[kictanet] [Skunkworks] the long fibre lie...Regulatory Actionlimited.

Mon Aug 17 21:44:17 EAT 2009

Dear Colleagues,

You all would be welcome to participate in discussions on these issues in
the East African Fibre Summit, which we are holding at Laico Regency over
22-23 September. The draft programme is attached. Please email me if you
would like to make a presentation or participate in a Discussion Panel.

Asante sana,

Sean Moroney

Chairman

AITEC Africa
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From: kictanet-bounces+seanm=aitecafrica.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+seanm=aitecafrica.com at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On
Behalf Of Bildad Kagai
Sent: 17 August 2009 17:57
To: seanm at aitecafrica.com
Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
Subject: Re: [kictanet] [Skunkworks] the long fibre lie...Regulatory
Actionlimited.

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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