> Date: Tue, 19 Jun 2012 12:43:19 +0000
> From: tnyasani@kulahappy.com
> Subject: [kictanet] ETHIOPIAN GOVT. BANS SKYPE, GOOGLE TALK AND ALL OTHER VOIP SERVICES
> CC: kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke
> To: ggithaiga@hotmail.com
>
>
>
> Hey Listers,
>
> Has anyone come across this information?
>
> Regards,
> Tichi
>
>
>
> ETHIOPIAN GOVT BAN ON SKYPE:
>
> The Ethiopian government, Al Jazeera reports, has criminalized the
> use of Skype and other VoIP services like Google Talk. Using VoIP
> services is now punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
> This law actually passed last month, but mostly went unnoticed outside
> of the country. Ethiopian authorities argue that they imposed these
> bans because of national security concerns and to protect the state's
> telecommunications monopoly. The country only has one ISP, the
> state-owned Ethio Telecom, and has been filtering its citizen's
> Internet access for quite some time now to suppress opposition blogs
> and other news outlets.
>
>
> USE SKYPE, GO TO PRISON
>
>
> As for Skype and other VoIP services, the new law doesn't just
> criminalize their usage, but the Ministry of Communication and
> Information Technology now has the power to supervise and issue
> licenses to all privately owned companies that import equipment used
> for the communication of information.? It's worth noting that the new
> law also prohibits audio and video data traffic via social media. It's
> not clear how exactly the government plans to enforce this
> restriction, but a potential 15-year prison term will likely keep most
> people from using Skype in Ethiopia anytime soon.
>
> Reporters Without Borders also reports that Ethio Telecom installed a
> system to block access to the Tor network, which allows users to surf
> the Web anonymously. The organization notes that the ISP must be using
> relatively sophisticated Deep Packet Inspection to filter out this
> traffic.
>
> According to Internet filtering and censorship watchdog , Ethiopia
> currently has the second lowest Internet penetration rate in
> sub-Saharan Africa and just around 700,000 of the country's 84 million
> citizens had Internet access in 2010
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Quoting Kivuva <Kivuva@transworldafrica.com>:
>
> >> On the other hand , according to Wikipedia, e-government refers to
> >> digital interactions between a government and its Citizens
> >>
> >> *Questions*
> >
> >
> >
> >> 5. The government has embarked on a number of e-government initiatives, to
> >> what extent has the Citizenry embraced e-government? What steps should the
> >> country take to ensure the citizens fully embrace e - government?*
> >> *The floor is open
> >>
> >>
> > Thanks Barrack, let me take the open floor. :)
> > I Like the UK's e-governmnet motto "Digital by default".
> > http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/index.htm. It shows real commitment to take
> > government services to the people, not the other way round.
> >
> > We have an e-Governance Secretariat established by the government of Kenya (
> > http://www.e-government.go.ke/). The main objective in the website was to
> >
> > "oversee conceptualization, design and coordination of implementation of
> > information technology activities in the civil service that are geared
> > towards realization of full e-Government in public service delivery."
> >
> > Essentially, the term e-Government also known as Digital Government, refers
> > to 'How government utilizes IT, ICT and other telecommunication
> > technologies, to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness in the public
> > sector' (Jeong, 2007)
> >
> > The government of Kenya approved a national ICT policy in consultation with
> > relevant agencies which recognized the problems of the different disjoint
> > government systems, duplication and lack of enabling infrastructure. Since
> > then the government has created systems for applying for public service
> > jobs (is it working?), tracking status of passports (dead), exam results
> > notifications (working), a government procurement portal, and submitting
> > tax returns and declaring customs online (perfect). Many other services
> > are still at infant stage but it is still a step in the right direction.
> >
> > Other successful e-government strategies by the government are:
> >
> > 1. Establishing a data center and implementation of a shared services
> > platform where common services are integrated and managed centrally to
> > improve services, reduce overhead costs and duplications as well as for
> > optimal utilization of the ICT human capital.
> > 2. Laid fiber optic cable through the nation but they have not yet
> > provided last mile connectivity to government offices or other users.
> > 3. Released Open Government Data through opendata datasets concept. The
> > data includes: various dimensions of population data; local and national
> > government authority expenditure; public health indicator data and
> > statistics including hospital locations; education data such as enrollment
> > rates and school locations; parliamentary proceedings (digital Hansard);
> > weather information and detailed census statistics on topics such
> > as access
> > to electricity, water and sanitation. https://www.opendata.go.ke/
> > 4. The government each years offers Local content grants to about 20
> > developers and artists of up-to $50,000 per project through a competitive
> > process.
> >
> > http://www.ict.go.ke/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=356&Itemid=301
> > 5. Promoting BPO/ITES activities in the country. The Hallmark is the
> > establishment of the grand Konza Technology Park which is billed as the
> > next African Silicon Savannah. http://www.konzacity.co.ke/
> > 6. And finally, entrepreneurs are given loans to start Digital villages
> > code named Pasha (meaning disseminate). This initiative aims at
> > establishing Cyber Cafes that providing internet access and various online
> > services at the grassroots. http://pasha.co.ke/
> >
> > The initiatives are more that what I've outlines, and can be a good basis
> > for a Masters or PhD dissertation. I did a slideshare presentation a years
> > back with the same theme, but different components. You can access the link
> > herehttp://www.slideshare.net/lordmwesh/e-government-7203413
> >
> > Is our e-government strategy working? Are we "more talk and no walk"? What
> > can be done to push the stalled projects forward?
> >
> > Regards
> > 10rdmwesh
> >
> > --
> > ______________________
> > Mwendwa Kivuva
> > For
> > Business Development
> > Transworld Computer Channels
> > Cel: 0722402248
> > twitter.com/lordmwesh
> > www.transworldAfrica.com | Fluent in computing
> > kenya.or.ke | The Kenya we know
> >
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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/ggithaiga%40hotmail.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.