A very firm, most welcome, openly-stated government commitment. I have to immediately backup this email very securely. Any consumer group, residential associations, consortia (including TESPOK!) are all now free to lay "commons" cables, certainly for the last mile and Dr. Ndemo could correct me if I am wrong. Apologies, I could not fit this event after another earlier morning meeting. Through your presentation you represented a larger constituency Brian and thank you for the question. At this rate, 2030 may come much sooner for Kenya! /Alex Rebecca Wanjiku <rebeccawanjiku@yahoo.com> wrote: Twenty years ago, countries in south Asia were faced with similar problems of connectivity that most of Africa faces today. That time, there was no government commitment, whether longsighted or myopic. Then, a group of individuals decided to lay the cable. They got minimal staff and divers to do the work and the connected most of the countries. For them, it was a question of meeting demand and providing it at an affordable cost. That time, no one had looked at issues their way but they knew of a future market. The story, was told by Brian Longwe- a reknowned ICT expert, and as he argued, the southern part of Asia is one of the most connected and has various cables, laid by individuals, companies and government consortia. Internet costs there as well as connectivity to other vital services have been considerably reduced. “So what stops me and my friends from laying our own cable and selling it to willing buyers?” Longwe asked Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Permanent Secretary at the ministry of Information and communication. Dr. Ndemo replied that there is nothing stopping any group from laying their own cable, provided they do not become a monopoly. “There is no law blocking anybody from laying the cable. The government does not want to promote monopolies,” he added. The debate took place at the workshop discussing the Optic Fibre Cable and the various models that the country may adopt to bridge the digital divide. The workshop was a conclusion of the two week-long online discussion on OFC. Rebecca Wanjiku, journalist, p.o box 33515, Nairobi.00600 Kenya. Tel. 254 720 318 925 blog:http://beckyit.blogspot.com/ --------------------------------- Finding fabulous fares is fun. Let Yahoo! FareChase search your favorite travel sites to find flight and hotel bargains._______________________________________________ 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 --------------------------------- Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast with theYahoo! Search weather shortcut.