Why not give the fibre link cost figures simply like e.g. 256k shillings (a).. 512k shillings (b). etc... Add if you need our bandwidth 256k at contention ratio x:y shillings add shillings (z) etc.. Application, my earlier example, a firm just wants to connect their Nairobi- Mombasa branches to run an application and they don't satellite bandwidth. Another (an ISP) needs the link to supply internet to their Mombasa clients. CCK recently stated "information must be given in simple and plain English" Kai Wulff <kai.wulff@kdn.co.ke> wrote: I think there is some confusion! The international capacity is not transported to Nairobi by the fiber cable in the ground! We transport the capacity that comes by SAt with the fiber to Mombasa! So the fiber will not affect this. As for Trunk costs, they have dropped already substantially and are a function of capacity uptake. You see, Maintenance costs and Capex for the cable is constant, capacity is unlimeted, so the only factor that brings down price is higher uptake and vice versa. Rgds Kai ----- Original Message ----- From: "A. Wanjira Munyua" To: Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2007 10:50 Subject: [kictanet] ISP providers cry foul over bandwidth prices A thought-provoking piece here Listers: ISPs in Kenya say their hopes that they would pay significantly lower costs for bandwidth once providers Telkom and Kenya Data Networks unleashed cable, are yet to materialise. They wonder why. The thinking was that once these two providers replaced satellite links with fibre between the two cities of Mombasa and Nairobi, they would see a sizeable cut in prices they pay for their bandwidth. Worth noting is that these networks which KDN and Telkom have built, and which ISPs say have failed to deliver the expected fall in prices, represent a key link in Africa's fibre. The two companies are extending theis fibre towards the Ugandan border, where it will link up with the fibre owned by Uganda telecom and MTN Uganda, then run through Uganda to the Rwandan border to link up with MTN Rwandacell's fibre. KDN and Telkom Kenya are frontrunners in more than one venture to connect the eastern coast of Africa to international fibre, and no doubt this Mombasa-Nairobi link which Kenyan ISPs are grumbling about will play a pivotal role - regardless of which marine cable goes live first. Question: If the KDN and Telkom Kenya's Nairobi-Mombasa fibre has not resulted in the benefits the industry expected, should we be optimistic that once they hook onto international fibre we shall get the 60% or greater falls in prices? What's to be done to assure the benefits are forthcoming? Wakabi ISP providers cry foul over bandwidth prices By Okuttah Mark, Business Daily, March 29, 2007 Defying predictions of cheap online access, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are yet to experience significant price reductions on bandwidth charges since Telkom Kenya and Kenya Data Networks laid terrestrial optic fibre between Mombasa and Nairobi. Mr Sammy Buruchara, the managing director of ISP NairobiNet, said charges levied by the two operators remain prohibitive, thus hindering their expansion. "There is no difference from what they are charging now to what we used to pay for the satellite link," said Mr Buruchara, while referring to the VSAT links which have been used in the absence of cable. For a 2Mbps broadband link from Nairobi to Mombasa, Mr Buruchara said he pays over Sh500,000 (US$7,142.) per month. Kenya has 23 ISPs with an estimated 1.5 million Internet users. Most are in Nairobi and Mombasa. But an official at Telecoms disputed the charge. Mr Patrick Njagi, a data service manager, said a combination of increased competition and the fibre optic cables have reduced broadband prices by almost 40 per cent since last October. "The price has drastically reduced, especially in Nairobi because of stiff competition since the licensing of various Public Data Network Operators (PDNOs) by the Communications Commission of Kenya," he said. So far CCK has licensed more than 14 PDNOs to build and operate telecommunication Infrastructure such as fibre optic cables. Advertisements Telkom Kenya has been running since the launch of its Mombasa-Nairobi cable claim that its bandwidth prices have reduced by half. Telkom Kenya's website states that rending a 2Mbps line from Nairobi to Mombasa costs Sh700,000 (US$10,000) per month, exclusive of VAT. "The prices are still quite high even if they say they have reduced them," said Mr Buruchara. "It is still impossible to do video-conferencing. Who can raise the Sh1.8 million for 10 Mbps per month currently being charged by Telkom Kenya?" he asked. But Telkom's Mr Njagi blamed the high Internet connection fee on International prices. "Our subsidiary company JamboNet has very little to do with the Internet bandwidth pricing," he said. "Those are determined by the international satellite operators." _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/kai.wulff%40kdn.co.ke _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@kictanet.or.ke http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet Please unsubscribe or change your options at http://kictanet.or.ke/mailman/options/kictanet/alex.gakuru%40yahoo.com --------------------------------- Be a PS3 game guru. Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games.