[kictanet] Online discussion on State of Broadband - Policy day

Tue Apr 30 07:25:34 EAT 2019

Mwendwa

Thanks for this. And thanks again for engaging all of us on this important
exercise.

Regards

*Ali Hussein*

*Principal*

*AHK & Associates*

Tel: +254 713 601113

Twitter: @AliHKassim

Skype: abu-jomo

LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
<http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>

13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,

Chiromo Road, Westlands,

Nairobi, Kenya.

Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
organizations that I work with.

On Mon, Apr 29, 2019 at 5:35 PM Mwendwa Kivuva <Kivuva at transworldafrica.com>
wrote:

> Ali,
>
> You make a valid point on meaning of public participation. During the
> Broadband Strategy face to face meeting, it came out very strongly that
> time allocated for public participation was not sufficient, and that
> stakeholders had to literally burn the midnight oil to give submissions yet
> they have other full time engagements. The Steering Committee agreed that
> the public engagement process could have been handled in a better way. And
> one of the reasons floated for short timelines was that the document needed
> to be ratified in a weeks time for some other purpose that was not
> mentioned.
>
> That said, the actors at the top of the process are the ones who can give
> us the status of the document.
>
> Regards
>
>
> ____________________
> Mwendwa Kivuva, Nairobi, Kenya
> https://www.linkedin.com/in/mwendwa-kivuva
>
>
> On Mon, 29 Apr 2019 at 15:54, Ali Hussein <ali at hussein.me.ke> wrote:
>
>> Mwendwa
>>
>> What do you mean it's as good as ratified?
>>
>> Were comments and observations incorporated? Or if they weren't was there
>> an indication on why these were not adopted?
>>
>> Public Participation MUST mean exactly that. People's views taken into
>> account and a transparent process put in place. This list has always
>> decried the perceived ticking 'of the box' Govt Apparatchiks take this most
>> important of governance issues. What is the point of debating and adding
>> views if we shall not see the fruits of our labor? Why not just dispense of
>> it altogether?
>>
>> We need someone to sponsor a bill in Parliament and define what Public
>> Participation is and what the parameters are. This is something KICTANet
>> needs to champion post haste.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>>
>> *Ali Hussein*
>>
>> *Principal*
>>
>> *AHK & Associates*
>>
>>
>>
>> Tel: +254 713 601113
>>
>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>
>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>
>> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>> <http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>>
>>
>> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
>>
>> Chiromo Road, Westlands,
>>
>> Nairobi, Kenya.
>>
>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
>> mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
>> organizations that I work with.
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Apr 29, 2019 at 1:17 PM Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet <
>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>>> Great feedback on the policy gaps, and our priorities (or lack of) as a
>>> country in aligning all policies and strategies to speak with one voice.
>>>
>>> The raging debate on CA and broadband deserve more interrogation, and
>>> since it is a policy issue, I am moving it to this tread.
>>>
>>> 1. From the Movenpick validation of the new Braodband Strategy, it was
>>> very clear that the National Broadband Strategy 2023 was as good as
>>> ratified. Can we get an update if that is the correct position? That
>>> Strategy put broadband at a base of 2mbps. Just as a benchmark, FCC, the US
>>> equivalent of CA defines broadband as 25mbps down, and 3mbps up
>>> <https://techcrunch.com/2018/01/18/fcc-report-keeps-faster-definition-of-broadband-and-separates-mobile-from-fixed-connections/>.
>>> Now that the new draft broadband strategy defines broadband as 2mbps, will
>>> CA update it's definition from the ITU standard of 256kbps and adopt a
>>> Kenyan standard? In 2019, and the types of applications we have, what can
>>> 256kbs do? The problem with a very low threshold, while insufficient for
>>> many usecases, it also lets providers off the hook because they are
>>> considered as having deployed broadband if they meet the low standards.
>>> While at it, does CA have a Broadband Speed Guide that advises users on
>>> what speeds can serve their usecase? e.g. browsing and emails, VOIP, social
>>> media, hosting, streaming videos, video conferencing, etc. (I know
>>> Safaricom has tried a speed guide that advises it's users). Also when
>>> issuing the sector statistics, can CA  segment the different speeds so that
>>> we can know where we are as a nation. For example, say 256kbps and below is
>>> 30%, between 256kbps and 1mbps is 50%, etc.
>>>
>>> 2. Does CA harmonize sector statistics with the National Broadband
>>> Strategy? The new broadband strategy is as good as passed. While CA start
>>> basing it's statistics with the new strategy?
>>>
>>> On Sat, 27 Apr 2019 at 13:12, Barrack Otieno <otieno.barrack at gmail.com>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Dear Kivuva and Listers,
>>>>
>>>> Kindly find my responses in line:
>>>>
>>>> On Thu, Apr 25, 2019 at 1:35 PM Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet <
>>>> kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Thank you Listers, we have had a great debate so far. There are so
>>>>> many issues that have remained hanging on the first thread. I hope we can
>>>>> continue debate on those issues, and tie the loose ends.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> We will move on to broadband policies.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Here is a brief background. Kenya enacted a National Broadband
>>>>> Strategy in 2013. This was updated to the Draft National Broadband
>>>>> Strategy 2023
>>>>> <https://ca.go.ke/public-consultation-on-the-national-broadband-strategy-for-kenya/>
>>>>> that takes into account recent technological, industry trends and market
>>>>> realities. The Draft strategy went through public participation in March
>>>>> 2019. It covers; Infrastructure and connectivity, Content services and
>>>>> applications, Policy - regulations and Legislation, Capacity building and
>>>>> innovations, Broadband devices, Finance and investment, Privacy and
>>>>> Security, Role of stakeholders in expanding broadband penetration,
>>>>> Governance and delivery framework. The outcome of the public participation
>>>>> has not been released to the public by the National Broadband Strategy
>>>>> Steering Committee. We hope to get an update on that.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> We also have the ICT Policy 2006, and the yet to be ratified Draft ICT
>>>>> policy 2016. The ICT policy should be the overarching policy on which the
>>>>> other policies in the sector branch from. Probably we will get an
>>>>> explanation on how new ICT related strategies are being drafted without an
>>>>> updated ICT policy.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> This leads to the following questions:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>    1. How is the sector regulated and what complimentary policies are
>>>>>    in place?
>>>>>
>>>>> I would like to give credit to the team that developed the 2006
>>>> policy. It was a forward thinking document coupled with great leadership at
>>>> the time. We had great Permanent Secretaries then namely Eng Rege and Dr.
>>>> Ndemo and great support from Hon Poghisio the Minister of ICT who spent a
>>>> lot of time with the community trying to figure out ways of ensuring we
>>>> great a conducive environment for growth and developement of the ICT
>>>> Sector. Strategic documents were prepared in a transparent manner, ratified
>>>> and implemented by all stakeholders led by the government. Come 2016 we
>>>> started seeing scenarios where some stakeholders are more equal than others
>>>> and scenarios where strategic documents are prepared through public
>>>> participation but ratified without the publics involvement. This has led to
>>>> apathy to say the least and slowed down the pace of developement in the
>>>> sector. I would safely conclude that we are currently on autopilot mode
>>>> though i stand to be corrected.
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>    1. What complimentary laws and regulations are in place that
>>>>>    either stifle, or promote broadband?
>>>>>
>>>>> We need Data Protection Laws. We seem to suffer from analysis
>>>> paralysis. There is need for proper consultation and leadership to ensure
>>>> we have widely accepted Data Protection and Consumer Protection Laws in
>>>> place since our neighbours have already enacted such legal instruments. We
>>>> need to restore trust among stakeholders in the sector.
>>>> Most of the issues stifling broadband stem from County Assemblies.
>>>> Exorbitant way leave charges and lack of Broadband Strategies or Frameworks
>>>> within County Governments. We need to find a way of addressing this issue.
>>>> How the Universal Access Fund is managed will also determine the extent
>>>> to which we will successfully attain our broad band targets. Can CA shed
>>>> some lights on what has been achieved so far and the gaps that need to be
>>>> filled?
>>>>
>>>>    1. How is the business environment for those who want to venture
>>>>    into provision of broadband services?
>>>>
>>>> There is definitely demand for broadband services. There have been
>>>> notable efforts by University Students and local SME's to provide wi-fi to
>>>> Hostels and Communities surrounding them. However the lives of this SMEs is
>>>> totally dependent on the big boys (Telcos). for example they rely on
>>>> sharing masts with Telcos provided they buy bandwidth from them and for as
>>>> long as the Telcos dont have an interest in providing broadband to
>>>> customers in their particular areas of operation. I need to be educated on
>>>> policies around sharing of Infrastructure. Do we have any? Capital
>>>> Expenditure is the greatest challenge for those who want to venture into
>>>> Broadband Services. Acquisition of Spectrum Licenses, Masts, Permits from
>>>> county governments and landowners to mount masts on their facilities,
>>>> marketing of products and services to local communities.
>>>>
>>>>    1. What policy interventions can be put in place to promote
>>>>    broadband uptake?
>>>>
>>>> I think we need to resolve the issue of last mile connectivity by
>>>> engaging local county assemblies across the nation to equip them with the
>>>> skills needed to enact laws that will promote broad band uptate.
>>>> We also need to review policies and guidelines around infrastructure
>>>> sharing to encourage more SME's to venture into broadband business.
>>>> If possible we may need to zero rate taxes on equipment operating
>>>> within the 2.4 or 5.8 ghz range which can support Community Networks. We
>>>> have very strong Nyumba Kumi initiatives which community networks can piggy
>>>> back on. In summary we need leadership
>>>>
>>>> Looking forward to a great policy day.
>>>>
>>>> Asante
>>>>
>>>> Asante
>>>>
>>>> Sincerely,
>>>> ______________________
>>>> Mwendwa Kivuva
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Barrack O. Otieno
>>>> +254721325277
>>>> +254733206359
>>>> Skype: barrack.otieno
>>>> PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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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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