Hi all, Here are my notes from a presentation that has just been given by Eme Essien of the World Bank/IFC i will forward the powerpoint presentation as soon as I can get hold of it... ----------------------------------------- EASSY Presentation from World Bank Eme Essien, Senior Investment Officer, IFC/World Bank Shared Objectives: - provide more affordaclbe ICT access - meet demand for high speed boradbankd connectivity in the region - spur followon ICT investment in region - provide cheaper alternative to satellite - encourage greater connectivity and integration within region - ALL CAPITALS AND MAJOR CITIES IN E & SA SHOULD BE LINKED TO GLOBAL NETWORK 10 Landing points - Sudan - Djibouti - Somalia - Kenya - Tanzania - Mdagascar - Mozambique - South Africa Eastern Loop Northern Loop Southern Loop World Bank Group Role - assist parties deliver on shared objectives - facilitate reduction of risks (policy/regulatory) to increase private sector participation - Conditionalities - liberalisation of international segment - Open Access - non-discriminatory access to regional infrastructure to all operators - identify funding gaps - build capacity in relevant regional organisation Conditions for Success OPEN ACCES - maximises project's development impact - clised club deal SAT3 structures have had limited impact on traffic, pricing, development - capacity should be accessible to all parties, fixed line operators etc.... Challenges - 30-ish members - Telcos, parastatals, regulators, private operators, incumbents - countries with differing progress on reform agenda - differing levels of economic development, infrastructure, ICT needs etc - no single champion to establish common interests East Africa Backhaul System - overland backhauls to EASSY project - majority of traffic will be routed overland - various stages of deployment - MSA-KLA IFC Advisory services role WB workign closely with members of East Loop Jan 2006 Mandate has been signed with EASSY - produce transaction structuring report - conduct technical feasibility study - among others.... Foreseen East African Backhaul Route My Question: Is the World Bank applying an Open Access approach on other telecoms infrastructure projects in Africa or only on EASSY Anwer: James Morley<sic>, IFC - YES - Open Access approach is being applied across the board - over all projects - initially the EABS - WB is pushing for Open Access; pushing for smaller parties to take part - Open Access is a principle underlying WB engagements Kirui<sic> - Open Access has (finally) been embraced by EASSY - last hardliner has last week finally given in and agreed to accept Open Access based on a Special Purpose Vehicle approach