<div dir="ltr">I think we(the Govt and people) are too reactive for our own good. It is technically possible to pinpoint a users general location by virtue of the cell tower used and/or the phone <a href="http://no.in">no.in</a> the case of a landline. Calling 999 should route my call to the closest emergency center which would be better placed to handle my emergency as compared to a switchboard in Nairobi. I have been waiting to hear that the police are working on a more robust solution and that the implementation right now is very temporary but it appears they have dusted their hands on a job well done. <div>
<br></div><div>It really isn't rocket science and I bet all the telcos have this feature built in to their systems procured from Nokia Siemens and Huawei etc. As I always say technology should be as invisible as possible. A farmer in Nyamira doesn't care how Safaricom knows to route his call to the local police station when he dials 999. Telling him to call Nairobi to be connected to the police station 7km away is being rather inefficient. </div>
</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Sep 27, 2013 at 9:46 AM, Kivuva <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:Kivuva@transworldafrica.com" target="_blank">Kivuva@transworldafrica.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">999 used to be soo effective, but I think death of the telephone booth<br>
did it in.<br>
<br>
But recently I find that 999 to be stable. At least it works on my<br>
Safaricom line<br>
<div class="im"><br>
On 27/09/2013, Adam Nelson <<a href="mailto:adam@varud.com">adam@varud.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Call me crazy but I'd vote for an emergency number to reach the police,<br>
> fire department, and ambulance system over a functioning website. I would<br>
> have thought that at least the members of KICTanet would agree with that<br>
> but based on the other thread, even a phone number seems too much and we<br>
> should leverage 'community' when there's an emergency.<br>
><br>
> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number#Africa" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_number#Africa</a><br>
><br>
><br>
><br>
> --<br>
> Kili.io - OpenStack for Africa: <a href="http://kili.io" target="_blank">kili.io</a><br>
</div>> Musings: <a href="http://twitter.com/varud" target="_blank">twitter.com/varud</a> <<a href="https://twitter.com/varud" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/varud</a>><br>
<div class="im">> About Adam: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/adamcnelson" target="_blank">www.linkedin.com/in/adamcnelson</a><br>
><br>
><br>
> On Thu, Sep 26, 2013 at 7:24 PM, John Kariuki <<br>
> <a href="mailto:ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk">ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
>> Eric,Listers.<br>
>> The matter raised is urgent.The ICT Cabinet Secretary could probably take<br>
>> it as a matter of national importance.<br>
>><br>
>> John Kariuki<br>
>><br>
>><br>
</div>>> ------------------------------<br>
>> *From:* Erik Hersman <<a href="mailto:erik@zungu.com">erik@zungu.com</a>><br>
>> *To:* <a href="mailto:ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk">ngethe.kariuki2007@yahoo.co.uk</a><br>
>> *Cc:* KICTAnet ICT Policy Discussions <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>><br>
>> *Sent:* Thursday, 26 September 2013, 9:23<br>
>> *Subject:* [kictanet] It's the simple things, NDOCKenya<br>
<div class="im">>><br>
>> I realized the other day that the Kenya National Disaster Operations<br>
</div>>> Center (known to us as @NDOCKenya <<a href="https://twitter.com/ndockenya" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/ndockenya</a>> on<br>
<div class="im">>> Twitter) doesn't have even a simple website up. If they didn't have a<br>
>> Twitter handle, no one would even know how to reach them or get any<br>
>> updates<br>
>> from them at all. On their Twitter profile they list the following:<br>
>><br>
</div>>> *The Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre manages and coordinates<br>
<div class="im">>> disaster response at a national level. Email <a href="mailto:info@ndockenya.org">info@ndockenya.org</a> Call<br>
</div>>> <a href="tel:%2B254-020-2212386" value="+254202212386">+254-020-2212386</a>*<br>
>><br>
>> * Nairobi, Kenya *<br>
>><br>
>> *· ** ** <a href="http://nationaldisaster.go.ke" target="_blank">nationaldisaster.go.ke</a> <<a href="http://t.co/9dWdiHpAbE" target="_blank">http://t.co/9dWdiHpAbE</a>>*<br>
<div class="im">>><br>
>><br>
>> Now, you'll note three things:<br>
>><br>
>><br>
</div>>> 1. The website doesn't work. There is absolutely nothing, it's just a<br>
>> dead page.<br>
>> 2. The email address goes to NDOCKenya.org <<a href="http://ndockenya.org/" target="_blank">http://ndockenya.org/</a>> -<br>
<div class="im">>> but if you go there, you'll find it's just being hosted at GoDaddy<br>
>> with<br>
>> nothing to show. This raises a bunch of questions, but perhaps the<br>
>> foremost being: Why do they use this as their email address when they<br>
>> own a<br>
>> <a href="http://go.ke" target="_blank">go.ke</a> domain?<br>
</div>>> 3. A way to reach the *NATIONAL* Disaster Ops Centre is a pretty<br>
<div class="im">>> important thing to have. It's unforgivable that they can't even put up<br>
>> a<br>
>> one-page information website, much less have a site that allows people<br>
>> to<br>
>> know the official places to go, things to do/not do, during a national<br>
>> emergency.<br>
>><br>
>><br>
>> It's the simple things.<br>
>><br>
>> --<br>
>> Erik Hersman<br>
>><br>
</div>>> Ushahidi <<a href="http://ushahidi.com/" target="_blank">http://ushahidi.com/</a>> | iHub <<a href="http://ihub.co.ke/" target="_blank">http://ihub.co.ke/</a>> |<br>
>> BRCK<<a href="http://brck.com/" target="_blank">http://brck.com/</a>><br>
>> @WhiteAfrican <<a href="http://twitter.com/whiteafrican" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/whiteafrican</a>><br>
<div><div class="h5">>><br>
>><br>
>> _______________________________________________<br>
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>><br>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform<br>
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and<br>
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT<br>
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>> development.<br>
>><br>
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>><br>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform<br>
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and<br>
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT<br>
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and<br>
>> development.<br>
>><br>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors<br>
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and<br>
>> bandwidth,<br>
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do<br>
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.<br>
>><br>
><br>
<br>
<br>
</div></div>--<br>
______________________<br>
Mwendwa Kivuva<br>
<a href="http://twitter.com/lordmwesh" target="_blank">twitter.com/lordmwesh</a><br>
<a href="http://kenya.or.ke" target="_blank">kenya.or.ke</a> | The Kenya we know<br>
<div class="im"><br>
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<div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><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.<br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><div><br></div>-- <br>Regards,<br><br>Mark Mwangi<br><br><a href="http://markmwangi.me.ke" target="_blank">markmwangi.me.ke</a><br><br><br><br><br>
</div>