Thanks Jeff for the insights into the ISP market in Kenya.

>
> It would be nice to know, at a practical level, how the present state
> of affairs affects access in Kenya.  As I was talking with the Kenyan
> consultants, we eventually got around to the issue of the regulatory
> environment.  Internet firms in Kenya pay something like $8000 to
> $14,000 a month, so I'm told, for their leased lines to the Internet,
> via KPTC or whatever it's called now, even though according to
> discussions we've had in this forum the KPTC ought to be able to
> provide those lines for under $2000.  Retail prices range from
> something like $60 to more than $100 a month for basic Web access,
> depending on level of usage.
>

Curious about the topology of internetworking in Kenya.... Are the ISPs
leasing lines to connect to a single internet hub in Kenya (operated by
KPTC?) or are they  leasing lines to overseas hubs?

In the latter case, do they interconnect? That could be a strategy for
reducing cost. Two ISPs may lease one long  distance higher bandwidth
line, and interconnect via a cheaper local leased line. Not only would
it be more efficient, it would double the peak speed of the individual
user's traffic coming from or going to overseas, and also greatly speed
up intra-Kenya communication....


        -nemo-


--
http://www.ctr.columbia.edu/~nemo