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WWW/Internet - Portal do Software Público Brasileiro

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IADIS International Conference <strong>WWW</strong>/<strong>Internet</strong> 2010AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE ACCESS AND USAGE OFTHE INTERNET IN KENYARuth Diko Wario and Theo McDonaldDepartment of Computer ScienceUniversity of Free StateABSTRACTPrevious studies on <strong>Internet</strong> activity in Kenya were mostly concerned with numbers: how many hosts, how many users orsubscribers and how much bandwidth. Little is known about what Kenya users actually <strong>do</strong> on the <strong>Internet</strong>, their usagepatterns, and interaction between <strong>Internet</strong> governing frameworks and policies, services and usage demographics andbehaviours. This study is intended to answer these questions and to lay a foundation for future studies in terms of accesstechnologies and behaviour patterns of the Kenya <strong>Internet</strong> population. It provides a basic understanding of the Kenya<strong>Internet</strong> market to institutions involved in the development of the <strong>Internet</strong> market. It thus facilitates the development ofsound policies that will drive Kenya’s information economy. As an outcome of the study a profile of the characteristics ofa typical <strong>Internet</strong> user in Kenya will be provided.KEYWORDS<strong>Internet</strong> access technologies, <strong>Internet</strong> usage patterns, <strong>Internet</strong> user profile, Kenya1. INTRODUCTIONThe use of the <strong>Internet</strong> was first initiated by the military and academics. It has now, in a short while,progressed from being a scientific means of communication to the main method of exchanging informationfor almost everyone (Attaran and Vanlaar, 2000). As a growing and rapidly diffusing technology, the <strong>Internet</strong>is an innovation that promises to become the economic reinforcement for all successful countries in the newglobal economy (National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 2006). Understanding whois connected to the <strong>Internet</strong> and how it is being used is critical to the development of sound policies in thisarea (National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 2006). What is currently facinggovernments and non-governmental organisations alike is the challenge to expand the connectivity of the<strong>Internet</strong> in their different countries to even grassroots level.Previous studies (Centre for Democracy and Technology, 2000; Oyelaran-Oyeyinka and Adeya, 2002),however, revealed that several factors contribute heavily to this challenge. These include the poor state of theunderlying telecommunications infrastructure, high telephone call charges, high <strong>Internet</strong> Service Providers’(ISP) charges, advances in access technologies, policies and regulations around <strong>Internet</strong> market development,and income and socio-economic status. The majority of African countries <strong>do</strong> not possess basic infrastructure.In some cases, efforts have been made, but proved to be insufficient. In others, technological infrastructure isobsolete as a result of the rapid developments of digital technologies (Oyelaran-Oyeyinka and Adeya, 2002).The objective of this study was to investigate the <strong>Internet</strong> access technologies available in Kenya and the<strong>Internet</strong> usage patterns among Kenyan users. The goal was to establish a profile of a typical user, his/herperception of the <strong>Internet</strong> and what the future holds for the <strong>Internet</strong> in Kenya. This study is intended to lay afoundation for future studies in terms of access technologies and behaviour patterns of the Kenya <strong>Internet</strong>population. It provides a basic understanding of the Kenya <strong>Internet</strong> market to institutions involved in thedevelopment of the <strong>Internet</strong> market. It thus facilitates the development of sound policies that will driveKenya’s information economy.The rest of the paper will be structured as follows. In the next section background information of how the<strong>Internet</strong> developed in Kenya will be provided. That will be followed by the metho<strong>do</strong>logy used in conductingthe research. Consequently the results of the study will be provided and discussed.57

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