Google’s O3b Networks -vs- EASSy. Fight! Part 2

THE WAY I SEE IT

OK, if your head isn’t spinning from acroynimitis, then you are a nerd, and probably won’t be shy about letting me know where I got confused. I had a heck of a time keeping track of who was merging with who, let alone trying to figure out what acronyn was renamed to what. East Africa’s broadband future is promising, but it’s got some serious flaws to overcome.

In EASSy’s case, successfully docking the world-wide web on East coast shores depends on all parties putting aside their differences for the greater good. Color me skeptic but that’ll happen this side of never. With the departure of NEPAD, et al and the continued in-fighting, this whole process is starting to resemble a hunting pact between hyenas and lions, meant to bring down an elephant so everyone can feast. Instead the lions and hyenas start bickering over who gets to lead the hunt. 

Here’s the takeaway. Some body is dropping some serious fat lies or attempting a disinformation campaign. EASSy is a dead dinosaur with zero collaborative foresight and everybody knows it. NEPAD’s initiative, while ambitious and egalitarian, is in need of a dip in the reality pool. I don’t see such an ambitious initiative taking less than a decade to complete. (Don’t get me wrong, I’ll proudly stand corrected if they are able to encircle the continent with fibre in less time)  I would love to say that all the posturing and oneupmanship over who’s dropping the biggest baddest fasted cable on this side of the “dark continent” spells great things for East Africa, but a little worm inside me is ordering me to swallow my TIA reality pill.

This Is Africa, people!

Of the above initiatives, only one—Seacom—is showing visible signs of actual progress. I will root for whosoever manages to dock the cable first, but I won’t be throwing a dark fibre lighting party any time soon. I get the feeling that some of these initiatives are chewing off more than they can swallow. TEAMs’ smaller scale may spell success for Kenya and it’s neighbors, but until it’s finished and lit, it’s all talk.Ditto for Nepad’s “all-africa or nothing” UhuruNET. It lacks a foothold in African reality.

Whatever happened to baby steps, people?

These ICT-enablement projects stand a really great chance of showing the world that Africa CAN undertake large scale development projects on it’s own and it’s only going to take one of these projects to set an example of good governance and project management. If only they can learn to get out of their own way.

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