Exciting news & definitely something Kenya & Telkom should be proud of!
My comments in RED...
Telkom signs Sh5.7bn cable deal
Story by MICHAEL OMONDI (Daily Nation)
Publication Date: 11/18/2006
Telkom Kenya has signed a Sh5.7 billion pact with Etisalat of Dubai paving the way for the construction of an undersea cable linking Mombasa to Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates.
I hope they can complete it by Dec 2007 (they do say Nov 2007 so I am giving them one more month!) just in time to broadcast Kenya's elections' information!
The construction and supply contract will be awarded early next year and the project, dubbed The East African Marine System (Teams), will be ready by November, according to a joint statement issued by both parties from Dubai.
Kenya will have a 40 per cent holding in the project, Etisalat 20 and the remaining will go to investors in the East African region.
I hope they can float shares in such a venture since it allows Kenyans to participate from the ground up in a wonderful project that will show excellent returns if managed well!
A public offer would also open it up to scrutiny thus preventing any shenanigans regarding "corruption"... I hope the "Anglo-Fleecing" crowd are not involved!
Information and Communications permanent secretary Bitange Ndemo said in a statement from Dubai that the deal would create work opportunities for Kenyans especially in the outsourcing business.
Absolutely... Hopefully, we can get some of the jobs going to India! Apart from BPO work there is an expanded scope for IT professionals in Kenya!
Finer details of the pact remained sketchy since Dr Ndemo and the minister, Mr Mutahi Kagwe, are in Dubai.
I hope the Press are all over this story... In fact, Kagwe & Ndemo should give an interview to the bloggers!
The deal comes at a time when Kenya and 15 other African countries are locked in a dispute over the ownership and financing of a separate undersea cable that is set to run from Mtunzini, South Africa, to Mombasa. The under sea cable, commonly known as EASSY project, was started in 2003 by the World Bank at a cost of Sh14.4 billion but has been dogged by controversy with several member countries accusing South Africa of trying to hijack it.
Forget the S.Africans... We are not part of SADC but can create a common bloc with Uganda, Rwanda, Zaire, Burundi & S.Sudan. Note that Tanzania think its closer to S.Africa than to Kenya. Let them be!
EASSY is aimed at connecting eastern and southern African countries through fibre optic cable system to the rest of the world. Dr Ndemo, however, emphasised that Kenya would not abandon the EASSY project, arguing that the Government had invested time and money in it.
Why not pull out of EASSY? Just write it off until the S.Africans come back with a better offer. It's always good to have a backup in EASSy if TEAMS goes down for any reason.
The PS added that the Dubai deal had come about because of delays in concluding the EASSY project, which had made the country miss "huge" business opportunities. "From our estimates, EASSY will take too long to start and may not even take off and that would be a huge risk for our country," Dr Ndemo said, adding that the favourable pricing of the Dubai deal, which came at nearly a third of the EASSY project, would put Kenya in a good position to compete with India and Philippines for the lucrative outsourcing business.
YES... Maybe NARC-K does deserve my vote! If they can get TEAMS up & running by Nov 2007, they will have made a serious effort to earn Kenyan votes!
"The pricing with EASSY does not have these considerations and as a country we need to spur growth with a cheaper bandwidth," Dr Ndemo said.
I am so glad to hear this news... now make it REALITY... India is no longer the cheapest source for BPO & other countries can start chipping away at their dominance.
The gain in BPO jobs will have a positive knock-on effect on other sectors including IT, telecommunications & finance.
12 comments:
This would be the best achievement of this Kibaki govt if they can pull it by 2007.they sure would get my vote.
This would open up kenya's telcom industry like no other.Imagine all the outsourcing kenya could get once india becomes expensive.hell, we speak better english than them and would get some of those customer service jobs.
TZ can go to hell,like you aptly said,these clowns think SA is closer to them than EA,swahili notwithstanding.EASSY has too many cooks who'll definitely spoil the brooth.
I knew Telcom was plotting something,believe me guys,telkom may be more viable than safaricom in the long run.they'd have control of kenya's telecom backbone.safaricom,on the other hand,thrives under an environment devoid of competition.with increased competition,safaricom's revenue will dwindle.telcom, on the other hand will continue to enjoy 'monopoly' due to the high cost of entry,and the infrastructure they'll inherit.
2007 is turning out as a good year,mumias diversture,kenya re ipo,telkom ipo, and now this TEAM cable.let's just hope that the elections dont spoil it for all of us,you never know with these politicians.
I wish Kibaki would fire all the "politicians" and hire a "Dream Team"... they can work wonders for Kenya...
I have not been happy with NARC, NARC-K or Kibaki... but this is something that can change Kenya's fortunes & my vote!
Even IF Kibaki loses in 2007, he will leave behind a legacy he can be proud of... unlike the idiot moi who recently complained about the road in Marsabit while he was farking around for 24 years!
Yes, we need the jobs & can get them over the next few years if the Network can be put in place!
kudri - You had way more than 30 minutes... where is my chart???
I am serious... I would love to have a tool that works better than the websites I reviewed.
Will check back on Monday!
lol,show me the money,i'd create you some truly amazing charts for some real technical analysis,but can you afford me?
kudri - Well... seems you have chickened out...
How about you do a test run then we see if you are worth the money?
Otherwise, I will have to return to the FREE sites...
Lol,ati i chickened out.. think i'll fall for that.let's see,i get paid pretty good to create,analyse,dream,sleep,eat charts.
with the right software even you CT could create a decent chart,better than what these free sites peddle.my employer provides me with the software so i'd be violating intellectual rights if i created some teaser chart for you,and i'm not just about to spend my own money to prove anything.
kundriketh:
um...how can i get a hold of that software legally?
besides, how many employee's have "skyped" info from their employers and gone on to make millions. why are you being so loyal to them? you think they care about you?
there seems to be an opening for charts for the nse..if you don't want to do it, send me the software info and i will do it!
KE
Nice try,you mean you want me to steal and risk loosing my job,getting sued,going to jail,loosing my mortgage,loosing my credibility,loosing my good FICO score,loosing my freedom,all for what, to prove a point, to make a few hundred dollars?
I work for the world's largest bank,sure there are millions of opportunities to steal info and make millions of dollars,but if imma do it,it better be real huge for me to risk all the aforementioned,and a charts software aint one of them. so i'll pass.
kudriketh
so you work for citibank.
i'm not asking you to steal! many people learn things at their jobs which they then use to start businesses of their own. that's not stealing. it's taking in what you've learnt over the years, making modifications and using your creativity to develop a new business.
kudri - Losing not loosing... why do Americans (or Americanized) use loose instead of lose?
Sigh... I had great hopes when you said you could provide better charts than what's out there...
Well, at least there are some folks with the cheap/free/created software available to them (folks who don't work for the world's largest bank) who have made some attempt to provide information & charts...
I laud them for their initiative... Half a loaf is better than none!
kudri - Please don't take my earlier comments as criticsm... I really wish you (or someone) can provide better charting capabilities....
@KE
There is a difference btw re-engineering and outright stealing.I aint no software engineer so aint no way i'm modifying a software other than stealing it outright.
@CT
My spelling is horrible,dont know if americanized english has anything to do with it though.I'm sure some entreprising person will come up with a decent software soon since there is an obvious market for it.dont hold back any critisicm, i can take it.
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