[kictanet] Fibre Optic Cables

[Michuki Mwangi]

Eric,

Eric Osiakwan wrote:
> Nothing against all the big guns establishing in Kenya but what about a long term objective 
> of building our own version of Akamai,googles, Limelights etc. 
>

I think i missed your response following that someone did turn the 
thread into a different discussion item all together. Nonetheless, my 
initial response was in appreciation that we only stand to benefit if 
the big guns host locally.

Lets face it; we are late entrants into the "content" arena. Apple, 
Microsoft, Norton et al are less likely to give their content business 
(in the immediate future) to an African based CDN. There's however a 
more likelihood that they can pay for Akamai & others to bring their 
content closer to their clients in Africa.

On the other hand, Akamai is less likely to be attracted to 
Nationmedia.com etc but an African CDN will most likely eyeball on such 
clientel. Therefore there's an untapped opportunity for hosting of local 
content (as it develops) and thats where our big guns will rise from.



> Dont forget the real winners in the knowledge era are those who produce their own not use 
> others. So our long term objective should be to have our own alongside others because it is 
> a free market economy. 
> 

This calls for a greater understanding of the "interconnection, peering 
and transit" economics and models. This is what significantly influences 
where the Akamai's & others setup shop. If you recall the Net-Neutrality 
debate which highlighted some of the challenges of these models & 
agreements.

So being a real winner in the knowledge era is producing your own 
content and being able to sell it profitably to a as many consumers as 
"internetly" possible :)


Regards,