The report of the 4th Uganda Internet Governance Forum organised by the Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern (CIPESA) in conjunction with the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) and Hive Colab on August 10, 2011, is available for download here
By Lillian Nalwoga
The Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern (CIPESA) in conjunction with the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET) and Hive Colab organised the 4th Uganda Internet Governance Forum (IGF) under the theme “Harnessing Internet Development. The forum was held on August 10, 2011 at Hive Colab premises in Kampala, brought together over 50 ICT enthusiasts.
The Uganda IGF is a multi-stakeholder forum open to representatives from Government, NGOs, academia, private sector, as well as any other entities and individuals interested in Internet Governance issues.
Key issues discussed st the 4th Uganda IGF included cyber security management; thepower of social media in citizen empowerment; importance of cloud computing in promoting e-commerce in Uganda,; adopting the best model of internet for Uganda and the management of Uganda’s Critical Internet Resources.
In his opening remarks, James Saaka, the Executive Director of the National Information and Technology Authority Uganda (NITA-U) said that Phase one of the District Business Information Centres had been complemented while Phase Two was underway.
Saaka also said that Phase one of the National Backbone Infrastructure/E-Government Infrastructure (NBI/EGI) project had been completed. Phase Two was scheduled for completion this year September and would involve the laying of 1,477 KM of additional Optical Fibre Cable in the districts of Mbale, Kumi, Soroti, Lira, Gulu, Nimule, Masindi, Hoima, Kyenjojo, Fort Portal, Kasese, Bushenyi, Mbarara, Nakasongola and Luwero. A map detailing the project coverage will soon be available on the NITA-U website. He further welcomed feedback from stakeholders, noting that a repository about government ICT projects was being developed and would be made accessible to the public in due course.
Participants discussed the Ugandan cyber laws which the President assented to six months ago. These included the Electronic Transactions Act, the Electronic Signatures Act and the Computer Misuse Act. Copies of these laws are now available for purchase from major bookshops. However, only the Computer Misuse Law is operational while regulations for the others have not yet been developed. Nevertheless, participants called for massive awareness creation for these laws as many citizens were not aware about their existence and their implications.
Meanwhile, Gloria Katuku, an official of the ICT Ministry, highlighted key strategies under development, which she said included the National Information Security Strategy to be implemented by NITA-U; the IPv6 strategy, awaiting approval from the ICT Minister and the Dot Ug ccTLD Management strategy, which is available on the Ministry Website www.ict.go.ug for comments.
Participants called for the adoption of new ICT tools for communicating and engaging with the government on national matters. They called for the adoption of an internet model that was free and open for all to access. This includes embracing the power of mobile internet hence the need for government to increase mobile penetration by lowering Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of mobile phones. Measures such as removal of import duties and Value added Tax (VAT) on mobile devices should also be considered by government, they said.
The outcomes of the 4th Uganda IGF will be presented at the regional East African IGF due to take place in Kigali, Rwanda on August 17 –18, 2011.
Presentations made at the Forum can be downloaded here:
Cloud Computing and ecommerce+uigf2011
NIGF PresentationPower of Social Media in Citizen Empowerment
UIGF online discussions 2011
What kind of Internet do you want
NIGF programme 2011
By Samuel Nabwiiso
The ministry of Information and Communication Technology is developing a new telecommunication policy to allow fair competition in the market.
The policy has three core objectives: to create a conducive environment for the establishment of a fully liberalized technology and a competitive telecommunications sector, to promote the roll out of telecommunication infrastructure and affordable services, and to promote the human resource capacity.
Jimmy Ssamanya, the permanent secretary ministry of ICT, says the country needs a comprehensive policy that will address barriers blocking the penetration of services in rural areas.
“Uganda ranks among the least countries in Africa in as far as using internet is concerned. That is why the ministry must come up with a strong policy to address the problem,” he said
Ensuring that there is access to internet country wide, the policy will address issues like greater integration of ICT skills trainings at all levels of education, developing the National data back bone, reducing the rates of access to internet, among other interventions. The policy is a response to a study carried out in 2003 to access the performance of the sector, and what is needed to drive it forward.
On the issue of roll out of telecommunication infrastructure and affordable services, the policy will enforce the sharing of telecommunication infrastructures and other telecommunication resources among operators, and also develop a pricing and tariff regime.
“This business of every telecommunication company erecting its masts is going to be phased out with this proposed telecommunication policy,” he said.
The new policy also intends to establish the Uganda communications tribunal to hear complaints emerging out of the sector.
Government plans to meet all these objectives by 2015.
Source: The Observe newspaper, June 22, 2011
In this article about a content licencing agreement between South Africa’s MTN Group and entertainment television channel Trace, Computerworld quotes CIPESA as challenging African telcos and innovators to place a little more focus on innovations that directly impact on peoples’ livelihoods:
By Edris Kisambira
29.06.2011 | Computerworld Uganda
As African telecom players innovate to beat their competitors, South Africa’s MTN Group has pulled a first by announcing a brand and content licensing agreement with Trace, an entertainment television channel.
As African telecom players innovate to beat their competitors, South Africa’s MTN Group has pulled a first by announcing a brand and content licensing agreement with Trace, an entertainment television channel.
Trace is largely a music video channel that promotes urban contemporary music videos and is available on various cable and satellite pay television platforms.
As Africa’s Internet speeds go up and prices come down, courtesy of fiber-optic cables, one of the major challenges facing Africa is a lack of locally relevant and available content to attract more people online.
The deal with Trace will let MTN offer what it has called innovative entertainment services to the fast-growing youth segment within the African mobile market.
On Monday MTN launched the offer in Cameroon, and it is due to be rolled out in multiple locations. Launches are planned in Ivory Coast, South Africa and Nigeria in the next few months.
“MTN youth subscribers will benefit from the unique entertainment experience around the Trace brand, including exciting local and international content on entertainment and sports, live events and television,” according to a statement issued by the MTN Group.”Any initiative that works to raise the local content that African people access and consume is most welcome, regardless of whether this content is delivered via traditional TV, mobile phone or the Internet,” said Wairagala Wakabi, a researcher at Collaboration on International ICT Policy in Eastern and Southern Africa (CIPESA).
He said many African countries have aspirations for their media, specifically radio and TV, and deliver a bigger proportion of their programming as local content, but due to logistical and capacity problems, these hopes are not translated into reality.
“States, including through their universal access funds, obviously have a big role to play here, but it will be a happy day when MTN, Trace and others leverage on the successes they score within the entertainment sector to also get into innovations that directly impact on the livelihoods of our people in ways entertainment would never,” Wakabi said.
Source: Computerworld, June 29, 2011