1 connect communicate collaborate FEAST Feasibility Study for African – European Research and Education Network 27th October 2009 Michael Nowlan, DANTE 1 connect communicate collaborate

2 Introduction Look at Telecoms Market Look at Telecoms Infrastructure Look at Regulatory Environment Look at NREN Capacity Make Recommendations as to whether the EU should invest in the region to enhance Research and Education Networking

3 connect communicate collaborate Introduction… cont.

4 connect communicate collaborate Africa is Huge Land area of 30,321,130 Km. sq. Could fit: China, USA, India, Europe, Argentina and New Zealand into land mass of Africa Above areas are 30,211,551 Km. sq.

5 connect communicate collaborate African Country Comparisons Pop 2008 M Internet Penetration (07) Mobile Penetration (2008) GDP Ranking Kenya387.9%24.2%188 South Africa4410.5%84.2%104 Rwanda101.5%5.0%216 Mozambique210.9%13.5%214 Malawi141.0%4.6%218 Uganda316.4%10.0%211 Tanzania401.0%16.3%202 Zimbabwe1210.9%67.1%229 Africa9555.3%~30% World6, %>61%

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8 8 SEAMEWE3 EASSy: Northern Backhaul (Ack: WIOCC) Existing Optic Fiber New Fiber Northern backhaul essentially complete Port Sudan EASSy

9 connect communicate collaborate 9 4,300km fibre ring Completion due by end 2009 Telkom Kenya; UTL; MTN Uganda; MTN Rwanda; RwandaTel; Burundi; TTCL EASSy East African Backhaul System (Ack: WIOCC)

10 connect communicate collaborate 10 SAFE SAT-3 / WASC TdM FSS Existing Fiber New Fiber Network linking Namibia and Zambia is complete Construction commenced by ZamTel linking Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Malawi, Congo and Tanzania completion in the fourth quarter of 2009 EASSy Southern Africa Backhaul System (Ack: WIOCC)

11 connect communicate collaborate Current Infrastructure South Africa and some of Mozambique connected by sea cable Current link terminates at the UbuntuNet router in London and connects to GÉANT Kenya tunnels via VSAT to the router in London All others have public VSAT connections to commodity internet July 2009 should have changed much of this ?

12 connect communicate collaborate Summary of FEAST project A feasibility study to pave the way for a network implementation Study telecoms market and regulatory environment Study status of NRENs in countries Perform Request for Information from telecoms suppliers Limited response to RFI, but a network is possible

13 connect communicate collaborate FEAST Partners DANTE running the European GÉANT the multi gigabit interconnector for the European NRENs. DANTE initiated regional networks in the Mediterranean Region (EUMEDCONNECT), Latin America (CLARA), Asia (TEIN 1/2/3, CAREN) TERENA: the association of European NRENs KTH: the Royal technical High school in Stockholm, Sweden African NRENs, UbuntuNet Alliance, AAU European Commission

14 connect communicate collaborate FEAST findings NRENs exist in the region and are ready to connect Intercontinental infrastructure exists and is growing Serious demand for services in Africa Institutions paying for VSAT connectivity at exorbitant prices Serious demand for African research by the rest of the world Serious problems in sourcing skilled staff for NRENs, exacerbated by new cables Specific application requirements in Africa: Health, Climate, Agriculture, Education, Environment Conclusions are that there are enough "nearly ready" NRENs and infrastructure

15 connect communicate collaborate Regulatory Regimes Generally liberalised Some monopolies/duopolies Regulators very supportive Licences issued or derogations provided

16 connect communicate collaborate NREN Readiness Organisation and Human Resources Acceptable Use and Connection Policies Interconnected Campus Networks Number Plan from AFRINIC Lighthouse Demonstrators

17 connect communicate collaborate Expected AfricaConnect project Funded by the European Commission (expected) and the national NRENs in Africa Funding for infrastructure, human capacity building, applications development Aimed at a sustainable network in 3 year timeframe African network connected to Europe and the world

18 connect communicate collaborate UbuntuNet Backbone Vision

19 connect communicate collaborate Sea Cable Usage SEACOM, TEAMS, EASSy Use a combination of these to enhance connectivity and provide a reliable and resilient network Only SEACOM available today, TEAMS shortly and EASSy next year

20 connect communicate collaborate NREN Cooperation (Twinning) Concept originated in Lilongwe November 2008 Mutual support between NRENs Beneficial to both parties Non-exclusive, can have multiple twins Advertise NREN expertise and needs Exchange staff, documents, tools

21 connect communicate collaborate Next Steps EC Allocates funding European and African NRENs form close links to build capacity in Africa Acquire inter-country links Acquire inter-continental links Acquire equipment Acquire staff…