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Whatsapp Application
by Cecilia Matanga 29 Nov '12

29 Nov '12

Dear all I had a very interesting conversation with my mum yesterday, she wanted to know how she can purchase the whatsapp service since her free trial expires in two weeks time. She says from her handset there are 2 options google wallet and paypal. Of course she has no idea what both are to start with. I don't know how many of you are using this app. But in my village its becoming a popular application with most people having changed handsets to ensure they have whatsapp enabled ones. The reason being its cheaper to send messages using whatsapp. Actually the other day I heard the radio DJ asking people to whatsapp their opinions too! As of yesterday most profile status changed to 'error: user unavailable'. This has caused so much panic in the whatsapp community and I am sure if you are on whatsapp you have by now received this chain email asking you to send to 18 users to prove you are an active user. Based on those two incidents, I am wondering is there a defined model of payment for this service taking into account that most users do not have paypal, Google wallet or even a credit card. Most of us have been buying data bundles so we can access this application( and I am sure contributing a lot to the internet usage statistics). Now with these expiration looming has anyone thought of assisting those who may have the USD$2 to purchase the service. -- Cecilia Matanga Programme Officer Africa i-Parliaments Action Plan UNDESA Nairobi - Kenya Mobile : +254-718568154 Telephone : +254-20-374 9892/3 Fax : +254-20-374 9894

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Re: [kictanet] Whatsapp Application
by meshack emakunat 29 Nov '12

29 Nov '12

Maybe the low income society was not the target market for the app Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

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Re: [kictanet] Worst service providers
by meshack emakunat 29 Nov '12

29 Nov '12

I recently purchased data from Airtel worth 150. Today i regret having purchased that which i cannot utilize. Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android

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Fibre Optics and EIA
by Kerubo Ombati 28 Nov '12

28 Nov '12

Hi Listers, Does anyone know if IT companies that are laying fibre optic cables are required to get an EIA Licence prior to laying the cables? Thanks Kerubo

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Kenya laying on its rotting laurels
by robert yawe 28 Nov '12

28 Nov '12

Hi, A number of past topics are a clear indication that Kenya is laying on its historical laurels many of which are past their throw out date. Digital migration: Kenya led the process but now seems like we shall fall behind as we suspend the switchover yet Tanzania is going full steam ahead which means that they will also go LTE before we do (where will the tech investment go now?) Uganda Statehouse web site: Speaks for itself Konza: Even with all the issues of Ruanda's expansionist tendency's they still remain the darlings of investors, Southern Sudan is a true green field and with ready petrol dollar will give us a run for our money. The Southern Sudan government needed a data center and instead of waiting for a master builder the imported a containerised one that took 3 months to order and commission 1 M TV sets and 2 M watches: A clear sign that we believe we have arrived and can know enjoy the trappings of wealth then when a foreign multinational lands and takes over the business we plead for state protection Geo-spatial Revenue Collection Information System (GEOCRIS): The young man will soon be whisked off to some foreign capital where he will be feted and rewarded while we continue searching for a "database" Internet bandwidth to double: We have become a nation obsessed with infrastructure projects, what have we done with the existing bandwidth? Safaricom to lay own fiber: As shareholders of Safaricom it is criminal to allow management to spend resources on duplicating efforts, CCK & NEMA need to stop double standards and apply the same rules across the board. With the digital signal distribution they say 2 are more than enough, they refuse to enforce mast sharing (Kudos to Yu & Airtel). Would it not be better if Safaricom was to use the money to improve their service delivery levels and footprint? Treasury building new data center in CDB: If the government is serious about shared services why is it that different ministries are busy building new data centers thereby further entrenching the silo structures MPesa has grown up: We keep treating MPesa like a bouncing new born yet it is a mature application that now has an ID and will be voting in the next election, where is the next big thing? OpenData a failure: We opened data but forgot to teach the locals how to harness its potential, what we need is not more data but to use what we have. Feeding a 4" water pipe into a home is a sure recipe for disaster, for the uninitiated your water supply is based on a 0.5" pipe There is a story that was once told by the Hon. Raila Odinga after returning from an official visit to one of the Asian Tiger Nations where after a presentation on their stratospheric growth he asked for a copy of the master plan. In response the hosts asked why he would want a copy of the document they copied from Kenya when they visited in the late 60's. We might as well convert the country into a university as is said "those who can do, those who can't teach" 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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UN Agency's Leaked Playbook: Panic, Chaos over Anti-Internet Treaty
by Alice Munyua 28 Nov '12

28 Nov '12

http://www.forbes.com/sites/larrydownes/2012/11/26/un-agencys-leaked-playbo… The International Telecommunications Union, the UN agency at the center of a firestorm over new efforts to regulate the Internet, is preparing a social media campaign to target what it expects will be fierce opposition to a revised telephone treaty being decided next month at a secret conference in Dubai. That’s according to a key ITU internal planning document that appeared Saturday on the website WCITLeaks, which has been posting a steady stream of documents leading up to the conference. Even as ITU officials accelerate increasingly clumsy efforts to deflect the wrath of Internet users over next month’s World Conference on International Telecommunications, more documents leaking out ahead of the meeting continue to expose the agency’s misstatements. The WCIT conference will consider revisions to a 1988 treaty known as the International Telecommunications Regulations. At the meeting, 193 member nations consider dozens of proposed amendments, including several that would bring the Internet under ITU jurisdiction and substantially change the architecture and governance of the Internet. Other proposals would, if adopted, give countries including Russia, China, and Iran UN sanctioned-authority to monitor and censor incoming and outgoing Internet traffic under the guise of improving “security.” The newly-leaked document is the agenda for an “ITU Senior Management Retreat” held in Geneva in September. It includes a detailed report on resistance to WCIT and the agency’s plans to counter criticism of its secretive processes. It also includes links and passwords for presentations given by outside public relations and advertising executives from leading global agencies. (The passwords were still active as of Nov. 24th.) The document, marked “confidential,” suggests senior ITU officials have become both paranoid and panicked over growing outrage over both the form and substance of the upcoming negotiations. Material included with the agenda paints a pathetic picture of the150 year-old UN agency struggling to defend itself from attacks by what the agency believes is a “well-financed and well-organized campaign originating in the USA” whose goal is to “discredit the ITU and WCIT.” The two-day meeting also featured leading media consultants invited to help the agency formulate a strategy to avoid the kind of global outrage that mortally wounded a secret Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement treaty earlier this year, and which did in copyright legislation known as SOPA and PIPA in the U.S. in January. Both ACTA and the US copyright bills were widely expected to pass with little opposition until Internet users organized physical and virtual protests that caught lawmakers by surprise. According to the internal ITU document, the agency had already launched what it calls a “counter-campaign”–a media blitz the agency plans to expand in light of what the ITU sees as the likely event of significant hostility to the revised treaty after the conference. Following the WCIT meeting, the ITU says, the counter-campaign will focus on ways to “mitigate the risk” of an “intensive anti-ratification campaign in [the US and Western Europe], based on the so-called lack of openness of the WCIT process, resulting in a significant number of countries refusing to ratify the new ITRs.” A Crisis of the ITU’s Own Making The “so-called lack of openness” has little to do with growing outrage over WCIT. The real objections to the conference have more to do with substance than the secrecy of the negotiations. First and foremost, there is strong opposition within the US and EU delegations to expanding the UN’s jurisdiction over IP networks in any form. (The current ITRs do not extend to the Internet.) Globally, concern is also growing over increasingly direct efforts by some national governments to hijack the conference into mandating changes to the engineering-driven, multi-stakeholder model of Internet governance that relies on non-governmental international organizations such as the Internet Society, ICANN, and the W3C. These changes are seen as preludes to future restrictions on content and users implemented through the reengineering of key resources. In response to early proposals along these lines, Congress unanimously passed a joint resolution over the summer urging the US delegation, led by Ambassador Terry Kramer, to reject any extension of the ITU’s authority to Internet matters, or to allow ITU member states to use the conference to advance longstanding anti-Internet agendas. Last week, the EU debated a sternly-worded proposal urging its members likewise to resist Internet-related proposals. Also last week, Google launched its own campaign, urging users to take direct action against the WCIT. “Some governments want to use a closed-door meeting in December to increase censorship and regulate the Internet,” the company said. “Some proposals could permit governments to censor legitimate speech — or even allow them to cut off Internet access.” --

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CCK reinstates glide path for Mobile Termination Rates (MTR)
by Wambua, Christopher 27 Nov '12

27 Nov '12

Listers The CCK Board has today reinstated the glide path for the Mobile Termination Rate (MTR). Effective 1st July 2012, the Mobile Termination Rate has declined from the KES 2.21 to KES 1.44 per minute. This resolution is expected to enhance competition in the mobile telecoms industry. Attached is the press statement on the CCK Board's decision. Best regards, Christopher Wambua Manager/Communications Consumer and Public Affairs Division Communications Commission of Kenya P.O. Box 14448, NAIROBI 00800 KENYA

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And ze plot, it thickens...Is this brinksmanship from Google?
by Brian Munyao Longwe 27 Nov '12

27 Nov '12

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/27/itu_vs_en/ *sits back with popcorn to watch the movie* [image: logo] *Brian Munyao Longwe* | Mobile: 254715964281 http://mashilingi.blogspot.com <http://www.facebook.com/brianmunyao> Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/brianmunyao> <http://www.twitter.com/blongwe> Twitter <http://www.twitter.com/blongwe> <http://ke.linkedin.com/pub/brian-munyao-longwe/0/32/254> LinkedIn<http://ke.linkedin.com/pub/brian-munyao-longwe/0/32/254> Contact me: [image: Skype] blongwe Want a signature like mine? <http://r1.wisestamp.com/r/landing?promo=16&dest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wisestamp.…> Click here.<http://r1.wisestamp.com/r/landing?promo=16&dest=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.wisestamp.…>

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Data Protection Law | Practicalities
by S.M. Muraya 27 Nov '12

27 Nov '12

Important info here: http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2012/11/violence-prone-areas-mapped-action-… A digital media professional recently told me when they go out to record or picture hardship areas they do inform the government (security personnel) of trouble (violence) they note brewing in certain locations. As law enforcement data is digitized and law enforcement processes are automated, much criminal evidence (electronically distributed) will be stored in data centers. Information that gets to the top / security chain of command in a week or month for action will be available to them in a day or two if not at their fingertips in a minute or two. There will be threats to our local data centers. Data centers require military grade security and distribution all over the country. What is our plan? Who will secure our facilities? The Regular Police? the GSU? the Department of Defense? All of them plus others working together? How does the Data Protection Law we are formulating factor Physical Security / Distribution?

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The Hypocrisy Threatening the Future of the Internet
by Alice Munyua 27 Nov '12

27 Nov '12

Another view best Alice ---------------------------------------- http://theglobaljournal.net/article/view/904/ The Hypocrisy Threatening the Future of the Internet by Jean-Christophe Nothias - Editor NOVEMBER 22, 2012 The upcoming World Conference on International Telecommunications (WCIT-12) in Dubai looms as a moment of truth for the Internet’s governing rules and economic model. In all, representatives of 193 countries will come together to review the International Telecommunication Regulations (ITR) agreed in Melbourne 25 years ago. The United States (US) government, a leading voice in the sector, is strongly opposed to any changes to the treaty (itself an update of an earlier agreement), arguing the Internet has nothing to do with ‘traditional’ telecommunications, and – more ominously – that freedom is at stake. In contrast to this ‘no changes proposed’ plan, other member states are likely to bring different perspectives and ideas to feed into discussions at the 11-day December event, which will be moderated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a specialized United Nations (UN) agency. The fight is growing increasingly vocal, while raising questions of concern to all about the overwhelming power of the US in relation to the Internet and the need for structural re-balancing. Before looking at the critical proposals to be discussed in Dubai, as well as the arguments now flooding the public sphere, however, let’s first survey the battlefield where this war is raging. The ITU Secretariat itself has no power to propose amendments to the ITR, nor has the organization expressed a desire to control the Internet. The ITU, as an institution, has the power to adopt amendments, on the basis of consensus of the membership. As a UN body, the ITU’s DNA is rooted in notions of human rights and human development, alongside a technical cooperation mandate. None of this would allow room for a power grab. In fact, the ITU is focused on reaching out to voting member states, as well as other concerned players, in order to facilitate an honest, fair-play approach to international telecommunications regulation. All member states have had the right to circulate proposals to be discussed in Dubai. Each has also been encouraged to launch national consultation processes prior to WCIT-12. The ITU itself has shared preparatory documents online, and initiated a public forum to collect comments and proposals from any interested party. The agency represents a large and open coordinating point where not only governments, but also over 500 private sector entities, members of academia and civil society have been preparing the debate to come. It is noticeable, however, that the most influential non-government player – Google – has never sought to become a consulting member, and in fact has declined several invitations from the ITU Secretariat to do so. At this stage, nobody is able to say with any certainty which proposals, often dramatically opposed, will be adopted at the conference, with any treaty amendments requiring a simple majority. Five key issues form the focus of international wrangling ahead of WCIT-12: net neutrality, payment principles for senders and receivers, control, cyber security and censorship, even though the last three are not on the agenda. Despite the headline-grabbing implications of the latter, however, it is the first two that shape as perhaps the most critical to the future of the Internet as we know it. At the most basic level, ‘net neutrality’ refers to non-discrimination in transiting data packets. The Internet today is going through critical transformations that threaten to create, if left unaddressed, issues of even greater magnitude. For years, data delivery was based on a ‘best effort’ principle – every connected network operator would do their best to transfer data, with no timing guarantee, defined hierarchy, nor specific quality requirement. Two major challenges, however, are now transforming the industry. In the context of data, speed is money: all web-based businesses are well aware that speed improves end-user experience, and boosts revenues. On top of constant increases in traffic, video streaming has also emerged as a significant bandwidth consumer. Fierce competition is pushing the market to secure ‘quality of service’ guarantees around resolution, smooth play and start-up time. A portion of the data circulating today over the Internet will increasingly be subject to contractual commitments, and will need, therefore, to secure top-priority laissez-passer. Step by step, the speed issue is creating a split between ‘economy class’ data, and ‘premium’ and ‘first class’ data. Those with the money to pay will be able to afford the best speed and quality. For others, it will be a case of ‘we’ll take care of you when we have the available bandwidth.’ Arbitrage over which data goes first is an issue impacting all Internet users worldwide. Previously, this was not the case (and no one could complain) due to the ‘best-effort’ approach. It is clear to many of the Internet industry’s major players dealing with Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), Front End Optimization, a new protocol challenging the 30-year old Transmission Control Protocol and other emerging technologies, that the next competitive battleground is quality, and therefore the need for reserved bandwidth. This will dramatically change the use of the Internet, as well as the revenue share between players. Another significant element of the ‘speed battle’ relates not to data flows, but to infrastructure capacities. We know that emerging and developing economies are already slow on their own infrastructure development, and facing challenging conditions to identify additional funds to build necessary facilities and purchase equipment to increase broadband access. A parallel infrastructure divide between broadband and non-broadband countries will exacerbate the split in data ‘classes.’ Similarly, revenues will inevitably follow technology – more to the rich, less to the poor. Many proposals are on the table ahead of WCIT-12, and it would be meaningless to look into each, as only a few have a chance to achieve a voting majority. One idea by ETNO, the 50-member European Telecommunications Network Operators’ Association driving broadband growth in Europe, however, has gained some support and visibility from the ITU membership. African and Arab states have made proposals equivalent in intent, albeit using different language. ETNO's idea concerns Article 3 of the Melbourne treaty: “Operating Agencies shall endeavor to provide sufficient telecommunications facilities to meet requirements of, and demand for, international telecommunication services. For this purpose, and to ensure an adequate return on investment in high bandwidth infrastructures, operating agencies shall negotiate commercial agreements to achieve a sustainable system of fair compensation for telecommunications services and, where appropriate, respecting the principle of sending party network pays.” A non-voting member of the ITU, ETNO can, like any other entity, defend and push its ideas to all member states. The organization’s argument appears reasonable in terms of principle, but is unacceptable to the US. A ‘paying sender’ principle would place the US in a premium position as a payer. The current situation is actually the opposite: in effect, a ‘paying receiver’ system. When, for example, a citizen of Botswana uses Google’s search engine, the relevant operating agency of Botswana will ultimately have to pay the operator sending the data. Consequently, when a massive spam campaign is enacted, the consumption of bandwidth is assigned to the receivers. Few people realize that the largest share of spam is sent from servers based in the US. Naturally, these servers are paid for the service. Yet, this also creates a ‘consumption of bandwidth’ for the receivers, resulting in greater usage charges. Critically, the connections between the approximately 40,000 autonomous servers at a global level are ruled by contractual agreements between operating agencies. All are linked to a national territory and must deal with the regulations in their home jurisdiction. The commercial agreements between operating agencies are secret. It is very difficult – if not impossible – for a journalist, academic or public official to access such information. While video pricing is known, we still have no clear picture of the revenues flowing from the interconnections between bandwidth operators. Switching to a model that combines both principles – that is, where sending and receiving parties each contribute to infrastructure costs – would modify the distribution of revenues between operating agencies. Most significantly, American actors would have to pay other national operators. Part of the redistribution could be used to assist emerging and developing countries develop broadband infrastructure, reducing the technological deficit and boosting economic growth. Google – amongst other big senders – would be unable to continue using freely ‘collective global capital’ (the worldwide infrastructure network) for which it did not spend a penny. The fact that Google is building its own CDN centers is not comparable, albeit the company’s actions may indirectly help to resolve data ‘traffic jams’ by locating content closer to end users, and reducing the ‘journey’ of data packets. Amending the ITR to introduce a new payment approach would be revolutionary – a revolution not welcomed, however, by US interests. Listening to the assembled US voices preaching against any changes at WCIT-12, a central argument is based around the notion of defending the Internet as a pure and perfect example of a democratic, decentralized system, allowing all users a controlling stake in some kind of balanced and participatory wonder. The old credo by David Clark in 1992 – “we reject presidents, kings and voting; we believe in rough consensus and running code” – is part of the web wonderland hagiography, but not reflective of today’s Internet reality. Even The Economist appears blind to the fairytale: “for something so central to the modern world, the Internet is shambolically governed. But sometimes chaos... is not disastrous: the Internet mostly works. And the shambles is a lot better than the alternative – which nearly always in this case means governments bringing the Internet under their control.” The Internet works because it operates according to agreed principles, rules and centralized control – one must maintain a clear-eyed perspective. Amongst the voices speaking in foreboding terms of potential WCIT-12 outcomes is Joe Waz, who co-wrote a blog in the Huffington Post with Phil Weiser, former Senior Advisor for Technology and Innovation to the National Economic Council’s Director at the White House, and now Dean of Law at the University of Colorado. “The least understood or appreciated factor in the Internet's growth and success is its amazing capacity for self-governance, and its ability to resist the traditional tools of government regulation.” This might be true when speaking about a web where users can create and participate in unlimited communities, websites or blogs, but this does not equate to control over the only critical command center of the Internet – its rooting system. Without the right IP, domain and link, the Internet goes nowhere. Despite the fact that the US government never really owned the Internet, it ‘offered’ control of its backbone and policy-generating function to a private Californian association – the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) – that has engaged in activities representing “US governmental regulation in all but name” according to Michael Froomkin. The first question one must ask is: how can you give something away that doesn’t belong to you? The second: how do you maintain control once you’ve handed it over to friendly private entities? By controlling the private entities one would assume! Having done so, the cherry on the cake would be announcing to the public at large that the transfer of control from governmental to private hands should be viewed as a great success story. This is what happened in 1998, despite fierce resistance from Jon Postel. As one of the founding fathers of the Internet and ‘ruler’ of its early governance structure, Postel attempted to save the Internet from falling into the control of US government hands. Postel died, however, just weeks before the White House Special Advisor heading an ad hoc interagency task force on electronic commerce was able to claim full victory over the academics who were, until then, managing the central rooting system. Postel entered the Internet Society’s (ISOC) Hall of Fame in 2011, along with Vint Cerf, Google’s ‘Chief Internet Evangelist’ and cardinal des basses oeuvres, now a key player in campaigning for the regulatory status quo. Ironically, Postel was nominated alongside Cerf. Similarly ironic – and tragic – was the fact that Ira Magaziner, the White House Special Advisor once depicted as Hillary Clinton’s ‘Rasputin’, deliver a speech at Postel’s memorial ceremony in Los Angeles in 1998, at the same time the US government officially transferred Internet governance powers to ICANN. Both Cerf and Magaziner were instrumental in the take-over. Foreseeing these developments, Postel himself had turned to the UN and ITU, but to no avail. Constructing a fairytale usually requires a cast of ‘bad guys.’ Vladimir Putin declares that WCIT-12 should address Internet governance, and you get the plot line that Russia wants to control the Internet and its infrastructure networks. Ditto China. Finally, add the influence of Dr Hamadoun Touré, ITU’s Malian Secretary-General who received his PhD in the former USSR, to the mix. Now we have all the necessary threads to point to a thinly-disguised attempt by the dark forces of totalitarianism to seize cyber control in the best Cold War style. What a nice (paranoid) story – supported by no substantive evidence. This brings us to the fourth issue identified at the outset – cyber security. Each of the US, Israel and Japan have developed official cyber military doctrines, though the US is by far the country with the largest budget devoted to digital or cyber war resources. Like air or naval power, the Pentagon has now added cyber power to its five major domains of military action. Eleanor Saitta, Technical Director of the International Modern Media Institute, has warned about the increasing militarization of the Internet. "Even as the 193 nations of the ITU meet in December, some will be silently unleashing state-sponsored cyber attacks upon each other, as well as mass surveillance and intervention targeting their own citizens". The fifth issue is censorship. As most are aware, any country today has the ability to control its own cyberspace, blocking or censoring any of its citizens. At the same time, censorship of Internet-based speech has proven difficult, as recent global tumult toppling repressive government regimes has shown. A Russian and Chinese proposal for a code of conduct serves to both challenge the US, as well as attempt to add legal weight to Moscow and Beijing’s national censorship toolkits used to restrain citizen freedom. “It is obvious that this kind of proposal will have no support from the developed countries” acknowledges Alix Desforges, from the Institute Français de Géopolitique at Université Paris 8. “Today, countries prefer to sign bilateral agreements on security issues. We’re miles away from international cooperation.” Touré himself emphasizes that according to the prevailing international regulatory framework, such national “restrictions are permitted by article 34 of the ITU’s Constitution, which provides that the 193 member states reserve the right to cut off, in accordance with their national law, any private telecommunications which may appear dangerous to the security of the state, or contrary to its laws, to public order or to decency. And the International Telecommunications Regulations cannot contradict that provision, either.” With the clock ticking down to Dubai, Cerf is very busy coordinating a global campaign against any revision of the ITR. Only a few days ago he was video-linking with Sharan Burrow and Paul Twomey before an audience of international correspondents based in London. Twomey is a former ICANN CEO and President (2003-09). In 1997, as CEO of the National Office for the Information Economy, an Australian government unit developing Internet policy, he befriended Magaziner, leading to his initial involvement with the nascent ICANN. The two later partnered in a consultancy called Argo P@cificLondon. Burrow, also an Australian, is the Secretary General of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) – strangely, a group now fighting against revision of the Melbourne treaty. “An unfettered internet, free of political control and available to everyone could be relegated to cyber-history under a contentious proposal by a little known United Nations body” writes the Equal Times, an online publication of the ITUC. Burrow has launched a ‘Stop the Net Grab’ campaign, which has registered a little over 1,000 supporters (as of 18 November). She also convinced Kumi Naidoo, Executive Director of Greenpeace International, to co-sign a letter to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, urging his intervention to maintain a “multi-stakeholder approach” – a view endorsed and supported by Cerf, who has denied the legitimacy of governments in the context of Internet matters. According to Cerf, the Internet should be governed by rules set by “the Internet community,” which rightly override national regulations. Such an approach would need much clarification. For instance, what would be the representative principles of such a community? The grey zone where US officials and people like Cerf mingle is larger than meets the eye. There are many (disconcerting) examples. Take the Congressional hearing back in May, which called upon the US to defend its position over the Internet and led to the approval of a bipartisan resolution opposing proposals in a “UN Forum.” Before passing the resolution, three speakers participated in the hearing: Vint Cerf, Sally Shipman Wentworth, a senior manager at ISOC and a former State Department Official, and David A Gross, also a former State Department official turned lobbyist, representing all the major private sector players (including Google). Another example of Google’s omnipotence is an article by a Google employee (Patrick S Ryan) published in the Stanford Technology Law Review, which strongly attacks the WCIT-12 process, the ITU and any envisaged reform of the ITR. Ultimately, all Cerf’s efforts may only end up focusing more attention on the current ‘non-democratic’ nature of Internet governance, as well as the associated inequalities of the business side of the web. They may also raise legitimate concerns over Google’s power to finance behind-the-scenes maneuvering to preserve a favorable regulatory environment. Google is a giant of email, personal data, mobile telephony, content diffusion, cloud computing, the digitalization of books, intellectual property rights, search engines and advertising revenues, aggressively aggregates media content, and exploits global telecommunications network infrastructure without contributing to costs. A handful of countries like Germany and France are now launching legal action on behalf of their content producers and Internet users to stop these strong-arm tactics. As WCIT-12 approaches, it is clear that telecommunications networks are entering the fray, ready to fight for their own future. On the media front, the issue goes far beyond the fact that over 80 percent of global digital revenues flow to Google and Facebook. Democracy requires independent media. Almost all are now lost to the law of the click for the sake of being seen by Google News, while dreaming of catching a scrap of Google’s leftover advertising revenues. We all know about these developments, but feign to ignore them. Even amongst the most prominent human rights defenders one can observe a surprising attitude: every month Amnesty International UK’s Head of Marketing spends approximately US $10,000 to secure key words to link to the NGO’s website. One can only wonder how much money Amnesty International contributes on a global level to Google’s deep pockets, which bulged to the tune of nearly US $38 billion in revenue in 2011 alone. Democracy is at stake, when many of us are asleep or comforting ourselves with benign fairytales. (Photos: DR) --

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Worst service providers
by alice＠apc.org 27 Nov '12

27 Nov '12

I am not sure if there is anyone else experiencing daily @kenyapower outages. And every weekend the so called "scheduled maintenance" they get my first award for the worst service provider in Kenya. Coming close is @telkomKenya @orangekenya. I have never bothered with a landline. I am from the generation that never needed one. I applied for it for the first time two years ago. It took nearly 4 months to have it installed. Since then it has never functioned. But they do send bills :( For @kenyapower I look forward to the day we do not have to accept mediocrity and can move to another provider. For @Telkomkenya good luck Best Alice

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Konza, a disconnect
by robert yawe 26 Nov '12

26 Nov '12

Software development is no longer about a physical location, so as the world goes virtual we continue to move backwards obsessed with physical infrastructure Freelancer.com is proud to announce that we have just acquired vWorker! Headquartered in Tampa , Florida , vWorker has over 2.5 million enterprise and professional users from around the world, who have been paid over US$139 million through the site from 1.3 million projects. Founded by Ian Ippolito in 2001 originally as RentACoder.com, the marketplace was one of the earliest companies of its kind in the world. It rapidly developed an exceptional reputation for attracting quality programmers and grew at an astonishing pace. From 2007 to 2010 RentACoder.com was named by Inc. magazine as one of the 5000 fastest growing private companies in the USA . In 2010, Entrepreneur Magazine called RentACoder â€œone of the hundred smartest, most innovative, hands-down brilliant companies on our radar". Originally focusing on programming and IT-based work, in 2010 the site expanded to include a wide selection of work categories including graphic design, writing and more. To reflect this expansion, the company changed its name to vWorker - short for â€œvirtual workerâ€. Over the next few days, we will be migrating vWorker users onto Freelancer.com. This is great news for our existing users as it makes the worldâ€™s largest marketplace even stronger with over 6.6 million professionals! This means more employers, more freelancers, and more opportunities. Current employers will see greater variety and competition among freelancers in the marketplace, while current freelancers will see a marked increase in the amount of work available on the site. Freelancer.com is the world's largest freelancing marketplace for small business. We connect over 6.6 million employers and freelancers globally from over 234 countries & regions. Through our website, employers can hire freelancers to do work in areas such as software, writing, data entry and design right through to engineering and the sciences, sales and marketing, and accounting & legal services. The average job is under US$200, making outsourcing for the first time extremely cost effective for small businesses.

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Global Internet User Survey Reveals Attitudes, Usage, and Behavior
by Alice Munyua 26 Nov '12

26 Nov '12

Great study. http://www.internetsociety.org/survey Best Alice Global Internet User Survey Reveals Attitudes, Usage, and Behavior Survey of more than 10,000 Internet users in 20 countries highlights online behavior and usage in addition to views about privacy and identity, human rights, censorship, and society [WASHINGTON, DC and GENEVA, Switzerland 26 November 2012] A worldwide survey of more than 10,000 Internet users in 20 countries conducted by the Internet Society revealed attitudes towards the Internet and user behavior online. The Global Internet User Survey is one of the broadest surveys of Internet user attitudes on key issues facing the Internet. This year's survey covered areas such as how users manage personal information online, attitudes toward the Internet and human rights, censorship, and the potential for the Internet to address issues such as economic development and education. "Todays online users have high expectations for the Internet and its impact on our lives and society, while also expressing concerns over censorship and excessive governmental controls," said Lynn St. Amour, President and CEO of the Internet Society. "As part of realizing the Internet Society's vision of an Internet that is for everyone, this survey uniquely focuses on users and their experiences, attitudes, and opinions on how to meet the challenges and opportunities facing the Internet and society in general. We are committed to the Internets continued open growth and evolution, not only for those who enjoy the Internet today, but until everyone is able to access and benefit from an open Internet." Key findings from this year's survey cover a broad range of topics. The Internet and Human Rights: * Eighty-three percent of respondents agreed or agreed strongly that access to the Internet should be considered a basic human right. * Eighty-nine percent agreed or agreed strongly that Internet access allows freedom of expression on all subjects, and 86 percent agreed or agreed strongly that freedom of expression should be guaranteed. * Sixty percent of respondents agreed or agreed strongly that Internet access has contributed significantly to civil action and political awareness in their country. Internet censorship: * Thirty percent of users agreed strongly that censorship currently exists on the Internet. * Sixty-six percent of respondents agreed or agreed strongly that governments in countries with no Internet censorship have a responsibility to keep the Internet free of censorship in countries where the Internet is being censored/controlled/shut down. * More than 70 percent of users agreed or agreed strongly that more government involvement would make the Internet too controlled or would limit content they can access. * More than two-thirds agreed or agreed strongly that increased government control would inhibit the growth of the Internet and/or stifle innovation. Online privacy and identity: * Even when users know they are sharing personal data with a site or service, most users (80 percent) do not always read privacy policies and a significant fraction (12 percent) of respondents admitted that they never read privacy policies. * Of users who logged into online services, only half reported that they logged out. * Nineteen percent of respondents were aware of circumstances in which personal data was used in a way they did not expect. The most commonly reported consequences were: unsolicited communications, stolen personal data, private data becoming public, impersonation, and financial loss. The Internet and economic and societal issues: * Nearly two-thirds of respondents agreed or agreed strongly that the Internet would play a significant role in solving global problems, including reducing child mortality (63 percent), improving maternal health (65 percent), eliminating extreme poverty and hunger (61 percent), and preventing the trafficking of women and children (69 percent). * An even higher percentage of respondents agreed or agreed strongly that the Internet would increase global trade and economic relationships (81 percent), improve the quality of education (80 percent), and improve emergency response during a natural disaster (77 percent). * A majority of respondents felt strongly that the Internet plays a significant role in making improvements to business, science, and technology in areas such as: expanding the availability of goods and services (66 percent), allowing entrepreneurs to conduct business across all countries (65 percent), and advancing science and technology and creating a technologically recognized workforce (61 percent). Attitudes towards the Internet: * Ninety-eight percent of users agreed or strongly agreed the Internet is essential for their access to knowledge and education. * More than 80 percent agreed or agreed strongly that the Internet plays a positive role for their individual lives as well as society at large. * Nearly 75 percent of users strongly agreed that access to the Internet allows them to seek any information that interests them. General Internet usage: * Internet users nearly universally (96 percent) indicated they accessed the Internet at least once a day. * More than 90 percent of Internet users surveyed globally indicated they use social media, with a majority (60 percent) using it daily, an increase of 10 percent over 2011. * Connection speed (73 percent) and reliability (69 percent) ranked slightly above more affordable monthly fees (68 percent) among factors that would increase usage. Other factors included more content in their local language (50 percent) and more online availability of government and/or community services (49 percent). The Internet Society's Global Internet User Survey (GIUS) provides reliable information relevant to issues important to the Internets future. As an ongoing effort, the survey provides information, informs and supports the activities of the global Internet Society community, and makes the data it collects openly available for all. While other ICT surveys focus on economic, infrastructure, or other Internet use indicators, the GIUS focuses on users, which are the source of innovation that has driven the Internets development, evolution, and dramatic growth over the past four decades. The first GIUS in 2011 gathered the responses of 6,088 Internet users in 11 countries. This year, the GIUS was conducted on behalf of the Internet Society from July to August 2012 by Redshift Research, a leading business market research firm. The survey questionnaire engaged 10,789 Internet users in 20 countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, UAE, and the United States. Of the respondents, 53 percent were male and 47 percent were female. Results from the survey varied across countries; future reports will provide additional insight into these variations. The complete questionnaire, full resultsincluding results by countryand more information on survey methodology are available at: http://www.internetsociety.org/survey https://www.internetsociety.org/news/global-internet-user-survey-reveals-at…

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Wardless registration & the diaspora
by robert yawe 26 Nov '12

26 Nov '12

Hi, IEBC had initially indicated that we shall be able to register from any registration center and select ones preferred voting center, when I went to register I was informed that this was not the case and that the center where I register will be my polling station. If that is the case does it mean that the USA is now a part of Kenya and what is the name of the ward, constituency and county? The reason for not allowing wardless registration was a fear of manipulation of the data as it traveled across the wide area network (how do ATMs & the SWIFT system offer secure transactions?) The other reason is that it will allow for easier voter ferrying as they will only need to appear at the specific polling stations on election day, so isn't that the situation with the 4 M people in the diaspora? 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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OT: The first ever African CEOs Forum
by Odhiambo Washington 26 Nov '12

26 Nov '12

Reposted from Facebook. Attributed to one, Fred Ombako, not myself. "Wow! What some awesome news! The first Africa CEO Forum was held last week. It was in Geneva, Switzerland. You know what I mean?" http://goo.gl/OoXrz I think it wouldn't be a surprise then, if an African Heads of State summit was held in Geneva. Back in Kenya, we always have our MPigs hosting their forums in Mombasa - at taxpayers expense. I guess there is no venue that befits them in NBI, just as there was no venue that could befit the Africa CEO's in Africa! -- Best regards, Odhiambo WASHINGTON, Nairobi,KE +254733744121/+254722743223 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ I can't hear you -- I'm using the scrambler.

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Blow to local tech buy outs
by robert yawe 26 Nov '12

26 Nov '12

Hi, The following article is a sign that it will be a little longer before any US based companies will be knocking doors in Kenya to buy up startups; http://gigaom.com/europe/why-european-startups-should-be-furious-about-auto… It is therefore time that we found local solutions to getting our startups off. 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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KRA loses round one in case against employee
by Grace Githaiga 26 Nov '12

26 Nov '12

N SUMMARYThe case will give an insight into what employees who go beyond the call of duty should expect from their employers. KRA is counting on the system to help it go after landlords and property developers as part of efforts to bring the lucrative real estate sector under the tax bracket.If the innovator has his way and stops the taxman from implementing a similar system, it would deal it a major blow, coming at a time when KRA is under pressure to meet the ambitious Sh1 trillion tax revenue target set by the government this year. http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/KRA-loses-round-one-in-case-against-e…

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Computer Society awards Standard Group for best media website
by Grace Githaiga 24 Nov '12

24 Nov '12

The Computer Society of Kenya has awarded the Standard Group for having the best media website at an awards ceremony dubbed a ‘Night with the stars’, held in Nairobi. http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000071331&pageNo=1

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Misleading, predatory "sweepstakes" adverts
by Matunda Nyanchama 23 Nov '12

23 Nov '12

Friends There is an ad on "Bonyeza Ushinde" running across the country on TV, SMS, newspapers which, in my considered view, is misleading and predatory. I have nothing against Safaricom running what is indeed a lottery, but they shouldn't suggest that every next person is winning! I have seen lotteries in other countries which, at the end of the ad, would add the winning odds. In one case, one lottery had a person with a rake standing next to a haystack. Meaning: try and find something small in that haystack. I am wondering whether CCK shouldn't be monitoring such practices and take appropriate steps to avoid ongoing exploitation of even the illiterate who think sending 5 bob is going to win them millions. Or what does the law/regulation require? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Matunda Nyanchama, PhD, CISSP; mnyanchama(a)aganoconsulting.com Agano Consulting Inc.; www.aganoconsulting.com; Twitter: nmatunda; Skype: okiambe ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Be prepared for ICT security failures & know how to respond when they happen! Call: +1-888-587-1150 or info(a)aganoconsulting.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The best revenge is massive success" - Frank Sinatra----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This e-mail, including attachments, may be privileged and may contain confidential or proprietary information intended only for the addressee(s). Any other distribution, copying, use, or disclosure is unauthorized and strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and permanently delete the message, including any attachments, without making a copy. Thank you.

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ICT and Nyayo House
by Andrea Bohnstedt 23 Nov '12

23 Nov '12

>From a friend. E-something in government, hey? :) I just went to Nyayo House to renew my Kenyan passport as is my RIGHT AS A KENYAN CITIZEN. I called up and spoke to them, having been through this several times before and was told to print off the form from the website, fill it out and get your recommender to sign - check, get 3 passport photos signed on the back by 'a person of official capacity' - check, copy of ID - check, copy of PIN - check, copy of old passport as well as actual document - check. Stand in the queue for 25 mins, get to counter, lady gives me the once over, looks at the form and declares that it is obsolete and starts chatting on her phone. I must go to a tent outside and fill out a new one and come back - I ask how I will have the new form signed by a recommender and am told to talk to the people in the tent. Apparently you can ask someone near the tent, whom you have never seen before to assist you and state that he knows you and is a good mate and that you aren't a terrorist from another country... Right outside the immigration offices. I just can't do this and will go back tomorrow with the correct form filled by someone who DOES actually know me. More fool me I guess. However if you are a Kenyan applying for renewal or a new passport, the PP1 form on the website is 'apparently' obsolete. You now have to use the Form 19 which can be collected from the tent outside Nyayo house... Good luck.

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Konza, a disconnect
by robert yawe 23 Nov '12

23 Nov '12

What the high tech companies want(Apple's proposed new HQ)-2010 thinking What we are offering (Konza)- 1950 thinking (http://techcrunch.com/2011/08/13/apples-new-headquarters/) (http://www.konzacity.co.ke/?page_id=2282) Have a futuristic weekend Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696

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quick guide to WCIT documentation
by Alice Munyua 22 Nov '12

22 Nov '12

Dear all, This will be of interest to those following the WCIT and ITR revision process. Best Alice http://news.dot-nxt.com/2012/11/22/quick-guide-wcit-documentation?utm_sourc… --

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Courier charges set to rise over Xmas as regulator protects Posta monopoly
by Grace Githaiga 22 Nov '12

22 Nov '12

IN SUMMARYCCK has established Sh150 as the minimum fee chargeable by courier companies for parcels weighing under 350 grammes.The drop of the rates to below set minimum has been attributed to competition within the sector and from telecommunication operators with more efficient and faster means of communication.Those who breach the pricing requirement risk prosecution and a fine of up to Sh300,000. http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/CCK-orders-courier-servic…

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New Startup Genome Report Ranks The World's Top Startup Ecosystems
by robert yawe 22 Nov '12

22 Nov '12

Today we released the Startup Ecosystem Report 2012. The report contains the first data-driven Ranking of the World's Top 20 Startup Ecosystems and a deep dive into the each of the individual Startup Ecosystems. Check out the initial coverage here on TechCrunch: http://techcrunch.com/2012/11/20/startup-genome-ranks-the-worlds-top-startu… And please help us spread the word on Facebook and Twitter by sharing this message: "The Startup Genome Ranks The World’s Top Startup Ecosystems: Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv & L.A. Lead The Way tcrn.ch/10kSHCc " You can download part 1 of the report here: http://blog.startupcompass.co/pages/entrepreneurship-ecosystem-report We would love to hear your feedback and thoughts once you've looked at report. Best, Max, Bjoern and Ertan You're on this list because you either downloaded the startup genome report or used the startup compass. Unsubscribe robertyawe(a)yahoo.co.uk from this list. Our mailing address is: Startup Genome 212 Clara StreetSan Francisco, CA 94107 Add us to your address book Copyright (C) 2012 Startup Genome All rights reserved.

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First insights from the GAC Early Warnings on new Top-Level Domains
by Grace Githaiga 21 Nov '12

21 Nov '12

http://www.ariservices.com/blog/first-insights-from-the-gac-early-warnings-… PUBLISHED ON NOVEMBER 21ST, 2012By Yasmin OmerToday, the national governments that constitute ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) for the first time publicly voiced their concerns over specific new Top-Level Domain (TLD) applications in the form of Early Warnings.More than 240 individual GAC Early Warnings were issued in relation to 200 new TLD applications which account for 162 unique strings.By far the most prolific government to issue GAC Early Warnings was the Australian government with 129. This was followed by Germany with 20 and France 19.As expected, a large number of the 240 Early Warnings related to closed generic string TLD applications (100 Early Warnings). It appears a number of governments are concerned about brands or entrepreneurs owning a specific generic word and closing the door on public registrations in these namespaces.Early Warnings were also issued for strings that are linked to regulated market sectors, such as the financial, health and charity sectors.The continent with the most Early Warnings was Asia Pacific (154), followed by Europe (51) and Africa (30). This is in stark contrast to the distribution of new TLD applications across the globe which saw more than 80% of applicants come from North America and Europe.Other interesting insights include:• Amazon (an applicant for 76 new TLDs) has received 27 GAC Early Warnings • Google (an applicant for 98 new TLDs) has received only 6 GAC Early Warnings • 19 IDN new TLD applications received a GAC Early Warning • DotConnectAfrica’s application for .africa received 17 Early Warnings. UniForum SA’s application for .africa received no Early Warnings. • Despite being very vocal regarding their objections to certain strings, Saudi Arabia cannot participate in the Early Warning process as they are not a member of the GAC.Below is an image which provides an overview of the distribution of GAC Early Warnings. A GAC Early Warning is a mechanism by which the national government representatives who comprise the GAC can signal their potential concerns with specific new TLD applications that are controversial or sensitive. Receipt of a GAC Early Warning allows an applicant to be eligible to receive an 80% refund of their application fee.Many Early Warnings offer remediation steps to be taken by the applicant which may appease any concerns the governments have. However, applicants are not obliged to take any action.GAC Early Warnings are a pathway to formal GAC Advice to the ICANN Board in April 2013 following ICANN Beijing. GAC Advice requires consensus of the GAC and may indicate that a particular application should not proceed which almost certainly means an application will not be approved by ICANN. The biggest question moving forward will be how exactly consensus will be reached. Watch this space!While many applicants were nervously anticipating the announcement of today’s Early Warnings, the majority of applicants will be pleased with the results. Next hurdle: GAC Advice in April 2013.By Yasmin Omer Policy and Industry Affairs Officer at ARI Registry ServicesNOTE: Every effort has been made to accurately report the statistics in this blog. However, some statistics may need to be updated with further analysisThis entry was posted on WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 21ST, 2012 at 19:46 and is filed under ICANN, New gTLDs, Registry. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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Fwd: IEBC Registration Centres
by Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) 21 Nov '12

21 Nov '12

FYI Please find attached. Also see http://gottovote.code4kenya.org <http://t.co/WYZ85Neq> -- Grace L.N. Mutung'u (Bomu) Kenya Skype: gracebomu Twitter: @Bomu Website: http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu

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Top applicant receiving objections: DCA Trust for .africa with 17 objections.
by Grace Githaiga 21 Nov '12

21 Nov '12

https://gacweb.icann.org/display/gacweb/GAC+Early+Warnings > Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2012 09:53:36 +0200 > From: calvin(a)orange-tree.alt.za > To: africann(a)afrinic.net > Subject: [AfrICANN-discuss] GAC early warning > > The results are out - get them > athttps://gacweb.icann.org/display/gacweb/GAC+Early+Warnings > > Top objector: the Australian government with 129 objections. > > Top applicant receiving objections: DCA Trust for .africa with 17 > objections. > > Top string (aside from .africa above): hotel (or variants) with 21 > objections. > > regards > > --Calvin > _______________________________________________ > AfrICANN mailing list > AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann

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The real work starts after WCIT12
by alice＠apc.org 21 Nov '12

21 Nov '12

The real work starts after WCIT12 http://www.buddeblog.com.au/frompaulsdesk/the-real-work-starts-after-wcit12/ The really important part of the World Conference on IT (WCIT) is not the internet battles that have caught the interest of the press – it is what will happen after the conference has ended. Membership of WCIT is on a per-country basis and currently 193 countries will be participating in this international event. Each country is free to make up its own delegation and these delegations can therefore represent a large variety of social, economic, business, legal, technical and other interests – as large and as wide as each country decides its delegation will be. The responsibility for organising the WCIT rests with the ITU, which is the oldest UN organisation (1865). The current media frenzy about the internet, and the false rumours that the UN or any other organisation is going to take over its governance is just that – a media beat-up. As in any international meeting, countries are welcome to bring their plans, proposals, opinions and views to the conference and to take the opportunity to present these to the international audience. However proposals from the USA, or Russia, or China, or the European countries, or the Arab countries are not automatically accepted simply because they are presented at the conference. That is not the case in any international conference – and certainly not at the WCIT, which has a reputation for consensus-building. The media frenzy seems to be based on the incorrect assumption that any of the proposals that have been circulated or rumoured could be, or even will be, accepted. It is true that some of these proposals and rumours contain elements that will be unacceptable to other members of the international communities, and vested interests involved in the debate have used the well-known FUD strategy (spread fear, uncertainty and doubt) to fuel the media frenzy. On the positive side, the interest in WCIT has now moved well beyond the traditional ICT industry. It has gained an enormous amount of attention and has brought the internet governance issue to the notice of mainstream society. This, of course, is a positive development and it also indicates how important the internet has become for everybody, with non-technical people starting to take a serious interest in its future. One of the problems of the internet has been that while it has been growing into that wider context the governing bodies have not kept up with the growth of these wider interests and concerns, and there is now a range of social and economic issues, as well as the technical issues that need to be addressed. In the current debate, however, all these issues have been thrown into one pool. Like it or not, this debate has brought a large number of important issues to the fore and they will need to be confronted. What the WCIT has to do upfront is untangle the various issues and clearly separate them from each other. The next step will then be to clearly define what can be solved on a national level and what needs to be addressed internationally – and, if there are issues that need international attention, who are the best parties to address those issues. The most important issue at the WCIT will be how the international community will manage the current debate so as to move towards a manageable future. Most likely what this will mean is that the various international stakeholders will have to create a (new) platform that can be used to address these issues, and existing internet bodies such as ICANN, ISOC and IGF, as well as the UN and some of its organisations such as the ITU and others of course, will all need to be part of this. The internet is there for all. It is an enormous social and economic enabler and should be used to advance our global society. It clearly has the potential to do this and it is the responsibility of all involved to make that happen. WCIT 12 has the enormous opportunity, as a representation of global society, to play a leadership role in guiding the future of the internet for the benefit of all. The new platform that should be the result of this needs to be truly international, independent; and it needs to be well-funded, so that it can properly address the issues at hand. It is, therefore, most unlikely that – apart from some of the purely technical matters – any of the more contentious issues that are being addressed in the press will be solved at WCIT. Nor should that be the case, because WCIT is probably the wrong place to address these issues. Nevertheless WCIT can be the catalyst and the facilitator to kick-start the process. Paul Budde PS I will be participating in WCIT12 and will report back to you on its progress.

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SAP Skills Scholarships for Africa Call for Applications
by Paul Kukubo 21 Nov '12

21 Nov '12

SAP Scholarship Opportunity Kenya ICT Board is pleased to announced the call for Applications for the SAP Skills for Africa Scholarship Opportunity. [image: Print]<http://www.ict.go.ke/index.php?view=article&catid=146%3Atraining&id=497%3As…> [image: PDF]<http://www.ict.go.ke/index.php?view=article&catid=146%3Atraining&id=497%3As…> Are you a recent graduate? Do have a passion for ICT in the community? You can work under pressure, are a critical thinker and sees yourself as a front-runner in shaping your world? If your answer is Yes, then there is a scholarship waiting for you and a possible job. SAP is offering scholarship to 100 deserving students. You will need to fill an online application by 6th December to be considered. SAP, a multinational software corporation, in collaboration with the Multimedia University and the Ministry of Information and Communications, will train students each year in a SAP Certification programme – SAP Skills for Africa. The scholarship programme, whose classes begin February 2013, will include training in technology, business and finance, logistics and soft skills, and will culminate in matching of successful trainees with internship opportunities. Online application is ongoing, and is open to recent graduates from disadvantaged backgrounds. *SAP Skills For Africa Scholarship Online Application Form*<https://fs12.formsite.com/KenyaICTBoard/SkillsforAfrica/form_login.html> http://www.ict.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=497:sap-s…<https://fs12.formsite.com/KenyaICTBoard/SkillsforAfrica/form_login.html> 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] kictanet Digest, Vol 66, Issue 72
by Gideon 21 Nov '12

21 Nov '12

Listers, I will reiterate Dr. Ndemo's point "Change is in our hands but we must begin to exercise our responsibility to change our country for the better." Universities are a great place to get collaborative teams, if we can begin to look into the universities and culture the students earlier, they will appreciate this and it will be built in their DNA even as they get out of campus. We need more content aggregation from every source, in Baku UNESCO talked of how they preserve the languages and we have a real place there to preserve our past, it lies in creatively putting it online, the internet has a great memory. Good day, Gideon Rop DotConnectAfrica On Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 8:02 PM, <kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>wrote: > Send kictanet mailing list submissions to > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > You can reach the person managing the list at > kictanet-owner(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of kictanet digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Internet capacity to double soon after fifth fibre optic > cable lands (bitange(a)jambo.co.ke) > 2. Re: Konza TechnoPark Launch? (Edith Adera) > 3. Re: Konza TechnoPark Launch? (bitange(a)jambo.co.ke) > 4. Re: Konza TechnoPark Launch? (Edith Adera) > 5. skip the intermediary and sort it out with the user > (Grace Mutung'u (Bomu)) > 6. Re: Dreams of a cosy career that turned into a nightmare > (Phares Kariuki) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 18:28:11 +0300 (EAT) > From: bitange(a)jambo.co.ke > To: "Grace Githaiga" <ggithaiga(a)hotmail.com> > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Internet capacity to double soon after fifth > fibre optic cable lands > Message-ID: > <bca94a8f9951d2d4808b7c4bac8bb550.squirrel(a)mail.jambo.co.ke> > Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1 > > Grace, > Yes there are four different Transnational Operators wanting to be in > Mombasa. It could be related to the interest in building mega data > centers here. These are possibly trying to entice content aggregators to > have their point of presence here. There will be some positive to this > considering the fact that we get the opportunity to develop capacity > (improveed real employment opportunities), significantly develop our > energy sector and possibly drastically reduce cost of connectivity. > > My frustration has been how we get our people to begin working on local > content. We do not need clouds for content like Sesemi Street when we can > create local edutainment from local resources. Remember the local content > you develop here is good for any African Country. If we automated our > Government Records, we shall have the chance to replicate the processes in > 50 other countries. We shall get to my bet subject of intra Africa Trade. > Check this blog and know where the future lies: > http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/africas-mics > > After my trip to IGF in Baku, I passed through London at the invitation of > the John D. and Catherine T. MacAthur Foundation to join a > multidisciplinary Research Network of thinkers and doers on "Opening > Government" to analyze and realize the potential impact of technology on > democratic institutions, specifically how we can use technology to create > more collaborative ways of governing to solve the World's hardest > problems. > > There were about 40 Professors meeting at 10 Downing Street. They were > mostly from MIT, Stanford, Duke, Havard, Cambridge, Oxford, Southampton > etc. Most of the MIT and Stanford have research here or planning to be in > Nairobi for collaboration. At least three quarters of them said something > about Kenya emergence and hoped we can sustain the innovative capacity. > > I realized that we must couple the youth in application development with > Universities where research is done. Most of our Universities have become > teaching institutions that must now move to research. The realtime data > most developers have been wanting must be data from research activities > and some from institutions. > > For example, any hospital must have its capacity data out there. We need > to know where the Neuro Surgeons, Cardiologists, Oncologists etc, what > equipment is available, capability of the labs etc. This is all knowledge > such that if I have a heart attack patient I know where to get help > instead of trial and error and as you know Kenyans do not volunteer to say > they have no capacity. This is what a knowledge society looks like. > > One of the Professors presented life data from a mobile phone gathering > data in a Central American country. Simple analytic on the data shows > that teachers go to their respective schools for less than two days a > week. These are some of the worst performing schools. There was a high > correlation of poor performance and affliation to Unions. Does this > resonate with Kenya? > > Change is in our hands but we must begin to exercise our responsibility to > change our country for the better. > > > Ndemo. > > > > > > > IN SUMMARYInformation and Communication Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo > > on Monday said that a Middle Eastern company was currently contracting > > suppliers to lay the undersea cableAccording to the PS, the increased > > network capacity will be in line with rising local demands for high speed > > dataDr Ndemo also revealed that a project to provide every Internet users > > with digital identities would be implemented in a bid to combat rising > > cyber crime > > > http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Fifth-fibre-optic-cable-lands/-/1006/… > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > > > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/bitange%40jambo.co.ke > > > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and > > development. > > > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and > bandwidth, > > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:25:39 -0500 > From: Edith Adera <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> > To: Edith Adera <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Konza TechnoPark Launch? > Message-ID: > <49C6326F7E864A4F98BC7DF88BC7A8F401A0CFA994(a)hqms24.HQ.IDRC.ORG> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > Bwana Ndemo, > > It's unlike you to be silent. Any feedback on the launch? > > Edith > > From: kictanet [mailto:kictanet-bounces+eadera= > idrc.or.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Edith Adera > Sent: November 13, 2012 2:51 PM > To: Edith Adera > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions > Subject: [kictanet] Konza TechnoPark Launch? > > Bwana Ndemo, > > Watching the launch of Thika Road and today Syokimau Station (which I must > say shocked me as I thought the designs being shown were architectural > impressions rather than reality!), makes me wonder when the Konza techno > park is set to be launched? > > You mentioned end of October, which has passed. Will the launch happen? > Is the ICT sector being left behind? > > Edith > > > > >

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SAP and Kenya ICT Board Partner on Skills Develeopment
by Paul Kukubo 21 Nov '12

21 Nov '12

Kenyan Government and SAP to expand skill set of local graduates Training aims at improving youth employability in the country’s robust ICT sector and is inline with vision 2030 Nairobi 20th September, 2012…The government of Kenya through the Kenya ICT Board and SAP has today announced a partnership that will see 100 bright but underprivileged studentsundergo training to become certified SAP Software engineers. Dubbed “SAP Skills for Africa”, the Programme commits to deliver professional training and certification to Kenyan university graduates. The programme will seek to substantially improve the employability of young, bright university graduatesand equally deliver on the government’s mandate to promote digital inclusion, to forge Kenya as an ICT hub for Africa and drive ICT skills development. “The SAP partnership is key in equipping our young professionals with high end ICT skills that are on demand in the Kenya and the wider East African Market. This effort provides amuch needed skillset for graduates who would otherwise not have had the privilege to be exposed to this specific set of world class skills", said Kenya ICT Board CEO, Paul Kukubo. The Kenya ICT Board and SAP are in partnership to deliver the latest skills and knowledge to the students. The Kenya ICTBoard will provide classrooms with necessary computer infrastructure and will be charged with the overall management of the programme that will take place at the Multi Media University, whereas SAP will provide instructors, training material and educational systems. Delivery of this programme will include the provision of certified instructors, training material and case studies withSAP‘s largest investment being the waiver of any costs related to the programme for the students; a significant financial investment. Modules of study for this period will be focused on best business practices and SAP skills in financial and managerial accounting, sales and distribution, procurement, human capital management, database and technology, system administration and also around business reporting. “The SAP Skills for Africa programme aims at ensuring that each and every university graduate is equipped with the skills necessary to enter the job market and not only gain economic stability and prosperity but also to be able to plough back into the ecosystem”, said Pfungwa Serima,CEO Africa, SAP By working proactively with the government bodies and with its customers, SAP has taken the lead to deliver the opportunity for students to receive additional practical skills, business and system knowledge that will better equip them for today’s jobmarket, thereby increasing their possibilities of employment. The programme builds upon the knowledge students gained in their undergraduate studies and provides them with hands-on experience in working with the world’s leading business software applications company. SAP training will delivervaluable skills on software use, best business practices and processes that will greatly benefit the trainees and theorganizations where they work in future. “This initiative perfectly fits into the MMU agenda of producing graduates who are immediately ready to be productive in the industry upon graduation, over the years inadequate skilling of our graduates has been a chief cause of high employment costs, causing our graduates to hop from one job to the other. If we can churn 100 all rounded graduates annually, we shall have arrested this by providing a bigger talent pool for employers to choose from, said Prof. Walter Oyawa, Principal Multimedia University SAP is committed to ensure that upon the graduation from this programme, students also receive a chance to put the acquired knowledge into practical use in the real work environment. For this purpose SAP has started to work with its customers and partners to ensure the maximum number of internships for the graduates, which will further solidify their acquired knowledge. Editor’s Notes: About SAP The world’s market leader in enterprise application software, SAP (NYSE: SAP) helps companies of all sizes and industries run better. From back office to boardroom, warehouse to storefront, desktop to mobile device – SAP empowers people and organizations to work together more efficiently and use business insight more effectively to stay ahead of the competition. SAP applications and services enable more than 195,000 customers (includes customers from the acquisition of SuccessFactors) to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and grow sustainably. For more information, visit www.sap.com About Kenya ICT Board The Kenya ICT Board’s mandate and objectives are based on advising the Kenyan government on all relevant matters pertaining to the development and promotion of ICT industries in the country. In addition, the Kenya ICT Board provides government and other stakeholders with skills, capacity and funding for ICT projects in order to rapidly and innovatively transform Kenya through promotion of ICT for socio-economic development. About the Multi Media University Founded in 1948 as Kenya College Communication Technology, MMU became a constituent College of JKUAT in 2008.With a student population of about 3,000,MMU is a Public University College mandated to provide training in Engineering, Information Technology, Media and Business related courses. Due to its rich history as a Technology College under Telkom Kenya, Multimedia University has the benefit and experience of working with the ICT industry in order to expose its students beyond the classroom theory and principles of technology. -- 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] Courier charges set to rise over Xmas as regulator protects Posta monopoly
by Eric Kirimi 20 Nov '12

20 Nov '12

Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > >IN SUMMARYCCK has established Sh150 as the minimum fee chargeable by courier companies for parcels weighing under 350 grammes.The drop of the rates to below set minimum has been attributed to competition within the sector and from telecommunication operators with more efficient and faster means of communication.Those who breach the pricing requirement risk prosecution and a fine of up to Sh300,000. >http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/CCK-orders-courier-servic… >_______________________________________________ >kictanet mailing list >kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke >https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/eric%40ictinfrastruct… > >The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > >KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

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Internet capacity to double soon after fifth fibre optic cable lands
by Grace Githaiga 20 Nov '12

20 Nov '12

IN SUMMARYInformation and Communication Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo on Monday said that a Middle Eastern company was currently contracting suppliers to lay the undersea cableAccording to the PS, the increased network capacity will be in line with rising local demands for high speed dataDr Ndemo also revealed that a project to provide every Internet users with digital identities would be implemented in a bid to combat rising cyber crime http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Fifth-fibre-optic-cable-lands/-/1006/…

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ICT Board: Monthly Newsletter | November 2012
by Grace Githaiga 20 Nov '12

20 Nov '12

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Kenya ICT Board <htomno(a)ict.go.ke> Date: Tue, Nov 20, 2012 at 6:35 PM Subject: Chanuka: Monthly Newsletter | November 2012 To: office(a)ict.go.ke I would like to especially draw listers to: 1) SAP Scholarships which graduates can now apply for. Deadline is 6th Dec. 2) Accreditation for software developers: Volunteers can take the test for free on 18th Dec. They would need to register online. 3). Call for IST conference papers: The conference takes places in 15th-17th May 2013 for the first time in Nairobi. Deadline for submissions of presentation paper is on 7th Dec. Chanuka: November 2012 Kenya ICT Board Newsletter Issue No:006 In This Issue (click to read article) >National ICT Masterplan to be Launched > SAP Skills For Africa >CHIPUKA - Get World Renowned Accreditation > Call for Papers for IST-Africa 2013 >Open Data: Princeton University gives its perspective >Study pushes for Tech jobs to trickle down to the poor > Addressing the Challenges in Digital Villages > What it Takes for Impactful Blogging >Road Safety Made Easier by Technology Follow us on twitter @kenyaICTboard Join us on facebook www.facebook.com Upcoming Events ------------ Kenya Open Data Sensitization Date: Wednesday, 21st November, 2012 Nairobi Hilton Hotel. ------------ National ICT Masterplan Launch Date: Thur. 29th Nov. 2012 Venue: Hotel Intercontinental, Nairobi Time: 7:30 a.m - 10:00 a.m -------------- AITEC Southern Africa ICT Summit Date: Wed. 05 Dec. 2012 -Thur. 06 Dec. 2012. Venue:Joachim Chissano International Conference Center. ------------- Chipuka Software Developer Certification Date: Wed. 19th Dec. 2012 Time: 08:00 a.m - 2.00 p.m Venue:School of Computing & Informatics,University of Nairobi. ----------- ------------ Are you hosting an ICT related event? Contact us at communications(a)ict.go.ke Quick Links... Our Website Contact Us For more information on this newsletter and other communications products from the Kenya ICT Board contact: Haji Tomno e: htomno(a)ict.go.ke t: +254 20 2089061 Kenya ICT Board Telposta Towers, 12th floor, Kenyatta Ave P.O. Box 27150-00100, Nairobi, Kenya 'Chanuka' is a product from the Kenya ICT Board aimed at keeping you informed and up-to-date on the work of the Kenya ICT Board and the ICT sector in Kenya. National ICT Master plan to be Launched Greetings! , The year 2012 is almost coming to a close. A lot of great things have happened in the ICT Industry this year and growth will continue to be felt in the sector. To precipitate the impact of ICT on the life of Kenyans, we are launching the National ICT Master Plan 2017 on 29th November, 2012 at the Intercontinental Hotel. The plan draws the journey of positioning Kenya as a leader in ICT investment and innovation by the year 2017. View the full document here. We look forward to hearing from you. Enjoy the rest of the newsletter. Sincerely, Paul Kukubo CEO, Kenya ICT Board SAP Scholarships Now Up for Grabs ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Are you a recent graduate? Do have a passion for ICT in the community? You can work under pressure, are a critical thinker and sees yourself as a front-runner in shaping your world? If your answer is Yes, then there is a scholarship waiting for you and a possible job. SAP is offering scholarships to 100 deserving students. Deadline: 6th December Read More... See the terms and eligibility criteria here Apply here Get World class programming accreditation If you are a software developer, seeking to be identified as top of your game, you need to take this exam. Your only investment? Time. On 19th December,Carnegie Mellon University in conjunction with the Kenya ICT Board will be offering 50 developers a Software Developer Certification (SDC) at University of Nairobi, School of Computing and Informatics, Computer Lab, Chiromo Campus. To be considered you will need to fill out an online application form on http://www.softwaredevelopercertification.com/the-sdc-program .The exam will take up to 6 hours. Read More... Call for Papers for IST-Africa 2013 Conference IST-Africa 2013, a science and innovation conference, is calling for papers from the business, academic and ICT industry to be presented at the event to take place in Nairobi, from 15-17th May, 2013. For paper submission,visit http://www.ist-africa.org/Conference2013/default.asp?page=submission Interested presenters are encouraged to prepare an 8 page paper (4,000 - 5,000 words) using the IST-Africa 2013 paper guidelines and paper template provided on the IST-Africa Conference Portal, for submission online by 07 December, 2012. For more information on the conference, download the event pdf Open Data: Princeton University gives its perspective Getting government information available to the public through the Kenya Open Data Portal has not been an easy one. A new report done by Princeton University, shares Dr Bitange Ndemos efforts in convincing government to release data that would help create jobs and impact economic growth. The insightful document, done through Princeton, Innovations for Successful Societies (ISS), looks at the journey, challenges, impact the team and achievements that the Portal has undergone before and after its launch in July 2011. This is a story of how sheer determination, hardwork and passion for the common good can bring meaningful change to the society. Read More... Study pushes for Tech jobs to trickle down to the poor As technology continues to transform the world economy, it's important that the gains are enjoyed by everyone. In the labour market, IT and outsourcing industry has been prided with creating millions of jobs, with India recording record growth (according to NASSCOM's Strategic Review 2012, India alone has generated employment for 2.8 million people in the IT and BPO sectors, with another 8.9 million jobs indirectly created as a result.) Traditionally though, a lot of the people at the bottom of the pyramid are left out from tapping into the job opportunities in the sector. The Rockefeller Foundation developed the impact sourcing model to foster a business model that is the classic win-win: it's a good business practice and it is socially responsible. Read More... Addressing the Challenges in Digital Villages The Pasha Entrepreneurs workshop was held on the 22nd and 23rd of October 2012 at AFRALTI Waiyaki way Nairobi. As part of the ongoing support of the Digital Villages (Pasha) Project, the Kenya ICT Board invited Pasha Managers for a two day workshop. The aim of the workshop was to expose Pasha Managers to successful entrepreneurs in Kenya. This exposure was aimed to rejuvenate the entrepreneurial zeal of these Pasha Managers in the often challenging business environment.Pasha Managers face the special task of balancing achievement of their personal goals and the Government's agenda to reduce the digital divide in rural Kenya. Read More... What it Takes for Impactful Blogging This year's annual Word Camp Kenya took place at Maanzoni Lodge where 128 bloggers, local and international word Press enthusiasts, podcasters, developers and designers converged for a two day seminar. The event was graced by a line-up of speakers who spoke on many topics but focused on responsible blogging. The theme for this year was responsible blogging and positive social media influence. One of the main speakers was C.E.O of Kenya ICT Board Mr. Paul Kukubo who reminded bloggers to be responsible. Read More... Road Safety Made Easier by Technology Roads safety is one of the issues that Kenyans are grappling with. Despite the transport sector being a key driver of the economy, forecasts are that road crashes might overtake Malaria and Aids deaths by 2015, and that Nairobi loses around Kshs 50 million a day on traffic jams.A lot is attributed to inadequate co-ordination and poor service delivery in the sector with multiple agencies seated in different ministries unable to share data. A remedy to these is seen as that which will bring together all entities in the sector under one umbrella. Referred to as Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS), the project was envisioned in 2008 by a multi-stakeholder group, led by the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Information and Communications. Read More... Thank you for your support The Kenya ICT Board depends on its stakeholders, partners and the Kenyan public to deliver on its mandate. We welcome feedback and comments on our service and projects. Please email communications(a)ict.go.ke Forward email This email was sent to office(a)ict.go.ke by htomno(a)ict.go.ke | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Kenya ICT Board | Telposta Towers, 12th Floor | Kenyatta Ave | P.o. box 27150-00100 | Nairobi | Kenya -- Phyllis Nyambura Communication Writer Kenya ICT Board Telposta Towers, 12th Floor, Kenyatta Ave P.O. Box 27150 - 00100 Nairobi, Kenya t: + 254-020-2211960/62 | m: + 254 (0) 789396433 | e: pnyambura(a)ict.go.ke Visit: www.ict.go.ke Become a fan: www.facebook.com/kenyaictboard Follow us on twitter: @kenyaICTboard --------------------- Our Vision: Kenya becomes a top 10 ICT hub Our Mission: To champion and actively enable Kenya to adopt and exploit ICT, through promotion of partnerships, investments and infrastructure growth for socio economic enrichment Our Quality Policy: Kenya ICT Board is committed to consistently deliver quality ICT services and manage projects that support the growth of Information and Communication Technology, to satisfy the needs and expectations of customers. Kenya ICT Board shall comply with all requirements and continually improve the effectiveness of the Quality Management System. Kenya ICT Board leadership shall establish and review quality objectives in line with this policy and ensure commitment of all employees.

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skip the intermediary and sort it out with the user
by Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) 20 Nov '12

20 Nov '12

here's an interesting case on online defamation. retweeters be warned. –------------- Twitter: thousands of users could be involved in legal action Lawyers for Lord McAlpine have identified some 1,000 Twitter comments - re-posted by a further 9,000 users - they intend to take legal action against for wrongly linking the Tory peer with child abuse. The Independent newspaper reports that around 1,000 original tweets have already been targeted, while 9,000 retweets – Twitter’s language for re- posted comments – are also expected to spark legal action, meaning the case could involve the largest number of defendants in British legal history. Among those targeted are the wife of the Speaker of the House of Commons, Sally Bercow, and comedian Alan Davies, who both mentioned Lord McAlpine on their Twitter accounts. Charity donations Around 40 Twitter users have already contacted the peer to apologise, with reports suggesting they will be asked to pay £5 to charity. However, high profile celebrity tweeters could be treated differently. Lord McAlpine has already agreed a settlement of £185,000 with the BBC following its broadcast of a now-discredited report into sexual abuse claims at a care home in North Wales, which prompted the tweets. The former Tory treasurer has said he would have pursued the BBC for a higher settlement but held back as it is publicly funded. He is expected to chase a larger pay-out from commercial broadcaster ITV, after a programme presenter Philip Schofield accidentally showed a list of alleged paedophiles on camera as he passed it to UK Prime Minister David Cameron. Lord McAlpine's solicitor Andrew Reid – who has reportedly written a 15-page letter to ITV encouraging settlement -- said the presenter had 'embarrassed the Prime Minister and destroyed the reputation of my client'. Disciplinary action ITV has said it is already taking disciplinary action following the incident, while the country’s broadcasting watchdog, Ofcom, has launched its own investigation into the incident, reports the BBC. An ITV spokesman said: ‘We have received correspondence from Lord McAlpine's representatives and we will be responding in due course.’ m.globallegalpost.com/big-stories/mcalpine-fallout-twitter-users-in-line-of… -- Grace L.N. Mutung'u (Bomu) Kenya Skype: gracebomu Twitter: @Bomu Website: http://www.diplointernetgovernance.org/profile/GraceMutungu

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Konza TechnoPark Launch?
by Edith Adera 20 Nov '12

20 Nov '12

Bwana Ndemo, Watching the launch of Thika Road and today Syokimau Station (which I must say shocked me as I thought the designs being shown were architectural impressions rather than reality!), makes me wonder when the Konza techno park is set to be launched? You mentioned end of October, which has passed. Will the launch happen? Is the ICT sector being left behind? Edith

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Re: [kictanet] [ISOC_KE] Internet capacity to double soon after fifth fibre optic cable lands
by Grace Githaiga 20 Nov '12

20 Nov '12

Hi JolyPls try again. It has opened on my end. Or copy and paste on your browser. http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Fifth-fibre-optic-cable-lands/-/1006/… Further, there is another related story on Special IDs planned for net users to curb attacks http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate-News/Special-IDs-planned-for-n… IN SUMMARYA recent cyber security report by IT security consulting firm Serianu found that more than 80 per cent of Kenyan websites could be easily hacked because they operate on a software whose security codes are available online for free. RgdsGrace > From: joly(a)punkcast.com > Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:19:26 -0500 > Subject: Re: [ISOC_KE] Internet capacity to double soon after fifth fibre optic cable lands > To: ggithaiga(a)hotmail.com > CC: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke; isoc(a)orion.my.co.ke > > I get a 503 on your link, Grace. > > > Dr Ndemo also revealed that a project to provide every Internet users with digital identities would be implemented in a bid to combat rising cyber crime > > Any more info on this? Would it include limitations on anonymity? > > > On Mon, Nov 19, 2012 at 2:44 PM, Grace Githaiga <ggithaiga(a)hotmail.com> wrote: > > IN SUMMARY > > > > Information and Communication Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo on Monday > > said that a Middle Eastern company was currently contracting suppliers to > > lay the undersea cable > > According to the PS, the increased network capacity will be in line with > > rising local demands for high speed data > > Dr Ndemo also revealed that a project to provide every Internet users with > > digital identities would be implemented in a bid to combat rising cyber > > crime > > > > > > http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Fifth-fibre-optic-cable-lands/-/1006/… > > > > _______________________________________________ > > isoc mailing list > > isoc(a)orion.my.co.ke > > http://orion.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/isoc > > > > > > -- > --------------------------------------------------------------- > Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast > WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com > http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com > VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org > -------------------------------------------------------------- > -

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Press Release: AfTLD’s Initial Registry Operators Course Khartoum Sudan November 24 – 29 2012
by Barrack Otieno 20 Nov '12

20 Nov '12

The Africa Top Level Domains Organization (AfTLD), the association of African country code top level domains (ccTLDs) in collaboration with Sudan Internet Society (SIS), will be hosting an Initial Registry Operators Course for Francophone and Anglophone African ccTLDs in November 2012. The workshop which will be hosted by Sudan Internet Society, the Sudanese registry, will be held from 24 – 29 November 2012 and will focus on enhancing the robustness and efficiency of African registries by improving management of the technical infrastructure. The workshop is in line with AfTLD’s key strategic objective of building capacity of African ccTLDs with an aim of improving and enhancing Africa’s internet infrastructure. The Khartoum workshop is among a series of regular events that AfTLD holds on an annual basis. The event follows a successful workshop for Francophone ccTLDS held in Ouagadougou Burkina Faso from 9 to 13 January 2012 supported by the Internet Society and Francophonie as well as the policy and annual general meeting held in Livingstone Zambia in July 2012. As has been the case with the past events, the Khartoum workshop is supported by AfNIC, ISOC, Francophonie – AfTLD’s consistent sponsors and partners. Travel fellowships will be granted to qualifying ccTLDs. For further information about these and the event in general please contact AfTLD secretariat at secretariat(a)aftld.org. or visit the event website http://www.africatopleveldomains.org/sd2012/ *About AfTLD* The African Top Level Domains Organization was established in 2002 to act as a focal point for African Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) managers in coordinating, formulating, developing and presenting a unified approach to issues related to the Domain Name System. The African Top Level Domains Organization also presents a forum for sharing ideas between the regions Internet community with an aim of promoting the utilization of national country’s Top Level Domains. Ends. -- Barrack O. Otieno +254721325277 +254-20-2498789 Skype: barrack.otieno http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/

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Nominations for the Board of Directors of the Public Interest Registry (PIR)
by Alice Munyua 20 Nov '12

20 Nov '12

The Internet Society is currently accepting nominations for the Board of Directors of the Public Interest Registry (PIR) through December 4, 2012. PIR's business is to manage an international registry of .org domain names, and is currently in the process of preparing to manage an additional registry of .NGO and .ONG domain names, solely intended for NGOs around the world, as well as four additional IDNs for .org. The Internet Society invites candidates with a good understanding of and experience with the global NGO business and organization, or demonstrated experience with technological aspects of the Internet and more specifically the DNS, or Legal and regulatory knowledge and experience in the Internet industry or related industries. Both self-nominations and third-party nominations are encouraged. Additional details, including the nomination form, are available at: http://www.internetsociety.org/pir-call-nominations -- --------------------------------------------------------------- Joly MacFie 218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org -------------------------------------------------------------- - _______________________________________________ At-Large mailing list At-Large(a)atlarge-lists.icann.org https://atlarge-lists.icann.org/mailman/listinfo/at-large At-Large Official Site: http://atlarge.icann.org

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IGF 2011 Book
by Alice Munyua 19 Nov '12

19 Nov '12

Dear all, The final 2011 IGF (held in Nairobi) book is now available http://www.intgovforum.org/cms/2012/Book/IGF_2011_Book_Final%20copy.pdf Best, Alice

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Fwd: [AFRINIC-announce] AFRINIC Member Survey Deadline Extended
by Adiel Akplogan 19 Nov '12

19 Nov '12

Please your input is needed. Feel free to share with as much members from the Kenyan community. Thanks. - a. Begin forwarded message: > From: Babusha Radhakissoon <babusha(a)afrinic.net> > Subject: [AFRINIC-announce] AFRINIC Member Survey Deadline Extended > Date: 14 November, 2012 19:05:51 PM GMT+04:00 > To: announce(a)afrinic.net > > Dear colleagues, > On October 8, AFRINIC launched a Member Survey, giving members an opportunity to give us their views on its services and operations. The survey has since then generated a lot of interest, and we have received a lot of feedback. However, we still need more voices, and you can make your views count by completing the survey. > Please go to http://www.afrinic.net/en/community/stakeholders-survey-2012 to participate in the survey and ensure your voice is heard before the survey closes. > > We have now extended the deadline to November 19. You will need just about 25 minutes of your time to complete it. > The survey is part of AFRINIC's ongoing effort to improve its services and identify key areas where to focus our activities and resources for the coming years. This survey is an important collaborative activity between AFRINIC and you, our community members interested in Internet development in the Africa region. > For more information about AFRINIC please navigate our main web site at: http://www.afrinic.net. > > Please help us improve our services to you by completing the survey. > Thank you for your cooperation. > > Regards, > > -- > Ms. Babusha Radhakissoon Tel: +230 403 51 00 > PR and Marketing Assistant, AFRINIC Fax: +230 466 67 58 > babusha(a)afrinic.net - www.afrinic.net > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Join us at AFRINIC-17 for our Public Policy Meeting in Khartoum, Sudan, on 24 – 29 November 2012 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > _______________________________________________ > announce mailing list > announce(a)afrinic.net > https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/announce

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Interesting Story on Kenya, MOIC. Kudos Dr Ndemo & team!
by Marie-Ann Kinyanjui 17 Nov '12

17 Nov '12

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kenya-tech-20121115,0,4… Main News; Foreign Desk COLUMN ONE; A Kenyan cyber-revolutionary; Official cultivates a 'Silicon Savannah' that even offers an iCow app Robyn Dixon 15 November 2012 NAIROBI, KENYA Along Nairobi's dusty Ngong Road, so many start-up incubators and IT labs have popped up that the busy neighborhood has been nicknamed "Silicon Savannah." Techies, geeks and innovators race one another to come up with the next big thing. They rush from meeting to meeting, work late, skip weekends. Every other day there's a pitch night for tech start-ups, a creative Web workshop, or a meeting of mobile app developers. The result is a surge in innovative Kenyan apps, most designed to work with the not-so-smart phones most Kenyans can afford. There's iCow, a virtual veterinary advice service that coaches small farmers on how to tend their dairy herds, avoid illness and improve production. And mFarm, which helps small farmers determine the right price for their produce, find buyers and sell it. And Huduma, which allows people to report and map government service failures such as water cutoffs and potholes, and track how long it takes to fix the problem. Why is this happening in Kenya? People here have two words: Bitange Ndemo. In his youth, Ndemo gave up on his country and went to study in America. Kenya was too corrupt, too undisciplined to make it, he thought. The contrast with America seemed stark. Now Ndemo, the 52-year-old head of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, is at the heart of Kenya's startling IT revolution. In a region where bureaucrats often do more to constrain change than to encourage it, IT leaders here speak of Ndemo in reverential tones. Erik Hersman, co-founder of Kenya's best-known technology hub and the son of American missionaries, says the nation's expansion in IT couldn't have happened without Ndemo. "We are in that phase where the government is fully onboard with the tech revolution that is happening, but also the people, normal citizens, are really embracing change," Hersman said. "I have to give it to [Ndemo]. That guy, over the past five years has really pushed things along, and other people -- regulatory bodies and the government itself -- have seen this and gone with him on it." In 2006, a year after he became the director of the information ministry, Ndemo tired of the endless delays as 23 African countries bickered over plans for a joint fiber-optic cable for high-speed Internet. Instead, he linked up with one from the United Arab Emirates. When the cable was switched on in 2009, Ndemo made sure universities got unlimited Internet capacity. He pressed the government to put money into IT research and start-up incubators. He persuaded the president to make all unclassified Kenyan government data open source -- available to anyone online -- a move nothing short of revolutionary on a continent where reflexive secrecy is the rule. Part of Kenya's advantage in the world of African IT is its good education system, with results in literacy, science and mathematics far outshining its main rival in the field, South Africa. But leaders in Kenya's IT community say the government also got some other important things right, including subsidizing Internet access. >From fewer than 2 million Internet users five years ago, now there are more than 12 million in this East African country of 40 million people. Nearly 90% of the population has access to cellphones, according to the Government Communications Commission of Kenya. Kenya is the undisputed world leader in mobile money (bankless transactions via cellphones), a development introduced in 2007 by cellphone operator Safaricom, which now handles more than half the world's mobile money transfers. As Kenyans leapfrogged from no bank accounts or Internet into cellphones and mobile money, the transfers took off. Mobile money users can pay school fees, buy items in shops, pay utility bills, buy tickets and pay for services. They can send money to a relative in a remote village without spending two days getting there and back by bus. The system has huge implications for the developing world. When American techies Ben Lyon and Dylan Higgins got together in a Seattle basement just over two years ago to sketch out their idea for a joint mobile money app and software business, they didn't move to the Silicon Valley. Instead, they came to Nairobi and launched a mobile money software firm, Kopo Kopo. "Mobile money is the payment system of the emerging market," Lyon said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a billion-dollar business in an emerging market." Ndemo gets to work at 6:30 a.m., is in his office until 11 p.m. and sends out emails into the early hours of the morning. Unlike many Kenyan bureaucrats and politicians, he's accessible, he attends weekend meetings, and he deplores wasted time. He grew up in the remote Kisii district in southwestern Kenya, a son of a man with five wives and 40 children. His mother, the last wife, had nine children. When Ndemo was 7, his father died, triggering a bitter battle to seize his mother's land. "My mother was constantly under threat that they would kick her out and take the land," he said. "Sometimes we actually had to leave school to be at home to make sure that wasn't happening." There was not enough money for more than one child's high school fees at a time, so he kept repeating his final year of primary school, he says, waiting for his turn. Then when he graduated with good enough marks for university admission, he had to wait while younger siblings had their turns at high school. Taking a low-level clerk job at the Kenya state power company, he scraped up $3,000, enough to travel to the United States. When he wasn't in class studying finance at the University of Minnesota, he cleaned bathrooms, washed dishes, drove trucks and delivered pizzas. One job in 1989 involved cleaning a sports arena. The stadium owner introduced him to a friend who was chief executive of a medical technology company. Ndemo was hired as a financial systems analyst. After returning to Kenya in 1993, he got a job at the University of Nairobi, helping computerize its systems and those of other government departments. His work in the president's office led to his appointment as director of the Ministry of Information in 2005. Despite Kenya's recent tech advances, there are doubters. Ndemo says he's even received death threats from those opposed to his efforts to make the government more accountable online. "We are getting a lot of criticism that nobody's going to use it, that this is silly," Ndemo said. But he's convinced that education, agricultural development, commerce and opportunity will explode when everyone's online. When IBM set up its first African research lab in August, it selected Nairobi as its base, just as Google chose Kenya for its first African operation in 2007. And when Nokia judged its 2010 global tech inventions contest, it was a Kenyan, John Waibochi, who took the million-dollar prize for his mobile phone system, Virtual City, that automates small businesses' supply, distribution, inventory, cashless sales and receipts. A group of Kenyans is putting together a Nairobi supercomputer cluster, among them the influential Hersman, who was raised in Sudan and Kenya, and whose Twitter handle is @whiteafrican. Hersman, who splits his time between Kenya and the United States, and others recently launched a Nairobi-based venture capital fund, the Savannah Fund, to help promising tech start-ups relevant to Africa. There's a vitality about Kenyan start-ups, grappling with the life-and-death problems of the developing world, that gives them an edge somehow lacking in Western apps designed to, say, find a parking space, or play a game, or shop or wake up on time. More start-ups are brewing in iHub, a meeting place on Ngong Road where developers and designers brainstorm. IHub manager Tosh Juma, 26, a hip young Kenyan, isn't the kind of person you would expect to hear praising anyone in government. "The Ministry [of Information and Communications Technology] is supportive and they recognize what we do," he said. Kenyans go to the polls next year and, given the influential enemies he has made, there's no guarantee that Ndemo will keep his post. But he says that even if he's not in government, he has plenty to do, like spreading the IT revolution across Africa. "People see the benefits of liberalization," he said. "Other countries will see what we have done and will want to do it the Kenyan way." -- robyn.dixon(a)latimes.com PHOTO: A YOUNG MAN SURFS THE INTERNET at a Nairobi cyber cafe over the summer. "We are in that phase where ... people, normal citizens, are really embracing change," says Erik Hersman, co-founder of Kenya's best-known technology hub.;PHOTOGRAPHER:Tony Karumba AFP/Getty Images;PHOTO: NEARLY 90% of the population has access to cellphones, the Government Communications Commission of Kenya says.;PHOTOGRAPHER:Simon Maina AFP/Getty Images;PHOTO: A CYBER CAFE beckons Kenyans in Nairobi. There are more than 12 million Internet users in this East African country of 40 million.;PHOTOGRAPHER:Tony Karumba AFP/Getty Images Tribune Publishing Company Document LATM000020121115e8bf00018

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Kenya open data initiative has hit a dead end, says PS
by S.M. Muraya 16 Nov '12

16 Nov '12

<BudgetTo> Convert data (formats) into reports that are easily accessible by relevant parties in the organization, after people realize how difficult nut necessary it is to consolidate (for analysis) information in 4 or 5 different systems used within... </BudgetTo> http://www.nation.co.ke/business/news/Open+data+initiative+has+hit+a+dead+e… By CHARLES WOKABI cwokabi(a)ke.nationmedia.com Posted Saturday, November 10 2012 at 17:35 IN SUMMARY - The Kenya open data initiative was officially launched in July last year by President Kibaki, with the aim of putting Kenya among the first Third World countries to make government information freely available to its citizens in a single portal - At its inception, the open data initiative was expected to set off a spirited boom in application development, but according to Information and Communications permanent secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo, only a few more of 50 new applications have come up based on the initiative - Dr Ndemo told the *Sunday Nation* that the ministry was getting frustrated because of the low amount of data supplied by organisations

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Re: [kictanet] How Cloud Technology helped Obama win
by Gabe Shompole 16 Nov '12

16 Nov '12

Interesting how Big Data Analytics plus Scale up, Scale out Cloud Computing can be used to harness tons of information and make it useful. In this case, "the billion dollar election" Could we see the same happen in Kenya with the Open Data Project or future elections? http://aws.typepad.com/aws/2012/11/aws-in-action-behind-the-scenes-of-a-pre… http://m.npr.org/news/Politics/164979755 Gabe Shompole VCP, CCNP, MCTS, MCP, NCDA, NCIE, BCFA | Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Founder | Kentelcom IT Infrastructure Consulting | Phone +1-678-905-0522 | www.kenyacloud.blogspot.com<http://www.kenyacloud.blogspot.com> The content of this e-mail from Kentelcom (including any attachments) is strictly confidential and may be commercially sensitive. If you are not, or believe that you may not be, the intended recipient, please advise the sender immediately by returning the e-mail, deleting it and destroying any copies. This Email has also been Scanned for Viruses by MailScanner and is believed to be clean. This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.

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Re: [kictanet] UNSUSCRIBE
by sylvia machini 16 Nov '12

16 Nov '12

Dear mail manager, I wish to unsuscribe from the this listserve because i dont see how my current skills fit in all the discusions. I wish you all the best sylvia

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Interesting Story on Kenya, MOIC. Kudos Dr Ndemo & team!
by Gideon 16 Nov '12

16 Nov '12

++1 Walu, Congratulation to Dr. Ndemo for leading from the front . He is a good example to emulate. Gideon Rop DotConnectAfrica. On Fri, Nov 16, 2012 at 11:11 AM, <kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke>wrote: > Send kictanet mailing list submissions to > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > kictanet-request(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > You can reach the person managing the list at > kictanet-owner(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of kictanet digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Interesting Story on Kenya, MOIC. Kudos Dr Ndemo & team! > (Walubengo J) > 2. Re: Interesting Story on Kenya, MOIC. Kudos Dr Ndemo & team! > (Grace Githaiga) > 3. Re: Interesting Story on Kenya, MOIC. Kudos Dr Ndemo & team! > (Ali Hussein) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:22:04 -0800 (PST) > From: Walubengo J <jwalu(a)yahoo.com> > To: Mugo Kibati <mugo(a)vision2030.go.ke> > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Interesting Story on Kenya, MOIC. Kudos Dr > Ndemo & team! > Message-ID: > <1353046924.48369.YahooMailNeo(a)web160603.mail.bf1.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" > > +1 > > its always better to acknowledge the heroes while they are still alive. > saying it the african way - when they are six feet under - rarely helps :-) > > walu. > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Mugo Kibati <mugo(a)vision2030.go.ke> > To: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke> > Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 5:13 PM > Subject: Re: [kictanet] Interesting Story on Kenya, MOIC. Kudos Dr Ndemo & > team! > > Great stuff! > > Sent from my iPad > > On 15 Nov 2012, at 17:09, Marie-Ann Kinyanjui <MARIEKIN(a)ke.ibm.com> wrote: > > > or > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Unsubscribe or change your options at > https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com > > The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform > for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and > regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT > sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. > > KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors > online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, > share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do > not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications. >

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Of Dr. Ndemo and humor.
by Paul Roy 16 Nov '12

16 Nov '12

I was at the launch of Windows 8 yesterday and got my ribs aching from Dr. Ndemo's humor. Well delivered speech and great policies. BTW I work with Microsoft and next to me was my colleague from South Africa and couldn't stop to notice as he marveled when Dr. Ndemo mentioned the availability of 100Mbps in a middle of nowhere in this country after elections and Kenya being the only country in Africa to have open data. Once again thank you for getting this country at the top in ICT infrastructure and innovation in Africa. -- "Change is slow and gradual. It requires hardwork, a bit of luck, a fair amount of self-sacrifice and a lot of patience." Paul Roy.

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Re: [kictanet] Interesting Story on Kenya, MOIC. Kudos Dr Ndemo & team!
by Charlesnduati2002 16 Nov '12

16 Nov '12

hi listers, i am sure anybody who has interacted with daktari ndemo know that he is truely a status quo challenger this is the same staff all icons are made off. keep going daktari charles Sent from Samsung Mobile Edith Adera <eadera(a)idrc.or.ke> wrote: Great Story! I've always told Ndemo to stand for President...we will raise campaign funds bottom-up the Obama way! ________________________________________ From: kictanet [kictanet-bounces+eadera=idrc.or.ke(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Marie-Ann Kinyanjui [MARIEKIN(a)ke.ibm.com] Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2012 5:09 PM To: Edith Adera Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Interesting Story on Kenya, MOIC. Kudos Dr Ndemo & team! http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-kenya-tech-20121115,0,4… [cid:_1_0A095A8C0A09559C004DBFED43257AB7] Main News; Foreign Desk COLUMN ONE; A Kenyan cyber-revolutionary; Official cultivates a 'Silicon Savannah' that even offers an iCow app Robyn Dixon 15 November 2012 NAIROBI, KENYA Along Nairobi's dusty Ngong Road, so many start-up incubators and IT labs have popped up that the busy neighborhood has been nicknamed "Silicon Savannah." Techies, geeks and innovators race one another to come up with the next big thing. They rush from meeting to meeting, work late, skip weekends. Every other day there's a pitch night for tech start-ups, a creative Web workshop, or a meeting of mobile app developers. The result is a surge in innovative Kenyan apps, most designed to work with the not-so-smart phones most Kenyans can afford. There's iCow, a virtual veterinary advice service that coaches small farmers on how to tend their dairy herds, avoid illness and improve production. And mFarm, which helps small farmers determine the right price for their produce, find buyers and sell it. And Huduma, which allows people to report and map government service failures such as water cutoffs and potholes, and track how long it takes to fix the problem. Why is this happening in Kenya? People here have two words: Bitange Ndemo. In his youth, Ndemo gave up on his country and went to study in America. Kenya was too corrupt, too undisciplined to make it, he thought. The contrast with America seemed stark. Now Ndemo, the 52-year-old head of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, is at the heart of Kenya's startling IT revolution. In a region where bureaucrats often do more to constrain change than to encourage it, IT leaders here speak of Ndemo in reverential tones. Erik Hersman, co-founder of Kenya's best-known technology hub and the son of American missionaries, says the nation's expansion in IT couldn't have happened without Ndemo. "We are in that phase where the government is fully onboard with the tech revolution that is happening, but also the people, normal citizens, are really embracing change," Hersman said. "I have to give it to [Ndemo]. That guy, over the past five years has really pushed things along, and other people -- regulatory bodies and the government itself -- have seen this and gone with him on it." In 2006, a year after he became the director of the information ministry, Ndemo tired of the endless delays as 23 African countries bickered over plans for a joint fiber-optic cable for high-speed Internet. Instead, he linked up with one from the United Arab Emirates. When the cable was switched on in 2009, Ndemo made sure universities got unlimited Internet capacity. He pressed the government to put money into IT research and start-up incubators. He persuaded the president to make all unclassified Kenyan government data open source -- available to anyone online -- a move nothing short of revolutionary on a continent where reflexive secrecy is the rule. Part of Kenya's advantage in the world of African IT is its good education system, with results in literacy, science and mathematics far outshining its main rival in the field, South Africa. But leaders in Kenya's IT community say the government also got some other important things right, including subsidizing Internet access. From fewer than 2 million Internet users five years ago, now there are more than 12 million in this East African country of 40 million people. Nearly 90% of the population has access to cellphones, according to the Government Communications Commission of Kenya. Kenya is the undisputed world leader in mobile money (bankless transactions via cellphones), a development introduced in 2007 by cellphone operator Safaricom, which now handles more than half the world's mobile money transfers. As Kenyans leapfrogged from no bank accounts or Internet into cellphones and mobile money, the transfers took off. Mobile money users can pay school fees, buy items in shops, pay utility bills, buy tickets and pay for services. They can send money to a relative in a remote village without spending two days getting there and back by bus. The system has huge implications for the developing world. When American techies Ben Lyon and Dylan Higgins got together in a Seattle basement just over two years ago to sketch out their idea for a joint mobile money app and software business, they didn't move to the Silicon Valley. Instead, they came to Nairobi and launched a mobile money software firm, Kopo Kopo. "Mobile money is the payment system of the emerging market," Lyon said. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a billion-dollar business in an emerging market." Ndemo gets to work at 6:30 a.m., is in his office until 11 p.m. and sends out emails into the early hours of the morning. Unlike many Kenyan bureaucrats and politicians, he's accessible, he attends weekend meetings, and he deplores wasted time. He grew up in the remote Kisii district in southwestern Kenya, a son of a man with five wives and 40 children. His mother, the last wife, had nine children. When Ndemo was 7, his father died, triggering a bitter battle to seize his mother's land. "My mother was constantly under threat that they would kick her out and take the land," he said. "Sometimes we actually had to leave school to be at home to make sure that wasn't happening." There was not enough money for more than one child's high school fees at a time, so he kept repeating his final year of primary school, he says, waiting for his turn. Then when he graduated with good enough marks for university admission, he had to wait while younger siblings had their turns at high school. Taking a low-level clerk job at the Kenya state power company, he scraped up $3,000, enough to travel to the United States. When he wasn't in class studying finance at the University of Minnesota, he cleaned bathrooms, washed dishes, drove trucks and delivered pizzas. One job in 1989 involved cleaning a sports arena. The stadium owner introduced him to a friend who was chief executive of a medical technology company. Ndemo was hired as a financial systems analyst. After returning to Kenya in 1993, he got a job at the University of Nairobi, helping computerize its systems and those of other government departments. His work in the president's office led to his appointment as director of the Ministry of Information in 2005. Despite Kenya's recent tech advances, there are doubters. Ndemo says he's even received death threats from those opposed to his efforts to make the government more accountable online. "We are getting a lot of criticism that nobody's going to use it, that this is silly," Ndemo said. But he's convinced that education, agricultural development, commerce and opportunity will explode when everyone's online. When IBM set up its first African research lab in August, it selected Nairobi as its base, just as Google chose Kenya for its first African operation in 2007. And when Nokia judged its 2010 global tech inventions contest, it was a Kenyan, John Waibochi, who took the million-dollar prize for his mobile phone system, Virtual City, that automates small businesses' supply, distribution, inventory, cashless sales and receipts. A group of Kenyans is putting together a Nairobi supercomputer cluster, among them the influential Hersman, who was raised in Sudan and Kenya, and whose Twitter handle is @whiteafrican. Hersman, who splits his time between Kenya and the United States, and others recently launched a Nairobi-based venture capital fund, the Savannah Fund, to help promising tech start-ups relevant to Africa. There's a vitality about Kenyan start-ups, grappling with the life-and-death problems of the developing world, that gives them an edge somehow lacking in Western apps designed to, say, find a parking space, or play a game, or shop or wake up on time. More start-ups are brewing in iHub, a meeting place on Ngong Road where developers and designers brainstorm. IHub manager Tosh Juma, 26, a hip young Kenyan, isn't the kind of person you would expect to hear praising anyone in government. "The Ministry [of Information and Communications Technology] is supportive and they recognize what we do," he said. Kenyans go to the polls next year and, given the influential enemies he has made, there's no guarantee that Ndemo will keep his post. But he says that even if he's not in government, he has plenty to do, like spreading the IT revolution across Africa. "People see the benefits of liberalization," he said. "Other countries will see what we have done and will want to do it the Kenyan way." -- robyn.dixon(a)latimes.com PHOTO: A YOUNG MAN SURFS THE INTERNET at a Nairobi cyber cafe over the summer. "We are in that phase where ... people, normal citizens, are really embracing change," says Erik Hersman, co-founder of Kenya's best-known technology hub.;PHOTOGRAPHER:Tony Karumba AFP/Getty Images;PHOTO: NEARLY 90% of the population has access to cellphones, the Government Communications Commission of Kenya says.;PHOTOGRAPHER:Simon Maina AFP/Getty Images;PHOTO: A CYBER CAFE beckons Kenyans in Nairobi. There are more than 12 million Internet users in this East African country of 40 million.;PHOTOGRAPHER:Tony Karumba AFP/Getty Images Tribune Publishing Company Document LATM000020121115e8bf00018 _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/charlesnduati2002%40y… The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.

1 0

Stakeholders meeting on WCIT-12
by Wambua, Christopher 14 Nov '12

14 Nov '12

Listers I wish to remind those who have expressed interest in participating in the stakeholders meeting scheduled for tomorrow that the programme kicks off at 830a.m. The venue of the meeting is Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi. Participants are encouraged to come with laptops or iPads as the meeting will be paperless. See you there. Christopher Wambua Manager/Communications Consumer and Public Affairs Division Communications Commission of Kenya P.O. Box 14448, NAIROBI 00800 KENYA

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JKUAT
by S.M. Muraya 14 Nov '12

14 Nov '12

Interesting story about the founding of JKUAT... http://www.thetrumpet.com/article/10046.19.0.0/society/education/herbert-w-…

1 0