Laptops, 4G, privacy – nothing’s off limits at Connected Summit
What you need to know:
- Shouldn’t the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) ensure that operators have optimally and widely distributed earlier technologies before new ones are rolled out?
- Another important highlight was the National Optical Fibre Backbone Infrastructure commonly known as the NOFBI, having reached all 47 counties.
- Alco-blow devices will be able to know not only that you are drunk but also that the car you are driving is borrowed and that you are a serial traffic offender.
The Connected Summit, which began Monday at Diani, Mombasa County, has brought together technology stakeholders for the ninth time.
Compared to previous summits in which critics raised concerns about the usefulness of the meeting, this year’s summit seems bound to be quite engaging, and with a difference.
The stakeholders here, from the private sector, academia, media, state agencies, amongst others, are deliberating on the implementation of government ICT projects.
The difference this year was quickly manifested when Mr Joe Mucheru, the ICT Cabinet Secretary who has been a private sector player, chose to move to the floor and raise questions as a party other than the government official he was.
He was concerned, from a citizen point of view, about why the regulator and operators seem overly focused on promoting the latest technologies such as 4G, when earlier technologies like 3G were still not widely available across the country.
Shouldn’t the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) ensure that operators have optimally and widely distributed earlier technologies before new ones are rolled out?
Put differently, what is the quality of service expected from existing technologies and to what extent has it been attained, particularly outside Nairobi and other large urban areas?
SMART ALCOBLOW
The clear message was that government doesn’t always have all the answers. Most answers to our problems lie between various actors who must establish mutually agreeable solutions through collaboration.
This early episode set the mood which carried throughout the rest of the sessions.
The morning sessions featured the Digital Literacy Program, otherwise known as the Laptop Project. The project, one of the Jubilee administration’s flagship promises, seems to be finally on track.
Three primary schools in each of the forty-seven counties already have the digital devices delivered on what is known as ‘proof-of-concept’ stage.
Learning content, approved by the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development is pre-installed on the branded devices which can connect to the internet to update the content.
Another important highlight was the National Optical Fibre Backbone Infrastructure commonly known as the NOFBI, having reached all 47 counties. This fibre optic backbone has made it possible for government services to be electronically delivered to the grassroots through Huduma centres and the eCitizen portal.
Some of the ICT services showcased came from NTSA, which was quite surprising, given that they are better known for their dreaded ‘Alco-blow’ than for their technology.
NTSA promised more innovation in the coming months such as allowing citizens to complete vehicle transfer processes purely online. Additionally, the Alco-blow devices will be able to know not only that you are drunk but also that the car you are driving is borrowed and that you are a serial traffic offender.
PENDING BILLS
On capacity building, stakeholders learnt more about the Presidential Digital Talent Program (PDTP) where university graduates gain work experience in some of Kenya’s leading companies. It was also revealed that ,the Korean Institute of Advanced Science and Technology, a cutting-edge institution, had signed a Memorandum of Understanding to set up a campus at the upcoming Konza Technology City.
The institute aims to enhance industry-academia linkages by focusing on industry and technology based post-graduate research programs.
The afternoon session revealed that the Universal Service Access kitty has Sh1.5 billion, ready to be utilised in extending telecommunication services to underserved areas.
But all these projects were not without challenges. Several remote counties expressed concerns that although fibre infrastructure may have reached their counties, it remains inactive.
Other stakeholders raised concerns about citizen privacy. As we get more and more digitised, there seems to be less effort spent on enacting critical pre-requisite legislation.
Whereas Principal Secretary, Mr Victor Kyalo, assured stakeholders that the Access to Information Bill and the Data Protection Bill would be fast-tracked, the jury is out on when this will happen, given that both bills have been on the table without being enacted for almost a decade.
Mr Walubengo is a lecturer at the Multimedia University of Kenya, Faculty of Computing and IT. Email: [email protected], Twitter: @jwalu
