- KICTANet - KICTANet

[Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] My Name, My Language, My Internet]
by alice 15 Oct '07

15 Oct '07

My Name, My Language, My Internet: IDN Test Goes Live ICANN launches global test of Internationalized Domain Names 15 October 2007 <http://www.icann.org/announcements/photos/idn-tshirts-600x430-15oct07.jpg> ICANN is celebrating the ability of people to get "My name, My Language. My Internet" wiki pages with the launch of the IDN evaluation with T-Shirts displaying example.test in the 11 languages. *MARINA DEL REY, Calif.*: Internet users around the globe can now experiment with their name in their language on their Internet with today's launch of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers live testing of Internationalized Domain Names in 11 languages. "This is one of the most exciting times yet in the development of IDNs," said Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN's President and CEO. "Internet users who speak the 11 languages of the test can play a key role in testing how IDNs operate, and help us move toward full implementation for all the languages of the world." Internet users around the globe can now to access wiki pages with the domain name example.test in the 11 test languages -- Arabic, Persian, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Yiddish, Japanese and Tamil. The wikis will allow Internet users to establish their own subpages with their own names in their own language -- one suggestion is: example.test/yourname. ICANN has also put a video explaining the evaluation process on YouTube, and available on the ICANN website. The wiki pages can be accessed by typing example.test in the characters of one of the 11 languages, or by going to http://idn.icann.org <http://idn.icann.org/>. "These wikipages are key to the test. We want to know how the URL displays in the Internet browser, if it works when you cut and paste it into the body of an email to a friend, and how all of this impacts the root zone," Dr Twomey added. The 11 evaluation wikis will remain online until IDNs are fully implemented and the first top-level domain is introduced in the evaluation language. The full introduction of IDNs will mean that people can write the whole of a domain name in the characters used to write their own language. Presently you can only use these characters before the dot, so .com, .net, .org and the like can only be written in characters from basic Latin. IDNs will change this so that literally tens of thousands of characters will be available to the world. The "example.test" labels with the associated scripts, the languages that were used for translation of the two terms "example" and "test", and the A-labels for second and top level that are inserted in the IDN TLD zones and DNS respectively. IDNs Part 2: example.test Evaluation Period (3:05) | also available at dotSUB <http://dotsub.com/films/idnspart_1/> IDNs Part One: An Introduction (4:22) | also available at dotSUB <http://dotsub.com/films/idnspart/index.php> * About ICANN: * ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit: www.icann.org <http://www.icann.org/>. * Media Contacts: * Jason Keenan Media Adviser, ICANN (USA) Ph: +1 310 382 4004 E: jason.keenan(a)icann.org <mailto:%20jason.keenan@icann.org> International: Andrew Robertson Edelman (London) Ph: +44 7921 588 770 E: andrew.robertson(a)edelman.com <mailto:%20andrew.robertson@edelman.com> _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Breaking News- Teams Update
by John Walubengo 12 Oct '07

12 Oct '07

Without wishing to interrupt the discussion on the eRegulators, I thought it is good to know the new anticipated operational date for the TEAMS cable: May 2009. Yes, 2009 and NOT next year 2008. I attended the TEAMS public meeting at KCCT this morning and quite alot of info was shared but since I am yet to get the slides, heres is what I could remember offhead and so will stand corrected. 1. That the cable will be operational in 2009. 2. That the Govt will own 40%, Etillsat 15% and the rest is free for grabs from other Interested stakeholders. 3. That unit investment is USD 5million for a gauranteed capacity of Bandwidth. 4. That the deadline for investment is 30th Nov 2007. 5. That it will be operated by an 'Open' consortium under a company called TEAMS ltd. 6. Consortium members will be free to sell off their shares to new comers at prevailing market price. 7. Teams Ltd will be mandated to negotiate access fee for people wishing to connect and transit fees for the upstream providers in Fujiara. 7. That the objective is to deliver the initial Bandwidth at USD 500 (five hundred) per 1Meg. Maybe our local Regulator, CCK should take the initiative to upload the slides presented on their website and we shall still be talking about eRegulation ;-) walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games. http://sims.yahoo.com/

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Day 3 of 10: What threats would face Regulators as they adopt service provision over the web
by John Walubengo 12 Oct '07

12 Oct '07

....just opening up day 3. hope all the silent participants can say something today, particularly those outside .KE, plse share your experiences... Back to the thread. It is important to say that this thread is not there to dissuade Regulators going online but rather to ensure that they would do so after taking the necessary precautions. I would imagine that once the Regulators put their services onine, they would face the same challenges or threats as any other entity that gets online. Security books would tell you that the threats would revolve around the following: Confidentiality: restricting data to the authorised person/entity Integrity: ensuring that the stored data in not illegally modified Availability: ensuring that online services are operational as required by the customers/stakeholders Non-repudiability: ensuring that e-Transactions can be tracked back to the originator We need to think like hackers here. Assuming you had the time, the motive and the skill, what would you want to lay your hands on from the e-Regulators? 1 -day on this thread. Keep your comments coming and fear not since we are yet to have e-Legislation in this part of world ;-). walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Fussy? Opinionated? Impossible to please? Perfect. Join Yahoo!'s user panel and lay it on us. http://surveylink.yahoo.com/gmrs/yahoo_panel_invite.asp?a=7

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Firm to build undersea cable picked
by Dorcas Muthoni 12 Oct '07

12 Oct '07

The winner of a tender to construct an undersea fibre optic cable linking Kenya and the Arabian city of Fujairah will be known today ............... http://www.bdafrica.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3581&Item… -- Muthoni My Blog: http://rugongo.blogspot.com/ -------------------------------------------- Mahatma Gandhi once said:- First they ignore you, Then they laugh at you, Then they fight you, AND THEN YOU WIN!!!

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Re: [kictanet] Day 2 of 10: What are the Internet Opportunities for provisioning Regulatory Services?
by John Walubengo 12 Oct '07

12 Oct '07

mmhh. Not much response on opportunities apart from Nancy B. I would have imagined many of us would have something to say about how the Regulator could serve is better using the web. My thinking follows: 1. Market Penetration: The Regulator could open up an e-forum where stakeholders could openly discuss industry issues. The Regulator can then harvest alot of industry thinking from those discussion-logs and use them appropriately. They would therefore get to 'know' their customers better in order to serve them better (ofcourse some Regulators do feel they need NOT know their customers and so may not consider this a bright idea ;-) 2. Market Development: Most ICT players and consumers are concentrated in urban centers. It would be interesting to see Regulators reaching new players and consumers in the rural centers using the web. Routine services like license applications, renewals and payments could be completed without visiting the capital cities where most Regulators are domesticated. 3. Product Development: New Regulatory e-Services may arise from the web. I am thinking that there could be ways new regulatory functionalities such as monitoring ISP/ASP webographics (e.g. their bandwidth provisioning and utilization, the amount of spamming they generate or simply mapping out the internet traffic patterns in the country) So this thread like the others shall remain open for more contributions as we head towards Day 3 of 10, where we review the threats that may face Regulators adopting internet technologies in their service provision. walu. --- nancy bosire <bozaya(a)gmail.com> wrote: > 1. Market Penetration: how can the Regulator use the > Internet to be closer to you (customer)? - almost the > same as what we have > here, mailing lists and/or forums > > 2. Market Development: how can the Regulator best reach > thier EXCLUDED or ignored customers - decentralization of > their > offices/services. > > > > On 10/11/07, John Walubengo <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> wrote: > > > > Now that we have an idea of the Role of Regulators and > > their target Customers, we can begin to think about the > > Opportunites that the Internet presents for delivering > > their services. > > > > Assuming the Regulator was a business and wanted to > give > > value to their customer using the Internet, how would > they > > do it? Alternatively, you as a customer to the > Regulator > > (Operator, Consumer, Government, etc), how do you think > the > > Regulator can best serve you, using the internet? > > > > Think along these lines. > > > > 1. Market Penetration: how can the Regulator use the > > Internet to be closer to you (customer)? > > 2. Market Development: how can the Regulator best reach > > thier EXCLUDED or ignored customers > > 3. Product Development: are there new ways the > Regulator > > can deliver their old services (functions) over the > web? > > > > We have 1day to hear more contributions from your > various > > perspectives (Consumers, Operators, Individuals, etc). > > > > walu. > > > > > > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > > Tonight's top picks. What will you watch tonight? > Preview the hottest > > shows on Yahoo! TV. > > http://tv.yahoo.com/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > This message was sent to: bozaya(a)gmail.com > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bozaya%40gmail.com > > > > > > -- > Sincerely yours, > > > > > Secretariat Manager > Kenya ICT Federation > Tel: 020 4440102 > Mobile: 0721907995 > secretariat(a)kif.or.ke, info(a)kif.or.ke > http://www.kif.or.ke > > > Mahatma Gandhi once said:- > > First they ignore you, > Then they laugh at you, > Then they fight you, > AND THEN YOU WIN!!! > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Moody friends. Drama queens. Your life? Nope! - their life, your story. Play Sims Stories at Yahoo! Games. http://sims.yahoo.com/

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CALL FOR PAPERS - the 3rd annual Digital Broadcasting Switchover Forum 2008, 29 Jan - 1 Feb 2008, Johannesburg, South Africa]
by alice 11 Oct '07

11 Oct '07

Dear Colleague, It is my pleasure to announce the dates for the 3rd annual Digital Broadcasting Switchover Forum 2008, which again will be held in the week of 29 Jan - 1 Feb 2008 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The organisation of the conference has now started and we are currently looking for broadcasting experts to contribute presentations. The key areas for discussion this year include: 1) National switchover frameworks and planning 2) Dual illumination 3) Financing the switchover 4) The digital dividend, spectrum allocation and the results of WRC 07 5) Infrastructure upgrading and its implications 6) Consumer aspects subsidising set top boxes, switchover awareness, the switchover as a means of reducing the digital divide 7) Charting the future of African broadcasting including IPTV, mobile TV, high definition television 8) Overcoming the shortage of broadcasting skilled workforce 9) Digital radio technology evaluation, implications for local and national stations, 10) Protecting cultural and linguistic diversity through local content production 11) Infotainment 12) Encouraging locally produced content 13) How international financing can be increased 14) Broadcasting liberalisation in Africa I would like to encourage you to contribute to this forum by participating as a speaker, therefore please reply to this mail, including the perspective that you would like to cover at the event. I am particularly keen to have case studies as these are excellent ways of spreading information and experiences. Furthermore if you would like to support the event by becoming an official sponsor then I would be delighted to organise a sponsorship package for you, exhibition booths are available for £3000/US$6000/R42000. I look forward to hearing back from you and to building on the huge success of last years forum. Yours sincerely Matthew Matthew Dawes Commonwealth Telecommunication Organisation Direct Tel: 0044 20 8834 1575 Main Tel: 0044 870 7777 697 Fax: 0044 870 0345 626 Email: m.dawes(a)cto.int <http://mailer.eddiction.co.uk/_webscripts/emaillog.php?789c2dcbcd0a80201004…>

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Content - Regulatory, Legal and Jurisdiction issues
by Brian Longwe 11 Oct '07

11 Oct '07

Let me post an interesting case there - both to challenge our thinking as well as highlight various regulatory and legal issues surrounding content. Movie studios to judge: TorrentSpy defies court order CNet.com, October 11, 2007 By Greg Sandoval http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9795571-7.html To avoid having to turn over user information to the motion picture industry, BitTorrent indexing service TorrentSpy cut off access to its site in the United States. Apparently, that wasn't enough to satisfy Hollywood. According to documents filed with the court last week and reviewed by CNET News.com on Wednesday, the studios still want to see information about the site's visitors. Lawyers representing the studios--armed with a court order--say TorrentSpy has refused to hand over the data. Because of that, the movie sector wants the judge to throw the book at the company. "(TorrentSpy) took steps to make the Server Log Data unavailable for the express purpose of avoiding compliance with the (court) order," the movie studios said in their filing. "(The) conduct amounts to willfulness and bad faith." The lawsuit, first filed a year ago, accuses TorrentSpy of encouraging copyright violations. On May 29, Jacqueline Chooljian, a federal magistrate judge in Los Angeles, ordered TorrentSpy to hand over information about user activity. Part of what the judge wanted was to identify the BitTorrent files that visitors requested and the dates and times of those requests. TorrentSpy executives told the judge that they never tracked visitors' activity. She responded by telling them to retrieve the information from their servers' random-access memory, or RAM. In an unprecedented decision that drew plenty of media attention, the judge ruled that data found in RAM is a tangible document that can be stored and must be turned over in civil litigation. TorrentSpy argued that RAM is far too ephemeral to be considered "stored data." In August, TorrentSpy appealed the decision but lost. The company then shut down access to U.S. residents. If TorrentSpy had no U.S. users, then there wouldn't be any information stored in the company's RAM under the judge's purview, legal experts said. Only data on International users would be logged and U.S. courts don't have authority over them. But the studios didn't go away. The film companies have asked the judge to impose evidentiary sanctions against TorrentSpy for not complying with the court order, according to the court filings. As part of the sanctions, the studios want the judge to establish for the record that the movies belonging to the studios found on TorrentSpy's site infringed on their copyright, and also find that the site has no "substantial noninfringing uses." Should the judge agree to the sanctions she would effectively label TorrentSpy a pirate site. That would make it very difficult for TorrentSpy to prevail in its civil trial. TorrentSpy executives said in court documents filed late Tuesday that the company's reasons for not turning over information are pegged to a few tweaks made to the site while the company's appeal was being heard. Chief among the changes are that TorrentSpy stopped providing users with cached downloads of BitTorrent files, the technology favored by many for file sharing, according to court documents. This means that searches for BitTorrent files at TorrentSpy would return only links to third-party sites. Clicking on those links would not ping TorrentSpy's servers, and as a result, none of the data that the film companies are after can be found in the company's RAM. To the studios, TorrentSpy is trying to duck the judge's order. "This claim should be seen for what it is: another illegitimate attempt by defendants to evade authority of this court and the May 29 order," the film companies said in their filing with the court. Rothken denied the allegation. "The primary reason for the changes was to protect end-user privacy worldwide," Rothken said. "Web sites are allowed to evolve their technology during litigation especially if they evolve to protect user privacy. The irony here is that studios are blowing hot and cold. On one hand they asked in their lawsuit for TorrentSpy in essence to shut down U.S. traffic. When the company did, the plaintiffs complained that TorrentSpy is in violation for not supplying information under the log file order. They're never satisfied." Just how long it will take for the judge to rule on the studios' application for sanctions is unclear. Rothken said he expects that the judge will call for more briefings.

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Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] [Questions on the Introduction of ccTLD Internationalised Domain Names]
by Vincent Ngundi 11 Oct '07

11 Oct '07

Dear Colleagues, FYI. In line with the Internet's bottom-up policy development process (PDP), please send in your comments on the fast-track/interim approach to delegating some IDN ccTLD's (see more on this below). KENIC can then collate the input (from the local Internet community) and send to the ccNSO. Regards, Vincent Ngundi KENIC Begin forwarded message: > -----Original Message----- > From: "Mohammed EL Bashir" <admin(a)isoc.sd> > To: "africann(a)afrinic.net" <africann(a)afrinic.net> > Sent: 08/10/07 01:02 > Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] [Fwd: Questions on the Introduction of > ccTLD Internationalised Domain Names] > > Dear All, > > FYI ccNSO is asking for input from ccTLD Registries on considering > Fast Track/Interim approach for the launch of IDNs on Global DNS, > this could happen while IDNs policy development process continue . > > Can you please encourage your ccTLD Registries to respond and > comment on the issue . > > Regards, > Mohamed EL Bashir > .SD Registry - ccNSO Council > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Questions on the Introduction of ccTLD > Internationalised Domain Names > Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 16:12:30 +0200 > From: Gabriella Schittek <gabriella.schittek(a)icann.org> > <mailto:gabriella.schittek@icann.org> > Reply-To: <gabriella.schittek(a)icann.org> > <mailto:gabriella.schittek@icann.org> > To: <admin(a)isoc.sd> <mailto:admin@isoc.sd> , <tech(a)isoc.sd> > <mailto:tech@isoc.sd> > > > Dear ccTLD Manager, > > Below you will find a letter from the ccNSO Chair Chris Disspain. > > Please, reply to ccnsosecretariat(a)icann.org or directly to Chris at > ceo(a)auda.org.au. > > Kind regards, > > Gabriella Schittek / ccNSO Secretariat > > --- > > > Dear ccTLD Manager, > > I am writing to you, in my capacity as Chairman of the Country Code > Names > Supporting Organisation (ccNSO), about the introduction of ccTLD > Internationalised Domain Names (IDN ccTLDs). The input I am > requesting from > you is very important and your response will be much appreciated. > > At the end of this email is a Background and References section that > provides some background information and links to various documents. > > Based on work done by the ccNSO and discussions amongst ccTLD > managers in > all regions the ccNSO has taken the first step to launching a Policy > Development Process to set the overall policy for IDN ccTLDs. > > At this stage, the ccNSO is also discussing whether or not to > recommend that > the ICANN Board consider a fast track/interim approach under which > some IDN > ccTLDs could be delegated while the overall policy is being > developed. To > help with those discussions we need to find out the level of > interest in > your territory and that is why I am writing to you. > > While community feedback has encouraged the ccNSO to explore levels of > interest in a fast-track/interim approach to IDN ccTLDs, this is > the first > of many steps that would have to be carefully and successfully > taken towards > that end and it is generally accepted that any implementation would > have to > be in compliance with current policies and procedures. Some of > these that > may be relevant are set out in the Background and References > section below. > > I would be grateful if you would answer the following questions: > > 1. Do you believe that the local community in your territory has a > pressing > need for an IDN ccTLD? > 2. If so, is there yet agreement in your territory on the scripts > and the > string within the script(s) for which delegation of an IDN ccTLD > would be > sought, and could you indicate which strings and scripts are of > interest? > 3. Do you believe the delegation of an IDN ccTLD under a fast track/ > interim > approach would be of interest to your community? > > The fast track/interim approach will be discussed by ccTLD managers > at the > ICANN meeting in Los Angeles. So, it would be most helpful if you > could > respond by 26 October 2007. > > > Background and References > > In the Domain Name System, a ccTLD string (like .jp, .uk) has been > defined > to represent the name of a country, territory or area of geographical > interest, and its subdivisions as identified in ISO 3166-1, and is > represented by 2 US-ASCII characters > (http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/ > english_country_na > mes_and_code_elements.htm). > This method of identification was adopted for use in the Internet > through > RFC 920, dated October 1984, and reaffirmed through RFC 1591, dated > March > 1994. All ccTLDs in use today are taken directly from the ISO > 3166-1 list or > from the list of exceptionally reserved code elements defined by > the ISO > 3166 Maintenance Agency. > > The implementation of IDN ccTLDs introduces the (apparent) use of > characters > outside the US-ASCII character set (for example characters in > Cyrillic, > Chinese, Arabic, and other scripts) for domain name strings. > > In initial discussions by the ccNSO members, other ccTLD managers and > ICANN's Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) a number of policy > questions > were identified and a "Questions and Issues Paper" was submitted to > the > ICANN Board of Directors > (http://www.icann.org/topics/idn/ccnso-gac-issues-report-on- > idn-09jul07.pdf) > . > It became clear that the development of the required policy for IDN > ccTLDs > to resolve the issues raised was likely to take a minimum of 2 > years. It > also became clear that such a time frame was a major concern for a > number of > ccTLD managers who have expressed there is a pressing need for an > IDN ccTLD > in their territory. Because of this, the concept of a fast track/ > interim > approach began to be discussed. In those discussions it was thought > that it > might be possible to find a method to allow the introduction of a > limited > number of IDN ccTLDs while the overall policy was being developed. > > Policies and procedures that may be relevant to the delegation of > an IDN > ccTLD under a fast track/interim approach include: > > the IDNA protocol standards > (http://icann.org/announcements/announcement-2-11may07.htm) > RFC 3454 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3454.txt) > RFC 3490 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3490) > RFC 3491 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3491.txt) > RFC 3492 (http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3492.txt) > RFC 1591 and associated procedures for delegation of a country code > top > level domain (http://www.isi.edu/in-notes/rfc1591.txt) > The GAC principles http://gac.icann.org/web/home/ccTLD_Principles.rtf. > > Following consideration of the "Questions and Issues Paper", and > statements > of the GAC and ccTLD managers on a fast track/interim approach the > ICANN > Board has requested the ccNSO to explore both an interim and an > overall > approach to IDN ccTLDs associated with the ISO 3166-1 two-letter > codes and > to recommend a course of action to the Board taking the technical > limitations and requirements into consideration > http://www.icann.org/minutes/resolutions-29jun07.htm#m. > > At its meeting on 2 October 2007, the ccNSO Council launched a Policy > Development Process (ccPDP) by requesting a PDP Issues Report and > appointing > an Issues Manager. This ccPDP has been launched to develop an overall > approach, which includes finding solutions for the matters raised > in the > "Questions and Issues Paper". > > > > -- > > > Best Regards, > > > > > Mohamed El Bashir > > President, Sudan Internet Society > > .SD Domain Name Registry > > > > > Vice President, Communications & Out-Reach "African Top Level > Domains Organization-AfTLD" > > ICANN ccNSO Council Member > > > > > Personal Web : www.mbash.net > > > > > ""Life lies not in never falling, but in rising when you fall." > Nelson Mandela 1995, Easten Cape. > > -- KeNIC - The Kenya Network Information Center http://www.kenic.or.ke

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On Its Way: One of the Biggest Changes to the Internet] Internet users have key role in testing the operation of example.test in 11 languages
by alice 11 Oct '07

11 Oct '07

On Its Way: One of the Biggest Changes to the Internet Internet users have key role in testing the operation of example.test in 11 languages 9 October 2007 * MARINA DEL REY, Calif.*: The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers will launch an evaluation of Internationalized Domain Names next week that will allow Internet users to test top-level domains in 11 languages. "This evaluation represents ICANN's most important step so far towards the full implementation of Internationalized Domain Names. This will be one of the biggest changes to the Internet since it was created," said Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN's President and CEO. "ICANN needs the assistance of users and application developers to make this evaluation a success. When the evaluation pages come online next week, we need everyone to get in there and see how the addresses display and see how links to IDNs work in their programs. In short, we need them to get in and push it to its limits." The evaluation is made possible by today's insertion into the root of the 11 versions of .test, which means they are alongside other top-level domains like .net, .com, .info, .uk, and .de at the core of the Internet. Next Monday, 15 October 2007, Internet users around the globe will be able to access wiki pages with the domain name example.test in 11 test languages — Arabic, Persian, Chinese (simplified and traditional), Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Yiddish, Japanese and Tamil. The wikis will allow Internet users to establish their own subpages with their own names in their own language. The evaluation is being done in the 11 languages of the Internet communities that have shown the most interest in moving IDNs from concept to reality. The full introduction of IDNs will mean that people can write the whole of a domain name in the characters used to write their own language. Presently you can only use these characters before the dot, so .com, .net, .org and the like can only be written in characters from basic Latin. IDNs will change this so that literally tens of thousands of characters will be available to the world. "Right now only the ASCII characters a through z are available for use in top level labels — the part of the address after the dot," Dr Twomey added. "Users will be able to have their name in their language for their Internet when full IDN implementation makes available tens of thousands of characters from the languages of world." More information on the IDN program is available at: http://icann.org/topics/idn/ <http://www.icann.org/topics/idn/> Links to the wikis will be available on ICANN's website starting 15 October 2007. * About ICANN: * ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit: www.icann.org <http://www.icann.org/>. *Media Contacts: * Jason Keenan Media Adviser, ICANN (USA) Ph: +1 310 382 4004 E: jason.keenan(a)icann.org <mailto:jason.keenan@icann.org> International: Andrew Robertson Edelman (London) Ph: +44 7921 588 770 E: andrew.robertson(a)edelman.com <mailto:andrew.robertson@edelman.com> _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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Consolidation in Kenyan ISP sector
by Eric Osiakwan 10 Oct '07

10 Oct '07

Consolidation in Kenyan ISP sector The Kenyan ISP sector is consolidating, with many companies buying up their competitors and new foreign owners entering the market. Pressure on margins from the switch to DSL broadband has been one of the key drivers of consolidation. Gateway Online, ISP Kenya, Nairobinet and Net2000 were a few of the casualties of the consolidation movement taking place in the market, with most of them either running out of steam in the rapidly competitive market or being bought by larger Kenyan operations. And then, late last year, the buying started again. This time, the bigger boys who managed to survive the rout of the earlier buying spree were the target, and the buyers were not Kenyan. In 2006, a South African firm acquired a controlling stake in Interconnect, a local Internet service provider. As part of the deal, IS injected Sh300 million in fresh capital in to the ISP. "There was no way we could have continued on our own. For many Kenyan grown ISPs, getting access to cheap bandwith and financing makes it harder to survive in the market," said Tejpal Bedi, Managing Director of IS Kenya. Much of the investment, Sh100 million, was set aside to upgrade systems. The company planned to roll-out new technologies and services, hoping to maintain its share of the corporate market by offering cost effective virtual private networks to organisations. "The only way we could maintain our market was by partnering with the South Africans and diversifying our product line, which costs money," said Mr Bedi. The acquisition was touted as part of the South African company's growth strategy to gain a footprint in the local and the greater Eastern and Central African market. "We will ensure the product mix is right for the Kenyan market, by deploying our proven services in Kenya," said IS business development director Ermano Quartero, at a function to announce the deal. The company that bought Bedi's company is one of the leading converged communications service providers in South Africa, boasting a client base at the time of the Interconnect aquisition that included 80 per cent of South Africa's top 250 listed companies. A few months later, the industry was abuzz with the biggest acquisition yet. The target was Africa Online, one of the largest ISPs in sub-Saharan Africa - and the South Africans were after it again. Telkom South Africa eventually won what was an acrimonious battle for the Kenyan-born company. "With the decline of the voice market we are extending and defending our core profitable services. This acquisition fits that objective," said Africa Online's new Chief Executive Officer John Joseph. Telkom SA has plans to invest Sh300 billion over the next five years in projects aimed at gaining the company a foothold in key African markets. Formerly the giant of the Kenyan ISP industry, the South Africans took on a company that was cash-strapped and had struggled with periods of losses over the last few years under it ownership by London firm African Lakes. The situation may get worse for the few small ISPs still fighting for market share. Smaller ISPs have traditionally been dial-up providers, an industry currently being affected by a shift in consumer preference. Although over 50 per cent of users still use dial-up access, use of the service is estimated to be decreasing by 30 per cent while mobile and wireless Internet access is increasing by 40 per cent annually. Up from just under 4,000 users in 1996, Kenya's Internet market grew by its largest margins last year, and now includes 200,000 users. The cost of international bandwidth, still expensive and accounting for most of ISPs' operating costs, has largely limited more rapid growth. (source: Business Daily) 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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