Connectivity Providers Database

Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2001 22:44:28 +0300 From: T.Stephanos <tewelde@tfanus.com.er> To: mlizarza <mlizarza@darkwing.uoregon.edu> Cc: Steven G. Huter <sghuter@nsrc.org> Subject: RE: Internet Updates in Eritrea Message-ID: <FHELKJBLAOJPGBIJACBCAEOCCCAA.tewelde@tfanus.com.er> }1) Could you please provide a brief description of Eritrea's }external connectivity to the Internet - including upstream provider(s), }international bandwidth of the link(s), etc. if possible ? } }ISP in ER Link Type Bandwidth Upstream ISP POP location(s) }========= =========== =========== ================ =============== tfanus wireless 128k shared Telco 1 in capital city &lease line ewan wireless 128k shared Telco 1 cts lease line 128k shared Telco 1 telco lease line 128k shared Telco 1 }2) Please also list the URLs for each ISP, and the name and email address }for the appropriate contact for service when possible tfanus: www.tfanus.com.er webmaster@gemel.com.er support@tfanus.com.er ewan: www.ewan.com.er cts: www.cts.com.er telco: www.tse.com.er }3)What do you see as the prospects for Internet growth in Eritrea; }what would help it, and what are currently the major obstacles? The main problem was and still is the lack of choices of upstream Internet providers. TSE is the sole provider of international Internet bandwdith and also a competitor in the small ISP market. TSE's concern that if Internet bandwidth is increased to carry quality voice over IP traffic, revenues from its voice circuits will go down may also be contributing to keeping Internet bandwidth at current levels where ping times to off-country sites are over 1500ms. To be sure TSE's concerns are real. But many Telcos around the world who were faced with similar challenges before adapted in ways that eventually generated good incomes for themselves and for the general economy. Another obstacle is the high cost of the 128k bandwidth which, in spite of USAID subsidy, is currently costing ISPs USD2000 per month. TSE hs no competition to help bring this cost down. The value of competition is visibly demonstrated in Eritrea itself by the presence of the four ISPs. Since Internet services started a year ago, the cost of 24x7 dialup access went down by some 50% and the hourly browsing fees at Internet cafes is about 60 cents US. Probably among the lowest in the world - especially given the high bandwidth cost and the small market size to pay for that cost. On the other hand, TSE's bandwidth charges have actually gone up by over 35% during the same time. To be fair to TSE, the 35% increase in bandwidth cost is primarily the result of the ISPs doing a very poor job of negotiating a contract that did not shield us from currency fluctuations. Since ISP revenues are all based on local currencies, the ISPs have no one to blame but ourselves for this exposure. Although fairly competent in technical matters, the ISPs have approached the business side of things in a rather amateurish way. To my knowledge, none of the ISPs had the help of experienced legal and financial experts to rigorously review the contract for them. The prospects seem to be continued domination of the international connectivity by TSE. Although TSE is thinking about increasing Internet bandwidth and has solicited feedback to that effect from the ISPs, until competition in the area of international IP connectivity is allowed, progress will be slow. A mobile phone system is in the process of being introduced in Eritrea. It is not operational yet but there is talk that it will be around the end of the year. Not clear what impact that will have over Internet services at this point. Before leaving the subject of bandwidth costs, it is interesting to note that DSL lines with much higher capacity cost less than $50 in the US compared to our USD2000 per month cost for a mere 128kbps. Granted that this is not exactly an apples to apples comparison but our USD2000 cost is 40 times more and it only buys you about 15% of a a good DSL line. --Tewelde <tewelde@tfanus.com.er>