The Government plans to introduce the 4G network into the country through a joint consortium with internet providers in the country. The 4G will replace the 3G which has been in use in the country for some time now. Safaricom, which is one of the few firms who have expressed interest in the joint venture, however differs with the government on the network frequencies and threatens to pull out of the venture.
The government insists on the use of 2.6 GHz frequency as opposed to 700MHz which Safaricom says requires less Base Transmitter Stations (BTS). The 700MHz frequencies are commonly used for the provision of Long Term Evolution (LTE) in rural regions, but are less effective in built-up urban areas .The 4G technology has a larger capacity to deliver data and facilitate high-end services such as video conferencing and gaming.
According to Mr.Nkioka Waita, Safaricom’s corporate affairs director, the 2.6GHz spectrum covers a radius of just 400 meters, whereas 700MHz spectrum is capable of covering a distance of between 19.2km and 28.8km, necessitating fewer BTS.
The 4G ownership structure is modeled on a Private Public Partnership (PPP), where the government and the operators –including foreign firms – will own stakes in the network equivalent to the capital they inject in the special purpose entity.
Other participants officially confirmed for inclusion in the partnership as per October last year were; Airtel Kenya, Essar Telecom Kenya (yu) , Orange Kenya, Kenya Data Networks (KDN) ,MTN Business Kenya, global vendors Alcatel-Lucent (France), Epesi Technologies (US) and Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN, Finland).
The venture will see the operators inject Sh10 billion to start construction of the advanced network with the government providing frequencies for a stake.
Friday, 16 March 2012
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
Come let’s talk Technology….!
Njakwe Self-styled Tech-writer and a blogger!
Njakwe, that’s ma grandma, so I’m the young Njakwe named as per the Agikuyu traditions…..! Brought up in a small countryside Kirangari, a village in Gatundu South, Central Kenya. That’s the home of the Kenyans founding father, Mzee Jomo.Born on an eve to lover’s day, Valentine. I’m energized with love and I love my God too. My mum and Dad both called Njuguna hail from Kirangari. I’m a last born in a family of five; I got two siblings Kimani Kamau.
I did my primary school levels in Gatundu primary school under close watch of Miss Ng’endo, my aunt, who was then the headmistress and spend most of my teenage life at Kerugoya Girls high school before joining Nairobi Institute of Business Studies horn my Journalism. Well, like it’s always told, you’re never too old for education. I still got some plans cooking!
My read: Kenyaengineer.co.ke, the tech column
My Life: It’s what pictures I take; the world is a global village.
My quote: This too shall pass!
My Politics: Innovative
My Energies: Fellowships and dancing
My food: Githeri (for my community) and chicken (being a Kenyan gal)
My Religion: He is the alpha and Omega
My colour: Blue the tech colour
My Music: Slower the better
My sports: Basketball
My life manual: The bible
Remarks
The ability for anybody to have a thought, be able to type it up and then publish it online for the world to see (for free) changed everything we know about publishing, journalism and the media. Journalism is the right profession!
Transforming Nairobi to a Smart City
A few days after announcing that they were setting up an innovation centre in Nairobi, International Business Machines (IBM) is now pitching for a government job to transform Nairobi into a smart city. The company has drawn a white paper titled-A Vision of a smarter City, discussing the possibility of turning Nairobi into a city whose functionalities are pegged on modern day technology.
The concept sets to integrate the different aspects of the city for example; traffic control, emergency response, water provision as well as garbage collection, all to run from one central command centre.
Traffic jams which cost the country an estimated Sh50 million everyday are the lead woes for residents commuting in and out of the city. According to a surely carried out by IBM last year, Nairobi was ranked fourth most painful cities to commute in the world. Adding to the woes is frequent water shortages, non-existant garbage disposal mechanisms, frequent power outages and lack of access roads to residential areas for emergency response.
The Information and Communication PS, Bitange Ndemo acknowledges that city looses billions of shillings annually to inefficiency.”Adoption of technology is essential for the city to handle these challenges and grow”, he said.
The white paper is however under negotiations with the government and no conclusions have been made yet.”From the discussions, we see a tremendous interest in IBM’s Smarter Cities vision”, said Tony Mwai who was appointed to head the new nerve centre for Kenya and East Africa. Tony Mwai had been working in the company’s head office in USA for the last 25 years.
IBM has been operating in Africa for nearly six decades and has invested more than $US120 million in the last two years as part of its strategy to focus on the world’s growth markets.
The concept sets to integrate the different aspects of the city for example; traffic control, emergency response, water provision as well as garbage collection, all to run from one central command centre.
Traffic jams which cost the country an estimated Sh50 million everyday are the lead woes for residents commuting in and out of the city. According to a surely carried out by IBM last year, Nairobi was ranked fourth most painful cities to commute in the world. Adding to the woes is frequent water shortages, non-existant garbage disposal mechanisms, frequent power outages and lack of access roads to residential areas for emergency response.
The Information and Communication PS, Bitange Ndemo acknowledges that city looses billions of shillings annually to inefficiency.”Adoption of technology is essential for the city to handle these challenges and grow”, he said.
The white paper is however under negotiations with the government and no conclusions have been made yet.”From the discussions, we see a tremendous interest in IBM’s Smarter Cities vision”, said Tony Mwai who was appointed to head the new nerve centre for Kenya and East Africa. Tony Mwai had been working in the company’s head office in USA for the last 25 years.
IBM has been operating in Africa for nearly six decades and has invested more than $US120 million in the last two years as part of its strategy to focus on the world’s growth markets.
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Unveiling the Anticipated iPad 3
Apple is expected to announce its newest product, the iPad 3 sometime today. The tablet expected to be an improvement of the previous iPad 2 will be launched under Tom Cook who was named Apple chief executive after the death of co-founder Steve Jobs. There will be an Apple event today at Sanfrasisco during which it is expected that they will launch the iPad 3 otherwise known as the iPad HD.The following are some of the features that are expected to be in the tablet:
Retina Display-The iPad 3 is expected to bump up with an extra-ordinary HD display resolution of 2048x1536 pixels that will exhibit an improved, brighter display. The resolution of iPad 3 will be double of iPad 2. The retina will offer a clearer and sharper viewing experience to watch the videos or in playing the games.
Better Camera-iPad 2 disappointed in the camera department, featuring a 0.7 megapixel with 720p video capture capabilities and a secondary front-facing VGA, one for video chat. The iPad 3 is expected to come up with upgraded camera features. It will feature an 8-megapixels camera with full HD quality video capture capability, as well as a front-facing camera for HD quality Face Time video chat.
Faster Processor-It is unlikely that Apple will power iPad 3 with a dual-core A5 processor since the same chip already powers iPad 2. iPad 3 is expected to be powered by a quad-core A6 processor, which will result in faster overall performance and superior handling of graphics. Apple will want the iPad 3 to steal a march in the tablet race by including the faster processor, since the iPad 2 has already proved itself as a powerful tablet with the A5 processor.
4G LTE-iPad 3 is expected to come up with the 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) feature unlike the old 3G technology that used in iPad 2.That will help its users browse and download content at speed ten times faster than 3G.
Siri-The iPad 3 features the Siri function in the iPhone 4S.The voice assistant can do many things including send out messages, organize meetings, search locations, call someone, and more.
NFC (Near Field Communication)-The iPad 3 is expected to include NFC technology that allows simplified transactions, data exchange, and connections with a touch. If NFC comes to iPad 3, you'll be able to use the tablet to make a credit card payment or use it as a keycard or ID card.
iOS 6-The iPad 3 will use iOS 6 which is a higher version of the iOS 5. The iOS 5 offered significant advancements over iOS 4, bringing over 200 new features, including iCloud and iMessage.
Better Battery-The new features-4G LTE, a faster processor and Retina Display demand for more power and thus the new tablet is expected to accommodate a bigger, better battery so that users can enjoy the new tablet without worrying about recharging it.
Retina Display-The iPad 3 is expected to bump up with an extra-ordinary HD display resolution of 2048x1536 pixels that will exhibit an improved, brighter display. The resolution of iPad 3 will be double of iPad 2. The retina will offer a clearer and sharper viewing experience to watch the videos or in playing the games.
Better Camera-iPad 2 disappointed in the camera department, featuring a 0.7 megapixel with 720p video capture capabilities and a secondary front-facing VGA, one for video chat. The iPad 3 is expected to come up with upgraded camera features. It will feature an 8-megapixels camera with full HD quality video capture capability, as well as a front-facing camera for HD quality Face Time video chat.
Faster Processor-It is unlikely that Apple will power iPad 3 with a dual-core A5 processor since the same chip already powers iPad 2. iPad 3 is expected to be powered by a quad-core A6 processor, which will result in faster overall performance and superior handling of graphics. Apple will want the iPad 3 to steal a march in the tablet race by including the faster processor, since the iPad 2 has already proved itself as a powerful tablet with the A5 processor.
4G LTE-iPad 3 is expected to come up with the 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) feature unlike the old 3G technology that used in iPad 2.That will help its users browse and download content at speed ten times faster than 3G.
Siri-The iPad 3 features the Siri function in the iPhone 4S.The voice assistant can do many things including send out messages, organize meetings, search locations, call someone, and more.
NFC (Near Field Communication)-The iPad 3 is expected to include NFC technology that allows simplified transactions, data exchange, and connections with a touch. If NFC comes to iPad 3, you'll be able to use the tablet to make a credit card payment or use it as a keycard or ID card.
iOS 6-The iPad 3 will use iOS 6 which is a higher version of the iOS 5. The iOS 5 offered significant advancements over iOS 4, bringing over 200 new features, including iCloud and iMessage.
Better Battery-The new features-4G LTE, a faster processor and Retina Display demand for more power and thus the new tablet is expected to accommodate a bigger, better battery so that users can enjoy the new tablet without worrying about recharging it.
Thursday, 1 March 2012
President Kibaki to oversee Ground Breaking of LAPSSET Corridor
The ground breaking of the Mega LAPSSET project is scheduled to take place on Friday 2nd March. The grand event which is expected to attract a massive audience including head of states will be held at Lamu. The project will be launched by the president Mwai Kibaki and some of those expected to attend are South Sudan’s President Silva Kiir and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. The ground breaking will give way for the construction of various components starting with three berths whose design is complete already.
The whole project is considered as financially viable and applicable for PPP investment. The three countries-Kenya South Sudan and Ethiopia will cost share the project.
The project however is not without opposition from the community. Residents fear that the project will interfere with the area’s fresh water sources. They argue that the new resort facilities coming up in Shela will interfere with the sand dunes which are the only membrane between sea water and the sea water.
The government of Kenya however assures the residents that it will do everything to save Lamu’s famous cultural treasure from annihilation including the sand dunes. The prime Minister had earlier this year visited the area and assured the residents that the project was environmentally friendly since a feasibility study had been taken earlier and proved so.
The whole project will see to the building of 32 berth modern port at Lamu, an oil refinery, standard gauge railway line to Juba in Southern Sudan with a branch line to Ethiopia, a 1300km oil pipeline linking Lamu with the oil fields of Southern Sudan, a 1720km super highway connecting to Ethiopia and South Sudan and within Kenya alongside the LAPSSET Corridor the construction of three international airports in Lamu, Isiolo and Lokichogio and upgrading them to become resort cities. When complete the Lamu port will be the largest port on the African continent.
The whole project is considered as financially viable and applicable for PPP investment. The three countries-Kenya South Sudan and Ethiopia will cost share the project.
The project however is not without opposition from the community. Residents fear that the project will interfere with the area’s fresh water sources. They argue that the new resort facilities coming up in Shela will interfere with the sand dunes which are the only membrane between sea water and the sea water.
The government of Kenya however assures the residents that it will do everything to save Lamu’s famous cultural treasure from annihilation including the sand dunes. The prime Minister had earlier this year visited the area and assured the residents that the project was environmentally friendly since a feasibility study had been taken earlier and proved so.
The whole project will see to the building of 32 berth modern port at Lamu, an oil refinery, standard gauge railway line to Juba in Southern Sudan with a branch line to Ethiopia, a 1300km oil pipeline linking Lamu with the oil fields of Southern Sudan, a 1720km super highway connecting to Ethiopia and South Sudan and within Kenya alongside the LAPSSET Corridor the construction of three international airports in Lamu, Isiolo and Lokichogio and upgrading them to become resort cities. When complete the Lamu port will be the largest port on the African continent.
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