Transcript FEAST Feasibility Study for African – European Research

FEAST
Feasibility Study for African – European
Research and Education Network
27th October 2009
Michael Nowlan, DANTE
Introduction
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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
Introduction… cont.
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.
African Country Comparisons
Pop
2008 M
Internet
Penetration
(07)
Mobile
Penetration
(2008)
GDP Ranking
Kenya
38
7.9%
24.2%
188
South Africa
44
10.5%
84.2%
104
Rwanda
10
1.5%
5.0%
216
Mozambique
21
0.9%
13.5%
214
Malawi
14
1.0%
4.6%
218
Uganda
31
6.4%
10.0%
211
Tanzania
40
1.0%
16.3%
202
Zimbabwe
12
10.9%
67.1%
229
Africa
955
5.3%
~30%
World
6,676
21.9%
>61%
EASSy: Northern Backhaul (Ack: WIOCC)
Existing Optic Fiber
New Fiber
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SEAMEWE3
Northern backhaul essentially
complete
Port Sudan
EASSy
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East African Backhaul System (Ack: WIOCC)
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4,300km fibre ring
Completion due by end 2009
Telkom Kenya; UTL; MTN
Uganda; MTN Rwanda;
RwandaTel; Burundi; TTCL
EASSy
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Southern Africa Backhaul System (Ack: WIOCC)
• 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
SAT-3 / WASC
TdM
FSS
Existing Fiber
New Fiber
SAFE
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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 ?
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
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
FEAST findings
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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
Regulatory Regimes
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Generally liberalised
Some monopolies/duopolies
Regulators very supportive
Licences issued or derogations provided
NREN Readiness
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Organisation and Human Resources
Acceptable Use and Connection Policies
Interconnected Campus Networks
Number Plan from AFRINIC
Lighthouse Demonstrators
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
UbuntuNet Backbone Vision
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
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
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…