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<div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: colfaxregular, "avantgardegothicitcw01b 731069", "nimbus sans tw01", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.6px; color: rgb(93, 93, 93); font-size: 1.1em; font-family: georgia, "itc century w01 light"; line-height: 2;">...The journey to that phone call had begun at an insurance industry dinner two years earlier, in early 2006, at the Panari Hotel in Nairobi. Then, Mr Kagwe was the guest of honour.</p></div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: colfaxregular, "avantgardegothicitcw01b 731069", "nimbus sans tw01", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.6px; color: rgb(93, 93, 93); font-size: 1.1em; font-family: georgia, "itc century w01 light"; line-height: 2;">After his speech, a journalist had asked him to state the one thing he hoped to achieve at the ICT ministry. He told the journalist that he wanted Kenyans to communicate easily and cheaply with the world.</p><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: colfaxregular, "avantgardegothicitcw01b 731069", "nimbus sans tw01", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.6px; color: rgb(93, 93, 93); font-size: 1.1em; font-family: georgia, "itc century w01 light"; line-height: 2;"><b>At the time it cost Sh35 per minute to make a phone call within the Safaricom network during peak hours and up to Sh50 per minute to other networks.</b></p></div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: colfaxregular, "avantgardegothicitcw01b 731069", "nimbus sans tw01", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.6px; color: rgb(93, 93, 93); font-size: 1.1em; font-family: georgia, "itc century w01 light"; line-height: 2;">These high costs made Kenyans wait until off-peak hours to make cheaper calls, which often clogged the Safaricom network in the evening, rendering it impossible for anyone to get through.</p></div><div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: colfaxregular, "avantgardegothicitcw01b 731069", "nimbus sans tw01", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.6px; color: rgb(93, 93, 93); font-size: 1.1em; font-family: georgia, "itc century w01 light"; line-height: 2;"><b>This state of affairs led then Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph to accuse Kenyans of peculiar calling habits, </b>causing a PR crisis for the company. Internet connections, on the other hand, were a nightmare.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 15.6px; color: rgb(93, 93, 93); font-size: 1.1em; font-family: georgia, "itc century w01 light"; line-height: 2;">Read more on: <a href="https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Kibaki-s-letter-that-delivered-broadband-internet/1056-5254036-otjimhz/index.html" style="font-family: colfaxregular, "avantgardegothicitcw01b 731069", "nimbus sans tw01", Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Kibaki-s-letter-that-delivered-broadband-internet/1056-5254036-otjimhz/index.html</a></p></div></div>
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Best regards<br>
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Grace Githaiga<br>
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<br><div id="EmailSignature">--<br>
Grace Githaiga<br>
Co-Convenor, Kenya ICT Action Network</div><br></div></body></html>