[kictanet] Updates on the Operationalization of the Universal Service Fund

Fri Jan 20 00:44:57 EAT 2017

Hi Rachel,

I am in Kilifi, and have extensively covered the said areas (Ganze, Bamba,
Adu, Mwangea, Sala, all the way to Kitui south borders near the Galana
Irrigation scheme) as market research / initial surveys, there is a lot to
be said, both on operationalisation of the very laudable projects such as
Nofbi, as well as on policy.

My suggestions / Comments to CA would be:

1: Make Nofbi more affordable, particularly local loop. Its still not
cheap, I would rather a good chunk of money went to subsidizing that local
loop so that regardless where you are in this country, wholesale broadband
costs the same as long as Nofbi is on the scene. For instance, past
Kikambala heading north, you would be hard pressed to get affordable
wholesale bandwidth in the sub $25 range. This is minus the cost of loop.

2: Avail some lower frequency spectrum for fixed broadband. There are quite
a number of vendors with usable stuff in the 900Mhz range, a couple of LTE
standards exist that can leverage 700Mhz. Instead of using these for mobile
data, where the weakest member of that chain is the low powered mobile
device, My argument being, a 4G phone is limited in how far it can send
signal back to the tower, so Towers on a spectrum that can propagate for
miles still need to be close to each other. Higher frequencies can serve
the same

If there is a Santa somewhere at CA, a pair of 20Mhz wide channels on
900Mhz, Subsidized backhaul via Nofbi, room to explore MIMO on 700 little
else would see lots of those gaps bridged in these places because truth be
told, its a heck of ground to cover.

Yours truly,

Rural Broadband "mbogua".

On 20 Jan 2017 00:14, "Alwala, Rachel via kictanet" <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Hi Rosemary,
>
> Please note that the USF has collected KES. 4.9Billion of which KES. 1.5B
> is planned for use on voice infrastructure projects expansion and schools
> broadband connectivity within the current FY 2016/17. As per my narrative,
> the providers have been contracted for the identified projects.
>
> Rachel Alwala
> Assistant Director/Communications and External Affairs
> Communications Authority of Kenya
> PO Box 14448
> Nairobi 00800
>
> Tel:  +254 703042000
> Email:  alwala at ca.go.ke
>
> From: kictanet <kictanet-bounces+alwala=ca.go.ke at lists.kictanet.or.ke> on
> behalf of KICTAnet Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Reply-To: KICTAnet Discussions <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
> Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2017 at 12:29 PM
> To: Rachel <alwala at ca.go.ke>
> Cc: Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu <chemukoechk at gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [kictanet] Updates on the Operationalization of the
> Universal Service Fund
>
> Dear Rachel,
>
> Thank you for sharing.
>
> A lot more has to be done to create incentives for connectivity even in
> economically "non-viable" areas to ensure that no part is left behind and
> it is safe to say that the connectivity of these areas could actually spur
> economic growth.
>
> The most critical query however is in regards to how much is held in the
> fund and what is remaining. It is appreciated that all the above details
> have been shared in regards to the research and the implementation carried
> out so far, but it would be great to have all these backed by the numbers
> in regards to how the funds are utilised. This will enable us to know if
> the fund can adequately cater for our immediate future needs or if we need
> to think of other ways of bolstering the fund.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Rosemary Koech-Kimwatu.
>
> On 18 Jan 2017 05:34, "Ali Hussein via kictanet" <
> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>
>> Rachel
>>
>> Thank you for the comprehensive report. I'm curious:-
>>
>> *Table 2: Sub-location population 3G coverage*
>>
>> *Coverage*
>>
>> *100%*
>>
>> *>90%*
>>
>> *50% - 90%*
>>
>> *< 50%*
>>
>> *0%*
>>
>> *Sub-locations*
>>
>> *2,454*
>>
>> *1,324*
>>
>> *1,146*
>>
>> *977*
>>
>> *1,244*
>>
>>
>> If you look at the above table and go down to specific counties you will
>> agree with me that High Speed Internet is still a rumour in many areas of
>> the country. I want to pay special attention to the counties below where we
>> have less than 50% 3G coverage.
>>
>> *Table 4: Estimated 2G and 3G Network coverage by County*
>>
>>
>>
>> *County*
>>
>> *2G (%)*
>>
>> *3G (%)*
>>
>> Baringo
>>
>> 87.7
>>
>> 49.1
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Elegeyo Marakwet
>> 97.1 34.7
>>
>> Garissa
>>
>> 58.1
>>
>> 4.6
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Isiolo
>>
>> 54.7
>>
>> 16.4
>>
>> Kajiado
>>
>> 74.4
>>
>> 38.9
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Kilifi
>>
>> 91.9
>>
>> 51.5
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Kitui
>>
>> 89.2
>>
>> 49.8
>>
>> Kwale
>>
>> 91.5
>>
>> 46.4
>>
>> Laikipia
>>
>> 90.8
>>
>> 48.9
>>
>> Lamu
>>
>> 82.4
>>
>> 34.4
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Mandera
>>
>> 66.9
>>
>> 9.4
>>
>> marsabit
>>
>> 56.6
>>
>> 25.2
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Narok
>>
>> 86.7
>>
>> 29.9
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Samburu
>>
>> 55.5
>>
>> 14.0
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Taita-Taveta
>>
>> 96.4
>>
>> 43.4
>>
>> Tana River
>>
>> 85.8
>>
>> 12.8
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Turkana
>>
>> 34.8
>>
>> 10.2
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Wajir
>>
>> 48.2
>>
>> 8.4
>>
>> West pokot
>>
>> 69.0
>>
>> 13.3
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> In the current era of eCizitenship where a lot of government services are
>> moving online are we not disenfranchising a huge swath of the country?
>>
>>
>> My comments questions are:-
>>
>>
>> 1. Are the above statistics realistic in the true sense of the word? What
>> I mean is this:-
>>
>> If you take Garissa, Wajir and Mandera where coverage is less than 10% I
>> wonder whether taking into account huge parts of these counties (or any
>> other county for that matter) that are probably not inhabited is realistic?
>> Wouldn't it be more realistic to  take account coverage in areas where
>> there is a sizable population?
>>
>>
>> 2. In counties like Kilifi, Lamu and Kwale where reliable connectivity is
>> a joke a few miles from the county headquarters it would be good to hear
>> from the USF what they intend to do about this. Whilst empowering a few
>> schools with connectivity is a great idea I think we are missing out on
>> great opportunities and progress where we lack high speed Internet.
>>
>>
>> 3. How are we doing in lighting up the dark fiber that is NOFBI? What
>> incentives are there for the likes of Safaricom, Liquid, Jamii, Airtel,
>> Orange and the mushrooming community ISPs to give them the push to unleash
>> broadband in the furthest corners of this country?
>>
>>
>> 4. How much is currently sitting in the USF? What is the utilization
>> levels, burn rates and the efficacy of the projects they have undertaken?
>> In short can we a financial statements from the beginning to date?
>>
>>
>> 5. Lastly, as we work hard to cover this country with Broadband can the
>> USF consider offering WiFi zones of high speed Internet in EVERY COUNTY at
>> hugely subsidized prices to enable citizens access eGovernment Services? A
>> good place to start would be in ALL Huduma Centres and say within a 3 km
>> radio of every Huduma Centre?
>>
>>
>> Thank you Rachel for showing us how community engagement by a Government
>> Agency can enhance collaboration and shed light on issues of strategic
>> interest to the country.
>>
>> *Ali Hussein*
>> *Principal*
>> *Hussein & Associates*
>> +254 0713 601113
>>
>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>
>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>
>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>
>> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a
>> habit."  ~ Aristotle
>>
>>
>> Sent from my iPad
>>
>> On 17 Jan 2017, at 12:09 PM, Alwala, Rachel via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> *Table 2: Sub-location population 3G coverage *
>>
>> *Coverage *
>>
>> *100%*
>>
>> *>90%*
>>
>> *50% - 90%*
>>
>> *< 50%*
>>
>> *0%*
>>
>> *Sub-locations*
>>
>> *2,454*
>>
>> *1,324*
>>
>> *1,146*
>>
>> *977*
>>
>> *1,244*
>>
>>
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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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