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Internet costs set to drop as government rolls out fibre optics plan
by alice 28 Apr '07

28 Apr '07

Written by Kui Kinyanjui The cost of telephony and Internet connections is expected to drop by 80 per cent in 24 months thanks to an ambitious information technology project that aims to position Kenya as one of the most wired countries on the continent. Yesterday, the Government announced that it had set in motion a project that will see the country's 124 districts linked by a fibre optic raising the stakes in what has become the fastest growing sector in the economy. More than 5,000km of fibre optic cable will be laid to all corners of the country to serve as a national backbone that will provide consumers with access to broadband internet. "This infrastructure will serve as the pillar on which services will ride to support the demands of a modern economy," said Bitange Ndemo, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information. The government has committed to financing the project to the tune of $50 million (Sh3.5bn) hoping to provide high speed connectivity to areas that have thus far been ignored. Upon completion, the National Optic Fibre project is expected to herald the transformation of Kenya into top notch ICT country where consumers will have access to high-end market services such as cable and internet protocol television. Africa Analysis, a South African research firm estimates that Kenya's broadband data services market will grow by nearly 600 per cent between 2006 and 2011. Much of that growth will come from rural and home users as well as increased use of enhanced services such as tele-medicine and e- education as the cost of Internet connectivity drops. It is also expected that the terrestrial fibre network will create new business opportunities for entrepreneur, who can piggy-back on the Government's investment to extend ICT services to the rural folk. "With this infrastructure, we expect to attract service providers to remote and marginal areas at lower costs," said John Waweru, director- general of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) that is overseeing the project. Mr Waweru said the fibre optics project is part of a bigger plan to make the country an Information, Communications and Technology (ICT) hub. It will be hinged on the 600km terrestrial fibre optic cable that Telkom Kenya has laid between the coastal city of Mombasa and Malaba town on the Kenya-Uganda border via Nairobi. "Our aim is to move the country to an infrastructure sharing system to reduce costs," Dr Ndemo said. Kenya Data Networks, a private firm that has invested millions of shillings in a cable connecting Mombasa to Busia via Nairobi yesterday shrugged off fears that it may be a victim of the initiative. "The more infrastructure that is in place, the better for the consumer," said David Owino, the general manger at KDN. Fibre optic cables can carry more data than satellite technology, which to date is the key infrastructure of internet services in Kenya. The government, who will seek to raise the $50 million for the national backbone project through grants, concessions and loans, has already short-listed nine international firms who have been invited to tender for the project. The range of international companies short-listed vying for the project includes Chinese Huawei and ZTE corporations, Sagem, Alcatel- Lucent and Siemens. "Africa is the new hot spot for telecommunications projects," said Sun Jun of ZTE. "The telecommunications market has a lot of potential in this country." NOFBI indicates the executive is giving the nod to the ICT industry to take up its position as an economic driver. As a service sector, the communications industry is contributing increasingly large amounts to the national kitty. Services now contribute to 65 per cent of the country's economy. In 2005, the ICT sector's contribution was pegged at over 10 per cent, up from 9 per cent in 2004. http://bdafrica.com/index2.php? <http://bdafrica.com/index2.php?> option=com_content&task=view&id=690&pop=1&page=0&Itemid=3094 _

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Digital villages the way to go
by Jose' 28 Apr '07

28 Apr '07

SMEs from the communial level need to be exposed to ICT possibilities to save them too much paper work and equiping them to be professional. My take on how to reduce the 16 million people living in abject poverty is for us IT stake holders to invest on DIGITAL VILLAGES thus impacting the communities that are around us with IT skills. I am so challanged with Microsoft south africa.Out of the 15 running digital villages,Microsoft is pertnering with south african communities and the SA Ministry of Communication and they are setting up upto 50 more digital villages this year.To be run by the comminities themselves.The initive of Microsoft to set up these Digital villages in south africa started five years ago. Our vision as we try to partner with the Ministry of commuication is to intergrate university students living near the Digital villages to come and practice by implimenting what they've learnt in the Digital centres. We need to train the Police,Electral commision,City council workers on how to make IT more productive in there perticular departments. I am still puzzled by police Stations when you go report a crime.They remove this big book and you have to explain one sentence at a time as they write on the book.This digital villages can train the police on how to use simple programs like Ms-word and train them on typing skills. Also for the electral commision.For you to see if your name has been registared,a big book will be opened and you have to wait for like 15 minuites before they get your name.This digital villages will train them on how to use Ms-Excell.they just click the search engine and find your name in a flash. The city council lets not even go there.Too much paper work!!You have to leave your requst and come after a week before its found. Lets copy the south Africans on how they are outlaying this Digital centres.Its not in vain.Imagine everybody in your community being computer literate and government workers.its going to be fantastic!! I herby attatch this URL from the btimes in south Africa. http://www.btimes.co.za/99/0926/survey/survey06.htm Best Regards, Jose' Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri || +254 722 336754 || __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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My take on this: 27th April
by Mr President 27 Apr '07

27 Apr '07

Hi AliceThe thoughts you express are mutual to many i have spoken to about the "preparedness" for the anticipated Optical Fiber roll outMy view-together with others- is to compile a ckeck lis of what needs to be done vis what has to be done,Namely personnel to operate.Technical satff to install and later repairWorkshops/ repair shops and tools for the aboveMethods of quality control and licencing for playersCapacity building of the sameThen the secondary issues of;Content wether local or not.The incubation centers for trainingThe facilities currently avilable for the same.Ownership of the same for finance/loan/grasnts to the sameCapacity for student intake�Teachers or trainers database for distribution nationwide.Other issues would be;�Is equipment available locally or notIf to be imported would tax exemption benefit the consumer ?What would be the cost of service per minute Or per hour ? 100/= per day ?For teleworking, E-learning, E-medicine etc online cost is an important factor to be considered as with the recent release, stating income-rural- levels and priorities for spending incomeFor the majority who earn less than a dollar a day a nominal fee would make sense, the list is just but an idea tho not comprehensive, a detailed list can- in FACT -should be made.Have a blessed week endRegards Njenga M.Pthose who fear to fail.will never try to succeded,for to fail to plan is to plan to FAIL _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com

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NSE Stock Calculator
by Bill Kagai 27 Apr '07

27 Apr '07

Dear All, The MediaCorp Research Unit is excited to introduce the MediaCorp Stock Calculator. The calculator intelligently analyses 6 key factors over a seven year historical period through market fundamentals to help you beat the odds when investing in the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Please find attached the analysis of the calculator and make your own intelligent choice. Are you investing in the right companies? What do you know about the companies you have put your money in to?? With kind Regards, Bildad Kagai MediaCorp Limited www.mediacorp.co.ke

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Day 4 of 10: CCK Internet Study-The Statistics on (Domestic) Infrastructure � 1day
by John Walubengo 27 Apr '07

27 Apr '07

Morning all, I think today we could take a look at the domestic (internet) infrastructure. The report indicates that even though ISPs were present in all the 8 Provinces, they were hardly present at the districts level covering only 30% of the districts in Kenya. They operate a total of about 3,000 leased lines (mostly concentrated in NRB & MBSA). In addition, there is a total of 400,000 dial-up lines in the country thought the report is silent on whether all these dial-up lines are hooked up on the Internet. Finally, the local internet exchange point (Kenya Internet eXchange Point) continues to register low figures indicating low domestic internet use. In its recommendation, the report urgest the Government to drive the build up exercise of extending the domestic internet infrastructure. Woud this sufficiently address the poor penetration of the domestic internet nfrastructure or could there be other interventions. 1 day + the Weekend on this one, the floor is open. walu. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Re: [kictanet] Day 2 Internet Study- International & Domestic Bandwidth Usage
by Jose' 27 Apr '07

27 Apr '07

Hi Walu, You ask what can be done to make us be exporters? Answer:-Human resource development is a very fundamnetal way of making us export bandwith.We need to provide individuals(web developers) with skills and access to information,knowledge and traing that will catalyze them to think and explore on grounds of export thus enabling them to perform effectively. Simply,let us all invest our resources to capacity building strategies. Whats your input Alex? Best Regards, Jose' Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri || +254 722 336754 || ----- Original Message ---- From: John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> To: ngunjirijnr(a)yahoo.com Sent: Tuesday, April 24, 2007 9:13:04 AM Subject: [kictanet] Day 2 Internet Study- International & Domestic Bandwidth Usage Hi all, Yesterday was the most silent deliberation I have ever had - am told it may have been caused by the excitement of the 'Free PC & Cheap Internet' from LK and KDN... Any I do hope today we shall have some response on the above topic which incidentally have a bearing on the long-term success or otherwise of similar 'Free PC & Cheap Internet' initiatives...the question of International vs Domestic Internet Bandwidth. The Internet Study says that of the about 1G International International Bandwidth only 10% is outbound while 90% is inbound. What this mean is that kenya is a net IMPORTER of internet content. In internet economic terms we are therefore consumers rather than generators of internet content - which is a bad thing. Value is always retained by those who generate rather than just consume internet content i.e. the exporters of internet content. Put in another way, all the International bandwidth (KDN, Jamii & others) buys (imports) on our behalf implies that someone in the Northern hemisphere is getting paid for it - wouldn't it be better that KDN, Jamii & others get to sell (export) the same amount of bandwidth to consumers in the North? What can be done to get that to happen? Are the recommendations in the report sufficient to address this imbalance? 1 day discussion on this theme, the floor is open... walu. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/ngunjirijnr%40yahoo.com __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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Fw: INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT TO ADDRESS FUTURE OF BROADBAND
by Florence Etta 27 Apr '07

27 Apr '07

FYI sorry for cross poting. FE -----Original Message----- From: cu-wireless-announce-bounces(a)lists.cuwireless.net [mailto:cu-wireless-announce-bounces@lists.cuwireless.net] On Behalf Of Sascha Meinrath Sent: Monday, April 23, 2007 3:24 PM To: cu-wireless-announce(a)cuwin.net Subject: [CUWiN Press Release] Community Wireless Summit May 18-20,2007 -- Washington, DC. Contact: Sascha Meinrath Executive Director CUWiN Foundation summit(a)cuwin.net 217-278-3933 x31 INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT TO ADDRESS FUTURE OF BROADBAND -- Community Technology Leaders from Six Continents to Participate -- Champaign-Urbana, I.L., April 18 -- The CUWiN Foundation and the Center for Community Informatics (CCI) will host the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks (http://WirelessSummit.org) from May 18-20, 2007 at Loyola College in Columbia, Maryland. The summit is the largest gathering of wireless network developers, technology and policy experts, and community organizers working to build universal, low-cost broadband networks around the world. "We are proud to host an event that brings together technologists and activists committed to universal access to informatics," said Marco Figueiredo, CCI Director. "The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks explores the opportunities and challenges facing the growing movement to build community and municipal broadband networks," said Sascha Meinrath, co-founder and Executive Director of CUWiN. "This event showcases cutting-edge technologies and develops political strategies to increase digital inclusion." Since the first National Summit for Community Wireless Networks in 2004, over 300 Community Internet and municipal broadband projects have sprung up in the United States alone. The Summit will focus on how these networks can better serve their target populations, the policies needed to support broader deployment of community wireless systems, and the latest technological and software innovations. Presenters at previous summits have included FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, Jim Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Group, Annie Collins of Fiber for Our Future, Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation of America, Harold Feld of Media Access Project, Robert W. McChesney of Free Press, Matt Rantanen of Tribal Digital Village, Greg Richardson of Civitium LLC, Paul Smith of the Center for Neighborhood Technologies, Jim Snider of the New America Foundation, Dana Spiegel of NYCwireless, Esme Vos of Muniwireless.com and many other luminaries. "High-speed broadband access is the electricity of the 21st century, yet many rural and poorer urban communities are being left off the grid," said Ben Scott, policy director of Free Press, the DC-based policy think-tank. "The innovators and organizers at the International Summit for Community Wireless Networks are blazing the trail to make broadband affordable and available to everyone." About CUWiN (http://www.cuwin.net) The CUWiN Foundation is a world-renowned coalition of wireless developers and community volunteers committed to providing low-cost, do-it-yourself, community-controlled alternatives to contemporary broadband models. CUWiN is fiscally sponsored by Grassroots.org, a non-profit 501c3. CUWiN's mission is to develop decentralized, community-owned networks that foster democratic cultures and local content. Through advocacy and through our commitment to open source technology, CUWiN supports organic networks that grow to meet the needs of their communities. About CCI (http://cci.cs.loyola.edu) The Center for Community Informatics engages Loyola College's students, faculty and staff in supporting the creation and deployment of informatics tools for community empowerment. CCI develops the Community Telecenter Free Software Toolset; promotes awareness events for the Loyola College community; offer courses in Community Informatics; promotes Digital Inclusion Conferences; researches and develops human-friendly technologies to facilitate inclusion in the New Society of Knowledge; and, evaluates, documents and develops sustainable models for Universal Access to Informatics. # # # _______________________________________________ CU-Wireless-Announce mailing list CU-Wireless-Announce(a)lists.cuwireless.net http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/cu-wireless-announce ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your free account today http://uk.rd.yahoo.com/evt=44106/*http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/mail/winter07.ht…

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Fwd: WiMax bypasses the Bells
by Alex Gakuru 27 Apr '07

27 Apr '07

Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> wrote: Date: Thu, 26 Apr 2007 21:29:30 -0700 (PDT) From: Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> Subject: WiMax bypasses the Bells To: ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net [Excellent technology eliminating many bandwidth middlemen resulting in reduced consumer costs. ("Bells" broadly refers cable monopoly telcos] [INFOWORLD] WiMax bypasses the Bells Posted by Jill Terry on April 26, 2007 03:00 AM Are Towerstream's metro meshes harbingers of freedom from Internet tiering? Internet tiering, the practice of assigning smaller subscribers reduced qualities of service, bugs the hell out of me. It's a move to reapportion bandwidth in oversold markets without lowering the price of service for those whose quality is reduced. Why, some wonder, can't we work around this? Entrepreneurs could buy enough telco bandwidth to qualify for top tier status, then chop up that bandwidth and resell it with the governors removed. The catch is that bandwidth resellers are stuck using the copper and fiber networks owned by the telcos against which they compete. They have to place their equipment in telcos' central offices in order to distribute their services. When tiering kicks in, telcos can stick bandwidth resellers, and therefore their subscribers, into whatever tier they like based on criteria fabricated by telcos. There is a way around this scam, or rather, above it. Towerstream is succeeding where a lot of would-be wireless Internet players have failed. It supplies scalable Internet connectivity to businesses in metropolitan areas through a web of WiMax transceivers. My interest is less in WiMax technology than in what Towerstream does with it. Its business model is almost impossibly simple and practically impervious to telco interference. It works like this: Towerstream leases small plots of space on the rooftops of office buildings. You'd never know it, but that's hot real estate up there, and most of Towerstream's early development hinged on snagging enough rooftop space to blanket the cities it serves. When Towerstream wins a spot on a roof, many of the buildings have telephony facilities and hosting providers on or near the top floors. Towerstream grabs a gigabit link from each of them, and through the magic of the WiMax mesh, adds to its total available bandwidth and eliminates the risk that subscribers face when they buy their bandwidth from a single carrier. This isn�t a tale of a telecommunications Robin Hood. At $500/month, its lowest-tier T-1 service (1.5 Mbps upstream and downstream) hovers around or slightly above average pricing for markets it serves. However, Towerstream gives its customers three extras that can make its service priceless. First, that T-1 includes DSL-like 3 Mbps "best effort" service; you get up to twice as much bandwidth when the network's not crowded. Towerstream offers a service level agreement (SLA) that's incomparably sweet for smaller subscribers: 99.99 percent guaranteed availability, a maximum of 75 ms round trip to the backbone and a max of 1 percent packet loss. And lastly, Towerstream's network assigns high QOS (quality of service) priority to VoIP traffic, so it's practical for a business to use its WiMax Internet service to offset its wired telephony costs. Did I say three extras? I missed the one that's the point of the whole story. You might recall that Towerstream buys its bandwidth in multiples of a gigabit, which puts it in the top tier in even the craftiest telco's book. Towerstream chops up that bandwidth and resells it, but there's no copper, no fiber, and no telco-owned infrastructure in the picture. Unless Towerstream loosens the 75 ms round trip delay and 1 percent packet loss provisions, it's promising that even its bottom end, T-1 customers won't be tiered. Neither wired nor wireless bandwidth can be free because the infrastructure costs too much to build and maintain, but Towerstream shows telcos for the carpetbaggers they are and presents a model for escaping their clutches. It's not perfect: Only residents of metro areas including New York, Chicago, Boston, and San Francisco are reached by Towerstream, and Towerstream has no plans to reach out to or beyond the 'burbs. But Towerstream counsels would-be WiMax players aiming for smaller markets. Telcos, the future of the Internet is way over your head. <http://weblog.infoworld.com/yager/archives/2007/04/wimax_bypasses.html?sour…> --------------------------------- Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check out new cars at Yahoo! Autos. --------------------------------- Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.

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[Fwd: [APC Forum] Job vacancy at GreenNet]
by alice 26 Apr '07

26 Apr '07

-------- Original Message -------- Hi All, As GreenNet looks to put more energy into engaging and supporting our user community, an exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic and technically skilled person to join our user-support team. Please circulate to anyone you think might be interested. Unfortunately we can't pay relocation costs for applicants from outside the UK, but we can offer support and advice on any necessary immigration requirements and accommodation arrangements. Anna ------------------------------------------------------ *GreenNet Logo Part-Time User Support Position at GreenNet* * Location: Central London / Old Street * Start Date: June 2007 * Salary: £25,680 per annum pro rata * Leave: 28 days per annum pro rata * Part-time (2-3 days a week): 9.30am-5.30pm * Deadline for Applications: 14th May 2007 *General Background:* GreenNet is a workers' collective, with a horizontal management structure. All staff are involved in decision making and strategic planning, and contribute to a friendly and supportive working environment. We provide networking support to social justice organisations and activists, and take an active role in campaigns for the promotion of communication rights. For more on GreenNet, see http://www.gn.apc.org *Duties:* * Answering user support queries by email, phone, and occasionally in person * Giving advice on configuration of a variety of email programs, web browsers, FTP clients and dial-up connections on most versions of Windows and Mac OS * Troubleshooting user website, email and connection problems * Basic mail, web and DNS server systems administration on Linux * Providing a link between users' online needs and service development at GreenNet * Promoting and offering advice on GreenNet services * Developing improved systems and processes for support and administration * Maintaining the support section of the GreenNet web site and developing support materials * Keeping abreast of ICT products and services & monitoring markets and competitors * Liaison with suppliers to provide best connectivity and services for users * Liaising with the technical team to contribute to software and technical developments * Outreach to the user community, overseeing printed materials, content and advertising exchanges * Overseeing volunteers where necessary * General contributions to the work of the collective (e.g. minute taking, planning, representing GreenNet in public, maintaining ethical policies, training) *Essential Skills:* * Good knowledge of the internet, email and related technologies * Good troubleshooting skills * Knowledge of most commonly-used email client programs (Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Eudora) and web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox) * Good knowledge of PC operating systems (Windows 95 – Vista, including NT) and Macs (Mac OS 8.5 to X) * Knowledge of at least one programming language * Interest and capacity for rapidly acquiring new technical skills * A willingness to participate and contribute to the collective management of GreenNet * A good service-orientated attitude and good telephone manner – patience essential! * Ability to explain complex technical information in a jargon-free way to people of wide-ranging abilities * Understanding of the voluntary sector working environment *Desirable skills:* * Interest in communication rights, Open Source software, social justice and environmental issues * Creativity and imagination in support, service development and skill sharing * Linux systems administration skills * Knowledge of networking (LAN, WAN, ADSL) and network troubleshooting * Interest or experience in website development and programming * Campaigning or project management experience *Application Requirements* Please send your CV and covering letter by E-mail to jobs(a)gn.apc.org, with *User Support Vacancy* in the subject line ____________________________________________ Anna Feldman GreenNet Web Projects Developer APC Wireless Connectivity Project Coordinator anna(a)gn.apc.org | http://www.gn.apc.org | http://www.apc.org/ T: +44 (0)20 7065 0940 +44 (0)20 8986 2893 F: +44 (0)20 7065 0936 ____________________________________________ ======================================= 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

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Day 3 of 10: Day 3 - Hierarchy of IGO & ISPs
by John Walubengo 26 Apr '07

26 Apr '07

Thanx Alex for your comments on Day 1, for a moment I was bracing myself for a 10 day Online monologue :-(! as opposed to the planned Online dialogue. Incidentally, belated Comments on previous days themes shall remain welcome - just click on the correct subject line and make your appropriate contributions... Anyway back to today's theme- The Question of Internet Gateway Operators (IGO, the Wholesalers of Internet Bandwidth) vs Internet Service Providers (ISPs, the Retailers of Internet Bandwidth). The report recommends that seperation b/w IGO and ISPs be dissolved. This is because the current structure Internet-> IGO -> ISP -> Consumers is considered unnecessarily too long. Apparently the ISP as we know them today are not adding significant value - instead they are adding cost to the service and probably degraging the quality of the Internet eventually delivered to the Customers. Cutting down the middle-man (ISPs) may offset the costs and while increasing the quality of the internet eventually delivered to the Consumer. Is this assumption true? Does allowing IGO to directly deal with Consumer result in cheaper Internet Services while improving on the quality of the internet? 1 day on this theme, at the least, I do hope to get some reactions at from any IGOs and ISPs. walu. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com

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