- KICTANet - KICTANet

Lighter bread now 150 per cent of pre-NARC prices
by Alex Gakuru 02 Jul '07

02 Jul '07

Jeez! It's worse that I thought about bread. "Price of bread goes up as its weight falls" <http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=3&ne…> Making one ask why "The State will in addition use Sh70 million to spur the growth of business processing and outsourcing (BPO) and another Sh140 million to set up an ICT advisory board." This Board is twice as important at the work that will be done (by the usual suspects?) <http://www.eastandard.net/archives/… [View More]

1 0

Noam Chomsky and the Struggle Against Neoliberalism
by Alex Gakuru 30 Jun '07

30 Jun '07

Taking a break from ICT websites.... http://www.chomsky.info/onchomsky/19990401.htm Neoliberalism is the defining political economic paradigm of our time - it refers to the policies and processes whereby a relative handful of private interests are permitted to control as much as possible of social life in order to maximize their personal profit. Associated initially with Reagan and Thatcher, neoliberalism has for the past two decades been the dominant global political economic trend adopted … [View More]by political parties of the center, much of the traditional left, and the right. These parties and the policies they enact represent the immediate interests of extremely wealthy investors and less than one thousand large corporations. Aside from some academics and members of the business community, the term neoliberalism is largely unknown and unused by the public at large, especially in the United States. There, to the contrary, neoliberal initiatives are characterized as free market policies that encourage private enterprise and consumer choice, reward personal responsibility and entrepreneurial initiative, and undermine the dead hand of the incompetent, bureaucratic, and parasitic government, which can never do good (even when well intentioned, which it rarely is). A generation of corporate-financed public relations efforts has given these terms and ideas a near-sacred aura. As a result, these phrases and the claims they imply rarely require empirical defense, and are invoked to rationalize anything from lowering taxes on the wealthy and scrapping environmental regulations to dismantling public education and social welfare programs. Indeed, any activity that might interfere with corporate domination of society is automatically suspect because it would impede the workings of the free market, which is advanced as the only rational, fair, and democratic allocator of goods and services. At their most eloquent, proponents of neoliberalism sound as if they are doing poor people, the environment, and everybody else a tremendous service as they enact policies on behalf of the wealthy few. The economic consequences of these policies have been the same just about everywhere, and exactly what one would expect: a massive increase in social and economic inequality, a marked increase in severe deprivation for the poorest nations and peoples of the world, a disastrous global environment, an unstable global economy, and an unprecedented bonanza for the wealthy. Confronted with these facts, defenders of the neoliberal order claim that the spoils of the good life will invariably spread to the broad mass of the population - as long as the neoliberal policies that exacerbated these problems are not interfered with by anyone! In the end, proponents of neoliberalism cannot and do not offer an empirical defense for the world they are making. To the contrary, they offer - no, demand - a religious faith in the infallibility of the unregulated market, drawing upon nineteenth century theories that have little connection to the actual world. The ultimate trump card for the defenders of neoliberalism, however, is that there is no alternative. Communist societies, social democracies, and even modest social welfare states like the United States have all failed, the neoliberals proclaim, and their citizens have accepted neoliberalism as the only feasible course. It may well be imperfect, but it is the only economic system possible. Earlier in the twentieth century some critics called fascism "capitalism with the gloves off," meaning that fascism was pure capitalism without democratic rights and organizations. In fact, we know that fascism is vastly more complex than that. Neoliberalism, on the other hand, is indeed "capitalism with the gloves off." It represents an era in which business forces are stronger and more aggressive, and face less organized opposition than ever before. In this political climate they attempt to codify their political power and enact their vision on every possible front. As a result, business is increasingly difficult to challenge, and civil society (nonmarket, noncommercial, and democratic forces) barely exists at all...... ____________________________________________________________________________________ Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when. http://tv.yahoo.com/collections/222 [View Less]

1 0

Looking for Vision 2030..??
by Bill Kagai 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

If you have been searching for this document on the net, then look no further, it is now available in Nigeria and they are discussing it in blogs. Scroll down to the bottom where the duscussion is posted after the Nairobi fotos we take for granted!!! http://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-51356.0.html -- -- Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp Limited Nairobi Stock Exchange [NSE] - Authorised Information Vendor Suite B2 Tetu Apartments StateHouse Avenue P. O. Box 20311-00200 Tel. 254 20 272 8332 Fax. … [View More]

1 0

report, re-sent
by Rebecca Wanjiku 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

i have re sent the report just incase it did not open first time regards becky Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Be a PS3 game guru. Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games.

4 3

Fw: [gu-new] (06/26/07) ICT-Learn2007 Conference in Cairo, Egypt and our final paper
by Florence Etta 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

fyi sorry for crossposting. FE Florence Etta P.O. Box 14285,00800 Westlands-Nairobi, Kenya Tel: Mobile + 254-733-621851 Terrestrial: + 254-20-7121506 Fax: + 254-20-7125732 Alternative Email:florence.etta@gmail.com ___________________________________________________________ Copy addresses and emails from any email account to Yahoo! Mail - quick, easy and free. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/trueswitch2.html

1 0

Communication Tariffs
by Alex Gakuru 29 Jun '07

29 Jun '07

> --- Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >its in order to give CCK and the rest of the Mobile >Sector players a pat on the back the tariffs have >reduced considerably in the last months. there is >increased competition due to Introduction of new Value >added Services, so far i guess CCK is doing fine [not quite so and beware of telcos' reinvigorated PR campaigns and advertisement assault. Only comparative, data based (NOT perception oriented) … [View More]regulatory intervention can ensure "fair play". Remember the absence of war does not mean "prevailing peace and harmony". Thank though the democratic space lending consumer complaints an ear. The more consumers complain the less hilly and more flat the world gets.] [EASTANDARD] "Mobile telephone charges likely to fall again, PS says" By Tom Mogusu [snip] The Government has commissioned a study on mobile telephone industrys tariff and taxation levels in what is hoped would trigger a decline in the cost of calling. Permanent Secretary for Information and Communication, Dr Bitange Ndemo said this was response to public demand that taxes on use of mobile telephones be lowered. He said Treasury is under pressure to lower tariff levels for mobile calls. "We are expecting more changes in this sector over the coming year because Government will launch a taskforce to investigate the costs of mobile calls." "There is an expectation that the tariff levels will drop further," he said. http://eastandard.net/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143970580&catid=14 [snip] ------------ [DAILY NATION] Cutting edge Story by Watchman Publication Date: 6/27/2007 One report says Kenyans are becoming poorer. Another says the economy is booming, and companies are announcing profits in billions of shillings, notes Morrison Muleri. But ironically, he says, the banks, oil companies, Safaricom and others serve a wide spectrum of Kenyans, millions of whom survive on less than Sh100 a day. His biggest grouse is that Kenyan firms charge more than what is paid for similar services in wealthy America. He poses: Is it morally right to make huge profits from the poor who have no choice? <http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?premiumid=0&cate…> --------- LETTERS Safaricom can do more for the poor Publication Date: 6/27/2007 Safaricoms huge Sh17 billion profit for last year is good news to the owners but ordinary subscribers have nothing to smile about. The profit should have been ploughed back into the economy for citizens to benefit. CEO Michael Joseph should not boast of hefty profits when the firm is not doing enough to uplift the lives of Kenyans. Safaricom must come up with initiatives to help the Government eradicate poverty and boost health and education projects. It should launch programmes to spur development. Small reductions in call and SMS rates are not enough. DENNIS ODHIAMBO, Kisumu. <http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?premiumid=0&cate…> ____________________________________________________________________________________Ready for the edge of your seat? Check out tonight's top picks on Yahoo! TV. http://tv.yahoo.com/ [View Less]

1 0

Another 'IGADD' plans bringing broadband to everyone
by Alex Gakuru 28 Jun '07

28 Jun '07

Investor Group Against Digital Divide (IGADD) is conceived as a global coalition of investor institutions, now in formation, whose purpose is to close the Digital Divide. It aims to recruit onto its advisory board the chairmen of the worlds major global technology corporations operating in emerging markets. On top of its agenda is high-speed internet: to reduce the alarming disparity in broadband penetration. Some countries give their citizens full access to the powerful learning … [View More]

1 0

Re: [kictanet] Is 999 a local BPO opp?-beyond the BPO
by John Walubengo 28 Jun '07

28 Jun '07

Actually am for the idea...and understand perfectly well the front-end (customer-focus) capability the local BPO (call center) would offer these utilities. However, the moral of my story was that an efficient front-end would be quickly be frustrated by an in-efficient and sometimes non-existent back-end (supplier of services). In other words, all our BPO strategies must recognise our inadequacies precisely in some of the services u mention (the value chain) and ugrade them accordingly...… [View More]preferably before the famous fiber-cables hit our shores. I think it was KenCall or another local BPO that said how their Operational Expenditure is increased simply because they have to meet the extra cost of security(guards), transport(taxi) and power (generators) - thinks that investors in other economies rarely bother to think about. walu. --- Michuki Mwangi <michuki(a)kenic.or.ke> wrote: > Walu, > > > In addition, its not just about reporting crime. How > about domestic > accidents and incidents that require either ambulances, > directions on > first aid/CPR to save a life, fire brigade services etc. > > In essence, i dont think all functions of the 'emergency > services' > should be crippled based on the 'non-responsive' nature > of one > supporting element (i.e police). > > Just an opinion. > > Regards, > > John Walubengo wrote: > > Michuki, > > > > the problem with our 999 is complex. Apart from the > fact > > that it rarely works (goes thro), i suspect that if it > did > > go thro' it may not make a difference. > > > > Imagine u r being attacked by Mungikis at your > residence, u > > pick up your phone, dial 999 or 911 and the local BPO > > provider efficiently links to your nearest police > station. > > > > Its only early evening (8.30pm) and you feel lucky as > the > > Policeman at the other end picks up the phone...but > then > > you realise your luck is out because he says, he has no > > fuel and/or a car to bring his 'mboys' to your > rescue...u > > suddenly realise your problem was much bigger than the > BPO > > - local or otherwise. > > > > walu. > > > > --- Michuki Mwangi <michuki(a)kenic.or.ke> wrote: > > > >> There has always been complains and concerns raised on > >> the emergency > >> service numbers 999. As a result, the enterprising > >> Kenyan's amongst us > >> have opted to provide similar emergency numbers that > come > >> at a fee to > >> its subscribers i.e the 911 service. > >> > >> On the other hand, we are seeking to provide BPO for > >> multi-nationals and > >> others at significant investment costs. While i > support > >> the initiative > >> and its opportunities, i believe we also need to > review > >> the local > >> opportunities for outsourcing that may come with a > less > >> 'investment > >> price tag'. With this in mind is the 999 service which > is > >> a national > >> service to 32M plus Kenyans ... that would probably be > >> the largest call > >> center. > >> > >> If this was to work am would be certain most of the > other > >> call center > >> requiring service providers would follow suit. > >> > >> Regards, > >> > >> -- > >> Michuki Mwangi > >> KENIC > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> kictanet mailing list > >> kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke > >> http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > >> > >> This message was sent to: jwalu(a)yahoo.com > >> Unsubscribe or change your options at > >> > > > http://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jwalu%40yahoo.com > > > > > > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > > Building a website is a piece of cake. Yahoo! Small > Business gives you all the tools to get online. > > http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/webhosting > > > > > > -- > Michuki Mwangi > KENIC > ____________________________________________________________________________________ Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder tool. http://autos.yahoo.com/carfinder/ [View Less]

4 5

NSE Authorised Information Vendor
by Bill Kagai 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce that we have today been appointed 'Authorised Information Vendors for the Nairobi Stock Exchange'. This means that we are now authorised to stream 14 realtime data feeds on the internet. -Instrument -Bid Price -Bid Quantity -Ask Price -Ask Quantity -High Price -Low Price -Trade Price -Trade Quantity -Close Price -Change: Up or Down -Total Trade -Total Turnover -Total Volume This service will be available at no cost to MediaCorp Premium Subscribers … [View More]

1 0

Wireless Technology { with a light touch ;-) }
by Wainaina Mungai 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

After digging to a depth of 100 meters last year, Russian scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1000 years, and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago. So, not to be outdone, in the weeks that followed, American scientists dug 200 meters and headlines in the US papers read: " US scientists have found traces of 2000 year old optical fibers, and have concluded that their ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital … [View More]

1 0

Is 999 a local BPO opp?
by Michuki Mwangi 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

There has always been complains and concerns raised on the emergency service numbers 999. As a result, the enterprising Kenyan's amongst us have opted to provide similar emergency numbers that come at a fee to its subscribers i.e the 911 service. On the other hand, we are seeking to provide BPO for multi-nationals and others at significant investment costs. While i support the initiative and its opportunities, i believe we also need to review the local opportunities for outsourcing that may … [View More]

2 2

Solar Powered computers
by Fatma Bashir 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

Dear Listers, Check this out http://allafrica.com/stories/200703300217.html Countries that have implemented this solar powered computer solutions successfully include - Rwanda, Ghana, Mali, Uganda, Burkina Faso, Guinea Bissau. For more on this go to http://www.inveneo.org/?q=mission Couldnt help but think of rural healthcare and relief, monitoring and reporting and yes ofcourse EDUCATION institutions in far flung areas . Such renewable energy options can make these things a reality … [View More]

1 0

Re: [kictanet] [ke-internetusers] Communication Tariffs
by Ochola, Atieno 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

Dear Alex, Kindly be informed that the tariff structures for the respective operators are published on their individual websites. Kind regards, Atieno J. Ochola (Ms) Director /Licensing Compliance & Standards Communications Commission of Kenya P.O Box 14448-00800 Nairobi, Kenya Tel. Office: +254-20-4242000 Mobile: +254-722-516262 Fax: +254-20-4348135 Email: ajochola(a)cck.go.ke Website: http://www.cck.go.ke Disclaimer: This email and any files transmitted with it are … [View More]confidential and intended solely for the use by the individual(s) or entity to whom it is addressed to. If you are not the intended recipient you are notified that disclosing, copying, distributing or taking any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. Additionally, if you have received this email in error please notify the sender immediately by a reply e-mail. -----Original Message----- From: ke-internetusers-bounces(a)bdix.net [mailto:ke-internetusers-bounces@bdix.net] On Behalf Of Alex Gakuru Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2007 2:28 PM To: kictanet(a)lists.kictanet.or.ke; ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net Subject: [ke-internetusers] Communication Tariffs Hello All, The consumer network has a problem and we are wondering if you may be able to assist. We are aware that consumers do not have tariffs information sufficiently; permanently, readily and freely available and they end up incurring communication costs they could have avoided had that information existed. In addressing this problem, last week we wrote to Safaricom, Celtel and Telkom asking them to provide us with their current comprehensive tariffs to enable us compare contrast and independently and freely advice consumers on the best priced offerings, and on regular basis. We intend(ed) to publish the comparative analysis at a website, print brochures post to mailing list among other dissemination avenues. We copied that email to CCK to observe protocol However, only Safaricom sent us this data(on the same day), but Telkom and Celtel have continue ignoring ou request even declined to reply the email. We requested CCK to assist us but we are yet to receive, if at all, the help. We are further questioning the urgency, need and importance CCK gav to purchasing their shs 50 million call drop monitoring equipment and wondering if really it was no just meant to "assist" consumers stay connected to exorbitant calls cost, considering that when we ask then to help consumers with a simple cost-free support they fail us. We need your ideas on how we can arrest renegade pricing cost in Kenya because it appears those legally tasked to protect consumers are not doing as much as they should. All ideas and suggestion on what we should do are most welcome. Alex Gakuru ICT Consumers Association of Kenya (now refused certificate) ________________________________________________________________________ ____________ Park yourself in front of a world of choices in alternative vehicles. Visit the Yahoo! Auto Green Center. http://autos.yahoo.com/green_center/ _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers(a)bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers [View Less]

3 3

"KEEP THE CORE NEUTRAL: Civil Society Workshop on Freedom of Expression and Domain Name Policy: ICANN Meeting
by Wanjira, Alice Munyua 27 Jun '07

27 Jun '07

Civil Society Workshop on Freedom of Expression and Domain Name Policy: "KEEP THE CORE NEUTRAL" Wednesday 27 June 2007 (13:00 - 15:30) at the ICANN Board Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico in the San Geronimo Ballroom Civil societys "Keep the Core Neutral" workshop will explore freedom of expression issues in the policy development process to introduce new generic top-level domains (gtlds). As the ICANN community debates policy options to allow new top-level domains, it must consider … [View More]important issues that impact what ideas may be expressed in a domain name. The NCUC/ALAC workshop aims to provide a public discussion point in the ICANN policy development process for new top-level domains. The workshop will address new gtld policy issues such as: * should ICANN remain 'content neutral' in national policy debates when evaluating applications for domains? * how can ICANN protect freedom of expression rights in domain name policy? * what is the proper role for governments in approving or rejecting top-level domains? * what is the appropriate balance between trademarks and free expression rights in domain names? * who should decide which ideas are too controversial to be allowed in a top-level domain? * how to balance competing rights to use the same words in domain names? * should trademark owners be given prior registration privileges before other rights holders? * should a controversial domain name be rejected or delayed? Workshop Speakers: * Joichi Ito, ICANN board member and Creative Commons board member * Christine Haight Farley, Law professor at American University * Michael Palage, Attorney and ex-board member of ICANN * Milton Mueller, Chairman of ICANNs Non-Commercial Users Constituency, professor at Syracuse University and founding partner of Internet Governance Project * Wendy Seltzer, Visiting professor at Northeastern University Law School and Fellow at Harvard Laws Berkman Center for Internet & Society * Wolfgang Kleinwaechter, Professor at University of Aarhus * Tan Tin Wee, Professor at National University of Singapore * Ram Mohan, Vice President of Business Operations and Chief Technology Officer at Afilias Limited * Moderator: Robin Gross, IP Justice Executive Director "Keep the Core Neutral" workshop is organized by ICANNs Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC) and the At-Large-Advisory Committee (ALAC) The workshop will be webcast live from ICANN's website and a video of the workshop will be posted to http://www.ipjustice.org Webpage for the workshop: http://www.ipjustice.org/wp/2007/06/12/06272007workhsop/ More Info: ICANN San Juan Board Meeting: http://sanjuan2007.icann.org/ Non-Commercial Users Constituency (NCUC): http://www.ncdnhc.org/ At-Large-Advisory Committee (ALAC): https://st.icann.org/alac/index.cgi?at_large_advisory_committee IP Justice New gtld info page: http://ipjustice.org/wp/campaigns/icann/gtlds/ [View Less]

1 0

ICANN's 29th International Meeting Opens Monday in San Juan
by Wanjira, Alice Munyua 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

ICANN's 29th International Meeting Opens Monday in San Juan 25 June 2007 SAN JUAN , Puerto Rico: The future of the Internet will be front and center as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) opens its 29th International Public Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico on Monday, 25 June 2007. "If you are interested in the domain names that can be used on the Internet, if you want to make sure there are enough numbers to allow the Internet to expand, if you care about how the … [View More]Internet evolves and want to have a say, ICANN meetings are the place for you," said Dr Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN. "The San Juan meeting gives us an opportunity to talk face to face within the global Internet community, listen to ideas and input, and make sure policies promote the Internet's security and stability. Even if you can't be here in person, you can be part of the meeting with our remote participation website, meeting blogs, and webcasts." Attendees and on-line participants can be part of more than 30 sessions and workshops, and will help ICANN continue improving the global coordination of the Internet's unique identifiers. "ICANN's task is unique and these meetings help us make sure we're on the correct path and continue to move forward," Dr Twomey added. The San Juan meeting is the second of the three public ICANN meetings in 2007. These meetings are crucial to because ICANN's polices are created through a bottom-up, transparent process involving Internet Community. Some issues and events at the meeting include: * Progress on a creating a policy to introduce new generic top-level domains (the part of web addresses after the dot -- like .com or .info) * Update on the testing process of introducing Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) to the Internet. * A tutorial on IPv6 -- a major expansion of the Internet Protocol address space so that the number unique addresses available globally is increased dramatically (from about 4.3 billion available with the current IPv4 to about 340 trillion trillion trillion). * Further discussions of ICANN's Registrar Accreditation Agreements (RAA) and the Accreditation process, arising out of the RegisterFly collapse. * The completion of the creation of the global Regional At Large Organization (RALO) structure with the signing of the fifth and final RALO agreement -- this one with the North American region. RALOs are the main forum and coordination point for public input to ICANN on a regional basis. * The first General Assembly of the Latin American and Caribbean RALO, which was formed at the ICANN meeting in Lisbon, Portugal in March. "We are all looking forward to a successful meeting in San Juan and thank the local hosts, the .PR top-level domain of Puerto Rico, and the event sponsors, for their efforts," Dr Twomey said. The complete schedule for ICANN's San Juan meeting, as well as links to webcast sessions and our public participation website, can be found at: http://sanjuan2007.icann.org/ ICANN Maps 25 June 2007 In further improvements to transparency and accountability, ICANN has commenced the process of illustrating some basic data in geographical maps. The data includes: * the number of accredited registrars there are and the countries in which they are located; * board and staff representation by nationality; * ccTLD agreements; * ccTLD financial contributions; * the countries in which the 29 ICANN meetings have been held so far; * the global areas that the Regional Internet Registries cover; * the general location of root servers based on publicly available information; * root zone Whois information; * support for IDNs at TLD registries; * registrations for the current San Juan meeting. "This is a further example of making information about ICANN more accessible so that people can understand clearly how, why and what we do." said Paul Levins, Executive Officer and Vice President Corporate Affairs. "Accessibility and transparency measures help people to hold us accountable." "It joins the list of initiatives that ICANN has introduced to assist accountability and transparency including better board minutes, comprehensive Strategic, Operating and Budget plans, an annual report, a community blog, an improved website that clearly explains our processes, an independent review of transparency and accountability, newsletters and the posting of all in-bound and out-bound correspondence, amongst other things." "We have also released a set of frameworks and principles for accountability and transparency that is open for consultation with the community and we look forward to feedback" Mr Levins said. Protecting Registrants Focus of ICANN Workshop Session discusses ideas on data escrow, revising Registrar Accreditation Agreements 25 June 2007 SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: Strengthening the protection of registrants and their domain names was the focus of a key workshop at the 29th International Public Meeting of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in San Juan today. "In March I said that there must be comprehensive review of major review of our Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) and the Accreditation process. The results of that review are driving this workshop," said Dr Paul Twomey, President and CEO of ICANN. "We are going to keep this discussion going, get input from the wider community, and then we will make the changes needed to protect registrants and domain names." Some of the topics discussed in the workshop include: * The implementation of the registrar data escrow program for generic top-level domains by the end of 2007, * Potential amendments to the RAA and a process for implementing changes, * Development of registry failover plan, which lays out ICANN response plan if a registry suffers a financial, technical or business failure, or is prevented from operating by outside factors like a natural disaster, * Recent work done by ICANN's Contractual Compliance function. "When ICANN introduced competition to the domain name market in 1998, there was one registrar. Today there are more than 890 so it's obvious that a lot has changed since the first Registrar Accreditation Agreement (RAA) was introduced in a much smaller and radically different marketplace," Dr Twomey added. "We also learned valuable lessons from the RegisterFly situation and ICANN is turning those lessons into plans and policies to protect registrants and their domain names." One change to the RAA being looked at is introducing graduated enforcement tools. Right now, ICANN's only tool is to terminate accreditation a step that has been avoided in the past for anything other than flagrant, repeated failures to cure material breaches of the RAA, because termination is viewed as an extreme remedy, with negative consequences to registrants. A graduated sanctions scheme based on the nature and seriousness of alleged breaches will give ICANN more tools to effectively enforce the agreements. Another change being examined deals with resellers businesses that sell domain name registrations on behalf of Registrars, who act as wholesalers. ICANN has no contractual relationship with resellers, and cannot directly address consumer complaints about reseller practices. ICANN is discussing changing the RAA so Registrars have specific responsibilities with regard to their relationships with resellers. About ICANN: ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit: www.icann.org. [View Less]

1 0

Re: [kictanet] Fwd: Employment Opportunity - Systems Administrator
by David Sparrow Malaba 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

Note: forwarded message attached. Dear All, The following company has advertized for jobs and require immediate responses as per message forwarded. Respond as appropritae David Sparrow Malaba Computer Society of Kenya ____________________________________________________________________________________ Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing. http://new.toolbar.yahoo.com/toolbar/features/mail/index.php

1 0

Communication Tariffs
by Alex Gakuru 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

Hello All, The consumer network has a problem and we are wondering if you may be able to assist. We are aware that consumers do not have tariffs information sufficiently; permanently, readily and freely available and they end up incurring communication costs they could have avoided had that information existed. In addressing this problem, last week we wrote to Safaricom, Celtel and Telkom asking them to provide us with their current comprehensive tariffs to enable us compare contrast … [View More]

3 3

worlds first solar mobile
by Badru Ntege 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

Chinese firm claims solar powered mobile http://www.htwchina.com/htwtE/index.jsp

1 0

FW: Shortage of IT staff in SA------------Standard Bank
by Kagwe James 26 Jun '07

26 Jun '07

Please check it out.....Would someone tell them to and recruit in Kenya... ________________________________ Business Day (Johannesburg) 21 June 2007 Posted to the web 21 June 2007 Johannesburg THE Standard Bank is expanding its recruitment campaigns to suck in talent from India because it cannot find enough information technology staff locally. It has up to 100 vacancies to fill instantly and will need 300 recruits by the end of the year, including programmers, project managers … [View More]and business analysts. Last year it hired 600 IT staff, and its total of 2500 means its in-house IT department eclipses many of SA's specialist IT groups. "The shortage isn't breaking us," says its chief information officer, Jorg Fischer, but he is tired of postponing new IT projects because of a staff shortage. "We want to try to complement our IT shop with Indian resources. We are always looking at the South African market, and we need to look beyond our borders," he says. "It will give me another option for how to solve IT or business issues, instead of saying I don't have the people to do it. I want to make us more flexible and nimble so IT doesn't become a bottleneck in delivering." As some technologies approach the end of their life, the bank will request proposals from Indian companies to maintain and support those applications. That will let the in-house technicians be reassigned to develop new applications to take the bank forward. It should also give them a better career path and more interesting work, so they do not seek brighter prospects elsewhere. The first tenders should be issued in the third or fourth quarter of this year and will target companies including Tata Consulting and Satyam, which already have operations in SA. One example is the testing and integration of new software, which demands a large staff complement. That could be outsourced to Indian workers who could either be brought into SA or could conduct the testing processes remotely. If projects to develop new systems also run into local skills shortages, technicians could be recruited from India. As part of the job description they would be expected to train South Africans working alongside them. No-go areas for outsourcing will be designing the bank's IT architecture, project management and business analysis. The idea was inspired by what is becoming a common practice for financial services organisations in the US and Europe. Although they mainly outsource to cut their costs, the Standard Bank will do it "because we don't have the people and the skills available," Fischer says. He expects many other local firms will follow suit to combat the skills crunch. The number of students studying IT at universities in SA, Europe and the US has decreased for three years, so the skills base is depleting. In comparison, India pumps out about 400000 IT graduates a year. The bank hires many temporary contractors from the personnel provider Paracon, but Paracon has told Fischer it needs another 1000 technicians to fill all the vacancies facing its customers. Its chief financial officer, Mireille Levenstein, says: "We have never been in such a situation where there is so much demand for IT skills, and the supply isn't there." Paracon also looks to India for relief, and is flying in technicians after acquiring 34,6% of India's Nihilent Technologies last year. Growth consultancy Frost & Sullivan analyst Lindsey McDonald says SA's skills shortage is reaching chronic proportions and fuelling the trend for outsourcing. Yet the third-party service providers are also struggling to attract and retain skilled staff. "In order to build a reserve of skilled personnel, service providers should show higher levels of commitment to skills development," she says. A report by the Economic Intelligence Unit shows that India's quality of service and low costs make it the destination of choice for outsourcing application development and management. Countries such as Brazil and Russia are ramping up their outsourcing capabilities to become more attractive to foreign customers, but research by Accenture says the cost benefits and experience to be found in India are often too large to ignore -- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others? .........Martin Luther King, Jr. -------------------------------------------------------------------- --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "KAZI-AFRICA" group. To post to this group, send email to kaziafrica(a)googlegroups.com To subscribe , send email to kaziafrica-subscribe(a)googlegroups.com To unsubscribe, send email to kaziafrica-unsubscribe(a)googlegroups.com Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/kaziafrica?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- ________________________________ No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=43910/*http:/mobile.yahoo.com/mail> with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started. <http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=43910/*http:/mobile.yahoo.com/mail> [View Less]

3 4

final report
by Rebecca Wanjiku 25 Jun '07

25 Jun '07

following the report summary released earlier on the CCK internet study, here is the full report, (annexed) hope it will make good reading, regards becky Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Be a better Globetrotter. Get better travel answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out.

1 0

Techdirt: Net Neutrality Debate Again Descends Into Shouting, Farce
by Alex Gakuru 24 Jun '07

24 Jun '07

[farber] http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070622/093628.shtml from the par-for-the-course dept Net neutrality is a complex issue, but as tends to happen with most things these days, it gets boiled down into easily consumable, though not wholly accurate, ideological soundbites from both sides. And even when people try to have an open, even-keeled discourse about the issue, they still run into problems explaining things well. For the most part, debate on net neutrality has glossed over the … [View More]fundamental, but perhaps less incendiary issues, and been characterized by intellectual dishonesty and propagandizing from activist groups on both sides. It was hardly surprising, then, to read about a panel at the Supernova conference descending into a shouting match between a Commerce Department official (ie the "anti-regulation" guy) and "pro-net neutrality" supporters in the audience. Really, it's an apt characterization of the whole debate: a bunch of yelling, very little exchange of useful information, and nobody really moves from their previously established ideology. All this means is that, in the end, it's very unlikely for the right, or even a good, solution to emerge. Instead, it will just come down to whichever side can muster the most political clout -- which is pretty much how things have gone in telecom regulation anyway ---------------------------------------------------------- WWWhatsup NYC http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com ---------------------------------------------------------- [Reading Provocative Comment No 4 at http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20070622/093628.shtml] # by Stu on Jun 23rd, 2007 @ 8:29am "political clout -- which is pretty much how things have gone in telecom regulation anyway." The problem is that political clout has become a function of money, rather than votes. It's much too difficult to replace an incumbent elected politician - also a function of money. Just listen to the news reporting about elections - it's all about the money. Out goes legislation for the common good - in comes legislation for big money interests. "The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it comes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism - ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power." Franklin D. Roosevelt ____________________________________________________________________________________ Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow [View Less]

1 0

Call for Papers-2nd Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
by John Walubengo 22 Jun '07

22 Jun '07

For those wishing to contribute towards the 2nd IGF meeting in Rio de Janeiro on 12 - 15 November 2007. Plse checkout http://www.intgovforum.org/ walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow

1 0

Kibaki names ombudsman to hear complaints
by Alex Gakuru 22 Jun '07

22 Jun '07

[Complaint No.1 ICT Consumer Protection. we shall surely turn up as soon as they assume office] Story by NATION Reporter Publication Date: 6/22/2007 President Kibaki yesterday appointed an ombudsman to deal with public complaints. The Public Complaints Standing Committee will be chaired by Mr James Simani, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. The President also appointed Mr Peter Migwi Karingu, Ms Grace Barbara Ngele Madoka and Ms Nafisa Abdirahman Abass as members of the committee. … [View More]

1 0

promoting the ccTLDs
by Rebecca Wanjiku 22 Jun '07

22 Jun '07

while its good to have a .ea, i think in the intervening period we can promote the .ke, .tz etc i have met people who think that having a .ke domain restricts you to kenya or you are not seen as "modern" enough some have .biz, .net and see it as more "global" than .ke in my opinion, if people appreciate their ccTLDs, then they will not need much convincing when the new regional ones come up.. for instance, the .tz is free yet their registration is not much, if there is no proper awareness, … [View More]then we might have all the domains and still the uptake is low, yes people in the industry will understand, but we need others to on the same page, regards Alex Gakuru <alex.gakuru(a)yahoo.com> wrote: I had specified "Top Level Domain" Sponsorship" but you see they threw me to ccTLDs. Figured this would assist as foundation for relevant Kiswahili content. Could there be other Kiswahili speakers interested we run with it next year? Michuki Mwangi <michuki(a)kenic.or.ke> wrote: Did you request for a .SWA ccTLD or a .SWA TLD?. There is no open window for sponsored TLD's submission. I think this will probably open up in 2008. Regards, Alex Gakuru wrote: > After I requested to sponsor .swa for Kiswahili speaking community of > interest, ICANN/IANA 18 May 2007 reply referred me to ccTLDs as follows: > > ---snip--- > Please see the following for information on how new country code top-level > domains (ccTLDs) are created: > > http://www.iana.org/cctld/cctld-establishment-procedures-19mar03.htm > > > Best regards, > > Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) > ---snip--- > > Michuki is quite right on "The process will require intense collaboration > from the community and its stakeholders to be successful." > > Alex > */ > Michuki Mwangi /* wrote: > > Bill et al, > > Bill Kagai wrote: > > > > Michuki...I therefore see [.eac] as an aggressive business strategy > > complimenting [.ke], [.tz] etc and not as competition. > > > > Competition is healthy, it is an instigator of creativity and innovation > and i welcome such incentives. For your information, there are > interested parties evaluating submissions to ICANN for a TLD for Africa > i.e .africa. Hence this will make the African scene alot more > interesting in my opinion. > > Any addition into the Root zone outside the ccTLD category will be > considered under the Sponsored/Unsponsored TLD category. There are > procedures to this as evidenced in the following URL: > > http://www.icann.org/tlds/new-tld-application-instructions-15aug00.htm > > ICANN has published guidelines for applying for a TLD under the > following URL and i would wish to invite the members to read through > this document. > > http://www.icann.org/tlds/application-process-03aug00.htm > > > Alice...If KICTANET knows some influential people at the East Africa > > Community Secretariat in Arusha, maybe they can help get things into > > second gear with ICANN?? > > > > ICANN will not just insert a TLD in the Root zone. The process will > require intense collaboration from the community and its stakeholders to > be successful. The case studies for .asia and .eu are well documented on > their webiste www.dotasia.com and www.doteu.com - also from the ICANN > website. It will be interesting to have the community read through their > experiences in order to have a deeper understanding of the issues faced > in the process. > > I would recommend a start of by identifying the need for the regional > TLD (i think we have interest based on this threads), then convening a > regional working group that is inclusive of stakeholders to drive the > process to its logical conclusion. > > Notably resources are critical in the process as it somewhat tends to > drag on in trying to ensure inclusion of all stakeholders. More of the > social engineering than the technical. > > Its is however possible to achieve this and we should probably aim for > the next ICANN window on TLD applications - which i think happens ever 4 > years. > > Regards, > -- > Michuki Mwangi > KENIC > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email > wherever > you're surfing. > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/michuki%40kenic.or.ke -- Michuki Mwangi KENIC _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com --------------------------------- Be a better Heartthrob. Get better relationship answers from someone who knows. Yahoo! Answers - Check it out. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/rebeccawanjiku%40yahoo.com Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Get the free Yahoo! toolbar and rest assured with the added security of spyware protection. [View Less]

4 4

Kimathi Information Centre reaches out again
by Jose' 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

With the rescent symposium that was held on 24th March 2007,Kimathi Information Centre had purposed to follow up on the delegates who had participated in the symposium. Having invited Ministry of youth,Kenya Women Finance Trust,Faulu Kenya,IFC and Edith Adera of IDRC we saw up to 185 youth delegates attend the March 24th symposium and listen to the speakers on how to be ICT empowered. Thanks to Cyberschool who lent us a projector on the Sunday 17th June 2007 and we were able to gather up to … [View More]

1 0

Alexander Forbes Financial Services (EA) Limited donates computers
by Jose' 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

Through the Kictanet forum,Mr.James Kagwe of Alexander Forbes came into contact with Kimathi Information Centre "DIGITAL VILLAGE" and has been following the organizational performance with great interest. Mr.Kagwe wrote an email and suggested that he would love to donate some few working computers to the centre to be used for training and bridging the digital divide as is always evidently stressed at the centre. The main core activity of the centre is not only to bridge the digital gap by … [View More]

1 0

[Fwd: {EuroAfrica-ICT Initiative} Upcoming events - July 2007]
by alice 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

Hi All Some of you may wish to attend the Kenya version workshop. See below. best alice -------- Original Message -------- Subject: {EuroAfrica-ICT Initiative} Upcoming events - July 2007 Date: Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:21:30 +0200 From: EU-Africa S&T Cooperation <info(a)euroafrica-ict.org> To: <alice(a)apc.org> CC: EuroAfrica-ICT workshops <awareness_workshops(a)euroafrica-ict.org> Dear Ms Munyua, I contact you today to inform you about the upcoming events … [View More]

1 0

ICT Events to Look out for.
by Rebecca Wanjiku 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

* EURO-AFRICA-ICT WORKSHOP IN GHANA AND KENYA The EuroAfrica-ICT initiative will organise its third and fourth awareness workshops in Africa: in Accra, Ghana (July 20 & 21) and in Nairobi, Kenya (July 26 & 27). The workshop in Ghana is supported by the African Network Operators Group (AFNOG) and Busy Internet, Ghana and the workshop in Kenya is supported by the African eDevelopment Resource Centre, Kenya, the consortium partners of the Science & Technology - Europe Africa … [View More]Project (ST-EAP), the African Academy of Sciences, Kenya and the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), South Africa. The EuroAfrica-ICT initiative has also developed a set of services dedicated to European and African organisations willing to develop S&T cooperation in the field of ICT: search for partners service, helpdesks, open consultation, etc. For further information, please visit the project dedicated website (http://www.euroafrica-ict.org) or contact us (info(a)euroafrica-ict.org) ICTS FOR CIVIL SOCIETY CONFERENCE June 2007 South Africa The conference and exhibition organised by SANGONeT will be aimed at increasing NGOs awareness of the strategic importance of their websites and the online environment in general. For further information visit http://sangonet.org.za - HIGH SPEED ACCESS TECHNOLOGIES CONFERENCE 19-21 June 2007, Gallagher Estate, Johannesburg, South Africa IQPC's 2nd Annual High Speed Access Technologies conference is perfectly positioned giving you answers at a critical time offering an objective platform for you to hear case studies on current obstacles and successes of Broadband. You will also be able to join us for a Site Visit To the Eskom Test Site. This site visit will show you what progress has been made over the past few years and what MainNet is doing to promote broadband over Power Lines. For more information please contact Susan Theron on +27 (0) 11 669 5019 or visit our website http://www.iqpc.com/za/highspeed - SATWIBB AFRICA: AFRICAN SATELLITE & WIRELESS BROADBAND CONFERENCE & VOIP FORUM EAST AFRICA: Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, 11-13 July 2007 WEST AFRICA: Muson Centre, Lagos, 21-23 August 2007 Theme: Broadband bridges across Africa: First and last mile solutions Local and international industry leaders will make presentations on the following topics: Efficient bandwidth delivery mechanisms Next Generation Networks: Selecting the right migration path Building wireless communities Fiber optic vs. satellite-based connectivity: Do they compete or do they complete? DVBS2: Its role in trunking Rural Wireless: The role of WiMAX, WiFi, CDMA and hybrid technologies VoIP survival strategies for telcos, ISPs and cyber cafes Build vs. buy: VoIP solutions for Africa Providing a VoIP service over a WiMAX network Maximising international VoIP services The event also includes a Masterclass on Building Wireless Communities by Paul Munnery, CEO, Wireless Digital Cities, UK To request full details, email info(a)aitecafrica.com or log on to www.aitecafrica.com - TELECOMS WORLD AFRICA 31st July - 2nd August 2007, Johannesburg, South Africa Key decision-makers in South Africa and leading international players will share their expertise and forge invaluable business relationships in a highly interactive environment. For further information visit www.terrapinn.com/2007/telecomza - WI-WORLD AFRICA 2007 27 30 August 2007, Michelangelo Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa. In Africa, fixed-line infrastructure is lacking and there is a major problem with copper wire theft. Wireless communication is therefore a great alternative. For further information visit www.terrapinn.com/2007/telecomza - ICT AFRICA 2007 October 1-5, 2007, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Nairobi, Kenya ICT Africa is an annual continental information and communications technology conference addressing all aspects of ICT development in Africa. The conference is convened by NEPAD council in collaboration with the NEPAD Kenya secretariat. The 2007 event will be organized by Global Conferences, Cape Town, South Africa. For further information contact rjacobs(a)globalconf.co.za - INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS FOR AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT (IPAD) CENTRAL AFRICA 3rd - 5th October, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo iPAD Central Africa 2006 provides an opportunity to network directly with key partners. The event aims to facilitate regional planning and collaborations under one roof between government, the public sector and business. iPAD Central Africa 2006 is a one-stop-shop for investigating investment opportunities in DRC and the Central African region as a whole. For further information visit http://www.spintelligent-events.com/ipad-central2006/en/ --------------------------------- Yahoo! Mail is the world's favourite email. Don't settle for less, sign up for your free account today._______________________________________________ Hanastaff-l mailing list Hanastaff-l(a)listserv.ru.ac.za http://listserv.ru.ac.za/mailman/listinfo/hanastaff-l Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Get the Yahoo! toolbar and be alerted to new email wherever you're surfing. [View Less]

1 0

Changing the Mindset
by CommunicArt | Lusiola 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

Have a look at this HYPERLINK "http://wesonga.peupe.net/"http://wesonga.peupe.net/ Lusiola No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.472 / Virus Database: 269.9.1/857 - Release Date: 6/20/2007 2:18 PM ---------------------------------------------- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by Jambo MailScanner, and is believed to be clean. --------------------------------------------- "easy access to the world"

1 0

Sh1bn allocated to fibre optic cable project
by Mr President 21 Jun '07

21 Jun '07

Hi Alljust wanted to give my 2 cents on the budget and the 1 Billion for the Optical Fiber cable project,Now Now, what is the cost of the entire cable ?Is the amount allocated not a drop in the ocean ?Would an IPO, Bill Kagai has investment and stock figures, cant money be raised from the stock exchange? Or via Long term bonds?Reason for asking ??We allocate a drop hoping to fill an ocean, the funds have been allocated and put in whose bank? Earning interest for who ?Who will own the cable ? My … [View More]concern when we last met, was ownership, management, cost to the user, Fatma Bashir was in Rwanda and she has some interesting news, they have a PLAN, do we ??We have some who as Kanja Waruru says, know not what an ipod is, yet we HOPE thet shall allocate funds forn CDF ??Now now , Guys lets get serious about things, what comes first the egg or the chicken ??The allocation of funds or rules, regulations, agreements on ownership etc, Bwana Ps Walu, made an impresive pion about different options, let me recapsulate for allPrivate ownership and fundingGovt owned or TelcosUniverasal access for allThe west african module, which is a scam, or the East African module that is know only by a few ? My humble suggestion would be1: Waive all duty on Optical fiber passive and active components.2: Formulate a PLAN either using KICTANET, as non partisan, none players3: Organise workshops to create second tier awareness- from� Govt Ps 's� down- Bwana� Bitenge can lead by example.4: Prior to Digital Villages and� Submarine, Terrestrial� cabling, form a� PLAN that would harmonise the digitalisation to the benefit of all5: The world bank has given funding for digital villages, yet organisations are being asked to sponsor? Kwani funds from world bank, had not feasibility study done? Even they don't PLAN ??Conclusion ?? If the 1 Billion allocated is 5 % of the total value allocated per annum, when will Kenya get the cable, not to mention the INLAND one, the lowering of costs to consumers, the polytechnics, the BPOs and outsourcing and the much hyped but yet to be realised E Government, Learning, Medicine and everything E apart from the E which in this case stands for Electronic............Point to ponder as you all enjoy and have a blessed week end, and to Kagai Bill i feel you pain about the NSE rules, the according to the MD of Keroche Ms Tabitha, the current rgime seemds to favour foreigners/ Multinationals and sugar Importers who KNEW ther would be a waiver prior to the budget, to the detriment of the local sugar companies..WashindweRegards Njenga M.Pthose who fear to fail.will never try to succeded,for to fail to plan is to plan to FAIL _______________________________________________ No banners. No pop-ups. No kidding. Make My Way your home on the Web - http://www.myway.com [View Less]

2 1

[Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] PRIVACY/SECURITY] Whats in a Laptop?
by alice 20 Jun '07

20 Jun '07

---- What's in a Laptop? Court Ponders Legality of Border Searches Is your laptop a fancy piece of luggage or an extension of your mind? The question, before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, arose from the prosecution of Michael Timothy Arnold, an American citizen whose laptop was randomly searched in July 2005 at Los Angeles International Airport as he returned from a three-week trip to the Philippines. Agents booted the computer and began opening folders on the desktop, where they … [View More]

1 0

Re: [kictanet] kictanet Digest, Vol 28, Issue 40
by Barrack Otieno 20 Jun '07

20 Jun '07

Interesting idea bill, Michuki what does it take to have .ea? Regards On 6/20/07, kictanet-request(a)kictanet.or.ke <kictanet-request(a)kictanet.or.ke> wrote: > > Send kictanet mailing list submissions to > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > kictanet-request(a)kictanet.or.ke &… [View More]gt; > You can reach the person managing the list at > kictanet-owner(a)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: www.east-africa.ea (Bill Kagai) > 2. OpenSource society (judy okite) > 3. Re: www.east-africa.ea (Badru Ntege) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 10:00:25 +0300 > From: "Bill Kagai" <mediacorp.research(a)mediacorp.co.ke> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] www.east-africa.ea > To: "Kenya ICT Action Network - KICTANet" <kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke> > Message-ID: > <5c0c81830706200000t53f6ef9cy5321d20ffe743f2(a)mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > Perhaps what is important is to ensure we do not get tangled in > logistics and endless debate over the [.ea] domain with Melila and > Ceuta. An alternative can be an ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 extension [.eac] > for [.EastAfricaCommunity] which I have checked is still unclaimed. > > I do not hold any copyright to the [.eac] or [.ea] idea so if KICTANET > or any of its members can run with it, it will be beneficial to > me...because I will reach a bigger market for my stock information > subscription without the public fret that [.ke] is taking all the > business in East Africa. > > Michuki...I therefore see [.eac] as an aggressive business strategy > complimenting [.ke], [.tz] etc and not as competition. > > Alice...If KICTANET knows some influential people at the East Africa > Community Secretariat in Arusha, maybe they can help get things into > second gear with ICANN?? > > Bill > > On 6/20/07, Michuki Mwangi <michuki(a)kenic.or.ke> wrote: > > Dear All, > > > > It has taken the .EU over 4 years to have it in place. Its taken > > similary .ASIA the equivalent to have theirs in place. > > .EA is entered into the IS0-3166-1 standards table and reserved as the > > country code for Ceuta and Melilla. > > > > Hence for ICANN to issue a two letter code, it has to be in the > > ISO-3166-1 table. > > > > There are other requirements that also have to be met for the process to > > be completed. It requires intense collaboration amongst members of the > > community to see the application approved by ICANN. > > > > For whats it worth its some discussions that we have been having amongst > > ourselves and there are challenges to this effect. > > > > First line of thought is are we at a point ready to thrown in > > competition to our national ccTLDs?. > > > > If to compare with the EU, most ccTLD's within the region are well > > established with over 100,000 domain names - hence very financially > > stable. In our region, none of the 3 ccTLDs are above 10,000 domains. > > Can the ccTLDs compete with the .EA or its equivalent?. > > > > Or is the thinking line that we may eventually move to a political > > federation and hence no need of the .KE, .TZ, .UG, .RW, .BI et al. > > > > Regards, > > > > > > Kagwe James wrote: > > > Anything can change I guess and with the current waves of regional > > > integrations ICANN may have to reconsider its hard stance on this and > > > create another classification of regional top level domains (RTLD) > just > > > like the CCTLD's, or something like that. > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: kictanet-bounces+jkagwe=aforbes.co.ke(a)kictanet.or.ke > > > [mailto:kictanet-bounces+jkagwe=aforbes.co.ke@kictanet.or.ke] On > Behalf > > > Of Kai Wulff > > > Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 6:58 AM > > > To: Kagwe James > > > Subject: Re: [kictanet] www.east-africa.ea > > > > > > Well, > > > > > > there is .EU .. And take it from me, they are not very organized .. > > > > > > Kai > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> > > > To: <kai.wulff(a)kdn.co.ke> > > > Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 23:00 > > > Subject: Re: [kictanet] www.east-africa.ea > > > > > > > > >> This would be a very good thing and would very popular with those > > >> businesses that need to do businesses within EA. > > >> > > >> But at those time I think it would be very impossible because ICANN > > > rules > > >> basicaaly say that country extensions (EA) can only be given to > > >> politically organized countries. > > >> > > >> My 2 cents. > > >> > > >> Joe > > >> Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry > > >> > > >> -----Original Message----- > > >> From: "Bill Kagai" <mediacorp.research(a)mediacorp.co.ke> > > >> > > >> Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 22:03:29 > > >> To:Joseph Manthi <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> > > >> Subject: [kictanet] www.east-africa.ea > > >> > > >> > > >> For those in the know, how feasible is introducing a dot [EA] domain. > > >> With a lucrative market population of 109 million after adding Rwanda > > >> and Burundi into East Africa Community...is it possible to have one > > >> website with a [.ea] domain instead of having 5 websites for [.ke], > > >> [.ug], [.tz], [.rw] and [.bi]?? And may be soon [.southsudan]?? > > >> > > >> -- > > >> With Kind Regards, > > >> Bildad Kagai > > >> MD - MediaCorp Limited > > >> Suite B2, Tetu Apartments > > >> StateHouse Avenue > > >> P. O. Box 20311-00200 > > >> Tel. 254 20 272 8332 > > >> URL. www.mediacorp.co.ke > > >> -- > > >> > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> kictanet mailing list > > >> kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > > >> http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > >> > > >> Please unsubscribe or change your options at > > >> http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmail.com > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> kictanet mailing list > > >> kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > > >> http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > >> > > >> Please unsubscribe or change your options at > > >> http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kai.wulff%40kdn.co.ke > > >> > > >> -- > > >> This message has been scanned for viruses and > > >> dangerous content by MailScanner, and is > > >> believed to be clean. > > >> > > >> > > > > > > > > > > -- > > Michuki Mwangi > > KENIC > > > > _______________________________________________ > > kictanet mailing list > > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/mediacorp.research%40mediaco… > > > > > -- > -- > With Kind Regards, > Bildad Kagai > MD - MediaCorp Limited > Suite B2, Tetu Apartments > StateHouse Avenue > P. O. Box 20311-00200 > Tel. 254 20 272 8332 > URL. www.mediacorp.co.ke > -- > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 01:05:26 -0700 (PDT) > From: judy okite <judyokite(a)yahoo.com> > Subject: [kictanet] OpenSource society > To: kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > Message-ID: <20070620080526.64393.qmail(a)web53907.mail.re2.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > Listers, for those in the opensource society and may > wish to showcase their expertise and network with > other experts worlwide .....www.linux.conf.au is where > its all happening. Kind Regards, > > > > > > ____________________________________________________________________________________ > Don't pick lemons. > See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos. > http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 3 > Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 11:08:55 +0300 > From: Badru Ntege <ntegeb(a)one2net.co.ug> > Subject: Re: [kictanet] www.east-africa.ea > To: Kenya ICT Action Network - KICTANet <kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke> > Message-ID: <4678E097.90008(a)one2net.co.ug> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > Michuki Mwangi wrote: > > > > Or is the thinking line that we may eventually move to a political > > federation and hence no need of the .KE, .TZ, .UG, .RW, .BI et al. > > > > Regards, > > > > > Michuki I think that's the idea I also do believe that we are in the > early days for all the cctld's and looking at the low penetration > accross the board i do think they will be able to co-exist. > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > > End of kictanet Digest, Vol 28, Issue 40 > **************************************** > -- Barrack O. Otieno Project Manager Project Discovery P.o. Box 21386 Nairobi 00100 Tel:+254721325277 www.projectdiscovery.or.ke [View Less]

1 0

Re: [kictanet] www.east-africa.ea
by Kagwe James 20 Jun '07

20 Jun '07

Anything can change I guess and with the current waves of regional integrations ICANN may have to reconsider its hard stance on this and create another classification of regional top level domains (RTLD) just like the CCTLD's, or something like that. -----Original Message----- From: kictanet-bounces+jkagwe=aforbes.co.ke(a)kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+jkagwe=aforbes.co.ke@kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Kai Wulff Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2007 6:58 AM To: Kagwe James Subject: Re: [… [View More]kictanet] www.east-africa.ea Well, there is .EU .. And take it from me, they are not very organized .. Kai ----- Original Message ----- From: <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> To: <kai.wulff(a)kdn.co.ke> Sent: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 23:00 Subject: Re: [kictanet] www.east-africa.ea > This would be a very good thing and would very popular with those > businesses that need to do businesses within EA. > > But at those time I think it would be very impossible because ICANN rules > basicaaly say that country extensions (EA) can only be given to > politically organized countries. > > My 2 cents. > > Joe > Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry > > -----Original Message----- > From: "Bill Kagai" <mediacorp.research(a)mediacorp.co.ke> > > Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2007 22:03:29 > To:Joseph Manthi <jmanthi(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [kictanet] www.east-africa.ea > > > For those in the know, how feasible is introducing a dot [EA] domain. > With a lucrative market population of 109 million after adding Rwanda > and Burundi into East Africa Community...is it possible to have one > website with a [.ea] domain instead of having 5 websites for [.ke], > [.ug], [.tz], [.rw] and [.bi]?? And may be soon [.southsudan]?? > > -- > With Kind Regards, > Bildad Kagai > MD - MediaCorp Limited > Suite B2, Tetu Apartments > StateHouse Avenue > P. O. Box 20311-00200 > Tel. 254 20 272 8332 > URL. www.mediacorp.co.ke > -- > > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jmanthi%40gmail.com > _______________________________________________ > kictanet mailing list > kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet > > Please unsubscribe or change your options at > http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kai.wulff%40kdn.co.ke > > -- > This message has been scanned for viruses and > dangerous content 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. _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet(a)kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/jkagwe%40aforbes.co.ke [View Less]

4 3

OpenSource society
by judy okite 20 Jun '07

20 Jun '07

Listers, for those in the opensource society and may wish to showcase their expertise and network with other experts worlwide .....www.linux.conf.au is where its all happening. Kind Regards, ____________________________________________________________________________________ Don't pick lemons. See all the new 2007 cars at Yahoo! Autos. http://autos.yahoo.com/new_cars.html

1 0

www.east-africa.ea
by Bill Kagai 20 Jun '07

20 Jun '07

For those in the know, how feasible is introducing a dot [EA] domain. With a lucrative market population of 109 million after adding Rwanda and Burundi into East Africa Community...is it possible to have one website with a [.ea] domain instead of having 5 websites for [.ke], [.ug], [.tz], [.rw] and [.bi]?? And may be soon [.southsudan]?? -- With Kind Regards, Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp Limited Suite B2, Tetu Apartments StateHouse Avenue P. O. Box 20311-00200 Tel. 254 20 272 8332 URL. www.mediacorp.co.ke --

7 7

CCK Internet Study- Online Deliberation Week1 Summaries
by John Walubengo 19 Jun '07

19 Jun '07

Dear Listers, We are now concluding the report on the previously held online discussions. Plse go through the summarised comments and we welcome and corrections, modifications or additions before end of day Wed 20th June 2007. Below Week 1 Summaries. Week 1 Summary. Day 1:Background Concepts/Overview Mr. J. Walubengo gave an overview of the Internet Study report saying that it aimed to establish the status of Internet Infrastructure, Internet Affordability and Internet Use & Dispersion … [View More]in Kenya. He reported that the study had various recommendations aimed at improving on the above internet indicators. This included amongst others; getting the government intervention in extending the domestic internet infrastructure, introducing further competition both within the Fixed Line and Mobile subsectors, utilizing the Universal access fund to extend Internet reach, promoting creation and use of local content as well as supporting Consumer Awareness initiatives. Mr. A. Gakuru lauded the study as well as its ecommendations but noted that a similar study would be required that focused on the demand-side rather than the Supply-side of the internet market. He was glad that the Regulator was finally making deliberate efforts to support consumer awareness initiatives. He wondered if naming and shaming those ISPs that failed to route traffic through the local internet exchange point (KIXP) would help in enhancing the use of KIXP. Day 2: International & Domestic Bandwidth Usage In his opening remarks, Mr. Walubengo said that the report indicated that the International Internet Traffic was skewed (90%) towards external sources (content). Kenya was a net importer of Internet content and was therefore a consumer rather than a creator of Internet content. Value (economic or otherwise) goes to the creators of Internet Content and Kenya should aim to be a generator rather than just consumers of Internet Content. Mr. M. Michuki observed that most Kenyans visited external sources due to lack of local content. He suggested that ISPs should come up with pricing smodels that encouraged the creation of and access to local content. For example, geo-specific tariffs could be designed that would deliberately make it cheaper to access local (.KE) conent i.e. users could be charged less if and when they accessed or used local services(local websites, emails, etc) as opposed to foreign services. In addition, ISPs could come up with time-based tariffs that took advantage of the traffic models registered on the KIXP i.e. provide even lower rates for local content during evenings and weekends.He however conceded that Online Government Services, eHealth, eBanking, eLearning, etc would have to be in place in order to make such pricing models successful. Mr. J. Ngunjiri added that training or capacity building initiatives must also be supported to further gaurantee the success of the initiative. Day 3: Hierarchy of Internet Service Providers (IGO,ISP) The Internet Study Report recommended that the seperation between Internet Gateway Operators (IGO) and Internet Service Providers be dissolved with expected results being cheaper and higher quality services. In his opening remarks, Mr. Walubengo asked members to react to this recommendation. Lucy Kimani wondered if IGO would be able to cope with the technical and administrative overheads experienced by ISPs such as a larger number of customer accounts, increased need for support services, etc. She added that the cost of services may not come necessarily come down as expected due to the need to cover such overheads. Mr. Walubengo cited the case of TKL (Telkom Kenya) who are currently operating at both the Gateway and the ISP level without significant cost reductions in their Internet Service. Mr. S. Buruchara felt that historically, ISPs have had a rough time in trying to set up their own Internet Gateway Operations - having been forced by regulation to route their traffic through expensive and monopolistic Internet Gateways. He argued that if the upstream providers (IGO) were expensive, it was only natural that these costs would be passed downstream to the consumers. In addition, he noted that even todate the Licensing requirements were still prohibitive (expensive) for ISPs to move into the IGO level and if they did, they may need to recoup their (Licensing & other) investments at the expense of offering cheaper Internet Access rates. Mr. Kai Wulff commented that giving ISPs the IGO facilities may not necessarily reduce prices, citing case of Uganda where internet costs are still high despite many ISPs having IGO facilities. Day 4: Statistics on Infrastructure The report indicated that ISPs (internet services) were only operating in 30% of the districts in Kenya. The leased line services were mainly concentrated in urban centers (NRB & MSA) meaning that Internet Infrastructure was clearly challenged and the Report urges Government to intervene by leading the build-up of Internet/Network infrastructure accross the country. In her reaction, Alice Munyua, said that a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach must be made to avoid having infrastructure that would eventually serve no purpose. Aggressive infrastructure build up without content would be an exercise in futility since the internet pipes would be idle and underutilised most of the time. She added that additional initiatives such as Construction and Supply of Electrical Power, Literacy Initiatives, Local Content and 'Demand-side' Internet Requirements must move side by side with the infrastructure roll-out. ==Ends==== walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Expecting? Get great news right away with email Auto-Check. Try the Yahoo! Mail Beta. http://advision.webevents.yahoo.com/mailbeta/newmail_tools.html [View Less]

2 1

Yahoo! News Story - Google' s breakneck changes stoke privacy fears - Yahoo! News
by John Walubengo 19 Jun '07

19 Jun '07

John Walubengo (jwalu(a)yahoo.com) has sent you a news article. (Email address has not been verified.) ------------------------------------------------------------ Personal message: mmmmHhhh.... looks like Mucheru has truly jumped into the deep-end of the information society. walu. Google's breakneck changes stoke privacy fears - Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070618/wr_nm/privacy_google_dc_4 ============================================================ Yahoo! News http://news.yahoo.com/

1 0

Safaricom lowers call charges]
by alice 19 Jun '07

19 Jun '07

Safaricom lowers call charges ------------------------------------------------------------------------ By Brian Adero Just days after the Government ignored calls to lower excise tax on mobile airtime, Safaricom has announced major reductions in its calling rates. The changes, which take effect immediately, affect all of the mobile firm's tariffs and include cuts for calls to other networks. They come two weeks before a Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) deadline for … [View More]telecommunications firms to lower their base charges for calls across networks (interconnect charges). Subscribers using prepaid services will now save up to 38 per cent, while those on post-paid plans will spend 20 per cent less for calls to other Safaricom subscribers. Charges for calls to other networks are down up to 50 per cent. The changes are the single most significant step in lowering calling rates since rival network Celtel Kenya introduced a tariff offering a flat rate of Sh16 to all networks. Chief Executive Officer, Mr Michael Joseph, said the lower rates were introduced in response to customers' demands. "We want to make sure that everybody can afford to use a mobile phone," Joseph said. Safaricom said it has reduced the cost of calls to rival networks from a high of Sh50 per minute on one tariff, to Sh25 during off peak periods and Sh30 during peak periods. The company has also reduced the cost of text messages within the network from Sh5 per message to Sh3.50 during peak periods and Sh2.50 during off peak periods. Call set up fees and daily access fees have also been scrapped as the firm shoots for "simpler and more affordable tariffs". * No effect on revenue * A Celtel Kenya communications officer says the firm is also planning further cuts. "Safaricom has just reacted to the deadline given by CCK directing them to reduce the interconnect charges by June 30," he said. "We are working on our study and strategy and will unveil them to our customers soon." Joseph said the reductions would not affect Safaricom's revenue because the company expects an increase in its subscriber base, which was 5.5 million as at February 1. The six-year-old mobile operator last year reported a 45 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to Sh12.2 billion, making it the region's most profitable company. The profits were made off 3.9 million subscribers, about 1.5 million fewer than the company has today. Joseph attributes Safaricom's growth to a significantly increased network rollout in rural areas as well as the popularity of its low-denomination airtime credit voucher, 'Bamba 50'. On June 5, Safaricom and its sole competitor, Celtel Kenya, asked the Government to remove or cut a 10 per cent excise duty charged on airtime for mobile phones in the annual budget presented by Finance minister, Mr Amos Kimunya, on June 14. Kimunya neither reduced nor abolished the tax. "We are still going to continue lobbying for reduction in excise tax because as both our competitor and ourselves have said, taxes on airtime are very high," Joseph said. In addition to the excise duty, the Government levies a value added tax of 16 per cent on the cost of mobile phone calls. Analysts say mobile airtime is a relatively 'price inelastic' good (demand remains the same for a range of prices), so Government can raise taxes off it without significantly hindering growth. Vodafone effectively owns 35 per cent of Safaricom, while the Government holds 60 per cent through Telkom Kenya. A five per cent stake is held by Mobitelea Ventures, a Guernsey-registered company whose ownership is unknown. Kimunya last week said he expected to offer shares in Safaricom to the public within the next 12 months. -- -------------------------------------------------------------------- Life's most urgent question is: What are you doing for others? .........Martin Luther King, Jr. -------------------------------------------------------------------- __._,_.___ Messages in this topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/message/6033;_ylc=X3oDMTM0NWljcnM0B…> (1) Reply (via web post) <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJwaDdlOXZoBF9TAzk3M…> | Start a new topic <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/post;_ylc=X3oDMTJlMWRoaG5sBF9TAzk3M…> Messages <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/messages;_ylc=X3oDMTJlaGtoMWQ0BF9TA…> | Links <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/links;_ylc=X3oDMTJmMWVlZG80BF9TAzk3…> | Polls <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/polls;_ylc=X3oDMTJmNmh0azJvBF9TAzk3…> Dig Africa site welcomes you to join us at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/Digafrica on IT in Africa Aids-Africa is a forum for communication and information on AIDS related issues in Africa and all are welcome to join us at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/aids-africa Join us on hiv/aids forum on Kenya at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/kenya-aids Join us at a Kenyan networking forum and NGOS at http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/kenyainternational Yahoo! Groups <http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJkMzlmMDFyBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzI5M…> Change settings via the Web <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica/join;_ylc=X3oDMTJmb2RudmgzBF9TAzk3N…> (Yahoo! ID required) Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest <mailto:DigAfrica-digest@yahoogroups.com?subject=Email%20Delivery:%20Digest> | Switch format to Traditional <mailto:DigAfrica-traditional@yahoogroups.com?subject=Change%20Delivery%20Format:%20Traditional> Visit Your Group <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DigAfrica;_ylc=X3oDMTJkOGhtNThlBF9TAzk3NDc2NT…> | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use <http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/> | Unsubscribe <mailto:DigAfrica-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=> __,_._,___ [View Less]

1 0

Fwd: EFF: Court Protects Email from Secret Government Searches
by Alex Gakuru 19 Jun '07

19 Jun '07

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: WWWhatsup <joly(a)punkcast.com> Date: Jun 19, 2007 3:36 AM Subject: [isoc-ny] EFF: Court Protects Email from Secret Government Searches To: isoc-ny(a)yahoogroups.com, discuss(a)isoc-ny.org Electronic Frontier Foundation Media Release For Immediate Release: Monday, June 18, 2007 Contact: Kevin Bankston Staff Attorney Electronic Frontier Foundation bankston(a)eff.org +1 415 436-9333 … [View More]x126 Court Protects Email from Secret Government Searches Landmark Ruling Gives Email Same Constitutional Protections as Phone Calls San Francisco - The government must have a search warrant before it can secretly seize and search emails stored by email service providers, according to a landmark ruling Monday in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court found that email users have the same reasonable expectation of privacy in their stored email as they do in their telephone calls -- the first circuit court ever to make that finding. Over the last 20 years, the government has routinely used the federal Stored Communications Act (SCA) to secretly obtain stored email from email service providers without a warrant. But today's ruling -- closely following the reasoning in an amicus brief filed the by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and other civil liberties groups -- found that the SCA violates the Fourth Amendment. "Email users expect that their Hotmail and Gmail inboxes are just as private as their postal mail and their telephone calls," said EFF Staff Attorney Kevin Bankston. "The government tried to get around this common-sense conclusion, but the Constitution applies online as well as offline, as the court correctly found. That means that the government can't secretly seize your emails without a warrant." Warshak v. United States was brought in the Southern District of Ohio federal court by Steven Warshak to stop the government's repeated secret searches and seizures of his stored email using the SCA. The district court ruled that the government cannot use the SCA to obtain stored email without a warrant or prior notice to the email account holder, but the government appealed that ruling to the 6th Circuit. EFF served as an amicus in the case, joined by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Democracy & Technology. Law professors Susan Freiwald and Patricia Bellia also submitted an amicus brief, and the case was successfully argued at the 6th Circuit by Warshak's counsel Martin Weinberg. For the full ruling in Warshak v. United States: http://eff.org/legal/cases/warshak_v_usa/ 6th_circuit_decision_upholding_injunction.pdf For EFF's resources on the case, including its amicus brief: http://www.eff.org/legal/cases/warshak_v_usa/ For this release: http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2007_06.php#005321 About EFF The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading civil liberties organization working to protect rights in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF actively encourages and challenges industry and government to support free expression and privacy online. EFF is a member-supported organization and maintains one of the most linked-to websites in the world at http://www.eff.org/ ---------------------------------------------------------- WWWhatsup NYC http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com ---------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------- Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for today's economy) at Yahoo! Games. --------------------------------- It's here! Your new message! Get new email alerts with the free Yahoo! Toolbar. [View Less]

1 0

CCK Internet Study- Online Deliberation Week2&3 Summaries
by John Walubengo 18 Jun '07

18 Jun '07

Dear Listers, We are now concluding the report on the above previously held Online discussion. Plse go through the summarised comments and we welcome any corrections, modifications or additions before end of day Wed 20th June 2007. Below Week 2&3 Summaries. Theme-Hierarchy of Providers Joseph Mucheru felt that the Internet Market Structure had not been sufficiently regulated to ensure the players (ISP & IGO) kept to the terms and conditions of their licence. He pointed out that … [View More]whereas the current licensing regime stipulates that IGO do not do direct retail to consumers, this was not the case in practice. ISPs were also not expected to build their infrastructure since they were expected to lease capacity from the PDNOs but this was not the case in practise. Mucheru said that the industry had deteriorated to a level where all players are doing everything and anything to for profit gain and it was costing the country in terms of failure to leverage on the economies of scale had the licensing terms and conditions been adopted. Basically, Trust between IGOs, PDNO & ISP has been lost, making it very difficult to build economically efficient Internet Networks. Eric Osiakwan agreed by adding that the duplication of effort by the players results in enormous costs that are eventually dropped onto the Consumers. Theme- Statistics on Affordability Mucheru said that the main obstacles towards affordable internet services included the costs of the equipment, namely Modems, Satellite dishes, the PC and Installation Costs. However, given more users, these costs are likely to come down. Kai Wulff felt that the key thing to bringing down internet costs lay in developing local content- thus reducing the need to rely on international (external) content which in turn implied buying international bandwidth. Joan Walumbe said that awareness of Internet benefits particularly for the rural communities was necessary to create demand. Fatma Bashir agreed with Joans observation and added that there was a need to build information centers in the rural sector that could informally train users on the Internet. She commended KDNs initiative to link secondary schools to the Internet, saying that it would create a virtuous cycle where parents, their children and entrepreneurs can simultaneously benefit from the Internet. However, James Rege cautioned that Fiber alone could not address the Access component and other technologies will need to adopted for the last mile, such as WiMax, Wifi, Satellite amongst others. Florence Etta said that last mile solutions had a complex web of actors, services and possibilities and should be well planned and provisioned preferably with support from cheap sources of funding such as the African Development Bank (AfDB) Njenga MP said that considering most rural families lacked significant disposable incomes, it would be better to serve them using the Universal Service Fund which would subsidise their communication costs. But Wainaina Mungai argued that the rural community is actually not so financially indisposed particularly if their uptake for mobile telephony was anything to go by. He said that given the right access that focused on value-adding activities for their rural lifestyles, their Internet uptake will easily exceed expectations - along the same lines as their uptake for mobile telephony has. Dr. Bitange Ndemo felt that one way of making services available was by government providing the infrastructure on Open Access basis. He cited the case of the domestic link between the two Cities of Nairobi and Mombasa saying that the cost of bandwidth on this route was exorbitant despite the existing competition. Kai Wulff argued that the cost of the service was a function of usage and prices would essentially go down once usage picks up. But Brian Longwe interjected by saying usage was also a function of price, thus presenting what Eric Osiakwan referred to as the classic chicken and egg problem. In such a case, Eric said, it is always better for the Private Sector to take the business risk of adopting what Dr. Ndemo referred to as the concept of low prices high volume business models. Michael Joseph reminded members that it was worth noting that pricing was not the only key factor but service delivery, reliability, availability need to be considered. In general, industry standard Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that would encourage Operators to lease more bandwidth capacity from the upstream providers were critical. As Operators, he said, they will be needing more and more transmission capacity both within and outside the country and were therefore looking seriously at all the various proposals that are evolving. In particular, he said, they were looking forward to reviewing the detailed plans for the Regional FiberOptic network, including dates or termination points, pricing etc so as make their plan accordingly. Theme Statistics on Dispersion. Kai felt that the recent push by Government with the World Bank assistance in building internet infrastructure was presenting unfair competition to the private sector. He gave the example of the obvious failure by Government in providing fixed line services to the citizens through their public utility company Telkom Kenya. He argued that using the same approach in building domestic optical fiber infrastructure may lead to similar experiences, namely, little or no access, expensive and unreliable services. He strongly felt that Government should let the Private sector drive the build-up of the domestic fiber and furthermore, he expected that Government should be the largest consumer of the Private Sector build infrastructure. Becky Wanjiku, wondered if the Government could work in partnership with the Private Sector, by way of having MOUs that enabled Government to fund the communications projects while the private sector implemented and operated them. But Wanaina Mungai preferred that World-Bank type of Funding would be best accorded to Community Based Organisations (CBOs) but if given to Private Sector, then there would be need to ensure that the Profit motive is moderated. Lucy Kimani felt that both Government and Private Sector had a role in developing infrastructure. She said that both may however have different but justifiable reasons for getting involved. Private Sector may be keen in focusing in the urban (quicker return) areas whereas the Government had an obligation to ensure communication services reached all areas including more often than not, the non-economic, rural areas. Fatma said that the Government should however take on the key role of building capacity by way of providing roaming-digital-kiosks that would enlighten the users and stimulate demand for the Internet Services. Alice Munyua said that there was nothing wrong in the Government taking the lead in providing or building domestic fiber backbones. She cited the case of the Malaysian Government which built the Malaysian Super Corridor (MSC) which is a national information superhighway at cost of USD40 Billion. She added that Private sector would still have a role to play, particularly at the content, application and tech-skill levels. Eric Osiakwan said that it would be wrong to outrightly discourage Government intervention in Infrastructure development because it has had different results in different countries. He cited Turkey where he said that the Government intervention through the Turkish public utility company lead to massive expansion of Internet Services, but acknowledged that the same could not be said in the case for Kenya. Dr. Bitange Ndemo said that the purpose of the World Bank Loan was to stimulate demand a head of cheap bandwidth from the fibre cable. Areas that needed this type of stimulation include Rural ICT Centres, the Government, Universities and Colleges and BPOs. He added that the procurement of subsidized bandwidth will be done openly where all operators would have a chance. This does not in anyway compromise any Private sector initiatives because they would be paid the market rate of bandwidth. He explained that the participation of Government in construction of Terrestrial fibre networks and the undersea cable was to fast track availability of cheap bandwidth that would in turn help the economy to grow faster. Secondly, he said that Kenya needed an Open Access model that would help SMEs in the country to compete with the big Operators, like Jamii Telecom, KDN and the rest.. He added that the Private sector had failed to provide the necessary infrastructure for economic development and no Private Operator had shown interest in rural Kenya until the Government made the business case for rural ICTs. He however assured the Private Sector that Government had no interest in competing with them. Government role was to facilitate development. Infrastructure in the ICT Sector had lagged behind and what the Government was doing was simply to facilitate its development and leave the Private Sector to compete in an Open Access platform. He reiterated that Government had the obligation to enable every Kenyan citizen to play a role in economic development especially the SMEs that constitute 95% of businesses in the country. He concluded by saying that there was absolutely nothing wrong with borrowing from the WB to stimulate demand for the investment Government was making in the ICT sector. Some of the funds would be used to develop capacity to utilize ICTs and development of local content. Essentially, Government was simply stimulating demand that would become consumers of Private Sector products. Alex Gakuru gave a general reaction that touched on both Affordability and Dispersion Issues. On local content, he suggested that all government departments should now be having web content while KENIC should be encouraged to bring down their domain registrations fees. On the demand issue, he urged Operators to think outside their traditional markets and start enlisting new communities such as Church Ministries amongst others. On Education, he said there maybe need to seek for trust funds to continuously educate Users while on Infrastructure, he commended the Government on their move to facilitate a national reach for communications. Harry Hare added that ICT Infrastructure development should actually be elevated to the same level as National Road or Power Infrastructure. Infact, he suggested, that all the three, ICT, Road and Power Infrastructure should be planned in sync to avoid duplication of effort where the ICT people are often seen digging up through roads that were constructed with little or no provision for Data-ducts. Theme - Impact of the Recommendations Alex Gakuru supported most of the recommendations but cautioned against any Government takeover of the KIXP. Eric wondered why the Regulator would be building the Infrastructure but Professor Meoli Kashorda corrected the misconception by saying that it was the Government that had been tasked with that exercise. He further elaborated what was meant by a National Information Infrastructure (NII). He said that a NII was actually an ICT strategy that was aligned to the national strategic economic plans (ref Singapore, Mauritius, China NII ). That is, NII aligns the national economic/development strategy with the national ICT strategy (rather than just policy). He added that, that was the only way to translate infrastructure to traffic and therefore revenue for the operators. Brain Longwe also supported most of the recommendations with cautions on a few. In particular, on the issue of dissolving the separation between ISPs and IGOs, he was of the idea that it would be better to start a fresh licensing regime subsequent to a stakeholders meeting that discussed what the future internet market would look like. The new licensing regime should then aim at structuring the critical areas within such a vision while being fairly open with the non-crtical areas On SLAs, he felt that it was easier to stipulate the Internet standard but it maybe quite a challenge to monitor the same for enforcement. ====Ends==== walu. ____________________________________________________________________________________ Luggage? GPS? Comic books? Check out fitting gifts for grads at Yahoo! Search http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=graduation+gifts&cs=bz [View Less]

1 0

Vacancy: Chief Executive Officer for UbuntuNet Alliance
by Tiwonge Msulira Banda 18 Jun '07

18 Jun '07

Dear Colleagues, ** *Vacancy: C**hief Executive Officer for UbutuNet Alliance* ** The UbuntuNet Alliance wishes to appoint an enthusiastic and self motivated person as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). This is a full-time senior post, with a competitive salary package. The CEO will be based in Nairobi, Kenya. The Alliance is a registered non-profit association of African National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), established in the latter half of 2005 with the vision of delivering very … [View More]

1 0

National e-Government Strategies: Designing for Success - 19 June 2007
by Harry Hare 18 Jun '07

18 Jun '07

Dear Colleagues, The World Bank office in Nairobi has kindly availed their facility for those interested in participating in a videoconference is titled "National e-Government Strategies: Designing for Success" which is to take place tomorrow June 19th at 9:00 - 11:30 am EST, which is 4pm here. This VC is organized in partnership with USAID/USTTI and Development Gateway Foundation. The event will feature several leading experts from India, Singapore, U.S., Kenya and World Bank who will … [View More]

1 0

is your website relevant?
by Rebecca Wanjiku 18 Jun '07

18 Jun '07

only 10% of kenyan websites have relevant content- Michuki Having a website maybe the most fashionable thing for many Kenyan companies, but how many websites are relevant? How many have content that is important to local people? Michuki Mwangi, Chief Executive Officer at KENIC reckons that 90% of the websites in Kenya are irrelevant and user unfriendly. The 10% are under construction, and remain so for a long time. At the monthly forum, Michuki indicted many organizations of … [View More]developing websites that dont give visitors reason to come back, because they have same information after three years. Less than 50 % of the content of the web is irrelevant and does not address the core functions of the organizations, said Michuki. For instance, Nakumatt Holdings website; it has a slide show of buildings, information about the company and very little about the products available and the prices. Uchumi website has information about products and the prices but is limited to products on special offer. Compared to Tesco super market in the UK- all the walkways are listed, groceries, finance, media information occupies less space, and maximizes on their core business. The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) website is equally incapable of providing flight information, parking costs and directions to and from the airport. The website does not load up easily and has more information on tourism compared to its core functions. With the website being labeled as off the mark, one participant commented that even the boards at the airport do not work. compare to the British Airports Authority website- it has flight information, how to leave from one airport to the next, car park direction and fees, security alerts among other features. Telkom scored higher marks, had all the information about their services, loads fast but there is no way to purchase the services online, one has to fill forms and visit agents to get services. Michuki argued that the main problem lies in the fact that websites have been labeled as IT jobs and are only there, not to help in marketing. In this respect, many organizations leave website management to their IT departments and do nothing to improve on the content available. To redress this, organizations need to identify right target group, build online social networks, and collaborations between academia, media and government to ensure that content is generated. ends Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Need Mail bonding? Go to the Yahoo! Mail Q&A for great tips from Yahoo! Answers users. [View Less]

2 1

[Fwd: [AfrICANN-discuss] Warnings of 'internet overload']
by alice 17 Jun '07

17 Jun '07

BBC NEWS Warnings of 'internet overload' By Spencer Kelly Click presenter As the flood of data across the internet continues to increase, there are those that say sometime soon it is going to collapse under its own weight. But that is what they said last year. Back in the early 90s, those of us that were online were just sending text e-mails of a few bytes each, traffic across the main US data lines was estimated at a few terabytes a month, steadily doubling every year. But the mid 90s … [View More]saw the arrival of picture-rich websites, and the invention of the MP3. Suddenly each net user wanted megabytes of pictures and music, and the monthly traffic figure exploded. For the next few years we saw more steady growth with traffic again roughly doubling every year. But since 2003, we have seen another change in the way we use the net. The YouTube generation want to stream video, and download gigabytes of data in one go. "In one day YouTube sends data equivalent to 75 billion e-mails, so it's clearly very different," said Phil Smith, head of technology and corporate marketing at Cisco Systems. "The network is growing up, is starting to get more capacity than it ever had, but it is a challenge. "Video is real-time, it needs to not have mistakes or errors. E-mail can be a little slow. You wouldn't notice if it was 11 seconds rather than ten, but you would notice that on a video." Spending our inheritance Perhaps unsurprisingly, every year someone says the internet is going to collapse under the weight of the traffic. Looking at the figures, that seems a reasonable prediction. "Back in the days of the dotcom boom in the late 90s, billions of dollars were invested around the world in laying cables," said net expert Bill Thompson. "Then there was the crash of 2000 and since then we've been spending that inheritance, using that capacity, growing services to fill the space that was left over by all those companies that went out of business." Router reliability Much more high-speed optic fibre has been laid than we currently need, and scientists are confident that each strand can be pushed to carry almost limitless amounts of data in the form of light. But long before a backbone wire itself gets overloaded, the strain may begin to show on the devices at either end - the routers. "If we take a backbone link across the Atlantic, there's billions of bits of data arriving every second and it's all got to go to different destinations," explained Mr Thompson. The real issue that people are going to face, and are already noticing at home, is that ISPs are starting to cut back on the bandwidth that is available to people in their homes Bill Thompson, net expert "The router sits at the end of that very high speed link and decides where each small piece of data has to go. That's not a difficult computational task, but it has to make millions of decisions a second." The manufacturer of most of the world's routers is Cisco. When I pushed them on the subject of router overload, they were understandably confident. "Routers have come a long way since they started," said Mr Smith. "The routers we're talking about now can handle 92 terabits per second. "We have enough capacity to do that and drive a billion phone calls from those same people who are playing a video game at the same time they're having a text chat." Congestion Even if the routers can continue to take what the fibre delivers, there is another problem - the internet is not all fibre. A lot of the end connections, the ones that go to our individual home computers, are made of decades-old copper. "The real issue that people are going to face, and are already noticing at home, is that ISPs are starting to cut back on the bandwidth that is available to people in their homes," said Mr Thompson. "They call it bandwidth shaping." "They do this because they have a limited capacity to deliver to 100 or 200 homes, and if everybody's using the internet at the same time then the whole thing starts to get congested. Before that happens they cut back on the heavy users." Obstacles But digital meltdown is not the only threat facing the net. There are other, more sudden, real world hazards which the net has to protect against. Anything from terror attacks to, would you believe it shark bites, can and have taken out major links and routers. It only takes an earthquake, as we saw at the end of last year, to take out a significant segment of internet infrastructure Paul Wood, MessageLabs "There's a perception that the internet is very resilient," said Paul Wood, senior analyst of security firm MessageLabs. "The way it was designed means that if any particular part of it is disrupted then the traffic will find another route. "It only takes an earthquake, as we saw at the end of last year, to take out a significant segment of internet infrastructure. Then the traffic finds another route, but it goes over a very slow route, which then becomes saturated and can't handle the bandwidth. Then you lose the traffic and that part of the world goes dark for a while." For decades the internet has kept pace with our demands on it. And demand continues to grow. And the service providers will continue to insist that the net will survive, and the doomsayers will continue to insist that it is just about to collapse. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/programmes/click_online/6756899.stm Published: 2007/06/15 14:25:46 GMT (c) BBC MMVII _______________________________________________ AfrICANN mailing list AfrICANN(a)afrinic.net https://lists.afrinic.net/mailman/listinfo.cgi/africann [View Less]

1 0

from pirate radio to community radio...
by Rebecca Wanjiku 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

when power goes, the radio goes off air.... inspired by a pirate radio in Brazil, Koch Fm started operation as a pirate radio two years ago. last year, the radio got a licence to operate within 2km radius in Korogocho slums. just like many other sectors that depend on the erratic power, the station is in need of a generator. the volunteers have raised money and bought a generator but have not installed it. a company profile with the history and programs will be availed, here is the … [View More]

1 0

Govt Opens Kshs 79 Billion Investment Opportunities
by Bill Kagai 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

From: MediaCorp.Research(a)mediacorp.co.ke <MediaCorp.Research(a)mediacorp.co.ke > Date: Jun 16, 2007 2:24 PM Subject: Govt Opens Kshs 79 Billion Investment Opportunities To: MediaCorp.Research(a)mediacorp.co.ke Cc: info(a)mediacorp.co.ke Please find attached the NSE Weekly Analytics and our brief précis on the 2007/2008 Budget, where the Government has opened enormous investment opportunities. We shall cover the details next week in our Weekly Analytics. Bildad Kagai MD - MediaCorp … [View More]

1 0

[Fwd: The Drum Beat - 399 - Mobile Telephony]
by alice 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

This issue of the Drum Beat takes a closer look at trends, strategies, and initiatives centred around one particular information and communication technology (ICT): the mobile (cellular) telephone. It provides a snapshot of a few of the summaries available on The Communication Initiative website that explore to what extent - and to what end - this ICT is being used in various locales around the world to address a variety of needs and issues. *** CONTEXT & TRENDS 1. Mobile 2007 … [View More]

1 0

Matatu to the Masai via Mobile
by alice 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

>From Matatu to the Masai via Mobile by Paul Mason As part of his journey through Kenya using a map of the country's mobile phone networks as his guide, BBC Newsnight correspondent Paul Mason here traces trends in the use of this ICT to foster economic and social development. Mason explains that today 1 in 3 adults carry a cellphone in Kenya; in the past 5 years the number of mobiles in Kenya has grown from 1 million to 6.5 million. In contrast, the number of landlines remains at about 300,… [View More]

1 0

FW: DANGEROUS VIRUS WARNING ALERT
by Kagwe James 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

Was sent the below email by someone... I thought it was a joke but guess what there's a virus by the name Raila odinga. Check it out on the following link http://us.mcafee.com/virusInfo/default.asp?id=description&virus_k=142420 Regards, James Kagwe ________________________________ VIRUS WARNING If you get any mail with the names Raila Odinga OR Kibaki or any photos of Raila or Kibaki Please do not Open. We are trying to contain the attack to the workstations that have been … [View More]

2 1

John Kerry - Broadband should be in every home
by Alex Gakuru 16 Jun '07

16 Jun '07

[Incidentally, this has been the law in Kenya since KCA 1998 was enacted. "Under sections 23 and 47 of the Kenya Communications Act of 1998, the Commission is required to ensure that communications services are provided throughout Kenya and that the interests of all users of these services are protected with respect to prices charged for and the quality and variety of those services among other responsibilities" http://www.cck.go.ke/consumer_center/ Q: Could the law have been violated? … [View More]Nairobi with 90% of all internet, GSM duo, tariffs above the roof, consumer complaints handling procedures, consumer associations support... The sum total points to "not so democratic" telecommunications sector. Beyond public relations spins, there is a need study what leaders and people in authority are practically doing to ensure the law is not broken any further] ----- BROADBAND SHOULD BE IN EVERY HOME [SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Sen John Kerry (D-MA)] [Commentary] very important piece of public property is about to be auctioned off. You won't find it on a map, but it is prime real estate. And the sale of this property has profound implications for schools, businesses, emergency first responders, rural communities and the future of wireless communication and innovation in America. In the upcoming 700 MHz spectrum auction, the Federal Communications Commission will auction off an important slice of our airwaves. The FCC has a choice: It can either provide extraordinary benefits to millions of Americans or tilt bandwidth policy to line the pockets of a privileged few. The airwaves belong to the American people -- and their use should serve the public interest, not corporate interests. In recent auctions, the big communications companies actively used their bidding power to shut out new providers. As a result, these new companies faced near impossible barriers to entry in the wireless communications industry. What does this mean for us? Consumers don't enjoy the lower prices and better service that would result from more choice in the communications marketplace. The upcoming auction presents a real opportunity to promote economic competitiveness and address affordability and availability of important wireless services. The Internet and our airwaves are public property. All Americans should benefit from and be able to access it -- not just in revenues the government earns from selling spectrum to corporations, but also in expanded access to revolutionary new technology for every American. Our economy, our schools, our families and our first responders are counting on the FCC and conduct a fair auction in the spirit of competition and innovation that drives the Internet today. Previous generations ushered in new eras of economic progress with electricity for rural areas and a car in every driveway. In 2007 to stay competitive, we should strive to do the same with broadband in every home. http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/broadband-should-be-in-every-home-2007-… --------------------------------- Sick sense of humor? Visit Yahoo! TV's Comedy with an Edge to see what's on, when. [View Less]

1 0