[kictanet] Eassy renamed The Nepad BroadbandInfrastructureNetwork
Alan Finlay
alan at openresearch.co.za
Thu Mar 1 20:07:53 EAT 2007
The naming issue is complicated. See the last paragraph of:
http://www.newsfromafrica.org/newsfromafrica/articles/art_10802.html
Can anyone shed some light on this?
Alan
On 01 Mar 2007, at 6:42 PM, <alice at apc.org> wrote:
> And another question.....remember NEPAD advocated and still
> advocates for
> greater participation in the world economy etc etc. So I ask, in
> view of
> the recent developments Re; EASSy.....on whose terms?
> alice
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Alex Gakuru" <alex.gakuru at yahoo.com>
>> To: <alice at apc.org>
>> Cc: "Kenya ICT Policy" <media at kictanet.or.ke>;
>> <civilsociety at kictanet.or.ke>
>> Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 5:53 PM
>> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Eassy renamed The Nepad Broadband
>> InfrastructureNetwork
>>
>>
>>> Wow!
>>> Q: So South Africa can unilaterally rename a Pan-African initiative
>>> alone?
>>> Q: Was Kenya not to remain in the delay-prone project for
>>> redundancy?
>>> Q: I also believed Kenya had stated we were building a regional
>>> TEAMS the
>>> vast capacity?
>>> Q: Is South African Freedom of Information really working
>>> properly for
>>> their media?
>>>
>>> More questions than answers according to me...
>>>
>>> /Alex
>>>
>>> alice at apc.org wrote: (Apologies for cross posting)
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Raymond Smith (R)
>>> Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 2:19 PM
>>> To: Johan Meyer (JP); Prince Radebe (PJ); Peet Janse Van
>>> Rensburg
>>> (HP); Kobus Stoeder (JF)
>>> Subject: Eassy renamed The Nepad Broadband Infrastructure
>>> Network
>>>
>>>
>>> Cape Town | ITWeb, 20 February 2007 ] - Eassy (The East African
>>> Submarine Cable System) has been renamed The Nepad Broadband
>>> Infrastructure Network (NBIN), because Kenya has opted out of the
>>> South
>>> African-led continental fiber optic backbone system, says
>>> communications
>>> minister Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri.
>>>
>>> Speaking before the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on
>>> Communications
>>> today, Matsepe-Casaburri gave a rundown on the structure of the
>>> network,
>>> such as the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) that are being
>>> created to
>>> manage, maintain, operate and fund the terrestrial and undersea
>>> components of the system.
>>>
>>> According to the minister, the network will be controlled through a
>>> "golden share" scheme, whereby African countries would be able
>>> retain
>>> control of the various entities that are to be created to run the
>>> entire
>>> network and keep it from falling into foreign hands.
>>>
>>> Matsepe-Casaburri says the ratification of the inter-governmental
>>> treaty
>>> should appear before Parliament around June and that 12 out of 23
>>> countries that had initially agreed to it had signed the treaty.
>>>
>>> The NBIN aims to provide a number of landlocked African countries,
>>> mainly on the eastern side of the continent, access to two broadband
>>> networks. One will run as backbone from South Africa through
>>> Botswana,
>>> Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and Uganda to terminate in the Rawandan
>>> capital
>>> of Kigali. The second is an undersea cable that will run up the
>>> African
>>> east coast and was supposed to land in Kenya. The new landing
>>> point has
>>> not been announced as yet. Other countries that have signed up are
>>> Lesotho, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, Namibia
>>> and
>>> Madagascar.
>>>
>>> Special vehicles
>>>
>>> According to Matsepe-Casaburri, three types of special purpose
>>> vehicles
>>> (SPVs) will be created to maintain, operate and finance the
>>> network. The
>>> use of SPVs was recommended because they would be able to go and
>>> raise
>>> the capital needed without having to resort to individual government
>>> loan applications to international financial institutions.
>>>
>>> African governments to operate and maintain the terrestrial networks
>>> will own the first type of SPV. The second type of SPV will be a
>>> hybrid
>>> model that would include African governments and private
>>> companies that
>>> are licensed to operate telecommunications networks. The third
>>> type of
>>> SPV will operate and maintain the undersea system and this will
>>> allow
>>> the participation of foreign-owned telecommunications operators,
>>> although they would not be allowed to have controlling stakes.
>>>
>>> No foreigners
>>>
>>> Matsepe-Casaburri says the participation of foreign-owned firms
>>> in NBIN
>>> will be limited to ensure that it remains an African-led project,
>>> and to
>>> ensure the security of the network.
>>>
>>> She noted that the model developed is not what international
>>> financial
>>> institutions such as the World Bank would have liked. However,
>>> she says,
>>> it is based on an open access model with non-discriminatory pricing
>>> meaning that anyone, whether a shareholder or not, would pay the
>>> same
>>> fees.
>>>
>>> "We wanted to avoid the club-type situation we have had with the
>>> (Telkom) SAT-3 undersea cable, but this did not sit well with a
>>> number
>>> of other countries and institutions," Matsepe-Casaburri says.
>>>
>>> She wanted to elaborate on her comment, but then realised that
>>> the media
>>> were present.
>>>
>>> South African companies that have already been identified as
>>> potential
>>> partners in the project are Telkom, Sentech, MTN, Vodacom and
>>> Cell C.
>>> However, Matsepe-Casaburri says the door is not closed on other
>>> potential investors.
>>>
>>> ________________
>>> Raymond Smith
>>> Senior Specialist
>>> International Market Development
>>> Telkom Market Strategy and Development
>>> Phone: +27 12 311 6478
>>> Mobile +27 82 7750558
>>> FAX: +27 12 311 7910
>>>
>>>
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>>>
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