[kictanet] [Skunkworks] the long fibre lie...Regulatory Action limited.

Mon Aug 17 19:57:00 EAT 2009

Walu,
Placing this extract in the context of this discussion and your report  
on e-Governance we discussed 4 months ago...pg. 17....you forgot to  
include a fundamental issue.

Bill Kagai doubted Brian's statement about the TEAMS project being  
“developmental”
rather than “profit” oriented.  In his rejoinder Brain Longwe said  
that there were a
number of different ways to go about major infrastructure development:

1. For-Profit: Putting together a business case with a clear Return-On- 
Investment
(ROI) benefit; looking out for funding, then building and deploying.   
Hopefully
the market would respond well and the investors get their return (e.g.  
SEACOM).
2. Means-to-an-end: Determine the total costs for the project,  
approach the primary
stakeholders; Oil companies in the case of oil pipelines, gas  
companies in the case
of gas companies, operators and ISPs in the case of bandwidth; sell  
them the
concept of delivering the commodity to themselves at cost (or as near  
to cost as
possible); set up an "Operations and Maintenance" structure which  
levies the
same parties; build and deploy; once the bandwidth is delivered it's a  
"free-for-all"
in the marketplace - with ‘costs’ at a very low level, prices would  
eventually
follow due to competition (e.g. TEAMs and EASSY)

He said this is was one of the main reasons why projects such as TEAMs  
and EASSY
have faced stiff opposition, criticism and outright attempted sabotage  
– because they have
the potential to cut the feet out from under any similar commercial  
venture.

In response Bill Kagai stated the following

1. For Profit - Seacom -This sounded like a brilliant business and  
economic model.
2. Means-to-an-end - TEAMS:  Referencing his university economics this  
option
appeared as the only economic model they did not teach at the  
University of
Nairobi an institution established by an Act of Parliament.

In summary, he felt that TEAMs had already waged a price war with no  
products in the
market yet and was skeptical that TEAMs would indeed be cheaper than  
SEACOM in
terms of costing internet service.

.....You forgot to include that Brian promised to buy me kalovo should  
Seacom roll out faster and end up being cheaper than Teams. Haki yetu..

On Aug 17, 2009, at 1:10 PM, Walubengo J wrote:

> MO, Alex,
>
> Ease up abit.  Dont imagine I dont want affordable internet prices.  
> Infact if you had time and googled my online contributions over the  
> last 5years, you will realize I have been raising the red-flag about  
> fiber vis a viz pricing.  The other day I reloaded my Safcom modem  
> with 1,000/= (300MB service). It all disappeared within 5days!  
> Previously before SEACOM it would take longer (3weeks) to disappear  
> because of the slower speeds. Better speeds encourage  faster and  
> broader browsing but  it hurts (financially) and its not funny.
>
> I think our differences lie in the approach to having reduced  
> prices. I chose the academic route because thats my background.   
> Feel free to pursue your routes to reduced prices - but plse be  
> cautious because the solution is NOT domiciled in ONE stakeholder.  
> Its not with the Regulator, nor the techies, nor the activists, nor  
> the Consumers, nor the Govt, nor the Media, etc.  Instead I believe  
> it is with ALL of the above. And it will be unfortunate to alienate  
> any of them while pursuing reduced prices.
>
> walu.
> nb1: and thats why I had copied to what Alex calls my "home- 
> tuff" (just ropping in other stakeholders).
> nb2: I also note and do appreciated your legal counterarguments but  
> decline to respond as at now since I will cover that and other  
> issues during  the upcoming ICT conference at SU (I think will be  
> free to sambaza the paper thereafter for those interested).
>
>
> --- On Mon, 8/17/09, mike oketch <mikeoketch at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> From: mike oketch <mikeoketch at gmail.com>
>> Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] the long fibre lie...Regulatory Action  
>> limited.
>> To: "Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks at lists.my.co.ke>
>> Date: Monday, August 17, 2009, 10:13 AM
>> Again
>> Safaricom CEO who is also heads the board of
>> TEAMS says that TEAMS benefits could not be realised because
>> onward connection with Europe has not been fully discussed.
>> How can you initiate a flight from Kenya to Nigeria without
>> getting the landing rights in Nigeria and flight clearance
>> for CAR, DRC, Sudan and all the countries you are going to
>> overfly?
>>
>> Cheap Cheap Cheap and we wont be duped. I have
>> seen people in this list who support the crooked CEOs just
>> because they need favors for contracts and interviews for
>> their educations research papers. Hypocrites they are.
>>
>> Lets be realistic
>> MO
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 9:10 AM,
>> mike oketch <mikeoketch at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> Walubengo
>> Yours are just too simplistic than the
>> Alex's you are saying that are simplistic. The fact that
>> kenya could not regulate Oil prices doesnt mean that
>> Tanzania couldnt. The fact that SAT 3 operators couldnt be
>> regulated cannont mean that the operators here cannot be
>> regulated.
>>
>>
>> Stop all these fake comparisons. Prices must
>> come down and we will face them at every conference and
>> every Barcamp and will tell these unpatriotic who have
>> pocketed our PS off. Your arguments just dont wash.
>>
>>
>> MO
>>
>> On Mon, Aug 17, 2009 at 8:40 AM,
>> Walubengo J <jwalu at yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Alex,
>>
>>
>>
>> Your have rightly qaulified your solution - as simple.
>> Indeed it is. Infact too simplistic to fly.  The idea
>> that the Regulator can reign in Operators who charge
>> "high" internet rates cannot and will not work.
>> Think about the in-famous SAT3 fiber link on the west
>> coast of africa.  Ask yourself why the Regulators in
>> Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Angola, S-Africa etc have never
>> stepped in and revoked licensces of operators over the
>> last 15yrs of high internet costs offered on the fiber...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> The answers are very complex...I will actually be
>> discussing these limitations and available interventions in
>> some upcoming ICT conference at Strath University in Sept 09
>> and I dont want to pre-empt ;-)....
>>
>>
>>
>> walu.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --- On Fri, 8/14/09, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> From: Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists at gmail.com>
>>
>>> Subject: Re: [Skunkworks] Fwd: the long fibre lie...
>> Ndemo should resign if internet prices do not drop as he
>> promised!!
>>
>>> To: "Skunkworks forum" <skunkworks at lists.my.co.ke>
>>
>>> Date: Friday, August 14, 2009, 8:44 PM
>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 7:38 PM,
>>
>>> David Kiania | Asentric Consulting
>>
>>> Ltd<kianiadee at gmail.com>
>>
>>> wrote:
>>
>>>>
>>
>>>> Set the precedence what's your  solution? Am
>> sure if
>>
>>> you did we'd have
>>
>>>> heard it by now. This thread is a knee jerk
>> reaction
>>
>>> to a bad internet
>>
>>>> day, we all have one.
>>
>>>>
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Simple, the entity under Ndemo's docket that
>> grants these
>>
>>> cowboy
>>
>>> operators licenses puts it's foot down and warn
>> that I may
>>
>>> revoke
>>
>>> licenses for operators that charge waaaay up in the
>> sky not
>>
>>> just above
>>
>>> cost but ABOVE acceptable international pricing
>> benchmarks.
>>
>>> They've
>>
>>> all the data they need. Imagine, for example,
>> Safaricom on
>>
>>> the verge
>>
>>> of losing their license, price drops, drops, drops,
>> drops,
>>
>>> drops, and
>>
>>> drops..... across board.
>>
>>>
>>
>>> Would this be acceptable to you?
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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