THE ICT LANDSCAPE IN KENYA |
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Analysis: National IT strengths and weaknesses. Telecommunication Infrastructure Regulation & Liberalization |
KENYA: INTERNET USAGE, DIFFUSSION AND CULTURE The Internet first became available in Kenya to in 1993. Full Internet access was established in 1995. The African Regional Centre for Computing (ARCC), an NGO based in Nairobi , Kenya , became the first provider of web-based Internet service. The first commercial ISP, Formnet began operating in 1995. Soon competition increased with the entry of three other ISPs (6) .All the ISPs would lease analogue or digital data lines from Kenya to the US to access the Internet backbone. In 2003, there were between 30,000 and 50,000 Internet users in Kenya , with an estimated monthly growth of 300 each month. The main users of the Internet in Kenya are Multinational corporations, international organizations and NGOs. All the government's ministries are now accessible via the internet. Cybercafes Since many people do not have fixed phone lines, computers, or electricity, internet shops, known as cyber cafes, provide access to internet and email. This is mainly in the major towns. Telecommunication Kenya has 10 fixed phone lines per 1000 people. For mobile phones, the number is 50 phones per 1000 people. In Africa , about 100 million out of the total 906 million people now use cell phones. Many users in the urban areas run their own small businesses. In the rural areas, cell phones are mostly used in social circles. A major factor that may have influenced the use of ICT both positively and negatively is the use of the English language . English is the official language in Kenya . Information technology services are largely based in English, so this is an advantage. However, there are at least forty tribal languages in the country, and this has sometimes been seen as a barrier to the diffusion of ICT. Since Kenya is largely a consumer of ICT, it is difficult to come up with a form of information and communication technology based on the user's mother tongues. At such, language barrier is, a major obstacle to the free flow of information in Kenya . (7) The national language, kiSwahili, would be a good option on which to base information and communication technology. Spoken all over East Africa , it is more common in the rural areas than English. There is actually a kiSwahili version of Google. The Kenya Educational Network, KENET (www.kenet.or.ke) also offers the kiSwahili option (at least partially).
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