[kictanet] [Fwd: Re: [Fwd: Re: [Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Fibre optic delays cost 5000jobs a month]]]
alice
alice at apc.org
Wed Mar 21 08:42:10 EAT 2007
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Re: [kictanet] [Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Fibre optic
delays cost 5000jobs a month]]
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 23:30:59 +0300
From: Gerhard MAY <gerhard.may at gmail.com>
To: alice <alice at apc.org>
References: <46001ACD.6070907 at apc.org>
I read the article and my opinion is that the crucial point is missed
totally.
Kenya requires a fibre optic connection to reduce cost of doing business
in Kenya and ensuring that Kenyan companies can compete successfully
with their competitors abroad.
This is very important for all existing companies in kenya and will let
them grow. This BPO is from my point of view a absolute niche and too
narrow minded. What impact will call centres lets say with even 10.000
agents make on the GDP? This are peanuts.
MY logical chain is:
fibre optic cable reduces cost of telecoms;
fibre optic cable improves quality of service eg speed, reliability etc
kenyan companies are producing at lower cost, respond faster etc
(additonal companies consider kenya as attractive)
this will push employment and grow GDP
Lets create an enabling environment for the economy by providing good
quality telcoms at reasoanble cost.
gm
On 3/20/07, *alice* <alice at apc.org <mailto:alice at apc.org>> wrote:
Hi Gerhard
Would you like to be part of this community?????or are you completely
out of sorts with the ICT sector?
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [kictanet] [Fwd: [Fibre-for-africa] Fibre optic
delays
cost 5000jobs a month]
Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 20:01:47 +0300
From: Kai U. Wulff < kai.wulff at kdn.co.ke <mailto:kai.wulff at kdn.co.ke>>
Reply-To: Kenya ICT Action Network - KICTANet
<kictanet at kictanet.or.ke <mailto:kictanet at kictanet.or.ke>>
To: alice at apc.org <mailto:alice at apc.org>
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:kdn.co.ke at kictanet.or.ke>
[mailto: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 <mailto: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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