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Re: [kictanet] BarCamp 2.0 - Conversations
by Bill Kagai 23 Nov '07

23 Nov '07

Access to our NSE Live Stream trading data will be accessible on hourly, daily or monthly charge via MPesa from January 2008. Development going on at www.mediacorpafrica.com Live trading starts at 10.31. all you will need to input in the registration is the cell fone number and the 7 digit/letter confirmation code after you have transferred the payment online to our agent number. I'm sure there are other hustlers working on similar plattforms ;-) Bill On Nov 23, 2007 8:06 AM, Riyaz Bachani <riyaz.bachani(a)ke.wananchi.com> wrote: > Sorry ... I spoke too soon :) > > Tell me - do you know guys who are developing e-commerce platforms around m-pesa ? ie using some API to link into the system to offer web-based transactions ? I know IEEE had something called mpawa/mpower ? > >

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BarCamp 2.0 - Conversations
by Riyaz Bachani 23 Nov '07

23 Nov '07

Hi all, I'm sure a lot of you have heard of Skunkworks in Kenya - we're a "band of techies" bringing geeks in Kenya together. You can read more about what we do on the blog. http://skunkworks-ke.blogspot.com One of the things we organize is BarCamp Kenya - a very informal "unconference". BarCamps are held all over the world and bring innovators together to showcase what they're doing, and really give anyone a chance to air their thoughts. Here is the last one we held: http://skunkworks-ke.blogspot.com/2007/03/post-barcamp-nairobi- kenya-31st-march.html Below is the schpiel Over the last few months, we've had discussions with various techies, entrepreneurs, and just kawa guys about why Kenya is still lagging in terms of ICT innovation and entrepreneurship. This BarCamp, we'd just like to have a CONVERSATION with all of you. Moderated by Dr Kamau Gachigi, we would like you all to come and help us brainstorm through issues, and hopefully find the causes & solution to start fostering ICT innovation. Some of the questions we have been asking ourselves: - why don't we have a culture of innovation - what is wrong with the education system - why don't we have enough ICT entrepreneurs eg software & web-app companies (our own facebook ?) - why are we lagging behind in e-commerce ... why don't we have a payment gateway yet Date: 24 November 2007 Venue: Strathmore University, Room 34 Time: 9.30am to 2.00pm Moderator: Dr Kamau Gachigi More information (& Sign Up) is on the wiki http://wiki.my.co.ke/index.php/BarCamp

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Fourth web for development conference UN habitat headquarters Nairobi 28-30 November 2007
by alice 22 Nov '07

22 Nov '07

Since its inception at a conference organized by the World Bank in 2003, the Web for Development meetings are now well established as a forum for the web community of UN agencies, and international development civil society organizations interested in using their expertise to show how the Internet can promote development. The three conferences already held have evolved to include not only the public sector, but the private sector as well. The fourth conference, to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme Driving economic and social development with the Internet, will focus on helping developing countries bridge the digital divide. As the seat of the UN headquarters in the developing world, the Kenyan capital offers participants a first-hand experience of what is involved in coming up with new ideas and solutions customised for an environment with limited computer skills, inadequate telecommunications and other infrastructure that still lags behind that of wealthier nations... http://www.unhabitat.org/categories.asp?catid=546

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Rwanda Is Removing Work Permits.
by Jose' 22 Nov '07

22 Nov '07

PRESIDENT Paul Kagame of Rwanda has said Rwanda is removing work permits and employment restrictions on East African professionals and others planning to work in the country. In his key note address during the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) dinner in Kampala on Tuesday, Mr Kagame said the decision is in the spirit of the East African common market that will formalise free movement of goods, services and people. "The need for professionals to improve public sector and corporate effectiveness remains a challenge to Rwanda, for East Africa and for the continent as a whole," Mr Kagame said. The step taken by Rwanda is unprecedented, as older members of the community, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda still impose permit restrictions on nationals from partner states. Of the three, permits for East Africans are easier to obtain in Uganda, followed by Kenya and hardest in Tanzania. In a 2001 directive, the then interior minister Eriya Kategaya made permits for Kenyans and Tanzanians applying to work in Uganda 'automatic'. Mr Kagame said the East African region's "comparative strengths can help to build capable public and private sector institutions. Corporate East Africa has a pool of talent that can uplift their private sector counterparts in lesser developed parts of the region." "We in Rwanda are facilitating this by removing work permits and employment restrictions on professionals and others to work in our country," President Kagame announced amid applause. "We lose professionals as soon as we create them, and then resort to borrowing in order to finance expensive international expertise". President Kagame said the region is competing for skills in an increasingly open, global market place. "This reinforces our dependency on aid, because short term consultants add little to our need for critical mass of home grown expertise and talent," he said. "We should not begrudge those of our people looking to improve their lives elsewhere, instead, we must offer better prospects in our countries to ensure they stay with us". President Yoweri Museveni stressed the need for exporting finished goods as opposed to raw materials. Mr Museveni said part of Africa's continuing poverty was due, in part, to the failure to escape being a producer of raw materials instead of finished goods. Mr Museveni said many economies have gone to great lengths to create aggregate demand among ordinary citizens to get them actively engaged in economic activity. Mr Museveni said Uganda needs more companies that can generate income to the economy. "Business can contribute to the transformation of society," he said at the dinner organised by East African Breweries. Addressing a joint press conference, the two presidents said the clashes in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were not a threat to investment in the region. "These problems you are talking about are residual problems that are no longer major any more. They are peripheral not structural. But in any case, they can not stop investments in Uganda and Rwanda," Mr Museveni said. "These are challenges that cut across the region, but we are handling them," Mr Kagame said. CBF Chairman James Mulwana, said while the East African governments have harmonised policies to attract domestic and direct foreign investment, the region with a market of 120 million, still has a big investment potential that has not been tapped. Mr Mulwana said there was need to implement global partnership in order to increase investment, overcome poverty levels and achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). "While our historical economic role as suppliers of raw materials to the world may have contributed to the economic growth in the past, it is now clear that the role left our countries in deep poverty and underdevelopment," Mr Mulwana said. The CBF being held ahead of the main Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) has attracted a big number of delegates from 40 countries. The theme of the conference that ends today is: "The untapped potential. Transforming societies through economic empowerment and building partnerships with east Africa and the Global economy". On trade in the region, President Kagame said Information and Communication Technology (ICT) must be used to make border clearances a rapid one-stop-shop exercise. He said border challenges were part of the reason intra-Africa trade remains negligible in spite of its importance. "A lorry of commercial goods travelling inland to coastal gateways can take anywhere from five days to two weeks depending on good luck. Everyone loses here, the wealth that would otherwise accrue to East Africans fails to materialise," Mr Kagame said. Mr Kagame said congested port facilities, ad hoc and illegal checkpoints, impassable sections of the road network and legal border crossings that are always closed at night are all obstacles to conducting trans-border commercial transactions. "The business that we so badly want to grow are undermined and the state is deprived of revenue. And that is why we remain poor," Mr Kagame said. "It has been indicated for example that trade among African countries accounts for only 10 percent of our total exports and imports, a factor that is due to, among other things, poor regional infrastructure" Source:Ugabytes --------------------------------- Never miss a thing. Make Yahoo your homepage.

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Government Website standadisation and audit
by robert yawe 22 Nov '07

22 Nov '07

Hi all, Today I will end up spending 3,500/- to have someone run to the City Council of Nairobi, County Council of Mavoko and Ministry of Lands offices to find out what I owe in Land Rates and Land Rent. Earlier in the morning I logged onto the Internet hoping to find the information I needed online as I remember KRA putting up a half page advert worth more than 1 million in the dailies indicating that land rent information is available on their web site. As I had not recorded the details I tried getting to the site by using the URL's that I assumed would belong to the various entities, kenyarevenue.go.ke, waweru.go.ke, taxman.go.ke, letapesa.go.tax as you might already know the website is at none of these addresses it is at kra.go.ke. The information is not available at that location http://www.kra.go.ke/landrent/landrent.php yet I am sure if we looked through the KRA payment slips the developer was paid to implement the feature. But that is not as bad as the Ministry of Lands Website for which I tried lands.go.ke, ministryoflands.go.ke, and even not at grabbers.go.ke. Thanks to google I was able to find it at ardhi.go.ke. Would it be so difficult for Dr. Mutua or Dr. Ndemo or Eng. Waweru or Mr. Kokubo or Director of ....., to put up a website that would list all ministry and government agencies websites. I offer to pay for the domain registration and hosting for one year locally. We would then lobby all the newspapers to carry the URL for free on their backpage and on the home page of their websites. Worse still is the lack of a standard layout for the government web sites, each site you visit is a new experience. Would it be so difficult for us to stop wasting money and just have someone design templates to be used for all Ministry Web sites. Yes I hear you but then how do we develop our local developers, let us not punish an entire nation so that we can reward a few mediocre designers. Regards PS. I did not get the information and I will now be out of pocket 3,500/- or more by the end of the day, all because we are waiting for a marine cable to resolve all this issues. Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ___________________________________________________________ Want ideas for reducing your carbon footprint? Visit Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/environment.html

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In Support of the Marine Cable
by robert yawe 22 Nov '07

22 Nov '07

Hi All, It was quite interesting to read the comments by the UUNet managing director concerning the $500/- per month for 1 MB of as he rightfully put it IP service. Two issues stick out from his statement 1. This price will only be achievable on the last mile What is the last mile? It is the connection from your office, home or mobile device to your provider. Therefore even today, without the marine cable, if I log onto Telkom.co.ke or UUNet.co.ke I should pay not more than US$ 500/- per megabyte but how much do I pay US$ 4,300/-. In the US the internet is within the last mile thus the lower cost of Internet access there. Even Safaricom has realised that localisation of tariffs is essential and they will soon be launching a service that charges less for calls between a set of BTS's. What this means is that when you are at Kisumu airport and you call your cousin who is in Kisumu CBD, so he can collect you, you will pay less than when you call your wife in Nairobi to tell her that you have arrived safely. Can we pickup on the same and provide similar charge differentials. I was once active in an organisation called Junior Chamber International and they had a very interesting slogan for one of the International conventions "Think global, act local" With the creation of local content, 80% of us will have no need to connect beyond the boundaries of east africa. By looking at yahoo and facebook once you have the numbers the rest just falls into place. With high number of connected users the yahoos and googles of the world will have no choice but to either place servers within the region (our last mile) or pay for the marine cable. 2. "The charges would only fall marginally with the landing of the first submarine fibre optic cable in Mombasa", he said. (UUNet Managing Director) Dr.Ndemo is not going to be selling bandwidth to the end user and CCK has clearly said that only registered opeartors read ISP i.e. UUNet & Wananchi. SO who do we believe on the expected price of Internet access costs once the marine cable lands. The wholesaler or the retailer? In closing when do we expect the fiber to the district project to begin? Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 KEnya Tel: +254722511225 ----- Original Message ---- From: Alex Gakuru <gakuru(a)gmail.com> To: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke Cc: robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk>; Jose Ngunjiri <ngunjirijnr(a)gmail.com>; ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net Sent: Wednesday, 21 November, 2007 9:10:18 AM Subject: Re: [ke-internetusers] Re: In Support of the Marine Cable We shall be pleased to have your contribution upon your return to office. Thank you. Meanwhile, discussants may wish to read a relevant story appearing on today's Business Daily "State projections on Internet costs queried by players" http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4419&Item… On Nov 20, 2007 10:01 PM, <bitange(a)jambo.co.ke> wrote: > These are good questions but unfortunately I need more time to make my > contribution. I hope to do this when I am back in the office possibly on > Friday. > > Asante Sana. > > > > > > > > On Nov 20, 2007 5:47 PM, robert yawe <robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote: > >> > >> I ask do we really need the marine cable? > >> > > I wonder? Do we need Pentium or Penicillin? Marine cable Fibre or > > remain on satellite but HR skills re-orientation first? Local content > > or websites development and SEO optimisation education? Do we need the > > government to lead us to connectivity Canaan or a watching, listening > > and supportive one facilitating innovation for an organic ICT > > development enabling environment? Oh, how I wonder? > > > > With so many competing needs choosing the priority undoubtedly is a > > challenge BUT this is also an opportunity for "puzzle solvers" to map > > a winning strategy that taps into all available resources, human and > > material, to optimize on the results. Unfortunately not a single > > entity, business, person (even the government) holds the key to the > > answer. > > > > I beleive the password to success is honestly and openness in > > multi-stakeholder collaboration despite the conflicting diverse > > stakeholders interests. Certainly, the government must work for the > > common good of the citizens because that is what they take oath of > > office to protect. Citizens' concerns, businesses, welfare, etc. > > > > Adhoc projects Yawe is concerned about would not help much in this > > scenario because citizens end up burdened with future loan repayment > > burdens for unrealised project aspirations. All such projects must be > > subjected to rigorous scrutiny by everyone and therefore government > > should neither feel "harassed" or "untrusted" when someone questions > > any public project. ( Note that I am not suggesting that this has > > happened) > > > > Do we really need the marine cable? YES we do and a lot more. Internet > > use education. I am talking teaching beyond how to send and receive a > > couple of emails, visit friends' websites printed on business cards > > (that never show up on Google index!) and "hard-wired" URLs > > references. > > > > But since this kind of education is nobody specific obligation, then > > nobody will do it and the danger is that in the end, the government's > > marine cable risks ending up an attempted diagonal JOHARI window > > transformation. i.e. trying to move "people who don't know and they do > > not know that they do not know" TO "they know and they know that they > > know" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johari_window > > > > In short, Free Flow of Information, readily available is prerequisite > > to transforming Kenya into a knowledge society, prosperous economy > > where everyone realises fruits of their innovation and work of their > > hands. Opaqueness only breeds mistrust the sum total being mark-timing > > development and globally uncompetitive countries. > > > > my two cents to this very interesting debate... > > _______________________________________________ > > ke-internetusers mailing list > > ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net > > http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers > > > > ---------------------------------------------- > > This message has been scanned for viruses and > > dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is > > believed to be clean. > > --------------------------------------------- > > "easy access to the world" > > > > > > > ___________________________________________________________ Want ideas for reducing your carbon footprint? Visit Yahoo! For Good http://uk.promotions.yahoo.com/forgood/environment.html

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3G lauch to spark battle in data services mart
by Wanjira, Alice Munyua 21 Nov '07

21 Nov '07

3G lauch to spark battle in data services mart Written by Kui Kinyanjui: Buisness Daily 3G enabled services will help facilitate various modern e-applications such as remote medical diagnosis, remote education, as well as a variety of business-to-business and business-to-government applications. November 5, 2007: Kenyas telecoms scene is set for a major revolution following the recent launch by service provider Safaricom of a new technology. The technology -- commonly known as 3G -- is expected to change the way consumers use their phones besides bringing home the long held consumer dream of accessing the Internet and television from their mobile phones. The network differs from the current in its ability to deliver high quality media-rich content -- including audio and video to a mobile phone handset. It comes at a time when consumers are beginning to enjoy Telkom Wireless price cuts on similar offers through its CDMA platform -- setting the stage for a battle for data shillings on the new breed of networks. While Safaricoms may be the first commercial 3G service in Kenya, Telkom maintains that its CDMA platform offers more of the same features and at a more competitive price. This potential by Telkom, which is Safaricoms parent company, poses a looming threat to the mobile firms aspirations to become the leader in the provision of value-added services in the telecoms market. With 3G enabled phones, consumers will be able to use the telephone to access Internet services and transmit data. The mobile industry is counting on the arrival of 3G to boost the sale of data enabled handsets such as camera phones and to raise earnings through sale of high-end services such as mobile e-mail access. 3G enabled services will help facilitate various modern e-applications such as remote medical diagnosis, remote education, as well as a variety of business-to-business and business-to-government applications, said John Waweru, the director-general of the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK). Most Kenyan users will, however, be keen to use their phones to surf the internet. Third generation networks allow for faster download speeds for web pages, with prices dropping to less than Sh10 per megabyte downloaded. Having paid $25 million, nearly half what it paid for the original mobile operator licence, Safaricom is banking on the new service to drive revenue growth from users accessing more data heavy applications. Kenyas mobile phone sector is slated to grow by 87 per cent in the next five years, exceeding the 72 per cent forecast for the African continent, according to the GSM Association. Safaricoms entry into this service platform came as a surprise to many given that its CEO Michael Joseph indicated that the company would only implement the service if the cost-benefits were commensurate with the projected number of users. Rival mobile telephone service provider Celtel is said to be weighing the prospect of acquiring the pricey licence at this time. With the majority of new mobile subscribers expected to come from the countryside, it remains to be seen whether the projected levels of growth with translate into increased demand for valued added services. The race for rural subscribers has seen Safaricom commission a Sh500 million switching centre targeting the rural folk in western Kenya. Industry observers however say that Safaricom may have to wait a while to reap the benefits of the latest network upgrade. Japans NTT DoCoMo launched the worlds first official 3G system based on WCDMA in 2001 but only managed to fully migrate its users to the service by 2006. Two years after its launch in the UK, a 2005 survey by Harris Interactive revealed that the uptake of the new service was sluggish. The poll indicated that only nine per cent of the entire mobile phone market had upgraded to a 3G enabled mobile phone two years after the services launch, with 41 per cent of 3G users using their powerful gadgets for just for talking and texting. The silver lining in the Harris poll was however that 3G users were twice as likely to use their mobile phone for more than talking and texting. There is a danger in 3G being given away without effectively marketing 3G services to consumers. Service providers are seeding the market with the product and then relying on above and below the line marketing to generate momentum for key 3G services, said Derek Eccleston, technology research director at Harris Interactive. If 3G consumers do not begin to utilize the full range of 3G services, the return on general operator investment in 3G may not be realizedand this can have a negative impact on their profitability. But as with any new service, Safaricom will roll out its latest network addition with tremendous spend on advertising to highlight its offering. The firm is said to be in talks to enter into data services partnerships with interested companies. Besides, phone companies are maneuvering to strengthen their offerings in the high end gadget market, with some banking on the quick adoption rate of to drive sales of the relatively more expensive devices. Phone company LG recently launched YouTube enabled handsets in the local market that will allow users to interface to access and upload video content. This new service will connect people like never before. For the first time, LG customers will be able to film, upload and view videos on YouTube using their mobile phone just as they would from their home computers, said K.W. Kim, LG Middle East and Africa President.

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[Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] REMINDER -- Fellowships for India - deadline is 26 NOVEMBER - Paris Open]
by alice 21 Nov '07

21 Nov '07

http://www.icann.org/fellowships/ 31st International Public ICANN meeting New Delhi, India February 10-15 Application round open: 24 October Application round close: 26 November AND FOR THE 32nd International Public ICANN meeting in Paris, France June 22-27 Application round open: December 2007 Application round close: January 2008 Cheers ar _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Fwd: [TIER] UN agreement on freeing spectrum for wireless
by Eric Osiakwan 21 Nov '07

21 Nov '07

fyi Begin forwarded message: > From: Jennifer Bussell <jbussell(a)berkeley.edu> > Date: 19 November 2007 19:54:38 GMT+03:00 > To: TIER <tier(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu> > Subject: [TIER] UN agreement on freeing spectrum for wireless > > > http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2ece0dd2-962c-11dc-b7ec-0000779fd2ac.html > Radio spectrum freed for mobiles > By Frances Williams in Geneva > Published: November 19 2007 01:23 | Last updated: November 19 2007 > 01:23 > Valuable radio spectrum now used mainly by broadcasters is to be > opened up to broadband services offered by mobile phone operators > under a United Nations agreement endorsed on Friday by governments > from over 160 countries. > > For the first time, the decision will provide a common chunk of > spectrum for mobile broadband services globally, boosting the > market for new wireless technologies. It is also expected to reduce > significantly the cost of expanding mobile networks in poor or > predominantly rural nations. > > The accord follows a month-long diplomatic conference that pitted > traditional broadcasters against mobile phone operators in a battle > over who should benefit from the “digital dividend” provided by the > continuing switch from analogue to digital television. > > Digital signals require much less bandwidth, freeing space in the > coveted ultra-high frequency (UHF) band, which has been the almost > exclusive preserve of broadcasters. > > Mobile phone companies have pushed for access to the UHF band for > two reasons. One is that the quality signals support high-speed > mobile broadband connections, enabling faster downloads of data and > video to mobile devices and encouraging the development of new > internet-based services. > > The other is that UHF signals can penetrate buildings and travel > long distances, so fewer base stations are required for coverage of > large areas, cheapening the cost of rolling out wireless broadband > networks. > > Under the deal, the Americas and much of Asia, including China and > India, will open up the 698-806 Megahertz band to mobile wireless > broadband services between now and 2015 as the transition from > analogue to digital television proceeds. > > In Europe, Africa and the Middle East, where broadcasters have > retained a bigger share of UHF spectrum, only the 790-862 Megahertz > band will be available for mobile wireless broadband and not before > 2015. > > Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007 > > _______________________________________________ > TIER mailing list > Website: http://tier.cs.berkeley.edu > TIER(a)tier.cs.berkeley.edu > https://www.millennium.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tier Eric M.K Osiakwan Executive Secretary AfrISPA (www.afrispa.org) Tel: + 233.21.258800 ext 2031 Fax: + 233.21.258811 Cell: + 233.244.386792 Handle: eosiakwan Snail Mail: Pmb 208, Accra-North Office: BusyInternet - 42 Ring Road Central, Accra-North Blog: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/eric/ Slang: "Tomorrow Now"

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workshop at Gazebo
by Rebecca Wanjiku 20 Nov '07

20 Nov '07

just to let you know that the workshop will be at the Gazebo Banda, Jacaranda hotel E-WASTE PROJECT KENYA - INTRODUCTION MEETING WEDNESDAY November 21st , 2007 PROGRAMME - TIME ACTIVITY 9.00- 9.15am Welcome and Introduction – Harry Hare 9.15-10.00am Regional perspective - Alan Finlay – Open Research 10:00-10.30am Tea Break 10.30-11.30pm Global perspective – Cisse Khan - Digital Solidarity Fund (DSF) & Mathias Schluep – EMPA National perspective – Alice Munyua 11.30 – 12.30 General discussions, comments, input from stakeholders, vote of thanks Close Facilitated by Africa e-Development Resource Centre Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ Get easy, one-click access to your favorites. Make Yahoo! your homepage. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Be a better sports nut! Let your teams follow you with Yahoo Mobile. Try it now. http://mobile.yahoo.com/sports;_ylt=At9_qDKvtAbMuh1G1SQtBI7ntAcJ

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