[kictanet] the long fibre lie...Regulatory Action limited.
Wainaina Mungai
wainaina at madeinkenya.org
Wed Aug 26 16:00:20 EAT 2009
>From the recent discussions on TEAMS&SEACOM, my advice to IT Managers and
domestic CTOs ;-) out there would be...."*Do not sign any new binding deals
with ISPs until January 2010"*. I'm taking into account all the caution
expressed by Dr. Ndemo and TEAMS investors such as MJ & Brian. It's also
after fielding several sweet-nothings from the ISPs courting me ;-)
...ignore the roses and candy for now and look at the whole package.
1. Do not select an ISP based on pricing only. There's a whole service
component you need to consider...longterm.
2. From the look of things, some ISPs might just shut down by January ;-)
...some have undisclosed illnesses that might turn fatal to their businesses
by 2010 - thanks to TEAMS & SEACOM - ...so do your research beyond the
standard powerpoint presentation by those brilliant and lovely looking sales
ladies.
3. Squeeze all you can from a good ISP before you move on. That's assuming
your current ISP is good at customer support & their techies can recite the
contents of the SLA ;-)
Did I leave out anything? ;-)
Wainaina
On Wed, Aug 19, 2009 at 2:44 PM, Onyango Hatari <onyango at inbox.com> wrote:
> Tom and Wainaina
>
>
> Thanks for your submissions here. I am not for us running away from the
> ones who refuse to lower the rates. What the unpatriotic Operators are doing
> is simply to ripoff Kenyans.
>
> They know that many even here on KICTANET rarely read even that important
> document called the Budget. Even the PS was not able to argue on the basis
> of the Kenyan Budget 2009/2010.
>
> These reasons make operators like Safaricom very arrogant in their pricing
> and will tend to exploit the users. The reductions from KDN are not imprtant
> until when we will see the ISPs reduce. KDN is in another league, we want
> reductions from AccessKenya, UUnet, Telkom Kenya, Safaricom, Zain, Yu.
>
> For the ones who have not hooked on to the cable, we must just give them
> time but the ones who have the mentality to exploit Kenyans must be told
> off. We must have people and leaders focused on see the country move and ICT
> is a key player in any country's development.
>
> Onyango
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> *From:* wainaina at madeinkenya.org
> *Sent:* Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:26:33 +0300
> *To:* onyango at inbox.com
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] the long fibre lie...Regulatory Action limited.
>
> Hi Tom,
>
> This is where I sneak into the debate and salute you!
>
> Is there a investor in SEACOM or TEAMS that would differ with the
> submission as a reason to significantly lower internet access rates?
>
> KDN are charging $600 for a 1MB/1MB link over fibre and $300 for 512K/512K.
> That is a significant drop because *25,000/= *is what you'd be paying for
> a 512k/512k instead of 125,000/= per month if you had 512/512 on some
> unnamed ISP a few months ago.
>
> I do not really believe we should be debating whether or not there will be
> an immediate drop. It is clear that an immediate drop has happened with some
> providers. Maybe we should just move to the provider capable to passing the
> gains we have for so long fought for....business/economic arguments and
> analogies aside.
>
> Regards,
> Wainaina
>
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 5:07 PM, Maliti, Tom <tmaliti at ap.org> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> Assuming all things remain equal, here's a line from this year's budget
> speech that suggests, at the least, ISPs should be bringing down prices as
> well as offering bigger bundles:
>
> ******************************
> First, *Mr. Speaker, *The East African Marine System Ltd (Teams) and
> Seacom Kenya Ltd
>
> have invested heavily in under sea fibre optic cables, whose completion and
> full deployment is
>
> expected to reduce significantly the cost of communication in our country.
> In addition to other
>
> measures which the Government has so far taken to encourage such investment
> and to further
>
> encourage the uptake of this facility by the internet service providers and
> other intermediaries, I
>
> propose:
>
> (i) To allow the internet service providers to offset against their taxable
> income the cost
>
> incurred in acquiring the right to use the fibre optic cable over a period
> of twenty years;
>
> (ii) To increase wear and tear on telecommunication equipment including the
> fibre optic cable
>
> from 12.5% to 20%;
>
> (iii) To provide tax deduction of 5% on computer software.
>
> *********************************
> May be we need to look at things from a different angle ...
>
>
> Tom Maliti
> Correspondent
> East Africa Bureau
>
> Direct line: +254 20 285 9109
> Office line: +254 20 285 9000
> +254 734 555 252
> Fax: +254 20 2724726
> Mobile +254 733 641 984
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* kictanet-bounces+tmaliti=ap.org at lists.kictanet.or.ke [mailto:
> kictanet-bounces+tmaliti <kictanet-bounces%2Btmaliti>=ap.org@
> lists.kictanet.or.ke] *On Behalf Of *Florence Etta
> *Sent:* 18 August 2009 14:24
> *To:* Maliti, Tom
> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] the long fibre lie...Regulatory Action limited.
>
> If the WASC experience is anythng to go by falling prices are not
> guaranteed simply by the presence of increased bandwidth!
>
>
>
> Cheers,
> FE
>
> (Still alive, kicking and yes lurking!)
>
>
> Florence Etta PhD
> Telephone:
> Nairobi Mobile: +254-733-621-851
> New York Rez: +1-917-639-3691
> Canada Rez: +1-613-232-2729
> Alternative Email:florence.etta at gmail.com<Email%3Aflorence.etta at gmail.com>
>
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* warigia bowman <warigia at gmail.com>
> *To:* feanywhere at yahoo.co.uk
> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, 18 August, 2009 7:02:56
> *Subject:* Re: [kictanet] the long fibre lie...Regulatory Action limited.
>
> Dear Alex
> I share your frustration about the high prices and low bandwidth. My bamba
> is still slow. I too believe consumers are not getting a fair deal.
>
> That being said, in Ndemo's defense, he is one of the most honest and
> hardworking PSes I have met in my research so far in this beautiful country
> of ours, across many different sectors. In terms of roles, the PS is the
> implementer, whereas the Minister is the policy "maker." Although lets be
> honest, Ndemo often does most of his bosses work, while not getting the
> credit, or the paycheck . . .
>
> I think your ire, while very justified, should be directed at the
> Ministers, and at the companies, particularly Safaricom and Zain.
>
> Yours, Warigia
>
> On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 1:45 PM, Gakuru Alex <alexgakuru.lists at gmail.com>wrote:
>
> Warigia,
>
> Below message to consumers and skunkworks lists sparked the heated
> discussions.
>
> On Fri, Aug 14, 2009 at 7:11 AM, Alex Gakuru<gakuru at gmail.com> wrote:
> > What a long optics fibre lie the whole thing was...
> >
> > ---Business Daily---
> >
> > "we do not anticipate that [Internet] prices will drop as drastically
> > as initially indicated or within a short time-frame"
> >
> > <
> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/-/539550/639386/-/u8ardrz/-/index.html
> >
> >
> > "..it was planning to implement an immediate 24 per cent discount on
> > its internet charges and promised higher discounts once connections to
> > international fibre optic links went live by the end of next month.."
> >
> > <
> http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Company%20Industry/-/539550/638808/-/u8bcyoz/-/index.html
> >
> >
> > ---summary---
> > in short, consumers are going to continue being ripped-off while a
> > just too comfortable "hands-off" government sits back pretentiously
> > expecting "market-forces" to push prices down -
> >
> > The way I see it? we have several options a) to demand government
> > officers( Ndemo & Co.) who promised cheap internet to resign, b)
> > demand regulator to wake up and proactively set the prices c) continue
> > living in a denial and that,hopefully, one day we will have
> > "affordable" internet in Kenya.
> >
> > Where is Bitange Ndemo and and why did he lie to us and raised
> > Kenyans' hopes for cheap internet? we shall have serious problems to
> > believe anything he promises henceforth. He should resign if internet
> > prices do not go down as he promised.
> >
> > And who runs this country anyway? telecommunication companies or the
> > government and the regulator?
> >
> > Alex
> > _______________________________________________
> > ke-internetusers mailing list
> > ke-internetusers at bdix.net
> > http://www.bdix.net/mailman/listinfo/ke-internetusers
> >
>
> Waundo,
>
> Kenya current problem not that old one, its different and it is
> "failed telecommunications market liberarisation."
>
>
> " 3.4. Most rural areas still do not have Internet access despite
> the fact that there
> are many licensed ISPs. Additionally, the quality of service has
> not
> improved. Isn’t there a need to make provisions to enable
> rural access and
> enforce Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to guarantee quality
> of service?
> The licensed operators present said that the major factors hindering
> their rollout to the
> rural areas are:
> o High cost of connectivity offered by carriers.
> Competition has been used,
> as a means to lower prices however there seems to be
> no correlation
> between the cost and the number of players in the
> market. The licensing
> of more players in the IG&BO and PDNO licence has not
> translated to
> lower access costs.
> o Competition may also be used as a means to improving
> quality of service
> delivery and encourage the use of Service Level
> Agreements (SLA). This
> however has not been evident in the Kenyan market.
> o Finally, competition should result in increased access
> and availability to
> telecommunication service and infrastructure.
> However, since rural areas
> are not economically viable, most operators
> concentrate operations in
> urban centres."
>
> <http://www.cck.go.ke/isp_stakeholders.pdf>
>
> The question begs... What are the Ministry of Information and
> Communications and the Regulator actually doing to ensure that
> consumers benefit?
>
> For further erodes hopes, if not adds insult to consumers injuries, to
> read on today's Business Daily "BUYOUT CCK says local ownership rule
> waived to allow foreign investor own more than 80 p.c"
>
> Could some people in government actually responsible and/or prefer the
> statu-quo to remain? Now is the time to ask some of these hard
> questions- "academics" aside!
>
> Alex
>
>
> On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 12:28 PM, waudo siganga<emailsignet at mailcan.com>
> wrote:
> > Hi Warigia - First sorry for missing ur big day due to some other
> commitment
> > I had. I do not believe governments or governmental agencies should set
> > consumer prices on anything. That is the work of market forces through
> > competition. What governments need to do is ensure an environment that
> > fosters competition. The example of ATT is from the old days when ATT was
> a
> > monopoly operator. It reminds me of the 1998 Kenya Communications Act
> that
> > gave monopoly status to Telkom Kenya in provision of some services such
> as
> > landlines in Nairobi and international telephony. The mistaken rationale
> was
> > that Telkom would rake in some "super profits" which would in turn be
> > utilised in universal access provision. Needless to say those objectives
> > were never attained. All along we prodded the Government to free the
> market
> > through competition and private sector investment. When this happend as
> in
> > the case of the mobile telephony sector the results in terms of better
> and
> > more afrordable services were quick to manifest. Our argument in the case
> of
> > universal access was that it was better for the Government to allow
> freedom
> > in the market and then use fiscal instruments to raise funds from the
> > IMPROVED, EXPANDED and CHEAPER services. This is being done today
> through a
> > 10% excise tax on airtime and, believe me, most users do not even notice
> it.
> >
> > With the marine fibre I noticed what looked like cross-ownership and
> > cross-interest in the different ventures and maybe that can have an
> effect
> > on the competitive environment necessary to bring prices down
> significantly.
> >
> > Kind Regards,
> > Waudo
> >
> >
> > On Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:21 +0300, "warigia bowman" <warigia at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > Dear Brian
> >
> > Do you believe that ISPs in Kenya are sufficiently competitive to keep
> > prices fair? I am just asking. I really do not know.
> >
> > What about the concern people have expressed that KDN has dropped prices
> > dramatically to ISPs, but consumers are not seeing the benefit.
> >
> > By the way, it is WONDERFUL to hear from you!
> >
> > Rigia
> >
> > On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 11:18 AM, Brian Munyao Longwe <blongwe at gmail.com
> >
> > wrote:
> >
> > Good point Warigia and the same applies here - CCK can and have exercised
> > their authority to regulate voice pricing - this is especially true when
> > there is either a monopoly or an operator with significant market share.
> >
> > The same does not apply to market sectors like Internet services because
> > there is full competition and never any player with significant market
> > share. In the USA - FCC have never regulated Internet or bandwidth
> pricing
> > as market forces generally accomplish this.
> >
> > Best regards,
> >
> > Brian
> >
> >
> > On Tue, Aug 18, 2009 at 11:11 AM, warigia bowman <warigia at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > Dear colleagues
> >
> > Rates of operators can and have been regulated, In fact, in the United
> > States we had something called rate of return regulation when ATT was a
> > monopoly. They were allowed to charge a high rate, but in exchange, they
> had
> > to ensure every tiny village of even 200 had phone service. Why can't our
> > operators do that?
> >
> > Sincerely, Warigia
> >
> > 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?
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> Skunkworks mailing list
> >> Skunkworks at lists.my.co.ke
> >> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks
> >> Other services @ http://my.co.ke
> >> Other lists
> >> -------------
> >> Announce:
> >> http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/skunkworks-announce
> >> Science: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/science
> >> kazi: http://lists.my.co.ke/cgi-bin/mailman/admin/kazi/general
> >>
> >
>
> --
> Dr. Warigia Bowman
> Assistant Professor
> The Department of Public Policy Leadership
> The University of Mississippi
> 107 Odom Hall
> University, MS 38677
>
> URL: http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/leadership/index.html
> PHONE: 662-915-1904
> EMAIL: mwbowman at olemiss.edu
>
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