Celebrating 10 years of CCKs(Communications Commission of Kenya) non achievement
As I was in a matatu headed to the office today morning, I couldn't help but overhear King'ang'i and Marcus on Classic 105 reminiscing on the days gone by when one could only rely on letters to keep in touch. Their discussion was in line with their joint promotion with CCK in celebrating 10 years since Communications Commission of Kenya(CCK) was formed.
The same has been in the dailies and it got me thinking of what Chris Rock says in one of his comedies(watched it for the uptenth time over the weekend thanks to a friend who was visiting) I think its in 'Bring Back the Pain'
"Niggaz like being complimented about some ish that they are supposed to do like they'll say I take care of my kids - damn thats your role, you fathered them". or " I aint never been to no jail" - that is not an accomplishment, you should never go to jail.
Am sure by now you are wondering, what does C.R have to do with CCK
CCK is bragging about its achievements and spending tax payers money on adverts, things that they should have done within 2 years or 5 maximum, yet it has taken them 10 years.
Do you know how long 10 years is in IT?
lets see
- Microsoft has launched 4 client OSs(Win 98, XP, Vista and now Windows 7)and countless other products.
- Gadgets called flash disks were invented starting with a capacity of 128MB, now they even have those with 32GB capacity
-DVDs and CDs had just replaced tapes in music distribution. Now, we even have blu-ray.
- DVDs replaced those big ugly black cassettes (can't even remember their correct name) and now, DVD players come with USB ports.
- Google become a company exactly 10 years ago, it is now synonymous with the internet
- In 10 years, Africa Online moved from being the only ISP to being a non entity in the provision of internet in Kenya getting replaced by the likes of Access Kenya
I have several things to be celebrate with CCK for NON-Achievement
- Internet is still damn expensive despite there being like 16 or more ISPs
- There's still not a single radio station I can listen to throughout(simply because most are full of crap)
- Radio presenters can say anything they want on radio with no consideration to who might be listening
- No matter how many F words or B words or A^^%H$@ a song has, it will be played at any time
- TV is not any better and I have resorted to just watching my own videos.
- Images however lewd will be shown on TV under the guise of Music videos(and you wonder why kids are getting molested and raped )or imorality has become the favourite past time.
-Media houses can be openly biased even become a tool for inciting the masses on a particular agenda(we all know what happened during post election violence)
-Why are all ISPs operating only in the major towns? Why can't those seeking licences only be given license to operate by province with only two per province.
- Registering a .co.ke domain is still ridiculously expensive(to hell with patriotism) half of the .co.ke sites are not even hosted locally so whats the point.
- What is the toll free CCK tel no. which I can call when Safcom deducts my credit for undelievered or delayed smses(which get to the recepient after I have already called. Shouldn't telecom providers sign SLAs(Service Level Agreements)
- Which CS (Customeer Service)office/line do I get intouch with when I know the number I have called yet it goes to some guy yet I was calling a lady.(I am not nuts, I know what number I dialed, its in my phonebook on speed dial)
- How come even 6 year olds can surf porn, shouldn't CCK be regulating what content ISPs relay to their customers?
-Why is reaching CCK like going to see Kibaki, isn't it there to serve its citizens? Am yet to see their Customer Service centers in the CBD.
- How in heaven's name did they allow this Ujanja service? shouldn't someone have a police abstract to retrieve data from someone else's phone/pc/notebook?
-Who should be educating Kenyans about Fiber? shouldn't it be CCK making Kenyans aware of what services they should expect and at what cost?(so that we know when ISPs are reaping us off)
There are many others I can't think of right now!
Bottom line is, I feel that CCK has taken 10 years to do what they could have done in 5 or even 2 years and thanks to them, we still have unemployed, I.T illiterate Kenyans who have no idea what a blog is or fiber (hiyo fiber ni ire banana fiber?.
Sorry to those who were hoping that this post had some Art angle to it, we will resume normal broadcasting after this message from our sponsors(eheeeeeh)
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11 comments:
The reason why co.ke domains are more expensive than the international other top level domain names is beyond any commonsense. Kenic the body charged with responsibility of registering domain names should come out and explain to the public what is behind the pricing. ICCAN is about to introduce other top level domain names and i guess Kenic might find themselves in the cold very soon. I guess nobody will need them anymore. May I ask anybody in the know, is Kenic being funded by the government ..effectively the public?
The problem with folks like you is... you make sense...
I also failed to understand what achievements they were celebrating. They should just celebrate existing..
One more for you.. who's eating the money to block this number portability thingi?
I read your script and i am like wow,do we have the same mind.I was in the process of drafting a post to publish in my blog but i read yours and i decided to let yours live!!
Kenya is in a mess especially technological-wise.We are at an angle in which,one twitching of the compass might drop us in fire.CCK has been praised through out the media but still that is the closest they have come close to consumers of their bogus and archaic policies which aim at squeezing consumers dry.
We all glorify the fact the fibre is about to turn Kenya into a global hub of information but we haven't armed out firms to be ready to feel the changes,no education,as you highlighted, concerning it.
No matter how close we get connected to the rest of the world,we still very far from seeing the reality of effective service,competent IT experts and smooth service delivery.
They are still going to rip the poor kenyans!
N.W.
I feel you on this one.... they are bragging about their lethargy ... Internet & communication costs can be directly attributed to this... by the way, hear Google is even coming up with an O.S.
S.O.
I pass by CCK's offices everyday on my way to work and on my way back home, if you honestly ask me what it is they do, i have no idea. a good point has been made about the education of people and the fiber optic cable, here is an interesting scenario:
The other day i was walking in town and all i saw were men in yellow coats digging up trenches were Kenyans pass on there way to work, this poor Kenyan obviously running late to work decides to jump over the yellow line sticker that wasn't really well put, before he knows city council fellows are on his neck, the poor fellow explaining to them he works in the adjacent building is hurriedly mushroomed away.
Fiber optic or no fiber optic, i c no reason why cck is celebrating, were still in the dark ages, only difference is were travelling on a dark highway and all they have done is put speed bumps in place. CCK there is a reason it is called "information SUPER highway"
kk26
@Kachwanya,
KENIC shares the same compound with CCK so we need not form a commission of enquiry as to who funds them. What I never understand is why they charge Ksh. 4,000 for domain registration. I called them up one time and demanded to know why such a hefty fee and the guy proudly told me that it was for the prestige! I even thought the fee was inclusive of hosting.
So in essence, I am paying KENIC through my taxes to charge me extra to register a .co.ke domain(this sentence doesn't even make sense but thats their biz model)
@Cold Tusker
I am humbled by your observation. The post was actually a rant.
@Ruggerbug,
I, the taxpayer whose money is deducted for such orgs to exist have a problem with them celebrating by putting full page adds in the dailies 3 times a week, for achievements they don't have and using my money for it. Its worse than an insult.
Yet ignorant Kenyans are joining the bandwagon in celebrating ati now there's Facebook - CCK didn't invent the internet nor Facebook! ah!(these are the times I wish I could hack into some radio stations and jam their frequencies)
@Mpisha,
They say great minds think alike,
There is no change that Fibre will bring to Kenya sorry to say. or rather let me rephrase, change will be so minimal it will be like a drop in the ocean.
Until CCK stipulates the rates that ISPs should charge for what capacities, Kenyans will still pay through their noses internet.
@Anonymous,
They are bragging about someone elses achievements as their own.
I've read about Chrome OS- Great news I said.
Now, I can uninstall MS with its annoying updates on Genuine products. I think Chrome OS will hit it big in Kenya if only the internet could improve. Open source is the future.
It talks a lot of sense. 10 years and nothing much to celebrate, so far.
What more can i say. I think i am so disgusted about all the hype when surely little has been done. I really feel very sorry when i know being a web developer what is expected of us yet people like CCK are just there bragging with very little information about what needs to be done.
http://www.truekenyan.com
Kenic funds its activities solely from domain management they charge registrars Ksh 2,000 + VAT (aprox 2400)for .co.kee and .or.ke. In the last AGM the promised that if the number of domains surpassed the 10,000 mark then they could consider lowering the price. Registrars in turn need to meet the cost of transport and other over-heads in managing the domain hence they include a small fee over and above the Kenic fee.
Last year kenic reduced the fee for .ac.ke and sc.ke to Ksh 500 + VAT. Look at it from an economies of scale perspective.
Once upon a time .co.ke were registered for free by a wonderful volunteer gentleman with the sublime name Randy Bush. Then Kenic came along claimingall things Kenyan and started chargin with no value add. Go figure!
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