MESSAGES FROM KENYA
by Gary Ginter


First of all, Kenya has no major packet switched value-added carrier; NO downlink from GTE Telenet, GE Information Services, etc.

That seemed strange to we Digital Africa staffers until we discovered that the local PTT (telephone authority) would not allow transmission of computer data or messages over the public telephone system. Thus, any downlink would be limited to the building on which the teleport was located.

Clearly, insufficient economies of scale could be realized within one building. Therefore, no adequate market could be developed in Kenya to justify the cost of a downlink. This was true even though Nairobi has become the major African banking center since the Fall of Beirut. (Before the war, Beirut was the leading banking center on the African continent. Today, the former banking offices which were located in Beirut are mostly in Cairo and Nairobi). Nairobi is also a major international non-governmental headquarter site, and a world-class convention site.

In short, there are plenty of well-heeled organizations with a need for international linkages to home offices in Europe and North America. Yet, until recently, because of one little local law, the only allowed access was either via international Direct Distance Dial (DDD), or private, high-speed satellite data channels. These private data links were time-shared, with a minimum monthly charge of around $15,000 for something like 15- 20 minutes of unrestricted access per night. You had to do all your data transmission during the same time slot each day. Only the big boys could make such a high speed channel pay off. The rest of us were condemned to trying to get through over international DDD--a process which often required an hour of effort to make one good connection. And, if it were raining, it often took several days to get through once with a clean enough line to support data transmission, regardless of baud rate! We used telex as an emergency backup when the computers couldn't connect. But, telex is 40 times as expensive. It took 8 months to get a telex installed in our Nakuru office in Kenya. Pretty typical for Kenyan PTT.

Recently, the PTT lifted the ban on local data transmission via phone lines. I'd predict that Telenet or some IPSN will have a downlink into Nairobi within the year. Digital Africa is seeking to develop some hardware/software turnkey systems by which to offer one-stop telecommunications linkages to overseas locations. We'll link local organizations to our office in Nairobi, from where we'll mix everything into a high-speed uplink to a world gateway to VAC'ers elsewhere. When the laws allow, the entrepreneurs get busy trying to meet perceived market needs.

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Author's note: Gary wrote the preceding description of the
frustrations of international networking in an electronic course
he's taking from Tom Hargadon via Connected Ed on EIES. It
seemed particularly apt for this Special Issue so we got
permission to reprint it here.