A big barrier to broadband must be the high taxes. I know some MSMEs and freelancers who had to reorganise their whole businesses after the government introduced internet taxes. <div><br><div>Mind you in the metropolitan and peri urban areas of Kiambu, Murang'a, Kajiado and Machakos, the home fibre train arrived less than a year before the taxes were introduced. </div><div><br></div><div>One finds it hard to understand why the government which has been urging service providers to provide last mile access would impose high taxes even before the market is mature. </div><div><br></div><div><br><br>On Wednesday, 24 April 2019, Grace Githaiga via kictanet <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
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@Mercy I recently experienced 'the converging under a certain tree' make or receive a call in Nyandarua. Not too far from Thomson Falls. And I experienced the frustration as the signal was only on that particular tree. You would have thought we were in a meeting.
So I am with you on this inequality of our broadband. Until you experience it, then you really do not know what it means. </div>
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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><span style="font-size:12pt"><b>Grace Githaiga</b></span><br>
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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><span style="font-size:12pt">Twitter: @ggithaiga</span><br>
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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><span style="font-size:12pt">Skype: gracegithaiga</span></p>
<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px">Linkedin: <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracegithaiga" target="_blank">https://www.<wbr>linkedin.com/in/gracegithaiga</a></p>
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<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px"><span style="color:rgb(85,85,85);font-family:"PT Sans",arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px">.<span style="color:rgb(0,111,201)"><i><span style="color:rgb(75,165,36)">.</span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,201)"><b>.</b></span></i></span><span style="color:rgb(0,111,201);font-family:"PT Sans",arial,sans-serif;font-size:14px"><b><i>the
most important office in a democracy is the citizen. So, you see, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you!----Barrack Obama.</i></b></span></span><br>
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<div dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" color="#000000" style="font-size:11pt"><b>From:</b> kictanet <kictanet-bounces+ggithaiga=<a href="mailto:hotmail.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">ho<wbr>tmail.com@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><wbr>> on behalf of kanini mutemi via kictanet <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><wbr>><br>
<b>Sent:</b> 24 April 2019 8:32 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> <a href="mailto:ggithaiga@hotmail.com" target="_blank">ggithaiga@hotmail.com</a><br>
<b>Cc:</b> kanini mutemi<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [kictanet] Online discussion on State of Broadband in Kenya</font>
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<div dir="auto">Morning Kivuva,</div>
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<div dir="auto">Like many Kenyans, I love a double life (both urban and rural). While in Nairobi of course I get a good connection- even 4G when I feel rich. What I don’t like is the cost. Safaricom is my provider and though the speeds are satisfactory- I always
feel robbed. </div>
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<div dir="auto">Now in my rural life, there really is no connection. Sometimes even shooting a text or making a phone call needs tree-climbing trees. So forget about a 4G connection or a Whatsapp message. FYI my county is quite near to Nairobi. Every time I
experience this it magnifies to me the kind of inequality ICT can cause. </div>
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<div dir="ltr">On Tue, 23 Apr 2019 at 08:36, Mwendwa Kivuva via kictanet <<a href="mailto:kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke" target="_blank">kictanet@lists.kictanet.or.ke</a><wbr>> wrote:<br>
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<p><span style="color:black">Dear Listers,</span></p>
<p><span style="color:black">As notified last week, we are conducting</span> 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. </p>
<p><span style="color:black">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. </span></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>Some of the questions we should answer are:</p>
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<li style="margin-left:15px;color:black">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? </li><li style="margin-left:15px;color:black">What barriers are there in increasing impact of broadband in Kenya?</li><li style="margin-left:15px;color:black">What recommendations can counter the barriers identified in increasing impact of broadband?</li></ol>
<p>Looking forward to a grrat debate.</p>
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Sincerely,</div>
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Mwendwa Kivuva</div>
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<div><span style="font-family:georgia,serif"><b>Mercy Mutemi, Advocate</b>. <br>
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</blockquote></div></div><br><br>-- <br><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div>Grace Mutung'u <br>Skype: gracebomu<br>@Bomu<br><span style="font-size:12.8px">PGP ID : 0x33A3450F</span><br></div><div><br></div></div></div></div></div></div><br>