[kictanet] Ground laid for TEAMS roll out project

[alice at apc.org]

Ground laid for TEAMS roll out project

By JOHN KORIR

Plan for the implementation of the multi-billion East African Marine
Systems popularly known as TEAMS have been finalised, Information and
Communication Permanent Secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo said yesterday.

Speaking at a Nairobi hotel during an Information Communication
Technology (ICT) industry stakeholders meeting, Dr Ndemo said the new
technology will link the East African Coastline to the rest of the
world, saying the coastline is the only one in the African continent
that remains unconnected by the submarine cable.

The PS told participants thatthe preparatory process for laying the
framework is in high gear with a special team appointed working round
the clock to ensure the detailed plans and other basic elements are
put in place before the implementation of the project begins.

He said the TEAMS will be laid from Fujairah and Mombasa , linking
Kenya to the rest of the world. The PS said the new technology is a
major milestone in the economy of the country.

"With the shrinking distances round the world, our dreams and
aspirations in being part of the rest of the world will only be
realzed when our communication infrastructure enables us to undertake
business with the rest of the world in real time and cheaply," Ndemo said.

Dr Ndemo said the government is keen to stimulate the investments in
ICTs and particularly the deployment of high bandwidth fibre-optical
backbone newtworks. He further said the government is continuously
developing the framework that facilitate the deployment of the
telecommunications facilities and services.

The PS observed that the country stands to benefit immensely from the
connectivity, saying consumers are constantly yearning for high speeds
and broadband connectivity that can propel the growth of e-commerce as
well as lowering the costs of telecommunication acccess.

Dr Ndemo at the same time called on players in the industry to explore
ways of adopting the principle of infrastructure sharing so that
resources could be optimally used.

He said there was need for those in the industry to make efficient use
of existing network facilities and save on costs that in most cases
become sunk, saying the principle of infrastructure sharing is a
global initiative aimed at cutting costs on the part of the players