discussion with country clients. The event description is below and more information is available at: http://go.worldbank.org/KYLN3DZF40 A great number of governments have now developed e-Government strategies and are at various stages of implementation. While a significant amount of attention has been given in the past to identifying the key components of e-Government strategies and identifying best practices, little attention has been given to the processes involved in the design of such strategies. Recognizing that the process of designing an e-Government strategy is perhaps as important if not more important than the resulting document, this event will be an opportunity to learn from three different country perspectives. The speakers will address the process of designing successful national e-Government strategies, focusing on the following questions: Why is it important to have well-designed e-Government Strategies? Why might the process be as important as the final document? What constitutes successful e-Government strategies? What are the key ingredients? How should governments go about designing e-Government strategies? What are the steps and processes that are essential not only to the elaboration of the strategy, but also to its successful implementation? The VC room at the Bank can accommodate just a few people, and we have been given about 15 spaces which shall be allocated on a first come first served basis. Due to security issues at the Bank's offices, we have to submit the names of those interested by 1pm tomorrow. So if you are interested in participating, pls send me an email by 1pm tomorrow 19th June 2007. My apologies for the short notice and we look forward to your participation! Best regards, Harry Hare African eDevelopment Resource Centre

1 0

is your website relevant?
by Rebecca Wanjiku 18 Jun '07

18 Jun '07

only 10% of kenyan websites have relevant content- Michuki Having a website maybe the most fashionable thing for many Kenyan companies, but how many websites are relevant? How many have content that is important to local people? Michuki Mwangi, Chief Executive Officer at KENIC reckons that 90% of the websites in Kenya are irrelevant and user unfriendly. The 10% are under construction, and remain so for a long time. At the monthly forum, Michuki indicted many organizations of developing websites that dont give visitors reason to come back, because they have same information after three years. Less than 50 % of the content of the web is irrelevant and does not address the core functions of the organizations, said Michuki. For instance, Nakumatt Holdings website; it has a slide show of buildings, information about the company and very little about the products available and the prices. Uchumi website has information about products and the prices but is limited to products on special offer. Compared to Tesco super market in the UK- all the walkways are listed, groceries, finance, media information occupies less space, and maximizes on their core business. The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) website is equally incapable of providing flight information, parking costs and directions to and from the airport. The website does not load up easily and has more information on tourism compared to its core functions. With the website being labeled as off the mark, one participant commented that even the boards at the airport do not work. compare to the British Airports Authority website- it has flight information, how to leave from one airport to the next, car park direction and fees, security alerts among other features. Telkom scored higher marks, had all the information about their services, loads fast but there is no way to purchase the services online, one has to fill forms and visit agents to get services. Michuki argued that the main problem lies in the fact that websites have been labeled as IT jobs and are only there, not to help in marketing. In this respect, many organizations leave website management to their IT departments and do nothing to improve on the content available. To redress this, organizations need to identify right target group, build online social networks, and collaborations between academia, media and government to ensure that content is generated. ends Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users.

2 1

[Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Warnings of 'internet overload']
by alice 17 Jun '07

17 Jun '07

BBC NEWS Warnings of 'internet overload' By Spencer Kelly Click presenter As the flood of data across the internet continues to increase, there are those that say sometime soon it is going to collapse under its own weight. But that is what they said last year. Back in the early 90s, those of us that were online were just sending text e-mails of a few bytes each, traffic across the main US data lines was estimated at a few terabytes a month, steadily doubling every year. But the mid 90s saw the arrival of picture-rich websites, and the invention of the MP3. Suddenly each net user wanted megabytes of pictures and music, and the monthly traffic figure exploded. For the next few years we saw more steady growth with traffic again roughly doubling every year. But since 2003, we have seen another change in the way we use the net. The YouTube generation want to stream video, and download gigabytes of data in one go. "In one day YouTube sends data equivalent to 75 billion e-mails, so it's clearly very different," said Phil Smith, head of technology and corporate marketing at Cisco Systems. "The network is growing up, is starting to get more capacity than it ever had, but it is a challenge. "Video is real-time, it needs to not have mistakes or errors. E-mail can be a little slow. You wouldn't notice if it was 11 seconds rather than ten, but you would notice that on a video." Spending our inheritance Perhaps unsurprisingly, every year someone says the internet is going to collapse under the weight of the traffic. Looking at the figures, that seems a reasonable prediction. "Back in the days of the dotcom boom in the late 90s, billions of dollars were invested around the world in laying cables," said net expert Bill Thompson. "Then there was the crash of 2000 and since then we've been spending that inheritance, using that capacity, growing services to fill the space that was left over by all those companies that went out of business." Router reliability Much more high-speed optic fibre has been laid than we currently need, and scientists are confident that each strand can be pushed to carry almost limitless amounts of data in the form of light. But long before a backbone wire itself gets overloaded, the strain may begin to show on the devices at either end - the routers. "If we take a backbone link across the Atlantic, there's billions of bits of data arriving every second and it's all got to go to different destinations," explained Mr Thompson. The real issue that people are going to face, and are already noticing at home, is that ISPs are starting to cut back on the bandwidth that is available to people in their homes Bill Thompson, net expert "The router sits at the end of that very high speed link and decides where each small piece of data has to go. That's not a difficult computational task, but it has to make millions of decisions a second." The manufacturer of most of the world's routers is Cisco. When I pushed them on the subject of router overload, they were understandably confident. "Routers have come a long way since they started," said Mr Smith. "The routers we're talking about now can handle 92 terabits per second. "We have enough capacity to do that and drive a billion phone calls from those same people who are playing a video game at the same time they're having a text chat." Congestion Even if the routers can continue to take what the fibre delivers, there is another problem - the internet is not all fibre. A lot of the end connections, the ones that go to our individual home computers, are made of decades-old copper. "The real issue that people are going to face, and are already noticing at home, is that ISPs are starting to cut back on the bandwidth that is available to people in their homes," said Mr Thompson. "They call it bandwidth shaping." "They do this because they have a limited capacity to deliver to 100 or 200 homes, and if everybody's using the internet at the same time then the whole thing starts to get congested. Before that happens they cut back on the heavy users." Obstacles But digital meltdown is not the only threat facing the net. There are other, more sudden, real world hazards which the net has to protect against. Anything from terror attacks to, would you believe it shark bites, can and have taken out major links and routers. It only takes an earthquake, as we saw at the end of last year, to take out a significant segment of internet infrastructure Paul Wood, MessageLabs "There's a perception that the internet is very resilient," said Paul Wood, senior analyst of security firm MessageLabs. "The way it was designed means that if any particular part of it is disrupted then the traffic will find another route. "It only takes an earthquake, as we saw at the end of last year, to take out a significant segment of internet infrastructure. Then the traffic finds another route, but it goes over a very slow route, which then becomes saturated and can't handle the bandwidth. Then you lose the traffic and that part of the world goes dark for a while." For decades the internet has kept pace with our demands on it. And demand continues to grow. And the service providers will continue to insist that the net will survive, and the doomsayers will continue to insist that it is just about to collapse. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/click_online/6756899.stm Published: 2007/06/15 14:25:46 GMT (c) BBC MMVII _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

1 0

from pirate radio to community radio...
by Rebecca Wanjiku 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

when power goes, the radio goes off air.... inspired by a pirate radio in Brazil, Koch Fm started operation as a pirate radio two years ago. last year, the radio got a licence to operate within 2km radius in Korogocho slums. just like many other sectors that depend on the erratic power, the station is in need of a generator. the volunteers have raised money and bought a generator but have not installed it. a company profile with the history and programs will be availed, here is the breakdown of what is needed. 1 piece 3 safe automatic change over = 80,000 24 metres , 10mm twin width earth @140 = 3,360 4 piece roll bolts 8mm @130 each = 520 1 piece concrete earth dip @2000 =2000 1 piece earth rod 4inch @ 550 =550 4bags of cement @ 400 =1,600 1 tonne concrete each = 1,100 1 tonne of sand @1,300= 1,300 4 pieces box iron/ion tube 2x2 each @ 1200= 4,800 3 pieces box iron/ion tube 1x2 @ 950 - 2,850 4 pieces iron sheets 21/2m @ 550 each = 2,200 4 pieces wire mesh @ 1400 = 5,600 2kg hood iron @ 180 =360 3 pieces inches @ 85 = 255 exhaust system @ 7,000 labour and transport = 45,000 testing and communication = 3000 VAT @ 16% = 25, 839 GRAND TOTAL 187,334 Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

1 0

Govt Opens Kshs 79 Billion Investment Opportunities
by Bill Kagai 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

From: MediaCorp.Research(a)mediacorp.co.ke <MediaCorp.Research(a)mediacorp.co.ke > Date: Jun 16, 2007 2:24 PM Subject: Govt Opens Kshs 79 Billion Investment Opportunities To: MediaCorp.Research(a)mediacorp.co.ke Cc: info(a)mediacorp.co.ke Please find attached the NSE Weekly Analytics and our brief précis on the 2007/2008 Budget, where the Government has opened enormous investment opportunities. We shall cover the details next week in our Weekly Analytics. Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp Limited Suite B2, Tetu Apartments, State House Avenue P. O. Box 20311 - 00200 Nairobi, Kenya Tel. 254 20 272 8332 Fax. Rendered Obsolete www.mediacorp.co.ke

1 0

[Fwd: The Drum Beat - 399 - Mobile Telephony]
by alice 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

This issue of the Drum Beat takes a closer look at trends, strategies, and initiatives centred around one particular information and communication technology (ICT): the mobile (cellular) telephone. It provides a snapshot of a few of the summaries available on The Communication Initiative website that explore to what extent - and to what end - this ICT is being used in various locales around the world to address a variety of needs and issues. *** CONTEXT & TRENDS 1. Mobile 2007 According to this report from ENTER [Centro de Análisis de la Sociedad de la Información y las Telecommunicaciones], the number of mobile customers throughout the world reached 2.6 billion by the end of 2006, with two-thirds of these customers in a developing country (compared with 50% at the end of 2003). Meanwhile, fixed telephony continues along the downward trend that started in 2002; in 2005, there was a decrease of 2.1% in value terms in the world market as a whole. http://www.comminit.com/redirect.cgi?r=http://www.enter.es/enter/file/espan… 2. Pocket Answer to Digital Divide by Jo Twist According to this article from the BBC, much of the debate about the digital divide centres on finding ways to get computers to individuals in developing countries, but some people argue that existing mobile phone technologies are the way to connect the world. The article states that mobile technology has, for some time, been making a difference in remote, underdeveloped areas where it is difficult and costly to build fixed-line infrastructure and net access. One reason for its success is ease of use and ability to conveniently overcome language and literacy issues. In addition, while internet access requires some level of know-how, such as typing and reading skills, the mobile, in its simplest form, requires voice only. This technology is being used in local communities to find out market prices and other vital information. For example, in Bangladesh, mobiles are being extensively used for e-learning, e-commerce, and e-government. http://www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/st2006/thinking-1513.html 3. Telecommunications: A Dynamic Revolution by David White This November 2006 article traces trends in telephone use in Africa. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), between 2000 and 2005 the number of mobile phone lines in Africa rose from 15.6 to 135 million - a compound annual growth rate of almost 54%, compared with 24% globally. Mobile users account for 83% of Africa's telephone subscribers, a higher proportion than any other region in the world; the World Bank estimates that in most African countries, more than 90% of mobile custom is prepaid. However, mobile network coverage on the continent, averaged at 15%, is still the lowest in the world, varying from 72% in South Africa to 1% in Eritrea, and expansion is expected to be slow. Furthermore, White explains that the rise of the mobile may be masking a number of problems in the continent's communications infrastructure. For instance, Africa's landlines are said to be in a crippled state; main telephone lines have expanded, but at a much slower rate of l! ess than 7% a year, achieving a penetration rate of just 3%; Chad, for instance, has 1 fixed line for 700 people. http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2006/trends-327.html 4. New Trends in Mobile Communications in Latin America by Judith Mariscal and Eugenio Rivera According to this October 2005 paper, Latin America's mobile telephony sector "has experienced a growth pattern that vastly surpassed all expectations." The authors note that, after 1998, the average annual growth of mobile telephony users during the 2000-2003 period was 33% in the region, whereas growth in the case of traditional telephony was only 7%. In fact, "Today, mobile telephony provides the only source of access to some of the poorest segments of the population." For instance, many members of rural Mexican families have migrated to larger cities within Mexico or abroad looking for better salaries, employment, and educational opportunities; increased capacity to communicate is key. http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2006/trends-277.html 5. UK Children Go Online: Final Report of Key Project Findings by Sonia Livingstone and Magdalena Bober This April 2005 report indicates that one key finding from a survey of children and youth aged 9-19 in the United Kingdom (UK) is that the mobile phone is their preferred method of communication - over email, text or instant messaging - for a range of reasons - whether it is passing time, discussing logistics, seeking advice, or gossiping or flirting. http://www.comminit.com/trends/st2005/thinking-1271.html 6. From Matatu to the Masai via Mobile by Paul Mason As part of his journey through Kenya using a map of the country's mobile phone networks as his guide, BBC Newsnight correspondent Paul Mason here traces trends in the use of this ICT to foster economic and social development. Mason explains that today 1 in 3 adults carry a cellphone in Kenya; in the past 5 years the number of mobiles in Kenya has grown from 1 million to 6.5 million. In contrast, the number of landlines remains at about 300,000, mostly in government offices. "About 80% of Kenyans are covered by mobile networks and while it would be easy to find a place off the network, finding people there would be difficult." One new specific development Mason describes is the ability to transfer funds via one's cell phone. http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2007/trends-340.html 7. Wireless Communication and Development in the Asia-Pacific: Institutions Matter by Rohan Samarajiva This paper traces regional trends related to the growth of wireless technologies, including telephones, and explores the regulatory and policy environment that is needed to continue to support these technologies' "enormously important role in extending access to voice and data communications by hitherto excluded groups in society." The Asia-Pacific is also "a major player in mobile data. One consultancy firm calculated that 77% of the world's estimated 100 million mobile data subscribers in 2003 came from the Asia-Pacific, principally Japan and South Korea. The region was making significant progress on 3G mobile services as well, with over 10 million subscribers in 2004. However, "there remain many institutional barriers..." http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2006/trends-280.html 8. The Real Digital Diversity by Seán Ó Siochrú In this article, Ó Siochrú agrees that mobile phones have proven to be very successful, offering examples of community-owned and community-driven networks in Argentina, Peru, Poland, and India - where wireless technologies are offering small-scale, low-cost, low-maintenance data and voice networks. However, he argues that mobile phones are not necessarily the least expensive or best way to bring telephone services to economically poor and rural areas. He points to a particular one-size-fits-all project based in Bangladesh that failed in Nigeria, attributing the failure to significant differences related to factors such as population density, availability of micro-credit, and cost of interconnections. Ó Siochrú makes reference to the private sector's unwillingness to commit to long-term investment needs when it comes to bandwidth. He also believes that widespread applications are not occurring primarily because of the absence of a supportive regulatory and institutional envir! onment. http://www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/st2005/thinking-1179.html MOBILES IN TIMES OF CRISIS & CONFLICT 9. Must Haves: Cellphones Top Iraqi Cool List by Damien Cave According to this news article, in July 2006 there were 7.1 million cellphone subscribers in Iraq, up from 1.4 million 2 years prior. The author suggests that it is the violence in this country that seems to have spawned the growing use of this ICT. For instance, insurgents are using phones to communicate with each other about such issues as detonation of bombs, while Iraqis of all sects are relying on their phones to avoid danger and/or to communicate their safety (or lack thereof) to family members. In addition, human rights workers often receive pictures of men tortured or killed by death squads, many of them taken with the cellphones of witnesses or the victims' relatives. Brig. Gen. Jaleel Khalaf Shwayel of the Iraqi Army said that he gives cellphone number to people in the neighbourhoods, and receives calls every day. "In the el-Adil district, I received a call that people there had put mines in the road...I gave an order to investigate, and we discovered it was right.! " In addition to use of this medium to exchange news and/or information, Iraqis - especially young people - are reportedly using text messages and images on their cellphones as a "safe" form of self-expression, and as a way to tap into a source of resilience and local sense of humour as a way of coping with pervasive violence. http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2007/trends-334.html 10. Internews Creates Text Messaging Service for Indonesian Journalists After Earthquake This article explores trends in the use of short message service (SMS) technology by journalists seeking to share crucial information with the general public in the aftermath of a natural disaster. In response to the May 27 2006 earthquake on the Indonesian island of Java, which killed over 5,000 and left 1.6 million homeless, mobile phones "quickly became mobile news services for journalists covering the recovery efforts." As part of the Java Earthquake Emergency Media Project, Internews worked with more than 180 Indonesian journalists to establish a quick, low-cost emergency communication network that enabled local radio stations to report on humanitarian relief. Outgoing messages ranged from warnings of aftershocks and reports on emergency services such as vaccinations, to stories of protests by communities that had not received any government aid after the disaster. http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2006/trends-329.html 11. Donate a Phone, Save a Life National Cell Phone Collection Campaign - United States In 2005, the Body Shop, an international retailer of skin, hair, and body care products, asked members of the United States public to donate used wireless phones to support the effort to stop family violence. The Body Shop is sharing information on its website and using this and other media channels to stimulate donation of used phones to be sold, refurbished, or recycled, with proceeds going to partnering organisations whose programming works to raise public awareness about domestic violence and to support survivors. The goal of the campaign is to "break the silence around this issue and bring support, awareness, and education" to the Body's Shop's customers and employees. http://www.comminit.com/experiences/pds2005/experiences-3325.html Contact http://www.comminit.com/redirect.cgi?r=http://www.thebodyshop.com/bodyshop/… 12. Greenpeace Uses SMS To Monitor Forest Destruction According to this article, Greenpeace is using mobile phone technology to support environmental activism in Argentina. This includes using SMS in campaigns and activities, both to receive information from local activists on the ground and also to mobilise supporters in the cities. Greenpeace has provided indigenous people with mobile phones so that they can text for help when their lands are under attack from developers; this strategy is based on the belief that SMS is the most accessible method for indigenous people, as in most cases they don't have landlines or access to electricity. http://www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/st2006/thinking-1500.html 13. Cell Phones for Soldiers - United States and Global This is a grassroots effort to help active duty military members communicate with their families through funds raised from recycled cell phones. Initiated in April 2004 by a (then) 13-year-old United States resident and her 12-year-old brother, this programme involves galvanising community members to donate used mobile phones to support the purchase of prepaid phone cards for American troops overseas. Inspired by a news story on television about a Massachusetts soldier struggling to pay off more than US$7,000 in charges for cellphone calls home from the Persian Gulf, the brother and sister team collected money from classmates and other local sources to help pay that soldier's phone bill. Their plan broadened when the pair heard that recyclers paid for used cell phones. Working with their parents, the siblings persuaded local shops, police stations, and government offices to set out cell phone recycling bins. With the recycling proceeds and some cash donations, the siblings b! uy phone cards worth up to 60 minutes each in international calls. They send the cards to service members and their families or military units that place requests through the charity's website. http://www.comminit.com/experiences/pds2007/experiences-4209.html Contact Brittany and Robbie Bergquist kids(a)cellphonesforsoldiers.com OR cellphonesforsoldiers(a)recellular.com 14. Ratification of the Protocol Campaign - African Union This communication campaign uses advocacy as a tactic to urge African governments to ratify the protocol of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. Thirteen civil society organisations that have been working on the protocol - along with Oxfam GB, Equality Now, African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), CREDO for Freedom of Expression and Associated Rights, and Fahamu - formed a coalition. These campaigners joined efforts by preparing a petition to be presented to the Heads of States and Government of the African Union (AU) and then putting out a call for articles and an SMS campaign known as "text now 4 women's rights." This part of the campaign was aimed to enable cell phone users across the world to send text messages from their cell phones to sign an online petition in support of the campaign. http://www.comminit.com/africa/experiences/pds12006/experiences-3519.html Contact Zeinab Kamil Ali zeinab70(a)yahoo.com OR Hannah Forster acdhrs(a)acdhrs.org OR Dr. Morissanda Kouyate morissanda(a)yahoo.fr OR Anne Gathumbi info(a)covaw.or.ke OR Soyata Maiga cabinetsoya(a)afribone.net.ml OR Muchimba Sikumba Dils fdc(a)fdc.org.mz OR Liz Frank sister(a)iafrica.com.na OR Elize Delport illisd(a)mweb.co.za OR Adjamambo Johnson wildaf(a)cafe.tg OR Lynette Matima lynette(a)wildaf.org.zw *** PULSE POLL http://www.comminit.com/pulse.html Media reform is a free-standing social movement. Do you agree or disagree? [For context, see http://www.comminit.com/drum_beat_397.html] Please VOTE and COMMENT! - http://www.comminit.com/pulse.html *** Please participate in a DISCUSSION on the above topic through June 28 2007 within the Drum Beat Chat forum. See http://forums.comminit.com/viewforum.php?f=49& *** MOBILES FOR HEALTH 15. Using Cell Phones to Teach Pandemic Flu Preparedness According to this article, a team from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) has developed an interactive tool using mobile phones to educate the public about pandemic flu. The free, interactive media, called Mobile PanFlu Prep, can be downloaded to a cell phone as one would download an interactive game. A series of menu items and audio provide the user with information on flu symptoms, advice on avoiding the flu, and a checklist to prepare for pandemic flu. Mobile PanFlu Prep is available in English and Spanish and contains rich graphics, animations, voice-overs, branching, scrolling text, and record-keeping. http://www.comminit.com/avianinfluenza/st2006/thinking-1618.html 16. Phones-for-Health - Global This is a public-private partnership facilitating access to and use of cell phones for health efforts in the developing world. The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan/PEPFAR) is working along with the several mobile phone industry companies and other private-sector partners to leverage technology to connect health systems in PEPFAR-supported countries. The programme provides health workers in the field with a Motorola-made phone that is equipped with an application that lets them enter health data on patients. That information is then sent by way of general packet radio services (GPRS) to a central database. (If a GPRS network is not available, it can be sent via SMS.) The data is analysed and mapped by the system and then made available to health officials through a real-time internet database. PEPFAR will provide initial support for system roll-out in Rwanda and Nigeria in 2007, with a plan to eventually extend the partnership to at least 8 addi! tional countries on this continent and then expand into Asia as well. While initially focused on HIV/AIDS, the goal is to use the system to address infectious diseases like tuberculosis and malaria. http://www.comminit.com/experiences/pds2007/experiences-4208.html Contact PughKA(a)state.gov 17. Polio Tunes on Phones A January 2007 anti-polio campaign in India included the use of polio eradication messages on landline and cell phones to raise awareness about polio among phone users. http://www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/st2007/thinking-2026.html 18. La Sante au Bout du Fil (Health On Line) - Mali Launched by Population Services International (PSI)/Mali and the Mali-based telecommunications carrier Ikatel, this social marketing campaign uses information and communication technologies (ICTs) - namely, cellular technology and a website designed specifically for young people - in an effort to combat HIV/AIDS and malaria in Mali. The project sends text messages with PSI/Mali-created health slogans twice a month to 350,000 clients, free of charge. HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention slogans are also being printed on one million pre-paid phone cards. Specifically, simple, concrete messages such as "Anyone can get HIV - everyone can prevent it" and "Protect your family against malaria - use an insecticide-treated mosquito net" are part of the campaign's aim to raise awareness and promote PSI's products: Protector brand condoms, BLOC insecticide net retreatment kits, and Super Moustiquaire Famille Protégée treated nets. http://www.comminit.com/africa/experiences/pds122004/experiences-2828.html Contact psimali(a)psimali.org 19. TeleDoc - India This initiative provides handheld mobile phone devices to village health workers in India, permitting them to communicate with doctors who use a web application to help diagnose and prescribe for patients. The process of creating TeleDoc began in 2001, when the India-based Jiva worked closely with community heads of villages in Haryana to identify healthcare priorities and test appropriate health solutions. The result is a system that uses Java-enabled mobile telephones to provide village-based healthcare workers with real-time ability to record and transmit diagnostic information. Custom database applications, which synchronise with record-management systems at Jiva's clinic, enable doctors to analyse the data and then prescribe medication and treatment. Medicines are compounded at a regional office, picked up by field workers, and delivered to patients in their homes - a network of pharmacies and delivery people supports this process. The approximate cost of the entire Tel! eDoc process is 70 rupees (US$1.50) per consultation. http://www.comminit.com/experiences/pds12004/experiences-469.html Contact contact(a)jiva.com 20. Mobiles To Track Bird Flu and AIDS Spread by Jo Best Mobile phones are being used to help doctors in Rwanda track the spread of diseases such as avian influenza and HIV/AIDS. Created by the GSM Association and Voxiva, the system allows medical and government staff to report on disease outbreaks and patient treatment status, as well as to order medicine. http://www.comminit.com/trends/st2006/thinking-1924.html MOBILES TO FIGHT POVERTY 21. Phones for the Poor by Syed Mohammad Ali Drawing on examples from Africa and South Asia, this article shows that the "growing profusion of cell phones can have a direct impact on the lives of [economically] poor people," for example, changing the lives of economically poor women whose personal mobility is constrained by socio-cultural barriers. In describing projects to alleviate the digital divide, the author cites the telecommunications strategy of the Grameen Bank, an approach characterised here as "vital for development and poverty alleviation." To take advantage of this potential, the author urges more innovative approaches which are relevant to the needs of the economically poor; also, providers and governments need an "integrated approach going beyond simply providing cheaper phones..." http://www.comminit.com/strategicthinking/st2007/thinking-2093.html 22. Mobile Telecommunications and Economic Growth by Leonard Waverman, Meloria Meschi, and Melvyn Fuss In October 2005, the Annenberg Research Network on International Communication (ARNIC) at the University of Southern California, or USC (USA) held a workshop - "Wireless Communication and Development: A Global Perspective" - as part of a multi-disciplinary effort to study the emergence of new communication infrastructures, examine the transformation of government policies and communication patterns, and analyse the social and economic consequences. In this paper, one of 12 delivered at the event, the authors share research that found the economic impact of mobiles around the world to be significant. For instance, doubling mobile penetration from its average level of 8% leads to 10% increase in output. They point, in particular, to the growth potential of mobiles in African countries, noting that South Africa and Morocco have exceptional performance in mobiles rollout and that faster growth is expected here, especially if political stability is maintained. Pointing to busines! s success stories like Celtel and Orascom, they argue that locally run and owned mobile companies can thrive even in the economically poorest of nations, but that a good investment climate, solid rule of law, and less corruption need to be in place. http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2006/trends-283.html 23. Wireless Technologies and Development in Africa by Catherine Nyaki Adeya In this paper from the October 2005 "Wireless Communication and Development: A Global Perspective" workshop, Nyaki Adeya examines the growth in mobile networks in Africa - stressing the "considerable variation between different African countries' adoption and use of these technologies, ranging from the fairly advanced status of South Africa to the relatively under-developed status of Somalia." In the second section of the paper, Adeya examines various strategies for bringing mobile telephony to low-income groups in Africa. To cite one example she points to, Simu ya Jamii is a community-based mobile telecommunication in Kenya that is tailored to satisfy the communication needs of the economically poor, especially those who do not have personal mobile phones. This system "has not only created jobs in low income areas but has given greater access to communication facilities for the poor." There is a specially designed Simu ya Jamii for those on wheelchairs (though able bodied p! eople use it as well), and mostly run by one of their own. As Adeya notes, the popularity of Simu ya Jamii has increased because it can be used even where there is no electricity; charging can be done using solar or car batteries. http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2006/trends-281.html 24. Mobile Banking As Aid Tool by Shihoko Goto According to this article, as mobile phone use has expanded, the ways in which the technology can be used have, too. Even in regions where electric supply and phone connections are sporadic, mobile phones are increasingly being used as a tool for microfinance, as they provide access to bank accounts and allow the transfer of funds and payment of bills. As many people in countries like the Philippines and South Africa own cell phones, mobile banking improves access to credit: "they can be part of a society that depends less on actual cash and more on credit information, which is more convenient and safer, by using a tool that they already have and are familiar with." Further, such services may be particularly convenient in locations where the nearest local bank might be miles away. http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2006/trends-302.html *** This issue was written by Kier Olsen DeVries. *** The Drum Beat is the email and web network of The Communication Initiative Partnership - ANDI, BBC World Service Trust, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Calandria, CFSC Consortium, CIDA, DFID, FAO, Fundación Nuevo Periodismo Iberoamericano, Ford Foundation, Healthlink Worldwide, Inter-American Development Bank, International Institute for Communication and Development, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Center for Communication Programs, MISA, PAHO, The Panos Institute, The Rockefeller Foundation, SAfAIDS, Sesame Workshop, Soul City, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNICEF, USAID, WHO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Chair of the Partners Group: Garth Japhet, Soul City garthj(a)soulcity.org.za Executive Director: Warren Feek wfeek(a)comminit.com *** The Drum Beat seeks to cover the full range of communication for development activities. Inclusion of an item does not imply endorsement or support by The Partners. Please send material for The Drum Beat to the Editor - Deborah Heimann dheimann(a)comminit.com To reproduce any portion of The Drum Beat, see http://www.comminit.com/help.html#copyright for our policy. To subscribe, see http://www.comminit.com/subscribe_drumbeat.html To unsubscribe, reply to this message with "unsubscribe" as the subject. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

1 0

Matatu to the Masai via Mobile
by alice 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

>From Matatu to the Masai via Mobile by Paul Mason As part of his journey through Kenya using a map of the country's mobile phone networks as his guide, BBC Newsnight correspondent Paul Mason here traces trends in the use of this ICT to foster economic and social development. Mason explains that today 1 in 3 adults carry a cellphone in Kenya; in the past 5 years the number of mobiles in Kenya has grown from 1 million to 6.5 million. In contrast, the number of landlines remains at about 300,000, mostly in government offices. "About 80% of Kenyans are covered by mobile networks and while it would be easy to find a place off the network, finding people there would be difficult." One new specific development Mason describes is the ability to transfer funds via one's cell phone. http://www.comminit.com/trends/ctrends2007/trends-340.html

1 0