mashilingi

Technology, transparency, and the Kenyan general election of 2013 - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

2013-03-29T16:57:00.001-07:00

Technology, transparency, and the Kenyan general election of 2013 - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

My reflections on #140Friday and the (failed) Policy Paper

2013-03-13T00:32:00.001-07:00

Every once in a while you find a cause or initiative that resonates with your values, passions and interests. That is what happened when, last year a heated debate on twitter between techies, IT entrepreneurs and the public sector led to a call for a physical face-to-face meeting to thrash out the issues. The main focus of the debate was the question of why most of the juicy IT deals tend to go to multinationals or overseas IT companies. Over the course of the online debate a number of issues came to the fore, these included shortcomings or weakness that hindered local IT companies from obtaining large projects; other issues also included public procurement policy and practice which effectively locked out local companies. Once there was consensus to have a face-to-face meeting I was nominated to pull it together, make it happen and effectively facilitate the whole engagement.

The Nailab, a leading incubator, offered their offices as a venue for the meeting. In preparing, I not only reached out to key players in industry, government and civil society but also involved the media. We were able to get the attention of Nation Media's CEO Linus Gitahi and he approved our use of one of their business anchors, Larry Madowo, as a moderator for the face to face debate. The first debate was very well attended, the issues well articulated, the dialogue fresh and frank. A number of actions points came out of the first debate and these included:

ICT businesses (both large, small and startup) needed to organize themselves into a single industry body that could act as an interface between government and industry
Develop a policy paper for presentation to Government which captured a vision for the growth and development of the ICT industry in Kenya as well as a roadmap of actions that could get us there.

Strangely and somewhat unexpectedly, the responsibility for coordinating the above two action points fell to me. I did not shrink from the task but made it clear that since I did not have an IT business of my own, and was not at the time part of any local company that I would simply try to act as a facilitator but that actions would have to come from the stakeholders themselves. We then brainstormed and figured out that it would be best for the industry association to be prioritized, as the drafting of the policy paper proceeded in order that the industry body would be the one that presented the completed paper. A target was set of presenting the paper at the Connected Kenya Summit which was to take place in the first week of April.

In the process of thinking about how best to handle the industry body action point, an organization called KITOS (Kenya IT and Outsourcing Society) offered itself as the vehicle which could be used to bring industry together. This was received fairly well by most, albeit with some concern that the organization had been primarily known as being representative of those active in the BPO and ITES sector. These concerns were waived by the incumbent officials at KITOS who said that a simple name change could totally transform the perception and make the organization's name sound more representative. This then led to a few meetings where KITOS introduced itself to industry stakeholders in the #140Friday process. In these meetings discussions on membership criteria, membership fees etc were discussed. After it was clear that dialogue had been established between KITOS and it's potential members I exited from the scene as it was now up to them to thrash things out and make it happen. A parting shot that I left was that I felt that the membership categories and accompanying fees did not provide an entry point for poor startups or freelancers to join, and that they were an equally important part of the value chain and industry.

I then carried on with focus meetings with various individuals to crystallize the policy paper draft which would be presented at the Connected summit. This process went well and eventually time for the event arrived. But KITOS asked me to present on their behalf as they had not yet finalized their stuff. With a lot of support from Mike Macharia of Seven Seas and advice from Paul Kukubo of the ICT Board I presented the draft. It was my expectation that KITOS would thereafter continue with the role and actions that were agreed on in the first #140Friday meeting. Including finalizing/polishing the policy paper for formal submission to Government

Some rumours seem to have been going round over the past few months that I had failed to deliver a policy paper from industry to Government. I HAD FAILED? This is what has led me to write this account, not to vindicate myself but to put the facts out there for scrutiny for anyone who might have given ear to those who for whatever reason are seeking to cast aspersion upon me. I may have many failings but I will not sit down and take responsibility for the failings of others.

This year, the Nailab and I have decided to pick up, dust off and relaunch the lively #140Friday ICT debates as they proved a very effective tool to galvanize debate, discussion and action on current affairs in the ICT sector.

Which way for the Kenya Internet Exchange Point?

2012-04-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Structure I proposed to TESPOK

About 7 or 8 years ago, when I was still on the board of directors of TESPOK, I suggested a governance structure that gave KIXP independence from TESPOK, it's 'mother' institution. The main rationale here was to ensure that KIXP maintains a separate, independent existence, regardless of what happened to TESPOK.

This was during a TESPOK strategy meeting where the key message was "The African ISP is dead, long live the African ISP" based on a paper by Russell Southwood of Balancing Act Africa. The essence of which was that with the onslaught of mobile operators going into internet access provision, the only way that ISPs would survive would be through consolidation via mergers/acquisition or a complete redefinition of business focus and strategy. What was evident to me (but seemingly not to others) was that as the ISP industry transformed, there would be fewer players, and thus, less democracy - especially with regards to governance issues.

At the same time, KIXP was attracting plenty of interest from non-ISPs and already had non-ISP members such as KENIC, KRA and others - it was evident that the interest would continue, especially as the sector evolved with greater participation from content creators, hosting companies, data-centres etc... KIXP would become the de-facto facility for providing industry actors with data interconnection and interchange.

Current structure as per an Independent study on KIXP, 2006

For those of you unfamiliar with KIXP's history - in 2001 we had to register a company KIXP Ltd, and file for an IXP license from CCK, in order to become operational after the forced closure of the IXP in 2000. My proposal was that KIXP Ltd be given full autonomy from TESPOK, have a board of directors appointed by members in full standing, and be run as a business, similar to LINX in the UK, and other successful IXPs around the world. As part of my proposals I shared the attached diagram (which I have just found in my archives). The Board would identify and appoint a CEO, who would then identify suitable staff to meet organisational growth. Being a business, some implied issues were self-sustainability, a business plan with clear growth, and social or financial returns for the 'shareholders'.

My proposals fell upon deaf ears and it is sad for me now to see a frail and seemingly weak KIXP that cannot seem to consistently engage newcomers to the industry with the benefits of local traffic exchange.

A simple question - how many of the TEAMs/SEACOM/EASSY bandwidth-holders are peering at KIXP? As mentioned by someone else concerned about optimal traffic flows in Kenya, some of our traffic is being exchanged in exotic places like Mumbai, London etc...

So, I continue shaking my head...

Twitter debate #140Friday results in live broadcast debate on NTV Business Agenda

2012-03-31T22:44:00.002-07:00

The debate that started on Twitter about Kenya's ICT sector, the allegedly lopsided situation where most of the high value deals were going to Multinationals like Accenture and IBM and touched on issues such as process excellence in the development and delivery of IT services, skills, capacity and availability of tax incentives and availability of capital.

A small step for Government but a leap for Kenya

2012-03-21T09:01:00.001-07:00

Today a story broken by the Daily Nation had the sensational headline "CCK Sparks Row with Fresh Bid to Spy on Internet Users". The story has triggered a very lively debate both in conventional broadcast as well as online media. While many feel threatened about the alleged invasion of their privacy, some of the more clued up are welcoming this development. The 'row' alluded to by the author the DN article seems to be attributed to some telecoms service providers reactions towards letters received from the CCK requiring them to cooperate in the installation of internet traffic monitoring equipment which the article refers to as "Network Early Warning System (NEWS)". Apparently CCK has clearly stated that the system will support the country's ability to detect and facilitate response to possible cyber threats.

Kenya as a country has had her fair share of threats, both online or in the form of cyber-threats as well as in real life. The most significant of these was the bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi which took place on August 7th 1998 (a day before my wedding!) and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people. The bombing, which took place simultaneously with a similar attack in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania was attributed to Al-Qaeda, the fundamentalist terrorist group associated with Osama bin Laden. The 1998 incident cast a spotlight on Kenya's low level of preparedness to deal with major disasters and also raised a lot of questions about our ability as a country to gather intelligence and act on it.

A grenade blast which killed two and and led to the near capture of one of the most wanted Al-Qaeda terrorists at a cybercafe in Mombasa in 2003 in an operation carried out jointly between Kenyan and CIA operatives was a result of close coordination between security agencies as well as the use of "high tech gear, low tech human intelligence and courage". Part of the high tech gear involved in this operation allowed the security officers to track and monitor "patterns" of online communication that allowed them to close in on the terrorists. In this incident and a few other similar ones it has always been reported that the "Kenyan authorities used information provided by" [foreign nation], why can't we have our own capability to gather such information? Especially when it seems that the terrorists use online technologies for much of their planning.

It is therefore my opinion that the move by Kenya to improve her ability to detect and facilitate response to cyber-threats is a small step for the Government but a huge leap for the country. This exercise, coupled with the impending setup of the Kenya Computer Incident Response Team Coordination Centre (KE-CIRT/CC) with support from the ITU will go a long way towards enhancing the Government's obligation to protect her citizens.

Intense Twitter Debate on Tech Business Brings Kenya's Top Minds Face-to-Face at NaiLab on Friday 9th

2012-03-07T08:14:00.001-08:00

The last 24 hours has seen an interesting twitter debate, if you missed it then you need to follow @pkukubo (Paul Kukubo), @blongwe (Brian Longwe), @kenyanpundit, @mikemachariaSST (Mike Macharia Seven Seas) and David Ndungu @davidndugu.

On request from @agostal and @kenyanpundit and accepted by all, its time to move from behind the keypads and have a debate that can accommodate more than 140 characters

The Request: A forum that will allow you to express yourself, is government being fair in awarding MNC tenders yet claiming to develop local tech business, do we have local capacity to handle some of this contracts?, are local tech companies being recruitment centers for the MNCs? Should private business depend on government contracts for growth? Are the same local companies giving smaller Startups and SME's similar opportunities... hard talk? maybe, the debate will be moderated by some of Kenyans best.

So on request from all the people/tweeps mentioned above, Kenya ICT Board and Nailab will Co-Sponsor an intense debate limited to 80 participants on Friday Morning this week at the Nailab, you can start asking your questions on twitter using hashtag #>140friday, Get your ticket here, we have a limit of 80 Tickets FREE.
http://www.eventbrite.com/event/618723619

NB: Guest panel confirmed, So far Paul KuKubo, Linus Gitahi, Mike Macharia, Brian Longwe, have confirmed, Other proposed names on guest panel are Dan Awendo/Investor, Mbugua Njihia, Bloggers and start-up CEO's, a full list will be confirmed by Midday tomorrow the 8th.

Date: 9th Friday 2012

Location: @thenailab, Bishop Magua Center 4th Floor
Time: Start time: 7:30 – End time 10:00 (1 hour 30 minutes – 2 hours,)
Proposed Moderator: Larry Madowo , Linus Gitahi & Terry Anne Chebet
Confirmed Guest Panel: Paul Kukubo, Mike Macharia, Linus Gitahi –
list growing by the min.
Participants: Players and stakeholders in ICT especially Tech Entreprenuers
Media: Nation Media, Capital FM, Hope FM, … list growing by the min
Harsh tag: "#>140 Friday"
Tag Line "tech debate beyond 140 Characters"
Program:
7:20 – Moderator gets people to queue for breakfast
7:30 – Serve Breakfast and get everyone sited
8:00 – Moderator Introduces the topic and a set of rules on the format
of the debate
8:20 – Guest panel give their opinions to set pace for the debate (3 mins each)
8:30 – Floor Opens to some debate well moderator for an hour
9:30 – Wrap up, some juice and Networking
10:00 – End

Of Gateways and Gatekeepers: The History of Internet Exchange Points in Kenya and Rwanda

2012-03-06T04:15:00.001-08:00

An excerpt from "At the Crossroads: ICT Policy Making in East AFrica" ©International Development Research Centre 2005, First Published 2005, ISBN 9966-25-439-0

Note: This piece chronicles the role I played in setting up KIXP between 2000 and 2002

Introduction

The Internet in Africa has been growing steadily over the past several years and is beginning to play a significant role in Africa's development, creating employment, providing opportunities for innovation and entrepreneurship, as well as acting as an enabler in the digital delivery of government services, education, radio, and healthcare among others. The new possibilities provided by Internet technologies present African countries with an opportunity to leapfrog phases of development and make use of the most recent innovations to establish a strong information society and increase the distribution of wealth among the populace, thereby addressing the poverty that has plagued the continent to date.

Unfortunately, the overall impact of the Internet as an enabler in Africa has been severely curtailed by a number of elements. Topping the list is the lack of efficient paths to carry growing local and regional traffic between Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Africa. This problem occurs both on a national as well as on a regional or inter-country scale. For example, when an African Internet user sends a message to a friend in the same city or a nearby country, that data travels first to Europe or the United States before getting back to the African city or nearby country. It has been estimated that this use of international bandwidth for national or regional data costs Africa in the order of US$400 million each year. This situation has its parallel in telephony where it may be easier to route a call from say Nairobi or Dar es Salaam via Europe or the United States to a neighbouring country than to do so directly. A connected Africa is vital. When African countries communicate with each other in this manner, the loss of money due to inefficient traffic routing is astounding. The net result is that poor African countries get poorer.

The vision of a connected Africa begins with the building blocks of the Internet. At the national level, Internet traffic between ISPs has been optimised in a number of countries with the introduction of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), which allow ISPs to interconnect and offload correspondent traffic. Only 11 of the 53 countries in Africa have internet exchange points. The result is an inefficient exchange of African inter-country traffic through hubs located overseas mainly in the US and Europe. This means that Africa is paying overseas carriers to exchange "local" (continental) traffic on its behalf. This is costly and inefficient. It is, therefore, well within the interest of all countries in Africa to find ways of optimising Internet traffic, through building better and more robust networks to support intra-continental traffic flows. This will create opportunities for private sector investment.

BEGINNING GATEWAYS

For most African countries, access to the Internet began with the national telecommunications corporation offering digital links, mostly satellite based, to the local market which consisted mostly of ISPs and other Internet access providers such as cyber cafes or telecentres. In essence, the national telecommunications corporation became country 'gateways' to the Internet and, by extension, the rest of the world. Herein lies the origin of the 'gateway-centred' Internet development approach in Africa, and the gate-keeper phenomenon. This genesis for the Internet meant that as the local demands for Internet access grew, so did the size of the "gate." 'Gateway-centred' Internet development evolved. Internet access is measured in terms of bandwidth, which is "the capacity for data transfer of an electronic communications system." This meant that the local "gateway" increased as the amount of bandwidth available to the local market. This was arguably the most logical form of growth, until a myriad of problems revealed the inherent weaknesses. With the 'gateway-centred' Internet development, almost overnight, the very facilities, which had been touted as gems in the communications industry became the biggest nightmare. This can be clearly seen in the example of Kenya's 3-day Jambonet network failure in 1999. Despite the fragile situation presented by a country depending on one single gateway for all of its Internet communications, the national telecommunications companies fought hard to keep the market from being "opened up" to competition. In time, the very people supposed to facilitate access and connectivity for the country became the bottleneck, the gatekeepers, locked up the country's communications sector tightly.

The budding ISP community in many African countries became agents of change and quite often the most vocal on issues relating to sector liberalisation. Among some of the initiatives triggered by ISPs, the most significant was the introduction of IXPs into the world of African Internet. Cisco Systems, the largest networking company in the world has said "IXPs are the keystone of the entire Internet economy". IXPs are the interconnection points of the Internet. In other words, IXPs are the places where ISPs interconnect with each other. An IXP can be described as a clearinghouse for Internet traffic, and the mantra among IXP practitioners is "Keep local traffic local."

The majority of ISPs use their international circuits to carry traffic to other ISPs within the same country. In some cases, an email sent by a user to a correspondent across the street will be carried out over one ISP's international circuit, to the US or wherever the upstream provider's network terminates usually in Europe or the US, and then back down another ISP's international circuit to the intended recipient. This unnecessary routing of traffic consumes a lot of bandwidth on these international circuits and causes unnecessary congestion. Various reports suggest that between 30-40% of all Internet traffic is local.

The commercial nature of the Internet, and the rapidly growing traffic it has generated, has provided tremendous incentives for ISPs to increase the number of IXPs. The locations, names, and years of establishment of existing IXPs in Africa are as follows:

• South Africa – JINX, established 1997

• Kenya – The Kenya Internet Exchange Point (KIXP), established 2001

• Uganda – UIXP, established 2003

• Tanzania – TIX, established 2003

• Mozambique – MOZIX, established 2003

• Egypt – EGIX, established 2003

• Nigeria – IBIX, established 2003

• Democratic Republic of Congo – KINIX, established 2003

• Rwanda – RINEX, established 2004

• Swaziland – SZIX, established 2004

Despite the significant increase in momentum with the creation of IXPs over the past two years, it is worth noting that there is still a glaring need for IXPs on the continent. Despite this need, setting up IXPs has not been easy.

THE KENYAN EXPERIENCE

Localising Local Internet Traffic

The concept of a facility that would ensure local routing of inter-ISP traffic within Kenya was first mooted within the ISP Task Force of the East African Internet Association in 1997. At the time, ISPs in Kenya obtained their international Internet connectivity through international leased lines from the Kenya Posts & Telecommunications Corporation connected to European and American network service providers. At the time, KPTC was the only telecommunications organisation allowed by law to carry international traffic from the point of origin to termination.

In 1998, KPTC launched Jambonet, the country's Internet gateway and backbone. Jambonet provided local ISPs with in-country access to the Internet via high capacity links between KPTC and international network operators. The cost of international Internet connectivity was reduced by over 50% with the introduction of Jambonet services leading to the termination by most ISPs of their international leased line connections choosing instead to connect to Jambonet. However, despite links to the local gateway, most inter-ISP traffic was still leaving the country and returning after traversing one or two other countries. This instigated the drive for a local facility that would keep Kenyan traffic within Kenya because of the costs.

After attending a Networking Workshop for Developing Countries hosted by the Internet Society (ISOC) in San Jose, California, US, in June of 1999, one of Kenya's Internet engineers obtained knowledge about how to design, set up, and maintain an IXP. Upon returning to Kenya, he proceeded to share this information with other ISPs. This new information instigated and helped the young ISPs to crystallise their vision for a local IXP.

During the various discussions relating to the establishment of the IXP, a number of different models were evaluated for the Kenya IXP. It was agreed, on a technical level, that the KIXP would be based on the same model as the Hong Kong Internet Exchange. This model is called the Layer Two Route Reflector IXP Model.

Architecturally, the KIXP core is designed to transmit data at the fastest possible speed and consists of two high speed ethernet switches. Each IXP member has the option of connecting their routing equipment to both switches. That way if one switch should fail, the other would take over automatically. The core is supplemented by two 'route reflectors' – specially configured routers that will bounce routing logic to all members at the KIXP until there is convergence, and all the routers have the same view of the network. This design aspect allows for quick and easy policy implementation at the exchange point. The design enforces a multilateral peering policy for all members, thus allowing everyone to peer with everyone else. This design reduces the amount of configuration that needs to happen at the ISP router. The ISP then only has to have a peering session with the route reflector to see and exchange traffic with everybody else at the exchange point. Based on the existing design, the exchange point is capable of supporting up to 48 ISPs. This capacity can be extended further to support up to 200 individual ISPs.

SETTING UP THE IXP

Setting up the IXP involved debates on the location of the IXP, operational resource considerations, and an evaluation of the local traffic. One of the biggest debates was with regard to where the IXP would be hosted. A number of options were evaluated which included the following:

• The first option considered was Telkom Kenya, ostensibly the most suitable option since it was the incumbent public national telecoms operator. Some of the reasons cited in favour of Telkom Kenya included the fact that as national operator, all ISPs already had existing data links to its data network. Additionally, due to its central location, it would be much easier for all ISPs to gain physical access to the IXP, regardless of their location. This option, proved to be unworkable because Telkom Kenya declined the ISPs' request to host KIXP.

• The University of Nairobi was considered as an alternative host for KIXP mainly due to its dynamic computer studies faculty and its central location. The biggest concern about using the university was the frequency of student riots. Since the KIXP was expected to serve a mission critical purpose, this concern eliminated the university as a viable and serious option.

• A couple of ISPs that had their offices conveniently based in the CBD offered to host the IXP. The challenges here were both which ISP to choose out of the two as well as the fact that most of the other ISPs expressed a high level of dissatisfaction and would not trust them as competitors to handle the IXP without seeking to give themselves undue and possibly unethical advantage.

• After an evaluation all of the various options without finding one that satisfied all the ISPs or with which they were all equally comfortable, the idea of leasing space in a conveniently located building was posed. This idea was well received and allayed most of the fears and concerns expressed by the ISPs. It was finally unanimously decided that a neutral, leased facility would be the best. A lease was taken up for 1500 square feet on the top floor of a strategically located building in the Nairobi city centre. So began the KIXP.

A main operational resource consideration was cost. As with any other type of data networking or communications infrastructure, costs fell into two broad categories: setup and operating costs. Setup costs included the cost of purchasing equipment for the core of the IXP as well as furnishing the room where the IXP was to be located with backup power, air-conditioning, equipment cabinets, and the relevant security fixtures. The initial equipment was funded both by a donation from Cisco Systems Incorporated as well as a small grant from the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. Other setup expenses were covered by funds from the Telecommunications Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK). Since the space where KIXP was located was not free, it was necessary to find a way of covering the operating costs, such as rent, electricity and insurance costs. A monthly subscription fee for all members connecting to KIXP was introduced to cater for operating costs.

The exchange point went live on the 21 October 2001 with four connected ISPs exchanging traffic initially. An assessment of the local traffic since the initial stages, apart from the period during which the KIXP was shut down due to hostile regulation, shows that there has been a significant impact and improvement on the performance of the local infrastructure.

CHALLENGES

The challenges that faced the IXP included an all out attack on the KIXP with the threat of a shutdown; a legal battle to get KIXP back on track; coming up with a compromise solution; and an operational policy review. The moment the announcement that KIXP was live went out and following press releases to the local dailies to the same effect, an almost immediate attack issued from Telkom Kenya, the national telecoms operator, and incumbent. According to Telkom Kenya, KIXP was operating illegally and contravening exclusivities granted to Telkom Kenya which were valid until 2004. Telkom Kenya, exercising political muscle, put a high level call through to CCK, the regulator, to shut down the KIXP. The CCK wrote to KIXP demanding immediate shutdown on the basis that the facility was operating without a licence, an order that was effected.

The CCK order and the ensuing legal battle to get KIXP back on track were received with much alarm by the ISP community. The ISP community was determined to fight the battle. Close scrutiny of the Communications Act '98 and the Regulations of 2001 revealed the startling truth that KIXP did not need a licence to operate as it was a facility operated cooperatively by licensed providers. A case was then presented to the Communications Appeals Tribunal with a strong technical argument showing that KIXP was merely a standard, off-the-shelf ethernet hub. If the KIXP were to be shut down, then the CCK should shut down every computer network in the country since the technical architecture and components were equivalent. The Telkom charge was thus shown to be invalid. Thus was the road to a compromise solution paved. The CCK's response to this appeal, duly served by the Communications Appeals Tribunal, was an informal phone call to the chairman of TESPOK, the ISP association, with a request to explore an out-of-court settlement. It was clear that Telkom Kenya had misrepresented the situation and, because the matter was made public and had received a significant amount of attention and coverage in the local and international media, it was necessary to find a face saving solution and make everybody happy.

The approach eventually adopted was the establishment of a company called KIXP Limited, which then applied for an IXP licence, which CCK duly granted. This made Kenya the first country in the world to have an IXP licence.

Regarding operational policy relevance, in the time that KIXP has been operational, it has become a key and integral part of Kenya's local Internet infrastructure and has made it possible to have robust, real-time, online applications which are relevant to the local community to be developed. A good example is the online employment web portal, www.myJobsEye.com which has thousands of jobs and jobseekers in its database and has been able to significantly shorten the employment/job seeking time.

In the course of 2004, it emerged that the policies that governed membership and use of KIXP were restrictive since they allowed only licensed ISPs to be members and to connect to the IXP. This realisation prompted a policy review which lifted all restrictions on membership and lowered joining fees by 600%. The new policy has allowed non-ISPs such as the academic network Kenya Education Network (KENET), as well as the national domain name registry, Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC), to become members and localise their traffic.

Fighting for What’s Right: The Kenya Internet Exchange Point

2012-03-06T04:02:00.001-08:00

By Brian Longwe

Excerpt from "African CSOs Speak on the World Summit on the Information Society"

"Wait and see, we will shut you down!" These ominous words came from a senior Telkom Kenya manager to the Chairman of the Telecommunications Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK) regarding the Kenya Internet Exchange Point (KIXP). TESPOK had just launched KIXP amidst much acclaim and fanfare, but the events that followed clearly showed that some people were far from happy with this positive development in Kenya's Internet growth.

The warning was carried out and within hours. Telkom had disconnected all ISPs links into KIXP on the basis of a hastily made decision by the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) that KIXP was operating illegally. These events, which took place in November 2000, marked the beginning of what will probably be remembered as the biggest regulatory battle in Kenya's history and a key defining moment for Kenya's Internet industry.

Simply put, an Internet exchange point is like a clearing-house, where local Internet Service Providers (ISPs) bring their correspondent traffic and exchange it; in essence keeping local traffic local. Before KIXP, an email between two people who had different ISPs would leave the country, go via the USA, Europe and sometimes Asia before coming back into the country to the intended recipient – even when that person was across the road.

TESPOK fought hard and fought well, engaging a strategy that covered multiple fronts. There was a legal approach, where the CCK's decision was appealed against before the communications Appeals Tribunal. This was accompanied by a sustained public campaign through press releases, interviews, press conferences and news articles via the local and international media. There was also a well-focused awareness approach, which targeted key government individuals including ministers, permanent secretaries and members of parliament amongst others.

A year and a half later, KIXP was reactivated with an official launch on the 14th of February 2002, presided over by none other than the Director-General of CCK himself.

In his speech, he lauded the efforts of the ISPs who bravely weathered the odds and doggedly pursued what they knew to be a critically essential part of Kenya's Internet infrastructure.

KIXP's story has never been fully told, and there isn't enough space here to write it all – maybe one day, while penning our memoirs, we will capture all the elements that went into creating the core that drives Kenya's Internet today. What we can do here, however, is try to capture some of the lessons learnt and hope that someone somewhere may draw strength, courage, motivation or simply learn a slightly different approach.

As mentioned, the first thing we did was look at the law – what rights did we have? What could we or couldn't we do? Were there any legal grounds for KIXP to operate as it had? Where could our cause be heard? Was there anyone who acted as a check and balance over CCK?

We were very glad to find our answers in the Kenya Communications Act '98 in the form of the Communications Appeals Tribunal. TESPOK rallied its members together and called for contributions towards the legal fees and other expenses that would be required to wage the battle. Out of the then 15 odd members, 7 responded energetically, throwing their time, energy and money into the cause.

Over a period of seven to eight months, the concerted efforts of these ISPs, coupled with growing support from the rest of private sector, public, government and civil society brought about a drastic shift of opinions. All of a sudden the right people were asking the right questions, and demanding answers. Most importantly the single strongest argument against KIXP - that it would pose a threat to national security - was debunked and thrown out of the window. This particular argument, it seems, had been one of KPTC's and later Telkom Kenya's best "secret weapon" against anyone and anything which they felt threatened by. Once the individuals and agencies responsible for national security were enlightened to the true function that an Internet exchange point performs in a country and realized the risks and hazards that we faced without KIXP, they gave the initiative their full support and played a key role in demystifying KIXP.

Quelling the rumours and lies that had been spread was only one part of the problem. A strong legal and regulatory case had to be made to justify the existence of KIXP. We decided to take a technical approach, and presented KIXP in its constituent parts. By breaking it down this way we were able to demonstrate that in it's purest form KIXP was nothing more than an Ethernet hub (also called a switch). Similar to thousands that existed at the time in every single computer network in the country. We argued that if KIXP was illegal and needed a license, then so did every single Local Area Network (LAN) in the country. The case was watertight and unquestionable. Long before the tribunal held the hearing, CCK informally made contact with us and indicated that it would be best to settle the matter out of court and avoid a long, messy legal tussle. We complied and after much discussion and negotiation, opted to eat humble pie, save the regulator face and apply for a license for KIXP. At the time it was the quickest way to get what we wanted, a functional and efficient Internet exchange which had the support of the local authorities. Within a matter of months, the license had been issued and the exchange was at work keeping local traffic local.

The single most important lesson learnt from our experience with KIXP is probably the importance of having a dream and a vision – pushing forward and reaching for that dream against all odds and not backing down no matter who stands in the way. For a long time the ISPs had been the underdogs, manhandled and mistreated. Our experience with KIXP redefined us, gave us a new boldness and courage to stand up for what we felt was right. To challenge the thinking that had kept Kenya in the darker reaches of the Information age and to push the country closer towards the beginnings of a digital economy. There is still a lot of work to be done. We still need champions who will hold forth and patiently overcome ignorance, fear and indecision to take the country forward in the global information revolution.

When this was published Brian Longwe served as the Chief Technology Officer for ISP Kenya and also served as General Manger for the African Internet Service Providers Association, which among other things aims to help African ISPs establish Internet Exchange Points in their countries as part of their national development goals.

Are you an unclear reactor?

2012-02-26T23:22:00.001-08:00

No, that was not a spelling mistake or typo, I did not mean to write 'nuclear reactor' - I meant to write UNclear reactor. What do I mean? Well, the word reactor is defined as "a person or thing that reacts or
undergoes reaction", another definition simply describes a reactor as "one that reacts to a stimulus". Our daily lives are full of all kinds of stimulus, some good, some bad, some fun, some boring, some
exciting, some mediocre - and we all react to these various stimuli in different ways. These reactions manifest themselves in a multiplicity of actions that we carry out on a daily basis that end up defining
what we do with the limited amount of time we have each day. The manner in which we react and order our reactions to these daily demands is what determines the kind of reactor we are. Whether we are efficient and effective or whether we are muddled up, messy and unclear.

How then, do we go about achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness in our busy lives? How do we sift through the numerous demands placed on us for our time and attention and prioritise? How do
we ensure that the critical essentials are taken care of? This is where the big rock approach towards time management comes in. Let me explain.

Take a wide necked container, it could be a small bucket, pail, or jug. Now fill it up with sand. Once it is full, find some large rocks and put them in there. There isn't any space left to accommodate them
is there?

Now, lets try a slightly different approach. Let us put the large rocks into the empty container. Now let's find some pebbles and tryvputting some of these in there. They roll right in and fill up the available space. Now take the sand and pour it into the container, it slips and slides into the cracks and with a few shakes you can actually get quite a bit of sand in there. Now take a pitcher of water and start slowly pouring it into the container. Again, it goes right in and finds space to be absorbed in between the rocks, pebbles and sand.

Think of the container as your normal day and the amount of time you have between when you wake up and when you go to bed. You can fill up your day with meaningless little tasks, leaving no room for the big importaint things, or you can do the big important things first, and then attend to the smaller things, and finally fill in the spare moments with the not so important and trivial things.

Question is, what are your big rocks? What are those things that are critical and important to your life and need to have time allocated on a daily basis in order to ensure that you are effective and efficient?
As an example, here are mine:

God: time to pray, read the scriptures and meditate
Family: time for us to talk, share, work and play together with my wife and kids
Personal development: time for me to do physical exercise, read and learn
Projects: time for me to engage in things that I enjoy, these include golf, photography and volunteering time on activities that help others
Work: this should be fairly clear :)

Let's get one thing straight I am still a somewhat uncler reactor, and I still have a long way to go before I can really say that I am effective and efficient - but I'm working my way there one day at a time, I hope you do too!

Submarine cable cut cripples Kenya's Internet

2012-02-26T06:47:00.001-08:00

Update: It seems that the cable got cut due to a ship that illegally anchored off the Mombasa coast in a restricted via which the TEAMs and EASSy cables make their terrestrial landing. Both cables have been severed. SEACOM is still up and should be carrying most traffic for the region at the present. A fourth cable, LION, which will link the Indian Ocean islands (Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion) should be going live in the course of March. It is expected that the repair to the TEAMs cable will take about 7 days

While details surrounding the circumstances and exact time that the TEAMs cable got damaged are as yet unclear, the incident has severely affected Internet services in Kenya and neighboring countries.

The East African Marine Systems - commonly known as TEAMs was a project initiated by the Kenyan government and implemented as a public private partnership consisting mostly of Kenyan network operators. The 1.3 Terabit system, which launched with a lit capacity of 120 Gigabits has completely transformed the quality and performance of Internet services in the sub-region.

It seems that the cable cut occurred at some point around mid-day on Saturday the 25th of February and was noticeable via most mobile operators and Internet service providers' services being unavailable.
Immediate efforts to seek backup services from SEACOM, another submarine cable that serves the region as well as backup satellite connections resulted in partial restoration of services, although for some Internet customers these came as late as Sunday morning.

It is reported that the cable cut has occurred about 4 kilometers into the ocean on the Kenyan side. The cable which links Kenya's coastal city of Mombasa to Fujairah in the Middle East, interconnects with a
variety of other International submarine cable systems to link Africa's eastern seaboard to the rest of the world.

This first major incident will be a true test of the fault response and repair capabilities of Alcatel, the organization that holds the maintenance and support contract for TEAMs.

Wanna be hip in Kenya? Get a DSLR

2012-02-25T09:54:00.001-08:00

I want a camera! No…. let me be more specific…. I want a DSLR camera (Digital SLR camera). And I have also realized that if I expect to be perceived as someone who is in touch with the times I must have a DSLR camera. This realization has gradually dawned upon me over the past several weeks as I have observed the increase in proliferation of these somewhat mystical but genuinely sexy gadgets. Mystical because there is a kind of magic that happens when a DSLR is in the hands of someone who knows how to use it and the images that come out of that union are, to say the least, breathtaking. Sexy because the damn gadgets have plenty of buttons, bells and whistles and seemingly cannot be discreetly hidden but bulge, protrude and hang openly with their naked charm out there for everybody to see.

While "keeping up with the Joneses" is something that is generally frowned upon let's face it, people like things, and from time to time there will be that gizmo, that gadget, that must-have doodad, that
makes a social statement which clearly separates the goats from the sheep. The current item that is clearly marking the more progressive in Kenyan middle-class society is the digital SLR camera.
One only has to grace a school swimming gala, graduation or wedding to see the very visible display of DSLR cameras. It is not uncommon to
have tens and tens of Nikon, Canon and Sony DSLR devices hanging around the necks, over the shoulders and in the grips of young urban
professionals at these events. In much the same way that a mobile phone seemed to convey upon it's bearer the appearance of being progressive, techno-savvy and socially fluent, the DSLR camera has solidly stamped it's authority as one of the modern labels of social standing.

While for many it serves purely as a status symbol and practically is used in much the same way cheaper point-and-shoot digital cameras are, there are those who have genuinely caught the photography bug and actively invest in and practice the art as a hobby outside of their day jobs and careers. Those who have distinguished themselves include the likes of Mutua Matheka http://mutuamatheka.co.ke, David Kiania http://www.shutterdiplomacy.com and Mark Muinde,
http://www.sokomoto.com all of whom have set up online portfolios that hold some breathtaking photographic works of art. While Mutua seems to have become a favorite wedding photographer for young, modern couples, David's work tends to consist largely of events where he bravely captures candid moments that carry the feeling and experience of the moment. Mark and his partner have distinguished themselves with a dedicated stock photography site where they hold what can only be
described as photographs that capture the African experience in imagery that shows both the traditional and non-traditional aspects of African and especially Kenyan society and environment.

So now I hope you understand why I must have a DSLR camera. It remains to be seen whether it will serve simply as my statement of social "with-it-ness" or whether I will actually develop the skills and
knowledge on how to wield the DSLR camera as part of the art that uses images to talk and touch and feel. And, since you asked, the DSLR that I am saving and scraping every red cent that I can spare for is the Nikon D-7000.

For Sale: VOIP Equipment

2012-02-13T04:36:00.001-08:00

4 x Cisco ATA-188 Analog Telephone Adaptor
The Cisco ATA analog telephone adaptors are handset-to-Ethernet adaptors that allow regular analog telephones to operate on IP-based telephony networks. Cisco ATAs support two voice ports, each with an independent telephone number. The Cisco ATA 188 also has an RJ-45 10/100BASE-T data port.
Kshs. 8,000 each

1 x Epygi Quadro E1 Gateway
QuadroE1: The Voice over IP Gateway
The QuadroE1 is the complete PSTN/VoIP gateway for growing small businesses that want to establish for example a corporate telephone network.
Connected over an E1 voice trunk for up to 30 (E1) concurrent calls to a PBX or directly to the local PSTN and via Ethernet to the Internet, the QuadroE1/ T1 seamlessly combines the cost reducing benefits of IP technology with the ubiquity of the PSTN, which opens a multitude of scenarios for free phone calls all over the world. Integrated Internet Access: The QuadroE1/T1 VoIP Gateway allows voice Internet access with firewall security, including NAT, policy and service based filtering .
Kshs. 90,000 (Initial Cost 200,000 but I have discounted as this equipment has been sitting in storage for over 3yrs)

13 x SNOM HS-MM2 Headset
This Snom Headset offers versatility and features an intuitive design.The Snom HS-MM2 is compatible with the Snom 320, 360, 370, 820, 821, and 870 IP Phones. Supporting wear on either ear, the Snom HS-MM2 allows you to switch the single ear pad to whichever ear you would like to use. The HS-MM2 also has been updated with enhanced ergonomics and weighing at only 95g this Snom headset is light and offers good wearing comfort. The microphone on the Snom Headset features noice-cancellation and restrains background noise so that you can use the HS-MM2 in any environment. The Snom HS-MM2 is loaded with other business class features such as a flexible metal mic boom, a quick release fastener cord, an adjustable headband and much more.
Kshs. 3,000 as new (Original Price Kshs. 4,500)

If interested, email me offline or call me on the number below.

Brian
cell: +254715964281

Online Security in Kenya needs to be mainstreamed

2012-02-11T01:03:00.001-08:00

Today's(last night's) hacking of the Toyota Kenya website as evidenced by Moses Kemibaro's screenshot - http://t.co/w7RDDjfP - should serve as a wake up call to CxOs and any organization that has a web presence or online resources.

Especially as it comes hardly 2 weeks after the shameful hacking of over 103 government websites by an amateur Indonesian techie. In this particular case it turns out that all 103 sites were hosted on the same physical server - a malpractice, as far as web-hosting and system administration goes. It is clear that the increase in online threats and cyber-security issues has a lot to do with Kenya's improved connectivity to the global Internet - with 3 submarine fiber optic cables opening the country and sub-region to cyber-criminals and pranksters alike.

Diasporan Harassed at Artcaffe in Nairobi

2011-12-13T01:10:00.001-08:00

Diasporan Harassed at Artcaffe in Nairobi

By Admin | Mon, 12/12/2011 12:18PM -0500

On Saturday 10th December 2011 at 2.21pm, I met my Business Partner and Her friend at the Artcaffe in Junction Nakumatt Mall, Nairobi, Kenya. This was my first time to visit this establishment.

My Business Partner and I sat at a separate table from her friend as we were discussing our business.

After an hour, we paid for our drinks and snacks and left Artcaffe. We then went to the basement where I had packed my new Audi A4 to show them some handbags I had brought from London for my Business Partner. As they both looked at them (in my boot), 2 big burly men appeared from nowhere and asked us in very intimidating tones what we were doing. Before I could even answer those 2 KK Security men and a tall older looking Middle East man materialized. At this point I thought that we were either being car jacked or something was very wrong.

The 3 of us were shaken and wondering what was going on, I quickly explained that I was showing my 2 friends my new handbags. The Middle East man asked me to lock the boot and come aside. I did as he asked and my friends were standing on one side of the car and I was standing on the other with the Middle East man. He explained to me that we were suspected of stealing a hand bag and laptop from Artcaffe and they had CCTV footage proving this.

When I looked at him in disbelief, and asked him if we could go and see the CCTV footage he agreed. At this point 5 more KK Security men appeared and we were frog marched all the way to the Artcaffe. When we got there I demanded to see the CCTV footage, the Middle East man again pulled me aside and told me that I was not a suspect and that it was my business partner's friend who was. I told him that if that was the case I still wanted to see the footage and that I could not leave them.

After much confusion of whom had the footage, a short Middle East man accompanied by 2 Middle East women came with a laptop and the older tall Middle East man asked us to go to a handbag shop opposite Artcaffe to see the footage. When we got there, they then refused to show us the footage and told us that we were free to go. The old Middle East Man explained that it was a case of mistaken identity and that the handbag and laptop (which belonged to a tourist) had been stolen on 5th of December 2011.(please note, the 3 of us were not even in Nairobi on this date).

I looked at the elderly Middle East man in disbelief and asked him if he was the owner of Artcaffe, of which he vehemently denied that he was NOT and that he was a shop owner at the Mall and that we was trying to 'assist' us and the Artcaffe solve this issue. At this point a crowd of people and more KK Security had gathered round us.

I then confirmed with him again if we were free to go as we were not the suspects and he categorical said YES!

Disgusted and tired of the whole ordeal I asked my friends we leave and file a complaint later for this harassment.

As we approached the main exit/entrance of the Junction Mall, 5 KK Security men, stopped us and told us we were still suspects and that we should wait for the police to come.

I could not believe this nonsense, a Commander appeared in a KK Security Car with 3 other Security guards and blocked the exit/entrance and surrounded us and told us that we could not leave. I explained to him what had transpired in the last 1hour.

He then told me that the Elderly Middle East man was actually the owner of Artcaffe and that he had told the KK Security that he did NOT want Kikuyus (a major tribe in Kenya) in his premises as they are thieves and that he was 99% sure my business partner and her friend resembled the suspects in the video footage.

At this point it dawned on me that my business partner and her friend were not dressed according to the Artcaffe standard and they did not fit the so called urban chic criteria that can afford a meal at the Artcaffe. And I had been left out as I looked the part and drove an Audi A4!

The most ironic thing is that my Business Partner owns a very big NGO in Kenya that is supported by very many affluent people including 10 businessmen whose businesses are listed on the New York Stock Exchange!

To cut the long horrible ordeal short, we waited for 1.30 Hours for the Police to come, the police saw the footage of which they said that it was so unclear that one could not see the faces of the thief that stole on the 5th of December 2011(Please note it was only 1 thief not 3!)

We went to the nearest Police station (Muthangari Police Station) and wrote statements (although the Police insisted I was not a suspect) but I insisted on doing one as I do NOT Trust Artcaffe. The reason is that if the Owner can Lie to us with a straight face what can he do if given the chance???

My friend I urge you to please boycott this establishment that harasses innocent Kenyans, Racist, Classist and I strongly believe that we do not need foreigners (who we welcome with open hearts) to insight tribal HATRED in a Country that is only getting over the last Post Election Violence as we approach another Election.

Please pass this on.

By Becky Karanja, a London resident.

Taste it Twice - Part 1

2011-08-16T10:56:00.001-07:00

A former business partner, good friend of mine, from the Asian community in Kenya once told me "You know you've eaten in a good Indian restaurant when you taste the hotness in the food twice, once when it goes in - and the second time when it comes out" I have never forgotten the statement and it always bring a laugh when I share it with friends and family. But even the graphic nature of that statement could not prepare me for what I went through during a recent trip to India.

It wasn't my first time to visit India - no - I was in Hyderabad in 2008 for the Internet Governance Forum conference which was hosted there at the International Conference Centre. The IGF attracted what looked like close to 1,000 visitors from all over the world and lasted one week. The food we ate, both at the event as well as at our hotel and at the various evening functions, while spicy, was not balzingly hot. It might be that in preparation a general circular was sent out to all culinary venues to ease back on the hot stuff for 1 week while all these foreigners are in town. Anyway, all in all - I enjoyed very much the food I ate during that visit.

This time, though, I was on a man-solo trip to meet with our two main point of sale device vendors. One was based in Bangalore and the other in Hyderabad. Upon arrival in Mumbai (where I spent the night) I had a series of rushed meetings before proceeding to catch the flight to Bangalore. I got to the airport well on time, joined the loooong queue for the flight to Bangalore, got to the check-in counter and presented my passport - shock! It was not my passport - apparently another Kenyan had checked into the same hotel the same night, a few minutes after I had, the guy was even a Kamba and had a name and looks similar to mine. So when I checked out of the hotel - the reception (which had retained the passport), gave me the wrong one. In a panic I called my business colleague in Mumbai - he sent his driver immediately to the hotel to pick up the right passport and get it to me quickly so that I could board. By the time the driver arrived with the passport (I gave him the wrong one to take back to the hotel), and I got into the queue and made it to the check-in desk, I was too late to board the flight. I asked to be put on stanbdy on the next Mumbai-Bangalore flight (they fly hourly) and the lady obliged. One hour later - I was back on the waitlist because all the booked passengers arrived. Another hour later and I was back on the waitlist again! Yet another hours and this time because I was at the top of the waitlist I was given one of two only available chairs on the flight. Got to Bangalore exhausted - took a cab from the airport to hotel (almost 1 hours drive) and slumped into bed like a sack of potatoes.

The Next morning found me up nice and early - ready to face this new city and busy day that lay ahead. But first, breakfast - since I arrived in the wee hours and got to the hotel too tired to order room service, I had overslept a bit and missed the 9.30am deadline for breakfast. No problem, I just headed out onto the street found a nearby coffee shop - asked for a chicken sandwich and black coffee and sat down to wait. Coffee and chick-sandwich arrived together - both looked delicious - I took a huge bite out of the sandwich, and..... aaaaaarrrrrgggghhhh..... it was loaded with tear-gas-like chilli. Needless to say my first reaction was to take a sip of the closest drink - hot coffee! Ouch! Well, that was breakfast....

Once I had regained my vision and general sense of direction I picked up my laptop from the hotel and headed off for my first meeting of the day. I jumped into a tuk-tuk better known as "auto" (3 wheeler moto-taxi), showed the driver my map and address - and off we went! 2 dreary hours later, soaked with sweat and dust I walked up the stairs of our prestigious partners office building and into the main entrance. The security guard at the main entrance took a visibly tighter grip of his firearm as I approached but when I asked for the boss in English, he relaxed, smiled - mumbled something to me and triggered the fingerprint biometric switch which made the door swoosh open and I entered the cool, air-conditioned interior. After 1 hour of an introductory session my hosts invited me to join them for lunch upstairs on the balcony canteen. As we walked up the stairs, the politely asked if I minded indian food - I proudly told them that indian food was my favourite whenever I went out for dinners back home in Kenya. At the buffet style counter - we were served portions of the various dishes on offer by a bunch of cute, chubby ladies. We sat down at what was clearly the table reserved for the executives and began to eat. With my first bite I am sure my face must have turned purple or some other strange color from the hot and spicy food because without a word, my host dashed to the water dispenser - dashed out a plastic cup full of water and hurriedly gave it to me. With my eyes watering I tried to excuse myself and gulped back as much of the water as I could. Not wanting to lose face, I gathered my manly courage, set my jaw firmly and proceed to finish the meal, spoon after flaming spoon.

After lunch we had a very productive afternoon - meeting other members of the team they had assigned to work with me, going over the salient points of our project and brainstorming on a workplan for the next 8 days that I would be in Bangalore. At the end of the day, they summoned an 'auto' for me - and I jiggled and joggled the next two hours back to my hotel. After a quick shower I decided to take a short walk around the neighborhood of my hotel. Less than 3 minutes down the road I came across a massive (to my Kenyan eyes) Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) spot. I immediately rushed in, and with my mouth watering ordered a takeaway meal and salad to go. Rushing back to my room it was all I could do not to start eating on the way up in the lift, no, I wanted to do this right. Got into my room, laid the meal out on my little bedside table - washed my hands thoroughly at the tap in the bathroom and then descended upon the feast with avengeance..... Ouch! Oooow! Sssss! That chicken was so spicy hot that for a moment I thought I was eating pili pili straight from the farm! Goodness gracious! There went whatever hope I had of a blissful KFC eatfest. I picked at the fries and the salad - put it all back together, snuggled into bed and flipped channels for about 30 minutes before drifting off into a somewhat troubled sleep.

Very early in the morning I got up to attend to my bodily needs in the toilet. I was still a bit groggy and sleepy as I sat on the ivory throne so I let loose with my usual gusto.... I barely managed to contain the scream that hurtled forth from the depth of my belly. I felt as if my intestines were being dragged out of my rear end.... with a blowtorch burning ever so brightly at that posterior to make everything nice and colorful. Agony of agonies! Torture of tortures! The next 5 minutes found me reduced to a shivering, shaking wreck of a person. After cleaning up I stumbled into the shower, turned the cold water tap onto full pressure and present the resultant, soothing jet of water to the offended area. Then it came back to me, what my asian friend had told me, so - this is what he meant by tasting it twice!

Lost my HINDIOT

2011-08-16T05:48:00.001-07:00

woiyeee, boohoohoohoo, nisaindie yameni.....

*wipes tears, blows nose and snuffles loudly*

I lost my beloved, cherished Huawei IDEOS smart(est) phone....

It was a cold, dark night in Gaborone - and it also happened to be my birthday. My work colleagues took me out for dinner and even before it was over, begged their leave and left me all alone in this vibrant, classy and quite well visited restaurant. Sitting on a stool next to our table was a vocalist - belting out golden oldies, and every two or three songs wishing me a happy birthday on the mic and dedicating a song to me (maybe it was the 100 Pula tip I gave him for singing "Malaika" so well).

So here I am, all alone - finishing my meal and wondering how the rest of my birthday evening was going to be. Then I get a pat on my back and a guy I had been introduced to the previous week says hi and asks if he can join the table. I welcome him and he sits down, waves a hand in the air and "poof!" 3 dazzling ladies appear - one is his sister, the other his girlfriend and the third a cousin. After about another hour, the vocalist's crooning get's a bit tiring and my newfound friends suggests we find a place with a little more 'life'. Of course I am game. After a short drive we arrive at 'G-West' - Gaborone's equivalent of F1. We join the already crowded top level, find a corner at the bar, lean back and try to allow the pulsating 'house' music to sink in. By around mid-night I'm kinda ready for bed, but my friends... no way! By now they know it's my birthday and want to make sure that it is well celebrated. So we depart - driving about 30 klicks outside of Gaborone CBD to the only 24 hour joint - "Magic King" - which is absolutely packed to the brim - we try to fight our way to the bar to get a drink, give up mid dance floor, and turn back to try get out of the entrance we came in.

That is when the "tsotsis" (mbulale mbastards) make their move - in a very well orchestrated motion, I (unknowingly) am surrounded by about 5 guys who seem to be dancing around me - their hands are raised, at least that's what it looks like, and their heads are bobbing to the loud, glaring beats of the 'house' music. As I try to shuffle towards the entrance, I realise something strange, these fellows seems to be dancing - moving in the same direction and at the same pace as me - we're like some kind of interconnected cluster of bodies moving synchronously towards the entrance. I push one guy who is resting on my chest away - and he immediately 'reconnects' - I do the same to another on my flank and get a similar response. It then dawns on me that I am or have been played - I swirl round, duck, lunge forward, and escape the clutches of this five tentacled octopeople that is trying to swallow me - and I'm out of the door and into the cold, fresh air outside. I find my friends out there and we all agree to call it a night and that they will drop me off at my hotel.

As we enter the car I decided to check my email/facebook/twitter - you know, the usual addictive impulse that hits us socio(net)paths every 10-20minutes. I reach into my jacket breast pocket and shock! Phone gone! ....... Billions of blue, blistering, barnacles! I've been robbed! thefted! stolen! plundered! - I quickly check the rest of my pockets and find that everything else is intact - even my Nokia E5 (bought same week as my beloved HINDIOT). But alas, my swiss army knife of mobile phones, my multi-purpose, multi-faceted, multi-factor interaction interface is gone! the only bean in the githeri of my technical arsenal is lost! I am bereft..............

..............Friends and family are meeting in my Google Plus hangout every evening from 5pm GMT for the next 5 days. Well wishers and those bringing condolences are welcome.

Google & Huawei bring Kenyas first low-priced smartphone

2010-09-06T06:10:00.001-07:00

Models display the Huawei U8220 Android smart phone during its launch at a Nairobi hotel. Photo/FREDRICK ONYANGO

By Kui Kinyanjui

Posted Monday, September 6 2010 at 00:00

The quest for control of Kenya's rapidly growing mobile Internet market has intensified with the launch by Chinese technology firm Huawei of a competitively priced smartphone that runs on Google's Android operating system.

Retailing at just Sh8,000, the Huawei IDEOS is the cheapest smartphone in the Kenyan market and is expected to deepen the penetration of Internet among the estimated 20 million Kenyan consumers of mobile phone services.

Internet access has become the new battleground for Kenya's four telecoms operators following the recent plummeting in voice call tariffs and the resulting decline in its importance as a revenue driver.
Kenya has six million Internet users a large portion (four million) of who accesses it through their mobile phones that is considered to be more affordable by most consumers because it cuts down the cost of acquisition to a tiny fraction of the closest competitors.

The smartphones, however, remains dominated by highly-priced models that sell at an average of Sh30,000 placing it above the reach of the majority of consumers.

"The IDEOS is an affordable option, designed to lower barriers to entry and facilitate easy mobile Internet access," said Kevin Tao, the CEO of Huawei Device. "Ownership of the smartphone is one of the key means of getting people into the 'golden age of mobile broadband'," he said.

The IDEOS is a touch-screen phone that comes with bluetooth connectivity, GPS, a 3.2-megapixel camera, up to 16GB of storage and can be transformed into a 3G Wi-Fi hotspot connecting up to eight devices.

Many Kenyans are more familiar with Huawei modems, which they use to connect to the Internet through PCs or lap tops. The IDEOS is the latest in a string of devices the Chinese firm has rolled out aiming to capture a share of the growing consumer internet market.

Smartphones are expected to account for 37 per cent of the global mobile phone market by 2014, with the Middle East and Africa as the main drivers of the growth. Mobile Internet access is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 39 per cent in the next four years. In Kenya, mobile Internet use grew by over 180 per cent in past 12 months, according to consumer research firm Synovate.

The IDEOS' entry into Kenya comes only two months after Huawei teamed up with Safaricom in high profile launch of yet another smartphone U220 that also runs on Google's Android. This time around, there is industry speculation that the new phone will be marketed by internet firm Google, which is today launching its big marketing push aimed at boosting its presence in Kenya. Google's Android operating system allows users to ride on its Open Source development platform, offers users more than 70,000 applications and a cheap alternative to Google's Nexus originally developed to compete with Apple's iPhone.

Google is expected to unveil the key components of its mobile Internet strategy at the opening of the G-Kenya conference, where the global Internet giant will engage with local software developers, entrepreneurs, and computer science students. Google is also expected to showcase a range of products aimed at driving innovation in local technology and business circles. "In alignment with our core mission to organise the entire world's information and make it universally accessible and useful, we would like to provide training on localised tools that can spur economic development for the people of Kenya," Google said in a statement.

G-Kenya is expected to bring together over 1,200 software engineers, product managers, entrepreneurs, students and web developers to discuss the future of applications development, and be trained on Google's products and online business skills. The forum will feature high profile Google speakers including one of the internet giant's vice presidents Nelson Mattos, a team of product developers, engineers, the head of marketing for Africa, search specialists, and business marketing gurus.
Mr Mattos is Google's VP in charge of product and engineering.

Google entered the Kenyan market in 2007, but has mostly played an observer role even as the country deepened its foray into new technologies such as mobile Internet. The path of internet access growth in Kenya has been largely determined by the lack of fixed PC internet connections that has forced the consumers to rely on their mobile phones. Industry researcher RNCOS says the number of mobile subscribers in Kenya will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 15 per cent between 2010 and 2013 to reach 32 million by the end of 2013, representing a penetration rate of 72 per cent. Kenya is said to be on the verge of becoming one of the fastest growing broadband markets in the continent, RNCOS says, with research pointing to the number of Internet users and broadband subscribers growing at a rate of nearly 130 per cent in the next two years.

Voice dialling

Available in black, yellow, blue, and purple, the IDEOS supports functions such as voice dialling, voice navigation, and the ability to run applications off the SD card. Mr Tao said the name "IDEOS" embodies creativity and inspiration: the "ID" represents the industrial design-centric hardware platform, the "OS" represents the operating system as the core software platform, and the "E" symbolises the evolution to mobile Internet.

Africa’s broadcast and film leaders to gather in Nairobi next week

2010-07-21T06:44:00.000-07:00

Over 60 African and international broadcast and film leaders will make presentations on a wide range of media industry topics over the two-day Broadcast & Film Africa Conference in Nairobi over 28-29 July. They will be sharing knowledge and experience with industry managers and professionals from throughout the continent.

The speaker line-up is an impressive gathering of industry thought-leaders and represents a unique educational and networking opportunity for Africa’s rapidly expanding media sector.

The conference programme has been designed by Russell Southwood, a leading analyst of the African media sector and publisher of African Broadcast, Film & Convergence e-letter. He will make a keynote presentation in the conference on the changes in the industry across the continent over the last two years and the changes affecting its future growth.

This will be followed by an opening session on “Africa’s new free-to-air and pay-TV challengers”, with leading lights in the broadcasting industry making presentations, including Euan Fanell, CEO of Wananchi in Kenya; Lara Kantor, Group Executive of eTV in South Africa; Mactar Silla, Chairman of the Association of Private Producers and Televisions of Africa; George Twumasi, CEO of African Broadcast Networks; and Joe Frans, CEO and President of Next Generation Broadcasting in Sweden. According to Russell Southwood, “Alongside the Pay TV challengers, there are a new set of Free-To-Air broadcasters springing up, particularly in those countries that have liberalised. These new competitors are seeking to steal the more established companies audiences and are putting further pressure on Africa’s beleaguered public broadcasters. This session will address these key issues.”

Other conference sessions include:

·         Getting local content through advance sales, commissions, sponsorship and co-productions: The economic rules of the production game.

·         Delivering broadcast output in new ways

·         The Digital Transition – How can Africa make this work for broadcasters and audiences?

·         Broadcast regulation – Holding the industry back or spurring it on?

·         FM radio stations – How to compete in a crowded market place

·         Programming – Getting the most out of themed channels

·         In the danger zone – What should broadcasters say or not say?

·         After Nollywood, what next? – Getting African film seen across the continent

·         Multi-platform strategies – Creating something that is more than words

The event includes an exhibition to provide a showcase for latest technologies, services and systems that will enable film-makers and broadcasters to achieve world-class standards in the digital age.

For full details of the conference, email info@aitecafrica.com or log on to www.aitecafrica.com

Safaricom launches Android based smartphone in partnership with Huawei

2010-07-21T06:26:00.000-07:00

Today in Nairobi Safaricom announced the launch of a mid-range Android based smartphone in partnership with Huawei.

The first Android smartphone for Safaricom to introduce, the event was presided over by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Communication, Dr. Bitange Ndemo. He lauded Safaricom and Huawei for bringing the device into the Kenyan market and especially for the price point, which stands at slightly above Kshs. 27,000/= (approximately US$ 340).

This move heralds what industry pundits claim will be a revolution in mobile internet use by Kenyan mobile subscribers. The Android platform provides access to over 60,000 applications via the Android Apps marketplace as well as native support for various social networks including Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and others.

AFC-Financed Main One Cable System Now Operational Changes face of West African telecommunications

2010-07-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

20 July 2010

press release

The Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), lead investor in the Main One Cable Company, joins Main One to mark the global operational launch, today, of the groundbreaking Main One submarine fibre optic cable system project.

This landmark project, which is now operational, seriously enhances West Africa's connectivity to Europe and other parts of the world. Telecommunications in the region receives a tremendous boost with roughly 7,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable between Portugal, Ghana and Nigeria. Along its path, the cable has branching units to Morocco, the Canary Islands, Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire. A second phase of the project will extend it to South Africa.

The Main One Cable satisfies what has until now been a huge dearth in fast and efficient connectivity, delivering 1.92 tera bytes per second (Tbps) of high capacity bandwidth. This is equivalent to ten times the available capacity of the fibre optic cable that has served West Africa until now. It has about twenty times the satellite capacity currently available across Sub-Saharan Africa.

"As a pan-African financing institution, AFC is delighted to be a proud partner in the Main One submarine cable system project," says Andrew Alli, AFC President and Chief Executive Officer. "This is an African conceived, financed and driven project, which opens and integrates Africa's ICT markets and addresses the commercial imperative necessary to drive economic growth."

"Funke Opeke, CEO of Main One Cable Company Limited, notes "AFC brought a combination of technical, institutional, regional and financial skills into the project, which will provide much needed telecommunications capacity in West Africa. The participation of AFC enhanced the ability of the project to complete the necessary financing for its implementation and timely delivery."

Source : Africa Finance Corporation

Louis Oosthuizen wins British Open: Another great moment for Africa!

2010-07-19T00:32:00.000-07:00

Sunday 18th July was another great day for Africa - as Louis Oosthuizen won the British Open with a massive seven stroke lead. Carding a one under par 71 in the final round of the Open on Sunday, Oosthuizen finished the tournament with a fabulous 16 under par score, brought about by twenty birdies, one eagle and only 6 bogeys in the four rounds through Thursday to Sunday.

Add on to this the fact that his win came on Nelson Mandela's 92nd birthday - it was a nostalgic moment as he dedicated his win to "Madiba" during his winner's speech.

Louis Oosthuizen played in Kenya at the Muthaiga golf club during the Africa Junior Golf challenge where he was named player of the tournament, this after winning the Karen Golf Challenge at the Karen Golf Club in 1999.

On a more personal note - I meet his brother at the Roodepoort Country Club in 2003, where I bought my first Ping Driver, a club I still own. Getting left-handed clubs is generally not very easy in Kenya, but I was able to get a sweet deal on this club from Louis' brother who was working at the ProShop at Roodepoort CC. Louis' brother was very excited to find out that I was from Kenya and spoke very proudly of his brother's achievements in the golf arena.

Well done Louis, you have made African's all over the world very proud!

East Africa: EASSy Fibre-Optic Cable Set for Launch This Month

2010-07-12T12:30:00.000-07:00

By Al-amani Mutarubukwa
12 July 2010

The East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy) will be switched on at the end of this month, officials said yesterday. The fibre-optic cable, which serves as a conduit for Internet and data traffic, arrived in the country in April this year but was yet to start operations
"We are now continuing with recruiting potential clients, mainly wholesalers and government institutions, before going live at the end of July," said Mr Norman Moyo, the Zantel chief commercial officer.

Various eastern and southern African telecommunication companies have a stake in EASSy. In Tanzania, TTCL and Zantel are shareholders in the fibre-optic cable. When it goes live, the cable system is expected to provide a capacity transport option to other network operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

The development is expected to provide more alternative Internet gateways to users in the country and avoid dependency on a single gateway, which becomes a problem when it breaks down. Last week the country went without Internet connections for two days because Seacom cable, currently the main gateway, developed technical problems off the Kenyan coast. Since then there have been persistent interruptions.

Latest reports indicate that the company's technical team had identified the exact location of the fault and the repair process had begun. However, while the repair process is expected to continue for several days, the actual completion date remains unknown due to several factors. These include the transit time of the ship, weather conditions and time spent on locating the cable.

The company's website said the faulty section of the cable was at one of the deepest points along its route, some 4.7 kilometres beneath the sea surface. "This may require robotics to be deployed to locate and retrieve the cable for repairs to be undertaken on board the specialised repair ship before replacing the cable back on the ocean floor," the company said in a posting on its website on Friday.

Early last week the country suffered its second major Internet connection breakdown in three months after a submarine fibre-optic cable experienced a serious technical problem off the coast of Mombasa, in Kenya.

Efforts to fix the problem culminated in the company contacting various stakeholders and providing them with alternative routes, which saw many internet users resuming their operations on Wednesday.
However, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been complaining that the recommended alternative connection routes turned out to be both expensive and slow. Banks, cybercafés, telecom companies and other offices were particularly hit hard by the fault on the cable which connects Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique to Europe and Asia.

A survey carried out by The Citizen (a Tanzanian newspaper) yesterday revealed that Internet Service Providers and bandwidth-hungry users had fallen back on satellite connections. "Such breakdowns are common practice in the industry, but we can still get network access using satellite connection as many operators have already done," the Tanzania Telecommunication Regulatory Authority chief, Mr John Nkhoma, told The Citizen over the phone.

However, industry players have been expressing concern that in an era where internet is becoming a pivotal factor of production, the country would continue suffering from repeated connection breakdowns due to its reliance on one cable.

The minister for Communication, Science and Technology, Prof Peter Msolla, told this paper on Thursday that the government had started engaging other gateways such as Uhuru One and Teams, both from Kenya. Apart from complementing one another, he said, multiple gateways would serve as a back-up in case one of them collapsed.

Submarine fibre-optic cables have opened a new era of the ICT industry in the country and the region at large, as they relay a reliable high-speed bandwidth. The East African Submarine System (EASSy) is being implemented along the east coast of Africa with nine landing stations in Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Comoros, Madagascar, Mozambique and South Africa.

Source : The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

SEACOM cable repairs to take till July 22

2010-07-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

Jul 12, 2010 10:45 AM | By I-Net Bridge

SEACOM says that repairs for its faulty undersea cable line between Mumbai and Mombasa will only be finalised by July 22, having originally gone down on July 5.

The cable connects South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Mozambique to Europe and Asia.
Initial reports indicated that the overall repair process could take 6-8 days.

"Current investigations indicate that a repeater has failed on segment 9 of the SEACOM cable, which is offshore to the north of Mombasa. This unexpected failure affects traffic towards both India and Europe. Traffic within Africa is not affected," SEACOM said.

It said it had continued to work closely with its partners to deploy the best plan possible for the repair operations.
"As communicated earlier, the exogenous factors such as location, water depth, weather and spare parts needed make this cable outage very difficult to repair and a highly specialised vessel and technical crew is being used to carry out this work.
"Based on this, the current timeline indicates that the repairs may now only be finalised by July 22, 2010," SEACOM said.

The group said it would also continue to source and activate additional capacity to meet customer requirements for the duration of the repairs.
Internet service provider, MWEB said on Friday that it had restored all of its international bandwidth and was running at full capacity.
MWEB, which relies on SEACOM's cable for its services, said it had worked very closely with its bandwidth provider to ensure the stability of its network while identifying alternative options to secure additional redundancy.
MWEB said Telkom's SAT3 cable had ensured some redundancy, which was used primarily to re-route email traffic.
Derek Hershaw, MWEB ISP CEO said: "While SEACOM continues with the repairs of the cable fault, we have in the interim secured full capacity split over two separate routes. SEACOM's restoration process is expected to be completed later next week.

Source : http://www.timeslive.co.za/scitech/article545755.ece/SEACOM-cable-repairs-to-take-till-July-22

African Voices in the Global Media Space: the 14th Highway Africa Media Conference

2010-06-19T08:10:00.000-07:00

The 14th Highway Africa Conference takes place between 4th and 7th July 2010 at Rhodes University, Eastern Cape, South Africa. During this event Highway Africa will recognise media practitioners in various key categories. This event is touted as the largest gathering of journalists in Africa.

The event, which has become one of the hallmarks of new media achievement in Africa highlights the power of the media among communities especially as a way of promoting open and free expression that boosts growth and development.

This event will also see the 10th Edition of the Africa New Media Awards. The 3 categories for awards will be:

Individual/Student – awarded to individual persons who design or appropriate new affordable applications of communication technologies to overcome the limitations of existing infrastructure and/or capital resources.
Not-for-Profit – awarded to users of appropriate media technology to advance and assist communities and persons limited by infrastructure and/or technological access.
Corporate – awarded to corporate groups for creative and appropriate adaptation of technologies within the continent to complete effectively in the wider environment.

Entries will have a broad criteria which include:

The judges will consider the use of new media technologies to:

Advance press freedom on the continent;
Encourage social empowerment amongst marginalised communities;
Highlight innovative and creative applications of global technology for the benefit of the continent’s overall media development.

More details on the Highway Africa website http://www.highwayafrica.com

Upcoming event to address issues of intra-African connectivity

2010-06-19T07:43:00.000-07:00

The Internet Society in conjunction with various partners will be holding an event in Nairobi which seeks to bring together African Internet Exchange Point operators, ISPs, policy makers, regulators and professionals to deliberate on strategies to improve connectivity between and within African countries.

According to the conference website:
"The Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum: Unlocking Africa’s Regional Interconnection will address the key Interconnection opportunities and challenges in the Africa and provide participants with global and regional insights on maximising regional opportunities. As a multi-stakeholder forum, the event will seek to foster a robust discussion on cross-border interconnection approaches and challenges by encouraging participate by a range key players such as; infrastructure providers, Service Providers, IXPs and regulators. Registration is free."

The event takes place in Nairobi, Kenya from the 11th to the 12th of August and will be hosted by the Telecommunications Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK) at the Panafric Hotel.