Simple question, is whether this is more of a priority, than for example working on "The National Broadband Plan", - Universal Coverage and Access etc,etc at least looking at the price tag.. Mind boggling. Secondly, Cost-benefits analysis would sort this whole conundrum once and for all. Why saddle the country with such an astronomical price tag, if we can't vouch clearly for the benefits forthcoming from Number Portability... My thoughts.. Harry _____ From: kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] On Behalf Of Walubengo J Sent: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 8:11 AM To: harry@comtelsys.co.ke Cc: ke-users; KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions Subject: [kictanet] Fw: [ke-internetusers] at inflated shs 20 billion,let's just forget 'Number Portability' ever benefiting consumers The above thread was floated on a neighboring list and has failed to attract any official answers and I thought maybe KICTAnet might have some answers...even from a technical point of view. For example. 1. Is it possible for Number Portability Solution to be provisioned Ksh @ 20Million? (250,000USD) as opposed to ksh 20Billion as alleged in the newspaper article? 2. What are the key price factors in such a technology as well as price experiences elsewhere across the world? 3. Is this Number Portability thing really going to take off? What are the planned timelines and how much would it really cost the consumer 4. Must we enactment the Freedom of Information Act in order to extract these answers? feel free to answer All, One or None of the above ;-) walu. --- On Sat, 4/17/10, Alex Gakuru <gakuru@gmail.com> wrote: From: Alex Gakuru <gakuru@gmail.com> Subject: [ke-internetusers] at inflated shs 20 billion, let's just forget 'Number Portability' ever benefiting consumers To: "ke-users" <ke-internetusers@bdix.net> Cc: "info" <info@cck.go.ke> Date: Saturday, April 17, 2010, 12:37 PM Good people, Sometimes it is necessary to start with the conclusion then build the argument. Conclusions: a) Local Number Portability may, after all, never not take off, or be of much use consumers, b) The country need to avoid celebrating premature local Number Portability implementation, c) Media caution against dancing to rhythmic gymnastics: 'great new Number Portability' tunes, d) Communications Commission of Kenya may be further eroding it's consumer protection teeth, Why? Trouble looms large on the horizon of Number Portability - a great technology but we risk oppositely live to regret its local implementation route. Intention hereby to provoke detailed information responses from the concerned. Regards the attached newspaper cutting, confidential sources allude,"..one of the bidders felt the portability thing could be done with around Ksh 20Million, how the 20B guys won remains a mystery...this enormous amount will simply find its way lumped onto the consumers after the operators have paid for it." My documented view has always been that Number Portability should be funded from the Universal Service fund created by the Communications Act. Background: Hello CCK, Number Portability is a Consumer Protection Tool Alex Gakuru 12 November 2007 Consumers are stuck without the option to switch to a different operator while keeping their mobile phone number and are hesitant to change to avoid losing important future calls in the persistent status quo. This is at odds with the law commanding the Communications Commission of Kenya to ensure consumers are protected offering a raft of implementation avenues. But when CCK gives up implementation of number portability citing complexity, high costs, duopolists' disinterest, and no licence applicants for the service category, the issue escalates to bursting limits considering the prevailing high communication tariffs that hurt businesses but the service providers. .. http://allafrica.com/stories/200711120436.html A reader's reaction: From: Okoth Okwemba <ookwemba@dtbkenya.co.ke> Date: Mon, Nov 12, 2007 at 3:37 PM Subject: hello CCK, number portability is a consumer protection tool To: gakuru@gmail.com Well done Gakuru on this article. This is excellent. The CCK has been told, let us find a way to compel it to act swiftly and deal with the lack of accountability that sees it get away with such laxity and abdication of duty. The Kenya Private Sector Alliance might be an organisiation you might want to involve. Well done again. Regards, Okoth References: i) Cost/Recovery: 'Funding Models for AIN-Based Local Number Portability' http://www2.sis.pitt.edu/~mweiss/papers/lnp-funding.pdf <http://www2.sis.pitt.edu/%7Emweiss/papers/lnp-funding.pdf> ii) Increased Consumer Choice: 'Wireless Local Number Portability' http://www.kpmg.com.co/publicaciones/publicaciones_ICE/WLNP.pdf iii) Stakeholders:'Number Portability Worldwide Implementation Experience' http://www.canto.org/doc/gabriellago.ppt -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ ke-internetusers mailing list ke-internetusers@bdix.net http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers