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Number Portability question...
by Collins Areba 21 Dec '10

21 Dec '10

Could anyone confirm this to me.. Does number portability work across platforms? say have CDMA lines on my 0722 line....

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Extension of Public Comment Period on New gTLD Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook and Economic Study Phase II Report
by Alice Munyua 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Dear all, For those interested in the new gTLD. best Alice ------------------------------------------------- Extension of Public Comment Period on New gTLD Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook and Economic Study Phase II Report 17 December 2010 Taking into account public comment and decisions made during ICANN’s Cartagena meeting, the public comment period for the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook and supporting documentation have been extended to 15 January 2011 (1200 UTC). Below are the links to comment fora for the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook: English - http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-en.htm العربية - http://www.icann.org/ar/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-ar.htm 中文 (简体) - http://www.icann.org/zh/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-zh.htm Français - http://www.icann.org/fr/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-fr.htm Русский - http://www.icann.org/ru/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-ru.htm Español - http://www.icann.org/es/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-es.htm Additionally, the Economic Study Phase II Report is extended to 15 January 2011: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/comments-5-en.htm How to Participate The Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook is available here in its entirety, as well as in its six individual modules. You can either comment on the overall guidebook or comment per module, by area of interest. A red-lined, annotated version of the documents is provided to show what changes were made in progressing from Draft Applicant Guidebook, Version 4 to the Proposed Final Applicant Guidebook. As the materials become available in additional languages there will be an opportunity to comment. You may also view the Summaries & Analyses <http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/comments-analysis-en.htm> from recently closed public fora.

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Fw: [aisi-media-l] Announcement: 2011 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards / Prix TIGA 2011 pour l’utilisation de la Technologie dans l’Administration en Afrique - Deadline for Applications: 28 February 2011
by Michael Ouma 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Michael Ouma Journalist Kenya Tel:+254-725-537823 "Do not go where the path may lead, but go instead where there is no path and leave a trail," - Ralph Waldo Emerson --- On Wed, 12/1/10, Afework Temtime <atemtime(a)uneca.org> wrote: From: Afework Temtime <atemtime(a)uneca.org> Subject: [aisi-media-l] Announcement: 2011 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards / Prix TIGA 2011 pour l’utilisation de la Technologie dans l’Administration en Afrique - Deadline for Applications: 28 February 2011 To: "Discussion List for African Media and Information Society" <aisi-media-l(a)dgroups.org> Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 1:46 AM Announcement: 2011 Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards Deadline for Applications: 28 February 2011 The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Finland are pleased to announce the SecondTechnology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards. Technology in Government in Africa (TIGA) Awards recognise African Governments’ effective use of ICTs for public service delivery as part of fulfilling ECA’s African Information Society Initiative (AISI) and the Government of Finland’s Development Cooperation Strategy on ICTs for development in Africa. The Awards goes to African Governments and institutions based on the continent that are engaged in initiating, developing, and implementing ICTs for public service contributing to the development of the Information Society in Africa. The aims are to: • Create greater awareness on the role of ICTs in the public services and the development process within the framework of the African Information Society Initiative (AISI); • Encourage African Governments and institutions to use ICTs for development in general and improved public/citizen’s services in particular; and • Motivate other African stakeholders in effective utilization of ICTs for citizen’s services. Started in 2007, this pioneering African programme will publicly recognise the innovation, excellence, and leadership in Africa’s public sector e-government development and its deployment. It is currently recognised as an honour to be nominated for the TIGA Awards, and a significant career achievement for the team members to be selected as an Award Winner. The first TIGA Awards recognised twelve innovative projects from nine countries, and the second,, which was organised in 2009 considered innovative projects from ten countries in recognition of achievements that led to changes in the use of ICTs in Government service delivery. The TIGA Award is intended to be a biennial event to honour African Governments and institutions. More information is available at: http://www.uneca.org/tiga XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX Annonce : Prix TIGA 2011 pour l’utilisation de la Technologie dans l’Administration en Afrique Date limite de candidature : le 28 février 2011 La Commission Economique pour l’Afrique et le Gouvernement de la Finlande ont le plaisir d’annoncer le troisième prix pour l’utilisation de la technologie dans l’administration en Afrique. Les prix pour l’utilisation de la Technologie dans l’Administration en Afrique visent à récompenser le travail des Etats Africains dans l’utilisation effective des Technologies de l’ Information et de la Communication (TIC) dans la délivrance des services publics mis en œuvre dans le cadre de l’Initiative pour la Société de l’Information en Afrique (AISI) de la CEA et de la Stratégie de la Coopération pour le Développement du Gouvernement de la Finlande. Les prix sont destinés aux Etats Africains et aux institutions basées en Afrique qui sont engagés dans la conception, le développement, et la mise en œuvre des programmes TIC pour les services publics et contribuant à la mise en œuvre de la Société de l’Information dans le continent. Les objectifs sont : • de susciter une plus grande conscience sur le rôle des TICs dans les services publics et le processus de développement dans le cadre de l’Initiative pour la Société de l’Information en Afrique (AISI) ; • d’encourager les Etats et les Institutions africaines à utiliser les TICs pour le développement en général et pour améliorer les services publics en particulier ; • d’influencer les autres acteurs africains à utiliser effectivement les TICs au service des citoyens. Initié en 2007 ce programme pionnier africain récompensera publiquement l’innovation, l’excellence et le leadership dans le développement du e-gouvernement (administration électronique) dans le secteur public en Afrique. La nomination aux Prix TIGA devrait être perçue comme un honneur et une réussite de carrière dans le secteur public pour les membres des équipes qui seront sélectionnées. Le Prix TIGA sera un événement qui se passera tous le deux ans pour honorer les Gouvernements et institutions africains . Pour plus d'information : http://www.uneca.org/tiga Visit web site | Reply to sender | Click here to unsubscribe The email is intended only for the recipients. The owners of the Dgroups cannot be held responsible for the contents of the email message.

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Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] BPO and ITES a wider view of the opportunity
by Paul Kukubo ICT Board 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Bernard Great comment. Not in any way put of sync with my conclusion. In fact a useful addition. Both free and open source as well as packaged license software approaches are important. The benefit of the big firms dependency is that our firms and individuals can get into the culture of operating on the basis of established and standardized business process. I acknowledge that this is a not and open source or closed source issue. However, it is beneficial to developers when they are structured and backed in deploying solutions. some local Venture capitalists suggest to us that if technology firms build solutions on top of more established global platforms like oracle, Microsoft, SAP etc they stand a better chance of demonstrating reduced risk profile, and therefore can be more attractive in getting funding. On the other hand we have successful open source IT development firms locally that have received investment from venture capitalists. The Kenya ICT Board interest is in developing a greater pool of businesses in ICT in order to create more jobs. Thanks for the feedback. Sent from my iPad On 20 Dec 2010, at 13:45, Bernard Owuor <bowuor(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > I came across this when perusing through my archived emails. > > I must confess that it's a joy to read such updates from a govt officials now and then. However, I am slightly alarmed at the drift of this particular brief. > > My questions are: > > - Since Open Source platform is not fronted by one specific vendor, how is it factored into this report, and how will it factor into govt thinking/strategy? > - Could it be that some of the "big" vendors became big by acquiring open-source competitors: eg Oracle acquiring Java & MySQL? > - Since such acquisitions will continue into the foreseeable future, it might be instructive to focus capacity building efforts upon specific generic technologies, as opposed to vendor products. > - What's the proportion of the value of Package applications to Web/Internet/Mobile Applications - and is this ratio substantive? The report focuses on package applications. > - Is it the best strategy to go head-on-head with India? Would such a strategy reflect an appreciation of our local "terrain" with regard to formulating a response to global software demand? > - > > There is no doubt that there is benefit in raising the population of Oracle DBAs, CCNAs etc. But even as we do so, we should not lose sight of the biggest prize of all - which is profitable innovation. Innovation is fostered by open standards and open-systems and unencumbered by (or overcomes?) vendor limitations. A population trained to think broadly, to translate technical innovations to useful products (or vice-versa) would be priceless. > > Christmas cheers. > > Bernard > > > > From: pkukubo(a)ict.go.ke > Date: Fri, 10 Dec 2010 17:42:56 +0300 > To: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke; ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net > CC: > Subject: [ke-internetusers] BPO and ITES a wider view of the opportunity > > Listers > > Just leafing through an extract of the IDC's World Wide Software Forecast 2010-14 Summary report. www.idc.com > > The Worldwide Packaged Software Market was USD 273 Billiion in 2009. Made up of > Application development and deployment 64,575 Million USD > Applications 129,838 Million USD > Systems Infrastructure software 78,068 Million USD > Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, SAP, Symantec, HP, CA. EMC Adobe and Fujistu are the leading vendors. > > Conclusion from our reading this report: > Certain global company technologies dominate and the ability to develop and deploy solutions on top of these technologies can greatly enhance a country's overall ICT competitiveness. > Most global enterprises run some of their critical operations on the back of these. Indeed the biggest ICT projects in the private sector here relate to deployment of solutions. e.g in CRM at Safaricom and Kenya Airways, in ERP at EABL, BIDCO, SHELL, and indeed in Financial Management in Government. > The consultancy, project management and deployment of these platforms is a huge business opportunity. Indeed many shared services and outsourcing functions include supporting or using these platforms as part of wider business operation or process. Many successful ICT firms in Kenya are in this space. Some of the venture capitalists / and private equity managers in Kenya have asked us to encourage more ICT entrepreneurs to operate their businesses around established platforms.They would be willing to fund more Oracle or Cisco certified firms. > > As an example, Infosys the large technology services and outsourcing provider has 20,000 certified oracle consultants on their payroll according to their CEO speaking at this year's Oracle World in California. > > Part of any effort to develop a country's ICT sector includes aligning capacity building efforts to global demand. > > asante and Happy Jamhuri weekend. > > > Paul Kukubo > Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board > PO Box 27150 - 00100 > Nairobi, Kenya > > 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street > > Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 > Fax: +254 20 2211962 > website: www.ict.go.ke > local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya > twitter:@tandaaKENYA > BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke > Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke > > > personal contacts > _______________ > > Cell: + 254 717 180001 > > > skype: kukubopaul > googletalk: pkukubo > personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke > personal twitter: @pkukubo > > > ____________________ > Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub > > Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment > > _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers

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Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade
by Betty Mwangi 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Yes good point - in the road map we plan to offer a statement solution off the phone which you can then e mail or print off Thanks for the feedback Rgds BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: muriuki mureithi To: Betty Mwangi Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Mon Dec 20 15:46:00 2010 Subject: RE: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Thanks Betty When I pay for a service using mpesa , I would like to get something that shows payment – our accountants need a paper print out It is not possible to be it from mpesa system cheers Muriuki Mureithi What can u do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. -Mother Teresa From: Betty Mwangi [mailto:bmwangi1@Safaricom.co.ke] Sent: 20 December 2010 13:39 To: mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Please qualify what you mean by transaction print outs? Thanks and rgds BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: muriuki mureithi To: Betty Mwangi Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Mon Dec 20 11:08:41 2010 Subject: RE: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Betty Can you give us a sense of when print-out of transactions can be possible - lack of printouts reduce the aura of mpesa to informality yet the direction you are heading is increasingly formal transactions. we need a trail cheers Muriuki Mureithi What can u do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. -Mother Teresa From: kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Betty Mwangi Sent: 19 December 2010 17:25 To: mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Preston Thanks for your mail. There was a technical fault on Tuesday and Wednesday last week that resulted in delays with SMS confirmations and in some cases no confirmation at all. However, there was a process initiated to ensure completion of all such cases and customers and agents were advised of the completion so that transactions could be processed successfully. The fault is now resolved. We apologise for the inconvenience and assure customers that their funds are safe. Indeed we are under close oversight by CBK which we welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you experience any further problems. As safaricom we are committed to ensuring that we meet and respond to customer needs - indeed the platform upgrade that we performed was of huge magnitude and you shall see the benefits as we continue to respond to more of your feedback. Today you will see that we have increased the bands so that you can now send up to 140000 ksh per day (max 70000ksh per transaction) and you can now hold up to 100000ksh in your MPESA e value account - doubled from previous. We have also enabled a minimum deposit, transfer and withdrawal amount of Ksh 50 ...more to come. Thank you for your feedback and thank you for staying with the better option. Best rgds Betty Mwangi-Thuo Chief Officer - New Products Safaricom ltd BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: kictanet-bounces+bmwangi1=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke To: Betty Mwangi Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Sent: Sat Dec 18 09:38:26 2010 Subject: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade The current challenges consumers are going thru on the M-Pesa after upgrade seem not to have been shared with the consumers. Can the CEO of Safaricom explain what is going on. There are delays on money sent. I sent money and only received the message after six hours. The recepient never received any message. There are cases where the recipient does not receive a message although the money is there they cannot withdraw. Can Safaricom explain how many cases of this nature have been experienced and what are the security implications? Preston Odera Executive Director K-Ninety East Africa Limited Tel +254 20 3544352 Note: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricoms Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=954> to read the policy. ________________________________ Note: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricoms Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=954> to read the policy. ________________________________ ##################################################################################### NOTE: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom�s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy. #####################################################################################

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Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade
by Betty Mwangi 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Thanks and noted In the interim mini statements are available from our retail centers Rgds BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: Emmanuel Khisa To: Betty Mwangi Cc: oloo.khisa(a)gmail.com ; kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Mon Dec 20 15:12:10 2010 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Hi Betty, I would imagine the issue with Mpesa (read Printouts) especially where evidence is required has been lack of a paper-based receipting system. In my previous deployments as a corporate payment method, I have encountered customers especially rural based ones who are very averse to paperless transaction and from time to time demand evidence in way of receipt. This can be overcome overtime through education that transaction code works just fine as an evidence. If a receipt can be provided it would be even better. Rgds, Emmanuel On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 1:39 PM, Betty Mwangi <bmwangi1(a)safaricom.co.ke> wrote: Please qualify what you mean by transaction print outs? Thanks and rgds BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: muriuki mureithi To: Betty Mwangi Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Mon Dec 20 11:08:41 2010 Subject: RE: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Betty Can you give us a sense of when print-out of transactions can be possible - lack of printouts reduce the aura of mpesa to informality yet the direction you are heading is increasingly formal transactions. we need a trail cheers Muriuki Mureithi What can u do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. -Mother Teresa From: kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+mureithi <mailto:kictanet-bounces%2Bmureithi> =summitstrategies.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Betty Mwangi Sent: 19 December 2010 17:25 To: mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Preston Thanks for your mail. There was a technical fault on Tuesday and Wednesday last week that resulted in delays with SMS confirmations and in some cases no confirmation at all. However, there was a process initiated to ensure completion of all such cases and customers and agents were advised of the completion so that transactions could be processed successfully. The fault is now resolved. We apologise for the inconvenience and assure customers that their funds are safe. Indeed we are under close oversight by CBK which we welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you experience any further problems. As safaricom we are committed to ensuring that we meet and respond to customer needs - indeed the platform upgrade that we performed was of huge magnitude and you shall see the benefits as we continue to respond to more of your feedback. Today you will see that we have increased the bands so that you can now send up to 140000 ksh per day (max 70000ksh per transaction) and you can now hold up to 100000ksh in your MPESA e value account - doubled from previous. We have also enabled a minimum deposit, transfer and withdrawal amount of Ksh 50 ...more to come. Thank you for your feedback and thank you for staying with the better option. Best rgds Betty Mwangi-Thuo Chief Officer - New Products Safaricom ltd BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: kictanet-bounces+bmwangi1=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke To: Betty Mwangi Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Sent: Sat Dec 18 09:38:26 2010 Subject: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade The current challenges consumers are going thru on the M-Pesa after upgrade seem not to have been shared with the consumers. Can the CEO of Safaricom explain what is going on. There are delays on money sent. I sent money and only received the message after six hours. The recepient never received any message. There are cases where the recipient does not receive a message although the money is there they cannot withdraw. Can Safaricom explain how many cases of this nature have been experienced and what are the security implications? Preston Odera Executive Director K-Ninety East Africa Limited Tel +254 20 3544352 Note: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricoms Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=954> to read the policy. ________________________________ Image removed by sender. Note: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom’s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=954> to read the policy. ________________________________ _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: oloo.khisa(a)gmail.com Unsubscribe or change your options at http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/oloo.khisa%40gmail.com -- Oloo Khisa P.O. Box 24324-00100 Nairobi 0721321086/0734321086 http://ke.linkedin.com/in/olookhisa ##################################################################################### NOTE: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom�s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy. #####################################################################################

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Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade
by Betty Mwangi 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Please qualify what you mean by transaction print outs? Thanks and rgds BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: muriuki mureithi To: Betty Mwangi Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Mon Dec 20 11:08:41 2010 Subject: RE: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Betty Can you give us a sense of when print-out of transactions can be possible - lack of printouts reduce the aura of mpesa to informality yet the direction you are heading is increasingly formal transactions. we need a trail cheers Muriuki Mureithi What can u do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. -Mother Teresa From: kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+mureithi=summitstrategies.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Betty Mwangi Sent: 19 December 2010 17:25 To: mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade Preston Thanks for your mail. There was a technical fault on Tuesday and Wednesday last week that resulted in delays with SMS confirmations and in some cases no confirmation at all. However, there was a process initiated to ensure completion of all such cases and customers and agents were advised of the completion so that transactions could be processed successfully. The fault is now resolved. We apologise for the inconvenience and assure customers that their funds are safe. Indeed we are under close oversight by CBK which we welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you experience any further problems. As safaricom we are committed to ensuring that we meet and respond to customer needs - indeed the platform upgrade that we performed was of huge magnitude and you shall see the benefits as we continue to respond to more of your feedback. Today you will see that we have increased the bands so that you can now send up to 140000 ksh per day (max 70000ksh per transaction) and you can now hold up to 100000ksh in your MPESA e value account - doubled from previous. We have also enabled a minimum deposit, transfer and withdrawal amount of Ksh 50 ...more to come. Thank you for your feedback and thank you for staying with the better option. Best rgds Betty Mwangi-Thuo Chief Officer - New Products Safaricom ltd BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: kictanet-bounces+bmwangi1=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke To: Betty Mwangi Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Sent: Sat Dec 18 09:38:26 2010 Subject: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade The current challenges consumers are going thru on the M-Pesa after upgrade seem not to have been shared with the consumers. Can the CEO of Safaricom explain what is going on. There are delays on money sent. I sent money and only received the message after six hours. The recepient never received any message. There are cases where the recipient does not receive a message although the money is there they cannot withdraw. Can Safaricom explain how many cases of this nature have been experienced and what are the security implications? Preston Odera Executive Director K-Ninety East Africa Limited Tel +254 20 3544352 Note: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricoms Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=954> to read the policy. ________________________________ ##################################################################################### NOTE: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom�s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy. #####################################################################################

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looking back - over my shoulder - 2010
by muriuki mureithi 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Hi Listers Within a few days , 2010, will be history........ gone into our history But I believe the year was not in vain for the ICT sector in Kenya, - there are some indelible memories of actions, events , personalities, institutions that shaped the sector positively and or negatively ... Listers, let's take a moment to look back and reflect --- 1. WHAT do you think changed the ICT terrain and changed the lives of Kenyans, mainstreamed ICTs, put Kenya proudly on the global map 2. WHO was the that person/institution/corporate in your view that ICT fraternity should honour for the great deeds that changed the ICT sector and the larger national economy and perhaps global Please share your thoughts in the list within the next two days in a paragraph explaining your choice Very best regards Muriuki Mureithi What can u do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family. -Mother Teresa -------------------------------------------------------- cid:image003.jpg@01CB5386.842DACA0 Landmark Plaza 13th flr Argwings Kodhek Rd -Opp Nairobi Hospital P O Box 62454 - 00200 Nairobi Kenya tel + 254 20 3673925/2637177 Cell+254 701 016555 <mailto:Info@summitstrategies.co.ke> info(a)summitstrategies.co.ke <http://www.summitstrategies.co.ke/> www.summitstrategies.co.ke Personal Cell +254 722 520090 <mailto:sam@summitstrategies.co.ke> mureithi(a)summitstrategies.co.ke skype; muriukimureithi

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Re: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade
by Betty Mwangi 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Preston Thanks for your mail. There was a technical fault on Tuesday and Wednesday last week that resulted in delays with SMS confirmations and in some cases no confirmation at all. However, there was a process initiated to ensure completion of all such cases and customers and agents were advised of the completion so that transactions could be processed successfully. The fault is now resolved. We apologise for the inconvenience and assure customers that their funds are safe. Indeed we are under close oversight by CBK which we welcome. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you experience any further problems. As safaricom we are committed to ensuring that we meet and respond to customer needs - indeed the platform upgrade that we performed was of huge magnitude and you shall see the benefits as we continue to respond to more of your feedback. Today you will see that we have increased the bands so that you can now send up to 140000 ksh per day (max 70000ksh per transaction) and you can now hold up to 100000ksh in your MPESA e value account - doubled from previous. We have also enabled a minimum deposit, transfer and withdrawal amount of Ksh 50 ...more to come. Thank you for your feedback and thank you for staying with the better option. Best rgds Betty Mwangi-Thuo Chief Officer - New Products Safaricom ltd BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: kictanet-bounces+bmwangi1=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke To: Betty Mwangi Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Sent: Sat Dec 18 09:38:26 2010 Subject: [kictanet] Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade The current challenges consumers are going thru on the M-Pesa after upgrade seem not to have been shared with the consumers. Can the CEO of Safaricom explain what is going on. There are delays on money sent. I sent money and only received the message after six hours. The recepient never received any message. There are cases where the recipient does not receive a message although the money is there they cannot withdraw. Can Safaricom explain how many cases of this nature have been experienced and what are the security implications? Preston Odera Executive Director K-Ninety East Africa Limited Tel +254 20 3544352 ##################################################################################### NOTE: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom�s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy. #####################################################################################

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Re: [kictanet] Safaricom data bundles
by Betty Mwangi 20 Dec '10

20 Dec '10

Joe well noted and we shall take into account as part of the improvement process Thanks for the feedback - very much appreciated Rgds Betty BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: Joseph Mucheru To: Betty Mwangi Cc: mucheru(a)google.com ; kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Sat Dec 18 04:06:11 2010 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom data bundles Betty, One more thing, data bundles are not considered cash if topped up using another postpaid line. This means every 3 months I have to send airtime to my iPad and 3G routers, airtime I never use since they are data only devices. There is usually no warning or error message. Service just stops working even though you have plenty of data bundle remaining. The line is considered inactive if you do not buy airtime in 90 days. I find it convenient to have one bill and so I use the post paid ussd *200# services to top-up my pre-paid data lines. The data bundle process for postpaid lines in devices like iPads is a nightmare if you want to take advantage of the many options & special offers and bundles. You must send requests from the device. Please rectify this as you process the other requests. It will go a long way. Thanks -- Joe Mucheru Regional Lead, Sub-Saharan Africa Google Africa On Dec 17, 2010, at 10:28 AM, Betty Mwangi <bmwangi1(a)safaricom.co.ke> wrote: Thanks Washington On your iSsue with Bonga I believe a member of my team is in touch to investigate the problem you are experiencing so that we can sort this out Rgds BlackBerryÂ® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: Odhiambo Washington To: Betty Mwangi Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Fri Dec 17 09:04:18 2010 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom data bundles On Fri, Dec 17, 2010 at 8:34 AM, Betty Mwangi < <mailto:bmwangi1@safaricom.co.ke> bmwangi1(a)safaricom.co.ke> wrote: Robert Thanks for your comments and the inconvenience is highly regretted. I assure you you are not peculiar in any way and as a matter of fact Safaricom will be availing an on line top up service for data early in the New Year that Will assist with situations similar to yours. We assure you of our committment to continue to ensure that we meet customers needs. Hi Betty, Such a solution will be very welcome, especially in the face of the many "sonkos" brandishing iPads. At the moment the process of buying a bundle for an iPad user is hell, thanks to the microsim. That you have to face a process of powering down the iPad, removing the microsim, place on a holder, get someÂ phone to be powered down to take the "sim", load credit, buy data via sms, wait for confirmation, then follow the reverse of this process.... You just see the hassle that product will save many from! PS: In the meantime, would you be kind enough to mobilize "the team" to revive Bonga points query/redemption system? It's been down for a while. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Damn!! Note: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom’s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here <http://www.safaricom.co.ke/index.php?id=954> to read the policy. ________________________________ <http://www.safaricom.co.ke/fileadmin/resources/downloads/SafBanner.gif> _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet This message was sent to: <mailto:mucheru@google.com> mucheru(a)google.com Unsubscribe or change your options at <http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mucheru%40google.com> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mucheru%40google.com ##################################################################################### NOTE: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom�s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy. #####################################################################################

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APC is hiring: Project coordinator, “Internet rights are human rights”
by Alice Munyua 19 Dec '10

19 Dec '10

Please pass on to anyone you think might be interested.. -------- Original Message -------- APC is hiring: Project coordinator, “Internet rights are human rights” The successful candidate will join the APC policy programme to lead APC’s human rights and internet rights work through coordination of our “Internet rights are human rights” project. The candidate will have a strong background in the human rights and internet policy fields and have significant expertise in advocacy, capacity building and strategic communications. This is a full-time senior project manager position key to APC as we seek to strengthen our position internationally in the area of human rights in the context of the internet and information and communication policy. The project coordinator will: A) Coordinate the overall implementation of the project “Internet rights are human rights: Monitoring and defending freedom of expression and association on the internet”. Deliverables include: - in-depth research and analysis of the trends, violations and impacts on freedom of expression on the internet at national levels; - development of various information products, awareness raising and global and national policy advocacy in specialised spaces and processes; - building capacity and support for rights defenders (particulary women's human rights defenders); - building sustainable networks of human rights defence advocates; - designing and implementing a campaign that promote understanding of 'internet rights' as human rights and the importance of the internet as a tool for furthering human rights B) Manage and supervise contracts with project partners. C) Manage and supervise the “Internet rights are human rights” project team. D) Provide strategic vision and leadership for developing and implementing APC´s human rights and internet rights advocacy and campaigning, capacity building, networking and partnership building, and communication strategies in partnership with APC team. E) Represent the APC and build strategic partnerships in the field. This includes frequent international travel. F) Participate actively in the APC staff team and with members. The person we are looking for will have: - Extensive knowledge of human rights and internet policy and regulations - Sound academic qualifications in a related area - Experience in policy advocacy work in this area - Enthusiasm for networking and be an inclusive network builder - The ability to plan and think strategically - Experience in project management (at least three years) including people and budget management - Experience and background in civil society networking  - Knowledge and contacts with human rights organisations, human rights defenders, democracy activists and internet rights activists is an advantage  Other requirements: - Excellent English writing and oral communication skills, including public speaking experience - Good writing skills and experience in writing reports  - Able to work in a team and under pressure - Able to work independently and to manage people mainly via online communications - Willing to travel frequently  - Competent computer and internet skills and experience in working in an online environment - Ability to communicate in Spanish and/or French is a distinct advantage   Remuneration and duration of contract: This is a full time contract for an initial twelve-month period (renewable depending on performance and availability of funding). Remuneration is based on APC’s salary scale for the position for a high-level project manager. Short-listed candidates will receive specific information on the salary range on request. Location: The incumbent can work from anywhere in the world provided they have excellent internet access. APC provides an equipment allowance but require staff to use their own computers. Extensive international and regional travel will be required. APC is a truly virtual organisation and does not have a physical headquarters. We do our work online. For this position we particularly encourage candidates from the global South. How to apply:  Please send a CV and a covering letter in English that illustrates your interest in the position. You should include the following information: - Your experience with human rights and/or internet rights  - Your experience in advocacy and capacity building - Your experience in networking and partnership building - Your experience in designing, developing and leading campaigns targeting diverse constituencies - Your background in project management and team coordination, specifically in an international and/or online context - Your experience or expectations around building the capacity of activists for whom sometimes the subject area will be relatively new - Your experience around building interaction between human rights actors and actors involved in the access and use of internet for social justice and development - Your ICT policy experience - Your computer skills  - Where you live - Languages you speak and write - Other information you think might be of importance to our assessment of your application - Three references: names, relationship, contact details; at least one of these should be related to project or campaign that you have managed.   Please send this information via email with ‘Internet rights are human rights project coordinator’ in the subject line to: jobs(a)apc.org <mailto:jobs@apc.org> by January 14 2011. Please note only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

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US screening new gTLD applicants against US laws
by Alice Munyua 19 Dec '10

19 Dec '10

Dear all, More concerns from the Africa ICANN community on the new gTLD guidebook. best alice ---------------------- Dear AfrICANN's Please read Khaled Fattal's honourable submission at http://forum.icann.org/lists/5gtld-guide/pdfIIMoPfVdQj.pdf and see what an important and disturbing development the "final" new gTLD Draft Applicant Guidebook gives us. I must admit that while I was bogged down to the ccNSO and its council's business in Cartagena, this important matter escaped my attention. What is Africa's response to the DAG full granting the US government a right to screen new gTLD applicants against the US (probably more supreme) laws? I really think we can expect non-US people starting to push for alternative DNS root seeing the current DNS is US' and US' alone! So if you're not a US applicant and are from a country the US government considers to be terrorist, then forget about getting your new gTLD! This is what this exactly mean, While I've been usually reserved regarding the ITU advances towards the DNS, if ICANN continues to be a US govt entity as it is doing right now (even when ICANN is supposed to move away from this reality through the Affirmation), then who can blame the ITU or even other "Internet rebels" (or should we not call them "Internet freedom fighters") who have come up with alternative DNSes! I hope subscribers to this list will make their governments aware of this important matter (I believe some already have done so) and that our governments and the AU will not disappoint in withstanding the US monopoly of the currently dominant DNS. It must be fair to expect African governments to express their position even before the ICANN board meets GAC in February 2011. And I hope we won't hear another view that ICANN needs to first build our capacity before we can respond to this straight-forward nonsense from the ICANN DAG. Regards, *Vika Mpisane* ZADNA +27 11 275 0082

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Safaricom Challenges on M-Pesa after Upgrade
by Preston Odera 18 Dec '10

18 Dec '10

The current challenges consumers are going thru on the M-Pesa after upgrade seem not to have been shared with the consumers. Can the CEO of Safaricom explain what is going on. There are delays on money sent. I sent money and only received the message after six hours. The recepient never received any message. There are cases where the recipient does not receive a message although the money is there they cannot withdraw. Can Safaricom explain how many cases of this nature have been experienced and what are the security implications? Preston Odera Executive Director K-Ninety East Africa Limited Tel +254 20 3544352

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Safaricom data bundles
by robert yawe 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

Hi, I am like many of you a peculiar Kenyan in that I can quickly find 10 new ways to use a product that the provider/manufacture could never have though about. When Safaricom introduced the monthly data bundles I quickly took advantage of the service to roll out remote data capture terminals as I had a new that the 999/- unlimited monthly bundle would meet my requirements without any problems and at a predictable cost. So after rolling out the device somewhere in the middle of nowhere, its a security device so I will not give you the GPS coordinates, where no man need go again. I loaded the initial 999/- and off went the device, little did I know that the place that no man needed to go would need to be visited at least once a month. Why, because safaricom's unlimited monthly bundle cannot be purchased remotely, one needs to physically get to the sim card, my device is credit card sized and runs some proprietary software. I appreciate the fact that I am doing with the service what Safaricom did not think could or even would be done. I have talked to the customer service persons, they are now more script driven than before, and all I got was ". . the 450 service cannot be activated from another line, please put the sim card in a phone and send a sms message to 450 with the bundle size, thank you for calling Safaricom and have a good day". This what I had asked for in a call centre operator but suddenly my needs have now surpassed the standard script can Safaricom please implement an escalation procedure in the script so that when peculiar Kenyans like myself call with peculiar requirements we can get assistance. For now there goes my weekend as I need to travel to the top of a hill somewhere in Kenya, report to the local police station to avoid being shot down, climb up a 12 meter mast, remove a sim card, insert it into my phone, send an sms to 450, remove the sim card, place it back into the device, climb down the mast then drive back to Nairobi. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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BBC Article on Kenya Outsourcing
by Paul Kukubo 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

Listers <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12004815 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/>[image: BBC News]OLOGY<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/> 16 December 2010 Last updated at 23:40 GMT Kenya's ambitions for an outsourced futureBy Jonathan FildesTechnology reporter, BBC News Stare out of the office windows at Park Towers and - if you are lucky - you may spot a zebra or a giraffe. The sleek, glass building on the edge of Nairobi National park belongs to Horizon Contact Centers, one of a handful of emerging Kenyan firms that hope to grab a large slice of the global outsourcing market and establish the country as a leading provider of the call centres and back offices of the world. Inside, there is little time for safaris. The sleek offices are packed with rows and rows of blue cubicles staffed by young graduates, all calmly talking into headsets and typing into identical PCs. The rhythmical conversations are polite and familiar to anyone who has called a customer support line or has picked up a cold call from an insurance firm. "Kenya is very well known for its runners and wildlife, but when people talk about IT services there is a question mark," says Sanjay Sikka, chief executive of the year-and-a-half-old firm. Now that is all set to change, he says. Net effect Four years ago, the Kenyan government unveiled its Vision 2030 plan to develop the country<http://www.nesc.go.ke/News&Events/KenyaVision2030Intro.htm> . Central to its goals were the use of technology and a desire to emulate the success of countries such as India, South Africa and the Philippines. "It is not about taking India's business away from them," explains Paul Kukubo of the government's ICT board, in charge of promoting Kenya as an outsourcing destination for foreign firms. "The market is so big globally that the issue isn't about competition. The source markets - the US and the UK - are still looking for high quality, low cost destinations to do business." Until recently, Kenya was not in a position to go after the business. Its digital infrastructure - and particularly its satellite communications links with other countries - was prohibitively expensive for firms that rely on instant communication. That changed in 2009, when the first of three undersea internet cables arrived in the country. "I travel around the world trying to make the case for international investment in outsourcing," says Mr Kukubo. "Before the cables came it wasn't even a discussion. Now we have seen a huge interest with companies saying 'you have the basic ingredients'." Mr Sikka, who's firm initially used a grant from the World Bank to help pay for the expensive satellite links, agrees. "It's had a huge impact on cost," he says. "It's made Kenya competitive with the rest of the world." Perception problem Down the road from Horizon's sleek headquarters is Kencall, Kenya's first outsourcing firm, started in 2005. Before the cables arrived it had to use voice compression technology to ensure that customers did not pick up on the lags in conversations as the calls were beamed thousands of miles up via the satellite "When you calculate that distance to go up to that satellite and back down again at the speed of light, it would mean that for a word to be heard in England it would take about 6-700 milliseconds," says its founder Nik Nesbitt. "That delay makes calls horrible." Now, there is no need for the technology. This has brought other benefits, says Mr Nesbitt. "Our bandwidth costs have dropped about 90%. However, the part that is most exciting to us is that we are able to go out and get higher value more attractive work because we have the fibre optic capability, which pays us more." He says the cables "offer a perception of reliability" to potential customers. "Previously, the satellites offered that reliability, but not the perception," he says. But reliable cheap bandwidth is not the only selling points for Kenya, says Mr Sikka. He highlights the country's "abundant talent pool" and its "neutral accent". "India invests a lot in so-called accent neutralisation, where the agents are taken through a course," says Mr Sikka, himself a veteran of the Indian outsourcing scene. Kenya, he says, does not have that problem. It's a mantra repeated by everyone pushing Kenya as an outsourcing destination. Mr Sikka also emphasises the population's "cultural affinity" with countries such as the US and the UK. "Cultural affinity to the UK is very important," he says. "It is very important to show an empathy and understanding of the culture. It can't be someone calling up from an alien world with no understanding about what it means to live there." He says young Kenyans consume the same TV shows and music as their counterparts in the US and the UK, and they follow the same sports teams. The legacy of the British schooling system in Kenya is also an advantage, he says. "The main thing when you are talking on the phone is getting into the customer's shoes." Price point Kenya is not just targeting call centre work. Horizon offers data processing. Nearby, in a conspicuous four-storey red building, Ken-Tech data offers other services such as image tagging. For example, the firm does processing work for an unnamed smartphone application that allows users to take a picture of a product to find the best prices online. The pictures are sent to a team of people in their offices, who analyse the images and tag them with descriptive words that can be used to find the best prices on the web. "The results are sent back to the phone within 30 seconds," says Lakshmanan Manickam, general manager of the firm, and another person who has moved from India to kick-start the industry. This work requires a "highly-skilled workforce", he says, who are able to describe objects accurately. The firm also creates content for websites and audits transcriptions and translations for US companies. He says it is much easier - and cheaper - to set up these projects in Kenya; factors that will make it "the next outsourcing destination". But not everyone is so optimistic about Kenya's chances. "I'm more conservative about what it can do," says Erik Hersman, an entrepreneur and a major figure in the local technology start-up community. "If you are just trying to bid against your Indian counterparts, I think it is a hard thing to do, particularly when they have so much experience." He believes that rather than offering similar services to other countries, Kenya needs to find its own niche if it is to be successful. "I think it is a little bit more of a difficult space than people make it out to be." In addition, he says, the country should not try to compete with other countries on price. 'Lone voice' It is a view echoed by Mark Hillary, author of Who Moved my Job. "If your basic offering is, 'it is cheaper to work here than India', than that is a pretty poor sales pitch," he says. Instead, he says, firms and government should look at the kinds of graduates that are coming out of the country's universities and offer services based on their skills. This has worked for countries such as Bangladesh, he says, which has developed a concentration of animation firms. He says Kenya's historical ties with the UK, which means it has similar accountancy and legal systems, offers opportunities for outsourcing firms. However, Mr Hillary says his studies conducted with the United Nations suggest the country may face other challenges. "We found the biggest inhibitor was people's sense of corruption," he says. "But, it's more about the perception of doing business than the reality." A spate of violence following the disputed 2007 presidential elections also damaged the country's reputation. But the government's Mr Kukubo remains optimistic. "One has to be candid about these things," he says. "[The 2007 violence] was one of those things that was incidental and rare in Kenya's history. "Out of that crisis was born a new Kenya, really. Bad as it may have been, I think we learnt out lessons." In the next year, he says, there will be an "explosion of interest" from firms wanting to set up in Kenya. It has already invested in a new business park on the Mombasa Road, a stone's throw from Kencall, Horizon and Ken-Tech data. The 500,000sq ft (46,450sq m) of empty office space, primed for an influx of local and India firms, is an indication of its conviction. And it is a validation for Kencall's Mr Nesbitt. "When we started Kencall, we were really a voice in the wilderness talking about outsourcing. I think everyone sat there with one raised eyebrow waiting to see what could happen. "But people have now begun to see that this can actually work in Kenya." [image: BBC] BBC © MMX The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/help/web/links/> Paul Kukubo Chief Executive Officer, Kenya ICT Board PO Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya 12th Floor, Teleposta Towers Koinange Street Tel +254 20 2089061, +254 20 2211960 Fax: +254 20 2211962 website: www.ict.go.ke local content project: www.tandaa.co.ke, www.facebook.com/tandaakenya twitter:@tandaaKENYA BPO Project: www. doitinkenya.co.ke Digital Villages Project: www.pasha.co.ke personal contacts _______________ Cell: + 254 717 180001 skype: kukubopaul googletalk: pkukubo personal blog: www.paulkukubo.co.ke personal twitter: @pkukubo ____________________ Vision: Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment

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Re: [kictanet] Safaricom data bundles
by Betty Mwangi 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

Thanks Washington On your iSsue with Bonga I believe a member of my team is in touch to investigate the problem you are experiencing so that we can sort this out Rgds BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: Odhiambo Washington To: Betty Mwangi Cc: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke Sent: Fri Dec 17 09:04:18 2010 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Safaricom data bundles On Fri, Dec 17, 2010 at 8:34 AM, Betty Mwangi <bmwangi1(a)safaricom.co.ke> wrote: Robert Thanks for your comments and the inconvenience is highly regretted. I assure you you are not peculiar in any way and as a matter of fact Safaricom will be availing an on line top up service for data early in the New Year that Will assist with situations similar to yours. We assure you of our committment to continue to ensure that we meet customers needs. Hi Betty, Such a solution will be very welcome, especially in the face of the many "sonkos" brandishing iPads. At the moment the process of buying a bundle for an iPad user is hell, thanks to the microsim. That you have to face a process of powering down the iPad, removing the microsim, place on a holder, get some phone to be powered down to take the "sim", load credit, buy data via sms, wait for confirmation, then follow the reverse of this process.... You just see the hassle that product will save many from! PS: In the meantime, would you be kind enough to mobilize "the team" to revive Bonga points query/redemption system? It's been down for a while. -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Damn!! ##################################################################################### NOTE: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom�s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy. #####################################################################################

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AU Joins the .africa & .afrique Fray
by Muchiri Nyaggah 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

"The African Union (AU) has expressed interest in playing a key role in selecting the operator for the .africa and .afrique generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs)." See the rest of the story here http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=EFAAA1C0-1A64-6A71-CE3979187410031B Kind regards, *Muchiri* Nyaggah Director @muchiri +254 722 506400 Semacraft.com

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Re: [kictanet] Safaricom data bundles
by Betty Mwangi 17 Dec '10

17 Dec '10

Robert Thanks for your comments and the inconvenience is highly regretted. I assure you you are not peculiar in any way and as a matter of fact Safaricom will be availing an on line top up service for data early in the New Year that Will assist with situations similar to yours. We assure you of our committment to continue to ensure that we meet customers needs. Best rgds Betty Chief officer - New Products Safaricom BlackBerry® powered by Safaricom ________________________________ From: kictanet-bounces+bmwangi1=safaricom.co.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke To: Betty Mwangi Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Sent: Fri Dec 17 08:17:33 2010 Subject: [kictanet] Safaricom data bundles Hi, I am like many of you a peculiar Kenyan in that I can quickly find 10 new ways to use a product that the provider/manufacture could never have though about. When Safaricom introduced the monthly data bundles I quickly took advantage of the service to roll out remote data capture terminals as I had a new that the 999/- unlimited monthly bundle would meet my requirements without any problems and at a predictable cost. So after rolling out the device somewhere in the middle of nowhere, its a security device so I will not give you the GPS coordinates, where no man need go again. I loaded the initial 999/- and off went the device, little did I know that the place that no man needed to go would need to be visited at least once a month. Why, because safaricom's unlimited monthly bundle cannot be purchased remotely, one needs to physically get to the sim card, my device is credit card sized and runs some proprietary software. I appreciate the fact that I am doing with the service what Safaricom did not think could or even would be done. I have talked to the customer service persons, they are now more script driven than before, and all I got was ". . the 450 service cannot be activated from another line, please put the sim card in a phone and send a sms message to 450 with the bundle size, thank you for calling Safaricom and have a good day". This what I had asked for in a call centre operator but suddenly my needs have now surpassed the standard script can Safaricom please implement an escalation procedure in the script so that when peculiar Kenyans like myself call with peculiar requirements we can get assistance. For now there goes my weekend as I need to travel to the top of a hill somewhere in Kenya, report to the local police station to avoid being shot down, climb up a 12 meter mast, remove a sim card, insert it into my phone, send an sms to 450, remove the sim card, place it back into the device, climb down the mast then drive back to Nairobi. Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 ##################################################################################### NOTE: All emails sent from Safaricom Limited are subject to Safaricom�s Email Terms & Conditions. Please click here to read the policy. #####################################################################################

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Re: [kictanet] [AfrICANN-discuss] NRO-NC appointment at AfriNIC
by Brian Munyao Longwe 16 Dec '10

16 Dec '10

Congratulations Alan! You are the right man for the job! On Thu, Dec 16, 2010 at 6:19 PM, Adiel A. Akplogan <adiel(a)afrinic.net>wrote: > Dear colleagues, > > We are please to announce that the AfriNIC Board has appointed Alan P. > Barrett as AfriNIC's region representative to the NRO Number Council > for one year (01-Jnauary-2011 to 31-December-2011). > > We would like to congratulate Alan for his appointment and wish him > success. > > Sincerely. > > ______________________________________________________________________ > Adiel A. Akplogan Tel. +230 403 51 00 > Chief Executive Officer, AfriNIC Fax: +230 466 67 58 > adiel(a)afrinic.net - www.afrinic.net sip: adiel(a)voip.afrinic.net > > _______________________________________________ > AfrICANN mailing list > AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann > -- Brian Munyao Longwe e-mail: blongwe(a)gmail.com cell: + 254 722 518 744 blog : http://zinjlog.blogspot.com meta-blog: http://mashilingi.blogspot.com

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Reloaded: Yawe for post master general
by Francis Hook 15 Dec '10

15 Dec '10

Maybe Robert Yawe will realise his dream seeing how the current PMG made it onto "the list" -- Francis Hook +254 733 504561

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Fwd: Media Advisory: Silicon Valley entrepreneur visit Kenya
by Paul Kukubo ICT Board 15 Dec '10

15 Dec '10

Of interest. Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: > From: Kenya ICT Board <kkobia(a)ict.go.ke> > Date: 14 December 2010 10:10:06 GMT+03:00 > To: pkukubo(a)ict.go.ke > Subject: Media Advisory: Silicon Valley entrepreneur visit Kenya > Reply-To: kkobia(a)ict.go.ke > > > Paul > > The Kenya ICT Board will host a group of entrepreneur including Russel Simmons (co-founder of paypal) and Jawed Karim (co-founder of youtube) at an event at the iHub on Tuesday Decemeber 14 at 3:00pm. > > You are invited to cover the event, which will also feature some Kenya's top tech entrepreneur . > Tandaa Tech Talk > Featuring members of i/o ventures including co-founder of paypal, co-founder of youtube and co-founder of yelp.com > Venue > iHub, Bishop Magua Center, 4th Floor, Ngong Road, Opposite Uchumi Hyper > Date > December 14, 2010 > Time > 15:00 - 18:00 > Host > Kenya ICT Board > > Members of the media interested in booking interviews with special guests should contact Kaburo Kobia kkobia(a)ict.go.ke or call 0729466260 > > For more information: > Background > > Profiles for i/o ventures team > > About Kenya ICT Board > > Contact info > > Background > > i/o ventures is an early stage start up program that focuses heavily on mentorship. Their network of entrepreneurs have started multi-billion dollar internet companies including paypal, youtube, myspace, hi5 and yelp, many of which have over 100 million users visiting their websites monthly. > The mentors have visited a number of countries including Singapore, Brazil, Russia, and mostly recently Tanzania. During their visits the mentors travel participate in a variety of events which usually include speaking at top universities, meeting with upcoming entrepreneurs, top business leaders and a meeting or dinner with top government officials including the President or Prime Minister. The end goal is to spread ICT entrepreneurship, build a bridge into Silicon Valley and encourage the growth of the local "tech ecosystem". > > i/o ventures are making their first trip to Kenya from December 13 - 14. During their Kenya trip they would like to focus on mentorship based on their extensive experience in incubating start-up entrepreneurs. Their most recent graduating class included six companies in the internet space, they were exposed to 120 Venture Capitalists and Angel Investors and all got funded. Half are already profitable, one has been acquired. > Profiles > Russel Simmons: early employee/lead technical architect at paypal, former CTO and co-founder of Yelp.com > Jawed Karim: cofounder of Youtube, early employee at Paypal and angel investor > Paul Bragel: partner at i/o ventures, co-founder of Leforum (online forums), co-founder/CEO of Meetro (location based social networking) and former CEO of Paragon Five (game development > Mbwana Alliy: associate at i/o ventures, co-founder of Yellow Masai, Board Member at Envaya > About Kenya ICT Board > > The Kenya ICT Board was established by HE President Mwai Kibaki, as a state corporation under the State Corporations Act Cap. 446 on 19th February 2007. > > The Kenya ICT Board's mission is to champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment. > > Its vision is that Kenya becomes a top ten global ICT hub by 2030. > > The Kenya ICT Board mandate is to: > Market: Positioning and promoting Kenya as an ICT destination (locally and internationally), especially promoting Business process Outsourcing (BPO) and Offshoring. > Advise: Advise the government on all relevant matters pertaining to the development and promotion of ICT industries in the country > Build Capacity: Providing government and other stakeholders with skills, capacity and funding for anchor implementation of ICT projects for development. > Manage Projects: Coordinating, directing and implementing anchor ICT projects in development. > > Contact > For more information or to book interviews please contact: > Kaburo Kobia > 0729466260 > > > Sincerely, > > > Kaburo Kobia > Project Manager, Local Digital Content > Kenya ICT Board > > This email was sent to pkukubo(a)ict.go.ke by kkobia(a)ict.go.ke. > Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. > Email Marketing by > > Kenya ICT Board | Telposta Towers, 12th Floor | Kenyatta Ave | P.o. box 27150-00100 | Nairobi | Kenya >

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Cartagena Statement of the African ICANN community about the Support for new gTLD applicants
by Alice Munyua 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

Dear all, As you are aware ICANN is meant to introduce new gTLDs, however, during the just ended meeting in Cartegna, various stakeholders continued to raise a number of controversial aspects of the new gTLDs programme, which include but not limited to geographic names, root zone, scaling, economic analysis, malicious conduct, etc. The ICANN board resolved to provide more time to stakeholders to discuss and work through the remaining issues. Africa ICANN representatives remain very concerned about thehigh costs for applications/process, which is likely to exclude those without the level of financial resources required, e.g cultural and other non-commercial groups, among others from benefiting from the opportunities the new gTLDs will offer. Please see Draft Applicant Guide (DAG) book: http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/draft-rfp-clean-12nov10-en.pdfand send in comments. See Africa ICANN statement below. best Alice ----------------------------------------------------------- Following ICANN Board's resolution 20 in Nairobi meeting whereby "The Board requests stakeholders to work through their SOs and ACs, and form a Working Group to develop a sustainable approach to providing support to applicants requiring assistance in applying and operating new gTLDs ." . We, members of the African Community, consisting of AFRALO and AfrICANN, at the ICANN meeting in Brussels, jointly welcomed the Board resolution 20 and expressed our gratitude to the Board members for their consideration of the community concerns about the cost of applying for new gTLDs that might hinder applicants, especially those from developing countries. . We adopted a statement in which we expressed the expectations of the African Community from the so-called resolution 20, which statement was sent to the ICANN Board and the JAS Working Group which was formed for the purpose. In its retreat in Trondheim (Norway), the ICANN Board decided late September 2010 that Support to applicants will generally include outreach and education to encourage participation across all regions, but any direct financial support for applicant fees must come from sources outside of ICANN. It also decided that the fee levels currently in the Applicant Guidebook will be maintained for all applicants. . While we welcome the decision of providing outreach and education support to applicants who require assistance, we, members of the African Community, in Cartagena express our deep concern regarding the non- consideration of the fee reduction that we, and the JAS Working Group, proposed. . We consider that without application cost reduction, the developing countries, and especially those of the African region, as well as the disadvantaged communities willing to apply for a cultural, linguistic or ethnic gTLD will be excluded from this new gTLD program, that the resolution 20 wanted it to be inclusive. . We strongly believe that assistance should be provided to the needy applicants at the upcoming first round of application, and not at some possible future round, because: o Without assistance for applicants needing support, all of the most obvious names, including IDNs, will be taken by rich investors, leaving little opportunity to local community institutions and developing country entrepreneurs o Even if it is intended to open a second round, its date is at best uncertain regarding the experience of the 2001's round. . We strongly support the milestone report of the JAS Working Group, and look forward to the consideration of its recommendations by the ICANN Board. . We are supportive of all on-going work as per the recommendations of the JAS WG Charter. --

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Africa @ICANN: Cartagena Statement of the African ICANN community about the support for African participation
by Alice Munyua 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

Dear Listers, Here's a statement from the Africa ICANN community during the just ended ICANN meeting in Cartegena: ----------------------------------------------------- The African community through AFRALO and AFRICANN is concerned about its lack of effective participation in the main activities of ICANN as internet users. The commitment and the participation of the different parts of the community require knowledge of the issues being discussed. In order to improve the quality of the participation, it is important to explain the meaning and the limits of ICANN’s mandate, the stakes and the impact sought for. A major awareness campaign at local and regional levels would be a first step towards a due capacity building program for a meaningful participation Participation can be done by many and different means. They include email discussion lists, teleconferences, fora, videoconferences, electronic votes, wikis, blogs as well as face‐to‐face meetings in respective languages For online participation, it is important to have a calendar that establishes the timing for community input. This calendar would allow more effective planning and optimal engagement of the community. Even as we celebrate the diverse methods and tools available, we recognize that many challenges remain to be overcome for effective participation of users at the edge. Some are entirely technical and will improve with time. Others, however, will require means and commitment to improvement in interactions from all stakeholders, users included. Volunteered work is not very sustainable in Africa due to the necessity to make a living and institutions are unwilling to continue to cover the cost of their staff on volunteer assignments. The challenge is to have many motivated African experts to participate in a regular and effective way. Therefore, we, AFRALO and AFRICANN members, recommend to call for support from development agencies, private sector and other potential actors to facilitate African participation to ICANN policy development processes. We acknowledge that the ICANN fellowship program is supporting the participation from developing economies. Henceforth we urge the ICANN Board consider the following: • The number of fellowships from African Regions should be increased   Recognizing that the present form of capacity building has not produced the desired outcome, a more proactive approach needs to be adopted:   • Policy advocates and students’ needs to be identified and recruited in a manner that is sustainable. • Advocates should be situated and employed on a part-time basis in existing policy institutions or think tanks that are already engaged in local and global internet policy. • In their capacity as staff, they will be responsible for policy making locally, nationally and regionally and will engage internationally in policy making fora such as the IGF, ICANN, ISOC and other global policy arena. • This function requires support from development agencies who are concerned about the dearth of African policy makers locally and in the international arena. Support for this sort of initiative must be protracted and sustained over a period of time rather than the current approach of facilitating developing country participation at conferences and international policy for a travel support. • Policy advocates must act as bridges between their countries/regions and the international policy forum. Their host institutions must act as bridging institutions in the same capacity as the advocates. • This dual policy vehicle of person and institution will ensure sustained policy development if it is developed and deployed in the different regions in the continent. For institutions such as ICANN, they provide value and leverage where engagement, direct and immediate responses are required for certain policy situations. • If this model gathers the support of ICANN, it can seek the partnership and support from other institutions such as APC, KICTANet, IISD or AfriNIC to host policy advocates for a period using an internship framework. Policy advocates can also spend certain periods at places like ICANN or the IGF secretariat. --

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Honouring the man who linked Kenya to world (was Update on Arrangements for Kisumu Reunion – December 21-23rd, 2010)
by Shem Ochuodho 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

Madada Philo na Betty, Ahsanteni for the pongezi's. It was re-freshening to know the CTO (Commonwealth Telecom Organization www.cto.int) domiciled in London, with current CEO being Ghana's former Minister for Communication (Dr Ekwow Spio-Garbrah) could remember some of Africa's Unsung Heroes. I am working on a book with that name to catalogue the evolution of Internet in Africa - perhaps we should look for royalties from FaceBook, Google, mPesa, YouTube, SEACOM, etc! But the efforts could not have borne fruit without the inputs of several other people, including the techies who alongside Randy Bush burnt mid-night oil (Dr Martin Koyabe - now with British Telecoms, Paul Olendo now @UN, Alfred Orimbo, etc) - for several nights - to get it all work on Kenya's/indeed Africa's then real terrible phone lines. In the same vein, without Steve Goldstein of the US National Science Foundation (who provided the boxes and technology) and Peter Sutherland of UK's Overseas Development Agency (ODA now DfID) who took up the initial leased line phone bills - used to cost US$ 16,000 (yes, 16k) per month for just a mere 64KBps pipe - it wouldn't have happened. When in 2000 CSK (Computer Society of Kenya) felt I deserved 'Father of Internet in Kenya' title, I dedicated the award to three people: Amb. Dr Benjamin Kipkorir (then Kenya's Ambassador in Washington), Micah Cheserem (then Governor, Central Bank), Brig. (Rtd) Wilson Boinnett (then DG, NSIS aka Special Branch). Without these guys' intervention, the KANU regime of the time wouldn't have allowed Internet to happen. Not that they didn't try to block it - the then Head of Public Service wrote a letter (I have a souvenir copy) to all PS's, Heads of Military, Special Branch, etc warning them not to connect to ARCC/Internet/UNEP without direct approval from his office. That partly explains why these three Kenyan Wazalendo's perhaps deserve these awards more than I. Last but not least, Jeddy and the kids who allowed me to use one of the family bedrooms for initial tests when sections of the University felt by staying late in the labs night, we had 'lots of idle time and needed to be given more teaching load' had denied us space to do the experiments. But all the Glory must always go to God the Almighty, Allah - the One and Only! For those who missed the story (courtesy Visioner Augustine Oduor), you can access it on: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/news/InsidePage.php?id=2000024440&cid=159&st…. Best rgrds, Shem 2010 CTO/GoSS African Internaut (Internet Pioneer) Award Recipient ________________________________ From: Philo Ikonya <philonikonya(a)yahoo.com> To: NVK-Mageuzi(a)yahoogroups.com Sent: Sat, 11 December, 2010 18:51:39 Subject: Re: [NVK-Mageuzi] Update on Arrangements for Kisumu Reunion – December 21-23rd, 2010 Adhiambo, thanks very much for letting me know.. I did not know.. Congrats Shem. You did not say it even as I was telling you of my little works?\ Philo Aung San Suu Kyi cannot be silenced because she speaks the truth and because her words reflect basic Burmese and universal concepts - Vaclav Havel --- On Fri, 12/10/10, Betty Otieno <betty.otieno(a)gmail.com> wrote: >From: Betty Otieno <betty.otieno(a)gmail.com> >Subject: Re: [NVK-Mageuzi] Update on Arrangements for Kisumu Reunion – December >21-23rd, 2010 >To: NVK-Mageuzi(a)yahoogroups.com >Date: Friday, December 10, 2010, 11:01 PM > > > >Congratulations Shem on the honor you received the other day, pioneer internet >related Kenya. > >Adhiambo > >

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Tanadaa Tech Talk with I/O venture
by Twahir Mohamed 14 Dec '10

14 Dec '10

Dear Listers, Below is alive stream on the above eventes I/O ventures are techprenures based at the silcon valley,giving enteprenures and techie's advice .The event is at the ihub . http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tandaa-tech-talk -- Twahir

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