[kictanet] Kenya IGF on line Discussions Day 1: International Telecommunications Regulations (ITR's)

Fri Jun 15 06:43:58 EAT 2012

+1  Barrack

Ali Hussein

+254 773/713 601113

Sent from my iPhone®

On Jun 15, 2012, at 6:29 AM, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com> wrote:

> Agreed Ali, Grace (B)  if you read through the ATU report , you will
> realise that this was the spirit most participants agreed to embrace,
> multistakeholderism which has become popular with the evolution of the
> Internet, in my humble opinion, the war on terror lends credence to
> regulation, security is key to socio -economic developement in any
> country, regulation cannot and should no longer be limited to
> governments alone but to all stakeholders involved in management of
> key communications Infrastructure.
> 
> On Fri, Jun 15, 2012 at 5:54 AM, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>> Grace and all
>> 
>> There has always been some sort of regulation albeit on a very long string.
>> The point I was trying to make is that if we are at all to expand ITRs to
>> include the Internet and other related services then we need to expand that
>> environment to include signatories that are not necessarily government
>> related. As mentioned before civil society groups, Multi Nationals all are
>> now recognized to be part part and parcel of the ecosystem.
>> 
>> Regulation in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. In good faith it is
>> deemed to be there to protect all stakeholders. The onus is of course on all
>> of us to endure vigilance that it is not abused. A case in point is the
>> recent media reports about collusion in the telecoms space in Kenya where
>> some Telcos were accused of price collusion with the cooperation of CCK.
>> Whether these reports were correct or not we should commend our vigilance
>> and the action CCK took to quash those rumors. A few weeks later we see an
>> agreement with all Telcos and CCK amicably agreeing to reduce further
>> interconnection rates. That in my opinion is a good example of regulation
>> working.
>> 
>> 
>> Ali Hussein
>> 
>> +254 773/713 601113
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone®
>> 
>> On Jun 14, 2012, at 10:18 PM, "Grace Mutung'u (Bomu)" <nmutungu at gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>> 
>> Dear Ali and listers,
>> Its interesting, the call for a global regulatory environment. But seeing as
>> the Internet developed because of among others the openness, suppose there
>> is regulation, are there certain aspects that should be left unregulated, at
>> least by governments, or at least for the time being?
>> 
>> Grace B
>> 
>> 2012/6/14 Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke>
>>> 
>>> Listers
>>> 
>>> I believe we should start advocating for an updated global regulatory
>>> environment. As one lister mentioned are ITRs even necessary in this brave
>>> new world? The fact that it takes so long within the ITU member states to
>>> make even a slight change in language for anything involving treaties that
>>> affect member states is caution enough - 22 years since the last update!!
>>> 
>>> Let's look at the environment now and then.
>>> 
>>> 1. National Telecomms companies are either defunct or moribund replaced (
>>> or in some cases swallowed) by all intents and purposes by large dominant
>>> Multi-nationals or regional giants. Safaricom (Vodafone), Orange (France
>>> Telecom), Airtel (Bharti) and yu (Essar) in Kenya are all controlled by
>>> these. So my humble view is that the only point of discussion for us is from
>>> a user and regulatory perspective. In this I believe we need to ensure a
>>> level playing field for all players and as much as possible retain some sort
>>> of Net Neutrality.
>>> 
>>> 2. Is this achievable through the ATU? The fact that the only time this
>>> was mentioned was yesterday by Daktari Ndemo and that the CCK is still nil
>>> by mouth on this is an answer in itself. How do we participate at the ATU.
>>> Does this forum have any mandate on this? What is the role of TESPOK? KITOS?
>>> Even if we do go the ATU way we must have a plan B to move our Agenda
>>> forward. Do we know if  other African countries are even discussing this? If
>>> so what forums are there to have a meeting of minds?
>>> 
>>> A casual look at the ATU site makes zero reference to this issue of ITRs,
>>> internet governance and freedom. Further it looks like their calendar is
>>> full for the remainder of the year and into the next year. Being realistic
>>> what chances do we have of a joint position across Africa before December's
>>> Dubai meeting? Any lurkers out there from the rest of Africa to join in and
>>> give us your perspective?
>>> 
>>>  Let's start with home. What is the position of the various organizations?
>>> TESPOK? KeNIC? Computer Society? CCK?
>>> 
>>> Regards
>>> 
>>> Ali Hussein
>>> 
>>> +254 773/713 601113
>>> 
>>> Sent from my iPhone®
>>> 
>>> On Jun 13, 2012, at 11:16 PM, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>> 
>>> Listers,
>>> 
>>> International Telecommunication regulations are general principles related
>>> to international telecommunication services and its transport means.
>>> 
>>> The purpose and Scope includes among other things:
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  Interconnection and interoperability of telecommunication facilities.
>>> Giving precedence for the Radio Regulations in case of contradiction.
>>> Allowing, within its framework, mutual agreements between countries.
>>> To set primary rules for accounting and settlements between
>>> members.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The ITR treaty was adopted in the World Administrative Telegraph and
>>> Telephone Conference (WATTC) held in Melbourne, 1988. It however came into
>>> force on July 1
>>> 
>>> 1990, since then no updates have been made to the ITR provisions which
>>> leads to the following question:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> As countries prepare for the World Congress on International
>>> Telecommunications to be held in Dubai in December 2012
>>> (http://www.itu.int/en/wcit-12/Pages/overview.aspx) What should  Kenya's
>>> priorities be?
>>> Should Kenya make its stand as a country or should we bargain through the
>>> Africa Telecommunications Union as per Dr. Ndemos proposal during a
>>> discussion on the list what are the implications of taking a stand as a
>>> country or as a regional block ?
>>> 
>>> The floor is open
>>> 
>>> 
>>> --
>>> Barrack O. Otieno
>>> +254721325277
>>> +254-20-2498789
>>> Skype: barrack.otieno
>>> http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/
>>> 
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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.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> --
>> Grace L.N. Mutung'u (Bomu)
>> Kenya
>> Skype: gracebomu
>> Twitter: GraceMutung'u (Bomu)
>> 
>> 
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Unsubscribe or change your options at
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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.
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Barrack O. Otieno
> +254721325277
> +254-20-2498789
> Skype: barrack.otieno
> http://www.otienobarrack.me.ke/