[Your thoughts on local Media coverage of Safaricom\’s massive downtime?] Concentration risks

https://youtu.be/QF9aMTbCOpw, the camp is kakuma and not dadaab

On Sunday, November 11, 2018, Hannington Oduor <[email protected]>
wrote:

> On dadaab community networks, I will post a link here, but in summary, one
> of the refugees has some engament with a local isp and retailers the
> service through managed community networks, this was featured in one of the
> local media.
>
> On Sunday, November 11, 2018, Hannington Oduor <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>> Most would argue that the perceived dominance is well balanced through
>> infrastructure shearing, but more than ever central point of failure has
>> clearly been demonstrated, from security to energy, health to financial
>> institutions, just trying to imagine how it would be today if the ongoing
>> exams were entangled within the same infrastructure, scenario wouldn\’t be
>> very different from 8/8/17.
>>
>> On media, it\’s a fact to state that the current media has lost its
>> position and clout within the society, forever playing catchup to the
>> social media.
>>
>> professional now catch up and advertise on LinkedIn, brands are launched
>> on Instagram while news breaks and trends on Twitter and Facebooks, if not
>> for the Kenyan culture who believe it\’s not true unless on mainstream
>> media, the breath is thinning by the second.
>>
>> On Sunday, November 11, 2018, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <
>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Ali,
>>>
>>> I\’m really trying to understand your viewpoint. Can you give an example
>>> that illustrates how you demarcate between \”Utopian Idealism\”, \”Pragmatic
>>> Idealism\”, \”Pragmatism\” and \”Realism\” in the context of this discussion?
>>>
>>> So you are saying that once a company (or any entity) has won people\’s
>>> \”hearts and minds\” it becomes permanently irreproachable and should never
>>> be criticized? That\’s a scary, (and somewhat Utopian?), way of looking at
>>> things.
>>>
>>> This discussion can yield great insights if the disagreeing sides
>>> present compelling and focused counter arguments that address the specific
>>> issues raised. Otherwise we might just as well switch to discussing
>>> politics and ideologies where emotion rules reason…
>>>
>>> At the very least, lets all come out more enlightened (in a balanced
>>> way) about what the real issues are.
>>>
>>> Patrick.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sunday, November 11, 2018, 4:18:19 PM GMT+3, Ali Hussein via kictanet
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> Ohaga/Patrick and all you Utopian Idealists out there:-
>>>
>>> 1. I refuse to continue disparaging a company that has won the hearts
>>> and minds of a big part of it\’s consumers despite it\’s inadequacies. I have
>>> argued many times here that \’dominance\’ is not a crime and that the failure
>>> of regulation is not something to hold Safaricom accountable for. Hold it
>>> against the regulator for f*@$s sake! There are remedies that can take
>>> care of that based on the law.
>>>
>>> 2. On Facebook and Google. You are correct and we agree here. Someone
>>> has to pay the piper. There\’s nothing like a free lunch.
>>>
>>> 3. Safaricom is not perfect. It has many vulnerabilities. If only one
>>> pays attention to it. For one, their UX, even as they claim leadership here
>>> is crap. And I have written many times about this. Instead of spending so
>>> much time #GreenBashing here\’s an idea – Go build a business model to
>>> challenge it. It\’s not as hard as you guys make it sound. Here\’s a snippet
>>> on my thoughts regarding Safaricom\’s perceived leadership.
>>> <www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6464499552186621952>
>>>
>>>
>>> There are organizations doing something about it. I fear that this
>>> fetish on Safaricom\’s perceived dominance is detracting us from building
>>> lasting organizations.
>>>
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> *Ali Hussein*
>>>
>>> *Principal*
>>>
>>> *AHK & Associates*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Tel: +254 713 601113
>>>
>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>>
>>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>>
>>> LinkedIn: ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>> <ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>>>
>>>
>>> 13th Floor , Delta Towers, Oracle Wing,
>>>
>>> Chiromo Road, Westlands,
>>>
>>> Nairobi, Kenya.
>>>
>>> Any information of a personal nature expressed in this email are purely
>>> mine and do not necessarily reflect the official positions of the
>>> organizations that I work with.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sun, Nov 11, 2018 at 2:36 PM Ohaga JB via kictanet <
>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>> Dear Hussein,
>>>
>>> On this one, I totally agree with Patrick, this is a quintessential
>>> example of what may go wrong when you have a very powerful and definitely
>>> dominant player, that single handedly \’runs\’ about 60% of all media
>>> operations in the country through its advertising spends. Considering the
>>> political economy of the media, Safaricom is certainly not just dominating
>>> the mobile service market, it is also highy influencing (whether actively
>>> or passively) what the mainstream media prints or broadcasts.
>>>
>>> On the \’freeness of Google and Facebook, I think that you\’ve also
>>> adopted an idealistic view. How are those two platforms free exactly? Users
>>> are essentially consumers to be sold to companies looking to advertise.
>>> This is the reason why their algorithms prioritize some content over others
>>> (hence \’freeness\’ is reduced to their business interests). And even though
>>> we are gradually increasing our digital footprint in Kenya, there are loads
>>> of places in this country where the mainstream media (radio especially) is
>>> the main source of information. Amongst most digital savvy users, news is
>>> gotten from social media yes, but then a lot of these guys wait for
>>> verification of the same infro they\’ve gotten from social, from the
>>> mainstream media. In fact, even on social media, some of the most credible
>>> sources of information are posts from verified accounts of mainstream media
>>> orgs. This has indeed become even more pressing in view of proliferation of
>>> fake news.
>>>
>>> My view is that Safaricom needs to be held much more accountable given
>>> the kind of power that it holds across our communications and financial
>>> sector. It needs to prove that despite it\’s dominance, it\’s put mechanisms
>>> in place to ensure that as mininal disruption as possible, is experienced
>>> to the services that it provides, should a negative eventuality that
>>> affects its operations occurs, as it most certainly will.
>>>
>>> In my opinion, the market does not always have a solution for everything
>>> especially because it\’s main focus is profit generation. At times, a
>>> combination of market forces and interventions in public interest work best
>>> for both the businesses and the public.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> JB.
>>>
>>> On Sun, Nov 11, 2018 at 11:34 AM Admin CampusCiti via kictanet <
>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>> Patrick
>>>
>>> I completely agree with you on this. However, I have a different
>>> solution to this. Local media stopped being the only source of major news
>>> today. Many a time news breaks out through bloggers and influencers on
>>> social media. The mainstream media is quickly becoming irrelevant as they
>>> continue depending on big ad spenders. They should have gone down market
>>> long time ago.
>>>
>>> The issue of big media houses pandering to their advertisers is neither
>>> new or is it confined to Kenya. To focus on one entity is disingenuous to
>>> say the least…
>>>
>>> And by the way there’s nothing like ‘free’ in media. Free is Facebook
>>> and Google. And see where that\’s getting us.. someone must pay the piper
>>> brother. If not now then eventually. The bill eventually comes due. No two
>>> ways about it.
>>>
>>> Regards
>>>
>>> *Ali Hussein*
>>>
>>> +254 0713 601113
>>>
>>> Twitter: @AliHKassim
>>>
>>> Skype: abu-jomo
>>>
>>> LinkedIn: ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>>> <ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim>
>>>
>>> Blog: www.alyhussein.com
>>>
>>> \”Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking
>>> what no one else has thought\”. ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPad
>>>
>>> On 10 Nov 2018, at 10:09 PM, Patrick A. M. Maina via kictanet <
>>> [email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>> Is our media truly independent, objective and fearless as they claim –
>>> especially when it comes to reporting on their most lucrative customers? Compare
>>> to the prominence and coverage of reports on Government website downtime,
>>> as well as Huduma downtimes for example…
>>>
>>> My take is, when you have an entity (or group of entities) that the
>>> media appears to \”fear\” or \”favor\” more than the Government, the potential
>>> for impunity and abuse that comes with such power should be of great
>>> concern to any regulator. At the very least, it can allow public interest
>>> problems (or their impact) to stay under the radar for a long time with a
>>> heavy cost to the wider economy.
>>>
>>> A healthy (and free) media should have well diversified revenue streams
>>> such that there is minimum conflict of interest that is potentially
>>> attributable to the concentration of market power. Yet another solid reason
>>> (imo) for modernization of our anti-trust regulations.
>>>
>>> ====
>>> I wonder if the CCTVs are affected.. hopefully there is a proper
>>> continuity plan in place.
>>>
>>> ====
>>> As stated in my earlier email just a few days ago, dominant players
>>> should be mandated by law to demonstrate adequate provision for continuity
>>> and resiliency across all economic sectors where they are active – with
>>> independent audits, certification and testing of their BCP, DRP etc – the
>>> frequency of which should be aligned with potential severity of downtimes.
>>>
>>> ====
>>>
>>> Have a great weekend!
>>> Patrick.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Saturday, November 10, 2018, 5:39:15 PM GMT+3, Twahir Hussein Kassim
>>> via kictanet <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> Hannington, kindly brief us on the Dadaab example.
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Nov 10, 2018, 12:50 Hannington Oduor via kictanet <
>>> [email protected] wrote:
>>>
>>> Dadaab refugee camp has a classic example of such a network and bearing
>>> it\’s location and the regulation, it\’s a potential data resource area.
>>>
>>> On Thu, Nov 8, 2018, 16:39 Twahir Hussein Kassim via kictanet <
>>> [email protected] wrote:
>>>
>>> Listers,
>>>
>>> Am looking at rolling out a community network in Kilifi. What are the
>>> government regulations on this? CA website is silent on this.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Twahir
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>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people\’s times and bandwidth,
>>> share knowledge, don\’t flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people\’s times and bandwidth,
>>> share knowledge, don\’t flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
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>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people\’s times and bandwidth,
>>> share knowledge, don\’t flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> kictanet mailing list
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>>>
>>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>>>
>>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>>> online that you follow in real life: respect people\’s times and bandwidth,
>>> share knowledge, don\’t flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>>>
>>
>>
>> —
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *Computer and Cellular Forensic InvestigatorCyber Crime Unit CID HQ
>> Nairobi 0720-727003ENCASE II C.H.F.I*
>>
>>
>
> —
>
>
>
>
>
> *Computer and Cellular Forensic InvestigatorCyber Crime Unit CID HQ
> Nairobi 0720-727003ENCASE II C.H.F.I*
>
>