Promoting African Research & Education Networking Internet Bandwidth Challenges and Opportunities

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Promoting African Research & Education Networking Internet Bandwidth Challenges and Opportunities"

Gabriel Edward Hubbard
8 years ago
Views:

1 Promoting African Research & Education Networking Internet Bandwidth Challenges and Opportunities Roy Steiner, PhD Karanja Gakio for the IDRC AAU Presentation Feb 23, 2005 Higher Education Institutions in Africa ATICS 83 Institutions PAREN 646 Tertiary Institutions Mapped Bandwidth: 1) Too Little 2) Too Expensive 3) Poorly Managed Division between research and education Source: Paul Hamilton, PAREN Study

in Africa ATICS 83 Institutions PAREN 646 Tertiary Institutions Mapped Bandwidth: 1) Too Little 2)

2 Average Bandwidth Costs Average Bandwdith Costs ($USD per Kbps) by Region West Africa 8.00 Average 5.46 So uthern Africa 4.70 Region East Africa 4.38 Central Africa 3.63 North Africa 0.52 US University Mean Cost $USD/Kbps Source: ATICS Survey 2004 Wide Differences in Bandwidth Across Regions ( Mean Kbps Regional comparison of bandwidth per institution n= Southern Central Africa Africa East Africa Region West Africa North Africa Africa Average The average bandwidth for an African educational institution in this sample is about ½ Mbps uplink with ¾ Mbps downlink the equivalent of a broadband residential connection Uplink Downlink Source: ATICS Survey 2004 of 83 Tertiary Education Institutions

info) Mean Kbps 5000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 Regional comparison of bandwidth per institution n=82 655 352 Southern Central Africa Africa 476 480 489 188 305 267 East Africa Region West Africa 43524403

3 Committed Information Rates the power of information Mean Cost.Kbps Donor ISPs with CIR Average Bandwidth Cost by CIR n=70 Restof ISPs With CIR CIR Status No CIR Do not know Source: ATICS Survey 2004 Terrestrial/Sea Networks Growing SAT 3 Cable Source: IDRC

00 Donor ISPs with CIR Average Bandwidth Cost by CIR n=70 Restof ISPs

4 Planned Backbone Expansions East African Fiber Source: IDRC Satellite coverage increasing Currently 13 satellite operators have 51 satellites deployed with coverage over Africa Source: IDRC

5 African National Networks - Examples Morocco TENET Tunisia KENET NUNET Tanzania Other NRENs include Egypt, Malawi and Algeria African Continental Networks - Examples Partnership for Higher Education African Virtual University RESAFAO Other multi country networks involved with/proposing bandwidth purchasing include SARUA, Mimcom

Examples Partnership for Higher Education African Virtual University RESAFAO Other

6 Bandwidth requirements and potential consortium savings Estimated Total Bandwidth Requirements n=73 3,500,000 3,000,000 2,906,568 Consortium can reduce costs by 50% Bandwdith needs Bandwdith required Current bandwidth ,500,000 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 1,456,848 Requirements are over Mbps times current available 500,000 0 Annual Cost of Bandwidth for 65 institutions Expected yearly consortium cost of bandwidth for 65 institutions Abiline Value USA Network $2.50 Revenue per Gigabit $2.00 $1.50 $1.00 $0.50 $- $2.08 $1.17 $0.70 $ Year $0.27 Dollars per Gigabit 87% reduction in 4 years!

800 900 Mbps times current available 500,000 0 Annual Cost of Bandwidth for 65 institutions Expected yearly consortium cost of bandwidth for 65 institutions Abiline

7 Eventually bandwidth sources are likely to move to terrestrial links 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% BW Source East Africa Fibre EUMEDCONNECT SAT 3 Fibre VSAT Barriers and Solution Primary barriers to effective communication in African universities Available bandwidth (both cost and quantity) Adequate systems management, and Regulatory issues. A Consortium - centrally managed network using (at this time) satellite technology would address all these issues

barriers to effective communication in African universities Available bandwidth (both cost and quantity) Adequate systems

8 VSAT Consortium Options Multiple regional consortia SARUA, West Africa, Health etc Types of Consortium Established Entity takes the lead i.e AVU New independent entity Potential Regional Consortia EU Med Connect West Africa East Africa SARUA

9 Recommended Structure Membership Representatives (Advisory) Funding Agencies (Advisory) Independent Board of Directors Executive Management Expert Committees Technical Service Providers Operations Key Characteristics -Independent board to ensure fairness and focus on best interests of the network as a whole -Small operational staff focused on contracting services and management Learning from other successful models Initial Donor/Government Funding important Consortium must negotiate with governments to eliminate license fees and monopoly pricing diplomacy key Consortium governance must be nonprofit, participatory and transparent Partnerships with private sector can be beneficial Sustainability must be built into the model

services and management Learning from other successful models Initial Donor/Government Funding important Consortium must negotiate with governments to eliminate license fees and

10 Next Steps Coming together of higher education stakeholder groups with long term vision Clear consensus on stakeholder plan lets move into action Increased sharing and coordination among interested parties

consensus on stakeholder plan lets move into action

Developing Knowledge Infrastructure and Networks in Africa

Developing Knowledge Infrastructure and Networks in Africa The findings of the African Tertiary Institution Connectivity Study (ATICS) and Lessons for the Future of Knowledge Networks Robert Hawkins World