[kictanet] [Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Fibre optic delays cost 5000jobs a month]

Tue Mar 20 17:27:40 EAT 2007

Kai said "Assume a 1 Mbps duplex Sat capacity costs USD 6 000 per  
month (it is actually lower)"

Which country (s) have this cost?

Eric here

On 20 Mar 2007, at 20:01, Kai U. Wulff wrote:

> Hello,
>
> As much as I agree that we need at least 2 cables, please see the  
> following
> cost calculation:
>
> Assume a 1 Mbps duplex Sat capacity costs USD 6 000 per month (it is
> actually lower).
>
> Compression for good quality ranges from 8 Kbps to 16 Kbps, so  
> let's take an
> average of 12.8Kbps
>
> So on one Mbps you can have a minimum of 80 calls or 4800 call  
> minutes per
> hour. On a 20 hour operation this leads to 96 000 call minutes per  
> day a and
> in a 30 day month to 2 880 000 call minutes per month.
>
> You communication cost per call minute = 0.14 KSH !!
>
> If you say your call centre is only loaded by 50% = a quarter of a  
> KSH per
> call minute.
>
> What is the cost of electricity, labor, rent ... in perspective?
>
>
> I still believe we can build competitive call centers even on SAT  
> basis!
>
> Rgds
>
> Kai
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: kictanet-bounces+kai.wulff=kdn.co.ke at kictanet.or.ke
> [mailto:kictanet-bounces+kai.wulff=kdn.co.ke at kictanet.or.ke] On  
> Behalf Of
> alice
> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 18:06
> To: kai.wulff at kdn.co.ke
> Subject: [kictanet] [Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Fibre optic delays cost
> 5000jobs a month]
>
> Fibre optic delays cost 5000 jobs a month
>
> By Steve Mbogo, Business Daily, March 20, 2007
>
> Every month that passes without Kenya having a fibre optic cable  
> link to
> the rest of the world, the country loses an opportunity to create  
> 5,000
> jobs.
>
> The figure, based on data collected by Business Daily interviews with
> individuals involved in making Kenya a hub for Business Process
> Outsourcing (BPO).
>
> BPO involves hiring of vendors to handle business processes like  
> customer
> care, accounting, and content provision.
>
>  In Kenya, call centres and publishing content provision are the main
> focuses, but other examples of BPO include human resources, accounting
> and payroll outsourcing.
>
> Dave Stewart, general manager of KenCall, Kenya’s largest call-centre,
> said while foreign investors are looking at Kenya as a good  
> destination
> for BPO, the lack of a fibre link is stifling some.
>
> “This (fibre link) is a must if there is to be a serious investment in
> this area,” said Stewart.
>
> Currently established businesses, like KenCall, have no choice but  
> to use
> the expensive bandwidth through the satellite network.
>
> Mr Stewart, whose call centre employs 300 people, spends $30,000 to
> $70,000 (Sh2.1m to Sh4.9m) for the bandwidth.  BPO players  
> estimated the
> advent of the fibre-optic cable could reduce bandwidth costs by 60 per
> cent. But cautioned that a single cable might not make a difference  
> as it
> will run like a monopoly.
>
> Outsourcing operations have thrived in  developing countries like  
> India
> which have sufficient, and cheap enough bandwidth as well as educated
> human resources and sound legal and financial infrastructure.
>
> Educated work force
>
> Industry players feel Kenya is well positioned to become a  
> preferred BPO
> hub, despite not measuring up on bandwidth. “Kenya’s  
> competitiveness in
> terms of human resources is very high,” said Mr Stewart. “Kenya, like
> India, has a very highly educated work force. The accents here are  
> very
> popular with the Americans and the Europeans,” he added.
>
> And unlike in the West where most see call centre careers as a  
> stepping
> stone to other opportunities, in Kenya being employed in a call  
> centre is
> regarded as a career.
>
> “This is a potential for growth.” Mr Wallace Gichoho the chief  
> executive
> of Call Centre Africa Ltd and chairman of Kenya ICT Service Exporters
> (KISE) said the type of employees that Call Centres look for are those
> that may not make the universities cut off point but had fared well  
> in the
> key subject that would enable a company develop skill in them.
>
> This forms a majority of the potential working force and has proved  
> more
> stable than graduate employees.  Mugure Kabugua’s BPO company, Preciss
> offers a service called PrecissPatrol that prowls the Internet on  
> behalf
> of clients, and the company is planning a call centre.
> She said the business environment for BPO is improving thanks to the
> Government encouraging more investment.
>
> She says the local industry is getting attention from international  
> BPO
> concerns. Estimates on how many jobs could be created vary. While Ms
> Kabugua suggested “hundreds of thousands,” Waudo Siganga, the  
> chairman of
> the Computer Society of Kenya said a well-functioning BPO industry can
> create an estimated 60,000 jobs every year, supported by more than 400
> companies licensed to offer information communication technology  
> training.
>
> Meanwhile, Dr Wahome Gakuru, a coordinator for Government’s Vision  
> 2030
> development plan, said BPO could created “millions of jobs,” for young
> professionals.
>
> Whichever number is correct, the sector is getting attention from the
> places of power.
>
>
>
>
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Eric M.K Osiakwan
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