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Fwd: [Idlelo2] FW: dgCommunities Invited to Attend World Bank Global Dialogue Events & Live Webcasts
by Judy Okite 01 May '07

01 May '07

FYI Kind Regards, ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Fouad Riaz Bajwa <fouadbajwa(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, 1 May 2007 02:33:20 +0500 Subject: [Idlelo2] FW: dgCommunities Invited to Attend World Bank Global Dialogue Events & Live Webcasts To: idlelo2(a)fossfa.net, openstds(a)ipjustice.org, ugabytes(a)ugabytes.org From: e-government(a)developmentgateway.org [mailto:e-government@developmentgateway.org] Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 11:47 PM Subject: dgCommunities … [View More]Invited to Attend World Bank Global Dialogue Events & Live Webcasts Dear Members, For your interest I am writing to alert you to a series of World Bank Global Dialogues on e-government and ICT. The World Bank's e-Development Thematic Group invites all interested dgCommunities members to participate in its upcoming e-government/ICT related Global Dialogues by means of live webcast/online discussion, via videoconference (in several countries which will be connected) or in person (if in Washington DC). The following are details of these sessions: Open Systems for e-Government (May 02, 9:00 - 11.30 am EST) While open source software has achieved growing acceptance in the marketplace, open standards are also increasingly seen as key enablers of the transfer and use of information across organizations, systems, and devices. This seminar focuses on the embrace of open information and communications technology systems by governments and businesses alike in the face of growing demands for the effective, customer-centric delivery of services. What does "open" mean in the context of software, standards, and document formats, and is it relevant to the experience and challenges faced by developing and transition countries? Can open source, open standards, and ODF be leveraged to maximize the impact of ICT investments in public-sector reform and modernization efforts? A panel including experts from the World Bank, IBM, Microsoft, Open Source Institute, and the ODF Alliance will gather to discuss this interesting topic. Please click here for more information: http://go.worldbank.org/OPRW4CL1N0 Prioritizing e-Services - The case of Pakistan (May 09, 9:00 - 11:30 am EST) Many e-Government program initiatives are faced with a myriad of choices for e-Services; hence there is an obvious need to prioritize due to various constraints. There are different methodologies available for identifying and prioritizing these e-services, and all governments implementing such programs have gone through this phase with varying outcomes. The e-Services prioritization process is therefore an essential component of e-Government programs, and selecting and applying the appropriate methodology is fundamental for e-Government program success. The session experts and practitioners will present a general overview of the various methodologies available for prioritization of e-Services and will discuss the experience of Pakistan, one of the latest case studies from the field. More information about this event will be available online shorlty at http://www.worldbank.org/edevelopment. Additional Upcoming Events: e-Government Portals (May 30, 9:00 - 11:30 am EST) Designing e-Government Strategies (June 19, 9:00-11:30 am EST) About the World Bank e-Development Thematic Group The e-Development Thematic Group's mission is to promote the efficient use of ICT in development and World Bank operations by facilitating knowledge sharing on good practices in e-development, and more frequent dialogue among interested parties thus catalyzing specific program and project proposals. The e-Development Thematic Group was created in 2003 in response to the increasing demand from various countries and sectors that are involved in the design and implementation of a variety of e-development and e-government projects, on the basis of the e-Government Thematic Group. The e-Development Thematic Group is open for participation by both World Bank staff and external clients and partners. For more information about the Group and its events, knowledge-base, toolkits and other resources, please visit the website at http://www.worldbank.org/edevelopment. To find out how to participate in these events, join the mailing list or partner with e-TG, please write to edevelopment(a)worldbank.org or contact Oleg Petrov at +1202-473-8861. Best regards, Mike Pereira ___________________________________ Mike Pereira Director, Global Online Communities Development Gateway Foundation 1889 F Street NW Washington DC 20006 202-572-9259 202-572-9290 (fax) http://home.developmentgateway.org/?intcmp=906 http://topics.developmentgateway.org/?intcmp=906 _______________________________________________ Idlelo2 mailing list Idlelo2(a)fossfa.net http://mailman.dst.gov.za/mailman/listinfo/idlelo2 -- Judy Ann Okite, +254-721237507,+254-734252336 P.O. BOX 2228 00100, NAIROBI,KENYA. "Even if you are on the right track, you'll still get run over if you just sit there." [View Less]

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ICT Africa 2007 October 1-5 Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya: NEPAD Council
by alice 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

nclogo *ICT Africa 2007* <http://ictafrica.nepadcouncil.org>* * *Sponsorship Opportunities * <http://cmpgnr.com/r.html?c=949995&r=949245&t=934038436&l=1&d=88273771&u=htt…>*** * *Conference Registration * <http://cmpgnr.com/r.html?c=949995&r=949245&t=934038436&l=1&d=88273770&u=htt…>*** * *Abstract/Paper Submission * <http://cmpgnr.com/r.html?c=949995&r=949245&t=934038436&l=1&d=88273774&u=htt…>***… [View More] * *Conference Committees * <http://cmpgnr.com/r.html?c=949995&r=949245&t=934038436&l=1&d=88273769&u=htt…>*** * <javascript:var win = window.open("http://cmpgnr.com/r.html?c=949995&r=949245&t=934038436&l=1&d=88273775&u=htt…", "openWin", "width=400, height=250, scrollbars=yes")> Supporters nepadkenya kenyagov Preliminary list of sponsors jcb <http://cmpgnr.com/r.html?c=949995&r=949245&t=934038436&l=1&d=88273773&u=htt…> connectworld <http://cmpgnr.com/r.html?c=949995&r=949245&t=934038436&l=1&d=88273772&u=htt…> kdn pic1 ICT Africa 2007 October 1-5 The Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya ICT Africa is an annual continental information and communications technology conference addressing all aspects of ICT development in Africa. The conference is convened by NEPAD council in collaboration with the NEPAD Kenya secretariat. The 2007 event will be organized by Global Conferences, Cape Town, South Africa. ICT Africa 2007 is scheduled for October 1 to 5. The conference will feature hundreds of new ideas on ICT development, lessons leant from other regions of the world, many industry’s top minds, discussions on policy, investment, regional projects and research and development. The conference is a venue for agencies working on different projects in different parts of the continent to meet, exchange ideas and form synergies. With technical tutorials, demonstrations, news in the making and the opportunity to talk to experts, this event will be an experience for all attendees. Whether attendees are entrepreneurs, university professors, scientists or engineers, exhibitors or members of the press, the conference program will be tailored to their information needs and interest. *Programming* ICT Africa will consist of a plenary session, conference tracks, technical tutorials and an exhibition. _Plenary session_ ICT Africa 2007 will consist of a plenary session to be addressed by ministers (or their representatives) from all regions of Africa. The plenary session is expected to address infrastructure projects throughout Africa including The East Africa Marine System (TEAMS) and the East Africa Submarine System (EASSy). The Kenyan ministry of information and communications will host the plenary session. _Conference tracks_ The rest of the conference will be divided into two main tracks, a technical/academic track and a policy/business track. The technical/academic track will feature presentations from peer reviewed papers by scientists, engineers, professors and students from Africa and abroad. The policy/business track addresses policy and business challenges of ICT development in Africa. Topics will include, but not limited to; deregulation, monopoly, and ICT investment. _Technical tutorials_ One day will be dedicated to technical tutorials. NEPAD Council experts and other experts from different parts of the world will deliver short courses in next generation networks, fibre optics, and voice over Internet protocol and other topics of interest to attendees. _Exhibition_ The 2007 event will consist of an Industry exhibition running parallel to the conference. The exhibition is organized by Togo consultants. *Venue:* As with ICT Africa 2006, ICT Africa 2007 will be held at the Kenyatta International Conference Center in Nairobi, Kenya. The central position of Kenya in Africa, the easy of flight connections from different parts of the world to Kenya, the commitment of the Kenyan ministry of information and communication to ICT development and to ICT Africa and the commitment of NEPAD Kenya to ICT Africa are some of the considerations for the choice of Kenya as a venue. *Other events* Organized pre and post conference tours Reception Accompanying persons program *General conference contact:* *Riedwaan Jacobs* Global Conferences Gardener Place, 1st Floor Howard Dr. Pinelands, Cape Town, South Africa Phone: +27 21532 6333 Fax +27 21 532 6331 rjacobs(a)globalconf.co.za <mailto:rjacobs@globalconf.co.za> You are subscribed as alice(a)apc.org. To unsubscribe please click here <http://cmpgnr.com/r.html?c=949995&r=949245&t=934038436&l=6&ea=alice@apc.org…>. Web Bug from http://cmpgnr.com/app/campaigner/trk/opn.jsp?cid=949995&rid=949245&ctd=9340… [View Less]

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Re: [kictanet] MPS SUPPORT E-GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION IN KENYA
by Jose' 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

This is so amaizing! During the weekend we were just talking over this issue in the forum.Now the government has gotten an 8 billion grant!! for the commissioning? :-O. Kudus to Dr.Ndemo and his ministry on digital villages initiative. Time to roll it out is now!! Best Regards, Jose' Njuki-Imwe Ngunjiri || +254 722 336754 || ----- Original Message ---- From: Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> To: ngunjirijnr(a)yahoo.com Sent: Monday, April 30, 2007 8:06:38 AM Subject: Re: [… [View More]kictanet] MPS SUPPORT E-GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION IN KENYA [Daily Nation] ‘Digital villages’ to be set up all over Kenya to speed up access to data Story by NATION correspondent Publication Date: 2007/04/30 The Government plans to set up ‘digital villages’ throughout the country, to ease access to information for its citizens. Information assistant minister Mr Koigi Wamwere said during the weekend that the villages to be set up in all the 210 constituencies, will facilitate easy access to information that would trigger economic development in those areas. Commissioning The minister was speaking in Kisumu during the commissioning of the Od Mikayi satellite information centre, where the project by the Government also received a major boost with the approval of a Sh8 billion grant by the World Bank. This will see local communities exposed to new technologies such as the internet and SMS banking. “We intend to roll out the first of these projects in August,” said Mr Wamwere. He added, “The laying of fibre optic cables throughout the country is on course and when completed, Kenyans are going to enjoy the benefits of high speed internet connectivity.” This initiative is intended to double the number of people having access to such services from 2.7 to 6 million, he said. Also targeted will be telephone subscribers, whose numbers are expected to rise significantly from the current 8.5 million to 15 million before the year ends. Learning centres “We also intend to set up E- learning centres in all schools in addition to computerising all Government departments in the country. "This will enhance transparency in the running of Government affairs,” said the minister. http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?premiumid=0&cate…> ------ Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> wrote: Alice, Thanks for this wonderful news. Please send me the link. Alex alice <alice(a)apc.org> wrote: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Balancing Act MPS SUPPORT E-GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION IN KENYA Kenya's legislators have surprisingly added their voice in support of the transformation to electronic governance in their operations, both within parliament and in at the constituency level. During a two-day meeting held in Nairobi recently, the members of parliament (MPs) discussed various issues related to Kenya Information Society including e-government and ICT strategies in the country and what should be the role of parliamentarians in the process of implementation and monitoring. The meeting with theme: "Empowering Kenya's MPs and National Assembly staff on Building the country's Knowledge Economy," was organised by the UN's Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Canadian e-Policy Resource Network (ePolNet). e-PolNet aims at supporting the implementation of the African Information Society through the provision of various kinds of expertise. The participants, who included 15 MPs, discussed how ICTs can accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and various applications like e-health, e-learning, e-commerce and open platform. This is in response to the eighth goal of MDGs, declared during the UN's Millennium Declaration in 2000, which aims to develop a global partnership for development (including a target to make available the benefits of ICTs to all the world's inhabitants). The participants resolved that there is need to take advantage of the on-going restructuring of all parliamentary committees in order to have ICT either accommodated in one of the committees or set up an independent committee on the subject. In his opening address, Mathioya MP, Joseph Kamotho, said that through the use of ICT, governments become less bureaucratic, and more efficient. "With deployment of ICTs, several opportunities that corrupt public officials normally use for their private gain are eliminated or greatly reduced therefore increasing transparency and accountability in the management of public resources," said Kamotho. Kamotho said that governments in Africa must, therefore, invest in ICT so that the public is able to monitor the performance of their representatives through the establishment of websites where citizens can get information about their institution, leaders and the laws made. On electoral processes, participants gave the example of Zambia where the voters register bears the holder's photo to stem vote rigging. (SOURCE: East African Business Week) _______________________________________________ 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/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check out new cars at Yahoo! Autos. Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell? Check out new cars at Yahoo! Autos. _______________________________________________ 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 [View Less]

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Re: [kictanet] FREEDOM OF INFORMATION BILL
by Mr President 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

Hello Bwana PSThakns for the information and i together with others shall be honoured to attend the talks on the freedom of Information bill , that shall go a long way to making Kenya an open democratic government and an example for the rest of Africa .Look foward to meeting you then.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 … [View More]

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Re: [kictanet] MPS SUPPORT E-GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION IN KENYA
by Alex Gakuru 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

[Daily Nation] Digital villages to be set up all over Kenya to speed up access to data Story by NATION correspondent Publication Date: 2007/04/30 The Government plans to set up digital villages throughout the country, to ease access to information for its citizens. Information assistant minister Mr Koigi Wamwere said during the weekend that the villages to be set up in all the 210 constituencies, will facilitate easy access to information that would trigger economic development in … [View More]those areas. Commissioning The minister was speaking in Kisumu during the commissioning of the Od Mikayi satellite information centre, where the project by the Government also received a major boost with the approval of a Sh8 billion grant by the World Bank. This will see local communities exposed to new technologies such as the internet and SMS banking. We intend to roll out the first of these projects in August, said Mr Wamwere. He added, The laying of fibre optic cables throughout the country is on course and when completed, Kenyans are going to enjoy the benefits of high speed internet connectivity. This initiative is intended to double the number of people having access to such services from 2.7 to 6 million, he said. Also targeted will be telephone subscribers, whose numbers are expected to rise significantly from the current 8.5 million to 15 million before the year ends. Learning centres We also intend to set up E- learning centres in all schools in addition to computerising all Government departments in the country. "This will enhance transparency in the running of Government affairs, said the minister. http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?premiumid=0&cate…> ------ Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> wrote: Alice, Thanks for this wonderful news. Please send me the link. Alex alice <alice(a)apc.org> wrote: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Balancing Act MPS SUPPORT E-GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION IN KENYA Kenya's legislators have surprisingly added their voice in support of the transformation to electronic governance in their operations, both within parliament and in at the constituency level. During a two-day meeting held in Nairobi recently, the members of parliament (MPs) discussed various issues related to Kenya Information Society including e-government and ICT strategies in the country and what should be the role of parliamentarians in the process of implementation and monitoring. The meeting with theme: "Empowering Kenya's MPs and National Assembly staff on Building the country's Knowledge Economy," was organised by the UN's Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Canadian e-Policy Resource Network (ePolNet). e-PolNet aims at supporting the implementation of the African Information Society through the provision of various kinds of expertise. The participants, who included 15 MPs, discussed how ICTs can accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and various applications like e-health, e-learning, e-commerce and open platform. This is in response to the eighth goal of MDGs, declared during the UN's Millennium Declaration in 2000, which aims to develop a global partnership for development (including a target to make available the benefits of ICTs to all the world's inhabitants). The participants resolved that there is need to take advantage of the on-going restructuring of all parliamentary committees in order to have ICT either accommodated in one of the committees or set up an independent committee on the subject. In his opening address, Mathioya MP, Joseph Kamotho, said that through the use of ICT, governments become less bureaucratic, and more efficient. "With deployment of ICTs, several opportunities that corrupt public officials normally use for their private gain are eliminated or greatly reduced therefore increasing transparency and accountability in the management of public resources," said Kamotho. Kamotho said that governments in Africa must, therefore, invest in ICT so that the public is able to monitor the performance of their representatives through the establishment of websites where citizens can get information about their institution, leaders and the laws made. On electoral processes, participants gave the example of Zambia where the voters register bears the holder's photo to stem vote rigging. (SOURCE: East African Business Week) _______________________________________________ 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/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com --------------------------------- 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. [View Less]

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MPS SUPPORT E-GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION IN KENYA
by alice 30 Apr '07

30 Apr '07

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- From Balancing Act MPS SUPPORT E-GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION IN KENYA Kenya's legislators have surprisingly added their voice in support of the transformation to electronic governance in their operations, both within parliament and in at the constituency level. During a two-day meeting held in Nairobi recently, the members of parliament (MPs) discussed various issues related to Kenya Information … [View More]Society including e-government and ICT strategies in the country and what should be the role of parliamentarians in the process of implementation and monitoring. The meeting with theme: "Empowering Kenya's MPs and National Assembly staff on Building the country's Knowledge Economy," was organised by the UN's Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and the Canadian e-Policy Resource Network (ePolNet). e-PolNet aims at supporting the implementation of the African Information Society through the provision of various kinds of expertise. The participants, who included 15 MPs, discussed how ICTs can accelerate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and various applications like e-health, e-learning, e-commerce and open platform. This is in response to the eighth goal of MDGs, declared during the UN's Millennium Declaration in 2000, which aims to develop a global partnership for development (including a target to make available the benefits of ICTs to all the world's inhabitants). The participants resolved that there is need to take advantage of the on-going restructuring of all parliamentary committees in order to have ICT either accommodated in one of the committees or set up an independent committee on the subject. In his opening address, Mathioya MP, Joseph Kamotho, said that through the use of ICT, governments become less bureaucratic, and more efficient. "With deployment of ICTs, several opportunities that corrupt public officials normally use for their private gain are eliminated or greatly reduced therefore increasing transparency and accountability in the management of public resources," said Kamotho. Kamotho said that governments in Africa must, therefore, invest in ICT so that the public is able to monitor the performance of their representatives through the establishment of websites where citizens can get information about their institution, leaders and the laws made. On electoral processes, participants gave the example of Zambia where the voters register bears the holder's photo to stem vote rigging. (SOURCE: East African Business Week) [View Less]

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FW: Day 3 of 10: Day 3 - Hierarchy of IGO & ISPs
by Fiona Asonga 29 Apr '07

29 Apr '07

Begin forwarded message: From: Sammy Buruchara <HYPERLINK "mailto:buruchara@mac.com"buruchara(a)mac.com> Date: April 27, 2007 5:18:27 PM GMT+03:00 To: Kenya ICT Action Network - KICTANet <HYPERLINK "mailto:kictanet@kictanet.or.ke"kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 3 of 10: Day 3 - Hierarchy of IGO & ISPs Dear all, I find the conclusion of this report about the IGO and ISP quite ignorant of historical facts: - The government from … [View More]the onset of the Internet Industry was reluctant to license ISPs because of TKL. At the time only TKL had International Gateway License. Even 5 years after giving them ISP license, ISPs were still not allowed to setup IG operations. CCK used to visit ISPs premises routinely to check if they have illegal VSAT. State security was usually the excuse. International bandwidth from TKL was then US$8000 per 64kbs half circuit. Naturally this was somehow passed on to the client. - ISPs got the license 5 years later (2000) JamboNet was set up but still ISPs (even GSM operators) had to go through TKL for all International bandwidth whether through JamboNet or dedicated circuit. Dedicated circuit was made prohibitively higher to force ISPs to use Jambonet. - It took Tespok campaigning and even harassment by CCK of Tespok leadership before CCK could concede to actually open up the Telecoms Market in 2004. Tespok went to the Tribunal and won a case with CCK forcing them to allow operators setup International gateways. ISPs paid for this court case which cost millions. Unfortunately the authorities had other ways of permanently preventing ISPs from ever getting an International Gateway facility: Licensing fees. To setup an International gateway license the license fees was and still is Ksh 16 million. Naturally most ISPs could not afford this. In Uganda, it is a paltry US$1000. The beneficiaries of the liberalization victories were therefore not ISP but other investors who previously were not anywhere near the industry play. So came up KDN, Jamii, and all other BOGs. In fact only UUNET recently joined the group after much lobbying. The market may judge what they may about the ISP, but it is good to know that from the beginning, the govt used unusually great energy to make sure they do not succeed because they happened to threaten their favorate baby, TKL. Now if the ISPs do not add value and only increase cost, the reason? Your guess is as good as mine. The rest is history. regards Sammy Buruchara CEO - NairobiNet Online On Apr 25, 2007, at 8:36 AM, John Walubengo wrote: 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 HYPERLINK "http://mail.yahoo.com"http://mail.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list HYPERLINK "mailto:kictanet@kictanet.or.ke"kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke HYPERLINK "http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet"http://kictanet.or.ke/mailm an/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at HYPERLINK "http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sammy%40opensystems.co.ke"ht tp://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/sammy%40opensystems.co.ke No virus found in this incoming message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.463 / Virus Database: 269.6.1/777 - Release Date: 4/26/2007 3:23 PM No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.463 / Virus Database: 269.6.1/777 - Release Date: 4/26/2007 3:23 PM [View Less]

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Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] Digital villages the way to go
by bitange＠jambo.co.ke 28 Apr '07

28 Apr '07

The SME debate here has brought out significant findings in the sense that inspite of the many information documents that we give, we have not either read all of them or chosen to ignore the facts and present opinions. If you read for example, the Summary National ICT Master Plan (Issued in February)under ICT Software, the Government has commited to encourage at least 50% of government software procurement is sourced from local software developers. Most local developers are SMEs. The … [View More]

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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 … [View More]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 _ [View Less]

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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 … [View More]

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