Placing this extract in the context of this discussion and your report on e-Governance we discussed 4 months ago...pg. 17....you forgot to include a fundamental issue.
Bill Kagai doubted Brian's statement about the TEAMS project being “developmental”
rather than “profit” oriented. In his rejoinder Brain Longwe said that there were a
number of different ways to go about major infrastructure development:
1. For-Profit: Putting together a business case with a clear Return-On-Investment
(ROI) benefit; looking out for funding, then building and deploying. Hopefully
the market would respond well and the investors get their return (e.g. SEACOM).
2. Means-to-an-end: Determine the total costs for the project, approach the primary
stakeholders; Oil companies in the case of oil pipelines, gas companies in the case
of gas companies, operators and ISPs in the case of bandwidth; sell them the
concept of delivering the commodity to themselves at cost (or as near to cost as
possible); set up an "Operations and Maintenance" structure which levies the
same parties; build and deploy; once the bandwidth is delivered it's a "free-for-all"
in the marketplace - with ‘costs’ at a very low level, prices would eventually
follow due to competition (e.g. TEAMs and EASSY)
He said this is was one of the main reasons why projects such as TEAMs and EASSY
have faced stiff opposition, criticism and outright attempted sabotage – because they have
the potential to cut the feet out from under any similar commercial venture.
In response Bill Kagai stated the following
1. For Profit - Seacom -This sounded like a brilliant business and economic model.
2. Means-to-an-end - TEAMS: Referencing his university economics this option
appeared as the only economic model they did not teach at the University of
Nairobi an institution established by an Act of Parliament.
In summary, he felt that TEAMs had already waged a price war with no products in the
market yet and was skeptical that TEAMs would indeed be cheaper than SEACOM in
terms of costing internet service.
.....You forgot to include that Brian promised to buy me kalovo should Seacom roll out faster and end up being cheaper than Teams. Haki yetu..
On Aug 17, 2009, at 1:10 PM, Walubengo J wrote:
MO, Alex,
Ease up abit. Dont imagine I dont want affordable internet prices. Infact if you had time and googled my online contributions over the last 5years, you will realize I have been raising the red-flag about fiber vis a viz pricing. The other day I reloaded my Safcom modem with 1,000/= (300MB service). It all disappeared within 5days! Previously before SEACOM it would take longer (3weeks) to disappear because of the slower speeds. Better speeds encourage faster and broader browsing but it hurts (financially) and its not funny.
I think our differences lie in the approach to having reduced prices. I chose the academic route because thats my background. Feel free to pursue your routes to reduced prices - but plse be cautious because the solution is NOT domiciled in ONE stakeholder. Its not with the Regulator, nor the techies, nor the activists, nor the Consumers, nor the Govt, nor the Media, etc. Instead I believe it is with ALL of the above. And it will be unfortunate to alienate any of them while pursuing reduced prices.
walu.
nb1: and thats why I had copied to what Alex calls my "home-tuff" (just ropping in other stakeholders).
nb2: I also note and do appreciated your legal counterarguments but decline to respond as at now since I will cover that and other issues during the upcoming ICT conference at SU (I think will be free to sambaza the paper thereafter for those interested).
--- On Mon, 8/17/09, mike oketch <
mikeoketch@gmail.com> wrote:
From: mike oketch <mikeoketch@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] the long fibre lie...Regulatory Action limited.
To: "Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke>
Date: Monday, August 17, 2009, 10:13 AM
Again
Safaricom CEO who is also heads the board of
TEAMS says that TEAMS benefits could not be realised because
onward connection with Europe has not been fully discussed.
How can you initiate a flight from Kenya to Nigeria without
getting the landing rights in Nigeria and flight clearance
for CAR, DRC, Sudan and all the countries you are going to
overfly?
Cheap Cheap Cheap and we wont be duped. I have
seen people in this list who support the crooked CEOs just
because they need favors for contracts and interviews for
their educations research papers. Hypocrites they are.
Lets be realistic
MO
On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 9:10 AM,
mike oketch <mikeoketch@gmail.com>
wrote:
Walubengo
Yours are just too simplistic than the
Alex's you are saying that are simplistic. The fact that
kenya could not regulate Oil prices doesnt mean that
Tanzania couldnt. The fact that SAT 3 operators couldnt be
regulated cannont mean that the operators here cannot be
regulated.
Stop all these fake comparisons. Prices must
come down and we will face them at every conference and
every Barcamp and will tell these unpatriotic who have
pocketed our PS off. Your arguments just dont wash.
MO
On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 8:40 AM,
Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com>
wrote:
Alex,
Your have rightly qaulified your solution - as simple.
Indeed it is. Infact too simplistic to fly. The idea
that the Regulator can reign in Operators who charge
"high" internet rates cannot and will not work.
Think about the in-famous SAT3 fiber link on the west
coast of africa. Ask yourself why the Regulators in
Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Angola, S-Africa etc have never
stepped in and revoked licensces of operators over the
last 15yrs of high internet costs offered on the fiber...
The answers are very complex...I will actually be
discussing these limitations and available interventions in
some upcoming ICT conference at Strath University in Sept 09
and I dont want to pre-empt ;-)....
walu.
--- On Fri, 8/14/09, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists@gmail.com>
wrote:
From: Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] Fwd: the long fibre lie...
Ndemo should resign if internet prices do not drop as he
promised!!
To: "Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks@lists.my.co.ke>
Date: Friday, August 14, 2009, 8:44 PM
On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 7:38 PM,
David Kiania | Asentric Consulting
Ltd<kianiadee@gmail.com>
wrote:
Set the precedence what's your solution? Am
sure if
you did we'd have
heard it by now. This thread is a knee jerk
reaction
to a bad internet
day, we all have one.
Simple, the entity under Ndemo's docket that
grants these
cowboy
operators licenses puts it's foot down and warn
that I may
revoke
licenses for operators that charge waaaay up in the
sky not
just above
cost but ABOVE acceptable international pricing
benchmarks.
They've
all the data they need. Imagine, for example,
Safaricom on
the verge
of losing their license, price drops, drops, drops,
drops,
drops, and
drops..... across board.
Would this be acceptable to you?
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