Media Articles
Mobile firms and CCK in drive for service fund
DAILY NATION By Nation Correspondent
Wedesday November 13,2013
The Communications Commission of Kenya and mobile phone companies will unveil a roadmap to the launch of the Universal Service Fund.
The fund was set up to help step up telecommunication infrastrnucture in rural and remote areas, which are normally considered financially unviable.
Safaricom, Airtel, Orange and yuMobile are meeting with the regulator under the Universal Service Advisory Council.
Market dominance law puts telco operators in a tight spot
BUSINESS DAILY By OKUTTAH MARK
Monday November 11,2013
Telecoms market regulator the Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) will acquire fresh legal muscle to declare operators dominant and monitor them for abuse of dominance if President Kenyatta signs the new Kenya Information and Communication 2013 (Amendment) Bill into law.
Parliament passed the controversial Bill two weeks ago – clearing some of the legislative contradictions that made it difficult for the CCK to exercise the power to supervise competition.
Open door for safaricom to roll out 4G network.
THE STANDARD BY A REPORTER
Friday November 8,2013
Safaricom should be issued with the frequencies it requires to roll out the 4G(fourth generation) technology to meet its customers’ growing demand for fast connections and to boost its network quality. Whatever the justification, holding back the leading mobile telephone operator, which has already put the country on the global technological map with its introduction of M-Pesa money transfer platform, is certainly not in the national economic interest.
Whereas it is true that it would be cheaper if all the mobile telephone operators pooled their resources and roll out a single national 4G network, it should be appreciated that they are not all at the same level of development. Neither are they equally financially endowed. Indeed there is reason to believe that their development strategies are different. That means even those operators with money to invest may prefer to do so in other markets.
Safaricom backs state laptop plan.
THE STANDARD BY MACHARIA KAMAU
Thursday November 7,2013
Safaricom has said it will back the government’s free laptop project by giving free inter net connectivity to all public primary schools.
The company said it would connect the schools through a planned Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, which it said it would build over the next two years.
The firm is, however, pushing for the allocation of more spectrum, arguing it can only connect the schools and effectively deploy LTE if it has more spectrum.
Kenyan youth joins Microsoft advisory team on use of ICT
BUSINESS DAILY By DAVID HERBLING
Thursday November 7,2013
Global tech firm Microsoft has appointed Kenya’s Mary Mwende as a special advisor on use of ICT to bridge skills gaps among the youth.
Ms Mwende, a tech enthusiast, was in September selected as a Microsoft YouthSpark advisor to guide the software giant to roll out programmes to enhance young peoples’ access to IT and develop their entrepreneurship skills.
The 23-year-old Business Administration and Finance degree holder from the American University in Dubai (AUD) was the only Kenyan who made the list of 21 YouthSpark advisors.
Kenya lags behind in opening up data to public
DAILY NATION By MUTHOKI MUMO
Wednesday November 6,2013
Kenya has been ranked 4th from the bottom among 70 countries interms of the availability of government data to the public despite launching an open data portal in 2011.
Kenya is also performing poorly compared to her Sub Saharan Africa counterparts such as Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria according to a report compiled by a not for profit organisation Open Knowledge Foundation.
In the newly released Open Data Index, the Open Knowledge Foundation ranks Kenya 67 out of 70 countries surveyed.
Matiang’i: I was in the dark on Bill
DAILY NATION By PETER OBUYA
Tuesday November 5,2013
Information Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i Monday appeared to send mixed signals on a new law passed by Parliament which gives government control of the media.
He said the Executive “is not aware” of the oppressive content of the Bill, which allows a government appointed body to write the rules of journalism, impose crippling fines and remove journalists from practice.
The dictatorial content of the Bill has been widely reported. Both President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto have expressed support for press freedom and promised to have the Bill revisited.
IBM opens its first Africa research lab in Nairobi tomorrow
BUSINESS DAILY By DAVID HERBLING
Monday, November 4,2013
US tech giant IBM will tomorrow open its first research laboratory in Africa in Nairobi, highlighting Kenya’s growing status as the continent’s tech hub.
The facility will be tasked with developing and deploying innovative IT applications to tackle challenges such as inefficiencies in public procurement, water and sanitation, energy management, financial inclusion, traffic congestion and food insecurity which have hampered economic growth in Africa.
The IBM Africa Lab is located at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Lang’ata campus, in Nairobi and will focus on three key research areas which include digitisation of public service through e-governance solutions; urban development and planning; and ICT skills training.
Hefty fines for unlisted SIM cards
SATURDAY NATION By JOHN NGIRACHU
Saturday, November 2,2013
Owning and operating an unregistered SIM card will soon cost you up to Sh500,000 or a jail term of not more than a year, a Bill approved by Parliament this week says.
If the magistrate or judge finds it fit, the offender can both be fined and jailed.
Mobile phone service providers will, on the other hand, be fined up to Sh5 million if they are found guilty of allowing the use of an unregistered SIM card on their network.
Lessons from the Internet Governance Forum in Bali
DAILY NAIROBI By JOHN WALUBENGO
Wednesday October 30,2013
The global Internet Governance Forum (IGF) came to a close last week in Bali, Indonesia.
With almost 3,000 delegates drawn from around the world and across different sectors, the four-day conference discussed so many issues that it is impossible to summarise them on one page.
Of course details can be gathered from the IGF website, but the following is what one would call local lessons learnt from the global IGF conference.
Surprisingly, the biggest lesson learnt did not concern IT, but rather the highly developed Indonesian tourism sector.
Kenya moves digital migration to June 2014
DAILY NATION By AGGREY MUTAMBO
Wednesday October 30,2013
The government has agreed to postpone the deadline for digital migration to June next year in what Media Owners say is a positive move to bring all stakeholders on board.
On Sunday, following a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta, Information Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i agreed to push the migration deadline to June next year. However, the Information Cabinet Secretary left open how the new schedule would be implemented.
On Thursday morning, media chiefs are expected to meet Dr Matiangi on his invitation for discussions on how the new deadline should be handled.
Firm resumes cable work in Nanyuki as governor gives nod
SUNDAY NATION By MUCHIRI GITONGA
Sunday October 27,2013
An Internet firm has resumed work on a multi-million shilling project to lay fibre optic cable in Nanyuki town more than a month after the Laikipia County government halted it.
Jamii Telecoms Limited had in September disagreed with senior county officials over charges for laying the cable.
The officials slapped the Internet service provider with a Sh3 million way leave fee eliciting outcry from potential customers who had already paid for the last mile connection in the hope of having access to high Internet speeds.
Education minister seeks Uhuru order on laptop scheme
BUSINESS DAILY By EDWIN MUTAI
Friday October, 25 2013
Education Cabinet secretary Jacob Kaimenyi has urged President Kenyatta to issue a directive including a tax waiver to kick-start supply of 1.3 million Class One laptops.
Prof Kaimenyi argued that it was possible for the ministry to supply about 600,000 laptops in the first term with the balance supplied by the beginning of second term next year.
He told the parliamentary Education Committee that the ministry had restarted the tender process after the previous one was cancelled last week.
“The issuance of a presidential directive will help synergise the work that is being done by different government ministries in the project,” he said.
ICT to lift Africa out of poverty, says AfDB
DAILY NATION By XINHUA
Friday October 25, 2013
African Development Bank (AfDB) has said the use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) could lift Africa out of poverty.
Regional Director Gabriel Negatu on Tuesday told journalists in Nairobi that his institution will therefore provide financing to the tune of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars to build all aspects of Africa's ICT infrastructure in next five years.
"We want to make ICT affordable and accessible to Africans so that it can play a role in reducing the level of poverty in the continent," Negatu said during a media briefing on the Demo Africa Conference which runs from Oct. 24 to 25.
ICT: Women trail men
DAILY NATION BY NATION CORRESPONDENT
Wednesday October 23,2013
Information Communication Technology (ICT) permeates every aspect of society and provides the foundation for most modern innovation. It affects the life and work of every person alive with the future constantly being reinvented through technology.
Studies commissioned by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) have shown that there exists a gender gap in the use of ICT with women lagging behind their male counterparts in the use and creation of ICTs.
New tech to curb rising ATM fraud
DAILY NATION By RAMENYA GIBENDI
Thursday October 24,2013
A process to migrate ATM machines to a more secure technology is nearly complete as local banks move to tackle growing payment card fraud.
The Kenya Bankers’ Association on Wednesday said 96 per cent of all Automated Teller Machines across the country have been upgraded to the Europay MasterCard and Visa (EMV) technology.
Bankers’ in April launched the Sh2.5 billion plan to migrate all members and their processes to the EMV standards with a deadline of September 30, 2013.
Mobile money transfers defy tax charge, rise to Sh1.2 billion
BUSINESS DAILY By Herbling David
Wednesday October 23,2013
Kenyan consumers defied a new tax on mobile money to grow by a fifth the volume of cash sent through mobile platforms in the first eight months of the year.
The latest Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows that mobile payments grew 21.8 per cent to Sh1.2 trillion at the end of August compared to Sh987.2 billion during a similar period last year.
This is despite an increase in fees charged to send and receive cash through mobile money following the Treasury’s February decision to introduce a 10 per cent excise duty on money transfer services.
Using technology to improve customer service
DAILY NATION By LUCY KIRUTHU
Monday October 21,2013
In the comfort of their homes, many customers can today access various services. One does not need to visit the bank to withdraw money or to get a copy of their bank statement.
The trips to Electricity House to pay power bills are no more. Memories of the long queues at Kenya Power are slowly vanishing. The fact that one can read the newspaper online, shop online, or make a call from home and the product is delivered at one’s doorstep makes life easier for the customer. There is no doubt that more and more organisations are today keen on using technology to improve their customer experiences.
Free laptops tender cancelled
DAILY NATION By MARYANNE GICOBI
Friday October 18,2013
The tender for the supply of laptops for schools has been cancelled after shortlisted bidders overpriced the gadgets, surpassing the project’s budget by Sh20 billion.
Education Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi Thursday said that three out of 20 bidders met the technical specifications for the tender but quoted astronomical figures.
The cancellation of the tender casts doubts on the delivery of the laptops, which were to be given to children joining Standard One in public schools next year. Providing the free laptops was one of the pledges that the Jubilee Coalition made to voters ahead of the March 4 General Election.
Addressing a press conference in Nairobi yesterday, Prof Kaimenyi said the lowest bidder had quoted almost three times the amount budgeted for and the government had no choice but to cancel the tender in accordance to the provisions of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, 2005.
Registering all SIM cards would help reduce crime
THE STANDARD BY CHARLES NGENO
Wednesday October 16,2013
Kenyans should support the planned introduction of stringent rules to govern the registration of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards. It is unfortunate that the rules will come into force after the country suffered a horrific loss following the Westgate Mall terrorist attack that left 70 people dead and scores injured.
Equally unfortunate, is the fact that the rules will be introduced at a time when the Communications Commission of Kenya ( CCK) and the mobile telephone operators are yet to agree on whether the unregistered numbers have all been switched off.
More Articles...
- KCB taps into M-Pesa to save and lend cash
- Can technology eliminate corruption?
- Use ICT to enhance learning, schools urged
- Tech company eyes bigger slice of emerging markets
- Phone firms switch off unlisted users
- Police fail to link telcom CEOs with SIM card crimes
- Phone firm CEOs warned of arrest over unlisted lines
- KDN ups stake with new voice unit
- How to avoid email spam
- Nairobi County’s e-payment stopped in Sh1.5bn dispute
