In law there is something called "adverse possession" which means that if I am in possession of a property (land, building or daughter) for a period of 12 years or more without paying rent then the property becomes mine. The Kenya Railways lost the Railway Golf Club after the club claimed adverse possession, KANU tried the same with KICC but their efforts where thwarted by a vigilant new government. When I was in school, yes I did go to school, there was an unwritten rule "finders keepers losers weepers", we seem to be applying all this rules in trying to wrestle away the Internet from its real owners the USA, the ITU meeting shall be the battle ground and bloody it will be worse than Muoroto or Syokimau evictions. If Google, Facebook, Amazon, eBay, LinkedIn, Yahoo and their elk (note all are US based companies) decided to block all IP addresses beginning with "41" will we still be able to say that we have Internet access? From Waudo's post it is clear where we fall, as the so called developing countries, at the periphery of the battle field literally outside the stadium hanging from a shaky tree branch. The so called "tech giants" will arrive fully armed, the Chinese will bring their numbers and the Russians their nuclear, gas and diamond might, how will we arrive? Regards Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 ________________________________ From: waudo siganga <emailsignet@mailcan.com> To: robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Wednesday, 17 October 2012, 22:16 Subject: [kictanet] Who Controls the Internet? Interesting article in Today's UK Guardian Newspaper. Ahead of a Google+ Hangout on the battle for the internet, Jemima Kiss looks at how tech giants are fighting for supremacy Have you ever noticed that wherever you are in the world, every telephone keypad looks the same? Or wondered why satellites don't crash into each other? Or why you dial 64 to reach New Zealand, but 65 for Singapore? These are some of the mundane but essential logistical achievements of the International Telecommunication Union, a specialist UN agency that dates back to 1865. Yet as it gears up for its first global conference in 14 years, the ITU has found itself under unprecedented attack. The first assailant is the powerful US technology lobby. Companies, including Google, are claiming that new ITU proposals would mean internet companies paying hefty fees to local telecoms companies, reigniting historic tensions between US internet giants and incumbent telecoms firms across the world. But that's not the only battle that will be played out this December when the ITU's 193 member states gather in Dubai. Russia and China have been explicit in their goal of taking control of the internet away from the US, while developing countries feel the western technology hegemony is limiting their economic opportunities. With the world's internet population predicted to reach 3.4 billion by 2016, there is everything to play for.http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/oct/17/who-rules-internet _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Unsubscribe or change your options at https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/robertyawe%40yahoo.co.... The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development. KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.