[kictanet] [Fibre-for-africa] Invigorating debate on EASSy and other fibre

[A. Wanjira Munyua]

Dear Listers,
>
> A short note here to draw your attention to some of the new resources that
> have recently been uploaded on the Fibre for Africa website
> (www.fibreforafrica.net), which provides information about international
> bandwidth in Africa, its costs and the existence of monopoly access to it:
>
> 1) Question and Answer Interview with Dr Edmund Katiti, Policy and
> regulatory Advisor for the NEPAD eAfrica Commission. He speaks about the
> plans for forming the Special Purpose Vehicle to develop, own, operate,
> and maintain the regional ICT broadband network for Eastern and Southern
> Africa; moves toward engaging consultants to attract shareholders in the
> network; and how the Commission views cables being planned by countries
> such as Kenya and South Africa.
> 2) Question and Answer Interview with Mr Edmond Nyakairu, chairman of the
> finance committee of the EASSy Memorandum of Understanding signatories: On
> the operators’ current feelings about the NEPAD eAfrica Commission; on the
> Commission’s continued use of the name EASSy; the impact which building
> EASSy would have on proposed Kenyan and South African cables; on whether
> EASSy makes commercial sense; and the way forward in delivering cheaper
> and more accessible bandwidth to east and southern Africa.
> 3) Article on the cables planned for the East Coast of Africa: This
> resource lists the various initiatives to build cables that are parallel
> to EASSy and questions whether this will not render EASSy less competitive
> or even unviable. But how viable will these cables themselves be, and are
> they planning on embracing Open Access principles?
> 4) Paper on Enabling Open Access through Universal Access: This paper
> makes the case for Open Access Infrastructure in addressing Africa’s
> connectivity headaches; it examines flaws that are common in some of the
> connectivity (including Universal Access) programmes on the continent; and
> concludes that regional infrastructure undertakings like EASSy require
> Universal Access to be correctly implemented and to address demand in
> order for Open Access principles to prevail.
>
> EASSy appears to be at crossroads, with operators and the Commission
> maintaining major disagreements. It is not clear when the champagne
> bottles will be popped for its ground-breaking ceremony, or even who the
> investors in it will be. The clock is ticking. Debate on what needs to be
> done to secure a win-win situation – not just for the NEPAD and the
> telcos – but importantly as well for the users who endure slow service at
> exorbitant prices, needs to be sustained at this time.
>
> Wakabi
>
>
>
> ==============
> Wairagala Wakabi
> Research Associate
> CIPESA
> Plot 22 Bukoto Street, Kamwokya
> P.O Box 26970 Kampala, Uganda
> Tel. +256 41 531899
> Cell: +256 772 406 241
> Email: wakabi at cipesa.org
> www.cipesa.org
>
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