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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Hey all,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Thanks for all this informative resources. Mine if I would put
it plainly, is we are thankfully on track…<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>If evidence of what has taken place especially in the last 8-10
yrs is anything to go by, we are right on track. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>We perhaps may exactly not be on the same blazing or lightning speed
as our distant South East Asia cousins<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>who not only rightfully seized their opportunities at the opportune
moment when those opportunities came calling,<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>but have been consistently keen to ensure that the gains
accumulated to date do not engage the reverse gear.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Look at the Telecommunication sector for example. In a short
span of time, look at where things stand now to <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>begin with. Some of us remember then times when all traffic- voice
+ data had to find their gateway exit via a <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>central location ostensibly located somewhere on top of the
Longonot in the form of an earth station. Not sure<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>whether it still exists. However, back then it was a requirement
that all voice traffic emanating from the country<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>that tried to approach the gateway on the IP platform be stopped
in its tracks, I suppose by using the so-called<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>“killer-switch” because voice traffic was only
allowed through Telkom. The entire bandwidth for the country was <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>about 512Mbps and we were all comfortable, so it seemed, at the
time.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Then occasionally, a “blackout” would ensue whenever
this single information superhighway backbone went <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>down, plunging the entire country into darkness and at the same
time cutting us off from the rest of the world<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>,sometimes for days..<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Well, it’s quite a narrative there that would go on and on,
but the long and short of it is simply to say that; by<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>looking at where we stand now and by also looking at these
countries making giant strides in the right direction <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>in their economies, when you have the right political support structure
in place to start with, then an awful lot of <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>things really start to take shape. When the momentum is
sustained, the country starts experiencing phenomenal <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>growth and, as this happens, others around start taking note.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Question; Will we make it our business to see to it that
the momentum we have now is sustainable for the long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>haul, by ensuring the politics side of the equation is fixed
once and for good, especially now with the new constitution<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>in place or will we, as has been always the case before,
continue to remind ourselves that politics has got nothing to <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>do with us, we can leave it to the politicians? <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'> I suppose not. Each one of us has a role to play.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Harry<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>
kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke
[mailto:kictanet-bounces+harry=comtelsys.co.ke@lists.kictanet.or.ke] <b>On
Behalf Of </b>Andrea Bohnstedt<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Tuesday, November 08, 2011 7:09 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> harry@comtelsys.co.ke<br>
<b>Cc:</b> KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [kictanet] Korea<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Dear all, <br>
<br>
Vaguely related stuff with a hint of ICT, just in case you want some
distraction over a cup of (Kenyan!) coffee: <br>
<br>
I've recently developed a bit of a weird obsession with North Korea after after
coming across the crazeballs Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang (have a look here: <a
href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryugyong_Hotel</a>
- it takes the concept of a white elephant to a whole new level). <br>
<br>
So I bought and read the fantastic 'Nothing to Envy' by Barbara Demick and also
'North of the DMZ - Essays on Daily Life in North Korea' by Andrei Lankov (both
available as Kindle e-books, so a mere mouse click away). <br>
<br>
It's intriguing that in the beginning, South Korea was actually less developed
than North Korea - but then caught up and overtook it at a blazing speed. When
my dad started working in the aid/development industry, South Korea was still
an aid recipient, now it is a donor, too. <br>
<br>
South Korea is one of the most high-tech countries in the world - and North
Korea one of the most isolated. One of Lankov's essays looks at mobile access
in North Korea: heavily controlled, only for senior regime members (although
that may have changed now, as his book is a couple of years old). Internet
access is just as radically restricted. But during the famine, the northern
border to China became more porous, and even though North Korea is still very
cut off, technology has slowly seeped through the border as electronic items
are smuggled across. In the beginning, the global transition from video tapes
to DVDs created a surplus of videos that nobody wanted anymore - apart from the
North Koreans. And DVDs are easier to smuggle than video tapes. South Korean
content is very popular, and also completely undermined the carefully nurtured
propaganda that the Southerners are poorer than the Northerners. Near the
border, North Korean can use foreign mobile networks, and also receive foreign
broadcast content. <br>
<br>
Have a good evening, <br>
Andrea <br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>On 8 November 2011 17:52, william janak <<a
href="mailto:williamjanak@yahoo.com">williamjanak@yahoo.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>
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<p class=MsoNormal>Dr. Ndemo, <br>
<br>
Thanks for the snap shot of Korea. Your description of what is happening in
that country is most most interesting and of course a challenge to us in
Kenya because we certainly can do much more to move the country from where it
is.<br>
<br>
Oloo Janak.<br>
<br>
--- On <b>Tue, 11/8/11, <a href="mailto:bitange@jambo.co.ke" target="_blank">bitange@jambo.co.ke</a>
<i><<a href="mailto:bitange@jambo.co.ke" target="_blank">bitange@jambo.co.ke</a>></i></b>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br>
From: <a href="mailto:bitange@jambo.co.ke" target="_blank">bitange@jambo.co.ke</a>
<<a href="mailto:bitange@jambo.co.ke" target="_blank">bitange@jambo.co.ke</a>><br>
Subject: Re: [kictanet] Korea<br>
To: <a href="mailto:williamjanak@yahoo.com" target="_blank">williamjanak@yahoo.com</a><br>
Cc: "KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions" <<a
href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
Date: Tuesday, November 8, 2011, 9:19 AM<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>I arrived in Korea yesterday
for a Global e-Government conference. ITU<br>
ranks Korea as number one in ICT diffusion. From the airport you see<br>
people walk through with an e-passport using biometrics. The New
Incheon<br>
airport is 70 Kms west of Seoul, the capital and largest city of South<br>
Korea with some 11 million inhabitants. It is one of the largest and<br>
busiest airports in the world actually the world's fourth busiest airport<br>
by cargo traffic, and the world's eighth busiest airport in terms of<br>
international passengers in 2010.<br>
<br>
Korea is about 99,000 sq Kms or one half of the Rift Valley Province of<br>
Kenya with a population of 50 million and a GDP of $1 trillion (Kenya's<br>
GDP is about $35 billion). In the 60's it was largely a donor recipient<br>
country with a GDP less than that of Kenya and more than 60% of its<br>
population below poverty. They have turned tables to be a member of the<br>
OECD and a donor country over a short period.<br>
<br>
For many years it mostly depended on the USA as its largest trade partner<br>
but over a time they focused their energies on the Asian Markets. Its<br>
trade with China, USA and Japan in 2010 figures stands at %190, $98 and<br>
$90 billion respectively. They import a great deal of food and the
reason<br>
why we should not lease our land but use it to improve on our economic<br>
growth. A Kg of meat here is $100 imported from Canada and Brazil.<br>
<br>
I asked our Ambassador why we cannot sell our meat here. He says we do<br>
not meat their standards. This should not be a problem since we have<br>
broadband in most parts of the country that we can keep pace with the rest<br>
of the world in keeping the records especially those required by various<br>
standrds organization.<br>
<br>
Back to Korea. ICTs are also deployed along the highways making it
easier<br>
to go through the toll stations and collecting all the revenues. You
can<br>
get data from government at every hour. You can for example know the<br>
number of children born in a day throughtout the country. There is CCTV<br>
practically everywhere. Crime is approaching zero.<br>
<br>
There is an over supply of affordable public transport via the rail and<br>
bus system all clean and on time. If you choose to drive on your own,
you<br>
are taxed at every new turn you make. The tax from the polluters who<br>
cannot use public transport is used to subsidize the energy efficient<br>
public tranportation.<br>
<br>
Every child after high school has to go through the Military thus<br>
instilling the discipline required in this competitive world. Because
of<br>
such discipline, they do everything very fast. We were literaly running<br>
behind our hosts to catch up with them. In the Newspapers there is a
Bank<br>
executive who has committed suicide because he gave questionable loans to<br>
friends. He killed himself for shaming his family and that he may not<br>
have any friends.<br>
<br>
My experience here confirms much of what we have been saying in this<br>
forum. The problem is how to inculcate such high levels of ethical<br>
standards as well as feeling of shame.<br>
<br>
<br>
Regards<br>
<br>
<br>
Ndemo.<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform for
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<br>
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.<br>
<br>
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.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<br>
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<a href="http://ke.linkedin.com/in/andreabohnstedt" target="_blank"><span
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style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"'><br>
Publisher<br>
+254 720 960 322 <br>
<br>
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