[kictanet] Day 5 - Statistics on Affordability - CCKInternetStudy Report

Sat May 5 13:43:16 EAT 2007

--- Fatma Bashir <fbashir at cyberschooltech.com> wrote:
snip>>Imagine one day you will go online and order your
chopped sukuma wiki and packet of carrots from the local
mama mbogo outside your estate, she will deliver to your
house you will pay her on your way back home or GOd knows
even online?..<<snip 

I really hope I will live to see such a day.  But am told
such systems are challenged not just technically or
legislatively but also 'Address-ively'.  Mama mbogo will
have no way of knowing where to deliver your
online-requested goods since our Postal-Address Systems are
NOT residential.  

Same problem why the water services chaps can cut your
water-supply but fail to know where you live when you pay
for the reconnection - u must literally drive the spanner
boys to your house <yes, my water was cut recently :-( > 

But that's a digression, the point is that we are facing a
complex challenge that does not have a silver bullet
solution. It not the worldbank, nor the Govt nor the
Operator nor the Regulator who has the answer to Internet
Affordability, etc.  Its probably all of them working in
Sync. Missing out on any the players will result in a
wasted effort on the part of the others.

walu.

--- Fatma Bashir <fbashir at cyberschooltech.com> wrote:

> Joan,
> 
> I dont have statistics but working in the education
> sector, I see what KDN 
> sees in the schools, schools will be the incubation
> ground for the demand 
> for ICT in the rural areas (60% of schools are in rural
> areas). In about a 
> year and a half years time the picture will start
> changing as high school 
> graduates will be computer savvy and naturally opt to
> continue pursuing 
> interests ranging from search of opportunities for
> enterpreneurship to 
> formal job hunting using the internet or just keeping
> intouch!.
> 
> Further more when we look at schools and their
> facilities, they can easily 
> become the information centres for the communities around
> them and also 
> offer affordable capacity building to the parents of the
> students nearby. 
> Then they will start to look for ways to make some money
> and the 
> international/local content picture will start to swing
> in our favor.
> 
> Imagine one day you will go online and order your chopped
> sukuma wiki and 
> packet of carrots from the local mama mbogo outside your
> estate, she will 
> deliver to your house you will pay her on your way back
> home or GOd knows 
> even online?. its the form form leaver who will have
> designed the website 
> for her and its the nearby school that will have taught
> her computer 101.
> 
> whats missing is the segment that should be dealing with
> Capacity Building 
> in an informal way or even sensitizing and awareness ( ie
> we dont have to 
> attend college proper we can just go to the neighbourhood
> place and learn 
> some basics) I think that this is where the Lag might be
> felt by the likes 
> of KDN...and others.
> 
> Fatma
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Joan Walumbe" <jwalumbe at globalnetcorps.org>
> To: <fbashir at cyberschooltech.com>
> Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 10:26 AM
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Day 5 - Statistics on
> Affordability - 
> CCKInternetStudy Report
> 
> 
> > Walu,
> >
> > I agree with you that affordablity is a factor
> especially for rural
> > communities when it comes to access to the internet.
> But I think that lack
> > of awareness is an even bigger factor. It's fine for
> the urban folk (who
> > already recognise the benefits to the internet etc.)
> taking a short break 
> > in
> > shags to have the internet access when back home, but
> it there is no 
> > demand
> > for the internet among the residents what is the point?
> >
> > So does KDN enter a market and then hope to create
> demand or is their a
> > market that demands the service or is it a little of
> both?
> >
> > I understand that Kai would not be venturing into the
> rural areas if it 
> > did
> > not make any financial sense.  Can anyone provide some
> info/statistics on
> > demand for internet access in rural areas?
> >
> > Joan Walumbe
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "John Walubengo" <jwalubengo at kcct.ac.ke>
> > To: <kictanet at kictanet.or.ke>
> > Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 9:01 AM
> > Subject: [kictanet] Day 5 - Statistics on Affordability
> - CCK 
> > InternetStudy
> > Report
> >
> >
> > Day 5- Statistics on Affordability.
> >
> > I acknowledge an interesting thread filtering in on
> Trust relationships 
> > b/w
> > IGOs/ISPs...feel  free to continue contributing on that
> as well as on
> > today's theme on affordability (multi-tasking
> > encouraged by internet technologies ...)
> >
> > and just to pick up from Kai's projection of KDN fiber
> hitting Bungoma in
> > early August 2007.  This would be quite a welcome and
> timely development,
> > but at what cost to the consumer? To  what extend will
> the (internet)
> > services be affordable to the rural/average
> communities?
> >
> > Affordability is a subjective term gven that what is
> considered cheap by 
> > the
> > Bill Gates of  this world is probably not so for the
> average Kenyan on the
> > street.  In trying to get an  objective measurement for
> affordability, the
> > Report pegged it on the national average  incomes.  In
> other words, if the
> > monthly average income in Kenya is around 100USD and if
> the  average 
> > monthly
> > cost for internet access is also around 100USD then
> obviously the average
> > Kenyan will not bother with accessing the Internet - it
> just becomes way
> > beyond their means  or too expensive or not affordable.
> >
> > The report indicated that access through the more
> convenient Internet
> > Dial-up/Desktop  services costed over 200% the average
> incomes (too
> > expensive), while the same access through  mobile
> phones was costing just 
> > 8%
> > of the average incomes (quite affordable).  What needs
> to  be done in 
> > order
> > to make Internet Services more afforable to Kenyans?
> >
> > 1 day deliberation on this one.
> >
> > walu.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> > 
> 
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