Ensuring NREN sustainability Omo OAIYA WACREN [email protected] Osun-Ife REN Conference Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, 25 November 2013
Ensuring NREN sustainability
Omo OAIYAWACREN
Osun-Ife REN ConferenceObafemi Awolowo UniversityIle-Ife, 25 November 2013
OAU REN Conference 2
Overview
• About WACREN• Recent Developments• Developments at country level• Proposed Topology• Activities• Sustaining WACREN• Business and Financial Models• Sustainability Tips25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 3
About WACREN
• Registered in Ghana in 2010• 22 potential member NRENs• Second Board and 1st CEO appointed recently• Operational agreement with Ubuntunet
Alliance• Partner in AfricaConnect – Capacity Building• Partnership with RENATER• Affiliate partner in eI4Africa project
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 4
Our NRENs
8 Established NRENs • GARNET - Ghana • snRER - Senegal • MaliREN - Mali • RITER - Cote d’Ivoire • NigerREN - Niger • GabonREN - Gabon • TogoREN- Togo • NgREN- NigeriaOngoing Initiatives in Benin, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Chad and Guinea25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 5
Recent developments First WACREN AGM (Abuja, July 2013)
Adoption of new constitution Appointment of new Chair of the Board Appointment of CEO Search and Nomination Committee for Board
New Board appointed on 1st September 2013 (6 members, incl. CEO)
CEO took office on 1st October 2013 First Board (virtual) meeting in October
2013
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 6
NREN Development Slow, but significant progress in some countries Most advanced (close to getting operational):
NgREN Funding from World Bank 10G MPLS core completed and several links successfully
tested (mostly STM-1s) Video-conferencing equipment delivered and installed in
universities in Phase 1 NMC almost completed and network commissioning and
launch expected to be done soon GARNET
Agreement with telecom operator for provision of links to member institutions @ US$100/Mbps (based on STM1 links)
5 member institutions have already signed up25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 7
NREN Development snRER
Funding from World Bank (equipment and international connectivity) – procurement process in progress
4 out of 5 public universities already on government fiber backbone
Video-conferencing equipment delivered and installed in all public universities and regional hospitals
5th university to be connected via Gb/s wireless link Other countries
RITER (ci): data centers commissioned; negotiation with telecom operators for interconnection in progress
TogoREN: challenges at campus level (campus network of Université de Kara)
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 8
Many Possibilities
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 9
Proposed Topology (1)
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 10
Proposed Topology (2)
▪ Simple - Core + Access▪ 3 principal IX at Dakar, Lagos and Accra (+
Douala/Libreville)▪ Multiple Submarine Cable Access▪ 2 links to Paris and London ▪ Redundant links from Hubs to NRENs ▪ > 1 Gig Access▪ > 10G Core▪ Long term IRU’s25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 11
International activities Discussion underway with ASREN for sharing rack space in
London Router donated by Cisco/ISOC RFI sent to NRENs for establishment of first link to GEANT Meeting ASREN and UA in London
ei4Africa Raise awareness and build build cooperation between Euro-
African NRENs, RENs & user communities Produce a state-of-the-art study of e-Infrastructure application
uptake in Africa Flagship demonstrations to illustrate relevance
AfricaConnect EC supported regional network of Southern and Eastern African
countries using terrestrial facilities with interconnection to GÉANT
Phase II readiness survey for West and Central Africa underfoot
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 12
Sustainability
▪ What does this mean to us? Ability to finance WACREN from service revenues Progressively reduce dependency on donor funding
How do we plan to achieve? Long term transparent operational plan with
ownership and support from NREN members Build and sustain demand for services Reduce operating costs Involve private sector
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 13
Critical Elements
Low Internet bandwidth prices Low cost campus wireless
Innovative R&E services Well-trained and motivated ICT staff Community participation in service
development and governance.
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 14
WACREN Business Model Skinny Secretariat Federate interests of NREN communities Capitalize network to reduce operating costs
Indefeasible Right of Use - IRU Share costs of international connections Leverage NREN Capacities
Access to submarine communication cables Peering with local commodity networks at Internet Exchanges Research Communities Establish NOCs at NREN Level & Capacity Building for NREN techs to
maintain NOCs Local industry relationships
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 15
Financial Model
Secretariat and Staffing Costs Costs of Regional Network International Connectivity Service Costs Capacity Building
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 16
Sustainability Tips for NRENs
Have a clear REN mission and policies owned by members and accepted by industry.
Have a representative council of members in addition to the board to sustain collective.
Drive conversations towards collaboration within the community and with external stakeholders – Government, Telcos, Regulator.
Look for dark fibre or wavelengths – be change agents. Do not compete unfairly with the market Ultimate goal is to increase demand!
25/11/2013
OAU REN Conference 17
Ese pupoI pointed out to you the stars and all you
saw was the tip of my finger – African Proverb
We need to look beyond the finger tip!
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.wacren.net
25/11/2013