In the news today, SEACOM, the high speed undersea cable operator has completed a new cable branch that now links East Africa directly to Europe via the Red Sea. This new development means that faster connectivity will now be possible directly to Europe from East Africa and it will also add an extra level of redundancy to the SEACOM network. The additional capacity is expected to be crucial for carrying lucrative data for television broadcasters during the 2010 FIFA World Cup from South Africa. More information on this new development from SEACOM can be found at the Business Daily here>
Tag Archive for 'East Africa'
I’ve been waiting for this to happen for some time! Finally, an Google Android handset is expected to be launched in Kenya in June 2010. This is the LG Optimus handset which is also known as the LG GT540. As far as I know, this is the first Android handset to be (officially) launched in Kenya so its a ground breaking moment.
The announcement was made this past week by a representative of LG in East Africa however, no announcement was made if the LG Optimus will “go to market” in conjunction with one of the mobile networks as has been the case with the Apple iPhone which is being sold on contract with Orange in Kenya.
It will be interesting to see how the LG Optimus fares in Kenya’s smartphone market. Its bound to spice things up considering that Andorid handsets are all the rage (globally) these days. What is yet to be seen is how much the LG Optimus will retail for? (possibly/probably cheaper than an Apple iPhone on the Orange mobile network).
For the time being, its safe to say that Nokia and Blackberry smartphones currently lead the market in Kenya. More information on the LP Optimus can be found on the official web site for the same here>. In addition, here is a nice video for the LG Optimus:
What do I mean when I say “the cloud” or “clouds”? Well, basically, the term “cloud” is derived from the term “cloud computing” which is basically Internet-based computing. Many of us already use cloud computing on a regular basis for accessing services like web-based email (e.g. Gmail or Yahoo Mail) and Business Applications (e.g. Google Apps). The term “cloud” is therefore normally used as a metaphor for the Internet.
The beauty about the cloud is that services are accessed directly via a web browser and there is hardly ever any need to install software on your computer or server(s). In addition, it means that an organization does not need to invest in its own servers and applications so that instead it may use free or subscription based cloud services – thereby saving lots of time and money in the process. Another upside for using the cloud is its highly scalable and low cost which makes it highly attractive for businesses of all sizes. Which brings me to the reason why I wrote this post – that we urgently need to build out the local cloud.
Just a couple weeks ago East Africa experienced a major Internet outage due to a fault on the Mediterranean section of the SEA-ME-WE 4 cable. This cable connects cables like SEACOM and TEAMS onwards to Europe which is why we we’re affected. This came as something of a surprise for many in the region as we have more or less enjoyed uninterrupted broadband for the better part of a year. It was shocking to experience speeds that we’re even slower than what we had a year ago before TEAMS and SEACOM went live. It was Internet as we knew it, circa 2000. It was like being on a dial-up Internet connection once again.
The outage required Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Telcos to re-route their bandwidth via expensive satellite connections so as to maintain some semblance of connectivity – this tended from very bad to quite slow depending on your choice of service provider. It is for this very reason why we urgently need to have local clouds that function even when international bandwidth and cloud are not available. This way, essential cloud-based services will continue to function locally.
The consequences, which we are already aware of is what happens when most of your business applications sit in the international cloud? What happens when you cannot get email or access your accounting service in the international cloud? The outcome is that you can’t work when this happens and the worst part is that you absolutely can’t do anything about it until international bandwidth and cloud are restored.
Given that its a well-known fact that undersea cables regularly do get cut or damaged, its likely that we will see more of the sort of outage we had two weeks ago. It also means that ISPs and Telcos will retain their costly satellite-based Internet connections for redundancy – just in case. Therefore, even if SEACOM and TEAMS have made broadband Internet a reality in East Africa we still really need reliable, high quality and world-class local cloud-based services.
The biggest caveat to setting up local cloud-based services are the massive financial investments required to set-up and operate data centers and applications. Data centers are also notorious for consuming large amounts of electricity (which is often unreliable in this part of the world) and require continuous technical monitoring and management on a 24 X 7 X 365 basis. There are companies in the region that have set-up data centers to co-locate customer servers and provide bandwidth to the Internet. However, pricing tends to be rather prohibitive for most businesses.
Going forward, in terms of local cloud-based services as well as the applications and services offered, this could be best addressed via a three way strategic partnership model. In the first instance Government would provide the required incentives for businesses to set-up local data centers and cloud-based services. In the second instance local private sector players would provide the needed investment to make the local cloud take off. In the third instance international cloud players such as Google and Microsoft could provide the best practices and co-invest in building local cloud-based services. Ultimately, the local cloud build out would ensure service continuity even when International bandwidth or cloud are “offline”.
If you have been online in Kenya and the rest of East Africa you would have noticed that since the weekend Internet speeds have deteriorated considerably. After getting used to broadband Internet connectivity, it must have come as a surprise as it took long minutes to pull in data that hitherto would have taken only seconds to pull in. The reason for the much slower Internet speeds is due to a fault on the Mediterranean section of the SEA-ME-WE 4 submarine cable system, which undersea cables like SEACOM and TEAMS are connected to in Kenya use to connect onwards to Europe. The SEA-ME-WE 4 cable connects South East Asia to Europe via the Indian Sub-Continent and Middle East. Repair work on SEA-ME-WE 4 cable is expected to be finalized by Wednesday this week for Internet speeds to normalize again.
Cisco has announced that its Nairobi office has become the first business premises in Kenya to offer Cisco TelePresence. Unveiled in Cisco’s Nairobi offices last week, the Cisco TelePresence solution offers a live, immersive, face-to-face experience which enables people from different offices, cities and geographical locations around the world to meet virtually using the power of the network. Cisco TelePresence meeting participants can share content, create high-quality video recordings and events, consult with experts and deliver powerful personalized services, all using the network for an immersive in-person experience. Read the full story on CIO East Africa here>
This is a link to an interview I did with CIO East Africa for their April 2010 edition on the challenges of being an ICT Entrepreneur in Kenya, and the broader East African region.
The interview can be read in full in the print edition of CIO East Africa. Also featured in the same is Seven Seas Technologies CEO Mike Macharia. You can read it here>
In the news this week, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Kenswitch have announced an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) sharing deal in which over 650 KCB ATMs in East Africa will now be accessible to customers who have bank accounts with Kenswitch partners. At the same time, KCB customers will now be able to access Kenswitch partner bank ATMs. Kenswitch is run by a consortium of banks under the National Payments Systems Modernization and Reform Process of the Central Bank of Kenya. Kenswitch enables participating financial institutions to share payment infrastructure such Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point of Sale (POS) terminals so as to avoid the duplication of scarce resources. KCB on is Kenya’s largest commercial bank which is also operational in Uganda, Tanzania and Southern Sudan.
Its official. On the 23rd of July 2009, the Internet in East Africa is going to get fast, really fast! This is because the Seacom high speed undersea cable will “go live” on that day and change the East African Internet experience as we know it. Imagine a scenario where you can download thousands of megabytes of internet data effortlessly via your mobile phone, wifi connection or fiber link to your home or office. Imagine streaming video and audio content with no buffering or erratic flows. Imagine making video phone calls to anyone around the world in real-time, for free. Imagine a situation where you watch live television or listen to radio stations on thousands of web channels worldwide, for free.
Consider the possibility of online jobs and businesses where you virtually commute to work, right from your home. Imagine doing your University Degree online virtually or educating your children through the Web. However, also consider that you may be competing with Indian Accountants or Chinese Architects for your next piece of business. You will find that your clients can now access services globally via the Internet in near real-time, and at half what you charge. You may end up outsourcing many of the core functions of your business, online, cheaply. All this will become possible. The cable is almost ready. Finally. The world as we know it is about to really change. I hope we’re ready for it.
Just read that Kampala City in Uganda is now connected to Mombasa in Kenya via a 1,500 kilometre fibre optic backbone. The fibre has been laid by Alltech Stream East Africa, the parent company of Kenya Data Networks (KDN). The fibre will now be extended to Kigali in Rwanda over the coming months to essentially create an East African Fibre backbone that will connect to the soon to be operational high speed undersea cables in Mombasa.
The cables in Mombasa will begin operations later this month with SEACOM and TEAMS in a couple of months. The implication of the fibre backbone connecting all of East Africa’s major cities is that telecommunication and data costs could drop to as low as 10% of the current satellite-based communications. This is going to make East African regional soci-economic integration significantly more cost-effective and efficient. These are truly interesting times for the region!
Recent Comments