[kictanet] Eassy renamed The Nepad Broadband Infrastructure Network

[Alari Alare Kenneth]

Bwana PS,
What's your take on this
Alari
--- 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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