@Mwangi, Let me simplify...though you already have the idea. The capacities and technologies are there. Indeed Kenya was amongst the first countries to try/test/install 3G, 4G(LTE) technologies which can push serious internet bandwidth capacities. But the question becomes, how many (average) Kenyans are using or subscribe to these technologies? The emphasis (at a national level) is the average Kenyan (not Bobby who has a 10MB link to his bedroom that his son uses to attend the online Khan Academy :-) Anyway, the painful fact according to latest and previous CCK reports @ http://www.cck.go.ke/resc/downloads/Sector_Statistics_Report_for_3rd_Quarter... show that ONLY 1 million or the 16 million Kenyans on the internet subscribe to the minimum broadband capacities (read: those who have bought the 3G modems). The rest of the Kenyans have internet access through their phones which access internet at "pedestrian" speeds that allow them to only do Twitter, FB, and other social media things whose worth is debatable as compared to what Bobby's son does with bandwidth galore (Khan Academy). So noting the above painful realities, the National Broadband Strategy outlines a realistic roadmap to move more Kenyans into that space where the "average" internet link used by Kenyans is not "pedestrian" but is instead a high quality and affordable internet. Did you know our total international bandwidth to the Internet is 1,000G of which we are only using 300G per Quarter? (=30% use; again from CCK 2013 reports). This translates to the Kenyan usage of only 2G per every 3Mnths! Which then means Kenyans are only tweeting and facebooking online since if they were attending school, healthcare, watching TV, researching and farming online, the statistics would be different. Where is the barrier to adoption of higher bandwidths? Not technology. walu. ________________________________ From: Mark Mwangi <mwangy@gmail.com> To: Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Friday, September 20, 2013 10:40 AM Subject: Re: [kictanet] National Broadband Strategy @Walu I do not understand this logic. So the capacity is there but the demand is not? By demand I mean those who can afford it. I always say that Infrastructure must come before demand. Whether that is fueled commercially or by govt intervention by policy or funding either way infrastructure backbone must exist. And this means to the residential or business area and preferably to the house. As the case of Chattanooga, Kenya power could easily do this and simply add fiber as a utility. I believe dropping a fiber cable to each and every transformer in their network will enable faster inclusion and achievement of broadband for all. On Fri, Sep 20, 2013 at 8:38 AM, Walubengo J <jwalu@yahoo.com> wrote:
Bobby, Eng. Kariuki,
I happen to know the team of bright chaps who facilitated the production of the Natinal Broadband Strategy - and I can assure it was not done in some isolated nad exclusive dark room :-)
They tell me that in setting targets, on must be appreciate where we are today in order to project where you expect to b in nxt 5yrs. 5MB per USER by 2017 may look poor compared to the US but did you know that some of our newer Universities can only afford 10MB for their 3000+ students?
You must also differentiate between capacity (of technology/bandwidth) vis a viz actual bandwidth projected to be USED. Right now in Kenya, our Operators have the technologies and capacities to deliver even 10MB per USER for each of the 16m Internet users in Kenya. But do they?
The answer is big NO. The average Kenyan uses cannot afford a fiber or wireless link of 10MB per month. In the broadband strategy we need to work on the dynamics that would make this average Kenyan afford and USE at least 5MBs per month.
Now u might be begin to see that even that 5MB per user per month by 2017 is not an easy target.
walu.
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On Thu, Sep 19, 2013 8:03 PM AST (Arabian) John Kariuki wrote:
Robert, Listers
I would agree with Robert that 40 mbps in 5 years is a rather low target for urban areas and we should achieve higher speeds in the next 2 to 3 years. 5 years in ICT is a very very long time!
John Kariuki.
________________________________ From: robert yawe <robertyawe@yahoo.co.uk> To: ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke> Sent: Thursday, 19 September 2013, 15:12 Subject: [kictanet] National Broadband Strategy
Hi,
I recently went through the National Broad Band Strategy documents where it was indicated that we intend to achieve a connectivity speed of 40 mbps in urban areas in the next 5 years.
This might seem like quite an achievement but starting today some of the Internet users inChattanooga, Tennessee in the USA will be experiencing 1 Gbps speeds to their homes, it seems either we are aiming very low or the strategy is a cut and paste from an era long gone which is a clear indication of what happens when you sit in a dark room and write a strategy but with no organised group to turn to for assistance what was the other choice?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2013/09/17/how-chattanooga...
Regards
About Chattanooga: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattanooga,_Tennessee
Robert Yawe KAY System Technologies Ltd Phoenix House, 6th Floor P O Box 55806 Nairobi, 00200 Kenya
Tel: +254722511225, +254202010696 _______________________________________________ kictanet mailing list kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke https://lists.kictanet.or.ke/mailman/listinfo/kictanet
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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.
-- Regards, Mark Mwangi markmwangi.me.ke