[kictanet] [KICTAnet] TEAMS | EASSY Fiber Cables Cut? SEACOM | LION?

Tue Feb 28 17:07:22 EAT 2012

This only makes sense if it makes sense to build data
centres in Kenya - I don't believe it does. 

If you look at all the recent major data centre build outs
(Apple, Google) - they're either happening where there is
enormous amounts of cheap energy, or where it's extremely
cold. Kenya doesn't have either of these features and I
can't see how it's going to generate large quantities of
cheap energy any time soon.

N.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: kictanet-
> bounces+ndear=sundayafternoon.me.uk at lists.kictanet.or.k
> e [mailto:kictanet-
> bounces+ndear=sundayafternoon.me.uk at lists.kictanet.or.k
> e] On Behalf Of Eugene Lidede (Synergy)
> Sent: 28 February 2012 16:55
> To: Nicholas J Dear
> Cc: 'KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions'
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] [KICTAnet] TEAMS | EASSY Fiber
> Cables Cut? SEACOM | LION?
> Importance: High
> 
> +1 Michuki on your good points
> 
> > 1. Today we import more than 80% of the Internet
> traffic consumed in
> > Kenya causing an "Internet Transit Deficit" where
> significantly less
> > Internet traffic is generated locally than accessed
> from overseas,
> > similar to what was experienced between Europe and
> the US during the
> > late 1990's.
> 
> However, what constitutes this traffic? Is it local
> content held abroad or
> is it genuinely content that cannot otherwise be
> obtained/generated locally.
> If it is local content held abroad, of which I am
> convinced it is, what is
> the best solution pre-2030: more fiber - both under sea
> and terrestrial,
> more redundant landing stations, better behaved
> shipping lines or more
> capacity and enabling environment for local hosting and
> local content
> providers?
> 
> Considering a typical case where my suppliers are in
> Kenya, my means of
> production is in Kenya, my clients are in Kenya with an
> occasionally client
> or two from abroad. If I had an extra shilling to spend
> on my business, what
> would make more sense, reengineer my offering to
> attract more international
> clients or strengthen my local offering?
> 
> How is it that we are comfortable with our top publicly
> listed telco,
> Safaricom delivering traffic to our top publicly listed
> media house in the
> UK? What ought to be the focus of our policy makers,
> regulators and
> licensors: facilitating scenarios as these or
> formulating ways to reverse
> such? Are there any benefits of such traffic
> transactions happening here in
> Kenya say at KIXP? How much would it cost say Safaricom
> to host say NMG's
> suite of websites, even if free of charge, verses how
> much does it cost them
> in terms of procured capacity, to deliver NMG bound
> traffic to the UK? Are
> there any short/long term benefits? Can both firms and
> others be given tax
> incentives to facilitate the above as opposed draining
> money on software
> certifications, a duplication of what more tax-payer
> money is already
> successfully doing at public universities?
> 
> --
> 
> Growing up in the seventies and eighties was
> interesting... Across all homes
> I knew, my friends, my cousins and even the one I grew
> up in, the best of
> everything was not for regular use by the "locals". The
> best cutlery, the
> best linen, we even had a term "Sunday Best" to
> describe that one Kaunda
> suit that could only be worn on Sundays. Chicken was
> only to be served when
> there were visitors (read "foreigners").  Back then,
> things were done more
> for the benefit of "foreigners" than for the benefit of
> "locals" - or how do
> you explain those grandiose wooden chests in the living
> room with all manner
> of expensive cutlery on display while "locals" made do
> with plastic cups and
> recycled blue-band tins.
> 
> Fast forward 30 years, and yes only time has "changed".
> We the lads and
> lasses growing up in the seventies and eighties are now
> in our  30s, 40s and
> 50s and yes, we are policy makers but as you know old
> habits die hard and so
> do bad ones. Our preoccupation is on how to better
> facilitate delivery of
> traffic abroad for what has been generated locally and
> is to be consumed
> within our borders. This we see as good practice: pay
> for export of our
> locally produced content and pay some more for its
> delivery back home
> unmodified for consumption. We see no problem giving a
> foreign company most
> of our government data via opendata because they are
> more competent than
> locals in deciphering and analyzing the data on and
> about the locals
> 
> Why are we so preoccupied with the international market
> as though there are
> no business opportunities for locals?
> 
> If indeed ICT and ecommerce is the next economic
> frontier, "naomba
> sirkal"... Nkt!
> 
> Regards
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: kictanet-
> bounces+eugene=synergy.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke
> [mailto:kictanet-
> bounces+eugene=synergy.co.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke] On
> Behalf Of Michuki Mwangi
> Sent: Tuesday, February 28, 2012 12:10 PM
> To: Eugene Lidede
> Cc: KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] TEAMS | EASSY Fibre Cables Cut?
> SEACOM | LION?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 2/28/12 9:06 AM, James Mbugua wrote:
> > Brian
> >
> > TEAMS general manager Joel Tanui said it will take
> three weeks
> > although that may be to avoid over promising.
> >
> > I'm told Eassy also has a cut near Djibouti and is
> currently being
> repaired.
> >
> > Operators now have no option but to switch to the
> very expensive
> > Seacom. By some accounts it is three times as
> expensive as TEAMS.
> >
> > Safaricom which carries 80 per cent of Kenya's
> internet traffic
> > usually has 50 per cent going through TEAMS and has
> switched this to
> > Seacom.
> >
> 
> IMHO we need to have a clearer understanding of the
> bigger picture to
> set the long term goals and objectives.
> 
> 1. Today we import more than 80% of the Internet
> traffic consumed in
> Kenya causing an "Internet Transit Deficit" where
> significantly less
> Internet traffic is generated locally than accessed
> from overseas,
> similar to what was experienced between Europe and the
> US during the
> late 1990's.
> 
> 2. We are dependent on a single East-Bound path from
> "Nairobi - Mombasa
> - (Mumbai/Fujaira) before going to Europe. This is
> despite the fact that
> we have terrestrial capacity from Cape Town to Cairo to
> provide an
> North-bound path that would complement the longer path.
> 
> 3. The BBC article did not mention that, with the
> Submarine cable cuts
> the Internet traffic between the East African Countries
> Kenya, Tanzania,
> Uganda, Rwanda are most adversely affected. My current
> tests are showing
> over 1sec latency from Nairobi to some networks in
> Tanzania, Rwanda and
> Uganda. This is despite the reality that Uganda and
> Rwanda are largely
> dependent on the terrestrial cables passing through
> Kenya onto the cables.
> 
> 4. South bound Internet traffic (to Southern Africa)
> has acquires
> satellite like latencies (higher than 500ms). As a
> result of the cable
> cuts. There's more than sufficient capacity
> terrestrially but we still
> have to go to Europe before going back South.
> 
> If we can work towards resolving the above issues with
> concrete plans
> and solutions. It's likely that such cable cuts in the
> future will not
> cause the level of attention and anxiety that we see
> are experiencing today.
> 
> 
> My 2 cents.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Michuki.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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> 
> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-
> stakeholder platform for people and institutions
> interested and involved in ICT policy and regulation.
> The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the
> ICT sector in support of the national aim of ICT
> enabled growth and development.
> 
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of
> acceptable behaviors online that you follow in real
> life: respect people's times and bandwidth, share
> knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect
> privacy, do not spam, do not market your wares or
> qualifications.
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