[kictanet] Fwd: [Skunkworks] Do commercial web portals andsitesfall into Content Service Provider category?

[aki]

Dear Bw Ndemo,

I'd like to share some information, though a bit lengthy.

One of the greatest challenges facing many sectors and including our tech
sector is that Innovation may not come from big companies or
multi-nationals. Mostly they will always follow the tried and tested ideas,
technologies and systems that create return revenues. And so much of
innovation will never make it to any end users which is quite unfortunate.

But there is a hope of changing this. Innovation or innovative methods to
generate interest lives with much smaller entities who spend quite of their
time towards improving and testing systems, ideas or technologies. There are
many of us have been doing this for a long time but innovations is not a
guaranteed system of over night success but rather a process of development
which can take years. And this is where big businesses can come in and take
the ideas or innovations into bigger deployments. This is what Kenya needs.
And we should create an enviroment through less stricter policies and
licensing regulations for smaller entities to develop, test and distribute
so that investors or other interested parties can see the show case of what
can be achieved.

I'd like to list an example, though there are many : Voice Over IP

Today we have so many skype users and all voice traffic and rates are paid
to directly to some foreign nation. About few years ago I had thought of
developing a local server using the asterisk open source server that would
allow voice sip handsets and even chat software to allow for calls. The
system included a billing system that provided itemised call billing
analysis that would be mailed to the end user on a monthly basis. I tested
the server for many months and was confident it was the way to go. I had now
completed my tech part of R & D and was now ready with a system.

- Skype has no termination into any network in kenya. I worked on the same.
- Skype has a software that allows chat and international calls. I worked on
a software available that would easily allow calls and in future have the
capability for video conferencing over the same hardware.
- All Skype calls have to be paid to them, internationaly. I worked on keep
the calls billed at local rates and paid locally.
- Skype was bandwidth intensive and critical. I worked on G729 encoder that
consumes just about 8kbps over any internet link.
- My system offered IVR message facility.

When I went to the CCK website to see how to go about setting my deployment
and check the details of the voip criteria , it became clear that I was now
in an industry that was way way beyond and out of my reach. I shelved the
entire system and program and moved onto other tech things.

Today, when I see skype users make calls etc, I wonder. They all depend on
international servers while kenya is loosing out on revenue. So how can we
think of competing against the likes of skype? The R & D is there, the
technology is there to produce something local. But treating Software As a
Service in the likes of a telco or service provider category killed all
local innovation. And not that telcos nor providers have been stopped by
anyone, they have the licenses, the ability and the financial might. Its
just that they may have started now, something the small sector would have
been able to offer a few years ago.

I hope that smaller entities will be given a break through an informal
sector approach which in the long run will produce results for many. I'm
sure it will benefit thousands in the ICT sector who are innovative and
adaptive to kenyans needs. The answer to cheaper internet access also lies
here.

My amatuer thots.

Asante sana.

Rgds.
On Mon, Sep 21, 2009 at 3:09 PM, <bitange at jambo.co.ke> wrote:

> Solomon,
> Over regulation is bad.  It curtails innovation.  My prayer is to have as
> many Kenyans online as possible.  This can only be achieved by developing
> relevant content.  I want to know for example the origin of the names
>  Mwangi, Omolo, Ndemo etc.  Only local people can do this.  Genealogical
> data will occupy us online more than anything.  We therefore need a local
> wikipedia.
>
> Once local corporations realize that five million of us are online, digital
> adverts would follow.  It is estimated that more than 60 percent of adverts
> would be online.  In other words it is up to us to create content that will
> take most our people online.
>
> On pricing of Broadband, I will do anything within the law to ensure it is
> affordable -- that is below 200 dollars a MB.  Let us allow competition to
> drive it down.  Teams was ready for service on Sept. 15 and I gues some
> operators are waiting to see who takes a plunge with attractive offers.
>  Whichever way someone will bolt out.
>
> Once again, let us not always put the law in front.  If you break it in the
> process of innovation, we all shall understand and possibly make something.
>  Let us emulate the Brits with their Common Law.  Use common sense, always
> have good intetions and embrace great moral standards.
>
> Ndemo.
> Sent from my BlackBerry®
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Solomon Mburu <solo.mburu at gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, 21 Sep 2009 13:09:00
> To: <bitange at jambo.co.ke>
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>;
> <kictanet-bounces+bitange=jambo.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Fwd: [Skunkworks] Do commercial web portals and
>        sitesfall into Content Service Provider category?
>
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