Wanjiku's Take...

• ISPs Peering, Interconnection and high internet costs

  Posted: August 18, 2010, 1:25 pm by rebecca

  Last week I attended Africa Peering and Interconnection Forum; it brought together ISPs, content provider and regulators from 20 African countries but the Communications Commission of Kenya was conspicuously missing.

  It is only after attending such meetings that you understand some of the reasons the cost of internet will not drop for the individual, who is probably looking forward to the day we pay $20 per month for limited connectivity.

  First, peering means exchange of content between ISPs at a central point like the Internet Exchange point (IXP). Think of an IXP as a hub in airline terms. Nairobi is the regional hub and most arlines with no connections to the region from Europe usually get their passengers to Nairobi, then they are taken over by KQ or another airline.

  For instance, if you are travelling from Windhoek Namibia to Lome in Togo, you will have to buy a ticket from different airlines or from one airline that goes to Lome, which is likely to give the cheaper option. If you decide to travel SAA then KQ, there is no doubt the ticket might be higher; this is Africa!

  The same principle applies, if your content is hosted abroad and you are in Kinshasa, you have a choice of ISPs that will charge the cost of international connectivity because at some point, the data will leave your ISP network to another, and they have to pay. Assuming that content was hosted locally, it means that cost of international connectivity would be eliminated.

  But the internet costs remain the same whether local or international, so why bother? Thats a question that many people ask and the answer is simple; we do not generate enough content to spur competition in hosting services and lower the costs. Abroad, people can charge lower because maybe the server is in a garage somewhere, under the bed or in a company like Yahoo, that attracts 10 million sites a year, so it can afford to charge 10 dollars and still make money.

  Ever wondered why a ticket to Malawi costs $800 and one to South Africa costs $400 yet it may seem logical that the reverse be the case? Well, it is argued that the Jo'Burg route has more flights and airlines compared to Malawi and therefore more competition. Indeed, if you are going to Lilongwe via Kenya Airways, you might be taken on a round trip of your life but if they attempted that on the Jo'burg route, they may lose the customers.

  Anyway, if the ISPs in the region do not see the need to share content and so long as we continue hosting abroad, the cost will remain high. Of course those are not the only issues, there is licensing and the desire to get a quick return on investment, maybe the period may be made longer.

  There are ways content providers can reduce costs by setting up POPs like in Nigeria and ISPs evolving to be more of regional carriers and reduce backhauling costs like Orange is doing in the region

  There is no doubt that the industry is getting better; maybe most us host 9 out of 10 websites locally but it will probably get to a time when ISPs say that if you access websites that are local, then the cost is low and flat, maybe like they do with on network calls.

  It may look simplistic but we all have a role to play in making internet cheaper. Follow-up piece can address licensing issues and benefits we can expect from having Kenyan Internet Exchange Point, Mombasa Internet Exchange Point and a POP hosted at Internet Solutions in Kenya.

  
  

• Acting Busy at the iHub- photos

  Posted: August 5, 2010, 4:19 pm by rebecca

  There is something about people, internet and their laptops. I think if you want people to become the absolute anti-social, make sure they have internet- at least for the addicts. You almost do not talk to the person seated next, and if you do, then it is an absolute necessity.

  On the referendum day, the iHub was buzzing and there were more laptops than you can think, after all, there was proof that this was going to be a very tech day for the team monitoring via www.uchaguzi.co.ke

  Being at the iHub on the day, you get to help a bit and work at the same time and get to catch up if you find someone you know or if you find the time. Well, I always get time to chit chat in between the emails and calls, if the photo below is anything to go by.

  Thanks to Erik, for alerting me of this photo, I was looking quite busy, on phone, on the laptop and all... but I guess I was just acting busy.

  From bird's eye view, we all look very busy....

  Maybe if I wasn't acting busy I would have been busy playing fusball in the background like people would do once in a while.

  But when I realized the camera was zooming on me, I had to smile, you never know who will see the photo :)

  Thanks to Daudi and Erik for the photos :)

  
  

• Tech at the heart of Kenyan referendum

  Posted: August 4, 2010, 4:15 pm by rebecca

  Its not everyday that Kenyans have the same topic on the Facebook status messages; it must have been special- yes, its about the new constitution.

  It was the day that people took time to update on twitter, whine about the long queues, and report any incidences at the polling station. This made it easier for journalists attending the press conference with the electoral commission to ask questions. I actually heard two issues that were posted on twitter raised with the chair of IIEC, which was good. This means that the mainstream media is paying close attention to discussions on social media.

  I think the best response was the number of volunteers who came to the iHub for the www.uchaguzi.co.ke monitoring exercise. I got to the iHub and I almost thought I was in the wrong place- thank goodness for the few Ushahidi people in; the lesson was that while so much is at stake, people are willing to do anything.

  Uchaguzi is the forum for user generated content and it shows that tech has caught on.

  The referendum may just be a day, but it shows the signs of things to come in the general election, which tends to spread over several days and has its own measure of controversies.

  Uchaguzi team has mapped all the constituencies in Kenya, although there were some challenges with uploading the CSV file and getting the lat/longitudes, it shows that in 2012 the whole thing will be perfected.

  So, if anyone has an issue to raise, whether positive or negative, am sure www.uchaguzi.co.ke is the place to do it.

  Tech power!

  
  

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes