[kictanet] Online discussion on State of Broadband in Kenya

[Twahir Hussein Kassim]

Mwendwa,

The digital divide as it stands now, I think more focus is put on the
infrastructure rather than looking at the issue in the full picture. To
address this problem we need to look at:-

1. Knowledge empowerment - I believe if teachers are educated on proper use
of ICT than the knowledge will cascade down to the students. Here we are
with a new curriculum being introduced which has a heavy leaning towards
ICT yet majority of the teachers are ICT illiterate. Schools were equipped
with TABLETS yet the teachers have NO IDEA on how to use them to teach!

2. Appropriate and Affordable gadgets - despite the flooding of the local
scene with cheap smart phones and tablets; the price is still beyond the
reach of many a villager thus the preference of *mulika mwizi *in the
village which would limit the user to texts and voice calls.

3. Data networks - mobile data networks are the most widely used data
networks across the country. Whilst you *might* get voice coverage in the
village, data remains a pipe dream. In reality even within the vicinity of
town immediately you step out of 2 to 3 km radius you are effectively out
of data. Example; as you drive from Mombasa towards the SGR Terminus you're
hit with a total blind out just before the terminus.

Looking at the 3 points above none can go without the other. Provide
infrastructure without knowledge and you have a white elephant!

Twahir

On Tue, Apr 23, 2019, 8:37 AM Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Dear Listers,
>
> As notified last week, we are conducting an assessment on the state of
> play and impact of broadband in Kenya, broadly looking at the
> socio-economic impact on consumers, businesses and various sectors like
> agriculture, education, healthcare, finance and government.
>
> We are looking at real life examples of impact of broadband, challenges we
> face in increasing impact of broadband and recommendations on interventions
> needed to address the challenges identified.
>
> For this discussion, we define broadband as any fast internet. Fast enough
> to serve your intended purpose. We can have an extended definition through
> the discussion.
>
> Some of the questions we should answer are:
>
>    1. What is the current state of broadband in Kenya? What is the
>    current coverage of broadband in Kenya? Do you have broadband internet in
>    your area? How affordable is the available broadband?
>    2. What barriers are there in increasing impact of broadband in Kenya?
>    3. What recommendations can counter the barriers identified in
>    increasing impact of broadband?
>
> Looking forward to a grrat debate.
> Sincerely,
> ______________________
> Mwendwa Kivuva
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