[kictanet] Policy interventions for affordable Internet

Fri Mar 11 07:22:44 EAT 2016

"... FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has spoken in the past of the importance of a Lifeline expansion into internet, citing more than 64 million Americans “living on the wrong side of the digital divide,” the majority of them citing cost as the biggest hurdle to access.
At least 5 million Americans with school-aged children do not have internet at home, and as education and schoolwork increasingly move online, children in these families struggle with the so-called “homework gap,” seeing lower grades on assignments and exams due to lack of internet access. The current version of the plan expands the budget to $2.25 billion a year with provisions to adjust for inflation in the future, an increase that would allow subsidies to reach 5 million more consumers, though officials do not expect that many to immediately join the program. The FCC officials noted that only 40 percent of the 40 million eligible households are currently taking advantage of the Lifeline program currently. ...."

Happy Furahi Day!

Wev had the free wifi zones trials and counties such as Nakuru Town. Is the wifi still on? Does your County budget have this allocation - maybe, and what is it being used for?

We who know the knowledge value of and in the internet let it pass quietly - abetting corruption by loud silence.

It is also quite interesting to see that the uptake has been low for the current subsidy project @ 40% - telephony. Even with this, they still move on to add on the internet. While at the same time, this is the pot that is available in the event of disasters, possibly to give a lifeline back to the panicky affected families.Who even cares to factor in communication reconnection of the affected as an emergency relief service here - we centre on the said basic needs of food and shelter during emergency response.

Just as for the Americans, as the Kenyan education goes digital, we expect to keep expanding the education achievement gap between the haves and have nots to access.

Have a blessed day.

Regards/Wangari

---
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".

--------------------------------------------
On Thu, 10/3/16, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Policy interventions for affordable Internet
 To: wangarikabiru at yahoo.co.uk
 Cc: "Ali Hussein" <ali at hussein.me.ke>
 Date: Thursday, 10 March, 2016, 19:21

 Mwendwa
 Thanks for sharing. Maybe that’s
 what we need to do for the Universal Access Fund..

 Thanks
 & Regards

 Ali Hussein
 ali at hussein.me.ke

 +254 713 601113
 Twitter: @AliHKassimSkype:
 Abu-JomoLinkedIn:
 http//ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
 Blog: www.alyhussein.com

 On Mar 10, 2016, at 7:03 PM, Mwendwa
 Kivuva via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
 wrote:
 Here are the sort of policy interventions
 developed countries are making to take affordable Internet
 to the masses.The
 Federal Communications Commission released a plan Tuesday to
 overhaul its low-income subsidy program Lifeline to include
 broadband internet, marking a new effort to close the
 digital divide for the millions of Americans who still
 don’t have a home internet connection.The proposal calls for a
 $9.25 monthly subsidy for broadband services, the first
 extension into internet for Lifeline, a $1.5 billion program
 created in 1985 subsidizing telephone services for
 low-income Americans that was last updated in 2005 to cover
 mobile phones.http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-fcc-is-finalizing-its-broadband-plan-to-subsidize-internet-for-the-poor?utm_source=mbtwitter
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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.