[kictanet] Net neutrality 'first world' problem?

Sat Feb 27 12:51:04 EAT 2016

I agree, we need to discuss net neutrality in the context of Africa.
However, this is how I interprate Net Neutrality in the African Context:

   - Firstly, SMS access to Twitter can not be termed as using the
   Internet. It is termed as using SMS to access a service that is not
   available on feature phones. So that is discounted.
   - If someone has access to a smart phone, he or she can get a 150 MB
   bundle for around 50 Shillings. You can also get daily bundles for 10 or 20
   shillings. The fact that someone has a smart phone means he can easily
   acquire a 10 or 20 bob bundle every day. I am yet to see someone who has a
   smart phone but can not pay at least 50 bob for a 150 MB bundle he can
   utilize for at most 3 or 4 days.
   - There does reach a time when access to the Internet is vital, and,
   someone may have run out of data bundles. This may be the case in critical
   situations involving maybe even emergency situations. In such scenarios
   Internet Basics may be a huge plus. Imagine being in the middle of an area
   where there is unrest and you can not tweet or facebook about it. Free
   Basics can save the day and can give voice to people who may need to have
   an opinion aired before anything catastrophic happens and evidence is lost.

I think we all agree that yes, it does give unfair advantage to specific
players, but then what if there is a genuine need? What if we need people
to talk about critical situations, what if God Forbid fire breaks out in a
suburb and the people close by don't have a bundle active? Free Basics can
in such situations even save lives. It can allow people to tweet and
responders to respond.

I do not think people would deliberately block access to other sites
because they get FB or Twitter for free. What happens if they need to
follow up on a link that they want to read on? But it is needed where it
can be of help.

So generally, lets not discount the need for access to platforms like
Twitter or Facebook in cases where 999 can not be accessible. Infact, this
is a good means by which emergency response services (Red Cross, etc) can
set up hash tags and twitter accounts to allow respondents to send vital
emergency information for quick response. For free. When there is an urgent
need for it to be there. Because a 50 MB Bundle can not be used to tweet
heavy photos out of an emergency scene for more than 5 minutes.

Ahmed

On Sat, Feb 27, 2016 at 12:18 PM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Good analogy Kivuva.
>
> Ali Hussein
> Tel: +254 713 601113
> On Feb 27, 2016 11:59 AM, "Mwendwa Kivuva" <lordmwesh at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Let us debate on the notion of "bread" 🍞 alone.
>>
>> We all know lack of a balanced diet brings kwashiorkor. And it brings
>> stunted growth too. Forget zika virus, normal children in Africa get
>> smaller brains because of the stunted growth.
>>
>> Take that analogy and compare it to the malnutritioned internet being
>> paraded around. Out children too will develop intellectual Kwashiorkor
>> On Feb 27, 2016 10:17 AM, "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> Ebele
>>>
>>> It has to do with the issue of Third Party Liability.
>>>
>>> Ali Hussein
>>> Tel: +254 713 601113
>>> On Feb 27, 2016 10:01 AM, "Ebele Okobi" <ebeleokobi at fb.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm curious-what does the KFCB demand that Google censor content have
>>>> to do with net neutrality?
>>>>
>>>> Ebele Okobi | Head of Public Policy, Africa
>>>>
>>>> m. +44 (0) 771 156 1315 <+44%20(0)%20771%20156%201315>
>>>>
>>>> 10 Brock Street | London | NW1 3FG
>>>>
>>>> ebeleokobi at fb.com
>>>>
>>>> [image: 6F376569-CC77-422B-BAD3-794055B1E02B]
>>>>
>>>> On Feb 27, 2016, at 5:32 AM, Ali Hussein via kictanet <
>>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Nanjira
>>>>
>>>> The CS is definitely entitled to his opinion. Like all of us. My
>>>> concern is of course that his opinion can be construed to be Government
>>>> Policy. And Net Neutrality cannot be distilled in such a simplistic way.
>>>>
>>>> I think it's high time this country and the rest of Africa have a deep
>>>> conversation about what Net Neutrality means for us.
>>>>
>>>> Take for example the issue of KFCB the other day when the CEO
>>>>  announced that they have asked Google to take down the 'offending' video
>>>> of same sex marriage/love endorsement.
>>>>
>>>> I was astounded that the whole discussion degenerated to the issue of
>>>> homosexuality!!
>>>>
>>>> My questions and concerns were quite clear and they alluded to our
>>>> total lack of policy regarding Net Neutrality. And address in an ICT Forum.
>>>>
>>>> KFCB used the right tools to ask for the video take down. The same
>>>> tools have been used by other governments.
>>>>
>>>> With all due respect to the CS but I think he needs to be careful not
>>>> to simplify this important matter. Let's discuss it fully and come up with
>>>> our own Net Neutrality version. This definitely doesn't include abdicating
>>>> our responsibilities as a country to global internet companies. This will
>>>> be a recipe for disaster.
>>>>
>>>> *Ali Hussein*
>>>> *Principal*
>>>> *Hussein & Associates*
>>>> +254 0713 601113 / 0770906375
>>>>
>>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>>>
>>>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>>>
>>>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>>> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__ke.linkedin.com_in_alihkassim&d=CwMFaQ&c=5VD0RTtNlTh3ycd41b3MUw&r=ArvepG4_wcNu_X9xi3nb_Xa9WsGLVfmK6mwPdVONOTE&m=ZD6llrZ9U0Tt0C7TClsJ8TOxAcf6FGVyWVYRjpMuap0&s=sWZ0vbizFku0Ii-UHXdmGL18LtQiJB-I-6szcESplVI&e=>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking
>>>> what no one else has thought".  ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>>
>>>> On 27 Feb 2016, at 8:08 AM, Nanjira Sambuli via kictanet <
>>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> This is at least the second piece citing the CS' point of view.
>>>> It might be in order to write a letter to him explaining why it is not
>>>> a first world problem.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Regards,
>>>> Nanjira.
>>>>
>>>> Sent from my iPhone.
>>>>
>>>> On 27 Feb 2016, at 07:44, kictanet-request at lists.kictanet.or.ke wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Net neutrality 'first world' problem? (Ali Hussein)
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>> 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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>>>>
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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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>>
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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.
>

-- 
*Ahmed Maawy*
Executive Director - SwahiliBox / M-Power (CBO)
Ambassador - Open Knowledge
Director - Startup Grind Mombasa
Software Developer - AJ+ / EveryLayer
(KE) +254 714 960 627
Skype: ultimateprogramer

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