State seeks ways around fibre cuts

NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 19 – The government says it is building a system of fibre optic rings that will carry communication traffic in the event of a network disruption.

Information Permanent Secretary Bitange Ndemo says in case the fibre is severed, communications would be automatically re-routed around the failed area by way of the redundant ring thus ensuring that connectivity is not affected.

"We will begin to use different methods such as what is called the 'ring method' where if one part of the cable is cut, then traffic is re-routed to the other side of the ring immediately," he said of the system that would reduce network disruptions to clients in Nairobi and Mombasa.

The system is said to have 'self-healing' configuration that ensures that the normal operating cycle continues even after a hitch on the network.

Currently, the country's fibre cabling is done in a 'straight' line which makes the system prone to cuts.

The country has in the last four weeks witnessed more than five cable cuts which have negatively affected business operations with losses running into millions of shillings.

Kenya has an estimated 15 million Internet users which translates into 36.6 percent Internet penetration. Although the Communications Commission of Kenya estimates that 75per cent of the total users access the service through their mobile handsets, the outages are leaving most businesses exposed.

The East African Marine System (TEAMS) was cut in late February when a ship dragged its anchor on the cable in Mombasa. The incident happened just a few days after some of the onward cables from EASSy were also damaged.

Speeds were significantly degraded and the impact was immediate because TEAMS carries a lot of traffic for business in the East African region. The repairs are yet to commence, nearly a month later prolonging the agony for most firms.

Besides the slow speeds, most Internet Service Providers have had to incur additional costs as they seek emergency capacity for their clients.

AccessKenya Managing Director Jonathan Somen disclosed that the decision was motivated by the need to stabilise the networks for their customers.

"We have had to buy a lot of capacity from EASSy and other different sources and it has been expensive," he said although he declined to divulge finer details of the arrangement.

Just last week, a major fibre cut was reported along Mombasa road that exacerbated the internet service delivery woes.

While some of these cuts have been accidental due to the ongoing construction works in many parts of the country, there are fears that others could be as a result of sabotage.

This has heightened calls from industry players for the government to fast track the enactment of the law that seeks to criminalise such acts.

The draft Bill which is soon going to be tabled before Parliament will recognise such acts as economic sabotage and mete heavy penalties on offenders.

by EVELYN NJOROGE

Samsung launches premium brand shop

As part of a bigger strategy to maintain its position as the largest smart phones company not only in the region, Samsung Electronics East Africa (SEEA) has unveiled its first of a kind premium brand shop in Kenya through which it hopes to capture a big share of the market.

The firm will use the outlet situated at the Junction Mall on Ngong Road to not only introduce innovative products but also enhance its service delivery by taking care of the needs of every customer.

"This Samsung brand shop is offering our customers the full Samsung premium experience across our smart phones category and digital appliances," said SEEA Business Leader Manoj Changarampat said.

The shop has a product experience zone with the full range of Samsung Smart phones, Tablets, Note, Visual Display, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Digital Appliances, Mobile Communications, laptops and other accessories.

"This will provide the consumer with a stimulating environment in which to discover the full spectrum of Samsung's world-class offerings in one easily-accessible location," he added.

On the launch date only, the mobile electronics giant enticed consumers by offering a discount sale of five per cent for the Galaxy Tab 10.1, the Galaxy Note and the Galaxy S2.

He added: "The shop, which will be a showcase in the latest technology, will be manned by fully trained and experienced Samsung staff that will able to take our customers through the whole Samsung experience."

Samsung has expanded its customer care centers in Kenya, namely five in Nairobi, one in Kisumu, one in Eldoret and one in Mombasa, all geared to meet the needs of consumers.

The launch of the Samsung Brand Shop comes at a time when Samsung has shifted its attention to Africa, as the company grows its market share across mobile and consumer electronics segments.

by EVELYN NJOROGE

Mobile firms urged to wait until 2015 for frequencies

The Mobile telephone companies demanding for TV stations to release the frequencies they currently use to broadcast should wait until the legal deadline in 2015.

Reacting to Tuesday's call by Safaricom asking TV broadcasters surrender the 700MHz frequency to allow it to deploy 4G services, the Communication Commission of Kenya (CCK) says it is the only authority mandated to make such a call.

"Only the CCK has the statutory mandate to assign spectrum and to recall frequencies," a statement signed by CCK Acting Director General, Mr Francis Wangusi, read in part.

The 4G services offer a higher Internet speed access than the current platform. It is also the latest mobile broadband technology being deployed worldwide.

As a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Kenya is bound to adhere to the June 2015 date set as the global deadline for the switch-over of TV broadcast from analogue — that uses the 700MHz frequency to digital.

"Therefore the demand for broadcasters to surrender frequencies in the 700 MHz band immediately to mobile operators cannot be justified at this point," Mr Wangusi added.

"In any case, even the 2012 national deadline for migration to the digital TV broadcasting is not cast in stone.

"As has happened in other countries, the deadline could be postponed if there are challenges in achieving it," he said.

The 2012 deadline was recommended in order to give adequate time to address any challenges that may arise before the 2015 deadline.

By NATION REPORTER

Kenyan firms urged to host data locally

As Kenya counts losses arising from cable cuts that happened three weeks ago, companies have been advised to use local hosting for their websites and data.

This, it is hoped, will help reduce disruption of their services.

The cuts have forced Kenyans to endure slow or completely no access to their emails and websites, since most firms are hosted by companies abroad.

"If we were hosting most of our traffic locally, we would not be having such a big slowdown and it would be a better experience for the end-user than the mess we are in now," says Mr Barry Apudo, a senior technical officer at Telecommunications Service Providers Association of Kenya.

By being hosted abroad, it means internet traffic has to use international fibre cables such as the Seacom, Teams and Eassy, which connect the country to the other regions of the world.

"Hosting locally is better because the host company can manage and service the data centre better. Companies that host locally must be encouraged.

Part of this process includes having as much local content as possible and digitising and automating processes within the private and public sector," said Kenya ICT board chief executive Mr Paul Kukubo.

According to the Information and Communication permanent secretary Dr Bitange Ndemo, Kenyans should start promoting local hosting of traffic by embracing local e-mails instead of the normal yahoo or google addresses.

Currently, most local websites are hosted abroad with only 14,000 .ke domains.

According to the regional development manager for Internet Society in Africa and chief technical officer at the Kenya Internet Exchange Points Mr Mwangi Michuki, the country has enough capacity to host all local websites.

By CHARLES WOKABI

Social media has changed the rules

The one thing we should have anticipated was that social media would revolutionise the way content was gathered and distributed.

Since everyone has an opportunity to create and distribute content, anyone can become a private media house. One distributor could easily reach one billion people in a matter of minutes.

But with this great opportunity came great irresponsibility. Initially, the masses started interacting with social content, outstripping access to pornographic sites, which until then were the most visited sites worldwide.

Today, here we are, sitting in a world where communicating with a country's leader is as easy as typing an SMS, and better yet, the leader responds.

President Paul Kagame has proved that social media is beyond the control of aloof media advisers who sometimes rely on other ways of controlling their communication channels.

Having an online alias means you can be anyone and you can abuse the system. Politicians, public... on social media, they are equal.

With the run-up to the elections, social media managers are the new media gurus, not that there is a course called social media at any university or college.

Do not get me wrong; it is a reputable job, but it is proving to be one of the toughest around. Why? Control.

Social media is worse than a bush fire in the savannah during a drought.

Once it starts, it is nearly impossible to stop until it runs its course, and the damage it leaves in its wake is far more dangerous than all other forms of media put together on any single day.

The distribution system that is social media is extremely effective; it leaves very little untouched once it is out in public.

The general unwritten disclaimer basically ensures that if you are wrong, you will certainly be punished.

Mayer Amschel Rothschild, the famous 16th century banker, once made a statement that basically determined how mainstream media has been perceived over the past century in Africa, and more specifically in Kenya.

He admonished his children that if they could not get the general public to love them, the next best option was to get the public to fear them.

The rule persisted from the 1700s until the 20th century. This rule, and others like it, have however since changed.

The 21st century ensured that everything belonging to the last century remained there.

Politicians may attempt to control mainstream media, censor it, and influence content, but that control is more likely to ruin than benefit them.

One thing is certain: social media has certainly created bolder and more voracious activists who have no fear of self-expression and who will not hesitate to publicly vanquish an opponent.

Social media is steadily forcing politicians to relinquish control of all forms of media, since they are learning that an iron fist is less useful than actually doing their jobs.

As is being proven across the world, and soon in Africa, politicians who are not cautious about where they tread will be judged on social media, and in many cases the judgment will be harsh.

There are an estimated 1.8 million people on Facebook in Kenya, according to Safaricom. A rather impressive figure, but there needs to be a realistic perspective into who is doing what where.

The perspective, in my opinion, is that even if the number of users doubles, it is still far below the 40 or so million Kenyans who are primarily served by mainstream media.

During the launch of Google+ Hangouts in Nairobi a few days ago, Ms Martha Karua, the MP for Gichugu, said social media is playing a key role in her campaign and her communication with her constituency, and that if someone lacked the ability to attend a rally, they could watch it live online.

Admirable? Yes. Realistic? Unfortunately not, considering the generally limited access to computers, the Internet, and the finances to remain online for hours.

Social media has, unfortunately, created what I imagine to be an apathetic social system. There seems to be a ranking based on criteria like alliances, schools of thought, and wealth.

The antithesis in this column is that mainstream media remains king and has a wider reach, even though it lacks interactivity.

Social media has a long way to go before it becomes the mainstream, which means that lessons can still be learned.

By KAHENYA KAMUNYU