[kictanet] Day 1 of 3: 2016 ICT Year in Review Feedback - Policy, Legal & Regulatory Issues

[WANGARI KABIRU]

Blessed new month December!
Kindly find comments, with thanks!
Be blessed!
Regards/Wangari

Day 1 of 3: 2016 ICT Year in Review Feedback -Policy, Legal & Regulatory Issues
 Listers,(apologies for cross-posting) Thanksagain for those who spared time to provide feedback - so that the rest of uscan read and interrogate the same :-) Over thenext 3 days I shall share the feedback and basically hope to get furtherreactions from the floor.  I attach the feedback document but withsummaries below: 1. Policy& Legal Feedback a) 52% of the respondents felt that the UniversalService Fund(USF) had not met its objective. 40% felt that it had to a moderateextent while 8% felt it had a very large extent. -      CSOs tappinginto the fund; for advocacy, lobbying-  Innovators - for groundbreaking research and solutions that others may ride on  as enterprises
 a)     61% of therespondents felt that ICT Policies and initiative had not impacted thecounties. 23% of the respondents felt that these had moderately impacted thecounties, while 10% felt they had an impact to a very large extent.- CountyGovernments must take initiative to inbuilt in their services. c) 41% of the respondents felt that the multi-stakeholder approachbetween ICT stakeholders and government was moderately achieved. 31% feltit was not achieved while  25% felt it was, to a very large extent.We have seen public calls to ICT stakeholders by Government agencies- The Tech community contribution can do much better- CSOs are not at the forefront lobbying -  perhaps may not have the capacity d) Policy/Legal Issues not yet addressed include: Cyber Crime /CyberSecurity Bill and its position in Senate and National Assembly, Data ProtectionBill, ICT Practitioners Bill, Privacy Issue Linkages between National &County Governments on ICT matters, Quality of Internet, Infrastructure SharingRegulatory FeedbackThe feedback loop can be improved2. Regulatory Feedbacka) 48% of the respondents felt that the question of affordable communications/internetpricing had not been well addressed. 30% felt that the question of affordablepricing has been moderately addressed while 20% felt it has been addressed to avery large extent.- CSOs who are best placed to lobbyfor this seem not to consider ICT as a frontier to venture into. They are stillfocused on the poverty areas where donors pump money of food, health, education- Donor support linked to the ICTs isnew frontier that entities like ISOC Chapter may champion forb) 68% of the respondents felt that the issue of dominance in the sectorwas affecting pricing of communication services to a very large extent. 16%felt it moderately affected pricing while 13% felt it was really not an issue.- Monopoly, oligopoly with a lukewarm regulator hand to players is notgood for the consumer. It is very good for the investor- The fact that the ICT sector is predominantly foreign-owned should be acontributor – with repatriation of profits and foreign versus local interestsc) 48% of the respondents felt that the urban-rural digital divide hadnot been adequately addressed while 34% felt that it had been moderatelyaddressed while only 7% felt it had been addressed to a very large extent. Urban-urban divide requires to get into the conversation. This is also adiscriminatory element.- ISPs cables within urban centres terminate as you enter into a slumarea.- What this means is that the low income pay more, have to find theirown local ways to access servicese.g Kenya Power in the slum electrification has shown that it can bedone.d) 65% of the respondents felt that the regulator had not addressed theissue of inclusivity with regard to persons with disabilities (PWD). 27% feltthis had been moderately addressed while only 5% felt it has been addressed toa large extent.What does legislation say – this becomes the benchmark andall players comply-       CSOs take on their role to engage and lobby for e) Areas needing Regulatory Interventions: Operator Dominance Issues,Internet Pricing & Affordability issues, White Spaces, Operationalizationof Universal Service Fund & Access, Failed Number Portability, Dataprotection for Subscriber Data, Conflict between regulatory bodies, Last mileconnectivity and Way-leaves, Net-Neutrality, Support for ICT-startups, Supportfor Digital evidence in courts, Inclusion & Support for Persons With Irrespectiveof whether you participated  in the questionnaire or not, you are invitedto comment, support, oppose and/or seek clarifications on the views ofstakeholders.Tommorrow weshall post the feedback on Human Capital & Infrastructure. ---
Pray God Bless. 2013Wangari circa - "Being of the Light, We are Restored Through Faith in Mind, Body and Spirit; We Manifest The Kingdom of God on Earth".
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