Telecommunications
Structure and Policy
From the year 1948, the East
African Posts and Telecommunications Corporation covered Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania
(formerly Tanganyika). The Kenya
Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC) was then formed by an Act of
Parliament in 1977 following the collapse of the East African Community. To date KPTC
remains the sole governmental corporation in Kenya to provide postal and telecommunication
infrastructure and services.
The exchange capacity has grown
from 88,000 lines in 1977 to nearly 384,000 lines in 1998, and the number of connected
lines has grown from 63,000 to over 271,800 lines.
The network is 95% automatic and
the digitalisation process covers about 54% of the exchange. Transmission links are
undergoing the same process. This includes the major digital link from Nairobi to Mombassa
which is now in operation, and the Western and Eastern links which are in progress.
On the international services side, the second international gateway project, Kericho
Earth Station, was completed in 1995, and the expansion of the international exchange and
Longmont Earth Station is underway. In April 1996, KPTC launched a high-speed
digital data circuit service known as KENSTREAM. Other services in due course include a
VSAT known as KENSAT, and an INMARSAT known as SAFARISAT.
Value added services such as VSAT,
packet switching and leased lines are under the monopoly of KPTC, while paging is a
private monopoly. There is virtually no competition with KPTC except international
services offered by call-back operators which Kenya has declared illegal through notice to
ITU.
In 1996, the government adopted a
policy framework paper, "Economic Reforms 1996-1998", with support from IMF and
the World Bank. The paper outlines the national strategy and key economic reforms to be
implemented up to the end of 1998. One component of the reforms relates to the
liberalisation and restructuring of the telecommunications sector, namely:
- separation of postal and
telecommunications services;
- selling of 30% shares to a strategic
investor and public flotation;
- joint ventures for cellular
phone; and
- liberalisation of pay-phones and
VSAT.
In January 1997, the Ministry of
Transport and Communications wrote a Postal and Telecommunications Policy Statement. The
latter tries to map out the orderly expansion and modernisation of the telecommunications
sector up to the year 2015 by including specific targets for telephone penetration,
privatisation, market structure, etc.
Two bills prepared by the
government, namely the Kenya Communications Act and the Postal Corporation Act, have
become operational as of July 1999. A nine-man transitional management committee was
appointed to liquidate the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation (KPTC).
This allowed the separation of postal and telecommunications services and the
restructuring of KPTC into three entities: Telecoms Kenya Ltd., Kenya Postal Corporation,
and Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK), the latter acting as the licensing and
regulatory authority of the government.
The privatisation of KPTC is one of
the pre-conditions for the resumption of talks on a US$ 205 million IMF loan package for
Kenya under the fund's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility. The deal was suspended in
July 1997 pending Kenya's completion of several prerequisites. The Communications
Commission of Kenya (CCK) has meanwhile began operations with the publication of an
international tender for people willing to invest in the cellular phone domain in the
country.
Cellular (Mobile) phone
network
The provision of cellular mobile
service is fully controlled by KPTC, even though there are plans to liberalise the market,
through a joint venture company with Vodafone (UK). The GSM service was launched in 1997
under the name Safaricom, and it operates side by side with the existing
analogue system, ETACs (Enhanced Total Access Communications). ETACs covers most of the
densely populated areas on a non-continuous basis while the GSM service is confined to
Nairobi with plans to expand gradually to other parts of the country. They have a combined
capacity of 8,000 lines with connections to 5,300 subscribers as of 1998.
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ICT
Networking Development
Little has been done
in the area of national networking and use of information and communication technologies
due to the lack of institutional support from the government and the tight controls on the
communications sector.
Center for Women in
Information Technology and Economic Research (CWITER): This is an electronic support
initiative, dedicated to educating, strengthening and magnifying the impact of African
women's organisations and NGO's through the promotion of electronic communication use in
East Africa. It educates and empowers, African women organisations and NGOs in information
technology and economic issues. CWITER's major objective is to
create and facilitate a global network of women and the NGO community in Kenya who have a
commitment to enhance their own organisations and others through effective use of
electronic communication. To attain this goal, CWITER is committed to the
following:
- Create Technology Awareness
- Bridging the Information Gap
- Information Resources
- Problem Highlights
- Capacity Building
- Conferences
The African
Regional Centre for Computing (ARCC) is a registered, non-governmental
organisation (NGO) whose main objective is to promote the development and use of computing
and communication technologies in Africa, with an initial focus on Kenya. ARCC is
sponsored by KARI-ODA (Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute - Overseas Development
Agency). ARCC's activities include high-level computer training, research and consultancy,
promotion of computer literacy, facilitation of collaborative computing education and
research, and fostering of links and communications between the computing industry,
academia, NGOs, policy making institutions and other key sectors.
MIPS Inc. is a full service information technology firm incorporated under the laws
of Kenya. MIPS specialises in turn-key information technology solutions for small and
large firms. Its areas of expertise include:
- Local Area Network Technologies
- Internet Technologies
- Management Decision Support Systems
- Financial Information Technology
- Relational Database Management
Systems
- Business Office Application Software
MIPS Inc. was
founded by Kenyan graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with the goal of
offering their past experience as professional information technology consultants to
individuals and businesses in Kenya. The company also runs a Netcafe which provides not
only e-mail and Web surfing but also a complete suite of state-of-the-art office
solutions. These include first-class desktop publishing complete with photo-quality color
printing for all corporate document needs, photocopying, document scanning and faxing.
The Environment
Liaison Centre International (ELCI) node is a Fidonet system designed to serve
the NGO world, groups working on development-related areas, relief and church-based
organisations, etc. The aim is to empower these organisations in communications to enable
them to exchange information with other organisations. ELCI has recently
closed its e-mail services mainly due to the rise of commercial ISPs.
The HealthNet
node in Kenya is based at the University of Nairobi and was one of the first e-mail
providers in the country. The node has over 350 users in the country, including users from
the Network of AIDS Researchers in Eastern and Southern Africa (NARESA), the Kenya Medical
Research Institute, the Nairobi Hospital, the University of Nairobi, the Ministry of
Health, etc.
The International
Centre for Research in Agriculture and Forestry (ICRAF) and the
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), both located in Nairobi, have
their own direct links to the US for full Internet access as well as voice calls to other
sister CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research) centers. The International
Centre for Insect Physiology and Entomology (ICIPE) has secured a 64 Kbps leased
line to the Internet Service Provider, Africa Online. ICIPE will host the
African Pest Management Network supported by USAID and other organisations.
A RINAF
regional training course for Internet system administrators was held at the
Faculty of Information Sciences at Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya, from 24-28 February
1997. The training course aimed to create a nucleus of Internet system
administrators who are in charge with the installation, management and maintenance of the
RINAF nodes of eastern Africa. They will also be committed to spread their acquired
networking knowledge to users inside their own institutions and to the research and
academic institutions involved in the project.
The following major
institutions have provided their support to the development of ICT human resources in
Kenya:
The Jomo Kenyatta University of
Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) offers undergraduate programs leading to a
university diploma and a bachelor degree in electrical and electronic engineering.
The University
of Nairobi offers an undergraduate program in computer technology leading to a
Bachelor Degree in Computer Science.
Moi
University has an active Faculty of Information Sciences with a unique degree
programme in Information Sciences. The University is also the RINAF (Regional Informatics
Network for Africa) focal point.
- JKUAT-Micro Mini Systems
Information Technology Centre is a joint venture established in 1996 between Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture and Technology and Micro Mini Systems, Inc. (MMS) of Nebraska,
USA, with a view to drawing upon the strengths of each partner for the delivery of quality
information technology training solutions. The center has so far trained 600 students in
areas ranging from general computer exposure to advanced PC maintenance and programming
courses.
Full Internet services were
established in 1995 by some companies despite the objections of KPTC printed in
national newspapers. KPTC then inhibited the liberalisation of the market by imposing the
requirement of a licence and the payment of a provisional license fee for five years of
Kshs 500,000 payable in advance, and an operating fee for one year at 1% of the gross
turn-over, or as an interim measure, at Kshs 250,000. Moreover, ISPs must be 70% locally
owned.
Despite all the obstacles, Kenya
now has the largest Internet community in sub-Saharan Africa, with some estimates as high
as 25,000 users. KPTC has established a nation-wide 2MB Internet backbone with a hub in
Nairobi and extending to Nyeri, Mombassa, Nakuru and Kisumu. Currently, 15 Internet Service Providers are operating
in Nairobi, Kenya, and some of them have points of presence in secondary cities.
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ICT Partners and Projects
US
Leland Initiative: As part of the initiative,
and "Internet as a Tool for Development" Course has been completed by the USAID
Regional and Kenyan Bi-lateral Missions.
Rural Telecommunications
Field Trial and Commercialisation Pilot Project: The overall objective of this
project, funded by InfoDev
Program, is to assist the Government of Kenya to establish the technical,
policy, and financial elements of a successful liberalised rural telecommunications
service delivery strategy. The project will promote commercial service development,
helping to accelerate and strengthen the role which telecommunications can play in
enabling rural development in Kenya.
The Youth Leadership
Program for Information and Communication Technologies for Community Development
seeks to prepare and deploy youths from various communities to popularise and transfer
skills on how to use ICTs for community development. Initially, the project targeted four
countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Nigeria. The International Development Research Center (IDRC) will take the
lead in organising a workshop which will serve as a forum for various African and Canadian
experts to discuss the project and the modalities of its implementation.
The Jomo Kenyatta
University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is the Kenyan participant in the
InfoDev/World Bank African Virtual
University. This a is a US$1.2 M project using the power of modern
information technologies such as satellite technology to deliver distance education to
pupils in 25 sites.
As part of the African
Highlands Initiative (AHI) of the Association for Strengthening
Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA), an exploratory study
has been undertaken to assess the potential of ICTs in rural communities in Maseno, Kenya.
The East Africa
Co-operation (EAC) is planning a high-speed digital backbone linking Kampala,
Nairobi and Dar es Salaam by 2001. The European Investment Bank financing of US$ 41
million has been arranged for the project, with another US$ 9 million being provided by
the East African Development Bank, and a further US$ 16 million contributed by the three
East African Telecom operators.
IDRC-Acacia, ITU
and AFRALTI, all in Nairobi, Kenya, will collaborate to develop the
first of the African Centres of Excellence to address education and research in rural
connectivity and universal access. The education programme will raise the awareness of
senior African telecommunications executives, managers and technical specialists to the
issues, experiences, and best practices associated with connectivity in African rural
communities. The key characteristics of the collaboration are stated:
- It will support the ITU Centres of
Excellence programme;
- it will be supported by private
sector partners in Canada and Africa; and
- it will serve to amplify the growing
body of knowledge developing in Africa through programmes such as IDRC's Acacia
initiative.
The collaboration will see the
creation of a Centre of Excellence in Rural Connectivity at AFRALTI. AFRALTI (African
Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute) is the ITU-sponsored training centre which
was established with the aim of developing the telecommunications market in Africa, as
well as training policy makers and regulators in the development of national priorities
and regulation. A similar ITU-sponsored training centre known as ESMT, international
telecommunication high school, has also been established in Dakar, Senegal.
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