Education institutions advised to partner to access cheap broadband
Jul 05, 2010
EDUCATION and research institutions should form partnerships to access cheaper broadband connection for e-learning, an information systems expert has said.
By Taddeo Bwambale
EDUCATION and research institutions should form partnerships to access cheaper broadband connection for e-learning, an information systems expert has said.
Prof. Meoli Karshoda of the Kenya Education Network Trust, said most institutions still rely on local Internet service providers to get bandwidth, which he said is expensive and unreliable.
“If the institutions come together, they can negotiate to get better bandwidth at lower costs for their online teaching and learning programmes,†he said.
Educational institutions in East Africa plan to increase their bandwidth capacity for online teaching, following the laying of a 17,000km undersea fibre optic cable by SEACOM.
The cable links Africa to Europe and Asia via the Middle East and provides one of the cheapest alternatives to sharing information across the globe.
Karshoda said most universities in East Africa have a high need for bandwidth to support the use of modern e-learning tools.
However, MTN’s chief executive officer Themba Khumalo blamed the high Internet tariffs on costs of extending connections to various parts of the region.
He urged the Government to allow service providers to be part of the National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure and e-Government Infrastructure project for high speed communication.
EDUCATION and research institutions should form partnerships to access cheaper broadband connection for e-learning, an information systems expert has said.
Prof. Meoli Karshoda of the Kenya Education Network Trust, said most institutions still rely on local Internet service providers to get bandwidth, which he said is expensive and unreliable.
“If the institutions come together, they can negotiate to get better bandwidth at lower costs for their online teaching and learning programmes,†he said.
Educational institutions in East Africa plan to increase their bandwidth capacity for online teaching, following the laying of a 17,000km undersea fibre optic cable by SEACOM.
The cable links Africa to Europe and Asia via the Middle East and provides one of the cheapest alternatives to sharing information across the globe.
Karshoda said most universities in East Africa have a high need for bandwidth to support the use of modern e-learning tools.
However, MTN’s chief executive officer Themba Khumalo blamed the high Internet tariffs on costs of extending connections to various parts of the region.
He urged the Government to allow service providers to be part of the National Data Transmission Backbone Infrastructure and e-Government Infrastructure project for high speed communication.