Ali, You bring up a very important point. Net neutrality is extremely important for the Kenyan Internet/mobile industry. Kenyan companies effectively own no global networks and can only get a foothold into the Internet economy via producing content - not levying transit. If transit provider incumbents can kill net neutrality, they can also kill small content producing economies (i.e. Kenya) at the same time. There's no way small Kenyan content producers (i.e. not Silicon Valley, not Hollywood) will be able to compete. -Adam -- Kili - Cloud for Africa: kili.io Musings: twitter.com/varud <https://twitter.com/varud> More Musings: varud.com About Adam: www.linkedin.com/in/adamcnelson On Thu, Jan 16, 2014 at 10:42 AM, Ali Hussein <ali@hussein.me.ke> wrote:
Listers
Apologies for cross-posting.
There has been a lot of hullabaloo about Net Neutrality. The main proponents have been the two divides: Content Producers (Facebook, Google etc) and pure play Infrastructure players like AT&T, Vodafone etc. (By the way as things go now there are no longer pure play infrastructure and content producers as these players prepare themselves for a changing regulatory environment)
Hardly any blip from major advertisers like P&G, Unilever etc.
In Kenya of course busybodies like myself :) are very passionate about it and have talked ourselves hoarse about it. This was the very reason why we in Kenya didn't sign the ITRs in Dubai at WCIT12 (that's another story for another day). It seems now that the chickens are coming home to roost and the 'Reactionary' (allow me this creative license to name them thus) of the old world order (read Old Telco Hegemony) are reasserting their influence and projecting their power.
This in my humble opinion CANNOT auger well for content Startups in our neck of the woods.
What gives? Is it that these players find this topic too boring? Or has no impact on them?
I suggest they change their attitudes..and fast!
Ali Hussein
+254 0770 906375 / 0713 601113
"I fear the day technology will surpass human interaction. The world will have a generation of idiots". ~ Albert Einstein
Sent from my iPad
_______________________________________________ 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/adam%40varud.com
The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.